A Short Visit

Clark Lindstrom, one of my old college friends happened to be in Southern California on business this week. While we knew each other at USC, he hadn't been back to California in about fifteen years and I hadn't seen him for an even longer span. Another friend, Jim Yerdon, intended to join us but in the last minute ended up stuck at work.

It was only a three hour visit (including lunch), not nearly enough time to catch up with each other's lives. It will, however, have to do until we can meet again either here in California or there in Nebraska.

Here are a couple of pictures from today. The first one is of Clark with his old friend Shakespeare. Guess who is in the other photo with Clark.

Lotus Symphony

I recently installed IBM Lotus Symphony. It's not a bad suite of applications especially when you consider that it is free and from a major corporation. While its appearance is fresh and clean you will need to spend some time getting use to its organization, icons, and nomenclature. None of the components (word processing, spreadsheet, presentation) are as bloated with feature as MS Office, but they do cover the basics.

Here's the biggest fault I have with current beta version of IBM Lotus Symphony (beta v. 2)Users are able to open and save documents in MS Office 2003 format, but users of Office 2007 beware! The current beta version does not support Office 2007 XML document formats; you cannot open or save in the 2007 format.

The next fault is somewhat minor for the home user, but potentially significant for small business users. Unlike OpenOffice, Symphony lacks a database component.

As I see it, there are still two major advantages to Symphony. Unlike its cousin, OpenOffice, Symphony is being developed by a single vendor which should imply the availability of technical support at some level. The availability of technical support is often cited as a major reason why businesses and individuals are not eager to adopt open source applications. The other advantage is its price (free) and how this is an attractive characteristic for home and small business users.

Too Many Catalogs?

If your are like me, at this time of year the mail box is filled with catalogs. You can do something about this by visiting CatalogChoice.org and setting up an account.

What sets this site apart from the Direct Marketing Association is that CatalogChoice lets you select only those catalogs you do not wish to receive instead of the DMA's all or nothing approach.

Winter Weather Arrives

Winter weather arrived this week. It rained locally and snowed in the nearby mountains giving the area a fresh clean appearance.

Parking 101

Here's a photo of my Mazda after some idiot parked his pickup a tad too close. Parking Rule #1: Never hit a car parked next to you. Parking Rule #2: After mastering Rule #1 be certain to leave enough space between you and another car to avoid door dings. Parking Rule #3: After mastering Rule 1 & 2 be certain that you allow enough room for the person next to you to get in & out of their car.

Southern California Fires

This is just a quick post to let friends and blog followers know that we remain essentially untouched by the current Southern California fires. We are "essentially" untouched despite the Slide Fire (Running Springs) creeping to within a ridge-and-a-half of our community or that we are under a voluntary evacuation notice.

Yesterday our school district (Redlands Unified) canceled school for the three schools in East Highland. Today they canceled school district-wide. I assume this not due to an immediate danger of fire but instead for these reason: unhealthful air (smoke and ash) for children, and those teachers and staff who were under mandatory evacuation notices.

Post Script: The fires never spread into East Highland.

A Day in Montreal and Southern Quebec

It's time for our annual trek to Burlington, Vermont. This year we added a new diversion, a one day side trip to Southern Quebec and an overnighter in Montreal. Quite simply what we learned in Montreal is that it is well worth spending a few days there, as long as your day begins around 8:00 pm!

On Friday we walked Rue Saint Catherine exploring some of Underground Montreal. Dinner found us at the Hard Rock Cafe on Rue Crescent adding to our beer and martini glass collection. After dinner we dropped in to a local pub aptly named "Ziggy's" sitting outside watching the street spectacle stroll by and eavesdropping on multilingual conversations. Montreal is more than a Anglo/Franco melting pot, it's international.

Saturday found us with a few hours to spend strolling around Old Montreal taking in the sites. Below is view of Lord Nelson's monument at the Place Jacques-Cartier.








On our drive south to Burlington we discovered Quebec's wine country and with it we probably discovered why it is so unknown.








The only saving grace was the quaintness of the wineries and the fall foliage.

Web 2.0 and Open Office

Normally in this Blog I don't talk techie stuff, but today seems to be one of those watershed days that should be shouted out to everyone.

For a while now I've used two online and FREE Web 2.0 office applications services: Google Docs [formerly Docs and Spreadsheets] (docs.google.com) and the product suite from Zoho (www.zoho.com). I've also been a fan of the Sun sponsored free OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org) which was just updated. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, but for the average computer user they are nonetheless viable options to buying a full version of Microsoft Office. Best of all the allow the importing and exporting of documents in the standard MS Office file formats plus the ability to save files in the PDF format.

Yesterday Google bolstered its Google Docs suite with the introduction of its online version of Microsoft's PowerPoint; it's simply called Presentations. Presentation joins the existing elements for Documents (word) and Spreadsheets. Neat stuff but if you think that's nifty, then check out Zoho to see how many other office applications they offer.

Today, however everyone got trumped by IBM as they introduced their own free office product suite named Lotus Symphony (yes, it is a recycled name, but it's still a new product) and joined the Open Office movement. In the next few days I'll try to download a copy of Symphony and check it out (symphony.lotus.com). Looking at the minimum specs for Symphony does point out one potential near-term drawback, it requires 1 GB of RAM. Regardless, with the weight of IBM now behind the movement, the times they are a changing.

Why are these developments significant? Simply stated, I believe that in the next several years businesses will seriously question the necessity for purchasing common office applications from the likes of Microsoft or Corel. Instead they will join the Web 2.0 and Open Office revolution.

Think of the implications. For one thing, it's a step toward minimizing the digital divide by reducing the cost of computer ownership. It's also a way to reduce some the administrative overhead business commit toward software license and copyright management. It's also a way to facilitate the rapid adoption of new features: if you're using a Web 2.0 office application, new features are available with your next browser refresh; if you're using an Open Office application, you can bypass the evaluate/plan, budget, purchase, deploy cycle of technology tyranny and move straight from evaluation to deployment. Finally, Open Office products save documents in the Open Document format which is intended to not only be a universal file format, but is also a strategy for preventing your older documents from falling victim to legacy formats that are no long available or supported.

What do you think? Are we on the cusp of a new application paradigm or is this just hype and hope?

A Trip to USC

I briefly stopped by USC last Thursday to resolve an issue with my transcripts; thankfully I was able to have it resolved quickly. While I was there I snapped this photo of Tommy Trojan for old time sake.

Enough With the Old Jokes

OK, so today's my 50th birthday, but geeze did comic character Ziggy have to get in an old guy dig too?











(Ziggy is copyrighted byZiggy and Friends, Inc. 2007) - the cartoon is used here for non-commercial purposes

Fireworks Video to Appear on TV

Apparently my brief YouTube video of the News Years Eve fireworks in Sacramento will appear in a segment on fireworks videos on KOVR TV (CBS affiliate in Sacramento) tomorrow.

If you want to see the fireworks video click on this link Fireworks or view my New Years Eve post.

Father's Day

Once again a single photo (taken with my cell phone) covers a single day. The morning of Father's Day found a group of us playing golf (or in Sig's case, not playing) at the Teal Bend golf course just outside Sacramento. In the following picture are Spencer, Chris Teichert, and Ethan.

Wine Tasting in Amador County

Roberta, Ethan, and Sig ventured to the Amador County (east of Sacramento) for some wine tasting. The following picture says it all.

Cross Country Trek - Day 6

Today's travel involved driving from Portland to Sacramento; a drive of over 8 hours (excluding stops). Arrival quickly led to dinner. Later, Ethan and Jake went into Old Town in search of local flavor and libation.

Tomorrow will see us taking a side trip into the alternate wine country of Amador County instead of the traditional tourist area of Napa.

Cross Country Trek - Day 5

Jumping off from Missoula, Montana we continued our westward trek (basically following the path of Lewis & Clark) into the panhandle region of northern Idaho and quickly transitioning into Washington (Spokane). The objective of our routing was to follow the scenic route along the Washington side of the Columbia River and ultimately cross the river into Portland, Oregon.

Cross Country Trek - Days 3 & 4

After visiting the Mall of America (see previous post) we drove through Minnesota to North Dakota. This drive started at 1:00 pm (Central time) and ended after 7:00 pm (Mountain time) in Dickinson, ND. A lot of driving for a partial travel day!

We had a nice dinner in a regional "chain" restaurant, Sanford's. The food was excellent; the burgers are hand patted and the variety of burgers and other dishes were almost overwhelming (you should have seen the size of the menu!). Too bad we won't encounter another Sanford's on this trip.

Day 4 had us hauling butt from Dickinson through the western North Dakota Badlands and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and into Montana. Admittedly the scenery in western North Dakota and Montana was more pleasant than the majority of the prairie areas of North Dakota. Our day ended in Missoula.

A review of Mall Of America: Ginormous!

Visited the Mall of America (MOA) yesterday. Yep, it’s a huge mall and yes, other malls have many of the same stores, but not all under one roof. We only had three hours to spend before hitting the road again on our cross country drive, so we tried to eye ball as much of MOA as we could. To do this we cruised the first and third levels (totally skipping the second level). We spent the majority of our time in three places: Nordstrom Rack, the Apple Store, and at lunch (Famous Dave’s).

If you are visiting from out-of-town like we were consider booking a hotel stay and allowing yourself a couple of days to do justice to the place.

See more progress on: Mall Of America

The Cross Country Trek

Here is an update on the cross country drive from New Jersey to California.

Day 1. We left South Orange a little after 7:00 am the car jammed with three people (Sig, Ethan, and his friend Jake), clothing, snacks, and more. Perhaps we had a bit too much stuff, but we figured we'd be able to adjust things as we went along.

We arrived at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland by 3:00 pm touring it until its 5:30 closing. Although it is located right on the shore of Lake Eire, a heavy lake fog prevented us from taking in the scenery. Instead we had to content ourselves with having seen the rock memorabilia and tributes inside the Hall. From the Hall we ambled off for a quick bite at the Hard Rock Cafe and then a short drive to our hotel. The excesses of the night before and the pace of the first day took its toll Ethan and Jake and it was an early end to the day for all.

Day 2. This was a grueling day. We left Cleveland at 8:00 to traveled to some truck stop outside an hour west to meet up with Jake's mother and sister for breakfast at MacDonald's; after that it was time to drive, and drive, and drive. 10:00 pm found us stopping in Minneapolis, MN for the evening. One day, five states (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsi, Minnesota), whew!

The morning of Day 3 will have us visiting the Mall of America and then on the road for North Dakota (2 of of my 43Places goals).

Ethan's Graduation

Can it be that four years have gone by already? It doesn't seem it was all that long ago when we dropped Ethan off at Seton Hall University (www.shu.edu) for his freshman year and then yesterday he graduated with a Bachelors in Political Science . The ceremony was held at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Here is some photographic proof that he did in fact graduate:
(The Seton Hall Pirate & Ethan)

(Ethan spotted in the crowd)

(Sig, Spencer, Ethan, & Roberta after the ceremony)


(A kiss for luck)

Photos Added

Check out the Misc. Photos link in the sidebar to see new (old) black and white photos of me as child in the early 1960's and my dad in the US Navy in the early 1950's.

Fixed Photo Link

The "Misc. Photos" link in the sidebar is working again.

The Kutná Hora Experience

Today we took a side trip to Kutná Hora. If you've never heard of Kutná Hora, then there are a few things you need to know about it. First, it is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites (see http://www.kutnahora.cz/index.php?sec=2&cid=97). It is home to several impressive sites including:

Saint Barbara's Cathedral,



The Italian Court, and







The Cemetery Chapel with Ossuary (also known as the "Bone Church")

Yes, that's Ethan standing under a chandelier made with human bones (using every bone in the body)







Kutná Hora is an unassuming town despite its UNESCO designation and treasures. Locally, tourism hasn't altered the community much, at least yet.

Prague Experience - Part 3

Here are some more photos of our Prague experience. I may post additional comments later.

(Old Town Hall - Astronomical Clock)





(Castle Quarter - St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle)






(500 year-old U Fleku Pub & Brewery)




(Wenceslas Square looking southeast)



(Terezin Concentration Camp - room capable of holding 500 prisoners)

Mashups

While researching the topic of "mashups" I came across a site that literally hits close to home. A mashup plotting the San Andreas Fault through my neighborhood. Here's a link to it: http://geology.com/san-andreas-fault/.

If you are unfamiliar with "mashups" you might want to visit the following site http://www.mashups.com/about.htm and scroll down to the portion that discusses mashups from the Web 2.0 perspective.

Prague Experience - Part 2

At this point in our trip we've learned a few important things about Prague and the Czech Republic.

Cross Walks and Traffic Signals (Semapores)
While drivers in Prague are considerate (and seem to never use their horns) they must be out of necessity aggressive in crossing intersections not controlled with a traffic signal. For the most part the drivers respect pedestrians using marked crosswalks, but Ethan and I adopted a more cautious approach. When in doubt we wait for another pedestrian to step into the road as a "volunteer hood ornament" and then follow.

Beer (Pivo) versus Coke
Today Ethan observed a major cultural advantage to life in the Czech Republic. His quote, "You've got to love a country where beer is cheaper than coke!" Beer is almost a required beverage at meals and your waiter/waitress won't even consider clearing away your stein until you've drained it of every drop. Ethan also opines about the Czech love for beer by noting, "every hour is happy hour!"

The Museum of Communism
We decided to visit the Museum of Communism today and spent nearly an hour trying to find it. We had our tour book and our city map, but try as we might we couldn't find it. Maybe we thought the museum had closed due to lack of interest, but no that wasn't it. Upon further reading in our guide book we found it. If Marx, Lenin, and Stalin weren't already dead the location of the museum would have surely resulted in a group stroke - the Museum is next door to a casino and on the floor above a McDonald's!

The Dining Experience
Thankfully Ethan and I are shunning public transport in favor of walking (at least while the weather is good) or we would surely pack on the pounds. Don't get me wrong the food is good (particularly so when you avoid the tourist filled eateries) and inexpensive. The trouble is most meat dishes come with gravy and with enough dumplings to equal half-a-loaf of bread. When the menu says a dish comes with two vegetables what the restaurant really means is that you get both white and red cabbage!

Prague Experience - Part 1

Ethan and I arrived safely, but two hours late, in Prague on Saturday. Luckily we did not plan any activities for that day. Instead we tried to stay awake as long as possible to help overcome our jetlag.

We are staying at the City Partners Victoria Hotel in Prague. On the floor below us is a resturant with fairly decent food and a good beer (pivo) selection where we ate dinner on Saturday. Hitting the sack at about 9:00 pm local time we thought we'd be ready to go in the morning, but... Believe it or not Ethan and I woke at 1:00 am feeling refreshed, but knowing it wouldn't last. Since we were both wide awake we decided to grab a coke and step outside for some air whereupon we got to meet some of the more colorful local citizens. One exceptional drunk decided we needed to learn some import words in Czech, his choice of words were unfortunately not the type to use amongst polite company and are of little use in the conduct of normal siteseeing!

Sunday was a light day with sleep still be our highest priority (after ditching our drunk Czech friend). In the afternoon we attended a performance of Antonín Dvořák's opera Rusalka at the Státní Opera Praha (State Opera Prague). We had box seats stage right and just above the orchestra pit. Below are a few pictures (sorry, but photographs were not allowed during the performance).


(Ethan & Sig - Box 5 State Opera)






(the Art Deco style stage curtain)






(the audience)






At just about three hours long, the opera filled our afternoon.


Dinner time was spent wandering Václavské náměstí (Wenceslas Square) and trying to avoid drunk Brits on stag holidays (it's only a 1.5 hour flight to Prague from the UK).

I'll be revising this post soon with a few photos from the first two days. Future posts will diary the rest of our trip and include additional pictures.

Places & Things

I recently created an account at 43Places.com. So if you want to see where I've been or where I would like to go, check things out at: http://www.43places.com/person/dellhime.

My account also includes a tally of my "1,000 Places to See Before I Die." In case you wonder, I've only completed about 4% of the list. At this pace I should be 60% complete by the time I turn 1,000.

Sam Racadio Library & Environmental Learning Center

Today marked the topping off ceremony on the construction in Highland for the Sam Racadio Library and Environmental Learning Center. The weather was ideal, the speeches short, and the event well attended. Everyone attending had the opportunity to sign the final steel beam - a nice touch especially for the nearby elementary students in attendance. The Center is being built with a combination of federal, state, and local funds. Federal funding is coming from the EPA. The building meets the federal standards as a silver level green building. To help ease classroom overcrowding the nearby elementary school will move its library into the Center to create new classroom space while expanding their library collection.

Here are a few photos (first photo, Sam Racadio in foreground; second photo Harriet Fouchier; third photo, me; final photo, children from the nearby elementary school):

Wacky Winter Weather - UPDATE

OK, it's now 8:15 in the morning and it is actually snowing even more. I wouldn't call it a blizzard at this point, but it sure is coming down hard. Of course I am speaking from experience as a ex-pat New Englander. The first photo is taken from across the street from our house and the other is our house; click an image to see a large version (remember: it's not blurry, it's a snow flurry).

Burr - Wacky Winter Weather Hits Highland

It's been a wacky winter weather week in Highland. On Monday and Tuesday we had record breaking heat with high January temperatures in the mid-80's. However, just like the old New England saying, "if you don't like the weather, wait a minute" this morning (Friday) the weather took a surprise turn.

In past years snow was able to fall to just below the 2,000 foot level, but never down to the valley floor. Imagine our surprise upon waking this morning to find SNOW at our house! OK, so it's not enough to shovel, but hey it is snow in Southern California. Here are some pictures.









The first image was taken at about 6:30 am while it was still rather dark outside, the camera's flash caught snowflakes falling. The middle image was taken about 30 minutes later. The final image is of our patio (note the snow is not sticking to the warmer concrete).

New Year's in Sacramento

The end of 2006 gave us an opportunity to spend the weekend visiting our friends, Rick & Eileen Teichert) in Sacramento. After a long drive on Friday we arrived in time to join them for dinner in Sacramento capped by a stop at the Hard Rock Cafe (for yet another collector's beer glass and Martini glass).

New Years Eve day found the family split between skiing at Heavenly Valley and wine tasting in Napa. Spencer went skiing with his uncle Rick while the rest of us pursued more sophisticated interests.

Here are a few photos of the skiing portion of the day.

Spencer hits the slopes.











Rick divides his day skiing between California & Nevada.








Roberta, Ethan, Sig & Eileen preview New Years Eve festivities by sampling sparkling white wines at the Domaine Carneros (by Taittiger) winery along with stops at a few other wineries. FYI, many wineries are closed on New Years Eve day :-(






Evening found all of us in Old Town Sacramento in the City's hospitality tent where we were able to watch fireworks over the river (here's a link to video of the Fireworks).

.

(L to R, Brigit Leubbers, Eileen & Rick Teichert, Ethan & Roberta Dellhime)


( Ethan & Roberta)