RIO Olympics

August 10, 2016

I’m amazed by the variety of “Sports” at the Rio Olympics. I haven’t watched many hours yet but I’ve seen everything from basketball, to fencing, to diving, to gymnastics, to rugby, to swimming, to kayaking, to diving, to skulling (is that a word).

I’m also surprised every Olympics how many non–sports are Olympic events. I contend events scored by judges and not by some objective criteria are not sports. They are exhibitions. I admit I’m old and was influenced during the Cold War years when judges were biased based on their Country’s political peruasion.

Explain to me how synchronized swimming can be an Olympic event but not baseball?

Oh well, there is nothing I can do to change the Olympics. Might as well just sit back and enjoy the spectacle.

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Disneyworld or I’ve seen clouds from both sides now

June 14, 2016

With apologies to Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell.

Unbelievable: 60K people visit The Magic Kingdom every day to stand in endless lines when fishing or riding a bike is free with no wait time! – Grumpy Marv

Totally Awesome: Before I retired I designed and developed huge, complex software Systems. The Disneyworld System dwarfs any system I ever worked on. From Magic Bands working everywhere, to hoard of busses scurrying to and fro among dozens of destinations, to thousands of crewmembers working towards one goal (make Marv happy) the System functions magically to ensure every single visitor has the optimal experience at Disneyworld. How does all this work anyway? – Engineer Marv

Really fun: The Buzz Lightyear ride was really cool. It’s a Small World almost made me cry. The Lion King show was really exciting and the singers were world class. On the Peter Panride we soared over London, the Lost Island, and Captain Hook’s ship. I want to go back next week! – 2nd childhood Marv

They say “Value Experiences Over Stuff“, but I could have bought a BMW for the cost of this trip. – Material Marv

I’m going to scream! There are too many people here. How can they all stand to be so close together – Agoraphobia Marv

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to spend a with a granddaughter. Would not have missed it for all the tea in China. – Grandfather Marv

Photos at: Disneyworld Photos

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The State Conference – the Agony & the Ecstasy

May 28, 2016

 

The State Conference – the Agony & the Ecstasy with apologies to Michelangelo and Charlton Heston.

I kept thinking “It’s finally over!” as I drove home last Thursday (May 19). The next day I did absolutely nothing. Our Collin County Master Gardener Association (CCMGA) had just hosted the 2016 Texas State Master Gardener Conference in a barn at Myers Park and Event Center and I was exhausted.

Looking back over the past couple of years I realize I’ve been working with some really talented, hard working, and results driven Master Gardeners. They planned the conference down to the most minute detail and executed it perfectly. And of course things changed every day; this group proved to be exceptionally agile. in summary, I was continually amazed at capabilities of these people and their willingness to jump into the abyss where needed.

We started planning over 2 years ago, maybe 3 – time flies when you are having fun. We secured the location, booked speakers (Amy Stewart & Dr. David Zlesak among others), advertised for attendees, booked sponsors, secured meal caterers, — the list goes on and on and on. We held the State Conference in a barn and therefore had to bring in everything we needed from from chairs & tables, to A/V equipment, to restrooms.

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Also, a group of us spend countless hours tending the research and demonstration gardens at Myers Park.

Then came State Conference Week. On Monday we all pitched in and prepared the barns for the Conference (some worked Sunday also). On Tuesday 520 attendees descended on Myers Park and the Conference commenced. On Wednesday the conference continued and reached a crescendo that night I suppose – the Banquet in the barn. They all say the food was outstanding and the program was long. I was so tired I just enjoyed sitting! Thursday was Tour day. Rain had threatened the Conference all week but so far just flirted with us. Our luck ran out on Thursday. I coordinated the Chambersville Tree Farm and Rose Garden Tour. In our case the rain stopped during the tour and started again after the tour was over. So, I guess God was on our side.

The State Conference week was exhausting. However, everything came together as if by magic and the team executed the Conference flawlessly.

In the end the satisfaction of a job well done was worth the effort!

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New Zealand South Island Part II

April 13, 2016
NewZealand-18

Remarkable Mountains from Queenstown Bob’s Peak

I wrote an initial New Zealand blog shortly after arriving home from that beautiful land: New Zealand Part I.

Since then I’ve had time to process my photos: Click here.

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Gwen and our guide

On this trip we toured the South Island only. Our first stop was Nelson at the very top of the Island.

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The forest from The Lord Of The Rings outside Queenstown

Our next major stop was Christchurch which was a 6 hour drive through brilliant scenery.

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Franz Joseph: Leaving the rainforest headed for the Glacier

Our next stop was Franz Joseph Glacier which is on the other side of the Island. Our journey there included a ride on Kiwi Rail through the Southern Alps to Greymouth. Then we drove South along the coast to reach our destination – another day long journey.

  • Hotel: Glenfern Villas
  • Best restaurants: The Landing which was quite tasty for a town of 300 people
  • Favorite Activity: Why the hike up to the glacier through a rain forest of course
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Milford Sound

Our final destination was Queenstown. This was our longest drive, probably around 10 hours with me stopping constantly to snap photos.

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Lake Wakatipu

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Divine Intervention on the Hardcourt

March 29, 2016

Divine Intervention on the Hardcourt

SweetSixteenBound

TL;DR

My son and I traveled to Oklahoma City for March Madness opening weekend. We watched 6 amazing games in Chesapeake Arena which included a last second game winning shot from mid-court and the largest last second comeback of all time in College Basketball.

Background

For last Christmas gave all the children and grandchildren Trips. Our son’s was two tickets to the First and Second rounds of the NCAA Basketball Tournament aka March Madness

Friday

We drove up to Oklahoma City from McKinney early Friday morning, ate lunch in the Bricktown Brewery, and walked over to Chesapeake Arena for the first of two sessions.

The first game was Oregon State vs. VCU. Gary Payton Jr. played for Oregon State. He may have been the best player on the court but VCU was the best team. VCU advances. The next game, Oklahoma vs. Cal State Bakersfield, featured Buddy Hield and he did not let the crowd down. He was easily, in my humble opinion, the best player on the court this weekend. Although the game was surprisingly close most of the game Oklahoma pulled away the last few minutes of the game and won setting up a VCU vs. Oklahoma match on Sunday. This was clearly a home match for Oklahoma which was expected since they were the highest seed in this venue.

After the first session ended everyone had to leave the arena. Another set of tickets were required for the second Friday session. We like everyone else waited for the arena to open for the second session, and we waited, and we waited, and we waited… Finally, 20 minutes before the Texas A&M Aggie vs. Green Bay Phoenix tip-off the gates open. Trying to enter before the game commenced was pretty much chaos! To top it off the ticket person in my line was still in training slowing the entry line down even more. After finally making our way through the entry process we rushed to our seats and sat down just as the teams were tipping off to start the match. Most people, even those who had gained entry did not realize the game was starting. As a result maybe 500 people were sitting in the arena at tip-off. The game was close at first but not too far into the match the Aggies pulled away and won handily.

The Texas Longhorns and Northern Iowa (UNI) were the last game of the day. It was close all the way with the teams trading the lead. The Horns scored to take the lead with 2.5 seconds left in the game. But, a kid from UNI took the inbounds pass and threw up a prayer from mid-court. His prayers and UNI’s were answered! The round ball dropped through the basket without touching the rim as the buzzer rang ending the game. The Panthers were in heaven and the Horns were despondent but that’s the way the ball bounces sometimes.

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Saturday

We awoke Saturday to a cold and blusterly day. After reviewing the top things to do in Oklahoma City we decided to watch basketball all day. After searching the Internet for Sports Bars for some time we chose one close by, the The Garage Burgers and Beer. Turned out to be a wise choice – lots of TVs, great food, and great local brews. We tried a couple of other joints later in the weekend but none were as good as this one. Wish there were one in Fairview or McKinney.

Basically all we did on Saturday was watch basketball games. Great way to spend the day

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Sunday

Sunday morning breakfast was at the local IHOP. Then we drove downtown and wandered around the streets of Bricktown. Its a nice area full of restaurants, close to the arena and the ballpark.

We ended up at the Bricktown Brewery again where we watched the early basketball games and visited with quite a few interesting people. Among them were the parents of one of the Aggie basketball players, and a couple of VCU alumni, one of which was the radio pre and post game radio announcer.

Around 3:30 we headed off to the arena. The first game was Oklahoma vs. VCU. Oklahoma City is definitely a home crowd for the Sooners. The noise in the arena was deafening! It was a good game and at the buzzer the Boomer Sooners prevailed.

The Agony and the Ecstasy

Finally and the last game of the weekend, The Aggies vs. UNI Panthers ! The game we have been waiting for. The winner advances to the Sweet Sixteen and the loser goes home. The games started poorly for Aggie fans. There was a lid on the good guys basket. At half time the the scoreboard read UNI 32 A&M 22. The Ags did not fare much better in the 2nd half. Our shooting percentage improved but so did UNI’s. The Aggies are down 10 with 31 seconds remaining in regulation time. Then they stage the greatest comeback in College basketball’s history (Or the worse collapse). We tie the game 71-71 and go to overtime. Click here to see the video.

The first overtime ends in a draw.

UNI does not have as many troops as A&M and by the start of the 2nd overtime its apparent they are out of steam and the Aggies go on to win in two overtimes. On to the Sweet Sixteen.

WHen asked later about the unbelieveable comeback the A&M Coach, Billy Kennedy stated the only explanation was Divine Intervention.

The Ride Home

The game was not over until 10:30ish. I am not real sure. After a game like that everything is a blur for awhile. We drove home to Dallas. It was Sunday night after all and we had to both work Monday. The good news is we were so pumped up after the game we did not get sleepy at all.

1:30AM – home in bed and the story ends.

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The One

March 3, 2016

Every once in a while I hear a tune that literally blows my socks off! Does not happen often but heard Off the Ground by The Record Company last week and I can’t seem to get it out of my head.

The group plays a type of blues closest to Texas Blues or Jump Blues which are up-tempo styles. They called it Jump Blues because it makes you want to jump up and dance!

I’ve put this track on a special playlist I created titled The One because at any one time it only contains one track. I’ve set the playlist up to repeat and thus I can listen to the track over and over again until I’m sick and tired of the track.

I’m still listening to Off the Ground but imagine I’ll tire of it soon and put The One on the virtual shelf for awhile until I come across a new tune I can’t get out of my head.

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New Zealand Rumminations

February 18, 2016

New Zealand! Always wanted to go there. Shortly after moving to Australia in 1978 I heard about the legendary Milford Track and told myself: Self, someday you are going to walk the Milford Track. Well, this year Someday came at least partially. We just returned from New Zealand and visiting Milford Sound. I usually wait until I’ve processed and published all my photos to post our trips but this time I wanted to post a few miscellaneous thoughts on the trip.

We trekked the South Island of New Zealand for a little over two weeks with friends. I’d visited the North Island in 1980 (A story for another day) so decided to forego it this time around.

The Journey and the Outdoors are the attractions on the South Island.

  • The scenery is magnificent; Thus the Journey!
  • Outdoor activities predominate things to do in Kiwi Land; Thus the Outdoors!

Our Itinerary:

  • Nelson is the sea.
  • Christcurch is recovering.
  • Franz Joseph is simply amazing – a glacier in a rainforest.
  • Queenstown is Mecca for young people or seems to be and is the capital of X-sports New Zealand style.
  • Milford Sound scenery is other Worldly.

Everywhere we traveled we met young people working their way around the World. From Brazil, Norway, Canada, USA, etc. Really enjoyed getting to know them.

Oh yes, if you love seafood you’ll love New Zealand. From whitebait to blue mussels to crayfish (lobster) to cod there is quite a variety. If you tire of seafood there is always lamb or red deer venison.

Another highlight of the trip: we used a travel agent and did not kill ourselves planning. We told here generally what we wanted to do and she handled all the details. Thus the trip went off glitch free.

I enjoyed our trip so much I’m considering relocating to the South Island of New Zealand if either Trump, Sanders, or Cruz win the election.

Last but not least – No U.S. Presidential debates or news to speak off.

Note: will publish photos later

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Developing a Mobile App part II

January 12, 2016

Back in November 2014 I wrote about my attempts to create a Mobile App in Mobile App Part I.

Since then a lot of water has passed under the bridge – basically all of 2015. In short I stopped the mobile app development. I could just say “It was too wet to plow” and let it go at that. However I did develop the State Conference Web Page instead. We developed the State Conference Web Page as a responsive web page. That is, it would morph depending on the device footprint used to view the web page. In theory with responsive design Mobile Apps are not needed. And the jury is still out on that theory.

Of course, my 2015 contained many other events and experiences. But, they are a tale for another day.

Now that the web page is completed I’ve decided to give the Mobile App another try.

In my year’s hiatus Apple introduced Swift to eventually replace Objective-C. Since my two main problems last time besides TIME were Objective-C and the Storyboard I decided to eliminate one of my problems and try Swift. Wow, Swift is a modern language much more understandable, at least to me. I’ve been much more productive since I switched. I’ve developed a working, on my iPhone, Calculator App based on the Stanford University Swift Online Course.

My plan is:

  • Complete the Stanford University Swift Online Course
  • Develop the State Conference Mobile App in parallel

with a goal of finishing by March 31. (good luck).

My observations from the first blog have not changed significantly. Changes are:

  • Use Swift and forget Objective-C. I have not found anything I can’t do with Swift yet and it much more intuitive, at least for me.
  • The Storyboard learning curve is steep but easy to use after you’ve reached a certain point on the learning curve.

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Rocky Mountain High

September 9, 2015
Pike's Peak

Pike’s Peak

We escaped the Texas this August by traveling to Colorado. Our first stop was Amarillo for the night where we visited with old friends. The next day we drove to Colorado Springs via Dalhart and Clayton New Mexico. I always enjoy this drive in a twisted sort of way – the heart of the Dust Bowl.

Colorado Springs

That evening we dined at the Caspian Cafe Mediterranean. I’d come back to Colorado Springs just to eat here again.

This was our first trip to Colorado Springs and it won’t be our last. We really enjoyed both Pike’s Peak and the Garden of the Gods. The restaurants were a more than pleasant surprise. Every meal was delicious and unique. The temperatures were much cooler than August in Texas and the humidity was much lower than August in Texas. A welcome break to the long, hot Texas Summer.

Pike’s Peak

The next morning at 8AM sharp we boarded the Cog Railway at the foot of Pike’s Peak for the trip to the summit. The railway is definitely the way to go. Sweeping vistas and plenty of wildlife keep you from becoming bored during the trip to the summit. If you go take a jacket. Its pretty darn chilly up there. You have about 45 minutes to explore the summit before boarding the railway for the trip back down.

The cog railway is in the village of Manitou Springs. The hippies never left this village when the 60s disappeared. Its full of nifty little shops and off-beat restaurants. Next trip I’d like to spend some time exploring the village

Garden of the Gods

The Garden of the Gods is a municipal park with plenty of paved walking paths winding through unusual rock formations. Its good exercise and the scenery is out of this World.

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods

Great Restaurants

  • Paravicini’s – Reminded me of a Chicago Italian restaurant in my old neighborhood in the 60’s. Authentic
  • The Caspian Cafe Mediterranean – Middle Eastern – best lamb dish I’ve ever had
  • Over Easy – Must stop breakfast place – we detour and stay overnight in Colorado Springs just to eat there

Overall, Great restaurants!

Good and mediocre hotels

  • The good – Hampton Inn on far North Side of City – Excellent, friendly, helpful staff and good clean rooms
  • The bad – Hilton Garden Inn on far North Side of the City – Flippant, not helpful, sarcastic staff, dirty room, A/C not working in exercise room. We we told the front desk employee he replied back “Your supposed to sweat when you exercise” and went back to talking to a friend on the phone.

They were only one exit apart but there was a world of difference. It pays to read the reviews in the travel sites. The reviews reflected our experiences.

Steamboat Springs

The journey to Steamboat Springs was interesting to say the least.  We experienced 3 major delays:

  • Highway 9 under construction and not like anything I’ve seen before. They have torn the whole road up. Giant earth movers go back and forth on the now dirt road with regular traffic. There were also several one way sections with traffic alternating
  • Pro cycle challenge: bike race shut US 40 down due to pro bicycle race. Today’s route was from Steamboat Springs to somewhere else. We were stopped for 30 minutes. However, it was worth the wait. First time I’ve witnessed a peloton live.
  • Truck hauling giant earth mover 10 mph on US 40
Pro Cycle Challenge

Pro Cycle Challenge

We stayed at our condo in Steamboat Springs. We’ve been here before and had an idea where we wanted to eat and what we wanted to do. Unfortunately on our first full day I fell while hiking down the mountain. The fall left me with pretty deep scrapes on my elbow and knee, strained knee ligaments, sprained ankle, and broken big toe (diagnosis by nurse wife and myself). Also our youngest daughter called because she had a Super-Virus and a 104 degree temperature. Therefore, we decided to cancel the remainder of our trip and head home. I couldn’t do much anyway except sit and we were anxious to help out our sick daughter and her family.

Gondola Ride

Steamboat has the longest, I believe, gondola in the World. We decided to ride the gondola to the top of the ski area and then hike down. Actually we decided to hike down after the ride up the mountain. The ride up is very long if your holding your breath as we were. We were glad we rode the gondola up the mountain and very glad when it was over.

We ate lunch on the summit. Surprisingly the lunch was very good.

Hike down the mountain

Down the Mountain

Down the Mountain

We hiked around the summit and then started down. Most of the hike down is fairly easy. However, it is a long hike so be sure and take enough water. We drank two bottles each. The hike down took us three hours.

About 2/3rds of the way down I slipped on some loose small stones, bent my leg, ankle, and big toe back under my body. The pain was 10 on a level of 1 to 10. After a few minutes I had recovered enough to resume the hike down the mountain. Then almost at the bottom I fell again. This time I only tore up my elbow.

At the bottom of the mountain we found a restroom and washed most of the blood off my knee, leg, and elbow and then drank a couple of well deserved beers at the local pub.

The end result:

  • Gash on my knee that became infected after a few days. Still treating it two weeks later
  • Strained knee ligaments
  • Sprained ankle
  • Probably broken big toe
  • Gash on my elbow

Good Restaurants

  • Creekside Cafe – We ate breakfast here. Last trip we had lunch. Both were delicious.
  • Mahogany Ridge Brewery – We dined here in the evening. Go for the food, not the beer. The beer was average.

The drive home

As I said earlier, we cut the trip and drove home to help care for my youngest daughter and her family as well as for me to rest while healing my injuries.

The first day we drove to Colorado Springs and spent the night at a Hampton Inn. It was a terrific place. I’d highly recommend it if your ever in Colorado Springs.

The next day we, I should say Gwen, drove 11 hours straight from Colorado Springs to our daughter’s home in Southlake Texas.

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Victoria, Vancouver Island, & Butchart Gardens

July 29, 2015

ButchartGardenRose

For more photos visit my Flicker Album: Vancouver Island Album

Victoria is a wonderful July destination especially if you reside in Texas. We’ve visited Victoria before but never rented a car. This time we did rent a car and ventured out into the Island.

Upon arriving we checked in at Abigal’s Hotel.  Its a fantastic bed and breakfast just a short walk to the Government Street restaurants and shops as well as the harbor.

Victoria

Our first tour was along the coast in Victoria proper through Beacon Hill Park and the Oak Bay area along the coast. Scenic drive along the coast and some high rent neighborhoods. That evening we attended Taste, a wine and food festival. I guess there were 20 vineyards offering the furit of the vine and maybe 10 restaurants. Outstanding! Good thing we walked to the festival.

Sooke

The next day we drove to the seaside village of Sooke for some hiking and to dine at the West Coast Grill. By the time we arrived back in Victoria the International Busker’s Festival had commenced.  In case your as confused as I was a Busker is a street performer.  The Festival last 10 days on numerous stages on the downtown streets and around the harbor. Its all free and quite entertaining.

That evening we ate at our favorite establishment in Victoria Il Terrazzo On Saturday we drove into the Island to Chemainus for a bluegrass festival. We had lunch at Odika Cafe, very good, strolled the town to view the numerous wall murals, and listened to a lot of bluegrass music.

Chemainus2

That night we ate at Aria in Victoria and then drove out to Butchart Gardens. The gardens are world famous and deserve their reputation. Words can’t describe their beauty so I’ve included a few photos. In the Summer on Saturday nights they also have a concert and then a fireworks show. This is Canada and for the geographically challenged its way North of Texas. Therefore the Sun sets late – after 10PM. So you have to stay up pretty darn late to view the fireworks. They were more than worth the late night.

ButchardGardens2

The next morning we rode the Victoria Clipper ferry back to Seattle.

Victoria Clipper

Footnote: See Victoria/Seattle 2011 for my post on our last visit

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