July 2007 Archives
Hilarious....
Thanks to Kristen over at This Classical Life I was able to discover that I share the ENTP personality type with 3 percent of the population. Some how I knew that I did not share it with my lovely wife, who is the EXACT opposite, except in our extrovertedness (ESFJ). I tell her that we're so opposite we fit together like puzzle pieces. My type includes standouts such as Celine Dion, Julia Child, Teddy Roosevelt, Weird Al, and Rodney Dangerfield. Brooklynne's type is represented by slightly more normal people like Danny Glover, Mary Tyler Moore, and Terry Bradshaw.
I'm also a little surprised that my intrapersonal intelligence is below 50 percent. I guess I need to reconnect with my inner self!
**This post has been updated to correct the spelling of Hilde's name. By the way, Brooklynne totally could have told me I had it wrong, but she didn't read the blog until after I got home. Sorry!**
A little over a year ago, when TWJ had its first anniversary, I announced a prize for the person who left the 1,000th comment on this blog. Well, we're getting pretty close. the total is now in the high 800's. Since we have a few new regular readers, I thought I'd throw that tid bit out again to spice up the experience of commenting here. You can't win if you don't play!
Besides the comments, I've recently started paying more attention to our site stats since, at the end of June, I added a cluster map that tracks the locations of our blog visitors. Although I could get pretty detailed logs from my site already, the map makes it easier and more convenient to track day-to-day activity. On day thirty-two since I added the map to the site, I am proud to point out that we have cracked the 1,000 visit mark. That means TWJ probably averages a little over 30 visits a day or about 12,000 visits per year--an utterly unremarkable number by internet standards, but good enough for a personal blog that's not selling stuff. (By the way, "visits" are completely different than "hits," which is a term internet people use to inflate their stats when talking to the unintiated. Each visit to my site records at least 6-15 hits, and probably many, many more. If you're interested in the mystical aspects of internet stats, you can read a really good summary by a couple of my professors here.)
The most interesting info revealed by the map is the foreign country dots. I would guess that most of these are random people who stumble across my site while looking for other stuff. However, I can't ignor the large dot positioned over Norway, which I'm guessing means that our old friend Hilde (sorry about the bad spelling!) must be lurking on the site every now and then. If so we'd love a comment. Any other lurkers out there? Now's the time to reveal yourselves!
A few other notes about the map....
Forgive me if you are an innocent TWJ reader from India or Isreal, but the dots in those countries mysteriously appeared just before I received a spate of spam comments. Any connection? I'm suspicious.
I know the dot in South Korea is our friends Jamie and Steph, who are returning from a year teaching in that country, but is that a dot in NORTH Korea?!!
Today I've been thinking about the sarcasticly critical emerging church motivational posters that have been circulating the web and generating much debate (view them all here or read about them in their original context here, here, here, and here). I was introduced to them through this post by Tall Skinny Kiwi. You can also read about some reactions to the posters here and here. The fact that the posters were made signals a significant split between those who are sympathetic to emerging church ideas and those who are not, and that made me curious: why is there such a great divide? And why is there such a wide range of reactions just among the sympathetic?
I had mixed feelings myself, while viewing the posters and reading all of the comments, so I decided to look at each of the posters and jot down a few notes about what I thought. My notes turned into a spreadsheet (too much cubicle dwelling!), which you can download here, and then became this blog post. I don't claim to speak for the emerging church on this one, but I'm sympathetic to its most basic ideas, and I found that each of the posters impacted me in one of five distinct ways....
It's once again time for reviews, and this time, you will get a food and movie combo.
FOOD:
Alivia's
Atmosphere: A+
Food: A
Service: B
Price: A ($6-12+)
In keeping with our plan to make Sunday brunch our weekly outing, Brooklynne and I have recently been to Alivia's in downtown Durham, across from Brightleaf. Since we get out of church at 10, and the place opens at 10, we were the first people through the door on Sunday morning. I thought that boded well for the speed of service, but the food took a really long time to come. Once it got there it was good. Brooke's stuffed french toast was excellent, Halleigh enjoyed a bowl of grits despite a unique hint of garlic, and my hamburger was average. I really liked the way they've styled the place, although it was quite cold inside and we wished we had opted for the patio seating. The coffee was very strong, but not burnt like starbuck's. Overall--a good experience.
The Old Grainery
Atmosphere: A+
Food: A-
Service: A-
Price: A- ($8-12+)
The week before, we went out to The Old Grainery at Ferrington Village. Obviously, the atmosphere had a different angle from Alivia's, but it was still a very nice place. The food was slow here too, and it was not as good as Alivia's in general, but it gets bonus points for the country biscuits handed out like tortilla chips at a Mexican place. My eggs benedict was decidedly average, and Brooke's salmon was much too strong for our taste.
Torrero's
Atmosphere: A+
Food: A
Service: A
Price: A ($5-14)
Torrero's at Brightleaf repeatedly proves itself to be the best Mexican Restaurant in the Triangle. Brooklynne's best friend from college, Hailey, is in town this week and Tuesday we took her to our favorite south of the border eatery this side of Pepe's. Everything was great. I do feel the obligation to report that my enchiladas were not the best I've had there, but I can give them a mulligan every once in a while. Brooklynne got the burrito, which was easily enough to feed all three of us.
MOVIES:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: B+
The movie was solidly entertaining, just like all the others, but I did not think this one stood out as being particularly good among the group. I would rank the first 5 movies in this order: 1, 3, 4, 5, 2. Brooklynne has told me that I'm not allowed to judge the storyline until I've read the books, but I'm holding out for the last movie, because who wants to ruin a good movie by reading the book first?
Other grades:
Bridge to Terabithia: B
The Librarian: D+
Open Season: B
The Prestige: A (watching and reviewing for the second time)
40 Year Old Virgin: D
The Good Shepherd: B
They instituted a block on blogger at work, so now I'm unable to view almost all of the websites in my blogroll. My job really goes in fits and spurts so it's a bummer to not be able to read up on you guys between taskers.
In other news, Matt Andrews called me yesterday. Apparently Alana still checks the TWJ periodically and she emailed me to get my info. I almost deleted her message, a standard practice for messages from unknown sources, but something made me hesitate and open hers instead. She is pregnant with a little boy and due in 3 weeks. Matt is still doing sales in the San Diego area and racing on the side. I've got a date to do another "catching up with..." segment with Matt on Sunday night. Stay tuned....
Anyone know how to get in touch with Chad Cook?
We took Kona to the new Duke Park dog park earlier this week. She loved it, but we can tell she's out of shape. I guess we'll have to pay the $12 to get her legal so we can go regularly.
Our garden has once again fallen by the wayside. Our tomatoes were starting to look really good and now they have a disease of some kind that makes them rot from the bottom before they turn ripe. I need to spend some time caring for the garden (and yard) to get it back on track.
So at 12:00am on Friday night/ Saturday morning Miles, Halleigh and I were at Barnes and Noble waiting to purchase HP7. Here are two pictures from the event.
I am sad to see the end of the Harry Potter books. I was not a Harry Potter fan in the beginning. No, I had to wait until I was at the loneliest time in my life to discover Harry Potter and the world that Rowling created. I lived in Montana, hadn't met Miles yet, it was a cold, long winter, I hated where I lived and who I lived with, and generally didn't have very many friends yet. So, I was at a local bookstore one day and sat down with Sorcerer’s Stone, after the first chapter, I was hooked. I read all four books right in a row, at the bookstore... that is how poor I was. I couldn't afford to buy them. ha ha ha. To my defense, I later went back and bought them from that bookstore.
Anyway... to make a long story short, Harry Potter was a great and needed diversion to my current living condition. I then pre-ordered HP5 and got it just in time to take it on our honeymoon. When HP6 came out Miles and I were living in Virginia and we went to the midnight release party. And now HP7... Halleigh was there.
Harry Potter is like an old friend, and I am sad to say good-bye. I had originally thought that I would only read two chapters a day and so it would drag out for a couple weeks... when we got home on Friday, I read two chapters and then went to bed. Saturday, the plan went right out the window. I just can't help it. I know I am going to hate myself when I finish the book, because that is all there is. No more Harry Potter to look forward too... IT"S THE END OF AN ERA PEOPLE!
To all of you out there reading along with me, cherish every moment, don't read too fast, and we'll talk when we are both done... I am sure that we will all need it!
ENJOY!
In a revival of the "catching up with..." series, I scored an interview with one of NYC's fastest rising calendar models--Cory Cavin. Here's our conversation:
Kilotravis: Its working now....
thecavin: sweet!
Kilotravis: ok, so catch us up
Kilotravis: tell us what you're doing.
thecavin: ok
thecavin: Well right now I'm recouperating from finishing a first run of a sketch comedy show me and 2 friends wrote and performed in...
I'm a Beckham fan. I don't know that I will become a great LA Galaxy fan because of him, but I do want to be an MLS fan, and I think he's good for soccer in the US. I just wish ESPN would carry more games.
One of the reason's I like Becks is that I think he tries to "get" American culture. Not that I think American culture is better, or that other people should adopt American ways of thinking, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do--and that goes both ways. as a corollary to that, we should be appreciative and gracious when someone makes a good effort. That's why I loved Beckham's comment at his introduction the other day:
"For me, the most important thing is my family. The second thing is foot... soccer. I'll get used to that at some point. I'm sorry."
Given Beckham's cultural savvy, I wonder if he's had his eye on the American market for longer than we know (I mean for mechandizing, not necessarily as a possible place to play). I suspect that had something to do with his choice of the number 23 for Real Madrid when his former number 7 was unavailable.
You can watch his intro and more commentary here.
On the other hand, Becks' other half may not be so quick to plug into her new locale. Did anyone catch Victoria Beckham's reality show on Monday? It is getting terrible reviews. Was it interesting at all?
I was listening to an NPR piece the other day on GM's struggles to stay afloat. The company is selling more cars today than it has ever before, but it can't turn a profit in part because of the enormous health care committments it has with its retirees and unionized labor. It turns out that GM pays more than a dollar in health coverage for every cent Toyoda spends. The same is true, I think, for Honda and other foreign competitors. For a moment, I wondered how GM could survive without robbing its workers of the benefits that have made so many American companies great places to work over the last 50 years. But then I wondered if universal health care could be the salvation of the American auto industry? Does anyone know whether the health plans proposed by the 2008 candidates would releave American companies of health committments and help them become more profitable?
I am truely disturbed by the news coming out about Michael Vick's dogfighting ventures. If the evidence is convincing, and a jury finds him guilty of the charges in the indictment, I will be personally offended if he spends one day less than the maximum of 6 years in prison or ever plays in another NFL game. If the justice system is interested in Vick's best interest, they would include a large amount of psychological therapy in his sentence as well. You can read the article at SI.com and the full indictment is available over at CNN, but I'm not putting a link here because I think readers need to consider the truely disgusting nature of the details before deciding to read.
Although it really shouldn't matter to me, I was quietly happy when I read CNN's article noting that the Nintendo Wii has outsold both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 in every month since it was released. I here are the reasons why I think the news resonated with me:
1. I have a history with Nintendo, and I guess I'm sentimental.
2. My generation is the first to grow up with home video games, and as we get older, the other top brands have chased the aging market by featuring games with less innocence, more not-for-kids content, and a pursuit of realism, the value of which I question (I'm purposefully avoiding terms like "mature" and "adult content" because commercial culture has misappropriated these words). In contrast, Nintendo has continued to headline it's cartoonish characters, quality game experience, and a more healthy focus on fun, which de-emphasizes the lust for graphical (and plot) realism.
3. To top it off, Nintendo is rethinking how we play video games and reconnecting the physical and mental aspects of play. Even if it's just a small step, the consequences might be greater than we think. Example: after playing golf on the Wii, Brooklynne is excited about joining me in a round on a real course, an activity she had previously agreed to consider with hesitation.
So, here's to Nintendo. You won't find a Playstation in my house.
Up until recently, Brooklynne and were happy to do most of our online activities in our office/guest bedroom. I like working at the desk and Brooklynne was set up for her job with wireless that let her connect from the office or the bedroom. But now that Halleigh is mobile, our internet habits have evolved. The problem is that the office is not the most kid friendly area. It has low shelves loaded with tempting treasures, Brooklynne's sewing and craft supplies are not well secured, and we sometimes do laundry in there, meaning that the iron and ironing board are often left out. Our livingroom, ont the other hand, is kid heaven. We keep a bunch of Halleigh's toys there in a tote, most of the dangerous items are secure and out of reach, and all of the outlets have been plugged. Plus, the living room has the best rug in the house (hardwood throughout). So, the livingroom has become the natural place for Brooklynne to spend much of her time while at home, and it's been a major frustration that she usually gets a weak wireless signal, since the office and livingroom are at opposite ends of the house.
Until today.
Over the weekend, I spent about $40 on ethernet cable, outlet boxes, and jacks, and I resurrected our old verizon router so I could install a second hotspot at the other end of the house. I put one box in the wall of the office and one in the wall of the livingroom. Then I ran a cable between them so that I can connect the cable modem and router to the jack in the office and get a connection in the livingroom. Now we get a great signal everywhere, although you still have to switch connections if you move from one end to the other. I can't figure out a way to make the two wireless routers broadcast the same signal. Any ideas? Still, this is a major upgrade, and this entry is the first of many that will come via the new Travis Net!
We took Halleigh for some 9 month photos on Monday. Here are a couple samples.
From time to time I stumble across something that I find really interesting or useful on the web. More than a year ago, I commented on how the web was teaching us new ways of visualizing/studying history in two blog entries about the baby name wizard and another collection of online tools.
Well, the other day I stumbled on another set of tools including a tool that animates the change in life expectancy vs. per capita income for individual nations over time. When you follow the link, the tool will automatically play through to 2004, but you can use the timeline bar at the bottom of the page to move forward and backward through time. You can also speed it up or slow it down, change the scales of the points, and highlight specific countries using the check boxes on the right. The points are color coded by region. Two interesting things shown by this chart are that the US always falls on the right-hand side of the curve (showing we get less added life expectancy per dollar--Michael Moore would be proud), and that all the dark blue dots (Africa) are at the bottom of the curve while every other region seems to display a range matching the overall curve, more or less. It's also sad to see some of the dots going backwards in specific years (check out Rwanda). If you want an explanation of the chart, here's a link to a video. The Chart is made by a group called Gapminder and they have other interesting tools here and here. What do you think?
Brooklynne humored me yesterday and drove me out to north Raleigh to check out this Allstate Scooter. The thing is more like a miniature motorcyle than a scooter. It has a kick start and foot shifter, and even though it feature a knee guard and foot board, the frame is not the typical step-through design like what you would normally expect on a scooter. The brand is Allstate (Sears), who sold re-branded vespas during the same period, but this model is a Austrian Puch model. The ad said it was missing the carburetor, but in reality it was missing or in need of many, many parts. In another life, if I were rich and leisurely, I would buy a bike like this for $300, but right now the search continues for something that will run after a more reasonable amount of work.
In other scooter news....
The mechanic at the gas station around the corner from my house has started selling "Redstreak" scooters in the parking lot. I stopped in and talked to him for a while. I told him I had never heard of redstreak to which he replied (unsolicited and I'm not kidding), "they're
made in occupied China, which is a developed country just like us, so they're not made by slaves or anything." Where is "occupied" China, and was I supposed to be suspicious of slave llabor?
Also, I check into what kind of Honda scooter I could get by trading in my Civic. Turns out I would still need $400 to buy a stripped-down Metropolitan II!
One day I will learn linux and establish a beowulf cluster in the crawl space of my house. Just before I learn to read binary.
Four Years ago today, I roped a winner at the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. Wow, who could have guessed that? Although, I once predicted (while in college) that I would be married by June of 2003 (only one month off!). Since then we've bought a dog, lived in three states, visited 30 others, played frisbee on the artic ocean, spent exactly one day in a foreign country (Republic of Kiribati), each graduated with a new college degree, saw the Dodgers play 5 times including openning day and spring training, worked 15 different jobs (Brooklynne 3, Miles 12), gone to a Rolling Stones concert, snorkled in two oceans, kissed at the top of the Empire State Building, hitchhiked through Wyoming (long story), and had a child. Not in that order....
Here's to another four years of adventures (and many more besides)!
I have two pieces of clothing that seem to get more comments from my friends than anything else in my wardrobe. This is one of them:
This is not a Clemson visor. This is a Brentsville District High School visor, from the school where Brooklynne taught for two years while we lived in VA. The other peice of clothing that seems to provoke raised eyebrows is my Wake Forest t-shirt. The reason I have the Wake shirt is that I have a cousin, John Buck, who walked on the Wake Forest basketball team and played there for 4 seasons. Click here for a highlight from his Wake Forest basketball career. The video may take a while to load, but you should watch it to the end.
