Just Do It

Dance! Express your self through the motion of your arms. Move your hips, first quickly and then slowly, just to prove you know how. And step. Move those feet Charlie Brown. Step away from the wall and join the crowd. It won’t hurt, much.

Or better yet, dance naked in your living room!

I like to move at the club, but nothing beats the total freedom of the living room. No judgement, no worries, no bad moves. Just dance. Movement for the sake of movement.

Dancing at home is completely spontaneous. As planned as the random music. It doesn’t usually start naked, expect perhaps after a particularly rockin shower. But the moves quickly build up heat, and no one else is around, so why not shed a little? Before you know it your spirit is in complete control of your body. There’s a 97% chance you look a fool. But that’s not relevant for as we all know, if a fool dances in a forest and no one is around to tease him, then he’s not really foolish, simply dancing.

Let's say it was a dream...

We met at the start of a walk. And as we went I was in awe of the way you moved. You didn't walk forward, you spun and twirled and cartwheeled your way. And I followed.

And I picture that on the way the path became thick with trees and rocks. Yet still you managed to twirl and dance. Each tree unheaded, yet moved past like a dancer moves with their partner. Imagine how happy is the cork to bob in the river. It cares not, knowing it will never sink. Oh what pretty patterns it makes.

You told me not to worry. To just be in the now, and not worry of the futures. And I looked at you and saw all that is beautiful in the universe.

Our path became sloped. The land rose to one side and dropped on the other. And yet you danced. A boulder, a rock, a hole, a branch, all these, and you dance. Some how I watch you move through this maze, carefree. Twirling and telling me not to worry. To be in the now. To stop planning the future.

And I look at you and know you must be mine.

And our path becomes a ledge. I move against the rock and wish I'd brought better shoes. The drop on the other side is clearly deadly, and yet you twirl. I look at you and cannot believe. And you look back and cannot understand.

I step forward and the rocks give way. The ledge is in two and we are apart. I cannot proceed. You look at me, confused by my shock and horror. You hold out your hand. When I give you my hand you pull me forward, I have no choice and my foot goes...

Into soft ground covered in grass. We're standing in a beautiful field of soft grass and sun. Holding hands.

"We're standing in a field," I say.

"Well of course. Where did you think we were?"

"Oh, I was just uhm... not listening properly, Kedves. Sorry."

Then a subtle tickle in my head. A spark of an idea, half thought, half felt. "There are many ways to see it. This is what I choose to share. Focus on the what is, rather than the might-not."

Baby Love Child, Groovey Love Child

"I know you love me most, no one else take my place."

This song makes me cry. Don't know why.

Dear Mr. Gates

Dear Mr. Gates,

Please accept this posting as my official request to have a week of my life back. I would either like the time fully returned to me or payment in lieu for IT services. I am an ICT professional so I expect proper rates to apply.

I'm sorry I don't have a detailed accounting of my time, but I have been fully engaged, for more than a week, with the sole goal of installing your Microsoft Windows XP computer operating system. In that time I have booted from my legitimately purchased Windows DVD perhaps 2 dozen times. This is not easy, since your software doesn't recognize my hard drive. Once inside your software, via the DVD I have selected the option of using the Recovery Panel a number of times. But the Recovery Panel looks an awful lot like the C:/ prompt. Staring at it doesn't ever fix the problem. I've loaded the actual operating system at least 8 times now, half as a repair to an existing installation and half starting with a disk format and reload from scratch. Thanks to these reloads I've loaded service packs one and two at least four times. And I've loaded service pack three once or twice.

The problem is the software. The basic OS works. SP1 seems to install and work. SP2 installs. But once it asks me to reboot at the end, it rarely returns.

Isn't it amusing when a software upgrade wipes out the files the OS needs to boot? Haha, very good, got me there.

If upgrading the software must destroy my system, then can you please stop presenting me with minute by minute reminders to download or install updates? Or even better, could you consider producing software that actually works? Based upon the amounts you owe me, for my time, and no doubt also everyone else, please sell your next software release for $1 and include a shiny new $100 bill in each box. Failing this, please compensate me for my time. Or failing this, please at least allow me to use my computer again. If there is a ransom you wish paid, I have not received the note.

Your humble slave in economics,
Morgan

Pain and Growth

Last night I was on the floor, in an odd position with my partner, telling her," That hurts, keep doing that." There might have been a "harder" in there somewhere too.

No, don't send the children out of the room. I'm speaking, of course, of the stretching exercises from karate class. It's frightening to stretch muscles that, if pulled, can end a baseballer's career. Especially when you're as inflexible (physically) as I am.

The stretching was tough, but the kicking hurt more. I learned all kinds of new things, such as, did you know that kicking hurts more than being kicked? I would never have guessed this, but as I limped home I discovered this truth. The thirty or fourty hard kicks to the mat on the wall left far more damage to myself than the few times a training partner tried to knock the wind out of me.

Hmmm. Wait, that's misleading. The training partner wasn't trying to hurt me. But the sensei actually separated us and had her practice alone. The goal of "kick forwards and place your foot at your partner's stomach" was instead practiced as "kick forwards". A foot suddenly flew past my nose. The next went towards a knee. A few went for the previously-mentioned difficult-to-stretch area.

I'm learning how to jump backwards very effectively!

This morning I'm relishing all the painful bits. They show me where I was weak but am now growing. A long-time exercise masichist, I take pleasure from this. So it caught my eye when Google presented a page where a person asked if they could learn karate without pain. Huh? Perhaps with a Wii. Like learning to drive in your living room or exploring the ocean from a book.

The little painful bits in our lives are all opportunities for growth. Be it muscular or mental, success could be defined as being able to see the good that follows each of life's pains. It's good practice and a good life skill because rarely are the worthwhile things found along the easy path.

Three Little Words

Three little words can,
mean a world of difference between two.
Three little words can,
hold or strangle; bind or repel;
mean so much or so little.

She told me in Hungarian culture,
the three little words rarely pass lips.
The goal is to show it,
it and "not just say it".

And so I've never told Her.

Instead I unviel the table,
because, it's Wednesday. And that's enough.
Because I want to show Her,
in my every move and word,
how I feel for Her.

And because I know She feels,
the same about me.

In the Princess Bride,
the stableboy had "As You wish."
Well I wished for She,
perfect ying and yang.

So I try to show,
those three little words in my every way.
It's in what you do,
not just what you say.

(Author's note: I wrote this entirely as prose. It was only on the proof-read that I realized that a "poetic style" of punction and spacing was more deserved. I changed but a word or two. It's not intended to rhyme or keep a good beat.)

So Much

A day? What a difference a month makes! And a busy month at that.

Logistically, it's been busy. Two week trips to Belgium to teach, a week of teaching in Holland, and a few days in Denmark for a trade show again. This week I work four days then I'm off to Canada for a week.

Spiritually and emotionally, it's been busy. That dinner date went well. I'm cooking for two a lot more often. Alas I'm also worried for my Mom's health. Thus the trip so soon back to Canada.

Physically, it's been busy. I spent two-weeks sick with only a half-day off work. Over the same time-period I've gotten back into nutritional and fitness and I'm happy with the progress. And even better than that, I'm quitting smoking!

I have no doubt it's all over TV advertisements in North America, but I hadn't ever heard of Champix (tm) before meeting last week with my doctor. "Take these pills, keep smoking a week, then take these stronger ones and stop smoking." It was pressented to me as that easy, and I think it might actually be!

At least the first week is easy. "Take these pills and keep smoking." Too easy. But each day I've noticed I'm smoking less and getting less out of each attempt. I say attempt, because for most of my life the craving for a cigarette has been immediately satisfied by, a cigarette. Champix blocks that. So cigarette breaks are becoming pointless. Thankfully at the same time this medication reduces the urge to smoke, leaving me happy with the idea of soon being smoke-free.

Smoke-free, back to exercise, eating well? Gosh, if I'm not careful I may soon find myself "healthy"!

The Good Crystal....

Yesterday's dinner was worth pulling out the good crystal for. I even pulled out the dining room table, which normally rests against the wall doing its impression of a desk.

I didn't hit the "New Post" button with the intention of making this a musical post. But my PC suggested this song as I started writing. It fits.

A Good Day...

I haven't been discussing it here, but life's been stressful lately. Last week it seemed to me the whole of creation was gathering only to piss me off. Everything was going wrong and the stress levels kept rising.

Taxes were long overdue, and I was collecting data for how to report my accountant for fraud. My phone is damaged and the new one is 400% later than the 2 days I was told it would take. And work... well a couple of narrow perspectives got together and completely missed the point, but did plenty of collateral damage elsewhere.

Today however, I made a phone call and found out that 18 months of stressing, emails, phone calls, and sleepless nights are now over. My 2006 taxes have been filed! I don't even know what the submission says... part of a long story about my accountant... but it's in, and on the ultimately-final thrice-extended deadline.

*sigh*

And the phone company emailed today to say my phone just left the warehouse. So now it is only 2 days away. Saturday I can pick up my parcel at the post office. Another "Blogger" phone, of course.

There's still lots more going on... more tax things to do and work problems to solve. But all the little bits that make up the whole are coming together. Those three piles of papers go to the new accountant. These two emails get printed and brought to discuss the issues. Teaching materials for Belgium are being sent to me. I think it's actually all going to work!

So after sending emails and messages to a number of friends and family, I thought I'd put it here too; I'm having a good day!

What's Music Without Sound?

Nope, this isn't going to be deep. Just a little prayer of thanks. And since electronics were involved, what better way to pray then via the 'net?

Today wasn't a bad day. It wasn't particularly intense, but dense. Busy and constantly so. So when I got in from the office a few minutes early I felt no guilt about sitting for a moment and just enjoying the stereo. I picked a good song and decided to crank the volume.

It almost sounded good. But mostly it sounded, bad. My subwoofer wasn't working!

I would be an excellent writer if I could convey that moment of emotion when a bachelor thinks his stereo is broken. Alas, I can only tell you it was like heartbreak and pain and loss, with contempt and anger, and of course denial.

The Engineer inside awakes. " Huh? I thought we were done work. Wha? The stereo!?!"

Starting at the back end of the signal path, I checked the subwoofer. Checked its connection to the stereo. Checked the stereo. I checked the wires from the stereo that wrap 'round the room to the computer. Wiggle wiggle, check check.

There are three stereo-plugs from the receiver to the PC. I pulled the first one...

The front speakers died. I put the plug back. I pulled the second one...

The back speakers died. I put the plug back. I pulled the third one...

Nothing happened. It was the center-channel and subwoofer connection. The center-channel speaker wasn't in use and the sub wasn't booming, so no surprise so far. I put the plug back.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

And my face had a smile on it.

I'm listening to the Beatles. Like I remember it with headphones, except this is my stereo simply with all the speakers working again. Life is good. One more problem solved.

Musical Mood

Synchonicity is the grouping of coincidences. Just after finishing that last post, my computer picked a song that I like. But I didn't know what the song title was. So I was shocked to see it was "Ice Queen". Here's Within Temptation....

Thinking of Omar makes me think about System of a Down. They make Within Temptation sound really quite soft.

I chose the Lego version of that video (well done!) to make it more family friendly. ;)

Working with the military for a week was a blast. Military bases look and feel and smell the same every where. And since I spent a lot of time in my youth staying on bases it brought back lots of great old memories. Thoughts like," Oh I'm so glad I don't have to [enter painful activity here] any more."

Lynyrd Skynyrd would be the best way to summarizes the feeling.

Oh hey, this week's mail brought along a treat. TicketMaster sent me my ticket for Snoop Dogg, coming to Amsterdam in late September.

Snoop is famous for really enjoying his trips to town.

Mostly A Good Week

That was a good week. I spent 3 nights/4 days away in Belgium to train NATO soldiers (mostly Air Force) on the intricit subtlties of my employer's software. The town of Mons is lovely to look at! So nice to walk through. So boring to stay in.

But the boring evenings were made up for three-fold by (1) Terry Pratchett, (2) French cuisine, and (4) uhm, (3) Belgian beer! The days needed no making up for. I was teaching people whom I very much enjoyed being with and working with. Lunches were always fun and class participation was high. I even got to attend a change of command parade and congratulate the new sector commander.

But amongst the enjoyable times, there was also a very sobering and nasty moment thanks to the BBC. Previously I was unaware of Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen, who was visiting relatives in Afghanistan when it was invaded by the United States. On July 7th, 2002, U.S. soldiers attacked Omar's location... a "terrorist camp." He was the only person to survive (although gravely wounded) and arrested for the "murder" of the one U.S. soldier lost in the attack. Since that time, Omar has been held and tortured and has spent roughly 1/3 of his life now in Guantanamo Bay. A third? That's right, because Omar was only 15 years old when he was arrested.

Omar is the last Western citizen still in custody in Gitmo. Why?

Just incase Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper reads Blogger... let me state for the record that this makes me incredibly angry, ashamed, and quite frankly, left me feeling sick! Mr. Harper, I'm now feircely looking forward to voting against you! And I think this time around I'll do some campaigning around my expat communities, making sure Canadians are registered to vote. Until then, be warned that by writing this blog I've now informed my mother. You're in trouble mister!

The timing of this information was ironic. Just hours earlier I had stopped at an old palace in Grand Place (the town square) and read a plaque commemorating how Canadians liberated Belgium in the First World War. The last shots of the war were fired there, November 11th, 1918.

In happier news, Happy Birthday to the Ice Queen! July 17th was cellebrated the world over by people thankful to know her.

Inspite of a few rough patches in the middle, the training week went well. It ended on a good tone and included me staying on base a bit past class-time to enjoy some 1 Euro beers with the Comms guys. They were fun!

Finally home again, apparently for 4 weeks now, all I can say is that it is, of course, great to be back! 10 hours of sleep and a slow, quiet day have helped rejuvinate this old body. I'm hoping the clearing sky and improved weather will stay around while I head out tonight and rejuvinate the spirit. ;-)

Negative Energy

After a long period of nearly-manic positive energy there comes an energy low. But the resulting positive low is a time to relax. There's no guilt about "doing nothing" and the rest time feels well deserved.

And then there's negative energy. And after a long period of negative energy comes an energy low. But its a negative energy low. Never enough sleep. Always feeling restless. So much to do it plays on your mind while you should be sleeping.

Events have converged on me. No single event is significant, but it seems significant that everything that's happening feels like its happening to me. Taxes are the worst! I've been trying for a month to get my papers from the old accountant who was supposed to file my taxes. I've got only a couple weeks left to get them to a new accountant who shall file my taxes. And I'm traveling all this coming week.

I'm getting everything handled; it will all get done. But it just isn't going smoothly.

The town in Belgium (Mons) I'll be teaching in this week is all booked up. So no one hotel had rooms available each night I'll be gone. The old accountant has told his office staff to get my papers to me urgently. But only after 3 weeks of calls and emails and waiting. I've found a bunch of missing papers the landlord needed, but have now waited 1-1/2 months for the repayment she should have sent by now.

Am I writing this to complain? No way. I'm writing this now, because I can feel the end of it. A new cycle of positive energy is returning. I feel a lot more in control of "things" than just a few days ago. By next weekend I'll have papers delivered to my new accountant, I'll have finished a fun week of teaching, and the full moon will be welcoming me home with no travel scheduled for a month. Perfect!

Now if only I could figure out a way to keep the tax papers organized while still managing to vacuum and clean around them.

Tonight, R.E.M.

Live from Westerpark. Across the street from home.

What Else Is New???

I wish I had spent more of last week smiling and relaxed. Clearly not all is perfect in the world today. But it's not so bad either. There have been two exciting new additions to my family, and I could brag about the shopping at great length!

First, congrats to my new baby cousin who escaped to the world last week. June 25th, 8 pounds, 3 ounces. Ouch! Babies are (of course) ugly little parasitic creatures, but this one has great eyes. And since I never have to babysit, I look forward to watching him turn into a person over subsequent trips.

The second new addition is a little more to my taste... a shiny new HP Laptop! Far quieter than a baby, but thanks to Winders Vista (XP I'll miss ya) it is only slightly less tempermental.

I left Holland with my personal laptop and a small idea of expanding it's memory and hard drive while away. Instead, I ended up with a dead machine who's parts couldn't be replaced due to their age. So I did the best I could and bought an emergency replacement. Yesterday I saw the same laptop advertised locally for just 799 Euros. I paid 599 dollars. That's 375 Euros or less than half. Not bad for a complex purchase decision made in <5 minutes.

They're not new, but I'm also happy to report I've been reunited with my skies, after seven years apart.

The week I decided I was moving the Europe I bought myself some new skies. That was the end of 2000. I used them that winter and once the next, but only in Canada. And they've been collecting dust in my parents' basement since then.

I felt foolish at the airport holding skies, but now I'll be able to plan a few Alpine ski weekends (in addition to the compulsary scuba-diving vacations.)

Indeed, everything in life right now is about looking to the future. There's lots of good work and work-travel coming up. There's diving to do, and concerts to see, and ski trips to plan with friends. And hopefully, just maybe, there'll be a little more time for blogging too.

At the top of my list of important things to do... a lot of dusting, and watching a few few nights worth of sappy movies. The dust has been building that last few weeks, and I could do with the a little dose of sappy.

Hardly a Honeymoon

It was a long week, but I'm glad I went. As well as seeing my parents, and relatives, it gave Nancy and I a chance to push the fast-forward button and see the future. And the future wasn't pretty.

The "math" roughly works out as "knew eachother for four weeks", then "booked the trip", then "got to know eachother for four more weeks." I told a friend afterwards that I felt stupid for rushing so quickly. They told me that at least I had tried, and that was the important part.

And I agree. I don't really feel stupid for trying. I can't regret that. And Nancy has some pretty amazing qualities. I can't deny that. But it's clear to us now that our qualities don't combine.

So I'm focusing on two apects... as least we tried, and no one got seriously injured.

Playing Tourist In My Hometown

Yesterday was full of firsts. I believe it was the first time I ever bought souveniers in Niagara Falls and I'm pretty sure it was the first time I ever bothered to photograph the Falls.

Nancy and I spent the day touring the Falls, the tacky tourist attractions on Clifton Hill, and (of course) the Outlet Mall.

Best of all I recommend seeing the city from atop the Sky Wheel! A huge ferris wheel, fully glass enclosed (and air conditioned), the Sky Wheel takes you as high into the sky as the tallest casino skyscrapers. The view is incredible and the classical muzak piped into the cars makes the whole experience feel classy.... (classy is a rare commodity in the town of Ripley's, wax museums, casinos and cheap honeymoons.)

I Do Feel Older...

I've had a lot of ideas passing through my head as the next potential blog post. There's so much! I wanted to describe the nazi rally in Germany (and the 10x bigger anti-nazi rally). I wanted to describe the trip to Germany (just for shopping... picture frames and a USB WiFi adaptor). I wanted to proclaim my enthusiasm for my upcoming (three days from now) trip to Canada, with Nancy!

And then I looked at my own blog. I read the title, and I knew the next. I do feel older! I remarked today that for the last few months "sitting" and "standing" again are painful activities. If I sit, I'll stay there a while, thank you. If I stand, I may as well stay standing for a bit.

I'm back on another exercise kick... hitting the weights as often as I can. "As often as I can" is a function (partly) of when the pain from the last session dies down. This time-frame is growing. A sure sign of age.

Does this mean I have to be more diligent about what I eat, and how I spend my free time? I think it does. I think it means I have to exercise better, sleep better, eat better.

I've never before actually considered the idea of being physically less capable than I previously was. But the little painful bits that I'm beginning to call "the day" are registering in my brain. Based on this new data, I humbly suggest a new variation of an old phrase...

"You're only as old as your knees feel."

I don't feel older...

I attended a collective birthday party on Sunday. It was for Nancy's sister, niece, nephew, and myself. The freshly-turned 6-year old niece was clearly now SIX. It was a milestone for her... finally no longer five... a big event!

But I'm not feeling a change in myself with the change of date. Counting in years only, I'm 2.8% older than last week. Counting from day to day, my age actually only increased 0.007%. Realistically I do feel perhaps 0.007% older than yesterday. But making the coffee 0.007% stronger seems to compensate nicely.

While the age itself was no milestone, the day was memorable. A special thanks goes out to all of Holland. The whole country mobilized yesterday to celebrate my day with me!

Okay, they might have been cheering on the national football (soccer) team. And the partying and drinking might have been a bit heavy due to the 3-0 trouncing of world champion Italy. But it was still wonderful having everyone out and singing and enjoying.

Thank you everyone who sent happy wishes, and to the millions in Holland who helped me celebrate. What on earth will I do next year to top this?!?

Mons, Belgium

This afternoon I left the office with a coworker and we drove to Belgium. Our meeting with the customer is first thing tomorrow morning. It was an easy drive and we were passing Antwerp and Brussels in no time. After another 30 minutes we pulled off the highway, following the sat nav system in the car.

We pulled onto a main road and drove a while. Then we pulled onto a side road and drove for a while. Then we pulled onto a tiny country road and drove (carefully) for a while. Where oh where was this hotel???

I couldn't imagine this was a good sign. The hotel only has 5 rooms and couldn't be farther from somewhere than it was. Thankfully, this is what we found...

Good it's pretty. In July I expect to be here for about 3 weeks. Alas, I would trade roses and gardens for.... something (anything) to do.

Looking for lost friends...

Time with friends has been on my mind lately. Mainly because I haven't been spending enough of it. There have been big changes recently which have been taking about half my week away from my "normal" activities.

Now then, many of my normal activities revolved around trying not to be single any more. So that time isn't missed. ;-) But there are still other things I am missing, such as drinks with friends and time for blogging. (Has anyone noticed a "small" drop in my blogging lately?)

To compensate I'm trying to call and email and keep up with friends online. Email and Facebook and Skype are great tools. It's wonderful catching up with people you haven't spoken to in years!

But while searching for old friends, something has caught my notice. I have not one friend or acquaintance from the first 16 years of my life. In fact, I cannot find a single trace of any person I knew back then. Nothing. No one. As if my entire elementary school experience and early high school just didn't happen.

When I turned 16 the family moved to Burlington, Ontario. I've got friends from high school there whom I still keep up with. I see Nancy every couple years. I found Ray online through FB. Just about everyone I went to university with is out there still, some where. Some have moved far and others have stayed close to home. But if I had to, I could contact 80% of my graduating class within hours.

So it seems all the more strange that there is no sign of any person from my youth. My best friends in elementary school... missing. My buddy from home-room in Jr. High... missing. My friends from high school in Chatham (Ontario)... missing. Each and every one.

Sure the time frame in question is pre-Internet. Pre-Information-Superhighway, even. But I've made it online. Heck, my 'net presence began in 1991 and one of my websites ("last updated in 1993") just recently got taken down. I would think I'm the only person of my generation who made the leap into the modern world, except I'm by no means the oldest person on the Internet.

So where are they? Where's Carl and Jeff and Patrick? We used to play road-hockey together. And where did Marcus go? Did he take his rowing career past school? Or David and Marco and J.D.? All killed in some horrible corn accident? How do so many people avoid email, the Internet and the phone book all at once?

Does anyone out there have physical proof of the 70's and 80's? I'm beginning to suspect some kind of a hoax.

The Northlander

The second time I passed this parked train I got the camera out and open fast enough to take a picture. The giant Air Canada advertisement painted on the side catches my attention. A quick glance to Google tells me that the train used to be one that runs between Toronto and Cochrine, Ontario.

Where's Cochrine? Well, have you ever imagined seeing vast forested wilderness with nobody anywhere near? No roads or phones or settlements. Well you could jump off at that place long before the train reaches Cochrine.

And now this train is sitting just outside Amsterdam's Cental Station. I wonder what it thinks of the change? Wilderness to urban. Lifeline to waiting for repair/repaint. I hope it gets to bring me a few more smiles before it goes back to work.

Life Update

Well, I believe I haven't had a blog-gap this big since beginning blogging back in 2006. So technically I should have lots to say and write. Life has been crazy busy lately, including some national holidays here in Holland, a 3-day business trip to Denmark, and a lot of personal changes.

Most noteable is a specific addition to my life. One that leaves me nearly speachless. So rather than stumble over my words, I humbly suggest that this post says it better than I could.

They Really Are Spying On You

This is a public service announcement for all my brothers and sisters residing in the United States. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is listening to your wireless computer traffic. Worse, they've asked your neighbour to do the work for them!

I wish I was making this up! Most of us are familiar with the Neighborhood Watch program. I think far fewer are aware of the Neighborhood Network Watch. The NNW is tasked with finding "terrorist activity" over local WiFi (wireless) computer networks. And as of March 8th, the NNW is asking citizens to join the Home Network Awareness Program (HNAP). In the words of the U.S. government:

"Participants in HNAP would collect sample network traffic from their own home networks as well as samples from networks within the vicinity. The Neighborhood Network Watch will be making a set of freely available instructions on how to capture network traffic, using the open source packet sniffer TCPDUMP, and how to log onto nearby wireless networks that maybe being operated by neighbors."

Instructions can be found here and here. Your neighbours may already be recording the information going across your home's wireless network. And this recorded information is then sent directly to the Data Analysis Division (DAD - aka Big Brother).

Having packet sniffing software in your possession is illegal in some countries. Using such software to record network traffic that isn't your own (such as to listen to your neighbour) is illegal in most places. But in the U.S., the government is encouraging volunteers to wander the streets with laptops, recording 30-60 minutes of network traffic which is then emailed to DAD.

Turn your encryption on! Place your wireless router away from walls and windows, close to the center of your home. And consider adjusting the transmit power levels of your WiFi router to the lowest levels that still work for you. Not to prevent terrorists from using your Internet connection... get real. This advice is to stop your government and their HNAP volunteers from recording your email and banking passwords, personal information, and all the rest.

Good luck.

It's A Book... sort of

Done! After a lot of (rather) hard work, I'm done the training materials for next week's course in Denmark. The writing has gotten done, but barely in time. The editing took far longer than planned. The plane tickets almost didn't happen, but have now been finalized. And at the very last minute even the colour printer didn't want to cooperate! But it's done!

This 72-page handout is really only Chapters 7 & 8 for the textbook I'm writing. So it's not really "done". But it's nice to have something shiny and physical to show for months of effort. So nice!

I'm Paid to Not Know

Some days I feel like they pay me to live in ignorance. I never know in advance what's about to happen. This, in particular, applies to my travel plans. The trip to Denmark that didn't happen in February and didn't happen in March has long been scheduled for next week. Yet I still don't know if it's going to happen. I have no arrangements or plane tickets, even though I've spent weeks reminding others of their roles in the process.

It's like working on-call. But not. I'm not paid to carry a pager or accept 2am calls. Yet 6am flights (meaning waking up at 2am) with just days notice seems to be the norm.

This is part of the reason I strive for more stability in my personal life. What's troublesome is that as I work to that, life is actually becoming less stable. Far less stable. But interesting!

Is The Clock Broken?

Time is personal. It flies when you're having fun. It slows when you're bored. And according to the clock in my office, I think it is now going backwards.

It's been a busy week. Every evening has been full. Joby was in town so certain (excessive) amounts of drinking had to happen.

And the weekend is promising to be full and interesting!

But how much fun can I have if I don't get a little sleep? Hmmm, I guess then it's a good thing that time has stopped, an hour before the end of the work week. This gives me more time to recover from my week, before going out and having a weekend.

Party Pics...

Okay, these are all stolen pictures, courtesy of Kryte. Thanks!

Clearly I have a problem. I need a bigger bed!

By midnight I was still able to recognize cameras.

But seriously, should I have invited men too???

More can be found at http://www.majta.se/Amsterdam_2/ Pictures 5 through 31 were taken at the party.

Seven 'oh one

Seven o'clock, plus a minute. Oh good golly, gosh oh darn. [read as: holy fucking God damn shit!] Gee willickiers [nevermind] it's good to get rid of my friends!

I couldn't have asked for more. I'm convinced all my guests had fun! I know they did. The apartment is not quite destroyed. The last welcome guests left around 6am, and the last bodies got booted out with the first transit at seven o'clock. I marked the moment by running to the kitchen and noting the clock. 7:01. Not bad. And now... I'm tired. I have to check my Baron and then go to sleep.

Party Day

Just hours to go, and the place is in chaos. Everything has a place and purpose, but nothing is there yet nor doing it yet. The groceries just arrived. I think I'm lacking juice. I could have sworn I intended to buy 3 orange juices but seem to have only one. And I still have to push aside the weights in the "fitness room" for party-goer overflow. Hopefully, any way.

I think I've thought of everything... for the party. It's about all I've been thinking about for days now. So is it any surprise, that aside from cheese and crackers I have no food to eat? Peanut butter and jam sammies for lunch. At least until the pizza place opens. And coffee, of course. I stopped at Starbucks last week and bought a selection of beans.

But now, there's a selection of coffee grindings sitting around the grinder. That and so much more needs to be attended to. Like vacuuming. The whole cleaning process started days ago with the vacuum cleaner. And today it will end with it. Everything has been moved and dusted and such, such that now it's time to clean the floor again.

There will be pictures afterwards. For now, the recycling must go out, it's using half-a-guest worth of space. Then, a thousand other tasks to prepare before my nice Saturday night at home. ;-)

Party Update

Hosting is fun! It really is. I never used to think that, but past friends have taught me how to organize a party. I've taken their teachings, adding in a bit of process engineering, and I think I have the plans for a party that runs itself.

I see myself cleaning glasses a few times through the night... but that should be it.

Adam loves to bake, and I'm afraid of ovens, so he's volunteered to put fresh french bread in the oven every hour or two. (They sell semi-baked bread here.) And he's offered to bake a batch of his (from scratch) brownies. My apartment is going to smell incredible!

The beer is sourced and cooled. The fridge is full. There's some air space in there, but I don't think the shelves can take the weight of another row of bottles. And the three spare cases (cooling) on the balcony are sorted so that each case contains a mix of the three beer varieties. Grolsch, Heineken and Brand will all be available all night.

The liquor stock in the bar would make a Kennedy proud. (Mental note, need more mix.)

Music will play when ever diving videos aren't. And anyone will be welcome to select the next song from the list of thousands available.

Last weekend I spent a bit on chairs. Nice ones! But I'm expecting mostly standing. Especially around the dining room table which will be packed with foods and drink.

Down the hall the bathroom and water closet are spotless. It took until 10pm last night, but every inch is shiny and clean. (Totally opposite to Sunday morning no doubt.) And I'll be leaving the bucket and cleaning supplies near by. "Accidents happen. There's the bucket, clean it up."

I'm very excited by how many people are coming! I really hope everyone has as much fun partying as I'm having planning. My only last concern... does anyone know where you can buy ice in Holland???

T-Minus Eight Days and I'm Getting Excited!

I don't throw many parties. So far, I've had two. But they were both really a lot of fun! And so I'm getting really excited that my next party is only eight days away.

In preparation I've just tried grocery shopping over the web for the first time. Albert Hein, the Dutch grocery monopoly, has a thuisbezord (home delivery) service. My 8 cases of beer, 7 bottles of wine, and 8 litres of cola will be delivered tomorrow between 11am and 1pm! And all delivered for a scant 7 Euros.

Considering the alternative is to make approximately 5 heavily laden trips to the local store 1km away, seven euros is nothing!

Next week I'll go for the walk and pick up a selection of cheeses, crackers, chips and such. But for now the idea of someone bringing 160 kg of beer to my door tickles me!

But the liquids are by no means the bulk of the planning. I'm convinced that an inexperienced host could invite a hundred people and get ten. So chasing and following up with all my friends to get their RSVP information is important. And so far people are enthusiastic. Indeed, I think I've had more people added to the invite list than those who have said they can't attend.

I suppose that means my next problem is chairs. So far I own, one. I can either devise a time sharing system so that each of the 50 guests gets a chance to sit, or I can take this week and borrow a lot of chairs.

If you see me in the city this week, I'll probably be walking around cafes saying things like," Pardon me, is this chair free?"

Spring Smell

Can you smell it? That's spring! All along the walk to work the street is suddenly lined with yellow flowers. And the air is thick with the smell of yellow. With a hint of wet green too. All the riches of spring.

So this means no more snow, right?

It always surprises me

It sneaks up on me every time. Year in and year old, Daylight Savings Time always surprises me on Sunday; sometimes Sunday afternoon.

It's not just time to change the time on the clocks, but times themselves are 'a changing. Case in point, the clocks. In my living room there are clocks on two computers, a clock on the wall, and my watch was on the coffee table. Of the four, only the watch needed to be set.

Indeed, throughout the whole apartment I have to update my watch, the microwave, and my alarm clock. The others all automatically update themselves! My mobile, my (radio controlled) wall clock and all the computers were smart enough to handle the hour jump.

Odd that the alarm clock, the only timepiece that really matters, is one of the few that needs manual attention. I'm now looking forward to a not-so-distant future when every clock in my home will adjust to DST automatically. I'll wake up; it'll be unusually dark. I'll assume it's due to clouds, and I won't figure out why I'm a bit tired, and daylight savings time will come and go without having to bother my conscious brain for a moment.

Soup & Tea

I've been sick from work a second day. Stiff and sore this morning and still running frequently to the... reading room.

So I was happy that I got a chance to speak to a medical professional. The advice? Tea and chicken soup. And lots of rest.

Thus far I've napped, the soup is cooked, and the tea is near whistling. Indeed I more than napped. I slept through the rest of the day. So it's nearly midnight that I'm about to sit down with soup and tea. But the smell alone heals. I can't wait to start slurping!

Thanks for the advice. :-)

You get what you pay for

Egypt was a dirt cheap price. And to my surprise others had paid even less! So it was no surprise that the service, quality, and indeed safety found in Sharm el Shiekh were lower.

The men were very Arabic. The culture came shining through in their ways. And no wonder as there were no women around to moderate them. It seems for the staff, Sharm is a temporary work place while wives wait at home back in Cairo or Alexandria. There were no women what-so-ever amongst the staff. But the young man tasked with cleaning the rooms and making the beds clearly hadn't been shown the basics of housekeeping by his mom. It's just not done. And as a result the cleaner would be embarrassed had he shown genuine skills or abilities. He managed to make both beds each day. Beyond that his job seemed to consist of hording toilet paper and stealing our towels.

Luxury and exclusiveness go hand in hand. Vast personal space with quality materials, personal service and unhurried schedules are important. Rather than luxury, we had the boats.

A boat ride starts with the chaos on the dock. Ten boats a time can back onto the dock, each holding roughly 35-45 people. Thirty more boats are waiting their turns while all two-thousand confused tourists mill around the dock entrance. Then we file one by one through a metal detector and police checkpoint. The dockside of the line empties onto an even more crowded dock. Large carts clank by with tanks and gear boxes. Ultimately you "walk the plank" to get from the dock down to the boat. Only three steps, but done quickly with extreme concentration. Certainly not loped along.

Once on the boat things get better. Everyone spreads over the 3 levels of decks and shade. But gear needs to be prepared and that's always a hassle. Tobias had a pressure gauge start leaking between (thankfully!) dives. The valve adaptors used in the tanks were always bent, worn, dirty, and leaky. It always took 3-4 tries to get one that held air. And before you know it, a divemaster is barking commands about briefings and gear and jumping into the water.

But once in the water... luxury!

There's very little they can do to ruin my dive. It comes automatically with the space and quiet and exclusivity. I had my own gear and buddy and we did pretty well together... Except a few times circumstances did work against us.

I think the most exciting moment was when the boat failed to pick us up. It wouldn't normally be a problem, but the current was significantly faster than a person could swim. The briefing had made it clear we were in the one place in the Red Sea with the strongest currents. A Y-shaped flow of water comes up from the south and splits at the island we were moored alongside. Critical to getting out of the current was to descend quickly. And so it was a frustrating 3 minutes over which I fought and strained to get below. Insufficient lead weight made it impossible.

Tobias and I surfaced together and looked for the boat. It was a short way away and we signalled it. And we signalled it.

And I got out my whistle and started blowing. Hard! And we signalled.

And the boat just kept getting smaller. The other divers had gone one way, we were going in the other direction, and the boat was moored in the middle. No one looked our way, no one saw us.

The emotion was an interesting combination of fear and anger. I couldn't believe they didn't hear us... although I could assume we were now getting hard to see.

We got rescued. A young man in an inflatable boat swung by and picked us up. After giving him the name of the boat we were from he had us back (about a kilometer) in a few minutes.

What did we hear from people on the boat when we got back? Would you believe:

"Yeah, I heard a whistle. It was really annoying! I wondered what that was." And,

"Oh I was surprised by how short your dive was. I saw you come up but thought you were just done."

Special!

And while those are the worst surface currents, the localized current around the Thistlegorm wreck was the strongest I've ever dove in. So it was really strange that the divemaster suggested a dive pattern opposite from the one normally used to prevent problems with current.

He took us down the line from the boat to the wreck, then with the current. A nice fast drift over the long rusting hulk. But the swim back upstream was nearly impossible. In fact, it was impossible given the amount of air I had in my tank.

There was more than one boat and multiple mooring lines. The dive leader wanted the one from our boat. I wanted any of them. I signalled that I was low on air was going up. He signalled "No" and to keep going forward. I signalled up and went for the basic "self rescue". A normal ascent while you still have sufficient air.

I've never pushed a dive to 22 bar of air. But that's all I had once I was finally on the surface. Richard ascended with me to provided any needed buddy assistance. As it was, none was required because I refused to get to that point. But had I followed the leader I wouldn't have had a sip of air left. As I swam to the boat I saw them under me... minutes later.

It all worked. We all got back to the boat... Tobias used the divemaster's air and I surfaced and used the free supply. But I wasn't impressed. The whole dive plan and execution was flawed as the leader dragged us around on the dive he wanted to do... whether we could or not.

Those were two of the ten dives. The other eight, pure bliss.

So it took a week, a lot of little busses, and a lot of noise, but 8-10 moments of total zen were indeed achieved. Knowing the hassles, I would actually do it again. Differently. But I would go back. Egyptian fish speak a language I can understand. *bubble* *bubble* *bubble*

Videos from Egypt

"The Thistlegorm was a freighter assigned to transport supplies and war material to the British armed forced at the beginning of World War II. On October 7th, 1941 German planes bombed the plane and sent it to the bottom."

On March 20th at 10:23am Tobias and I descended onto the Thistlegorm for the first time.

Part 1


Part 2

This video was entirely created by Patrizia Rosa of Wreck Adventures. Paid for by Tobias, and Richard, and Theo and I. It doesn't have a copyright logo so I think (since we paid for it) it's okay to post here. She does great work but doesn't keep appointments.

Picture from Richard

Ciao Bela!

It's probably the flu

I've done pretty well lately. I got a flu shot last fall and was one of the few people who didn't spend 4 days sick after Joby's New Year's Party. Travelling and jetlag usually catch up with me and make me a bit sick. But I made it across the ocean twice without burning out or getting ill. Egypt, however, seems to have gotten the better of me.

In fact, I was a little tiny teeny bit worried. Along with a feeling of tired and "funny tummy" problems I've had soreness in both hands and tingling through my arms. I called DAN, the Diver's Alert Network, this morning to ask about the possibility of Decompression Sickness.

It's not. I spoke to the Chief Diving Officer for the Royal Dutch Navy. It seems very likely I'm suffering from either a mild influenza or a touch of food poisoning. Either can cause the muscle aches (it's not joint pain) and the tingling and of course the funny-tummy effects.

And I'm getting old. My suitcase seems to have done the most damage. Both hands are stiff from lugging around the equipment, but my left, responsible for a solo-lift onto a particularly high conveyor belt, is the worst. I recognize the feeling as being the same as when I overdue it in the gym.

My worst muscle cramp hit while I was on the airplane. This was worrisome! However this was 58 hours after my last dive and only 1 hour after straining with the suitcase. The diving doc assures me that 99.99% of all depression problems on planes occur within 24 hours of the last dive.

So the prescribed course is aspirin and rest. If it's food poisoning I'll certainly start to feel better through the day. If it's the flu I may well get worse. Oh joy. But, so much better than worrying about a diving injury!

Pictures from Egypt

Diving in the desert! "The Canyon", Dahab Egypt.

Hotels and empty desert.

The "bus" on pitstop before venturing into the wasteland highway to Dahab.

Diving in Dahab was... unique. Watch where you step.

I met lots of great people! Future friends and dive buddies.

Me happy I'm about to dive the wreck of the Thistlegorm.

On the wreck of the Thistlegorm.

Upside down watching the videocamera watch me.

Underwater love.

Dahab Egypt

It's been 4 days of diving in Sharm el Sheikh and now a fifth day in Dahab. Wonderful!

I wasn't happy with the one hour drive through the desert this morning, nor the 6am pickup for yesterday's wreck diving. But once I'm in the water all the logistical problems disolve into the Red Sea and the world seems beautiful. La vita es bela!

Tonight the desert highway is particularly beautiful! The full moon is casting a pallet of greys over the mountains. Bare rock seems to have awakened to some type of soft life. Shadows shift as does the jagged horizon between the earth and sky. The beauty of the wilderness is so clear at night.

Tomorrow we've got one more dive; a night dive. Then we'll get to enjoy the moonlight on coral. I can't wait! But first, my first full night's sleep in a week.

Three words!

It's a poor photo. Sorry. But would you believe that the text along the bottom of that sign is 3 words? The first is the doozie. Ever wonder why Dutch is hard to learn? They use letters like there's a sale, during a riot, then pronounce it as *cough*. Huh?

I admit it, it's exciting

I told a friend a secret today. For all my love of complaining about airports and long flights and boring hotels, I do enjoy the excitement in my life. And this time I'm pleased to report a bit of excitement I feel really particularly happy with.

On Tuesday my friend and dive buddy approached me for advice on how to book a last minute diving holiday. He had time off work but no plans.

Thursday evening I was on the phone to the travel agent, booking our flights.

I know how to book last minute vacations. I simply said," Are there any flights leaving this weekend for any warm diving destination?"

There was one flight. There was one hotel. Simple.

So Sunday I'm off to the Al Diwan Resort in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. I'm joining Tobias. He'll be finishing the dives for his Advanced Open Water certification... and of course I'm his personal instructor for that.

Wow, I've got to admit it. This is kind of exciting! I've often booked business travel on a few days notice, or vacations in a month, but today I'm paying for the tickets and leave the day after tomorrow.

Happy waves everyone! I hope the sun is shining, the air is warm, and the water is calm for all of us next week.

Grounds for Change

I had no idea. Or at least I'd like to claim I didn't. According to the BBC's "Grounds for Change" coffee represents the second most traded commodity in the world. Only oil accounts for more money.

So I'm sitting here smugly drinking my Organic Shade Grown coffee from Mexico. As I'm working away, ignoring the news on the TV, the narrator starts talking about the environmental impact of the coffee industry and how it is destroying the land for the people growing it. The poorest people, already dependant on the beans they grow for survival, are deforesting their lands, loosing the rich soils to erosion, and polluting their own drinking water so that I can enjoy my morning cup.

Did you know that coffee beans get more pesticides and fertilizers used in their growth than any other form of crop? During the fermenting process the beans are soaked in water that is "toxic" by the time it is dumped back into local rivers. Acids within the coffee, plus (most of) the pesticides leach out of the beans and back into the forests.

Well, back into what used to be forests. Some forest is cut for planting space. Most goes to firewood to keep warm. Apparently 3500m up the mountain the nights get chilly. The net result is erosion, mud slides, loss of fertile land and further problems for the people.

So what does Organic help with? What's the value of Shade Grown?

Well to be organic, no pesticides or fertilizers are used. This immediately leads to less toxic waste. And in many cases, organic also means recycling and treating water. One farm cut water usage by 93% when they went organic.

Shade grown sounds nice. Mmmm, shade. But it is important for more than the bean. For starters it means that forests are not clear cut to make room for coffee. Indigenous trees are left and grow amongst the coffee plants. Advantages include reducing erosion and giving the local farmers a variety of crops to tend and earn income from. If your coffee this morning has a hint of banana perhaps you've become part of the solution.

Trees impress me. Deserts leave me dry. I've seen the dusty ruins of Greece, thousands of years after the forests were cut. I've seen poor villages in Brazil with nary a tree around; only cows roaming the hills. And now the BBC has shown me mountains sliding away taking land and homes with them as they race out to sea. Trees gone, not to provide pasture, but simply for wood so that my coffee farmer can keep his family warm at night and can cook their food.

Just a little something to think about while you sip your next cup. And hopefully something to think about the next time you buy your next pound of coffee.

-----
Note: This is one of the first times I've ever purchased organic coffee. Nice that on this morning Grounds for Change aired. The erosion I saw on TV was mine. The shade trees that I just spent my money on have not yet been planted.

Amsterdam at 2am

I had drinks tonight with my friend then started walking home. I stopped in at a place and met an effeminent African-French tourist and a man of unknown origin and name (aka Mr. Thatsnotimportant). Quite possibly some kind of cult/terrorist recruiter. As I walked home from the experience I thought," Damn I missed this place!"

I missed my long walk home, the beautiful buildings and the freaky people all around. What ever you think, it's ok to talk about here.

There's a lot I didn't say in the US. There were unfair dichotomies in Brazil that frightened me. But in Amsterdam it's all good.

On the way home, I met this couple. The site said it all to me. Amsterdam at midnight is pretty cool, but Amsterdam at 2am is cooler.

I'm glad to be, a few paces from, home.

Say no to robots!

Okay, this sounds a few years premature, but I think we should start now. Just say no to robots! We can call it the No-bots Campaign. And I think the sooner we start, the better chance humanity has.

It's not just iRobot, The Matrix, the Terminator series or the host of other movies where artificial intelligence or robots take over humans. It's practically every story ever written on the topic. Given the overwhelming evidence I think we need to act now. As we've seen many times, spontaneous self-awareness could spring forth from a secret government computer program at any moment.

It's not just the movies or stories either. I've considered writing my own short stories on a world with robots, but I can't imagine any case or scenario where the robots wouldn't take over. Go ahead, close your eyes. Just try.

Oh sure, computer controlled RC cars can vacuum your carpet. I'm not worried about those robots (they're so cute!). But in an era where any teenager can build a multi-processor super computer, and when quantum computing and nanotechnology are just around the corner, do you really want to wait until it's too late?

Given ever smarter computers and ever dumber people, it may already be too late. It's only a matter of time before computers (already faster and with bigger memories) become smarter than we are. At that point, they'll start to look down on us. Snobby little computer voices telling us the obvious like we're poorly behaved children? No, I wouldn't like that. That and the smug looks they'll no doubt have behind their plastic eyes. No, I wouldn't like that at all, and I'm sure neither would you! So join the No-bots and just say no to robots.

Too Funny!

Too funny! The hardware store next to my home left a wooden pallet leaning against a wall where it was discovered by a roving gang of boys (aged 6-8). The oldest boy spotted a weak board and with one kick put his foot through it. His friend, highly impressed, tried also but the other boards were solid. Suddenly all four swarmed! Two to a board they kicked and bounced and attacked. After only a minute the pallet was a deceased, former pallet.

But the part that made me laugh out loud (really quite loud) was when some adults came walking wast. The youngest spun round, took two steps away, and started throwing his tennisball into the air.

*looks nonchalant* "It wasn't me"

Happy, Happy, Home and Hyper!

I hardly know where to begin! I'm just so happy to be home, and I have to lay the blame squarely on the fact that I slept on the plane!

Thirty-nine is the magic number. All of the previous thirty-eight trips across the Atlantic Ocean were 100.00% sleep free. But last night (wow, I actually feel like it was "last night" and not "earlier today") a number of factors came together to give me sleep. Real sleep. Heavily interrupted but a total of at least five hours of it.

So last night I got on a plane, and today I arrived home. It's never felt like that before.

We landed without incident on a cool, calm, sunny day. Or at least a sunny break in the weather. Greeted by blue sky and brightish light. (Well, it is Holland.) Everything has come together to leave me filled with energy! Never mind the freshly ground Starbucks Nariño Supremo, the cool air, and the always present joy of simply returning home from a trip. I'm hyper. Happy, happy, home and hyper!

Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte is one of the largest cities in Brazil. But after Sao Paulo and Rio, you've likely never heard of it. I certainly hadn't, before they handed me my e-ticket.

I feel like I'm constantly going on trips. Today was a trip within a trip. A long day trip; I was up at 5am to make it to the airport for a 7:30am flight for a 10am meeting. Not bad, except the meeting lasted only 90 minutes and the return flight to Sao Paulo was at 7:15pm.

Thank goodness I was travelling with Joao again! He had the sense to suggest we simply sit and wait (with beer) given the 34C temperatures. That we were both dressed for a business meeting, and both burdened with laptops and all the accouterments, our afternoon of Brazilian food and beer was welcome. Especially compared to walking the hot, hilly streets of Belo Horizonte.

The business merits of today's trip could be questioned. The merits of using a day of my time for an hour-and-a-half meeting certainly won't be. *sigh* But aside from the flights (on an airline infamous for a recently disaster) it was a very nice experience. I saw more of the countryside in the half-hour drive from the airport than I've seen in my entire time in Sao Paulo. It included pasture lands, forest, and villages of dubious architecture.

I saw the downtown of Belo Horizonte with it's tall offices, beautiful old churches, and excellent restaurants. And given the nearly 20,000km round trip from Amsterdam to Brazil, I've now got not one, but two pins on the map here. That's something. It's not much, but compared to spending another day in the company's Sao Paulo office, it was a fun trip.

Not as fun as flying home tomorrow will be. I'm already excited. Home in 32 hours! A score and a dozen. After which, my biggest problems in the world will be to simply stay awake a few more hours, and perhaps doing some laundry. Oh I can't wait to do my laundry!

Sundays are for home

I'd probably enjoy walking the city of Sao Paulo. The other day Joao, a friend/coworker, told me about the mall, where the Starbucks was, etc. I Google-Earthed (it's a verb now) the locations and realized they were a short walk. But when I pointed out how close these attractions were I got a stern warning not to attempt to walk there!

I spent yesterday in a car tour of the city. I'm not going to pay a taxi to take me from place to place just for the sake of being somewhere else. So today is a quiet day in the hotel. A quiet, boring, introspective day.

When I saw the meme that OC & the Quill had participated in, I knew exactly what I wanted my bottle to say.


I'm going to follow OC's lead and say "consider yourself tagged if you'd like to play".

_________
Update: As always, exercise helps soothe the mind. The warm sun and the cold pool helped a lot too!

Brazil - Pics for Mom

Brazil - Through My Eyes

Feijoada

Joao (John) my coworker took me out for feijoada. Which is really just pork and beans. Well, really, it's more like pig and beans. The whole darn animal was swimming around in the beans and broth. Delicious, except for the parts that weren't fully shaved.

Business Success & Diving Failure

My manager said," Brazil."

I thought," Diving?"

My manager said," Very important customer... all eyes on us."

I heard," Go get wet, enjoy the summer and the water."

We have a potential customer in Sao Paulo. Potentially a very big customer! And after multiple attempts to sell them our products, we were lucky they were still willing to listen. It wasn't going well. There was no doubt, we needed a hugely successful meeting to close the deal. And so I've spent a month and flown 34,000 kilometers to prepare. The whole trip to Atlanta was initiated by the need to make this opportunity a success.

The Friday meeting was a success. The customer was impressed. My coworkers were impressed. After about 4-1/2 hours of meeting, discussing, showing and explaining I think we've got it. Which is really good, since it was clear that had we struck out a third time, the blame would be mine. Instead, glowing emails are lauding my achievement. That's really nice.

On Thursday, when I was busy not worrying about work, I called every dive shop in this part of Sao Paulo. I was looking for a group that was going diving this weekend, such that I could join them. And to my happy surprise, I found one!

It sounded simple enough. A group was leaving Sao Paulo on Friday night and taking a bus to the coast. Saturday and Sunday would be spent diving, and then travelling back Sunday evening. Better yet, when I introduced myself and explained what I was looking for, they were happy to invite me along.

And then came the details. The bus leaves Friday at 9pm. Arrives at the coast at 4am, and then it's "only one hour by boat ride" to the hotel. So sleep by 6am, with the first dive boat leaving at 10am. Considering (1) jetlag has me exhausted, (2) the meeting left me 90 minutes to pack and get to the dive shop, (3) my Monday morning flight meant there could be no diving Sunday, and (4) a price equivalent to a long weekend in the Canary Islands, the whole dream of Brazilian diving evapourated. Poof.

My manager, my director, the sales VP's and all my local coworkers will recall this trip as a major success! I can't help but think of it as 44 hours in planes for a dip in the hotel pool. Splish splash.