Ariel the musician

Part of what we do at the meditation ashram is chant, and chanting is supported by harmonium and drum. The harmonium is actually a medieval European instrument that made its way to India and stuck there. Ariel recently started really practicing with it, and before you knew it she was playing a very complicated chant called Jyota se Jyota at the family gatherings on Sunday. She really really loves it.

Here she is showing off her new-found skill...



That's Cool Ray in the background on the chair, and in the foreground Michael is this close to grabbing the camera...

Fun Michael Photos

Well, I have some doozies here from my phone, and I thought I'd share them.

Michael likes to wear hats, and in this case he insisted on wearing two. Then his pants got wet and I threw some new pants on him. This is the result.





And here is just a super-cool photo of him. What a guy.

Pumpkin Patch visit

We had a wonderful trip down to the Ardenwood Farm near Fremont to get our pumpkins from a Real Pumpkin Patch. I'd never done this before, and boy was it fun. They also had a maze made in a cornfield called, appropriately, The Maize. We were happily lost, and then headed off for ice cream.



You can see all the photos here, there are some fun pictures including kids in wheelbarrows and behind school buses and an odd place to find a conservatively dressed Indian family...

Cool Ray

My uncle Ray came to visit us this weekend, perfectly coinciding with a quick visit from my Mom.

Little Michael is very quick to learn people's names, although usually not pronounced perfectly. As a result, "Uncle Ray" became "Cool Ray." I liked that, and kept calling him Cool Ray, and Michael would repeat.

Then my Mom insisted on correcting Michael, and so "Cool Ray" became "Uncool Ray." Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

Daddy's got a Squeezebox!

My old Harmon Kardon died, and our birds ate through the wires of my old OmniFi music player[1], so I decided it was time to upgrade.

I don't watch TV and rarely watch movies, and I don't use, or want to use iTunes or an iPod. I mostly want to play Rhapsody music and my own collection from my stereo. Simple needs for a simple man.

Internet Audio Player

I had been dreaming for years about getting a Squeezebox.



It sounded simple, great quality, and people rave about it. The fact that their server, SlimServer, is open source, is important to me too. I know that a popular open source product is almost always better than proprietary solutions that rely on the quality of engineers from a single company.

Then when I learned that Squeezebox is now officially supporting Rhapsody (straight from the box, no need to even have a computer on), I was sold. So, I took the bonus money from last quarter (thanks, Sun!) and splurged.

Man, this thing is sweet. It is so small, cool looking, great screen, and so easy to use. The response time when I do searches and start a song are excellent. And the sound quality is very very good.

Not only does Squeezebox support Rhapsody, it also supports Pandora, and a huge selection of Internet radio stations. All from one little box.

But wait, that's not all! The SlimServer is web-based with UPnP support, so I can administer it from any browser and play it from any UPnP enabled player, like WinAmp, or from the SoftSqueeze player.

Receiver and Wireless Router

I was unhappy with my Harmon Kardon even though CNet recommended it -- too complicated and heavy and hard to use. I have decided to not read "official" reviews of hi-fi equipment because the folks doing reviews are enthusiasts and what they like is not actually what us "normal" people like. So instead I went to Amazon and read reviews from "real" people, and got a Pioneer VSX-516-K. Easy to set up, great sound, perfect. This choice had an unexpected bonus - my DVD player is a Pioneer, and the remote that came with the receiver works out of the box with my DVD player.

I also upgraded my wifi router to a Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 Wireless-G router with greater signal strength (also based on the Amazon reviews, I had never heard of this brand before), and am quite happy with that too.

NAS on the Cheap

My final issue was with how to make my music readily available to the Squeezebox. I really didn't like having to walk into the study, turn on my computer, wait for it to boot up, and log in (I have tried many times to get auto-login to work on this machine, but have failed).

So I considered upgrading, and thought seriously about a ReadyNAS system, that has SlimServer pre-installed. A lot of people really like the ReadyNAS.

But these things are pricey (around $1,100 according to Google Products), and I already had this machine and RAID set up with two 500GB disks. Why couldn't I make my machine like a NAS?

Then I read in my manual that the Squeezebox supports Wake-on-LAN. I checked my machine, and sure enough, it supported it. I configured the network card to wake the computer on a network hit, and bingo, I have, for all intents and purposes, a Squeezebox-enabled NAS system without having to fork over $1,100.

Last night I had fun just randomly picking songs from Rhapsody or my collection, basking in the experience of a well-done system and some serious sound coming from my Bose speakers. It's those little joys in life that make it worth living :)

[1] After using the OmniFi for a few years, it just didn't "have it", and I suspected that OmniFi would die, and sure enough, they've discontinued their products.

Coffee, toys and wifi

Just found a new free wifi hotspot near my home, the Central Perk. It's located right next to the newly refurbished Cerrito Speakeasy Theater.

It's spacious, quiet, good signal, good coffee. What sets this place aside is their vast, vast collection of toys. One could spend a good hour just walking around. I think I may have found a new hangout...

My hovercraft is full of eels

I am just now learning that many of my favorite Monty Python skits are available on YouTube. Thank you, whoever did this!

Having just been in Prague and hoping I wasn't saying anything offensive, I remembered the great Hungarian Translation Book sketch, and then Jim Bisso pointed me to it.

A good strong laugh in the middle of the day keeps you young...

It doesn't get any better than this...

Ariel's Aunt Martha (Linda's aunt) was just here, and whisked Ariel off for a night on the town. She took her to San Francisco to stay at her hotel for the night. She got to watch Spiderman 3 until 11pm, sleep in, go shopping, get her hair and face done, have a bubble bath, and come home.

The next day, Grandma Judith and Maryann show up, and Maryann has some knitting for her to do, so cool! She's knitting a poncho, no it's a shawl, no it's a belt.

And then Grandma Judith takes her to see Ratatouille and that night we all go to the lake for a swim and have Zachary's pizza for dinner.

It doesn't get any better than this.

Here she is working on her poncho with her sunglasses. How cool can you be?

Cigarette memories

Ariel just called me at work. She is hanging out with my Mom, and she said "Grandma Judith used to smoke. Did you put something in her cigarettes that made them explode?"

Long pause.

"Yes, I did."

"How did you do that?"

"Well, you take a small stick that is a firecracker and slip it into the cigarette, and then when she lights it, it goes BANG!"

Pause...

"Can you get me some of those?"

Jet Lag program was a success!

I applied the jet lag program I had recommended here, and I also supplemented it with Damon's acupressure/affirmation program that he referred me to in a comment.

Thanks, Damon, that really worked! Another benefit of blogging :) It's right up my alley (being from Berkeley).

Something about pressing all those points and reminding myself to feel good -- I found myself relaxing, breathing better, and feeling refreshed. I had zero jet lag in both directions, on a five day trip. I didn't sit up wide awake in the middle of the night or collapse in the middle of the day.

Yes, it sounds all wooey/New Agey, but hey, I am an open-minded scientist type and will try anything that doesn't sound harmful or cultish. Before you pooh-pooh it, try it yourself.

Prague Trip

OK, Heathrow was hell, but Prague was quite wonderful. I actually was able to get away from the office on Friday afternoon and take a walking tour of Prague. I highly recommend Prague Walks They have all sorts of walking tours - the one I took was three hours with a very knowledgeable guide and included a stop half-way through at a pub for a foot rest and a local beer. What a great way to spend three hours!

More photos can be found here. They're with my crappy cell phone camera, I forgot to bring my regular camera (probably a good thing because it would probably still be sitting in Heathrow in my lost suitcase), but there are some good shots in there considering.

Heathrow Hell

I remember seeing Simon Phipps links about Heathrow, but didn't really pay attention. I didn't have any idea how bad it could be.

When you exit in England, you simply go out, get your baggage (although that did take 45 minutes), catch the Heathrow Express, and you're good to go. On the way back in, you go through security and on to your plane.

Ah, but when you're transferring flights, it's an entirely different, and hellish, experience. There is no one international terminal, so you have to be shipped from terminal to termnal on a bus. Our bus got stuck behind a luggage cart that had lost its luggage. Their transfer stations are completely overwhelmed, and it takes an hour to get a boarding pass for your next leg of the flight. Worst of all, the UK doesn't trust any other country's security and you have to go through a security check even though you went through one at your original departing airport. And this security is completely overwhelmed and the line is (if you're lucky) 45 minutes to an hour long.

The worst part of this was that I got the sense that the staff there really didn't really care if this was an inconvenience, it's just the way it is. And at Virgin Atlantic, when they were continually screwing up my ticket, they kept intimating it was my own misunderstanding of the arcane rules of airport/airline bureaucracy that was causing the problems. Deal with it, passengers, it's not our problem, was the general feeling.

As a result of the delayed flight and eternal security line, I missed my connection. So, I get put on a BA flight. Back to Terminal 1, the terminal I started at. And guess what, I have to back through friggin' security because I have been "mixed" with unchecked passengers. And nobody seems to think that maybe, just maybe, there could be a better way. Deal with it, passengers.

I checked at the gate to make sure my luggage had followed me, and they assured me it had. When I get to SFO, no luggage. Since then I have been calling every day, and today they told me that it often takes a month for someone to get their baggage back. A MONTH!. I was this close to packing my laptop on that suitcase...

I can just see the folks at Heathrow standing around, hands in pockets, taking a break, not really caring, and my luggage just sitting there. Someone glances over at the bag. "Who's luggage is that?" someone asks. "Dunno." says someone else and shrugs. Oh well... Not my problem...

Heathrow is an old, massive, airport, that is completely overwhelmed. This I understand. But the general apathy of the folks working there, the complete disregard for passengers, is unforgivable. They should have a sign over the airport as you come in: "Deal with it."

I was complaining to one of the people helping me with my lost luggage about Heathrow, and she said she personally will not go into Heathrow as a passenger, at least until the build their new terminal. A flight attendant on the BA flight also confirmed that Heathrow is absolutely hellish and to be avoided.

So Heathrow is permanently on my black list. I hope some day the airlines realize they are losing customers because of Heathrow, and start making deals with alternate airports. I hope some day Heathrow realizes that passengers are actually what they are there for, and without passengers, you have no airport.

Personally, I am one passenger they have lost, and I'll also be telling anybody else I know to avoid Heathrow at all costs as a transfer destination. If I am transferring in Europe, I will go through any airport other than Heathrow.

Deal with it, Heathrow.

P.S. Reading Tim's comments, it sounds like Frankfurt and Amsterdam are great choices, and that Paris, Gatwick and Stansted are all pretty close to Heathrow in terms of pure yuck.

English Cheese in the Colonies!

In response to my post about the London Cheese Shop (no, not the Monty Python Cheese Shop, they actually have cheese, including Cheddar, and they weren't playing a bloody bazouki), my sister posted info on the name of the shop and their web link, and my Pa then found a US purveyor.

Elizabeth:

The shop is Neal's Yard Dairy - the cheeses are locally produced English ones with the names of the farmers on them! Here's the website:

http://www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk/thecheeses.html#

David tried the Montgomery Cheddar, if you click the link you can see more pictures.

Me dear ol' Pa:

Not only that -- I went to the website and found that they retail in the USA via select fromageries. Voila! Montgomery cheddar!

http://www.bedfordcheeseshop.com/catalog/?id=33

I come bearing gifts (and cradle)

Well, I'm on the Heathrow Express on my way back to the airport after a very quick but fulfilling, wonderful visit with my little sister, Elizabeth, and her husband Henrik.

Elizabeth is 6 months pregnant, and I brought two huge bags full of goodies for her -- receiving blankets, clothes and more clothes, cloth diapers and woolen diaper wraps, and The Cradle. My Mom gave me this cradle when we had my first child. It was the same cradle I slept in as a kid, and now it is time to pass it on.

This is a wooden cradle with iron framing. We got it into a Huge duffle bag; the other stuff was put into a Very Big Suitcase. Both maximum size and maximum weight. I bought a roller especially for the duffle bag (get this - at SFO they had me pack the roller because security would be concerned I might use it as a weapon).

This all went great, with one hitch. The Barbican Tube station near where Elizabeth lives has three flights of stairs and no elevator. Gads!

But I made it, and the expecting couple were very touched and happy to receive all these gifts. It was wonderful handing this off, and handing off Linda's and my blessings for them and their baby.

Gastronomic Heaven in London

During my quick day-trip to London on the way to Prague, Elizabeth and Henrik took me out to a wonderful trip on the town. They took me on my favorite kind of bus, a London double-decker (top deck of course), to an open market area that is usually completely packed, but today it was quite mellow and peaceful.

Our first stop was a great little tea shoppe where we had fruit scones with clotted cream and jam, little tea cakes, and incredible, delicious tea (I'm still on a buzz).

Then we wandered next door to a wonderful cheese shop, full of cheeses made by local British cheese "artisans." They had the infamous Stinking Bishop from Wallace and Gromit.



Henrik had me taste one of the cheddars. Wow! Incredible. Nice smooth fore-taste, and then an everlasting tingling sour/nutty after-taste. Never had anything like, nor do I expect to ever find anything like this in the USA.

I loved the atmosphere of the shop, with its full rounds of cheese and the "cheese waterfall" that kept the shop nice and moist.









Then, round the corner to a sweet little coffee shop. I really liked the communal wood table that people shared -- you just don't see that in the USA, and I wish we'd see more.



My cappucino was perfect, better than almost any I could find in the Bay Area, which is supposed to have pretty darn good coffee. There was also a hand-made chocolate truffle that was astonishingly good.

So if anyone says British food is bad, tasteless and dull, they should check out London these days. It is quite a change from some of my first visits to London since I was a kid were just ghastly.

One last thing to notice: those little clips hanging below the table at the coffee shop.



What are those for? Obvious, says Elizabeth: to hang your purse from, so they won't get stolen. Now that's a cool idea...

Family Reunion

Ariel and I had a wonderful time at the family reunion. Thanks to everyone for putting this on!

Here are the photos I took from the trip.

A nice trip to Calistoga

A few weeks ago our family spent a nice simple weekend in Calistoga. We stayed at a wonderful place called the Calistoga Spa Hot Springs (the link seems to be down right now). Kitchenette inside, barbecue outside, three pools (one kiddie warm, one cold, one adult warm) and a big hot tub. All water is naturally heated by the springs.

Just down the way is a great coffee shop called the Calistoga Roastery, yummy coffee and pastry, fun place to hang out. Besides swimming, swimming, swimming, the only other thing we really did was go to a playground and visit the Petrified Forest, really cool petrified redwoods about fifteen minutes out of town.

We skipped the Old Faithful Geyser - we saw it last time, and it costs a lot of money, and really there isn't much to see.

But I would have to say the highlight of the visit was when we discovered the fire house, and Michael was allowed to go in and visit all of the fire trucks. My goodness, was he in heaven. He wandered amongst them and climbed up them, round and round and round, for a good half hour.



Here's a cute video of him in the fire house



You can go here to see all the photos from our visit.

A Memory on Henry Street

I have a very strong memory from when I was a toddler of being sent to the store across the street on our apartment in Berkeley to the co-op (I personally would never send a little tyke alone to the store like that, but, hey, this is now and that was then).

I now find myself back in Berkeley again. Over the years I've been here, I've gone along Henry Street many times, and finally found our old place. The most recent time I had my cell phone with me, with its camera, and took a snap. For those of you who shared that time with me, here's the photo.



The co-op is now an Andronico's, but other than that, things seem about the same. Here's a satellite image of the spot.

By the way, I did this with the new MyMaps feature of Google Maps, which lets me annotate my own personal map and save it. Pretty nice!

Heading off to London and Prague

Work is sending me off to Prague in a few weeks, and I have been able to finaigle a stopover in London to see sister Elizabeth, hubby Henrik and Little Package in Belly. I'll be maxing out my luggage allowance so I can bring a huge stack of kiddie clothes from Linda.

My itinerary is from hell, but it's what I had to do to get this in: leave SFO at 1pm on Tuesday, arrive in Heathrow at 10:30 the next morning, zip over to Elizabeth's, hang out, leave Heathrow at 9pm, arrive in Prague at midnight, hotel at 1am. Go to work for two days, then leave Prague at 7am Saturday morning, change in Heathrow at 11am, back on Saturday morning at 1pm. Gads. Hopefully I'll have a chance to see Prague, although it may be through very sagging eyes and wobbly legs.

Harry Party

Linda and Ariel are getting ready to go to the Harry Potter party at Cody's, from 10 to midnight tonight. They're both dressed up to a tee -- Ariel did her own make up and they both look wonderful! Ariel is very excited, especially that she gets to stay up so late.

I have to say that Linda is also, shall we say, engaged. I got her a little book on Harry Potter secrets and hints about a year ago. She read it, and then got another book, and soon was online at Mugglenet almost every night reading essays and theories and coming up with her own about who's going to die, who is a spy, who can be trusted. She has a theory that McGonagall is a spy for Voldemort - note that she isn't a member of the Order of the Phoenix and that she asks Harry where he went with Dumbledore the night he died, and he doesn't tell her. Hm, she may have something there.

They're taking a camera to the party, so maybe I'll have some pictures to share.

Right now Ariel is dancing like a beautiful goddess to some music, enjoying the fact that it's already an hour past her bedtime and the night is still young. So cute.

Testing, testing

I am testing sending email to the VC-Pettes yahoo group. Please ignore this post.

Subscribing by Email

I just added a widget to let you subscribe by email. This is for those of you who don't have blog readers lying around. Although I highly recommend Google Reader.

What, another blog?

Well, this one is for that very small but passionate group of readers (you know who you are) who actually do want to hear all the details about my family (yes, the cute movies, the cute pictures, the silly stories, all of it).

I don't feel comfortable foisting this on the folks who want to read about Java or databases or the Web, so I specialized.

Nothing to report right now, but when the moment inspires me, you'll hear from me.