2010.013 - Beesball 2010

Beesball (Tech Baseball) has been picked to do fairly well this season, ranked #6 and #10 (by Baseball News / Rivals) with a number of well-ranked teams already on our schedule.

#12/21 mia (home)
#13/20 unc (away)
#16/14 clem (home)
#31/23 uga (h/a/n)

And if that weren't enough, the Jackets are bound to face #2/#2 uva and #7/#7 fsu in the conference tournament. The ACC has a lot to prove this season; hopefully, the teams won't beat each other up too much.

The season starts tomorrow Fri. Feb. 19th, against the Missouri State Bears. The Jackets will take the field at 4PM, taking advantage of the afternoon on an early spring-like day The series continues Saturday at 2PM and Sunday at 1PM.

Come out to Russ Chandler and enjoy some warm(er) weather and Beesball!

2010.012 - San Fran Recap 3-4

Day 3 (Fri Feb 5)

With a warning that we must not be late, we reunited with some friends at our first dim sum outing at Hong Kong Saigon Seafood Harbor Restaurant; the name is quite a mouthful, but so is the food. At the time of opening the restaurant was essentially empty but that changed in only minuntes. The meal and company was wonderful (my favorite of the three dim sum) and as we left, not only was the place packed, but a line was out the door.

Next was the Computer History museum. Overall, I found the exhibits to be a bit disappointing, but there were a few interesting displays such as a Cray computer and even more so, Charles Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2, (series 2). Such a combination of mechanics and mathematics was flat out amazing. I find it humorous that some (current or former?) eccentric bigwig from MicroSoft paid to have it built to have in his home, but for now at least, it's on indefinite loan to the museum, which is commendable.

A quick wardrobe change and we headed into the city for the rehearsal dinner at R&G Lounge, recently featured on the show, "No Reservations." After another good meal, the whole party moved to Fenton's Creamery, recently cameoed in the movie Up; watch closely at the end. It was packed but I believe someone had connections for a quick seating; eating ice cream and chatting with extended family made for good times.

Day 4 (Sat Feb 6)

Dim Sum "2 of 3" was at Dynasty Chinese Seafood Restaurant, more good dim sum. Is there too much of a good thing? Perhaps, stay tuned. Taking our time to dine, it's time to go back again to San Fran. I did a lot of driving, but that's okay, I enjoy it.

We parked a few blocks from the church and happened to cross paths with the wedding party. The camerman had the "elite eight" dodging cars (well, not really) to get a shot in the middle of a street in Chinatown before the wedding. The church sanctuary was very lovely and intimate as was the service. We sat with a view of the bride who had the most wonderful smile during the vows.

The drive to the reception was the only thing that seemed to go wrong. TomTom took us through one of the busiest parts around Berkeley, but there are much worse things to happen at a wedding than a a slow drive down College Av and checking out all the local shops. Plus, we still arrived before the bride and groom, so really it was probably for the best.

The reception was at the Bancroft Hotel. It was a classy space, top notch. Paella was the main course (by now, non-asian was welcome) and who can complain about dessert when there are 5 different, yummy cakes. A neat idea was a "photo booth" where people could use a remote to take their own pictures, and the slide show and trivia game were fun. Another great evening.

2010.011 - New and Renew

We started yesterday off right with dim sum. As usual, we ate at Royal China, but the last two times I've eaten there, I felt that the quality has dropped again so I need to find a new place; however, after dining in San Fran, I imagine anything here might seem less impressive. After a couple hours in a food coma, wifey and I went to work (I put in a couple hours for a deadline, nothing long-term). I then finished the day with a simple dinner with my honeybunny at Figo for ravoli noms and Tiramisu, which was lighter than I last recall and still very tasty.

Oh yeah, I suppose that I should mention that Saturday, I received my re-admission letter for GSU! So unless I decide to be masochistic and do the super short, May-mester, it's back to school in 4 months!

2010.010 - San Fran Recap 1-2

Recap San Fran Day 1 (wed, feb 3)

Today is my first experience with a significantly delayed flight, nothing major, just a couple announcements and then BUMP! off the plane we go. Another hour or two and we're on our way, on a plane that won't suddenly fall out of the sky. Then once in Salt Lake we race to the next flight and get on only to discover we're actually booked for the following one, but my bags are already on so am I going to tell anyone? Nope.

We arrive and check out Oakland's Chinatown for a bit before picking up the 'rents-I-L. A good noodle joint serves us more than we can handle and then some for less than 12 smackers; what a deal! We grab the 'rents and head down to San Hwahsay (San Jose for those who don't speak TomTom) to stay with more family and eat more food... so good but already so full.

Recap San Fran Day 2 (thu, feb 4)

We visit Intel's little museum, dodging some kids on a field trip. It is still amazing to see how people build such powerful companies from essentially nothing.

After a photo-op, we split up, and wife and I pick up bonus sister and friend to head into town for vegetarian Chinese at Golden Era - very tasty! Later my aunt suggested one reason that vegetarian can taste so good is that they still use things like chicken broth, but we're pretty sure this restaurant is strictly veggie since they forbid bringing any non-veggie food inside. It doesn't bother me too much, but let that be a warning to you veggers out there.

We want to top off our meal with a fruity drink or ice cream, but after a fruitless search (*cough*) in the cold drizzle something warmer is wanted. We duck indoors at the SF Centre on Market, and I try Peet's Mocha, which was okay, but nothing spectacular. It has that same "dusty" texture that Starbucks has, as if they don't bother to thoroughly mix the cocoa powder to make the syrup, but at least the taste was good.

After dropping off bonus sister, we took the long way home. It was a nice drive through some smaller towns (e.g., Hayward, Union City, Fremont) with the large foothills not too far on our left. We headed home for some pizza to cap another good day... let the dim sum begin!

2010.009 - Snow and Games

There is always something nice about coming home after vacation - a rebirth of sorts. But dang, it is cold! But the snow makes the temperature slightly bearable, and definitely better than sleet. I tried to take some pictures in the dark of night since there are plenty of lights on our street.

It's not quite that bright (long exposure) but it's much brighter than I expected at first; I suppose the reflection from the snow helps.

With the crazies on the road, we decided to stay in and miss watching the opening ceremony. But after a couple months without the station, I managed to tune in 11Alive with minutes to spare! I thought the sets and the videos were wonderful, artistic and powerful, but the scale seemed off during the performances; maybe that is why over-sized puppets are often used or maybe the camera direction could have been better. The first song could have been a lot better, and the speeches,... thank the athletes, thank the volunteers, thank the sponsors... Just say the essentials, add a unique Vancouver flavor and you are done. And unless I blinked for a really long time, am I the only one who thought a performance (no matter how brief) by Cirque du Soleil was missing? Still, the visuals were very unique and well done. Northern neighbors, you did a pretty good job, eh?

Now for the vacation recaps...