drew's blog

Banff 2009

2009-06-30T10:20:00.004-05:00

I took a long weekend trip up to Banff to get out of the Houston heat, it's been over 100� F (38� C) for the last week or so. I couldn't afford to stay at the Banff Springs Hotel but I went up for a cocktail on the back terrace, and next time I'm going to plunk down the $400/night to stay there. That's in Canadian dollars, so it's really not that expensive in real money. Here's the view off the back terrace:

Banff National Park is the most beautiful place I have ever been. I've been to Banff and Lake Louise in both the summer and winter, and both are fantastic.

See posts from my other trips:
Ridin' the Storm Out
Hurricane Rita update
Skiing 2007

Joke of the Day

2009-06-30T10:19:00.001-05:00

The Dalai Lama walks up to a hot dog vendor and says, "Make me one with everything."

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

2009-06-14T20:46:00.003-05:00

Tony J. and I went to see the movie Anvil! The Story of Anvil this afternoon. It's a documentary about the Canadian heavy metal band that influenced (some say started) the speed metal movement carried on by Anthrax, Slayer, Metallica, and other huge names. Anvil did not get the commercial success that these other bands enjoyed, but are continuing to work to fulfill their dreams of becoming rock stars. It was directed by Sacha Gervasi, his directorial debut, but who co-wrote The Big Tease with Craig Ferguson and wrote The Terminal, directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Tom Hanks.

The film premi�red at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2008 to a standing ovation, and won awards at a number of film festivals. The band is experiencing a resurgence of interest, and is currently working on a new album (their 14th) titled Juggernaut of Justice and will open for AC/DC at their first two summer Black Ice World Tour shows at Gillette Stadium and Giants Stadium.

2009 Indy 500

2009-05-24T17:22:00.003-05:00

Tony and I went to the Indy 500 again this year, it's our third time (here's last year's race). We stayed in a sketchy hotel, but it's reasonably priced and it's close enough to walk to the race, about three miles.

View Larger Map
The weather was great, it was sunny in the morning, about 85 degrees, and slightly overcast during the race. No rain this year, we sat for hours in the rain in 2007. We changed seats this year, we were on the infield near the start/finish line, and we moved outside closer to turn 1, you can see the difference from the pictures from last year and this picture:

Check out the crowds, there are about 400,000 in attendance:

Stories of Ships and the Sea by Jack London

2009-05-07T19:00:00.000-05:00

Stories of Ships and the Sea by Jack London. Our topic is The Sea. Our next meeting is 5/28/2009.

Video of the day: Cannonball floating

2009-05-05T13:09:00.001-05:00

Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn

2009-05-02T22:00:00.000-05:00

Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn.

View From my Room at the Driskill

2009-04-29T16:11:00.002-05:00

Looks very Austin.

The Losers by Michael Lewis

2009-04-26T22:00:00.001-05:00

The Losers by Michael Lewis.

The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland

2009-04-20T22:00:00.000-05:00

The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland.

The Caryatids by Bruce Sterling

2009-04-14T22:00:00.000-05:00

The Caryatids by Bruce Sterling.

A Dangerous Man by Charlie Huston

2009-04-08T22:00:00.000-05:00

A Dangerous Man by Charlie Huston.

New Computer

2009-04-05T20:07:00.004-05:00

About a month ago, my desktop computer at home died. I was able to get it working again by taking it completely apart and putting it back together again, but every time I turn it off again the problem reoccurs, and instead of disassembling it and reassembling it every day, I've just left it running 24/7 until I could fix it or buy a new omputer. Doing some research online, it looks like an issue with the fan that cools the processor, but fixing it means replacing the motherboard. Even though the computer is only about three years old, they don't make that model anymore, so it's probably worth it to plunk down for a new one.

I decided to wait until we got our bonuses to decide how much to spend on a new computer. I have a laptop for work, and I have a nice setup with three monitors, so I really need a desktop. I'm taking some of my own advice about how to buy a new computer. I made a list of what I needed: Windows machine, Intel Quad core processor, 500GB hard drive, at least 4 GB RAM, and a Blu-Ray player. I like buying a customized box online, so I checked out Dell, HP, and Gateway. Our company has an employee discount with Dell and HP,

Then I saw this:

And this:

Sure it costs about twice as much as a similarly configured Dell XPS, and I don't get an employee discount, but check out those components, and the quality of the manufacturing. This tank of a machine won't crash because of some little 5V fan. It looks like you could run over it and it would still be humming away. And it's cool looking, too.

Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday to Drew, Happy birthday to me!

Bacalao by J. T. McDaniel

2009-04-02T19:00:00.001-05:00

Bacalao by J. T. McDaniel.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

2009-04-02T19:00:00.000-05:00

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux.

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

2009-03-28T22:00:00.000-05:00

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.

Vegas Elvis

2009-03-10T20:36:00.005-05:00

I was downloading my ski pictures (coming soon) from my trip to Mont Tremblant in Quebec, and I ran across some pictures I had taken in Las Vegas. I was experimenting with light and exposures, I didn't quite capture the glow of the underlit bottles, but I did get the Elvis posters in the background.

Satisfied, Leah?

Sounds Like Teen Spirit by Tim English

2009-02-26T19:00:00.000-06:00

Sounds Like Teen Spirit by Tim English.

Slam by Nick Hornsby

2009-02-19T22:00:00.000-06:00

Slam by Nick Hornsby.

Brasyl by Ian McDonald

2009-02-13T20:42:00.000-06:00

Brasyl by Ian McDonald.

Half the Blood of Brooklyn by Charlie Huston

2009-02-07T20:34:00.000-06:00

Half the Blood of Brooklyn by Charlie Huston.

2008 Taxes

2009-02-04T18:24:00.003-06:00

I did a quick and dirty estimate on my 2008 income tax return last weekend, just to see if I had to pay more or if I was getting a refund. It looks like I'm getting about $3,000 back. Yay! Time to adjust my withholding. Oh, and I looked at my year-end statement from one of my retirement accounts, I lost more than $100,000 over the last year. Well, you win some and you lose some.

Here's some more posts about income taxes:
Taxes
More fascinating blogging about taxes!
TurboTax vs. TaxCut: Tax Preparation Software DEATHMATCH: Even more fascinating blogging about taxes!

No Dominion by Charlie Huston

2009-02-01T22:00:00.000-06:00

No Dominion by Charlie Huston.

Juno

2009-01-31T20:10:00.005-06:00

I first saw Juno at the theater when it started to get some Oscar buzz last year, and it's out on the HBO now. I've watched it a couple of times since, every time I see something new. What a great movie. I think it's a better movie than the others in the recent genre, Knocked Up, Superbad, etc. Ellen Page was born to play the part, the dialogue by Diablo Cody is instant classic, and the rest of the cast is all-star, with Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, and J.K. Simmons. So I had to buy the t-shirt.

Already Dead by Charlie Huston

2009-01-26T22:00:00.000-06:00

Already Dead by Charlie Huston.