Chris.Derecola

Cambodian Wedding

2008-08-08T08:08:00.003-04:00

I was the Best Man in a Cambodian wedding ceremony last weekend. If you're not familiar with such things, the schedule went like this: Friday was several hours of sitting on the floor, in a suit, while Buddhist monks chanted to bless the marriage. Saturday was arriving at 8 am to spend the better part of 6 hours being shuttled from room to room to take part in no less than half a dozen ceremonies. Most ceremonies involved sitting on the floor or standing, in a different suit, while a ton of people I didn't know talked in Cambodian. Saturday night involved a 6 hour reception, at Harvest Moon, with a third of it taken up by greeting 500 people I didn't know while standing around in a tuxedo. Top that off with a 9 course Chinese dinner Thursday night at China Garden, hosted by the groom's mom, and you have the makes of a long weekend.

What struck me most about the proceedings were the "unscheduled" nature of everything. I didn't get a rough schedule of the weekend until like a week before and even then it was roundabout times. I didn't know what time I had to show up Saturday morning until Friday night and that was only after the groom asked like four different people. The rigidity we're used to in western ceremonies is most definitely absent from Cambodian ones and since it took place at the bride's house, people just came and went as they pleased to see different parts. The reception invitation stated 6:30 pm; I was the (very!) first to arrive at 6 pm and after my family arrived ~6:30, I was informed most Cambodians wouldn't show up until ~7:30 so things wouldn't start until 8 pm. The entire weekend was more of a house party, with after hours at a restaurant, that happened to also include a lengthy and storied wedding ceremony. (Be sure to check out the link if you're curious about all the things we did.)

The groom is half Chinese, half Caucasian and the bride is Cambodian and Chinese, so I was one of a handful of non-asian people present. As such, I was afforded an opportunity to see how other cultures celebrate that many in this country may not ever have. I'm glad I got to participate in such a culturally rich event, even if it doesn't really seem that way. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more were most of it not held in a room that's effectively a concrete slab with few throw rugs and no air conditioning. It was opressively hot (I spent a good amount of time fanning the groom so he didn't pass out) and it's hard not to let that taint your perception. It should be said, though, that all the food I ate over the course of the weekend was amazing. We're talking hundreds of spring rolls, some sort of rice porridge thing, whole roast pig (the skin is silly), fried fish, ginger lobster, roast duck, abalone with mustard greens and many, many more. Yay Asian food!

It was hellish but I did it because of the obvious. My best friend, whom I've known for 25 years, was getting married and he asked me to. I only put him through about 15 minutes of ceremony when I got married but who's counting, right? The good news is we're flying to Hawaii tomorrow for his "legal" marriage, so it's not all bad. I know what you're thinking - You just spent a week in California, how is it you're going to Hawaii for a week? Well, grad school starts in a month and I'll have class every Friday or Saturday for the 15 months that follow... so we won't be traveling for awhile.

P.S. - Happy 08/08/08 everyone! Anyone excited about the Olympics? I'm not.

Restaurant: Tuscarora Mill

2008-08-06T17:35:00.001-04:00

I recently found myself having dinner at Tuscarora Mill (Tuskies to the locals) in celebration of a birthday. I've been there before, as has pretty much anyone who lives or works in Loudoun County, but this particular meal calls for an official review. Rather than blather on about the various nuances of the dishes, I'll try and touch on the main things that I care about when visiting restaurants. It's actually kinda hard when you've been somewhere a handful of times but I'll persevere.

It's kinda a pain to get to during rush hour since it's in downtown Leesburg... especially if the cops have a "Driver's License checkpoint" set up along the way. Besides that, the location definitely has a sense of history. Like several other restaurants in LoCo, it's housed in a historical building of one form or another. The largely wood interior is classic in that anitque way and it avoids the manufactured feeling other resaurants have. The atmosphere isn't so stuffy that you'll feel out of place in jeans but it's upscale enough that you can take a date there all gussied up.

Our server was pleasant, very knowledgable about the menu/ingredients and seemed to actually enjoy her job. She wasn't working there because she couldn't do anything else... well, she might be... but she did a good job of faking it. She seemed to take pride in the service she provided and the food the chef prepares. (Which is a lot more than I can say about that god-awful Clydes in Ashburn. It was great when it opened but the service has really hit the shitter as of late.) She was almost too pleasant, and by the end of the night I kind of wanted her to go away, but I shouldn't complain about that.

As usual, their beer selection is pretty good. If you like beer, be sure to head over to my post about their beer selection from 6 months ago. I chose this option (again) and chose the Fullers London Pride (again), Hofbrau Hefeweizen and had the bartender pour me something I forgot. The beer was tasty as usual and the ability to choose a flight is one of my favorite things about the place. Bringing me a half glass of Lagunitas Censored unprompted and without charge didn't hurt either.

The food was really, really good. I can't remember it being as tasty as it was on my previous visits. I expected a decent meal but both the wife and I were surprised at the quality of every single course. I rarely have a hard time figuring out what to order because I know what I like. Somehow, Tuskies managed to get a lot of what I like on the same menu so I had a tough time picking. Below is what I ordered; it was all great. Cheap? No, but I don't feel like I got ripped off.

HUDSON VALLEY FOIE GRAS | $17
Pan Seared with Roasted Peaches,
Pistachio-Onion Marmalade, Grilled Ciabatta

WARM GOATCHEESE SALAD | $10
Local and Organic Lettuces, Poached Pears,
Walnuts, Tomatoes, Aged Sherry Vinaigrette

BEEF AND BEEF | $24
Grilled Tenderloin Tips and Braised Short Rib
Gorgonzola Mousse, Truffled Grits,
Bacon Braised Brussels Sprouts

Besides our usual sushi joint, I think it may be our new go-to place for a nice meal out. We don't go to expensive dinners but a few times a year and it's nice to know there will be a place that can provide when we need it. It's expensive but not "OMG WTF!" and accessible to most local professionals, I believe. I really think it's one of the jewels of the Loudoun County restaurant scene.

California

2008-08-04T22:10:00.015-04:00

I guess it's about time to offer my thoughts on our trip to California. We spent a week there, with most of our time spent staying with and visiting family. It was my first time in the state and also my first time going on a somewhat lengthy trip to visit relatives, so my perspective is probably somewhat skewed. The trip broke down into three distinct sections so I'll offer notes on each separately.

San Jose
This is perhaps the area where my perspective is least valuable. We spent 4 days living with my grandmother-in-law in a gated golf community in the suburbs of San Jose. As such, we spent most of our time "visiting" and didn't really do much to explore the area. We did a day trip to Santa Cruz, hit up a redwood state park on the way back, did some minor sightseeing around San Jose and that's really about it. Santa Cruz was cool, with the whole Pacific Ocean thing, and the redwoods were freaking amazing but San Jose was fairly ho-hum. Now it's possible that's a result of the purpose of our trip but from what I understand, it's not a place tourists flock to. It's not nearly as humid as it is on the east coast but 86° is still too hot for my taste.

Laguna Seca
Part of the timing of the trip was such that I could attend the MotoGP race at Laguna Seca. As I mentioned in a previous post, racing in person is never as good as racing on TV. You only get to see 2-3 turns at most and generally the action ends up being where you aren't. It was nice to finally get to see the motorcycles in person though, as you really can't imagine how fast, loud and just plain awesome they are until you see them. Time to cross it off the ole Life List.

Laguna itself was pretty crazy. The track was in the middle of nowhere and far, far more hilly than I'd imagined. It's nice to get an overall mental picture of the place because that helps puts things in context when you watch races on TV. The corkscrew, while somewhat of a gimmick, really is pretty nutso in person. It's steep, really steep, and I'd like to drive it one of these days. A lot of people say Laguna really isn't all that great for car racing but judging from my experience with other tracks, you just can't get a feeling for how scary things are until you drive it. I'm glad I went but I hope next time I'll actually get to be on the track.

San Francisco
We drove the Pacific Coast Highway from San Jose to San Fran. While not part of San Francisco, I offer it here as something you should do when visiting the city. We left San Jose after dinner and drove to the coast via some fairly mountainous roads. Once at the coast, we chugged along the PCH until the sun closed in on the horizon. We ended up at a pretty decent overlook about 20-30 minutes south of the city and watched the sun set into the Pacific Ocean. It was neat and my lady friend seemed to like it.

We only had two full days in San Francisco so our experience was limited. Our itinerary included a Segway Tour, a night tour of Alcatraz, riding a few cable cars, a visit to Pier 39, eating several fine meals, shortening the 49-mile Scenic Drive to ~25 miles and celebrating the wife's birthday. It was a busy two days and while we saw/did a lot, there's probably a lot we were missing out on. We didn't take part in any nightlife and we didn't do a ton of exploration so my thoughts are based on what I call the San Francisco Express Experience.

The Segway tour was... interesting. I have to be honest and say that were it not for trying Segways for the first time, the tour would have been pretty boring. You get to see a bunch of things surrounding the marina area and do drive-bys for things like the Palace of Fine Arts, but that's about it. Given the amount of time invested in the tour, I would have liked to do more actual touring. The Segways were a lot of fun and really easy to learn but I suspect that's the primary reason the tour gets good reviews. If you dismiss the novelty of actually riding one, the tour was downright pedestrian (pun intended). The highlight of the tour was probably me crashing mine into Melissa's because I was being a jackass, not any of the sightseeing.

Alcatraz is one of those things you do once, I think. It's been something that's always been on my "if I have the opportunity" list and it kind of lived up to that. I can't say it was the OMG experience that walking on a glacier was but the history and scale of the place is worth experiencing. It's a lot like visiting famous racetracks in that you don't really get a feel for the place until you're there. The cells are tiny, it's dark as hell in solitary confinement, the hospital is down creepy and the water surrounding it is pretty ridiculous. Doing it at night/sundown offers an additional layer of spooky (wouldn't call it scary) as well as some unique photography opportunities, if you're into that sorta thing. I'd recommend the night tour, if you have the choice.

I've heard a lot about the food in San Francisco and I'm glad to report it doesn't disappoint. We only managed three meals while there, because breakfast was part of the hotel package, but all three were pretty darn good. Frascati was solid haute cuisine, if expensive, but it really served the purpose of the "special night out" that I picked it for. The food wasn't quite a home run (but close), the location was convenient (at a cable car stop) and the atmosphere was sophisticated but unassuming. Dim Sum Bar Restaurant was everything I expected a shithole in Chinatown to be. The neighborhood (Tenderloin) was dilapidated with its trash-ridden streets, you felt like you were going to stick to the floor, the owners were yelling at each other extremely loudly in Chinese and the food was great. Seriously, we had some made to order dim sum, pork chow fun/foon and wor wonton soup and it was all really good. The third meal, a lunch, was eaten at Cioppino's on the Wharf. While seafood at the Wharf is somewhat of a cliche, I really have nothing bad to say about the food. I had the dish that shared the restaurant's namesake and I'd order it again. The seafood was fresh, the broth/gravy were flavorful and I feel like I got my money's worth. The service was somewhat lacking but when your bowl overfloweth with seafood like it did, you can overlook a lot.

So what did I think about my short time in San Francisco? Well, let me get it out of the way and say that unlike quite a few people I know, I have no real desire to move there. Everyone's right, the weather was absolutely ridiculous and is definitely an asset of the city. It was great to get away from our opressive summers but I don't know if I could live there year-round. I like seasons, including winter, and I think I'd miss them. We didn't have the time to explore everything the city had to offer but I really can't say it's that much different than a lot of other US cities. I mean it's clearly no New York (that's a good thing) but I can't say it's somewhere I'd chose to live. Overall, it has a good bit of charm and is a nice place to eat well and take in the sights. I haven't started looking for jobs there but I think everyone should check it out for a few days and see what does make it unique.

Be sure to visit our California 2008 page to see all our pictures and a short clip video... if you're still reading, that is.

Airline: Virgin America

2008-07-30T11:44:00.001-04:00

Nope, no details about California yet as I'm kinda waiting until I can post the pictures too. Instead, it's a review on how we got there. I'd never been on Virgin America prior to this trip and given that I like Virgin Atlantic and the ticket was half the cost of United, we decided it was time. Here are my thoughts based on a non-stop flights from IAD to SFO and back.

Price - Let's face it, this is the reason why most people choose their airlines. A round-trip ticket to SFO for $350/person is hard to beat.
People - They definitely recruit a younger, hipper crowd than the older airlines. I'm pretty sure a few of the fight attendants were younger than me and a couple of the women were fairly attractive. It was weird to see pilots in a just black dress shirt and pants though. Everyone at check-in and the gates were polite, if not too energetic, and the limited flight schedule helped minimize lines.
Plane Layout - They have both bathrooms at the back with the doors opening to where the crew and galley are. It's not that big of a deal until you have 3 crew and 4 people trying to work around each other to get where they need to go. It reminded me of a college party where there's lots of very personal parts touching those of complete strangers and you either enjoy it or are skeeved by it. The shelves of bottled water available for anyone to grab is a nice touch though.
Seats - Unable to use my trusty "upgrade every flight on United" trick, we had to slum it with the cattle in economy. I opted to pay extra for exit row so I can't speak to the regular economy seats. The legroom in the exit rows was worth it for a cross country flight but be wary of the window seat as the armrest is part of the window and raised a bit. It's not exactly what I imagined given the description on SeatGuru but at least the site warned us of the other exit row's seats not reclining. Row 10 is actually ideal because the row in front can't come back on you and you can still hose the person behind you. If you fly any distance on V-Am, go aisle on row 10.
Entertainment - I was pretty excited about Red, their in-flight entertainment system, but unfortunately it didn't live up to the hype. Live TV is awesome but all the channels I cared about (ESPN, ESPN2, etc) didn't work for most of the flight. I wasn't going to pay $7 to see a movie on a 9" screen and definitely wasn't paying $1 to watch episodes of Family Guy. The games were cool but I even got bored with Doom after 3 levels. The chat room functions didn't work the whole way to CA and no one was using them on the way back. I think it's a neat idea but I'm not sure it will ever be useful unless you're not sitting with your friends/family. I think the real value will come once they enable SMS and email. Ordering a drink with it is neat, even if I can't get a lousy fork without buying a $5 snackbox.

I think my expectations were too high. Having been spoiled over recent years by my ability to continually upgrade seats, my perspective is likely skewed. (I tried to get a free upgrade to First Class but alas, they denied me.) I wanted a really nice domestic carrier that had all sorts of cool things to impress me. In the end it ended up being what it likely was designed to be... a budget carrier that has a bit more creature comforts than others in the market. To be clear: It's really not at all bad, it's just not anything special.

944 Cup Calendar Shoot

2008-07-27T21:18:00.004-04:00

You were expecting more pictures or posts from our California trip, weren't you? Well, it's a bit early to be gathering my thoughts and our pictures so instead lets take a trip back a month... or two. I was asked by the 944 Cup National Director (aka my dad) to set up a photo shoot for the 2009 calendar. After it was all said and done, we had 4 models booked for 3 hours and planned to shoot them with 12-15 different cars using 3 different photographers. Since I was also racing that day, I wanted to be somewhat hands off about the whole thing but you know how that goes. I had a vision in my head of the final product and without my involvement, it just wouldn't have happened. The end result was me taking more pictures than I wanted but having a nice collection to add to my portfolio. I finally got them online and am able to share. I think I'm going to have 5 (yes, 5) new albums from our trip so stay tuned for those.

Restaurant: In-N-Out

2008-07-23T12:54:00.003-04:00

Okay so restaurant is a loose interpretation of a fast food joint but it's the category I use for all places of eatery. I'd sampled my first In-N-Out food a few years ago in Vegas and I really wasn't that impressed. I was disappointed in the lack of choices and the actual food really wasn't all that different than a generic burger joint. I later found out, through the magic of the internet, there was a whole "secret menu" available to me. Armed with this information, I finally had the opportunity to make a proper go of it.

I opted for a double double and well done fries, both animal style. I'd considered going 3x3 or 4x4 but decided I was already pushing my luck. The actual burger was small, fast food style, but the addition of all the extra animal style stuff made it more delicious. The bun was sorta crunchy, which I liked, but overall the sammich really wasn't anything to write home about. The fries were really good, smothered with their cooked onions cheese and what was essentially Big Mac sauce. Adding calories to fries always makes them better and these were no exception. When you have to use a fork to eat them, you know they're going to be good, but they really cease to be fries at that point. I also liked the extra crispyness of the well done, although the wife described them as burnt.

Overall, I wasn't really that impressed. I've known a few people over the years that rave about In-N-Out and I'm not really sure I get it. If you get over the novelty of the secret menu, it becomes a lot like any other fast food joint out there. I'm sure an eating compeition of a 6x6 or 9x9 would have been popular back when I was in college but those days are pretty much gone. Given the choice, I'd likely choose Five Guys nine times out of ten.

Hi from Laguna Seca

2008-07-21T02:09:00.002-04:00

I finally got to see MotoGP and did it where I wanted, Laguna Seca. The race was great but like all races, the actual racing is better on TV. The track was amazing in person... much MUCH more dramatic than I ever thought it would be. The Corkscrew (shown above), while not great for watching racing, was amazing to see in person. That turn and the high speed left after it were steep, really steep and the picture above doesn't do it justice. Due to a forgotten card reader, the cell phone picture above is all I have to offer until we get home. That's it for now, it's definitely time for bed.

Movie: The Dark Knight

2008-07-18T08:56:00.006-04:00

Being a Marvel fanboy, I'm not a huge DC Comics or Batman fan. I've seen all the films and liked a few of them but didn't see the last one in the theater... so I'm definitely not a zealot. However, given the opportunity to see a free early screening of The Dark Knight and admittedly intrigued by a young portrayal of the Joker, it was a no-brainer. It's my hope I can offer this assessment not as a comic book dork, but as an avid movie fan. Heck, I didn't even like the last movie that much, if at all, so that take for what it's worth.

The Bad

The most annoying thing in the entire movie was Bale's "Batman voice". It's so gruff and over the top it's downright cheesey. I may have had this problem with the last movie but I don't remember. He's better than some of the other Batmans we've experienced and definitely a better Bruce Wayne... just tone it down a notch.
I don't think Aaron Eckhart is a good actor. I just didn't buy him in the role and I really can't think of anything I've ever bought him in.
I also don't buy Maggie Gyllenhaal as the damsel in distress. She doesn't have to be a smokin' hot babe but the way she carries herself and her face just don't sell me.

The Good

The movie wasn't nearly as dark as previous ones. Now I realize that Batman is supposed to be dark and Gotham is supposed to be a cesspit of despair, but it was nice to see Gotham as a real city. I liked the Tim Burton versions but the change of pace worked.
There was a distinct lack of cheese. Bale's voice for Batman was the most hokey by far and that's a good, good thing. Spiderman is geared towards a wide audience but this movie really felt a lot more "grown-up" than any of those.
The writing was pretty good. There were a few twists that you don't really expect, a nice chunk of witty banter and at no time did I think, "God, when is this going to end?"
Not a huge amount of action. They didn't rely on blowing shit up every 36 seconds to entertain us. They did it with the characters, the dialogue and the story.
Heath Ledger was amazing. You knew it was coming folks but hear me out on this. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not one of those people that obsess over dead celebrities or place merit where it's not deserved. He was so creepy and funny and strange and scary that you forgot it was Ledger and really saw the Joker. Jack was good, but in that laughing hyena way. Heath was just downright demented and it worked. In a way I'm sad that he died. Not really because he's dead but because people will obsess over this role as his last. His performance deserves to stand on its own and not be cheapened by everyone playing up his death. I would have liked to see him reprise the role but I'm kinda glad the powers that be can't whore it by making him do it again.

What's the verdict? Go see it. Seriously, go see it... and not because there's a dead guy playing a villian. Everyone I've talked to from last night said it was "really good" and I'd tend agree with them. It wasn't one of those "omg, best movie evaR!" types but it's a decent two hours of entertainment.

iSheep

2008-07-12T16:18:00.001-04:00

They are out in force at Fair Oaks Mall today. More than one person in line was killing time by playing with their first generation iPhone. Yay consumerism!

Future of Air Travel

2008-07-11T12:13:00.000-04:00

As someone who flies a few times a year and is preparing for two upcoming trips, I've been following the air travel industry closely. We're probably all familiar with increased fuel surcharges, the cancellation of countless flights and routes as well as the oft-reported new charges to check a bag. What you may not have heard yet is that US Airways has announced it's going to remove entertainment systems from all domestic flights. The situation is starting to beg the question... what's the future of air travel and are any of us going to want to be a part of it? I'm coming up on my 13th and 14th trip in the last 3 years so I'm going to offer my take on it. Since we've managed to use miles to upgrade our economy tickets on nearly every trip, we've been somewhat immune to the woes of air travel, but here's what I think anyway.

First and foremost, air travel is going to become a luxury again. Now I realize there are a lot of people in this country that really couldn't afford to fly before but the bar is going to be raised higher. This means the middle-class is thinking about driving the kids to Disney World instead of flying and that lifelong wish of visiting Hawaii or Alaska will require a few more years of saving. I hope that it will spur the sort of ground-based efficiency we experienced in Japan but I know that America is a long, long way from that.

Those that can afford to fly are confronted with two options. Either you're rich (or expensing it) and fly in an upgraded cabin or you get nickel and dimed on what will essentially be a really crappy experience. As someone who has seen the benefits of upgrades, I can say that while I hate the actual act of flying, I love the experience. The comfort, the meals, the entertainment and the special treatment are things those with money will contine paying for. There may be more teleconferences in the coming months/years but overall, there will still be a market. Everyone else will end up being those who simply have no other choice but to fly. Want to visit family in Wisconsin? Want to see the Buckingham Palace you've been saving 5 years for? You really have no logical choice but to fly. Unfortunately, it's possible that the experience could leave such a bad taste in your mouth that you vow never to fly again.

So what future does the industry have? While it's unlikely we'd get the large scale boycotting that a few media outlets are trying to encite, there will be shrinkage. A lot of our economy is dependent on air travel so it won't disappear but it will force a change in the way the companies operate and how we view it. Something will have to change because the current system is broken. Whether that's increased cost efficiency, some creative market segmentation or govertmental subsidy (please no) remains to be seen. Until then, happy flying!

Where I Get It

2008-07-05T11:43:00.001-04:00

Awhile back some friends were discussing where we may have gotten our interest in cars from. I finally got to scanning in a few pictures from a photo album we have around the house so here's a brief pictorial about it. Needless to say, my destiny was predetermined long before I was ever conceived.

One of my grandfather's many licenses, complete with 'stache.

My dad and mom with him and his Porsche Elva at Pocono.

My grandfather doing a hill climb in the Elva in '73.

My grandpop racing the Elva at Summit Point (where I was two weekends ago). I'm told they rented the entire track for the day at the turn of $50 and had the whole thing to themselves.

Sadly the car is not in the family any more. My dad sold it, and all his other cars except the '67 911S, after my grandfather died in '91. To this day, my dad regrets the decision to sell that car (which wasn't running at the time). Probably the most unfortunate part is I was 13 when he died so he never got to see me drive/race.

Race Recap: Hyperfest 6/08

2008-07-01T22:29:00.006-04:00

It's taken me a week and a half to write this for a couple reasons. At work I've been... well... working. You know you have a problem when you put in an 11 hour day then a) dream about your Outlook calendar that night and b) try to sleep in the next day but only manage 30 minutes past your normal wake-up because you're thinking about what's waiting for you in the office. Outside the office I've been dealing with all the things that come with Hyperfest, plus a few bonus items. Not only did I race last weekend and assume the usual responsibilities of updating the Cup website, I was/am in charge of booking models and doing the production work for the 2009 944 Cup Calendar. This probably doesn't sound like that big of a deal but we're talking about arranging arrival times, payment, shoot location/conditions, wading through upwards of 1,000 images and post-processing a few dozen for both the print calendar and to sell online. Here's a pic of the old man after the shoot...

Combine with that a major delivery of multiple furniture items and boxes from Vermont that prompted a complete repacking and organization of our storage space... and you have a very busy Chris over the last two weeks. At this point, I'm far too tired to go into exhaustive detail about the race. Instead I'll offer a few notes about the happenings of the weekend and then give you my clips from the weekend.

I finished 11th overall (9th in chapter) both days. Since I'm not running for a top spot in the Championship this year, I didn't really put any effort into qualifying well. I started 24th on Saturday, which made for great video, and 19th on Sunday. The field size was well over 30 for whatever that's worth.
The lack of stress present when you're just racing to have fun is amazing. Racing has become fun again, which is really cool.
There was a major engine blowout on Saturday. A few of us had to do our own little Days of Thunder impression driving through the thick, thick smoke. Look for it in the video.
We had a rollover and subsequent red flag on Saturday. I was right behind the guy when it happened so be sure to look for it in the clip as well.
Laps for Life was a success, even if I did place 4th in the overall pledge amount list. We only managed 8 laps due to the red flag but the drivers raised well over $5,000 so thanks to everyone who contributed.
We had a professional production crew taking some in car footage on Saturday so I set my camera backwards to get both front and rear views. The first video below is my first take at doing PIP, I think the results are pretty cool. If you'd like to see more footage of the goings-on around me check out videos from other racers here, here, here and here.

RIP George Carlin

2008-06-23T09:17:00.002-04:00

He was one of my favorites and not just because he liked to use the f-word a lot. His social commentary was very pointed and often very much in line with my views on what's messed up about this country/world. We were fortunate enough to see him in Atlantic City years ago and I'm glad we did. Rest in peace good sir, you were one of the greats.

Shave and a Haircut

2008-06-20T14:48:00.000-04:00

...is not two bits anymore but still worth it. I've been going to Dulles Barber since it opened last year but always got just a haircut. They use straight razors for your neck, a hot towel after your haircut and have four 42" plasmas on ESPN HD to watch from your comfy leather chair. A few visits ago, I saw a guy nearly twice my age sprawled out on a chair getting a lather shave. Making best use of a half day at work, I went in for a haircut and with the place being empty realized it was finally time for my first.

Having successfully lived through the process with no major trauma or scars, I can say it's something every guy should do once. It makes you feel manly and also somehow connects you to the "days of old" when things were slower but better. Not only is it the closest any self-respecting heterosexual male should get to a day at the spa, the results are also somewhat amazing. It's the smoothest shave I've had... ever... something guys could likely use to their advantage with womenfolk.

As a side note, I'd heard of the Grooming Lounge before but have never been since I live west of civilization. I looked up their prices in response to my experience and was astounded to find a hot shave costs $58! I got a shave and haircut for half that price, excluding tip. I don't know if the shave is an identical service but they certainly sound it. I know I'm not nearly trendy enough to be the Lounge's target market but c'mon... $58? Sheesh.

Book: How to Win Friends...

2008-06-18T15:32:00.005-04:00

So pretty much everyone has either read How to Win Friends and Influence People or knows someone who has. There are a plethora of reviews and synopsis floating around the internet so I won't bore you with an in-depth review. I just wanted to write a short post to say that I found the book helpful, despite being written 70 years ago. Some of the stuff you'll already know and a lot of it seems like common sense but the way it's all laid out in the book helps "tweak" the way you interact with people. I can't say it's changed my life in any drastic way, but it has helped me approach situations in a more successful manner at work. I'd recommend it to anyone who a) finds themselves frustrated by the actions of others, b) routinely butts heads with people who have a difference of opinion or c) wants to learn how to convince people your ideas are the best. It's basically about manipulation without malice... who doesn't want to learn about that?

Canoe Trip 2008

2008-06-13T15:01:00.003-04:00

As a kid, I used to go on canoe trips with my dad on the Rappahannock River. A few years ago, I set out to revive the tradition and asked a few friends to take a similar trip. We took last year off due to a few extenuating circumstances but this past weekend marked our third year. We do the two day, 29 mile trip offered by Clore Brothers... the same outfitter my dad and I used 20 years ago. (The owners still remember me, which is amazing.) It's been awhile since I've done a bulleted list so I think it's time I broke one out. Click the image above or here for more pics.

It was really freaking hot. It actually wasn't that bad because we spent a lot of time in the cool water goofing off and relaxing. In retrospect, it was probably one of the better places to spend such a blistering weekend.
I don't recommend drinking before lunch when the hardest part of your trip is the first 5 miles. In the previous two years, our two canoes had swamped a grand total of two times. This year, my canoe swamped three times before lunch and bystanders actually had to catch it downstream one of those times. The ego hit won't hurt nearly as much as getting a chunk taken out of your shin while floating down the rapids after it.
If you're going to spend all day drinking, eating beef jerky and goofing off, be prepared to set up camp in the waining daylight. If you don't waste your time setting up your first campsite on a hunting reserve frequented by drunken rednecks, you might get to your final site with a bit more light to spare.
Don't forget to reapply sunscreen after every single time you go in the water. If you forget, you will burn, even if it's your last two hours on the river.
I've realized that earplugs are one of the most critical pieces of camping equipment. In the company of avid snorers, I'm not sure why I didn't bring them previous years.
If you give Mike a bottle of Beam and challenge him to do anything, he'll do it. He probably won't shut up for hours on end but some of the stuff that comes out of his mouth will be truly classic.
It's probably been 15 years but poison ivy is just as annoying as I remember it. I actually escaped the worst of it but pretty much everyone got it from the hike into our put-in.

Program: Lightroom

2008-06-10T16:25:00.002-04:00

Every once in awhile, a program/product comes along that makes you think "God, why haven't they thought of this sooner?" Other programs can do similar things, more or less, but these programs wrap it all up with a big fat bow on it. I'm thinking Netvibes, Google Sync, HijackThis, UltraMon and SUPER here... if you're familiar with them. I've only used Lightroom for a week and can already say it's one of those programs.

Rather than jump into all the reasons why I'm Lightroom's bitch, let's first talk a little bit about the RAW format. To summarize, RAW is basically the raw data captured by the image sensor of your camera without any processing of the image by the camera's brain. This is great if you want to work through all your pictures and post-process them on your computer or just use some program to convert them to usable images like JPG. This isn't so great if you don't have a good way to manage and process them; Photoshop not being an example of one IMO.

Before Lightroom, I decided I wanted to get everything right in the camera and do nothing after the fact. As I started doing more and more "photography work" it became apparent this was an unrealistic expectation and started processing images. I'd tweak the white balance here, adjust the exposure there, increase the saturation or just convert to he whole damn thing to black and white. Photographers generally keep/work on ~10% of what they shoot so while I wasn't adjusting every photo, we were still talking dozens of pictures that got "cleaned up" manually.

Enter Lightroom, the tool designed by Adobe with the direction of professional photographers. I'm going to blather on about all the cool features in a minute but before that take some time to "View the Feature Tour" on Adobe's Lightroom page I linked above. Go ahead, do it now, I'll wait until you come back... and make sure you watch at least through the 'Develop' section (2nd sub-clip). Pretty cool, right? Here's a list of the reasons why I love it.

Manage - If you're not using Adobe Bridge, which I wasn't, managing photos is a complete nightmare. If you take 300 photos and want to "keep" 30 of those, you're copying/deleting or using Save As to preserve your originals. Lightroom's ability to manage entire collections within the program, flag photos as "keepers" and filter on any number of conditions means you get only the photos you want in your face.
Non-destructive editing - It saves all your changes in a small config file separate from the original. When you open the picture, it applies all your changes instantaneously but the original remains untouched. No saving copies with your changes to preserve original files.
Presets - Photoshop has plugins that will allow you to easily do various things like sepia tone but Lightroom does it out of the box. What's more, Lightroom allows you to easily save your actions as a preset that can be automatically applied upon original import of a file.
Sliders - Who doesn't love slider adjustments? All the cool stuff isn't buried three menus deep with some obscure name. Instead, they have clear and concise labels and out in the open, laid out in a way that pretty much anyone can understand.
Cropping - The auto-cropping rotation is simply amazing. If you want to tweak a photo a few degrees in other programs, you're doing it by entering a numerical value, using a guide to check how it lines up and then cropping as necessary. In Lightroom, you move the little slider from side to side and it automatically overlays guides and squared cropping boundaries. Not only that, but you can undo cropping at any time, even after you do other things to the photo.
Export - Not only can you export "what you see is what you get" to a JPG but there also a plethora of plugins that allow you to export to a bevy of photo sharing sites. I've used the one for Smugmug, since that's where my portfolio is hosted, and can say it works pretty seamlessly.

So that's it, I can't recommend it enough. I used it for the last two galleries I posted and think it's changed the way I see post-processing. Let me know if you're having trouble finding a place to purchase it... I can recommend some good retailers. ;-)

What 20 lbs Looks Like

2008-06-03T20:22:00.004-04:00

I know I just did a Living Healthy post not too long ago so consider this a Special Report. I stepped on the scale this morning and was pleased to find I'd finally hit the 20 pound mark. I've stuck with the 45 minute stair master three times a week, supplemented with strength/aerobic/yoga on Wii Fit, and it appears to be paying off. I've broken through my plateau and dropped 3 pounds since my last report 2 weeks ago.

Looking at these pictures you'd probably think I've lost more than 20 pounds, so I guess there's something to be said about gaining muscle too. There's still fat, but now when I poke it, there's usually hard muscle behind it instead of just more fat. I have a ways to go, especially in the spare tire region, but visual progress is encouraging. If nothing else, I take solace the after-pic shows my shorts are obviously too big and that I don't mind people seeing me in an undershirt. In other news, I still can't seem to shave my goatee straight.

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-30T20:13:00.001-04:00

It's been well over a week since my last post but with good reason. First, and perhaps most amazingly, I spent the entire holiday weekend away from a computer. The in-laws were in town so we spent Saturday and Sunday taking them around to some of the interesting places in the area. We did Harpers Ferry on Saturday, with a brief stopover at Charlestown Races & Slots, dinner at Yellow Brick Bank in Shepherdstown and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on Sunday. On Monday, we spent the better part of the day water skiing, drinking and soaking up the sun on a friend's boat before heading back to their place for some 4-person Wii Mario Kart (which I dominated). Second, I've spent the last few days working on all the pictures and video from the aforementioned adventures.

I'd been to Yellow Brick Bank before and from what I remember, the meal was pretty good. We were going to be in the area so I decided to make reservations to check it out again. Since I hadn't been in years, I wasn't sure what to expect but the menu was encouraging. Unfortunately, the good really ended there. It was hot inside, 76° to be exact, and I know because we sat right next to the thermostat. The decor, with its obscene colors that could be forgiven, wasn't exactly high class with dingy, water stained ceilings. Our waitress, who forgot what beers were on tap, was wearing a skirt and Crocs... 'nough said. The food was actually fairly decent, until the wife lost hers on the way home. We all ate pretty much the same thing all day so it had to be dinner. Evidently the restaurant changed hands about three years ago and local reports say the quality has taken a downturn since then. I'd recommend staying away at this point.

I don't think anyone needs reviews of Harpers Ferry or the Udvar-Hazy Center so I'll just link you to my galleries. These mark my first time (yes, first) shooting in RAW and with the help of Lightroom, I've been convinced to move to the format exclusively. I just got Lightroom and can already say the program is absolutely spectacular. It doesn't require that you shoot in RAW, as you can just as easily use JPG input, but I can't see why you wouldn't if you have the option. I don't want to go into too much detail because it's good enough to deserve its own post. Suffice to say, I'll probably be buying another memory card to support the larger RAW file sizes on longer vacations/shoots. I'd also like to mention the 18-200mm VR performed very well inside the Udvar-Hazy without flash or tripod. I tossed a bunch of pics out but it's amazing I got what I did if the Wii Fit is at all accurate measuring my balance.

The last piece of media I can offer is a batch of clips from our water sports efforts. Included in the clip are myself and two friends showing our varying degrees of both ability and success. Two things I've realized is that a) I simply suck at it and b) I'm not athletic/light enough to get myself up on skis. With the level of soreness over the last few days as an indicator, I've reaffirmed I'm not working all my muscle groups in the gym. The video probably isn't that entertaining if you're not watching yourself but here it is nonetheless.
Note the soundtrack has language not safe for work/children.

Living Healthy: 20 Months

2008-05-20T21:39:00.002-04:00

For a long time I'd been doing 30 minutes walking briskly on the treadmill and various upper body weight lifting circuits. I'm down 17 lbs since I started this whole thing but considering I've been doing it for 20 months, 10 more (for my interim goal) seems like a long way to go. I'd plateaued, as they say, so with the helicopter tour and skydiving deadlines fast approaching, I've decided to step up my game.

Rather than build muscle by lifting I've decided to decrease that and favor a significant cardio workout. For the last few weeks, I've moved to 45 minutes on the stair climber twice a week and push ups every day. I'm finally working out hard enough that I can't form complete sentences and the push ups will keep my upper body from losing strength. This week, I'm trying to start a 3x/week routine, in hopes I can really burn off the pounds. My Wii Fit shipped today and while a bit gimmicky, I hope it will encourage me to be active in my off days as well as motivate me all around by tracking my progress.

The best news is that I went shopping for new clothes a few days ago because the pants I bought a year ago are too big. I'm down another pant size, had to make a new hole on my belt and even dropped a shirt size. It's hard to believe at one time I was wearing XXXL and now I have shirts in my closet that are XL. Stayed tuned for updates... those 10 lbs must go!

eBay Annoys Me

2008-05-16T10:00:00.002-04:00

Since I'm rocking a projector, I needed an extension cable for my Wii sensor bar. The major retailers don't sell one (I now know why) so I went to ebay based on a recommendation from a coworker. I found a seller with 40k (yes, thousand) positive feedback and purchased one for $10, including shipping. The following is our communication chain, which has taken place over the last 3.5 weeks. Note that I've condensed my emails for the sake of easy reading but can assure you the full versions are much more verbose and polite. His are nearly verbatim so suffice to say, all his responses have been two sentences... tops.

Me: The item is defective, please let me know how I can get a replacement.
Him: Please make sure the cable is fully inserted. Sometimes you have to push it in hard.
Me: I tried again, it didn't work. When I attempted to disconnect it, the end of the cable broke off and stuck in my sensor bar cable.
Him: Sorry to hear that. We can ship a replacement out without you having to return the defective item if you provide your address. If you would like to return it in "brand new condition" we can refund the purchase price.

~At this point I had zero confidence the replacement would work, so I bought a wireless sensor bar from Best Buy.~

Me: I purchased a replacement because I didn't want to wait another week to use my Wii. The item is not in new condition, because it's defective, can I still get a refund?
Me: (3 days later) Please respond to my previous message, I would really appreciate a refund.
Him: Did you return the item to us yet?
Me: Am I required to pay return shipping on a defective item?
Him: The item must be return to us, yes.
Me: I have decided to request a replacement for the item. Please ship it to me at...
Me: (4 days later) Have you shipped the item?
Me: (1 day later) If I do not hear from you within 48 hours I will open a dispute with Paypal.
Him: Waiting on the defective item before the replacement gets shipped.
Me: Your original email stated I could get a replacement without returning the item. I am not paying to return a defective item if I'm not going to get reimbursed. It is the responsibility of the seller to make right without additional cost to the buyer..
Him: After rereading your email, you stated you wanted a refund. Let me know!
Me: I did, until I found out I'd have to pay to return the item. If that's true, I just want the replacement item.
Him: If you would like to return the item in brand new, unused conditions, we can refund the purchase price.

It's like talking to a brick wall. I eventually filed a Paypal complaint and was informed I would have to pay to send the item back. Rather than pay for return shipping, I asked the seller to refund me the difference so we could just part ways and they eventually did. In the end, I paid $6 for a broken item and I really have no recourse other than to leave negative feedback and poke a minuscule pinprick in his feedback rating. He would then retaliate, knocking my currently perfect feedback down to something like 95%.

Now I realize it's not ebay's fault this guy is a tool but I think it speaks to a larger problem. The site has become so infested with large scale vendors that the little guys get the screw job. With increasing regularity, transactions are not person to person and those who sell dozens of items a day don't care to spend the effort on customer service. The site can still be a good source for those hard to find items but it's definitely not as "garage sale" as it used to be and that's a sad thing.

Movie: Iron Man

2008-05-11T21:54:00.002-04:00

I should preface this by saying I'm a wee bit of a comic book geek. I don't wait in line to see the movies, I don't dress up as the characters and I haven't read every issue of everything Marvel's published. I do collect Wolverine comics, own and display one share of Marvel stock along side the four #1 issues of X-Men (Vol 2), have two cats named after X-Men and know most of the major story lines. Needless to say, Iron Man is easily my most anticipated movie of the year.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to the follow public service announcement. Note these suggestions are for the maximum enjoyment of those around you and should be adhered to only if you remotely care about other people. When in a theater full of people, especially behind me, you should refrain from saying the following at your normal conversational volume.

I like previews. (right when they're starting)
Oh that disgusting! (in reference to a finger prick on screen)
I didn't know this was a comic book. (when the Marvel logo appears on screen)
What just happened? (After a clearly labeled flashback)
What's he doing? (When Stark starts to build the first suit)

There were a lot more but you get the point. We now return you to your regular program already in progress.

I liked the movie, despite the seriously inconsiderate woman behind me. I'd read a few reviews, most saying it was one of the better comic book adaptations and I'd tend to agree. The X-Men series is going to be my favorite for the sheer volume of characters and the presence of Wolverine, but Iron Man is a solid second (fourth?) after that.

Where this movie bested many other superhero movies was the way it refrained from wasting our time with tedious back stories. Those of us who care, already know it all and those who don't, just want you to make with the explosions. There were no hour-long explanations about how childhood shaped the man or about the struggle that comes with responsibility to save lives. There was Tony Stark, played impressively well by Robert Downey Jr, and a quick glimpse into his life sweet life before Iron Man.

I've always been partial to Iron Man and they were amazingly true to the story. They updated it for current times but left all the critical pieces in tact. Downey played the role as only he could (worth saying again), Paltrow as Pepper Potts trounces Dunst as Mary Jane Watson and the presence of Terrence Howard as Rhodes lays a nice foundation for War Machine to appear in the sequel. The movie wasn't too campy, had a solid amount of action and while it had it's share of cheesy one-liners, most were not the "only a 12 y/o would find this funny" variety. I wouldn't have minded more battle scenes but just seeing how Iron Man would work in real life was pretty freakin' cool. I definitely recommend it... but like I said, I'm kinda biased.

Oh and if you go see it, stay until the credits are over.

P.S. - Happy Mother's Day Mom (and all the other mothers out there)

Photos for Anytime Fitness

2008-05-08T20:25:00.010-04:00

A guy I used to work with asked me to do some promotional work for his gym. Never one to turn down an opportunity to shoot, regardless of subject, I agreed. I've taken the last few days to post-process and I'm honest when I say I'm not really that happy with the results. I managed to scrape together a dozen of two of the trainers to put into my portfolio... but these are admittedly not my best work.

There was a time constraint because of other happenings so as it turns out, I had just over two hours to shoot exteriors of the gym, group shots, headshots and bodyshots of ten people, a bunch of exercise-like shots and some outdoor activity stuff. I felt rushed and as a result, didn't really follow my normal routine of due diligence. To put things in perspective, I've had a shoot last 8 hours and result in 1200 pictures... for just two models! For these, the lighting was off in a lot of them, some of the pictures are not sharp and there's just a general feeling of blah when I look at them. I think you might feel the same way.

If they're not that good and I don't really like them, why am I sharing them? Well, I've always been one to show people the things I'm most proud of, probably in hopes of propping my ego. I'm selective about what I show and who I show it to because I don't really like not being the best at something (shocking, I know). Showing these is not only my way of saying I'm not always the great photographer I like to think I am, but also taking a step towards allowing myself to be vulnerable. Wow, that's deep. Is this what 30 does to you?

Book: 102 Minutes

2008-05-06T13:56:00.004-04:00

I'd read (listened) to this book awhile back but am just getting around to posting a review. I picked the book based on reviews I'd read and not being one to buy into anything that aims to sensationalize, I was skeptical about it. I can freely admit that 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers surprised me... in a good way.

Let's take a moment to talk about what this book isn't. It's not a Nick Cage movie about the Towers, it's not a heart-felt story about about all the people that didn't get out, it's not a conspiracy theory manifesto and it's definitely not a political examination of the role America's foreign policy plays in the world. If it's not any of things, what could it possibly be and how could it prove to be anything but boring? This book is not only one, but two things that are far from boring.

First and foremost, tt intends to report what happened inside the Towers based on eyewitnesses accounts and post-disaster evidence. It does this with an amazingly clear and concise style that is devoid of the conjecture so that has ruined so many other pieces on the same subject. Make no mistake, it is emotional and it is a people story, it's just done in a way that seems much more... informational.

Where this book shines, however, is that it also takes a look at the history and decisions that shaped who lived and died that day. No, I'm not talking about things like our presence in Saudi Arabia but rather things like why the buildings only had three stairwells when more was the industry standard. It couldn't be known at the time, but choices that were made 4 to 40 years ago for very specific reasons would impact escapes routes, emergency personnel communication and ultimately the death toll.

I honestly can't recommend this book enough. It offers an unparalleled glimpse into the why? and on many occasions I found myself muttering "hmmm, interesting" on the serendipity of it all. I'm confident in saying this is the best September 11th related media I've experienced... but I don't want to build it up too much. ;-)

Laps For Life

2008-05-01T20:03:00.004-04:00

As part of my June race weekend, I'm participating in the Laps for Life charity fund raiser that will help Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center raise money to support cancer patients and their families. Well, to be brutally honest, I'm not doing much more than asking folks to pledge... but it's the thought that counts, right? I'll be racing regardless but at least more than just me will benefit that weekend!

Anyway, the premise is simple. You go to lapsforlife.com, click on 'Pledge' and submit your info with the amount per lap you'd like to pledge. If things go well, I'll complete 10-12 laps in the race so a pledge of $5/lap wouldn't be more than $60. After the race, Hopkins will send you a self-addressed stamped envelope for you to mail your pledge back in. Donations are tax-deductible and you'll get a receipt just in case the tax man cometh knockin' at your door. Give as much or as little as you're comfortable with, every dollar counts. I won't know who donated so if you'd like some recognition, please be sure to let me know. Thanks in advance to those of you who remain anonymous!

Since I know someone's going to ask these questions... 1) Yes, the #24 in the picture and on the main Laps for Life page is in fact me. I'm in front of the president of PRS Guitars (who is a fellow racer and the main reason this event exists) on the carousel of Summit Point Raceway. 2) Yes, my dad is the one quoted on the site. He is the creator of our racing Series and acts as the National Director. For more about it's success, read this. Now go pledge!