Been a long time since I've been on The Blog. I have been in Vegas for a  company pep rally/annual meeting. Can't complain about Vegas when the most expensive parts are free (food, lodging, etc) Vegas is only 4 hours drive from where I live. So I will make sure to visit again shortly. I have to get some other vacations out of the way first though.

So much happened. Lots of company parties, lots of walks down the strip, lots of limo and taxi rides, lots of hip and happening clubs, lots of heat.

In addition to doing the Vegas thing, I did go out to Red Rock, NV to look at cool nature.

I also went to a UNR/UNLV football game. The game was a very intense place to be if you were walking through the UNLV student section while wearing a UNR t-shirt.  I have NEVER been screamed at and threatened like that in my life. People need to chill. Reno's not THAT bad of a place.

Welcome to the new URL. Thanks for coming.

Went on a 6 mile hike in Griffith Park today with my Urban hiking group. I love the name of me group. Nobody is kidding nobody about the only type of hikes that are possible here in the land devoid of nature.  Griffith Park has over 50 miles of "hiking trails." All of which are 100% completely unmarked and most of which look suspiciously like fire roads. The trails are confusing and the maps are possibly more confusing so I recommend going with someone who knows the area. 

This particular hike was jamm packed with excitement. We hiked up to Amir's Garden (a short walk (.25mi) from the parking lots at the Wilson-Harding golf courses). Supposedly, some retiree was distraught after a fire burned down a favorite section of the park. He took it upon himself to plant a beautiful and fantastic garden with non-native, water-sucking nature. When he died, the city took over the care of said garden and now maintains an irrigated Hawaii on top of a desert mountain. Remember this monstrosity, you people of LA, the next time you are guilt-tripped by public service announcements into keeping your showers short. Ahh, the regular irrationality of a government who doesn't answer to the market.

We also went to the LA Live Steamers train-hobbyist's paradise.  (5202 Zoo dr. los angeles, ca 90027 on Sundays). This is a mini train station maintained by hobbyists. One of the first hobbyists was the great and amazing Walt Disney. You can pay for a ride on one of the trains. You travel for about a mile over bridges and under tunnels and through makeshift train towns. Very cute. Just watch out for the mean-nasty ladies at the ticket counter.

The rides are free, but there is a "suggested donation of $3." After standing in a line, I went up to the ticket counter to get a yellow ticket for my ride. The ladies stared at me as if handing out tickets wasn’t their one job requirement.  They ask if they can help me; I ask for a ticket. Big pause. A few seconds pass. Big sigh. Big eye-roll from lady at counter before she slowly handed over the ticket.  As I turned away, I hear.

"Maam, are you over 18?"

"Yes, I am".

"There is a suggested donation of $3 dollars."

I walk away as snooty-lady gives me a condescending scowl. Freaking-A. If you are going to get strong-armed pissed every time you don't get a donation, then freaking call it a FEE. That would completely remove any of MY possible and, trust me, non-existent guilt and would let you be a happy person with a pathetic job instead of a cranky person with a pathetic job.  If I don't have to give you my money, why would I, I am selfish, and I don't care if your worthless trains can't afford to be here. I'd rather buy a burnt latte then donate to entertainment that I could otherwise get for free.  And by the way, I would have paid $10 dollars to ride your funny  little trains. But that's only if you had had the balls give up your disgusting piousness to require a payment, god forbid.

Today was also the only day of the month that Walt Disney's Train Barn was open (same address as above). It is open for 4 hours (11:00 - 3:00) every third Sunday of the month. Walt was a train fanatic. This actually explains a lot. Disneyland is just one big train ride split up 30 times.  Disneyland was admittedly somewhat modeled after Walt's obsession with locomotives.  He built the park straight out of his own fantasies. The barn (an actual barn) contains many of Walt's favorite engines and overalls and train maps. Definitely, a must see for Walt fans.

The people who wrote this sign are as mean as they sound and BTW, they really are kidding about the no-charge thing. You pay with money or terror. Your choice. Why else would they have an age-asking ticket counter before you get on a free ride?  Maybe strictly to sell their 2008 train calendars? mmm...Fishy fishy.

After these three stops, we hiked back through the park to our cars and went home.  I wish every hike had a party in the middle of it.

Today Disney had an ABC season launch party at lunch outside the commissary.  Next week is ABC's official 'National Stay at Home Week.  ' Stay at Home Week' of course only applies to people who don't actually work for ABC.  Who cares, though, I'll be in Vegas and Won't be watching TV.

I got to see Cheryl Burke two-time winner of Dancing With the Stars perform on some little stage on the Disney Studios lawn.  She danced with another of the professional dancers, but I don't know who he was and I don't care.

I also got to meet DeAnna Pappas, Jilted Lover/Runner Up of The Bachelor and Star of the Bachelorette. I actually had seen the shows finale!!  Though, not the entire show. But I was so stoked that I knew her name because that meant that I could meet her. Cause that's my rule when it comes to meeting celebrities. If I don't know their real name,  then I'm not wasting their time.  Which, or course, means I had to ignore her fiance.

This next picture makes me look out of place. Pushing Daisies and Ugly Betty and other ABC shows make a point of using only very poppy colors. I happen to be wearing three hues of grey.

Disneyland!! Iv'e always wanted to go since elementary school when friends would come back from vacation telling stories of roller coasters in the dark.

Also, let me tell you. The only thing better than Disneyland is FREE Disneyland. Yeah, that's right, I know people. Removes all would-be-guilt for spending $75 to get into a place built for children and having no children to justify it.

Disneyland was awesome, though I really wouldn't call it an amusement park.  There wasn't a single ride there that wasnt accessible by someone under 40 inches.   The main ride was a Variation on a Theme of  'Drive Cart Through Building'.  There were at least 10 themed rides that steer you through a building (whether by boat, gondola, or cart) that is created to be the world of whatever Disney movie or adventure you chose to go on. Pirates of the Caribbean, Toy Story, Pinocchio, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Mr.Toad, etc.   These tiny worlds are truly artistic feats.

We finished the night by eating dessert at the 'Blue Lagoon'. Which is a restaurant located inside the Pirates of the Caribbean  ride area. Sounds cheesy, but its the classiest restaurant in the park.  You have to call at 7:00 AM to get reservations and then be prepared to spend $40 a plate. Imagine sitting underneath the night sky, surrounded by fireflies, water, rocks, old buildings, the sounds of night, brick walls and street lamps, green foliage, the sounds of wind, and soft whistling.

Then keep trying to tell yourself that you are actually inside of a building.  It screws with your senses. At one point I asked my friend if she knew if the restaurant had indoor seating. She was like, 'ummmm'.

My favorite part of the park was Toon Land. A place of color, plastic, and over-sized appliances.

Does Anyone know who this character is?

Today, I ran 20 miles. My longest run yet and longest until the big marathon day on October 5th. And because running for over an hour becomes really boring, I decided to take the running to a destination so I could rid myself from the any would-be dullness.

I went to Hermosa/Redondo beach and ran a few miles past Playa Del Ray and then back again. The coast in this area has a very busy 22 mile stretch of exercise path called The Strand. I got to see 10 of it (out and back). The first part I ran went through Manhattan beach which is the 'Home of Beach Volleyball' . Hundreds of volleyball nets and some of the tallest and most muscular women and men I have ever seen.  The Strand was fantastic, the ocean on one side, opulent houses on the other, and the most stunning looking people everywhere you turn.  Beauty on every level. After the Strand, there was just beach and more beach.

Nothing crazy happened except that I forgot to bring suntan lotion. Ugh. I realized this 11 miles in to the run when my face started getting really hot. Then I was like 'Oh, crap' I'm 9 miles away from my car and at least 7 miles away from a place where I could buy a hat or something.  I panicked and started running a much faster pace toward home. It was a race against sunburn. Every time I wanted to slow down, I'd ask myself if I wanted to have some big fat blisters on my nose. My pace for the first 11 miles was between 10 and 11 minutes/mile. The pace for the last nine, was around 9 minutes.  I ended up jury-rigging my shirt into a hat held in place by my headband and some hairpins. This provided some awkward looking shade but probably saved my skin.

I ended the run feeling pretty good while maybe a little red and a little shaky.  Doing the 20 was well within my capability level at this point. I do have a horrible knot in my left calf that has been giving me the worst charley horses when I turn in for the night.  Feels like my muscle is being ripped clear in half. This particular annoyance started earlier this week; the run today only made it worse. I need to figure out how to get rid of it.  Stretching and kneading is the game plan at the moment.

Beverly is a former friend who worked with me at the American Lung Association of Nevada a couple of years ago. Beverly has since quit that job to start her own life coaching business in Reno(and doing very well at it). I set up Beverly's bookkeeping system for her back when I was into all that accounting stuff, and I also built her a website for a class project once. www.BeverlyMarshall.com Though, I think the site has since had an overhaul.

Well, enough background. Beverly and I tonight went to an Italian Restaurant on Venice Beach called C & O Trattoria. C & O Trattoria is a busy, busy place. We were there at like 9:00 and still had to wait to get in.  C & O has a honor-system-pour-your-own-wine-from-a-spout feature. You keep track of how many glasses you've had by drawing hair on a face on the table cloth. Now that's an interesting form of accounting. "Bob, How much did we bring in last year." "Well, if you add up the two fingers and the 4 chin hairs we about break even.  Course, I was tipsy when I drew in the extra belt-loop so our Operating Expenses could be slightly off."

Dinner was good. Garlic bread rolls were yummmmmy. Definately, I'm carbo-loaded up for my big 20 mile training run tomorrow morning.

 C & O Trattoria

31 Washington Boulevard,

Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

Bev was sporting some new bling. Last month she decided to fix her smile once and for all and got braces.

This morning on my iGoogle, I had a widget spit me this crazy and amazing  fact.  "There are about 9 million people in the world share the same birthdates."  

If you think the grammar is bad, wait till you get to the math.

FROM iGOOGLE Widget:

BASIC ALGEBRA:

18,747,494 People with the same birth day and month.

So where did 9 million come from?

I went a little further and got myself an actuarial life table from the social security web site so I could number fiddle.

How about same birthday, month, and year?

So the age group with the highest number of members would be people <1. There are more <1 year olds than any other age group. 1.327% of the population.  Even for babies, the number of identical birthdays is 248,854.  For me or you it would be even less.

The only number I calculated that approximates 9 million is 'How many people are alive that are also your age.'  Especially, if you are 7 or 8 years old. 

EXCUSE ME, Your Widget Does ONE...ONE Thing. It is a FACT WIDGET. A  --- FACT --- WIDGET. If A FACT WIDGET DOES NOT CONTAIN FACTS, THEN ITS ONE...ONE!!! PURPOSE IS NULLIFIED.  Here's some algebra: One Purpose minus One Purpose = ZERO PURPOSE. Widget.Delete()

Now, I don't really believe any more that Ben Franklin even knew what a post office was.  Or, for that matter, that lightning has anything to do with electricity.

Next to the LA County Art Museum are the La Brea Tar Pits. These things are nasty. Basically, they are pits of smelly goo with gigantic green methane gas bubbles. If you think that is better than new socks, wait it gets better.

When excavated for asphalt, these skins of evil were found to contain thousands of fossilized animal skulls from hapless creatures who accidentally had gotten stuck. Skulls all the way back to the saber-toothed cat. The tragic death of these creatures was so inspiring to the people of LA, that the event was suspended in time with the shocking sculptures of a life-sized prehistoric mommy elephant drowning in the sludge while her mate and baby scream and reach out to her in terror from the sidelines. Ummmm... Wouldn't it have been better to just let nasty and depressing be nasty and depressing all by itself without trying to be a one-upper. Some people.

Today, I went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  Like probably most big city art galleries, this one was too large to really appreciate in one visit. We visited the contemporary portion of the museum, cause who wants to see old art.

A couple of highlights: The 10 foot high pop artist Jeff Koon's Balloon Dog . What is better than a 10 ft high balloon animal ? Nothing. And don't even say an In-And-Out burger cause those are totally overrated.

Also beyond cool, was Damien Hirst's stunning gothic stained glass windows made entirely of real butterfly wings. Supposedly, Hirst likes to contrast faith and science. ooooooo.

Less than cool was the innumerable artists who insisted on naming all of their pieces the remarkable 'Untitled.'  Ugh. I hope I never have to meet the drama hippies behind that intellectual gem.

The pictures are not what I talked about in the post. Sorry for the discontinuity, but the security guards banned photos inside the museum.

Lately, as my long runs have been increasing in distance, so have the large scabs and bruises that have been covering my body. I will get back from an 18 mile jog only to find my skin ripped to shreds from chaffing.

I decided. "Enough, is enough. If I'm a real runner now, I need to get the equipment." So I went off to a store I have kind of liked in the past, Lululemon Athletica, where I had bought the sexiest pair of pants that I currently own. I had gone into this store a month prior on a whim as I passed by and had tried on a pair of ridiculously expensive general athletic pants just to pretend I was rich.    Beat.... I dropped $90 bucks on those pants without blinking, they were so freaking amazing. I had to not buy any clothes for a month because of that purchase.

So still not regretting the purchase 2 months later, I go back to see what they have in the way of running attire. I was not disappointed. I told the nicest salesperson I have ever met that I was running a marathon and needed a bra. She immediately said, well, "Here is our marathon bra." She promptly continued explaining the crazy technology behind its design. She then asked if I was a triathlete because they had this short that had a padded bum (biking), hidden stitching (running), and extremely fast-drying material (swimming). I was blown away.

Lululemon Athletica's short selection was stunning as well. There were 8 different athletic short categories based on the type of leg movement that would be taking place (yoga, dancing, or running). I selected some endurance running shorts that are extremely lightweight, hidden seams (no chaffing!!!!!), noninvasive waist ties, sexy - bum-hugging fabric, and a pocket above my bum for trinkets that I like to jog with.

The saleslady tried to sell me on some shirts that are meshed in such a way that the sweat is literally forced to move away from the high-sweat areas toward the ends of the shirt for faster drying, and also the material at the ends of the shirt heats up faster so that the sweat will evaporate quicker.What!!!   The sports bra I bought had something similar, in that, the high sweat areas were made of non-see-through, ultra-strong mesh so that the air moves through as if you are wearing no bra even while being tremendously supportive along with ,of course, hidden stitches. I had to pass on a different sports bra with a built in heart-rate monitor, though it was hard.

Man, I'm happy I'm a runner just so I have an excuse to shop at this excessively nerdy sports store.

The staff support for my shopping experience was amazing. A cute boy greeted me at the door and dialogued with me on the fact that I was carrying a newly purchased laptop. The sales girl intrigued me with the friendly descriptions of the products that she was obviously fascinated with herself. The dressing room lady set up a room with my name on it and checked on me 4 times to see if I needed new sizes (which I did a few times).

I had drama in the dressing room because I'm standing there staring at 6 items that I want, knowing that I can only afford 2 and stressing about the decision. I think the sales people thought I had gotten lost in there because I was taking so long.

All I can say is, Lululemon is the perfect combination of utility, technology, and uber sexiness. I am not kidding when I say I have never found a place that sells clothes that look this good on a person -- even ignoring everything else about the function of what they provide. Even though expensive: THE BEST clothes on the market

lululemon athletica Glendale
Americana at Brand
233 South Brand Avenue
Glendale, CA 91204

Today someone at work asked me how I liked the laptop that is provided to me by my company (Toshiba Tecra M9). I started to open my mouth to list rooms for improvement and then promptly shut my trap and said. "I spilled an entire cup of coffee on my laptop yesterday and it still works."

Heather's Montana Blog Post

So Me and 3 friends went to Montana last week to have a cheap and nature-filled break from the bubble bubble, toils, and troubles.

Some of the highlights.

1. I saw stars and a Milky Way. Screw you LA.
2. I spent a 19 mile hike on an adrenaline high because the wonderful peeps of Glacier National Park like to hand out brochures that say "People have been killed by bears in this park. Bears don't like surprises. Yelling every few minutes might keep you safe. But don't count on it." Danny and I forced Heather to sing Spanish pop songs as a compromise to continuous yelling. (we saw fresh bear poo and heard LARGE movement and splattering from feet away. ( I have NO doubt we were very close to a hairy fuzzy wuzzy).
   About 12 miles into the hike, we came around the corner and saw 4 beady eyes staring at us as we bout ran into two dear. I wanted to run up to those dumb animals and yell. "Not Funny, NOT FUNNY. Don't EVER scare me like that again"
3. I got to car camp and mountain bike for my first time. The mountain biking was done in sleet and ran. I fell of my mountain bike 6 times into mud, though somehow managed not to fall down any precipices. I did end up with an apple Orange-sized bruise on my bum
4. I got to drink wine and debate philosophy well past midnight while walking through Whitefish, MT, a tourist town built to look old-timey.
5. I got to eat dinner out of a trashcan lid
6. I got to listen for 4 hours to my super-nerd camping buddies (Danny and Chris) debate the optimized way of winning this one card game, and then see my F# main man Chris write a five page program by hand in a Lisa Frank pirate notebook to try to prove his point. Chris later whipped up the program when he got home and sent us all a copy. I hope to read about this feat in his very popular F# Blog . A MUST read for the readers of my blog who also happen to be interested in functional programming.
7. I got to go kayaking in freezing water. Soaking wet and wearing a sweatshirt.
8. I got to be almost blown off a mountain. The winds in between the peaks was so great that you had to put your hands over your mouth in order to take a breath. We were beaten down by these winds for probably 20 minutes. It was more than exhausting. We were being battered while we crossed the mountain as seen in the second picture below. Not the least scariest thing I've ever done.
9. I got to practice my golf - driving skills and thoughroughly impressed myself with my own complete amazingness as I believe I approached a 200 yrd drive a number of times. (that was for you, Brie).
10. I saw a S-s-s-stunning double rainbow just Minutes after getting a pedicure. I immediately delved deep into a pit of giggling, skipping, and clapping. Pretty Peds and Prisms. sigh. I wish I could buy that combo every time. </ br>
11. Ate some Montana Huckleberry Pie A-La-Mode. Or if you want that with Huckleberry ice-cream (as seen below), it was called. Huckleberry A-La-Huck. A delightful Montana marinade of the fashionable french phrase.

I feel as if there is more, but I must off to bed now.

Heather's Montana Blog Post

Today, my life became a little less fulfilled. I have worn these Aerosoles shoes every other day (absolutely, NOT a joke) since I bought them when I was 18 and on my way to a Matchbox 20 concert in West Palm Beach, FL. At $40 dollars. That works out to .04 cents per wear. They were starting get torn up and smell really bad so I sent them through the washer with bated breath, and keeping my expectations low. Good thing too cause they came out beaten, bruised, and tragically unwearable.

Shoes, letting you go is the worst thing that's happened to me in a month. I will be going shopping soon to try to replace you, but I feel that this will be a sad and fruitless effort. No matter how fun the search to replace you will be, I have a tragic feeling that you were far to cute and comfortable to be repeatable.