Doing your part to reduce the deficit
I stumbled upon a link to a page on the website of the U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau of the Public Debt. Check it out here, (see the last question). It turns out that we, the American people can make a contribution to reduce the national debt! I'm mostly surprised that this is an option, and maybe a little glad that the government would make it so easy for it's citizens to take action, and I'm also hoping that nobody's actually sent a check in.
A few pics from Kyoto
The trip to Tokyo included a quick trip over to Kyoto. The city was the capital of Japan for a very long time and is full of history. There were countless shrines throughout the city. It was all very beautiful.
In addition, we had the good luck to be in Kyoto during a big snowstorm. Some would argue this was in fact bad luck. And at the time I might have been a bit cold/miserable. But the shrines we saw were amazing in the snow.
Here's a zen garden partly covered in snow:
Following our dinner in Kyoto, we immediately found an ice cream parlor that made nothing but HUGE ice cream sundaes. Mmmmm.
Our hotel room had no beds! Instead, we laid several futon mattresses out on the tatami-covered floor and all slept in a big pile. Here's Pedro and Kate trying to sleep in:
Here's a zen garden partly covered in snow:
Following our dinner in Kyoto, we immediately found an ice cream parlor that made nothing but HUGE ice cream sundaes. Mmmmm.
Our hotel room had no beds! Instead, we laid several futon mattresses out on the tatami-covered floor and all slept in a big pile. Here's Pedro and Kate trying to sleep in:
More Tokyo
More photos from the trip to Tokyo...
A fixture from the Meiji shrine, commemorating the emperor and empress who ruled until the turn of the 20th century:
Going shopping for a fortune at another shrine on the other side of Tokyo:
A really big drum heading our way in the Founders' Day Parade. I asked a couple Japanese what the Day celebrated (they all had Monday off of work) and they weren't quite sure.
Our fearless navigators checking our coordinates on the map:
A fixture from the Meiji shrine, commemorating the emperor and empress who ruled until the turn of the 20th century:
Going shopping for a fortune at another shrine on the other side of Tokyo:
A really big drum heading our way in the Founders' Day Parade. I asked a couple Japanese what the Day celebrated (they all had Monday off of work) and they weren't quite sure.
Tokyo!
Tokyo was truly amazing. We ran all over the city for a week and only managed to scratch the surface of all the great things in that busy place. A couple cool pics:
Kate and I in front of a shrine near Asakusa and Ueno Park...
Chopsticks at lunch. It looks like Dan's picking some veggies out of his lunch... don't tell his mom he's not eating his greens.
A coffee store we passed with a cool name. I didn't try the coffee, so I can't comment on exactly how funny it was...
Kate and I in front of a shrine near Asakusa and Ueno Park...
Chopsticks at lunch. It looks like Dan's picking some veggies out of his lunch... don't tell his mom he's not eating his greens.
A coffee store we passed with a cool name. I didn't try the coffee, so I can't comment on exactly how funny it was...
Rodeeoooo
Last weekend I checked out the rodeo out in Worcester. We were up in the cheap seats, but it was still pretty cool. It smelled like bulls. And the next day my clothes still smelled like bulls. Very authentic.
Also, Boston got another snowstorm on Monday. It was pretty wet and a bit of frozen rain too, so it stuck to the trees and looked pretty cool.
Secede
If California wants to fight a war of secession, I'll fly back tomorrow to fight. I'm serious.
DTX (Downtown Crossing)
I recently read something about an effort to revitalize the Downtown Crossing area. It's hard to argue against that effort. The area isn't really a great shopping destination compared to Newbury or Copley or the Pru. There are a lot of vacant store fronts, including notables Filene's and Barnes and Noble, and of the shops that are open for business, it seems like a quarter are dealing used jewelry.
As part of the effort to bring shoppers back, it was mention
ed there would be events to attract families to shop at Downtown Crossing. Friday on my lunch break I was lucky enough to run into one such attraction. A small ragtime band was driving through the area very slowly on the back of an old-fashioned fire truck. The band was being followed by an old woman dressed up in a home-made lizard costume, which for some reason included wings. She may have actually been a dragon, rather than a lizard. She was dancing to that ragtime music like a pro. It was amazing and made me want to always shop at Downtown Crossing!!
ed there would be events to attract families to shop at Downtown Crossing. Friday on my lunch break I was lucky enough to run into one such attraction. A small ragtime band was driving through the area very slowly on the back of an old-fashioned fire truck. The band was being followed by an old woman dressed up in a home-made lizard costume, which for some reason included wings. She may have actually been a dragon, rather than a lizard. She was dancing to that ragtime music like a pro. It was amazing and made me want to always shop at Downtown Crossing!!And I don't know if this was at all related to the broader effort to revitalize the Downtown 
Crossing area, but last Friday I saw this funny guy hanging out in front of Borders. And the interesting thing is he wasn't doing anything. No dancing, no greeting people, no asking for money or holding a global warming protest sign. It was just a penguin with a crown standing there in the cold. I mean, it makes sense right, penguins like the cold and usually just stand there without talking to anyone or dancing for that matter. But I mean he was just standing there in front of Borders. It made me semi-nervous. I'm wondering if I should have maybe called Homeland Security or something.
Crossing area, but last Friday I saw this funny guy hanging out in front of Borders. And the interesting thing is he wasn't doing anything. No dancing, no greeting people, no asking for money or holding a global warming protest sign. It was just a penguin with a crown standing there in the cold. I mean, it makes sense right, penguins like the cold and usually just stand there without talking to anyone or dancing for that matter. But I mean he was just standing there in front of Borders. It made me semi-nervous. I'm wondering if I should have maybe called Homeland Security or something.Good Thanksgiving, Good NYC
I elected to hang on the east coast for Thanksgiving weekend, rather than fly back home. I took the train down to NYC to hang with Becca's family Wednesday night. Thursday morning I got to go to the Thanksgiving Day Parade with her family. It was a ton of fun. They set up two ladders and a plank of wood every year in order to see over the crowds. I can't say the parade was all that exciting, but it was pretty fun every time a new balloon came into view and the whole crowd cheered. It also helped that it was about 50 degrees that morning.
Thanksgiving dinner Thursday night was easily the biggest family meal I've ever been a part of. We ate at Becca's Aunt Bobbi and Uncle Steve's house and there were forty people there. It was a bit overwhelming but a lot of fun. The meal culminated with Becca's cousins re-enacting the Thanksgiving story. Here's cousin Nate on the table being a stalk of corn:
Friday Becca and I headed to NYC and walked all over town. One stop was a crazy new building I'd read about on Bond street near The Village. Dan and Becca and I pose for a self portrait in front of the modern architecture:
The brunch place we ate at that morning had a huge mural of Justin Timberlake on the wall of the bathroom...
And one more cool photo from the trip. We stopped by a rice pudding place in Soho. Here's the sign from the window:
Thanksgiving dinner Thursday night was easily the biggest family meal I've ever been a part of. We ate at Becca's Aunt Bobbi and Uncle Steve's house and there were forty people there. It was a bit overwhelming but a lot of fun. The meal culminated with Becca's cousins re-enacting the Thanksgiving story. Here's cousin Nate on the table being a stalk of corn:
Friday Becca and I headed to NYC and walked all over town. One stop was a crazy new building I'd read about on Bond street near The Village. Dan and Becca and I pose for a self portrait in front of the modern architecture:
The brunch place we ate at that morning had a huge mural of Justin Timberlake on the wall of the bathroom...
And one more cool photo from the trip. We stopped by a rice pudding place in Soho. Here's the sign from the window:
The River Charles
The second to last weekend in Boston is the Head of the Charles Regatta, the largest crew event in the world. It's a lot of fun. After threatening rain, it turned out to be very nice weather for the race. And it turned out to be one of those epic Boston sports weekends, as there were crew races going on, Bruins games, and games 6 and 7 of the ALCS at Fenway.
Here the men's eight from Brown (front) passes another team. Notice the construction vest "uniforms" and the construction hat on the coxswain.
Here the men's eight from Brown (front) passes another team. Notice the construction vest "uniforms" and the construction hat on the coxswain.
Back to Boston
After six weeks at home in California, it was tough to leave but good to get back to Boston. After a couple weeks back I'm settling back into things at home and at work.
Saturday Kate and I went down to Providence to watch the Red Bull Soap Box Derby on the hills by Brown University and RISD. Some photos from the races.
A viking-themed soap box racer, "The Valhalla Express:"
"The Rhode Island Red" racer:
A covered wagon soap box racer paying homage to the old computer game Oregon Trail:
Saturday Kate and I went down to Providence to watch the Red Bull Soap Box Derby on the hills by Brown University and RISD. Some photos from the races.
A viking-themed soap box racer, "The Valhalla Express:"
"The Rhode Island Red" racer:
A covered wagon soap box racer paying homage to the old computer game Oregon Trail:
Ice Cream From The Sky
Some of my cousins have been sending packages to my parents house to entertain my dad, mostly flowers and CDs. There was also a toy snake made out of newspapers which had very cool googly eyes. But the best delivery was a UPS package that contained 12 pints of premium Graeter's ice cream from Cincinnati. (This is where I should include a clever remark about how "great" it tastes...) The flavors are all really good, and thanks to the wonders of dry ice, they all arrived here unmelted. It was a big hit and we're still enjoying all the flavors. It's worth noting that San Francisco's own It's-It company also ships their special ice cream sandwiches wherever you like. I sent some to my sis for her birthday.
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