Quantum of Solace

Like a breath of fresh air, I finally got to see a movie that was not suitable for all ages. My Brother In Law Joe was nice enough to watch Taylor while Tawnya and I went out just the two of us.

Quantum of Solace is Daniel Craig's second movie as James Bond, and the first direct sequel in the Bond franchise. We saw Casino Royale in 2006 and Loved It! I suggest that you watch the first movie before you see the second as it will help keep the story line straight as well as help keep in mind his revenge motivation that fuels this entire film.

There are no Gee-Wiz gadgets aside from Super-Techie computer stuff and no cornball double entendre one liners. Also gone are the Shaken, Not Stirred drink order and the Bond, James Bond introduction. Returned is the classic Bond theme music interwoven throughout and the silhouetted girls during the opening credits. 

In the end, this was not as good as the last Bond film, but better than anything Roger Moore ever walked through during his term as 007.

Life, the Universe and Everything

Douglas Adams told me that the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything was 42.

Now that I have made it that far, I would have to say I will need to take him on his word. I am as happy as can be expected, but not anymore enlightened than my younger self. I find that I am at an age where I am still young enough to enjoy things, but old enough not get too excited about them. I am old enough to know better, but young enough to do it anyway. I am at the halfway point at which to the young I am old and to the old I am young.

I guess it will be smooth sailing until I hit 46, the average age at which 10% of middle aged adults experience a self-described midlife crisis which lasts about 3-10 years in men.

I certainly hope not, I don't tan very well and since the price of gas has gone up, I couldn't afford to refuel a Corvette with Premium very often.

The Partly Cloudy Patriot

After listening to Sarah Vowell read from The Wordy Shipmates at Book People last month I decided to drop past the Round Rock Public Library and checkout the Audio Book The Partly Cloudy Patriot. 

The book was an interesting mix between a history lesson and a blog. Sarah mentions her family and friends almost as much as historical places and events. It helps put a handle on past events for regular people to be able to relate to. There were several celebrities that read quotes from famous and some not so famous people, and original musical interludes were provided by They Might Be Giants.

Listening to an author read their own words is never as dramatic as when read by a professional actor, but it somehow gives you a little more insight on who they are. Sarah is a bit of an odd duck, but I enjoy what she has chosen to share with the world.

Bolt

Another weekend, another Kids Movie. This weekend we saw Disney's Bolt. Bolt is the first Disney movie that was overseen by Pixar's John Lasseter. The movie has a simple plot like you would expect from a Disney movie, but it has the visual texture of a Pixar film. I had thought that the stunt casting of Miley Cyrus and John Travolta would be distracting, but it was not too bad. I wish they had cast George Gray as the agent because he looks like he was the model for the character. My favorite character was Rhino the hamster who was voiced by a storyboard artist that did such a great job in the rough track audio that they could not find anyone better to replace him. I expect that when the DVD is released it will include a short starring Rhino. Backgrounds were so photo realistic that I spent half of the movie not even watching the characters, but their surroundings. 

Time for me to see the latest 007 flick and get out of this Kids Movie rut.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Last Saturday we spent the day as a family of three, just Mom, Dad and Kid. We ate lunch at the brand new Mimis Cafe in Round Rock near the Premium Outlets Mall. The food was very good, and I especially enjoyed the Strawberry Lemonade. Since lunch went longer than we had planned we missed the 2:40PM showing of Madagascar 2 that we were aiming for. Since the temp was hovering around 50 degrees and we had left the house wearing only short sleeve shirts, window shopping the Outlets was out of the question.

We opted for the 3:30PM showing and sat in the "warm" theater and "enjoyed" the on screen infotainment/ads for half an hour. I laughed more at this movie than I did it's predecessor, but I was shocked at how much they borrowed from Disney's Lion King , including a version of Uncle Scar sporting a pompadour haircut. Part 3 of the Madagascar saga was green lit before Madagascar 2 even premiered, and opening weekend grossed more than the entire theatrical release of the first film in the series. I also heard that the penguins will soon have their own TV show.

All that aside, I am just pleased that David Schwimmer can still get work.

Zack & Miri Make a Porno...With My Brother

Saturday evening Tawnya and I saw Zack & Miri Make a Porno at Alamo Drafthouse in downtown Austin on 6th Street at the former Ritz theater. My brother Ron and his wife Lisa were in town for the weekend, and they joined us for their first Alamo experience.  The Alamo Drafthouse serves a full menu of dinner and drinks to your seat while you watch the movie. The theater is laid out like a traditional movie theater, except every other row of seats has been replaced with a long narrow table for your food and drinks. I chose the “PORKY’S” Pepperoni Pizza and a Frozen Margarita.

The movie was not as graphic, but much funnier that I thought it would be. I am a big fan of Kevin Smith, but I was worried about others in my party who were not very familiar with his previous work. Everyone seemed to like the movie as much as I did, although the 3 Coronas that Ron had during the show made him visit the loo with 20% of the movie to go.

We wandered up and down 6th Street long enough to see a drunk girl fall off a curb, Leslie Cochran wander by in a denim mini skirt and a disturbing fella in women's underwear in front of Ester's Follies .

To round out their Austin visit we also visited SoCo for Amy's Ice Creams and a drove across the Congress Avenue bridge so they could see the great view of the Texas State Capitol Building.

Taylor's 9th Birthday

My daughter Taylor just had her 9th birthday. I remember birthdays from years past, thinking that she was so grown up. I look back at pictures of those birthdays now and she seems so young. I know that I will soon enough look back on pictures from this party and my big, grown up girl will again seem like just a baby. My biggest wish is to one day do this all over again with grandchildren.

Parties for kids in the past have included Chuck E. Cheese, Build-A-Bear and Pump It Up. This year I came up with the great idea of having the party at home and have the theme revolve around our new Nintendo Wii. Taylor thought the idea sounded good so I guess I can mentally write off some of the cost of the Wii to what we could have spent for a shopping party at Justice for Taylor and a hand full of friends.

The first half of the party went as planed, the girls creating their own Mii and playing each other in Tennis, Baseball & Bowling. Once the Pizza came, it was a whole different party. With a belly full of Pizza, Soda, Cake & Ice Cream they tore into the presents. After the presents it was decided that there must be a Dance Contest. The dance contest then morphed into feats of flexibility and gymnastic prowess. At the peak of their sugar fueled frenzy, the invaded the front yard where they charged wildly at each other in a no holes barred game of Red Rover.

Taylor received many gifts, including gift certificates to Justice and Cash. Neither lasted until dark. Tawnya took her shopping and brought back the best gifts a 9 year old girl can get; Clothes.

TiVo and Netflix Sitting In A Tree...

Today I read the best gadget news ever. Netflix has partnered with TiVo to allow their Instant Streaming to be integrated automatically. I have been hoping for this ever since Netflix began their Watch Now option. There are currently over 12,000 titles available to watch instantly, and that number grows daily.

I had toyed with the idea of buying the Roku box or the new Samsung Blu-ray DVD player that had the Netflix options, but they were anywhere from $100 to over $400. Now all I have to do is wait a few weeks and my TiVo will magically transform itself into the Coolest Gadget Ever!

If you would like to keep up to date on the TiVo Netflix partnership, you can sign up here .

If you don't own a TiVo HD yet, you can click on the link below and get one now.

The Wordy Shipmates

Last night I went to BookPeople in downtown Austin to see Sarah Vowell read from her new book, The Wordy Shipmates. I arrived an hour early to find most of the seats already filled. I sat with Sarah from work on uncomfortable folding chairs adjacent to the Adventure/Travel Disaster book section. The entire section could fall under the heading: Idiots Out of Their Element & In Over Their Heads. By the time the author started reading, there was standing room only down the aisles and people sitting "Indian Style" on the floor.

I had seen Sarah on The Daily Show and the Late Show with David Letterman as well as enjoyed her vocal work as Violet Parr in 2004 Pixar movie The Incredibles. I have never read any of her books, but I did read the first chapter of her new book before attending the reading/signing. The subject matter of  The Wordy Shipmates, the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 is not what I typically reach for when selecting a book, but her writing style is like listening to the best history teacher not just give you the facts, but weave a tale that includes reasons behind the facts, back stories of the people involved and relating this to what is happening in today's world. She also has a great pessimistic sense of humor that makes me grin like an idiot.

After the reading she had a Q&A session that included questions about the Puritan's view on Sex: Between a husband and a wife it was a pretty good idea because God came up with it, to her views on President Bush:  Since he was once the Governor of Texas, someone in the room had to have voted for him more than twice. One audience member questioned her on a bit of minutia she had written years ago and she replied that she was unsure how to answer the question and wished that she knew more about herself.

A wave of humanity lurched forward when the announcement that she would begin signing books was made. BookPeople does not discount, so I decided not to purchase a copy of Sarah's work for her to sign (they would only allow copies purchased at this store to be signed). It will not be signed, but you can get a steep discount if you click on the link below. Buy one of her books; you will be smarter & entertained.

Livestrong 2008 - The Aftermath

I completed my 3rd 5K last Sunday. The good news is I finished with my fastest time ever:  32:34. The bad news is that I could not break the 30 minute barrier I was hoping for. I have been running at night with my dog Buffy, and got as fast as a 8:53 mile. The hills in the capitol area of Austin conspired to drive my heart rate higher than I was comfortable with, so I was forced to walk portions of the course. 

I exceeded my donation goal of $200 thanks to my Parents and my Red Cheetah Dealers:  http://austin08.livestrong.org/dblaylock 

Tawnya did great this year as did all of the people in Team Red Cheetah. After the race, my boss bought breakfast for everyone at the 1886 Cafe & Bakery in The Driskill Hotel on 6th Street.  After a 5:45AM wake up call, a 5K race and a huge breakfast we made a retreat back home for a well deserved nap.

My feet seem to have taken the worse damage this time around. They feel like somebody smashed them with a hammer. I should probably spend a few bucks and have the nice people at RunTex help me find a decent pair of running shoes.

Some day I will get this all dialed in, and Watch Out!

Igor and Shady Grove

It took a month after it's initial release, but we finally saw Igor today.

And not a day too soon. It was only playing on one screen in the greater Austin area. We were the first of only a dozen people in the theater when the house lights went down and the movie started. I am sure we could have bought the DVD in a month or two for less than half of what we spent on Gas, Tickets and Snacks, but spending a day with the family and watching a fun kids movie in the theater is what memories are made of.

I can only rate the movie 3 out of 5 Stars on the Netflix scale (I Liked It). One of my favorite things to do while watching an animated movie is try to figure out who is doing the voices of the different characters. I was able to name 8 of the 10 "stars". Apparently I am not familiar enough with Sean Hayes or Arsenio Hall to identify their talent by vocals alone. If was a fun movie, but not a classic film that requires a DVD purchase.

After the movie we went to Shady Grove for lunch. We usually wait up to 45 minutes for a table on a Saturday afternoon, but today we were seated in less than five. We love the atmosphere of the place and the food is pretty good too. Tawnya thinks the hand battered Onion Rings are the best item on the menu.

Joe and his two youngest kids are in California for the weekend, so it has been relatively quiet in the Blaylock home. Taylor & Nicole have been staying up late and "camping out" in the living room with Buffy. It is fun to just let the kids be kids.

Livestrong 2008 - Austin, Texas

For the second year in a row my employer Red Cheetah Software is participating in the LIVESTRONG Challenge in Austin, Texas on October 25th to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Today, there are more than 10 million people living with cancer in United States, and it is estimated that close to 1.3 million more will be diagnosed this year alone. Although there is no cure, progress has been made. It is important to continue progress toward beating this disease. It is time that we make a commitment to close the gap between what we know and what we do.

My goal is not just to participate in the LIVESTRONG Challenge, but to raise $200.00 to help further the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s mission of inspiring and empowering people affected by cancer. To reach this goal, I need your help.

If you have been affected by cancer, or you care about this cause, please consider donating toward my fundraising goal. You can donate online at:

http://austin08.livestrong.org/dblaylock

Thank you in advance for your support. Together, we can make a difference in the fight against cancer.

Capitol Idea

Now that Fall has turned the air cool enough to go outside and our grass has stopped growing, we actually have time during the weekends to begin to show off Austin to my Brother in Law and Nieces.

Tawnya was out of town for a Mini Retreat, so the rest of us crammed ourselves into Joe's Highlander and headed South. I pointed out all the important sights along our route such as the University of Texas at Austin, the Driskill Hotel and the Chuggin' Monkey on 6th Street.

We visited the 22nd floor offices of Red Cheetah Software and showed the kids where Joe would be working. They marveled at the assortment of Kid's Meal toys that line the top of my cube's walls. The office has a great view of the Texas State Capitol Building and the kids asked to see it up close.

We walked the 5 blocks up Congress Avenue and wandered the halls of the Capitol. At the time of its construction, the capitol building was billed as "The Seventh Largest Building in the World". Except for Taylor, this is the first capitol building the girls had ever seen.

We toured the grounds a bit and then went back to the car...little feet get tired quickly. I took them across the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, pointed out Lady Bird Lake, drove past the South Congress Shopping District and through Zilker Metropolitan Park.

We could have done more, but little stomaches get hungry quickly. A great thing about young kids is that cheap pizza makes them happy.

Flu Shot

I just got my annual Flu Shot today. I have gotten Flu Shots every fall since the early 90's except for 2004 when there was a national shortage of the Flu Vaccine.

There are plenty of people who refuse to get the shot for various reasons (most seem to hate needles), but if I can sidestep a bad case of the Flu it is well worth the $25 cost, the slight discomfort of a shot and a sore arm.

The CDC says that in 1999/2000, pneumonia/influenza was the 7th leading cause of death in the US with 63,730 annual deaths, or about 7 per hour. The influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people (one fifth of the world's population), which was more than three times that died in World War I. 

Extra Special Bonus:  Work paid for the vaccination.

We Got A Wii

Due to popular demand (by the 4 kids living in our house) we are now the proud owners of a Wii.

I have not owned a gaming system since my parents bought Atari Super PONG in 1976. Much has changed in the ensuing 3 plus decades. Out of the box the Wii was connected wirelessly to the internet, updated itself and was giving me news and weather from around the world. This did not impress the kids; they wanted to play the games. Everyone got to play for 10 minutes each before bedtime. We only had one controller so everyone played against the Wii. 

Taylor's 9th birthday party will have a Wii theme, so it is time to stock up on a few extra controllers.

Video on Demand

The contract dispute between my local NBC affiliate KXAN and my cable provider Time Warner has now affected my wallet to the tune of $1.99.

Season 34, Episode 4 of Saturday Night Live hosted by Anne Hathaway on October 4, 2008 was conspicuously absent from my TiVo when I woke up Sunday morning.

Amazon.com has a partnership with TiVo that allows me to order Video on Demand for not only Movies, but TV Shows as well. I don't mind spending less than two dollars for instant gratification once in a while, but this just might be enough to push me over the edge and bail out on other NBC shows that I am not fanatical about.




I did go running last night, so a smaller batch of shows to watch is also making me more healthy.

Goodbye California, Hello Texas

Joe, my Brother In Law, got laid off from his job in California the same week he gained full custody of his three daughters. With the economy as bad as it is, especially in California, we offered to let him and his girls stay with us until he got a job and could get back out on his own.

Our little family went from 3 people to 7 in a blink of an eye. There is more food to cook, more dishes to clean and more clothes to wash. There are also more hugs to give and receive.

I arranged a job interview at the same place I work in downtown Austin...he starts this Thursday. I was nice to hear from my boss that he thinks Joe is very qualified and will make a great addition to our team.

I Love it when a plan comes together.

Taylor enjoys having her cousins back in her life, and she now understands that having a little sister (the youngest cousin is 4) is not as idealistic as she thought it might be.

I Want My NBC

Time Warner Cable customers in the Austin area lost NBC programming at 12:01 a.m. this morning—the result of an ongoing contract dispute between the owner of network affiliate KXAN and the cable giant.

Since I do not watch football, this is not an emergency...yet.

If this goes on for much longer I will be missing:

• Saturday Night Live
• Chuck
• My Own Worst Enemy
  
• The Biggest Loser
• My Name Is Earl
• The Office
• America's Toughest Jobs
• 30 Rock

I had always thought it was a Federal Mandate that Cable Companies must carry all of the local channels. I guess that was trumped by Deregulation and Greed. Now I will have to audit reruns to make sure they were not episodes that slipped by.

On the positive side I could spend the extra time with my family.

Weight Loss - Good, Fitness - Not As Good

Daily Plate continues to help my weight go in the correct direction. In the last two months I have lost 9 pounds.

I competed in the Silicon Labs Austin Marathon Relay a week ago and quickly learned that I need to train harder to be ready for the Livestrong 5K in October.

Each member of the 5 person team ran a leg that added up to the length of a Marathon. I volunteered for the 5K 4th leg. 100 yards into the race I experienced an extreme case of intestinal discomfort that lasted the entire 3.1 miles. At mile 1 my right calf cramped and by mile 2 I stopped sweating. By the end of the race I think I was somewhere between Heat Exhaustion & Heat Stroke. (Remind me again how exercise makes me healthy) After the race I drank 1/2 gallon of Gatorade & Water. The cramp in my leg lasted about a day and a half. For future races I will prepare by drinking about an hour before the race to prevent another case of leg cramps.

Orange Belt

Last Thursday I felt like the exact opposite of Johnny Knoxville in The Ringer.



It seemed like everyone else was prepared and was ready to be tested, I seemed more like I just fell off the Short Bus. Apparently I had been to only advanced classes and none of the basic classes. Basic classes are where students learn their forms and practice the moves that are tested during Belt Graduation. The basic class starts at 6PM, impossible for me to attend because I do not finish work until 5:30PM. If I start working from home on Thursdays I will be able to attend at least one basic class a week. I need to watch the DVD for Yellow Belt so I won't feel like such a Dunderklumpen next time.

When You Are Engulfed In Flames

I just "read" When You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris.

By "Read" I mean that I listened to the unabridged audiobook as read by the author. I had seen him do an interesting reading on David Letterman about the Stadium Pal.

The first half of the books deals with his early life in Raleigh, North Carolina with his family, and the second half centers around his life in Europe. I like his views of the world as a child and as a stranger in a strange land in Europe and later in Japan. The strangest revelation to me is what a loser he was and the wasted decades he spent doing menial jobs.

The last 25% of the book concentrated on his attempts at trying to quit smoking. I am sure this would make a bigger impact on an ex-smoker, but I still found it enjoyable.

Since this is my first Sedaris book I do not know how it compares to any of his others, but I will be "reading" more of his work in the future.

A Gecko, A Parrot & A Toad

Tawnya discovered a visitor in the house this evening. She saw a Gecko trying to hide near the baseboard molding


Since she is not a fan of reptiles, she called me for help. I was able to capture it and set it free in our front yard. I discovered that it was a Mediterranean House Gecko. I see them in our yard quite often, but this is the first time we have found one in the house. The "Med Gecko" are one of the most successful species of geckos in the world, so we won't be calling the cryptozoologist to investigate.

Since it was PayDay Friday we went to Mesa Rosa for dinner. Mesa Rosa is the closest to Southern California Mexican Food as we have found in Austin.


They have a new menu so I ventured into uncharted territory and picked the Burrito de la Reyna - Stuffed with shredded chicken and mushrooms, topped with Creamy Jalapeño sauce and jack cheese. Jalapeno cheese sauce is wonderfully spicy and creamy...Good Stuff.

When we returned home and pulled up into our driveway we saw a large Toad sitting in the middle of our front yard.



Tawnya is also not a fan of amphibians, so she declined to check it out. I coaxed it into the bushes so it would not be as conspicuous. I did some research and found out that it was a Gulf Coast Toad and they are found in a wide range of habitats including: open grassland, semi-arid regions, light forest, and even suburban backyards. This describes Round Rock perfectly. If we had known this before we moved into the neighborhood, it might have been a much tougher sale for Tawnya.

Armadillo

We have been in Texas for 3 years now, and Tawnya had never seen a live Armadillo until tonight.



We see dead ones in the road quite often, I have found places in our yard that have been dug up by a varmint and there is even a burrow in the woods behind our house just a few yards beyond the fence line.

I saw my first and only live one about a year ago near Taylor's school.



It was taking a slow stroll across the street as parents were dropping their kids off. It seemed to have no fear of the cars that had slowed to a stop to let it pass. Wikipedia says that they are not blind, but have poor eyesight. I think that they are not stupid, but they are pretty dumb.

Tawnya came home tonight from Soccer and found an Armadillo on our front lawn, digging near a tree looking for bugs. She watched it for a while and when she got out of the car to come inside it scurried away into the bushes under our front window.

Since they eat bugs, I don't mind if they dig up a small patch of grass once in a while. It is also a better varmint to have around than the skunk my parents saw in their yard.

Grandma's Birthday

My Mom just had her most recent in a long string of Birthdays.



(The Monkey is me celebrating, not her)

It is nice to have Taylor's Grandparents so close. We simply walked over with her gift bag in hand. We got her stuff that we know she likes: Wild Flowers 2009 Calendar, Josh Grobin CD and a package of Tea Light Candles from IKEA.

We ate BBQ for lunch and Grandma had Carrot Cake for dessert. I was able to say no to the cake, but there was plenty of room for Ice Cream.



All that BBQ made us sleepy, so we wandered home and took a nap.

Why is it that I never want to go to bed at night, but I am always ready for a nap?

Daily Plate

In addition to the exercise in the gym located in the basement of the building I work in, I have also been logging all of the food I have been eating for the past month.



So far I have lost 4 pounds. It is exactly the rate and amount that I calculated that I wanted to lose. At this rate I should be a total of 20 pounds lighter by New Years Day.



Most days I do not have any problem staying below my total calories. It is only on the weekend that the Evil Restaurants call my name and tempt me with their tasty treats. If you check out the chart above, you can trace most spikes to a weekend.

I am sure if I really watched my diet and exercised more often I could strike an imposing figure, but I am much too lazy to do either. Slow and steady got me to the state I am in, and it will help me get back to "normal".

14th Anniversary

Tawnya & I just had our 14th Wedding Anniversary.



We decided to celebrate by meeting downtown for dinner after work. She left work at 5PM and drove to the restaurant, and I left work at 5:30PM and walked. We actually almost bumped into each other on a street corner across from P.F. Chang's



Tawnya had eaten at the famed China Bistro a few times in California with people from work, but I had never tried it. A few weeks ago while we were in Houston for a mini vacation we ate at Pei Wei and I experienced the Best Chicken I had ever had. When I learned that Pei Wei was sort of a casual version of P.F. Chang's, I knew it had to be the dinner destination for our Anniversary. I tried the Orange Peel Chicken. It was very good, but not half as good as what Pei Wei had served in Houston. On Evan's recomendation Tawnya ordered the Crispy Honey Chicken. I now have a new favorite food to add to my list.

After dinner Tawnya drove me back to work where I went upstairs to grab some things I needed to bring home. I thanked Evan for his dining tip and walked the 3 blocks to the parking garage. When I searched for my car keys I suddenly remembered that I had left my keys in my lunch bag, and that I had left my lunch bag in Tawnya's car, and that Tawnya had left me in front of the building I work in 20 minutes ago. By the time I got her on the phone to ask her to bring me my keys, she was almost 75% of the way home.

Not a great way to impress your wife on our anniversary and remind her what a great idea it was to marry you in the first place.

I am a Dunderklumpen.