June 28, 2005

Me:
While in Boston, I visited the site of the Boston Tea Party. In a modern/civilized city of the 21st century, the site was quite un-impressive. What today would be considered a tiny dock, was no more than 50 feet in length, with a few single story shacks on it. All quite small and inconsiderable.

History makes reference to the fighting, a few deaths, and the amount of Tea tossed from ships with crates floating in the river. The ships must have been small (but weren't most ships of that age?), and the scene was more than likely hectic due to the small pier. If there were 20 or more people on the pier amid the few shacks, it may have appeared to be a riot of sorts. Today, a bigger scene can be witnessed outside (or inline at) any local Starbucks.

June 18, 2005

Me:
Saw the new movie, Batman Begins today. It was good. The fight scenes were fast and frenetic, but seemed well done. It was a much better Batman movie than the last two or three that they've made.

Weather was a pleasant surprise. Mid to high 60's. Great day to ride. Took the motorcycle to the theatre. Pacific Place offers motorcyclists $5 parking, with in & out priveleges all day till midnight. Pretty good deal, especially the in & out. Hung out at Alki for a while. Got some information on some local bike clubs. Will hopefully find some sane and safe people to ride with. I'm not into the zipping in and out of traffic, wheelies, etc. on the highway. It's not safe, and it's not worth my life. Hopefully, tomorrow will be just as nice, and another day to get some more seat time. Did have my first experience today at getting driven off the road. Was heading South on I-5, in the right hand lane, to take the West Seattle bridge exit. This lady, swerved over not one, but two lanes, to then try and take the Spokane St exit. No blinkers, no look behind her, nothing. I had to slam on the brakes and try to steer away from her. She finally saw me there, and tried to just wave. Followed her to the next stop, asked her to be more careful, and told her she should use her blinkers. She nodded and pathetically tried to apologize. As she drove off, she made two more turns without using her blinker! Some people shouldn't be allowed to drive. If I thought it would have done any good, I would have called 911 and given them her license plate number.

Picked up Untold Legends for the PSP yesterday. So far, seems a cool game. Will be a fun Wi-Fi game. Have to still learn all the moves and codes, but it looks like fun. Another game for James to beat me at probably :) but it will be fun to play together.

June 13, 2005

Me:
Well, got my QTD grade, a 3.8. That's without taking the final. The teacher allows us to drop the lowest test score, even if it's the final, so I'll not be taking the final :)

Finally, the school qtr is over. I'm so ready to have my nights and weekends back, at least for the summer. Free from class, homework, studying, etc.

Finally saw Aviator over the weekend. Saw it with Brett and Becky. A little long, but otherwise good. Of what I know of Howard Hughes they appeared to stick pretty close to history. I'm not too intimate with his relationships, but felt that they had captured the essence of his business acumen, and his gov't deals quite well. Certainly seemed to capture his descent into madness. Wonder who/what he would have become had their been diagnosis and treatment of his ailments? Given that, what a remarkable man...to accomplish what he did, with the mental challenges.l

Work:
Finalized my travel plans to Boston for the week of 6/27 - 7/01. Will be doing stock admin testing with Fidelity. Should be interesting.

I don't think Benefits will be ready for the Payroll testing. Having read the Benefits testing plan, I don't see how they will be ready to demonstrate the delivery of the stock file to Payroll/HRIS. We have yet to see the file layout, PSW (a Fidelity system we'll use to validate/balance the files before they get loaded to an Off-Cycle), successful file trf after PSW selection.

Other:
Michael Jackson was acquitted of all 10 charges of child molestation, taking advantage of minors, endangering the welfare of minors, etc. 6mos of trial, and now probably 6mos of juror interviews, public debate, etc, will the circus never end? Will he ever get caught? Is he guilty? Can he be innocent? Same question maybe, but he does raise suspicion.

June 12, 2005

Me:
Managed to get out on the bike today. Weather turned into a pleasant surprise. Mid 60's and little wind. Perfect riding conditions. Covered about 50 miles. Wish I could have found some cool people to ride with.

Would have been fun to have a destination in mind, and spend the day touring around, getting some safe highway miles in. Sometimes it seems people only want to ride down to Alki and just sit there all day. That can be fun, but I want to ride. The flip side is that I want to ride safely. I'm not into veering in and out of traffic, doing wheelies, being a hazard, getting chased by cops, etc. Maybe it's my age, but I'm just not into that. Not to mention the hazards to self and machine, both of which can be devastating.

James and I played some more Wipeout Pure on the PSP's. I need more practice, because I can't seem to beat him, and most of the times can't even come within a few seconds. On occasion I'll use the downloaded ship (what we call the cheater) and that helps, but damn, even then I can barely keep him challenged. Will have to practice some. Find I am enjoying the PSP though. The games are fun on the bus, along with the music. The movies can be handy, albeit expensive. Will take the unit to Boston, and at least have Spider Man 2, to watch. Will shop for other movies, but price will definitely be a factor. Movies are currently running between $15 - $30. A lot considering DVD's for home use are usually less than $15. What game I'll game next?

June 11, 2005

Me:
Finally, a call from Aurora Suzuki. My front, and right side skins are finally in. After 8 weeks of phone calls, hassle, and a general pain in my a*%!

Now I just have go up and view them to make sure they are right. I don't want to get stuck in the same position as last time, and not check the parts until I drop off the bike, just to find out they are the wrong color.

Had a massage with Danielle. She has gotten quite good. She properly diagnosed and treated my recurring neck condition. She effectively treated it, and provided some relief. Usually I only get that by being seen by Alexa. Unfortunately, I don't think she'll be able to squeeze me in before the Boston trip. I may have to make an appt to see Alexa for a tune-up.