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June 21, 2008Meet The Minases Elaine and I were lucky enough to attend, and had a wonderful, wonderful time. Way to go, you two! Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated June 21, 2008 2:23 PM. June 20, 2008Way To Go, Kim & Steve! Well done, you guys! Elaine and I can't wait to see her in person. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated June 20, 2008 1:29 PM. June 16, 2008New Coaster Has a 97-Degree(!) DropYou know it's a kick-ass coaster when Gizmodo links to it: As soon as you think they can't build a more intense roller coaster, someone comes along and makes one that's crazier than anything anyone's seen before. Today's example: the Farenheit at Hershey Park, a coaster that drops you down a 97-degree slope. Yes, that's beyond vertical. The two-minute video clip makes me want to get on a plane to Hershey, Pennsylvania, like, tomorrow. (Thanks for the link, Richard!) Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated June 16, 2008 9:40 PM. June 12, 2008"I'd Totally Do Your Mama"The Stranger recently re-ran this hysterical "guest column" from 2006 by "Barack Obama", called "I'd Totally Do Your Mama": For years, I've heard people talk about your mama, and everything that's been said has been negative. Judging from what I've heard, I expected her to be a monster - so fat that her favorite food is seconds, so ugly they filmed Gorillas In The Mist in her shower, so nasty she made Right Guard turn left. It gives me the giggles, and sounds very much like The Onion's "Smoove B" (greatest hit: "Bring It On"). Enjoy. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated June 12, 2008 6:09 AM. June 1, 2008Way To Go, Richard & Mel! No date's been set, but Elaine and I are totally there on the big day. Way to go, you two! Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated June 1, 2008 12:41 PM. May 26, 2008Way To Go, Benny & Yael! Elaine and I wish you both a long, happy life together. Mazel tov! Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated May 26, 2008 6:34 PM. February 18, 2008Saturday Morning At The Farmer's MarketEvery Saturday, from 9 AM to 2 PM, there's a Farmer's Market in the U District. I've driven by it plenty of times, but had never made the time to walk around and see it in person. A number of our neighbors raved about it during the caucuses last weekend, so Elaine and I made some time this weekend to stroll over and check it out. I have to say, it's really pretty cool. From a style-and-vibe standpoint, this Farmer's Market was pretty much like every other you might attend - stall after stall of various produce, meat, fish, jams, jellies, breads, wines, pickles, cheeses, you name it. All of it is locally sourced and locally produced (we bought chard from a woman who'd come over from Sequim), and all of the people selling are enthusiastic about their wares. We shopped for a good 45 minutes, browsing from stall to stall and seeing what was there. Our haul included some ham, cheese, bread, great veggies - and some Vashon Island Syrah. We then promptly returned to the condo, unwrapped everything, and had about the best Saturday-morning brunch I can remember. The market isn't seasonal - it's there every weekend - and it's definitely worth a look if you're in the area. Bring cash (many of the vendors don't take cards), a grocery bag or two, and go early if you can - the yummy stuff sells out fast. (I love our neighborhood.) Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 18, 2008 1:03 PM. January 21, 2008Magic Mountain Loses Its CrownThe Los Angeles Travel Deals blog had a bit last week (still getting un-buried from Macworld) about how Cedar Point has officially dethroned Six Flags Magic Mountain as Coaster Mecca: Sadly, it’s official. California’s Six Flags Magic Mountain is no longer the “roller coaster capital of the world” — surrendering the title to Ohio’s Cedar Point amusement park. Cedar Point and Magic Mountain have been in a roller-coaster arms race for more than a decade. When I visited Magic Mountain in 2004, I was in G-Force Heaven - just fantastic. I keep meaning to visit Cedar Point, but haven't made it ... yet. 2008 might be the year. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated January 21, 2008 4:35 PM. January 1, 2008Way To Go, Khan!My good friend, longtime business partner, and all-around great guy Khan has just announced that he and his wife Christine are expecting their first child this summer. Way to go, you two! Elaine and I are looking forward to doing some babysitting in 2010. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated January 1, 2008 11:29 AM. December 19, 2007Escaping From Alcatraz: June 8, 2008You know that moment when you found out you won something unexpected? Like, you entered some random sweepstakes, and then later you're told that you won the grand prize? I'm having that moment right now. Two years ago, my friend Jeff and I tried to enter the "Escape From Alcatraz" triathlon. The event is always popular, so the sponsors have implemented a lottery system to limit the number of participants. Neither of us got in for 2005. Well, we thought we'd try it again for 2008, and - we made the list. At or around 8 AM on Sunday, June 8, 2008, I'll be impersonating shark-bait in San Francisco Bay. (Yes!) If you're not familiar, The Escape from Alcatraz triathlon is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. The race starts from the side of a boat just off from Alcatraz island; you swim to shore (1.5 miles), strip off your wetsuit and run a mile to your bike, then ride 18 miles in an out-and-back loop to Golden Gate Park and finally end with an 8-mile run. (Course information and map here.) I've done Alcatraz once - in 2000 - and my goals at the time were simple: 1) finish the race without killing myself, and 2) finish in under four hours if possible. I finished with a time of 3:44:27, which made me very happy. This time, it's all about faster. I'm trying to shave a half-hour off my time, and finish under 3:15. It's going to be a challenge, no question, but I'm a much better runner than I was in 2000, and I'm planning to train on the cycle more consistently (as well as doing lots and lots of hills). I figure the time breakdown looks like this:
The trick is going to be some serious, at-distance training sessions. After spending two or three months getting up to speed in each event, Jeff and I will be spending our weekends in simulated triathlons, getting the endurance up. Hoo boy, do I have a lot of work to do - I've got to get back in the water, get back out running Greenlake, and buy a bicycle. I am sooooooo looking forward to this! Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated December 19, 2007 5:20 PM. December 13, 2007Deja Vu Coming To SilverwoodScreamscape is reporting that Silverwood Theme Park is getting a new roller coaster - namely, the Deja Vu coaster from Six Flags Great America in Chicago. This rumor has been running around for a bit; looks like it's true. Funny story about Deja Vu - when Lane and I went to Great America in May 2006, we wanted to ride Deja Vu but it was closed. I'd ridden the version at Magic Mountain - it's good stuff - and was a little disappointed that we couldn't ride it together. (Phooey.) Deja Vu seems like a strong ride for Silverwood - maybe too strong for their audience. Two of their current coasters (Timber Terror, Tremors) are straight-up woodies, with the third (Corkscrew) being a short looping coaster. Deja Vu is a pretty intense inverted coaster, with lots of loops and drops. I don't know how well it will go over with Silverwood's family market. Of course, that won't stop us from driving to Idaho to see if we can finally get on the silly thing... Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated December 13, 2007 7:56 AM. December 2, 2007We'd Like To Thank The Academy...Elaine and I are packing up the house this weekend, boxing up our stuff in preperation for The Big Move. The house looks like an ad for Public Storage, what with the bubble wrap, tape guns, blank newsprint and cardboard boxes strewn about. (One day, very soon, we will have our lives on some kind of stable axis. Just not today.) We've been talking all weekend - how excited we are for the new place, how much fun it's going to be to settle in. However, in the midst of all this excitement we wanted to put a shout out to a few people who played a pivotal role in making the new condo happen. Frankly, we had a lot of help. First, we'd like to thank our parents. Both of our folks were just terrificly supportive, from my Dad ("Uh, so, we're thinking about buying ... what should I know?") to Elaine's Dad, who was reading our contracts at 10 o'clock on a weeknight, and then sending along some great feedback. Thanks to both of you. Second, we'd like to thank our friends - especially Juli, without whom we would have never have found the place at all. We also put the word out to friends who already had places, and picked their brains about Stuff They'd Do Differently, or who they worked with for homeowners' insurance. Kristen, Aaron, Chris, Sara ... you guys rock. Third, we'd like to thank our mortgage guy, Mark Meadowcroft. Mark was recommended to us by our Realtor, Laura, and he turned out to be about the most fantastic choice possible. Mark was incredibly prepared and up-front about everything we'd need to do (and when we'd need to do it); our financing came together fast, largely because he moved heaven and earth to make it happen. You rock, Mark! Fourth, we'd like to thank Kevin, who represented the builder/seller. He was gracious, responsive, professional and added a personal touch to the process. Finally - and most importantly - we'd like to thank our real estate agent, Laura Brodniak. Laura and I have known one another for about ten years now - she was a client at Media Access - but this was the first time I'd had the good fortune to have her working for me, as opposed to the other way 'round. Laura was amazing. Even though Elaine and I weren't sure of what we wanted, Laura hit the ground running, quickly grokked our tastes, and found us a great set of possibilities. She was full of great advice, bent over backward to keep us happy (and things moving along smoothly), and whipped out the magic rolodex to get us in touch with the right people (e.g., Mark, or Darrell at Safe & Sound Home Inspections). Laura had to give us oxygen once or twice, but the fact that the whole deal came together in a few short weeks is a testament to how organized and focused she is. We couldn't have done it without her. So. The rest of this week is all about boxes, tape, and lifting with the knees. We're grinning from ear to ear, but, mostly, we're grateful for all the help. Thanks, everybody. The housewarming will be killer. Promise. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated December 2, 2007 4:40 PM. December 1, 2007It Wasn't The End Of The World As I Knew It (So I Feel Fine)Last night, I finally did something I've been screwing up my nerve to do for more than a year: I sang karaoke. In a bar. See, I've been taking voice lessons since August of '06, and set myself a New Year's Resolution back in January to get up and sing in public before the year was out. Kristen and Aaron are both big fans of karaoke at the Beacon Pub - it's a bona-fide dive bar with great crowd energy - so the four of us headed over around 8, grabbed a table and drinks, and began pawing through the (incredibly) thick books of songs that they had in the system. After a beer and a half, I finally chose REM's "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." I have to admit, it was pretty exhilurating. Scary, yes, but fun and cool at the same time. The hardest thing was standing up there with the mic in my hand as the DJ tried to get the laserdisc player synched up and working. But when the music started, everything kicked in - I was too focused to be freaked. (It really is a hell of a rush. I can see why karaoke's become so popular.) I've promised myself one more session before 12/31, so we're thinking about the Sunset Bowl sometime toward the end of the month. Anyone up for a party? Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated December 1, 2007 12:38 PM. November 27, 2007Home, Sweet HomeAs of today, Elaine and I are homeowners: we bought a condo in the University District. (Say it with me: whoa.) The ink on the paperwork is still wet; the transaction closed just a few hours ago. I'm still reeling at how crazy-fast this whole thing has come together. To understand just how fast, let's set the Wayback Machine for one ... month ... ago ... It's the morning of Saturday, October 27, and Elaine and I are gettin' ready to head out to Vancouver, BC to see the family for a post-honeymoon wedding dinner. (Regular blog readers may recall that this is the trip where I got my transit freak on with a jaunt on SkyTrain.) So it's about 8 AM and Elaine's in the shower. I'm sipping coffee and going through the mail when I spot a letter from The Best Property Manager On The Planet (ours). He's thorough, professional, polite; in fact, the guy is so thorough/professional/polite that he invoices us for rent. Every month. And includes a self-addressed, stamped envelope to boot. So I'm looking at the obviously-from-him envelope, glance at the calendar, see that we're four days from the end of the month, and think: must be rent. Slit open the envelope, slide out the paperwork, unfold the letter, read. Thought #1: Huh. This isn't rent. Long story short: when we moved back in April, we went on a month-to-month lease. With the wedding coming up that August and my job not yet landed, month-to-month was a great solution, an easy way of keeping things flexible until life settled down. What made it a no-brainer was that our landlords - the nice couple that owns the house we're renting - were off to Foreign Lands for school. They were planning to be gone two years. Except now it's not yet six months later, and they're unexpectedly back. So they're home, and they'd kinda-sorta like their house back. Please. Oh, crap. Elaine emerges from the shower (a sight that qualifies as the Eighth Wonder Of The World, as far as I'm concerned), and I explain the situation. Her response: "Oh, crap!" Now we're strategizing. We talk all the way to Canada, get on my brother-in-law's WiFi, and start crawling Craigslist for properties. We find a few interesting ones, send some mail, try to set up appointments for when we're back on Sunday. And then Phase Two of the discussion begins, kicked off by an innocuous question from the lips of my beautiful wife: "What about buying something?" And, just like that, we were in the housing market. There were two prongs to our plan: first, find a rental we're good with. Since we have to be out ASAFP, we need a place to live. Second, make a parallel effort to see what kinds of property is on the market right now. If we see something we like, great; if not, no worries. So I phoned my friend, Realtor, and adoptive den mother, Laura, and explained the situation. "We're not really sure if we're buying right now," I said, "But we'd kick ourselves if we didn't look. Are you interested in working with a flakey couple who doesn't have any real idea of what the hell they want?" Laura assured me that we fit her client profile perfectly ("I'm part Realtor, part therapist"), asked me a few questions about what we might like, and promised to send over some stuff. Two hours later, Elaine and I were drowning in MLS listings. My jaw actually dropped when I saw how much stuff there was to sift through. Wine was poured, laptops were opened, and we parked ourselves on the couch for an evening of online house-hunting. We're hitting PAGE DOWN over and over, seeing some absolutely terrible places with astronomical price tags. When we find a place that looks promising, we fire up Google Maps and see where it's located. Inevitably, the thing is located in West Ballard or Interbay or something - transit dead zones. No go. I'm hoping to find something that's easily served by The Connector (Microsoft's amazing new employee bus service); Elaine wants easy access to downtown. So we PAGE DOWN and PAGE DOWN, and finally build a list of seven places that look vaguely promising. We send the list to Laura, who books us for visits and viewings on the following weekend. During the week, we find a rental that we really like. So Plan A worked out, and now we're covered. If we don't find something to buy, no problem. Saturday rolls around. Lane and I pile in to Laura's car with our friend Juli, and the four of us go on tour of Seattle's Finest. We see great places in crummy locations; crummy places that are clearly trying to benefit from their neighbors' property improvements, and (what feels like) zillions of bland-as-hell townhouses. It was this last that wore me down. Townhouses can be wonderful, airy, fantastic things ... and they can also be bland, also-ran, uninspired boxes that are built on someone's former backyard. It's late in the afternoon, and we walked in to a place that I just hated. Five seconds in the front door, and I just knew. Um .... no. So we break for coffee, and Juli mentions that there's a new condo project nearby she'd like to check out. And - sure. What the hell? At this point, what's one more? We get coffee, get to the project, meet the nice man in the show office, and are let in to the model to walk around. And, for both of us, it's love at first sight. It's wonderful. Modern, clean, spacious, perfect. Fixtures we love. Enough space for the two of us, plus guests. It's got a deck. Great natural light. Hardwood. Yadda. So we take the information sheets from the counter, stare hard at the price, gulp, and decided to go to dinner. I think it was at dinner that we decided to go for it. At home, I break out the MBA Excel King Fu and build some models of what we're signing up for - Home Price X with Interest Rate Y and Down Payment Z will result in the following cash requirements; since I make A and Elaine B, and we want to save C and put D away for Paris vacations, we will have .... $3.82 every two weeks to spend on fun stuff. Hm. Better rework the model. We eventually figured it out, plunging headlong into the world of staggering debt, mortgage-interest deductions, lower tax brackets, and the ins-and-outs of what the condo association will cover for insurance and services. That was quickly followed with a crash course in escrow, picking lenders, getting pre-qualified, dealing with title insurance, and the rest. And here we are, one month (to the day!) of opening the letter, and we're homeowners. Everything that could have gone right, went right; all the stuff that could have gone wrong just stayed home. I'm more than amazed - I'm shocked. The next two weeks are all about moving. We're doing trips to Goodwill, putting stuff on Craigslist, becoming best friends with eBay. A lot of our plates and glasses and things were going anyway, what with all the loot from the wedding, but now we've got to get everything in to 1100 square feet. I'm kind of digging it. But mostly - mostly - I'm thrilled to have a place that's our place, that we can really settle in to over the next few years, that we can keep for as long as we want. It's emotional, sure, but it's a warm-happy emotional. 2008 is looking better all the time. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated November 27, 2007 8:07 PM. October 29, 2007MacBU Nerf Fight!
So I came in this morning to find a Nerf N-Strike Maverick on my chair with a note: Thanks for all the great work so far! Take time to have some FUN as we gear up to track down the remaining show stoppers on the way to shipping. HAPPY HUNTING! Turns out that most of the people I work with got 'em, too. So now the hallways are filled with flying Nerf bullets, and MacBU looks like a John Woo film. People are laughing their butts off. Craig bought extra ammo. I caught him muttering something about "equipping the rebels." (Days like this, I really, really, really love my job.) PS - DUCK! Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated October 29, 2007 11:09 AM. October 12, 2007Notes On A Parisian Honeymoon
It's been two weeks since my "hey, we're home!" post, and, truthfully, I'm shocked at how quickly 14 days can pass a fella by. It feels like just a few days ago that we both stepped our jet-lagged selves off the plane, lollygagged our way down Concourse C, and, finally, returned to the warm, familiar environs of our home. So imagine my shock to glance at the calendar this morning and see OCT 12 staring back at me with an accusatory stare, like I'd just shown up three hours late for an important dinner and no good excuse. I realized I was overdue (way overdue) for a blog post, and, well, here I am. The break was nice - the reason for the break was nicer - and I'm pleased to report that we had a fantastic time in Paris. A few notes (Flickr photostream available):
Damn, it's good to be home. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated October 12, 2007 8:35 PM. September 28, 2007We Now Resume Our Regularly-Scheduled BroadcastElaine and I are just back from our honeymoon, having flown in to Seattle a couple hours ago after spending the last two weeks in Paris. (I swear to God, I'm 5 pounds heavier from all the food, and the desserts, and the wine, and the...) It looks like a few good things happened in my absence:
I'll have something akin to a trip report shortly, but in the meantime -- it's good to be home. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated September 28, 2007 5:22 PM. September 9, 2007Tyin' The Knot (I'm completely exhausted and still in full-on overload. It's been a crazy, crazy weekend.) A number of our guests asked about getting copies of our vows, so I thought I'd take a moment to post them. It was important to Lane and me that we write our own, and, after going a few directions that neither of us was totally happy with, she said, "Well, what if we did a 'Cat in the Hat' kind of thing?" That one stuck. The final product was very much "us" - collaboratively written, and totally in the spirit we were going for. Our good friend (and officiant) Chris was a terrific sport, and really made the whole thing work, delivering while wearing sunglasses, a Dr. Seuss hat, and a huge smile. So, without further ado, we present: CHRIS (Special thanks to Khan for snapping the most excellent photo of the two of us!) Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated September 9, 2007 10:15 PM. August 30, 2007Amazon Is Delivering Groceries In SeattleApparently, Amazon is now delivering groceries (ala HomeGrocer) through their "Amazon Fresh" division: I placed my first order from a friend's home on Mercer Island, one of the test neighborhoods. Amazon started the invitation-only service there at the beginning of August and has since expanded to parts of Seattle's Capitol Hill and Bellevue. How did I miss this? Has anyone used this yet? (And, for the record, I really miss Kozmo... *sigh*) Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated August 30, 2007 9:14 AM. August 18, 2007Way To Go, John & Brynn! My good friend John Kaufmann popped the question to his longtime (and totally fantastic) girlfriend Brynn last weekend, and she said yes. Date TBD. Way to go, you two! Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated August 18, 2007 7:14 AM. June 5, 2007Way To Go, Richard!
With Microsoft. (Yes, those were flying pigs you saw last Friday.) First, the job: Richard is going to be a Senior Analyst with Atlas, a Web analytics company based here in Seattle. It's one of those kick-ass jobs where he gets to apply his love of stats, knowledge of the Internet, and overall business hoo-ha to a lot of really interesting problems. In short, it's perfect. And it's in the International District, as well, which means he can a) have great Chinese for lunch every day and b) avoid crossing the 520 floating bridge like the rest of us software stiffs. Ah, yes. So. Software. See, Atlas is owned by this little company called aQuantive, and aQuantive, as you may have heard, was just bought by Microsoft for roughly $6Bn. What makes this funny is that Richard, more than any other person (save maybe Khan), has sworn up and down over the years that he would never, ever, never, ever, really, honestly, no-I-mean-it work for the Evil Empire. Part of this stems from the fact that he's a lifelong Sun fan (I mean his license plate says, "SOLARIS" ... and it's not a reference to the George Clooney film), part of it is that he's a Mac guy, and part of it is that, well, he just doesn't, uh, love Windows. Richard has had a lot of fun with me (especially on Confab) since I got my job here in 2005, and now that he's employee 1,228,945 (or whatever), well, I guess it proves that you Never Say Never. Dude, I'm thrilled for you. Welcome to the Collective. Way to go! (But expect a lot - and I mean a lot of cheap jokes over the coming months and years.) Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated June 5, 2007 10:48 AM. May 31, 2007Way To Go, Matt!So I'm thrilled to disclose that my good, good friend Matt Minas - fellow UW MBA, perpetual wearer of shorts, and one of the nicest human beings on the planet - has proposed to his girlfriend, Kari (whom we all love), and she said yes. Date's TBD, but it's official. And, frankly, they're damn cute together. Way to go, you two! Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated May 31, 2007 8:59 PM. May 3, 2007Best Venn Diagram EverJeff sent me a link to the "Best Venn Diagram Ever" and I about spit cola out of my nose. Awesome. (And so ... true, y'know?) Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated May 3, 2007 2:57 PM. April 24, 2007Win Her With Dinner
I've never been known as much of a chef - microwaving, boiling water, and heating pizza are the general extent of my Phat Culinary Kung Fu Skillz - so I dusted off some of the cookbooks on my shelf (bought with such high hopes, reliably consigned to obscurity behind the Hunter S. Thompson and Disney World history books) and, within a second, I knew I had my material: Win Her With Dinner. (Of course, the damn thing is bright green with a black spine, so maybe that's got something to do with it.) Win Her is a cookbook for single guys who'd like to impress a gal with their kitchen abilities (as opposed to their call-Pagliacci-abilities). The cover says it all: "This book's premise is based on the simple truth that women like to see a guy put forth a little effort." And it's true: women do. (Or at least, Elaine did.) The book is divided into five core sections of recipes (Red Meat, White Meat, Sea Meat, No Meat, Desserts) with a liberal sprinkling of advice about wine, music, and how to clean your apartment before your date arrives: "When you're having a woman over for dinner, a clean home/apartment is of the utmost importance. We really can't stress this enough. If your place looks gross, it probably is gross. And if your place is gross, your guest may conclude that you are gross and that your cooking, therefore, must also be gross. Don't let this happen to you!" I had a lot of fun picking the recipe, selecting "Linguine with Tomato Concasse & Basil Chiffonade, Caesar Salad, & Pesto-Parmesan Crostini" (aka, Tomato-basil pasta, salad, and toast). I had fun shopping for the ingredients. And you know what? I had fun making the meal, too. So many firsts in one evening: first time making homemade Caesar dressing, first time making homemade pasta sauce, first time dealing with the timing of three different dishes while chopping, de-seeding and seasoning to taste. The whole shootin' works took about an hour, start to finish, and tasted pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. So now I'm jazzed about cooking. The experiment was so successful - Lane really flipped - that I'm planning to do another one once we're all moved in to the new place. Anyone wanna be a guinea pig? (And seriously, fellas - get the book. Trust me.) Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated April 24, 2007 9:50 PM. April 4, 2007Otters Holding HandsMaybe it's because I'm in love, or something, but my future brother-in-law is sending around this YouTube video of otters holding hands ... and I think it's about the cutest thing ever. (Like, "shut down Cute Overload" kind of cutest thing ever, 'cause there's not enough cute left in the world after this.) Your reaction, of course, may vary. Enjoy. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated April 4, 2007 2:23 PM. March 18, 2007Movin' In Together (Or, "I Heart The Internets")Elaine and I spent a chunk of our weekend looking for a new place to live. Given that we're tyin' the knot later this year, it seemed high time that we actually move in together and go through the ritualistic, traditional Mingling Of The Stuff. This is a good/bad thing - good in that I'm soon to be the proud half-owner of a microwave, 19" TV and Garden State soundtrack CD; bad in that there will be, without question, something in my Bachelor Stuff that qualifies as the "Stupid, Roy Rogers, Garage Sale Wagon Wheel Coffee Table" from When Harry Met Sally. (My framed Tron poster stays. I'm firm on this.) We've both been apartment-dwellers, and I've made no secret to anyone that I've been fantasizing about/coveting the "house experience" for some time now. I like the "tiny life" apartment experience just fine (my place is 500 square feet, and, as I don't have a lot of stuff, it suits me), but whenever I attend Game Night at Kristen & Aaron's, I'm taken with their space - Exhibit A being their big, soundproof downstairs (perfect for the round of Karaoke Revolution or Wii Bowling). For my part, I've wanted a private garage to park the Shadow, a back yard with a barbecue, a place to entertain friends, and more closet space. So Lane and I chatted, built our list of criteria (a few bedrooms, not too expensive, a good kitchen, room to entertain, my BBQ/garage action, close proximity to services and transit, yadda yadda) and hit the Web. This is my fifth move in the last ten years (Dallas, Eastlake, Cap Hill, my current place, and now this), and each time has become progressively easier. I attribute this entirely to the proliferation of the Internet, and the amazing amount of information available to a fella with just a few keystrokes. Consider. When I moved to Dallas in '97, it took me a good few weeks of looking around to find a place I liked. You'd look for listings in the local paper, call the numbers, and when people got back to you - if they got back to you at all - the place was likely rented. It was often hard to know where things were located in town, as well - when the seller is paying for each line or character in the ad, the ad tends to be minimal. And so you drove neighborhoods, looked around for this and that, and ultimately made a decision that you were (often) less-than-satisfied with. Craigslist has changed all this. Ads are verbose, overflowing with photos, and come with Google/Yahoo map links. Sites like housingmaps.com mash up Craigslist with Google Maps, thus allowing you to plot the locations of current rentals all over the city. When you find something that looks good (again, much faster than you could've a decade ago), you can just e-mail the seller, and the responses are (invariably) immediate. Heck, renters even use Craigslist to watch out for each other. I saw this one online: Beware of 2 BR Green Lake bungalow rental on N 62nd St. House suffers from basement flooding due to cracked foundation and collapsing southwest retaining wall; also, faulty interior wiring, leaky roof. Potential damage to possessions if owners cannot address. (Whoa.) Once you've got your laundry list of places you're really, truly interested in, you can then use some other great sites to cross-check for amenities like transit. I was forever going to BusMonster to see what stops were near a proposed address, or to Google Transit to see how long it would take me to get to work on a given Monday morning. And from there, again, the list was culled. All of this, of course, is a long-winded way of saying that we found what we were looking for, and are going through the paperwork process now. The place is excellent - a house with garage, back yard, barbecue, soundproof downstairs, space for guests, and so on. Assuming we pass credit checks and whatnot (aside to our future Mr. Landlord: We're not axe murderers! Really!), we move at the end of April. I expect some serious Karaoke Revolution action come mid-May. I'm in a serious state of lovin' the Internet right now. UPDATE, May 6, 2007: One or more of the original hyperlinks on this page expired, and has been dereferenced. The hyperlinked text is now underlined. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated March 18, 2007 7:44 PM. January 17, 2007Ze Frank In The New York ObserverZe Frank's making it big in Hollywood, according to the New York Observer: On March 17, Cobble Hill-based Web prankster Ze Frank will end his daily, year-long Internet video show to go all Hollywood. "The one thing I took away from my meeting with Jeffrey Katzenberg is that the work begins now," said Mr. Frank, who was accidentally rewarded with fame after a jokey video, "How to Dance Properly," went utterly viral in 2001. "The Show" is a fantastic video podcast, and it's one of the first things I watch every morning. Props to Ze and his success - he's definitely earned it. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated January 17, 2007 8:21 PM. January 14, 2007Wii-ha!Last weekend, Kristen & Aaron hosted their monthly "Game Night", inviting the usual merry band of malcontents and tricksters to come over and best one another at high-stakes "Risk", "Taboo" and "Trivial Pursuit." (Elaine and I are both malcontented and trickster-ish, so we're on the list.) The novelty of January came in the form of a Nintendo Wii, which Ryan was kind enough to bring ("Santa brought it for my boy," he said, "And I thought I should share"). Now, as K & A have converted their downstairs into a shockingly effective Home Theater On The Cheap (TV projector, shining brightly on a white Target-acquired shower liner ... you get the idea), we had a great place to plug in said Wii and put it through its paces. Holy cow, it's awesome. Truth be told, I'm not much of a gamer. Yes, I loves me some Roller Coaster Tycoon now and again, and Stan and I blew most of Christmas doing the slack-jawed, crazy-thumbs, boy-gamer-on-the-couch thing while we finished "Gauntlet." But those are exceptions. The Wii? It makes me want to play video games. Much ink has been spilled about the Wii's revolutionary and innovative new controllers. In case you're not familiar, it's pretty simple - the Wii controllers don't have wires that connect them to the core console. While that's pretty nice (the XBox 360 does this, too), the kicker is that the controllers are able to communicate all kinds of information about their location in space back to the console. Step closer to the Wii, and the machine knows it. Move your controller hand up and down rapidly, and the machine knows it. And so on. What this means, in effect, is that you play Wii games by holding the controller and moving naturally. Wanna go bowling? Fire up Wii Bowling and start throwing strikes. Notice -- you're really throwing strikes, because the controller tells the console when you're moving your arm, as well as the position of your hand at the apex of the swing. The faster you throw, the harder you throw the ball. Wanna play baseball? Fire up Wii Baseball, put the controller in your hand, put your hand behind your head, and start swinging at the virtual pitches (in a stadium that looks suspiciously like Safeco Field). Pitching at the opposition works much as you'd expect: over-the-shoulder fastballs, baby. We simply could not get enough of this for the course of the evening. We tried tennis, boxing, all kinds of stuff. The natural movements, coupled with the large screen, meant that we were "in" the game in a very real sense. This was particularly true of boxing. To box, you plug in an attachment to the Wii controller called a "nunchuck". Put the controller in one hand, the nunchuck in the other, and square off against your opponent. Wanna block a punch? Hands in front of your face. Wanna hit the other guy? Throw a punch. Wanna hit him hard? Throw it faster. Wanna avoid him? Move your feet! Go! Go! Go! I was winded after boxing. And, believe it or not, still sore two days later. (And, not to make it sound like I'm an out-of-shape nerd or anything: I boxed a lot. And I totally whipped some ass.) Wii-related injuries have made the news of late - controllers accidentally thrown through windows, and so on. I can totally see why - Ankur was going mano-a-mano with the tennis game, and, in a particularly aggressive overhand serve, managed to smack the ceiling with this controller. (Try that while playing Halo.) This has led my buddy Patrick to coin the self-explanatory terms "Injur-Wii" and "Fatali-Wii". So, yeah, we're addicted. Elaine tugged my sleeve midway through the night and whispered, "Can we get one of these?" (Who am I to say no?) If you've yet to try one, I can't recommend more highly. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated January 14, 2007 8:26 PM. January 2, 2007iKaraoke (I Do, I Do, I Do)During my post about Christmas in Vancouver, I blogged an aside about having received an iKaraoke for Christmas from Elaine's mom. Well, I've had a bit of time to play with the silly thing over the past few days, and lemme tell ya - it's a blast. (In fact, I'd wager that it's the first-ever iPod accessory with a two-drink minimum.) If you've never seen an iKaraoke before, it looks a little strange - basically, it's a skinny microphone with a two-foot cord that terminates in a small, 1" plug. To use it, you snap the plug into the Dock Connector on the bottom of your iPod. What the product does is simple enough: it allows you to play - and sing along with - the music you've loaded on your iPod (aka, "your favorite songs, the ones you sing along with in the car or hum in the shower"). What makes the iKaraoke special is that the Dock-plug-thingy has a chip in it that reprocesses the sound coming from your 'Pod, such that it suppresses the lead vocals of the song you're listening to. Suddenly, the full-fledged version of "Regret" becomes an instrumental, and, well, that's where the plug-in microphone comes in. Pick it up, and make like you're on American Idol. (Note that the public humiliation and/or embarrassment you may experience while using iKaraoke is purely a side effect, and one that manufacturer Griffin, maker of fine iPod accessories, provides to you free of charge.) Now, as this is a semi-product-review, let me be right up front about something: the idea of what the iKaraoke does is far, far better than the reality. The digital suppression of the lead vocals is imperfect (and, at times, obnoxious); you will hear trace amounts of Simon LeBon or Bernard Sumner or whoever you're down with going on in the background. Some bands (James, for instance) seem immune to the iKaraoke's processing. The device isn't magic; it's a plastic $50 doohickey. But for all that, it's my new favorite toy. See, the iKaraoke is awesome if you're trying to learn to sing, and need some accompanying music while you warble and emote. It's the bomb when you want to practice your vocal stylin' in the privacy of your own home. A big part of my singing lessons is making the time to, well, sing - sing tunes that I love with Sarah playing piano or strumming the guitar alongside. We warm up with the usual "la la la la la" and then move into the fun stuff, where I try to sing things like "Sit Down" or "Speed of Sound." She provides the tune and the time, and I provide (ahem) amusement. But the thing is, practicing on your own is a challenge. A big part of learning to sing is simple repetition -- practicing (sucking) over and over until the good stuff (finally) comes out. And, while it's true that the "la la la la la" school of rehearsal gives you some practice, nothing - and I mean nothing - is more fun than beltin' out songs you know and love by heart. Of course, singing alongside The Real Thing is just too hard - you're competing with a studio-perfect copy of the song you love, and that's just unfair. But with the iKaraoke, all that changes. Suddenly, it's easy to practice at home, and even easier to experiment with new songs to see if you're any good. (For instance, I've discovered that I can nail Death Cab's "The Sound Of Settling" ... which has been making me happy for the last 24 hours.) Heck, Sarah and I even used the dang thing at singing practice tonight. We hung up the piano for the evening and let the iPod drive. I bet it's also fun at parties. Kristen and Aaron have Karaoke Revolution for their Xbox, and, rumor has it, played until well past 2:30 AM with friends at New Year's. iKaraoke's the same basic idea. So there it is - my new favorite iPod accessory. Plug this puppy into your iPod, have a few drinks with friends, and sing your guts out. Awesome. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated January 2, 2007 10:29 PM. December 4, 2006Oh, Say - What Should We See?
We hit the show nice and early on Saturday morning, and proceeded to wander around in a daze for the next few hours. Our visit to the show was precipitated, in no small part, by our upcoming 2008 road trip, which is getting more real by the day. I'm on a bit of an equipment quest for my Shadow. Right now, it's not modified or encumbered by any non-standard equipment; the bike I ride is as Honda made it, in all its maroon glory. Problem is, that's not going to cut it on a 5-week road trip. I need places to store my clothes, shoes, tent, food, water, tools (and on and on), as well as some good, old-fashioned technology help (like a GPS with integrated map, so we don't get lost). Oh, and an iPod connection kit. To that end, the show was perfect, just perfect - lots of companies selling their wares, lots of knowledgeable people to talk to about cycling, lots of tips and tricks and warm, fuzzy vibes. We're starting the mapping/planning process in earnest next month (um, er, next year), and this, dear reader, is where I need your help. See, this trip isn't about getting from A to B; rather, it's about seeing the country, taking it in, meeting people and seeing great stuff from the vantage of two wheels at 55 mph. (And yes, riding the occasional roller coaster.) So we want to see the good stuff. The scenic byways, the long way 'round, the vistas (no, not that one - I see that at work) and views and the things that you think make your region, well, your region. For instance. If someone were cycling through Seattle, I would want them to see the following:
So, dear reader, what do you suggest? What should we see as we see the country? National monuments? Small, favorite winding roads? We're planning now, so use the comments thread to throw your suggestions in the hat! Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated December 4, 2006 10:27 PM. November 25, 2006Hypnotized ... By CheeseElaine and I walked around downtown today, taking in the sights and doing a bit of shopping. We swung through Pike Place Market for a bit, and wound up stopping for a sandwich (and Mac n' Cheese) at Beecher's Handmade Cheese Shop. (Incidentally, these folks have a blog - the "Curds and Whey Chronicles" - and, while I've not spent time on it, I have to say it's cool that a cheese shop is blogging.) Anyhow. While the food was delicious (and the crowd-watching spectacular), the real star of the show wound up being Beecher's big, stainless-steel cheese-making tub, where two guys were transforming these giant slabs 'o cheese (think "four-feet long, one-foot wide, six-inches deep" and you've got the idea) into smaller, chunks - basically, by feeding them into what appeared to be a giant cheese shredder. It's utterly, totally, and completely hypnotic - something about the industrial scale of the operation, the exotic instruments, you name it. A crowd gathered, and the guys doing the work were clearly enjoying the attention. People were packed three-deep behind us at the windows. Anyhow, if you're down in the market this holiday, check it out. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated November 25, 2006 5:03 PM. November 15, 2006Put Yourself Out There [Reprise]A little more than a year ago, I wrote a post that called "Put Yourself Out There" that, among other things, talked about why I love blogging, and encouraged people to find their voices and start posting content of their own: So here's the thing: start a blog. No, really. I've had more conversations with people about who "should" and "should not" blog, and I'm here to tell you: if it interests you, put it out there. Just make sure your blogging style is something that's authentically you, and something that makes you happy. A few of my friends - Char, Gina, and Judy, among others - picked up the charge and ran with it. The other day, Diana e-mailed me and suggested that I check up with people, see what had transpired in the intervening time. I was just adding some new books to my blog and I realized that I'm nearing my 100th book. (which I have to say is pretty darn cool!) That got me to thinking about your blogging challenge. It's got to be nearly a year since you issued that challenge and got us all writing. What about writing a "what happened" since then post? I'd be interested in hearing what happened to some of the other people who got hoodwinked into the blogosphere by you. ;-) This is, without question, a fabulous idea. So, dear readers, I ask:
Use the comment thread, sound off, and let's talk. I'm really curious. Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated November 15, 2006 9:33 |
Whoa.
My good friend, longtime business partner, 
We celebrated Elaine's birthday this weekend, and, for her present, she asked that I "cook her something."
Dad was in town this weekend, swooping in from Spokanistan to attend the 
