"Lightning" Bolt

In spite of my love affair with most team and individual sports, I was never one to follow track and field with anything more than a passing interest in the latest world record. I must admit that the advent of the olympics didn't really strike much of a chord with me, especially after one of the best football tournaments ever in Euro 2008. How could you follow up all the drama of the beautiful game and hope to fill the void that exists after a major international tournament?

To me, the olympics has always been too many sports on at the same time, which is quite confusing and distracting. Things like swimming, sailing, shooting, gymnastics, tae kwon do, amateur boxing, fencing, track cycling, 20km walkathon, water polo, etc etc.. they just don't really resonate for some reason. Lack of globally identifiable athletes? Difficulty to "watch-in-passing" for people are not intimately familiar with the sport?

The first thing that captured my imagination was Micheal Phelps' 8 gold medals. I didn't really watch any of his events, aside from a replay of one of them, but to have lived in a time where such a record is broken was exciting stuff. The real kicker was the track and field, however. If you conjure up an image of the olympics, the first thing you'd think of besides the hoops logo and the flame would be an olympic stadium with a big track and large patch of grass (which would be awesome to play football on) in the middle. Athletics have always been the heart and soul of the games, and this year has been a special one.

Usain Bolt, fastest man in the world. His antics and showboating as infuriatingly endearing as anything you've ever seen. His run in the 100m was something else. To be so blase about it all and still manage to shred his own world record is something I will remember watching for the rest of my life. I've never set a reminder to watch a track and field event in the past, but after that race I had to see if he can do it in the 200m. The fact that he did was almost expected but just as exciting. The cool thing was that he busted a nut this time around. Micheal Johnson is known as Superman, and its for good reason that his record stood for 12 years. Bolt really pushed himself for that one, and its going to be interesting to see how much further he can take it, being so young and all. The theory goes that he'll try to incrimentally better his world record to keep the money and the interest rolling (a la Sergey Bubka), but I don't know if its humanly possible to do better with the 200m. Although there had been some headwind that night, so you never know.

I've now developed a routine of watching the olympics coverage at lunch and after work (government working hours, 7-2), and I must say that its really introduced me to something new. I can't say that I'll now start following all the other events like the world championships and the commonwealth games, because only the olympics can give you this feeling. I am, however, much more interested in London 2012 than I was two weeks ago!

feeling lazy

It's summer and I'm feeling lazy. So lazy I haven't even blogged for the past few weeks. I've also been choosing sleep over workouts - frustrating, as I love the way I feel when I get my workouts in, and I know I should be getting up early to take advantage of these beautiful early summer mornings - but some part of me must be unconsciously yearning for those carefree summer days of childhood...no school, no obligations, nothing I HAD to do. Not to mention the Olympics are sucking up a lot of my time. Those opening ceremonies were sure impressive, weren't they? I watched the synchronized diving last night - I don't remember ever seeing that before, but it was sure beautiful. We're having fun rooting for Korea and the US.

But just because I'm feeling lazy doesn't mean I'm actually sitting around doing nothing. Ah, that would be nice, but my life doesn't really enable that anymore. This weekend I've enjoyed some quality time with Ava and Lena while Cameo worked, which is fun and busy. Alex and Ava are playing SO well these days - it is so GREAT after the past couple years of 2- and 3-year old competition and fighting! Lena is getting more capable of holding her own against Sam, though he is still the primary aggressor, but it is hard to stay mad at him because he's so darn cheerful even when he's misbehaving and getting time out. He actually kisses me when I put him in the time out chair and loves to buckle himself in. Very talented at using his charm. His latest trick is opening the refrigerator and helping himself to whatever he wants. He can't reach much above the veggie drawer, but he enjoys his stolen mouthfuls of lettuce and green onions. When he sees me coming he runs away chewing joyously. I wouldn't mind it so much if he didn't leave the refrigerator door open...or pieces of chewed greenery lying about...

In closing, I have to give an honorable mention to my latest audiobook, which I'm only about 1/3 of the way through: The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. A good summer read, well told, lots of adventure mixed with food for thought about God/religion and interesting facts about various animals. Definitely unique!

Después de 7 años vuelvo a Madrid

Pues sí, como dice el título del post he vuelto a Madrid.
He empaquetado unas cuantas camisetas, libros comics y a mi gatita Candela (ya os hablaré de ella) y me he venido a Madrid tras aceptar una oferta de trabajo bastante jugosa.
He vuelto a currar para Babel, mi antigua compañía de UK. Me han pedido de rodillas y llorando que vuelva con ellos y les ayude con un proyectito en Madrid relacionado con EA.

¿Ventajas? Que mi familia y mis amigos están aquí tan felices de verme, que no pagan mal, que me encanta Madrid y que pillo más experiencia que nunca viene mal para el CV.
¿Desventajas? Que curro como un animal de carga. Soy el típico pringado que va con dos móviles de aquí para allá. Hecho más horas que un reloj y además tengo que estar "on call", vamos que tengo que estar localizable a cualquier hora. Un infiernazo...

Pues eso, que si andas por Madrid y te apetece podemos quedar y liarla un poquillo.
Yo ya he estado en un par de fiestecillas y festivales. Por cierto, no os perdáis el Payback, garitón en la Sala Changó, (Covarrubias, 42) para unas sesiones de Hip Hop, Oldskool, Dubstep...

Besos!

cookbook battle

How funny - right after I posted that debate I was having about which cookbook was better - here is a New York Times article reporting that the author of one of the books is suing the other for copyright infringement!

I don't know enough about the case to comment on whether it's legitimate - but unless the content is expressly the same, I wouldn't think the lawsuit will be successful. Could the writer of one vegetarian cookbook sue another writer of a vegetarian cookbook, just for stealing the idea?

Anyway, I'm thinking I probably won't buy either book at the moment - at this point, my kids seem to be doing fine eating their fruits and veggies, especially with a little butter or sugar on them. :-)

Gamedevmap

Gamedevmap es una web de grandísima utilidad para los que nos dedicamos a los videojuegos.
Es un mapa del mundo donde puedes elegir la ciudad que te apetezca y te dice que empresas de videojuegos tienen sede en dicha ciudad.
Una maravilla.

deceptively delicious vs. sneaky chef

Recently two cookbooks have been brought to my attention - "Deceptively Delicious" and "The Sneaky Chef."

Both books purport to help you "hide" veggies and healthy stuff in your kids' food so they will get better nutrition. I am intrigued by the idea, as my kids are getting pickier, though they still eat pretty well. (I'm a little worried about Sam, who yells "Fries!" every time we pass a McDonald's.) It is getting easier now that they have more teeth and can actually eat salad if it's chopped up. Still, I'm always open to new ideas that can help us get our 3-5 servings a day of fruits and veggies.

The ratings are a little higher for the Sneaky Chef on Amazon. Has anyone used either of these books or made any of the recipes? I'm wondering if they are very time-consuming, and also if they are really "healthy" or if it's just hype.

Ah, summer

We enjoyed a beautiful summer evening last night with Mom, Dad, Buzz, Cameo, Bean, Ava, Lena, Alex, Sam, and Tres. The kids played for a long time with the rocket-sprinkler and ended up wet and naked and very happy. We decided the girls should at least put their panties back on when the neighborhood boys started hanging around the fence watching the fun. Sam experienced his first pee into the grass, at least I think it was his first, and his expression was priceless as he watched this process sans diapers...and maybe next summer he will be out of diapers altogether - a nice thought!

The adults enjoyed chicken carbonara, green beans, Waldorf salad made with yogurt, and 2 kinds of pie...mmmmm...it was perfect weather to sit outside. This summer is much easier than last in terms of the kids, with Sam being able to play more independently, and Alex and Ava playing TOGETHER and not fighting. :-) Alex did accidentally sock Ava below her left cheekbone (while they were both spinning in circles with their arms outstretched under the sprinkler), but they managed to remain friends. During dinner someone (Lena?) started crying and Alex said, "It's too loud. And if it's too loud, I won't eat!" She DID eat but it's true, she is sensitive to noise. Last time we were at Buzz's house, Ava got hit by a ball and cried, which caused Alex to say, "It's too loud," and then Alex cried and screamed (much louder and longer than Ava). Do they make earplugs for 3-year-olds?

Last night Sam pretended he was a dog, crawling on hands and feet and "arf-arf-arf"-ing all over the deck. It's the first I've seen him really get into "pretend" play for that long, and it was cute. He also has learned to ask "Why?" whenever we ask him to do or not do something...kind of funny coming from a kid who can barely put two words together let alone understand the reasoning of "why" we're telling him things...between him and Alex asking "Why?" every 5 seconds, though, I'm tempted to resort to that famous "Because I said so" even though I swore I would never do that.

The pictures are of the kids on the train - we rode it to the Gateway a couple days ago. I NEVER thought Sam would fall asleep on the train, but I guess he was just too tired.

fun times

We're having fun this week with family in town. My sisters Mary and Robin, my parents, and Bryan's mom are all here AND I'm working the hospital every day, so it's feeling fun and slightly out of control. :-) Between us we have kids ages 5 months, 1,2,3, and 4 so there's plenty of action. Last night we drove up Big Cottonwood canyon to the nature trail around Silver Lake. As we entered the canyon Alex said, "Wow, this world is so pretty, I need to take some pictures," and she proceeded to snap several "photos" with her play cell phone. :-) She is wearing dresses more as the summer heats up, but they are a bit awkward with the 5-point booster seatbelt, and when I put her in the car yesterday I guess her panties were pulling the wrong way and she said, "Stop it! You're pulling my bottom off!" and she was not pleased at all the giggles from me and Nana.

Just as we tried to enter the parking lot at Silver Lake, a car in the lot erupted in flames and we watched an exciting firefighting show as they squirted foam on it and hacked open the hood with a crowbar. Strangely enough, Bryan and I had witnessed another car fire in this same parking lot about a year ago. We didn't learn what caused it but no one was injured.

It was quite cool at the lake (upper 50's, compared to 90's in Salt Lake) but pleasant. We didn't see any moose as we have in the past, but did see fish, birds, beaver, and - the kids' favorite - a pair of mallard ducks that were nibbling at this really mucky, slimy stuff at the edge of some standing water...Sam said "yuck" and "duck" a lot. Sam pushed Alex in the stroller for a good 100 yards and even managed to stay on the trail.

Unrelated: We tried a couple new recipes from the Thai cookbook this week: Thai peanut patties with ground turkey, which fell apart on the grill but tasted good, and a Thai peanut salad with cold noodles, cilantro, peanut butter, honey, salsa, and ham. Sounds weird but it turned out pretty good.

silly kids

I'm just recording these here because I want to remember the silly things our kids say - these made us laugh.

We were at the park with Ava and saw a goose with one of those lumps on the top of its beak. Ava laughed and said, "That duck has a crazy nose on top of its head!" :-)

Alex was in the dressing room with Nana (B's mom) at the swimming pool and said to her while she was getting dressed, "You have big muscles!" :0)

Bryan and Nana were swimming with Alex. Alex did something brave and Bryan said, "That's my girl!" Nana said, "That's MY girl!" and Alex said, "No, I'm HIS."

:-)

cooking good food

I've enjoyed cooking some new dinners from my new "Thai cooking and more" cookbook (a Borders $4 special). So far, I've made Pad Thai, Buddha's delight, and baked fish with Thai pesto. They were all good but I think the Thai pesto has been the best so far. It has lemon juice and grated/zested lemon peel, fresh basil, cilantro, and mint leaves, garlic, green onions, jalapeno, and peanut oil. (Maybe something else but that's all I can remember.) I may try cutting the peanut oil in half and substitute broth or something less fattening next time. You chop it all up in a food processor and spread it on salmon fillets (or fish of your choice) and bake. Mmmmm. It was really good!

women's weekend getaway, books

This weekend was fabulous. The women's group at our church took a little time out for pampering at a Park City condo. Nothing was scheduled. We just hung out together and relaxed. Luxurious for moms of small kids, which we all were. I think the idea of time away is most appealing when you are used to working hard at home. I did not miss cooking or cleaning up after every meal. Thanks to the good husbands for taking care of things so we could feel human again. :-)

Books I'm reading these days (I like to read several at once) -

The New Testament and the People of God - NT Wright - a scholar's history of the first century environment, Jewish and other, surrounding Jesus and the early Christian movement.

If Jesus Were Mayor by Bob Moffitt - about the role of the local church in the community. We may tackle this one next in women's group. I like his emphasis on living your faith through action.


Bagels, Dim Sum, and Grits - about living as a multicultural family. This was part of my inspiration to buy the Thai cookbook. My first attempt at Pad Thai was delicious, even though I used too many noodles. :-)

Dave Ramsey's money management audiobook - I've only listened to the first 2 chapter or so, and so far haven't learned anything new, but he's entertaining (though occasionally annoying) to listen to.

Netdisaster

Con Netdisaster podéis ver la web que os de la gana atacada con los desastres más terroríficos.
Bueno, los hay que no son tan horribles como la manifestación que está invadiendo mi blog en la foto de abajo.



No es una página muy útil, pero para darle un sustito a alguien no está mal.

kalibushi.com es ahora kbushi.com

He cambiado de dominio, ahora es kbushi.com

Phoenix trip

Haven't posted in a while. We've been busy! Here are pics from our trip to Phoenix. (I got to go present a paper for a conference, and we decided the whole family should come.)

Phoenix was GREAT. The hotel we stayed in was quite the resort - complete with water park, palm trees and fountains. It was perfect weather to enjoy the swimming pools, the wave pool and the "lazy river" (. Alex surprised me with her boldness in the wave pool. She has learned that with a life vest and her little toucan inner tube, she is invincible in the water. Even after one wave smacked her in the face, she still wanted to go back for more. In the evenings they showed a kid movie over the pool. This will be perfect in a few years; as it was, I couldn't really watch the movie because I was trying to focus on keeping the kids from drowning unnoticed. They sure had fun - they thought it was pretty cool to be in the pool at sunset. The kids slept well in the hotel except for one day when Sam learned he could climb out of the pack and play (see picture). We moved it away from the bed and that seemed to foil him again. Whew.

I had a nice mix of attending conference meetings, shopping the outlet mall, and playing in the water with the kids. I haven't traveled much for work in the past couple of years, trying to stay closer to home and the kids, but it was nice to get out of my usual work environment and meet people who are tackling the same problems from different angles. I felt happy with my presentation, and it generated so much discussion among the audience that the moderator had to cut it off so the next person could speak. At least they didn't fall asleep, as the department chair did while I defended my master's thesis. Anyway - I'm happy that part is over and look forward to presenting the same material to another audience in July.

We visited a train park too - this was really up Sam's alley. He looks so serious in the pictures but he really did have a good time. Really!


Alex insisted I include this picture of her showing off her bandaids. She skinned her knees at the train park. She stood up for an entire bath trying to keep the bandaids from coming off. :-)

Even though we returned to a cool and wet Salt Lake City, it felt like we got a good start on summer vacation. Hooray for summer!

Good Point

Having a terrible morning all round today. Overworked and undervalued, I was sitting in the clinic and I locked myself in the room for half an hour to clear my thoughts before seeing any patients.

After taking some time to mull things over, the door was opened and the good doctor was ready to heal the world once again. A little scrub of a kid, around 12 years of age, was the first in along with his personal driver/bodyguard. The family name on his medical records explained the situation to me, and so I sat him down to see how I could be of assistance.

Turns out he had a soft tissue injury, nothing more, and was quite pleased to get the rest of the day off because of attending our clinic this morning. I asked him where he studied and, of course, it turns out to be at my old stomping grounds of days past. I told him as much and he retorted with quite an interesting comment:

"Really? You graduated from there?"
"Yup. Class of 2000."
"Cool. So.. why are you here?"
"Well, how do you mean?"
"You know. Why are you working here as a doctor? Why not somewhere else as a businessman or something?"

The Myst, Stephen King

Hoy escribo sobre una peli que he visto porque he salido encantadísimo del cine, con muchas ganas de más y de contarlo.
He visto The Myst (La Niebla) basada en un relato de Stephen King.
Una adaptación de uno de sus muchos relatos cortos de terror. Con planos de cámara en mano para acercarte más a los personajes, uno de los puntos fuerte de Stephen, crear dramas humanos y poner a un grupo de personas en situaciones extremas para sacar lo peor y lo mejor de ellas.
Hacía mucho que no disfrutaba tanto con una película, me he metido en ella y he estado en tensión de principio a fin. Verdadero cine "Old School", una de las mejores que he visto de Stephen King.
Como todos, o la mayoría de sus relatos está ambientado en en estado de Maine, Nueva Inglaterra, USA, donde reside. Hace unos cuantos años tuve la suerte de poder ir allí con mi familia y me paré a hacer unas fotos de su mansión desde fuera. Recuerdo que tiene gárgolas en las verjas exteriores.
Estaba convaleciente porque le había atropellado un coche y se encontraba muy grave. Por suerte se recuperó...

Evolución humana

Haced clic en la imagen:



Fuente http://walter.no.sapo.pt

Increible graffiti sobre la evolución

He visto este maravilloso graffiti sobre la evolución, aquí.