Harley Pics

Here's my new 2009 Harley-Davidson Street Glide. Click on the above picture to see a couple of more angles of it. The pictures on Harley's web site make this red look really dull, but in the real world with some sunshine on it, the paint sparkles with a gold metallic look.

Communication Breakdown

Ah, these modern times....

Should I text you, write you an email to your work account, write you an email to your home account, call you on your cell, call you at home, call you at work?

Should I post on flickr, on blogspot, or on facebook?

Too many choices!! ARGGGHH!!

"Communication breakdown,
It's always the same,
I'm having a nervous breakdown,
Drive me insane!"

... INSERT JIMMY PAGE SOLO HERE ...

Ah, now I feel better that I have a scorching guitar solo looping through my technology-addled brain...

Anyway, if you didn't already get the message via other methods, see new pics on flickr by clicking here.

Delainy's Commercial

Delainy has been studying the ancient Egyptian culture and she had to come up with some sort of presentation for her 6th grade class. So, she drafted her brother as an actor and her Dad as a camera man and here's the result.

Arizona Trip - February 2009

Pictures are here.

Jody and I cashed in her free miles and we flew to Arizona Tuesday Feb. 10th for a winter get-away. We ran into cold weather -- low 60s instead of the usual low 70s for this time of year, but it was WAY better than Chicago in February. We enjoyed some of the great local cuisine with Chuck Box burgers for lunch and seared tuna at Sushi on Shea for dinner.

On Wednesday, I coerced Jody into hiking to the top of Camelback Mountain (1264 feet elevation gain in 1.2 miles). She made it to the top and *LATER* agreed that it was a very cool thing to do.

On Thursday, we drove North and did a loop through Sedona, Jerome, and Prescott. The roads were clear, but there was snow all over the place. It was the first time I ever saw snow in Jerome or Prescott. I think the road from Jerome to Prescott is something I MUST do on a motorcycle sometime. It might have more turns per mile than the "Tail of the Dragon" route that my friend Yarko always raves about.

On Friday, we went to the Phoenix Zoo in the morning, then Jody hung out at the pool while I played tennis with Doug Lloyd. It felt great to swing a racquet for the first time since October. Too bad it will be months before I can do it again in Chicago. :-(

Friday night, we met the Lloyds and the McKays at Monti's La Casa Vieja in Tempe. The prime rib was pretty good and the company was even better.

Saturday, we tried to go to the Desert Botanical Gardens to see a cool new exhibit (Chihuly), but it was reserved -- possibly due to all of the NBA All-Star visitors in town. We resorted to Plan B and went out towards Globe to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum.

On Sunday, our return flight ended up being delayed by 3 hours (gotta love air travel!). To kill some time, we went to one of my favorite biker bar/dive places -- Greasewood Flat.

Chicago Botanic Garden

(Or as the locals say "Da Botanical Gardens ober dare")

We went on a cool and windy Sunday. The wind was kicking up the spray from the water fountain in the lake which resulted in some cool "rainbow" views. Later, as we were walking around the Japanese Garden section, I saw a blue blur out of the corner of my eye and realized a blue heron had landed 15 feet away from me. It looks like a pterodactyl descendant.

As usual, click on the above picture to see more photos.

Bahai Temple

I call it "The American Taj Mahal". The Bahai Temple in Wilmette is an amazingly beautiful and detailed building. Very cool to see if you visit the Chicago area.

Mundelein Seminary

This is the view along my 3.6 mile running route near work. With views like this, it's a great incentive to get out and run.