I spent about 4 hours this morning using the new tools on Google Maps to create a Google Maps / Flickr mash-up geographically showcasing some of my more memorable events in New Orleans. It's still a work in progress, but it's got about 30+ place markers so far. You can check it out here:
JW / NOLA Memory Map
- JW
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Sunday, October 22, 2006
A Jazzy Evening Out In Dover
About 3 weeks ago, my favorite jazz artist, John Axson Ellis, was in Philadelphia for a performance. Unfortunately, this coincided with our Air Show weekend, so Ashley & I weren't able to get up to Philly for the show. Last night, however, we were able to get our jazz fix locally, as the Air Force Reserve Full Spectrum jazz band did a free performance here in Dover at the Schwartz Center downtown.
We decided to make a date night out the occasion, going first to Smither's for cocktails and appetizers. I had also received an invitation to a cocktail hour on the third floor of the Schwartz Center prior to the show, so we checked that out, too, before taking our seats.
The show lasted about an hour and a half. While the vast majority of the songs were jazz numbers, the band did throw in a smattering of patriotic tunes and oldies tracks to keep the interest of those in the audience who weren't jazz aficionados. I especially enjoyed the contributions of one particular saxophonist, who really had a New Orleans' flair about him.
After the show was complete, we walked down Loockerman to The Dirty Beggar. I'd heard good things about the establishment, with it having a reputation as one of the more upscale bars in Dover. Ashley got a great Mojito, while I opted for a Maker's Mark on the rocks. When we were done, we stopped in to Angelo's Pizza Restaurant just before closing time and grabbed a couple of pepperoni rolls to go.
Overall, a really fun Friday night outing reminiscent of our excursions in the French Quarter back in college. Nothing like some good music and good beverages to keep the heart young.
- JW
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Nintendo's 21st Anniversary Celebration
Last Wednesday, October 18, 2006, was the 21st anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System's release in America. With the NES representing such a large portion of my childhood entertainment, I couldn't let the event pass uncelebrated...especially with the little console finally old enough to drink!
Ashley & I put together a Nintendo-themed party for the occasion, complete with emulator action of ROMS from all the old classics I used to own and 5 hours of hand-picked video game music remixes I found online last summer. We ordered several pizzas from Dominoes (just like back in the '80s!), and Ashley whipped up two Mario adult beverages: Mario's Dream & Princess' Pink Martini.
While we had Mario Kart Double Dash & Mario Dance Dance Revolution hooked up in the basement, the run away successes of the evening were the original Bases Loaded and Tecmo Bowl running on my laptop upstairs. Despite the poor graphics, some games are just classics. And of course, Super Mario Bros seemed to have sentimental value for everyone who picked up a controller.
We asked attendees to dress in video game or '80s themed attire. The clear-cut winner of the night was Amber, who dressed as Mario for the occasion, complete with white gloves and mustache. Be sure to look for her in the photos.
So happy 21st, NES. You'll always hold a special place in my heart and those of most of the children from the 1980s!
Now for the digital memories. Check out the photoset on Flickr and two clips now up on YouTube.
- JW
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Fordham Brewery's Oktoberfest 2006
This weekend we checked out the local brewery which was holding its first annual Oktoberfest celebration. The price was $20 for two meals and 3 drink tickets, so we got there shortly after kickoff to get the most bang for our buck.
Overall a really fun afternoon. The weather was beautiful, clocking in around 45 degrees with sunny, blue skies. They had a horseshoe pit setup, so we parked our folding chairs nearby and played several rounds of horseshoes while drinking beer and listening to the local bands.
The festival wasn't nearly as big as the Oktoberfest we went to in Newark, DE, last year, but the closer proximity more than made up for the smaller scale. We also went on a brewery tour while we were there. The whole operation is run by two full time employees and then a small contingent of volunteers who lend their services for free beer and pizza.
Concerning the types of beer they had on tap for the event, it was a selection of 4 different brews. There was a light Lager, the Oktoberfest seasonal, a red-colored Tavern brew, and an ultra dark Oyster blend. My favorite was the Oktoberfest, which had the most balanced flavor of the four brews.
As usual, I took many photos and a selection of video clips. You can check out the 72 photos on Flickr, and 6 videos on YouTube.
- JW
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Dover AFB's Air Show 2006
As fate would have it, I lucked out this weekend and only had to work Saturday morning for the Air Show. This let me catch some college football on Saturday afternoon (stupid Arkansas), and then be a spectator for the Sunday portion of the Air Show.
With this my first time attending an Air Show, I really went in with few expectations. I'd seen the movie Tarnished Angels (based on William Faulkner's novel Pylon), but that was about the extent of my exposure to aerial acrobatics. The event was actually pretty entertaining and definitely a departure from our typical weekend fare.
I'd say the highlights were:
- Seeing an F-18 cause a Prandtl-Glauert condensation cloud by nearing the sound barrier
- Going inside the cargo bay of a C-17
- Watching the Aeroshell Team leave the crowd of nearly 50,000 in a cloud of smoke
- Witnessing the Thunderbirds' performance...made me think of the Team America theme song
As promised, I've put the photos and video clips from the event online. You can check out the 85 photos on Flickr or watch the 11 videos on YouTube.
- JW
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Trying To Warm Up My Writing Motivation
I need to crank out a couple of essays for my grad school application today, so I'm starting with a blog post to get my writing juices flowing.
Earlier this week, Dover AFB held their annual MILCON (Military Construction) briefing at the Sheraton downtown. Like last year, I was tasked with making sure the A/V needs were met. Unlike last year, the morning setup didn't exactly go swimmingly.
This briefing was supposed to serve as the debut for a new touch-screen equipped podium, whose construction stemmed from feedback received after last year's MILCON brief. The idea was if the briefer had the slides in front of him, then he wouldn't have to turn around to make sure he was speaking to the right data. Easy enough.
After arriving at the Sheraton at 6:00AM to make sure the Airmen weren't hitting any configuration roadblocks, I realized it was going to be one of those days. The laptop was communicating fine with the podium, but the projectors just didn't seem to see a signal. We tried 3 different laptops, but none seemed to be recognized by the Sheraton's A/V rack. The morning supervisor wasn't exactly a technical expert, either, claiming that only Dell laptops would interface with their system. Heh.
Long story short, the patch panel on the floor had to be power-cycled and then everything worked fine. When the Sheraton's A/V Guru finally showed up at 7:00AM, though, he spent 30 minutes redoing everything the Airmen had already tried before finally agreeing to attempt a reboot of his A/V rack. The breakfast was supposed to start at 7:15AM, but didn't have everything fully functional until about 7:30AM. The event organizers were accommodating, though, and the 15-minute delay didn't represent a show-stopper.
The bad news was that because of the technical hiccups, we didn't have time to reconnect the new podium, so alas the touch-screen goodness would have to wait until the next big event.
I debuted the October 2006 version of Dover's Wing Mission Video after the Colonel's briefing. This was a project I'd been working on for the past month or so. It went over quite well, and I ended up personally receiving kudos from both Senator Joseph Biden and Senator Tom Carper after the event was finished. Yeah, the same Joe Biden whom I took pleasure in making listen to my electronica music during last year's MILCON briefing. :-) Speaking of which, you can view last year's video at the following location:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5228757400096725005&q=Dover+Air+Force+Base
I'll get around to uploading the 2006 version within the next couple of weeks.
I'm off of work today because I have to work both Saturday & Sunday at the Air Show that Dover AFB is hosting this weekend. I heard a couple of the Thunderbirds flying in earlier this morning, so things seem to be ramping up in preparation. Even now, I don't know exactly what role I'll be playing at the event this weekend, but I have a feeling it'll entail running random errands for the Colonel as things pop up.
Well, time to get moving on those essays. Be on the lookout next week for some pictures from the Air Show.
Earlier this week, Dover AFB held their annual MILCON (Military Construction) briefing at the Sheraton downtown. Like last year, I was tasked with making sure the A/V needs were met. Unlike last year, the morning setup didn't exactly go swimmingly.
This briefing was supposed to serve as the debut for a new touch-screen equipped podium, whose construction stemmed from feedback received after last year's MILCON brief. The idea was if the briefer had the slides in front of him, then he wouldn't have to turn around to make sure he was speaking to the right data. Easy enough.
After arriving at the Sheraton at 6:00AM to make sure the Airmen weren't hitting any configuration roadblocks, I realized it was going to be one of those days. The laptop was communicating fine with the podium, but the projectors just didn't seem to see a signal. We tried 3 different laptops, but none seemed to be recognized by the Sheraton's A/V rack. The morning supervisor wasn't exactly a technical expert, either, claiming that only Dell laptops would interface with their system. Heh.
Long story short, the patch panel on the floor had to be power-cycled and then everything worked fine. When the Sheraton's A/V Guru finally showed up at 7:00AM, though, he spent 30 minutes redoing everything the Airmen had already tried before finally agreeing to attempt a reboot of his A/V rack. The breakfast was supposed to start at 7:15AM, but didn't have everything fully functional until about 7:30AM. The event organizers were accommodating, though, and the 15-minute delay didn't represent a show-stopper.
The bad news was that because of the technical hiccups, we didn't have time to reconnect the new podium, so alas the touch-screen goodness would have to wait until the next big event.
I debuted the October 2006 version of Dover's Wing Mission Video after the Colonel's briefing. This was a project I'd been working on for the past month or so. It went over quite well, and I ended up personally receiving kudos from both Senator Joseph Biden and Senator Tom Carper after the event was finished. Yeah, the same Joe Biden whom I took pleasure in making listen to my electronica music during last year's MILCON briefing. :-) Speaking of which, you can view last year's video at the following location:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5228757400096725005&q=Dover+Air+Force+Base
I'll get around to uploading the 2006 version within the next couple of weeks.
I'm off of work today because I have to work both Saturday & Sunday at the Air Show that Dover AFB is hosting this weekend. I heard a couple of the Thunderbirds flying in earlier this morning, so things seem to be ramping up in preparation. Even now, I don't know exactly what role I'll be playing at the event this weekend, but I have a feeling it'll entail running random errands for the Colonel as things pop up.
Well, time to get moving on those essays. Be on the lookout next week for some pictures from the Air Show.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
JustonWestern.com Goes Live
While my initial plan was to hold off launching JustonWestern.com until I had every area complete, I realized that I'd been paying $9.99 a month since March 2005, and really hadn't done anything with the domain. So after finishing up with my GMAT yesterday, and looking for a new project to undertake instead of studying everyday, I figured I would put the framework of JustonWestern.com on the server.
I spent a little time developing a roll-out schedule for the different areas of the site. I'm hoping by actually marking these down on Google Calendar, it will motivate me to continue with the development. If I stick to the schedule, I'll be rolling out new areas every 2 to 3 weeks. This seems a little more manageable than the daunting project of building the entire site for a grand opening style launch.
Right now the huge content areas consist of my photos on Flickr and my videos on Google Video. Eventually, I'm going to have all the media also hosted on my site, but to start off I've just linked to versions on the third party sites. Flickr & Google Video also make commenting on individual pictures & videos really easy, so there's a benefit of having them there, too.
The jury's still out on the usefulness of having a Forum on my site. Granted, I could just ask people to post feedback about my site either here on Blogger, or over on MySpace, but I've always had a special place in my heart for the traditional style of bulletin boards like vBulletin & phpBB. I'm hopeful the Forum turns out to be another useful way of communicating with friends and family.
As I say on my front page, I envision the site ultimately growing into something of a digital media locker. I plan on having all the websites I've built over the years (like NOLAED, my EAHS school website, & my very first "homepage" back from 1997) eventually hosted on JustonWestern.com. In addition, I'll want to get various papers I've written in school and music I've produced posted to the site. As you can see, it will become fairly comprehensive, and I want to make sure I give each new area the attention it deserves.
So begins a new project. I'll post here each time a new area goes live.
I spent a little time developing a roll-out schedule for the different areas of the site. I'm hoping by actually marking these down on Google Calendar, it will motivate me to continue with the development. If I stick to the schedule, I'll be rolling out new areas every 2 to 3 weeks. This seems a little more manageable than the daunting project of building the entire site for a grand opening style launch.
Right now the huge content areas consist of my photos on Flickr and my videos on Google Video. Eventually, I'm going to have all the media also hosted on my site, but to start off I've just linked to versions on the third party sites. Flickr & Google Video also make commenting on individual pictures & videos really easy, so there's a benefit of having them there, too.
The jury's still out on the usefulness of having a Forum on my site. Granted, I could just ask people to post feedback about my site either here on Blogger, or over on MySpace, but I've always had a special place in my heart for the traditional style of bulletin boards like vBulletin & phpBB. I'm hopeful the Forum turns out to be another useful way of communicating with friends and family.
As I say on my front page, I envision the site ultimately growing into something of a digital media locker. I plan on having all the websites I've built over the years (like NOLAED, my EAHS school website, & my very first "homepage" back from 1997) eventually hosted on JustonWestern.com. In addition, I'll want to get various papers I've written in school and music I've produced posted to the site. As you can see, it will become fairly comprehensive, and I want to make sure I give each new area the attention it deserves.
So begins a new project. I'll post here each time a new area goes live.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Photos from Wilmington Blue Rocks Game
Just a quick post to make note of the photos I took at the Wilmington Blue Rocks game last Thursday night. Mr. Celery made many an appearance as the Blue Rocks went on to a 6 - 0 victory. Check out the photo set on Flickr here:
http://flickr.com/photos/justonwestern/sets/72157594253453115/
Friday, January 06, 2006
First Round of Book Purchases for 2006
One of my new year resolutions was to read more, and different things from what I normally read, such as blogs, online news stories, and periodicals. So after speaking to friends & family, I developed a list of roughly 60 books that I'm going to start working over the next year to year and a half.
The first wave of books came in from Amazon.com this week:
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs - Chuck Klosterman;
Why New Orleans Matters - Tom Piazza;
Armed Forces Guide To Personal Financial Planning - Maj Trybula & Lt Col Hewitt;
A History of the American People - Paul Johnson;
Fantastic Voyage - Ray Kurzweil;
The Singularity is Near - Ray Kurzweil;
They represent a nice smattering of interests, from pop culture, to computers, to New Orleans, to history. I figured I should at least vary things up so I don't get bored with the subject matter. At any rate, I'm going to do a little more reading now...
The first wave of books came in from Amazon.com this week:
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs - Chuck Klosterman;
Why New Orleans Matters - Tom Piazza;
Armed Forces Guide To Personal Financial Planning - Maj Trybula & Lt Col Hewitt;
A History of the American People - Paul Johnson;
Fantastic Voyage - Ray Kurzweil;
The Singularity is Near - Ray Kurzweil;
They represent a nice smattering of interests, from pop culture, to computers, to New Orleans, to history. I figured I should at least vary things up so I don't get bored with the subject matter. At any rate, I'm going to do a little more reading now...
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
And Into 2006 We Go...
Since I got the week off from work this week, I thought it might be a good time to revive the old blog. After Katrina hit back in August, I felt like the last 4 months of 2005 were a blur. Between gearing up for two big inspections at work and getting sent to Maxwell AFB in Alabama for 7 weeks for ASBC, it seemed like "free time" was at a minimum. On the bright side, I did get to do a lot of traveling around the southeast while at ASBC. In retrospect, 2005 was probably the most eventful year in my life thus far. Just to recap some highlights, (kind of chronologically):
- Got to see my favorite football team, Auburn, finish an undefeated season in what I would consider my hometown, New Orleans, at the 2005 Nokia Sugar Bowl. It took on even greater significance to me knowing it was the last football game played in the Superdome.
- Had my bachelor party in New Orleans. My groomsmen, Freddie & Brian, really put together a memorable experience for me, complete with a set of commemorative pint glasses adorned with my open-mouthed visage.
- Got married to Ashley in a magical wedding in New Orleans. From the rehearsal dinner at The Columns Hotel, to the ceremony at St. Rita, and the reception at the House of Broel, I don't think it could have been scripted any better.
- Went on a honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean, visiting Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, & Mexico. It was my first time out of the US in over 15 years, and one of the best weeks of my life.
- Moved to Dover, DE to start my first real job: Communications Officer in the United States Air Force. With almost a year under my belt now, I can honestly say I'm having a lot of fun being a 2d Lt.
- Started a new life with Ashley, finally living together after 4 years of doing the long distance relationship. While merging households can be challenging, we seemed to pull it off pretty well, and ended up with a fun first apartment.
- Went to two Air Force training schools: Expeditionary Communication Officer Training (ECOT) at Keesler AFB, MS from March - April, and then Air & Space Basic Course (ASBC) at Maxwell AFB, AL from October - December.
- Traveled to New York City six times, Washington DC twice, and Philadelphia twice. Since getting close to the big east coast cities was my reason for choosing Dover AFB, I certainly have gotten entertainment value out of this assignment.
- Got to take a ride in C-5 Galaxy with Ashley for a refueling flight off the coast of Long Island. For me, it really solidified the importance of what we do at Dover, and it was just too cool being in the cockpit when the C-5 linked up with the KC-10 refueler.
- Planned a bachelor party in Atlantic City for a fellow Comm Lt here at Dover. Between renting a NASCAR-themed Silverado stretch limo, and watching this guy get the lap dance of a lifetime from Superwoman, it was generally agreed that said party was a smashing success.
- Bought two new cars: an Aquarius Blue 2005 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible in July and a Sparkling Graphite 2006 BMW 325i in September. Needless to say, both Ashley & I enjoy taking the long way to work now.
- Watched my favorite city brought to its knees by Hurricane Katrina, live on cable TV. Being 20 hours away left me feeling helpless, so all I knew how to do was watch everything I could on TV and find everything I could online.
As 2006 begins, I'm looking forward to the new events and challenges coming up. Our big base-wide inspection starts next week, so work will be very intense for about 2 weeks. We're moving into a townhouse next month, which means we're going to have to prep for transition again. And we've got another trip to NYC planned for March with Freddie & his fiancee, Kadee. So the first quarter of 2006 seems to already be planned out.
I aim to keep the Western World blog updated regularly this year (I guess you could say it's kind of a New Years resolution), so check back periodically. You can always chastise me if I don't stick to my word. ;-)
- Got to see my favorite football team, Auburn, finish an undefeated season in what I would consider my hometown, New Orleans, at the 2005 Nokia Sugar Bowl. It took on even greater significance to me knowing it was the last football game played in the Superdome.
- Had my bachelor party in New Orleans. My groomsmen, Freddie & Brian, really put together a memorable experience for me, complete with a set of commemorative pint glasses adorned with my open-mouthed visage.
- Got married to Ashley in a magical wedding in New Orleans. From the rehearsal dinner at The Columns Hotel, to the ceremony at St. Rita, and the reception at the House of Broel, I don't think it could have been scripted any better.
- Went on a honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean, visiting Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, & Mexico. It was my first time out of the US in over 15 years, and one of the best weeks of my life.
- Moved to Dover, DE to start my first real job: Communications Officer in the United States Air Force. With almost a year under my belt now, I can honestly say I'm having a lot of fun being a 2d Lt.
- Started a new life with Ashley, finally living together after 4 years of doing the long distance relationship. While merging households can be challenging, we seemed to pull it off pretty well, and ended up with a fun first apartment.
- Went to two Air Force training schools: Expeditionary Communication Officer Training (ECOT) at Keesler AFB, MS from March - April, and then Air & Space Basic Course (ASBC) at Maxwell AFB, AL from October - December.
- Traveled to New York City six times, Washington DC twice, and Philadelphia twice. Since getting close to the big east coast cities was my reason for choosing Dover AFB, I certainly have gotten entertainment value out of this assignment.
- Got to take a ride in C-5 Galaxy with Ashley for a refueling flight off the coast of Long Island. For me, it really solidified the importance of what we do at Dover, and it was just too cool being in the cockpit when the C-5 linked up with the KC-10 refueler.
- Planned a bachelor party in Atlantic City for a fellow Comm Lt here at Dover. Between renting a NASCAR-themed Silverado stretch limo, and watching this guy get the lap dance of a lifetime from Superwoman, it was generally agreed that said party was a smashing success.
- Bought two new cars: an Aquarius Blue 2005 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible in July and a Sparkling Graphite 2006 BMW 325i in September. Needless to say, both Ashley & I enjoy taking the long way to work now.
- Watched my favorite city brought to its knees by Hurricane Katrina, live on cable TV. Being 20 hours away left me feeling helpless, so all I knew how to do was watch everything I could on TV and find everything I could online.
As 2006 begins, I'm looking forward to the new events and challenges coming up. Our big base-wide inspection starts next week, so work will be very intense for about 2 weeks. We're moving into a townhouse next month, which means we're going to have to prep for transition again. And we've got another trip to NYC planned for March with Freddie & his fiancee, Kadee. So the first quarter of 2006 seems to already be planned out.
I aim to keep the Western World blog updated regularly this year (I guess you could say it's kind of a New Years resolution), so check back periodically. You can always chastise me if I don't stick to my word. ;-)
Monday, August 29, 2005
Apprehensively Awaiting Hurricane Katrina's Landfall In New Orleans
I've been nervous all day watching the news reports about New Orleans' apparent impending doom. Many news reports are already calling this the storm of the century, and it's going to hit the worst possible location: New Orleans. I really hope I have a city to go back to. :-( Here's one article that won't let me sleep easy tonight:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/28/AR2005082800780.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/28/AR2005082800780.html
Friday, August 26, 2005
Lt Western on an Antenna Site Survey
Hello from 75 feet above Dover AFB in a Condor bucket truck crane.
Looking Forward To The Weekend
With the end of the (military) fiscal year approaching, things have been crazy around the office this week due to my "additional duty" as the Billing Official for the Comm Resource Advisor. I enjoyed my accounting classes in college, but having 5 Excel spreadsheets open (each with about 8 - 12 tabs) and a desk full of financial printouts and multiple calculators has lost any appeal it may have had.
On the bright side, though, it's been a big week for software, with Google Desktop 2, Google Talk, & TiVo Desktop 2.2 all launching. I've had a little time to play around with all 3, but I'm really looking forward to testing them out this weekend.
I think I'm also ready to break down and buy a few more hard drives. At my current rate of downloading at least 1GB of music a week (with the Essential Mix, John Digweed's Kiss 100 shows, Hernan Cattaneo's Metrodance shows, and other live mixes from Mercury Nation & djmixes2k), my 700GB of storage is zapped. I'm looking to buy 1 or 2 320GB hard drives from Newegg.com, & another spindle of 100 DVD+R's.
One more day of work this week looms on the horizon, and it's expected to be just as busy as the previous four days, so it's time to get some rest.
On the bright side, though, it's been a big week for software, with Google Desktop 2, Google Talk, & TiVo Desktop 2.2 all launching. I've had a little time to play around with all 3, but I'm really looking forward to testing them out this weekend.
I think I'm also ready to break down and buy a few more hard drives. At my current rate of downloading at least 1GB of music a week (with the Essential Mix, John Digweed's Kiss 100 shows, Hernan Cattaneo's Metrodance shows, and other live mixes from Mercury Nation & djmixes2k), my 700GB of storage is zapped. I'm looking to buy 1 or 2 320GB hard drives from Newegg.com, & another spindle of 100 DVD+R's.
One more day of work this week looms on the horizon, and it's expected to be just as busy as the previous four days, so it's time to get some rest.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Oh The Unintended Irony
On Thursday I got a thank you note via base mail from the Wing Commander thanking me for my work on the Dover Wing Mission Video. If you'll remember, it was debuted last Monday at the annual MILCON briefing, and I was somewhat amused that the soundtrack to the video (all electronica) was going to be listened to by Senator Biden, who was co-sponsor of the RAVE Act (see my previous post for all the details). Well, upon reading that note, I couldn't help but audibly chuckle after seeing his word choice. Read the scan of the note above to see what I mean. :-)
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Wing Mission Video at MILCON & Getting a Coin
The briefing at the Sheraton for MILCON went well on Monday. I got to the hotel at about 5:45AM to work with Milt on setting up the laptop and making sure that Col Cox’s slides and my video were working smoothly. As planned, each worked perfectly. After the presentation of the Wing Mission Video, there was a rather boisterous round of applause, so it’s good to see my creative work flies with the public at large.
Ironically, Senator Biden had to follow the Wing Mission Video. The most peculiar part, however, is that he was actually tapping his foot to the music during the Underworld tracks. Could Mr. RAVE Act himself potentially be a closet Underworld fan? The more likely answer is that he had a few too many cups of coffee that morning and would’ve been keeping beat with a washing machine had it been in the room.
It was interesting hearing Sen. Biden, Sen. Carper, & Congressman Castle speak. One thing I will say about Delawarians: they are just as passionate about their state as Texans. Admittedly, most politicians have love for their state, but these guys eat, drink, & sleep Delaware. I was also told at the briefing that Sen. Biden is considering running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. I don’t think I’d vote for the guy, but it’ll be neat to say I ate breakfast about 10 feet away from him when he was “only a Senator”.
This morning on my way to work, I got a call from Maj West letting me know that my presence had been requested at the Wing Standup Meeting scheduled for 8:00AM. At first I thought they wanted me there to take inputs and feedback on the video from all the group & squadron commanders (which would have been less than pleasant trying to consolidate 25 opinions into a revised product). Quite the opposite was the case, however. Col Cox asked that I come so that he could recognize me in front of the base leaders and give me a Commanders Coin.
So that was a welcome, albeit unexpected, reward for working on this project so much over the past 3 weeks. Truth be told, the project was tedious, but entertaining and educational, too. I had the opportunity to learn a new software tool, and I’ll probably end up creating a few slideshow videos for my website because of this experience.
For those of you who may not have seen it, you can view the Dover AFB Wing Mission Video at this location. If you haven’t already done so, you’ll need to install Google Video Player on your computer to view it.
Ironically, Senator Biden had to follow the Wing Mission Video. The most peculiar part, however, is that he was actually tapping his foot to the music during the Underworld tracks. Could Mr. RAVE Act himself potentially be a closet Underworld fan? The more likely answer is that he had a few too many cups of coffee that morning and would’ve been keeping beat with a washing machine had it been in the room.
It was interesting hearing Sen. Biden, Sen. Carper, & Congressman Castle speak. One thing I will say about Delawarians: they are just as passionate about their state as Texans. Admittedly, most politicians have love for their state, but these guys eat, drink, & sleep Delaware. I was also told at the briefing that Sen. Biden is considering running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. I don’t think I’d vote for the guy, but it’ll be neat to say I ate breakfast about 10 feet away from him when he was “only a Senator”.
This morning on my way to work, I got a call from Maj West letting me know that my presence had been requested at the Wing Standup Meeting scheduled for 8:00AM. At first I thought they wanted me there to take inputs and feedback on the video from all the group & squadron commanders (which would have been less than pleasant trying to consolidate 25 opinions into a revised product). Quite the opposite was the case, however. Col Cox asked that I come so that he could recognize me in front of the base leaders and give me a Commanders Coin.
So that was a welcome, albeit unexpected, reward for working on this project so much over the past 3 weeks. Truth be told, the project was tedious, but entertaining and educational, too. I had the opportunity to learn a new software tool, and I’ll probably end up creating a few slideshow videos for my website because of this experience.
For those of you who may not have seen it, you can view the Dover AFB Wing Mission Video at this location. If you haven’t already done so, you’ll need to install Google Video Player on your computer to view it.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
"Mildly 'Sticking It To The Man' " OR "Monday's Fun With Sen. Biden (Mr. RAVE Act)"
First to bring you up to speed...
I got tasked about two weeks ago with creating a "Wing Mission Video" for Dover AFB. Apparently our new Wing Commander was stationed at Charleston AFB before coming here, and they kept one of these videos on file to show to VIP's, newcomers to base, & state/local leaders at briefings.
Since we don't have any real "video" footage from Dover, and they weren't willing to buy me a video camera to run around with for a few weeks (boooo!), I told them that I could do a “glorified PowerPoint presentation”, using Windows Movie Maker and including photos from base spliced together (with pans & zooms) along with some stock video clips of C-5's and Night Vision Goggle stuff.
They said that was what they had in mind anyway, so I went to work gathering photos. At the first meeting I asked if there were any musical requests, but I was just told to make it tasteful (i.e. no gangsta rap or death metal). Other than that, the Wing Commander told me I could essentially use whatever songs I wanted.
Well, after foraging through my music collection (who knew I had so many electronica MP3's?!) I settled on a 6 minute medley of clips from the following songs:
Underworld - Dark & Long
Leftfield - Song of Life
Orbital - Lush
Underworld -
Sasha - Xpander
Underworld - Two Months Off
Underworld - Cowgirl
At the end of the meeting, he told me that the first official showing of the video would be at a meeting next week downtown in Dover, where all the state & local big shots will be in attendance...to include, that's right, Mr. RAVE Act himself, Senator Joseph Biden. For those of you who may have forgotten, check out this link from EMDEF.
Now I'm not disillusioned: I know the RAVE Act was not legislation proposed out of Sen. Biden's disdain for electronica. But I'm going out a limb here, and I'd say maybe, just maybe, that we're not going to find any Ministry of Sound albums in his car CD changer. And by the witty name of his now-defunct bill, I'd say that in his mind, drug use & raves are inextricably linked.
So maybe it's just a passive-aggressive streak in me, but I'll take some amount of pleasure in pushing the play button in Windows Media Player on Monday morning and treating the most honorable senator from
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Saturday Night at the Drive-In Movie
Hello from the drive-in movies in Felton, DE! A little slice of Americana.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
We Bought Our First New Car
So just a week after having Ashley's Montero nearly die on us in Philadelphia, we sold it to a used car dealership here in Dover yesterday, and this morning drove up to Chadds Ford, PA where we bought Ashley a 2005 Aquarius Blue Beetle Convertible.
This purchase was really a long time coming. Ashley started looking at buying one of these back in the summer of 2003, and I even bought her the plush flower for the dash-mounted vase along with a Beetle Convertible keychain almost two years ago.
Thankfully USAA made the whole buying process painless, and we didn't even have to hear a sales pitch: all the paperwork and financing was taken care of before we even got to the dealership.
It rained nearly the whole drive back to Dover, so Ashley couldn't put the top down. But after we ate lunch and went grocery shopping, we decided to drive south to Rehoboth Beach to see if the sun was out. As luck would have it, the sun was out and we got to drive along the boardwalk with the top down and the music bumping.
We thought we'd be ambitious and head back to Dover with the top down. About halfway home the bottom fell out, and we had to pull onto the side of the road to get the top back up. The interior got a little wet, but I was able to dry all of it up with my shirt.
I can already tell that we're going to have a lot of fun with this car. Ashley absolutely adores it, and I know I'll get plenty of enjoyment out of going for joy rides on the weekend in it. As with most of my posts, I'll end this one with a link to some photos we took of the occasion. Here's a look back at the day of the first Western automobile purchase:
http://www.justonwestern.com/Photos/NewBeetle/
This purchase was really a long time coming. Ashley started looking at buying one of these back in the summer of 2003, and I even bought her the plush flower for the dash-mounted vase along with a Beetle Convertible keychain almost two years ago.
Thankfully USAA made the whole buying process painless, and we didn't even have to hear a sales pitch: all the paperwork and financing was taken care of before we even got to the dealership.
It rained nearly the whole drive back to Dover, so Ashley couldn't put the top down. But after we ate lunch and went grocery shopping, we decided to drive south to Rehoboth Beach to see if the sun was out. As luck would have it, the sun was out and we got to drive along the boardwalk with the top down and the music bumping.
We thought we'd be ambitious and head back to Dover with the top down. About halfway home the bottom fell out, and we had to pull onto the side of the road to get the top back up. The interior got a little wet, but I was able to dry all of it up with my shirt.
I can already tell that we're going to have a lot of fun with this car. Ashley absolutely adores it, and I know I'll get plenty of enjoyment out of going for joy rides on the weekend in it. As with most of my posts, I'll end this one with a link to some photos we took of the occasion. Here's a look back at the day of the first Western automobile purchase:
http://www.justonwestern.com/Photos/NewBeetle/
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
New York City & Getting No Sleep
This past weekend was a total whirlwind. On Friday afternoon I had Officer Professional Development (OPD) at the O Club (Mugs) and then a Hail & Farewell directly following it at the Landings, so by the time I got home & changed, it was time to head to Philly to pick up Ashley's friends.
We took Ashley's Montero since we were picking up 3 people + their luggage. Unfortunately, about 5 miles away from the airport the Montero started making a terrible clunking sound. It kind of sounded like metal-on-metal hitting, and was emanating from the engine. After calling my dad & Ashley's dad, we decided that the best option would be to rent a car at the airport to send Ashley & her friends home in, and then I would wait at the airport until a tow truck could come retrieve me & the Montero.
I took a shuttle from the parking garage over to the rental car area at the airport, and rented Ashley a Ford Escape from Budget. Her guests arrived about half an hour late, but I made sure they all got loaded up, and then sent them on their way back to Dover. I called the tow truck around 11:00PM, and it finally showed up at 1:30AM.
Apparently there was a major accident on I-95 near the airport, so it delayed the guy a significant amount of time. His name was Don, and he was very personable & conversational on the ride back (which made the unfortunate situation a little more bearable). It set me back $350 cash for the tow, in addition to the $65 for renting the Escape for Ashley. However, I didn't care as much about the money as I did that I got back to Dover at 3:30AM, and I had to be up at 4:30AM to get ready to head back to Philadelphia to catch a train New York City.
Yes, it was as bad as you might think so little sleep would be. We got on the road back up to Philly just after 6:00AM, and dropped off the rental car at the airport around 7:30AM. Then we all piled in my Grand Am (which Ashley had followed me in), and headed over to 30th Street Station to catch the AMTRAK train. Our train was about 20 minutes late, but we finally boarded and were on our way to NYC around 9:45AM.
It was my first time taking a train anywhere (save the monorail at Disney World or the subway in NYC), so there was a certain novelty involved. Unfortunately I was dead tired, so I probably enjoyed it a little less than I might have had I not gotten only an hour of sleep. We arrived in Penn Station just before noon and got a couple of cabs over to our hotel at Beekman Towers.
We had two rooms reserved there, but they had overbooked the hotel for the night. This actually worked to our advantage, though, because they offered us a 1,000 square foot apartment style suite instead. We had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and an awesome view of the East River from the 23rd floor. After dropping off our luggage, we caught a couple of cabs over to Times Square, and then walked down to 42nd St to eat at John's Pizzeria.
Thankfully our lunch didn't take long, and we made it over to 12th Ave. in time to catch the 2:30PM Circle Line Cruise around Manhattan. It was a 3 hour cruise (like Ashley & took in 2002), we got to see lots of great sights, I snapped some stellar pictures, and I even caught a 15 minute nap on the middle deck during a thunderstorm.
After the cruise, we went back to the hotel to shower, and then went to the Bull & Bear Bar at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel for dinner. I neglected to mention earlier that I had been wearing my sunglasses all day since my eyes were so blood shot from lack of sleep. So even after the sun set, I decided to keep my sunglasses on. When I showed up for dinner well-dressed, in sunglasses, and with 4 other females in formal attire, I understandably turned some heads.
Dinner was great. Ashley & I both got Filet Mignons (which was the third best steak I've ever consumed), had a couple of glasses of wine, and then actually went to the bar area for drinks. I asked the bartender what Frank Sinatra's favorite drink was when he came to the bar (FYI: he lived at the Waldorf Astoria for many years, so he frequented this bar quite often), and he replied with, "Frank always got a double Jack Daniels on the rocks." I told him I'd take it, and that sent the night into hyper drive.
After having drinks there, we went across the street to the Whiskey Blue at the W Hotel. It was so packed there, though, that we left before even getting drinks. Then I suggested we go to "The View" which was the rotating restaurant/bar on the 48th floor of the Marriott Hotel in Times Square. We caught a couple of cabs over there, waited to catch the two elevators to the top, and then b/c the bouncer thought I was important (b/c of sunglasses and 4 women) we got to cut in line and go directly to a table.
We all had a drink there, watched the Manhattan skyline go by, and then decided we should head back to our hotel to check out the bar at the top of it called "Top of Tower". The view was amazing, but the combination of lack of sleep, several drinks, and just coming from a rotating bar made me think that this bar was rotating, too. That's when we knew it was time to call it a night. Ashley's sister & friend decided to stay at the bar, though.
Well, at around 2:00AM, we got a knock on our bedroom door, and it was Ashley's sister saying that her friend, Tammy, had lost her wallet in the cab we took back to the hotel. So we had the NYPD come to our hotel at 3:00AM to file a report. I, however, was too tired to even regain consciousness for this excitement, and didn't really understand what had occurred until the next morning.
On Sunday we walked around 5th Ave, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, 6th Ave, Little Italy, & China Town. I was running on fumes by Sunday afternoon, so we just kind of took it easy towards the end of the day, and hung out at a bar in Little Italy. Then we got our luggage from the hotel, went back to Penn Station, had dinner at Nathan's Hotdogs in the station, and then got on the train at around 8:00PM. One thing of note about train travel: I HATE how there aren't assigned seats (like on planes), so everyone basically sprints through the station, down the stairs, and then onto the bus to fight for seats like animals. That aspect was pretty unappealing.
We finally made it back from Philly to Dover at around midnight, so again I only got a few hours of sleep before having to go back to work. Monday was probably the longest day of work I've ever experienced. I was totally drained from the weekend, but managed to get through the day without dying. We hit up Smither's for dinner last night (a Jamaican cheesesteak & a couple of Yuenglings made my life a little happier), and then I went to bed at 7:45PM.
Ashley took her friends back to the airport today, so were finally settling back into a normal routine. I caught up on my Attack of the Show episodes & The 4400 from Sunday over dinner tonight. And we're probably going to buy Ashley's New Beetle Convertible this Saturday to just wash our hands of the Montero which looks like it's dying. So even though it's only just past 8:00PM right now, I'm going to call it a night again to finally catch up on my lack of sleep. You can relive the NYC trip with me by checking out the photo gallery below. Goodnight everyone!
http://www.justonwestern.com/Photos/NYCJuly05/
We took Ashley's Montero since we were picking up 3 people + their luggage. Unfortunately, about 5 miles away from the airport the Montero started making a terrible clunking sound. It kind of sounded like metal-on-metal hitting, and was emanating from the engine. After calling my dad & Ashley's dad, we decided that the best option would be to rent a car at the airport to send Ashley & her friends home in, and then I would wait at the airport until a tow truck could come retrieve me & the Montero.
I took a shuttle from the parking garage over to the rental car area at the airport, and rented Ashley a Ford Escape from Budget. Her guests arrived about half an hour late, but I made sure they all got loaded up, and then sent them on their way back to Dover. I called the tow truck around 11:00PM, and it finally showed up at 1:30AM.
Apparently there was a major accident on I-95 near the airport, so it delayed the guy a significant amount of time. His name was Don, and he was very personable & conversational on the ride back (which made the unfortunate situation a little more bearable). It set me back $350 cash for the tow, in addition to the $65 for renting the Escape for Ashley. However, I didn't care as much about the money as I did that I got back to Dover at 3:30AM, and I had to be up at 4:30AM to get ready to head back to Philadelphia to catch a train New York City.
Yes, it was as bad as you might think so little sleep would be. We got on the road back up to Philly just after 6:00AM, and dropped off the rental car at the airport around 7:30AM. Then we all piled in my Grand Am (which Ashley had followed me in), and headed over to 30th Street Station to catch the AMTRAK train. Our train was about 20 minutes late, but we finally boarded and were on our way to NYC around 9:45AM.
It was my first time taking a train anywhere (save the monorail at Disney World or the subway in NYC), so there was a certain novelty involved. Unfortunately I was dead tired, so I probably enjoyed it a little less than I might have had I not gotten only an hour of sleep. We arrived in Penn Station just before noon and got a couple of cabs over to our hotel at Beekman Towers.
We had two rooms reserved there, but they had overbooked the hotel for the night. This actually worked to our advantage, though, because they offered us a 1,000 square foot apartment style suite instead. We had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and an awesome view of the East River from the 23rd floor. After dropping off our luggage, we caught a couple of cabs over to Times Square, and then walked down to 42nd St to eat at John's Pizzeria.
Thankfully our lunch didn't take long, and we made it over to 12th Ave. in time to catch the 2:30PM Circle Line Cruise around Manhattan. It was a 3 hour cruise (like Ashley & took in 2002), we got to see lots of great sights, I snapped some stellar pictures, and I even caught a 15 minute nap on the middle deck during a thunderstorm.
After the cruise, we went back to the hotel to shower, and then went to the Bull & Bear Bar at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel for dinner. I neglected to mention earlier that I had been wearing my sunglasses all day since my eyes were so blood shot from lack of sleep. So even after the sun set, I decided to keep my sunglasses on. When I showed up for dinner well-dressed, in sunglasses, and with 4 other females in formal attire, I understandably turned some heads.
Dinner was great. Ashley & I both got Filet Mignons (which was the third best steak I've ever consumed), had a couple of glasses of wine, and then actually went to the bar area for drinks. I asked the bartender what Frank Sinatra's favorite drink was when he came to the bar (FYI: he lived at the Waldorf Astoria for many years, so he frequented this bar quite often), and he replied with, "Frank always got a double Jack Daniels on the rocks." I told him I'd take it, and that sent the night into hyper drive.
After having drinks there, we went across the street to the Whiskey Blue at the W Hotel. It was so packed there, though, that we left before even getting drinks. Then I suggested we go to "The View" which was the rotating restaurant/bar on the 48th floor of the Marriott Hotel in Times Square. We caught a couple of cabs over there, waited to catch the two elevators to the top, and then b/c the bouncer thought I was important (b/c of sunglasses and 4 women) we got to cut in line and go directly to a table.
We all had a drink there, watched the Manhattan skyline go by, and then decided we should head back to our hotel to check out the bar at the top of it called "Top of Tower". The view was amazing, but the combination of lack of sleep, several drinks, and just coming from a rotating bar made me think that this bar was rotating, too. That's when we knew it was time to call it a night. Ashley's sister & friend decided to stay at the bar, though.
Well, at around 2:00AM, we got a knock on our bedroom door, and it was Ashley's sister saying that her friend, Tammy, had lost her wallet in the cab we took back to the hotel. So we had the NYPD come to our hotel at 3:00AM to file a report. I, however, was too tired to even regain consciousness for this excitement, and didn't really understand what had occurred until the next morning.
On Sunday we walked around 5th Ave, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, 6th Ave, Little Italy, & China Town. I was running on fumes by Sunday afternoon, so we just kind of took it easy towards the end of the day, and hung out at a bar in Little Italy. Then we got our luggage from the hotel, went back to Penn Station, had dinner at Nathan's Hotdogs in the station, and then got on the train at around 8:00PM. One thing of note about train travel: I HATE how there aren't assigned seats (like on planes), so everyone basically sprints through the station, down the stairs, and then onto the bus to fight for seats like animals. That aspect was pretty unappealing.
We finally made it back from Philly to Dover at around midnight, so again I only got a few hours of sleep before having to go back to work. Monday was probably the longest day of work I've ever experienced. I was totally drained from the weekend, but managed to get through the day without dying. We hit up Smither's for dinner last night (a Jamaican cheesesteak & a couple of Yuenglings made my life a little happier), and then I went to bed at 7:45PM.
Ashley took her friends back to the airport today, so were finally settling back into a normal routine. I caught up on my Attack of the Show episodes & The 4400 from Sunday over dinner tonight. And we're probably going to buy Ashley's New Beetle Convertible this Saturday to just wash our hands of the Montero which looks like it's dying. So even though it's only just past 8:00PM right now, I'm going to call it a night again to finally catch up on my lack of sleep. You can relive the NYC trip with me by checking out the photo gallery below. Goodnight everyone!
http://www.justonwestern.com/Photos/NYCJuly05/
Friday, July 08, 2005
4th of July Wrap-Up, London Terrorism, & NYC This Weekend
I finally got around to labeling my Braves vs. Phillies photos from last Saturday. The game was a lot of fun, albeit rather short (only about 2.5 hours). Still gave us plenty of time to have a couple of hot dogs and Yuenglings, though. :-) You can check out the photos at:
http://www.justonwestern.com/Photos/BravesPhillies/
As I was eating breakfast this morning at around 6:00AM, I got an IM from my friend Clemente telling me he was alright. I didn't understand, and then he told me to turn on the TV. He was visiting his sister in London this week, and the explosion that rocked the bus this morning was only a few blocks away from where he was staying. It really made the whole thing hit close to home for me. Then at work this morning I was scheduled to get a "gas mask fit test". So there I was at the Bioenvironmental building, watching this footage of the terrorist attack on CNN through my gas mask. It was kind of surreal. I called my friend Brian (who had studied abroad at the London School of Economics in 2003), too, to make sure he had touched base with all his friends. Thankfully, he said that none of his friends were in the area at the time.
On a lighter note, Ashley's sister, cousin, & former room mate are flying into town tomorrow. We're going to pick them up in Philly tomorrow night, then we're all heading up to NYC on Saturday morning. We're taking AMTRAK out of Philly, so the London attacks kind of made this trip a little more tense for all of us. None of us have ever taken a passenger train, but I guess now is as good of time as any since security will be so increased. We'll be staying the night on Saturday about a block away from the United Nations, and we'll be taking a cruise around Manhattan during the day. Hopefully the weather will hold up, and I'll be able to snap lots of good pics. On Saturday night, we're also having dinner at the Bull & Bear Bar in the legendary Waldorf Astoria hotel. I'm REALLY looking forward to this, as Frank Sinatra actually recorded an album in that very bar. It's supposed to be one of the top 3 classic bars in the world. Sounds like my kind of place! I'll try to have pics up by the middle of next week.
http://www.justonwestern.com/Photos/BravesPhillies/
As I was eating breakfast this morning at around 6:00AM, I got an IM from my friend Clemente telling me he was alright. I didn't understand, and then he told me to turn on the TV. He was visiting his sister in London this week, and the explosion that rocked the bus this morning was only a few blocks away from where he was staying. It really made the whole thing hit close to home for me. Then at work this morning I was scheduled to get a "gas mask fit test". So there I was at the Bioenvironmental building, watching this footage of the terrorist attack on CNN through my gas mask. It was kind of surreal. I called my friend Brian (who had studied abroad at the London School of Economics in 2003), too, to make sure he had touched base with all his friends. Thankfully, he said that none of his friends were in the area at the time.
On a lighter note, Ashley's sister, cousin, & former room mate are flying into town tomorrow. We're going to pick them up in Philly tomorrow night, then we're all heading up to NYC on Saturday morning. We're taking AMTRAK out of Philly, so the London attacks kind of made this trip a little more tense for all of us. None of us have ever taken a passenger train, but I guess now is as good of time as any since security will be so increased. We'll be staying the night on Saturday about a block away from the United Nations, and we'll be taking a cruise around Manhattan during the day. Hopefully the weather will hold up, and I'll be able to snap lots of good pics. On Saturday night, we're also having dinner at the Bull & Bear Bar in the legendary Waldorf Astoria hotel. I'm REALLY looking forward to this, as Frank Sinatra actually recorded an album in that very bar. It's supposed to be one of the top 3 classic bars in the world. Sounds like my kind of place! I'll try to have pics up by the middle of next week.
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