Joust Another Budsong
I like this picture of a bud of mine I got last night Looks like he was getting ready to get on his horse and go jousting. All he had to do was pull his “Spierra Nevada” off his shoulder and apply it to his opponent.
Derek Trucks Band and Santana at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD
I saw the Derek Trucks Band and Santana with my sister, brother-in-law, and two friends at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD, last night. The show was awesome. We had been wanting to see Derek Trucks, who is the nephew of Butch Trucks, drummer for the Allman Brothers Band. Last year they didn’t tour in the States at all that we could find…just Europe. Ed, my brother-in-law found that they were playing at Merriweather and snapped up some tickets. Santana was certainly an added bonus.
April is certainly the earliest I have gone to a pavilion concert. It was good that we had pavilion seats because there was a light rain/mist going on all day. I think that we are having a cool and damp spring. Yesterday was no exception. The temperature never got over 50 degrees and there was a light breeze. We really had to bundle up to stay warm but it was well worth it.
Derek Trucks opened up starting right on time at 7:00 PM. They managed to get in seven songs in 50 minutes or so. You can see the playlist here. I sensed the end was near so I jammed off for a much needed bathroom break. The set did end while I was making my bladder gladder. I came out and there were 100 guys standing line. Merriweather’s restroom facilities suck and always have!
Santana, who has been around for years, but I have never seen, was unreal. I am not sure what those around me thought but, to me, as good as Derek Trucks was, he just seemed to be dwarfed by Santana’s performance. Santana hit his mark at Woodstock while Derek picked up the guitar at 9 and was playing with the Allmans at 11. He started the Derek Trucks Band in 1994. I think that Santana just has a bit more experience…
Derek sat in on a few Santana tunes and certainly held his own though. It was all very impressive. Look here in the not too distant future to check out Santana’s set list. Overall, another great show which was a great way to start off the concert season. BTW, if you are going to Merriweather, I recommend parking in the Columbia Mall parking lot. It is only short walk across Little Patuxent River Parkway to Merriweather and it is a lot easier to get out of after the show.
A Bird in the Binos…
I bought new binoculars specifically for birding just recently. I took them out for the first test today and was most impressed. The binos are Vector Viper’s, 10×42. Compared to my old Pentax binos I bought at the Navy Exchange on the Naval Post Grad School in Monterey, California, in 1989, the Vipers can practically see into the future!
I got out for a brief walk today in the neighborhood and spotted the usual Carolina Wrens and Chickadees, Robins, Cardinals, and Doves. I saw three blue Jays, which is good, they dropped out of circulation for awhile, an American Goldfinch, two pairs of Mallard Ducks, one, maybe two, Downy Woodpeckers, and a dead, partially eaten Raccoon.
The binoculars were awesome. To paraphrase from the Greaseman, you can see a tweeter’s peter with these things.
Time to Get Off the Pot
Five years today we have been in Iraq, if I understand correctly. I believe it is time that the Iraqis get off the pot and put their household in order, to mix a metaphor or two. The U.S. and coalition forces can’t do it all forever. Let’s move on!
Self-Checkout Honeymoon Is Over
The self-checkout honeymoon is nearly over for me…the one at the grocery store that is. Not only do the stores seem more crowded than usual but all those individuals who were afraid of using the self-checkout lines when they first came out all of a sudden found their balls. It doesn’t help that there might be only three checkout lines, two of which might be 15 items or less, manned at a time, but there are often self-checkout lines that are not open. What’s up with that? Is the computer tired or on a break?
Now people who might only have gone through the line with a few items are going through with carts full because there aren’t enough regular lines manned. Then you have people who really can’t figure out the device interface, don’t have their store card and/or means of payment ready, or who are just plain slow or stupid.
Today I got stuck behind a woman who was doing it all one handed. You know what I mean? The old one-handed self-checkout? Not a pretty sight. She had this purse the size of a Hefty bag locked in to her body with one hand and arm. Somehow she was scanning her items while facing away from the scanner. Needless to say she was not too speedy. Then the chute filled up and rather than have her perfectly capable and energetic son fill the bags, she did it herself in no big hurry.
Then to make matters worse, she had two large plastic containers from the salad bar, one of which had two beets and a few beans from a three bean salad and the other of which had about two tablespoons of shredded carrot. First of all, what a waste of plastic. Second of all, the one with the carrots wouldn’t even register on the belt because it was too light. So we waited for the guy to clear the error. He just cleared the entry and put the item at the end of the chute with one of those WTF looks on his face.
Rant on: First of all the self-checkout lines are not the convenience they once were. Second of all, what the hell can you make with two tablespoons of shredded carrots, two beets, and some three bean salad that necessitates wasting two perfectly good plastic containers, which hopefully but doubtfully were made from recycled materials.
Rant off:
Odd Bald Eagle Sighting
I was looking out my office window today where I have seen red-shouldered hawks in the trees or on the light pole…saw one a couple of weeks ago eating a bird…when I saw what had to have been a bald eagle flying over. I lost sight of it and ran to the front of the building where I saw it again, unfortunately heading away from me. My office is about 4 or 5 miles from the Potomac River where I assume this bird was nesting. I’ve seen one a couple of times on the Potomac up near Point of Rocks but that is probably 15 miles upriver. Bottom line is that it was an exciting sighting.
Watching Sixteen Candles…
1984 – Molly Ringwald, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, and Stevie Ray Vaughn doing “Lenny” in the school auto shop scene. 3/4 of a pizza spinning around on the turntable. The SRV surprised me.
Killington Myself February 2008
Awesome skiing for this trip to Killington, VT. Old man winter dumped at least 12″ on the mountain Tuesday. Lots of freshies were to be had on Wednesday. There was still some of that left today but it was pretty darn cold…about 12 degrees Fahrenheit with a 10 to 20 MPH wind.
Here are a few pics:
Mad Skiing
I am on the road again, this time for myself instead of work. I drove up to Avoca, PA, on Saturday where I visited with my old Navy buddy, Terry Boone, and his boys. We went out to a good pizza, pasta, and salad buffet in Wilkes-Barre which pretty much left us worthless afterwards. We all watched and laughed at the movie “Dumb and Dumber” when we got home then Terry and I then went out for a few dollar drafts at a local club. We kept it sane this time and made it back to the house at about midnight instead of the 3:00 AM debacle from the last visit.
Sunday I left early for Vermont to see my friends the Devinos. I whipped up my second batch of chili in two weeks. It went over quite well! We had a bunch left…the recipe make about 8 quarts of chili…but most of it had been eaten by last night and the complements kept rolling in.
Yesterday I skied at Mad River Glen, the idea of which had always intrigued yet intimidated me. Their reputation is that of a ski area that appeals to hard core, expert skiers. They do have some of the most challenging mogul fields I have ever seen as well as lots of forest/glade skiing that I have little desire to try out.
The area, however, was much more novice and intermediate friendly than their reputation implied. Be advised that I am talking about Vermont where novice and intermediate are two different worlds from novice and intermediate in the mid-Atlantic resorts. I know quite a few beginners who wouldn’t touch the greens at Mad River.
Nonetheless, I had a great time. The atmosphere brought me back to the my days of learning how to ski at the likes of Underhill and Middlebury College Snow Bowl when I lived in Vermont and was learning how to ski in the 70’s. Nobody used lockers…they were all Vermonters…and treated and respected each other as such. People were friendly and informative.
Each lift, and each stage on the lifts, was playing different music according to who was operating the devices at the time. A NASCAR race was on at one place, heavy metal at another, bluegrass elsewhere…you name it. The lifts all came down to one spot so you never found yourself a mountain away from where you thought you should be.
Trails crisscrossed the mountain like streets in a city. You could start out down one trail and cut off on to ten others making for a wide variety of ways down the mountain. The conditions were a bit slick in a few places but I think that they rely on natural snow and minimal grooming so I couldn’t complain. Having new skis with serious edges helped also.
Vermont breweries, Otter Creek and Long Trail, were on tap in the lodge which was sweet. I had a Wolavers IPA (brewed at Otter Creek) with a nice stew in a bread bowl for lunch after two hours of power skiing down the mountain right onto the chair. I did the same thing after lunch and then called it due the fact that my leg were turning to jello. They are a bit sore today but should be good for Killington tomorrow.
I am settled into my motel, the Chalet Killington, about a mile from the slopes as I write this. I am going to head down to get drink shortly. Conditions tomorrow should be awesome, given I can see. It has been snowing all day and is supposed to continue on until tomorrow evening. Predictions in the mountains are anywhere from 9′ to 30″. WTF? Almost March it is, eh?
Here are some pics from Mad River Glen. The full set of pictures is here: Mad River Glen 2008.
This is the entrance:
Here’s the single chair.
Here are some mogul pictures including one action shot of someone unknown. Amazing I caught it on my old digital camera:
