Project Insomnia

Project Insomnia is many things, but in this context it is simply a "braindump" of whatever I happen to be thinking/reading/watching/doing at the moment. Parental guidance suggested.

Friday, January 30, 2009

If I had easy access to a helicopter, I'd fly to Lake Tahoe this weekend

It's the end of January in a very dry winter and I've yet to see any snow. I want snow before it all melts away!



The last time I was in a helicopter was on our Alaska cruise. We did an aerial glacier tour that had us actually landing on a glacier.

|| Andrew, 11:08 AM || || link ||

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

More Restaurant Reviews!

Still more to come. Rather a lot of them.
|| Andrew, 12:42 PM || || link ||

How I'd spend $1,000 (assuming it's tax free or the real award is closer to $2000)

This is actually kind of difficult. We don't have any credit card debt and $1000 is not enough to make any significant dent in my car loan or our mortgage. I don't really "need" anything in particular that I don't already have or wouldn't go out and get anyway (this is also why I'm apparently hard to shop for).



$1000 would also not be much more than a small down payment on the next phase of our home remodel so that's probably out as well.



I suppose I'd put it toward the balance of our upcoming cruise (Disney Magic, eastern Caribbean, October) or alternatively take a weekend and go find some snow.

|| Andrew, 10:26 AM || || link ||

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Restaurant Reviews!

More to come.
|| Andrew, 4:37 PM || || link ||

If I were a superhero, I would be The Waffler!

The Waffler! The Alton Brown / Good Eats version, not the Dane Cook / Mystery Men version. I wore this costume (created by Jennifer) to Mickey's Halloween Treat at Disney's California Adventure and then to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, both in October 2007. The costume was extremely successful--which I measured by "anyone actually recognizing the character"--several people did at both events.



The Waffler's mission is to save the world the disappointment from store-bought frozen waffles.

|| Andrew, 11:43 AM || || link ||

Monday, January 26, 2009

By far the coolest thing I've seen in another country has to be the Panama Canal.

We transited the Panama Canal on the Disney Magic's Westbound repositioning cruise in May 2008. I wrote up a trip report here and my photos from the trip, including quite a large number from the Canal transit, are here.


I'm a fan of infrastructure. Massive public works construction projects make me happy. The Panama Canal ranks up with with Hoover Dam as the most impressive examples of civil engineering I've ever seen.

|| Andrew, 10:26 AM || || link ||

Sunday, January 25, 2009

If I could have a wild animal as a pet, it would be...


River Otter by Ken Bosma (kretyen)

Oh, it would totally be a river otter. Or two. Can't have just one, it would be lonely. We'd have to rebuild the back yard into a water habitat, of course, but I wouldn't mind doing that.

Lifestyle? Well, I'd have to learn all about how to take care of them, and make sure they're fed every day and their habitat is kept clean. That might rule out long vacations unless I can find an open-minded pet-sitter.

Relationships? No change. Jen loves river otters too.

Rug? Much as I love them, they probably wouldn't be inside much.

|| Andrew, 9:55 AM || || link ||

Friday, January 23, 2009

My road-trip mix tape (tape?)

Bearing in mind that all I can really think of is what I'm hearing on my streaming radio station right now, these are songs I would like to listen to while driving I-5 and trying to stay awake.

Because of You by Kelly Clarkson

It has a driving beat, so to speak. I care less about lyrics and more about inducing the right state of mind to keep me in the "driving zone".

So What by Pink

See above.

Womanizer by Britney Spears

See above above.

|| Andrew, 2:45 PM || || link ||

When I get home...

When I get home, I change pants to sweats, shoes to slippers, sweater or dress shirt to sweatshirt.


I like to be comfortable at home especially if I'm not planning to go anywhere. Also, our house tends to get chilly in the evenings, so warm fuzzy clothes helps.

|| Andrew, 2:35 PM || || link ||

My favorite place to hear music: Universal Ampitheater

It's where I saw Oingo Boingo at their very last show on Halloween, 1995. Come on, guys, it's been fourteen years, let's get the reunion going already!

|| Andrew, 2:10 PM || || link ||

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

At Last.


What else need be said?
|| Andrew, 4:52 PM || || link ||

Friday, January 09, 2009

Road trip dining (a partial list)

A mostly-complete list of places we ate and/or drank on the road trip. I'll be reviewing most of these soon.
  • Claim Jumper. 2250 E 17th St, Santa Ana, CA
  • California Grill. Hyatt Regency OC, 11999 S. Harbor Blvd, Garden Grove, CA
  • Mint Julep Bar. Disneyland, CA
  • Cafe Orleans. Disneyland, CA
  • Networks Bar. Hyatt Regency OC
  • CeZar's. Hotel Scottsdale, 5101 N. Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ
  • Saddle Ranch Chop House. 4321 N. Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ
  • Mr. D'z Route 66 Diner. 105 E. Andy Devine Ave, Kingman, AZ
  • Sushi Roku. Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, 3500 Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV
  • Cafe Lago. Caesars Palace, 3570 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas, NV
  • Minus 5 The Experience. Shop 101 Mandalay Place, 3930 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas, NV
  • Everything Coca-Cola. 3785 Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV
  • Mesa Grill. Caesars Palace
  • Shadow Bar. Caesars Palace
  • Augustus Cafe. Caesars Palace
  • Ranch House Cafe. W Hwy 395, Olancha, CA
  • The Bistro. Four Points by Sheraton, 5105 California Ave, Bakersfield, CA
|| Andrew, 2:10 PM || || link ||

In which we drive around in a big circle. A 1700 mile circle.

We did a road trip from December 27 to January 4. Here was our route, with most stops highlighted:

View Larger Map
Miscellaneous driving around Anaheim and Scottsdale/Phoenix is not shown, nor are a few taxi rides in Vegas.
The itinerary:

Map points:

More to come.
|| Andrew, 12:01 PM || || link ||

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