August Updates #4 - Bits and Pieces

My motto for August: "If you don't want to do a task, that's the task to do first." Next up: how to find more hours in a day.

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Rock n Roll News: the band, Rob, Jeff, Drew & I, is now official, having played at a party out in Ann Arbor ... so the band officially has a name ... Vintage 309. And a website. Very garage-ish classic rock radio style. So far. Too fun.

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After building a new computer for Diana, I found out that the game World of Warcraft can be really tough to get running in a stable fashion. No, I'm not a gamer. But we were shopping at CompUSA, and Di' really wanted this game - but there was no way her old PC would run it effectively. (Remember Robert's rule for buying a new computer: any $500 PC or laptop will serve you well - unless you're editing video, or you are a gamer.) Hours of tweaks and tests, different video cards, sound cards, RAM, even NIC's ... still getting lockups or intermittant reboots. So I gave up (and upgraded a different PC for her that I already had). Diana is now pleased.

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In professional news ...

...last week, I travelled, for the first time, to Houston, Texas, for cross-training with Waste Management's excellent corporate technical folks. It was pleasant diversion from the usual routine, and in addition to meeting those good people, I enjoyed walking around downtown, seeing the skyscrapers.

(Photo is First City Tower, home of the WM's corporate offices - training was across the street).

A wee bit nicer than downtown Detroit, despite the heat & humidity.

The elegant Magnolia Hotel in Houston has the funniest open-air rooftop swimming pool (it looks about thrice the length of their Jacuzzi, that is, it's really, really small, and 3 ft. deep) and a cute picture outside the pool/exercise room.

But even if 3 feet of water doesn't compel you to visit the roof, the view of the city from the roof (24 floors up, open-air) is worth visiting the pool.

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In the spirit of doing "things I always thought I should do but never got around to," I recently drove around under the I-75 bridge over downriver Detroit. (Ever time I've driven over the vast I-75 bridge, I've always wondered what it's like down there).

The industrial area is both sad and inspiring, sometimes at the same time. And seeing poorer neighborhoods reminds me to appreciate my achievements, and those of the people around me.

(Warning before you click 'em: some of these small pix are not my usual happy ones. But White Stripes fans may appreciate the last one.)

It was a strange journey, which started by the Lincoln Park fuel refinery storage tanks, and ended in downtown Detroit, at the Rennaisance Center. Which always picks my spirits up.

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Hometown News: Redford just might not be the fanciest town in southeast Michigan - but did you know it's one of the 25 safest in the country? CNN/Money sez so, so it must be true.

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As a nice follow-up to the EGO visit in July to the Edsel and Elenor Ford Home (see the July 2 weblog entry), Amy and I made a trip to The Henry Ford Estate in Dearborn, Michigan.

We visit there every year or two ... if you like walks through the grounds of the properties of great men, it makes for a fine afternoon.