Eileen and I spent the last 10 days in the mid-West of the USA visiting relatives. My mom lives in Michigan while Eileen’s folks live in Indiana and has aunts & uncles in Ohio. We flew out a week ago last Friday on United Airlines from Vancouver to Detroit via Denver. United has figured out that we’d pay a bit more money to sit in more comfortable seats. They’ve invented a new section titled Economy Plus. The seats themselves are the same as the rest of the plane but you get more leg-room for $44 per seat, each flight. The trick is to check-in early – you can only purchase this “upgrade” when you get your boarding pass (we did it at the electronic check-in machines) otherwise you take your chances. Glad to see the North American airlines starting to find interesting ways to improve the travel experience as well as improve their bottom line. British Airways has been doing this sort of thing for years with good success.

The USA looks pretty much the same as I remember, but the complaints are new. We heard plenty about the outrageous price of gasoline and also about how illegal immigrants were ruining the country. Oh my. The gasoline thing is especially funny because nearly two-thirds of the cars on the road are SUVs (we counted). Eileen says the number of SUVs purchased each year in the USA continues to increase, although I was unable to find a reference that supported or denied that claim. Gasoline was something like US$2.80 per gallon, which would equate to CDN$0.82 per litre. For comparison, here in Vancouver its CDN$1.20 per litre, or about US$4.11 per gallon. We laughed so hard we snorted.

The immigrant thing was more sad than funny, its a hot-button issue that most people don’t really think too carefully about. The economy of the USA is dependent on the immigrant work force in ways that probably can’t even be predicted. For example, immigrant workers keep the cost of farm labor low, thus making it possible for domestic farms to remain competitive with imports. Food costs remain low and many people (illegal immigrants as well as citizens) are employed. The low cost of food means the general cost of living is lower for everyone. Low cost of living means higher discretionary income which is usually spent on luxury goods which further fuels economic growth. If you eliminate the low-cost labor on those farms, will it negatively effect the entire economy? Maybe. I don’t really know, and I don’t think its entirely predictable.

Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t think illegal immigrants are preferrable to legal immigrants. It’s just that the current situation is complicated and perhaps making hasty decisions and drastic changes isn’t wise.

I’ve been reading Collapse by Jared Diamond. The subtitle is How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed and it discusses (with incredible detail) a number of factors that can lead to a particular society such as Easter Island or the Norse in Greenland to completely fail. Its well written and very interesting. This book talks about how societies become entangled in their own history, location, habits, and neighbors in interesting ways that sometimes turns out quite bad. And sometimes it works out ok, but it is very hard to predict the outcome ahead of time with any certainity. I think about the current situation regarding immigration in the USA in similar terms.

The other sad part of the immigration debate is that people seem generally unaware of the need for immigration in order to continue the existing standard of living for retired people. By 2011 there will be more people retired than working. The number of people retiring each year will continue to rise, leading to a significant problem where the taxes paid by those still working will be insufficient to pay for those who aren’t. The existing population in the USA and Canada (and probably other places) isn’t increasing fast enough to offset those who are retiring, and without working immigrants to make up the difference the government sponsered retirement funds will collapse.

The trip wasn’t completely doom-and-gloom however. My sister came to my mom’s house with her two-year-old daughter to visit from North Carolina. I hadn’t met her daughter before so that was really great. My mom is doing well too, and Eileen’s folks are getting along just fine. We also caught up with some friends and spent a couple of hours walking around the campus of Michigan State University where Eileen and I met. The campus there is really beautiful and the day we went was bright, very sunny and warm.

The other thing we noticed – the place is flat by comparison to Vancouver. Some parts are so flat you can virtually see into next week. This terrain leads to tremendous wind storms and quick changes in weather. We sat on the back deck of her aunt’s house and watched a thunderstorm come in over the horizon. Within minutes the wind was whipping around and the rain was pouring down in bucketfuls. It rained and thundered for a half-hour or so then stopped. I grabbed a picture with my phone, it seems to be clear enough to demonstrate all points.

Tomorrow we’ll go back to the office and try to catch up from being away.

Tonight I was flipping around channels on the television when I found this Nova program about building a trebuchet (its episode #101, Medieval Siege). As part of the introduction it was noted they were building the full-scale trebuchet at Castle Urquhart in Scotland.

Wait a minute, I said to myself. I’ve been to that castle. And I recall seeing a trebuchet in Scotland. I went back through our travel photos from our trip to Scotland in the summer of 2004 and sure enough, its the same one! After they built the trebuchet for the Nova program it remained on display at the castle. It’s believed the castle was under siege by one or more trebuchets at least once in its long history.

I wish I had a better photo. It was “typical Scottish weather” – some rain, some cloud, some sun, some wind, etc. The photo is too dark and too flat. Really have to pay more attention when shooting photos outdoors, as this happens to me more often than I’d care to admit.

And I must figure out how to get text wrapping around my pictures. It looks terrible with all that whitespace around it.

Also worth noting that Urquhart sits on the shore of Loch Ness. We didn’t spot any prehistoric creatures in the lake when we visited, and a careful analysis of our photos didn’t reveal anything suspicious. :^)

You can see some of the better photos from that trip here. Enjoy!

Welcome to 2006. Seems weird, seems like it was 2000 just yesterday. Time is moving more quickly now. I recall my parents saying something like this and thinking it was silly but I think I get it now. Somewhere I read an explanation that went along the lines of: our perception of passing time is relative to our previous experiences, and the older we get the more history we have, therefore a month or a year today seems shorter because of all the previous months and years we’ve experienced. Not sure I’m buying it. :^)

Yesterday (New Year’s Eve) we attended another World Juniors hockey game, this time it was the United States vs. Canada in what was billed as the game to see – mostly because it was expected this might be the first and last time the two teams would meet. Prior to the tournament Team USA was ranked first while Canada’s team was not considered to be in the running for a medal at all. Even though Canada won the gold medal last year the team is (almost) entirely new: the coaching staff and a single player are the same, otherwise every other member is new therefore was considered to lack the experience necessary to win. That was the pre-tournament thinking.

They beat Team USA 3 – 2 in a very emotional battle. Due to a previous tie with Switzerland the United States needed to win, rather than tie, to finish first in the group. The game was tied and Team Canada went into a defensive posture for the last eight or ten minutes, to preserve the tie. In desperation USA pulled their goalie in the last two minutes to gain an advantage. It didn’t pan out, as Kyle Chipchura from Team Canada got a break-away and scored into the empty net. Wow! The entire building was shaking with the excitement. Team Canada is now 4 – 0 in the first round and won their group, going straight to the semi-finals. If anything, the crowd’s emotional support probably carried them through the low spots, and certainly their chances look better than ever.

We’ve now seen several Team USA games and I was very disappointed that the Canadian crowd boo-ed them continuously. It wasn’t that the crowd boo-ed at specific plays or at goals, they were definitely against the team from the minute they hit the ice. Even in the pre-game warm up they boo-ed. Very un-sportsmanlike. I don’t think this behavior was at all justified. Eileen thinks it might be somewhat due to the “arch-rival” status between Team USA and Team Canada but I don’t think it has anything at all to do with it. I think its just the standard anti-USA sentiment in Canadian society these days. Sadly most people think this sort of cheap-shot is justified.

This could be compared to the maturity of that idiot American talking head Tucker Carlson on MSNBC; he is full of stupid Canadian insults (use Google to find them if you care). But the situations are not at all the same: Mr. Carlson says what he says in order to keep up ratings and to gain publicity. He may or may not actually believe even a quarter of what comes out of his mouth. It doesn’t matter: he has to draw a crowd and capture a steady audience in order to keep his job. Apparently at MSNBC its forgivable to be a ranting idiot as long as the advertising revenue stream continues. I knew there was an explanation why its simply included in my basic cable package rather than having the buy it separately.

Anyways, I wish the Canadian crowd would not boo the USA team. Its very immature and hardly sporting, in my opinion. Why not cheer them for participating in the most excellent Canadian sport?

After the game we went to Trafalgers Bistro restaurant for a late dinner with our friends Maribeth and Alan for a fabulous seven course dinner. As always, it was very delicious. The chef prepared a three mushroom tart that was outstanding. We couldn’t decide which was the best dish: the tart or roast lamb with warm goat cheese and caramelized onions. Eileen convinced the owner to substitute her favorite dessert: half-moon chocolate chip cookies. I found the mousse cake delightful. Yum! We also spoke with the chef after dinner and he divulged the recipe for the tart. Eileen is now insisting that I make it. :^)

May this new year be good for you and your family.

Christmas has been really great this year. The fun started on Christmas Eve with a dinner party with a few friends. After much debate about the menu we started with a green salad with pear and bleu cheese with a vinaigrette. I then cooked halibut fillets crusted with pine nuts, basil and Parmesan cheese. Its a recipe from Karen Barnaby’s The Passionate Cook. This was served over a bed of fresh angel hair pasta with a basil-lemon sauce plus some asparagus on the side (I make my own pasta and have a nice little hand-crank machine to roll it out and cut it into various sizes). For dessert I made chocolate lava cakes – one of Eileen’s favorites! Our friend Alan brought over a bottle of red wine made by a friend who lives in Napa Valley. Apparently its all the rage in Napa to make your own wine, and this was a really nice one. Reputed to be an award winner for home made wine in the region, it was nothing to sneer at I can assure you. Also had a bottle of Gewurztraminer from Poplar Grove here in British Columbia that was nicely paired with the halibut.

After our guests left we opened gifts. I gave Eileen a gold and silver necklace, a bracelet and a book on photography. We recently purchased a new Kodak 850 digital camera and she is quite interested to learn about all its settings and knobs, so the book will help quite a bit. She had spotted the bracelet quite a while ago and I remembered it in time for Christmas. Nothing is worse than remembering that perfect gift idea just in time for New Year’s Day.

I must have been a very good boy this year. Some highlights: a new iPod, some really cool square martini glasses, the book Roving Mars by Steve Squyres and gift certificates for the Sherline store. Wow!

Christmas Day we went out to brunch at the Sutton Place hotel. This was a new thing this year; we’ve gone to the Hotel Vancouver for the last few years but decided to try something new this year. It was really good with lots of tasty food including some excellent smoked salmon and poached eggs but the atmosphere didn’t quite do it for me. Plus they didn’t have scrambled eggs on the buffet (seems silly but sometimes it’s the little things that matter). Next year I think I will vote to go back to Hotel Vancouver. Its about $25 more per plate but I would definitely say its worth it. Plus their Santa is way better.

I’ve been reading my new book quite a bit. Roving Mars is the tale of the two latest Martian rovers Spirit and Opportunity told by Steve Squyres, the Principal Investigator for the science mission. Two things I didn’t fully grasp about this (or any) space mission: for every one that launches there are a dozen that get canceled along the way; and every mission at NASA is more politically motivated than scientifically motivated. The background material for this mission is well written. I think the quality of the writing drops off a bit for the last two thirds of the book (landing and exploration) but its still very enjoyable and highly recommended.

The gift certificates for the Sherline store are greatly appreciated. I’ll be using those very soon, there are a few accessories for my Sherline mill and lathe that I desire to fill out my toolbox. I’ll write more about that when I make my selection.

The new iPod will replace my original iPod. This new model is fantastic – thinner than the original model by half and the interface is just as slick. I’ve been downloading videos to watch too, the most interesting being “Glimpses of How it’s made” from MAKE magazine. Cool, although I think watching video really eats the battery. Some experimentation is definitely required. Sadly here in Canada we don’t get the ability to download video programming from the iTunes Music Store, so the amount of video content is limited to things like video podcasts and DVDs that I can rip on my own.

On Boxing Day we started the World Juniors Hockey Tournament. We saw Canada vs. Finland at 4pm then raced across town to catch a Canucks vs. Flames game at 7pm. Canada won (5-1) and the Canucks lost (2-1). Both games were really exciting to watch, even if it was heart-breaking to watch the Canucks get beat at home again. Its now 5 straight losses at home and they are now 7th place in the division. Sigh.

Today (the 27th) was very quiet. No specific plans other than to hang out at the house. I read a little bit and worked on my latest robot project (more later when its complete). Eileen did some shopping. Soon I’ll start cooking dinner but I’m not sure what yet – Eileen will happily tell me what to cook, I’m certain. :^)