McNaughton Adventure Blog

Teton County, Wyoming 2011 Flood Season: Per WYDOT and Teton County Sheriff's Office Dispatch, S Hwy 89/Snake River Canyon is now open with two lanes of travel over a gravel surface. Falling rock advisory is still in effect. Original Facebook Status: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=215968925095106&v=wall&story_fbid=215918825096932 Sent via TweetDeck (www.tweetdeck.com)

2011-05-29T09:10:00.001-06:00

svi: NEW: Slide meeting in Alpine http://www.starvalleyindependent.com/2011/05/slide-meeting-in-alpine/ Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/svi/status/71332482259226624 Sent via TweetDeck (www.tweetdeck.com)

2011-05-21T08:25:00.001-06:00

Harrison likes the table I scored at the library auction

2011-05-16T17:44:00.001-06:00

We are officially on lockdown.

2011-03-07T17:02:00.001-07:00

Harrison can now open all the lever doors in our house, which is all but one.

No more dinner, time for hockey!

2011-02-27T23:31:00.001-07:00

Patiently waiting behind the scenes.

I think a tumble weed just rolled by this standoff.

Thumbs up for the cutter races!

Hang in there!

2011-02-25T17:05:00.001-07:00

Thumbs up for the cutter races!

2011-02-20T14:33:00.001-07:00

This was impressive.

2011-02-09T02:07:00.001-07:00

Harrison taking some first bites by himself

2011-01-23T08:39:00.001-07:00

This is how you make friends at the airport!

2010-12-24T11:34:00.001-07:00

All right, that's enough Diaspora.

2010-12-02T18:03:00.001-07:00

I've heard of kids that like the touch screens, looks like Harrison's going to be more of a keyboard guy.

Getting better with the water bottle

2010-12-02T13:58:00.001-07:00

Solving the puzzle

2010-11-18T13:20:00.001-07:00

Didn't take him long to get it to a point where he could play with the handles of the stove.

I wish dogs and babies understood daylight saving

2010-11-07T12:20:00.001-07:00

Any kids that brave the hail may just get all our candy; they'll probably be the only ones. Plus we already ate most of it.

2010-10-31T18:22:00.001-06:00

2010-10-31T12:14:00.001-06:00

First skate of the season this morning, first game this Sunday. Feels great to be back on skates. Great but tiring.

2010-10-19T12:23:00.001-06:00

Beautiful fall evening

2010-10-11T18:12:00.001-06:00

The force is strong in this one

2010-10-10T17:01:00.001-06:00

2010-10-09T20:00:00.001-06:00

Patient dog

2010-09-26T16:56:00.001-06:00

"Why won't this kid stop messing with me?"

Just chowed down at Taste of the Tetons!

2010-09-12T15:05:00.001-06:00

2010-09-11T18:15:00.001-06:00

Hangin on the deck

And for her next trick Lucy will make YOUR dinner disappear.

2010-09-10T19:13:00.001-06:00

Can't blame her, who doesn't like a couple of ribeyes...

Beautiful evening

2010-08-30T20:00:00.001-06:00

Rainy day, beautiful evening

Attention fellow dorks: Just heard Civilization V will be coming out soon. Get all your chores done now.

2010-06-28T17:41:00.001-06:00

Back from a great weekend road trip to Missoula. Little man did pretty well in the car, got to go camping and help team Jackson kill it in zoo town!

2010-06-27T18:29:00.001-06:00

2010-06-01T10:11:00.001-06:00

Less than 3 months as a father and I'm already wearing black socks and tennis shoes

Damn global warming

2010-05-22T09:04:00.001-06:00

2010-05-22T07:37:00.001-06:00

Damn global warming

2010-05-13T08:35:00.001-06:00

Boxee for Windows

2009-06-24T09:40:00.002-06:00

Boxee for windows was released last night.

Doesn't look like Netflix support has made it yet, but the iphone/ipod touch app seems to work pretty well. You can add local media sources, which is a little easier in the light of day without a few cocktails in me, though it didn't automatically scan those folders for content and add it in the 'browse' area. I'm sure a little time reading the forums will help out a bunch.

If you have any boxee tips, let me know.

Can you dig it??

2009-05-04T17:01:00.001-06:00

The garden is ready for planting!!

Top picture was taken day before yesterday when I was just about done digging rocks.
The bottom picture was taken today after peat moss & manure were roto-tilled in.

Good Party

2009-05-04T16:53:00.000-06:00

Lucy hosted a little party for my birthday and it wore here out!!

Avoiding the swine flu

2009-04-30T23:17:00.003-06:00

Don't do this:

Jackson Hole Daily | U.S. Bank buys failed First Bank of Tetons

2009-04-26T10:23:00.000-06:00

Jackson Hole Daily | U.S. Bank buys failed First Bank of Tetons

Netflix Watch it now

2009-04-25T22:33:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to point out that Seasons 1-9 of South Park are available to watch at Netflix Watch Instantly.

Okay, just did a Hulu search to see if this was totally after the fact, and it turns out that there's a beta South Park Studios Player that has what appears to be Seasons 1-13 available. Sweeeeet.

Downtown Jackson getting a meat and fish shop

2009-04-21T22:47:00.002-06:00

Interesting news that the former Choice Meats folks are opening a new meat shop in town.

Downtown Jackson getting a meat and fish shop

A new meat and fish store opening in downtown Jackson should please at least a few downtown residents who complain about driving to get groceries.

Start of the Garden

2009-04-16T10:55:00.000-06:00

Todd helped me pick up some railroad ties yesterday and we got a garden bed started for Jennifer while she was in Jackson. Now just to get the rest of the rocks out and mix in the Peat & Manure.

They've moved past squirrel suits

2009-04-16T10:06:00.000-06:00

Ivanpah trip

2009-04-16T09:20:00.004-06:00

Jennifer, Lucy & I took a little road trip down to the desert with Todd, Wendi & Penny last week.

The big draw for Todd & me was checking out the Ivanpah Dry Lake bed, which has been set aside for non-motorized vehicle use. This keeps the surface relatively flat and rut-free. This Playa is perfect for land sailing, kite buggying and the like.

Todd has a buggy, and I was able to pick up a landboard and a ram air foil style kite more suited to land activities.

We made it out to the lake bed 3 times. The first 2 days the wind was almost too strong, and if we had even smaller kites we would have used them. We were able to (slowly) ride the landboard behind a little stunt kite Todd has. Those days were good to get the hang of my new kite, and I got to buggy a little bit as well. The third day the wind was suitable for landboarding. After a shaky start, I started to get a feel for it. Only one wipeout. The board I got has a pretty springy suspension, which I think will be good for the rockier areas we have in Wyoming, but it could get squirrely at higher speeds on the flats; sudden movements not an option.

National Weather Service - NWS Spokane

2009-04-16T09:20:00.000-06:00

Torsten spotted this and I thought it was pretty cool.

National Weather Service - NWS Spokane

Jennifer @ Evergreen Farm CSA

2009-03-05T23:00:00.002-07:00

Jennifer made the most recent blog post from EverGreen Farm, the CSA in Smoot.

Fire in Downtown Bozeman

2009-03-05T21:22:00.003-07:00

Torsten posted some photos on Facebook about a natural gas explosion and fire that took place at a restaurant in Bozeman called Boodles.

Bozeman Talks has a good list of information about it.

Here's some footage someone caught & put on youtube.

and some pictures

Good Wind Last weekend

2009-03-04T07:13:00.002-07:00

Last weekend we had great S/SE wind for kiteskiing. I went out solo Saturday (well, Lucy came too) and Todd came out on Sunday. Jennifer & Lucy also came for a bit to take some pictures on Sunday.

Earthquake in WY

2009-01-15T22:47:00.002-07:00

Check out this link for information on the earthquake that hit not too far from our house tonight.
Jennifer & I thought it was the snow finally sliding from the valley on our roof, but then we got a call from Todd & Wendi.
It seems as if it was a magnitude 3.7, and it looks to be centered about 10 miles from our house.

Fairy/Ferry Peak

2008-10-25T09:39:00.002-06:00

The hike yesterday was pretty much straight up and down the peak that our house is oriented towards, Ferry peak.

Lots of false summits along the way, but also some mountain goats.

Fairy Peak

Sleeping Indian

2008-10-24T09:27:00.002-06:00

Dutch & I took a little stroll up the Sleeping Indian last Friday.
The weather has been beautiful for the last week and should be for a few more days.

Sleeping Indian

Murray Spam

2008-10-15T14:40:00.003-06:00

Just an apology out there to anyone that was in The Murray's contact list that got spammed by a Chinese electronics wholesaler.

We're not sure if it was a bot or the account was compromised, but we're working to address the issue.

If anyone has experienced this type of thing before, we'd love any insight to the problem.

Recessions aren't thirst-quenching

2008-09-30T17:46:00.004-06:00

A little article from the SF Examiner reminding us that smaller isn't always better (though in a vacuum we always try and choose it).

Give some of the larger wineries a chance with a blind tasting and you might find wines upon which you can ride out these difficult economic times.

Also, ever since the Grand Canyon we've been less afraid of 'the box.'

Some of the better ones:
-Fish Eye Pinot Grigio
-La Vielle Ferme is putting their Rhone blend in a bag, not too shabby
-The Black Box is a ubiquitous go-to, with Cabs from different regions in CA, amongst other varietals

http://www.sfexaminer.com/entertainment/27834089.html

Settling in

2008-09-19T08:50:00.002-06:00

Jennifer & I have been settling in to Alpine over the last week and a half.

All our 'stuff' is on the premises and for the first time in week we were able to park both cars in the garage.

All we have left to unpack/organize are the many boxes stacked in the office/project room.

Jennifer got some pictures before we moved in, hopefully we'll post them soon.

Car Adventure

2008-09-06T22:43:00.004-06:00

Okay, so throughout our adventure we have had tremendous luck with our vehicles.
Until today.

Near Lexington, Nebraska, we had what we thought was an alternator belt failure. Some of the dashboard warning lights like the battery, emergency brake & ABS lights were flickering.
Turning off the radio and AC kept those lights from flickering, but we knew something was up with the alternator/power system.
We looked up auto places on the GPS, but there weren't too many options near where we were.
When the speed and RPM gauges wouldn't work anymore I decided that we should pull off in Lexington even if we didn't have our choice of repair shops.
We made it to the Advance Auto Parts and tried to buy a belt. Rich had one size above and below, so grabbed some tools to see which one might work. Upon closer inspection it turned out not to be the belt, but the belt tensioner, which had sheared itself off.

The nearest dealership was in Lincoln, 160 miles east, but the service dept. was closed already so they couldn't even tell if they had one in stock.
There were also shops in in Salinas & Lawrence, Kansas and Cheyenne, Wyoming, but none of these had anyone working that could say whether or not they had the part we needed.

The shop in Boulder (330 miles!) had what we needed, but compared to a 160 mile tow in the wrong direction to a shop we wouldn't even know if they had the part until Monday, it actually seemed like a reasonable option.

We made the call.

A few minutes later a guy named Hector wanders over. Turns out he has the part we need, but for the 2.5 liter engine.

Dang.

Well, he says, we could see if we could put a different pulley on there, you want to come look with me?

So we climb into his mini-van.
He unlocks the Napa auto parts store down the road and picks out a pulley and some bolts.

Half an hour later he has the pulley on and things are looking up. The harder part was getting the belt back on.

I feel like it's the last day of Summer Break

2008-09-04T12:55:00.003-06:00

I just packed the car for the last time of our adventure. We have some clothes and camping gear accessible, but after tonight in Saginaw we are on the road towards Wyoming!!

We meet the movers in Detroit tomorrow to pick up everything left in the storage unit, say hello to my grandmother Tini, then hit the road for Wyoming - and begin a new adventure!!

It's true

2008-08-31T07:58:00.002-06:00

Okay, so we haven't necessarily talked too much about this, but we're moving to Alpine, Wy.

When we were at Janice & Bernie's wedding celebration in July, we found a house we liked and have it under contract.

It looks like all is going to go well with the closing, so we're getting movers ready to pick up our belongings in Michigan and Montana.

You can actually see it over my right shoulder in the picture from wakeboarding with Todd and Wendi. (it's the one with the red roof)

Packing Up

2008-08-27T09:31:00.001-06:00

Sorting through a storage unit that you've never seen before to get it ready to be picked up by a moving company to take it across the country doesn't have to be boring.

Twitter

2008-08-24T15:27:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I always thought Twitter was a little silly. No one really needs to know what you're doing all the time.

However, a nice little tool Jott is switching to a pay service and there are a couple things that you can do with Twitter to replace some functions (for free).

Anyhow, I signed up to play around, so if you want to check it out you can look at our (well, my - we all know Jennifer isn't going to be into this) Twitter Page, or you can get it via RSS feed from that page or here.

Anyway, if you check it out let me know and I'll follow your tweets, to use the jargon of our time.

P.S. - Jott has left a couple functions on its free version, among them a feature that will read you your RSS feeds over the phone if you're bored. You can even have it read you a feed of your Gmail inbox.

Clean Slate

2008-08-24T15:19:00.000-06:00

Okay, I haven't posted in a while & I'm sorry not to have kept people in the loop. Unfortunately we got a little behind in a couple places that didn't have easy internet access, and of course I wanted to keep going sequentially, but never had the time to catch all the way up.

So now I'll just start where we are, and once we get some pictures uploaded I'll try and go back and fill in some details.

We're in Tawas to see my grandmother Tini for one more night and to pick up sister Jen who was watching Lucy for us for a couple days. From here we think she'll take the Prizm for us so that we can be back down to one car and she can have some wheels.

Sorry we've been out of touch, but hopefully we'll be better in the future.

Cheers,

John

Google Maps

2008-08-14T08:41:00.001-06:00

Okay, so Jennifer and I haven't had this experience with our GPS, but a couple not too far off:

Google Maps

via xkcd.com on 8/10/08

Back in Contact

2008-07-17T12:29:00.000-06:00

We just made it to Wyoming after our week in the U.P.
We'll try and catch up with some pictures from our time there, but I thought I would post this time lapse video we took at Tom & Kathy's 'Before Al's Fire Party.' Al starts building his bonfire on July 6th, and lights it the following year. Needless to say, it's a doozy. This video is actually both the party and the lighting of the bonfire, taken with Tom & Kathy's webcam & the YAWcam software. The only drawback is that the software wouldn't use the camera's full resolution, so it's not as clear as I would like. Also, it was very bright that day. We had to darken the pics so much that as soon as the sun went down it got really dark (I didn't adjust as it went, which would have been a good idea).

Al's Fire

2008-07-05T22:54:00.000-06:00

Does anyone have any extra carbon credits we can borrow?
'Cause this was one hell of a bonfire.

July 4th

2008-07-05T22:52:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday 'Merica!!!

Animator vs. Animation, by Alan Becker

2008-06-29T11:01:00.001-06:00

Animator vs. Animation, by Alan Becker

via The Art of the Prank by Moderator on 6/8/08

Submitted by Nick Gaetano:

Animator vs. Animation, by Alan Becker

Just click here, click on play, then leave the mouse alone, sit back and enjoy a piece of creative brilliance.

If you love the animation, you can play the game, created by Charles Yeh who is interviewed here.

Webcam

2008-06-28T11:55:00.000-06:00

If anyone's interested in video chatting, this is the webcam we got. Nice and compact for the traveling.

Skype

2008-06-27T21:24:00.000-06:00

Jennifer & I got Kathy a webcam for her birthday and after being pressured (Torsten) we got one for ourselves. We used our gmail address for our skype account, so you should find our skype name if you search with that.
Speaking of dorky communication tools, have you noticed that "Call Me" button on the left side of the blog? It connects to my (John, if you thought Jennifer could be this dorky) Grand Central #. If you click on that you can enter your number and it will connect the two of us. Cool, eh?

Jeff & Stacey's Wedding

2008-06-26T10:16:00.001-06:00

Jennifer & I just got back to MI from a long weekend in Montana. We got to see Elizabeth in Bozeman, plus most of the folks in Livingston before heading down to Big Sky for the wedding.
It was at the 320 Guest Ranch, who deserve some props for being very great hosts. They even helped B out when an errant driver took his scooter into the volleyball pit.

Live Webcam of Ninth Street Bridge

2008-06-26T10:15:00.001-06:00

Live Webcam of Ninth Street Bridge

via Livingston Weekly by Reilly Neill on 6/22/08

Local Lindie Gibson provided us with this link:

LIVE WEBCAM OF NINTH STREET BRIDGE

xkcd strip

2008-06-26T10:08:00.001-06:00

xkcd is a comic strip that pertains to "Romance, sarcasm, math and language."
I especially liked this one.

via xkcd.com on 6/24/08

TV on the Go

2008-06-26T08:47:00.001-06:00

Jennifer & I haven't had TV in a while, which isn't to say we don't watch stuff. There are quite a few ways to rot your brain these days, most of which involve a connection to the internet.
Something we've only done once is buy a season of a show and download it through Amazon. The rest you can watch on Hulu, AOL.tv or if you have Netflix, the Watch Instantly feature.

Below are links to two of our favorites, Top Chef & 30 Rock. (30 Rock is generally available on the internet for free)

Amazon.com Widgets

Charlie's Soap

2008-06-20T11:13:00.000-06:00

We've mentioned this to a couple people, but Matt & Meghan introduced us to Charlie's Soap. They found it when they were looking for a good soap for washing diapers, but it's also great for septic systems. There's also a cleanser on the site, which is good for wiping up baby puke or cleaning diesel engines.

Jennifer and I are on...

2008-06-20T09:39:00.001-06:00

Jennifer and I are on the scene at the 9th Street Island Bridge in Livingston, Montana. Parts of the roadway have buckled and the road is closed. This is an ongoing situation and you should check it out, you know online stuff or something. listen

Powered by Jott

Get a better browser, help set a record

2008-06-17T08:47:00.001-06:00

The official release of Firefox 3 is today at 10am Pacific time. Mozilla is attempting to set a single-day downloading record, so once the clock ticks 11am Mountain and 1pm Eastern download away.
In anticipation of the release, many of the extensions and plug-ins that people love Firefox for have already been updated and de-bugged.
For whoever thinks it's just a marketing ploy, I like Gizmodo's take on it.

No More Pump & Dump!!

2008-06-14T21:55:00.001-06:00

Milkscreen System Prevents Party Moms From Getting Their Babies Drunk [Mother Of The Year]

via Gizmodo by Sean Fallon on 6/13/08

Just because you have a baby at home doesn't mean that your partying days must come to an end. Fortunately, mothers that like to go out on Saturday nights and have a few drinks can prevent passing boob booze onto their kid using a system called Milkscreen. Basically, Milkscreen is a litmus test that screens breast milk for alcohol that could have a negative impact on a baby's health. The whole thing seems a little weird in a contentiously irresponsible sort of way, but I suppose it is better to be safe than have a drunken baby on your hands. Available for $20 for a large pack.[Milkscreeen via Inventor Spot via Ubergizmo]

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

2008-06-13T17:58:00.001-06:00

Jennifer & I recently watched The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, a very interesting french-language movie about a man who has a stroke and ends up with 'locked-in' syndrome - totally paralyzed but for the use of one eye. Highly recommend. Especially vs. the crap that's in the theaters at the moment. Tried going to the movies the other night, and there was nothing to see. Nothing.
Well, I would have seen Indiana Jones, but it's gotten really bad reviews, even from people who wanted to like it.

Behind the scenes @ Olympics

2008-06-12T18:23:00.001-06:00

Hey all,
Jen here. My cousin Heather just emailed us a link to some cool photos! Her boyfriend, Chris, is sailing in the Olympics this summer. He and his teammate are blogging about their adventures in China. We really enjoyed the inside look at the sport and wanted to share it. Thanks Heather and good luck guys!

The basic info is listed below, be sure to check out the slide show.

American 49er reps Tim Wadlow and Chris Rast are back in Qingdao, China
training everyday in preparation for the Olympic Games. Despite their boats
being stuck in customs, they have been able to borrow the Canadians boat and
the German's mast, and have been on the water working closely with their
training partners from Germany. They have put together a very interesting
slide show of life off the water: http://tinyurl.com/3jdhez

You can also check out his blog, www.wadlowrast.com

Red Wings WIN!!!

2008-06-08T10:38:00.000-06:00

This is not news to anyone in Michigan or that follows hockey, but the Detroit Red Wings are Stanley Cup Champions.

One tradition of hockey is the playoff beard. I don't know all the history, but it's covered in one of the more interesting product tie-ins I've seen.

I didn't keep the beard until the playoffs were over, but the Red Wings still managed to eke out victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The final series was fantastic, and now that they've won I can say I was a little excited the series got stretched an extra game after the 3OT loss.

Tini's House

2008-06-08T10:29:00.001-06:00

Jennifer, Lucy & I got to stay with my grandmother Tini a little while back.
One feature of her backyard is a birdfeeder that attracts quite a few birds and also some squirrels. Since the fence is not that high, Lucy can't be left alone outside (and besides the birds fly away whenever she is out there). She has two places inside, however, from which she can watch all the action.

Boulder Visit

2008-06-08T09:45:00.000-06:00

Jennifer & I headed to Boulder Colorado to pick up the Prizm which had been staying at my Mom's house. Kinda like when Lucy stayed there when we were in the Grand Canyon.

While we were there we got to try a couple restaurants we hadn't been to but now heartily recommend. One was Sherpa's, a Tibetan-focused restaurant that also has some Indian and Nepalese offerings. The mo mo's (dumplings) are great and something I hadn't tried before. We also had the Saag, rice Biryani and Yak Stew. They did have a Sherpa Ale that did not conform to my theory of generic international beer. It's only a guess but I think they have it made for them by one of the local breweries.

The other place we got to try is Ras Kassa's, which serves Ethiopian food. I enjoyed this meal more than the ethiopian place in San Fran, but only because of the company. Well, the company and the food. Oh, and the service, ambiance and wine.

We have not been going out to dinner a lot in Michigan, much less having a wide variety of ethnic cuisines, so we were pretty glad these topped the list of places my Mom wanted to go. We did get to go to Indian with Matt & Meghan in Lansing, which helped our decision-making in Boulder, as that was the other choice of Mom's top 3.

Tip o' the Thumb

2008-06-07T16:23:00.001-06:00

Jennifer & I have gotten to spend some time with her folks at their place in Port Austin, MI, which is at the tip of the thumb. We were having some picture upload issues, but I was able to get these pictures that Tom took with Kathy's new camera. It has a great action picture feature, which was able to catch some good ones of Lucy. The water near their place isn't deep, so while not being excellent for swimming, it's perfect for dogs to chase birds with the added benefit of being almost as tiring as snow.
She likes it so much she has reached a new level of excitement, which comes with its own new noise - a three-way split of a bark, a howl and a yelp.
If we can capture it we will.

I don't think this is new but it's funny

2008-05-31T20:13:00.000-06:00

Gadget suggestion

2008-05-31T10:37:00.000-06:00

Jennifer & I have been using a GPS unit during our travels, which has been infinitely useful traveling places that we haven't been before. It's like Google maps without needing an internet connection or a printer to print your directions. We use a model similar to this one, but ours has bluetooth for hands-free phone, which is a bit of overkill (I like it but Jennifer likes to talk hands-occupied).

There are a lot of models out there of course, but one nice feature to keep an eye on is if the unit reads street names or just says "Turn left here." (The fact that ours can speak in a British accent is purely superfluous, but more fun to imitate.)

NYT article

2008-05-30T12:10:00.001-06:00

I haven't gotten to read this yet, but I heard this is an interesting NY Times article on farming and local food.

Virginia

2008-05-26T12:01:00.000-06:00

Jennifer & I took a trip a while back to Alexandria, VA to see some folks. We stayed at my aunt Marge's, who ended up being out of town for a couple days. We took that opportunity to have a 'raging party' (6 people) at her beautiful home. Our friends Katherine, Micah, Becca and Kevin were able to make it over.
We're taking offers from people to give us their houses to throw dinner parties.
Any takers?

Problem Solved

2008-05-23T16:43:00.000-06:00

Check out this Gizmodo post for the solution to Montana's indoor smoking ban.

I like it because it is bitter

2008-05-21T21:09:00.000-06:00

Keep this blog post around so we can enjoy post-apocalyptic manhattans and old fashioneds.

Semi-southern Road Trip

2008-05-21T20:51:00.000-06:00

Jennifer and I just got back from a trip in the southeast.

I tracked a little bit of it on a google map. Not sure if that link will show up as I want it to but it's worth a shot.

Jackson Trip

2008-05-17T09:32:00.000-06:00

Jennifer & I just got our tickets to Targhee Fest so we'll be in Jackson from at least the 17th to the 27th of July.

Incanto - redux

2008-05-03T19:04:00.001-06:00

Okay, it's been a while, but i still wanted to mention a dining experience we had way back in San Fran.
We went to Incanto again, this time with Jenifer's parents and her Mom's cousin Liz and her husband John.
Now, we had lots of recommends of places we hadn't tried yet (thanks Billy and Andrea Robb - who actually made some calls and internet requests on our behalf), but we weren't sure what the plans were going to be until pretty late notice, and we were trying to find something on the right side of town for Kathy's cousins who live in Mountain View, so they didn't have to add another 20 minutes to their drive. I was itching to try A16, which happened to be right by our hotel, but they didn't have reses for 6 at a time that worked, and we weren't really willing to chance it at a walk-in table (they have designated walk-in tables; also ruled out SPQR, their sister restaurant, which doesn't take resevations).
All other top options being exhausted I called Incanto (if you have to eat somewhere twice, it might as well be the one that's know for its use of offal). Just-a-by-chance they had just had a cancellation for 6 at 8pm. Rejoice.
Now, amongst other things to make this a memorable meal, I got to eat Porchetta di Testa, the Expo suggested the venison ribs when I took a short poll on the way to the men's room and we got to to try another Masciarelli wine, the Marina Cvetic Montepulciano, which was great.
So after the meal we're waiting for our cab in the lobby and I see some gentlemen about to leave. Hmmm, that guy looks like Nathan Petrelli. Wow, he's hanging out with a guy that looks like Peter Petrelli, that's odd. Holy Shit - that's Hiro Nakamura!!!
Before I could stop myself I yelped "Hiro!" half (one quarter) under my breath, but still hoping he might hear. Thankfully they didn't even pause.
Normally I would scoff at someone approaching a movie or tv star with their character's name, but they were all hanging out together!!
Isn't that kind of weird?
Also, truthfully, I have no idea what those actors names' are. And I was a little drunk.

Bistro Update

2008-05-01T11:41:00.001-06:00

Brian's been working on a blog about the restaurant, more specifically about the garden he's planting in his backyard to supply it with vegetables. The farmer we've worked with in the past is helping him w/ the layout and getting stuff rolling in the greenhouse. Looks like it's going to be pretty cool!!

Beatrice Lily Caterino

2008-04-27T14:16:00.001-06:00

We are in MI and the weather is early springish - say 50's and 60's. - (guess who's writing?!)
Matt and Meghan had a very cute baby girl! We were able to watch her do her baby thing over the past few days. Take a look at their website - www.thecaterinos.com

The site requires a user name and password - don't be shy, you have to see her!

We made it

2008-04-22T18:30:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note to say we're off the White Rim and in Salt Lake after dropping Heather off at the airport. We all had a blast, you'll see some pictures shortly.

Tomorrow we head towards Michigan to see our niece, Beatrice Lily Caterino!!!

On our way to Southern CA

2008-04-13T14:40:00.001-06:00

Jen here, the weather is 90 degrees. (That's for you Kristen!)
We have been on the road so posting has been a bit hard. I feel compelled to recap a bit.
It is really brief but wanted tell you all.
As we ended our time in SF, we ate a few more great places and had some good times with friends. I also passed my class and hold a CELTA certificate. All that really means is I can get a job a bit easier when we travel abroad. I was kind of sad to see it end as my classmates were so fun and interesting. But the adventure must continue....
Our family came to Napa and we ate at the French Laundry. It was the single best restaurant meal I have ever had. It was perfect and a true experience that I will never forget mostly because the company was so special.
We also went to Bouchon bakery and had a few killer picnics. And, of course, we tasted at a few Napa wineries - Corison, Whitehall, Reynolds Family.

Click here to link to our photo site.

Then we headed back to SF for a few nights. We were able to meet up Liz, John, Everett and Owen for a great hike. (See photos from my parents on the photo site)
The family left and John and I have taken the long way to head to Southern California. We camped and went to a few wineries in Paso Robles. All fun - Linni Colodo, Eberly, one other one.

For my 30th birthday we spent the morning with my cousin, Mike, in Santa Barbara. He made great blueberry pancakes! Then we said good by and headed to the doggie beach were Lucy had a great run. My parents rave about these crab cakes they once had in SB so we tried to find it. We never did find them but we settled on crab cakes and lobster tacos at the end of a pier. The afternoon was spent driving to San Diego to hang out with my cousin Heather and her boyfriend Chris. Chris made a fantastic risotto and we drank all sorts of yummy wines. Lots of laughs and great times.
Thanks again for all the birthday calls and emails. It made turning 30 special!

We leave San Diego tomorrow and head off to the desert for the bike trip. Should be fun!

The other major thing going on is the baby girl my brother and his wife are waiting for. She isn't here yet and I just wanted everyone to think good thoughts for them. I can't wait to meet her!

So that's a brief summary of our time "unconnected"! More after the bike trip. Miss you all and think of you all often.

San Diego

2008-04-13T14:23:00.001-06:00

We just thought that it was this hot in southern california. i guess it broke records yesterday. no wonder the beaches in malibu etc. were packed!!
Got to San Diego and got to have a nice birthday dinner at Heather's house with her boyfriend Chris and the two of us.
Leave for Moab tomorrow, either in one day or two.
We'll have a couple days before the bike trip starts to chill out and ride the bikes that we've been toting around the country.

Santa Barbara

2008-04-12T00:08:00.000-06:00

This is a quick post about about our time in Santa Barbara. Just one photo of my cousin Mike and John and I!

Cheers,
Jennifer

On the move

2008-04-01T11:20:00.000-06:00

So we're out of our place in the Castro, officially on the move.
Billy and Andrea Robb graciously allowed us to stash some stuff in their garage, so we're traveling a little lighter while the folks are here.

Tron - if it were in Be Kind Rewind

2008-03-28T14:55:00.001-06:00

Tron
by freres-hueon

Rick Rollin' along

2008-03-28T12:10:00.001-06:00

A funny post about how the New York Times recently got Rickrolled.

No Offense

2008-03-28T11:16:00.000-06:00

but I thought this site was really funny.
Of course neither Jennnifer nor I would ever send anything here.
But it's funny to see that some people do (and what some of them say).

We hate Sarah Marshall ads

2008-03-27T16:45:00.001-06:00

San Fran has been inundated w/ ads for the Sarah Marshall movie.
Some clever folks have expressed their fed-upped-ness.

Most Annoying Ad Campaign Ever Lampooned? via SFist by Brock on 3/24/08

and my favorite:

(edit: one of the original commenters on SFist posted this website where the idea originated)

Graffiti watch: Albany Waterfront Trail

2008-03-27T15:51:00.000-06:00

My sister Jen likes graffiti a lot, so I took a bunch of Pictures at the Albany Waterfront trail, where Lucy & I went while the Subaru was getting serviced.
(They dropped us off in a dealer shuttle, saying we could get a ride back if Lucy didn't go swimming. We all know how that ended. It wasn't too bad a walk back though.)

So this portion of the Bay trail was all fill, so there's remants of trash all over the place. A kid I talked to said it's kinda like a hobo village at night. Really neat art with Found objects, plus a whole row of mini billboards lined one section of the path.

Graffiti watch: Meth Ads (blog)

2008-03-27T12:48:00.001-06:00

For Dan and Alicia.
Saw this blog post and thought of you.

One more series of ads that we're over.

I Lost Me (and Interest In Anti-Drug Awareness Campaigns) to Meth

via SFist by Brock on 3/25/08

Photo credit: Nature abhors a vacuum

McNaughton Adventure Blog

svi: NEW: Slide meeting in Alpine http://www.starvalleyindependent.com/2011/05/slide-meeting-in-alpine/ Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/svi/status/71332482259226624 Sent via TweetDeck (www.tweetdeck.com)

Harrison likes the table I scored at the library auction

We are officially on lockdown.

No more dinner, time for hockey!

Patiently waiting behind the scenes.

I think a tumble weed just rolled by this standoff.

Thumbs up for the cutter races!

Hang in there!

Thumbs up for the cutter races!

This was impressive.

Harrison taking some first bites by himself

This is how you make friends at the airport!

All right, that's enough Diaspora.

Getting better with the water bottle

Solving the puzzle

I wish dogs and babies understood daylight saving

Any kids that brave the hail may just get all our candy; they'll probably be the only ones. Plus we already ate most of it.

First skate of the season this morning, first game this Sunday. Feels great to be back on skates. Great but tiring.

Beautiful fall evening

The force is strong in this one

Patient dog

Just chowed down at Taste of the Tetons!

Hangin on the deck

And for her next trick Lucy will make YOUR dinner disappear.

Beautiful evening

Attention fellow dorks: Just heard Civilization V will be coming out soon. Get all your chores done now.

Back from a great weekend road trip to Missoula. Little man did pretty well in the car, got to go camping and help team Jackson kill it in zoo town!

Damn global warming

Damn global warming

Boxee for Windows

Can you dig it??

Good Party

Avoiding the swine flu

Jackson Hole Daily | U.S. Bank buys failed First Bank of Tetons

Netflix Watch it now

Downtown Jackson getting a meat and fish shop

Downtown Jackson getting a meat and fish shop

Start of the Garden

They've moved past squirrel suits

Ivanpah trip

National Weather Service - NWS Spokane

Jennifer @ Evergreen Farm CSA

Fire in Downtown Bozeman

Good Wind Last weekend

Earthquake in WY

Fairy/Ferry Peak

Sleeping Indian

Murray Spam

Recessions aren't thirst-quenching

Settling in

Car Adventure

I feel like it's the last day of Summer Break

It's true

Packing Up

Twitter

Clean Slate

Google Maps

Okay, so Jennifer and I haven't had this experience with our GPS, but a couple not too far off:Google Maps

Back in Contact

Al's Fire

July 4th

Animator vs. Animation, by Alan Becker

Animator vs. Animation, by Alan Becker

Webcam

Skype

Jeff & Stacey's Wedding

Live Webcam of Ninth Street Bridge

Live Webcam of Ninth Street Bridge

xkcd strip

TV on the Go

Charlie's Soap

Jennifer and I are on...

Get a better browser, help set a record

No More Pump & Dump!!

Milkscreen System Prevents Party Moms From Getting Their Babies Drunk [Mother Of The Year]

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Behind the scenes @ Olympics

Red Wings WIN!!!

Tini's House

Okay, so Jennifer and I haven't had this experience with our GPS, but a couple not too far off:

Google Maps