For the first time in my life, I actually paid for it...

No, not that!

Well, actually, some might argue that every man pays for it - one way or another.

But, I digress...

In this case, I am referring to sushi.

Tammy and Wendy (and Grayson and Murphy) came to visit last week.  It was wonderful having them here - I only wish the weather had been better for them.  Not that it was terrible, it was just a bit cool and breezy - not fantastic beach weather.

On Wednesday, Tammy and I went for an aerial tour of the island.  We had a great time, and I greased the landing.  I've figured out the trick to me making good landings - I just need a Murphy in the plane with me.  Wow, I just realized I never posted about our big flying trip last year before my surgery - gee, I'll have put that on the list...

Anyway, on their last night here, Tammy was in the mood for Sushi, Wendy wasn't in the mood to go out, Jeanie was willing to go anywhere as long as the restaurant had options other than bait, so we went to Fancy Sushi on the island.  It was very good.  In an interesting twist, we were each served a bowl of miso soup, and given  a hot appetizer, for which we were not charged.  Tammy ordered two rolls - a crispy roll which contained tempura shrimp that was okay (nothing wrong with the preparation or taste, just not something that "wowed" me) and a Green Dragon roll with eel and avocado that was quite good.  We both ordered a flying fish egg sushi, and I ordered a raw salmon roll that was quite good.  Jeanie ordered  vegetable udon which she enjoyed, and we took home an order of hibachi shrimp for Wendy which she enjoyed.

While it had been fun to be able to say that I had never paid for sushi out of my own pocket, it was more fun to have been able to take Tammy and Jeanie (and Wendy by proxy) out to a really enjoyable dinner.

I always enjoy seeing interesting animated gifs in instant messages...

Every now and then, I even get motivated to search for new ones, or come across an interesting animated gif in some other environment - like an email or a web page.

The problem is, sometimes, the gif is really too large to be appropriate for an IM.

So, after happening upon an animated gif that I thought would be fun for IM, if only it were smaller, I went searching to see what options I had to shrink the gif.

I thought about just placing it in a cold swimming pool, but soon realized that gifs aren't subject to shrinkage in that way.

After doing a bit of Googling, I was able to find a great free option: GIFWorks.com.  While there might be other sites that offer similar functionality or there might be downloadable freeware that accomplishes the same result, GIFWorks did exactly what I wanted, quickly, easily, and freely.  You can find instructions here.

There have always been many reasons why I don't post as often as I'd like to, but...

Now there's a new one: Facebook.

The problem Blogdom has compared with Facebook is that a Facebook post takes about 30 seconds.

The very fact that it is limited to about six lines limits the amount of time I can spend crafting an entry.  And, the nature of a Facebook entry is a quick status update, so, it is by definition, quick.

My Blogdom entries can take 20-30 minutes each, or even more.

The interface for making a Facebook entry is simple - whether I'm on my laptop or the Blackberry.  And the post is instantaneous.  With Blogdom, I must wait for the entry to not only post to the main page, but also to update all of the associated indexes on the blog.  And even though I can use the web interface to make an entry (either on the laptop or the Blackberry) I really prefer to make them using Windows Live Writer so I have an independent database of entries on my PC in addition to the HTML and proprietary database both of which reside on the server.

Oh well, I guess those that are really interested in more frequent updates will have to add me as a Facebook friend.

I ended up eating quite a bit of bait, err sushi, on my last business trip...

Turns out my co-worker Chip has a fondness for bait.  Chip is a lot of fun, and would probably make even haggis or chitlins palatable.

Week before last, we found a great little sushi restaurant across from the Pappas complex off of Northwest Hwy called Nori Sushi.  We ended up ordering four items, and even though neither of us is shy at the table, we couldn't finish it all.

This week, we discovered Sushi Awaji on Macarthur Blvd in Irving.  It is a buffet, and not only has a large selection of rolls and nigiri, but has a nice selection of sashimi and lots of cooked food including made to order udon.  Dinner was a bit pricey at $35 including tax and tip, but lunch was reasonable at $15 including tax and tip.  Yes, we ate there for dinner one night, and then went back for lunch the next day.

The whole sushi thing still has me a bit puzzled anyway.  Between the soy sauce and wasabi (Wasabi-joyu), any subtlety of the fish/rice/whatever is lost.  I tried eating some of the sashimi and sushi rolls without the wasabi-joyu, but I found that pretty boring.  I do enjoy the Gari (the sweet, pickled ginger).

I am by no means a sushi connoisseur; I enjoyed both restaurants, but Chip said Nori Sushi was much better.  Both seemed good to me.  I guess my palate  just isn't that sophisticated - which I guess I already knew given my experience with wine, whiskey and cigars (i.e. I can't tell a really great one from a good one and don't really care for any) .

I still occasionally think about the whole worms crawling through my brain thing when I eat raw fish, but it is a nice alternative to eating a heavy meal especially late at night, which happens all too often when working a deal.  I still doubt that I'd pick a sushi restaurant as a first choice if I were by myself or not having the cost of the meal reimbursed, but, when in a business setting, I'm finding that I actually do enjoy a meal of bait.  I've always envied dolphins, and that's all they eat, right?

The washing machine seems to have a knack for breaking at extremely inconvenient times...

This time, I was out of town in Dallas on business.

Based on the symptoms Jeanie described, it appeared to be another failure of the drive coupling just like what happened last February as documented in this post.

Well, it turns out that there is a Sears parts center less than five minutes from the IBM site I am working at, so on Wednesday, I ran over to the parts center and picked up another part# - 285753A.

This morning, I was fortunate that I had a lull in the action at work, so I went to replace the coupling.

The good news is that the clothes washer is once again working.  The bad news is that I made a few mistakes that created extra work, aggravation, and a sore back.

The mistakes included:

1.  I removed the screws at the top back of the control panel

which I shouldn't have.  The cover does need to be removed, but not these screws.

Only the screws on the bottom front (under the cover panel) need to be removed.

see the original post for the full sequence to remove the cabinet.

2. When you remove the hose from the tub to the pump, what appears to be just a little bit of water in the tub ends up being a LOT of water on the laundry room floor.  I'm not quite sure what the right answer would have been, as there isn't a lot of room between the bottom of the hose and the floor (maybe a garbage bag?) but a small catch pan didn't cut it.   Have lots of old towels available too.

3. It turned out the drive coupling was just fine.  My guess is that maybe the impeller in the drain pump got jammed as happened in November of 2003, as was documented in this post.  I didn't find a sock, but there was a lot of wet lint in the water on the laundry room floor - maybe that was enough to jam it.  It doesn't take much to jam the impeller on the drain pump.  Lesson learned is, before you remove the motor, check the drain pump to ensure it moves freely.

4.  I had a devil of a time getting the cabinet back on the washer.  Lesson learned was: when placing the cabinet back on the washer, the majority of the cabinet sits on TOP of the washing machine bottom frame member.  Only the very front of the cabinet slides under the frame.  In order to get the cabinet to align with the tabs on the top of the frame, you must tip the cabinet forward quite a bit (more than you would think) as you slide it back the last inch or two.

Lots to be grateful for...

I survived the IBM layoffs last week, which is truly a blessing. As much as I might sometimes bitch about my job, and there are definitely parts I don't like (being away from Jeanie so much being first and foremost), I can't imagine trying to find another job. And it's not just the economy right now... I can't imaging what else I could do. At least, I can't imagine anything that is realistic at my age. Not that I'm that old, but old enough that commercial pilot, astronaut, doctor or dentist aren't viable options any more.

Speaking of doctors, I got a "thumbs up" (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun) from my surgeon today. The MRI showed no recurrence of the schwannoma. The soreness that I sometimes feel in the second and third joints of my left index finger he attributed to mild tendinitis, and the discomfort that I sometimes feel in the back of my hand is apparently due to a small cyst - most likely from an old injury to my wrist. He said that the tendinitis could be treated with a cortisone shot, and any good hand surgeon could remove the cyst laparoscopically. Since neither issue is anything more than an occasional minor annoyance, I think I'll just let sleeping dogs lie. The other minor symptoms (some numbness in my palm, occasional minor muscle spasm / tremor at the base of the thumb, etc.) are apparently damage from the original biopsy. While I guess it is possible that I would have experienced these symptoms even if I had the tumor removed originally by Dr. Spinner, I still feel like I would have been much better off had I never had let the hand surgeon touch me. Oh well, such is life. In the greater scheme of things, relative to what might have been, I am incredibly fortunate. So, I'm done with the schwannoma thing until five years from now when I'll get another MRI just to double check...

Before I leave the subject of medical stuff, I must once again comment on what a fantastic experience I have had with the Mayo Clinic. The level of customer service is an order of magnitude beyond what I have experienced from any other medical provider. And it is not only the skill of the medical professionals - it is the entire experience. As an example, each floor of their parking deck is color coded to help you remember where you parked. And, as if that's not enough, right above the button at each elevator is a holder with color coded slips that say "you have parked in the (name of deck) parking deck on level (level number that you are actually on)" So, all you have to remember is to grab a slip and then remember where you put it! I also once again marveled at the fact that they had free wireless Internet access deployed throughout all of their buildings - waiting rooms, lobbies, cafeteria, etc. - and at how clean and organized everything was. And, waiting for hours and hours after your appointment time, even though you showed up early? Not at Mayo - at least not once in my experience over three different visits!

Since I was in the neighborhood, I treated myself to the St. Louis style ribs at Famous Dave's. Once again, they were delicious, although I wasn't blown away by the beans or cole slaw. The ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender with just the right amount of smokiness which was nicely complimented by the addition of a bit of their "sweet and zesty" BBQ sauce. Speaking of being blown away by the beans and cole slaw, while passing through the Memphis airport on Sunday on my way to Dallas, I had the pleasure of dining at Jim Neely's Interstate Barbecue. Not only were the beans possibly the most amazing I've ever had (just the right mix of sweet and BBQ with lots of shredded meat), the ribs and chopped pork were great also. The ribs and pork had a nice smoky character, and the sauce was a unique pungent tomato based affair.

Speaking of traveling, I'm back on the road working a new deal. I am not the lead, and it is requiring some adjustments on my part. It is an unusual engagement - sort of two deals in one. I was supposed to lead one part, and the guy that worked with me on the last deal was supposed to lead the other, but for a variety of reasons, he's leading both, and I'm helping on both. It is strange because it appears that I will have no direct customer contact on this engagement, which is unfortunate because that's the part I most enjoy, and what I feel I am best at. But, as I said earlier, I am grateful just to have a job, much less one that pays well and offers generous benefits.

Still speaking of traveling, I spent the last two nights in two different ExtendedStayHotels brand properties. Last night was an Extended Stay America, and tonight is a Homestead Studio Suites. Both were at least $20 less expensive than a Marriott or Hilton brand property. While definitely "no frills," both were clean and reasonably comfortable. While the full kitchens weren't a big deal for single night stays, for a longer stay, especially if with someone else, having a kitchen would further enhance the economy relative to a more "full service" property. The Extended Stay America was pure no frills - no lobby, and the desk was only staffed during the day. The Homestead was still pretty no frills - desk staffed only during the day - but it did have a "pantry" where you could purchase beverages and frozen food items on an honor system.

Well, still speaking of traveling, since I have to wake up to head back to Dallas in three and a half hours, I guess I should try to get a bit of sleep...