Saturday, December 31, 2005

New Year's Eve - Day


Took Jack for a nice walk around the neighborhood.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Gunner Palace

Last night we watched the docu-movie "Gunner Palace" which chronicles the everyday existence of soldiers of the 2/3 Field Artillery unit stationed in one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces. The movie was shot in the currently popular Reality TV style, with the cameras alternately following the soldiers in action as they go on daily patrols, then switching to confessional style first person ramblings.

The editing style disjointedly jumps from scene to scene, overloading the visual and emotional senses, but the technique does a good job describing what must be the surreal existence these soldiers live in. Each day is filled with the entire range of raw human emotion: the morning may be spent dealing with a potential bomb disguised as a garbage bag left on the side of the road, with a dip in the palace pool after lunch in a vacation-like setting, concluding with a tense nocturnal raid on a suspected bomb making cell.

No matter what your politics, this is a movie which will wrench you (at least figuratively) from your comfort zone/plush sofa and transport you as close to the front lines as you'd likely want to get. For most of the general populace, including myself, the protracted nature of the war has made it almost impossible to stay emotionally involved. We just can't care as much as we did at the start of the conflict almost 3 years ago because by now we'd be drained, and we wouldn't be able to go about our daily lives. In a disturbing but non-horrific way, "Gunner Palace" tickles those numbed nerve endings and reminds us that we still feel for the thousands of men and women spending their days far from the comforts of a Starbucks or an after work cocktail. In one memorable scene, Stuart Wilf, a 19-year old specialist from Colorado, and one of the most engaging characters in the film, tends to a fire inside a drum barrel. The scene reminds me of a bonfire on the beach after a day of surfing and swimming, with Wilf dressed for the part of your average American teenager in a t-shirt and hooded sweatshirt. The tagline on the screen reads: "300 days without beer." I read that and the thought popped immediately into my head that I couldn't do it. It was at that moment that I realized how soft and cushy my life is -- that this was what brought it all home for me -- what connected me to the sacrifice being made by so many.

In a sense, it made me realize I couldn't relate to what these young, inexperienced, brave men and women called an existence. And I certainly couldn't even begin to fathom what the average Iraqi views as a normal life. What "Gunner Palace" did was to remind me that there is still a pivotal and climactic event ongoing in the world that will shape the lives of not only the thousands of American troops on the ground, but millions of people on this planet, and that we should all devote as much attention as we can - or at least as much as we would to "Joe Millionaire." For those who haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend "Gunner Palace" as a first step. For more reviews and opinions about the film, click on the movie poster above.

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Holiday Cheer, Part II


Christmas day we took a hike along one of the many Forest Service Roads in the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest. The recent rains left the woods lush and green, with floating mist through the trees.


Jack thoroughly enjoyed himself as we had the road to ourselves. After the hike, he was particularly attentive at the dinner table. All in all, a quiet restful Christmas.

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Holiday Cheer, Part I

The day before Christmas is busy as people scour the stores for last minute gifts, get cards and packages out to distant loved ones, and motor along to their family gatherings. On this morning, Helen and I are headed to Home Depot to pick up some cedar 2 x 4's and screws because our wonderful and handy neighbor Jim is helping us fix our gate.

So my anxiety level rises a notch or two as Helen and I approach a very busy intersection in Issaquah and notice abnormally long lines of cars on all sides. Turns out the traffic light is out on this busy intersection, on one of the busiest traffic days of the year. I'm talking about an intersection with 4 lanes each way plus left turn lanes - a major piece of roadway that serves as an access to I-90 as well as Costco, two malls, and a major access up to the Plateau. There had to be 3 lanes of traffic (including turn lanes) ten cars deep on all sides.

As I ease the Subaru into the meat of the congestion, I'm imagining the worse. I steel myself in preparation for screeching tires, blaring horns, quick swerving maneuvers, flaring tempers and a distinct lack of "good will toward men."

What transpired over the next 5-10 minutes once again confirmed why Helen and I love living here. We watched and participated in an intricate vehicular ballet bred of that special etiquette and common understanding that folks around here take for granted. As each car got to the front of their respective lanes, they stopped, allowed those that had the right of way to proceed, then took their turn. Not a horn was heard, and although it took a little longer than normal without the help of advanced electronics, traffic kept moving. People made their way to Fred Meyer for that forgotten can of cranberry sauce, or onto I-90 to grandma's house.

Maybe after a few more years here, we'll take this kind of stuff for granted too, but I sure hope we don't. I know from experience how a situation like this would play out in New York, and let me tell ya...it wouldn't be like it did this Christmas Eve. As we drove through the intersection I had a flashback of our trip to the Big Apple over the July 4th holiday. I still remember one balmy night when a group of us were strolling along Broadway after a terrific dinner. As we're making our way through the crosswalk, a pimped out GMC truck blasting hip-hop started "rolling" on us - that is - the driver purposely releases his hold on the brake and rolls the vehicle toward us. This is a game of intimidation that's played in big cities like New York, usually by young males with overly abundant levels of alcohol and testosterone and critical shortages of brain cells. This guy came within 6 inches as I glared at him. It's not the first time this has happened - in fact, I've been back to New York twice this year, and I've been the victim of this game each time. Like I said, it's a game - a dumb game played by dumb f**ks.

Anyway, I digress. Didn't want this story to end on such a sour note, because it really was a wonder watching the display of civility this morning. It's worth the exercise of contrasting how bad things could be to make us all appreciate how good things are. Hopefully, it tempers us to have more patience, be more aware of others, and helps us through those little snags of daily frustration. Happy holidays everyone...and good will toward men (and women).

Thursday, December 22, 2005

'Tis the season for gathering and feasting


Some of the folks that logged heavy hours over the summer and fall to help launch M3, and our lovely spouses, spent a most enjoyable evening at Sea Star in Bellevue. The food, drinks and company were all awesome -- 4 stars!

Thanks Oliver for a truly fun and memorable evening. We've got to do it again soon!

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Gastro-Histrionics

Tonight at Rich & Holly's wonderful holiday party, our friends Hunter and Monica gave us an update on their dog Ellie, who recently had to go under the knife to repair a torn ACL. It turns out that medical care for dogs can be obscenely expensive -- and thanks to Hunter's ebullient storytelling -- funny as hell.

When Ellie got hurt, the vet told Hunter and Monica they had two ways to go. They could opt for the traditional surgery which just makes the leg usable again, or...they could go with the new procedure which repairs the poor doggie's leg with the latest greatest canine medical discoveries. Of course there's a catch: the new procedure costs twice as much.

Now as you all know if you've been keeping up with my blog, our friend Hunter is an ER doc (albeit for homo sapiens) and as such he's kind of knowledgeable about the whole practicing medicine thing. So he asks the vet exactly why the new procedure costs so much, and gets the standard jargon about how the new method is a delicate process, requires more time in the operating room, and blah blah blah... And it seems Ellie also gets the most expensive type of anesthesia known to man -- one that Hunter, as a board certified surgeon...has to get special permission to use on patients!

About the time Hunter starts pantomiming the way he works with Ellie on her rehabilitation exercises by moving her paws back and forth, I'm laughing so hard the 5 course holiday meal, cookies, appetizers and 3 homemade desserts are about to explode from my stomach like the creature from the movie 'Aliens.' Hahahahahahahahahaha...

Just when I thought I had contained the beast from bursting out of my bloated belly, Hunter put me over the top with his account of how in order to make sure Ellie stays off of her still healing leg, he spends his days carrying this "shaved-butt, limp-legged, sheep-chasing creature" up and down the stairs of their house. Man oh man, Hunter, thanks for contributing more than your share of holiday cheer.

And thank you, Holly and Rich, for a wonderful and festive party.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Windy Saturday night at home


Tonight we're getting our first real taste of the Snoqualmie wind tunnel. We've had a couple of nights when the wind's whipped up some, but our neighbors who've been on the Ridge a few years have told us, "just wait and see." Tonight the wind is howling outside, with occassional gusts that actually make the house shudder.

On our first real windy night in the Cascade foothills, Helen made a fantastic chicken risotto for dinner, we opened up some wine, and curled up in front of the fireplace and surround sound HDTV. Ah, home sweet home.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Fire from the sky


Winter in the Northwest isn't nearly as dreary and rainly as people make out. The recent cold spell has actually made for some spectacular sunrise and sunsets. This morning as I was making coffee the kitchen suddenly filled with light. It was as if someone flipped on all the lights and it startled me from my comatose half-awake state.

I looked outside and the sky seemed to be catching fire, as if God had struck a giant match just over the Cascades. I grabbed a camera and quickly ran up to the bedroom to take some pictures, because the spectacular colors don't last very long. A minute after this picture was taken, the sky turned violet and then settled into the bright blue of another winter morning. Man, a sight like that makes it really easy to get energized for the day.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Thank you Ma'am, may I have another.

I've been reclused from the blogsphere since late summer, as the project at work has pulled me, along with a bunch of other poor sobs, deeper and deeper into its vortex. Now that it's finally launched - official launch party and everything - I decided to take a spin around the old blogginhood, check out the scene.

So I'm tooling around one of my favorite spots in the blogsphere, the darkly humorous and always entertaining joint run by the Drinkslinger, and HELLO! I'm greeted by this headline:

'David Lee sucks dinosaur cock'

I must have fallen off my chair a half dozen times laughing as I read the entry! Oh man I've been away too long. Thanks for caring, Robin.

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

A taste of Seattle lifestyle



Last weekend Helen and I were among the thousands of lucky folks who were able to enjoy Seafair from Lake Washington. Helen and I, along with Rich and Holly, went aboard Hunter and Monica's boat to watch the Blue Angels. It was a gorgeous summer day and Lake Washington was packed!

I've seen the Blue Angels while visiting the Naval Academy in Annapolis, but it wasn't anything like watching from the water. They flew so close to the surface that the roar of their engines made waves, and they flew so fast that the whoosh of the jet engines would trail the planes by a few seconds. It was really awesome!

After the show we went tubing. What a blast whipping around the water bouncing over the wake. Rich and I were first up and it was my first time. I held on for dear life and if it weren't for Rich giving me advice on when to hold tight and what to do for sure I would have capsized. Later on Helen told me I was bouncing around like a rag doll. We all took turns, but Rich was the real daredevil. Hunter had him flying around -- that's Rich in the picture above -- but he held on.

Monday, August 15, 2005

Grinding it out in B-town



As y'all know, my blogging has been sporadic at best. Just wanted to share a couple of pics to show what I've been up to. A group of us have been grinding it out in Bellevue working to meet some grueling deadlines in a "war room" environment. Although it's been stressful and tiring, there's that sense of comraderie when teams are really focused on the same goals, and in many ways quite fun. As you can see we're filling the walls with our work. That's PJ on the bottom, finding a less orthodox working position than the normal desk and chair.

Friday, August 12, 2005

Dave & the giant bullfrog




Helen's been having some fun at my expense telling the story about my bullfrog encounter, so I'm here to set the record straight.

A couple of months ago I'm going through my morning routine -- feed Jack, contribute to Starbuck's quarterly profits, check daily schedule on the Blackberry -- when I notice a big green bullfrog just outside the doors of our patio. This thing was huge, and he's sitting there like he's waiting for me to invite him in for pancakes.

Of course I call for Helen to come and see the frog, and she comes running down the stairs only to chide me for scaring her half to death. Now we have a pretty big house and sometimes I have to yell if she's on the other side of the house, so I must have been bellowing somewhat excitedly. Also, I'm kinda afraid of the thing. It's big and squishy, and sits there staring at me with those droopy amphibian eyes. Meanwhile, the commotion has brought Jack over, and he's barking at the frog through the glass. I thought for sure the thing would jump away any second, but nope, he's just sitting there.

I take Jack out the front door on a leash and come around on the frog from the side of the house. Jack is barking and growling as we get about 4 feet away, but the thing never even moves. Now I'm really afraid of the thing because basically he's not afraid of me or Jack! I grab one of Jack's tennis balls and bounce it right in front of the frog...and nothing! Not even a twitch. Yeeeecch, makes me queasy just remembering it.

Of course, Helen blabs about my encounter every chance she gets, so everyone at work is teasing me about the big scary frog. So yeah, frogs aren't my favorite type of animal, especially ones the size of Shaquille O'Neill's fist.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Try this weird effect

Just click here, and follow the instructions.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Blogging...oooh I miss that!

If you've been reading Ted's blog, you've probably gotten a sense of how busy work has been lately. Oh yeah, Ted's my boss, and we've spent the last 2 months working off site cranking out to meet one deadline after another. It's been rough. I miss blogging. I miss watching Yankee games. I miss eating lunch at a place other than the confines of my work space.

It must be showing, because today a total stranger validated it. I'm headed down the elevator around 3:00 to pick up a sandwich to bring back, and the only other passenger is a woman I don't know but who works in the building. Out of the blue, for absolutely no discernable reason, she says,

"No one who comes from the 8th floor looks happy. I'm very concerned for all of you."

WHAM!

Where did that come from???!!! She said it with a wry smile - I guess she meant it as a joke, but I could tell she was only half joking. Man, do I look like how I feel? [Sigh] Well, maybe if we tough it out, crank out our deliverables, and meet our deadline for this week, I'll be able to catch up on some sleep, TV, and blogging over the weekend. Two more days...two more days...

Sunday, July 31, 2005

Where did this craze come from?

We had some friends over for brunch today and I learned about a new fad. Our friend Lisa-Britt was explaining that she's starting her own Bunko group because a bunch of her neighbors have a regular group and there isn't room for her to join. Her husband Rick sighed, "Yeah, now I have to vacate the house on Tuesday nights." Holly wondered if there was a Bunko group in her new neighborhood.

I'm sitting there with a "have I been in a cave?" feeling because I have no idea what they're talking about, so I sheepishly ask, "What's Bunko?"

So it seems Bunko is a dice game that's the rage among suburban housewives. It's the ladies' version of poker night, a chance to get together with the girls, drink some wine/beer/margaritas, pass the gossip, and play a friendly small stakes game. Yup, so that's Bunko. Or, as Rick would offer, the more descriptively named Drunko.

If you want to find out more, there are even websites (1) (2) (3).There you have it, good reader, my weekly attempt at using the awesome power of the internet for the greater educational good.

Sunday, July 24, 2005

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Extreme tennis


Check out extreme tennis on the platform at the Burj Al Arab hotel. Yikes, I'd be shaking like a leaf.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Uh...dude, I don't wanna know

PJ's already got the perfect name for his yet to be born blog: PJ's Shower Thoughts.

A group of us Borangers have been holed up in a war room in Bellevue working on a major product launch for the past 6-8 weeks. Maybe it's the people, or simply the nature of overworked, over-pressured groups, but our morning status meetings often break out into giddy laughfests. Today, PJ provided the primer for our daily crack-up.

Ten of us are sitting around an oval conference table just before the start of the daily debriefing. Most are checking or writing email, some are sipping coffee and staring at the status board. PJ, who's conversational style can best be described as matter-of-fact, "I wonder how tall the corn's gonna grow this year..." catches my eye and says:

"DL, you know what I thought of in the shower today?..."

Before he could get another word out, the room exploded in laughter! It was one of those priceless moments when there was a millisecond pause between the time the last syllable left PJ's mouth and the group's simultaneous cognition of his faux pas. Boy, did we let him have it:

"Too much information!"
"Shower thoughts?"
"No need to share bro"
"Uh...dude, I don't wanna know."
"Let's keep this clean here..."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Man, I have to tell you, laughing until your eyes tear up isn't a bad way to start a work day.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Coming soon blogs

So after being pestered about sharing my blog at Monica's birthday bash, I email a couple of friends the link and now I've got two prime time, grade A initiates for the Blogsphere.

Our friend Hunter would just kick a** at blogging. Not only does he have the most interesting stories, but he's a born storyteller. I have a mental image of him in front of a campfire with a group of boy scouts spinning a scary tale. Arms waving, casting shadows against the fire lit trees. Face contorting and eyebrows dancing as he adjusts his tone and pace. Yeah, I think Hunter's gonna have an interesting blog. And I'd give odds that he's ready. He emails me this morning:

"SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I must now figure out a way to set up my own BLOG!!!"

Yeah, I think he's ready.

Candidate number two would have to be our colleague and good friend PJ. Now I'm not sure if PJ is even remotely inclined to start a blog, but he's also one interesting dude. He's one of these super smart, focused guys who always seems to be doing 5 things at once. I'm always amazed at the number of projects he's involved with at work, yet he's not one of those stressed out workaholic types. PJ's a real people person, real social, and he's friends with everyone. He's never too busy to go with Helen and me for Starbucks, and we're always talking about life outside work. We get to hear all about PJ's projects: he's renovating his kitchen, restoring a Lotus, starting a non-profit, playing on 2 soccer teams...if he weren't such a nice guy he'd make you sick.

So hopefully, ladies and gentlemen, coming soon to a blog near you...

Monday, July 18, 2005

Cutest puppy ever




Our neighbor is dog sitting the cutest black lab puppy. Hmmmmm...let's see, my recent posts...puppies, sunshine, life is good...uh oh...yah, I'm asking for it. OK, Drinkslinger, don't hold back now...

I'm blogging as fast as I can...

What an incredible piece of machinery the internet is. Helen and I were celebrating our friend Monica's birthday at Ray's Boathouse in Ballard and someone mentions that he heard about my blog. So the next 15 minutes I'm peppered with questions:

"What exactly is a blog?"
"How did you get started?"
"What do you write about?"
"What's the name of your blog?"
"I heard they write about products on blogs."
"Can I find it using Google?"

The internet has become so ingrained in our lives that you'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't have email. Blogging has moved from niche to mainstream. The scary thing is, to this day I've only told 4 people about this blog. And that was on the day I started the thing. The more people pay attention, the more the beast needs to be fed.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Like my hat says: Life is good



Just enjoying a gorgeous day, visiting our neighbors, letting Jack play with his buddies Blue and Tanker. The Yankees beat the Red Sox. I am one lucky dude.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Sitting in Traffic

Most mornings I, along with most of the Eastside, sit in some sort of traffic somewhere along the interstates and byways that lead to paycheck land. Yes, I get frustrated just like everyone else, but there's one thing I am passionately devoted to - that's obeying both the official and "unofficial" traffic rules.

My traffic clog happens along 202 as it merges with E. Lake Sammamish Pkwy and 520, where things slow down to a crawl. Most folks dutifully start lining up for the 520 ramp at that triple junction by the Shell station and Les Schwab, and the backup is typically from a quarter to third of a mile. The line moves, but I guess not fast enough for some. There's a certain breed of driver that will knowingly and intentionally swerve out into the less congested lane that is intended to allow folks to continue on 202, only to cut back into the 520 access lane up ahead. I loathe these people - the "cutter inners."

I see this play out every morning and surprisingly there's hardly ever any honking, cursing, finger waving or bickering. I'm thankful that most folks still line up dutifully, and either ignore the "cutter inners" or silently curse them like I do.

Now I know in the grand measure of good and evil, "cutter inners" are barely north of bad tippers, but here's how I see it. There's no shortage of places in this world where people are mean and obnoxious in the way they deal with others. Where rampant competitiveness, illusions of entitlement, and inattention to the common good foster stress and strife. I came from such a place, and I am fortunate enough to be able to choose to live here. So I'll do everything I can to pay homage to the quality of life here. The price of doing less is just too darn high.

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Damn you Drinkslinger!

Uh oh...I'm officially in trouble. I'm at work one day last week and Megan, who sits in the next cube over, tells me she loved the picture of Jack on the blog. I smile and thank her and wonder, "how the hell...?" I didn't tell her about this blog, and I'm still in the prototyping phase before distributing to a wider group of friends and near friends. I've only told 4 people about this thing. Then I realize that she must have found it through Robin's blog.

NOW, I get an email from Drew - ex-Boranger, blogger nonpareil, independent non-profit music critic, tequila connoisseur, currently living it up in sunny SD.

"C'mon Dave, you can't stop now..."

Oh my gawd, now I have to actually lead an interesting life, or make one up. Not that I don't enjoy my life, but I'm not the kind of guy who people call "Wildman". I'm lucky if I can make it through a day without someone calling me "sir". And lately my life's been work, get home, play with the dog, have some dinner, sort through mail, do some more work, have a beer, go to bed. C'mon, people don't want to read about that - sheesh, I don't want to read about that! But now I'm going to have to get a little creative...oh the pressure...

Damn you Drinkslinger!

Saturday, June 04, 2005

People are amazing!


Check out this guy - the strength is unreal! Download the clip here.

Friday, June 03, 2005

And he corners like a dream!

I have to admit that I'm secretly addicted to Robin's blog. Robin is a former co-worker who has moved on to bigger and better things. While she was in the land of Borange (as she calls it), Robin was one of those people who you could just tell wasn't concerned about faking it. Let me explain -- you know how for most of us, there's the work you, and there's the non-work you. Robin doesn't suffer from that corporate multiple personality disorder that most of us do...and in the land of Borange, it was pretty refreshing.

Anyhoo, Robin's been dating, as single folk in Seattle in their 30's tend to do, and she's been describing her adventures in her blog. The freakiest thing was when she went on a Steve streak - I believe she dated 5 different Steves in a few months! So over the course of the past few months I'd dive in and read all about S1, S2, S3, S4 and S5. The abbreviations always make me think of them as cars:

S3 - gets great mileage, but doesn't come with power windows
S1 - awesome braking power, but stalls on hills
S5 - good acceleration off the line, but has a tendency to pull to the left

Dating...it's like being in a foreign country. A foreign country I haven't been to in a looooong time. Helen and I have been together for like 12 years. WOW! 12 years! And almost all of our friends have been married for awhile, most have kids, and some are even divorced. Ah well, I'll just keep tuning in and root for Robin in her quest.

By the way...this is Jack...


...when he was just a young pup Posted by Hello

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Okay, I'm a goofball...


I set up this blog and sent out a few invites last night, and today I must have checked 10 times to see if anyone's posted any comments...and nada. Then I find out that I've set up the blog with restricted commenting --- DUH! Posted by Hello

Wednesday, June 01, 2005


Hello from the wonderful Pacific Northwest Posted by Hello

leeaison: the blog begins

Since Helen and I moved to the beautiful state of Washington 3 years ago, I can't tell you how many times we've been asked - "do you miss the east coast?" I can honestly tell you that there aren't many things we miss...but the one thing we do miss are our friends and family. Every time I happen to talk to or hear from someone we haven't kept in touch with in awhile it makes me a little homesick. So Helen, Jack and I were talking the other day and we decided to start a blog. It's our get-off-our-butts attempt to keep in touch with all the dear friends and family who are so far away. We hope you'll use this to find out what's developing with the "fami-lee", comment, post your own happenings, and keep us updated on your lives.