Can recommend it

That's why there are so many good reviews http://explore.goodvacay.com

 

 

Kevin Mcleod

 

David Brooks Dissects Obama's Personality?

In today's New York Times, David Brooks writes an article on Obama's emotional state. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/opinion/17brooks.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Go read it & come back here.

I'm no fan of David Brooks. He regularly dry-heaves opinions from a stomach empty of facts. This week, he's trying to convince us that McCain's violent temper isn't actually a liability but a sign of passion. To make that argument, he twists the fact that Obama is a calm, stable, and reasoning man into a suggestion that he would be a dispassionate and unengaged president. He can't come out and praise McCain for being passionate (everyone would just laugh him off the page) -- he has to leave that inference to the reader.

Brooks is not qualified to draw a direct causal relationship between Obama's upbringing and ambition driven by a need to satisfy some unfilled need. Even if everyone with such an upbringing had the "scars" Brooks describes (a point I'm not ready to concede), how many have been able to get where Obama is now?

More importantly, what's the difference between someone being driven to fill a "void" and being driven by a "desire to realize some capacity in their nature"? Aren't "fill a void" and "desire to realize" essentially identical objectives? He's created a dichotomy where none exists.

I think Brooks reads too much into the fact that Obama doesn't telegraph all his emotions during debates. Brooks sees a candidate that doesn't express every emotion as it strikes him (like McCain's furious blinking and grimacing) or get angry when attacked (which at this moment would turn off voters) and decides that Obama is a cold, dispassionate observer rather than an engaged participant. Brooks confuses Obama's control over expressing his emotions with a lack of passion.

Obama is a normal, emotional father and family man when he's playing basketball or interacting with his family. He's not a robot. But neither, thank god, is he a violent, angry, uncontrolled man who is unable to control himself. Don't forget that we've already had 8 years of a spoiled, petulant brat as president. It's time for a change.

Live Music in San Antonio!

Last night, the spouse & I went to see live music in San Antonio. You have no idea how unusual that is. This is the least live-music-friendly city I've EVER seen, and we were very suprised to find one of the best venues I've been in, Casbeers at the Church. This post is about the venue -- I'll discuss the artists in separate posts.

You'll notice at the bottom of this page I've included a link to the Salty Dog Blues & Roots Podcast, an outstanding two hour podcast of blues & roots music from Australia. Well, I was listening to the June episode and listened to an interview with Kara Grainger, a blues/roots singer/songwriter from Sydney now working in L.A. I liked her style, so I checked out her website and discovered that shae was playing that night in San Antonio, opening for Mary Cutrufello.

Casbeers at the church is just what its name implies: it is a renovated Methodist church that was converted in to a dinner theater and music venue. It has a full service restaurant downstairs offering some hometown classic food, like award winning enchiladas.

Upstairs, it's simply magic. Kara and Mary played solo acoustic sets, and the sound in that space was fantastic. It is a large & roomy space, but really intimate. Mary commented that it was just as impressive for her as a musician -- she revelled in being able to hear the silence in her songs.

What was unusual about the show was that the Spouse and I were almost the only members of the audience. I think the total audience maxed out at 13 people. Though it wasn't unusual for the artists, it was unusual for me. We basically chatted with the artists between songs, and considering the following they have outside San Antonio, I felt it was quite an honor.


Casbeers at the Church had only been open for about two weeks, so lack of familiarity with the new location was certainly to blame, so I'm hopeful that as others learn about Casbeers they'll become a popular destination for live music in SA. If you're in the area, I strongly recommend you catch a show there whenever possible, both to enjoy the excellent acoustics and to support live music in town.

One Reason No Thinking (Wo/Hu)man Should Vote for McCain

Just the tip of the iceberg.



Visit http://www.therealmccain.com/ for more reasons.

Health Care Ad

The Rockridge institute closed in April of this year, but they did some fantastic research and writing on articulating progressive values. Here's an ad they put together for healthcare:

Demo-Cats?

I read a blog post today on the Houston (Texas) Chronicle website about a man whose 13-year old cat died after receiving three vaccinations at one time. Losing a pet is always a tragic experience and I can sympathize. However, this dude couldn't stop there. Much of his post expressed frustration at having a vet violate protocol and overload the cat's system with several vaccines. Then, he concluded his missive with the following spew:

Beverly indeed slept most of the time, and during waking moments was incurably lazy. She mewed whenever she wanted something, depending wholly upon others for everything she needed. Embracing an entitlement mentality, she exerted no effort whatever to become self-sufficient. Yep, Bev was definitely a Democat.

What was really galling was how this douchebag made that spasmotic cognitive leap and decided that a cat's behavior was typical of a Democrat (meaning someone who votes with the more liberal of America's two political parties). Entitlement mentality? IT'S A GODDAMN CAT! It's been trained - for 13 years - that if it performs certain behaviors it will receive a reward (food). How could a cat be more self-sufficient? Would he prefer that it learned to operate a cash register and work at a convenience store? That's a night job a nocturnal cat could excel at, except for the slight communication barrier.

It is clear that someone who still believes in the myth of the "entitlement mentality" is not accustomed to doing much independent thinking and would much prefer having their opinions given to them in a nicely-packaged form. This clown has overdosed on racist talking points from Rush Limbaugh, no doubt.

The Reagan surrogates dreamed up the myth of the "welfare queen" in the 1980s to erode support for social programs such as medicare, medicaid, and WIC. The image they wanted to create was an unemployed black woman with multiple kids who defrauded the welfare system to buy luxuries rather than essentials. This was a political fabrication designed to trigger the racist instincts of the general Republican base and drive a wedge between the "haves" and the "have-nots." Nixon used this same technique successfully in his election in 1972.

My cats have their own opinions and are quite independent. They can think for themselves, though thankfully they don't share their opinions with me (unlike the moron who wrote the Chronicle post).

My beloved cat got cancer (injection-site fibrosarcoma) from a vaccine she received. The vaccine formulation used a metal-based adjuvant and the link has been fairly well established. When our vet found out, he felt horrible and immediately changed vaccines.

I would hope that you'd take two things from this post:

1. If you have a cat, make sure that the vaccines they get won't cause cancer (don't accept the "low probability" argument -- go to a different vet).
2. Democrats believe in giving everyone a level playing field, raising the standard of living for ALL Americans. Laziness and welfare fraud are no more acceptable to us than to Republicans.
   

Updates

Sorry, friends, I've been slackin' big-time. Sincerest apologies for the cobwebs.

I'm outta school, raisin' hell, and we've got a little election coming up in a few months, so I'm going to have a few things to say between now and then.

Until then, if you want some shamelessly-cute merchandise created from my stockpile of animal photos, go check out my cafepress site, http://www.cafepress.com/kevdiver.

Kinda weak selection right now, but I'm working on learning the intricacies of Photoshop so I can make my animal pictures perfect.

FOOD REVIEW -- Ellie's Kitchen & Catering, Friendswood, TX

You asked for it, and here it comes: Restaurant reviews!

The first installment highlights a restaurant I just found rather than one of my old favorites. I'll come back to them later. Watch this space.

I was told of a new Greek restaurant slightly off the beaten path in Friendswood, and since I loves me some Greek food I was all over it.

Ellie is the owner, and she has created a masterpiece of neighborhood dining with this little hole-in-the-wall gem. When you step inside, the walls are painted with images from the Greek isles, with plenty of white stucco and blue highlights. The atmosphere, overall, is warm and welcoming. When Ellie greets you and talks about her food, her home in Cyprus, and the restaurant, you immediately know that she's the source of that welcome feeling. She is absolutely charming. Regulars abound, as it really is a neighborhood restaurant.

But enough about people. We're here to discuss food.

Most of the Greek eateries I've been to in the US have a fairly predictable menu: Gyro meat, chicken, pitas, Greek salad, dolmas, and various other items based on apparently random factors. The flavor tends to be the same, too: dolmas in most Greek places are the same ones I get out of a can from the local middle-eastern grocery. In fact, they're often served right out of the can: cold, clammy, and oily.

Ellie's was a really nice change. Her dolmas are made in house (as is everything she serves), and they are fantastic. Served warm with a tangy, slightly spicy flavor, it was the perfect entre into the rest of the meal. An order of dolmas (choice of meat or vegetarian) includes two plus a tzaziki sauce cup.

I'm a big fan of Spanakopita, or spinach pies as they are listed on Ellie's menu. Light fillo pastry triangles filled with feta cheese and spinach and served hot. Ellie said she thought that most Spanakopita were too tart, so she buffers the tang of the feta by mixing it with ricotta. The result is pure magic. She warned me that I would have to wait about 10 minutes for her to chill the pies before baking, but it was definitely worth the wait. I would have waited 30 minutes and made a meal of them (well, I would have needed more than the two pies that comes with an order, obviously).

Between the appetizers and the main course we got a small Greek salad. It consisted of the typical Greek salad ingredients, but was noteworthy in that they didn't overdo it with the dressing. It had a great tart flavor without the oilyness you get some places.

Main course: Moussaka. Wonderful. It's kind of like a Greek (or middle eastern) lasagna. Also reminiscent of shepherd's pie, only with vegetables and flavor. A baked casserole of seasoned ground beef layered with potato slices, eggplant, and yellow squash (!!), and topped with a creamy, whipped-cheese meringue (well, meringue-like). The serving size was on the large end of the scale, leading to a discussion of whether we'd be able to finish it. Of course, your humble servant had no such reservations. I would order it again the next time I eat there, but alas, there are other entrees I must try.

The sad consequence of my gluttony was that I was unable to try the desserts. After what she created with the spanakopita, I can only dream about what her baklava must be like.

I had to ask the waitress to refill my water. That's a pet peeve of mine.

Overall, excellent value. Great food, tricky to locate if you're not from the area.

Ellie's Kitchen & Catering
102 S. Friendswood Dr.
Friendswood, TX
281-648-2973

Way Overdue

Once again I'm way overdue in posting something to the old blog. Sorry about that -- there's just WAY too much stuff to write about to fit in one post, so I'll shotgun a few posts with my top thoughts.

Let's start with the syphilitic elephant in the room: healthcare. An innocent girl recently died because nobody would assume the financial burden of performing a liver transplant and committing to the long-term care of a transplant recipient. Most are blaming Cigna for her death, and that's appropriate because insurers are nothing more than parasites on the healthcare monster. However, I've heard at least one commenter ask why the hospital (UCLA, if I remember correctly) couldn't proceed with the operation and fight with Cigna over the costs later.

The very discussion of who should pay and how illustrates the problem with the US healthcare system in general. We're spending our time worrying about who's profiting or losing money while the clock ticks on someone's life. Healthcare and corporate profit/loss have no business being in the same discussion. You end up with criminal decisions like whether it's cheaper to redesign the Ford Pinto or pay the damages caused when they explode.

As I've said before, the best solution is to spread the risk of loss equally among the entire population rather than throw us into a feeding frenzy of profit-hungry corporations. We've got a model (medicare) that works. Let's spend our energy expanding that program and fixing its flaws instead of continuing to let Americans die so that some CEO can afford to upgrade his BMW.

Best. Wedding. Ever.

An informal poll of the attendees I was with yielded a unanimous vote that the wedding in PV, MX was absolutely the best wedding any of us had ever attended.

It wasn't one of those "coronation ceremonies" that some girls like, with hundreds of guests and tens of thousands of dollars spent on decorations. It was a family-oriented, fun-filled vacation that culminated in the joining of two wonderful hearts. The bride and groom seemed as interested in having fun as they were in getting married, but the ceremony was an emotional, meaningful one that did not dilute the significance of the event.

The setup for the wedding itself was conducted in "local time," meaning the guests were assembling while they were still fitting the covers on the seats at the starting time. It didn't bother any of us (non-family guests), but I can imagine that the bride was anxious. The groom confided to me that she was a little nervous about the details during the lead-up, but every time I saw her she was happy and excited. Oh, yeah, and she looked absolutely gorgeous during the ceremony.

The bride and groom made certain that everyone was well taken care of -- nothing was left to chance, and they helped us maximize our enjoyment. The hotel arrangements were fantastic, the weather could not have been better, and the Spouse and I made some new friends that I hope to keep in contact with. We had a lot of laughs, saw some beautiful scenery, and just relaxed and enjoyed being with our friends (old and new). A few days in paradise.

I know we all told her how great a time we had. I hope that meant something to her, but most of all I hope she has as many wonderful memories of that day as we do. It was her day, and of course it was much more than a vacation to her – it was the start of what I hope will be a long, happy, and loving marriage. It couldn't happen to a better couple!

We asked her to please consider renewing her vows next year, but she wouldn't commit.

Vallarta Adventures

Today we took a boat from Nuevo Vallarta south to a private reserve called las Caletas, owned by an entertainment company called Vallarta Adventures. They offer several excursions around the Puerta Vallarta area, including jeep tours of the Sierra Madre mountains, dive trips to the Marietas islands, and an outdoor adventure trip that includes ATVs, donkey rides, rappelling, and other unnatural acts.

Our trip was tame by comparison. We went to the Vallarta Adventures HQ, caught the small catamaran to las Caletas, and disembarked. Las Caletas is a beach reserve with trails up into the hills, several bars, and a restaurant. The trip price included the boat transport, breakfast, lunch, snorkelling, a monkey & parrot interaction, and the chance to get away from things for a day. We did get a couple of extra excursions (i.e., they cost extra). The spouse got a massage and I snorkelled with a 320 lb sea lion. Very interesting.

I considered diving, but the dive master talked me out of it. He said that although some people were doing their open water dives, certified divers would not enjoy the dive because water conditions were so bad. He was correct: I cut my snorkelling trip short because all I saw was murk. I generally have better vis in our freshwater lakes than I saw at las Caletas! Apparently, good dive conditions are several months off.

We had good paella, and some fantastic flan and tres leches.

So far, for an "all-inclusive" vacation, we're spending a lot on extras. Oh, well. It's Spouse's only chance to travel this year since she didn't have any vacation built up. We're having fun, though!

Mas mañana!

¡Puerto Vallarta!

I know it, I'm a shit. I get absolutely no sympathy from anyone, and why should I? Australia, Cozumel, Dives in the Gulf of Mexico, the Galápagos, now Puerto Vallarta. Poor KevDiver. :(

We're here for the wedding of one of the spouse's good friends, so my excuse is that it's not my fault we had to go to México. Not my fault -- remember that!

We flew in today, spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out how to eat (it's an "all inclusive" resort, but with serious restrictions on the "all" part). We finally figured it out, and it didn't involve raiding the parrot enclosure or harpooning the very delicious-looking ostriches (or their eggs).

Bright & early tomorrow we're catching a boat to an island called "Las Caletas" for some peace. I'll snorkel & maybe dive, get a massage, take some photos, and basically just unwind far away from civilization. Looking forward to it, especially since I will be working wicked hard as soon as I return to work through the end of the year.

I have access to the 'net (obviously), so I'll try and do better than I did during my Galápagos trip.

Really wish my Spanish was better. I was able to get two pool towels without using a word of English!

Hasta Mañana!

A Few Galapagos Pictures

I know I've been a blog-slacker. Sorry 'bout that.

Here are a few small pics from Galapagos. The amazing thing about the land wildlife was how close you could get to them. Many of them had no fear of humans. Check this out:

This is a sleepy sea lion pup sunning himself on the path.















Here is a land iguana that let me get up-close-and-personal:















The marine creatures were more circumspect. They were curious, but basically behaved the same way they do everywhere else. Way up north at Darwin Island, this hammerhead shark gave me a fly-by:















Here's a shot of a Galapagos shark that came in to check me out:

And finally, the monster we'd all hoped to see:

A 50 ft. whale shark (one of nine we saw this trip)!

Leaving Galapagos

Well, we are back at the Baltra airport with a couple of hours until our flight leaves. I will try to post again when we get to Quito tonight because I bought an 18 minute internet card and time is ticking away.

All but two or three of the passengers ended up with nasty respiratory infections, but everyone snagged antibiotics and kicked it. Hopefully I will be almost well by the time I get home.

I did a total of 16 dives over the week, and saw many many sharks. I got to swim very close to two huge whale sharks and we were almost continuously surrounded by Galapagos and hammerhead sharks. I got a few good pictures, but suffered with technical problems most of the trip.

Other than that, all's well -- I did end up with a few good pictures and some wonderful memories! I also got some great ideas for new scuba equipment I want to buy!

Waiting for "de plane"

We're camped out in the Quito airport, Domestic terminal. It's like every other airport terminal I've seen, except that the air reeks of exhaust fumes.

Our Aerogal flight from Quito is an hour late due to morning fog. We're flying to Guayaquil, then on to Baltra in the Galapagos.

Travelling with an experienced group is the best way to travel. Our luggage was handled from the hotel to the plane, and Aggressor is to handle it from Baltra to the boat. Our airline tickets were waiting for us at the airport, and the tips were collected and disbursed for the group.

One nice thing is that everyone seems to be a lot of fun. There are even several guys who share my sense of humor. There are only two women in our group - the rest are middle-aged men. Big surprise: That's normal for dive trips.

One of the guys has been commenting on how clean Quito is. I don't agree: Although I've seen much dirtier cities, I wouldn't call it clean.

Once we arrive in Baltra, we'll be loaded onto the Galapagos Aggressor II and move to our first dive site while we gear up. We'll do a checkout dive to get our weights set, then have a welcome aboard party. As I understand it, overnight we'll sail 200 mi WNW to Darwin/Wolf Islands, where we'll spend the majority of our time. The objective is to be surrounded by huge marine creatures, mostly sharks and rays.

More when possible!

The Equator

Today we explored the monument at the equator, then went into Quito and hit an old market where they sold indigenous crafts. I bought a couple of gifts for certain people and I'm working on how to pack them for the trip out & home.

The weather was chilly and it rained this afternoon, so it wasn't all that fun to look around. The conventional wisdom is that we're prisoners in the hotel after dark, so we're resolved to amuse ourselves indoors.

Here's a pic of me on the equator.

Quito, Ecuador

We arrived safely, but it was a late nite. Altitude is making it hard to breathe. More tomorrow.

Update:
I'm now using the hotel's computer center (at 0.20/min), but at least I have full access! I'll take some pictures today and see about posting one or two to give you the feel for this place. So far, all I've seen is the hotel; though it's very nice, it's not really different from any other chain hotel I've occupied.

The air is very thin and I get out of breath easily. We're meeting for breakfast at 10 and heading out for an adventure at 12. We're going to straddle the equator!

Butterflies

Well, tomorrow I leave for Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.

I'll be spending two days in Quito, the capitol, and then seven days aboard the dive boat Galapagos Aggressor II. We'll return to Quito for one night then fly home.

I'm diving with some folks out of South Padre Island, Texas, who have reserved the entire boat. Not all of the 14 passengers are from Texas, but everyone knows Tim. He has been leading this trip once a year for a long time, and I feel a lot better being with experienced traveller/divers that I know and trust. Still, I'm feeling butterflies and I've packed and repacked a couple of times just to make sure I've done it right.

This is the biggie: Tim calls it the "Superbowl of Diving." The water's cold, the currents are strong, and it's no simple (cheap) matter to get there. But like the Superbowl, there's a big payoff just for playing: We'll see some fantastic wildlife, dive in challenging conditions, and will visit the spot where man first began to understand the big picture of the development of life on this planet. It will be a really nice set of dives to enter into my logbook!

Do a Google search for Galapagos and dive and you'll see the phenomenal array of sea life that inhabits the waters around the islands. Sea lions, penguins, and marine iguanas can be found in the shallows, while large schools of jacks and even hammerhead sharks are present a little farther out. In the far northwest, around Darwin and Wolf Islands (a 16-hr boat trip from the main islands), huge whale sharks are often seen with schools of Galapagos and hammerhead sharks. Due to popular demand, our boat will spend most of its time up in the northwest.

There will be dives in other areas where we'll be able to see red-lipped batfish, sea horses, and other small creatures. On our land excursions we'll see the sea lions, iguanas, giant tortoises, and a wide variety of the famous Galapagos birds.

On the downside, I won't have access to the Internet for much of the trip, so I won't be able to share my observations in real-time. As I did in Australia, I'll hand-write my posts and publish them when I get to a computer.

Well, I have to re-pack my camera bag again. I'm not convinced it's perfect. So I'll sign off for now and try to post when I can get to a computer again.

The Verdict

I just met with Mistress Amber, and God bless her it looks like all the abuse she put me through has paid off. I lost a total of 17 lbs (7%) and reduced my body fat percentage by 11%. My belly shrunk by 16%.

Lest you think that's a measly loss for six months of work, remember that I didn't care about weight loss when I started: I was only interested in stamina and upper body strength, and Mistress Amber designed my program to achieve these goals. The fat loss was simply a side effect, and something that's easy to measure. Regretfully I don't have hard data on stamina or strength. Subjectively I know that I can go longer and faster on the cardio equipment than when I started and that she's been able to add more weight to each exercise.

Also, I must confess that I've not exhibited a lot of discipline in the cardio department. She said that I would have seen more improvement had I been more consistent in doing it. As I said, I've seen some improvement. I may not be able to determine how (or whether) the work I've been doing has had any impact on my diving. Since I've been doing SOMETHING I have to assume that it will be better than having done NOTHING.

Another Dive Adventure

I'll talk about my frenetic preparations for next week's Galapagos trip in a later post, but I had to gush about a new opportunity that just came up!

I've been invited to be a safety diver during a video shoot for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department!

The week after I return from Ecuador, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) will be sinking the USTS Texas Clipper 17 miles off the S. Texas coast to form an artificial reef. The projected date is November 15. She will come to rest on the sandy floor, about 134 feet deep, after having undergone years of pre-sinking cleanup and other preparations. Click on the link above for more details.

The Clipper's keel was laid in Maryland in 1944, and although built as a merchant ship she served the U.S. Navy as the troop transport USS Queens during WWII in the Pacific theater. She was decommissioned as a military vessel in 1946. From 1948 to 1958, commissioned the S.S. Excambion, she was a combination freight/passenger liner serving Mediterranean ports of call.

In 1965, she was commissioned the U.S.T.S. Texas Clipper and served as a training ship for maritime students at Texas A&M - Galveston until 1996.

The man who is leading our trip to the Galapagos Islands operates a technical dive instruction center, dive shop, and dive boat in South Padre Island, TX. The day after the Clipper is reefed, he will be leading a team shooting a video to document the condition of the ship after it settles to the bottom. While I was chatting with him about Galapagos, we started talking about the reefing and he invited me to serve as a safety diver for this project. The videography teams will be making longer-than-normal dives, and safety divers provide support for them during decompression and to serve as rescue divers in the event of an accident.

If it pans out, this will be a fantastic opportunity for me. I will be one of the very first divers to see the Clipper on the bottom! Plus, I'll be helping document this project for future generations to learn about the Clipper and the artificial reef project.