John's Adventures

My friend, John "George" Grayson, now has a weblog of his own.

Having a Blast

My father and his golfing partner took "low gross" at the MountainView Men’s Golf Association "5th Annual Member-Member Blast". Congratulations!

Hilton Puckrup Hall

The first hotel I stayed in last week was the Hilton Puckrup Hall in, or, well, near, Tewksbury. It's on a golf course, which would be nicer for me if I played golf. Still, it got me up to 34 Hilton nights for the year (36=gold). And it was a nice place to stay, though I still haven't found the ultimate place to stay in the area.

My room was towards the end of a very, very long corridor. A colleague who was even closer to the end would hum the "Get Smart" theme on the way to his room. I guess that's what you get when you build a hotel out of an old manor.

I used my new digital camera to take pictures of the view from the room.

This is a neat window:


And this is the golf hole I could see from the window:


And this is the room:

Mailing list.

I'm conducting an experiment. There are web pages that I check often to see if they're updated. It would be easier if those pages let me know when they were updated.

I suspect some of my readers are in the same situation. So I have created a Google Group that is supposed to e-mail you when I have a new posting. You are welcome to go there and try to sign up. I'd be interested to know if this works!

Wine Update: Less Heavy Wines Under $8

Since my last wine update we've tried five wines. Looking over the list, I've noticed all five are in the $7-$8 range, and all five are light or medium bodied. I've been making an attempt to identify enjoyable wines that can be paired with lighter foods. Also, I paid less for some of these wines -- I've been taking advantage of coupons.

2000 George Duboeuf Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is supposed to be the wine that goes with everything. It's a little tricky to find one in a budget price range. Duboeuf is a well-known mass-market brand, so this seemed like a safe choice.

It was a decent, if not memorable, wine.

2002 Buffalo Grove Pinot Noir

This is the first wine I've bought off a tasting at Corridor Wine. I think usually they're pushing wines that they have some particular interest in selling. The week I bought this wine, the store managers hadn't received direction about which wines for tasting, so they picked out some of their favorites. I thought this was an enjoyable Pinot Noir. Christina was less impressed; I think she ranks this on par with the Duboeuf Pinot Noir.

2001 Don Sebastiani & Sons Smoking Loon Pinot Noir

We got this one since we liked the Syrah from the same winery. I think it ranks near the other Pinots -- enjoyable, but not a "must buy".

2001 George Duboeuf Chateau de Buffavent Beaujolais

Beaujolais is a well-known lighter, fruity wine, so I thought we'd give it a whirl. I had a nice half-bottle when I was in La Jolla. Duboeuf is primarily known for its Beaujolais. I think we'll try other Beaujolais, but not necessarily this variety.

2000 Montecillo Rioja Crianza

We had this tonight -- it was our first Spanish wine. We both enjoyed it; I think I'll pick up another Rioja soon.

Adios, Mario

The guy who used to cut my hair (who made a cameo appearance in this weblog 4 years ago) was apparently murdered last week. That's disturbing.

I found out earlier this year that he no longer worked at Bananas. I realized the only reason I continued to get my hair cut there was, in a sense, inertia -- it's annoying to work through several people who do a crappy job of cutting my hair to find someone who knows what they're doing. Mario, as goofy as he was, did a good job, but it was weird since I had no idea what he was saying half the time, and the other time he was ranting about the Cowboys or politics or something.

Anyway, I learned stuff from the obituary that I hadn't known -- he had retired, not just moved to another place. And he was 66 -- I would have guessed he was in his 50s, at most.

Some details were in the article only, I suspect, because it was written by a college student, who has yet to learn about not speaking ill of the recently departed...

"No one really liked him, but everyone knew who he was," Pruskowski said.

People have egged his home more than once, Miller said, and pumpkins were smashed in front of his house on Halloween.

"He got on people's nerves ... but he never had any serious altercations," she said.

Neighbors said they often saw Alonso walking his dog and telling people where they should park in the complex's parking lot. He had residents' cars towed, Miller said, and frequently pestered residents to keep their lawns clean.

Well, heck, that was Mario. He'd often wander away from cutting my hair to tell someone else how to live their life. It may be better to have an un-sanitized remembrance printed. It shows some of his character, and he certainly was a character.

Rest in peace, Mario.

Born in the USA

I've been enjoying watching the Olympics on TV this year, but I have to question the playing of the song "Born in the USA" after various American triumphs. US reputation abroad isn't too great these days; I don't think it's improved by playing a song with lyrics like,

So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man

I'm going to assume that Greeks, and not the USOC, are behind this.

Santa Barbara Pictures

Well, I'm back, and I've downloaded the pictures from the digital camera. Not a lot of excitement. You can also reminisce with pictures from 2000 and 2003.

Here is a picture from my winery visits...



Here's a shot from the rump session...



Here's a picture I seem to take each year...the beach barbeque...



My hotel had a bunch of drinks named after defense contractors and other entities. It was interesting, but perhaps more interesting if I had the resolution to get the drinks corresponding to each contractor...