Monday, May 17
Sunday, May 16
W/E
Sonnet and I have a most busy week end (she naps upstairs as I blog). From the Fun Run, we have our friends Tony and Susan over for dinner. Tony and I know each other through the investment business and share a keen interest in technology and venture capital, where he was a pioneer in the PC industry having founded one of America's first "value added" PC reselling and network integration businesses focusing on the corporate marketplace in '79. His company, MDS, ranked Number 9 in the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing privately held companies in the US. Sadly for us, they will leave London for Boston at the end of this year as Tony is involved with the Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. The thing about Tony - I always learn something from our exchanges may it be government, business or religion whose influence, he notes, is growing in every part of the world but Western Europe. What are the implications?
at 16:36
Saturday, May 15
ASIC
The Fun Run starts at 10AM sharp and Sonnet on the grounds well beforehand to ensure everything tip-top for the 250 athletes. Eitan is determined (hell bent?) to be the first from his school to cross the finish line .. and he does, covering the 5.4 mile course in 41 minutes. Not bad. Madeleine places third for the girls -- wearing jeans and a double T-shirt. For whatever reason, she refuses to put on shorts or something appropriate for the warm weather and arrives, at the end, beat red. I love her for this. Meanwhile, on the school grounds, I and a motley crew of Dads fire up the industrial grill and flip burgers. We serve about 300 of them, complete with ketchup, mustard and "salad" which few people enjoy. Krispy Kreme donates sugar doughnuts. So much for the healthy morning.
at 13:43
Friday, May 14
Sonnet's Office
at 09:01
Thursday, May 13
Motley Crew
While not a great photo (taken from my mobile), it does capture something timeless somehow. I own a number of similar pictures from this age: a gang of scuffy kids on parched grass, washed out colouring, baseball bat and soccer balls, unwilling photo participants ... yep, same as it ever was. On our block, San Ramon, it was the Emerson kids, the Prices, Porters, Churches, Hiennas and others - probably 20 of us in all. Since it was a quiet street, we often played in it: prison ball, tag, whatever as long as there was sunshine we were out there. San Ramon was also memorable for the go-carting. Our neighbor Todd (four years older then me) and I spent months nailing planks and wood-scraps, stealing grocery-carts for the wheels and devising hand brakes from broom-shafts, which were jammed on to the downward pavement (alternative: the sole of one's sneaker; feet otherwise used for steering). Rubber-band guns optional -- lock and load, baby. Of course the best part was the whooping and hollering down some crazy hill, traffic or blind curve be damned. And where were the adults?
at 15:12
Wednesday, May 12
Blast Away
Practice makes perfect. Here our little angel performs the theme to "Mission Impossible" followed by "Mary Had A Little Lamb."
at 08:30
Tuesday, May 11
Tutor
Eitan, pictured, with his tutor Stephanie who is very cool in her black knee-high boots and stylish jeans and knits. She has the perfect attitude for a kid who already puts a lot of pressure on himself. Eitan prepares for the 10+ exam which he will take next year which will decide, more-or-less, where he goes to secondary school (we are blessed to have a good selection in our area). If the 10+ goes well, he will have a year to relax; otherwise he will take a similar exam, the 11+, the following year with the other kids his age.
at 16:34
Road Trip
Eitan is away for the very first time as his class goes to Juniper Hall, a country residence where the kids hike, learn about the natural world and eat junk food in a slumber party atmosphere complete with bunk beds and sleeping bags (I recall the boy's first day of school; Sonnet gets teary eyed). Three day camp, dude! - I feel sorry for the teachers and staff. The school trip takes place every year about this time for the year-fours so Madeleine, duly jealous, will get hers in 2011. Meanwhile we enjoy having the kid all to ourselves - Sonnet takes Madeleine for a bike ride in Richmond Park then strawberry sundays; I pounce on her early this morning (she groans "leave me alone, Dad") before chocolate croissants. So Eitan has been thinking about Juniper Hall for weeks and he tells me beforehand that he is both "excited and a bit scared" which is fair enough. Any deserving adventure should have these qualities at any age. My first separation from home at age-12 at swimming camp in San Diego. Man, that was care free. I write Eitan a letter -- can it be another first? -- which he will read sometime today I imagine. Sadly, we no longer keep a record of each other this way. Emails just don't cut it.
at 16:08
Monday, May 10
The Colonel
I love the image. No doubt, a bunch of MBAs (when I was at Columbia: "the most important initials after your MBA are KFC") got together and stream-lined "Kentucky Fried Chicken" to KFC and turned the Colonel into Aunt Jemima (irony?) - how can one not adore the chubby southern fellow? Or, more importantly for them, how can your kids not adore him?
at 12:47
Sunday, May 9
Prime Minister?
Is DC the PM? Who knows. Following Thursday's razor edge elections we have a hung parliament with the Tories in front yet failing to capture a 50% majority by 20 seats (they have 306 of 326 needed or, by one analysis, 16,000 votes shy in the closest electorate races) required to govern. Despite Labour's loss, Gordon Brown remains Prime Minister, as is the custom in these situations, and it is upon him to either form a government or step down which, really, is his moral obligation. Being Super Gee, I cannot see this happening by tomorrow and hence... we're screwed. Not surprisingly, Stirling falls to year-lows against the dollar and the financial markets twitter. Without a clear winner, we could be staring at five years of party bickering and dickering and little precious legislation. We can ill afford this state given the UK's public sector net debt of £848.5 billion or 60% of National GDP (source: Office National Statistics). The PBR (annual government borrowing) forecast for 2009/2010 is net borrowing of £178 billion or 12% GDP. Any retard can see this is not sustainable. What is more, the UK's national debt is actually a lot higher because the figures should include pension contributions and private finance initiatives which government is obliged to pay. The Centre for Policy Studies (at 2008 year-end) suggests that the real national debit is more like £1,340 billion or 103.5% of GDP.
at 17:35
Thursday, May 6
Change She Be Coming
Today's election will, presumably, turf Gordon Brown out from Number 10 (unfortunately the mover-van behind Downing St in my image unclear but do trust that it is there). The financial markets are betting on a Tory majority while most polls suggest a hung parliament as neither party able to form a majority government of more than 50% of the seats in the House of Commons. If this happens, five more years of Super Gee unless he steps down - fat chance.
at 16:42
Wednesday, May 5
White Rock
In those fine, early, years of courtship Sonnet and I often went to my parent's cabin in Bear Valley. Here she is at Lake Alpine in the summer of '94. Best decision I ever made.
at 13:00
Monday, May 3
It's A Bank Holiday
at 07:38
Sunday, May 2
Groomsmen
Photo from Eric's wedding at Cornell, 1991. Eric woke a judge at Midnight, following the rehearsal dinner, to obtain a license. Roger, behind me, departing New York for California leaving me without a best friend and room mate. Chas, to the right, living in Providence working the meat counter at Almacs. Eric's brother Matt found religion. The dude second from the far-left lost his marbles completely and institutionalised. Marc, on the far right, became a public policy analyst at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in Washington DC. Enough said there. I was breaking up with my college sweat heart and trying to figure out: which way is up? So, yes, there was a lot happening on this particular week-end. I think most of us are pretty glad to have worked our way through that anxious, post-college, transitional period with our friendships stronger for it ("gold dust," says Judge Ballachey). We certainly love to relive many of the stories .. with a buffer of twenty years.
at 16:57
Drill, Baby, Drill
At this writing, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has spread over an area of 100 miles long and 45 miles wide (picture, from NASA). The April 21 explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig site, which is leased to BP, continues to flow at 1,000 barrels (42,000 gallons) a day from damaged pipes 50 miles off-shore and 5,000 feet underwater. The spill will soon eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident as the worst U.S. oil disaster in history (11 million barrels) in a matter of weeks and a growing number of experts warn that the situation may already be much worse. It may take three months or longer to staunch the flow. More good news from the accountable generation.
at 09:20
Saturday, May 1
Madeleine
Madeleine contemplates giving her sandwich to the goldfish, which receives a stern look from yours truly. She desists. This morning the kid has three hours of performance class which, she tells me, includes "singing, dancing and some acting" which I imagine she is pretty good at. Performance class has replaced football on Saturday mornings - unfortunately, girls have a limited choice of teams or leagues for their advancement. While soccer the national pastime, it is a boys game in the UK (by far the most popular girls sport here is netball, which started in England and sort of like basketball). At some point Madeleine lost interest, despite being one of the fastest kids at Palewell Park. She still has swim-team so sports not over by a long shot while we have yet to find that one thing Madeleine wants to do more than anything else. For now, it is Tommy or arts and crafts or playing with some creature she has found in the pond. She loves to disappear into her imagination and can spend the day re-arranging her bedroom toys. I remind myself: no rush.
at 13:21
Christian And A Top-Ten
Here is a final snap of Christain in SF. We hang out before my return flight Wednesday. Note the two remote-controls and the New York Times Review of Books. That's my man.
at 12:45
Friday, April 30
Yo All In The Game Yo
I come home to an inside job as Sonnet tears up the living room. We are going room-by-room and eventually the en suite gold leaf toast. Sooner the better. Our bedroom's green carpet also high on the priority list but, for now, another day. So, pictured, we rip out the existing horrible carpet, correct the ceiling cracks, take down the heavy drapes and change the overhead lights; we sink the flat-screen TV into a wall and re-wire everything. Wi-fi, baby. The fireplace will stay the same, God bless. Sonnet selects a cream and pewter colour palette. Tres lounge. Eitan and I smack Obama-rocks re the new hi-def screen which will cable June World Cup. England BTW ranked eighth going into the finals with, given the talent, a reasonable shot at the title. We have been here before, dear reader. Oh, my, the thought of being in the UK when the World Cup trophy returned to football's founders -- Oooh. oo. oo. I remember like yesterday watching the '98 semi-finals when 18-year old Michael Owen carved up Argentina at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint Etienne (France) in a thriller England lost, 3-2. It was like the Cal-Stanford Big Game, '82. Well, almost. Madeleine could care less. Yo, all in the game, yo.
at 21:05
Modern Travel
So I am greeted at Heathrow Terminal 5 ... by this. How Space 1999. The Jr. Varsity knows that T5 is only for British Airways. More expert travellers will tell you that it is the largest free-standing building in the UK and is as big as 50 football pitches or Hyde Park. There is enough glass to stretch between T5 and Buckingham Palace. The roof can be raised to add another layer in the future. There are already seven floors: four above the ground and three below. The depth to the bottom of the building is deeper than the height of St Paul's Cathedral.
at 13:54