For the man/woman/child who has everything...

Unfortunately, PrivateAirDaily.com no longer exists on the Web and I can't get the article large enough to be readable. I'm not sure why I saved it; it's not like I am or will ever be, in the market for a blimp. Nevertheless, I'm cleaning out old files and found this article in my file of misc scans. The important details, I'll regurgitate... it seems there is a personal blimp now available. Yes, because everyone needs a blimp, right?

SkyYacht makes these personal blimps, along with a number of other spaceship-like air vehicles; I encourage you to check out their site.

Above is a picture of what your personal blimp could look like. According to the article, it will cost you anywhere from $100,000 to $200,000. I know, it's quite a spread but I suppose, if you're in the market for a personal blimp, a price spread of $100,000 isn't that much to you. Of course, I could be wrong. I've yet to meet anyone who was in the market for a blimp of any kind.

Besides the price and size (unless you have a garage large enough to house a regular blimp), another benefit of a personal blimp is that the company is working with the FAA to obtain special licensing requirements for personal blimps. Unlike traditional blimps, personal blimps are powered by hot air and that may mean easier licensing requirement.

Traditional blimps require a fair amount of training and there are no schools for blimp flying. A lighter-than-air pilot certification isn't easy to come by and yes, during the practical portion of the exam, you DO need to parallel park your blimp. And you thought the DMV was hard on you at 16.

Dinner!

Before tonight, I'd never made spaghetti squash before. I'd heard that it is easy to make and how great it is but I was afraid a) I wouldn't like it and b) it wouldn't be easy and I'd mess it up.

I bought a spaghetti squash last week and finally got around to making it. Husband loved it and it WAS easy!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Stab the squash a number of times to prevent any explosive oven mishaps. This is also a great way to get rid of any pent-up aggression.

Place in an oven-proof dish.

Set the timer. Every recipe I found said an hour but I think a bit longer wouldn't hurt.

Using hot pads, carefully cut in half.

After scooping out pulp and seeds, use a fork to scrape out "spaghetti".

I used a jarred sauce but thought it tasted pretty good with just a bit of salt, as well. It has a bit of a crunchy texture that pasta doesn't have. Nutritionally, it's got fiber and vitamin C.

Our daughter liked it well enough to finish her dinner, with a bribe. I toasted the squash seeds and she loved them and if she wanted more, she had to finish her dinner.

From the Air

Over the Cascades

Everytime I'm above the clouds, I'm struck with how much the surface looks like that of the North Pole. Perhaps a bit rounder, softer but solid, white expanse looks so similar...

The Emperor's Clothes

It is not the emperor's responsibility to tell you he has no clothes; it is your responsibility not to make blind assumptions.

Try It, You'll Like It

We have a rule in our house where food is concerned:

You have to try it once before you say you don't like it.

The rule originated in our house, like in many households with children, in order to avoid creating a child who only eats chicken nuggets (which I won't serve and don't offer up as an option in restaurants) or pasta (which I do offer both in and out of house). We tell Daughter she has to try everything at least once, per meal.

Until recently, this has been fabulous. Frequently, she likes what she tries and eats most of what is on our plates. When she doesn't like something, we don't fret because she'll have to try it again when we have it another day. The idea is bolstered by the hypothesis that one needs to "try" a new food anywhere from 10-15 times before he or she will like it. I don't really know where this hypothesis came from but, I read it somewhere and it seems like a good enough reason to continually hoist foods on my child that she claims* not to like. Occasionally she'll try to get out of trying something but generally a somewhat stern, "You know the rule..." works and when it doesn't, we're not above saying, "That's what's on the table and if you want something else, you'll have to try what we've offered." So far, it hasn't failed.

... Except...

Now she's turning it around on us and it's hard, no virtually impossible, to say no when we know we're setting an example or when she's just waiting for one of us to give her an excuse to say no herself.

Example: We arrived home after visiting my parents for a few days and since the fridge was empty and it was already well-past lunchtime, the most expedient and appealing thing to do was go out. We landed at Andina, a favorite. Prior to your order arriving, they offer you bread and three dipping sauces: One a slightly spicy, peanut sauce, the 2nd, a spicier, fruity concoction and the 3rd, something so spicy I don't actually remember what it tastes like. Yes, spicy food is too much for me; I admit it. Anyway, I love the peanut sauce, delicately enjoy the 2nd and steer clear of the green stuff. Not today. Q looked at me and said, "Try it!" with glee in her eyes. I'd made the mistake of telling her not to eat it because it was spicy; that it was too hot for me. I sealed my fate with those words and soon found myself skimming a piece of bread over the spicy sauce trying for only the slightest bit to stick to the bread.

Today isn't the first time and it certainly won't be the last ... now, how to fool her...

* I say claims because frequently she'll like something one day, hate it the next and then want it again the next day. It's genuinely difficult to keep up with her changing preferences. Right now she's decided she no longer likes pasta with red sauce when only a month ago, she wouldn't go near the white sauce. One day she'll eat mussels, raw oysters and clams and the next day, blech. The one thing I can't seem to keep her away from is salsa, lately anyway.

Tripadvisor.com

I love tripadvisor and I use it frequently both for the reviews that others write and to write my own. I'm currently planning a trip and scouring reviews. Some reviews are terrific, even-handed and a fair assessment and others...

Ugh.

There are those who expect the moon if they are paying over $5 for a hotel stay.

There are those who don't bother completing the profile page (I don't need a picture but a little something about the writer helps when I'm trying to figure out how legit the only review you've ever written on the site is).

There are those who never write a positive review, ever (frequently overlapping with those above).

I try to be generous about spelling and grammar but it's not always easy to take a negative review seriously when the third sentence in:
"I had took my SUV to valet parking, took my ticket from the attendant and proceeded upstairs to the ballroom."

...further down, the same person writes:

"Out of a crowd of people, mainly Caucasian and Oriental"

(really, WTH uses the term Oriental for Asians anymore? This reviewer signed up, wrote one review and nothing again.)

My favorite reviews are those that offer pictures of the room reviewed, view from the room (with room # please!) and any particulars important enough to comment on (for instance, if you complain about rusty fixtures, post a pic). I admit, I don't always post pics, although I'm trying to do it more frequently. I'm not interested in pictures of your honey or your cute-as-a-button, wee one but of things the hotel website won't show. ... Speaking of which, the pics on VBRO of various monuments or other fantastic points of interest aren't helpful when you're trying to sell me on your apartment; I know what the Eiffel Tower looks like, thank you; I'm interested in your apartment so I can go see the Eiffel Tower in person.

Reviews that offer good and bad points, neither hysterical over something minor nor overly excited because you've never left your hometown before, those are useful reviews.

Really, if a $49 parking charge in the middle of downtown San Francisco at a luxury hotel destroys your entire stay, don't stay at a luxury hotel in downtown San Francisco. If the view of the ocean overrides a $1600 night's stay in a falling-down-roach motel that makes Motel 6 look like a 5-star resort, something is wrong with your idea of value. And a glowing (in its entirety) review of "I am not sure where to begin....it was heaven on earth....can't wait to go back...a little expenseive but worth it" gives me less information than the hotel website.

Also useless are the reviews by people whose entire stay is ruined because they weren't allowed to smoke in non-smoking rooms, bring their children into 21 and over bars or find a McDonald's while in Tahiti.

I like pros & cons lists. I like reviews that include tidbits the reviewer may not care about but someone else may (like laundry facilities, handicap access, long distances, night life or lack of, is it more kid-friendly or honeymoon-friendly or somewhere in between, dress codes, wireless, etc). If a hotel restaurant is particularly spectacular or awful, make a brief note of it and review it separately and more thoroughly under the restaurant listing, the same can be said of any particular dish at the restaurant (especially if it's really, really good!).

Ok, rant over. Thanks for listening.