Las Vegas' sad state of affairs

We just returned from a short stay in Las Vegas, my first visit there since 2006 and one of many visits over the past 25 years. I can't help but think this place is losing much of its charm and class. What once had a sort of earnest entrepreneurial feel, now seems a lot more like greed run amuck. We stayed on the north end of The Strip, also known as Las Vegas Boulevard, right across the street from the bankrupt Fontainebleu Hotel/Casino complex. Work stopped on it about a year ago when the developer ran out of money.

Mothballed Fontainebleau

Just down the road, past the decaying Circus Circus, the massive Echelon complex sits abandoned, it's sprawling series of buildings behind a tall fence on acres of prime Vegas real estate. A story in the local paper today said Marriott may come to the rescue if the project can ever be completed.

Farther down the strip in the midst of a collection of glass towers, the Cosmopolitan is nearing completion and work is actually moving ahead. A wide swath of financial disaster fueled by a belief that there was no end to the money that would roll into the city if only the facilities were built. This is a city that is visibly hurting and badly in need of direction and vision.

Some of the new places are nice, but in general, the tacky is winning out over the classy. The classic hotel casinos still remain, like Caesars Palace, the Bellagio and Steve Wynn's twin towers. But a lot of the rest of it is decaying junk or worse, new junk. The Miracle Mile shopping center is a prime example of the latter. Hunkered up against Planet Hollywood (formerly the Aladin), the place offends most of my senses -- a load, tasteless temple to consumerism.

Vegas has grown so fast in recent years that it's lost its sense of perspective, not to mention esthetics, quality and certainly direction. The schlock is starting to win out. And it's too bad because this once was a classy city that attracted classy people. Where is the civic leadership? Where is their sense of shame?

Better ideas rock

You don't always have to be first. Sometimes, just having a better idea is enough. Here are some examples:

My son needed a new notebook computer, but he also has a growing family and is moving into a new house. So, he opted for an iPad. Today, HP admitted that iPad sales are hurting its notebook sales. Geee, do you think. I love my iPad. It's a great product and I use it as a companion to my notebook, but for many, many people, it's all they need. Apple saw an opportunity in the market and introduced a brilliant product, catching the old guard PC industry napping . . . again. Does this sound familiar? Can you say iPhone? People like that kind of initiative when it empowers them.

I recently switching from Supercuts to Great Clips. (Sorry, I'm not a salon type of guy who has $50 to spend on one of life's necessities every few weeks.) Last time I was at Supercuts, the floor was peeling up, the outlets didn't all work and the staff was listless and bored. At Great Clips, not only is the staff enthusiastic and motivated, but they actually use computers so they know your preferences and who you are. People like that. Supercuts stayed in the analog world. Great Clips is providing better customer service by using technology and won me over.

A little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in our neighborhood has carved out a great niche by cooking great food and pricing it right for eat-in, but mostly take away. It's called Hapa Grill and the food is seriously good for around $7 a meal. They keep it simple -- great food at a great price. You get tired of pizza after awhile and their Hawaiian/Asian Fusion fare is something different. People like that.

It is this kind of innovation that will lead us out of the economic dumpster. It's happened before and will happen again. Just give it a little time.

Let's go Yankees!

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Lantana

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Scandinavian Festival Junction City

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Stoller Vineyard family picnic

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Big Al's Opens in Beaverton

We attended the "soft" opening of Big Al's tonight. At $15 apiece, they raised $15K for the Beaverton Police. 

This place is a bit hard to decipher. It's part adult and part kid. It's also BIG. So let me just run through what I liked, what I didn't like and what I couldn't figure out.

• This place is primarily about bowling. There are two bowling alleys and they're both very nice. But it's not like an old time bowling alley because it's not just bowling. We didn't bowl because the lines were too long. Better to come back later and try that. 
• The building is well laid out and organized. The games (mostly for kids) are upstairs. The bowling and sports bar are downstairs. 
• The food tonight was not great and barely good. But, it was a buffet. At $15, a buffet isn't going to be good, just OK. This worried me a bit. I hope this isn't any indication of what it'll be like on a regular basis.
• The Sports Bar is fabulous and to me the highlight of the place. It's like Vegas. A big terraced room with tons of tables and booths. The whole back wall is video screens and there are nine altogether, including one big one in the middle. In addition, there's a ticker with game updates and stats running across the top. This will be a great place to watch NFL, assuming they get all the games and have sound on the feature game. 
• The mobile phone reception is awful in the place, at least for AT&T.
• There was no wifi and I would consider that a HUGE oversight and a must add. People are too hooked on their phones and want to be abel to use them even if the reception is crappy. 
• When we asked about the menu for NFL Sunday mornings, we got kind of a blank stare. Not sure they're planning on serving breakfast on Sunday morning. Another potential massive oversight. They could essentially keep people there for three meals on Sunday IF they play their cards right AND have decent food. 
• The upstairs game Arcade looks really fun, even for adults. Lots of ways to blow money. 

Overall, Big Al's is a helluva beautiful place and it should do well if they can draw decent crowds during the week and not only on weekends. It's also about a mile from our house, so you can't complain about that. We will absolutely give it the benefit of the doubt and several tries. But, a beautiful building won't be enough without excellent execution on why people will come there -- to have fun. 

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The promise of Oregon Chardonnay

I just poured myself a glass of Stoller Vineyards 2007 SV Chardonnay. I have long been a Chardonnay fan and am particularly hopeful for the kind of Chardonnays that Oregon will someday produce. Bill Stoller has made a big bet on Chardonnay at his Dundee Hills vineyard where he has planted 60 acres.

I always liked Chardonnay, though I enjoy other white wines as well. But it wasn't until I spent some time in Europe and started drinking the Burgundian Chardonnays that I really got hooked. These crisp, minerally Puligny-Montrachets and Meursaults are in my opinion the best white wines on the planet. (And incidentally if you're looking for those French wines, do stop by Scott Paul Wines in Carlton where they important a bunch of great red and white burgundies.)

If Oregon can make competitive Pinot Noir, why not Chardonnays? To me, this is merely a function of experience and focus and I fully expect the Oregon Chardonnays to only get better and better. Stoller's 2007 is a great example, if it has a bit more oak than I would like. The finish is creamy and long. Lots of honey with some vanilla and tropical fruit highlights. And a complete bargain at $28 if you could find any. The 2008 is still available though the last time I tasted it, I preferred the 2007.

Nikon D90 or Panasonic Lumix GF-1

I'm torn between a DSLR (Nikon D90) and something kind of sleeker and cooler, like the Panasonic Lumix GF-1. I really like the looks of the latter, though it's a bit spendy for what you get. Biggest worry about the Nikon is that I'd not use it as much because it's so big and bulky. Lumix comes highly rated and people who own it love it. Considered a great street camera. What are your thoughts?

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My new eatery

Every once in awhile, you stumble on a gem of an eatery that's so good, you just have to pinch yourself to believe it's real.

A couple of weeks ago, my son was visiting. He's a big Yelp poster and advised me that the highest rated restaurant in Beaverton was in the local shopping center 5 minutes from my house. I had heard it was good, but never tried it. The small corner shop has been a million different things over the years. Usually some kind of modified fast food . . . never something that really compelled to me to give it a try. And since all the previous places went out of business, my guess is they weren't all that good.

So, last Saturday we were in a hurry and needed a quick bite between engagements. I said let's try that place in the shopping center. It's call the Hapa Grill and the fare is fast Hawaiian. And, man is it ever good. I love to discover new kinds of food and believe me this is special. Entrees are in the $7-$10 range with lots of sides and even homemade desserts!

We were both blown away by our meals. I wrote a rave review on Yelp and am planning to go there for chow again tonight. In a way, my biggest worry is that too many others will discover it, they'll outgrow the space and have to move.

If you've not been there, you've got to give it a try.

The embarrassment of the Pac-11

Let's not mince words, Larry Scott is a moron and the Pac-11 presidents should fire him forthwith. The erstwhile Pac-16 commissioner sold the presidents a bill of goods about his ability to achieve dramatic expansion and ended up embarrassing everyone. What a MESS!

This guy was hired by the Pac-10 (before Colorado joined) with the promise that he had what it would take to achieve dramatic expansion of the conference that had become the laughing stock of college and pathetic TV income. Well, Scott got taken to the woodshed by the folks at UT, who turned the Pac-10 invite into more money for themselves and up their chances of increasing their dominance of the Big XII, which is now technically the Big X.

So, what you do now, besides fire Scott? Well, the Pac-11 must make the best of a horribly embarrassing situation. Left at the altar by the Big X, the Pac-11 is now probably forced to go after Utah from the Mountain West. That's the conference that Boise State just joined. Only good thing about that is that it kind of poops in BSU's punchbowl. No alligator tears here.

Scott is getting raked over the coals. He has royally screwed this up and now must figure out how to save face. I don't think it's possible. This one is too far gone. As he learned big-time, Don't Mess with Texas. According to reports, the Texans weren't impressed with Scott in their meetings last night. Gee, what a surprise!

Will Scott the bungler go after anyone else? Does anyone really care? He could go after BYU. Not sure Colorado State measures up or adds anything. After that, it's pretty slim pickings. Boise State is a joke. I mean, can you imagine USC going to Boise State? It ain't happening.

It's probably time to just make the best of a horrible deal. Go get Utah, lick your wounds and decide what to do about Scott after his blundering start.

Shopping . . . big and little

My two favorite places to shop and "discover" stuff are Costco and Trader Joe's.

Wow, you may say, those are two really opposite ends of the spectrum. And, that's exactly right. Costco is good for lots of things -- mostly non-perishables -- while Trader Joe's is purely focused on food and related items. It is the European grocery store that we ultimately fell in love with while living in London. Costco is amazing in its own way and that's mostly for saving money.

I used to think TJ's was expensive until my son turned me around on that. Not only are the prices very, very good, but because the items are packaged in reasonable sizes, you save money by not over buying. And the quality and differentiation of choice is outstanding.

One of my criteria for a great shopping experience is whether it's fun. Both Costco and Trader Joe's hit that mark. And, it has nothing to do with size. It has to do with being interesting and not boring and turning your shopping experience into an adventure. It also has to do with marketing and merchandising and it has to do with the people who work there. Are they interesting? Are they well informed? The other day I bought a bar of soap at TJ's and the dreadlocked clerk said he had just seen a documentary on the man who founded the company that made the soap!

Costco overcomes its size with its focus on quality and amazing customer support and guarantee policies. Costco stands behind products the way Nordstrom once did. For such a huge retailer, this is truly amazing. But, it buys customer loyalty and that's priceless.

Another thing I love about Trader Joe's is that it's not pretentious. Take the wine section. They are proud of the value they bring and often apologetic about recommending a wine that costs more than $10 a bottle. And, if you haven't checked out the recipe section of the newly revamped website, you're missing out. I suspect some turn up their nose at TJ's because "it's too small." But, as we discovered when we lived in London, you really can find everything you really need in a small store.

There are probably a lot more reasons to like both stores, these are just a few of my favorites.

Sonos pioneers music-on-demand market

Sonos is now shipping its new ZonePlayer S5, the first "affordable" device by the company that has rewritten the book on how to enjoy music in your home. Mine is somewhere around City of Industry CA, arriving next week. After years of considering Sonos too expensive, I've fallen and hard. I now have two ZonePlayers and their new spiffy touch-screen remote controller.

The S5 is a self contained unit that includes speakers and all the Sonos magic electronics that allow it to receive music from the Internet and your personal iTunes collection and distribute it wirelessly anywhere in the house. I can anticipate using this outside and when I'm working on a project in the house where I don't want to put in a permanent ZonePlayer.

The rise of Sonos (and newer competitors from Logitech and others) is a testament to how pervasive the Internet has become in our lives and how we're now depending on online access much as we have other utilities in the past. The Internet now powers by computer, music system, telephone and TV. It is my link to the outside world much as the telephone once was. It is saving me oodles of time and money. This is a brand new market and while others are now interested because it's expanding, Sonos owns this territory and it's value has to be skyrocketing. There are even rumors that Apple is interesting in acquiring Sonos.

We are close to the tipping point when this thing just takes off with new players entering and innovating. Expect content to be the next major accelerator which will in turn fuel more adoption of the technology. Current content providers like Sirius and Rhapsody should benefit.

This is another great example of how technology is changing our lives for the better. Sonos has made it easy and even fun to access an almost unlimited library of music easily and quickly. And, it works amazingly well -- easily passing the sniff test for useful consumer electronics.

Expect the content providers also to start cranking up their offerings as they realize this lucrative new market opportunity. Rhapsody, a partnership between Real Networks and MTV, is already on the bandwagon with a pay music service. Pandora is free, but now limits the amount you can listen to before paying a modest fee. You can find and listen to podcasts on Sonos. The potential, however, is virtually unlimited.

Start spreading the news

To all the Yankee faithful who are celebrating today . . .

I wore my official 2009 away jacket to work today. It's a great trophy and rememberance from the Championship 2009 season. I couldn't be prouder of a group of guys. They started out rough, pulled it together and took home all the marbles -- no easy feat, especially when you consider the world had counted them out after Game 1 of the World Series.

This will go down as one of the great Yankee teams, built in the tradition of the Bronx Bombers. They will also be remembered as the team that won it all the first year in the new Yankee Stadium, just as they did in 1923 in the old Yankee Stadium. It was mix of old timers and newcomers. They started out stumbling and trailed Boston at the All Star break. But, the pitching finally jelled and they not only overcame the Sox, but won going away.

After years of free agent busts, the Yankees struck it rich in the off season. Sabathia

was impressive and dependable. Burnett was not, but he did come through enough times to make a difference. Pettitte was a great addition. Teixeira had a horrible series, but more than carried his weight to get them there, leading the American League in home runs. And A-Rod. No one will call him Mr. Choke ever again. In many ways, he was the MVP of the series. Jeter gets his fifth ring and A-Rod gets his first. For all the newcomers this year, it was a huge reward for joining a team that was anything but a certain winner when the season started.

And, hats off to Joe Girardi. He took the blows, but in the end did it his way. He now has four rings, three as a Yankee catcher in the 1990s. This one was a long time coming, but worth every ounce. A few more tweaks in the off season and these guys will be even harder to beat next year.

Election provides few if any insights

Yesterday's off-off year elections are being over analysed. Hard to reach much into them. Sure, the Rs appear to have gotten a leg up by winning governorships in Virginia and New Jersey, but they also took it on the chin in New York, losing a House seat that they'd held since the mid-19th century. My perspective is that the candidates still matter. It's not just party label -- unless of course, you're a member of the deep core and only vote a party ticket.

In both Virginia and New Jersey, which are largely Democratic states, the Republicans won by appealing to the middle (independents) who swing back and forth and decide close elections. It's how Obama won comfortably last year. To them, it's about the candidates more than party affiliation, since they don't buy into the dogma of either party and vote for the best candidate or sometimes vote against a bad one.

Moving on to the ballot referals. Maine voted down gay marriage. But, Washington refused to reject a law expanding the rights of same sex couples. Both votes were close. This may just reflect the demographics in Washington and its strong Democratic registration. As the voting population continues to skew younger and Western, expect to see more votes that favor gay marriage and same sex couple rights. It's inevitable because that's the point of view of young people today.

Washingtonians also rejected draconian spending limits. While comparisons may be tough to make, that has to be somewhat encouraging to Oregonians who oppose repealing the tax increases on business and the wealthy imposed by the last Legislature and on the ballot in January.

The most interesting race, however, was in upstate New York where Bill Owens appears to have defeated his conservative opponent, Douglas L. Hoffman. Hoffman was hand picked by the right wing of the party after they rejected the local Republican nominee. This is a huge blow to the Dick Armey branch of the conservative movement that has its eyes on using this scheme to defeat moderate (normal) Republicans elsewhere in the country. What they didn't bargain on is the fact that his could split the party and open the door to a Democrat. They are targeting other races in 2010, including some incumbents. This is just another example of how the ultra-conservative, evangelical wing of the party is in deep trouble and on its way out.

Why Republicans don't have a sense of humor

Good discussion in The New York Times' Caucus blog (and in print) today of the rising partinsanship among broadcast news networks. The blog examines the recent decision by the Obama White House to start cutting Fox News out of the action when it can discriminate such as in situations where there can only be a small pool of reporters. This is sort of tit for tat for things like Fox's decision not to air President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress on health care. (Ironically, it was during this speech that Joe Wilson became a right wing hero when he shouted "liar" during the speech.)

Anyone can see that Fox hardly lives up to its moto of "fair and balanced." And as is evidenced from the stats, most Democrats, now the solid majority of people in America, rarely watch it. I used to watch it occasionally earlier in the decade when its demographics were more evenly balanced, but it's now become just too nauseating and blantantly biased. More than any other so-called news network, Fox is much closer to propoganda than news.

On the other hand, CNN (home of the hated Larry King) has become the favorite network of liberals and Democrats. And, in fact, the same is true of MSNBC, CNBC, Headline News and Comedy Central. All of which goes to show you that Republicans don't much like coverage that attempts to tell both sides of the story, nor do they have much of a sense of humor.

Apple may have more of a fight on its hands

Apple may find themselves with a bigger battle on their hands than they previously thought. I got the "gold" install on my work computer over the weekend and Windows 7 is even better than I expected it to be. I've been using a late beta version since May. Most things worked well with the exception of some sound drivers and IE8. I'm happy to report that both of those glitches are now fixed with the shipping version of the OS.

I would echo the perspective of Microsoft's television ad campaign. Simplicity and efficiency. I also think the shipping version of the OS has been accelerated over the one I was using, which makes it even greater. You can get so much done with this OS that you find yourself wondering what to do with your computer. It's just slam, bam and you're done. Never thought I'd actually say this about a PC, but it's downright joyful to use.

Apple is hitting the airways hard with new versions of its "same old" ads (I'm a PC and I'm a Mac). Some are clever, but they're really not that funny anymore because Windows 7 really has shattered most of the myths of Vista and previous versions of Windows. This is a no-nonsense, bread-and-butter OS that is solid as a rock, reliable, fast and the best news of all -- you can buy it on a new PC that's about half the price of what you'd pay for a comparable Mac.

No question, the new MacBooks are beautiful. They're almost works of art. They are fine design and work well, too. I've ordered a new Toshiba Satellite T135 notebook. I have connections and this is what they recommended for the type of notebook I wanted (light and portable). It's thin and light and weighs less than a comparable MacBook. Now, it's not as pretty, and I may not be as cool, but will work just as well if not better. And I can extend the warranty for two additional years for $116. Apple charges $249 for the same thing with AppleCare. (To be fair, Apple offers more with its great telephone support.)

Yes, there are those who are religious about Macs and PCs. But that is a shrinking base. Most people nowadays just want to get stuff done. I have a long history with PCs even though MFW prefers a MacBook. This is far and away the best version of Windows or any other OS Microsoft has ever invented. Combined with today's impressive hardware and rock-bottom prices, it's a steal. You should have no concerns about getting stuff -- and a lot of it -- done with the new Windows 7 computers hitting the market now.

In daring move, Costco puts Gore on cover

If you haven't seen the most recent issue of The Costco Connection, check it out (the current issue isn't online yet). Al Gore is the cover and the lead story. It's a great iconic photo and the story discusses his ideas on energy and how we deal with energy issues in the future.

This seems like a bit of a risky move for Costco, which avoids controversy and if anything skews to the right in its book selections. I've got no idea what the circulation is though it has to be in the millions or the demographics of its customers, but I'd guess a pretty good cross section. We do know that the demographics of its shoppers skews toward people with ample disposable incomes. Democrats like Al Gore and believe that he got screwed out of winning the presidency in 2000. Righties hate Gore and don't believe there is any such thing as global warming, therefore people aren't responsible for damaging the evironment -- it just happens on its own.

It is one more example, however, of a company looking at its social responsibility as seen through the lens of its customers. And, it shows how far the discussion of global warming has progressed. Even some Republicans now grudgingly acknowledge that changes are happening though they're not as specific on the cause and don't want to address the problem in any meaningful way (sort of like the health care debate). So, this may not be as much a liberal/conservative issue as it is an acknowledgment broadly that most people, regardless of their politics, now concede that, yes, there is such a thing as global warming and it's a serious problem and one we all have a responsibility to address. Still, not everyone agrees as evidenced by this Costco shopper.

Thank you Costco for raising Mr. Gore's ideas to your customers. It's the responsible thing to do.

Slow-walking and road-blocking

You may be thinking, gee, haven’t the Republicans been awfully quiet of late? I’ve certainly noticed that ever since the embarrassing outbursts during President Obama’s speech on health care reform to the joint session of Congress in September.

But, let’s face it, they haven’t had a lot to crow about. Their big agenda item is jobs. “Where are the jobs?” they ask. So, it’s really the economy stupid and they’re banking on the stimulus package failing (that was their previous message). Well, today’s numbers on GDP (3.5% growth in the third quarter) were more bad news to their cause. It at least proves that the stimulus is stimulating growth and that’s what it’s supposed to do. Despite some questions about whether this growth would have happened without the stimulus, the stock market likes it.

They’ve not shown their hand on health care other than they all plan to vote against it, which will hand the Democrats a huge campaign issue next year. “Republicans don’t want health care reform. Do you agree?” Americans overwhelmingly want health care reform, according to every poll. But, Republicans are going to go on record opposing it.

The only way Republicans win at this game is if they can actually defeat health care reform from passing. But, that doesn’t look likely right now.

So what are the Republicans up to? They support the war in Afghanistan and they oppose health care reform. Perhaps this is helpful. It came to me as part of an email today:

Eighty-one times. So far this year, Republicans have stalled Senate action 81 times. Each time, critical legislation that should have taken two hours has instead taken weeks.

Republicans are not a party of ideas. They’re purely a party of obstinacy. They’re slow-walking and road-blocking for one reason only: to see Democrats fail.

They are doing what they usually do — nothing. Obstructing, and saying “no.” Enough said.

Republican strategy out of touch with today's electorate

I have a theory on the recent Republican strategy to smear and destroy President Obama through the use of lies and half truths, rude and boorish behavior, much of it based on plain old fashioned racism. The GOP faithful are still pissed that Obama won. They're not only sore about this, but can't figure out why. There are certainly enough nut cases in their ranks, so all it takes is a little encouragement from the desperate leadership and you have the kind of mob mentality we've observed recently. It's a little humorous that they've tried to associate Obama with Hitler when in fact their behavior is comparable to how the Nazi Party gained control in Germany.

So, they've set out on an ugly and underhanded campaign to discredit him through any means imaginable. This starts with opposing everything he proposes and ends with mean-spirited and often racist demeaning. No president in our history has been treated as shabbily as he has. Why? A lot of Americans -- and they tend to be conservative -- just don't think a black man can run this country. And, if you had a conversation with one of them they would base it on all the old stereotypes. This is an ugly turn on US politics and one that promises to do long-term harm to the Republican party.

Why? Because the majority of Americans don't buy into it, especially younger voters between the ages of 18-30. They voted overwhelmingly for Obama and continue to support him and the Democratic party because the Democrats represent their point of view on many issues, not just Obama. These aren't the people attending Tea Parties or carrying racially suggestive signs in DC. What they are doing is rolling their eyes at all this nonsense. And, it's not influencing them as is evidenced by these recent poll results which show Obama's approval ratings have taken a startling uptick in the past week. This signals that he has a strong base of support and that his speech to Congress was a big success among open minded Americans. It also signals that Joe Wilson's "you lie" heckling and the kerfuffle over his speech to school kids only harmed the right and made them look petty and small minded. The GOP is moving in the wrong direction by embracing and encouraging the mob. Every day they do this they take another step away from today's reality and paint themselves as old, stodgy and living in the past.

What the rhetoric clearly demonstrates is that the Democrats and President Obama continue to be the part of optimism, hope and abundance while the Republicans stand for negativism, fear and scarcity.

The sad state of America

Paul Krugman's NYT column today lays things out about as clearly as you can. It details with real facts (not lies) how the middle class has been screwed by Reagan and the Bushes. Not to mention the gutting oif our economy. Yet this is all so complex that none of them understand it and one could argue that their plight has made them even more vulnerable to the fear card, which is the only hand the righties know how to play.

Nerd Alert: Verizon FiOS, Sonos update

I've had my Verizon FiOS TV/phone/internet service for more than a month now and have had decent time to check it out and debug. My baseline is: I like the service, it's been mostly good, but there are some hidden issues that they dont' tell you about that might cause you not to buy the service if you knew in advance.

Let me take them one at a time. Internet -- great, no problems. Fast and reliable so far. Phone -- no issues. Like the VM better than Comcast's. TV -- let's talk.

The main issue I've had with TV is short blackouts on HD channels, some worse than others. This is intermittent. Sometimes it's non-existent. Other times it's annoying as hell. The other night it was horrible, blacking out every couple of minutes. This was beyond annoying. So, I called Verizon and waded through their support system that tries very hard to deny you the option of ever talking to a person. But if you know how to get around it, you can outfox the automated system.

Once I got a person, I explained my problem. He told me that HDMI cables are notoriously unreliable (funny, they worked just fine when I had Comcast with the same equipment). He recommended that I switch from HDMI to component. I did and it fixed my problem though it took me some time to rewire my system and change all the connections in my Onkyo audio/video receiver. The picture seems fine and no more annoying blackouts. Some online research indicated that there's not much difference if any between the two and component may actually be better in some situations. So, though I have more cables snaking around, I have a good HD picture again.

When they installed FiOS, they set it up with an HDMI cable! Perhaps the tech support guys should talk to the installers. Also, apparently this is a problem with the Verizon (Motorola) cable box because HDMI works fine on our second TV which has a different box (no PVR). Becasue I like the service when it works and the additional channels I get on Verizon and the cheaper price I'm willing to work with their technical challenges. Others with less technical acumen or patience might not.

Sonos
This will be short because I LOVE MY SONOS SYSTEM. I love it partly because it's so elegant and IT JUST WORKS. Not sure I've ever been so enthusiastic about a consumer electronics product. It just rocks.

OK, enough of the slobber. I just got the new Controller 200. Wowowowowowow! This is quite the well thought out and built remote device. I absolutely love using it. It's small, has a great display and touch screen and is fun to hold and use. I now do more with my Sonos system (ZP90 and ZP120) because of the new controller. The old controller is going to find a great home as part of a brand new Sonos system my son's getting for his birthday.

Seriously, if you've not looked at and considered this system, you're nuts. It's just amazing and the support and customer attention is stellar -- beyond any other brand I've ever dealt with and that includes Costco and Nordstrom. Period. And even for those who can be intimidated by tech gear, Sonos is brain dead simple. You won't need the Geek Squad to set it up. It will just work. I promise.

As an evangelist of cool new technologies and gadgets, I love to be able to pass on my learnings and recommendations on the best new products out there.

Change or die

I've been watching the health care debate and sometimes wondering if I'm nuts. I'd really like to know the inside story on the Obama administration's strategy which has been broadly debated and criticized by opponents and proponents.

Here are my baseline thoughts:

• Many, many Americans, especially those who've joined the mob scene at town hall meetings, are ill informed or stupid or both. They are lapping up the right-wing lies and distortions and then demonstrating their lack of ability to grasp complex issues by getting hysterical at the meetings. Not to mention, they have no interest in engaging in dialog. To them, dialog is shouting and emotionally flipping out.
  
• Change is great in concept and as a campaign theme. Doing change is much, much harder. No one likes to have their cheese moved. And when you actually do change, it's very upsetting. Even if you hint at change, it conjures up all kinds of fears that things won't be the same and when things aen't the same, that's bad to many people.
• The politicians are mostly rubish. They are lazy self-centered whores. They are so focused on re-election that they don't bother to find out the real facts, just spout half truths and out and out lies. This is despicable and reprehensible. But, it is the political system we've created and we live with.
• Obama needs to get tougher and call a spade a spade. It's time to go partisan and get this thing done. To hell with trying to please the opponents because no matter what he does, he will never please them. Yes, he's trying to end the political divisions, but when the opposition is only focused on defeating everything he proposes and actually hates him, forget it. Move on.
  
• The behavior of the right-wingers (shrinking Republican base) is embarrassing to the country and to them. Packing guns to political rallies -- give me a break! This is basically macho bullshit wrapped in the Second Amendment. It's complete crap and it's only demonstrating to the real majority how wacko they are. Obama won the election largely because the well-educated and thoughtful young voters called bullshit on the "establishment" that elected George Bush and they said enough. They're saying enough about this as well. The perception that there's widespread support for the town hall nut cases is way overblown.
  
• A few goofy people have raised the temperature on this debate way beyond any sense of reality. I'm glad Obama and his family are taking a much-deserved vacation and letting this all cool down. He has done a lot and worked super hard for the past seven months. He deserves some time off.
  
• The righties will continue to use any excuse to demonize the President because they hate him and will do anything to get him out of office including things I don't want to mention here. They are in their sunset days and they know it. Desperate people resort to desperate means. They have no ideas, no leaders only hate and a "let's not change anything mantra." Well, the world is and has been changing in dramatic ways. Message to everyone: Change or die.
  

Back in the old neighborhood

Well, we're back and it seems in many ways like we never left. Same neighbors, same running routes, same annoying traffic though I have noticed that there's a lot more of it. We once seemed to live in a pretty quiet and calm traffic area. Since they pushed through the main road in front of our house to connect with another main road, traffic and traffic accidents seem to be way up.

Not much turnover in the retail establishments, which is surprising considering the incredible shakeout caused by the economy. My theory that people will shop closer to home must be accurate. Even the bad restaurants are still around. Or maybe it's that my tastes have changed since returning from 2.5 years living abroad.

We've had to remove the big trees (flowering pears) in front of our house because they have a disease and are pushing up the sidewalks. They had a good 20-year run and probably shouldn't have been picked by the city in the first place. They're being replaced by much smaller and slower growing trees that hopefully have fewer and more easily managed leaves. We'll see.

Progress on the unpacking moves apace, but we're now down to the hard part -- things you haven't seen or needed for years, but you still have around. That means you have to go through all the boxes and sort out what to keep and what to get rid of. We are getting rid of lots. That's our default position on everything. Pare, pare, pare. Less is more. Simplify your life. Unclutter. Purge. We still have a few big pieces of furniture and a small storage unit to deal with as well. But, it's the boxes that are still all consuming. What could be in them?

Yesterday MFW opened a wrapped package and found a suitcase that contained my long missing cuff link collection. Good until all the double cuff shirts I bought in England wear out. The charger for the camera that I'd given up on finding and bought a replacement for turned up as well. Now I have a spare.

Now that we can actually move around in most of the rooms, time for the finer details, like picking out the art we want to hang so we can make decisions about what we don't want and what doesn't fit. We have too much, but parceling that out will be easy. One can never have too much art. It just lets you pick what you really like the best and rotate more often.

Our weekends have been crazy since we moved back in. Though we're not doing anything this weekend, it's not time to rest. We have a long list of projects. If we get to 80% of them, we'll be doing well. And one of the most important is to take some time to go see a movie (free AC and it's supposed to be hot, hot this weekend). Hmmm, what to see. I want to see Bruno, but have heard mixed reviews on it. Saw that the Royal Family in England is getting a private viewing. Must not be that bad if the Queen is planning to see it.

Now, this is going to be weird

We are about to move back into our house after living elsewhere for three years. Wow, that's a long time and it will involve three moves total for the round trip since we left in August 2006.

Some observations:

• The neighborhood hasn't change much except that the curb trees have gotten a lot bigger and now need to be cut down and replaced because the city in all it's wisdom specified the wrong ones in the first place. (Then they want to charge you $75 for a permit to correct their mistake.) All of our close by neighbors are the same, just older.
  
• Lawns don't take care of themselves. Ours is now on life support after three years of renters. The landscape guy said to give it six months to see if it comes back with some TLC (like water!).
• Little things mount up. A loose screw here, lack of cleaning and dusting there. Pretty soon things fall off or turn to very stubborn grime. I've always believe that half of life is showing up and the other half is paying attention. When something doesn't look right or sound right, check it out and have it fixed -- now. Or it'll just get worse and cost you more down the road. Deferred maintenance is a prudent idea only for so long.
  
• The house seems so big compared to where we've lived the past three years and especially while it's empty. The temptation will be to overfill it -- again. We got rid of a ton of stuff when we moved, so hopefully we have a new religion on stuff. It will fill up fast and despite all the stuff we purged when we moved out, we are going to need to purge even more.
  
• We've made enough changes that it will feel like a new old house to us. Familiar, but different. We're moving the rooms around to get more value from our investment (are houses still an investment?). No more living room. That was the room that collected dust and little used furniture. People felt forced to go in there when we had too many house guests. The too-small family room will become the just right dining room. And, the living room/dining room will become the very big and comfortable family room.
  
• We're getting more energy efficient with a new 95% efficient furnace (the old one died a year ago) and considering replacing more windows. Already went for the cordless electric mower to pamper the ailing lawn.
  
• We always hated the white cook top, so it's been replaced with a very sleek black model. Ditto on the refrigerator. Black to replace the disappointing stainless steel version. Stainless steel anything seems like a great idea in the appliance store, but our experience is that it's a disaster in the kitchen. Proceed with caution.
• We've already made some new rules about "stuff." The pantry can only be half full of food. The other half is for non-food items and cooking utensils and appliances. No duplicates. If we've got two of anything, one of them gets given away or goes to Good Will.
• Unclutter. This will be a great test to see if we can cut the clutter for real. If there's no place for something then it goes. We're no longer saving/storing things for "someday." The attic is all cleaned out of packing boxes and carpet remnants and non are going back up there.

Well, this is a start. Once we've lived back in the house for a month or so, I'll report back on how best laid plans are working out.

Change is in the air

Even Republican misrepresentations and scare tactics won't be enough to flaunt the will of the American people and stop the inevitable changes coming in how Americans purchase and receive health care. This is hardly a surprise given how out of touch the GOP has been with the wishes of Americans over the past several years. Those who have had their heads stuck in the sand for years will finally be bowled over by the huge momentum gathering among Americans for health care reform.

A new poll out today and published on the front page of The New York Times shows that Americans overwhelmingly (72%) support a government-run health care option as a prime means of driving down the cost of health care. It's particularly telling that opponents in Congress don't even have a majority of their party behind them as 50% of Republicans favor the option.

We will continue to see the Fear Card played as the primary reason for not reforming health care, but the truth is that the opponents have no solutions or proposals. They just want to stand for the "haves" in an era where they are increasingly endangered species. The "no" option is ringing hallow with most Americans who understand that change is not only needed, but required. We cannot continue to prop up a bloated and out of touch health care system that does not act in the interest of the vast majority of its constituents.

Despite all the arguments about how awful health care is in other countries, there's no denying the data which show that life expectancy in countries with government health care (France, Italy and Canada) is higher than in the US. We are paying more for less and the American people are saying enough. Now it's up to our politicians to put our wishes into action. This is another ticking time bomb for Republicans in particular. Their argument has no clothes since they can hardly say it's not broke. In the end, they're left with their default argument -- be afraid, be very afraid.

Costco to sell only 90+ wines under $15?

Costco is denying a rumor published in Examiner.com that it plans to sell only wine which receives a rating of 90 points or higher and sells for $15 or less. Speculation was based on a recent study of Italian wine drinkers that showed that they maintained the same quality of wine they were drinking in better economic times, just drank less of it. Americans are drinking the same amount, but drop down a step in price.

From discussions I've had with my friends, I would say this is accurate of many American wine drinkers. This does point out one of the dilemmas facing the wine industry since it's also believed that once people trade down, they tend to become comfortable there and don't move back up.

Also interesting speculation on the wine drinking habits of millennials. They don't care about scores, but are focused on value and prefer regional labels.

Shaving the old fasioned way

With Father's Day coming right up, it's a good time to offer my best gift suggestion for Dad. This is something I discovered while living in London and absolutely fell in love with. Shaving the old fashioned way with hard soap and a badger brush.

I'd always shaved with foam or gel -- something that comes out of a can. I'm not even sure what compelled me to give old fashioned shaving a try. I think I was in a store, like Evelyn & Crabtree, one day and started asking questions. One thing led to another and I gave it a try. Shortly after that I bought a kit for my son-in-law and he, too, loved it.

You basically need two things -- shaving soap and a good shaving brush. Not only do I get a much closer, smoother and enjoyable shave using the soap and brush method, but the soap lasts forever. I'm still on the original soap and mug I bought in September 2007 and I use it every day except when traveling! I expect it'll last several more months. So, from a pure cost standpoint, it's a great deal.

I use the hard soap that often comes in a mug, but you can buy the soap and mug separately. Soap refills are relatively inexpensive and can be ordered online. I've not used Amazing Shaving, but plan to give it a try. I recommend the hard soap because it'll last much longer. But, you can also get a soft soap that is more like a lotion. I like creating the lather from really hot water. I just use a normal Gillette razor.

Here's what Amazing Shaving says about shaving soap:

Shaving soaps provide a longer lasting lather, warm the face and are hygienic; they improve skin circulation; they’re 100 percent biodegradable; and most important, they just smell so darn good.

Shaving soap cakes are generally easier to use and provide consistently good results. They also typically cost less than shaving creams.

A good quality shaving soap will have the ingredients necessary to produce a rich moist lather to soften the beard, moisturize the skin and lubricate the face to make it easier to slide the razor across your skin.

The brush is the key piece and the most expensive. You can pay hundreds of dollars for a really good or fancy one. The best ones are made from badger hair. I paid about $50 for mine and bought it at Portland Cutlery on SW Broadway near Pioneer Place. It seems to work well, but there are probably better ones. You'll also need a stand for the brush since it should hang to dry properly. They come in all sizes, shapes and materials.

So, before you get Dad one of those electric shavers, consider stepping back in time when men where men and they used real soap and straight razors. I can almost guarantee you he'll be delighted with his gift.

Chardonnay search

Still in search of the great American chardonnay. The Wall Street Journal last week did its annualish survey of affordable US chards and they liked Newton Red Label, Chalone, Clos du Bois (get it cheap at Costco), Heller Estate and Simi. Overall, they felt that while chards have improved some from their last tasting, the 2007s still leave a lot to be desired.

I'm going to try Costco's Kirkland Chardonnay and will report back. It's currently in stock at our Costco for $8.99. May pick up the Clos du Bois as a comparison as well.

New Costco discoveries

After being missing from the shelves for a month or more, Costco finally has Purell hand sanitizer back in stock. This is the waterless hand wash that is so wonderful when you can’t get to a bathroom or the one you can get to is so disgusting you refuse to use it. For $10.99 you get three pump containers and three small personal sizes to fit in a purse or briefcase.

My guess is that there was a huge run on Purell during the Swine Flu panic. Now, Purell seem to have caught up with demand. This stuff works great and is a must for traveling.

With Fathers Day, anniversaries and graduations cramming the calendar this month, don’t forget about Costco’s restaurant gift cards. They’ve got a bunch, but I picked up two $50 certificates for McCormick & Schmick’s for $80.

Costco also has a nice selection of designer ties and ballistic pinpoint button-down dress shirts for $16.99. This is another Kirkland brand item that simply can’t be beat for quality and value at a great price. Everybody should have a blue one and a white one. They are classic in any wardrobe.

Also, look for Kirkland Napa Chardonnay. I’ve tried this before and it was what I call interesting and worth every penny at $8.99. I’ll report back after trying again.

Finally, the shelves were nearly bare of notebook computers, very unusual for Costco. So, I asked the salesman why and he said they will be fully stocked on June 26 when new computers arrive with Windows 7 upgrade coupons. They will come with Windows Vista installed, but you’ll get a free copy of Windows 7, Microsoft’s new operating system, when it’s available in October. This may finally be the “buy” sign new computer purchasers have been waiting for. I’ve been using Win7 for about a month now and can vouch for what a solid product it is. If you’ve been holding back on a new computer, now is the time to buy.

Latest gadget, but it may be the best

Since I decided to take the plunge and sign up for Sirius satellite radio, I've truly fallen down the Internet radio rabbit hole. And, I'm loving every minute of it. About a month ago, I took the next big step and bought a Sonos player primarily so I could get my Sirius service off the Internet and not have to worry about the quirkiness of the temperamental antenna.

So, I should first explain exactly what Sonos is and how it works. It's been around for a few years and I had always thought of it as a solid though expensive way to share music around your house and certainly cheaper than wiring the whole place. Believe me, I've been there, done that and it's a giant pain in the rump and the wallet. But, what I didn't realize is that Sonos is so much more than just a way to distribute music. It's also a gateway to Internet music and if you've not experience it, you are in for a real treat.

The Sonos device (I have a ZonePlayer 90) connects to the Internet via your wireless router. Just plug and play, no passwords, user names, etc. It then sends its output through my AV receiver. But that's just the half of it. You can buy additional ZonePlayers, with and without amps, that you can put in other rooms and connect to speakers. The music is transmitted wirelessly and it's great quality. But, there's more. You can play different music in every room and indpendently control the volume in each room. You can put together a system like this for around $1k.

The Sonos comes with its own hand-held controller or you can download a desktop controller that runs on your computer or you can download the controller app to an iPhone or iPod Touch free. The controllers are all excellent and give you vast control over a massive music library.

So, enough with the equipment. It's all about the music. Not only can I access Sirius and my iTunes library, but Internet radio and Internet music services such as Pandora (free), Napster, last.fm and Rhapsody. I sometimes wonder why I even bother with the iTunes anymore. I can literally find anything I want and play it instantly online. Or, you can build your own stations with the artists and songs you love most. Just put them together, tailor them and play them. You can even pass your playlists along to others on Pandora. Sonos also lets you build custom playlists drawing from all your music sources. Amazing.

My guess is that a music snob with amazing equipment would find fault with the quality of the music over the Internet. Most services are at 128kbps. Rhapsody is at 192kbps. But for relaxing background music while you're entertaining or just hanging out, it's more than just fine. If you're a music lover and if you like all kinds of music as I do, this really can't be beat.

Geek Warning! Why I'm liking Windows 7

I was lucky enough to have our tech services department put Windows 7 on my work notebook a couple of weeks back. It has been a pleasant surprise, and outside of a couple of issues, I'm liking it quite a lot and believe it will do wonders to help erase some of the bad blood generated by Vista.

For starters, this is a much lighter weight OS than Vista. It takes megabytes less space on my hard drive. I mean, this is a dramatic difference in terms of the space it freed up. Recently, I had to do a house cleaning because I was reaching the limits to a rather smallish hard drive. But, now, I've got acres of free disk space.

But, the real benefits are how much better it works. Start with start-up and shutdown. Both have gone from agonizingly painful minutes long experiences to something you can actually watch happen while you get situated. I used to go get coffee and even then, it wouldn't always be booted up. Shutdown is equally fast. It also hybernates properly, giving it a much greener footprint. This will be very noticeable to Vista users.

Then there is the new task bar across the bottom of the display. (Hmmmm, wonder where they got that idea.) It's not as dynamic as OSX, but it's super functional and in many ways better. Not only are all your most used apps there, but when you hover over the icon, up pops a list of open and recently used documents. In the case of your browser, you will see all the open tabs.

I also found that saving, finding and organizing documents and files is much easier and faster than in Vista. Not sure what's actually going on here and I think the tweaks are more on the minor side, but they are all good.

My overall impression is that this is a very solid OS that users will like a lot and that will be very competitive. It is simple and solid and "just works." It doesn't seem as fancy as Vista, but much more utilitarian. It took me no time to get used to it and start working faster.

So, if you're in the market for a new computer you've got two choices -- either buy a Vista machine now and upgrade it or wait a few months and get a Windows 7 machine. There is no release date announced yet, but since the release candidate is out, it shouldn't be that long and it would make good sense to get these computers out for the back-to-school guying season. And, paired with some of the super duper pricing out there now on new computers, you will have yourself quite a bargain.

Windows 7 is going to be big and is going to help Microsoft a lot.

Why we can't all just get along

I walked by an empty cubicle the other day and noticed a copy of The Economist lying on the desk. Though it was a couple of weeks old, I couldn't resist picking it up and thumbing through it. It's a magazine I've subscribed to on and off for years, most recently during my years in London. If you've never heard of it (gasp) or never read it, you need to get a copy -- for your own well being if for no other reason. You can get a discounted copy at Costco.

With so much crap going on around us in the world, it's just nice to sit down and absorb a reasoned and well written point of view. It's more than food for thought. It's consoling. The coverage is global. I know this is somewhat of a foreign concept to most navel gazing Americans. But it gives a world perspective despite the fact that it's a British publication. The section on the United States is concise and, well, just excellent. You will read stories that you won't find elsewhere, like the battle to make uranium mining legal in Virginia. Even the writeups of stories you're already familiar with take on a new life with new facts and amazing perspective. It is so well written that it's a joy to read them over again anyhow.

The Economist is not about journalistic egos or heroes, either. The stories are not by-lined or signed even though the magazine is comprised of an excellent staff of writers and editors. And, unlike most other news publications these days, it is not getting hammered by the economy. In fact, both Time and Newsweek have announced their intentions to remake themselves in the image of The Economist.

A great example of why I like The Economist is the Lexington column, a weekly one-pager on the U.S. The one I just read was headlined: Obama derangement syndrome. It examines the fairly dramatic polarization that is already happening in this country over our new president and how much less likely Americans are to give the new guy a chance than only a couple decades ago. It concludes that this "tit for tat demonisation" is not only poisoning American political life, it is making it ever harder to solve problems that require cross-party collaboration. It now takes an outside perspective to shine the line on how petty and unproductive our political system has become even in the deepest of crises.

How can any educated person not become fatigued if not downright disgusted with today's political scene? I just signed up for a subscription. I know I'll feel better after I start reading it again.

More problems for the Republicans

The more dogmatic you become, the more exclusionary you also become. This fact is just now beginning to dawn on the Republican Party. This is the same party that drove Arlen Specter into the Democratic camp yesterday and is threatening to run off other moderate party leaders.

Republicans are adamantly opposed to gay marriage. Like abortion, it is one of their litmus tests. Many still cling to the belief that being gay is an illness that can be cured. Forty nine percent of Republicans say they oppose any kind of recognition of gay unions, let along gay marriage. But the same New York Times/CBS News poll shows that 57 percent of those under age 40 support gay marriage. Only 19 percent of this age group oppose it.

Ooops. Can you say "dangerously out of touch?" Furthermore, more states are making gay marriage legal and it's going fairly unnoticed. The reason? No one really much cares anymore.

According to Steve Schmidt, who was the senior strategist for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, "The Republican Party is shrinking. One of the reasons it is shrinking is because there are large demographics in this country that view the party as intolerant or not relevant to them."

Republican blunders just keep on giving

Today was a very big day for President Barack Obama. Not only is he on the eve of an incredibly productive and successful first 100 days in office with soaring poll numbers to prove it, but Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter added the frosting on the cake by announcing that he's joining the Democratic party. Here's what Sen. Specter said of the decision that rocked the capitol today:

“I’m not prepared to have my 29-year record in the United States Senate decided by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate, not prepared to have that record decided by that jury,” Mr. Specter declared in a rather defiant tone at a news conference.

With the inevitable seating of Al Franken, the Democrats will have a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority, making it much easier for the president to get his legislative initiatives through the Senate without being tripped up by the minority party. This has to be a horrible day for the Republicans as they lose their last moderate senator. But, certainly it's a bad day they had coming and richly deserve.

Specter was faced with a difficult re-election battle within his own party. Now, according to experts, he should cruise to re-election as a Democrat in a state where the voter sentiment has shifted sharply to the left in recent years. In this case, the simple truth is that the Republicans drove Specter out of their party and now they will get to pay the price -- just as they are paying the price for so many other short sighted, dogmatic decisions of late. In many ways, these kinds of Republican blunders have become the gift that just keeps on giving . . . to the Democrats

Chateau Montelena tasting

Lynne and I attended a tasting of Chateau Montelena wines the other night at Liner & Elsen in Portland. For those unfamiliar with California wine lore, Chateau Montelena is the winery that produced the chardonnay that rocked the French wine industry in 1976. The story is the focus of the movie Bottle Shock, which is not available on DVD. You can read the whole account on the CM website.

The tasting was hosted by managing director Greg Ralston, a Portland State University graduate who has been with the winery 21 years. We went to the tasting because we had seen the movie on the recommendation of our friends John and Lea. I have to admit the movie was OK and if it hadn't been for the historical significance and my interest in wine, I probably wouldn't have liked it at all. In chit chatting with Greg afterwards, he acknowledged that few things outside of the basic plot of the movie were actually true. There was lots of embellishment for Hollywood's sake. Greg noted that when Montelena was started in 1972 there were 12 wineries in the Napa Valley. By 1978, that had shot up to 112. He said that after the movie was released in August 2008, visits to the winery shot way up and they got more single-bottle orders of chardonnay online, but overall sales did not increase.

But back to the wine. We tasted a beautiful and not overdone zinfandel, six cabernets from 1999 to 2005 and a chardonnay. If there's one thing I took away from the tasting it was that over the years, Montelena has remained true to its heritage and discipline of making table wines that complement food. They have avoided the trends that so characterise California style wines -- from big butter bomb chards to over fruited and hot zins. Greg said that his wines are probably more popular in Europe and other parts of the world than in America for these reasons. The style is definitely more subtle and less fruit forward -- much more in the French style.

I have a lot of respect for this approach and believe that its a viewpoint that many Oregon winemakers also aspire to. I'm particularly impressed with the desire to stick with a French white burgundy style of chardonnay that stays the same year in and year out. This style of chardonnay is an essential part of any well kept wine cellar. It's so classic, crisp and refreshing. A few Oregon wineries are serious about creating a chardonnay in this style, especially Stoller, Chehalem and Domaine Serene.

These are definitely not trendy wines. They are not meals unto themselves and they are not delicious cocktail wines. But, they are great wines, with a great story that will stand the test of the ages even though the winery is less than 40 years old.

Reclaiming America's soul

Paul Krugman of The New York Times in his column today weighs the dos and don'ts of investigating the torture issue and ultimately holding those responsible accountable. This has become a very hot topic after seeming to disappear earlier, mostly because President Obama said he wasn't much interested in dwelling on the past and wanted to move ahead. He now seems to have had a change of heart in large part because of a fierce political debate over whether to investigate or not.

The conservatives, of course, want to move on and sweep it all under the rug. I'm sympathetic to that argument, that you really dont' accomplish much by investigating past misdeeds. And, because there were so many in the Bush administration that could be pretty much a full-time preoccupation of the Obama administration. Unfortunately, they have other problems to solve, the largest of them created by the same Bush administration.

But, there is the statement President Bush made while in office, that "this government does not torture people." That was obviously driven out of a mindset that because your attorneys tell you something isn't torture means it's so. I don't think anyone now believes this to be the case.

Dick Cheney is on a personal crusade to defend the government torture doctrine he helped write. Maybe I'm way off base and these are difficult times, but shouldn't America be better than that? Isn't it really our morale fiber that has made us the strongest nation (not the richest) in the world. Isn't that what real leadership is about -- the ability to acknowledge, examine and admit your mistakes -- and then change your ways?

Is the debate over torture merely politics as some would tell you? Or is it about something bigger, something more fundamental to our values as Americans? I found Krugman's column helpful in sorting this out.

Too good to be true

The Democrats could have only made this up in their wildest dreams. What if the two most despised people in American politics -- Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney -- were to emerge as the leading spokespeople for their cause. Well, son of a gun, that's exactly what's happened. Can you say "playing right into our hands" or "stepping on their own tails?"

That's the scenario that's playing itself out and mostly because these two guys are so stuck on their own egos that they can't stand to take a back seat when their party is hurting and needs anything but their universal unpopularity and polarization to fan the flames of its demise. Gosh the guys in the White House strategy office must be rubbing their hands together and rolling on the floor. Can you imagine the kinds of ideas rolling around in the heads of Paul Begala and James Carville about now?

The Limbaugh thing was kind of predictable. Everyone knows what a blowviator and egomaniac he is. But the Cheney thing comes straight out of left field. This is not the pose of ex-presidents and vice presidents. When they leave office, they're supposed to be statesmanlike. Huh, Cheney a statesman?

I mean what were his approval ratings when he left office? Below 20%? By comparison, he makes Bush look like an American hero. He's got his teeth around the torture issue and he's not going to let go, even if it means the Democrats now have doubled the number of attractive targets they now use to paint the Republican party as extreme and out of touch.

In the gadget room: Hooked on Sonos

As Lynne can attest, I buy and fiddle with too many gadgets, some of which can be incredibly disruptive. She, like most consumers, likes things to work and doesn't like change. Adding the Logitech universal remote was a good move, but very disruptive, mostly because it's really not as easy to use as one might like. But, you can only make controlling four separate devices so easy. Lynne not withstanding.

My latest disruptive technology is Sonos. I've had my eye on Sonos for a long time, but was always put off by the cost and I viewed it strictly as a device to move music around the house wirelessly. I'd heard very good things about Sonos, but never taken the leap. Then we got Sirius satellite radio a few months ago. We are using an indoor/outdoor antenna with mixed results. I'm really kind of a radio nut of often prefer it to TV or sometimes with the TV sound turned off.

With Sonos, I could stream the internet feed of Sirius directly into my sound equipment, but not have to worry about signal interruption. I figure, hey, I'm paying all this money for broadband, I might as well get maximum benefit from it. But, what I didn't realize was that Sonos would also give me access to hundreds of internet radio stations and services likek Pandora and last.fm which are free. Literally, there's nothing I can't find now with a few clicks of the Sonos controller. I now have this huge jukebox in my house. This has opened up a whole new world of entertainment. And, because I only bought one Sonos unit, I'm not even streaming music to any other locations. I expect to do that soon. Oh, and least I forget, you can also play your iTunes library directly from the PC you have it stored on.

Lynne has taken to Sonos pretty well because it's a lot easier to use (she can control it from her PC), and because the benefits are so great. She can find the kind of music she wants anytime. This has turned out to be one of the best gadget purchases I've ever made. I highly recommend it for those who like to listen to music and other radio content such as NPR. I bought mine at Echo Audio in Portland. I can's say enough good things about these guys and how helpful they are in solving your audio problems. They are truly understanding consultants who help you solve problems, not just peddle equipment.

Ugly Americans

We saw our fair share of bozo American antics while living in the UK for more than two years. Traveling abroad soon? Then please read this.

New blog

For those who can't get enough of my infrequent entries updates to this blog, I've started a new venture, errr, blog. It taps into one of my deepest and oldest passions. No, I've not dedicated a blog to Lynne! But I am capturing some of my musings and observations about that great American retail institution, Costco. You can check it out here.

Sarah, Sarah, Sarah

Updater today in New York Times on the goings on of Sarah Palin. Not much new or surprising, but it does chronicle a somewhat bumply return to her day job as governor of Alaska. Not clear that she's really moving the ball on running for higher office. She's set up a PAC, always a good thing for political aspirants.

Politics can be strange as Sarah has already demonstrated. How could anyone have made all this up? But, I don't see her having much staying power, especially from her base in Juneau. I'm sure Barack Obama would love to run against her. But, I'm doubtful she'll still be around when we get to that point.

Professional soccer in Portland

We are planning to buy season tickets to the Portland Timbers as a hedge against getting tickets when the MLS team comes to Portland in 2011. Just read tonight that there still may be some shaky moments before this is a done deal. Turns out there are still a number of financial hurdles that need to be dealt with by Sept. 1. Hopefully, Merritt Paulson not only has the deep pockets, but the deep connections on Wall Street to pull off the deal.

Was in PGE Park last weekend for the OSU-UO baseball game Saturday night. Was fortunate to be in a suite. Once they get the stadium remodeled for soccer, it actually should be a very nice venue. I've not seen detailed plans of the remodel, only a pretty fuzzy sketch that's been published in the local newspaper. It will make a much better soccer stadium than a baseball park. For those who don't know, it was originally built primarily for dog racing way back when.

It has a certain amount of charm and the trains running back and forth on SW 18th Avenue give it a certain European charm. Done right, this could be one of the best venues in the MLS -- assuming they can get their act together financially.

A corner of wine heaven

We went to the Taste Walla Walla last night at the Portland Art Museum. We were overwhelmed and blown away by all the great offerings from this little corner of wine heaven. There is something I can't quite describe about Walla Walla wines. As soon as you put the glass to your nose, you know it's Walla Walla. We visited there four years ago and the area has exploded with new wineries since. As one of the winemakers told me, you really can't go wrong whether it's a $8 botton or a $80 bottle. The quality of the wine making is so good.

This was one of the most enjoyable tastings we've ever attended. While we would have liked to have tasted every offering, it was just impossible. I was impressed with the overall quality of all the wines as well as the reasonable pricing. And, the bonus is that all these wines will age extraordinarily well.

Some of the wineries that stood out to us were:

• Dowsett Family Winery. Loved their dry gewurztraminer.
• Syzygy. 2006 cabernet sauvignon was out of this world with a blood orange finish.
• Three Rivers Winery. Consistent interesting finish on all their reds.
• Trust Cellars. Nice story (former CNN producer who moved to WW) and good wine.

If you've never taken a trip to Walla Walla, I highly recommend it. The wines are beautiful as is the country. The people are welcoming and the price is usually right.

On being a grandparent

So, last Friday Lynne and I crossed that Rubicon of life into grandparenthood. While we join many of our friends we still have many who are not in this elite category.

Of course, the dreaded question is: Do you feel old? I will answer that question, by saying, I feel proud and complete. We've now raised two children. They are both happily married. Both bought homes on the cusp of the housing implosion and now one has brought a new daughter into the world. Officially, Claire Elizabeth was born Friday in St. Louis, MO. Daughter of Tyson and Jana.

It is one of those significant reminders that life moves on and tomorrow will be different from today and nothing stays the same. If I can speak for my better half, Lynne is downright giddy over the newest addition to the family. We feel blessed and are thankful that all has gone well and Claire is looking and acting like a vigorous young lady ready to take on the world. She's alert, eating, sleeping, doing all the right things.

To Claire, we say, We are so happy you've decided to join our family. We can be somewhat wacky at times, but we are a loving, caring, loyal bunch of folks, somewhat like the Herrmanns, but still different. You are very cute and we really like the name your parents chose for you. You make an excellent addition to the family tree. We love you and can't wait to come visit you in your new home.

Gadget time

I can't resist the lure of the latest gadget and that's why most of my friends think of me as Gadget Guy. So, the latest in the collection is the Logitech Harmony One universal remote control. Not sure why I inflicted this on myself, especially at the price, but I couldn't resist after one of my gadgetry friends at work told me he'd gotten one.

My love/hate relationship with universal remotes goes back a long ways. I've certainly poured hundreds of dollars down the drain trying to find one I could actually use. There was the one in London that never worked at all and all attempts to send it back and get a refund proved futile. Thanks Amazon UK!

Then there was the very cool touch device. I think it was called the chameleon. There were no buttons, just a skin that would light up and morph to what you wanted to do. Only problem is it didn't work, was hard to read and whenever you picked it up, it'd do something you didn't want.

The Harmony One has something none of the others have had -- a connection to the internet. This is for setup purposes only, but it assures that it knows about all the gear you're trying to set up. Its data base is constantly current. Also, you set it up on your computer (PC or Mac), so no more fiddling with buttons on the remote itself. Whenever you need to make a change, just plug it back into the computer and make the update.

I only had one problem (so far). I couldn't figure out how to turn everything off. Turns out there's actually a button for this. Duh! Since timing is a key thing with universal remotes, the Harmony has a nifty way of fine tuning that after you've done your initial setup. There is a help button which you can push if things don't work quite right. It will make those adjustments and ask you to test it again until you get it right. Their customer support, which is offered via the phone for only 60 days after purchase, was excellent.

So far, I think I'm going to like this and it'll hopefully allow me to put the other half dozen remotes I have in a box. Now, if I can just convince Lynne that newer is better.

Commuter Cuvee

We all need to be watching our pennies in today's treacherous economic environment. My contribution is a decent pinot noir we stumbled across at last weekend's regular tasting at Haggan's grocery store on SW Murray Boulevard in Beaverton. It's called Commuter Cuvee and is from Grochau Cellars using fruit harvested from the Gypsy Dancer vineyard near Scholls. It's not going to knock your socks off, but it's a decent everyday pinot and at $12 a bottle (plus 10% case discount), it's pretty hard to beat. I suspect this going to go fast.

The winter of our discontent

Never before has the criteria for presidential success or failure been quite so stark. At the same time, never has it been quite so complex and unpredictable. With today's passage of the massive stimulus package by Congress, the die is cast and Barack Obama's presidential scorecard has been carved in stone. We are in the winter of our discontent, doubt and uncertainty.

His presidency and very likely his hopes for a second term will be determined by his ability to lead the country back to economic prosperity or at least close enough that he has the wind at his back when he hits the campaign trail in about three years. From this vantage point, there is hardly a shred of certainty and in fact quite a bit of doubt and pessimism that this will happen. After all, the Republicans have decided to sit this one out and are quietly if not vocally rooting for the recovery to fail. This is politics and frankly, right now they're desperate and it's their only chance. If the country goes into a prolonged economic malaise or even a depression, they win. Any other scenario, they lose. It's a huge gamble, but probably the only hand they have to play.

The next few months in particular, but the next year or so are going to test the mettle of our new president. He's already learned a lot about "changing the tenor" in Washington. The old ways of doing things don't disappear overnight. And the extreme partisanship that has marked the nation's capitol over the past two decades isn't going away anytime soon. Obama extended a hand on the stimulus legislation and they gave him the back of theirs. So much for Mr. Nice Guy.

This is going to be hardball and Nancy Pelosi probably has a better grasp on how this is going to play out than Obama does. Does he want to change the tenor in Washington? Absolutely. Can he afford politically to get kicked and spit on? Absolutely not. I expect him to improve his act over the coming months as we move into a phase where the PR surrounding the recovery will be every bit as important as the data -- at least for awhile. He needs to find his pace on this. Get a little more sophisticated about "reaching out." And crips up those answers at his new press Q&A. (I expect him to have lots of those because he's good at it. Did you know that George Bush II didn't have his first press conference until 11 months into his presidency?)

I expect to see the president basically hitting the campaign trail and highlighting every success he can find almost daily. To some extent, this is now going to become a big PR campaign. And, campaigning is something that Obama does well. It will now be up to him to lift the spirits of the nation. The Republicans have already said this is a bad bill that won't work and they hope it fails, so you can expect the leadership of the party to continue to highlight and celebrate failure and obstruction. Obama can't afford to let the negative and the detractors dominate the news. This ain't going to be easy, either, because the press loves negative news and it's going to keep coming in buckets full for some time.

Obama has a huge opportunity, not only to raise the spirits of the American people and help us soldier through this. But, he can also influence the perceptions of how things are going over the next several months. Early perceptions will be lasting percpetions and that's going to make all the spinning by both parties really interesting to watch.

It will be interesting to see what the Republicans do now. You can expect they will wallow in the gloom and doom and daily remind us that things aren't getting better, aided and abetted by a press focused on every negative statistic. But, what if things get better? Can they claim it's the tax cuts that are making it happen? They have really boxed themselves into a corner and for them success is a simple formula. Success=failure for the rest of us. Think about that. Who loves ya baby?

So, I, the realist, will choose to be the optimist in this one and of course be rooting for our president and for the American people. Is there any other choice? We've all felt the hurt either directly or indirectly. Why would anyone besides a sadist want the hurt and fear to continue? Much good will come out of this trial we are all facing despite the hurt it is and will inflict. Barack Obama has a huge job and there's more at stake than just his political career and reputation. Just as we all rooted for America and our leaders in the aftermath of 9/11, I'm rooting for America on this one.

Will the mall survive?

Sunday's New York Times business section has a major story on America's love affair with the mall and how it's faring in today's dicey economy. While retail in general has been whacked pretty hard by the steep downturn, malls are apparently faring worse than some other retailers.

I've noticed that they don't seem to be building these big mega-malls around here anymore. The last one was built more than 20 years ago. And, the oldest urban shopping mall in the country -- Lloyd Center -- is still chugging along in NE Portland. The new retail clusters are called shopping villages. They're kind of like miniature town centers with streets, lampposts, outdoor cafes, piped in musik, etc. No roof over the sidewalks though they do put out propane warmers when it's cold. They are smaller than malls and therefore less crowded.

Ultimately, depending somewhat on where we go with this economic situation, these may be a halfway move back to good old neighborhood stores -- the kind you can actually walk to. What a concept. Between high energy costs, crowded freeways and cocooning, I do believe we're entering a time when the neighborhood retailer will become important again. People will care more about relationships than driving 50 miles to save a buck. The quality of the shopping experience may become more important than the mall experience.

I was always amazed during our stint in the UK how all the small shop owners stayed in business. They did because they had local customers, people they often knew and had done business with for many years. Will this era return here? I, for one, am hoping it does.