Dog Training

We started a new dog training class tonight with Toby. This is a picture taken in class tonight. This is the second round of training class. It's great to have a well trained dog - we still have a way to go but he is making great progress.


-- Post From My iPhone

Academy of Motion Pictures 81st Annual Oscar Nominations

On Thursday morning of last week the Oscar Nominations were announced! In case you missed it here are the highlights - I've created a link to each area below so take advantage and find out about each nominee. Kent and I have seen all but one of the movies in the best picture category. We have not seen - The Reader - we are going today.

Performance by an actor in a leading role:

Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor" (Overture Films)
Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
Sean Penn in "Milk" (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)

Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role:

Josh Brolin in "Milk" (Focus Features)

Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder" (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

Performance by an actress in a leading role:

Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married" (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie in "Changeling" (Universal)
Melissa Leo in "Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Kate Winslet in "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role:

Amy Adams in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)

Achievement in directing:

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) David Fincher
"Frost/Nixon" (Universal) Ron Howard

"Milk" (Focus Features) Gus Van Sant
"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) Stephen Daldry
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Danny Boyle

Best motion picture of the year:

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
"Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
"Milk" (Focus Features)

"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)

"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight)

Of all the movies listed above in any category I've seen all but eight. I still want to catch Revolutionary Road, Rachael Getting Married, The Changeling, Frozen River, The Reader, and Vicky Christina Barcelona.

Have a good one -

Jim

86-75 win for the Huskies!

Great game and a huge win for the Dawgs! Huskies are alone at the top of the Pac-10. UW may break into the top 25 in the nation in this weeks polls!



Go Dawgs!

Later-

Jim

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8:45 to go!

Dawgs up by 5!

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Update at the Half

What a great first half! UCLA is ranked number 16 in nation and the score at half is UCLA 39 and UW 38! It's been a very physical game! To make things even better at the start of the half the new football coach and staff were introduced! That's him on the big screen.




It's great to be at a Husky game with so much energy and with the team doing so well! Keep your fingers crossed!

Later -

Jim

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Dawg Fight

It's a very physical game and it's going to take all the Dawgs effort to pull out a win.



-- Post From My iPhone

UW vs. UCLA

Big game today in Pac-10 basketball Fight for the top spot in the Pac-10. We are at the game which starts at 1pm. I'll keep you posted!

Later -

Jim





-- Post From My iPhone

Happy Inauguration Day!

Less than two hours to go before Bush is out of office and Obama is our new President! I am so excited for this day for so many reasons. Enjoy this historic moment and celebrate!

Later-

Jim

Visit to Oregon State University

We made a last minute trip to Corvallis Oregon to watch the Husky Basketball team play the OSU Beavers - the Dawgs dominated the second half of the game and won 85- 59 over OSU. We had great time and are impressed that the Dawgs find themselves in a three way tie for first place in the Pac-10 with UCLA and CAL.



For the first time we have made plans and purchased tickets to attend the pac-10 tournament March down in southern California.

We found out that OSU had a wrestling match the next day against Iowa St., the number three team in the nation. We have been watching more wrestling since we added the Big -10 Network to our channel lineup. The match was well attended a just a lot of fun.



Corvallis is a nice place to visit. There are a lot of new wineries in the area as well as some great places to eat. Great place for a weekend visit.

Later -

Jim


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The state of the Economey

I wish I did not have to work and could spend all my time blogging! There are so many interesting things going on that I would love to have time to write about.

I am excited that Bush only has 5 days 14 hours and 35 minutes left in office. Do you know how long I have been waiting for this day and watching the countdown! I can't wait.

I am worried about so many things - number one is the state of the economy. Every time I open my retirement accounts I get all worked up and begin to calculate how many more years I am going to have to work - I've got a lifestyle to maintain after all!

My own job is somewhat at risk due to budget cuts. I've been consumed in the last couple of weeks by huge budget cuts from the state. I've got programs that will likely close and the loss of jobs and notices I've had to give to my contractors is already surpassed 12 FTE in the last week. It's not a fun place to be in. Not to mention the impact that these cuts will have on those less fortunate than myself.

I know that if I am worrying, other people I know must be concerned as well. I know several people personally that have already been laid off.

Enough doom and gloom. The Legislative session has begun in Washington State and all we can do is work the process and hope for the best.

Have a good one -

Jim

Boeing Museum of Flight

I've lived in the NW for over 30 years and this morning I an taking my first tour of the Museum of Flight.


Very cool - check it out on your next visit to Seattle. On with the tour!

Jim





-- Post From My iPhone

Skier Suffers Exposure

Man left dangling upside down, pantsless after Vail lift mishap

JANUARY 6--In a bizarre incident that will surely lead to litigation (or an out-of-court settlement), a skier at Colorado's ritzy Vail resort was left dangling upside down and pantsless from a chairlift last Thursday morning. The January 1 mishap apparently occurred after the male skier, 48, and a child boarded a high-speed lift in Vail's Blue Sky Basin. It appears that the chairlift's fold-down seat was somehow not in the lowered position, which caused the man to partially fall through the resulting gap. His right ski got jammed in the ascending chairlift, and that kept him upended since his boot never dislodged from its binding. As seen in the photos on the following pages (which were snapped by fellow skiers), the Skyline Express lift was stopped shortly after the pair's botched boarding resulted in the man dangling from the lift. The exposed skier was stuck for about 15 minutes before Vail personnel backed the lift up and successfully dislodged the unidentified man from the four-seat chair. The images on page four and five were taken by a local photographer who happened upon the rescue scene. In a statement released this afternoon, Vail Resorts, which operates the ski area, reported that the skier was not injured after being "suspended for approximately seven minutes." The press release did not explain how the mishap occurred, only that "the man was caught on the chair." (5 pages)
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Bus Ride from Hell!

I am a huge fan of public transportation and take the bus when ever I can. I'm lucky that the County provides employees with a free pass and that there is an express bus that runs in the morning and evening.

So if I like the bus so much, what's with the post you ask? Well first of all Metro has huge budget cuts so they reduced the size of our buses to the smaller ones and reduced the number of buses running.

This morning I had to stand the entire ride in as did many others. Tonight is no different!





I took this picture tonight on the ride home. Not that Metro has any control over the traffic and/or the weather but to top things off it has been taking an hour on an other wise half hour trip.



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Blog - a - Birthday!

I could not let the day go by without posting a blog - a - birthday wish to our friend Trung! Happy, happy birthday Trung! I'm doing this post on the run so I do not have a picture with me or access to one online so I'll have to post one later.

I've known Trung and his partner Ron for 20 (yes - 20!) years. He and Ron recently adopted their second child. I'll have to share their Christmas photo with you! Please join me in wishing Trung a Happy - Happy birthday!

Have a good one!

Jim

Blog -a- Birthday wish to Kara!

It's another blog a birthday already! This one goes out to our niece Kara! Happy, happy birthday Kara! I love this picture taken just a few weeks ago at Christmas. Kent and I knew we would not be seeing her for her birthday so we bought her this birthday hat to have in advance! Kara - I hope you are wearing it today!

Kara is a freshman at Whitworth University in Spokane. Sounds like she is having a great time in school. Kay and Tony have done a terrific job raising Kara in to a smart, independent, responsible and totally fun young women! We miss you Kara and hope you have a great birthday!

Please join us in wishing Kara a wonderful birthday!

Have a great one!

Jim and Kent

Numa Numa

The great thing about having an iPhone is that you can always be on the lookout for new and funny things! Today while on the train back from Portland I discovered these guys on YouTube. They are hilarious! I'll be posting more of their videos soon!

Enjoy -

Jim

On Deck

We found a new sports bar in Portland recommended by our friend Barb (On Deck) and watched the Huskies break their 7 game losing streak against WSU! Great place to watch a game in the Pearl Dist. next time you are in Portland check it out!

This is great news after our football season! Glad to have season tickets to basketball!

Headed to the train station from here to go home. Fun day in Portland! Great to see our friend Barb too!





-- Post From My iPhone

All Aboard!!!!!!!

Kent and I are headed to Portland this morning on the train. Just going down for the day. If you have never taken the train from Seattle to Portland I highly recommend it - it's a great day trip from Seattle. You should do it before they re-route the train as it leaves Tacoma. Not sure of the date for this change and while it will shorten the time it takes to travel between Seattle and Portland by about 10 min., the most scenic part of the ride along the sound will be missed when the new route that travels along I-5 begins. Do it now!

Have a great day - to my family and DJ, sorry to miss the gathering today! Have a great time and I'll see you soon.



This is a picture taken from our seats of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The iPhone is the best thing ever!

I'll be posting a blog later with a picture from last nights dinner with friends celebrating Jennifers birthday.

Later-

Jim

-- Post From My iPhone

Mobile Blogging from here.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

First Blog-a-Birthday Wish of 2009!

We are starting out 2009 with a bang! Here it is only January 2nd and we already have the first blog-a-birthday wish of the new year! It comes on another day of snow for us in the Northwest - we have another inch on the ground this morning! Thankfully - it is not supposed to amount to much and should not stick around!

I would hate for the snow to get in the way of celebrating the birthday of one of my best girlfriends Jennifer Holmes. Happy, Happy Birthday Jennifer! Most of you who follow this blog know that Jennifer has her own blog - Simple Flourishes. She inspired me to start this blog. Her blog has generated a lot of traffic and interest. She has follower's from all over the world! Check out her blog for terrific tips on cards and other crafty ideas! Check out her blog today for a hilarious posting - she kills herself! She posted a Golden Girls birthday skit that is hilarious! And who does not love the golden girls! Check it out!

I've been friends with Jennifer for over 10 years and although we no longer work together the laughs and good times keep getting better! I am looking forward to getting together for dinner and celebrating!

Please join me in wishing Jennifer a happy, happy birthday!

Have a good one -

Jim

Avalanche Control

Headed to Stevens Pass for a day of skiing but pass is closed while the DOT does avalanche control! Pass will not reopen until 11:00 am. Crap.......not skiing today as planned!




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Happy New Years Day!

Well we had a slight change in plans and did not end up going skiing yesterday due to high winds ands low visibility at Stevens Pass. So we are leaving this morning on New Years day as I make this posting for a full day of skiing!

We managed to get in our 38th movie of 2008 on New Years Eve seeing - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I am not sure if it was the mood I was in or the timing of seeing the movie but I really enjoyed it.

This is quite a unique film and a fascinating love story. Cate Blanchett is, as always, terrific! And Brad is great, accent and all, from old man to young. A lot of thought provoking dialogue. Best part-Brad looked better and better as the movie progressed! All in all, a really good, unique movie about someone who made a great life for himself in spite of adversity.

I noticed tonight when I logged in that I should pass 10,000 hits tomorrow! If my math is correct I am averaging 63 hits per day - which I hope means that at least a few people enjoy checking in and see what is going on. Keep checking in in 2009 and see where I take this thing!

Later -

Jim