Questions most commonly asked of the Laskos while in Washington, DC:

1) Are you here for the cherry blossoms?
2) Have you seen the cherry blossoms?

Questions most commonly asked of the Laskos upon returning home (from DC):

1) Were the cherries blossoming?
2) Did you see the cherry blossoms?

I have been to DC 3 times, and all 3 times the cherries were indeed blossoming. I do not know what DC looks like without cherry blossoms...


PS: The caption for these photos was going to read: "What our nation's capital would look like if the apes were running things", but I would have to look up whether it should be "capital" or "capitol", and that takes too much time. Also, I do not want anyone to know that I saw the Planet of the Apes remake.

PPS: I don't think I saw Planet of the Apes in the theater, if that counts for anything. Also, Danny Elfman wrote the score; that's reason enough to see a movie, no? Also, also: I'm a huge Mark Wahlberg fan.

Escape From DC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Official results for marathon #6:

Guntime Nettime Pace
3:51:44 3:50:11 8:47

More Las Vegas Observations

Running on the Las Vegas Strip is impossible...at least on a Thursday afternoon.

Unless you're running a marathon in 3 days, you can file this info under wwywt [In case you don't have a good acronym finder, that's "why would you want to".]

I ended up running from the Monte Carlo, to the Hard Rock, to the Airport, and back to the Monte Carlo. Was that only 7 miles? It felt longer because my Bluetooth headphones do not work in Las Vegas. Were there too many other people using up all the Bluetooth bandwidth, or were those giant casinos intentionally jamming me? At any rate, I am never running the Las Vegas Marathon.

Las Vegas observations:

1) If you give a cocktail waitress a $25 tip the first time she comes by to offer free drinks, she will come back very often...so often, that you can easily collect a 12 pack of beer on your ledge at the craps table. (Note to wife: I did not tip the cocktail waitress $25, and I did not drink a 12 pack of beer while playing craps. In fact, giving a cocktail waitress $25 so that you can start a warm beer collection seems very, very silly to me.)

2) The Dude has it right. From now on, I'm drinking only White Russians...and, I would like for everyone to call me the Big Laskowski. (FYI, my great grandfather's last name was shortened at Ellis Island from Laskowitz [or possibly Laskovitz--the paperwork is a little smudged], not Laskowski).


3) I can make about $10/hr playing low limit poker...unfortunately, I cannot take advantage of free alcoholic beverages while playing low limit poker, or my earning potential drops off considerably.

Pretty cool...



Try this link if that didn't work: http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

After a few hours of polishing, sealing, and waxing your car, you may notice that your orbital buffer is talking to you. There is no harm in listening to the orbital buffer if it is giving you important life advice...but if the orbital buffer is trying to tell you which part of the car you should work on next, you should ignore it; the orbital buffer does not really know much about waxing cars.

(Historical photo 9/11/06)

Dr. Dean, I think I am with you on this one.

Please add to your list: בְּרִית מִילָ (Brit Milah) [you Gentiles might know this as a bris] will make your entire family go crazy (crazier??). If I ever have a son, and I invite you to said event...please do not feel obligated to attend.

I didn't invent it, but I was the first guy to start singing about drugs in the water before it got all popular and everything.

I've kissed mermaids, rode the El Niño...

Marathon tune up...

If I had thought to bring a camera (and I did not drop the camera during one of my many near-slips/falls), I would have some cool pictures of last weekend's Winter Trail Run....but I did not think to bring a camera, so all you get is my written description of the beautiful Cleveland National Forest. Unfortunately, you do not even get the written description, because I spent nearly every step of the 21 kilometer race looking at the incredibly un-level ground immediately in front of my feet. I have not yet decided if running down 1000 feet is more or less difficult than running (walking) up 1000 feet. Either way, you trail runners are crazy. There are close to a million miles of paved road in this country.

Finish time: 2:23 minutes...or something like that.

Things you will not see anywhere else on the web...

(Or as my old boss at UCIMC might say: "I defy you to find the French Laundry wine list anywhere else on the internet.")

So here it is: The French Laundry wine list...current as of March 5, 2008. Actually, I really don't have the bandwidth to do this; can anybody out there lend me some storage space?

In other French Laundry news: In a previous post, I mistakenly listed 9:00 AM (or 8:30 AM) as the the time to start calling for reservations. 10:00 AM is actually the correct time. Calling at 9:59 AM is a waste of time, as you will only get a recording telling you to call back at 10:00 AM. (Calling at 10:00 AM [or after 10:00 AM] is also a waste of time, as you will only get a busy signal).

Also in that previous post, I implied that the cost of dinner is $240 + tax and tip. A charge for food service is included in the $240...I would assume that you are expected to give an additional tip on wine, etc.

Also, also in that previous post, I listed coffee and doughnuts as an additional expense; coffee and doughnuts are included in the $240 dinner charge (you must request them when you order if they are not on the menu).