By popular request, my first guitar lesson:

Beginning rock guitar was certainly beginning rock guitar. I think I was the only person in the class who had picked up a guitar before. I was a guitar master, having learned all the chords on page 4 of our book many years ago. There was an old left handed woman with a right handed guitar and a blue haired woman with a blue guitar. I never plan ahead like that. Our instructor has a penchant for playing Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. I think his favorite hobby is teaching us a chord, and then playing some classic rock song that uses only that chord. My guitar does not work that well.

To everybody who did not want to go sailing today:
Nico and I happened upon a pod of migrating dolphins. Or maybe they weren't migrating. They definitely seemed interested in our boat, and I think they were intentionally bumping into us. Does anybody know how many dolphins make up a pod? Me either, but there were too many to count. Unfortunately, none of them could be described as showmen. They were unable to walk on their tails and unwilling to jump out of the water.

Do I dare blog at work? I was thinking that I would update my links...I think 80% of my traffic comes from these 2 pages, so now I am returning the favor. Please note, 1) I know how to spell "partial" and 2) Jenny has replaced Tricia as the "Other One".

I almost forgot: Thank you to Jenny, my very first donor to the boat fund. You are reserved a space in heaven. The rest of you cheapskates can donate by clicking right...about...here. Or if you missed that, right over there>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Oh, to be forgotten.

A one act play by Michael B. Lasko

For some reason, Nico and I are quite accustomed to being ignored in restaurants. All kinds of restaurants: Italian, Chinese, seafood, places with views, loud places, and on and on and on. Usually after we're finished eating, we end up alone in an empty corner waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the bill. Tonight we went out for some exotic Mid-Eastern fare, and I learned that the Lebanese can ignore you like no one else on Earth. We weren't just ignored, we were invisible. 30 or 40 minutes later, the sociology experiment got old and we walked up to the front to pay.

Whoo hoo! Last day at Crescent. Very productive day. Click here for hours of fun.

New Years Resolutions

By Michael B. Lasko

1) Learn to play the guitar. This one is a requirement, as I made the mistake of walking into Guitar Center tonight. Here's what I walked out with.

2) Spend more time sailing.

3) Spend less time at Crescent Healthcare.

This last Saturday, I practiced the fine art of no wind sailing. It's much more difficult than it sounds. To make things even more difficult, I had invited along a friend from work and his daughter/nieces (for a total of: two nine year olds and a five year old). Things were going better before I decided that it would be funny to ask if they had seen Finding Nemo. From that point on, there was a chorus of: "Mine, mine," every time a seagull flew past us. But on to the no wind part: After floating around in the jetty for a half hour, the very kind captain of Mom's Attic offered to give us a tow. Unfortunately, Mom's Attic is equipped with what appeared to be a 2 stroke trolling motor. Upon making the turn out of the jetty I mistakenly reached the conclusion that we could sail faster without the tow. Casting off the towline, we proceeded to sail backwards against the outflowing tide for another 20 minutes until a fantastic looking boat named, "Elan" gave us a second tow. Thank you Doug and Sandy Mills. If I ever see you guys again, I owe you each a beer. My new goal in life is to never require tows from two separate boats on the same day.

On a completely unrelated note, I have completely sworn off mad cow burgers. I am, however, allowing myself grilled cheese sandwiches from In-N-Out Burger. I am sure there is still some risk of contracting mad cow from the grill, but I guess I'll take my chances. I know what you are all thinking, "In-N-Out makes grilled cheese sandwiches?" Yes they do. They have a whole hidden menu that they don't want you to see. And I have a copy!

How I spent my Chrismukkah.

By Michael B. Lasko

In spite of the forecasts, I did indeed go sailing this morning. Aside from the fact that it was a little gusty, and that Columbia's reefing outhaul had been removed (I think I'll start checking for that before leaving the dock), things went pretty well. We did not even get rained on. Unfortunately, it was so windy (we had her at hull speed on a broad reach going up harbor) that we were done sailing in 90 minutes. I needed something else to fill up the rest of the day.

As it was Christmas, this meant going to lunch at Denny's with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew. I had pancakes. Afterwards, I went over to my mother's, who needed help with her com-pu-ter. I believe that in the future, computers will become even more important. I know I'm going to get one. For dinner, I was trying desperately to avoid eating at Denny's again. I had already exhausted the pancake angle, so that does not leave a whole lot on the menu other than mad cow burgers. We drove around for an hour before settling on El Pescadore, some weird Whittier Mexican restaurant. I had a vegetarian burrito, sans cow.

All in all, I must admit that this was the best Chrismukkah ever!

I seem to be spending a lot of time (money) in Starbucks lately. I am not sure why. The coffee is not particularly spectacular, and I do not really care for the atmosphere. I think, for some reason, I keep ending up in the vicinity with an hour to kill. That is how they've taken over the world.