Troutmaster

Fun With Sleep Problems

I got an email at work from the company that I work for listing the following items on the sleeping don'ts as derived from SleepEducation.com. I violate nearly every rules and I decided to make up new rules just for fun. My created rules have a * next to them.
-O- Don't have caffeine after lunch -> Whatever!
-O- Don't go to bed hungry, but don't eat a big meal near bedtime either -> Whatever!
-O- Don't do strenuous exercise within six hours of bedtime -> Not a problem most of the time :-(
-O- Don't read, write, eat, watch TV, talk on the phone or play cards in bed -> They didn't list work, interesting...
-O- Don't go to bed unless you are sleepy -> Duh!
-O- *Don't wake up unless you're not tired anymore
-O- *Don't wake up with a hangover
-O- *Don't go to the bathroom within six hours of bedtime
-O- *Don't watch the Conan O'Brien show before bedtime, it causes nightmares
-O- *If you can't get 8 hours of restful sleep, then don't get any sleep at all.
-O- *You can get all the sleep you need when you're dead

Alaska Photos Posted

I haven't put captions on any of the photos yet, but you can find all of the photos from my Alaska trip here.

Tutoring Starts Again

I start tutoring at Oak Grove High School today, and it looks like they could use more tutors. If you live in this area and think you can contribute by being a tutor give Linda Davidson a call.

"We're always looking for more tutors and mentors. But that's because the need is so great. Thousands of kids in our area can benefit immensely from time spent with adults who are not their parents, not their teachers, and who will take time to explain how things work on this big planet of ours. There are simply never enough tutors and mentors to go around.

Oak Grove High School is a large and still-growing school -- nearly 3000 students -- and asking for adults able to participate an hour a week in their on-site program. Tutors and mentors choose the subject, then the school matches each with a student for one-on-one sessions:

2:30 - 3:30 or 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays or Thursdays; 12:15 - 1 or 1 - 2 p.m. Wednesdays are preferred, but hours are flexible to meet the mentors' schedules.

Maybe you're a software programmer but would love to coach a foreign language. Or you're an accountant who loves physics, or of all things a physicist who loves physics! Any way you slice it, there are students out there, including some with learning and other disabilities, who can profit immensely from linking up with a non-parent, non-teacher mentor willing to help sort through the often-difficult learning process. As IBMers most of us are well suited to mentor in the fields of science and math, but the need exists in all academic disciplines -- you choose the subject you like best.

Calling all former Santa Teresa High School STYLE program volunteer mentors: As you know, Santa Teresa High has discontinued that program, but Oak Grove High School (285 Blossom Hill Road, near the IBM San Jose site) is less than two miles away from Santa Teresa. So make the switch and meet some new kids who can use your help and enthusiasm for learning (you'll learn too -- mentors always tell us they do).

For more information about Oak Grove's mentoring program, contact the program coordinator at the school, Linda Davidson, 408-347-6547 or davidsonl@esuhsd.org."

Reunited

A day later (9/20) I finally got my fly rod back. I still don't know what happened to it, but I got a call and Alaska Airlines had it delivered to me at work. I'm glad I finally got it back and I'll try to avoid flying on MD-80s with my fly rod in the future.

Back To The Lower 48

We made it back to San Jose on 9/19, but my fly rod did not make it back with me. As our flight was leaving Seattle our plan had some mechanical problems that delayed us for an hour and a half. I was amazed at how impatient and childish the people around me were. All of them were older than me, and I would assume that they would be able to take these sorts of things in stride, but they were whining and complaining like a bunch of spoiled children. I certainly hope that is not how the majority of people 10 to 15 years older than me would react, because if they are that way then we are in trouble. At any rate they made me check my fly rod in because it would not fit in either the overhead compartment or the closet. And when I got off the plane and went to find my fly rod it was nowhere to be found. Grrrrrr.

Skilak Lake

From 9/16 - 9/18 we went on a fishing trip to Skilak Lake. It was me, Timber, my brother, and his friend Dave. We took Daves boat to where the Kenai River runs into Skilak Lake. Once we got there we set up camp and fished. First, I have to state that the riverbank was littered with spawned out salmon carcasses and it stank pretty badly. We were there to fish for the Dolly Varden that were chasing the Silver Salmon up the river to eat their eggs just as they came out. And we did catch a lot of Dolly Varden. In the afternoon of the first day there I didn't catch any as I was trying to learn the technique. On the second day I caught 17 fish, 16 Dolly Varden and 1 15 pound Silver Salmon (beautiful fish and the biggest of the trip). On the third day, I caught 12 Dollies before we had to leave. It was an awesome trip where I got to catch the biggest Dollies that I've ever caught in my life. Even though I did pretty well my brother and his friend Dave did even better.

Bob's Secret Fishing Spot

On 9/15 we went fishing with my brother at his secret fishing spot. I will not reveal the location because I don't want it to be inundated by other fisherman. I will simply say that it isn't that far from Anchorage and it is full of Silver Salmon right now. My brother and I each caught our limit of 2 Silvers and Timber caught one. We cleanemd the fish and brought them back to town where we ate one of the filets later in the evening. The rest of the filets were vaccum packed and frozen (Thanks Mom and Bert) and brought back with me to California. I'll be eating pretty good for a while.

Talkeetna

After we left Hatcher Pass on 9/13 we drove the Hatcher Pass road to Willow and then headed north to Talkeetna. We were supposed to do a plane trip with K2 Aviation, but when I called them on multiple occasions they would not let me make a reservation. They kept telling me that things were slow and that all I had to do was show up and then they would take me out on a trip. They lied. When we got to Talkeetna and went to their office they said that they only had one more trip for the day and that it was full with people that had made reservations ahead of time. They emphasized the reservations part to make it sound like I was an idiot for not reserving a spot ahead of time. I was not happy about that. So I made a reservation for the next day at 12:30 PM and left to go check into the Talkeetna Alaska Lodge. On our way into Talkeetna we had seen Alaska Bush Floatplane Service and decided to go see if they were doing anything for the day. As it turned out they had a plane going out in 20 minutes. We decided to take it because we were not sure what the weather would be like the next day, the lady that talked to us was really nice, and I would rather give my business to these people instead of K2. We ended up doing a 90 minute wildlife viewing trip in the Talkeetna Mountains. The trees were turning colors, the tundra was brilliant with reds, yellows, and orange, and we saw black bears, grizzly bears, and a moose. I would totally recommend going with Alaska Bush Floatplane Service again and plan to go with them to do a fly in backpacking and fishing trip sometime in the next few summers. After our awesome trip we checked into the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge and then ate at the Swiss Alaska Inn (because it had good food) for dinner. Once again everything was pretty slow because most of the tourists are gone (Huray!).

Hatcher Pass

Timber and I went to Hatcher Pass on the night of 9/12. We were the only ones staying in a cabin at the Hatcher Pass Lodge. We payed several visits to the Independence Mine and spent some time checking out the surrounding area. The gold mine was awesome and I recommend everyone check it out of they get a chance. This is also a cool place to go in the winter time for cross country skiing and backcountry snowboarding.

Birthday Party For Ava

Today was Ava's first birthday party. We ate lots of food and enjoyed having cup cakes and watching her open presents and make a mess with her cup cake. If only all birthday parties could be so cool.

Tamale Making Party

We spent a few hours making tamales yesterday. I never realized how much work goes into making them. You have to have the corn husks dried, make the masa (not sure if that is how it is spelled), make the meat, put everything together in the right order, and then steam them for 2 hours. We ended up making about 150 of them and of course we had to try a few when we were done. Yummy.

Peter's Bakery Delivery

We made it to Anchorage and brought a pumpkin burnt almond cake from Peter's Bakery. After dinner we put one candle in the cake and sang Happy Birthday to Ava. Her birthday party is going to take place on Saturday.

Anchorage Bound

We're heading to Alaska today so we can enjoy the wonderful fall weather. Raingear is a must.

Happy Birthday Ava

Ava Carroll was born one year ago today. I'm actually going to see her later today. I'd better go to bed soon so I don't miss my flight. :-)

No Plans For Long Weekend

I don't have any plans for the long weekend. I'll spend the weekend trying to finish up a few projects around the house before Timber and I head to Alaska late next week.