KirstenL4W

The President is visiting Las Vegas.  Unlike most visitors to this town, his will not be a visit filled with debauchery,  but like most visitors, he is here to try and make some money.

Enough about politics.  I really hate political discussions.  What I’m here to talk about tonite is some plane spotting.  I’ve talked about how easy it is to spot airplanes coming and going from McCarran International Airport here, and honestly, even though the majority of the planes I see are the Southwest Airlines 737s, I still never get tired of seeing the planes.  I drive along the 7/25 runways on my way to and from work every day, and since Las Vegas is a world famous destination, I do get to see some nice foreign airlines.  Tonite, however, I was eager to see Air Force One.  This is the 747 that the US Air Force keeps and maintains, and it is called Air Force One whenever the President is on board.

Security is predictably tight.  Normally, tower communications for traffic on the 7/25 runways is broadcast over an FM radio station, which I can tune into while I am driving along the center and eastern portion of the runways.  Typical conversations are pilots looking for landing clearance, getting taxi instructions to get off the runways, and the tower giving takeoff clearance.  Tonight, however, there was a sense of urgency.  All departures were routed off runway 1R, which sits at the western end of the airport and since it uses a different radio frequency, I was unable to monitor radio transmissions.  I was able to hear air traffic control demanding that all traffic switch to the other frequency, so I knew Air Force One was close.

Normally incoming traffic lands on runway 25L, which is closer to Sunset Road, where I was watching for the plane.  Planes then get taxi instructions to cross 25R, which normally has outgoing traffic on it.  Since there was no traffic on 25R, I had a feeling that 1) they were keeping 25R clear so as to move the few incoming planes off the active runway and to their gates as soon as possible, and 2) Air Force One would be directed to land on 25R.  Like I said, 25R is further away from the road, and therefore the public, so it would be less of a security risk.  Point 1 is just a theory, but I was correct on point 2.  The flight was due to land around 8pm, and ended up being about 45 minutes late.  The observation parking lot on the north side of Sunset Road was closed off, so Boyfriend and I parked across the street at an industrial park.  Boyfriend brought the camera and tried to get pictures, but since it was dark and the aircraft was still moving rather fast, he did not get to capture the image he wanted, or anything close for that matter.  It was still a memorable sight.  I could vaguely make out the blue and white paint, but I did (almost) clearly see the US flag that is on the tail.

One more note on security.  In the parking lot of the industrial building, there were a number of people with cameras, sitting in their cars listening to the radio.  It was really no more than a dozen people.  As soon as the plane touched down, a nondescript, tan, older model SUV went speeding out of the parking lot, heading west, presumably towards the executive terminal.  I believe that the President gets off the plane near the executive terminal, which is the place where all the rich people go to take a limo directly to their private plane.  Trying to coordinate security so the Prez can pull up to a gate would be a logistical nightmare, and the news did report that commercial aviation would not be affected by the speical flight plans.  Private flights are grounded, though - at least out of McCarran.

I haven’t read about the President’s departure plans, but since he has a speech and luncheon planned for tomorrow, I assume he will be taking off sometime around the time I leave work.  I’ll check the news tomorrow to see if there’s anything, because it could always affect my commute in some way, but if I’m lucky I can see it take off.  I’ll have to remember to bring my camera to work, so I can have the possibility of taking a bad picture of a tiny plane (no way will Boyfriend let me take the DSLR to work, so I’ll be stuck with my point and shoot.  Wait, that sounds bad considering it’s a matter of national security.  I’ll be stuck with my regular, not so magnificent camera).

So that is the highlight of my extremely casual plane spotting.  What is your favorite plane-spotting experience?

Something that is a new experience for me since moving to Wordpress is pingbacks and trackbacks. For those who don’t know, these are, to the best of my knowledge, links to your content on another website. I’m not talking about blogrolls - no, this is when your work is quoted, in part or in full, on another website and links back to your site, which is how it gets picked up in your comments as a trackback.

My Music on Mondays posts seem to be the most popular posts for this. Yesterday I checked my comments to see 3 of these, my highest number yet. I’m sure they will spiral out of control as I get more and more popular. Check this out:

Now, I always check these out, just to make sure that at the very least there is a link in there and I don’t have to bitch-slap anyone. But what I don’t get is the name. It’s always different. See those bottom two? Despite the URL, they are the exact same website, yet on one I am “The Gossip Girls” and on another I am “Barbara”. I don’t get that. I mean, I can see how the first one is a trick to get more people to the site with the name of a tv show, but Barbara? Not sure about that one. In all cases, though, the links to go my site.Right now this is a slight annoyance and also somewhat amusing, but at least (to my knowledge) no one has copied my site. Sites like Copyscape can help you figure out if someone has.

One of the first TV shows I really remember being influential in helping shape my musical taste was Felicity. It was a show that debuted in 1998, about 4 years after I had given up on college but still while in the midst of my wanderlust and general dissatisfaction with my place in life, at least, geographically speaking. Felicity was a young woman about to start college who threw away the sensible plans and followed her crush to a school all the way across the country. I could never relate to the following your crush thing, but the moving cross country thing struck a chord with me. I watched that show and lived vicariously through her. The show was on for four years, one for each year of college, and a year after the show ended I finally packed up and followed my dream.

There have been TV shows on in the past that featured popular music of the day. Felicity was, in my mind, a bit of a trendsetter because it not only featured the music, but did so prominently. At the end of each episode, there would be an announcement that showed the artists and albums where one could find the music. The show produced not one, but two soundtracks - Freshman Year and Senior Year. These two albums don’t even come close to the tip of the iceberg as far as music that was featured on the show.

Now I know, some of you will argue with me about which show really was the first to put music in the forefront like this. But Felicity was the first show that I can remember watching that made such a musical impression, and this is my blog, so my memories rule here.

Now, where was I? Oh yes, the music. The music set the theme for the show, or scenes within the show. I think like that a lot - depending on the situation, I might have a song in my head that goes along with that scene in my life. Often times, music in a scene, be it theater, tv, or a movie, helps cement the mood of the scene and make it that much more memorable. Unlike the days of yore, music is no longer just a means of entertainment or a way to show off some talent. It is so intertwined with our lives. Can you imagine life without music? Try watching some of the deleted scenes on one of your favorite DVDs. You’ll notice that many times, the special effects are missing but so is the music. It’s a bit odd watching the deleted scenes right after watching the movie, having the song or background music in your head, and not hearing it from the speakers. My life without music would be…flat.

I’ve found some sites online that claim to have complete listings of all the songs played during the course of the Felicity series. One is here and the other is here. There are some discrepancies between the two lists, and some of that may be owing to the fact that when the DVDs came out, some songs were replaced because of licensing issues. Just look at it this way: it’s that many more songs you can check out for your collection.

Dear AARP:

Earlier this week my boyfriend, insert Boyfriend’s name here, received an invitation to membership in your organization.  Mr. Boyfriend will not reach the minimum age for eligibility until 2016, so we respectfully request that you stop sending literature until that time.  For your reference, the authorization code on the literature you sent is 1234567890.  I will also be returning the form in the postage paid envelope you so conveniently provided, so that there is no mistake that he does not want to receive any communications from you until which time he is eligible.

Sincerely,

KirstenL4W
on behalf of Boyfriend

Can you believe this stuff?  Boyfriend is only 41 years young.  He is not old.  I can see sending out literature a few months in advance of membership eligibility, but honestly, who is sitting there saying, “Gosh, in 8½ years I’ll be able to join AARP.  I can’t wait!”  Come on now, AARP.  Lighten up a bit.  Boyfriend has already hit his 40’s and thinks he’s old, which he is NOT.  Thanks for the blow to his self esteem.  Now I have to spend at least the next week trying to convince him that he is not old and does not need the blue pills.

I don’t often blog about holidays, especially foreign holidays that I don’t know a heck of a lot about. Ok, honestly, I had a vague idea that there was a holiday called Australia Day, but thanks to all my Aussie blogger friends over at the Aussie Bloggers Blog, I’m learning more about the land down under. I may not know any more about the history of Australia, but by reading their blogs I’m learning more about the most important thing a country can have - its people. I have found Aussie Bloggers to be some of the friendliest people I have (n)ever met.

In fact, a bunch of them have got themselves together and started a forum to help ordinary bloggers who may not know so much about blogging, but really want to have the blog of their dreams. The Aussie Bloggers Forum is not just for bloggers from Australia. Oh no, don’t let that hold you back. They speak English and use all the same blog platforms that you do, so they are not only capable but willing to answer any questions you can throw at them. I’ve been on the blogosphere for nearly 2 years now, and have been perusing message forums for nearly 10 years, and this is the first forum I have come across that not only caters to bloggers, but is extremely friendly and helpful. I have another forum on my blogroll that I never really got into because all the posts are titled “Please Help” or something equally vague. Not here. The friendliness of everyone involved makes it much easier to get the answers you’re looking for, whether you’re looking through older threads or posting a new question.

So stop by the Aussie Blog or Forum and wish some friendly Aussie bloggers a Happy Australia Day!

It wasn’t hot out today.  Far from it - average daytime temps for this time of year in world-famous Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada are in the mid-50s F (55°F = 13°C).  It was, however, a hot news day.

The Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino caught on fire today.  I work just south of the airport, with a really decent view of the strip.  Frank and I were just coming back from a meeting down the street when we heard there was smoke appearing to come from New York New York.  A quick online check revealed that it was actually the Monte Carlo that was burning.  From our vantage point, the smoke had an eerie 9/11 look to it, since the “skyline” of NYNY totally blocks the view of the Monte Carlo, so the smoke looked like it was rising from the NY skyline.  Kinda freaky.  Of course, it was Friday, and getting close to lunch, so we went online to watch streaming video of the news reports.  I was on the phone with Boyfriend as he watched it on TV.

I wasn’t surprised to see that news of the fire quickly spread around the world.  Las Vegas is a world famous city, after all, and big news like this that has a direct effect on tourists visiting our city tends to travel fast.  Luckily, even at this late hour (it’s 8pm local time, the fire broke out around 11am) there are still no reports of injuries beyond a few with smoke inhalation.  The casino is closed for the time being, but since the fire was contained to the upper floors, and seems to have mostly affected the facade of the building, I expect that the casino itself, which is on the ground level, and at least the lower floors of guest rooms will be reopening in about a week.  There’s a news special on tonite at 10pm, which I intend to watch.

It’s always weird when the news in your city makes the international papers, even when you live in a world famous city.  Before the news special comes on, I have a ton of blog posts to catch up on since I spent quite a bit of time watching the news online and then in a lunch meeting, so I didn’t get my midday fix.  Off to read what all of you are up to…

I had my first weigh-in today after being on WW for a week now.  I can feel that I’ve had a change in the right direction, so I was really eager to get on the scale.  (I know, I’m insane, right?)  I am happy to say that my feeling was right.  I lost … drumroll please … 5.6 pounds (that’s about 2 ½ kilos).  Woot!  Boyfriend did his own weigh-in, and he’s happy with his weight loss as well.  This gives me the motivation to keep going, that’s for sure.

WW has two plans now, Flex and Core.  Flex is the points system that pretty much everyone has heard of, and Core is just a list of foods that are permissable (it’s quite the list, too) and you just eat what you want from the core foods list until you are satisfied.  On both plans, you get 35 flex points per week to use however you want, the only thing is you can’t save them up week after week to go on an annual buffet bender or whatever.  Anyway, I am doing the Flex plan, because even though I am horrible at planning meals and such, I like that if I’m having a craving I can indulge it as long as I watch the points.  I like the accountability aspect of it, and I fear I may become lazy on the Core plan.  I’m still eager when I write something down in my book that is a core food.

I’ve gone and written down points values on everything in my desk drawer at work, and on a few things at home too.  I did that so I wouldn’t have to get out my points calculator all the time and so that if I am having a craving and just want to grab something, it’s still in my face how many points I’m using.  So far it seems to be working.

Tonight is the weekly oil change at The Greasy Spoon.  About a month ago I switched to having a salad and grilled cheese instead of onion rings and grilled cheese.  I’ve been feeling good about eating healthier there and not feeling deprived either.  The dining out guide I have gives points values for all sorts of restaurant food you might encounter, and I did the calculations - my new favorite meal there is low enough to not use a whole bunch of flex points.  Today, that means I’ll have used all my daily points and not gone over.  Yay me!

…so that my permalinks show an actual post title and not random numbers!

Here’s a few random bullet points for today:

• I was putting a load of laundry in the washer tonite. As I picking clothes out of the three part laundry sorter, I noticed something colorful. Apparently a colorful beach towel that I could not remember using lately made its way to the black clothing section. I smelled it to make a determination on its state of cleanliness. It smelled like ass, so I threw it in the proper section of the sorter - the towel section. Then it dawned on me that this was the towel that I gave Boyfriend to use to soften things for his tushie when he’s sitting in his desk chair playing WOW.
• A few of my imaginary internet friends have posted in their LiveJournals about how cold they are inside their homes. Pollyhyper ran out of oil while CTG has an inexplicably cold room. Now I am cold, even though the temp here in our house is normal, it’s still below 80°, which is my hot/cold threshold.
• Zac is at it again. He’s shooting a new movie, which looks to be his biggest yet. Read his blog to keep informed or to just read a really good rant. I’m always laughing my butt off at his posts.
• I am revered at work. Some changes to internal procedures are in the works, and one of my tasks looks to be taken away from me as a result. I am not the right department to be doing this task, so my boss wants it off my desk. Problem is, I do it so freaking well that no one wants it out of my hands (except my boss). Feels good, I tell ya.
• WW going pretty well, so far. Weigh-in tomorrow, so we’ll see if I’m on the right track. Boyfriend, while not officially following the program (as in, he didn’t pay and doesn’t go to meetings), has been very supportive and following the general principles of it. He has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and will have to step on the lying sack of shit scale, so it will be like we are weighing in together (awww).
• Does anyone know how many points regular potstickers are from an ordinary Chinese style takeout place? Because I have been craving them lately, and I can’t find anything in my Dining Out companion book. I don’t want sauce with them, just the damn potstickers.
• And to my Mommy: He’s growing, exploring, and testing limits. It’s very NORMAL - he’s just doing it the ImpMaster J way. Just because I understood adult rationale at an absurdly young age doesn’t mean everyone does. As you well know, I am not normal so quit trying the tactics that worked on me.
• For those trying to understand the above bullet point, my mom told me how she got me off the bottle when I was a baby. She was expecting my sister to be born and I was just over a year old. She explained to me that I couldn’t use the bottle anymore because the new baby needed it. And so I used the sippy cup, just like that. Yes, I am strange. I’ll leave you all with that thought.

The past few days have been less than idea between Boyfriend and myself, mostly due to me.  I have been extremely bitchy towards him, and it isn’t necessarily PMS, because it’s a bit early for that and I have no other symptoms.  I don’t know what it is that has been making me want to argue with him on every little thing, but last night when I was making dinner I remembered something.  Boyfriend said to me quite a few months ago that when someone is going through a personal growth period, it is a very difficult time.  That must be it, because even when Aunt Flo visits I am not usually this bitchy.

The thing about times like these is that I won’t really know when it’s over or exactly what kind of growth occurred.  Years down the road I may be able to look back and say with some definition that this experienced shaped me or taught me xxxxx, but right now it’s just a pain in the ass.

Welcome to my new feature, Music on Mondays! Many of you know that I love music, as evidenced by my participation in mix exchanges, and I like to share all that with you by listing what I’ve sent in for my mixes. I love that it’s a way to find new music. With that, I’m going to talk about where to find new music.

The mix exchanges are a fun, great way to find new stuff, but not everyone has the ability or desire to participate in them. They do require a CD burner, and a bit of cash to purchase blank CDs and postage to send them out (the mailings are about $1.31US, and there are usually 11 to send out, so it adds up). But what you can do is network. Ask your friends, co-workers, and others what kind of music they like and why. As you expand your likings, they will be better able to recommend stuff they think you might like.

Amazon.com is a great one because they have a fairly decent recommendation feature. If you have an account with them and have purchased stuff in the past, they will recommend stuff based on your purchases. Also, they give you the option of editing your recommendations so that items you already own are taken into account, or the weird CD you purchased for your great-uncle when you drew his name in the gift exchange doesn’t come into consideration. Amazon.com has 30-second clips of songs on nearly every CD that they sell, and recently they have started selling some albums in MP3 format and yes, you can buy individual tracks.

The iPod is pretty much the standard when it comes to digital music players. I know the Zune is doing a good job at getting themselves some of that market share, but I have an iPod and would marry it if I could, so all digital music players I talk about will be the iPod. With the iPod there is also iTunes, which is a free download and a great way of organizing your digital music collection. iTunes also will let you upload your CDs to their player (unless you have a copyright-protected CD, which I just avoid in general). iTunes also has a recommendation feature based on purchases and browsing history, there is the iMix feature where people make their own mixes and upload them to iTunes, and their Free Song of the Week. Many people think that if they have iTunes and and iPod that they must purchase music from iTunes, but that is simply not true. You can purchase from other sources and import the music into iTunes. Just go to File > Import > Import File to Library and it will bring the songs you have saved elsewhere on your computer to iTunes. And don’t forget the mixes! This is the program I use to make all my mixes, since it’s so easy to create a new playlist and burn it.

I don’t listen to much commercial radio, because frankly, it pretty much sucks. I listen to CDs in the car or nothing at all. But other sources can be great. I used to listen to Radio Paradise a lot at my old job. They play an eclectic mix of anything and everything. Listening to RP has the potential to do some serious damage to your music budget, because in addition to playing everything under the sun, they have a great database of where to find the music. Click on a song link and you come to the album it’s from along with other albums by that artist and offers a few suggestions.

CD Baby is another great source. They sell music by independent artists, bypassing the record companies and their huge portion of the profits. They have an amazing selection of great music you’re not listening to, and they sell their CDs by actual CD that they will mail you or MP3, which you can upload into iTunes.

Those are my favorite ways to find new music. How do you find new music to listen to?