Blasphemous Rumours by Blasphemous Garden
Needle Through a Bug by Repo! The Genetic Opera Cast
Seventeen Repo! by The Genetic Opera Cast
I Didn’t Know I’d Love You So Much by Repo! The Genetic Opera Cast
Let the Monster Rise by Repo! The Genetic Opera Cast
Genetic Repo Man by Repo! The Genetic Opera Cast
The Thorian by Richard Jaques, Jack Wall
Things You See In a Graveyard by Repo! The Genetic Opera Cast
Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex
Lightin’ Hopkins by R.E.M.
Fireplace by R.E.M.
Legal Assassin by Repo! The Genetic Opera Cast
In Space by Royksopp
21st Century Cure by Repo! The Genetic Opera Cast
Jericho by Prodigy
Alcohol by Barenaked Ladies
Try Me (Puts Inst.) by J. Boogie
Straight to Video (The Birthday Massacre Remix) by Mindless Self Indulgence
Just Like Heaven by The Cure
Happy Now by No Doubt
What Sound by Lamb
Love Song For My Mom by Moby
Witch The Ditch by Erasure
Straight to Video by Mindless Self Indulgence
Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) by The Jacksons
Human Nature Michael Jackson
Run On by Moby
Off the Wall (Single Version) by Michael Jackson
Crazy For You by Madonna
Its My Life by No Doubt
End It On This by No Doubt
Something To Do by Depeche Mode
Dreaming Of Me by Depeche Mode
Come On Closer by Jem
Watch the World Burn by Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard
Voyager by Daft Punk
La Isla Bonita by Madonna
Pulsewidth by Aphex Twin
When Doves Cry by Prince
It’s Alright (Baby’s Coming Back) by Eurythmics
Pump Gag by Negativland
The End (Reprise) by Sam Hulick, Jack Wall
It’s Only A Game by Psyki
Functional by Psyki
Junkyard Sounds Disc 1 by Radio Is Happy Noises
Junkyard Sounds Disc 2 by Radio Is Happy Noises
Uplink by Sam Hulick
Sovereign’s Theme by Sam Hulick
Battle At Eden Prime by Sam Hulick
Tristesse Globale by Royksopp
30 Century Man by Scott Walker
The Normandy by Sam Hulick
In Pursuit of Saren by Sam Hulick, Jack Wall

Bakers coconut and a hint of white chocolate make for a moist, adult cookie.

Whipped together 2oz sugar and 4oz of unsalted room temperature butter until light and fluffy.

Combine in 6oz of flour, mix until a proper dough

Add 1/3rd cup white chocolate chips and 2/3rd cup bakers coconut.

Bake flattened 1 1/2 inch spheres of dough for 15 minutes at 350 until slightly browned.

One more shot for extra food porn goodness:

I love pasta. I love pasta in almost all it’s forms! Having experimented with several types of factory made pastas in the last month I decided to give it a go at creating my own. After having both the King and Queen of the Weekly Geek impress upon me how much better a handle-free rolling pin was I made a detour to <fancy cooking store> in the U-Village to pick up a french style Vic Firth maple rolling pin.

Following the 3:2 flour to egg ratio recommended in Michael Ruhlman’s Ratio I set out on my quest. Things got a little messy at first until I figured out how to properly dust down everything with flour. In the spirit of experimentation I kneaded half of the dough for a few minutes longer than the other half to get different textures. Once the kneading was done each half was let to rest for 15 minutes before being halved again as below.

I obviously could benefit from a little practice in rolling and cutting technique to make each individual noodle a more uniform length, but I am actually pretty pleased with how well they came out. The thick cut reminds me a lot of some of the egg noodles my grandparents would put in their Mennonite soups every day for lunch.

Once cooked in lightly salted water for 6 minutes the results were delicious. The more-kneaded dough came out to my favorite – much thicker and more substantive, a hearty egg noodle.

Check out more photos of the process and finished noodles on Flickr.

The chicken is marinated in olive oil and sun dried tomatoes and was served over a bed of sauteed garlic, onion, and apples with crisp lemon asparagus in the background. I’m still perfecting the grill technique on the asparagus – a little bit of charred blackness is fantastic, but it’s really easy to do.

The biggest experiment for me was the garlic, onion, and apples. I reduced a little lemon juice with the mix after caramelizing the onions to help bring out the sweetness in the onion. The end result came out sweet yet savory and filling. Next time I’m going to put the cloves of garlic in a few minutes early in the hopes of further softening it to better match the cooked apples.

Dessert was reheated from last night – a pureed pear and lime syrup baked over pear and apple slices with a crisp style top served ala mode with vanilla bean ice cream. This is certainly the tastiest thing I’ve ever made and possibly one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. NOM!

• 2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup melted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Beat melted butter, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Add flour and salt, mix well.
Dissolve baking soda in water and add to the mixture.
Add rolled oats, raisins – mix well a final time.
Form into tablespoonful sized mounds onto cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.
Cool and enjoy some massive nom .

If you follow metaspark via RSS you will want to move your subscription over to this new feed.

Tuesday morning my dog walker called me in a panic to let me know my condo was flooding and water was pouring in through the cling. I came racing home to find 20+ gallons of water a minute draining in from my ceiling in the entryway, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom and my dog Skype laying in a puddle whimpering.

A quick call to the fire department later and they beat the door in for my upstairs neighbor to discover a faulty toilet valve and full water mains pressure flowing into the unit. They were able to shut off the water, but at that point it was too late – my unit was completely soaked, and my downstairs neighbor’s unit had sustained quite a bit of damage as well.

After filing an insurance claim the work begun. Service Master appeared to start cleaning up the water and ripping out drywall, insulation, and the carpet. The condo is a total disaster now – I’m missing a ceiling, several of my walls, my carpet and sub floor. Additionally my bed was soaked through, one of my couches was destroyed, and most of my clothing was ruined. All of this has effectively made me homeless in the short term.

Thankfully I have an both excellent friends and an excellent insurance agent so I have a place to stay and everything will be back to normal in a month or so, but Christ – what a nightmare. All this is of course happening on the eve of when I had planned to list my condo to upgrade to a house so life is just complicated coming and going.

Ahh the joys of owning property.

Why so rabid a user base? You have me at that one – I’m hooked and have no clue why.

Shortly after taking that photo the Apple store closed to transform it into an iPhone 3G store. The first step was the erection of a large black velour curtain of mystery to shroud the store and prevent prying eyes from glimpsing the goodness being assembled inside. Other than the occasionally Apple employee emerging from the curtain to go home and sleep (lucky them) the velour curtain of mystery was the only thing to be seen until 8am graced the Pacific time zone.

Waiting in line
The 12 hours in line actually wasn’t so bad. Much to the horror of the Apple Store the Alderwood Mall Security and Administration announced that folding chairs, sleeping bags, tents, and in general having fun were forbidden on property. They seemed to think that even allowing us to be on the property after the malls 10pm closing time was a special treat and yes, could we ask for another cup of porridge sir?

Aside from having to choose between sitting on the cold outdoor concrete and standing all evening we had a blast. The Gear Live crew came out in force to film the event and do some product giveaways for some iPhone cases and accessories. The night passed relatively quickly bringing us to 8am with a line of 250+ excited people iWaiting for the iPhone 3G.

The curtain drops
The velour curtain of mystery dropped and the doors flung open to an Apple store filled with excited Apple employees clapping and cheering us on. Being first in line provided a larger thrill than I expected – leaving my heart racing as I walked through their gauntlet of proffered high-5’s, cheering iAcolytes, and my own sleep-starved imaginations addition of a glowing visage of his holiness Jobs floating in the middle of the store looking down upon his dedicated flock.

The thrill was unfortunately short lived – the internet had indicated prior to opening that system problems had been making the launch difficult for those in time zones ahead of PST. Those problems had far from been worked out by the time us on the west coast were blessed with the coming of 8am. Due to the glitches it was roughly 45 minutes from the time I entered the store until I had been able to successfully purchased my 16GB white iPhone 3G. Even after the purchase the in store activation failed completely leaving me with a sleek and sexy hunk of plastic, plaintively begging to be plugged into iTunes for activation.

Time passes, the 30 minute drive home ensues…

The first several hours home were bittersweet. On the up side I was home and able to shower and sit on comfortable furniture. On the down side I was iPhone-less. Due to a glitch (which has been dubbed the iPocalypse by our beloved main stream media) everyone transitioning from a 1st generation iPhone to an iPhone 3G had their 1st generation iPhone deactivated during the process, so due to the unavailability of the Apple activation server neither the old nor new iPhone would work as a phone leaving me (and 100’s of thousands of others) phone-less and unable to make or receive calls.

While catching back up on work mail remotely I was forced to repeatedly plug my pearly white new toy into my iMac to wait several minutes for the dreaded timeout dialog to inform me that no, I couldn’t use my new toy, and no I couldn’t have a pony either.

After begging use of a neighbors condo and phone line for a few conference calls my precious toy suddenly popped to life upon one of my connection attempts to iTunes. The server-gerbils must have finally gotten their second wind as my iPhone 3G activated, and the sync process begun to restore all of my settings, applications, and media.

Lunch with a friend ensues during the <1 hour sync…

Finally home, and with a working iPhone 3G in hand the process of playing with my precious new toy could begin. Although a little rough around the edges (more on that in a minute) the experience is overall very positive. The 3G antenna provides fast data – combining the stunning software functionality of the iPhone with WiFi like internet access anywhere in a major city makes for a highly functional and productive experience. The two big new software features – Microsoft Exchange support and the iTunes App Store – add significant functionality and usability for both business and consumer users of the iPhone alike.

Although highly subjective I would venture to say that the iPhone 3G feels faster than the first generation iPhone. I’m unaware of if the processor it utilizes is any faster, or if this is merely a psychosomatic effect, but many tasks seem to execute faster. On the flip side a few of the new features seem to have regressed performance – the contacts application now takes several seconds to load as opposed to the nearly instant launch on my old iPhone. Also in the subjective category the iPhone’s virtual keyboard seems improved, although I would be hard pressed to put my finger on exactly how. The keyboard just seems more accurate and easier to use with the new phone.

Another highly subjective trait of the iPhone 3G is it’s sleekness. While the iPhone 3G is actually a millimeter thicker than it’s 1st generation predecessor it feels significantly slimmer and more comfortable in the hand. Much like it’s big brother the Macbook Air the use of organically curving sides hides it’s true heft and girth from the users perception.

Microsoft Exchange support
Exchange support is baked in to the iPhone 2.0 firmware. This feature is available to first generation iPhones and the iPhone 3G alike. After entering your email address, domain account, and password directly into your iPhone and accepting any domain policies (such as a PIN lock) from the Exchange Server you are set to go. Email, contacts, and calendar updates push to the iPhone from your Exchange Server as advertised keeping any business user in touch with their work. Full Microsoft Office support has also been added allowing the reading and review of all Microsoft Office formats including Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents.

The iTunes App store
The App Store provides the other killer feature – or is that features. While many have decried the iPhone previously for missing various functions those naysayers have been silenced through the ad-hoc addition of functionality. The App Store allows for the browsing, downloading, and updating of applications over WiFi or the cellular network and brings a host of more than 500 new applications to the iPhone. While many of these applications lack the polish of the Apple built applications a few do have that level of sophistication and as time goes on and the iPhone platform gains momentum the signal to noise ratio will surely get better and a plentitude of stunning and functional applications filling any hole left by the Cupertino designers.

Several of the highly polished apps that have impressed me are Twitterrific, Loopt, and Remote. I also downloaded a few games and was impressed by the general level of polish, however as a general rule I don’t engage in mobile gaming so I’m mostly ignoring them for now. I have a few loaded onto my iPhone should I ever find myself with a few spare moments to burn and no productive tasks I can accomplish (unlikely with an iPhone in hand).

Location based services
While the built in A-GPS service was far from my most anticipated feature of the iPhone 3G it’s instantly grown on me. I had thought of the GPS capabilities primarily in turns of mapping and turn by turn directions, however the iPhone 2.0 firmware and the iTunes App Store have proved me wrong: location based services can be so much more.

A rash of location based applications have sprung up, and to my surprise they are all amazingly useful. Loopt provides a service similar to Dodgeball or BrightKite allowing users to check in with their friends and see what’s up but it improves upon it’s predecessors by being entirely automatic. Users can set up contacts and determine what level of location awareness they want to grant to each of these contacts and then view the location of their friends on a Microsoft Virtual Earth powered map. By updating your location without having to search for a location or manually enter one in the use of Loopt can be quick and simple – open the app, check what’s up, and get on with your day.

Other less flashy uses of the location services on the iPhone 3G don’t fail to impress. Even something as simple as a weather location can be improved by automatically knowing where you are. After getting used to weather applications, restaurant review sites, and other miscellaneous applications starting up defaulted to showing me information contextually relevant to my current location I’m struck by how “dumb” the non-location aware web is. Somehow it now seems downright primitive to have to enter my zip code into a web form to view movie times.

The downside to the iPhone 3G
While the App Store, Exchange Support, and location based services are impressive the new iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0 firmware still have their less rosy facets. The 2.0 firmware lacks the rock solid stability of the 1.1.4 firmware I had been using previously. My iPhone has randomly rebooted 4 times in the last two days – usually in association with one of the App store downloaded applications. Luckily this is likely just some growing pains with the new 2.0 firmware and hopefully a patch will be delivered soon which resolves the stability issues I’m seeing.

In addition to the crashes the iPhone 3G has a fraction of the battery life that the 1st generation iPhone had. This is undoubtedly the fault of the addition of 3G and GPS. I’ll have a more complete idea of how big the impact is after a few more days of usage, but I certainly have seen a reduction. Yesterday while out and about I was torturing my iPhone with 3G data and GPS usage tacking our groups progress through downtown and Greenlake using the Google Maps application. In less than 2 hours I had lost 60% of my battery life.

I’ll be the first to admit that using both the 3G and GPS radios simultaneously is likely the worst case scenario but it’s frustrating to see the battery drop so quickly given the stellar battery of the 1st generation iPhone. Luckily if it gets to be more of a problem than 3G is worth I can turn off the 3G radio and push mail to theoretically get the same or better battery life that I’m used to in exchange for losing out on the increased speed.

Final thoughts
While Apple and AT&T faltered with a very rough launch with activation server failures the iPhone 3G hardware combined with the iPhone 2.0 software make for a very big change to the mobile market as a whole. Apples vision of the iPhone being the personal computer of tomorrow is starting to show through the smoke and mirrors. The iTunes App Store will allow developers freedom to create amazing new experiences, and the well implemented support for Microsoft Exchange will help the iPhone venture into the enterprise and tap the booming market for business-oriented smartphones.

A special thanks to Brian and Brien for indulging my geeky little psychosis and watching Skype for the night.

When society really ends? The day they do this with bacon.

While their earbuds are amazingly comfortable and sound great they have severe build quality issues which results in frequent failure. After repairing the headphone sheath as described in the review and then replacing them entirely when they stopped working I have had to replace them two more times directly through the V-Moda warranty program for a total of three replacements in under 9 months.

The first time I replaced them through RMA I was a little irked that the process took almost two weeks. This time around V-Moda has gone silent once I shipped the defective earbuds back to them. UPS has proof that they were delivered and signed for, however V-Moda initially couldn’t find them (and wanted the tracking number again), and now refuses to even respond to emails regarding the warranty program.

It’s sad really – the Vibe Duo’s are the most comfortable, and among the best sounding headphones I’ve ever used. When they work I sing praises to my fellow man about the glory that is the Vibe Duo, but since in the last 9 months since I bought my first pair I’ve been through 3 pairs, and without their delicious sound for more than 6 weeks I can’t honestly recommend anyone purchase them if they in the slightest value reliability or customer service.

I’ve filed an official complaint with the Better Business Bureau to see if that might get me traction on getting my promised replacement pair. The full text of the complaint is below for public record.

Complainant Information
About 3 weeks ago my Vibe Duo earbuds stopped working and I contacted the company asking for a replacement pair. They sent a form letter with a ticket number (Ticket ID: ZWL-207849) and asked that I mail the broken earbuds to their mailing address. (V-Moda, 6464 sunset blvd. suite 500, hollywood ca 90028)

I sent the earbuds back via UPS (tracking number: -tracking number redacted-) and then didn’t hear anything back for 2 weeks. UPS confirms that the package was delivered 2 weeks prior, 2 days after shipment.

I re-contacted them asking for status and they took 3 days to respond and their response was that they needed the tracking number. I sent an email providing the tracking number and have not heard back from them. I have sent them two additional emails asking for status updates and to complete the RMA with no response. Each of my last 3 emails has included all of my contact information as well as the tracking number.

Resolution Sought: I would like the RMA to be completed and to receive the replacement earbuds for the ones sent their way (at their instruction).
Date Problem Started: 05/28/2008
Date of Transaction: 05/28/2008
Amount in Dispute: $110.00
Invoice Number: ZWL-207849
Complaint Type: Refund Promised
Product or Service: V-Moda offers “high end” earbuds.

Update: Mere hours after the posting of this article V-Moda got back to me with status on the warranty replacement and the happy news that they would be shipping the replacement Duos right away. The communication did not mention if the Better Business Bureau or this article had any influence on their response but the timing certainly is suspicious. The note included an apology stating that they had moved offices which had caused delays. While finally getting contact is nice V-Moda’s inability to properly set expectations was inexcusable.

Good customer service does not always mean instant resolution on an issue, but it always means rapidly responding to contact and setting expectations properly. After 9 days of sending mails to V-Moda with no response any customer is going to be frustrated – a frustration which could have simply been avoided with a quick email on day one stating that they had received the communication and would have an official response within two weeks.

In conclusion I can no longer heartily recommend the Vibe Duos to iPhone owners seeking headsets. Don’t get me wrong – I love my Vibe Duos, they sound great and are super comfortable but after 3 failures and such abysmal customer service I’m left with both a sour taste in my mouth and a sadness in my heart that if history is any indication my replacement Duos won’t last longer than 3-4 months .

Then go here to enter the latest Gear Live contest. It might only be a 1st gen iPhone on the eve of the 3G launch, but it’s at the right price: free! There are other prizes too, but who cares: orange creamsicle iPhone!

Answer: the bacon chocolate martini at the Capitol Club, Capitol Hill, Seattle.

Bless the Capitol Club, and bless Ali and TB for doing dinner with me last night at the Capitol Club. Good luck gals – twins on the way!

Update: A few days after posting this I’ve gotten a couple of emails asking for more details so here they are. The bacon chocolate martini is far from a martini – it’s not crisp nor light. It’s thick, heavy, and delicious. In fact, think of it more as a dessert than as a cocktail. The Godiva chocolate liquor used gives an almost milkshake like texture to this rich sensual delight.

The drink itself is more focused on the chocolate than the bacon. The bacon infused vodka adds more of a bacon note to the drink than an overwhelming bacon flavor. The candied bacon garnish is a sweet finish and tastes delicious dipped in the chocolate between nibbles. The Capitol Club was smart to start with maple cured bacon and then candy it – the ultra sweetness added by this process works perfectly with the natural salty flavor of the bacon when combined with chocolate.

For such a relaxed people the inhabitants of Berlin all seem to have the German sense of efficiency drilled into their very cores related to driving resulting in quick and productive transport.

P.S while on the topic of cars, I want one of these:

I’ve been back in the USA for about 36 hours and I’m finally pretty much caught up on sleep and free of jet lag. As great of a time as I had in Berlin I’m quite glad to be home. I’ve finally got the last of the photos from the trip that are worth posting uploaded to my Berlin photoset on Flickr.

The HP event was actually really fun and informative to attend. To be honest I was a little worried that it would be a pretty mundane event announcing 5% faster this, and 8% smaller that but my fears turned out to be unfounded. HP launched both a massively improved Touchsmart as well as the stunning and lustworthy Voodoo Envy.

Another one of my 101 goals is completed and I’m left with a desire to return to Europe and explore more of what it has to offer.

HP has put us up in the Concorde, a beautiful 5 star hotel in the West German town center. It’s a great location which makes walking hither and yon an easy task. As busy as I’ve been I’ve taken every effort to get out and explore, taking photos along the way. I’m way behind in posting those photos, but I’ll try to catch up in the next few days and get another batch uploaded to my Flickr stream.

Ciao for now – off to get ready for the first day of interviews.

The Sparkasse bank, Berlin, Germany.

Getting on the flight was also an interesting experience. I’m not sure if this is normal for international flights but they had a long line of customs agents lining the hallway to the plane as I entered and were pulling every other passenger or so off to ask them conversational questions about their trip and duration. I suspect given the way the conversation happened that they were looking for nervousness or other signs of illicit activity.

While Northwest Airlines is no British Airways or Virgin it does manage to impress with a few amenities. Most notably is the inclusion of standard united states AC power outlets for each seat enabling laptop usage during the entire 12 hour flight without the use of additional batteries or proprietary charging adapters.

Aside from the availability of power (sweet, sweet power) the Airbus plane I’m on features a small screen embedded into the back of every seat. Coupled with a wired remote control in the armrest this screen is theoretically supposed to offer on-demand movies, in-flight information, games, and a variety of ways to part from one’s money. However the particular linux-powered system in my (rather the row of seats I am currently occupying) seems to have some problems as after three hard resets they still can’t get movies working. The attendant offered me 5,000 air miles for my trouble, but as I fly about once a year it wasn’t really worth the trouble of filling out the paperwork to claim them. Poor me.

*** time passes ****

I’m currently hurtling above the Atlantic ocean near Greenland at approximately 580MPH. As such the flight has been blessedly uneventful. The food service is average at best, but not so bad when I factor the fact that it’s being served to me 36,995 feet in the air while hurtling along at nearly the speed of sound.

I’ve been struck by how many male flight attendants there are on this flight. In my past experiences most flight crews have been predominately female – a stark departure from this 2:1 male to female ratio I’m seeing for this one. I wonder if that’s because this is an international flight, because this is a Northwest flight, or if I’m just lucky to get some decent eye candy on the 10 hour leg of my journey.

*** more time passes ***

While whisking along through the air I decided to flip through my download of Little Brother, Cory Doctorow’s latest book. It’s actually a fairly creepy book to read given how close it smacks to the truth. The subject of the book is a kid, barely 17, who is in the wrong place at the wrong time and is detailed and questioned for potential involvement in a terrorist act. Having just been questioned needlessly by customs while leaving the country I’m suddenly even more aware at how the United States government has become just a little too Orwellian of late, all in the name of protection.

*** even more time passes ***

Well, Little Brother is done, and an excellent book. Bravo to Cory for writing in a language that the up and coming generation can understand bringing light to an issue that often adults find confusing. I highly recommended reading it – wether from a free download from Cory’s website or by purchasing it from your local retailer (and thus supporting Cory).

On a less related note I’m very glad that this plane has AC outlets. I’m already more than 8 hours into this flight and think that without the digital comfort provided by my laptop in the form of books, movies, and music I would have gone stir crazy by now. As is I think I’m on the verge of stir crazy just based on the fact that I’ve essentially been sitting in the same cramped and uncomfortable seat for 8 hours straight without standing up now. I can’t wait for the flight to land (less than 2 hours now) so I can stretch my legs and get some circulation going again.

*** time passes, but not much ***

Although walking about is discouraged I finally couldn’t take it any more. I managed to do a few laps around the plane (and hit the frighteningly small bathroom). It wasn’t much, but after 8 hours I’m not too picky when it comes to stretching my legs.

I’m now struck by the prevailing fact that I’m further from my home (or my birthplace) than I’ve ever been before. In the grand scheme of things it’s pretty trivial to be 4,037 miles away from Seattle (if the in-seat entertainment unit is to be trusted) given how man is on the verge of exploring the universe and expanding our horizons on a cosmic scale, but it’s still a big deal for me.

I’m very interested to see what my personal take on Europe is going to be. Somehow it now seems strange to only have a single viewpoint on life, to have only seen the American way. From what I’ve heard the rest of the world is a very different place – I’m eager to see how different (and how the same) it really is from the reality I’ve known my whole life.

*** 700 miles remaining to Amsterdam ***

As I’m sure my mother could attest I’m not so good at sitting still. I’m not so good at traveling either. I guess combining the two is one of those little personal tests one must go through to experience the world. Weird thing is that if my 101 goals are to be believed then I’ll be doing this all over to visit Japan, and then a miniature version of this to see the east coast of the United States.

Side note: I wonder what kind of coffee will greet me at the Amsterdam International Airport. Regardless of type, quality, or concentration I can assure you that immediately upon landing coffee will be consumed.

*** 48 minutes remaining to touchdown ***

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? How about now? Now? Soon? Are we there yet?

Further side note: The iProduct is ubiquitous. Of the approximately 30 people I can see from my vantage here in the bowels of a giant plane I can count no less than 18 of them using the signature white earbuds. Sadly I myself am in this lot while I wait for my Vibe Duo’s to come back (yet again) from Vibe after their last failure.

*** the second leg ***

I’m currently on the second (and much shorter) leg of my journey. Nate and I made it to Amsterdam and got a chance to stretch our legs and wander about the Amsterdam airport for a few hours. Now that we have boarded our final leg we have less than one hour remaining until we land in Germany.

I’m busy cramming Learn German 101 podcasts trying to brush up my vocabulary to a meager minimum to allow me to get by. Yes – I realize that on the plane to Germany is likely not the best time to be learning German, but really when it comes right down to it I think this falls into the ‘better late than never’ category.

I’m quite looking forward to landing and getting checked in to our hotel. We will be landing at roughly 2pm local time and have the rest of the day free. After a quick shower I’m hoping to get out into Berlin with my camera and get in a little tourist time before the HP PSG event starts and I get sucked into work related stuff.