10 cents for a banana ... Outrageous!

To my wife, in matters of wheeling, dealing and striking a bargain, I am known as the "Colombian Negotiator." You see, in Colombia, bananas cost a nickel. Everyone knows this. Often, the first words Colombian children utter are "el gato esta en mis pantalones" which I have on good authority means "get your nickel bananas here." So, when I approached a vendor and raised my nickel's worth of pesos to him for a banana he said "bananas are a dime." I am good at geometry ( taught by the football coach), so I knew this was like 87% more than I paid for anywhere else at anytime else to anysomeone else. He was trying to get away with what I like to call "Gringo-nomics" a type of economics popular in South American countries in the 80s and still crops up today. Call it a tax on your accent.

I didn't tell him where he could stick his bananas ( his nose people!) because I was a missionary at the time, but all it took was me walking away for that 87% tax to vanish right where it came from ... out of thin air.

When I saw this at work, I just had to whip out my trusty 0.23 Megapixel hamster-powered camera phone and snap away. This scene tickled my fancy for some reason ... maybe more than it should. I still chuckle when I see it ... weird I know.

Red Sox Spank Braves in Turner Field

Awesome game. Fireworks. Great parking. An autograph (no, I didn't get it, my buddy Dave got it, grrr.) Awesome 3 run RBI by Varitek. Lester's first MLB win as a rookie pitcher. Manny Ramirez all up in our grill and we are loving it. Diving golden glove catch by Lowell to end the game. John Papelbon (ERA 0.28 update 0.25)

A sign I made:
and true brotherly love is taking your bro out for a game.
David Ortiz (0 for 4 tonight tough love update Papi homers on Saturday and Sunday) From MLB.com: "Jon Lester showed Red Sox Nation why he is one of the organization's top prospects, giving up one run in six innings to pick up his first career victory. Jason Varitek provided the big blow, driving in three runs with a third-inning double."

Seared to Perfection

Our annual tradition lived on as Raquelle and I (and Nathaniel in tow) visited the famous Ruth Chris Steak House in Birmingham to celebrate our anniversary. We enjoyed their filet, chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, and creme brulee! We even saw the same server there (Mike D.) that served us our wedding night dinner and scoured the Embassy Suites for root beer for us when we asked for it and it wasn't on the menu. Ever since then, we have been bringing Wisconsin's famous brew, Sprecher Root Beer to RCSH to enjoy in style. Apparently, a new city law came into effect that doesn't allow us to bring in outside food or beverages. Bummer. It just means we will have to use the Sprecher's in root beer floats and really party in good taste.

Matlab Problem #3 ( Par: 4 minutes)

Determine the difference between the number of perfect squares and cubes that exist between one hundred and one billion.

One Week (22 hours, 5 Minutes) and Counting

I'm really pumped about next Friday. Red Sox are playing the Braves and I am so there. Dave B. got me hooked on them so naturally I got to go see them! I'll let you know how the game is going through my cellphone-text message-intraweb connection. Or you could just turn on the TV since it will be on there. Which reminds me, I need to make a sign!

Matlab Problem #2 (Par: 6 minutes)

Here is a dartboard with only two regions worth 9 points and 4 points. If you could throw any number of darts, what is the largest positive score you cannot get?

A Giant Has Fallen

It took six and a half weeks, but I finally subcomed to having dessert. The culprit was none other but the turtle cheesecake. It was euphoric! And I was going to have a special post in five and a half more weeks where I have take a poll to see what my first dessert after 12 weeks was going to be. Miriam's German Chocolate Cake, or Valerie's German Chocolate Cake, Alaina's German Chocolate Cake, or my wife's German Chocolate Cake. I'm surprised the turtle cheesecake took me down.

They Got Dividers

A whole bunch of family and friends joined Spencer ( 26th birthday today) at the Ryan's of Montgomery for a fine feast and fellowship. The cook did not know how to grill a medium steak ... you could see icicles on the inside of the meat! Some of us headed over to Brian and Lisa's house for games ... I ruled the Carcasonne roost!

The title of the post is an inside joke about where Raquelle and I almost had our wedding breakfast. You are the best, Dad!

My Newest Hobby

Get ready to hear a lot of mumbling, grumbling, and "fores"!

One Year Later

So today marks one year at Neptune also (FYI: June 1,1941 Crete falls to German forces.) Man, time flies. It still feels like I'm the new guy, even though we have hired three new engineers and three new technicians since I have started. To mark the special occasion, I brought in an assortment of bagels from Panera. Everyone thought they were a hit and one RF engineer helped himself to two bagels. ( one cinnamon and one chocolate chip)

Jerry and James had a gift ready for me on my anniversary ... it is pictured below:



This R900i register is one that I was instrumental in testing to death before we shipped this product... literally ... because I ran over it (see broken glass). This unit is now on my desk ... and to our company's credit, the R900i still works!