New Postage Rates

I justed wanted to give folks a heads up that First Class postage for a 1 ounce letter will go up 1 penny on May 12th. If you own forever stamps, you won't be affected by the price increase. I don't know how much of a grace period the Post Office will give on the new rate. I do know that after a certain period, they will kick the letter back for 1 lousy penny. So, you can either buy some forever stamps now so you don't have to buy a bunch of 1 cent stamps or mark your calendars and be ready to add a 1 cent stamp on your letters. The increase is due to the cost of inflation. New rates for Express Mail, Priority Mail, and International Mail will be announced in March. (Source for all the information above: http://www.usps.com/prices/welcome.htm?from=bannercommunications&page=prices)

Show Review

I saw Toby Dinner Theater's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" last night in Columbia, Maryland. I've been looking forward to seeing it as I first saw it in London, England and thoroughly enjoyed it. Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the music for it and did a fantastic job. It has some great song and interestingly, they are in a number of different styles i.e. country, reggae, rock, choral. It's the first show I've seen of Webber's where he did that.

Toby's version was very nice. It had the same great music though different costumes. Each of the 12 brothers wore overalls with the first letter of their name. In place of a kids choir, the have a women's ensemble that sings the choral pieces. They have a small ensemble that plays the music for the production. Interestingly, all the waiters and waitresses either perform in the show or work in sound & lighting or the music ensemble. If you enjoy the performance, you might want to give them a larger tip as this is supposedly the biggest source of their income at Toby's.

Food wise, the food was good and there was plenty of it. I wasn't super impressed with the salad bar but, overall I thought the meal was good. As it's a buffet, you can eat as much as you want. I didn't make a pig of myself but I left filled up. Drinks wise, drinks from the bar are not included with the meal. I ordered a vanilla milkshake in a show glass. The shake and glass cost $6.10. I thought that was reasonable. The shake itself was very good. Service was excellent. My waiter Matt repeatedly checked on me to make sure everything was all right.

Overall, I was very pleased with the show and Toby's. I thought they did a fine job. Another plus about Toby's in Columbia is their excellent location. They're just off of Maryland-29. Their location made it easy for me to get home vice seeing a production in downtown Baltimore. If you're interested in seeing this production, their website is (http://www.tobysdinnertheatre.com/tobyscolumbia_003.htm). Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will be running at the Columbia Toby's through June 8th. Cheers all!

Periodontist

I saw Dr. Jones today at Batz & Weiner Dental Clinic. The dentist who cleaned me teeth said I needed to see him. It turned out I didn't. However, I learned that because my gums had been so badly infected, I would need to see him about cleaning my teeth as he can go below the gum line and make sure the infections don't come back. A regular dentist works only above the gum line. I also talked with him about getting my teeth cleaned every 3 months. I'm lazy about flossing. By going in every 3 months, I can make up for my lack of flossing and make sure my teeth don't get so bad again.

Cell Phone Off

This post is for any of my friends or family that read this blog. Thanks to the situation at the Post Office, I've turned off my cell phone since I don't want to be reached by them till I have to go back Thursday morning. If you need to contact me before Thursday morning, please email me.

Test Drive

I did a test drive today to Washington Dulles International Airport. I'll be flying out of there when I fly to San Juan, Puerto Rico for my Caribbean cruise. The drive went all right barring slow traffic on a number of spots on the Washington 495 Beltway. As I was going to west on 495, I saw that there were bad spots going east and decided to continue on 495 South once I finished checking Dulles out.

Washington Dulles International Airport was built between 1958 and 1962. The main architect of the airport was Eero Saarinen. (Source: http://www.metwashairports.com/dulles/about_dulles_international_2/history_2)

Saarinen did a nice job designing the airport. He also designed it so it could grow as more and more people flew. Thanks to Saarinen's foresight, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority was able to expand the airport as needed. I drove the dedicated road that runs to the airport. It was well maintained and well marked. I was able to find the long term (economy) parking lots as well as the departure area I'll leave from. From what I could see, my only worry will be the traffic along the 495 Beltway. Once I reach the dedicated road, I should have no problems reaching Dulles. I'm considering staying at a hotel at the airport or close by. I have a somewhat early flight and I don't want to have to get up super early to drive down to Dulles or take a chance on the traffic. I don't know what the traffic is like on the Beltway at 6 a.m.

My drive back was uneventful barring a 3 or 4 mile backup before the drawbridge on the southeast side of the beltway. I suspect construction in this area is what is slowing traffic down there. Once I was past that, I made good time getting home.

Hobbit Update

This is a little old but, I thought I'd post something on it anyway. The Tolkien Estate is suing New Line Cinema for its share of the Lord of the Rings movies. The estate reportedly received just $62,500 as an "upfront payment" before production began (Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080211/ap_en_mo/tolkien_lawsuit). The estate was supposed to receive "7.5 percent of the gross receipts." (Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080211/ap_en_mo/tolkien_lawsuit) The estate is suing New Line for more than $150 million. They are also seeking to prevent New Line from making any movies based on other Tolkien works.

Personal Observations: Considering the complaints Peter Jackson and actors/actresses who had parts in the movies about not getting their share of the profits, I can believe New Line was tightwadish enough not to pay these guys. I don't know how they thought they could get away with it. The estate probably isn't hurting for money so they would be able to get the best legal help out there and force New Line to pay them their share. Unless New Line quickly settles with the estate, this will hold up "The Hobbit" and its follow-on for another couple years at least. The good thing about that is that New Line Cinema will lose the rights to "The Hobbit." MGM will most likely buy the rights from Saul Zaentz (who owns them). Also, by the time this lawsuit is settled, Peter Jackson's schedule will be more open and he may be able to direct the two movies himself. Right now, current speculation says Guillermo Del Toro will get to direct the movies though I haven't heard of him signing any contract to do so. As far as I know, his agents are still in talks which may have been put on hold because of this lawsuit. The obvious bad point of this lawsuit is that "The Hobbit" will be held up for a couple more years (groan). One hoped for good point is that the egotistical Bob Shaye, Co-CEO and Co-Chairman of New Line Cinema will be given the boot by the studios parent company Time Warner after this latest fiasco. The tightwad certainly deserves it. Stay tuned for further updates.

Cruise Documents

Last week, I received the documents for my upcoming cruise with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. As this is the first set I've ever received, I was very curious about them. The documents include itinerary, luggage tags and optional excursions at the ports the ship will call at. It also explained some things about ship life. One thing they mentioned that I'm very interested in is their WiFi Internet service. They said they charge a "nominal" charge. What do they consider "nominal"? I remember using the terminals at the Radission in Oslo and Stockholm. They charged something like 50 cents a minute which to me isn't nominal. It's damned expensive! Because of their WiFi service, I'm going to take my laptop. I hope that I'll be able to post updates on my blog during the cruise. We'll see on that.

Book Review

I confess that I'm an Anglophile. I am very much fascinated with things concerning England. One of the subjects that fascinates me most is the Royal Family. They get to live a life that I can only glimpse at in wonder. One of the neatest things I've done is take a tour of Buckingham Palace. The place absolutely dazzles. That someone would get to live in a place like that all the time boggles. So, when I heard about the book A Year With The Queen, I had to buy it and read it. The book tells you what Queen Elizabeth II does in a year, how she does it and the people who support her as monarch of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It also shows the part her family and cousins (Duke of Kent, Duke of Gloucester) play in helping her do her job. It's impossible for the Queen to attend all the engagements that require her presence so she has to send various members of her family as well as her cousins to represent her. The book explains how much it costs the British taxpayer for the Royal Family and what the money is spent on. It explains the relationship between the Queen and her Prime Minister and her relationship with the Commonwealth (former British colonies). In pictures, it shows the Queen and her consort the Duke of Edinburgh doing their various duties.

The list price for the book is $30 though you should be able to get it for less than that. All the major bookstores in the U.S. should have the book. The book is a companion to a tv series that will air on ABC (I believe) though I don't know when.

Overall, if you're an Anglophile, this is a delightful book about the Royal Family. You'll learn more of how things work at Buckingham Palace and what Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh are like. You'll even find out how you can get an invitation to one of the Queen's tea parties. If you're fascinated about England or just curious about the British Royal Family, this is a book you ought to read.

Voting in Maryland

I just wanted to post a reminder to any readers in Maryland that today is election day in Maryland. Today, you get to vote in either the Maryland Democrat or Republican primary election depending on which of these parties you registered with. If you are unaffiliated, unless there is nonpartisan election such as a nominees for a board of education, you won't get to vote today (source: http://www.elections.state.md.us/voting/primary.html). You will get to vote in the national election. I would urge you vote. This is one of the times when you can have your say on where you think this country should go. If you don't vote, I feel you don't have any right to complain about where this country is headed because you didn't do anything to change it. You can say your vote won't make a difference. I say, you don't know that for a fact and even if the person you voted for loses, at least you made the effort to change things vice those who complain and do nothing about it. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today (source: http://www.elections.state.md.us/voting/election_day_questions.html#Time).

Purpose of this Blog

Recently, Jim on Serotoninrain brought up the possibility of making a donation to him via his blog. To me, that opened a huge can of worms because I think it changes the nature of his blog. It becomes more of possible money making enterprise vice putting something out there as expression of yourself and that you hope someone else might enjoy. It also caused me to look at my own blog and why I do it.

First and foremost, this blog is for my own enjoyment. I post whatever I feel like posting. Sometimes, I've used it to vent and sometimes, I've tried to be creative by posting what I hope are nice photos of places I've been to. At times, I try to make it useful to whoever might read it. I'll post reviews on products, music, movies or places. I don't claim to be an expert on anything and considering what my blog costs you (zip), you shouldn't expect some great product or service. What you do with the information I provide is your business and you take the information at your own risk. I do try to be accurate and state sources when I use information from other places. If any readers of this blog see something that is wrong, I would greatly appreciate a remark letting me know so I can correct it. Jim did that recently with the post I published on Starbucks. I was grateful for the correction. I do reserve the right to moderate remarks. I won't allow any remarks that in my opinion advertise some kind of service. My blog is not in any way a commercial enterprise and won't be used for that. There is a small advertisement beneath my counter on my blog. In order to use the counter for free, I had to agree to that advertisment. You can blow that advertisement off if you wish. I definitely don't push that product or any product for that matter.

Second, I hope this blog is entertaining or useful to you the reader. While I enjoy posting stuff on this blog, I find it more enjoyable when I find that people out there actually read what I post and enjoy it or find it useful. I won't promise this blog will always be entertaining or useful to you because each of you have your own ideas on what is entertaining or useful. It's impossible for me to meet the ideas of each reader. Plus, some days, I'm bound to write a stinker of a blog entry. We all have our bad days.

That summarizes my thoughts on this blog and it's purpose. I would encourage you the reader to post your remarks as long as their civil. I like hearing from readers of this blog. Cheers all!

Payraise

To my surprise, I found out the rural mail carriers received a payraise this past pay period. Our pay has gone up 47 cents an hour. I know that doesn't sound like much but, it can add up. This past pay period, I worked 40 hours plus both week. That 47 cent raise translated into almost $40 more in my paycheck. Overtime wise, the raise means we make nearly $27 an hour when we're in overtime. I'll gladly take the additional money.

Trips

I paid off the Globus France tour I'll be going on in September. It should be an awesome tour. Globus does a really nice job. The only bummer is the weak dollar. France is going to be more expensive than Scandanavia. Like the cruise, I've also paid off the additional things for the tour like the airplane tickets and airport shuttle. Annoyingly, Globus isn't showing a list of optional tours and prices for the tour. It would be nice to see what additional stuff I could do on the tour and what it would cost.

Concerning the cruise I'll be going on, that's only 30 days away. Sometimes it can be nice when time flies and this is one of those times. I'm very much looking forward to the cruise as I've never been on a cruise ship or seen the Southern Caribbean. It'll also be nice to get to go scuba diving and deep sea fishing. I also play to play the slots in the ship's casino. Hopefully, I'll have the same luck or better I had at Atlantic City. I won $120 there. Thanks to my friend Harvey, I kept it as I stopped while I was ahead and resisted the temptation to go back and try again. I found out from my travel agent Joel that Royal Caribbean Cruises sends out some kind of travel documents though nothing as fancy as Globus. I'm curious to see what those are like.

Retraction

Yesterday, I posted a blog entry about Starbucks not supporting our troops. As a retired member of the Air Force, I was very incensed about them not supporting those who are putting their lives on the line for us. My source for the blog was an email from a trusted friend. It turns out my friend was wrong. Jim at Serotoninrain sent me a website (http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/starbucks.asp) that proves that the story is totally false. Many thanks to Jim. Also, my apologies to Starbucks. I trusted that my friend would be accurate on this and she wasn't. Due to the seriousness of the rumor, I've deleted the original blog entry. For the record, numerous Starbucks employees have sent their free weekly coffee allotment to our troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many kudos to them as well.

Casino Royal Game

I decided to try the Casino Royal Game at Dave & Busters. The last time I was there, a guy told me you could win more tickets on it vice Spin & Win. After playing it for 20 minutes, I found I ended up with as many tickets as I would've won on Spin & Win on one of my bad days on it i.e. I only managed to hit the 1,000 tickets light twice. I found I did get more play action on the Casino Royal game vice the Spin & Win as I got 10 coins to put in the game everytime vice getting to pull the spin lever and hit the stop button. Also, I received more winning action i.e. I had more times when I'd win tickets. In terms of what it cost to play the game, it was the same if you had a regular play card (10 tickets vice 9.9 tickets). If you had a Gold card, you could play the Spin & Win game more overall as it costs 8.9 tickets to play that each time vice the 10 tickets it cost to play Casino Royal every time. Timing wise, it was easier to play the Casino Royal game vice trying to get it right when the light comes around the Spin & Win wheel. However, if you had a Gold card and tried to hit the 80 ticket window on the Spin & Win vice the 1,000, you'd could easily get as many tickets on that game.

Overall, the Casino Royal game is a lot easier to play. If you're timing isn't the greatest, you'll want to play that game vice Spin & Win. If you want the greatest chance to win big, you'll want to play Spin & Win as the Casino Royal game can't match the 1,000 windows on the Spin & Win game. In terms of excitement, I think the Spin & Win game is more exciting to play. Every time you pull the lever on that game, you could win 1,000 tickets. As to which game you should play, I'll leave that up to you. You know what arcarde games you like to play. If you're into sports arcade games, a lady playing next to me at the Casino Royal games told me the basketball shooting game pays out well. You might want to try that.

FYI, the gift shop got some new prizes in. One notable one is a Toshiba 15-inch dual tv system (digital and analog)/monitor with DVD player. This is going for 90,000 tickets! They also some new prize that cost 120,000 but I forget what it was. Someone claimed the Sony entertainment system they had for 48,000 tickets.