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Winchester Home News 21-12-1997

This weeks Home News is being written at 35,000 feet from seat 35D on a cDonnald Douglas MD11 American Airlines flight from Heathrow to Chicago. The kids were up at 04:30 this morning, dressed by 04:40 and sitting on their beds with their back packs strapped on, waiting for the 05:30 taxi by 04:45. Me, I took a more relaxed approach, had a nice hot bath and was still the first one out the door. Women. Heathrow was it's normal chaotic self, and resembles a shopping mall with aircraft departures and arrivals tagged on as a loss leader.

The weekend was spent packing, packing and packing. The Datak Lan was dismantled and securely locked away in the safe and in the Red Monsters boot. It is also stashed on a couple of CD-Roms which I burnt as a last line of defence backup, and which are with us in my briefcase. The kids broke up for their Christmas holidays on Thursday and Maggie bunked off her final day of her course. I worked in my quota of hours, which is not to say that I achieved very much apart from downloading some more AOE scenarios, and accessing the Tomb Raiders site to find out how to get Lora Croft to achieve more than just being eaten by a tiger. I'm sure there must be more to the adventure than watching a helicopter fly overhead, going for a dip in a pond and then serving herself up as a snack for a beautifully rendered tiger.

Yes, I now have Internet access on my machine at work. While most people are still struggling along with Novell, Windows 3.1 and Word 2/Access 2, I have set up a private NT server running SQL Server, TCP/IP IPX and NetBEUI, a private Web Server, my workstation is running Windows 95, I have my Zip and CD-Rom drives connected in as shared devices and I have myself hooked into their proxy server, which someone set up as a test, and which has a 64Kbs (ISDN I think) line. The rest of my immediate team has now also seen the light and ditched their 3.1 and installed NT or 95. I have also usurped yet another machine (I now have three stacked on my desk, at my disposal) which is designated the "User Test Machine".

Another airline meal survived. After a certain number, I think you qualify for a purple heart on American Airlines. They emphasised that the Beef was "Aamericaan" (feeble attempt at doing accents in a word processor), which was not really relevant as we were having the vegetarian food, made with vegetables grown in the heart of the Old West no doubt. Lucky we had Tarryn with us to explain everything. We would be lost without her. She was even kind enough to wake me up to ask me whether I wanted to be woken up when the drinks trolley came around.

Maggie and the kids are doing logic puzzles, and exclaiming "Hey Dad" in Hampshire accents when they spot that I am writing about them. I have been practising my best American accent on the stewardesses, but they still didn't know what a Fanta was. Funny, I am sure they have Fanta in the US. Had to settle for Coke again - the universal cop out when international communication fails.

Today is the shortest day of the year for most, but is about eight hours longer for us. And as we are only returning in 1998, I guess that is going to make 1997 the longest year as well. Still, we can look forward to less hours of panic Christmas shopping next year. I guess we are about a quarter of the way there by now, but when I flip to Seattle time on the World Clock which is minimised on the task bar, it looks as if we have just stowed our two large black bags and climbed into the National Express in Winchester. Isn't time travel wonderful.

So here we are at Chicago, waiting at gate K14, for the 2:55 flight to Seattle. If we have our watches set correctly then that is in about an hour, even though the body is wanting a cup of coffee and bed. The weather in Chicago is good, zero degrees and almost sunny. Seattle is apparently about 4 and also sunny. Customs and immigration was a breeze, and the six pack of Castles and another of Windhoek Export lager seem to have got though unscathed.

Well, its now Christmas day, night already as its about 4:30, and we have just come back from a Christmas Day spent skiing at Snoqualmie about 50 miles from Eric and Pats house in Issaquah. It was spectacular, awesome and radical. The scenery that is. The skiing started off rubbish, but after we stopped trying our "skills" on the black slope and found the gentler learning slope, things improved somewhat. By midday, the morning mist had lifted to reveal the even more spectacular scenery and our form had also improved to where we were all zooming down and even racing. most of us were also able to do two or three runs without a fall. After lunch, we got more confident and tried the "Dodge Run" slope. The start of the run was through a wooded area which was spectacularly spectacular . I will have to send photos to help explain the level of spectacularity.

Unfortunately I think a combination of jelly legs and trying to keep up with a zooming ski devil, Nicky and her personal ski instructor, Eric - led to a snowy tumble. All the hard won confidence was lost. I searched and found the glasses, but the confidence was nowhere to be found. Some serious snow ploughing and lengthy 0.01 degree traversing eventually helped me to the bottom. More simple slopes for me to build that confidence again. Nicky is definitely the star, and I think I am still next. Maggie is also good and didn't mislay her confidence. Tarryn sticks to snow ploughing down at a safe speed.

Saying for the day, actually more a high pitched yell, "Nagano here I come..." (Nagano being the site for the next Winter Olympics). Eric's advice was not to "peak" too soon, so as to preserve the hopes of the British free style Olympic team. Very free style.

When we got home we all jumped into the hot-tub Jacuzzi. outside on the desk.

What a fantastic Christmas.

Time flies when you are having fun, and now we are flying back in time to Chicago and then hopefully still connecting to Heathrow this evening. The flight was delayed for an hour and a half at Sea-Tac (Seattle airport0 because of bad weather in Chicago.

The rest of the holiday in Seattle was absolutely brilliant. On boxing day we went back skiing on Snoqualmie pass although this time the scenery was nothing to rave about although the skiing prowess was. Actually the scenery was pretty much the same as the day before, you just couldn't see it for the fog and cloud. We got a bit cold and I bought Nicky and Tarryn "dearth Vader" ski masks and goggles to reduce the hot chocolate bill. The hot tub was as welcome as on Christmas day. The next day we curtailed our skiing frenzy to cut down the flu and coughing epidemic which was sweeping through the family and spreading to the locals. Like Christopher Columbus, we had come, seen and brought the flu.

So what do you do in America when the skiing comes to a halt. Hit the malls of course. Shop till you drop. The favourites were Pike Place market in Seattle, The Bellevue Square Mall in Bellevue, Issaquah shops and a few (actually more than a few) huge monsters like Costco, Computer City, some excellent book shops, and the Eggheads (Software).

On the last day of 1997 we went in search of Orcas off San Juan island. It involved a two hour drive north, and then an hour and a half ferry trip to Friday Harbour on San Juan. The scenery was spectacular and Pat and Maggie have already planned their holiday houses on some of the private islands in the area. Paul Allan (Bill Gates's side kick) has one, and so do a lot of rock stars and oil billionaires. Apparently though, you can pick then up quite cheap as the billionaires get bored not being busy making more billions and move back to the rat race after about a year. Cheap is of course a relative term. At Friday Harbour, we hopped onto "The Black Fish", a small fast craft that we had organised to take us wildlife watching. No Orcas were there on the day though, but we did get to see quite a few bald eagles, numerous other birds, Stella Sea Lions (the biggest grumpiest of the sea lion family), and perhaps a glimpse of a sea otter. The day before we had been to the Aquarium and seen otters and seals as well as puffins and of course fish close up, but it isn't quite the same as seeing them in their natural environment and of course seeing the absolute majesty of the Puget Sound itself. Lunch was some grilled salmon. See them, then Eat them.

Last night we went to THE BEST restaurant in the world. The food was simply magical. We had been to Wolfgang Puck's other restaurant in Seattle a few days before, for some amazing food, and got info on his new up market one, the ObaChine (translates to "above Chinese" - I think). I can't begin to describe the food. Lets just say that American Airlines is busy serving "food" now. It's not what you get at ObaChines. Think of the classiest, restaurant, the best food, the best service, double the quality and tastes of the food, and you are not even close. We were all passing fork fulls around the table and oohing and aaring until we rolled out of there very full and very satisfied. Food will never quite be the same again. I have the Wolfgang Puck recipe book. Yum.

A sight not to be missed in Seattle was the fish throwers at Pike Place market. You can also check it out on their web site http://www.fishthrowers.com. Just about everything in the states has a web site address and with free local calls, just about everyone uses the web to get information, use email and book tickets. The revolution is definitely well under way in the states. We took a drive down Microsoft Way in Redmond and marvelled at the size of it all. Forget the Frankfurt motor show by the way, just check out the Microsoft car parks. We also got to see the Bill Gates house (from the motorway anyway), and I spoke to an electrician (while travelling up the slopes in a ski lift chair) who worked for four years on the site. The Gates baby was born in the Hospital where Pat works delivering babies. Apparently the security was pretty extreme. Gates house has underground parking for 6000 (no typo, that's six thousand) cars. Some of them he has never driven because they have not been crash tested in the US yet. Like you need to crash test a limited edition Porsche. Some of the Microsoft and of course Boeing executives houses in Issaquah (close to Redmond and Bellevue but with views of the lake and Mt Rainier) are stunning. Pat says she get to deal with the stress and neurosis at the Hospital. The working style seems to be 24 hour pressure working on projects and then being sent to the Bahamas with your family to recharge. I think contractors just get paid a lot. The satellite industries for Microsoft employees include stacks of chiropractors classy clothes and bizarre shops like the one selling freshly baked cookies for cats and dogs.

Ok, so after the American Airlines "light lunch", here's the scale. ObaChine sets the standard at 100. Zero would be the worst meal imaginable. The thing in the nuclear proof pieta bread that passed as the light lunch rated a 2. Pat and Eric's Christmas cake with the whole bottle of Cognac must rate an 80. And should come with it's own breathalyser. Wow, and Yum. My world famous Paella, which I reproduced using crab meat, Shrimps and of course Mussels rates in the 40's. Alan, your Gispatio rates about a 25. Now imagine how the charred sea bass with the madras sauce, Sichuan beans, and baked pineapple pudding tasted to rate a 100. Far from being impervious to nuclear attack and requiring jaws of titanium like the pieta bread, the sea bass was melt in the mouth and float to heaven stuff. Ok, have I raved enough.

We bought some other foodstuffs at the "Chilli Inferno" shop in a very Rondebosh like area of Seattle. After some chatting up of the owner by the girls, he threw in another T-Shirt, some pens and took 5 dollars off the price. At the book store yesterday, Maggie spotted the same book that I has just paid 57 dollars for (IIS 3 Unleashed) on sale for 9.99). We saved 47 dollars - their sales are wicked if you can get what you want on them.

New Years day was spent like all Americans, watching the ball game on the Telly, eating chips and dips, scratching our bellies and swigging beer. the men that is. The women went shopping for more chips and dips. The home team (Washington State University, the Cougars) lost the Rose Bowl by a couple of points. in the end the desperately needed a time out after being penalised a time out at the start of the game for one player not having his pants covering his knees, and then later being penalised by 15 yards for having too many men on the field. Strange game.

It is now Saturday 10th January. I have just replaced the ATX power supply in

Chatterbox and am back online again. I will send this Home News edition before

anything else goes wrong with the PC's…

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