Ed Helms visits Microsoft

I found a pretty funny video on the MS website. Ed Helms visits Microsoft and interviews the VP of my division. Good for a laugh.

Today I sell my BMW. I got a few hundred more than KBB price so I'm happy. I'll be carpooling and using my motorcycle for a while until I move on to a new vehicle. I guess Cam can't call me a yuppy BMW driver anymore. I want something with boost this winter. Maybe a WRX?

Fighting in Lebanon Worsens

The BBC news reports that 300 people have been killed by the Israeli offensive against the Hezbollah, at least 1/3 of those harmed are thought to be children. In return, 29 Israelis (including 15 civilians) have been killed by Hezbollah rocket fire. Foreign nationals are being evacuated and Arab's fear that the attacks will worsen once they are gone.

I believe the Iraeli's have the right to defend themselves from attacks. However I find it hard to believe that 100s of children need to be harmed in their efforts. There are reports that the Hezbollah are blending in with civilians and that they are partially to blame for the civilian deaths. A cease-fire needs to be called. The Hezbollah should return the Israeli soldiers to protect their own people from further harm. The Israeli's should stop bombing the infrastructure in Lebanon.

Conditions are becoming catastrophic. Mr Egeland, a UN Emergency relief coordinator, said that neither Hezbollah nor the Israelis seemed to care about civilian suffering, adding that nearly a third of the dead or wounded were children and the wounded could not be helped because roads and bridges had been cut by Israeli air strikes.

Republic of Cascadia

What are the best parts of the US and Canada? BC, WA, Oregon and Cali of course! So why not have our own republic. Checkout the official Republic of Cascadia website. It's pretty humerous.

Other than surfing the web looking for useless bits of information I've been continuing to train Capoeira with the crew. Yesterday was Kojo's bday and he had to spar with every member in the class in a row. Happy bday man! After class I nailed my first standing backflip on flat ground. No more playin around. I'll get some pics soon.

Before you go... checkout this kite-tubing video and here's one of a bad crash (at the end). Apparently someone was killed riding one and the company that makes them is being sued. I think people should realize doing 55mph with no helmet 40 feet in the air is dangerous.

Dark days

Some pretty terrible things are happening these days around the world. Train bombings in Mumbai, India took over 200 lives during rush hour. So far no group has stepped forward to accept responsibility. In the middle-east, Israel is attacking Lebanon in retaliation for the kidnapping of 2 soldiers by the Hezbollah party. In return Hezbollah is likely responsible for rocket attacks against northern parts of Israel. In the middle of this are the civilians paying the price. The USA is already drawn thin with the war in Iraq but there is a need for the international community to step in and stop the war. There are some pictures demonstrating the suffering being cause by both sides.

My thoughts are with all those affected by these terrible events. The militant behavior of the Hezbollah party and the excessive retaliation by Israel are both unacceptable. Tom wrote here about the bombing in India.

Berimbau

I've been training pretty hard over the past weeks. Mon-Tues, Fri and Sat I went to Capoeira. My legs and core are feeling the pain from all the training. Cam and I bought a Berimbau for the Manor. You can see some videos of people playing the one stringed instrument online. Here's a search on youtube for Berimbau Videos. There's also swimming and Ultimate twice a week to mix it up. I'm actually glad to sit around the office for a while after all the activity... which is exactly what I will be doing in 8 hours so good-night!

July 4th Weekend Pictures

I've posted 3 new sets of photos. They cover some of the crazy events of the past week or two. If you have any more pics from the weekend please send them to me and I'll post them up as well.

July 4th Fireworks on Petter and Octavia's Sailboat

July 1st BBQ at the Juanita Manor for Cam's Bday

Swimming at our dock in Juanita

Enjoy!