Edge Management

With coral reefs, everglades, and limestone just beneath the surface, the mysteries of Key Largo are larger than what meets the eye.  This is a place that can teach one to live in the moment, because when one is living in the here and now, one is one with all of the things in the world that celebrate oneness.  It’s wonderful to feel such oneness in Key Largo, and to enter into this world where one is always at oneness.  For places to stay in the oneness, this link can get you on your way, and the rest is adventure, and if you happen to like Bertie Higgins as much as I do, then please take some of my words as a a cautionary tale.

If you happen to fall in love, and find yourself dressed like a pirate and staying with your loved one, also dressed like a pirate, be careful when you are on a ship.  This is common sense for some, and certainly for me now, but at the time, we figured we were safe at sea, because the sea was our home, our mother, and we were her eternal orphans.  We did have it all, and we had a plan to pillage and plunder, and live off the fat of the land, along with the fat of the places we plundered.  But the stars were different than we had imagined, and the stars had far more complicated plans for us.

We were not exactly pirates in the technical sense.  We had little plastic eye patches, and she wore a plastic peg leg and folded her leg under it.  We weren’t on our own ship, but more like a cruise ship, or perhaps better to call it, a canoe.  We sang that song over and over, and talked about what we would do when we got our first booty.  We loved life so dearly back in those days, or perhaps it’s better to say, that weekend.  Spiced rum was our love potion, and spiced rum is what done her in.  It’s hard to balance in a canoe.  It’s hard, sometimes, not to fall.  I don’t know if she is still angry with me for rowing back to shore before she had a chance to surface,  but I know that she thinks about me, because people tell me that when she hears my name, she turns all the colors of the rainbow, like a parrot.

Well, sure I encouraged Paul to apply to Columbia University and thought it would be great choice for him. Meanwhile, I really only considered the quality and reputation of the theater department and the importance of his graduate degree. I really didn’t think about the reality of his life there, well and that part is great. What I mean is, and this is sort of difficult to admit because it feels selfish, but what I didn’t really consider is how much I would miss him and how I kind of wish he had never been accepted. Well, now I’ve said it, but instead of feeling better, which I thought was supposed to be the case when you admit things, I feel worse and am slightly paranoid I’ve jinxed the relationship. Too bad I didn’t think to jinx his application before he sent it off. Oops.

Well, that didn’t take long. I just got off the phone with Paul who said he really needed to speak to me about something. Unfortunately, he also said he couldn’t do it now because he had to get back to the Riverside Theater but wanted to make plans for a long conversation tomorrow. Yikes, what does he want to talk about? I think he said they were working on a production called Black Snow, but why would he want to talk to me about that? Besides, I’m kind of sick of hearing about what a great program it is and all the cool people that are in it and the great instructors there. He seems so happy. He couldn’t possibly be thinking about quitting. And I visited last October and saw the production of Lifetime Fairytale. It really is a good program, I give it that. But if he’s so happy there, dang, I don’t want to think about it. Why’d he call me to tell me he wanted to call me tomorrow? Why didn’t he just do it?

Okay, I’m back, I just called the airlines and also possible hotel reservations. They actually have good prices right now and you can find great deals here. But back to my dilemma, I thought maybe I should try and fly out tonight because I can’t top worrying about what he needs to talk about. He’s getting the MFA in Dramaturgy and expects to be finished in three years. Is he already thinking about staying in New York after he graduates? He said he was going to move back to Chicago, and come on, there are plenty of theater career opportunities here. And I’m here! This is going to drive me crazy. I have to try and get some sleep though. If I’m going to get dumped I don’t want to be sleep deprived when it happens. I gotta go, I’ll check back in tomorrow after I talk to him.

A show that I watched regularly for a few months, was “CSI Miami”, and in the opening credits the airboat careens through the swamplands with Horatio standing ever so perfect, in his suit and his shades, while the Who is blasting in the background.  One of the funnest experiences I had was when I was staying in one of the many luxury hotels Fort Lauderdale offers.  I thought that it would be bikini filled days and all night dance parties, something I was not thrilled with, but I was visiting a very good friend who had moved to the city so I was ready to “While in Rome…”.  However, he surprised me with a trip just outside of Fort Lauderdale, to the Everglade National Forest, and treated me to a high speed ride through the Everglades, on an airboat.

Not only are these rides exhilarating, but they are nature wonderlands, education mixed with excitement.  The Florida Everglades are unspoiled expanses of jungle, and swamplands, filled with creatures that for me, had existed before, only in story books and in the movies.  The natural habitat is truly one of the most beautiful and stunning in the world.  When I was young I would frequent the Phoenix Zoo, in the city I grew up in…Phoenix, Arizona.  The alligator exhibit there at once thrilled me and excited me, they were creatures so prehistoric, so powerful, and yet so still.

To see them in their natural habitat came close to blowing my mind.  Add to that the plethora of exotic birds and colorful fish just beneath the surface of the water, and I felt as though I had come to life in one of those story books of my childhood.  These animals were not part of my everyday life, I knew that they existed somewhere, and to finally be in that “somewhere” was simple breathtaking.  I spent one week in Fort Lauderdale, and I did the requisite bikini beach day, and the all night dance party, but I could not stop thinking about my trip on the airboat, careening through the Florida Everglades wearing my cool shades and being amazed at the natural world that had surrounded me.

This is going to be a great year for Indianapolis.  The city that has a midwestern heart and a cosmopolitan outlook always has something interesting and new going on.  There’s always something very exciting for the locals as well as travelers wondering what’s happening in this city.  Tourists often come to Indianapolis and find that the luxury hotels are truly world-class, and all the hospitality and style of the city are displayed here in the lodgings.  There’s a lot to enjoy in a fine hotel, but in Indianapolis, there’s a lot going on in the city as well.

This February promises to be even more exciting that normal, when Air Supply comes to Muncie.  In a time of so much 70s and 80s retro, this group often gets lost in the shuffle, being in between the decades and steadfastly refusing to belong to any.  They still record and play together, too, which means there’s never a big pr campaign for a reunion tour.  They’ve played a lot of places outside the U.S., including a show in Cuba a few years ago that drew a stunning crowd, but it didn’t necessarily make the new here.  But despite all these reasons, the long time fans from here know that we’ve been all out of Air Supply for awhile, and we really are so, so lost without you.

Thirty-five years is a long time for any band to be together, and Air Supply coming, this will be a great chance for fans from here to give Graham and Russell another listen.  They gave us some tremendous moments when we were growing up, and it was the perfect thing to hear after your love life went sour, and you found yourself thinking out loud and falling out of touch.  We’re eager to see them be exactly what we always wanted.

Traveling in Florida means never being bored by what you might see next.  You’ll find it easy to travel, just by renting a car and making some quick arrangements to to stay at very cool hotels.  The state is stacked with unusual sights and attractions, such as the Coral Castle outside Miami, a 2.2 million pound rock structure built by a single man, a Latvian immigrant named Ed Leedskalin after being jilted by his 16-year-old fiance in the first half of the 20th Century, or Dinosaur World, a park filled with 150 dinosaur replicas, in Plant City.  Two hours to the south of Miami, you may add to these, the final resting place of Flipper, the dolphin best known for its role in the 1960s television series about a park ranger, his two sons, and their dolphin.  If you’ve never heard of the show, neither its two movies and eighty episodes, nor any subsequent remakes, you may want to know you’re living well outside American popular culture. 
 
Flipper is a stage name and the dolphin was actually named Mitzi.  She lived fourteen years, from 1958 to 1972, and is buried at the Dolphin Research Center, an organization dedicated to public awareness and education about dolphins, located about two hours to the south of Miami on US1 at Grassy Key, an island in the middle of the Florida Keys.  On a regular basis, Mitzi would communicate with the ranger’s sons, disarm poachers, and laugh and walk backwards on the water on her tail; okay, the last bit she actually didn’t do.  Like most of Hollywood, a few effects are best done by others.  Mitzi had a stunt double, a male dolphin who performed the tail-walking.  Apparently, it’s a trick not every dolphin can manage, although the show would give you the impression that it’s a common activity.
 
In the 1960s, the Dolphin Research Center existed under a different name: Santini’s Porpoise School.  Here, Milton Santini, who pioneered dolphin training, was responsible for training Mitzi and was chosen to star in the original movie.  You can visit the center, which is open daily from nine a.m. to five p.m. (although it’s a wise idea to call first to make certain: 305-289-1121), in order to take a tour of the facility and pay your respects.  Just look for the dolphin statue at mile marker 59.

Everyone who is interested in the events of the Civil War need to make the trip to Gettysburg. There are plenty of quaint hotels around Gettysburg that will put you close to the site were the Battle of Gettysburg took place. The town has also put together some great museums filled with artifacts and stories to help get a good understanding of what took place in this historical city. There are plenty of tours one can take to get the most out of your experience. If you decide to go on a self guided tour then try getting a CD of the history of the area to listen to while you visit the sites. There are plenty of tour companies ready to take you on a guided tour. I am not usually one to take these sort of tours but this might be the best way to go. They have double decker buses and also tours of the Jenny Wade house. Maybe one evening you would want to try the candlelight tours of the city. What a thrill to get the haunted stories in the darkness of the night.
Make sure you add the Dobbin House Tavern to your list of places to eat. It is the most famous restaurant in town so you may want to get there early. This restaurant is the old home of Reverend Alexander Dobbin who lived there in 1776. This building has been restored to its best authenticity. From the seating and the decor to the outfits the staff wears you are sure to feel like you are back in the 1776 days. So make sure you go and eat some authentic 1776 period recipes by candle light and enjoy the ambiance.
Many of the buildings around town are original and restored. From the bed and breakfast homes to the old hotels as well as many shops and restaurants you will find yourself in many historical places that have a few stories of there own. Come and see where great men such as General Robert E Lee and Major General George Gordon Mead fought each other in this famous battle. See where President Abraham Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address to the people who lived through the battle and the winning northern army.

When I lived in Los Angeles, a great night out was spent usually, at least some part of the evening, at the famous Pig and Whistle Pub in Hollywood.  That is one of the great things about the city of LA, whether you are living there or just spending time in one of the fabulous LA hotels, the boundaries of the city are hard to discern, and in one moment you will be in LA, the next moment Beverly Hills, and the next moment Santa Monica.  And for a city in the Western part of the country, LA is rich with history.

The beginning of the “Golden Era” in Hollywood, began in the 1920’s.  This was once a sleepy Southern California suburb, LA, but soon became the movie industry capital of the world.  Many people traveled from far and wide to set up studios along the now famous strip, Hollywood Boulevard.  This was a time of magnificent glamour, in the dress, in the architecture and in the life styles of the residents of Los Angeles.  It was during this time that the Pig and Whistle opened their doors, in 1927.  There is an incredible courtyard, an out door patio that is extremely serene, even given the fact that it sits in the middle of a town that is all about the hustle and the bustle.

Originally, the front door of the Pig and Whistle, was just to side of the entrance of the Egyptian Theatre, a spot where names of old such as Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, and Clark Cable were seen attending the premieres of the their newest movies.  This is the kind of history we are talking about, the traditions and the stars of the long ago beginnings of Hollywood.  Yes, there is style and there is grace in Los Angeles, and the current incarnation of the Pig and Whistle stands testament to the that, from the hand painted tiles to the carvings along the walls and the ceilings.  Should you find yourself in Los Angeles, find your way to 6714 Hollywood Boulevard.  Grab a pint, and sit in the history, sit in the same chairs wherein the Hollywood stories began.

Michael could hardly wait to get to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He had only been there once before and that just happened to be in the summer. The town was relatively quiet at that time and he was there because his good friend Jim invited him on a kayaking trip. He had a great time on the Yampa River and though he was a skilled kayaker, his friend Jim was much better, even in an entirely different league, Michael found out. The reached Charlie’s Hole, which Jim had assured Michael he could handle and it turned out he spent more time upside down and under the water than above it. At least he was able to make good use of his rolling skills. Meanwhile, he was so exhausted from the afternoon adventure that he just didn’t have it in him to go out to the clubs with Jim, who ended up staying out most of the night.

Michael laughed a little to himself as he remembered that trip. This time, however, he was visiting Steamboat Springs in November and not only was he a much better skier than kayaker, but he was also meeting his girlfriend Janet there instead of Jim. All of these aspects pointed to a fabulous weekend and Michael couldn’t wait to enjoy it. As soon as he arrived at one of the hotels Colorado he found Janet waiting at the fireplace in the lobby. She looked beautiful as always and the two of them wasted no time getting their gear and heading for the slops.

It was a beautiful clear and crisp afternoon and Michael felt like showing off a bit. He had never before been skiing with Janet and he was extremely confident he could make an impressive jump. She asked him not to and said it looked pretty dangerous, which only further encouraged Michael. And, as you are likely to be guessing at this point, Michael was on his way and seemingly out of nowhere another skier lost control and propelled right into Michael. They both went down and Michael ended up with a broken leg. Back at the hotel he and Janet were sitting in front of the fireplace drinking some hot chocolate when Janet joked that she would have to hit the clubs alone and Michael only considered the irony.

Marketing means a lot of effort and time put into a campaign for a company to improve and increase their visibility in a market.  Part of the way companies improve and increase business, especially in the online world, is though online reputation management.  Companies can be wrecked in a matter of hours by an angry employee or cranky customer who feels that they have been mistreated, regardless of whether or not those people have real reason to be offended or hurt or not.  The internet does not judge whether something is right or right, fair or unfair.  It judges based search engine results, good keywords, and quality content.  So while you’re company might be in the number one position for a certain keyword or grouping of keywords, it might not necessarily be for anything good.

SERPs, as search engine ranking pages are otherwise known as, have expanded in other ways too that can be damaging for a company.  YouTube and blog sites have search engines as well.  It’s not simply the old standbys people commonly think of, such as Google.  And these negative results can make a detrimental mark on any company’s online reputation and brand.  For a company that has the majority of its business online, it is vital they understand how manipulate search engines to their advantage, especially when a customer hurting their reputation has no founded reasons for trying to destroy them.

Part of what a company must do is monitor certain things online constantly. Constant vigilance is key.  Its brand, obviously, is very important to monitor, but also the company and the people who make up the company: its executives and its employees.  When searching out bad news in search engines, it’s a good idea to include other keywords in your search that are probably inflammatory, such as sucks or scammed, but will allow you to know where you stand on the internet.  Blogs and social media sites like MySpace and Facebook are prime places where customers or employees can try to take a company down.  This is all a part of online reputation management and search engine optimization services.  It helps companies to understand what problems might exist and thusly what they need to do fix them.

This was always the moment that she would be taking herself apart, her personality being dismantled before my eyes.  In some settings, it would happen in the mornings over breakfast when she, waffles in her pupils, would lead me to understand that she was no longer who she was a moment ago.  In Singapore it was always at night, and always with an exquisite attention to detail  I could never be sure if it was partly in my head, or completely an act of witnessing, free of my own perceptions.  And there was that day, that peculiar day, when I knew it would be more extraordinary than others.  Like an Italian film I can no longer remember, I woke up and she was already floating outside the window, attached to a string she had thoughtfully tied to the bedpost.

I’m not always drawn to details, but I have found a way to admire bedposts in foreign countries, and it is mornings that begin like this that remind me of why I like to travel.  One can always learn, and when there is no more to learn, a veil gets lifted and there is a new and unknown world again before your eyes.  This day would not be about any deep learning, however, because it was only the Bocelli concert that was holding the day together.  For her, something maybe, for me, only ghosts.  She was following his Asian tour, when she found the time to land, and this was an important day for her, but she wouldn’t say why.

For me, I was always caught up in numbering and counting, and I counted seconds, because it was a nervous afternoon, and before long I was counting steps to the Italian restaurant where we met our first accordion player, the one who would accompany us and make music whenever we walked anywhere else in the world.  It was over linguini with clam sauce that I realized how strong she resembled Bocelli, at least in that light, and at that moment, everything changed.  I would never again be able to think of her without seeing the Italian tenor in my mind, and I also saw, by the way she was floating out of her chair, that she was visiting a Singapore that I could never know.

Amsterdam is famous across the world for many of its contemporary cultural aspects that are either illegal or considered to be taboo in many other countries and regions. This alone draws millions of tourists to this capital of the Netherlands, though it is definitively not the most significant factors of the city. Amsterdam also has an incredibly interesting history and has many cultural attractions that relate and testify to it. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, which is located in the city centre also happens to be the oldest in the world and serves as one of its icons. The Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum are two the most popular visitor attractions in the city and many of the tourists who are staying in one of the luxury resorts or best Amsterdam hotel visit both of these landmarks during their visit.

The Anne Frank House is now a famous museum that is located on the Prinsengracht where Frank and her family once hid during the Nazi persecution surrounding the second world war. The actual hiding place of the Frank family is in the back of the building that now honors it. The purpose of the museum is to preserve the hiding place, known in Dutch as the Achterhuis, as well as to display various items related to the family and the period. The museum also serves to highlight and demonstrate all forms of discrimination and persecution.

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam contains the largest collection of paintings and drawings in the world from Vincent Van Gogh. The main exhibit in the museum also serves to chronicle the life and work phases of this great artist. Some of the highlights in this exhibit include one of the Sunflowers paintings, for which he is most known, as well as The Potato Eaters and Bedroom in Aries. The museum also houses extensive collections from the 19th Century.

Being able to walk through the world without fear is an important strategy for living an effective life.  It’s very likely that there are few truly useful things that fear can do for us, because it seems to be a holdover from a fight-or-flight mentality that has not been necessary since we started the first civilization.  It was perhaps a very necessary tool in the time of the saber-tooth tiger, but all too often comes in only at the most inappropriate moments, and hinders us more than it helps.  However, the instinct is still there, and of course, for anyone who’s ever lived in the world at all, that instinct is very strong.  It rises up at the first sign of conflict, no matter how slight.

There are many different practices that can help us to overcome fear, and most of these seem to suggest the same thing.  We can only get accustomed to it by learning how we respond personally, and that’s only possible in real life situation.  Sales training can be one very effective, and very useful, ways of dealing with our own responses to conflict.  Conflict here can be something as small as a minor disagreement with a co-worker, or even the first moments of the dreaded cold call.  However, by understanding certain principles, and having real experience, we can turn the thing that used to stop us into something that in fact can help us.

It’s a good thing that instincts are so strong, because they do help us to remember how we’re designed, and help us to understand how other people behave.  In taking real life situations, and practicing them in employee training, we are also giving our team a leg up in the world, so that they can be more efficient in the work place, and learn skills that transfer into the everyday world as well.  In theory, reason should be enough to overcome instinct, but perhaps we occasionally need to refresh ourselves on ways to become more reasonable.

There’s no better place for an enchanting meal, and it’s very possible to remain enchanted for as long as you’re here.  Singapore has an amazing selection of restaurants, and there is really no end to the scrumptious dishes to be sampled here.  If you’re in the mood to try something new every night for a month, then this is the place for you.  If you only like Chinese food, however, this is also the place for you.  The same could be said for so many other kinds of cuisine, whether it’s Indian, Malaysian, Japanese, Italian, and the list goes on.  Singapore’s swift rank to the top of the lists for the best places to eat has been a long time coming.

Many travelers have known for years that this is the place.  It makes perfect sense, because it’s proximity to other countries makes it peculiarly capable of bringing both the ingredients and the culinary artists with expertise to make the perfect meal.  It also happens to be close to different types of water, so that any kind of seafood is in ready, and very fresh, supply.  For every cuisine offered here, there are chefs who are adept at performing magical feats that speak to the centuries of tradition that go into the cooking, and it’s a great place to discover how things are supposed to taste.

It’s also a fabulous place for culinary innovation.  The culture at large here has a great love for anything new and modern, and they’re always looking ahead to see what the next trend might be.  This translates into some fantastic innovations in food, where the highly skilled and trained chefs need to meet the tastes of a very discerning public.  The quality is always high, and the level of fun is also extraordinary.  If you take your food seriously, or if you just happen to have a great love for the good life, you’ll find yourself right at home in Singapore restaurants.

It’s wintertime and the holiday season, which means families with fire places are going to be buying lots of wood and stoking fires — but what do you do once you’ve got the kids gathered around.  Staring at flames for two or three hours, as interesting as fire may be, still seems a bit unproductive.  But, with the right activities, a nearby cozy fire can help make an evening with the family fly by.

Telling stories around the fireplace is one of the oldest activities of human beings.  In the past, they may have been about the hunt of the day, or the movement of the sun or moon.  Often, around a camp fire, the stories are spooky; ghost stories seem to work well under settings of low light and crackling, flickering flames.  However, the joy of the holiday season may not lend itself to ghost stories.  In that case, the family could tell stories about the family.  It’s an excellent time to let children know the adventures of their parents when they were kids, reliving the more interesting or exciting times of life.  Sharing these memories (the positive ones, at least) can be a real bonding experience for a family.  Why not bring out your old photo albums and scrapbooks while everyone is gathered around the fireplace? There’s nothing more entertaining than looking at old photographs and sharing forgotten memories. This activity can help to bring you closer as a family.

I remember, too, toasting marshmallows in the fire place on untwisted wire coat hangers (although I’d be hard pressed to find wire hangers in my home today).  Still, making molasses cookies (a favorite of my father’s) or heating up some hot chocolate — essentially, bonding with food, seems like a decent way to go, as long as you’re not eating this way every night (in the past, we never thought about the calories, but today, it seems, it’s essential).

Consider card games or board games, too.  These activities are excellent ways to spend time with each other at a level on which everyone can relate, the spirit of friendly competition.  Considering how much time we spend on our computers and video games, we may find actual cards and boards a welcome break.

Time gathered around a hearth fireplace is not only a way to heat your house, but it’s also a way to warm up the relationships you have with your friends and family.

If you’re looking for an American city overflowing with history, you would certainly do well to investigate Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  But if you wanted to move past the typical places Philadelphia is famous for — the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and so on — you should check out the Penn Museum, also known as the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, a place chock-full of exhibits about the past and present in Pennsylvania, as well as the Americas in general, and even examining worlds distant in time and place, such as the gold of ancient Troy.

Presently, this winter, there are a number of interesting materials on display.  Start with the exhibit, Fulfilling a Prophecy, which explores the past and present of the Lenape in Pennsylvania.  It discusses how most people are under the impression that all but a few elderly Lenape people had quit the state by the 19th Century; however, the truth is that many stayed secretly, and that some Lenape and Europeans married and had children in the 1700s, continuing their traditions in hiding, only now, some two hundred years, coming forward to tell the story.  The exhibit contains photographs and dolls, jewelry, ancient masks, and other art forms from the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania.

Over in the Americas collection, amongst 300,000 objects, you may see a waterproof parka made from the throat lining of sea lions from 1905, or a Pomo basket made of quail feather, beads, shells and plant fiber, from the same year.  The Americas collection at the Penn Museum are amongst the largest, with collections that range from North and South America, in an attempt to document the history of human habitation in this region.

Other exhibits include His Golden Touch: The Gordion Drawings of Piet de Jong from the Gordion site in central Turkey; the Goodlands: Young Photographers Inspiring Hope in North Philadelphia; and Painted Metaphors: Pottery and Politics of the Ancient Maya.  It need not take a lot of money to see these exhibits; just make a reservation at a Philadelphia cheap hotel and come investigate the less traditional side of the city.

Stove for Sale the ad reads. As one reads on they get the details of how it looks and maybe how old it is and of course the price. But what is a stove really. How does it all work? Well the answer is really quite simple. There are some basic components that do certain things. Then there are the different styles that consumers can choose from so it will fit in with the rest of the home decor style. Nothing worse than spending all that time and money on new decor only to have some old green thing stilling right out in the middle of the room.

When you buy a new stove here are some things you will be getting with it. There is the hopper, which stores the wood pellets ready for burning. The auger system is what slowly moves the pellets into the flame. This is a really cool part of the design of pellet stoves because it is what keeps the owner from having to get up from his cozy chair and put on another log. It is the automation system. Then you have the burn pot or firebox. This is were the pellets get burned and the ash is stored. There are two fans usually, the combustion and convection blower fans. The combustion blower is how air is circulated into the burn pot, which the fire needs to do its job. The convection blower blows the heat out into the room for the homeowner to enjoy.

These stove and their method really do create a much better way of heating than the good old wood fed fireplaces. The fans blow the heat out into the room and it really fills it up. The fireplace doesn’t have that device to thrust the air out into the room much of the heat is lost. So give thanks to some of the inventors of the early stoves like Benjamin Franklin and James Sharp.

Baltimore has a long history of the working class.  From the beginnings of the city and those working at the port or on the ships, to those working on building the ships during both of the World Wars, to the Baltimore plumbers, electricians and police officers of today, the people in the city work hard, and so it goes that they play hard.  Not in the sense of the nightlife kind of playing, but in the sense that there are so many options when it comes to spending time away from work.

One of the most beautiful gems of the Inner Harbor is the Baltimore Aquarium. The architecture alone is one of the stunning features of the Aquarium, along with the more than six hundred and fifty species of animals.  Just about 2 million people visit each year to see the wide array of animals, 16,500, in an incredible array of exhibits and environments.  All of the staff remain dedicated to the care of the animals and to the ongoing education of the public on environmental issues.  There are two buildings that make up the aquarium and they are connected by and enclosed walkway.

One of the most popular shows is the Dolphin Show which has been an ongoing event each day, since it premiered in 1990.  In 2005 the Crystal Pavilion was an incredible addition.  This is the entrance way into the aquarium, a three story building made entirely of glass.  The Animal Planet Australia is housed in the Crystal Pavilion.  This is a great place for the entire family.  It takes about two and a half hours to make it through all the exhibits, the shows will add a bit of time to that.  And if everyone is still ready for some adventures, Harborplace, located as well at the Inner Harbor, has many more opportunities, from the shops and the restaurants to the performers on the streets.  This is where it’s at, for visitors to the city and for the families of Baltimore.

I knew that I had needed new tires for my truck for some time.  They always seemed a bit…flat, flatter than they should be.  I had two front tires with nails embedded in them, but the fact that I don’t really drive very much, kind of helped me to put it off.  But, once I really checked my tires, I realized that it was in fact, time to buy tires.  I looked at my truck’s tires each time I got into it, but I did not follow the recommendations to thoroughly inspect my tires once a month.

My under-inflated tires not only served to make them wear much faster, but affected my gas mileage too.  Although my truck was still very easy to handle, I did notice some alterations in the steering that most undoubtedly were the result of the tires not being properly inflated.  My truck never became unsafe, but for many people, this can cause some very serious consequences.   When I did have the new tires mounted, I also had the alignment checked, as I had found out on line, that just one day of driving in a vehicle that is out of alignment, can wear out the tires completely, just one day!

Some people will try to remove embedded items, which may or may not be a good idea.  I did pull on one of the nails, but heard the hiss of air.  I pushed it back in and drove very carefully to the nearest tire retail store.  When I looked at the sidewalls, I noticed that there were very worn areas, and that my tires were no longer snugly fitted to the rims.  I was nervous about getting new tires, because I had never made that purchase alone before, and was a bit nervous about my own knowledge.  But through some investigation online, I found that it is not that scary of an endeavor.  Now I do have new tires, and my mind is at ease, and my truck handles much, much better.

Dennis spent a week in Singapore last month due to an unexpected business meeting he was asked to take part in. He worked in the technological field and his company was in the major process of adding a top client. They sent Dennis as one of their top designers and asked him to prepare a presentation in a relatively short time. Dennis was a strong company oriented person with strong work ethics and a major interest in furthering his career. However, he thought of the last minute meeting, especially as it was going to occur on his daughter’s second birthday was nothing but an inconvenience and point of frustration.

That is, he thought that until he actually landed in Singapore. It seems that from the moment his plane touched down, Dennis was fascinated with the city and by the time he checked into his room at the business hotel he was in love with it. And yes, it happened just that fast and it was not the result of jet lag, which never produced this response in him. The plane had landed in the late evening and he thought the night skyline of the city, well the view of it he had while landing, was absolutely incredible and romantic. One of his first thoughts was that he wanted to bring his wife Judy there the following year.

He spent three days in extremely intense meetings and on the third day he had his big presentation. Dennis wasn’t the slightest bit nervous and just had the feeling that the entire even would go well. The next day, his fourth day there he had the entire day off and he headed straight over to the Singapore Marina, which he had heard was incredible. And it was. The views of the bay were beautiful and he had lunch in a quite little seafood café. He walked along the Esplanade and noticed some of the establishments there. At this point he was he wanted to make a return trip with Judy and he made a mental note for them to attend a production at the Theatre By the Bay, which was an Esplanade venue. He also found a great stuffed dolphin he decided to take back to his daughter.

Living in the desert can be interesting and the residents of Phoenix are more than aware of that fact. Phoenix achieves some of the highest temperatures in the country and endures a large amount of days of temperatures that reach above one hundred degrees. And while these statistics sound somewhat ominous at first, it is interesting to know that in the last have of the twentieth century Phoenix continued to be one of the nation’s fastest growing urban areas many people are attracted to this weather. In addition, it has one of the highest rates of return residents, which means that a large percentage of the population that moves from Phoenix will eventually return.  Phoenix is also a popular destination for tourists. Guests staying in one of the best Phoenix hotels in the summer will be able to testify to the extreme heat, though they will also be able to testify to the beautiful sunsets and if they’re lucky they’ll experience the pleasures of a summer monsoon.

Something that residents and visitors to Phoenix both appreciate is the layout and structure of the Valley cities and communities. The streets and avenues are laid out in a grid and navigating through Phoenix and the surrounding cities is extremely simple. This is particularly beneficial because the geographic area of the Valley is one of the largest urban regions in the nation and most people drive thirty miles or more per day and sometimes one way. Because Phoenix is so hot for many of the months out of the year, the residents frequently feel a need to get out of town and out of the desert. This is possible by driving to the northern part of the state. Smaller cities like Sedona and Prescott are popular destinations. They also get hot in the summer but not to the extreme that Phoenix does and they are a pleasant relief from the intense Phoenix sun. Flagstaff, Arizona is further north and not part of the desert. It is also a popular weekend destination for hot city residents.

San Francisco is full of amazing cultural elements and city landmarks. It is absolutely beautiful and one of the major cities in the United States. In addition, there are many great artists, actors and musicians that are based there and also a number of iconic performance establishments and museums. Cellist Zoe Keating is just one of many performers that is based in this great American city. Tourists who stay in a San Francisco hotel may have the opportunity to see her perform live while they are visiting.

Keating was born in Ontario Canada to an American father and an English Mother. She began playing the cello at the age of eight and while she almost immediately loved the instrument and knew she would spend a lifetime playing it, she was not particularly interested in pursuing a career in the classical music field, such as playing for a symphony orchestra. She does appreciate and even play classical music, but has always seemed to have her own agenda and performance orientation. She studied cello at Sarah Lawrence College before moving to San Francisco. She is well known for playing onstage while recording herself and playing it back in loops. This gives the audio quality of sounding like up to 16 cellos are playing at once when it is all Keating.

She is also a composer and has written the score for films. Keating collaborates with other artists and has performed with Rasputina, the all female cello based rock band. On more than one occasion Keating has toured with musician Imogen Heap. In fact, Heap is one of her standard contemporary tour partners. In addition she has worked with Amanda Palmer and performed on the album Who Killed Amanda Palmer. Keating has been featured on television programs and frequently performs in the San Francisco area.

Singapore is a place for instant nostalgia, it would seem.  It has a fabulous culture, and is really a big conglomeration of cultures that spread out in multiple directions, and it’s endlessly fascinating.  Trying to find common threads is like trying to find the world’s first potato, where it surely must have existed somewhere, but it began so long ago, and the road to get there is so convoluted, that it’s impossible.  But it’s extremely interesting to try.  Trying to find common links between things in a place as complicated as Singapore is splendid fun, because the links all reveal something even more fascinating than the thing you set out to discover in the first place.

By the time you realize you’re fascinated by something else altogether, the threads of that original search might come through, and remind you of what you were looking for.  Its impossibility is something that can cause a melancholy, a splendid melancholy that just is, and for no good reason.  This sentiment runs through a lot of the popular culture forms here, and it also runs through most things that have a semblance of style.  And there’s certainly a lot of style in Singapore.  Boutique hotel accommodations are particularly magnificent in offering a sense of style that combines an old that never was with a new that never will be, and it’s so splendid that it will no doubt be copied somewhere down the road.

Singapore is ahead of the future even when it lives in the past, and that might be why it’s always too late to mourn Dorian Roach & the Cruzers.  The psychedelic rock band that was quoting the 70s has already left, the members gone off to promote new projects.  There was something extraordinary in the sound, and there was something visionary in the facial hair, and it would be nice to thank them for re-introducing it as soon as it left before it got too popular, and at times we are melancholy enough to wish for one more song by Dorian Roach.

If you were to ask, who won the highest honor in architecture, the Pritzker Prize, for the year 2003, you probably wouldn’t be able to provide an answer; however, if you were asked to describe that large building constructed like a series of billowing sails in Sydney, Australia, you’d probably do much better.  The answer to the first question is Jorn Utzon, a Danish architect, and, of course, the answer to the second question is the Sydney Opera House, which he desgined.   Only a few years ago, in 2007, the building was declared an UNESCO World Heritage site.

Utzon’s designs for the building were chosen in 1957; however, the construction would not be complete until 1973, sixteen years later.  Since then, the Sydney Opera House has become synonymous not only with Sydney, but all of Australia, and a major destination point for tourists everywhere, from those traveling on the cheap to those staying at the fine luxury hotels Sydney has to offer.  The building itself is 605 feet long and about 388 feet wide, covering nearly 5 acres of land, with an expressionist design of shells made from concrete, covered with tiles of in a pattern of chevrons numbering one million fifty six hundred thousand and six!

There are five venues contained in the building, so the name Sydney Opera House is a bit of a misnomer.  The structure contains The Concert Hall (on the West side), and the Opera Theater (on the East side).  Other smaller venues beneath the Concert Hall include The Studio, the Drama Theatre, and the Playhouse).

The Concert Hall seats 2,678, and provides a home for the Sydney Symphony.   It also contains one of the world’s largest organs (10,000 pipes!).  The smaller Opera Theatre seats 1,507 and provides a venue for the The Australian Ballet, as well as Opera Australia.  The Drama Theatre contains 544 seats, which the Sydney Theatre Company utilizes, as well as the Playhouse, which holds room for 398 patrons.  The Studio is changeable, and depending on the configuration of the room, can hold as many as 400.  One of the many famous spots in Australia, the Opera House is well worth your time to be one of the theater goers in those seats!

Way back in the day, before all the modern means of transportation and communication, there was a daring soul. Way back in 1858, most of us can not relate, to the shock and awe of the very first balloon flight lifting off the city of Melbourne Australia. On February 1st, back in the day, the very first hot air balloon lifted up into the air and made it successful flight. What people back then must have been thinking. When you realize that back then, it was literally horse drawn power. People still did a lot of walking.

This was the start of aviation really. Everyone always talks about the first airplane flights but what about the early balloon and zeppelin flights. It took another 50 years for engineers to create airplanes. Richmond, where the balloon took off from, is a rural area of Melbourne. Back then it was really rural, before the town hall tower went up. Before the St. Ignatius spires, the Dimmeys and even the trains and trams where ever built there. Back then the best attraction of the area was the George Coppin’s Cremome Gardens and the Pantheon Theatre. Ok so there was also a Pub. Can’t live without the Pub or the zoo or the bandstand or the lake. But on that day, it was the magical flight of a hot air balloon that captured the towns attention.

It was Mr Coppin that encouraged Charles Brown and Joseph Dean to Melbourne for the big flight. He threw in his personal, homemade muslin balloon called Australasian. It took some work to get it to the launch site in Richmond. They had to blow it up with coal gas at the city gasworks, Batman Swamp in west Melbourne. Then they had to get 30 men with a horse and cart to walk it all the way to Richmond. I wonder if they stopped for a rest at one of the five star hotels in Melbourne for a rest. Probebly not. But history of the city was made when they took off and landed 25 minutes later on Plenty Road. Weeks later Charles Brown took another flight that landed in Collingwood, and was mobbed by a crowd of people who thought it was evil for a human to fly.

Jill had recently moved to New York City to pursue her career in publishing. Ultimately she wanted to develop her own magazine that would cover regional lifestyle choices and highlight local artists and establishments. It was going to be something of a tour of obscure location in the United States, and while she was extremely excited about the idea, she knew it would be at least five years before she could even think about drafting an original version.

She had visited the city a few times in the past and most recently with her good friend Karen at which time they stayed in one of the boutique hotels New York. The trip was for Jill to find a place to live and for Karen to experience the city as it was her first time there. So, they included in their trip a stop at all the major museums and landmark attractions, as well as seeing a Broadway play. Jill thought about that trip recently on a busy afternoon when she wanted to escape from everything. She found employment in New York, which in itself was an incredible feat, but even that was incredibly competitive once she arrived at her first publishing company.

So, that afternoon, all Jill could think about was finding a spot to be alone. She laughed at the idea, even her apartment had a roommate. As she walked past Central Park, something she usually just went right on by, she looked out at the beautiful greenery and her feet seemed to guide her out into its openness. And while she was definitely not the only one in the park, the soothing waters of the fountain calmed her nerves. And as she looked around at the other people, they too seemed like they had left the city for a moment and were in some magical wonderland. She found her way to the Conservatory Garden and thought how lovely it would be to take a nap right there on the ground. This became Jill’s private sanctuary in New York and would often go there in the early mornings to do her yoga.

If you plan to cook a lot of meat in your backyard kitchen, one of the best additions you can make on grill islands is that of a professional smoker.  Slow cooking meat requires attention, but with a proper smoker you will have more time to relax, more time to anticipate.  You will no longer be required to keep an eye on the temperature, to add fuel, to spritz moisture, the smoker takes care of all these issues for you.  Your meal will never be over or under cooked, and the clean up of ash and soot will not longer be something to contend with.

When shopping for your smoker, keep an eye on those with advanced temperature control options.  This is the most important part, and unfortunately many outdoor grills are not set with a thermostat, one thing that is in every indoor kitchen oven does have.  And to attempt to control the temperature on a wood or charcoal grill is near to impossible unless the grill is very well designed and constructed.  If you do choose to go with the charcoal cookers to slow roast your meat dishes, then make certain that it is made with heavy steel, and is built with insulation.  The seals and the seams must be perfect so inspect these grills before you bring one home.  A Barbecue Guru is a machine that could help out, as it does have a thermostat automated blower that will keep the oxygen levels correct.

The electric smokers have this control, and it will save you a lot of time and frustration, running back and forth, and under or over cooking will cease to be an issue.  Now, there is one thing to consider, if you are ready to take your backyard skills to BBQ competitions. Most competitions will only accept dishes that were prepared on wood or charcoal grills.  It is the fact that the gas grills and the smokers make the preparation easy, and in competitions they are looking for skill.  In your own back yard however, it should be easy to make and serve a great meal, so look at the options, and fire up your grill.

With a remarkable sense of mystery that speaks to the heart of Indonesia, and a sensibility that is absolutely contemporary, and extremely hip, Jakarta has a thousand rhythms working at once.  It’s fascinating to discover that each of these rhythms is contagious, too, and there’s often an overwhelming sense of being connected to an enormous energy.  It’s quite lively and completely uncontrollable, and part of the trick of enjoying it is to give yourself over to the experience.  This is an old travelers’ trick, and it always pays off splendidly when you’re in a place as fantastic as this.

One of the largest urban areas on the planet, there are many things to see in Jakarta, Indonesia.  Hotel accommodations are plentiful, and there is a huge variety that reflects the place, offering something to please any taste and any budget.  Staying somewhere that the sense of luxury and solitude are high can be important for the daily dose of rejuvenation that helps you to meet the landscape with the right amount of balance.  If you’re looking for more balance than a good night’s sleep can bring, and you love yoga, then you’re certainly in the right place.  Jakarta has a number of gyms where you can find classes, and there are also studios here that can help you to reach a higher plane, with some local flavor that offers a taste of some of the things that are hidden here.

One of the more popular studios is Jakartadoyoga.  They have a great schedule, with classes that are offered at all times of the day.  There are local instructors as well as guest instructors, and they offer a splendid line of workshops for continuing practitioners.  They also host retreats here, for people looking to get away to Indonesia with the main purpose of developing the yoke with more clarity.  It’s certainly worth the effort, although it might be more enlightening if it’s effortless.  They focus on the philosophy more than the physical strength and muscle tone, which is refreshing, and there is a wide range of ideas on health and healing.

Hotel! Manila! Philippines! That’s where people are starting to show some interest. If you find yourself in Manila you will quickly learn it is all about the night life. Better come prepared with a list of clubs to check out. The scene is like any other big city down town party. A playground for the young adult who wants to bounce from club to club filling the streets with a laughter. They are all dressed to the hip hop style as if they are from an American down town scene. The interesting part is that they are Filipino and the rap they create has Tagalog in it. Tagalog is a language of the Philippines.

Hip Hop is thriving in this city 10 million strong. It is apart of the young bringing in the confidence and energy to an otherwise frayed city. Manila is less travel than some of the other Asian cities but it turns out to be one of the more exciting places to check out. Sadly, the political struggles and corruption of this surviving city has kept the tourists away lately. There has been some terrorist activity keeping visitors at bay.

Just because the western world hasn’t been visiting as much doesn’t mean the people of Manila aren’t taking in the western culture. Hip Hop being such a strong force in this city they have added their own flair. You can hear local artist rap in Malay, Spanish and Chinese. However, the American roots of the local Hip Hop scene remains intact.  One of the best places to take in the night life is at the Fort Bonifacio.  This is now a rather slick development that used to be a former U.S. Military base. Loose all your worries on the dance floor at the Embassy nightclub. There is a dress code because you will see some local celebrities. Oh and don’t bother going until midnight or think your going home before dawn.