Like most people, I own a cell phone. I have a Treo 700p with Sprint. It does what I want it to do, which is mainly check my gmail accounts. (I’ve been drooling over the HTC Touch Pro, but its not out yet.)

When I’m at work, at a government facility with bad reception, I turn my ringer off. It helps that there is a switch on the top of the phone to put it into vibrate mode. When I walk into a meeting, I typically double check my pockets won’t be rocking out to Tenacious D.

I don’t understand when cell phones owned by men ring during meetings. What percentage of guys don’t have their cell phones in their pockets or on a belt clip?

I think its rude. And unnecessary.

It would be different if the ringer was the latest hot joint from Akon or something, but usually it is something boring or terrible.

Side note: On my last project, the infrastructure lead always had his ringer on. We sat in a large conference room. His heavy metal song ring tone, which I always appreciated, typically blared. I had to appreciate his total lack of respect for the entire room of people around him.

Otherwise, men shouldn’t need their ringer turned on during work or at least in meetings.

Women typically carry their cell phones in their purses. I understand the need for an audible ringer. Also, females usually have the latest hit from Rihanna or similar, which most guys like but don’t want to admit.

And yes, I do make my own ring tones from obsecure songs you’ve barely heard of. And I’d love to show them off. But, I’d like to think I have a shard of common courtesy in professional settings. But, not much more than that…

This past weekend (9/12-13), we attended our first rodeo. We traveled to Pendleton, OR to attend the Pendleton Round-Up.

Thanks to cowboys, large animals, and Pendleton Whiskey, a good time was had by all. Here’s a video of the “Wild Cow Milking” event that I took of one of Electronic Vagrant’s brothers:

Damon Hess – Wild Cow Milking – Pendleton Round-Up from elroy on Vimeo.

For the past few months, my wife and I have been living without a microwave….at least one that’s plugged in.

Our microwave is sitting in another room, on the floor.

Why?

Our theory:

Microwaves promote unhealthy eating.

Prove me wrong.

What food cooked (not just reheated) in the microwave is healthy?

Very few.

And most of those foods you could make in the microwave taste better from the stove/oven, regardless of their healthitude.

Our one difficulty is reheating. It usually requires more time not only in providing the heat, but also in cleaning the heating apparatus (e.g. stainless steel pot).

What have we gained in this experiment?

We’ve stopped buying food that is easy to nuke in the microwave. Generally, those foods aren’t very good for you, although they probably taste delicious.

I’d like to think this approach to meal making is contributing to positive health habits.

This weekend, my lovely wife and I went to the US Open (tennis) in New York.

Last year, we saw both Williams sisters and Rafael Nadal. This year, we saw Jelena Jankovic (2), Andy Roddick (8), and Roger Federer (2). Although we aren’t avid tennis followers, it is always impressive to see people so good at their craft.

We ate a few good places, including Pio Pio and Otto. If you visit Pio Pio, eat everything with the green sauce. Otto played a surprising set of music for its Italian theme (we heard at least 4 Weezer songs and one Tupac song). It also had good food. Personally, I ordered one of their signature pizzas, which included an egg in the middle.

We also walked around a lot. Meredith loves to walk. Our crowning achievement was walking from Otto back to where we were staying, in Rainbows. Here was the route: gmap-pedometer

We traveled up and back via Bolt Bus. The buses were quite nice and have free wifi. Unfortunately, the wifi on the bus to NYC didn’t work, even after I reset the router, but it was fine on the way back.

It was great seeing some of our friends who reside in NYC. We’re sorry we couldn’t visit with more people. We should be back up there at the beginning of October and can hopefully see more folks then.

Finally, we’d like to thank Sweet Mike I for letting us stay at his place and saving us hundreds of dollars in hotel bills.

Here’s a video of an up and coming keyboardist:

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Remodel Day 1

12 Photos

Remodel Day 2

13 Photos

Remodel Day 3

8 Photos

Remodel Day 4

10 Photos

Remodel Day 5

9 Photos

Remodel Day 6

11 Photos

Remodel Day 7

9 Photos

Remodel Day 8

9 Photos

Remodel Day 9

13 Photos

Remodel Day 10

9 Photos

Remodel Day 11

16 Photos

Remodel Day 12

11 Photos

Remodel Day 13

7 Photos

Remodel Day 14

4 Photos