Relaxing for Christmas

Just chillin' at home this week - a much needed break after a busy 2007. Did one really cool gift this year: transferred some old 8mm tapes to DVD (sample posted to the right).

Are you ready for some Football???

Well, not that football... what we'd call soccer. The England vs Russia match last night was very well attended: over 86,000 people at Wembley Stadium.





Matt got us all tickets at about 150 "quid" each (brit slang for money; like our use of "bucks"). There were cops all over the place for crowd control. These guys definitely get rowdy, singing God Save the Queen and chanting like crazy. Quite the experience.

An American Wanker in London

After a 7 hour flight, 2 hours waiting in line to get thru Customs (there were hundreds of people waiting in the queue), and a 1 hour car ride to the hotel -- I finally arrived at my room around Noon GMT.

I settled in, unpacked, rested for an hour. As it approached 1:30pm, I decided to make the trek into London for the afternoon. This may be the only "free time" to enjoy.

The local train station is kind of like the NJT, and is about a 15 minute walk from the hotel. Within 40 minutes, I'm on the "tube" (the London subway). Truth be told, I had no idea where the hell I was going... just picked a spot near the Thames to exit and started walking. Not surprisingly, it doesn't take much to bump into the major sites.

Like the Tower Bridge (taken from the London Bridge):



Trafalgar Square:



and Big Ben:



I took many more photos, but those are the highlights. My feet are sore from walking. With any luck, there will be more time later in the week to explore further. I returned to the hotel at 6pm since nothing is really open here on the weekends. Hopefully the weather will hold out as well.

By the way, my phone does NOT work here at all -- cannot even get a signal. Email is best. For emergencies, key numbers are

Hotel: +44 (0)1628 624 394
Office: +44 (0)1628 860 500

Here Comes the Sun

Well, more figuratively at this point than literally (Beatles aside)... still cloudy and slight rain, but the water levels are dropping further. Both pumps crank away as needed. The flow rate into the basement is now only 25% of Monday's peak.

Brandon and I went to Lowes last night to pickup a wetvac and mops. They had *just* received more stock. The same aisles had been completely bare since this all started.

Last night was the first time since Saturday that I managed a full night's sleep, and tomorrow thru Tuesday is supposed to be sunny and 70s here. Glad to have this come to an end.

We were very fortunate here. At about 10 feet lower across the road, our neighbors definitely bore the brunt of it.

The secondary pump arrived!!!

It came to our door about 9:30am. By 10 o'clock I had it tackling the lower level of our basement - barely 3 hours later it finished. Big sigh of relief, both to get the water out and to know I won't have to do it again by hand. Tracy just went to take a nap now that our 2 man bucket brigades seem to be at an end!

The main sump pump is now at a 50 second interval. While not done, it's so nice to take a deep breath finally.

Local news article re Nor'Easter

A good write-up on events from the Princeton Packet with the following noteworthy sections:

"most area municipalities morphed into islands"... "topped records for the last hundred years for the month of April"... "some longtime residents said it was the first time they had ever seen Grovers Mill Pond flood over".

Many local creeks and rivers are supposed to crest by this morning, if they haven't already. Grovers Mill Pond appears back to normal, and the interval for our pump is now at 39 - the best in 2 days, and continues to trend positively (i.e. the water seepage is slowing).

All the roads are open again. Just hope the power stays on, and that second pump shows today as ordered. While improvement continues, we're not out of the woods yet. At least Tracy and I managed to get some sleep last night.

Slow recovery, but improvement nonetheless!

The rain has held off today, and the flow rate into the basement seems to be slowing. Peak interval time on the pump was 22 seconds - just remeasured and it's 27 seconds now. Hopefully this means things are settling back to normal levels even if slowly. I'll take any improvement at this stage.

I ordered a second, portable sump pump online which should be here first thing tomorrow morning. It should make for a good "backup" device, and help us to clean out the lower part of the basement... sans buckets!!

Feels like "Fantasia"...

We've been bailing out part of the basement by hand for 60 mins, every 4 hours to keep up with the seepage (basically, to take the standing water level down by 2 inches).

Good thing that Tracy and I are in relatively good shape: she fills a bucket and carries it to the stairs, which I take up and out the bilco doors to dump on our second driveway - away from the foundation. Definitely tiring, but we seem to do allright so far.

And our sump pump keeps the rest in check like a trooper. Been kicking in since 3am yesterday. Not sure how long before the water table gets back to normal... at least the rain has mostly stopped, and our forecast for the rest of the week is sunny and 60s.

Pumps, Pails, and Prayers

The pump continues to function and has been emptying every 24 seconds this afternoon. The lower section of our basement (under the kitchen extension) sits 8 inches below the main foundation - and was flooded with 6 inches of water.

Tracy and I just spent the last 90 minutes using pails and hiking the water out thru bilco doors to the backyard. Got the waterlevel down 2 or 3 inches. We need to keep it from flowing up into the main area (where the furnace is...).


The creek across the road is slowly pulling back into its banks. Now we just need the resulting water table to drain off - and out of our basement. I've been up since 3am, but doubt I'll sleep much tonight.

As long as we can keep up with it, absolutely no complaints here. Many of our neighbors were not so fortunate.

Minor local flooding today

We've managed to luck-out so far since my post this morning... just took a video of the creek that Grover's Pond dumps into across the road; posting it to the right shortly. According to the longer-term residents, this is the worst they've seen since Hurricane Andrew (in 1992).

I tried heading to Lowes earlier in the day... *all* roads are closed off, and the water from the pond is spilling straight over Clarksville Road. Hope this pulls back soon.

Our sump pump is now kicking on every 30 seconds. If it goes out for any reason, we will be so screwed... it's gonna be a long day.

European Chronicles - Day 7

On our way home!

We're at the gate here in Schiphol Airport... everything appears ontime. We should leave at around 1:30pm local time (7:30am EDT), and arrive in Newark at 3:55pm EDT. The flight back is 8 hours long - not sure if we'll be able to sleep during our return with our body clocks adjusted to European time. It's a good thing that we have 2 full days to recoup.

I'll give you guys a quick ring after we get settled in at home (probably around 6pm).

Scott, Tracy, and Brandon

European Chronicles - Day 6

Our last full day here in Holland...

This morning started early and began with a proper meal at a Dutch Pancakehouse. While Tracy and Brandon had waffles and pancakes, I tried a local specialty called poffertjes. They were good. One thing we've all noticed here in Europe are the portion sizes - much smaller than in the US. Actually, this has been a good thing... we're always fed just right and never stuffed completely full.

Afterwards, we went to our last museum visit: this time at Nieuwe Kerk (New Church). They had a really interesting exhibit on Istanbul, its timeline from the Ottoman Empire days, ties to the Dutch, etc. Sounds like an interesting place (who knows, maybe a future trip?)

From there, we did one more visit to the Zoo. It was such a nice day today that we all wanted to stay outside. We wandered for about 3 hours and saw every corner this time - including a few things we hadn't noticed before.

We've collected almost an hour of video, and over 300 photos during our stay in Amsterdam. I can't remember ever taking as many before, but I'm sure we'll enjoy them for recollecting... and it's been fun doing our daily blog updates as well.

We all enjoyed our trip, but also all agree that it's time to return... after we do (and re-adjust to the home timezone), we'll work on that Davis DVD next.

Amsterdam was a blast! Everyone was friendly (just had to watch out for those damned bikes), and they all speak English as well as Dutch. Whatever country we decide to visit next, we'll definitely have to brush-up on the native language beforehand. We did pick up a few basic Dutch phrases - and drove Tracy crazy answering back with "Ja" or "Nee" (yes or no) to every question. Goden morgen is about like it looks, Good Morning. Dank U is thank you. Gesloten means "closed" (the stores close at 6pm here, except on Thursdays when they stay open till 9pm). And the canal where our hotel is situated is called the Herengracht... pronounced "erhen-ghrasht".


We'll miss our strolls by the canals and all the numerous sidewalk cafes along them where we ate. Brandon will definitely miss "La Tosca" where they always served him wine - no questions asked. It was a great week in all.. the slow, relaxed pace... the casual atmosphere... the relative quiet for such a bustling city (e.g no car horns, just bike bells). Definitely lots of good memories. It was well worth the trip, and made for a great locale to conduct our European initiation.

European Chronicles - Day 5

Today was a late start as we all slept in a bit more... this 6 hour time difference is manageable, but definitely noticeable as well. After breakfast we headed to the Van Gogh Museum. It's not as big as the Rijksmuseum, but was worth the trip.

I never realized just how troubled Van Gogh was throughout his life, nor how young he was when he died (from suicide). The museum has an excellent collection that clearly illustrates how his technique developed over time.

Most of the day was spent strolling sections of Amsterdam we had not yet visited (e.g. closer to the "Red Light" district). There are many side streets and alleyways loaded with shops to explore. We saw numerous ones, but didn't stray too far -- and only came across one "worker" displaying her goods in the window...

The afternoon was spent on another boat cruise thru the city - a good clip of which is posted to the right, about the "Golden Bend" stretch of the Herengracht canal. As you watch it, the speaker goes thru Dutch, German, then English scripts.

Our evening was fairly quiet... a basic sushi dinner, then back to the hotel. One more day here should suffice. I think we're almost ready to come home.

European Chronicles - Day 4

This morning we visited the world-famous Rijksmuseum.


I can safely say that online images do not remotely compare to viewing the originals up close. It feels like you can walk into some and touch aspects of others. The contrast, use of light, and style is incredible. Even Brandon could see the difference and appreciate them.

Afterwards, we walked thru some shopping districts... mostly browsing. But we did find a local artist with a unique style and purchased one of her prints. We'll add it to our growing "collection" at home.

We also spent a good part of the day relaxing in the park just behind the museum as well as wandering new areas of the city (videos of which are posted to the right). In fact, it was such a bright sunny day that we ate lunch outside by one of the canals.

This evening we ate back at Brandon's favorite Italian place (because they serve him wine), then went for a late stroll along the canals near the hotel.

We're definitely having a blast!

European Chronicles - Day 3

A little cooler today: partly cloudy and 50 with some light rain in the morning. We still managed to head out around 9am for breakfast. This time at an authentic Dutch Pancake house. From there, it was a short walk over to the Anne Frank Museum.


The wait wasn't too terrible, less than an hour in line to get inside. We were there for a good 90 mins or so. They won't let you take any pictures, but we did pick up some souvenirs: "The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank" and "L'histoire d'Anne Frank" (Brandon wanted the French version).

It's hard to convey the experience of touching the fake bookcase which concealed the door for their sanctuary (which Anne called the "Secret Annex"), walking up the long and steep staircase, into the small rooms where they stayed while the Nazis overran Holland (Anne decorated hers with images cut out from magazines and glued to the walls)... to view actual yellow stars they were required to sew onto their clothes and signs stating "Juden Verboten" (NO JEWS)... to see their relocation papers, and to know that in the end, only the Father survived.

I hope that Brandon can take away something more from this as well. Anything to help foster tolerance instead of segregation, or fear, or hate. We as a species are too prone to repeating such things.

Later in the day, we had lunch near Dam Square (that's Tracy and Brandon in front of the Royal Palace) and walked over to our canal cruise. It was pretty cool -- lasted about an hour, and the guide pointed out several things along the way.

The entire top of the boat is glass covered, so you can take plenty of photos...

Again, only a sampling of them are posted here. Tomorrow, we'll visit the Rijksmuseum, do some more shopping, and take some more video -- it's supposed to be nice and sunny!

For now...


"Goede Nacht van Holland!" (Good Night from Holland!)

European Chronicles - Day 2

Most of today was spent at the Artis Royal Zoo Amsterdam. Brandon shot a great video of the new baby gorilla there (posted on the right).

There were plenty of animal species - mostly the usual, but a few I hadn't seen before. We collected tons of pictures and video. Only a small sample are posted here (we'll put much more into our upcoming Davis DVD :-)

We're able to go quite far on foot here in Amsterdam. No need yet to use any mass transit, or rent a bike... and man, these Dutch are crazy on their bikes (did I mention that already?)


We ran out of daylight to do a boat tour... maybe tomorrow. Also, we'll probably visit the Anne Frank House. Good thing we have 4 days left -- still lots to do!

European Chronicles - Day 1 (cont')

Well, we've already done a bit of shopping and walked around... mostly stayed to the southwest quadrant. Walked by the Rijksmuseum and the prime shopping area, called the "P.C."

It definitely *feels* like Europe. Amazing how this city seems more like a village than a metropolitan area. Even so, there's plenty to see and do.

We strolled alone the three main canals: Herengracht, Princengracht, and Keizergracht. The number of people on bicycles here is amazing. You have to watch out for them more so than any cars - they ride around like maniacs. And they are *everywhere*. Biking is the way to get around Amsterdam.

Afterwards, we ate dinner at an Italian place called "La Toscana" -- where, get this, THEY SERVED BRANDON WINE!!!!! I had heard of this, but seeing it happen was another thing: didn't even look at me or Tracy, just filled his glass no questions asked. Salut!!!

European Chronicles - Day 1

Welkom in Nederland

We're here!! It was a fairly quiet flight from Newark -- only slightly delayed since some dipshit decided not to fly last minute (after checking in), and we had to wait while they scoured the belly of the plane to pull that person's luggage. Anyway, we arrived at 8:40am local time. Customs was a breeze: no forms, no questions... just stamped our passports, and we headed straight out to the taxi queue!

15 minutes later we're already at our hotel. Right on the Herengracht canal, a short walk from the Anne Frank house.

Our room wasn't ready when we arrived, so we walked around for an hour. It's sunny and 55 today. Nice for a stroll. I was surprised by how much signage is in English, and by how quiet the city is in general. The latter may be partly due to it being Sunday. Regardless, there's still activity: lots of people walking and on bikes, just not a lot of cars (nor the associated clutter / noise). Definitely a change of pace, especially from NYC.

While waiting for our room, we decided to grab some croissants and "koffie verkeerd" (like a coffee latte)


and walk around a little



right now, we're taking a brief rest before heading back out. Hopefully, the jet lag won't drag on us too much. At least for now, we're here safe and sound!

European Chronicles - Day 0

After 6 months of planning and anticipating, departure day is here!

I've been on an early AM wakeup cycle lately. It's 5am now (11am in Amsterdam) - just me and the cats up so far. Later this morning, we'll all finish packing. I'll take Max to "doggie daycare" around Noon. He's been there a few times now and always comes back wiped-out. He seems to really like it there, and it makes me feel much less guilty about leaving him behind.

Tracy and Brandon already investigated the proper use of our newly acquired power adapter. Good thing too as there were some finer points to avoid looking like the Travelocity gnome!

Doesn't look too tricky, but it will be one of many new experiences. Speaking of which, I stopped by a foreign exchange and picked up some Euros to have enough for cab fare when we arrive. The weather in Holland looks good for our stay as well. With a little luck, we'll be underway later today and will arrive in Amsterdam on Sunday, 8am local time.

Scott