Hello and Hej!

Hours after arriving in London I find myself in Norway! My hotel room isn't ready yet and I was in the mood for some breakfast. However, the hotel diningroom looks utterly depressing, so I ventured out. A stone's throw from the hotel is Scandinavian Kitchen where Norwegian music blasts from the stereo and a friendly waiter greets you with "Hej" -- I thought that was Swedish, but guess it is universal Scandinavian :-) Anyway, a fun place with WiFi to hang out, have a coffee and some rolls before being able to take a nap.

Welcome Home

I wanted to give a quick shout out to Ben (my dad) who just returned home to Holland after another five months in Ecuador with his grand daughter (and my niece) Paulita. Ben was blogging about Ecuador and Latin American politics (in Dutch) for the past tumultuous months and will continue to follow the situation in America Latina from Holland (which probably isn't as easy.)

Snow

Please pardon the radio silence, it has been a busy couple of weeks with little time to blog. I just couldn't resist posting this picture though, it came from my uncle Peike in Holland. On Easter Sunday he shot this out of his window and decided to go back to bed. I don't blame him. Snow in Holland in late March, wow. I don't think that's happened since I was a little kid. (I am headed to Holland soon, I hope the weather clears up a bit before then.)


Meanwhile I just came back from a fantastic four day break in Tahoe, skiing everyday under a blue sky with loads of sunshine. Spring skiing at its best. Here's a colleague doing a trick on his board. (We had a work ski day on Thursday, thanks McAfee!)

Murder Burger

Little over a decade ago a popular burger place in Davis, CA, was called "Murder Burger." However, when the business expanded and additional shacks were opened the name had to change. People weren't so happy with the original name. So now the place is called Redrum Burger, though there is no affiliation with Stephen King's "The Shining." Anyway, this is a cool place to stop by on the way to Tahoe. They have nice shakes and a great Ostrich Burger. (Veggie burgers are served too.) It is a real burger shack.

Snow!

This weekend I did my first skiing of the season! There is tons of snow in the California Sierras, much better than last year. The San Jose Mercury News reported on Friday that because of the snow level, Bay Area residents won't have to worry about water shortages this summer. That means everyone can water their lawns, wash their cars and flush their toilets, plus there won't be a need to share bath water. (Seriously, that's what they reported, though I doubt anyone shared bath water last summer.) Anyway, here are some snow shots.