Miscellaneous Happenings

I have had many things to write about but no time. Hopefully I haven't created an addiction with anyone that has gone unsatisfied.  Where to start...

Two weekends ago I had dinner with a wonderful Swiss couple, one of which is a colleague of mine at work. They live in the mountains above Vevey. Their home and view are absolutely fantastic!! There is a waterfall not far away that is covered by the trees, but can still be heard.  I spent 30 minutes outside just admiring the view (will add photos later).  I even got a nice tour of their wine collection which is impressive.  We had tartare de boeuf and several bottles of red wine.  I know some might be thinking, "How in the world could you eat that!?".  But, don't knock it until you have tried it.  We even discussed how Swiss women are different than American women.  It was very enlightening.  Things here seem to move a little (lot) slower.  It appears as though men have to be patient.  This means one thing to me...  I better learn to be patient or I'm in a world of trouble!!!  Bottom line - the women are different in some ways (not a bad thing and maybe for the best in some ways) and the same in at least one.  Men cannot understand any of them!!  : ))))  This may be a universal challenge that knows no borders.  : ))))  Hopefully this does not get me in trouble as I am kidding for the most part (Anna??)...

John McCain named Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, as his VP running mate.  What does this mean?  At first glance, one would think this might provide an opening for Democrats to attack her experience.  But, the reality is that this women has made more executive decisions in the past 3 months than Barack Obama has made in a lifetime.  Time will only tell how all this plays out but the Democrats should be careful about challenging her level of experience.

I am a bit of a techno geek so I will update the world on several new offerings.  I am trying out the beta version of a new IM client called Digsby.  I have tried Trillion, Meebo, etc, etc.  So far, Digsby is looking very good.  Even though it is still in beta and not open for general release, it is surprisingly stable and they are pushing updates out almost daily.  It basically brings all chat and social networking into a common platform.  It's a great concept that will only get better.  Hopefully they will support Skype chat soon.  Check it out!!  Google also just launched its new browser called Chrome.  I just downloaded it 30 minutes ago so I cannot say much except that it is pretty clean and has some interesting features...

I saved the best story for last.  Last Friday, my friend and I started at the Montreux Palace where we had a couple of drinks.  After that, we had dinner and wine at an Italian restaurant.  Next, we took a taxi up to Bloney for an 80's birthday party.  We weren't dressed for the occasion but that was fine as we really didn't notice at the time.  We had a few more drinks at the party, danced a little, and just had a great time.  But, the great time was just beginning.  We attempted to walk back to I'm not sure where to catch a taxi back to Montreux.  I won't give exact details as I am sworn to secrecy (nothing bad), but let's just say we spent a little time recovering near the roadway.  Several hours later, we managed to get a taxi and head back to civilization.  The details are left out to protect the innocent, myself included.  Let me just say that S is a cool girl and it was a fun night all around!!