Dove Lewis has given is great comfort and understanding in some of our most difficult times over the last few years, and we wish them all the best. Thanks guys, and Happy Birthday. ]]> http://www.neotextus.org/2008/08/10/happy-birthday-dove-lewis/feed/ http://www.neotextus.org/2008/08/01/dog-day-afternoon/ http://www.neotextus.org/2008/08/01/dog-day-afternoon/#comments Sat, 02 Aug 2008 05:47:50 +0000 paul http://www.neotextus.org/?p=426 Hazeldale off-leash Dog Park is holding its fifth annual benefit tomorrow with fun for the whole family, both human and canine. The park offers a large, welcoming and safe fenced play areas with lots of small trees to provide shelter from the heat and poop bags and water on site. Come join the fun including competitions, demonstrations and vendor stalls from 10AM till 4PM (contests start at 1PM)

My darling wife Donna organizes a regular social meet up for British ex-pats in the Portland area, and tomorrow is our next meeting at the Moon and Sixpence on NE 42nd at 7PM.

Its a great opportunity for all us British and friends to get together, sample the local beers and have a chinwag about all thing British. Topics range from where the best places to watch the football in Portland to tips on where to get the best scotch eggs and sausage rolls.

Check out our meetup group and come join the fun ]]> http://www.neotextus.org/2008/05/30/british-expat-meeting-tomorrow/feed/ http://www.neotextus.org/2008/05/28/is-gas-still-too-cheap/ http://www.neotextus.org/2008/05/28/is-gas-still-too-cheap/#comments Wed, 28 May 2008 16:41:29 +0000 paul http://www.neotextus.org/?p=422

It’s a scary thought, but could gas prices be too low? This graph shows the movement of old (Brent crude) vs gasoline prices at the pumps over the last ten years (source: U.S. Energy Information Administration).

The data seems to indicate that the price of gas at the pump has lagged behind the increases in oil prices over the last year. The implication is that if the price of oil was to steady around the $125 per barrel price, then we should expect gas prices to continue to rise to $4.50 per gallon.

We almost never do it, but yesterday morning Donna and I were up at 6AM to go shopping! We were after the Wii Fit which launched on Thursday, and out local Fred Meyer’s were getting a deliver of about a dozen. So at 7AM we are standing outside the local Freddie’s in a gentle Oregon rain queuing with the dozen or so other hardcore Wii fans waiting for the doors to open. (I must admit that I really don’t get Nintendo’s business model - how can it be profitable to have so many customers waiting so few products?)

So what do we think of it? Well first of all a big warning - don’t buy the Wii Fit if you are over 330lbs! Although marketed as a fitness program, it will refuse to work if you are too heavy. Personally, I managed to work around this little problem by sliding a magazine under the balance board! - not a perfect solution, but it seems to work.

First impressions are that Nintendo have done it again. The balance board feels well built and the games are fun yet challenging. The next couple of months will show whether a video game can actually make a difference in fitness.

So a month ago, Becky had surgery to repair the left knee, which went well except that a post-op examination of the other knee found ACL damage. This week, Becky had here second knee operation, which seems to have gone very well. However, when Becky was being prepped for the operation, the surgeon found a lump on her leg. The good news is that the surgeon was proactive, the bad news is that it was cancer

Becky is back at home now, and doing well although it will be about three months before she can play off leash. Personally, I’m just praying that bad luck comes in threes, and we don’t get any more nasty surprises (or big vets bills!) this year.

Hondo dog park in Hillsboro opened today just north of 229th & Evergreen, and the girls just loved it. On a 3 3/4 acre site, Hillsboro city have built a beautiful fenced dog park with a large mixed area, a smaller area for small dogs only, and a small gravel area to allow mud free play in the winter.

The park will be hosting an opening celebration on Saturday September 29th, 11AM-3PM - watch hillsborodogs.com for details.

They will be performing five centuries of sad music:

• Henry Purcell
• Rufus Wainwright
• William Byrd
• Hanns Eisler
• Edvard Grieg
• John Dowland
• Gnarls Barkley
• Robert Schumann
• Charles Strouse
• Barbershop quartets
• Irish laments
• … and more

FourScore is…
Ben “Kinks” Kinkley: voice/tuba/trombone
Ben “Landy” Landsverk: voice/piano/banjo/viola
Brian “when Francis Dances” Francis: voice, goatee
Stephen “Beevindoodin” Marc Beaudoin: voice/piano/recorder