Converting to WordPress
Hello again. It’s just me, your friendly neighborhood housekeeper, sweeping six weeks worth of cobwebs from the House of Rapp. Six weeks. I guess I really can walk away from the keyboard, eh? I’m not addicted. Really. I suppose I should have written something when I returned from vacation. It was lovely, by the way. There are about 100 photos from the trip over here. I’d love to write more about it–maybe I’ll backdate some entries from the trip journal Lesley and I kept. Anyway, among the 1.3 million emails, phone message, faxes, letters, telegrams (okay, maybe not telegrams) waiting patiently for my return was the news that Movable Type was going down the drain. And quickly. So, faced with the need to switch to something...
Read MoreNorthern California, Here I Come
I’m outta here. We’re leaving on a ten day road trip to Auburn, San Francisco, Napa, Monterey, and San Simeon, returning on May 9th. I haven’t made a road trip of this length in a long time. It’ll be weird sitting in a car for eight hours on the way up to Auburn. My body’s going to be saying “Auburn? Isn’t that like two hours from L.A.??” Spoiled by flying, that’s all it is. This is a perfect time of year to make a trip of this type. Schools are still in session and the summer travel season doesn’t start for another three or four weeks, so hopefully we’ll have nice weather without all the crowds.
Read MoreGod Bless the Bellagio
Lesley and I just returned from Las Vegas. It’s such an interesting place. I’ve experienced Vegas so many different ways. I’ve been a resident there. A student there. A bachelor party attendee there. It’s been an Angel Flight destination for me as a pilot. And so on. Vegas can be the most fun you’ll ever have. It can also be a truly unpleasant experience. For the occasional visitor, the two biggest factors that affect your enjoyment of Sin City are a) your hotel, and b) the time of week you visit. In this case, we really did it right. We spent three days and two nights at the Bellagio. Now, the last time I was in Vegas it was for my friend Rich’s bachelor party. We stayed at the Imperial Palace, which is just about...
Read MoreTravel Prep
That TNT flick (“Pirates of Silicon Valley”) was pretty good! Although I wouldn’t have tried so hard to clear my schedule if I had known they were going to re-play it again. Immediately afterward, no less. And again after that. What kind of station plays the exact same movie three times in a row? Not even the premium channels like HBO or Cinemax do that. Or perhaps I’ve just been living in a cave. Like I said yesterday, I don’t watch too much television. Today was nuts. I kept getting calls from one client after the other wanting something done before I leave for Europe, which means I have all of 24 hours to get it finished. And I still haven’t packed. Just how do you pack for a three week backpacking vacation across...
Read MoreThree Days To Go
It’s T-minus 3 days until departure for Europe, and there’s still a ton of stuff left to do. Some Europe related, and some work related. But it’ll all get done. It always does. The flight to London is not something I’d normally look forward to because of how long it is and how little leg room you’re given. Commercial air travel can be miserable, can’t it? I mean, it takes a lot to make me unhappy in the air. But! I’m going over on a new Boeing 777, a plane I’ve never been on or even seen up close. I’m hoping I’ll somehow finagle my way into visiting the cockpit. That’s now prohibited on U.S. airlines because of terrorists, but we’re flying British Airways, and on long international flights...
Read MoreThe Bellagio
So it’s come down to the wire again. Surprise, surprise: it’s four days before Christmas, and I haven’t done any shopping yet. To be fair, I don’t need to shop for many people. And thankfully, I can put off shopping for my family because I’ll be seeing them in person at the new year and can give them their gifts then. They won’t know the difference. I’m so sly. It’s a guy thing, isn’t it? Testosterone has some mystical property (as yet unbeknownst to modern science) which makes it impossible for the human male to enter a shopping mall of his own volition before said malls reach their maximum occupancy level. Most of my male friends are probably at the mall right now, standing in line even as I type. I...
Read MoreBachelor Party in Tahoe
The House of Rapp is proud to present the Martha Stewart BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS® recipe for the perfect guys-only weekend: 1 bachelor – skinny, tall, able to eat 274.98 cubic meters of food in one sitting 7 friends – overworked and ready to get the hell outta Dodge 1 large van – Ford – operated at maximum velocity at night on black ice without chains or snow tires 1 friendly lakeside town – elevation 6,500 feet, on California/Nevada border 1 ski resort (largest on the west coast) 1 stack – $20 bills 2 casinos – Caesar’s and Harrah’s brand 2 roulette tables – minimum wager of only $0.50 per spin 200 dollars – winnings 3 days – containing no more than 10 hours of sleep 1 snow storm -...
Read MoreBeantown
Returned to Los Angeles last night. As predicted, the trip was short but tiring. No crashes with the plane or the rental car, so as Bing Crosby once sang, “I’m counting my blessings instead of sheep.” Surprisingly, after that two and a half-hour horseback ride through the forest yesterday, I wasn’t sore at all. I started the day by buying some wonderfully scented candles from Cindy and Dave’s flower shop in downtown Littleton. They had some of the weirdest smells! Just how big is the market for chocolate-scented candles? After breakfast we left for Boston. They say that if you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait five minutes because it’ll change. It sure did, to heavy rain which lasted until after the plane...
Read MoreLittleton, NH
I’m currently in Littleton, New Hampshire. This place reminds me of Alaska. I guess it should… New Hampshire and the southern part of Alaska occupy a similar latitude. Littleton reminds me of Eagle River, the town I lived in during those carefree Alaska years. I remember Eagle River as having a real homey feel to it, which is odd because the town was growing so quickly. In fact, it was billed as the fastest growing city in America when I lived there (1982-1985). But there were a lot of constants: playing Donkey Kong at the laundromat, trying to eat a whole steak at the Northern Lights steak house (they gave you a sticker that said “I ATE THE WHOLE THING!” if you did; funny what you’ll do for a sticker when you’re 10 years...
Read MoreSeattle
Write It Like You Stole It Continuing in the fine tradition of Apple Computer and Microsoft, I’m saw something developed by someone else that I liked, and am stealing it for my own financial gain. OK, so maybe that’s a little overdramatic. But I have to admit that my pal Tony (better known as Tony the Child Drunkard) started doing this first. What is “this” you ask? It’s a journal type thing that’s updated periodically. I’ve got more than 300 people I exchange email with (if you ever email and don’t get an immediate reply, that might be why), so I’m a little bit ahead of Tony in that department. But I can’t compete with his cheezy 70′s-ishness, so we’ll just call it even. Kibbles & Bits...
Read MoreInstagrams
Social