Mike's Daily Lockup

Sipping a beer in a Starbucks (see my tweet for the explanation), hiked three miles already, and you don't need to even guess about the weather in Seattle at this time of year. Let me spell it out for you: R-A-I-N

Scarves Up L.A. (and even in The OC)

Last Friday I was able to snag a few tickets to the Western Conference Championship game between the LA Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo. Houston defeated my second favorite MLS team, the Seattle Sounders in the first round (I was hoping for a LA v. Seattle match up) and headed to Home Depot Center in an epic battle with the Galaxy.

Now for the record I'm not a die hard MLS fan, I'm more of a casual fan. I could tell you about a few players, name some of the teams, and even tell you some of the history of the Galaxy, but that's about it. My knowledge of Soccer is also rudimentary, but I know enough to stand for 90 minutes, when a player is offsides, when there should be a penalty kick, the game is more important then a beer run, and when the supporter section is rocking, dive in...so that's what I did on Friday. It also helps that I learned alot of this in the student section at a Soccer match in Salzburg, Austria.

I stood with the Angel City Brigade.

That's right, during the game we had two power outages. As David Beckham joked in the locker room afterward, us Americans were always trying to get four quarters in Football. The game also nearly caused me to have a nervous breakdown, see I bought tickets for the MLS Cup a half hour before the game not knowing if the Galaxy were going to make it or not. With it being Friday the 13th, I thought what the heck, roll the dice and let's see what happens. For all I know I could have been going to Seattle to see Chicago and Houston (Shudders...)

Stay tuned to the MDLU as I'll try my best to provide updates via twitter and qik of the MLS Cup live from Seattle.

Trying to Catch a Droid by the Dashboard Light

I know it has been a while since I have written a long post here on the MDLU, so here it goes. The beverage on my desk is a Mirror Pond Pale Ale from Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon.

Tonight's topic (or morning) is Tech and Suave:

1. Google Dashboard

For those of you who rely on Google for basically everything, the Dashboard will show you almost everything that Google has for your account. If you have a Google voice number, it'll show you the number of calls you've made, if you use Google Docs it show you the most recent document and what you are sharing, if you use Google Latitude (a location aware service) it'll show the most recent location. If you're a privacy nut the amount of information that is in Google's system will make you reach for your tin-foil hat. With all of the information that is out in the "cloud" you tend to forget how much is actually out there. While the Dashboard is a start, it still does not allow you to turn off any tracking that Google may do or how it uses all of the information that is collected through the daily use of their products.

2. Droid

"These are not the Droids you are looking for..." If you're a Verizon subscriber, welcome to the dawn of the App Phone (hat tip to David Pogue for that description). I'll give it some credit for having a real keyboard, a higher resolution camera, and a high resolution screen, but it does lack multitouch. If the rumors hold true, Verizon may also have an iPhone by 2010. In the mean time, I'm sticking with my iPhone (it's not perfect, mainly AT&T's fault).

3. Catch Me If You Can

It seems that there is a modern Frank Abagnale, Jr. out in Los Angeles. The LA Times is reporting that a suave con man has been working his way through Staples Center, the Greek Theater, and offices and hotels in Downtown LA. Using the term "Office Creeper," the man has apparently slipped in and out of offices with laptops, including one stolen from an LAPD Detective. The con man has been using the web and social networks to track the movement of celebrities and sports teams and then his charm to gain access to their rooms. 

Blogging from the road...

Howdy from above the 45th parallel.

Sometimes I do crazy trips for no reason, well maybe with some reasoning, but I always want some adventure.

I did learn one thing that Oregon has in common with New Jersey, you can't pump your own gas.

So if you're playing at home three states: California, Oregon, and Washington.

And the next time you do a drive, do it in a blinding rain storm the whole way. That's how you know you're alive.

Got to love adventure...

Ducks beat the Kings: Final Pre-Season Warmup

Last night the Anaheim Ducks beat the Kings 5-4 at the Ponda (Take the Pond and Honda Center and you get Ponda) in the final pre season game of 2009.

Now it's time to get ready for a great '09/'10 season.

Football, Baseball, and Floggings...

Testing, testing, is this thing on? Sound check...Mary had a little lamb..What, a little high on the treble, how's that..good.

Well, it's been a while since I've written a substantial post here on The MDLU, but if you follow on Twitter or Qik, it has not been quiet. From Seattle, to San Francisco, to San Diego, to Venice, to Los Angeles, I've been to more baseball games then I can count. Saw more comic book fans in a bar then in an episode of Big Bang Theory at ComicCon. Pounded shots of espresso from a 1972 La Marazco at both intelligentsias in Los Angeles. Attended the College Football kickoff for UCLA. And drank beers at LAX in the Bradley Terminal without a ticket. Let's not forget the Orange Street Fair and finding good local brews (a hat tip to Haven Gastropub).

What's Next? More Angels Baseball and Flogging Molly (Floggings, get it?)

Next weekend, the Red Bull soapbox derby. That'll be crazy...

In a month more Seahawks football and then Vancouver 2010.

Stay Tuned.

Angel's Hall of Fame Night

ComicCon 2009

It's Saturday at ComicCon...more later.

A Seattle Double Header

Call me crazy, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see both the Sounders and the Mariners.

Pics on twitpic and vid on Qik.

More Astronauts in The OC

It's a bummer I have to miss this event after meeting Buzz Aldrin at the signing of his new book "Magnificent Desolation" (very good book, by the way). I'll be on a mission of a different sort this weekend.

For those of you who want to hear where we were to know where we are going, then this event is for you:

Astronaut Commander Scott Carpenter, Gemini and Apollo astronaut Lt. General Thomas Stafford, and Apollo astronaut and last man to walk on the moon Captain Gene Cernan.

The event will celebrate the accomplishments of these great American heroes while showcasing a lunar rover, Apollo 10 space suit and mars rover along with Speedmaster watches from Gemini and Apollo missions.
 

WHEN:          Exhibit
·        Wednesday, July 8th – Sunday, July 12th, 2009
 
                        Astronaut Panel Discussion
·        3pm-4pm on Saturday, July 11th, 2009
                      
WHERE:       South Coast Plaza – Jewel Court
                        3333 Bristol Street  
                        Costa Mesa, CA  92626
                        800-782-8888