New York Times

George & Stacies Bachelor(ette) Parties

~ randyaa ~ 1 Comment

A while back while the best man was throwing together ideas for the Bachelor party I read an article from the New York Times about this sweet little par 3 golf course with several bars on site which seemed ideal for the type of shenanigans we’d be up to.  I forwarded the information about McMenamins Edgefield that I had, and to my surprise George (the Bachelor) had not only already heard of it, but really wanted to go.

This was my first experience golfing (probably Rob’s too as can be seen in the video above), and holy crap did I suck to start out with.  My skill level essentially fit perfectly to a bell curve over time.  I got steadily better (thanks to Newman and Andy’s coaching!) and then I sucked hard core (thanks to the alcohol).

From there it was on to some bars with a quick stop to take care of the Portland UprITe Battle of 2009.

The girls spent the majority of their time at Dukes which, if the pictures and videos are any indication, is a lot of fun.  It seems that almost everybody rode the bull with the exception of my wife who is the only one who foresaw the bull riding plot and wore a skirt to stop it in it’s tracks.

A great night for all involved!

The Solution is Simple at 350 ppm

~ randyaa ~ Leave a comment

The web is abuzz today with two things. One, Amazon.com has been down for hours. Two, the story of Alain Robert (aka spidey) and Renaldo Clarke who both climbed the 52-story New York Times Building.

Renaldo Clarke climbed to draw attention to childhood malaria.

Alain Robert climbed to draw attention global warming and was carrying a banner which stated:

Global Warming kills more people than 9/11 every week.

I took the bait. I don’t have a clue how something like that could even be measured, but his banner alone isn’t why I wanted to look into this guy. I don’t think it’s shocking news that I’m somewhat interested in the developments of Global Climate Change. I like to see what new stuff is happening and what different movements there are. Perhaps one day I’ll even find one that I feel I can contribute to, who knows?

Alain’s T-shirt during the stunt read “The Solution Is Simple .org“.  While I thought this would be nothing more than another meaningless organization that asks you to buy coupons to offset your carbon emissions The Solution Is Simple turns out to be Alain’s personal website and it appears he is very much in the midst of the whole Green Shift. The notion of “Greener is Better” really seems to resonate with this guy.

I have a lot of respect for Alain Robert. It seems everything this guy does has something to do with going Green and he really walks the walk. His site is even hosted by a green company.

Something I found on The Solution Is Simple mentioned twice interested me. 350. As it turns out there is an organization claiming that 350 parts per million is the magical amount of CO2 in the atmosphere which we need.

350 is the red line for human beings, the most important number on the planet. The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth.

I’m not sure if this is the magic number or not but it’s something to strive for I suppose. At least it puts a goal in mind rather than just the blanket statement most organizations seem to make of “we need to be greener.”

With his stunt and his website Alain is urging everyone to send a message about global warming to world leaders who are meeting next month at the G8 conference in Japan. You should too. There is a simple form you can fill out to do so on his website The Solution Is Simple.

I’m Randy Aldrich and I Approve this message.

NOTE: I am simply pointing out organizations and companies which have claims to being ‘green.’ I have in no way verified the validity of these statements.  Please let me know if you find anything different.

Marry Me

~ randyaa ~ 1 Comment

According to the New York Times there’s a new trend going on in the world of proposals. People are paying lots of cash to have photographers disguise themselves in order for them to capture the moment. Normally this is a very private and very special occasion however people are beginning to publish everything about their life on the Internet and what’s the sense of leaving out the most romantic part of your life? To that end I’ve decided to share our story for everyone to read.

Our engagement story is both romantic and spontaneous. Maybe that’s the same thing? I had the ring in my possession for months in advance just waiting for the right time to ask. In October of 2005 we found out that our good friend Charles was living in London and he offered us a place to stay. We looked into flights and since it was past high-travel season the flights were dirt cheap. We were able to fly direct to London from jersey for under $300 a piece. After talking with Charles we found out that London would be celebrating Guy Fawkes day in 3 weeks and we made our plans to start our vacation that weekend.

At that time I had still not decided whether to use this opportunity to reveal my intentions or not. In fact until 5 minutes before walking out the door for the airport I still hadn’t made up my mind. At the time I knew of no truly romantic places in London. However, as many of you know, just before leaving the house I did decide to take the ring with me.

Once there, and after talking with Charles I decided that the top of the London Eye would be the perfect place. It took some effort, but I convinced Rachel to wait until the last day of our trip to ride it. This was so we could end our trip with the best part of all (providing she said yes).

Marry me RachelWhen we were finally at the top I asked a gentleman who was in the capsule with us to take our picture, much to Rachel’s dismay. She couldn’t understand why I would want a picture of us at the top when we wouldn’t even be able to tell and she asked:

Why don’t we get some shots of the beautiful scenery?

Then, while she was posing for the picture, I bent down on my knee and she began to ask “he’s taking our picture, why are you tying your sho….ohhhhhH!”

Will you marry me?

and we all know her answer.

In the beginning the only plan I had was to ask a stranger to take our picture at a romantic place and pop the question while he did. I think it turned out beautifully and the spontaneity just added to the romantic feel of the moment. What does this mean? That I’m 2 years ahead of The New York Times.