Now that the government is dealing in terms of trillions of dollars, I got to thinking about how much that actually is. There was also a quote on my daily Google home page that sparked the thought, too...
"If you can count your money, you're not a billionaire."
So how long would it take to count to one billion? Let's start with 1000. If you counted two numbers every second (which would get increasingly difficult as you hit the bigger numbers) and didn't stop until you reached your target number, here's how long it would take you:
One thousand - 8 hours
One million - 347 days
One billion - 951.3 years
One trillion - 951,293 years
So yeah, if you're a billionaire, it's really impossible to count your money. And one trillion is really freaking big.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Passionless
I envy the people that have found something in life that they are passionite about. You know them - they just have "that thing" that everyone knows them for. Matt's got his rocket and space stuff. And when he comes home from school every day after studying it all day, he spends more time at home reading and studying it.
Actually, now that I think about it, I don't know too many people that have it. I certainly don't. It's not for a lack of effort. I have tried and tried to find that one thing that sparks my interest and keeps it. I guess I should rephrase the statement to say something that you're passionate about and that means something.
The closest thing I've got is video games. But what can I do with that? Don't get me wrong, I like my job a lot and see myself being here for a while, but I just don't have a passion for it. I could be chasing something that just doesn't exist. After all, what is "passion", anyway? I've always had this feeling that there's more out there for me, but when I think I've found it, the feeling creeps back in.
I think I'm in a bit of a funk.
Actually, now that I think about it, I don't know too many people that have it. I certainly don't. It's not for a lack of effort. I have tried and tried to find that one thing that sparks my interest and keeps it. I guess I should rephrase the statement to say something that you're passionate about and that means something.
The closest thing I've got is video games. But what can I do with that? Don't get me wrong, I like my job a lot and see myself being here for a while, but I just don't have a passion for it. I could be chasing something that just doesn't exist. After all, what is "passion", anyway? I've always had this feeling that there's more out there for me, but when I think I've found it, the feeling creeps back in.
I think I'm in a bit of a funk.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Pictures are up!
In record time, I've posted our pictures from our trip to Puerto Rico. I've added captions to them all, too. Enjoy! Zach gets in tonight, so I'm sure we'll be pretty busy for the next week.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Puerto Rico - the end of the trip
We've been home now for about an hour. We didn't have any internet access the last two days, so I couldn't post any updates. On Wednesday we went to the attraction that brought us to the island - the Arecibo Observatory. As I mentioned earlier, we were watching the movie "Contact" and Matt mentioned that he wanted to go to the observatory some day. Well, we went. The drive up to it is pretty neat. There's quite a long walk up a steep hill, but once you're there, it's pretty cool. We spent some time in the visitor's center reading all of the displays and finally went out and saw the telescope. It's huge and we have some neat pictures.
Then we drove to the Rio Camuy caves. On the way, I suddenly just knew where we were. I had Matt slow down and I was positive that we were in front of Tony's mom's house. Like I said, I don't remember much of the trip, but I did recognize the area! We kept going on to the caves, and this was one of the more unexpected gems of the trip. We boarded a trolley and headed down into a cave system on a guided tour. It was really neat. I had never experienced anything like it before. Again, we got some cool pictures.
After that, we ate an authentic Puerto Rican meal at Restaurant Taino near the caves. It was pretty good. We then made the long trip back to San Juan and crashed.
We took it easy today and went to a fort in Old San Juan. It was cooler than I thought it would be. The highlight of my day was seeing two large iguanas running around. Matt and I were both pretty much spent by about noon, so we found a beach near the airport and read for a while. We headed to the airport really early - about 4 hours early - but the time flew by.
The trip was a lot of fun, albeit stressful. Matt has vowed never to drive again on foreign soil. My legs are begging for a break. But the experiences we had will never be lost and this was our best-documented trip as far as pictures go. They will be posted soon. My Spanish skills improved a lot. Immersion is really the way to go if you're trying to learn a new language. Of course, it helps when just about everyone speaks basic English and can bail you out when you have that "deer in the headlights" look about you. And Mom - only a little pink on the elbows and a touch of color in the face, otherwise burn free!
This was probably our last vacation for a while. We had talked about driving to the Aztec temples in Mexico when Matt graduates, but with the current state of affairs in Mexico, I'm not so sure that's a good idea. We'll probably just take a cruise.
Then we drove to the Rio Camuy caves. On the way, I suddenly just knew where we were. I had Matt slow down and I was positive that we were in front of Tony's mom's house. Like I said, I don't remember much of the trip, but I did recognize the area! We kept going on to the caves, and this was one of the more unexpected gems of the trip. We boarded a trolley and headed down into a cave system on a guided tour. It was really neat. I had never experienced anything like it before. Again, we got some cool pictures.
After that, we ate an authentic Puerto Rican meal at Restaurant Taino near the caves. It was pretty good. We then made the long trip back to San Juan and crashed.
We took it easy today and went to a fort in Old San Juan. It was cooler than I thought it would be. The highlight of my day was seeing two large iguanas running around. Matt and I were both pretty much spent by about noon, so we found a beach near the airport and read for a while. We headed to the airport really early - about 4 hours early - but the time flew by.
The trip was a lot of fun, albeit stressful. Matt has vowed never to drive again on foreign soil. My legs are begging for a break. But the experiences we had will never be lost and this was our best-documented trip as far as pictures go. They will be posted soon. My Spanish skills improved a lot. Immersion is really the way to go if you're trying to learn a new language. Of course, it helps when just about everyone speaks basic English and can bail you out when you have that "deer in the headlights" look about you. And Mom - only a little pink on the elbows and a touch of color in the face, otherwise burn free!
This was probably our last vacation for a while. We had talked about driving to the Aztec temples in Mexico when Matt graduates, but with the current state of affairs in Mexico, I'm not so sure that's a good idea. We'll probably just take a cruise.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Puerto Rico - Days 3 and 4
Matt and I really didn't do a whole lot the last two days. We had planned on going to the Arecibo Observatory and a cave system, but they were both closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. We had then planned to go to the island of Culebra, but I couldn't get anyone on the phone for a reservation. So, we just ended up driving around a bunch.
I do have to say that I forgot that sometimes the most relaxing thing to do is nothing. I've put a lot of effort into planning things to do, but one of the most relaxing was sitting on our balcony, reading a book and listening to the waves. We were also able to fall asleep to the sound of waves the last two nights.
We did see some interesting things, but the highlight was walking around Old San Juan this evening. It is really a romantic place at night. We ended up at a night club for dinner, and it made us both feel pretty old. I had a hangover as soon as I walked in (remembering my first trip to Puerto Rico...or not remembering, however you want to look at it). We then wandered around the city on foot and took in a lot of the sights such as the harbor, cruise ships, statues, displays, etc.
We've also benefited from being away from home and out of our comfort zone a bit together. It's good to get out of the routine and we've been communicating a bit more than we have lately. It's a good thing.
I do have to say that I forgot that sometimes the most relaxing thing to do is nothing. I've put a lot of effort into planning things to do, but one of the most relaxing was sitting on our balcony, reading a book and listening to the waves. We were also able to fall asleep to the sound of waves the last two nights.
We did see some interesting things, but the highlight was walking around Old San Juan this evening. It is really a romantic place at night. We ended up at a night club for dinner, and it made us both feel pretty old. I had a hangover as soon as I walked in (remembering my first trip to Puerto Rico...or not remembering, however you want to look at it). We then wandered around the city on foot and took in a lot of the sights such as the harbor, cruise ships, statues, displays, etc.
We've also benefited from being away from home and out of our comfort zone a bit together. It's good to get out of the routine and we've been communicating a bit more than we have lately. It's a good thing.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Puerto Rico - Day 2
I awoke this morning in our nice hotel room in Humacao, PR. As soon as I moved my legs, I was cranky. As I mentioned yesterday, we hiked for about 3 hours total and I definitely overdid it. All day today, whenever I sit for more than a couple of minutes, my legs tense up and it takes a while to loosen up again.
We left our hotel and were on the road by 10:15 (yes, AM!). I am determined this trip to take trips "off the beaten path" and that we did. We drove from Humacao (on the east coast) to Ponce (south coast) through the mountains. It was a really cool drive.
We arrived in Ponce around 2:00 and we were pretty hungry. We found a pizza place in downtown Ponce, but it was closed. We then drove around looking for somewhere else to eat and eventually determined that people just don't eat here. We did eventually find a neat boardwalk on the ocean with several small shops and ate there. We checked out the local beach and then decided to head for the hotel.
This hotel is definitely the highlight of Ponce for me so far. It's a resort right on the beach. We swam in the Caribbean Sea on a black sand beach and then played volleyball in the pool with a couple of random strangers (two kids from New York City, a guy from Jersey, and a guy that didn't speak English) for well over an hour. It was a lot of fun. We then grabbed some over-priced food at the hotel.
I'm now being eaten alive by mosquitos, so I'm leaving the lobby (the only place we could find wireless internet). I have begged and pleaded to get $20 from Matt to blow in the casino in the hotel, so we'll probably do that before retiring for the evening. :)
We left our hotel and were on the road by 10:15 (yes, AM!). I am determined this trip to take trips "off the beaten path" and that we did. We drove from Humacao (on the east coast) to Ponce (south coast) through the mountains. It was a really cool drive.
We arrived in Ponce around 2:00 and we were pretty hungry. We found a pizza place in downtown Ponce, but it was closed. We then drove around looking for somewhere else to eat and eventually determined that people just don't eat here. We did eventually find a neat boardwalk on the ocean with several small shops and ate there. We checked out the local beach and then decided to head for the hotel.
This hotel is definitely the highlight of Ponce for me so far. It's a resort right on the beach. We swam in the Caribbean Sea on a black sand beach and then played volleyball in the pool with a couple of random strangers (two kids from New York City, a guy from Jersey, and a guy that didn't speak English) for well over an hour. It was a lot of fun. We then grabbed some over-priced food at the hotel.
I'm now being eaten alive by mosquitos, so I'm leaving the lobby (the only place we could find wireless internet). I have begged and pleaded to get $20 from Matt to blow in the casino in the hotel, so we'll probably do that before retiring for the evening. :)
Puerto Rico - Day 1
I wrote this last night, but didn't have internet access.
Matt and I arrived in Puerto Rico last night around 11PM. We had a good flight and things went smoothly with our rental car. That’s when the smoothness stopped. We quickly discovered that our GPS didn’t have any of the hotels in its memory and it couldn’t even find the street the hotel was on. We found ourselves driving around San Juan at midnight. Matt quickly had to learn that driving in Puerto Rico isn’t like driving back home – some of the general traffic rules don’t seem to apply. Blinkers are not commonly used, merging consists of just moving over without looking and lane markers appear to be optional. In additional, we seemed to find ourselves in some…interesting…neighborhoods. But after driving today, it appears that there are large steel fences, gates and bars on every building.
Anyway, we eventually found our hotel and crashed. We picked up some maps from the hotel and headed to the El Yunque national rainforest. We found our way easy enough (this was in the GPS) and started driving around. We started with the visitor center and did some reading about the rainforest. We then headed up the narrow, winding road through the rainforest and up into the mountains. We drove as far as we could and parked. We started on a hiking trail and after a long hike of about 2 miles, we found a fantastic observation tower.
We then headed back down (and met a few Wisconsinites on the way – I was wearing my Brewers hat) and got back in the car. We then stopped at another trail. The sign at this trail said that there was a waterfall at the end of the trail. It also said that the hike was .5 miles, round trip. We were tired, but since it was short, we did it. However, it ended up being a very difficult 2-mile hike. We were exhausted when we got back to the car and drove to the hotel.
Matt and I arrived in Puerto Rico last night around 11PM. We had a good flight and things went smoothly with our rental car. That’s when the smoothness stopped. We quickly discovered that our GPS didn’t have any of the hotels in its memory and it couldn’t even find the street the hotel was on. We found ourselves driving around San Juan at midnight. Matt quickly had to learn that driving in Puerto Rico isn’t like driving back home – some of the general traffic rules don’t seem to apply. Blinkers are not commonly used, merging consists of just moving over without looking and lane markers appear to be optional. In additional, we seemed to find ourselves in some…interesting…neighborhoods. But after driving today, it appears that there are large steel fences, gates and bars on every building.
Anyway, we eventually found our hotel and crashed. We picked up some maps from the hotel and headed to the El Yunque national rainforest. We found our way easy enough (this was in the GPS) and started driving around. We started with the visitor center and did some reading about the rainforest. We then headed up the narrow, winding road through the rainforest and up into the mountains. We drove as far as we could and parked. We started on a hiking trail and after a long hike of about 2 miles, we found a fantastic observation tower.
We then headed back down (and met a few Wisconsinites on the way – I was wearing my Brewers hat) and got back in the car. We then stopped at another trail. The sign at this trail said that there was a waterfall at the end of the trail. It also said that the hike was .5 miles, round trip. We were tired, but since it was short, we did it. However, it ended up being a very difficult 2-mile hike. We were exhausted when we got back to the car and drove to the hotel.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
It's vacation time!
Matt and I haven't had a vacation together since we lived in Hawaii. We don't really count trips back home as a vacation, because they're not really a vacation. We haven't flown anywhere together since we moved back to North America.
Tomorrow, we're changing that. We were watching Contact (one of Matt's favorites) a couple of weeks ago and Matt mentioned that he wanted to go to the Arecebo observatory. I booked our flights and hotels that night. Tomorrow night, we'll be in Puerto Rico for a week.
We're going to hit the observatory, a rainforest hike, a beach (yeah, I know we live in Florida, but the beaches aren't like Hawaii or Puerto Rico), and take in some historical stuff in San Juan. We're really looking forward to it.
The day after we get back, his little brother, Zach, is flying in and will be with us for a week. That'll be exciting, too. We're going to go to the Space Center, maybe Busch Gardens, possibly a canoe trip. It's not very often that we're this active!
Tomorrow, we're changing that. We were watching Contact (one of Matt's favorites) a couple of weeks ago and Matt mentioned that he wanted to go to the Arecebo observatory. I booked our flights and hotels that night. Tomorrow night, we'll be in Puerto Rico for a week.
We're going to hit the observatory, a rainforest hike, a beach (yeah, I know we live in Florida, but the beaches aren't like Hawaii or Puerto Rico), and take in some historical stuff in San Juan. We're really looking forward to it.
The day after we get back, his little brother, Zach, is flying in and will be with us for a week. That'll be exciting, too. We're going to go to the Space Center, maybe Busch Gardens, possibly a canoe trip. It's not very often that we're this active!
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