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Review: My Fair Lady on Broadway (Vivian Beaumont Theater)

broadway, musical, new york, theater

Plot. . Directed by Tony winner Bartlett Sher, the stellar cast - led by Lauren Ambrose, Harry Hadden-Paton, Norbert Leo Butz, Diana Rigg, Allan Corduner, Jordan Donica, Linda Mugleston, and Clarke Thorell - tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a "proper lady." But who…

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Fall in New York City

new york

For my 50th Birthday, Inna arranged a secret trip to New York City! She did not tell me about it, making it difficult to guess her intended destination.. . We last visited New York during the Christmas break in 2016. We had a fantastic time (despite a couple of freezing spells).. . . . We were scheduled to fly out of San Jose International Airport…

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Tennis Training Review 9/14/18

tennis

Since I have been practicing tennis at the Sunnyvale Municipal Tennis Center for the past two years, I have started recording my training sessions and then conducting my own in-depth review of my tennis technique.. . . . I created a video recording on my GoPro Hero4 Silver to identify my mistakes and errors for each tennis stroke.. . Forehand/Backhand Video. . Open video. .…

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Review: Shakira El Dorado

california, concert, sf bay

I finally saw Shakira's El Dorado concert at SAP San Jose today. The concert was initially planned for February, but due to Shakira's vocal problems, it was rescheduled for September 6.. . . I like listening to some of Shakira's songs during my fitness workouts, so I hope to feel some energy during the show. Although she does not have a strong voice, she is…

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On Any Sunday

motorcycling, strava

After a long wait for cooler weather, it was time to resume off-road motorcycling at Hollister Hills SVRA. Hollister was buzzing with dirt bikers like in the On Any Sunday movie.. . . . This time, I decided to record all my trail rides using Strava. I usually only use Strava to record my mountain bike rides and hikes, but recording segment times for various…

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Hiking John Nicholas Trail

hiking, strava

Today, Inna and I decided to hike the John Nicholas trail in Sanborn County Park. Although I usually mountain bike ride there, it might also be a great place to walk on a hot summer day since the numerous redwoods and other trees provide a lot of shade.. . . . My Strava information recorded the 10-mile hike below. The hike took us 3.5 hours…

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Hiking West Cliff Drive

california, hiking, santa cruz, strava

After early morning breakfast, we decided to enjoy a beautiful day of hiking on West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz. When we arrived there at 10:30 am, the weather was a bit cold and overcast, with a temperature of 60 F.. . . . Eventually, as we approached Natural Bridges State Beach (1.8 miles from the Santa Cruz Lighthouse), the clouds cleared up, and beautiful…

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Biking Almaden Quicksilver County Park

california, mountain biking, sf bay, strava

Since the surf forecast in Santa Cruz was poor, I decided to ride my Specialized FSR mountain bike at my usual Almaden Quicksilver County Park.. . . . I arrived at the Hacienda Entrance at around 9:30 and pumped up the tires on my bike (which were flat). I put on my Aukey Latitude Bluetooth headphones and started the Strava app on my Apple watch…

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Surfing at “The Hook”

california, santa cruz, surfing

Alex was getting used to his Firewire Spitfire 6' surfboard and had another fantastic surfing session at "The Hook" in Capitola, CA.. . . . I also hoped to try out my used Firewire Spitfire 6'6" surfboard (45-liter) that I recently acquired, but I was too tired from yesterday's surfing to continue.. . After a short hike to Capitola, I returned to "The Hook" around…

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Tennis Training Review 8/17/18

tennis

Since I have been practicing tennis at the Sunnyvale Municipal Tennis Center for the past two years, I have started recording my training sessions and then conducting my own in-depth review of my tennis technique.. . . . I created a video recording on my GoPro Hero4 Silver to identify my mistakes and errors for each tennis stroke.. . Forehand/Backhand Video. . Open video .…

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Fanatic FreeWave STB 105

california, sf bay, windsurfing

Having sailed on my 1999 Mistral Flow Classic 276 for 19 years, it was time for an update. I tried out the Fanatic Freewave STB 95-liter version in the ABK Windsurfing Camp at Rio Vista in July and thought it was a nice board but lacked a bit of volume for lighter wind days.. . The "Stubby," as it is affectionately known, has a unique…

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Alex’s Birthday Lunch at Alexander’s Steakhouse

birthday, personal, restaurant

Since it was my son's 16th Birthday, we decided to treat him to lunch at the Michelin-rated Alexander's Steakhouse in Cupertino.. . . . I made reservations for Saturday, August 4, at 13:45. Before eating lunch, we decided to stop by for a couple of bowling games at Bowlero in San Jose.. . . . We played 3 games, and I scored 111 on the…

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Windsurfing Sherman Island

windsurfing

After finishing watching Wimbledon (watching Novac Djokovic destroy Kevin Anderson in 3 sets) and the World Cup Final (where France beat Croatia 4-2), I decided to check the weather.. . After reviewing a highly favorable iWindsurf wind forecast for Rio Vista, I decided to take the risk and drive 90+ minutes to windsurf at Sherman Island County Park.. . . . I picked up a…

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Relaxing Osaka

japan

While staying at our Mitsui Garden Hotel in Kyoto, we decided to venture to nearby Osaka. Osaka is known for its fantastic restaurants and is considered Japan's culinary capital.. . . . On arriving at Osaka Station by train from Kyoto, our first stop was the Kuromon Market. This was a large outdoor market with roofs (to protect from rain).. . . . Like the…

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Delicious Kyoto

japan

We arrived at Kyoto Station from Kanazawa (our last major stop on our two-week tour of Japan). We removed our luggage from the train and headed to the Kyoto subway station to get closer to our Mitsui Garden Hotel. The hotel was near our subway stop at Karasuma Oike Station. I was relieved that my Pasmo travel card still worked in the subway!. . .…

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Scenic Kanazawa

japan

Our train journey from Matsumoto to Kanazawa was smooth and uneventful. The Shinkansen "bullet train" sped along at a brisk pace. I used my iPhone to measure the speed and saw it reach 150 mph.. . . . We arrived exactly on time - around 11:50 - and proceeded to board a taxi for our Hotel Pacific downtown.. . . . When the taxi dropped…

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