An Anniversary Trip to Disney World

This being our 20th anniversary, we decided to take two trips - a short one on the actual anniversary, and one a bit later in January. For the short trip we booked a stay at one of the Disney resorts, Coronado Springs, and a day in the Magic Kingdom.

Coronado Springs …

More Florida Wildlife Encounters

Today the plan was to head up toward the Sebastian area, have lunch, and visit the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Wright-Taylor Rum Punch

We've got to come up with a better name for this. We tried recreating the rum punch from Riverside Grill in Vero Beach, and this is our own variation thereof...

Ingredients:

• 1 oz coconut rum


• 1/2 oz banana rum or banan liqueur


• 1 oz light rum


• 3 oz pineapple juice


• 1 …

20 Years of Wedded Bliss

Twenty years ago today Laura and I got married.

Christmas Day Paddling and Wildlife

I do feel just a bit guilty.

Holiday Update

It's hard to believe that it's already Christmas Eve. The year has been a busy one, and it seems like it has flown past. So this Christmas Eve we find ourselves doing some last-minute wrapping, tracking Santa on NORAD, and watching Ghost Hunters and the Dragnet …

Family Gatherings and Family Bibles

Saturday night was our annual Taylor Family Christmas gathering. Several were not able to make it this year, so we only had 3/4 of our family present. Even so there were still 28 of us present. This year Mom made a big pot of "grandma soup" and Dad bought some …

Pomegranate on Main

Tuesday evening we got together with our friends Karen and Herman and tried out Pomegranate on Main.

The Commons

The number of libraries, museums, and other organizations that are putting their historic photos on Flickr is growing. Add to that number the New York Public Library. As it turns out, these organizations are part of a larger Flickr endeavor called The Commons. This …

Duncan Family Restaurant

It's been awhile since I've done a restaurant review.

What Have They Done with My XM?

I really haven't had much time to pay attention to the outcome of the XM-Sirius merger, or SiriusXM, as it's now called.

The Season of Need

The time from Thanksgiving to Christmas always seems bring to our attention those that are less fortunate in our communities.

Songs that Didn't Quite Make It into Handel's Messiah

Since I had already committed blasphemy by bringing a synthesizer to a baroque concert...

• Every Body Shall Be Exhausted


• His Yolk Is Greasy and His Bacon Is Fried


• Lift Up Your Head, O Bill Gates


• Thou Shalt Rake Them


• For He Is Like A Retainer's Wire


• Surely He Hath Worn …

A Messiah Weekend

As previously mentioned, this weekend was the performance of Handel's Messiah by the Greenville Chorale and the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra.

The Blasphemous Messiah

I apparently committed blasphemy. At least, that's the impression I got this evening at rehearsal.

The End of an Era

Last night I finally pulled the plug on our old AOL account.

Diminution

We got new cell phones all around yesterday. Laura's phone was about to fall apart, so we decided to replace all of them.

I've not been a fan of all-in-one devices, and I've never had to have the latest and greatest.

Flip Mino - Some Final Thoughts

Don't bother. Seriously. If you're purchasing this thing for personal use, you can do much, much better.

I've had several weeks to work with the Flip Mino, and the results have been consistently disappointing.

Photo Navigation

First a caveat - I try not to review or discuss specific gadgets here at RandomConnections unless I actually have the device in hand and have played with it, either having purchased it for myself, for work, or having swiped it from a friend for a test run.