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A vision of Middle Earth: New Zealand's Blue Spring at Te Waihou
A friend recently asked for advice on places to visit in Australia and New Zealand. Our family had the blessing of visiting both countries a couple of years ago, and I returned briefly the following year. I had plenty of happy memories to share. I don't write about our travels...
Farewell to Mod's Coffee & Crepes
This coming Saturday, December 16, 2017, Mod's Coffee and Crepes will close its doors after seven years in business. Yesterday was the last chance to enjoy one of the things we love about Mod's -- gluten-free crepes available on Tuesdays. A week ago Tuesday we gathered there to celebrate...
Wifi woes
It seemed like a good idea: Head to a coffeehouse this afternoon with my daughter as she worked on her homework for Monday. We'd have a change of scenery from home, get some lunch, and I'd be there to keep her on track without hovering too closely. For whatever reason,...
Israel 2015: March 7-8: The journey there
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great;...
Among my souvenirs: Mövenpick Marché Heidiland mint wrapper
We're getting rid of clothes we don't need and came across a couple of bright teal windbreakers from the 1990 International Science and Engineering Fair, which was held in Tulsa that year. My wife and I, then newlyweds, volunteered for the fair, marshalling buses and giving directions to visitors. I...
Bakeries, coffee houses, and economic development
Julie R. Neidlinger has written a moving account of her final farewell to the Patisserie on Fourth, a bakery in downtown Bismarck, North Dakota, where she worked as a baker for a couple of years. The Patisserie on Fourth closed permanently on Tuesday. As she helped the owner clear out...
A capital weekend -- and the end of a long journey
Greetings from the self-proclaimed "Cutest Café in Georgetown" (Snap, 1062 Thomas Jefferson St, open 11 to 11 most nights, til 10 on Sundays, crepes, bubble tea, free wifi), where I'm grabbing a quick bite of dinner to complete a wonderful weekend in the Washington area. Planning to meet up with...
Country music and old friends
A little stream-of-consciousness before bedtime: I always feel like I've won the rent-a-car lottery if the vehicle has Sirius/XM satellite radio. I love the "decade" stations ('40s on 4, '50s on 5, etc.), the Laugh channel (clean comedy), and the classic country on Willie's Place. By the way, there's a...
Getting to know a new city
Natasha Ball (Tasha Does Tulsa) has posted the notes from her presentation last week at Ignite Tulsa 3 -- 19 Ways to Get to Know Your Town (Even If It's Not Tulsa). All the suggestions are good (except maybe 17 -- if I ever do Foursquare it'll be under a...
Grease is the word
Photo by mollyeh11 on Flickr Three times this year (twice in Tulsa, once in Wichita), I've walked into a locally-owned restaurant, enjoyed a delicious meal, and walked out smelling like a fryolator in need of an oil change. I haven't been back to any of them. One of the restaurants...
Limited or no connectivity
Wireless networking and DHCP aren't complicated. They ought to work every time, but they don't. I recently spent a couple of weeks in what was built as a Residence Inn (separate buildings, with eight suites in each) and is now affiliated with a different national chain. Nice place, good price,...
Wichita WiFi and coffee
Business has had me in Wichita fairly often over the past few weeks. I was telling a friend about my recent sojourn, and she replied that she'd driven through Wichita a few times and couldn't "get on board with the whole Kansas thing." I'll admit that I didn't have a...
My week in jail and a visit to the Aztec Theater for "San Antonio Rose Live"
Because this is a long entry, you'll need to click the "Continue reading" link to see the whole thing. Clicking any of the photos will take you to a bigger version and my full set of San Antonio streetscape photos. If you're interested in hotels, restaurants, historic preservation, and entertainment...
Vacation 2009: Day 2
Day 2: July 24, 2009, Pacific, Mo. to Columbus, Ohio, via I-44 and I-70, 479.9 mi., 11:30 en route (plus one hour lost to the time change). 11 a.m. was a later start than I'd hoped for, but it was much better than the day before. We sailed through St....
17 days and 3748.1 miles later
Over the last two and a half weeks, we packed five people and too much stuff into a minivan, drove it 3,748.1 miles through 11 states and the District of Columbia, reconnected with dear aunts, uncles, and friends, met a longtime e-mail and blog pal in person, bumped into a...
Joe Momma's is (almost) open downtown
I had a little time downtown early this evening and decided to wander around to 1st and Elgin to check on the progress at the downtown location of Joe Momma's Pizza, which has been about a year in the making. There seemed to be people inside eating, so I wandered...
College Hill Association of Merchants and Professionals (CHAMP)
I spoke tonight at the Florence Park Neighborhood Association's meeting about neighborhood visioning and planning. The meeting was held at the Tulsa Little Theater, and it was great to get another look at the wonderful job that Bryce and Sunshine Hill have done in restoring that cultural landmark. I also...
A Tale of Two Texas River Cities
An edited version of this column appeared in the April 2, 2008, issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly. The published version is available on the Internet Archive. Posted on August 4, 2018. A Tale of Two Texas River Cities By Michael D. Bates On a recent business trip to San Antonio,...
One less reason to hate Charbucks
AT&T has announced a deal that with Starbucks that will, among other things, give AT&T broadband subscribers access to free Wi-Fi at the coffee chain's 7,000 company-owned US locations. That's in addition to AT&T basic Wi-Fi access already available at McDonald's and Barnes and Noble Bookstores. The switch-over from Starbucks'...
New paper: <em>Tulsa High Tech</em>
Don Singleton, the longtime president of the Tulsa Computer Society, has launched a new tabloid newspaper called Tulsa High Tech. The first issue is out, and you can find it at library branches, coffee houses, and other locations around town, including Coffee House on Cherry Street, DoubleShot Coffee Company, and...
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