Alex Heaton

That's not me!

2008-05-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

For all of you who have been asking if that's me on that video, "Bethani King & Alex Heaton accompanied by Sierra King." The answer is No! Its just another unfortunate case of mistaken internet identity. I know the video is a little grainy, but seriously. First of all, I don't play flute or clarinet nearly that well. Secondly, the video is dated February 24th, 2006. Well Sherlock, On February 24th I had to work late and there is no way I would have been able to make it all the way from Redmond to Chehalis and get all dressed up in time for the concert. And thirdly, none of these girls even look like me. *Make sure your speakers are on*

It's Bruxism

2008-03-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

The xray's on the wall confirmed the diagnosis, it's bruxism. Which means my body is literally eating itself alive. I got fitted for the prosthetic which should be here in a few days, great.

I've never been a quitter so I've been looking online to see what I can do. But if wikipedia is any even half right when it say, "There is no accepted cure for bruxism." I'm not feeling too optimistic.

I wanted to prepare my friends and family for what some of the long term effects are going to be. The image below describes the degenerative effects of the disease--please don't make fun of me when it happens.

But I haven't totally given up hope, in my research I've come across U.S. Patent #5,078,153 filed Jan. 7, 1992 which uses electromyography for the treatment of temporomandibular disorders. It looks promising.

Unfortunately this was on a Web page called "Unrecommended Bruxism Treatments", but it may be my only shot.

If there are any other "bruxers" out there who want to chat drop me a line.

Thanks for reading. This is probably going to be last post for a while.

aheaton.com is live!

2007-10-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Alex Heaton for launching aheaton.com! Alex sent me a mail to let me that his new site is live.

If there are any doctors reading this in the Hudson Valley area that need a new PC or server setup, then Alex is your man!

The King of Kong, the way I see it

2007-09-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

The King of Kong (http://www.billyvssteve.com/) is an awesome documentary about a guy from Redmond’s (Steve Wiebe) struggle to achieve the world record high score in Donkey Kong. It may sound like a silly movie, but it has spun up a storm of intrigue about Donkey Kong cheats, hacked Donkey Kong processors, and the governing board of video game competition’s (Twin Galaxies) apparent bias towards long-time Donkey Kong champion and gaming ambassador Billy Mitchell—against outsider gamer Steve Wiebe and their refusal to accept his high scores and provide a level playing field. It is a classic tale of an underdog trying to get to the top, despite the efforts of the powers that be. (Think Karate Kid with middle-aged guys playing video games, minus Mr. Miyage.)

After seeing the movie I some searching to find out what happened after the movie, and came across the below picture of the original Donkey Kong artwork that went on the side of the side of the arcade machine. I thought that captured the essence of the King of Kong perfectly, and asked Seattle cartoonist Kyle Bolton to draw me the picture at the top of the page.
Steve Weibe plays the role of Mario, trying to make it to the top, where Billy Mitchell is. The Twin Galaxies referees are Donkey Kong throwing barrels down on Steve, trying to block his every move—and protecting Billy Mitchell who can’t or won’t protect himself. (Are you reading Billy?)

Coincidentally, the head of Twin Galaxies, Walter Day, portrayed by the Donkey Kong referee in the cartoon above, is a friend of my family and I remember him as a nice guy. In the movie they go to his home in Fairfield, IA which is where I grew up and where my parents live.
I’ve heard they are considering making a sequel to the documentary or even a remaking it a live action movie with professional actors. (I vote for Bill Pullman playing Steve Weibe and Tom Cruise for Billy Mitchell.)

If you haven’t seen King of Kong already, check it out!

MS 150 Bike Tour

2007-09-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I participated in the MS 150 Bike Tour around La Conner, Washington. When I first started working at Microsoft I used to see a bunch of posters in the hallways for the “MS 150.” I used to think that “MS” stood for Microsoft and that Microsoft sponsored the event. The MS actually stands for Multiple Sclerosis and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society organizes a series of over 100 bike tours around the country to raise money to fight the disease. Since the event came to Washington in 1994, the Microsoft team has had the most riders and raised the most money. Until this year! This year Team Microsoft is in second place for fundraising, with a total of $106,922.51 raised, behind an investment services company Merriman Berkman Next, which has raised $108,706.29. Even though the ride is over, we have until October 17th to complete the fundraising. If you want to make a donation to this valuable clause you can do it at my online rider page. All donations are tax deductible, eligible for Microsoft matching funds, and will go towards Microsoft’s team total.

The MS Bike Tour is not only for a great cause, it’s a great ride. I did a few bike rides this summer, including the Seattle to Portland (STP) ride, and I think this is the best one. It has the best scenery and the best rider support. Since its for a good cause, they are able to attract a lot of volunteers to put up signs and direct traffic so you know where you are going and feel safe.

But it’s really the scenery that made this ride the best, with many miles along the coast. 25 miles into the first ride we came to Deception Pass a bridge that takes you to Whidbey Island. I’ve never heard of Deception Pass before, but it’s actually the most visited park in Washington State. Some photos of the pass:

The other highlight of the trip was ride along Chuckanut Drive, along the coast just south of Bellingham. Chuckanut drive is a winding, rolling road with views like this:

Mexican Indian Food

2007-08-16T20:45:00.001-07:00

This month I read Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors, a surprisingly interesting book about the history of Indian food and how it influenced and was influence by other cultures. Did you know that chai is not a traditional Indian drink? In fact, tea did not even grow in India until it was brought by the British in the 1800’s, and it was not widely drunk by Indian’s until the 1900’s.

Since reading the book I’ve been eating Indian food at least once a week at the cafeteria at work, which has a station serving pretty good vegetarian south Indian food. But I fear I’ll never get to eat the food I really want to try—“Mexican Indian Food”.

According to the book, in the early 1900’s there was a community of “Mexican Hindus” that lived in California and developed their own “Mexican Hindu” cuisine. Around that time, Indian’s working on steamships often jumped ship once they reached America. They were able to find work in the agricultural fields of California and often married Mexican women, which gave them rights to stay in the country and even own land. It was these mixed Mexican-Indian household’s that gave birth to “Mexican Hindu” cuisine, describe in this passage.

“Mexicans and Punjabi’s share a preference for fresh food,
flavored with freshly ground spices. The fried chicken or lamb of
the Mexican women was not dissimilar to the chicken curries of
the Punjabi men. The chili’s that the latter used in India were
easily interchangeable with Mexican jalapeño peppers. Punjabi
lemon pickle went equally well with corn-based tortilla’s as it did
with wheat flour rotis.”

California is also where the first Indian food was sold in American restaurants.

“Chicken currey probably first appeared on an American
restaurant menu at either the El Ranchero in Yuba City or at
Panchero’s in Selma where curry and roti’s were served alongside Mexican enchilada’s.”

Man, after reading that I really wanted to try a curry burrito of some papadam’s and guacamole, but sadly I’m sure that both El Ranchero and Panchero’s are long gone and I’d never get to have Mexican Hindu food, unless I made it myself.

Or so I thought!

On a recent road trip to Vancouver Island, British Columbia I came across actual Mexican Indian food, at a gas station of all places.

That’s right, Dorito’s Tandoori Sizzler! Nacho cheese + tandoori = Mexican Indian. Unfortunately they don’t taste much different than regular Dorito’s with curry powder sprinkled on top. But my quest is over and it goes to show how Indian food is still evolving and spreading.

I believe that these are only available in Canada, and Frito-Lay made them to cater to the large Canadian East Population. They even made a TV ad, check it out.

If anyone knows some restaurants where I can find real Mexican Indian food, let me know.

Welcome to the Official Alex Heaton Blog

2007-08-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the official Alex Heaton blog. This is your place to get the latest news on me and other Alex Heaton’s throughout the world. There are alot of Alex Heaton Web site's out there, but this is only authorized one (by me). But, this is just not about me but for all of the other Alex Heaton's in the world. If you are an Alex Heaton (or someother international variation like Alexi Heatonovitch) and want me to link to your blog or share some news, then let me know.

Who are the other Alex Heatons? That's a good question because I've never met one myself, but according to Google rankings these are the top 5.

Alex Heaton (http://www.alexheaton.co.uk/)
This guys seems to be some kind of UK pumpkin head with a cutting edge circa 1998 Web site. I wonder what he's been up to for the last decade? Com'n Alex, my readers want to know.

Alexander Heaton (http://www.artshole.co.uk/alexanderheaton.htm)
Another UK art geek, who, according his artist statement, has tapped into the soothing power of alien imagery. "Alien structures counteract this fear [the fear of the fear of being exposed to the vastness of nature] by opposing the natural order and remind the viewer of distantly unreal spatial realms."

(Why are other Alex Heaton's such freaks?)

Alex Heaton (www.alexheatonracing.com)
By far the most bad ass Alex Heaton. This guy, also a brit, is a professional motorcycle racer, with his own coat of arms!

Alex Heaton (Your Truly)
Work related blog post http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2007/06/03/teched-2007-day-one-microsoft-desktop-optimization-pack-update.aspx

Alex Heaton (http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/members.asp?ID=95)
The only Alex Heaton so far that wears a tie, also happens to be the most sleazy. This Alex Heaton is a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, representing New Orleans. Alex's claim to fame seems to be that he is faithful represenative for Big Alcohol and Big Tobacco, which I'm sure are the to most important issues facing the citizens of New Orleans. Poor Alex just had his bill to re-allow smoking in New Orleans's bars rejected http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4200/is_20070504/ai_n19064439. I remember a few years ago when I went to alexheaton.com it was a Web site bashing this guy for supporting Big Alcohol.

There you have it folks, the top 5 Alex Heaton's of August 2007, unless of course you use Live.com, which you should, in which case, I am numero uno!