Larry Gottlieb's Home Page

Larry Gottlieb's Home Page

Who Am I?
For more years than I wish to think about, I was a Systems Consultant for Watson Wyatt Worldwide, an employee benefits consulting firm. I've worked on software systems related to all sorts of different kinds of benefits: traditional defined benefit pension valuation and administration; defined contribution (e.g., 401(k)) administration; health care cost; compensation management. Was this interesting work? Surprisingly enough, yes! How the heck does one become a specialist in such a profession? Well, it's the result of years and years of education and careful planning...or maybe... what a long strange trip it's been.

Words too boring? Here's a Pictorial History.

A few years back, I got burned out on the long hours and, well, the long hours. I decided to take a year off and enjoy myself. One year turned into two years, then three. How long will this last? Is this permanent retirement? Could be!

Travel

I love to travel! Well, with plane travel the way it is, I hate to travel, but I love to be places. One of these days I'll provide a detailed description of every one of my trips (yeah, right!). For now, here are some of them (click on the links for trip reports):

    Las Vegas- Multiple trip reports, including some suburbs of Las Vegas such as San Francisco (uh-oh, here come the emails). Vegas offers something for everyone: outdoor activities, shows, great restaurants...oh yeah, and gambling. I've also combined information from my trips into a sort of specialized guide:

Larry's Guide to Las Vegas provides information on many things you won't find in a normal guide book.

Larry's Las Vegas Guide - Restaurants provides information on more than 80 restaurants, from deep fried Twinkies to Michelin multi-star places.

    Bungy! Royal Gorge Bridge, Colorado - This was a very special bungy jump. A typical jump is 100 feet, maybe even 200 feet. At a height of 1,053 feet, this is the highest suspension bridge in the world - and the highest jump off a fixed platform (i.e., helicopters and such excluded) - AND the first time the jump was offered to commercial jumpers.

    Panama Canal Cruise - Also included Costa Rica and Cozumel.

    New York - I've frequently driven through New York, but this was the first time in 40 years that I visited.

    Miami - Mostly of the South Beach area, but also includes some information on the Everglades.

    Alaska - Wow! A cruise of the Inside Passage. Also includes a stay in Vancouver, Canada.

    Australia and New Zealand - this is from 1993, and is just a teaser of a report; I only had basic notes. It was one of my favorite trips.

Cruising - My Google Site

The behemoth that is Google has created Google Sites. Billed as a method of sharing information, it can also be used to create a basic web site. The basic version is free, and I'm not one to turn down a free 100 megabyte web site.

We Sail the Ocean Blue provides information on cruising. No, not a comprehensive site like the ones that already exist, but a site that provides a few tidbits of information that might be harder to find. I'm not sure exactly what this site will turn into, but it's fun to play around.

My Blog

What, the hell, with all this time on my hands, I'm giving it a try. There's not much there yet, but who knows...
Larry's blog - Excess in Everything.

Orchids

I've had a passion for gardening since I was a young child. For about a decade, orchids took center stage, although a few other plants managed to sneak in as well. When I quit my job, I thought I'd go even crazier over these addictive plants. However, a pernicious problem arose - the dreaded vacation. Well, vacations, actually. I'm away from home so much of the time that houseplants suffer - and finicky orchids suffer most of all. Rough life, eh? I eventually either gave away or killed virtually all of my plants. Still, I harbor the fantasy that some day I'll manage to indulge my mania again. Consider this section my memorial to orchids. See my orchid page.

Other Stuff

Links. Every web site has to have a page of links. Here's mine.

Gone but not forgotten. Anyone know about any of this stuff?

Tortured Words. Twisted definitions and acronyms.

Questions? Comments? You can reach me at traveling_man@comcast.net. To get past my spam filters, include "ORCHID" anywhere in the subject line.

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