July 2005 Archives

Man I take most of July off and traffic dives 15% and PriceGrabber clicks were at the lowest levels of the year. Argh!

Alcatraz swim a canine first: Dog places 72nd, ahead of hundreds in annual race

Last month I raved about chai, and I'm totally addicted to the stuff. Nothing's better than an iced chai latte on a hot day!

More recently I've discovered two new treats:

Hummus -- who thought garbanzo beans (AKA chick peas) could be so tasty? I've found whole wheat pita bread to be the perfect vehicle for getting the stuff into my mouth. Yum!! Trader Joes is a good source for both of these items.

Cadbury Flake bars -- while searching Cost Plus for my beloved Dairy Milk bars (the real stuff, not the crap made by Hershey's) I found them. Flaky milk chocolate covered with more chocolate. Damn they're good! And certainly not good for you either, so this is only for special occasions. Why they don't sell these in the US is beyond me.

(Click to view movie)

Tonight is the last night that Pete, the family cat, will be staying at my house. She's been here since I came back from Florida, and she really has been on her best behavior. Well, except for the three times she threw up. Or when she hissed at me last night for moving her off the bed I was trying to make. But otherwise she's been great. But tomorrow she's headed back to my parents' house and I'm sure she's not happy about the car ride home.

Some of Pete's favorite things include eating ham, licking butter out of the tub, and getting her endless supply of fur removed with one of those sticky roller things.

I was fooling around with a camcorder and I recorded the short video you can see above. It's the cat cam!

Today I was entering some invoices into Quickbooks when I looked at my year-to-date reports. Revenue is up over 40% since this time last year! That's great for my near term plans (house buying) and for the long term as well (whatever that will bring).

One of the MANY things that has really been driven home in the last year or so is that money does not buy happiness. This includes all those toys that I've bought over the years. Sure they provide some initial fun, but after a while that wears off. These purchases doesn't get rid of my frustrations and anxieties -- that's for damn sure. Of course that doesn't stop me from buying more :)

Having a fancy car, big TV, or every game console under the sun doesn't make me a better person. And I don't want to be judged on what I own, how much money I make, etc. Starting my own business and single-handedly making it what it is today is more impressive than how many dollars it puts in my bank account. The money is a nice benefit and is not what drives me.

It's kind of like what I said about my trip to Disney World a few weeks ago. It's not being there that makes it fun, it's sharing the experience with others that I like the most. Along those lines, it's not having the big TV and home theater system that's important, it's enjoying it with other people that counts.

Unfortunately, enjoying time with others hasn't been easy since I moved to Brentwood -- I haven't actually made any friends out here -- but in three months or so I'll be out of here and back to civilization.

"To err is human, to blame other people shows management potential"

Ain't that the truth.

I forgot to mention that on Sunday I looked at a bunch of houses in Oakland. Four in Montclair (where I am hoping to end up) and one in Glenview. I didn't take any pictures this time around. The first house in Montclair was a little too much for me -- too big and too expensive -- but it got major points for having a creek in the front yard and an outdoor fireplace. The other three houses in Montclair all had their charms, but it's still too early for me to be buying, so I tried not to get attached to any one place. The house in Glenview was really nice -- a 1915 craftsman that needed a bit of upgrading on the inside.

The downside to all this is that it's looking like it's going to cost a minimum of $700k to buy a "basic" house in those parts of Oakland. I'm confident that I can afford that, but whether the bank agrees is another story. Being self-employed really sucks when it's time to get a mortgage, as they look at your net income, rather than your gross income.

In related news, the house down the street (that's the same model as mine, just with more upgrades) got its price knocked down by $35,000. Let's hope it sells soon!

It's kind of sad that NASA spent over a billion dollars to fix the issue debris falling off the external fuel tank, and it still happened. They gotta get rid of the shuttle and find something that sits ABOVE the falling debris, instead of below it. Cool picture taken by the astronauts, by the way (more pics here).

Pete, the family cat, has been living here while my parents are in Europe. She (yes, Pete's a she) had been hanging out on the shelf in my walk-in closet this afternoon when I heard a crash. I walked into the bathroom to find Pete standing on top of the closet door. That's right, on the door itself! I don't know how she managed to get up there and not fall off, as the door swings pretty easily.

While she's been a bit of a pain since she's been here, Pete has been unusually friendly. I haven't been bitten or scratched once, which has to be some kind of record. She returns home to my parents on Saturday.

I ordered a new cell phone (don't ask) and they sent me the wrong one. When I brought this to their attention they told me the one I ordered was now out of stock and I'd have to call them back in a few days. Grrr...

On TV with the rest of the world. It's going to be kind of sad watching it at home instead from three miles away as intended. But that was not to be, and going back was just not feasible. I hope everything goes okay tomorrow... I'll have my fingers and toes crossed. Go Discovery!

(That's a real picture on NASA TV at the time, by the way)

Update: Congrats to NASA and the crew of Discovery! It was a beautiful launch and the view from the external tank camera was amazing!

Today I harvested SEVEN POUNDS of flame grapes. That's from just ONE plant too! It filled the bag you see in the picture. I noticed that animals were starting to take a few so it was time to get them out of there. My green grapes aren't ready yet, they're still really sour -- but these are good! I'm going to be giving these away to everyone I know because I'll be sick if I eat seven pounds of grapes!

I try not to gloat TOO much on this blog, but I have to say that I'm most impressed with the fact that I've gone to the gym four days a week since I joined (save for vacation). It seemed difficult when I signed up, but it's actually becoming something that I "need" to do during the week. And that's a good habit to have! Now if I could get into the habit of watching what I'd eat, then I'd really get somewhere...

I stumbled upon this by accident. New vanilla-flavored tylenol PM caplets. Who cares what they taste like, they're in your mouth for a second before you swallow them!

I picked this huge bunch of flame grapes today! And there's plenty more where that came from, too! I've also got muscat and thompson plants so it's going to be a grapefest here. Also seen are some of my mysterious tomatoes. They were supposed to be Sweet 100s but they turned out to be Roma or something similar.

I've posted twelve pages worth of photos from the Walt Disney World portion of my trip to Florida. I covered all four parks with a few hotel shots thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!

According to NASA they're going to try to launch on July 26th. What's weird is that they haven't actually fixed the fuel sensor problem yet... but they think they will be then!? I'd love to go back, but I have a feeling that if I spend the money to do it that it won't happen.

Well, I'm back home in Brentwood, and boy am I glad to be back! Apparently it's been really hot here, but I don't care, I missed home. This trip didn't exactly go as planned. I never saw the shuttle launch, the hurricane kept us out of the Florida Keys, and the WDW portion of the trip was more stressful than fun (due to the crowds and heat).

After a long day of flying I landed in San Jose. It was then off to my parents house to pick up Pete (the cat), who will be staying with me while they're in Europe. Pete took a stress-filled one hour ride in my car and she got a little car sick on the way. Thankfully she's okay and is sticking close by me in this unfamiliar house.

Tomorrow it's back to work. I also have to get going on my gym regimen again. To be honest, I don't feel like I just got back from a relaxing vacation!

Oh, and to make matters worse, I'm having a big problem with SBC again. Turns out that not only is my phone line dead -- any calls to my number get routed to an entirely different one! Supposedly they'll be out to fix it tomorrow. Based on past experiences this should take a few tries.

The weather has been pretty crappy today -- I got soaking wet on two occasions. I haven't gotten much done either due to the crowds. So I'm taking a break at the hotel now.

Over the last few days I've noticed some things about people that really bug me. It's that they don't respect other people. Specifically at WDW I've noticed that:

- People push in front of you, bump into you, etc., without apologizing
- People cut in line
- People yell, scream, or are genearlly loud which takes away from the enjoyment of the ride you're trying to enjoy
- People deface things in attractions

Why can't these people show some respect for other guestes? Is the world more "me first" than it used to be? It's like they just don't care.

I've also noticed this attitude in my personal and professional life. These two things really get on my nerves:

- When you're not recognized for your work. I'm not talking specifically about my current job (as I get a lot of great e-mails), but previous jobs. If someone does a good job at something, thank them! And when you ask for a favor, say please! It's amazing how many people forget these basic tenets of common courtesy.

- When people say things they don't really mean, or make promises they don't intend to keep. Flakiness -- I hate it.

I've found that it's one thing to be accepted by other people -- being respected is another.

Well that's all for now. I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon and I hear it's awfully hot in Brentwood. At least it's a dry heat.

After a long day of running around WDW I have the following comments:

- Disney World sucks in July. Too hot, too humid, and too crowded. Now I remember why I used to go in the fall. In fact, Florida as a whole isn't that great. I miss California!

- WDW's new "Ticket Tag" thing stinks. Insert your ticket, then put your two fingers into the slot, wait for it to "check" that it's you, then you get your ticket back and you can enter. This slows things down in a major way.

- Seeing Fantasmic reminded me how much better Disneyland's version is. And the crowd control is awful. 10,000 people filing through one exit is NOT fun.

- Does all of Brazil go to WDW in July? I've never seen so many Brazilians in my life.

- I was surprised to see a number of kids and teenagers wearing headphones or playing Gameboys. Isn't Disney World exciting enough that they don't need such distractions?

- Amit asked me why I enjoy going to DL and WDW. I told him for the escapism, for the rides, and because I enjoy the way technology is used to tell stories. But today I realized that there's more than that. It's enjoying those things with friends and family that make the experience fun. I'm finding that doing the solo thing isn't that exciting, and this is probably the last time I'll do it, at least for this long.

Here are a few selected photos from today:

Tiger at Animal Kingdom

The upcoming Expedition Everest ride at AK

Rock'n Rollercoaster at Disney-MGM Studios

The coaster takes off... 0-60 in under 3 seconds

I put together a few of my favorite photos from tonight's visit to EPCOT. Naturally I'll have a big fancy gallery from the whole trip when I get home. In the meantime, click the link for some nice shots of EPCOT and Illuminations.

I dropped Amit off at the airport at 10:30am and headed straight to WDW. Parked the car in the hotel lot and walked over to EPCOT. First destination: Mission Space. This ride lives up to its billing: INTENSE. Probably the most intense ride I've been on, and I like such things. You pull major Gs for a long time and you can really feel it. I felt disoriented at times and could feel the spinning motion at times. The second time I rode it later in the day I felt queasy for a few seconds. This is one ride that I wouldn't want to run right back onto!

Here's a little bonus pic from today. Anybody know where I took it?

(As you probably heard, the shuttle launch isn't happening anytime soon. Oh well.)

Tonight Amit and I had a great dinner at the California Grill at Disney's Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World. I think this was my fourth time there and it was just as great as always. We each had a nice salad and then I had beef and Amit had the famous pork tenderloin. Naturally dessert was enjoyed as well. Before dessert we went outside on the roof to watch the Magic Kingdom's fireworks:

After the lengthy drive home it was time to change my travel plans. Instead of leaving on the 20th I'm now leaving on the 18th. If the Shuttle goes up on Sunday or Monday, I may still be able to see it, but I don't think that's going to actually happen. So now I'll be at WDW from Friday through Monday morning... and naturally I'll be taking lots of pictures and just taking it easy.

Well, it looks like I'll be going home empty handed. The next possible launch date is Sunday and that's HIGHLY unlikely. Reporters are heading home now, and I may end up cutting things short too. It's been quite an experience and I hope I get to see a launch in person some other time. I've still got my press credentials so maybe I'll come back if that's possible. Hopefully there will be less humidity and fewer mosquitos then!

I should add that the launch wouldn't have happened yesterday anyway due to the weather. Same result today most likely.

Big thanks to Amit and Wired News for giving me this once in a lifetime opportunity!

(I'm still going to WDW, though probably not for as long as I once planned.)

Shuttle launch scrubbed for the day

We'll know in two hours when the next attempt will be.

Update: Saturday at the earliest but that sounds awfully optimistic. See Amit's story on the subject.

Update 2: Click the link to see some pics from around KSC that I took today

Last night we spent over three hours in a muggy, mosquito-infested area in front of the launch pad to watch the rollback of the service bay, and in my opinion, it was worth the bites. The shot you see above is actually four photos stitched together, and a much larger version is available. I also have a very cool animated GIF (1.3MB) which shows the rollback.

Click the link below for more pictures from last night. And there'll be plenty more later if the launch actually happens!

Just when things were quieting down at the KSC News Center all hell broke loose. A plastic window covering fell from the top of the shuttle and hit a tile on the leading edge of the orbiter manuevering system. Amit's story has more details. More to come from me as well.

Update: I wasn't able to get online last night but I'll have pictures of the rollback shortly. As you probably heard, the problem I mentioned above was fixed yesterday.

The press center is a whole lot busier today and the countdown is holding at 11 hours.

Not too much going on for me personally until tonight, when we'll go for the service bay rollback at 6pm. I'll have shots of that late tonight!

What a day! We arrived at the press parking area, got our badges, and carpooled in with some other media people to the press area. We're right near the VAB (vehicle assembly building) and 3 miles or so from the launchpad. Once settled we took a bus tour of the launch complex and we got closer to the shuttle than I ever could've dreamed of! Tomorrow night we get to do it again tomorrow night when they roll back the service bay, too.

My only complaints thus far relate to the crappy wireless internet service and the heat and humidity that is Florida in the summertime.

Click the link for pictures and stay tuned for more as the week goes on!

The "ancient" Spanish Monastery in North Miami is a bit of a scam. While the building really is ancient, it's only been in Florida since the 1950's, and you thank thank W.R. Hearst for that. Still it's kind of neat and the grounds were nice. After that we headed to the Everglades to look for some wildlife. Unfortunately there wasn't much there (especially compared to the last time I was there) and we left a bit early after Amit was attacked by mosquitos and some huge thing that chased him down.

Animal sightings: two alligators, one coral snake, lots of butterflies and lizards, and plenty of birds. Oh and millions of bugs.

More photos after the link.

After replacing my sunglasses which broke AGAIN (stay away from Ray Ban) we headed down to South Beach for a stroll and a drink. Click to see some pictures of the cool architecture we saw along the way.

Ahhh, South Florida. Beautiful beaches, tall palm trees, brilliant sunshine. Not today! It's awful outside, and I don't think I've ever been in anything like this before (remember I'm from California). For a virtual look at what it's like here check out this movie I filmed (9.3 MB). Amit just saw the hotel staff fishing furniture out of the swimming pool!

What a day! The flight to Denver was fine and without incident. The flight from Denver to Miami was another story. We were about to close up and push back from the gate when a thunderstorm started. They can't have people on the ground when lightning is in the area, so we weren't going anywhere. That took about 20-25 minutes. Finally we made it to the taxiway where another delay appeared. This time it was heavy rain, microbursts, and windshear. Planes started shutting off their engines since it wasn't getting any better. Finally the windshear stopped and a plane in front of us was the guinea pig. He took off okay so we got to cut in line (since we never shut off our engines) and go next. The takeoff was fine but it was pretty rough on the climb out. The real "treat" was when we got to Florida. Our decent and approach to MIA was something I don't want to repeat. We were blowing all over the place and it felt like I was in a boat in heavy seas at times. There was lightning all around, as well. Finally we got all our wheels down and the passengers applauded. The pilot did a good job at keeping us informed about what was going on, and that everything would be okay. Hopefully that will be the last time I fly into a hurricane!

Now Amit and I have settled into our room on the 9th floor of our hotel in Miami. We'll see what things look like tomorrow before we go anywhere.

Here's what I'm bringing to the shuttle launch in the camera department:

EOS-20D
Battery grip (with 2 BP-511A batteries)
18 - 55 mm kit lens
28 - 300 mm lens
400 mm (F5.6) mega lens
Tripod

I am SO not looking forward to landing in Miami in heavy winds tomorrow night :(

MONROE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ORDERED A VISITOR AND NONRESIDENT EVACUATION FOR THE ENTIRE FLORIDA KEYS BEGINNING AT NOON THURSDAY

So much for our stay in Key Largo this weekend! Currently on hold with the hotel trying to see what they can do.

Update: Hotel stay canceled, looking for an alternative near Miami.

Update 2: We're now staying in Miami Beach instead.

Saw this while passing through the city today... Can those prices be for real?

The scene: Walnut Creek, California St. Outside FedEx. I parked in the yellow zone for 30 seconds and ran my package inside. I came back out and the meter maid was already punching in my ticket! Despite my pleas she said "sorry" and she handed me the $20 bill. Even the slot machines don't take $20 that quickly!

Last night's fireworks were great! As I have in previous years, I went with Mark (plus his gf Jessica and her younger sister) to Andalé for dinner and then to our once-secret spot on the pier in Fort Mason to watch. Check out my favorite photos from the evening!

In this group you'll find my favorite shots from the trip -- namely the sunset sequence I took at White Sands NM. Don't miss these!

It's photo time! These are from last week's trip to Texas and New Mexico.

Since I took so many photos I'm breaking them into two parts. These are the relatively boring ones showing La Mesilla, the White Sands Missile Range, and the Inn of the Mountain Gods. Read my recent entries to find out more about all these places.

Enjoy part 1 of my photos, all of which were taken with my Canon EOS-20D!

Today mom and I took a day trip away from the hot (108 degrees) and relatively dull city of El Paso and we headed to New Mexico for a change of scenery.

First stop: White Sands Missile Range. The security here was intense. First we had to "check in" with this no-nonsense security guy. I had to bring my drivers license, proof of insurance, and the registration for the rental car. After that was done we had to get the car inspected by five more security people. We had to get out of the car, open all the doors, the hood, and the trunk, show our IDs and wait. The security guys even got out the mirror to check under the car before they let us go. After that we finally reached the museum and "missile park". The museum had some relics from the past including lots of missile parts and there was also some stuff about the shuttle landing in 1982. The missile park outside had a bunch of stuff and I'll have pictures of all that when I get home.

We then headed into the mountains where the desert turned into pine trees. We stopped at the Inn of the Mountain Gods which is a totally revamped hotel/casino/resort operated by the Mescalero Apache tribe. The place was gorgeous and to top it off, I won at the slots! I was down a few bucks when I put a $20 into the dollar Wheel of Fortune machine. If you've played this machine before you know that you must play three coins (in this case $3!) to spin the wheel. I blew through three dollars in a second, but on the next play I got a spin! I spun and was very happy when it stopped on 100! So I collected my $117 and left. In the end I was up about $75 for the hour I was there... not bad!

Next was Ruidoso, a "village" 6900 feet in the mountains which wasn't terribly exciting. We drove around, ate lunch and ice cream (yum), and then we went up to Sierra Blanca, a mountain about 10,000 feet tall. The drive to the top was a little scary in our Trailblazer and when we got there the ski lift to the top was closed. On the way down we did stop at a nice vista point at 9900 feet where I took some pictures.

We then drove back down to the desert where we made our way to White Sands National Monument. If you're ever in El Paso, Las Cruces, or even Albuquerque then you MUST see this amazing place. Imagine endless dunes of soft white gypsum and that's white sands. We took a "sunset stroll" with a geologist (who couldn't have been any older than me) where we learned about the dunes and then the best part -- sunset. I have to say, I took some AWESOME photos, and I can't wait to share them.

Then it was a long drive back to our hotel. Tomorrow's our last day here before heading home to California. I have to finish teaching my grandmother how to use the Mac Mini and also need to sort out some e-mail issues with her ISP.