Sun, 04 Jun 2006

Me and Bruce went back to ride at Blanket's Creek on Saturday.
Bruce had to crouch down so he could fit into the picture. Or maybe he was stretching; I'm not sure. In the second photo he's modeling his new full-finger gloves.

We did a warm-up lap on Mosquito Flats. I think this picture is pretty good, for reaching around behind me with the cell phone to get a picture of Bruce about to pass me. Then we got to the start of the intermediate trail (Dwelling Loop?). It was Saturday, so we were going clockwise. Or maybe it was counter-clockwise. We just went the same way as everybody else.

So we were hammering along, and as we went over a particularly difficult log pile I saw what looked like a long black hose moving on the side of trail. Slithering, actually. So we stopped and got a good look at what Bruce said was an Eastern King Snake. He claimed it was harmless, so I let him take the camera and get some more pictures of it. Amazingly, nobody was hurt. That was pretty much the high point of the ride. After that we finished the loop and got ready for that afternoon's Pine Lake hash.

posted at: 13:44 | permalink | 100 comments

I still can't believe we got to see Jimmy Buffett in Atlanta for his '06 tour.
Me and Bruce were at lunch on Thursday, and he picked up one of those free newspapers that lists all the cool stuff happening. And we saw that Buffett was playing the next night. It would have been nice to go, but we figured it had to be sold out.

Then that afternoon we were in Borders, shopping the computer books section, and Bruce's phone rang. It was his friend Ira, saying that he had an extra ticket for Buffett, and that he might be able to get both of us in. Cool.

Friday afternoon we headed down to the Lakewood HiFi Buys Amphitheater. We were coming out of the Kroger after stocking up on Corona and Red Bull, when the skies opened up and it began pouring rain. But we pressed on. On the way Linda text'ed me this picture of what she was doing that night.

So we got there, and bent over as we paid the $25 for parking, and started walking in. The rain was letting up, but we were still getting wet. There were some cool looking buildings as we walked in. Bruce was looking sharp.

The wreckage of the day's festivities was strewn around the parking lot. There were tiki bars, daquiri machines, puking parrotheads, and more. We met Ira, who said that he didn't really want to stay, and gave us both his tickets! I love you man.

Once we got to the place where they take tickets it became even more clearer that people had been drinking all afternoon. It was like the crowd going into a Dead show. We walked past the crowd on the lawn (where I usually sit) and into the covered, seated section. The tickets were great, in the center, about halfway down. We had to run some drunks out of our seats, but they weren't too hard.

The camera phone doesn't really capture the scene well, but if you look close, you can see Jimmy. He did all my favorites. There were two empty seats next to us, and drunks would cruise up and try to stand there, but we ran them off. Finally, though, a couple girls slid in there, and we told them they were welcome to stay.

The girls introduced themselves as Lisa and Jenn (I think). We danced for the rest of the night, and took turns making beer runs. Just so you know, a 16 ounce Coors will cost you $12 there. And $14 for a margarita.

Here's another shot of the stage, with different lighting.

All too soon, the show was over. Jimmy did a couple encores, and then they turned the lights on. So we made our way back to the parking lot, which had turned into a red clay mud pit. Cars and trucks were slithering around in the mud, and spraying mud everywhere. Drunks were trying to push cars out of the mud, and falling into the mud, and being sprayed with mud. So we waited and watched. Finally the crowd thinned out enough, and we got in the Isuze Rodeo, and made our run up the mud hill. No problem. We got on the highway and headed home. What a great show. Possibly my best Buffett show ever. Thanks again, Ira.

posted at: 11:03 | permalink | 100 comments

Sat, 03 Jun 2006

Today we ran with the Pine Lake hash.
Mostly because it was closer than the Atlanta hash. It was still fun. We got there and paid our hash cash, and then stood around talking. And loading the bag truck, etc. Then we got the chalk talk, with lots of scary warnings about poison ivy, and we were off.

The trail wound through the woods around Life College, and through the campus itself. It was very picturesque. At one point the trail crossed a river (by bridge) and the hare had been thoughtful enough to mark the best point to see the scenic vista. So I took a picture.

Then the trail kept going through the campus, and then along some long, straight highway. There were lots of used cars for sale. Did I mention it was straight? Eventually we ducked into another campus, some kind of Polytechnic school. By this time it was hot enough that I didn't get the full name. We hashed across that campus, and then onto another road (Hwy 42?). I want to thank the hare for keeping us out of all of that nasty shiggy we could see from the road, and allowing us to stay clean and dry up on the highway.

Eventually the trail ended at a pool in the Life College student housing. There was only one person in the pool when we got there. She was peacefully bobbing on a raft.

As soon as we arrived she jumped up and left. About eight minutes later the police arrived. Coincidence? Anyway, Snot Rag spent a long (long) time in conference with the officer. Eventually they seemed to reach an agreement that involved us removing all of the bottles from inside the fenced pool area. I can live with that. Then the officer left, never to return and check up on us. So we got back in the pool. I like the second photo; it's Little [something] Liquor Bitch, or L2B2 for short.

Then it was your basic circle of fear, followed by your basic hotdogs and hamburgers, followed by your basic drive home. That was fun. Oh, and here's the GPS track, proving conclusively that Snot Rag is a dirty liar, as I had a (mostly) on-trail distance of 4.75 miles, rather than the 3.5 that he claimed. But we all know never to trust the hare...

posted at: 21:07 | permalink | 100 comments

Fri, 02 Jun 2006

We ran with the Slow Lazy Urban Thursday hash last night.
Or the SLUT hash for short. The start was in Decatur, not too far from our old house on Fantasy Lane. The hare was Mr. Mom, and I didn't get his co-hare's name. You can see him explaining the trail here, and the second photo is him with his co-hare. I didn't get a picture of Creepy Weird Dude (not his real hash name) who was hanging around, breathing through his mouth and generally weirding me out.

I also remebered this woman from the Wheelhopper hash on Sunday, but of course I didn't remember her name. But I do remember Humpty Dumpty, who has just moved down from the Chicago hash. We talked about all of the Chicago hashers I haven't seen for a while. And finally the GM, MC Hasher, and her sidekick Devo. Once nice thing about the SLUT hash is that they have good beer (and they better, for $7) and they bring it out before the run starts, which is a concept the other Atlanta hashs would do well to emulate.

We finally got started, and the first leg of the trail turned out to be really good. Lots of shiggy, thorns, and water crossings. We spent a lot of time at the beer stop, waiting (and waiting) on the back of the pack, who had somehow gotten the idea that trail was on North Decatur Rd, and had set off that way. Eventually they filtered in, some on foot, and some by car.

The second leg of trail was equally good, with possibly even more water crossings, shiggy, and fireflies. But by the time we got to the second beer stop it was 9:00 pm, and the pack was beginning to grumble about food and going to work the next day, and so on. MC Hasher consulted with Mr. Mom via cell phone(!) and Mr. Mom returned to the beer stop to lay a kinder, gentler, straighter, more paved trail to the end. Which was good. There was some excellent chicken, rice, and salad at the end. As well as more beer. The circle was nice, and low key.

Dr. Doo-doo was there, as was Bruce (or should I say "HIV"). And Gentrification displayed the singing Billy Bass fish he had found on trail. The fish sang "Take me to the river, drop me in the water", so someone threw it in the pool. Then we finally organized a vehicle relay back to the start. Somehow Creepy Weird Dude was able to get back to the start and to his car before anyone else. I can't figure out how he did that.

And here's the GPS track from the run. It was only about 3.5 miles, but it was a good one.

posted at: 06:03 | permalink | 100 comments

Thu, 01 Jun 2006

We saw the Braves beat the Dodgers at Turner Field tonight.
It was their third match-up in three days, and the Braves finally won a game. Bruce and I left after work, and drove down to Turner Field. On the way we were talking about how much hot dogs would cost at the field, when we realized we were stopped in traffic next to the Varsity. Whatylyouhave?! I had the two chili dogs and onion rings combo, with a Coke. They didn't fry the Coke. It was pretty busy there.

We weren't sure what to expect when we got the field, but we found a lot of traffic. We opted out of it by parking at the first hotel we saw, and walking in. I hadn't been to the field since the 1996 Olympics, where I think we saw Italy play Cuba in baseball. They had since demolished part of the stadium in order to turn it into a true baseball stadium, accepting the decreased seating.

We had what I thought were good seats. They were on the top level, but in row 8, right behind home plate, and with an excellent view of the giant TV screen. I had brought binocular with me, so I experimented with holding the camera phone up to the binoculars as a ghetto telephoto lens. It kind of worked; you can see the umpires talking before the game.

I got a couple photos of me and Bruce. The first one has both of us, and the second is Bruce with the field behind him.

Just after the game started there was a promotion where a DHL delivery person came out and delivered a box of tickets to a lucky fan. The lucky fan was sitting close by us, so I got a picture of him/her holding the box as the DHL person was walking away. You can also see who Bruce got to sit next to all night.

Here's the ghetto zoom with a shot of the batter, and one of the pitcher. The game went well for the Braves. The Joneses (Chipper and Andruw) got home runs early on, and the score was never really in doubt. About the fourth or fifth inning they began playing the tomahawk chop music from some old TV western. I know the Braves say they invented it, but all I can think of when I hear it is the FSU Seminoles. I had to put my fingers in my ears.

The grounds crew did their usual ballet. Late in the game the Braves pitcher did have some trouble, and there was a conference on the mound. The ghetto zoom reveals that the manager was actually saying, "Will you stop serving up those softballs, and throw the damn thing!". The final score was something like 9-4, so the game ended after the the first half of the ninth inning, and we headed for home.

posted at: 06:43 | permalink | 101 comments

Wed, 31 May 2006

The most dangerous man in the room
is Bruce, seen here in a rare moment of reflection.

Don't even think about what he could do with that screwdriver he is pointing.

posted at: 13:09 | permalink | 100 comments

Tue, 30 May 2006

I encountered the "don't boild water in a microwave" urban legend today.
Strictly speaking, it isn't an urban legend, but it is unlikely you will see it in real life. I was onsite at a client, and I saw this sign in the break room:

I had heard about this before, and I checked Snopes to see if it was real. What Snopes said is that is just barely possible, but unlikely. Basically, when you boil water in a clean cup in a microwave, the water can be superheated, but the cup will not get hot. Because of this, no bubbles form on the inside of the cup, and the superheated water is just waiting for any kind of nucleation sites that will trigger boiling. Nucleation can be supplied by a spoon or tea bag, as the sign says.

What the sign doesn't say, and Snopes does, is that this nucleation can be triggered during the microwaving by leaving a non-conductive (wooden or plastic) spoon in the cup. This will give the bubbles a place to form. Why not say that on the sign, rather than banning all microwave heating of water?

When I first saw this, it reminded me of the signs on gas pumps that said "don't use your cell phone because it can spark and start a fire". Actually, there are no recorded instances of this happening (see Snopes again), but I guess somebody figured you can never be too safe. Much like the prohibition on boiling water.
posted at: 19:44 | permalink | 100 comments

Mon, 29 May 2006

I was back up at Bear Creek today
for Cartecay Bike Shop's Memorial Day ride. I got there right at 10:00 am, so I just had time to change my rear tube (flat from yesterday) and gear up. Mike from Cartecay explained that there would be A, B, and C rides. The A group left first, for their 35 mile(!) loop. I opted to go with Mike and the B group, which was going to back at the trailhead and become the C group. We did some fast downhill on the gravel road I had just driven up, all the way to the water, where we regrouped. So far it was all downhill.

Then we got rolling again. This was all climbin, with Mike calling back, "Get in your granny gear". And he was right. We went up, up, up, getting back all of that elevation we had given away on the gravel road. Eventually we got to the top. I only had to walk once. Eventually the whole group got there, and we started again.

Since we were at the top, it was time to go downhill again. It was a fast trail, and I quickly got used to going over the water bars. Finally we got to the bottom, took a quick break, and were off for the final leg.

Back at the top we took a group photo. There was chicken on the grill, but Mike left with the C group anyway. I had had enough, so I hung around for a little while, and then headed back to Atlanta. That was a great ride, and I want to thank Mike and Cartecay bikes. I want to get back up there for next year's ride.

Wait, I almost forgot to put the GPS track up. I was wearing my Garmin Forerunner 301. There is nothing but trees in the aerial photos, so I really have no idea what's what. Plus there was pretty heavy tree cover, so the GPS lost signal in some places. I think I picked out the trailhead, but that's about it. TopoFusion did say that we had about 1500 feet of climbing, which doesn't seem like enough.

posted at: 18:16 | permalink | 100 comments

Sun, 28 May 2006

I got to ride with the Wheelhopper hash in Atlanta today.
It was a Blankets Creek in Marietta. I was thinking about going to the Black Sheep run at Hedon, but that was 50 miles away, and this was 5 miles. Easy choice. Big surprise, the start time was screwed up. I was there at 12:00 for a 12:30 start (like lots of other hashers who read the website) but the hares were on a 1:00 / 1:30 schedule. At least I got to socialize for a while.

There was a nice chalk talk before we started. I forget by who, just like I forgot all the other names. Maybe I should take one of those Dale Carnegie courses to not forget people's names.

I had ridden the first part of the trail a couple times before, when riding at Blankets Creek. Then came the water crossing. Then a lot of climbing and descending. I thought I was the only person who had to walk my bike up some of the climbs, but then this other hasher (who's name I really should remember) came up behind me.

The end was at a pavilion by the lake. And they drink good beer at the Wheelhopper! Of course, they make up for that by doing down-downs while seated on a stationary bike. Here's a photo of another guy who's name I forget doing a down-down. No, wait, I remember that guy's name, because he got named that day. Henceforth and forever more, blah blah blah, he will be known as "Bacon Bitch". I like it.

Then it was my turn for a down-down. Here are some of the happy smiling faces I saw looking back at me. The guy in the second photo with the cup was running down-downs. Guess what, I forgot his name.

Here's the GPS track of the ride. I didn't turn the GPS on until about half a mile in, but you can still see where we were. The summary said we did 1500 feet of climbing. Thanks for the ride, Wheelhoppers.

posted at: 21:44 | permalink | 100 comments

Sat, 27 May 2006

We finally got the Motorola V551 cell phone fixed.
When me and Linda migrated to Cingular from AT&T Wireless (don't do it) we both got new Motorola V551 phones. I had mine for a couple weeks before replacing it with a Nokia 6670, but Linda hung on to hers. After about nine months her screen went dead. You could still make out images on the screen, but the backlight was out. This was the big internal screen; the external Caller ID screen still worked. The phones were selling for around $150 on eBay, so it was worth trying to fix it.

So I looked on eBay, and found lots of auctions for internal LCD screens. I ordered one from Hong Kong. About a week later I got an email saying "we found a problem with the whole batch of screens, so we refunded your money". Hmmm. Okay, I bought another screen. There was a delay because I bought before Easter, then another delay because they sent it to the wrong address, but finally, after a month, I got the screen. It came in a really cool envelope, all the way from Hong Kong. The screen cost around $36 including shipping.

It also came with a small Torx tool for opening the phone, but I had my own. Here you can see the screen, but not very well. It wasn't easy figuring out how to get the phone open. Finally I found a manual that describes in complete detail how to disassemble and repair the Motorola V551 and V555 phone here.

So I got the phone completely disassembled, and removed the old screen. I had to figure out how to pry the Caller ID LCD display off of the internal LCD screen, and how to stick it onto the new screen. Then I got it all reassembled and powered it up. And it still had a dead screen. Dang. So I did some more internet research, and read the manual, and it looked like the flex cable might be at fault. I looked on eBay, and bought a flex cable for $11 including shipping.

The flex cable arrived quickly, and this time Linda did the work. She laid out the parts on a Waltzing Matilda tea towel, so it's difficult to see some of them. You can see the completely disassembled phone, and the steel cups she used to hold the small parts.

And here is the flex cable. The new one was not exactly the same as the old one. The new one is on the bottom, and you can see that the right end of the cable is longer. There are contacts on the other side of that end, and they shorted out agains the case, and caused the display not to work. So I put a piece of electrical tape over the contacts, and the display worked just fine. Woo hoo! Hope this helps.

posted at: 21:55 | permalink | 100 comments

Fri, 26 May 2006

I went out on the boat last weekend.
It was pretty easy, as always. Rob and Jason and Lisa just picked me up at the dock, and off we went. They drive the boat to the ramp, launch it, come and get me and we do our thing on the water, and then they drop me off, recover the boat, and take it home and clean it. I keep offering to help, but they won't have it.

This time all the parking places at the regular spot were full, so we had to go to plan B. I found a parking place near a dock, and talked them in on the cell phone.

Then we dove an 18 foot wreck for a while. And then just chilled on the boat. On the way back in we saw dolphins in the intracoastal. At first I thought it was just a piece of wood, but then we saw the dorsal fins clearly. There were three of them. I don't think they were lost, but I don't know what they were doing in there.
posted at: 11:09 | permalink | 100 comments

Thu, 25 May 2006

I laid a successful trail in the north county tonight.
Despite the naysayers who said that nobody would come. We had three new guys. Well, two new guys, and one who claimed to be a certified underwater naval technician. There were about fifteen people total. I had scouted a complete trail on the drive up, but as soon as I started I found some cool canals and shiggy that I liked much better. So I changed the trail. And it was for the better. Although as I was phoning Circumspector the beer truck driver to change the start location I was caught by AI. But he was later disqualified for leaving two minutes early. The dirty cheater.

You can see that my trail prediction doesn't match reality at all.

The second half of the trail was even better. There were no alligator attacks. And we made it through the projects unscathed. Yeast agreed to run the circle, and he did a fine job. He made sure the new hashers did their down-downs properly. And that the hare got the respect he so richly deserved.

Then Doofus White Boy showed up, representing the Palatka hash. Yeehaw.

The on-after was at the new Quarterdeck, where Dribble ruminated, and AI showed us the contents of his mouth. We ate and drank, and then went home.

posted at: 08:13 | permalink | 63 comments

Thu, 18 May 2006

NFHN Bobby got named at tonight's hash.
Plus he got to sit his bare butt on a block of ice for a while. These are both experiences available only at the hash. Although I guess you could get your own piece of ice. We started in the parking lot of the Winn-Dixie. Nobody bothered us. The turnout was small at first, but grew to about 30 by the time we left. It was a completely pre-laid trail, with Stinky Pinky as the senior hare advisor.

The first half was a long one, as you can see by the GPS track. You can also see that it was nothing like my prediction. The beer check was at the Blue Cricket, which was happy to see us. And the hares bought lots of pitchers there. We even sang a birthday song to the manager. But eventually it was time to go, so we did.

The hares had warned us that there was a second beer check. Some of us had a hard time finding it. Apparently it was in the parking lot behind the rib place. So eventually everyone collected back at the start, and we got the circle started. AI had been thoughtful enough to freeze a bucket full of ice for the hare to sit on, so we got Bobby parked. We did all the usual stuff, and then got started picking out a name for Bobby. The only overpowering fact was that he loves his electronic organ, a Hammond B3. In fact, he won't shut up about it. That, plus the fact that he didn't actually lay any flour on the trail (Stinky did all the work) got him the name of... "Dry Organ". Yay. He was happy to get off the ice.

So the on-after was at Tree's Wings, but I went home instead.

posted at: 07:14 | permalink | 100 comments

Wed, 17 May 2006

This picture illustrates the limitations of camera phones pretty well.
It's a picture of an electric snake, after we finished unclogging the sewer. You can see that the coils of the snake are in pretty sharp focus, but just above that, the handle is blurry. My first thought was that this means the camera has a very shallow depth of field. But lots of pictures that I take closer come out fine, like portraits and small group shots. So it may be that the snake is just at the edge of the depth of field. I guess a good way to confirm that would be to recreate the photo, but have a person standing in front of the snake, closer to the camera, and see if the person is in focus.

This confirms what I pretty much knew all along: the resolution of the camera is not as important as the lens. This camera is a 1.3 megapixel, but most of the pixels are blurry. I would be a lot better of with a VGA camera (640 x 480) that has a decent lens. But then I would be carrying one more object in my pocket, and the benefit of the camera phone is that I always have the phone, thus I always have a camera. I'll see if I can bring myself to carry another device with me.

posted at: 17:00 | permalink | 100 comments

I've always liked these old VW buses.
Maybe they are called Transporters. This one was parked outside Borders. I like the galvanized pipe roll bar or rack or whatever it is. Plus it's got handicapped plates. This would make a good electric car conversion candidate. There is a space under the bed that is big enough for the batteries. Then all you need is to bolt an electric motor and adapter plate to the transaxle, wire in a controller, and you're environmentally friendly.

posted at: 16:54 | permalink | 100 comments

Tue, 16 May 2006

When I first saw this van I thought maybe Sheldon had traded in the Suzuki.
After all, it's got a Patriots sticker, a Red Sox sticker, and it looks like the sort of thing a serial killer drywall contractor would drive. I was a little nervous parking behind it, but my car was still there when I came back, and the van hadn't backed into it.

posted at: 10:56 | permalink | 101 comments

Mon, 15 May 2006

We were back at the bowling alley again for last week's hash.
You know, the one in Lantana we always go to. This was CA and Veal Chop's run. There was some talk of a renaming for VC, but nothing came of it. For some reason, there was quite a turnout. Over 40 people showed up, which required CA to put out more beer at the halfway point. The trail was really good for that area, starting off along the waterfront, and then heading west into the AG Holley sanatorium, where the beer check was. There was also an irate security guard in a golf cart. She kept urging us to leave, telling us she had called the police, and ordering us to go out the way we came in. Unfortunately for her, the trail led out a different way. We were just about to leave, when we saw the police cars coming toward us. Fortunately for us, the trail led in the other direction, so we bolted that way. We got off the AG Holley property, just in time to meet another Lantana police officer. He was a sargeant, and very nice about the whole thing. He was mostly interested in out what the white powder was. Once we told him it was flour he relaxed, and explained that they had gotten some calls. He also told us that people were nervous because 666 was coming up -- June 6, 2006. Scary.

We made it back to the start without further incident, and had a rocking good circle. No renaming for Veal Chop. Then on to the new Lantana Ale House, which was not bad at all. We did have to put up with Itsy demo'ing his new shorts. Note the artfully placed hand in the crotch.

posted at: 16:14 | permalink | 100 comments

Sat, 13 May 2006

There wre a bunch of art cars down at Lake Worth last Friday.
There were some bikes there, too, from the Freak Bike Militia, but it was too dark by the time I started taking pictures of them.
I thought I'd seen this one around town, but this one looks much nicer. There was an astronaut standing out in front of it. I don't know how those middle wheels work; they should scrub on the ground when the car turns.

This one was a lot more primitive and earthy than the silver one. Not as much fabrication required, but plenty of artistic ability needed.

This one was just weird. Skulls and suns and spiders and stuff that looks vaguely like organs.

This one was like the other van, but it was a little more upbeat. The owner said the totem on the front used to have tree growing in it.

I guess I lied when I said I didn't get any bike photos. This one was pretty cool. It looks like the frame was built to fit motorcycle wheels front and rear. It's probably not too tough to pedal it.

I really like this one. Why go to all the trouble of putting wood on a car, when you can just paint it on? It really looked good.

And finally, a fun car. I especially like the vacuum power unit on the back. I didn't really think this car ran, but I saw it driving later that night.

posted at: 22:39 | permalink | 41 comments

Wed, 10 May 2006

This is one of the sillier vehicles I've seen lately.
It was actually a couple months ago, at Bike Week in Daytona, but I only recently got these pictures from AC. His camera takes much better pictures than my camera phone.

It's a turbine-powered trike, about 20 feet long. I don't know what kind of turbine it is; probably from a helicopter. Up front is the biggest springer fork I've ever seen, and down both sides are some realy big exhauts. Big fat tires in the back, and a linkage that lets the driver sit far back from where the bars should be. There's a sign with a $100K price tag on it, which I think is kind of high, but maybe you can talk him down a little.


posted at: 14:09 | permalink | 100 comments

I like this art scooter.
Someone spent a lot of time on the details. I saw it parked in front of a house in Key West a couple weeks ago. Plus, it's a Honda.

posted at: 11:39 | permalink | 100 comments