Here’s an idea.
I’m looking at some radar imagery the other day. It’s here: http://weather.noaa.gov/radar/images/DS.p19r0/SI.pgua/latest.gif
Looks like it’s updated infrequently, insofar as it’s not on the hour, quarter, etc… So you don’t know when to check it. Plus, even if they have some sort of compositing cgi, it takes forever to load and is just a real pain.
So I thought about writing a little tray app that grabs an image every x minutes and does some analysis:
When we first moved here, I had only what I could carry, plus one 50lb bag to
check on the airplane. ‘Course the server weighs a good 20lbs, so my options
were very limited after that for what I could pack. Somehow my mug didn’t make
the cut. I don’t know what I was thinking. Here I am moving to a strange new
place with very few comforts of home. Guess I didn’t count on being in a hotel
for a MONTH.
At any rate, my dad sent me my mug in our first shipment. This is no ordinary
mug. Ya see, this is the model from which ALL future mugs are to be judged.
It’s stainless steel - and that’s IT. No plastic, no inscription, no cute little
sippy lid. Just a 100% stainless steel mug. There is a small piece of foam on
the bottom so it doesn’t mar up your desk, but other than that, it’s all stainless.
When nothing else works, when it seems like the world is against you - when you’re
Ambushed By Morons® and just when you think hope is fleeting like a firefly
in the night - the mug is there. It’s simple and elegant, yet rugged form reminds
you that there just *may* be hope for humanity. It may have a couple scratches
on it, but trust me - it earned ‘em. Like a seasoned warrior, my mug
is there to deliver when called upon. Its double-walled construction keeps my
espresso hot without even hinting that there is 200º liquid inside. I can
leave festering coffee in it for days on end - and just wash it out. No nasty
coffee tannins stain this baby. Just wipe it down and you’re set to go.
And should I be assaulted while enjoying my hot espresso, I have a great weapon
with which to bludgeon my assailant. I salute you, Mr. Mug, and I continually
scour the earth for your equal.
–dan
Rachel liked the version before cropping, so here’s a behind-the-scenes GuamORama
Okay.
So maybe I’m in withdrawal. Maybe I’m crazy. Maybe both.
I don’t know what it is about Jack Black, but my buddy Ashby is not like Jack
Black. He is Jack Black. In our continual struggle to behave like
normal people, we decided to rent a movie the other day. We rented School
of Rock. Now Ashby bears only a slight resemblance to Mr. Black. It’s his
face and his expressions that just kill me. It’s the energy level
at ‘11′ and fearless and total commitment to whatever it is that is happening
that moment. That’s Jack’s character in this move and Ashby’s character every
day.I’m going to try to find some pictures to prove my point.
Guess I just miss ya, bud, but I was ON THE FLOOR laughing at this guy.
–dan
Got some more Guam-O-Rama for ya. This is the view out of our hotel room balcony. Click it, foo!
So what’s the deal with all this gas price crap? I think gas prices aren’t NEARLY high enough. Perhaps I need to repeat that for all the people sending me these “don’t buy gas” on this or that date. GAS PRICES ARE TOO LOW, YOU MORON. I use gas, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t feel good about it and I don’t feel it’s my right to pay under a dollar for it.
Yeah folks, that’s just what we Americans need as that extra motivation to go and make the world a better place. More gas - cheaper. I can just hear the discussion in the boardrooms of the Big 3 now. “Yeah, so, guys…I know this fuel cell thing is twice as expensive to operate since gas is so low now, but we need to do it. It’s the right thing to do.” I understand the financial implications of highter gas prices, too. Higher gas prices for trucks delivering all our products means higher prices for the products and in turn strangles the economy. How ’bout a discounted gas price for commercial users? There’s GOT to be a better way than just using the resources ’till they’re GONE - without looking for a solution beforehand. Guess it’s the human condition. We don’t do anything unless we have to. As this election gets closer and closer, the mob society we live in is becoming more and more apparent. Bush says we need lower gas prices, Kerry says we need lower gas prices. Lower Prices! She’s a WITCH - BURN HER! [angry mob answers] YEAH! Exit dignity stage right.
As for the war, don’t know if we never really cared about the weapons. We really couldn’t have. Look at North Korea. How is it that they’re okay? How much oil do we get from North Korea and it’s surrounding areas? Wanna know where the problem is? Just follow the trail of money.
Which brings me to the fundamental point of this whole rant. Western culture has, throughout time, forced itself on any and all unsuspecting cultures. When we were at the mall here in Guam, I noticed a little museum about Chamorro culture. We walked in to see artifacts from the ancient culture - and among them was a translation of a plea from one of the native chiefs to his people and the invading Spanish conquer….ahem…excuse me…missionaries in the late 1600’s. His address stated that they just wanted the spanish to go away. They didn’t ask them to come here and they just wanted to be left alone. They knew they were primitive compared to the westerners, but they realized the value in their ways - even back then before it had been destroyed. But the Spanish wanted to show them how wrong they were and how to be better.
Guys, if your culture was so great and superior, then why don’t you just build a church and let the people come and find out for themselves. But alas, that was in the days before Democracy. Since then we’ve recognized how futile it is to go into a remote location and force ourselves on another culture.
Oh wait.
1697 + 305 years = ???
I have the solution to our gasoline, oil, and war problems. Wal-Mart.
Actually, that was my dad’s idea. Instead of trying to fight a guerilla war on enemy territory, why not just build a Wal-Mart the size of Basra and put it in downtown Baghdad. Sell products at pennies on the dollar to get ‘em hooked. Trust me, after all the sons and daughters of the former Republican Guard are all riding around on plastic $5 bigwheel’s and mom and dad are working to keep ‘em in stock, there will be alot less fighting.
The problem takes care of itself. They hate us for what we are and what we have. Can you blame them? GIVE them what we have. Allow them to BE who were are and the hate stops. This type of fight is nothing new to the middle east. It’s been going on for hundreds of years and they’re good at it. Turn it around and be nice, guys. There’s yer ’strategery’.
Here’s some pretty neat shots of Guam I took. I call ‘em Guam-O-Rama. They’re panoramas of Guam. Each single image has at least 4 individual images stitched together to make the panorama. Click the image for the bigger version.
–dan
Since we’ve moved to Guam, our car stereo has been missing it’s face (packed
in our household goods), I have no radio other than a frickin’ $14 clock radio
with 1 speaker. It does have a really kewl ‘weekend cancel’ feature on the alarm,
though. I do, however, have a pair of Sony MDR-7506 studio monitors that are
my only aural salvation. My body is still on DC time and I get up at 530-600
each day. So I’ve got time to think about this crap. And write about it.
So there’s this BBC program called Desert Island Discs that asks people
what 10 discs they would choose, should they find themselves stranded on a desert
island. Presumably with a solar-powered waterproof CD player, of course. This
list is, after all, why I travel with a solar cell and li-ion batteries.
Here they are. In order. Guess I’d pack them in the bag with the best discs
in the middle of the stack, in case the aircraft was burning as we were hurtling
towards the island, they would be least likely to be warped. Just kidding, I
didn’t actually think about that.
The best music, hands down, that I’ve ever heard in my life. The whole damn
album is good. I would trade my last loaf of bread for this album, should the
natives capture it. $500 to the first person who can translate this on demand
for me.
I don’t need to say anything about this one. It should be on your list too.
No, you can’t borrow mine. Go back to your little grass hut.
Mellencamp. Essential.
I know this is really 4 discs. It’s just so….Okay, fine, I will count it as
4. It’s that good. If you can’t appreciate this, you can’t appreciate music
at all.
On a cold winter day in 1996, I found myself visiting my friend Troeg at the
campus of Northern Michigan Univeristy. We were hanging out in her friend’s
room when I spotted a CD that resembled a Pepsi can from across the room. As
if drawn to it by some mysterious force, I just put it in the CD player. "Hello
City….". That was it for me. I don’t know how I made it out of there
without stealing that CD, but somehow I did.
I make no apologies for this one.
It’s the best compilation CD. I can’t help it. I just love the show and this
is really the only link I have to it. Currently praying to the gods of syndication
that it replays somewhere, someday.
In the absence of a rant this morning, I submit the following pictures.
–dan
Our new place
It’s right….here.
The pool(s).
A nice shot of rachel in the sunset.
Okay, seriously. What the hell. Was I absent the day we went
over this in class? Could someone please explain this?
I can understand words like ‘delicate’ and ‘regular’. No problem. 100% on board.
Then as I start to narrow down the vast array of choices I have with which to
clean my clothes, I see a mysterious ‘10′ and ‘5′ and ’spin’ followed by ‘rinse’
and ’spin’. WTF?! Is that the order in which it cleans my clothes? Do
I care? ‘Course that’s only valid if the thing moves clockwise. Nevermind I
have NO IDEA what it means. 10 WHAT?! Pounds of clothes? Gallons of water? I
don’t care how you do it, just get the damn clothes clean.
I do like options though, which is why on the left side of the washer, I can
handle this:
No problem. Small, Medium, Large, Hot, Cold, Warm.
Lovin’ it.
Back to exhibit A. Permanent Press Cycle. What is that? Obviously,
washing machines were designed by two separate parties with no interaction whatsoever
during the design process. There’s obviously some sort of formula to determine
the placement of the knob in exhibit A. It’s not labeled and I have no idea
where to find it. Exhibit B clearly states what you’re doing by moving the knobs.
In a world where I have to be told to "Place the mask over your face
first, then help your neigbor", constantly reminded not to use my shaving
cream while in the fireplace, and not to smoke a cigar while filling up my car,
I think my feelings on this matter are well warranted.
I look forward to your comments. If you need more space than what’s allowed
for your formulas (please show all work), then feel free to use the back of
the paper.
