Finger points to British intelligence as al-Qaeda websites are wiped out - Sunday Times - Times Online: "Over the past fortnight Israeli intelligence agents have noticed something distinctly odd happening on the internet. One by one, Al-Qaeda's affiliated websites have vanished until only a handful remain, write Uzi Mahnaimi and Alex Pell.
Someone has cut the line of communication between the spiritual leaders of international terrorism and their supporters. Since 9/11 the websites have been the main links to disseminate propaganda and information.
The Israelis detect the hand of British intelligence, determined to torpedo the websites after the London attacks of July 7."
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Friday, July 29, 2005
Getting There Is Half The Fun!
Scott Mountain Pass was the greatest challenge to the camping convoy heading to Trinity Lake! We made it both ways with only some overheated brakes and jittery nerves.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Working On The Gutters...
With the advise of a friend I headed to Lowes today to check out some gutter guards. The amount of crap that falls from the trees above the house is tremendous! Add to that the fact that the back side of the house is WAY up there and I had to figure out a way to eliminate the gutters from filling up, clogging, and then water pouring down the side of the house every time it rained. $3.87 per four foot piece, me up on a ladder, Deb running the shop vac power switch down below, suck out the dried junk, a little bend here and there of the guard, insert it under the shingles, click to the front of the gutter, and I was on my way. We finished half of the front of the house (about 40 feet) in less than an hour. The problem will be the back of the house. I figure I will have to rent a ladder that goes 20 feet or more high just to get there, and the cool 'suck out the junk with the shop vac' is not an option. I will keep you posted on this one as I feel there will be more to this story.
Dining Room Is Complete...
We picked up the chairs last weekend after waiting 2 months for them to be ready. As soon as we got them home, we knew we needed an area rug to set the scene and finish the job. As luck would have it Costco picked that very weekend to have an handmade Indian wool rug display! We found this one and brought it home for a test. We both think it looks great which is good since I did not like any of the other selections as they all were too brown and dull. The center piece arrangement is silk so the cats won't eat them and I don't have to remember to water.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Blink and you really do 'miss it'
BBC NEWS Health Blink and you really do 'miss it': "Parts of the brain are temporarily 'switched off' when we blink, scientists have found.
The team from University College London found the brain shut down parts of the visual system for each blink."
The team from University College London found the brain shut down parts of the visual system for each blink."
Humongous 45,500-ton machine - the largest digging machine in the world.
Humongous 45,500-ton machine - the largest digging machine in the world.: "This is the largest digging machine (or trencher or rotating shovel) in the world. It was built by Krupp and is shown here crossing a road in Germany on the way to its destination, an open air coal mine. Although at the mine the treads are unnecessary, it was cheaper to make the machine self-propelled than to try and move it with conventional hauling equipment. Some factoids:
The machine is 95 meters high and 215 meters long (almost 2.5 football fields in length)
Weight is 45,500 tons (that's equivalent to a bumper to bumper line of jeeps 80 miles long)
It took 5 years to design and manufacture at a cost of $100 million
Maximum digging speed is 10 meters per minute
Can move more than 76,000 cubic meters of coal, rock, and earth per day"
The machine is 95 meters high and 215 meters long (almost 2.5 football fields in length)
Weight is 45,500 tons (that's equivalent to a bumper to bumper line of jeeps 80 miles long)
It took 5 years to design and manufacture at a cost of $100 million
Maximum digging speed is 10 meters per minute
Can move more than 76,000 cubic meters of coal, rock, and earth per day"
Konfabulator Is Free!
Yahoo! Widgets: "Bring life to your desktop with fun Konfabulator Widgets. These little guys hang out on your screen and give you quick, easy access to favorite content. You can even change their style to match yours."
Yahoo Buys Maker of 'Widget' Applications
Yahoo Buys Maker of 'Widget' Applications: "Hoping to pave a new path to its popular Web site, Yahoo Inc. has acquired Konfabulator, a tiny software maker that provides a computer platform for monitoring the weather, stock prices and a wealth of other customized information without opening a Web browser.
The deal, finalized late last week for an undisclosed price, gives Yahoo access to a toolbox of mini-applications -- known as widgets -- that have built a cult following since Palo Alto-based Konfabulator first introduced them for Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh in 2002."
The deal, finalized late last week for an undisclosed price, gives Yahoo access to a toolbox of mini-applications -- known as widgets -- that have built a cult following since Palo Alto-based Konfabulator first introduced them for Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh in 2002."
Fakers Beware: No More MS Updates For You!
Fakers beware: no more MS updates for you | The Register: "Microsoft is no longer providing updates to non-genuine versions of its Windows XP operating system. From today, the company has switched over to a full launch of its Windows Genuine Advantage Programme as part of its ongoing anti-piracy campaign.
Users will now have to join the WGA authentication program if they want to receive software updates from the Microsoft Download Centre or from Windows Update. However, MS says it will still provide security patches for pirated systems, which will be available via Automatic Updates in Windows."
Users will now have to join the WGA authentication program if they want to receive software updates from the Microsoft Download Centre or from Windows Update. However, MS says it will still provide security patches for pirated systems, which will be available via Automatic Updates in Windows."
Monday, July 25, 2005
Relaxed...
Note: Me showing off my 'gifted' cowboy hat! Thank you very much to the giver, I will wear it often!
Nope, Not The Sun...
Moon rise over Trinity Lake. We had a bright moon each night we were camping. Now just imagine frog croakes in the background and you are there!
Sunday, July 24, 2005
I'm Back!
Sad to realize that my week of vacation is over. It was fast and furious, with much fun and work to be had. We split up the week with the first half being camping and the second half working around the house.
Camping was good with all of the toys working correctly and lots of opportunity to us them. The only downside was that it got really HOT during the day. I'm talking over 100 degrees hot! I being one of those Northwest campers, would rather sit around a camp fire everyday and try to stay warm than have to wait until 8:00 pm for the temperature to drop below 90. Trinity Lake, California was a great place to be able to do everything... ATV riding, Swimming, Riding the Wave Runner, Beautiful scenery, and way, way, way far away from my cell phone provider!
Working around the house was productive as we dug into some of those projects that take the time. We finally got Deb's chairs for the dining room table and picked up a new area rug to go under them. We are much closer to having everything put away from the big move and even cleaned all of the gear up from camping. I even did some yard work and washed the cars.
Well tomorrow I am back to work. I'll post some photos of the last weeks activities in the next couple of days.
Camping was good with all of the toys working correctly and lots of opportunity to us them. The only downside was that it got really HOT during the day. I'm talking over 100 degrees hot! I being one of those Northwest campers, would rather sit around a camp fire everyday and try to stay warm than have to wait until 8:00 pm for the temperature to drop below 90. Trinity Lake, California was a great place to be able to do everything... ATV riding, Swimming, Riding the Wave Runner, Beautiful scenery, and way, way, way far away from my cell phone provider!
Working around the house was productive as we dug into some of those projects that take the time. We finally got Deb's chairs for the dining room table and picked up a new area rug to go under them. We are much closer to having everything put away from the big move and even cleaned all of the gear up from camping. I even did some yard work and washed the cars.
Well tomorrow I am back to work. I'll post some photos of the last weeks activities in the next couple of days.
That Is As Close As You Want To Get...
The edge of the deck is where it stopped. Note: Small tree has drug itself to the edge to get a better look and pay its respects.
Close Call...
Using my new photo stitcher, I bring you some wide shots of the tree that fell last night and just missed my sisters house by inches.
Tree Almost Hits The House!
My sister had a close call with a large tree! Just missed the house by inches!
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Friday, July 15, 2005
Going Camping!
Leave tomorrow morning for a week of camping. Been packing and loading both rigs for the past 6 hours. Cats are not happy about this! The last time we started taking stuff out of the house was when we moved. Mishra is really acting strange... she'll cheer up when we crawl into bed.
No updates for a week, we'll see how you guys do.
No updates for a week, we'll see how you guys do.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Abandoned Spaceships on the Moon
RedNova News - Space - Abandoned Spaceships on the Moon: "For the first time since the 1970s, a NASA spacecraft will get clear pictures of Apollo relics on the Moon.
Inside the lunar lander Challenger, a radio loudspeaker crackled. Houston: 'We've got you on television now. We have a good picture.'
Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 commander: 'Glad to see old Rover's still working.' 'Rover,' the moon buggy, sat outside with no one in the driver's seat, its side-mounted TV camera fixed on Challenger. Back in Houston and around the world, millions watched. The date was Dec. 19, 1972, and history was about to be made."
Inside the lunar lander Challenger, a radio loudspeaker crackled. Houston: 'We've got you on television now. We have a good picture.'
Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 commander: 'Glad to see old Rover's still working.' 'Rover,' the moon buggy, sat outside with no one in the driver's seat, its side-mounted TV camera fixed on Challenger. Back in Houston and around the world, millions watched. The date was Dec. 19, 1972, and history was about to be made."
Crater Lake Panoramic Shot!
This is actually a collection of 7 shots I took last year at Crater Lake. Using special software I was able to 'stitch' these together to make this panoramic final print.
Here Is Another One...
This is a 'stitch' of 4 individual shots. This time I left the top portion of the crop rough so you could see the original photo sizes and try to find the seams. Good Luck! These shots were taken in Hong Kong Harbor earlier this year.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Good Things About Working Graveyard...
1) No traffic!
2) The really interesting radio shows are saved for 2 am!
3) No waiting for a bathroom stall.
4) You learn that the whole 'Caffeine Is Great!' thing is just a bunch of crap!
5) You really are the best looking person for a 3 mile radius!
6) The cell phone does not ring from 8 pm to 8:00 am!
7) Everything is just flat funnier!
8) You learn that 24 hour deodorant protection... Really isn't.
9) Your dashboard has pretty lights at night.
10) I really need to get a tatoo... Everybody else has one!
2) The really interesting radio shows are saved for 2 am!
3) No waiting for a bathroom stall.
4) You learn that the whole 'Caffeine Is Great!' thing is just a bunch of crap!
5) You really are the best looking person for a 3 mile radius!
6) The cell phone does not ring from 8 pm to 8:00 am!
7) Everything is just flat funnier!
8) You learn that 24 hour deodorant protection... Really isn't.
9) Your dashboard has pretty lights at night.
10) I really need to get a tatoo... Everybody else has one!
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Car Thieves Beware!
Cars set up to be stolen... video the crooks... disable the engine... arrest the crooks! Pretty wild videos of some very scary people!
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Here I Sit...
Welcome to Saturday morning. It is hard to believe that it is July 9th and that it rained hard all night! Once again the weekend has been stolen by mother nature as she turns the yard into mud.
Oh well, I spent last night doing maintenance on the computer fleet, so finding that every unit needs major work. Deb Computer: Dead, needs new power supply. Rick Computer: Very sick, has a bad spyware infection that has corrupted the browser and causes the machine to crash on a regular basis. Vonage Phone: Sick, Some type of hardware conflict causes the phone to drop calls on a regular basis. The lesson to be learned here is, Be careful when you spend time putting out one fire (house), because others maybe flaring behind you (computers). I have a plan though, and might be able to correct all of these ailments before the weekend is out.
We are about a week away from the arrival of the dining room chairs. These had to be made in Canada, and it has been almost 8 weeks since we ordered them. Deb is very excited.
I have spent the last 2 weeks prepping all of the toys for a big one week camping trip that is now only a week away. Both ATV's have had tune-ups, and the Waverunner has new spark plugs. The Waverunner has been sitting on the battery charger for quite awhile now. I fear it might need a new battery... We will see.
Time to go and have the morning cup of coffee...
Oh well, I spent last night doing maintenance on the computer fleet, so finding that every unit needs major work. Deb Computer: Dead, needs new power supply. Rick Computer: Very sick, has a bad spyware infection that has corrupted the browser and causes the machine to crash on a regular basis. Vonage Phone: Sick, Some type of hardware conflict causes the phone to drop calls on a regular basis. The lesson to be learned here is, Be careful when you spend time putting out one fire (house), because others maybe flaring behind you (computers). I have a plan though, and might be able to correct all of these ailments before the weekend is out.
We are about a week away from the arrival of the dining room chairs. These had to be made in Canada, and it has been almost 8 weeks since we ordered them. Deb is very excited.
I have spent the last 2 weeks prepping all of the toys for a big one week camping trip that is now only a week away. Both ATV's have had tune-ups, and the Waverunner has new spark plugs. The Waverunner has been sitting on the battery charger for quite awhile now. I fear it might need a new battery... We will see.
Time to go and have the morning cup of coffee...
Thursday, July 07, 2005
ATV Gang...
We all got together and headed down behind the house to break in some trails. I'm sure the neighbors just love us!
A Rick Pic
A Rick Pic
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Ummmmmm....
Strange place where women fall from the sky and bounce off of bubbles? Hint: If your gal gets stuck, click and drag to get her started again!
This site is safe for all, but you might later question why you spent 5+ minutes at this site! It's okay though... everyone else will too.
This site is safe for all, but you might later question why you spent 5+ minutes at this site! It's okay though... everyone else will too.
Monday, July 04, 2005
Friday, July 01, 2005
Comet Impact Anyone?
The SpaceWriter's Ramblings: "KITT PEAK VISITOR CENTER TO PROVIDE LIVE IMAGES OF COMET IMPACT
How can you watch the planned first-of-its-kind collision between a comet and a spacecraft from Earth this weekend, even if your night skies do not allow a direct view?
The Visitor Center at Kitt Peak National Observatory plans to offer a live feed of the encounter between NASA's Deep Impact mission and Comet Tempel 1 starting this Sunday night (local time), running about an hour before the planned 10:52 p.m. PDT impact though about 45 minutes afterward. The feed will consist of still images of the distant comet, and a frequently updated movie assembled from the individual frames. Each frame will consist of a 30-second exposure taken with an electronic CCD imager attached to the 20-inch Ritchey-Chretien telescope in the Kitt Peak Visitor Center observatory.
How can you watch the planned first-of-its-kind collision between a comet and a spacecraft from Earth this weekend, even if your night skies do not allow a direct view?
The Visitor Center at Kitt Peak National Observatory plans to offer a live feed of the encounter between NASA's Deep Impact mission and Comet Tempel 1 starting this Sunday night (local time), running about an hour before the planned 10:52 p.m. PDT impact though about 45 minutes afterward. The feed will consist of still images of the distant comet, and a frequently updated movie assembled from the individual frames. Each frame will consist of a 30-second exposure taken with an electronic CCD imager attached to the 20-inch Ritchey-Chretien telescope in the Kitt Peak Visitor Center observatory.
How Ice Melts: Longstanding Mystery Solved
How Ice Melts: Longstanding Mystery Solved: "Until now, scientists could not explain why ice cubes in your drink melt. They've known the basics, but the details remained elusive.
A breakthrough new study, announced today, supports a leading theory that melting starts when the fundamental structure of matter begins to crack."
A breakthrough new study, announced today, supports a leading theory that melting starts when the fundamental structure of matter begins to crack."
Shooting Fireworks with a Digital Camera...
New York Institute of Photography - Tips for Better Photographs - July 4th Fireworks Photos: "I was recently asked to photograph a local fireworks display. No problem, I thought, I love fireworks and I've shot enough of them to feel absolutely confident that I could provide the client with some great photographs. There was one twist however; because there was a need for a quick turnaround on a holiday weekend, the client asked that I use a digital camera."
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