I Survived Siagon Video

This is a great video of a TYPICAL intersection in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam! (Used to be called Siagon.) This is the way it really is! Now, get out there and cross the street!

Your Tax Dollars...

"After budgets cuts led to the layoff of engineers and scientists at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a US Senate committee has approved a $3 billion dollar subsidy to assist Americans in their difficult transition to digital television in 2009. The old analog television spectrum will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The transition date was chosen to not interfere with college football bowl games or basketball playoffs." From the article: "The draft of a House bill would end analog transmissions on Dec. 31, 2008. It does not mention a subsidy for set-top converter boxes. So, lawmakers will likely have to work out differences between the two bills, though Stevens said he did not anticipate a big fight with the House over the deadline or the subsidy."

Fire Marshall Deb

It seemed like a simple plan, take the trailer full of garbage to the dump. This we did, but after driving away from the dump, enduring ridicule for my trailer backing skills, and inhaling the stench of loaded diapers and stale beer, I decided there had to be an easier way to get rid of all of the yard debris we have.

Thus the first ever Rick & Deb brush burning party began! I drug out the hose, broke out the chain saw, and piled up some stuff to light on fire.

The easiest thing, light wood on fire.

It took me 45 minutes to get this damn thing going! We had stopped at the gas station on the way home from the dump, (when I had this great idea) to pick up some lighter fluid, but they were out. We tried newspaper, brazing torch, hell I even fired up the leaf blower to fan the flames! In the end, I think the fire finally felt pity for me, and just started up.

We managed to clean up all of the many piles of debris around the yard. Hail to the Brush Burning Fire!

Brush Burning Relaxation

This was taken around 5:30pm. We sat out here until 9:30 before we hosed the embers down so we could go to sleep. We got rid of at least two full truck loads of brush, wood, huge nasty piles of old carpet, and construction wood scraps! Much of this stuff was left over from the trailer house that was on the property before we showed up.

Hawaii Art

We picked out a signed, framed photo by G. Brad Lewis, a renowned Volcano photographer, while on our trip to Waikiki. It arrived an a large wooden box and we now have it on display in the bedroom. The red lava at the edges of the photo just flat glow under good light.

Note: The large golden 'G. Brad Lewis' has been placed on the photo shown above to prevent people from stealing his shots. The actual piece has a small handwritten signature in the lower right corner.

Japanese Polar Bear Scare

Japanese Polar Bear Scare

Do NOT dress up like a seal and expect to walk by a Polar Bear unnoticed.

The Game, Is Now Doom The Movie!

kgw.com News for Oregon and SW Washington Movies: "Doom ain't Shakespeare. But it's not bad.

Based on the video-game franchise of the same name from id Software, Doom the movie is a surprisingly non-kitschy action film."

The Business traveler!

Ouch, that has got to hurt!

Accidental Invention Points to End of Light Bulbs

Accidental Invention Points to End of Light Bulbs: "The main light source of the future will almost surely not be a bulb. It might be a table, a wall, or even a fork.

An accidental discovery announced this week has taken LED lighting to a new level, suggesting it could soon offer a cheaper, longer-lasting alternative to the traditional light bulb. The miniature breakthrough adds to a growing trend that is likely to eventually make Thomas Edison's bright invention obsolete."

Einstein Says...

Arizona Memorial

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To The Memory Of The Gallant Men Here Entombed And Their Shipmates Who Gave Their Lives In Action On December 7, 1941 On The U.S.S. Arizona.

American Flag

This is a photo of the Amercan Flag flying over the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. 

Jungle Mountains

 

Walk On The Beach...

 

Another Oahu Sunset...

 

Waikiki Super Panoramic!

How about the whole damn beach in one shot! This is a compilation of over 30 individual photos taken from the end of a concrete pier. The original full size image is destine for a high resolution canvas wall print. (This is a not so subtle hint to those who own those type of printers to let me know what I have to do to get this project started.)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Well today marks the one year anniversary of my Blog! That is right, one year and a day ago you had no idea what I was doing. Now you might start to wonder to yourself,

'Is it really that I want to know what he is doing, or is it kinda like a train
wreck, and I just can't help myself!'

Either way many have stopped by to see, and quite a few keep coming back for more.

So, here we go into the next year of Blogging! Wish me luck.

Why Do Men Have Nipples?

Just finished this one last night. Very quick read in a question and answer format about stuff you'd like to know, but just never had the courage to ask your doctor (or anyone else for that matter). What is snot? Why does sweat stink? If you ate a dead person would it make you sick? You know, questions that have haunted you since the day you learned that your finger would fit into your nose! I enjoyed it (no, not my finger in my nose), but the book was over in less than 2 hours of reading and some of the answers left me wanting more information instead of being satisfied. My rating is a B.

Vacation Book Review

'The Devil's Highway' is a true story of a boarder crossing in the desert gone bad. Half of the 30 people who started did not make it, and perished after being abandoned by their guide. This is a must read book in my opinion. What happens on our borders on a day to day basis will stun you. Amazing read and an A+ out of me.

Hawaii Vacation Book Review

A fantasy book in the vein of "Lord Of The Rings." Quite well done and book two in the three part series is out in hard cover as we speak. I give this one an A rating.

Leaving On A Jet Plane

I like the map on the windshield! "Um, I think we were supposed to turn left back there." "Well, that does me a lot of good now doesn't it!"

First Night Sunset!

We arrived in Oahu, picked up our rental car, checked into our condo, rushed out to the beach, (about 100 yards from our place) and still had time to catch the sunset!

ALOHA!

Loud floral print shirt and Muu Muu, Got it! Festive fruit juice based drinks with pineapple chunks and umbrellas, Yea we've got that! Super tan? Well 2 out of 3 is not bad.

The Beach Shot...

Makes you want to put on your suit and head out there doesn't it.

Hula Girls!

After begging and receiving several photos of ME, these ladies were nice enough to let me take their photographs. And if you believe that...

We Are Home!

It is good to be home! It might be raining, but it is good to be back in the North West. The cats are very happy to see us! I will post some Hawaii photos tomorrow.

Monday Night In Waikiki...

We drove around Honolulu on Sunday seeing many great sites and trying local food. Shrimp at a "Shrimp Shack", Pineapple, and Nuts. I even had a snack from the local 7-11 that consisted of a sliced piece of cooked SPAM bonded with a large wedge of sticky rice all held together with a strip of sea weed. Very tasty Indeed! Have taken many photos of amazing views.

Today we viewed the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Oil still bubbles up from the wreck after 55 years! Quite a somber experience but very worth seeing. Tomorrow we are heading over to the other side of the island for a big Luau. Will keep you posted...

P.S. I'm working on my tan.

Greetings From Waikiki...

Arrived with no problems, picked up our rental car, and checked into the Resort. Room is small and more than a little dated, but it is only 100 yards off of the beach and all we do is sleep there anyway. We spent today walking around the area and getting accustomed to being on vacation! Tomorrow is a very large (2000 participants) Iron Man competition here at Waikiki so we are not sure what we will be doing. Temperature is great, with a slight breeze, very tropical! We walk to the beach often during our wanderings and it is just a sight to behold! I can see why people want to live in Hawaii.

Deb has picked up a tropical sun dress and I a loud Hawaiian shirt, so we fit in just fine. I have taken many photos and already have created a Waikiki Beach Panoramic. The only internet is from the "Owners Lounge" a much fancier sounding place than it actually is, so no photo uploads until I get home. Well it is off to have fun...

The Morning After...

Same underwear, CHECK. Same socks, CHECK. Shave with a single edged disposable blade with shaving cream you squeeze out of a ketchup packet, CHECK. Soak your contact lenses in two Dixie cups over night, CHECK. No make-up, no curling iron, no hair products, CHECK. (The last two were for Deb, I swear!)

We have made it through the night and we're now heading down for breakfast. Soon we'll be back on track.

We Took The Cash!

Well, we aren't in Hawaii yet... We made it to LA though! We are staying in our free hotel, we will soon eat our free dinner, and tomorrow before we board our plane to fly first class to Hawaii we will have a free breakfast! So what happened you may ask...

We made it to LAX just fine, and arrived at the departure gate. As soon as we entered the waiting area we could hear the airline asking for volunteers to be bumped until 8pm tonight. We both looked at each other, wrinkled our noses and continued to wait. Time passes and the calls grow more urgent. We say "Hey, this is our vacation we're not going to waste a minute of it in Los Angeles!" Then an announcement comes over the loud speaker that makes us both look at each other again! Quick words are spoken and I take off for the ticket desk. Others are also starting to make their move toward the desk, but I am quicker! The passengers board, the plane leaves and we wait for the goodies.

Here's the deal: We leave tomorrow at 12:45pm. We get all of the above mentioned... Hotel, dinner, breakfast and first class upgrade for the flight to Hawaii. AND...

$800 dollars EACH, flight vouchers good for one year!

These vouchers are treated 'just like cash' and have no limitations on what type of flight you can use them on. So, we give up 20 hours of Hawaii, 8 of it we would be sleeping anyway and gain $1600.00 worth of free airline tickets.

We are off to have a meal. We'll keep you posted...

Off To Hawaii...

We are heading out to catch a plane. I will update the Blog with photos if possible. Aloha!

15x Smaller than JPEG With No Data Loss!

Business 2.0 :: Magazine Article :: What's Next :: Honey, I Shrunk the JPEG: "If downloading digital photos stalls your PC, spare a thought for the data networks in hospitals. A midsize hospital typically gets 60 requests every hour for MRIs and echocardiograms. At 10 megabytes apiece, the enormous images can quickly cripple a network. "

Upcoming DVD Release Dates Schedule & Cover Art

Upcoming DVD Release Dates Schedule and Cover Art

Hover over the cover art for detailed release information. Very handy!

The Chernobyl "Dead Zone"

GHOST TOWN - KiddofSpeed - Chernobyl Pictures - Kidofspeed - Elena: "In places where roads have not been travelled by trucks or army vehicles, they are in the same condition they were 20 years ago - except for an occasional blade of grass that discovered a crack to spring through. Time does not ruin roads, so they may stay this way until they can be opened to normal traffic again........ a few centuries from now. "

A motorcycle buff tours "Ghost Town." Very interesting read with many photos! Keep an eye out for Next Page as the article is almost 30 web pages long.

Watch NOVA Programs Online

NOVA Watch NOVA Programs Online PBS: "The following NOVA programs are available to watch online, divided conveniently into chapters and closed captioned for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers."

Send An Email To Your Future Self!

F u t u r e M e . o r g

When You Absolutely, Positively Have to Get Off the Phone...

When You Absolutely, Positively Have to Get Off the Phone SorryGottaGo.com - Helps End Unending Phone Conversations

Glad I I'm Missing Longwang!

Japan Meteological Agency | Tropical Cyclone Information

Does Oil Regenerate?

WorldNetDaily: Sustainable oil?: "About 80 miles off of the coast of Louisiana lies a mostly submerged mountain, the top of which is known as Eugene Island. The portion underwater is an eerie-looking, sloping tower jutting up from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico, with deep fissures and perpendicular faults which spontaneously spew natural gas. A significant reservoir of crude oil was discovered nearby in the late '60s, and by 1970, a platform named Eugene 330 was busily producing about 15,000 barrels a day of high-quality crude oil."