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It had been an uneventful, comfortable flight.
With the window shade drawn, I was relaxing in my leather seat aboard a $25 million corporate jet that was flying 37,000 feet above the vast Amazon rainforest. The 7 of us on board the 13-passenger jet were keeping to ourselves.
Without warning, I felt a terrific jolt and heard a loud bang, followed by an eerie silence, save for the hum of the engines.
And then the three words I will never forget. “We’ve been hit,” said Henry Yandle, a fellow passenger standing in the aisle near the cockpit of the Embraer Legacy 600 jet.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Fall Comes To Idaho
Snake River Canyon at Dedication Point.
Lucky Peak Reservoir Park.
A cool looking horse.
That's right, Fall without gray sky's!
Friday, September 29, 2006
Rock Paper Scissors? Who Knew?
With the 2006 World Rock Paper Scissors Championships coming up in November in Toronto and $10,000.00 on the line (not to mention bragging rights of being able to call yourself "World Champion of RPS"), trying to get some sort of edge on your competition is becoming a focal point for a lot of players.
Little bit of background. Contrary to what you might think RPS is not simply a game of luck or chance. While it is true that from a mathematical perspective the 'optimum' strategy is to play randomly, it still is not a winning strategy for two reasons. First, 'optimum' in this case means you should win, lose and draw an equal number of times (hardly a winning strategy over the long term). Second, Humans, try as they might, are terrible at trying to be random, in fact often humans in trying to approximate randomness become quite predictable. So knowing that there is always something motivating your opponent's actions, there are a couple of tricks and techniques that you can use to tip the balance in your favour.
Little bit of background. Contrary to what you might think RPS is not simply a game of luck or chance. While it is true that from a mathematical perspective the 'optimum' strategy is to play randomly, it still is not a winning strategy for two reasons. First, 'optimum' in this case means you should win, lose and draw an equal number of times (hardly a winning strategy over the long term). Second, Humans, try as they might, are terrible at trying to be random, in fact often humans in trying to approximate randomness become quite predictable. So knowing that there is always something motivating your opponent's actions, there are a couple of tricks and techniques that you can use to tip the balance in your favour.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Blogging In The Blackout!
Greetings from southern California. I am currently sitting in my pitch dark hotel room while crews replace a downed power line and possibly a transformer.
From what I have learned, this is the story so far. Power line snaps, falls across street, starts fire in field right in front of hotel, (I watched that part) an 8 x 8 block area then goes dark. The police block off the whole area not letting any cars in. Anyone out in the world eating dinner are now trapped on the outside of the line. I am stuck at the hotel with not a single source of light. The emergency hall and stair lights have exhausted their batteries and it is just flat black everywhere! The last estimate is that it will be at least 6 more hours until they get the lights back on. The hotel does not have any flashligts or alternate source of lighting for the guests. I don't care myself, but you know that there are people down at the front desk right now demanding their money back as I type this.
It is at this point you start to realize just how much we depend on electricity. A shudder runs through me as I try to imagine life after my cell phone goes dead! It being my only entertainment and source of light makes it pretty important right now. "Why the hell am I typing this to you guys???". "I need to save the battery for myself!"
Someone just tried their key in my door!
Well, I guess I will do the only thing left to do... Call 911 and tell them how uncomfortable I am sitting here in the dark!
Or... Go to sleep.
From what I have learned, this is the story so far. Power line snaps, falls across street, starts fire in field right in front of hotel, (I watched that part) an 8 x 8 block area then goes dark. The police block off the whole area not letting any cars in. Anyone out in the world eating dinner are now trapped on the outside of the line. I am stuck at the hotel with not a single source of light. The emergency hall and stair lights have exhausted their batteries and it is just flat black everywhere! The last estimate is that it will be at least 6 more hours until they get the lights back on. The hotel does not have any flashligts or alternate source of lighting for the guests. I don't care myself, but you know that there are people down at the front desk right now demanding their money back as I type this.
It is at this point you start to realize just how much we depend on electricity. A shudder runs through me as I try to imagine life after my cell phone goes dead! It being my only entertainment and source of light makes it pretty important right now. "Why the hell am I typing this to you guys???". "I need to save the battery for myself!"
Someone just tried their key in my door!
Well, I guess I will do the only thing left to do... Call 911 and tell them how uncomfortable I am sitting here in the dark!
Or... Go to sleep.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Alcohol 52% For Free!
Emulation software allowing users to play CDs DVDs without the need for the physical disc. Notebook users and PC Game players would benifit the most from Alcohol 52% Supports 25 plus languages Can handle up to 6 virtual CD DVD-ROM drives, all at once. The reading speed of a virtual CD-ROM is 200X. This means you can play a CD from the virtual CD-ROM with 200X reading speed. Supports normal CD DVD and CD RAW sub-channel reading methods: RAW reading method enables to emulate all CDs. CD formats supported: CD-DA, CD+G, CD-ROM, CD-XA, Video CD, Photo CD, Mixed Mode, Multi-session CD DVD for...
This is a must have!
This is a must have!
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Changes In The Yard
The path between the shop and the house is complete.
The back yard has berms, plants and we watch for the grass to start growing from seed. This is the right side of the back yard.
This is a berm on the left side of the back yard.
The water feature is complete. We are going to bring in some more plants for the bed around it, sometime before winter sets in.Latest On The Shop
Here's how it looks completed.
Yup, I'm filling it up quickly. This is looking through the right garage door.
Even more stuff through the left garage door.New Chairs For The Kitchen
They even swivel.
If you wish to belly up to the kitchen counter... go ahead. Why It Took So Long...
Here is a fine example of why things take just a little longer than you think they should. I will say that this was a lunch break and all, but still! We are now so close to being done with builders and landscapers! There will be a party I assure you.Saturday, September 16, 2006
A Whole Week In One Place!
I must say it has been nice staying in one place for the last week. It's an extra bonus that it has been at home!
The shop is complete with just a few minor touch up jobs left to do. I put up the wall racking, so Deb and I have begun to transfer all of the stuff from boxes and piles in the garage to shelves and cupboards in the shop. It will take some time to complete the move but it will be nice to finally park the cars in the garage. Here is what goes in the shop: ATV's, Waverunner, ATV trailer, utility trailer, Jeep Wrangler, and there is still room left.
The yard is done! Not sort of done, or kind of done, but really done. We watch the back yard closely as the drill seed grass is beginning to come up, and even mowed the front yard where the sod has taken hold. We intend to bring in some more plants and do some things here and there, but we will do that ourselves as landscaping can get expensive fast!
It is finally getting cool here in Idaho and no one is happier than we are. The house is sitting right at 65 degrees with no air conditioning or heat running for the last week. Of course it still has not rained a drop since we arrived in July, but you can't ask for everything! The air is finally starting to clear of smoke from all of the forest fires. We had some days that were so bad, they cancelled all out door activities for schools and public sports fields. I thought I was back in Hong Kong! It smelled like one giant camp fire outside.
I will shoot some photos of the completed shop and yard tomorrow.
The shop is complete with just a few minor touch up jobs left to do. I put up the wall racking, so Deb and I have begun to transfer all of the stuff from boxes and piles in the garage to shelves and cupboards in the shop. It will take some time to complete the move but it will be nice to finally park the cars in the garage. Here is what goes in the shop: ATV's, Waverunner, ATV trailer, utility trailer, Jeep Wrangler, and there is still room left.
The yard is done! Not sort of done, or kind of done, but really done. We watch the back yard closely as the drill seed grass is beginning to come up, and even mowed the front yard where the sod has taken hold. We intend to bring in some more plants and do some things here and there, but we will do that ourselves as landscaping can get expensive fast!
It is finally getting cool here in Idaho and no one is happier than we are. The house is sitting right at 65 degrees with no air conditioning or heat running for the last week. Of course it still has not rained a drop since we arrived in July, but you can't ask for everything! The air is finally starting to clear of smoke from all of the forest fires. We had some days that were so bad, they cancelled all out door activities for schools and public sports fields. I thought I was back in Hong Kong! It smelled like one giant camp fire outside.
I will shoot some photos of the completed shop and yard tomorrow.
The Panama Canal
Welcome To The Panama Canal!
You can't believe how big!
We pose for this photo just moments before a big rain squall arrives.
Top of a 12 story tall set of lock doors.
These trains do not pull the ships through the locks, they only guide it. The ships are under their own power the whole trip through.
Moving from one lock to the next.
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