tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54362006556568215032024-03-14T04:44:06.186-07:00PotomacGeekHiking, Sci-Fi, History, and the ramblings of a IT Goon.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-45665618748066378322023-01-03T13:59:00.008-08:002023-01-03T14:00:58.157-08:00Honda Ridgeline: One year ownership report.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">One year ownership report.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Like
many others, the pandemic caused us to place more value on privacy and space
than we had had earlier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I
personally always wanted a single family home, one within walking distance of
train stop was out of our reach and the wife needed that in order to get to
work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After 8 months of social
distancing, WFH, and dealing with apartment complex kids having
screaming/rock-throwing contests at all hours, buying a single-family house
further out became more realistic(as long as we managed expectations).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>House acquired, one rare instance where the SO needed to
head to the office I would drive her to a metro stop in the mornings and pick
her up in the evening-sometimes we would just carpool back together if I was in
DC for grad school that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
situation wasn’t that bad, but we determined that we would like a second
vehicle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted a truck, SO vetoed a
half-ton, so when the Maverick was announced with the hybrid train and high gas
mileage, I ordered it in June of 2021 and awaited delivery.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And waited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
waited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never got a confirmation
email, but I did call Ford who verified the order was in the system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The date the order went in was about when I
would expect, the day after I went to Ted Britt Ford in Chantilly placed it.
Summer turned to fall and fall turned to early winter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not a whisper of a build date, all while I
saw build-date emails plastered all over the Maverick Truck subreddit, often
with my exact trim, package build, and color. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During this time my 2012 Fusion w/170k miles
on it became more and more cranky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
at a WV State Park in January 2022, the battery decided to die and standing in
the snow coming down a local saw me trying to jumpstart it with one of those
battery charger things and got us up and running.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>SO said they would be onboard with just
getting something off the lot at this point.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_aNS_0Z3pD6Qzma0DEqejSFQqLFTgRRJexbmOzzoOVfYKu-SCkCasWgKFXvj1JL-0LIXKY8MDwvGaSO3JLi1oJaA4lWMAPqTbvFN3hzBp_d3YnDU-KVGUcRN4Ns4ZgwaGdMscAZUnp81nNAdE5yXnmH6uTg_QrW5gLIacFx4o_kCgnwJIDctwYAGxA/s1972/Ridge1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1972" data-original-width="1306" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_aNS_0Z3pD6Qzma0DEqejSFQqLFTgRRJexbmOzzoOVfYKu-SCkCasWgKFXvj1JL-0LIXKY8MDwvGaSO3JLi1oJaA4lWMAPqTbvFN3hzBp_d3YnDU-KVGUcRN4Ns4ZgwaGdMscAZUnp81nNAdE5yXnmH6uTg_QrW5gLIacFx4o_kCgnwJIDctwYAGxA/s320/Ridge1.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">On to the Ridgeline</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">By
January 2022 the car market was well and truly overheated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Half-tons like F-150s were still off the
table, but Rangers and Ridgelines were the two I really wanted anyway. I didn’t
consider the Taco or Frontier, both of which are somewhat antiquated and more
like dedicated work trucks/off-roaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This was gonna be a home depot crawler and road tripper, in terms of
workload.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Anyway,
saw on autotrader a white 2019 Ridgeline, RTL-E trim, with about 17,000 miles
on it asking about $38k.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Website
helpfully informed me that this was a few percentage points below KBB. Went out
to the dealership, test drove, came back, asked how much it was, salesman just
rotated his monitor and pointed at the listing “this, plus doc fee and
tax”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doc fee was the same that Ted
Britt had quoted to me for the Maverick lo those many months ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carfax report was clean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In-and-out, 2hr adventure including
financing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The NART<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The 2019 Ridgeline is the first iteration
of the second generation Ridgeline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
contrast to the most recent refreshed Ridgeline, which had a external facelift
to make it look more aggressive in addition to a new transmission, it unabashedly
sticks to it’s Honda Pilot origins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An
extraordinary amount of components are shared between it and the Pilot, to the
point that the front end looks makes it look like the popular family SUV dead
on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sitting in my Father-in-laws Odyssey
a lot of components are shared there as well, with the obvious difference being
the Odyssey has the newer “push button” transmission vs the traditional
shifter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 3.5 liter, 280-hp engine is
shared across the Odyssey-Pilot/Passport-Ridgeline lines.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The heritage of the Ridgeline has caused it to get a
reputation of being Not A real Truck, or a NART.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unibody construction seems to be a key
characteristic of NARTs, as does not sufficiently aggressive-looking front
ends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have had coworkers tell me that
the Maverick is more truck than a Ridgeline even though both are unibody
because (1) Ford makes it (2) It looks more like one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Same coworker will say they don’t like the
current generation of Ranger because the front is “too rounded”, which I have
interpreted to mean not boxy/aggressive enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve seen criticism of the interior of the Ridgeline, calling it too close
to SUVs because of comfort accoutrements, but given we are now in the era of
$100k trim half tons, methinks they protest too much.<br /><br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalLP2lU9-6Y8LyojuULAFfPjY0QQY_vn2WuvF-uG2h03N6iS52Yk4ojBAkJgnZtj_Qzn0bsryZLajB9N3Vp354uVJVZl3CTl7kXssEKKfx52_IRepbqSuRowDXc9ntDR8XXsgR3VtyWLWLGO8yNa_qF5jCzcJ49_qaS9AIN6ewQUBMTKontYzpPqJIA/s4928/DSC_0531.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="4928" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalLP2lU9-6Y8LyojuULAFfPjY0QQY_vn2WuvF-uG2h03N6iS52Yk4ojBAkJgnZtj_Qzn0bsryZLajB9N3Vp354uVJVZl3CTl7kXssEKKfx52_IRepbqSuRowDXc9ntDR8XXsgR3VtyWLWLGO8yNa_qF5jCzcJ49_qaS9AIN6ewQUBMTKontYzpPqJIA/s320/DSC_0531.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98To-gPPv_nh-p8P63EkTpxYzU0TpTvrJ6MtdGwo1W66H7dJsp1D_xNSBExvRGlSBd6THzBlMS6tXa6wqEyDL46rjwNUaKBDLRM7Y4GQ7yqPIYD33bUq_k_geV-AFWPNw-WifH9Xk_DG_WdDy0MBkXpfqin2HmgfS6GadKfqlckumajpnAI4EANbn0Q/s4928/DSC_0533.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="4928" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98To-gPPv_nh-p8P63EkTpxYzU0TpTvrJ6MtdGwo1W66H7dJsp1D_xNSBExvRGlSBd6THzBlMS6tXa6wqEyDL46rjwNUaKBDLRM7Y4GQ7yqPIYD33bUq_k_geV-AFWPNw-WifH9Xk_DG_WdDy0MBkXpfqin2HmgfS6GadKfqlckumajpnAI4EANbn0Q/s320/DSC_0533.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Regarding trucking capabilities, the Ridgeline has AWD
system that sends most of the power to the front wheels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A composite bed comes standard, rather than a
metal bed with a spray-in liner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Payload
on the RTL-E trim is about 1450lbs, and towing with the 7-pin is around
5000lbs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Truck bed is about five and
a half feet long, tailgate up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other
words, this is not a work truck per se, but it will do nearly anything for most
people. The Gen 2 refresh has a “Honda Performance Development” package that,
as far as I can tell, mostly adds fender flares and a decal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An off-roader this is not.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The bed is shallow, and as a result it is easy to access
anything you put in the back. The in-bed trunk feature, and the trunk is big
enough that you can fit a small human in it, is probably the standout feature
of the Ridgeline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I had ordered the
Maverick I knew I would be putting a tonneau cover on it; I am now unsure if I
ever will for the Ridgeline given the incredible trunk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Friends/family
who knock the Ridgeline for being a NART sort of fall silent at seeing the
trunk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s also an electrical outlet
in the bed!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I haven’t used it though, so
I will not be commenting on it beyond its existence.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbru1JbMm4BhAJdJphFUurk5c6kH_8RqF5UOwNFdW3RViZjz_7E9xiMEWMobKJPrQJwq9Czf5GYhYSHaPSFUwd8tV_tZoXdP-_ab_gOzROkm7EwyuHzAiquSLnHeFQCH1pyLfEmxZO9ZN65XESui0-4WvmI5UOdm7v_QMfB_f02huaLYWj5NZMaP_b3w/s1725/Ridge2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1725" data-original-width="1143" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbru1JbMm4BhAJdJphFUurk5c6kH_8RqF5UOwNFdW3RViZjz_7E9xiMEWMobKJPrQJwq9Czf5GYhYSHaPSFUwd8tV_tZoXdP-_ab_gOzROkm7EwyuHzAiquSLnHeFQCH1pyLfEmxZO9ZN65XESui0-4WvmI5UOdm7v_QMfB_f02huaLYWj5NZMaP_b3w/s320/Ridge2.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8WTvnoPbvOfGc5De3Xrbuok7wkehD2NEM6o18kl0Q1126B3BSP2wysu4UImw2xkKL383jdk0u0jo9feHBjBI-kHZreYrYaDCpze_iP1xI_RqNDsl-M4PNjbdcfu-duf1Bq-L9r7mqvQtjzFZ6pQLW_FhQL3gsphLDhFUAeKk9_gZGsx-oDBXU-gfIw/s1725/Ridge3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1725" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8WTvnoPbvOfGc5De3Xrbuok7wkehD2NEM6o18kl0Q1126B3BSP2wysu4UImw2xkKL383jdk0u0jo9feHBjBI-kHZreYrYaDCpze_iP1xI_RqNDsl-M4PNjbdcfu-duf1Bq-L9r7mqvQtjzFZ6pQLW_FhQL3gsphLDhFUAeKk9_gZGsx-oDBXU-gfIw/s320/Ridge3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tailgate both drops traditionally and swings out.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJUnG_oigE7bsfbODGMUYaD8QS8XpGeqfvBavj9ZiUvAkZK8UK59M8r3MaNhmEKU_-jX6VuCN7mPdh9SQgEna1ux7mECkxtBR_Wdbipr_zV4OdLCse0S7mMvu3x7-hJuP84nAfkCQM9nO5c32rALh2WxocuofYiR7NwMmrc-NbDud6TSFPVgw6K7dczg/s1725/ridge4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1725" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJUnG_oigE7bsfbODGMUYaD8QS8XpGeqfvBavj9ZiUvAkZK8UK59M8r3MaNhmEKU_-jX6VuCN7mPdh9SQgEna1ux7mECkxtBR_Wdbipr_zV4OdLCse0S7mMvu3x7-hJuP84nAfkCQM9nO5c32rALh2WxocuofYiR7NwMmrc-NbDud6TSFPVgw6K7dczg/s320/ridge4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The trunk is fantastic and adds a lot of utility.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><p></p><br />
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The Road-tripper</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Ridgeline has excelled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve put about 6,000 miles on this since
January, the bulk of it being trips around West Virginia, to the Eastern Shore,
and to northern New England. My daily commute is about 20 miles total, and on
days I must go into DC I usually take the Fusion. The road-trip mileage is
around 27mpg, even in hilly places like New England and West Virginia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is 7 miles less than the lifetime
average of 34mpg in my Fusion, so not all that bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During my commute it floats at around 21mpg,
and when the weather is cold long trips are more around 23 mpg.<br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The ride is <i>smooth</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having driven a eCVT for the past 10 years I
had forgotten what a traditional transmission is like, so it is noticeable when
it shifts gears, but otherwise it tends to ride better than my elderly
Fusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The driver’s position is high
enough that you have excellent visibility, while not the ungodly front ends of
some trucks that are taller than me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While noticeably wider than my Fusion, and in fact despite being a
marketed as a quasi-compact truck it is wider than some midrange truckers like
the Tacoma, it’s easy to maneuver around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>An odd thing we noticed; the cabin is noticeably darker at night than
the Fusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may be due to the
nature of a truck cabin, the fact that the rear windows came tinted, or a
combination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keeps the cabin cooler in
the summer at least.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Over the winter break we stayed at a cabin in West
Virginia, and it handled like a dream in the icy conditions and -17F temps that
the car’s thermostat was telling us was going on outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Climate control was such that it didn’t seem
like it could possibly be that cold out. The main think that popped was how quickly the psi dropped for the tires, which are factory Firestones, but nothing could be done for that.<br /><br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLkg7gAoN9dEy-FIJ1ZBIdztXA_whUCOEWRtEoPgKepp6EMA1Avow5tucmHtBxL4Pve1OZkjeIJB4r_CQAvI0tvVk0t5eN9UwxO--EPWNqgLYPazPDZL8pLQiNMtiAyzaSckJXJrTsjSYHenQuBFa5LskohL-k3NewRvLTOl1alZFzIjNH8vX7RDjTag/s4928/DSC_0538.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4928" data-original-width="3264" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLkg7gAoN9dEy-FIJ1ZBIdztXA_whUCOEWRtEoPgKepp6EMA1Avow5tucmHtBxL4Pve1OZkjeIJB4r_CQAvI0tvVk0t5eN9UwxO--EPWNqgLYPazPDZL8pLQiNMtiAyzaSckJXJrTsjSYHenQuBFa5LskohL-k3NewRvLTOl1alZFzIjNH8vX7RDjTag/s320/DSC_0538.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAiYR0nZU8OmH0nq0w1XYTtWeCvEYnJnlj_7Nxyo6xGlW6U0tJLqBExXN2svDBowDnPXO1IrwTIHmT7DLMOLAQvQO9YcOhuUKqGp9gonPAthi4yWHdZj6aAgu21CylmL82_QpuKRWcElhoJW4WtWiR5Us32VZyHa-pOHpd25awA-QHu59gbawysTj7Q/s4928/DSC_0537.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="4928" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAiYR0nZU8OmH0nq0w1XYTtWeCvEYnJnlj_7Nxyo6xGlW6U0tJLqBExXN2svDBowDnPXO1IrwTIHmT7DLMOLAQvQO9YcOhuUKqGp9gonPAthi4yWHdZj6aAgu21CylmL82_QpuKRWcElhoJW4WtWiR5Us32VZyHa-pOHpd25awA-QHu59gbawysTj7Q/s320/DSC_0537.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0scPMSnKDc1wrMSeR-ilv-5Jah0XxfUen9eS5ExWYnaAvldXizmqmk9Tln2w0_9Ag2Vi2bDO4RshPlhSfP66fxwneb1Pi9XUBA9KRWMSA4xFhdWNdgBpx72u3OgK7zVQ2_MQ44pV2hK-5tnWuPJ3xMbdAASrc_MyD0-hhNBn8GYTeoRpyJ9Qar08WQ/s4928/DSC_0536.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="4928" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0scPMSnKDc1wrMSeR-ilv-5Jah0XxfUen9eS5ExWYnaAvldXizmqmk9Tln2w0_9Ag2Vi2bDO4RshPlhSfP66fxwneb1Pi9XUBA9KRWMSA4xFhdWNdgBpx72u3OgK7zVQ2_MQ44pV2hK-5tnWuPJ3xMbdAASrc_MyD0-hhNBn8GYTeoRpyJ9Qar08WQ/s320/DSC_0536.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Concluding thoughts</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We haven’t had any problems
with the Ridgeline so far, and “Truck-things” wise it has seen a lot of use as
a Home Depot/Nursery crawler, piled high bags of mulch/dirt being no
problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The interior accoutrements make
it a dream to be in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ultimately, a truck
this size with these capabilities is what I really wanted, even if I had
ordered a Maverick Hybrid, and I’m glad for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When my in-laws test drove the Maverick and said that it plain sucked
and felt cheap, of course it’s cheap it’s a cheap truck, they rated the
experience in my Ridgeline much higher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
a pity the Ridgeline isn’t more popular, and Honda’s solution is to make it
look more aggressive, but dems the breaks in truck culture. <o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-24332466564854563552020-04-09T13:03:00.002-07:002020-04-09T13:03:32.145-07:00Coronvirus update 4/9: Switch BoxingSo, it's been awhile since the last post and I thought I might as well do an update.<br /><br />By now most places of work in Virginia have voluntarily shutdown or done work from home where possible. Our household is fortunate to be in the work from home camp; we don't seem to be in the same immediate danger that so many other Americans are in. So, count our blessings I guess.<br /><br />One of our first world problems though is the closure of gyms. Not a huge problem, I essentially only go to our apartment complex's gym to use the heavy bag, but it's starting to wear.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, I ordered Fitness Boxing on the Nintendo Switch. </div>
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It is...okay. It's basically taebo, for those of us who remember Taebo. You use the two joycons to move your hands. You have free workouts and daily workouts. The daily workout is based upon your history, weight, etc.<br /><br />It'll make you sweat, which is better than just sitting and doing nothing. The problem is, just like with Wii Sports of yore, if you really wanted to you could sit and do nothing. The feedback seems to be based on how hard you can jerk the joycon. <br /><br />Certain aspects are immensely frustrating, I gave up on trying full body ducks/sways and now just jerk the joycons in that direction when it comes up on the feed. The process does not reward moving your whole body; you keep on missing it if you try said full body ducking.<br /><br />Is it worth it? Well, I basically measure video games the same way I measure movies. If I end up putting the same number of hours into a video game that I would have in going to the movie theater, it's a good deal, and I've hit it. Do I think I'll continue to do this daily once the gym opens up again?<br /><br />No, I don't. This has been useful for exercise other than rucking around the wilds of suburban Northern Virginia, but that's pretty much it. Glad I got it, well past the "hours spent" cost, but this seems like only a little above shovelware, especially given the price. This should have been part of a Wii Sports-like bundle.<br /><br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-48695539043918126212020-03-02T13:20:00.000-08:002020-03-02T13:20:18.164-08:00Sega Genesis Mini unboxing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had Nintendo consoles, and only Nintendo consoles, in the house growing up. But when I was in late grade school/early middle school I lived on base at Camp Lejeune, and down the street was a good friend who lived in a Sega household. Inbetween getting up super early to watch ExoSquad and wandering around the woods along the New River, a lot of time was spent playing Sega games.<br /><br />So, when the Genesis Mini dropped to about $50 a few months back, I thought, why not?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjNAOimzv7mlpka2Tp-1QSexOs7VSStvO0DrLpBn1YirTf03tu9F6-l-skjjFEc1ZRJ3UtaMZigFYLVR_MXWEPF7aCtORwBeWPf7HaWImM2KjbLXOx8vp7P8r_4nDDdYxDleOEL0Av3JFB/s1600/IMG_20200115_165022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjNAOimzv7mlpka2Tp-1QSexOs7VSStvO0DrLpBn1YirTf03tu9F6-l-skjjFEc1ZRJ3UtaMZigFYLVR_MXWEPF7aCtORwBeWPf7HaWImM2KjbLXOx8vp7P8r_4nDDdYxDleOEL0Av3JFB/s320/IMG_20200115_165022.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-dwed7pScyiz6Bbra_ZQGDhd2YgjCaLFC4Ome6fzqSU2suzXxvuvJILvgt9Tp24E6fI33MR0tWDXo0zfY_OZE9AAvNWEarFkNHI7Zwr19CAj54R0L9rHP8ytMxcrrjrOdKnOWVeRcqn8/s1600/IMG_20200115_165038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-dwed7pScyiz6Bbra_ZQGDhd2YgjCaLFC4Ome6fzqSU2suzXxvuvJILvgt9Tp24E6fI33MR0tWDXo0zfY_OZE9AAvNWEarFkNHI7Zwr19CAj54R0L9rHP8ytMxcrrjrOdKnOWVeRcqn8/s320/IMG_20200115_165038.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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The Mini is a gen-1 replica, and the box reflects that. There are 40 Genesis and Sega CD games on the console, plus two that weren't released in North America(<i>Darius</i> and <i>Tetris</i>). There are a few notable absences, such as Sonic&Knuckles and Mortal Kombat. My understanding of the situation is that the hangup is Michael Jackson-composed music on S&K.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvHSdNu6LBX4CAhvAgB0579Kku32hRsPr6-EArk0oRWKiUdwt_gs0J_kAwz1vWze03Tmn5CQ3lRNCX_ZG6RO3HQ-KIS0KU5vwCSFRFMIkoD80njRXg_yg54BoCok5kp_xg2XSgpMm8Sx4/s1600/IMG_20200115_165340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvHSdNu6LBX4CAhvAgB0579Kku32hRsPr6-EArk0oRWKiUdwt_gs0J_kAwz1vWze03Tmn5CQ3lRNCX_ZG6RO3HQ-KIS0KU5vwCSFRFMIkoD80njRXg_yg54BoCok5kp_xg2XSgpMm8Sx4/s320/IMG_20200115_165340.jpg" width="240" /></a><br /><br /><br />Like the Classic Nintendo consoles, the Mini is small. Sega had put out a Genesis replica a few years back that was full size, and the net effect was a feeling of cheapness with the extremely light for it's size device. Taking the Nintendo route of shrinking it to fit the smaller mainboard was smart.<br /><br />As you can see the included controllers are the three button models rather than the six button ones. In my opinion they feel well built, although my wife's opinion was that they felt cheap. They also fit better in my hands than the classic Nintendo controllers do, no doubt a reflection of Sega targeting an older demographic back in the day.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAE2EZ7zFhaEFJZJN4aRv5ykVM1HbsOFdYCZsme_ibiXA8_4edrXTJT-8c1mKdnBX41H6Aoj6VHRKpvb09WevknJElueB5bZU3xDniLHpEqkAqvQYVmm-nRlCvFbcfFaQl00cf22l_Dpx_/s1600/IMG_20200119_101910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAE2EZ7zFhaEFJZJN4aRv5ykVM1HbsOFdYCZsme_ibiXA8_4edrXTJT-8c1mKdnBX41H6Aoj6VHRKpvb09WevknJElueB5bZU3xDniLHpEqkAqvQYVmm-nRlCvFbcfFaQl00cf22l_Dpx_/s320/IMG_20200119_101910.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><br />The gameplay itself is fantastic. Sonic, Earthworm Jim, Castle of Illusion, etc. All hold up well,a testament to the quality of those first gen 16-bit games. One that didn't hold up well was Street Fighter II. I played this all the time on the SNES growing up, and the speed of the action compared to modern fighting games aged poorly. <br /><br />All in all, I think that this is a great little console, just like the Nintendo replicas. I think that if you are going to be playing games that take advantage of the 6 button function, like street fighter, you should consider getting one of the 6-button controllers from Retro-bit's line. <br /><br /><br /><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-37637931461902129132020-03-01T10:23:00.000-08:002020-03-01T10:23:13.430-08:00Coronavirus Commentary: Store situation March 1 2020Having hiked and camped a great deal in the past, there is a good amount of overlap in stuff I have and "prepping" material needed in an extended emergency. That said, despite the amount of batteries, hiking stoves, water purification etc. with the ongoing emergency I opt to hit Home Depot, REI, and the supermarket last week to add some cushion.<br />
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I headed to Home Depot on Thursday, picking one I knew to be relatively slow. I had a few goals in mind:<br />
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<li>5 gal buckets for storage</li>
<li>Contractor bags</li>
<li>Disposable gloves</li>
<li>sanitation wipes</li>
<li>safety googles</li>
<li>N95 masks(filed under "would be nice", I already had a box in the closet)</li>
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The store was about as empty as I expected it to be on a weekday afternoon, which is good because it's exactly the reason why I picked it; there were a couple 5 miles or so away that always seemed slammed. The mask/respirator aisle was essentially bare; folks had worked though it beforehand obviously. Everything else was easy to find, although it looked as if folks had been raiding goggles as well.<br />
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Out of curiosity I went over and it looked as if all the tyvek suits had been bought.<br />
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After Home Depot I swung by the vet to buy up some kibble for the animals, it was still well stocked. Then I headed to Safeway. The goals at Safeway were:<br />
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<li>Rice</li>
<li>beans</li>
<li>lentils</li>
<li>crackers</li>
<li>multivitamins</li>
<li>more toilet paper</li>
<li>(generic)sudafed</li>
<li>knorr packs </li>
<li>dehydrated mash potatoes</li>
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The last two are sort of an influence of planning for long distance section hiking; cheap easy to make calorie dense food. I was able to get everything <i>but</i> Sudafed there. I also got some kielbasa and stuck it in the back of the freezer. Interestingly, the rice and beans in the regular "white people" section has clearly been worked over, but not on the international foods aisle.<br />
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All of this was done on Thursday, and the places were fairly empty of customers. </div>
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At REI the list was shorter; </div>
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<li>Butane</li>
<li>water storage</li>
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We were able to get both. We also ended up getting a Harmony house backpacker's kit as well, think a mix of dehydrated veggies you can toss in Ramen or something to add to it. While the place was empty of customers at the time and fairly well stocked, the cashier reported that there had been a steady flow of folks buying in preparation of a pandemic. We then proceeded to the ABC store, which was about as busy as you would excpect on a Friday.</div>
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Today(Sunday) we went to Harris Teeter and, again, it was about what we expected for a mid-Sunday afternoon. The rice & beans had been really worked over, interestingly the bottom shelf of 5+lbs bags were the least touched. I went ahead and grabbed another bag and more mash potatoes, as well as some dehydrated beef & chicken bouillon and instant ramen.<br />
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The main take away is that, in the DC area, regular supermarkets do not seem to be seeing the traffic the news is reporting on the West Coast or at plkaces like CostCo. That isn't to say people aren't doing anything about it; we saw evidence that more dried goods were being grabbed than usual, but it may be we're in a spot where not as many people are yet panicking.<br />
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At home out our "quarantine pack" looks something like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGPu80uqf1sDmfjlk8w1YlXVYNgORFadeumkk90UnVrNIkWPpkM1W9GfTc9E_WV7HgydGDAhpFpDihBc22o1kwVBXc-NtZ4jzIWVv2SI6uXKY-Vgzmj0uGXXuvwPk9s5UPpbTVkwgGQu4V/s1600/IMG_20200301_124608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGPu80uqf1sDmfjlk8w1YlXVYNgORFadeumkk90UnVrNIkWPpkM1W9GfTc9E_WV7HgydGDAhpFpDihBc22o1kwVBXc-NtZ4jzIWVv2SI6uXKY-Vgzmj0uGXXuvwPk9s5UPpbTVkwgGQu4V/s320/IMG_20200301_124608.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Not very Doomsday Prepperish, but just fine if there is a two week quarantine.<br />
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A lot of people are finding even this to be crazy talk, which I find odd. If you can afford it, a few hundred bucks now is better than dealing with it later. Don't forget your animal friends in your prepping.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-75297898823535929922020-01-13T13:57:00.000-08:002020-01-13T13:57:04.039-08:00Refurbished Treasures: NES and SNES classic unboxings.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I missed it when the NES and SNES Classics, small ROM-boxes produced by Nintendo of their Famicom-platformed consoles, hit the market a few years back. With a limited run, the systems are difficult to find new-in-box, and for most you have to scour eBay or similar websites.<br /><br />Well as it turns out Nintendo of America sells refurbs on their website. I have heard excellent things about their refurbished products, and going into some sort of nostalgia stage I decided to go ahead and order them. I chose the cheapest shipping option and the arrived from Redmond after about 2 weeks.<br /><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The box came with anti-tamper tape</td></tr>
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<br />The shipping box came with anti-tamper tape, and had two smaller boxes inside-one for each system. They were well backed with individual wrapping for all the components. You'll note that the boxes themselves are just cardboard with stickers on them; you won't find retail packaging with these.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: start;">The first thing I noticed after opening the packages is that the consoles themselves are </span><i style="text-align: start;">small</i><span style="text-align: start;">. I had known that they were going to be mini-sized, but the included controllers are about the width of the </span><span style="text-align: start;">consoles. My tiny, gnome-like hands hold them just fine.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">The NES only comes with one controller. This is perhaps not as unreasonable as it sounds; the majority of NES games, when they were two player, tended to be sequentially rather than concurrently. In addition I was surprised to see that the port was </span><i style="text-align: start;">not</i><span style="text-align: start;"> the original controller ports. For some reason I had thought that they were going to be, even at the point where I was scouring the Internet for a NES Advantage. The cables are stupid short, something that I hadn't noticed back when I was in middle school and this was in a TV in my bedroom. Picking up controller for the first time in going on 30 years was shocking; the controller was tiny compared to modern consoles which seem to have older gamer sensibilities in mind.</span></div>
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<br /><br />The SNES uses the same ports as the NES, although those are hidden behind actual faux-SNES controller ports. I'll be sure to see if I can use a SNES controller on the NES. Again, the cables are short but the controller feels a lot better. Could be because I played it in high school more, and muscle memory is more forgiving. As with the NES controller, the build quality was high. These replicate an early SNES controller without the engraved top.<br /><br />Looking over the consoles and controllers, the quality is astonishing. It seems as if the Internet Stories about the quality of Nintendo refurbed products are true, if I didn't know they came returned I wouldn't have known they were pre-owned. I searched for blemishes and scratches and couldn't find any, and the build quality was very high. I'm a little reminded of Internet Stories were someone orders a blemished firearm from someone like Palmetto and they can't find any visible blemishes.<br /><br />So far I have to give a big thumbs up to Nintendo of America for their work at their refurbishment center. I realize it could be that these were returned un-opened, but I gotta wonder if NOA wouldn't have sold them as new if it were the case.<br /><br /><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-51603128544375862182019-12-30T14:25:00.000-08:002019-12-30T14:25:14.223-08:00Your stealth campsite likely isn't.I was listening to the <i>Astonishing Legends</i> podcast, episode 155, which covered an alleged alien abduction at Devil's Den State Park in Arkansas in the 70s. The details aren't important, I'm not here to judge on the veracity of this, I haven't even read the book of the account. I'm one of those "wish things were real but accept they probably ain't" kind of guys.<br /><br />No, my problem was that the story-giver, Terry Lovelace, gave some...questionable statements in the course of the Interview. Not related to extra-terrestrials, per se, but the more mundane parts of the narrative.<br /><br />The story is that he and a buddy stationed at Whiteman AFB abruptly decided to go camping one week. No problem there, I've done it, and I think it strikes people more often than you think. Rather than heading to a nearby location,. they decide to drive down to Devil's Den State Park in Arkansas. Terry implies that there's a odd drive on the part of his friend to go there, as if there was an external force at work. I don't know about that; I have certainly felt a need to visit a location out of the blue before and I don't think that external forces were at work.<br /><br />Terry and "Tobey" head on down, decide to stealth camp instead of getting a permit at a campsite, have an experience and leave. By the time they get back to Whiteman, when they check into the hospital the base command had already been informed about missing airmen because they left all their crap at the site.<br /><br />This is where it gets questionable to me. Mr. Lovelace expresses doubt that park rangers could have found their stuff so quickly, as he thinks the fire would have been out before dawn. This is part of an implication he has of a government cover-up in the narrative. This doubt is very problematic. It shows a breathtaking lack of understanding how easy it is for locals familiar with an area to immediately pick up a change. <i>Especially</i> as Mr. Lovelace and his friend were able to park the truck close by. In other words, it's likely a known so-called stealth campsite for people who think they are being clever. To my mind, it is <i>very</i> believable that employees, or even someone going on a hike themselves and coming across the site, found it quickly. Mr. Lovelace admits a lack of outdoors experience, but that the podcasters accepted this at face value represents a problem with the Fortean Phenomena Crowd: Complete credulity. <br /><br />This doesn't seem like much, but colors much of the rest of the interview. Now that he established that there couldn't have been "casual" discovery of the site, it makes the OSI interviews more menacing. After all, he and his bud showed up with burns and dehydrated and left a bunch of crap in a state park traced back the USAF. Of course OSI is interested. He describes a <i style="font-weight: bold;">50-something</i> Major, which is a shocking age for that rank for someone on active duty(unless they were a mustang) as bullying him and making sure he was unaware of his rights.<br /><br />Again, the implication is that there is a cover-up of some kind. To me it's something else; it's a OSI major who has done little with his career and is a pompous ass who is overstretching. Officers are assholes, news at 11.<br /><br />To be clear, I am not rendering judgement on the experience. I've had enough "crazy crap happening in the woods" to not want to slight him. Buuuutttt...not being cognizant of how camping works and general, basic outdoorsman stuff is often what brings these experiences into doubt.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-32553155424104099732011-07-15T14:01:00.001-07:002011-07-15T14:01:46.979-07:00"Moo-cows!"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">Driving back from Shenandoah this afternoon(Daisy was laying down in the passenger seat asleep) two cute grits in a Ranger drove up next to me at a stoplight. They caught me checking them out so I said "Daisy! Moo-cows!". Dog jerked up and started out the window, grits make "awwww" face. I may need to keep my sisters dog on permanent retainer.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-45626269084819307272011-05-14T00:06:00.000-07:002011-05-14T00:23:41.400-07:00Where am I, San Francisco?<div style="text-align: left;">So I decided to run down to Shenandoah yesterday to Hazel Falls. This would actually have been the first "real" mountain hike I've done since the start of the year. Bull Run is hilly, and last time I went to Shenandoah we did mostly ridge walking. This was going down to the bottom of the mountains and going back up. While it was overcast in the DC area, by the time we got to Shenandoah there was a thick soup you couldn't see 20 ft ahead of you. I seriously considered turning around and going home, but since I had already driven out there I decided to go forward.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzK8xwH6EczAJlhxAP5uvwYzzQsVC9C8uSdeJ7Sj4zklKMTzSGq4u1vp4RxIUZsyxhyl9LXLoD2wGyNMCsSzQ205wkwo5tpaIPh5g2y8k7MSyOwwlu4GYdbWs8vJTbyHXO8Aa1HoTECfYl/s1600/DSC_1047.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzK8xwH6EczAJlhxAP5uvwYzzQsVC9C8uSdeJ7Sj4zklKMTzSGq4u1vp4RxIUZsyxhyl9LXLoD2wGyNMCsSzQ205wkwo5tpaIPh5g2y8k7MSyOwwlu4GYdbWs8vJTbyHXO8Aa1HoTECfYl/s320/DSC_1047.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606466981298723170" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>So the two of us hiked on down, and it was super foggy. The soup was terrible. As I was walking I saw something big and black laying about halfway on the trail ahead of my, and I couldn't tell if it was a log or what. I considered the possibility that it was wildlife, when Daisy started whining and parking. The objected got up and shuffled off. It was a bear! Didn't even have time to get my camera out to take a picture. Plenty of others were taken, and the whole forest was quiet and eerie.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuU3Vm_QU2MffUbZ3AHlpFsVwZVmk0_zQkHVEwoJKF3J6XjsjPaQsCwPAj4yA0RXnBtbaBzqm2gEFo5yXkfZP_icHGUItYKUX9IothqAXxpjc7B_RX_-3OOQnUIKzVsrSCFsgn_ex-5f26/s1600/DSC_1058.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuU3Vm_QU2MffUbZ3AHlpFsVwZVmk0_zQkHVEwoJKF3J6XjsjPaQsCwPAj4yA0RXnBtbaBzqm2gEFo5yXkfZP_icHGUItYKUX9IothqAXxpjc7B_RX_-3OOQnUIKzVsrSCFsgn_ex-5f26/s320/DSC_1058.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606467795369820130" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Probably a half a mile out we could hear the falls. It sounded like Niagara! When I last came here in September they were just a trickle. Today they were a gushing torrent.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZAxGFrOH7ToNtfYsnXvWT0YFIGxOqAIBJVPmehO_-vKG8I4Er2YS25trRBN9uMnVuZwVF5RT-mYB_STs_kbdZbYdsJUnhqswX_k8c1cMpubNA4A5kmHhfmVR-tWIIW-QFt4JF5d7cLpxr/s1600/DSC_1074.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZAxGFrOH7ToNtfYsnXvWT0YFIGxOqAIBJVPmehO_-vKG8I4Er2YS25trRBN9uMnVuZwVF5RT-mYB_STs_kbdZbYdsJUnhqswX_k8c1cMpubNA4A5kmHhfmVR-tWIIW-QFt4JF5d7cLpxr/s320/DSC_1074.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606468493928250178" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>We turned and headed back up. It was much tougher going, and my lack of exercise was really showing. Both me and the dog were pooped out. She pretty much knocked herself out in the backseat on the way back, which is different from her usual "stare outside hoping disperately to see farm animals" SOP.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-51439585196459017022011-05-08T18:00:00.000-07:002011-05-08T18:10:11.311-07:00A new thing to scare myself with.So, in the search for newer tablet geared apps for my Xoom, I downloaded an App from the Android Market that tells you whenever there is a major(over 4.0 or so) Earthquake in the world. Turns out that the world is very earthquake prone, fortunately I don't live on a fault line. Unfortunately, of the two earthquakes I've felt, one was here in DC.<div><br /></div><div>So, while I <i>probably</i> don't have to worry about a major earthquake killing everyone in the DC area, I do have other things to worry about. More than once a Hurricane or Tropical Storm has veer north. Snowpocalypses. And the ever popular terrorism. Not just regular terrorism, mind you, but considering it's DC we're probably on the short list if someone gets ahold of a nuclear weapon. I've actually pondered it and determined that I would probably be okay if a nuclear bomb went off in the District or at the Pentagon, as my apartment is sufficiently far away and some nutjob is unlikely to get ahold of a truly large nuclear bomb. If I can get the direction of the wind in, say, 30 minutes of the bomb going off I figure I can be out of the area before the rush occurs.</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of apocalyptic problems, I swapped out my cats open top catbox with a closed one. One of the cats is very put out at this, and I've seen her walk up to the enclosed box a few times, come to a complete stop as if she just realized it was there, and very carefully ease her way in. I don't think she likes it, but at least she isn't showing her displeasure by peeing and pooping hither and yon. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-66829451638888149162011-05-02T12:24:00.000-07:002011-05-02T12:44:38.182-07:00The Glorious 1st of May<div style="text-align: left;">Driving into work last night the radio abruptly informed me that the President was going to make a special address, which was pushed back a few times. By the time the address was officially made the wire services and news agencies were already reporting that Osama bin Laden was dead(although the details varied wildly). Soon Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House turned into a fair facsimile of Brandenburg Gate in Berlin during the fall of The Wall.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH2eFoZqPbJVjB_bqMmrbkXSJX4BH031z2ADCCmIDHswCK0oas5_G_HB_p0ANxfAlznOCFkTq8wC3or7WvZbXx0-_FF9G8C2KLcoNfytgy7VRDXtEHBfBhvgKPhMVfWxbI5LS59OTwaa-p/s1600/bin-laden-celebration-white-house-0502..jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH2eFoZqPbJVjB_bqMmrbkXSJX4BH031z2ADCCmIDHswCK0oas5_G_HB_p0ANxfAlznOCFkTq8wC3or7WvZbXx0-_FF9G8C2KLcoNfytgy7VRDXtEHBfBhvgKPhMVfWxbI5LS59OTwaa-p/s320/bin-laden-celebration-white-house-0502..jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602203416392461970" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 216px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Now, time for me to start pooping on the Parade. </div><div><br /></div><div>(1)Anyone who says Obama didn't take a great politic risk himself in signing off on this Op is smoking crack. Sending a special forces team into Pakistan, right near where one of our CIA agents got held after fighting off two Pakistani ISI agents? This had the potential to be a huge clusterfuck, and still he signed the order. So mad props to him.</div><div><br /></div><div>(2)What is different today from yesterday? Well, OBL is dead, but OBL is largely symbolic at this point. Vengeance has been meted out, which is making a lot of people(including myself) feel good about it, but in function AQ of today looks a lot like AQ of yesterday. And you can be sure AQ is going to try something to get revenge while we're doing our Victory Lap.</div><div><br /></div><div>(3)There is no way, from a Public perspective, that the Pakistanis can still pretend that they are on our side. That the US Government decided to hold the operation so close to our chest and not even inform our "ally" of it until after the shooting was done doesn't bode well. At all. Thanks for nothing Pakistan.</div><div><br /></div><div>(4)The rapid burial at sea of OBL and lack of photos released is already making the conspiracy theorists froth that OBL wasn't killed. Seeing as Osama was shot in the fucking head, I suspect he may not have been recognizable and any photos the US may have are not really fit for human consumption. Oh well. There are photos of Elvis on the slab in the Morgue and people think he's still alive.</div><div><br /></div><div>A friend of mine said it best on Facebook:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ></span></span></div><blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >The Sheikh is dead. Ten years, as dogged as the pursuit of Hannibal after the fall of Carthage. And just as certain.</span></span></div><div><blockquote></blockquote></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Ave Imperator.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-54231582891496386592011-04-12T04:47:00.000-07:002011-04-12T04:58:25.842-07:00Eye-poppin' mad<blockquote></blockquote>So when I came into work last night I sat down, and logged into my mail on the network we support to check server messages. Curiously, we hadn't received any messages for around 5 hrs. I turn to the off-going server person and ask:<div><br /></div><div><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>Hey, what's with the mail?</blockquote><br /><br /><div>She responds:</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>I didn't notice, I'm not on the message distro list.</blockquote><blockquote><br /></blockquote>She has only recently been read onto the program, so this is plausible and I take her at her word. I log into the mail server in question and see that some of the processes that are suppose to be cycled every shift have not, which causes side effects like server messages not being sent. I mention them to her. She responds:<br /><br /></div><div><blockquote></blockquote> <blockquote>Oh, I thought G(other evening server person) did that.</blockquote><blockquote><br /></blockquote>(Coincidentally, when I signed in that evening I noted that G had seemingly acquired a time machine and had signed out 20 minutes <i>after</i> I arrived. He wasn't there when I signed in).</div><div><br /></div><div>So I clear the processes and all is well. She leaves around 0100. When the morning server guy walks in I mention that she isn't on the Distro list for the server messages, he says:</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>Did you check her mailbox?</blockquote> He proceeds to check her mailbox size, and lo and behold there are north of 1000 messages in it. She is on the list. Morning Guy decides to check all the management stations in the NOC, and lo and behold she hasn't logged into any of them since Thursday. I was pretty angry, so was Morning Guy. Morning Guy is going to speak to management when they come in.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tonight should be interesting.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-17764735743475774692011-04-07T05:05:00.000-07:002011-04-07T10:36:27.775-07:00So I came home from work this morning...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifjmWxQD28xlTda9nzTtwVCwAKoc9bc9BvxdMBsu3VMmd-_5nhMuEGt7XMPzHVR0IFHqK7MmvR9dIvcFmJWINg8Yrw6L7-JnPqB0LP74YC11g-UdyLjRaAASRx2Ds8g8O61POPkHMbdT0/s1600/oreo+2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheP-IzJWCW2lytsS_F71yPwraW9OVuLZ07Xdu5UfNLr1SMIuRARJOceg6jiQHw3kljzUr0mUM0jpdqqt0Knw0mxE9SfY3KbWeqLoitokUn0unAXysisP2PrxvvVuiJcLN9YIHvYigZQtMQ/s1600/oreo1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><a href="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/217145_10150144242656822_593091821_6857756_4074206_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; ">...Just a quick stop off, as I'm heading out to get my car inspected, and I see a doggie wandering around the front of my building. I think I've seen it walked by one of the locals before. I ask a few people who are *going* to work if they know whose doggie it is, but most of my neighbors are Korean and don't seem to talk to me for some reason. Anywho, I use the magic word("Treat!") he comes trotting over, and I inspect the collar. The address isn't local. I call the phone number, which is out of service. Sighing, I take the doggie up and barricade him in the kitchen while I call the property office in a vain hope that it'll be open. To my surprise it is, but it's really the call center for the company, and when I say "maybe you could call the property manager and tell her what's going on, she'll know who this belongs to." </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; ">"I'm sorry, it will be against protocol if I call her on her private cell unless there is a building emergency."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; "> "Listen, she loves animals. She won't mind." </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; "> "I'm sorry, you're going to have to wait until the office opens." <img src="http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif" alt=":roll:" title="Rolling Eyes" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; " /> So now the doggie is hanging out in my kitchen. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; ">His name is Oreo, by the way.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheP-IzJWCW2lytsS_F71yPwraW9OVuLZ07Xdu5UfNLr1SMIuRARJOceg6jiQHw3kljzUr0mUM0jpdqqt0Knw0mxE9SfY3KbWeqLoitokUn0unAXysisP2PrxvvVuiJcLN9YIHvYigZQtMQ/s1600/oreo1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheP-IzJWCW2lytsS_F71yPwraW9OVuLZ07Xdu5UfNLr1SMIuRARJOceg6jiQHw3kljzUr0mUM0jpdqqt0Knw0mxE9SfY3KbWeqLoitokUn0unAXysisP2PrxvvVuiJcLN9YIHvYigZQtMQ/s320/oreo1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592812776691456850" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px; " /></a><br /></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px;"><br /></span></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifjmWxQD28xlTda9nzTtwVCwAKoc9bc9BvxdMBsu3VMmd-_5nhMuEGt7XMPzHVR0IFHqK7MmvR9dIvcFmJWINg8Yrw6L7-JnPqB0LP74YC11g-UdyLjRaAASRx2Ds8g8O61POPkHMbdT0/s1600/oreo+2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifjmWxQD28xlTda9nzTtwVCwAKoc9bc9BvxdMBsu3VMmd-_5nhMuEGt7XMPzHVR0IFHqK7MmvR9dIvcFmJWINg8Yrw6L7-JnPqB0LP74YC11g-UdyLjRaAASRx2Ds8g8O61POPkHMbdT0/s320/oreo+2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592812782265564690" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheP-IzJWCW2lytsS_F71yPwraW9OVuLZ07Xdu5UfNLr1SMIuRARJOceg6jiQHw3kljzUr0mUM0jpdqqt0Knw0mxE9SfY3KbWeqLoitokUn0unAXysisP2PrxvvVuiJcLN9YIHvYigZQtMQ/s1600/oreo1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheP-IzJWCW2lytsS_F71yPwraW9OVuLZ07Xdu5UfNLr1SMIuRARJOceg6jiQHw3kljzUr0mUM0jpdqqt0Knw0mxE9SfY3KbWeqLoitokUn0unAXysisP2PrxvvVuiJcLN9YIHvYigZQtMQ/s1600/oreo1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; ">I'm going to miss my appointment.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-77012090374139642832011-04-05T13:56:00.000-07:002011-04-05T14:02:35.460-07:00Xoom Xoom<div style="text-align: left;">Got me a handy-dandy Motorola Xoom today. I got the Wi-fi version for couch surfing. So far I am *really* impressed with the build quality of it, and have been loading my music and apps onto it. People say it's heavy, but I haven't really noticed it being that heavy. The music from the speaker sounds good to me, although maybe I don't know what tablets are suppose to sounds like.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrclu3Ti0Mfuyjs-mLeQpnC8NCDqGC1oNj6UQnQgHIXR6_OjyQmBwNmpdl1gL2R6pqBW_OGMTtntLSXxnP48vIRnK3UDUVWPrS637dnykbizlfJxMlMvUfX3h4ersc4dIJSGjupQlzErLB/s1600/DSCN0272.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrclu3Ti0Mfuyjs-mLeQpnC8NCDqGC1oNj6UQnQgHIXR6_OjyQmBwNmpdl1gL2R6pqBW_OGMTtntLSXxnP48vIRnK3UDUVWPrS637dnykbizlfJxMlMvUfX3h4ersc4dIJSGjupQlzErLB/s320/DSCN0272.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592207088863424050" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPVx54WCxejOhUCxhuVVhIbv0qr8gDOfjVuq6b-m2wUa3aAaJvy8cx1njAuvJXX2EKvliDyL-ypKDZWkyrIYMvo8kg7UOajoMqq3tnygVzxmeEFyNXve4GoAWB_Bw3q_L_rZI2moII_Dk/s1600/DSCN0276.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPVx54WCxejOhUCxhuVVhIbv0qr8gDOfjVuq6b-m2wUa3aAaJvy8cx1njAuvJXX2EKvliDyL-ypKDZWkyrIYMvo8kg7UOajoMqq3tnygVzxmeEFyNXve4GoAWB_Bw3q_L_rZI2moII_Dk/s320/DSCN0276.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592207089818060530" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Di9W3xnWpBRETRmypgg-GK7WmPvfGkYBZrPpVDjjX2cFI6LaWSXJm7_OR0lWQbSttgnCmVQhlYes2w9P2rrJCem16y9YemzvcwlLwrgeFCtFZ_rpi_SjdbExFQM7Qso80OU26W8UGYRq/s320/DSCN0279.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592207096751845698" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGFOwSsn_T4UNAULW7vXjo9MfCBUZEBvnWy6_D_pbFvXZyLi3gpBEJw5KtBUONzjKrf6N59khyphenhyphenWzZ5JWaF7F3XxNJYx6voxDs37Oa5lWfXh2tpHR0VYY2limAGvDV2gTHs6R-iyuLn_r0/s320/DSCN0282.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592207099794098226" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">(I'm pretty sure these airline passengers are fucked)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-8231671668223785002011-03-19T14:23:00.000-07:002011-03-19T14:43:09.038-07:00Continuous Stream of Consciousness<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWPOBer4tPR-XiFNG4ScI7kkRKU1aDCsvph45yOqk1tLBmg6aRCC11Kt0o36xtuTcLwDuHLBdRTXf6aJ25A4D1kHpxOpfU9m134mC2xj_1mX0TMRGWzWG72Ne7Nq3acsuZEtGVDfcmBPu/s1600/DSCN0269.JPG"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b>Karma</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >So yesterday when I was picking up my stories(shut up, even Ben Afflack reads comics) I noticed a car a few aisles away with the hood popped and cables leading out from the battery. I sat there for awhile wondering what I should do, as I couldn't see anyone, when an elderly man stepped out from the car(the hood was blocking him). He started walking towards some college-age kid with a 24 pack of beer under each arm heading towards his car. The kid seemed to notice the elderly guy, kinda leaned forward so he couldn't make eye-contact, and sped up so he could load his beer and drive off. I was pretty astounded. I drove over and gave the gentleman with car problems a jumpstart, which took under a minute.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >I don't believe that the Divine Progenitor intervenes in human events, but I do believe in karma in that if you act like an asshole to strangers enough, people will pick up on it and it will turn around and bite you in the ass in the future. Happy drinking.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b>The Gateway to Hell</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >I've been calling laundromats "entrances to Hellmouths" for quite a while, and I've felt pretty pleased in coming up with that. Meanwhile, I'm working through the late '90s "Conspiracy" TV Shows, such as <i>The X-files</i> and <i>Millennium</i> . Much to my chagrin in one of the episodes of the second season of <i>Millennium</i> a devil(not THE Devil) refers to laundromats as "the gateways to Hell". I probably saw that episode at some point and have been using it subconsciously.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b>Caturday</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Now with extra Puggle</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWPOBer4tPR-XiFNG4ScI7kkRKU1aDCsvph45yOqk1tLBmg6aRCC11Kt0o36xtuTcLwDuHLBdRTXf6aJ25A4D1kHpxOpfU9m134mC2xj_1mX0TMRGWzWG72Ne7Nq3acsuZEtGVDfcmBPu/s1600/DSCN0269.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWPOBer4tPR-XiFNG4ScI7kkRKU1aDCsvph45yOqk1tLBmg6aRCC11Kt0o36xtuTcLwDuHLBdRTXf6aJ25A4D1kHpxOpfU9m134mC2xj_1mX0TMRGWzWG72Ne7Nq3acsuZEtGVDfcmBPu/s320/DSCN0269.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585909627091004194" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MV6-_PzzWE_6tbvlG4fXBLamXt9LFnuE8Z9phhWLAYMC_SmjaxdRgdNs1qrn6bm3aUJN0vWypPQUB5pwnP8ADPUkKki-VCMxF0TU7uyh2kcU-bg4hMPEpnCPf6XIEqrToDZTor1UzL7B/s1600/DSCN0262.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MV6-_PzzWE_6tbvlG4fXBLamXt9LFnuE8Z9phhWLAYMC_SmjaxdRgdNs1qrn6bm3aUJN0vWypPQUB5pwnP8ADPUkKki-VCMxF0TU7uyh2kcU-bg4hMPEpnCPf6XIEqrToDZTor1UzL7B/s320/DSCN0262.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585909621527684946" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" > </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-36274302900153876032011-03-05T15:19:00.001-08:002011-03-05T15:20:52.405-08:00Caturday<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOGayPE8vC09mom0hdb_lgLkMoaSEhfyF8t5NMw58jtuASylWM0YTqLGvEyHKLWCEYi8ac_q3ZbsNgB2V9hHWNBXIy-IMTPf20sDK5o1Yu1BO557OrMrKcYtejZPA2lByuIc8kzwqTyol/s1600/DSCN0241.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOGayPE8vC09mom0hdb_lgLkMoaSEhfyF8t5NMw58jtuASylWM0YTqLGvEyHKLWCEYi8ac_q3ZbsNgB2V9hHWNBXIy-IMTPf20sDK5o1Yu1BO557OrMrKcYtejZPA2lByuIc8kzwqTyol/s320/DSCN0241.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580739578482694818" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She's looking pretty smug, isn't she?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOGayPE8vC09mom0hdb_lgLkMoaSEhfyF8t5NMw58jtuASylWM0YTqLGvEyHKLWCEYi8ac_q3ZbsNgB2V9hHWNBXIy-IMTPf20sDK5o1Yu1BO557OrMrKcYtejZPA2lByuIc8kzwqTyol/s1600/DSCN0241.JPG"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u><br /></u></span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-55636647963687703322011-03-05T04:31:00.001-08:002011-03-05T04:38:31.403-08:00I love this phone<div style="text-align: left;">I hadn't realized how abusive a relationship I had been in with the Blackberry Storm(other than I know it was slow and buggy) until I switched to a Droid X last fall. The screen is better, the interface is better, it has a good GPS with good software to go with said GPS. I love it. The problem is that, if I am hiking for hours and hours on it, or over a weekend, or at a amusement park, etc. the battery is in real danger of it running out...especially since I use the phone a lot more than with the Storm!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So I got a "expanded battery".</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi0zMID0JiU2USXs7TE63hd1IgEBKJoeegghhk-06QoZKnKyfjWVlbVgicAfEpMOhQ5ZdzSZXTjdtbQsfQ6_3pYvaPc7ExgnSDoXO0MA_Iy8jkc9ONSM0VGluuHYO45tTOMddXH6oPMNu9/s1600/DSCN0251.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi0zMID0JiU2USXs7TE63hd1IgEBKJoeegghhk-06QoZKnKyfjWVlbVgicAfEpMOhQ5ZdzSZXTjdtbQsfQ6_3pYvaPc7ExgnSDoXO0MA_Iy8jkc9ONSM0VGluuHYO45tTOMddXH6oPMNu9/s320/DSCN0251.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580573332164459138" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The new battery has 1880 mAh worth of capacity, versus the default 1500 mAh. Since the battery is every so slightly bigger, a different battery cover is needed.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxcCnOZfCj7nxvi_msB6AsIKL-g5rnPmeo4x8yfYElEJ95nP82mlb73drgplvNjeqr8m_yHequNG90MWHCGwqBPbM0HhGrU-jtbWYr19VlPr3VQlHdCe9A6ak4fG67xOL32oAy9j19OXP/s1600/DSCN0252.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxcCnOZfCj7nxvi_msB6AsIKL-g5rnPmeo4x8yfYElEJ95nP82mlb73drgplvNjeqr8m_yHequNG90MWHCGwqBPbM0HhGrU-jtbWYr19VlPr3VQlHdCe9A6ak4fG67xOL32oAy9j19OXP/s320/DSCN0252.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580573952847678546" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>But honestly it looks just the same as my other one, and my protective case fits on it just as well before. So far it seems to be functioning fine.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-18852119030730412212011-03-01T15:47:00.000-08:002011-03-01T15:57:30.830-08:00Stimulating the economy through camping<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u><br /></u></span></div>The UPS guy just knocked on my door, delivering my Jetboil stove from Backcountry.com. This brings the number of stoves I own up to 3:<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGPgo6hvnoCm45wFM92zeCGdjgRkIucBntxK7Jd7q80aDqza9IsAJc1nVARi8lHMQ06yM6JCYXEnrSr5gZoDsdNTZpenYxYntHvicFf0S4Ux6Jf4PDqDhq8gdpIu6E83wJlg2MZq6YVNe/s1600/DSCN0243.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGPgo6hvnoCm45wFM92zeCGdjgRkIucBntxK7Jd7q80aDqza9IsAJc1nVARi8lHMQ06yM6JCYXEnrSr5gZoDsdNTZpenYxYntHvicFf0S4Ux6Jf4PDqDhq8gdpIu6E83wJlg2MZq6YVNe/s320/DSCN0243.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579262860259082658" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The jetboil is on the far right(which is a one piece stove/pot with a built in windscreen), the middle one is the stove I've been using the most, the Brunton Raptor, along with the cookset I use the most. The one on the far left is the Whisperlight multi-fuel stove. It'll burn anything. If you ever want to freak other people out use everclear as fuel for it and sip from the fuel bottle. I'm thinking of making a Keg Stove to add to the collection. </div><div><br /></div><div>I also have 2 Backpacks for overnight/multiday camping, 2 backpacks for "long day" hikes, two tents annnndddd....three sleeping bags. Yup. At least no one can accuse me of not being a Keynesian when it comes to spending.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-24652787744963214212011-02-26T14:04:00.000-08:002011-02-26T14:06:20.349-08:00That's a weird SegueA friend of mind claimed that my previous post contained a "weird segue", I don't think he is one to talk because he has an entire <a href="http://www.domuspublica.net/index.html">website </a>dedicated to the inner workings of the Galactic Empire.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Got it up and running, and holy hell was I cursing up a storm, one of the memory sticks just did not want to sit right.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-71421647815000040432011-02-26T10:10:00.000-08:002011-02-26T10:24:13.536-08:00Objective Interim<div style="text-align: left;">The US military(specifically the Army) likes to use the term "Objective Interim" when they are describing a program that isn't what they really want, but a substantially down graded version of what the goal is because they feel they need a capability now. For example:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bk6EBn827wGNWLm-gShkgBwLsAp0i6gyxaz75GeSP-Eju2KaPyM0NbnTg66PFovO02IFFAqAPKulbvnYJhggvt6PMu6_GS2LFGzsg21c6dpY-bgoAlsO2tgxMqrHdqbUG8BUgpb182us/s1600/XM1206_ICV.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bk6EBn827wGNWLm-gShkgBwLsAp0i6gyxaz75GeSP-Eju2KaPyM0NbnTg66PFovO02IFFAqAPKulbvnYJhggvt6PMu6_GS2LFGzsg21c6dpY-bgoAlsO2tgxMqrHdqbUG8BUgpb182us/s320/XM1206_ICV.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578063141364480130" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px; " /></a></div><div>This is what the Army wanted in the late '90s early '00s, a new armored personnel carrier to carry soldiers around the battlefield. It would be relatively light(easier to transport in), well armed, armored, have all kinds of neat gizmos and electronics, and be able to go anywhere whilst replacing a lot of infantry who got around in trucks.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOhzF_NQjlQWwtvUWxDa1rKG92Nsp5JI6vRvxxHx4LrD6sU9CZqIF6170AGHfnZwybHgQmUnghyTevhM2CC69dtmQfBd6mYpRIRoiMfCJ1e82WbkVai8Sa3yMWCVfkR4wfZWIFu4bTecYw/s1600/300px-Stryker_ICV_front_q.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOhzF_NQjlQWwtvUWxDa1rKG92Nsp5JI6vRvxxHx4LrD6sU9CZqIF6170AGHfnZwybHgQmUnghyTevhM2CC69dtmQfBd6mYpRIRoiMfCJ1e82WbkVai8Sa3yMWCVfkR4wfZWIFu4bTecYw/s320/300px-Stryker_ICV_front_q.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578063818949722322" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 238px; " /></a></div><div>What they got as their "Objective Interim" Vehicle was this, a APC used by the Canadians, US Marines, a bunch of other countries, and then they slapped some new electronics in and replaced a bunch of "truck" infantry so there was something relatively secure for them to ride around in in the battlefield. It didn't do everything they wanted it to do(wasn't well armed, had dubious offroad capability), but it was a (relatively!) inexpensive upgrade and new capability.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With that in mind, my DVD-ROM(which has gone through 2 computers) has given up the ghost. I've decided to take the chance to double my RAM to 8 GB and install a Blu-Ray ROM. And so, I present the Objective Interim Computer Modernization:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9ub8-uzPzBksmNrfXJr9fKtXFqeCmIktA-NezomceUvO2goMrArDxp44ckpz-Di6Y4ZxuhQwk073KH2R0_E3gC3db-decbak0FOgwg_ToFvUTdZqXbkPwAk8WSyubguKcYDL0u7v3vw-/s1600/DSCN0238.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9ub8-uzPzBksmNrfXJr9fKtXFqeCmIktA-NezomceUvO2goMrArDxp44ckpz-Di6Y4ZxuhQwk073KH2R0_E3gC3db-decbak0FOgwg_ToFvUTdZqXbkPwAk8WSyubguKcYDL0u7v3vw-/s320/DSCN0238.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578065639825314306" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bk6EBn827wGNWLm-gShkgBwLsAp0i6gyxaz75GeSP-Eju2KaPyM0NbnTg66PFovO02IFFAqAPKulbvnYJhggvt6PMu6_GS2LFGzsg21c6dpY-bgoAlsO2tgxMqrHdqbUG8BUgpb182us/s1600/XM1206_ICV.jpg"></a><div><br /></div><div> </div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-49252452435207630592011-02-23T14:08:00.000-08:002011-02-23T14:22:01.040-08:00A home for scared peopleAs I sit here and think about it, I don't really live in fear of much. Yeah I get scared when certain things happen, such as when I'm camping several miles form the road, and it's late at night when a hiker walks up to my campsite and flashes his flashlight at my tent. That was pretty scary, and yes, I did pull out my swiss army knife and await my role in a slasher film. But I'm not really living in <i>fear</i> of that happening again.<div><br /></div><div>But I am living in fear of one thing, and terrified of it. I'm scared of my cat.</div><div><br /></div><div>Specifically, I live in fear of coming home or waking up, and Willy is just dead with no warning(well, other than his existing health problem). When I came home from work this morning I fed the animals, did my timesheet, and went to bed. The cats tend to sleep on the bed when I am, so they both followed me in. When I woke up in the afternoon(a family moved into the second floor and they tend to have visitors that just honk the car horns outside the building. I'll let you guess the ethnicity) Willy was completely still. Wasn't reacting to me getting up and moving, and as far as I could tell, wasn't breathing. I started to shake him going "Willy! Willy!" and, thank goodness, he jerked awake. He rarely goes into a deep sleep, so it scared the hell out of me. My heart was racing.</div><div><br /></div><div>(Mary, by contrast, could sleep through a nuclear attack) </div><div><br /></div><div>I worry that this makes me sound like an asshole, but I hope that when it is Willys time there'll be some kind of warning so I can take him to the vet. I honestly don't know what I would do otherwise.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-36450482923670924312011-02-16T06:19:00.000-08:002011-02-16T06:26:05.199-08:00I should start carrying an empty Gatorade bottle while I commute.I have poor decision making abilities. It's the reason why I joined the navy(screwed around in college, flunked out), it's the reason why I have no girlfriend(well, besides being uncomfortable with women I don't know), and why my commutes always turn out so bad.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I saw around 0400 that a tractor-trailer jackknifed on the Inner Loop of the Beltway near my place of work, and I typically leave work at 0700. As it happened my company was doing a "Company Breakfast" at IHOP for the guys on the Mids shift at 0700, so I figured that I had plenty of time for it to clear out. At 0740 the "Left 3 lanes" were open, and like an idiot, I decided that was enough for me to make it home in a timely manner. Sure wasn't, it's 0925 and I figure I got in about 5 minutes ago. So less than 30 miles in an hour and a half. Weee DC!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-67937681785105414102011-02-14T04:03:00.000-08:002011-02-14T04:11:05.728-08:00Valentines DayWoof, what a night. I'm spending this Valentines Day morning sharing a pint of Boddingtons with my friend Winston.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKqxUxoQDxxi5BahyphenhyphenJRwuA9e0ZqR2Pmkv8uhjHbOPNinFYYN9J23pu1bT9BqTJ3XwD5bn9Ciqgl7uQs8WKK5ODoKRA2jWa8BYM5XdUD39X4o9yHAHdB8jpuyIp0LyKhQgtldC57GekzUa/s1600/DSCN0236.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKqxUxoQDxxi5BahyphenhyphenJRwuA9e0ZqR2Pmkv8uhjHbOPNinFYYN9J23pu1bT9BqTJ3XwD5bn9Ciqgl7uQs8WKK5ODoKRA2jWa8BYM5XdUD39X4o9yHAHdB8jpuyIp0LyKhQgtldC57GekzUa/s320/DSCN0236.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573515007611909842" /></a><br /><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-81849250536250914512011-02-13T12:58:00.001-08:002011-02-13T13:13:31.943-08:00ScatterbrainedSo Eastern Mountain Sports is dumping their winter stuff, so I got a new down jacket which might just be the finest coat ever...if it is cold but NOT wet out. Since the jacket I got was a cheaper one the fabric is not very water resistant, so I wouldn't want to go hiking in it. The Hiker Sweat(tm) would stink up the jacket pretty quick. Ah well, at least it was inexpensive, it's light, and toasty.<div><br /></div><div>Went to the DC Auto show, I am seriously considering getting a new car, to the point that I started investigating what kind of loan I can get from my bank. My car is 11 years old and there is a leak in the brake hydraulics that is getting moisture into the fluid, so whenever it's below 30F or so it freezes. I've had the brake fluid flushed twice this winter, but a permanent solution will very nearly as much the car is worth. I'm looking at getting a Ford Fusion Hybrid, and I <i>would</i> be interested in getting a Chevy Volt if it didn't cost a gazillion dollars and, well, I had some place to plug it in.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-89377526568293482722010-12-23T15:28:00.001-08:002010-12-23T15:28:38.749-08:00I don't care who you are......But if you haven't seen <i>A Christmas Story</i> you are basically horribly un-American.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436200655656821503.post-31681424465138378882010-12-03T14:00:00.000-08:002010-12-03T14:10:16.525-08:00Herpes Ferry<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc1zTgENvlULukKZhJsRr_5s2ttkbxGxtegVijyFvNAt2RgeyCD52YYLYXf6jzG7ld8t5Ni8CeNtGRV1B7heXv-0Oyei4_8fdpHAMgTcfHD00oUyTnK0lOQbcAu4YaLEDCUli0J0v7Va5H/s1600/Herpes+Ferry.jpg"></a>Today me and Daisy went to Maryland Heights over Harper's Ferry. For whatever reason, I cannot help but think of what a navy buddy of mine called the USS <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Harpers_Ferry_(LSD-49)">Harpers Ferry</a>, </i>the "Herpes Ferry". We have a mature wit in the United States Navy.<div><br /></div><div>Anywho, we pulled up to a parking area which was empty save a park ranger Crown Vic, and made our way up the trail. Several things soon became clear:</div><div><br /></div><div><ol><li>It was very cold</li><li>It was snowing, a little.</li><li>I had to pee.</li></ol><div><br /></div></div><div>I determined to hold off on the peeing for a bit, but after 2 miles or so in I glanced around, walked 20 ft off the trail, and started to do my business. It was right about after I had whipped Scud out and started that Daisy started to act up, chirping in the manner that she does when she sees another dog(or fox/coyote). As I strain my ears I can hear people talking, then abruptly stopping. Daisy is pulling on the leash so I have one hand holding the dog back(I can hear the hikers walking by in resolute silence) and the other hand on Scud, so to speak. Good times.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fortunately they were going in the opposite direction so I didn't have to make eye contact.</div><div><br /></div><div>We got to the overlook, took some pictures, and headed back. I thought to head across into old town, but Daisy froze up as we headed towards the bridge. I guess she recalled that that was the devil bridge where loud CSX trains went by, so we headed home. More or less a successful hike.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.8333px; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc1zTgENvlULukKZhJsRr_5s2ttkbxGxtegVijyFvNAt2RgeyCD52YYLYXf6jzG7ld8t5Ni8CeNtGRV1B7heXv-0Oyei4_8fdpHAMgTcfHD00oUyTnK0lOQbcAu4YaLEDCUli0J0v7Va5H/s320/Herpes+Ferry.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546581608000100706" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.8333px; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0