Random Ruminations

Ending a Week

Posted Thu Jul 2, 2009 in Bloggish

I have to make a Reno run this morning. On the way home, the rear passenger-side window malfunctioned and no longer operates. The motor turns, but the window won’t actuate.

When it happened, we were in Hawthorne, Nevada. Young Son rolled down the window to make an image of the setting sun. The window failed. Wife said “That’s the problem with power windows.”

I was pretty disappointed. The little BMW just turned over 80K. We put a lot of miles on that little car — it had just over 30K on the clock when we bought it in September 2006 (after my 325i was totaled).

It’s fortunate it doesn’t rain much here. If it did, I doubt I could have kept the car’s interior dry. But, the rain moved on last week and the days are now warm and the evenings are cool. So I’ll drive to Reno this morning and have the dealer repair the window. I’ll carry my work kit with me and get some work done. Then I’ll stop by and visit Wife for a few minutes (maybe get to share lunch) and head for the office to wrap up most of the things on my plate.

Tomorrow is a day off in celebration of Independence Day. I might have to watch a movie of our independence in remembrance of the sacrifice of our forefathers for the freedom they so desired. That’s a bittersweet thing for me these days, because I watch the erosion of that freedom for the sake of an implied security. But, I think I’ll go no further with the political there, at least for now.

Tomorrow morning I’ll work a bit. I have a few things to catch up on and am still in the process of sorting out work priorities. Then either tomorrow morning or Saturday morning I’ll get in a little range time. I think I’ll take a rifle the next trip. I’ll get some pistol practice in too. But I can’t work more than an hour or two before I start to lose focus.

I was saddened to learn that Karl Malden died earlier this week. He was a fine entertainer and I appreciate his work.

Now off to work for me.

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Ready for Home

Posted Sat Jun 27, 2009 in Bloggish

I think I said before, “It’s been a week.” The truth is that it has.

I woke early this morning and started working on a proposal. I handled some email, then tired and decided to sleep a little longer. We decided to delay our departure home by a day so I could help my boss prepare this proposal. He didn’t get much done on it this week and neither did I. The work didn’t seriously start until yesterday.

So, I woke the second time, showered and dressed, then we met a friend at the Denny’s downtown for breakfast. Visiting with Ted is always fun and I enjoy his company immensely. But, duty called and my boss sent me an email that there were materials ready for my attention, so we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel. We did make a stop to pick up some food for Young Son.

I worked on the text off and on all afternoon. I think I finally finished about 1700 my time. I decided to go to Best Buy because I want a portable USB hub. I need the ability to connect more than two devices to the MBP and it would be good to power them from the USB hub as well.

I got what I needed plus a portable surge protector/multi-outlet. Both will fit in my regular kit without too much trouble. This is good.

We decided to drive over to a friend’s house to say goodbye as well. Her folks were there and her dad is my favorite pastor of all time. The pastor’s wife is like no other woman I’ve ever known. So, it was a huge treat to spend a few minutes with them. They will remain some of my favorite people so long as I draw breath. I would love to just sit with them and talk. That’s what they are.

You would know it, but I had the car washed this afternoon. So, of course, a thunderstorm popped up. The image is of the trailing edge of the set of storms, taken while we waited for pizza. The shower was welcome because it cooled the air and it was HOT this afternoon.

I’m hopeful that we’ll have a cool morning to drive. We head for home in the morning. My work here is done for the moment. Now it’s time to return home, regroup, and press on.

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Linkfest — 06-27-2009

Posted Sat Jun 27, 2009 in Links

This one started Saturday night (20 June 2009) at the Hampton Inn in Kingman, Arizona. I’ll be a bunch of miles from here when it posts, though.

The end of the earth is predicted for the Winter Solstice 2012. I think not.
Cydia (pronounced “cyDEEa”) is an alternative source for iPhone applications.
This cable management approach works for me. I think this is what I need to do for my home workroom.
On the first day out, Apple sold 1 Million iPhone ~~3G S~~ 3GS units.
This FeDeX commercial has to be seen.

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End of the Week

Posted Fri Jun 26, 2009 in Bloggish

It’s been a week, all right. We just returned from supper with good friends. We went to Manna Bread and Wine and the food was very good. It was a lot of fun to hang out with JW and Deanne.

Work was a mix this week. We got some work done and we scoped a couple of NSF projects we think would be appropriate. We had some fun and struggled with some issues. It was a good week, but an intense week.

We were planning on heading back to Nevada in the morning, but I need to work on a proposal in the morning, so we’ll delay our departure for a day and head back Sunday morning. I think we have a decent shot at the project and want to do a good job, so I’ll spend part of my day working on the proposal, get it back to my boss, and then prepare to return home.

I need some time now to reflect and just think on things. There’s a lot facing me and many decisions to make. That means finding time and place to remove distractions and get focused on what is before me so I can execute.

Maybe there will be a little time tomorrow to play. I could use some downtime.

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Summer Solstice 2009

Posted Sun Jun 21, 2009 in Science

Good morning. Happy Solstice Day!

The image for this morning is here. It’s copyrighted, so I won’t make a copy to display on my weblog, but will direct you to Jerry’s site. It’s worth a look.

We celebrate the beginning of summer on either 20 or 21 June. It’s the longest day of the year and it’s all downhill from here until the Winter Solstice on 21 December.

It’s a beautiful morning here in Kingman, Arizona. I’ll have to get outside and make a few images before we hit the road.

I’m looking forward to seeing Flagstaff again. I think that’s a beautiful place. If I had more time, I’d stop and wander around the countryside near Flagstaff.

Now for coffee and a bite, then more road. Later!

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On the Road to Texas

Posted Sat Jun 20, 2009 in Travel

The day did not start particularly well. I was too tired when I woke, so I made coffee and sat down at the computer to work through whatever there was to deal with. With a cup of coffee, I started the process of waking and preparing myself for the trip.

Wife woke about 0700 — I could hear her in the shower. I started the process of backing up my drives (the desktop and the portable that holds my life’s work), then headed for the shower myself. When I finished cleaning up and putting away the few remaining things I needed for the trip, the system was finished and had shut itself down.

Young Son woke soon thereafter. We gathered things up and headed out about 0830 or so. We stopped at McD’s (of course) for a quick bite, then dropped by the post office to mail a package. No joy — the post office was closed.

We then discovered Young Son didn’t have his ID. Not good. So, we drove back to the house, picked it up, and headed out. It was getting close to 1000 by the time we left Carson City. Not good at all.

So we headed east, then south toward Tonopah. I decided to take the south route and get to the Interstate. We need to make miles.

The drive was uneventful. We stopped in Tonopah to grab a bite and refuel. It was about 70F there — absolutely beautiful.

The miles rolled by. Wife and Young Son both slept off and on. I just drove. I hit my low time about 1600 and had to stop in Beatty, Nevada. I got a bottle of Mountain Dew and napped for a few minutes, then drove on.

We stopped in Henderson, Nevada for a bite of supper, which is where I made the image. I used the camera in my iPhone. The camera in the new iPhone is significantly improved. The contrast looks better and so does the dynamic range.

Did I mention I bought an iPhone 3G S? Yeah, I did. ATT decided to offer me an early upgrade, so I took it. I use my phone so much for so many things that a faster phone is really good. My applications open a lot faster now. More later as I learn more.

We left Henderson and headed for Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. Young Son doesn’t remember the last time we passed that way, so we stopped and got out to look at the lake, then the dam. It was good.

Then it was grind-time. I just ground out the remainder of the miles to Kingman. We stopped, and decided to get a room for the night. We’ll have to make a bunch of miles tomorrow.

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Linkfest — 06-20-2009

Posted Sat Jun 20, 2009 in Links

Another week, another set of (few) links. By the time this posts, I’ll be out in the middle of nowhere (again) headed for Lubbock for another set of meetings.

The Macalope takes on the fallout from the recent WWDC. It’s witty, tongue-in-cheek, and worth the read (at least for geeky types).
I have a bad case of hardware lust for the new iPhone 3G S based on the a number of reviews, including this one. I use my iPhone a lot — enough that a faster iPhone will be appreciated. My contract comes up the end of July. :)

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