Ruminations
Mushroom Mania
I noticed this growing out of our basement wall a couple of days ago …
X-prize
Somehow I missed it; I stumble across it a couple of days later. I knew the deadline was drawing near and that there would be a mad rush of teams trying to claim the prize. As it turned out SpaceShipOne claimed the price on October 4th (this is the team funded by Paul Allen of Microsoft fame). You can read more at CNN or Slashdot.
It also appers Virgin’s Richard Branson is getting in on the action. He has founded Virgin Galactic, and plans to license SpaceShipOne’s technology for its fleet.
Typing
I’ve been wondering if my mad typing skills have declined over the years. A quick google for “typing test” yielded this link http://www.typingtest.com/ where I got the following results.
Test name Fishing in Finland
Gross Speed 86 WPM
Errors 3 Words
Net Speed 83 WPM
Accuracy 96%
How fast can you type?
Back Home
Isn’t it great to be back home
home is where I want to be
I’ve been on the road for so long …
Well it’s almost like home — still too new. Ali and I moved into House #23 last week, and then whisked away to Alabama for the Fiddlers Convention (see previous post for pictures).
Anniston and Fiddlers was a blast; I didn’t realize how much I was missing everyone until I got to see them (well almost everyone). We did the obligatory Matas and then went back to my brothers where we had a small party to celebrate my 30th birthday. On Friday we hung out with Dad and Nancy (saying that always reminds me of Sid and Nancy), and then we departed for Athens in the early afternoon.
I must say, there is a lot of cotton in Alabama … Read More »
Mountain Top
David, Polly Pocket, and I had a great time on the hiking trip. We went to Pisgah National Forest, and started on the far side, from the Daniel Boone Boyscout camp. Of course, we got a late start; wouldn’t be being with David if we hadn’t, and as usual there was no real cause for it. After packing our packs, eating lunch, finding a place that sold maps, and driving to the start point it was getting close to 5pm. We hiked for a couple of hours and just as I was sure we were going to get caught doing everything in the dark we came around the side of the mountain to a part that was still being bathed in sunshine; shortly there after we found a place to setup camp. We got most … Read More »
Hiking Sophisticate
I have been in Winston-Salem all week preparing for our hiking trip sans Will. Will we will miss you terribly, but I did find a fill in. My niece Caitlyn was kind enough to give me her Polly Pocket goes camping doll. David and I will be bringing her along so she ca share in our adventures. Hopefully we’ll have some good pictures for you when we get back.
It has been a blast, we spent the entire week reading books, and buying supplies. There was a lot stuff we needed to purchase — backpacks, stuff sacks, stove, water purifier, trekking poles, etc. Dave and I split up the purchases where we could.
We are leaving this morning and will be coming back sometime on Monday. We finally decided on Pisgah southwest of Ashville, NC. … Read More »
Caution road work ahead
This past spring we had a serious storm (that I missed because I was in Virginia for a seminar). It caused some flash flooding, and washed out several roads. Some of these roads are Town maintained and some are village maintained. Well the village has no money for maintenance and its roads were already in bad shape before this storm hit. In fact, you could identify the village/town line just by the repair of the roads. What’s even funnier is that early this year they put up a “you are entering the village of” sign and it was exactly at the point where the road goes to crap. Anyway, we don’t officially live in the village of Fleischmanns; we just use them for our mailing address since it has the closest post office. … Read More »
Fall
After missing out on summer, fall is starting to make itself known in this part of the world. I have this chill in my bones from the -50 below temperatures we experienced over the winter (which I’m told is unusual). I’d hoped I would thaw out this summer, but it turns out summer never came. We had a deluge of wet cool days for almost the entire summer. I’m told there were a few warm dry days here, but I was away on business and missed them completely. I am going to be making a pilgrimage to North Carolina for a couple of weeks at the end of the week. I am hoping to enjoy a little warmth and sunshine while I’m there. Otherwise, I’m going to feel like I was completely robbed. … Read More »
Radio-o-rama
I really miss the Savvy Traveler, and I have been looking for another show to fill the void. I recently rediscovered This American Life on my way home from Evansville one night. It is a show I had heard a few times many years ago, but it didn’t come on at a time I was typically driving and so I never thought much about it. While listening to the show on my way home I decided to see if they had a website and whether or not they published the shows. It turns out the answer is yes to both of those questions. I have listened to a few shows and I must say it is a really good program. I would highly recommend trying it out.
The first program I listened to recently was … Read More »