Wednesday, June 30, 2010

On The Move: Week 2

Week 2, Steps:
Jun 21: 5,175
Jun 22: 5,550
Jun 23: 5,111
Jun 24: 5,606
Jun 25: 7,497
Jun 26: 5,198
Jun 27: 8,629

Friday, June 25, 2010

On the Move: Week 1

OK, I meant to post this Monday, but...

My goals for the six-week period starting June 14th:
1. A minimum of 5,000 steps (as recorded by my pedometer) every day, including weekends.
2. A minimum of 20 minutes on the Wii Fit every day, Strength Training on weekdays and any activity on weekends.

Week 1 steps:
June 14: 5,094
June 15: 10,938
June 16: 5,614
June 17: 5,972
June 18: 7,906
June 19: 5,069
June 20: 5,076

Week 1 Wii:
June 14: No
June 15: No
June 16: Yes
June 17: Yes
June 18: Yes
June 19: Yes
June 20: Yes

Week 1 score: 86% - B. Not a great start, but at least my steps are on track.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Belt Update

I started carrying a belt holster/pouch on a daily basis back in high school. The first item was a twin-AA Maglite flashlight. For quite a while in college I wore a second belt at my waist in addition to the one on my pants, both with their standard issue of gear.

The gear has changed frequently over the years, and I thought it was time for an update.

Left side:
Pedometer
Double glove pouch with two pairs of nitrile field gloves & CPR microshield
Right side:
Tac light pouch with S&W tac light, extra batteries & spare bulb (the light is a worthwhile item, but the holster was designed for people exactly like me)
Main pouch with cell phone, twin-AA LED conversion Maglite w/lanyard, ball-point pen, small pad of post-it notes, 8x20 monocular, Leatherman Kick & 2" bike mirror.

This is in addition to some pocket plunder, watch, pins, knife (CRKT folder), glasses, etc.

Note that at the moment I'm not carrying a PDA - I find I miss having one sometimes, but I really never got into the habit of using them to their full potential. I am keeping an eye out, though. What I want is something that will allow internet browsing and is camera-equipped in addition to PDA and cell phone functions. The ability to play MP3s would be a nice bonus, as would a voice-recording function. Durability and a 72-hour battery life (or 48 if batteries are replaceable) are also baseline requirements. Anyone care to recommend a product? :-)

Saturday, June 12, 2010

I don't know what it means, but...

If you google the exact phrase "I should have kissed her" you get 617,000 hits.
If you google the exact phrase "I shouldn't have kissed her" you get 272,000 hits.
If you google the exact phrase "I should have kissed him" you get 414,000 hits.
If you google the exact phrase "I shouldn't have kissed him" you get 215,000 hits.

So are we more likely to regret not kissing someone than kissing them? Or just more likely to put it on the web?

Do guys regret the girls they didn't kiss more than girls regret the guys they didn't kiss? Or, again, is it just that guys are more likely to stick it on the web? Or are there a massive number of regretful lesbians out there?

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Finally... maybe.

In 1999 I started (initially as a volunteer, later a minimum-wage full timer, and finally a slightly-above-minimum wage part-timer) working on the Solar Blade Nanosatellite project for the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute.

Over 10 years later, JAXA is on the verge of achieving our mission objective with a somewhat similar (though technically quite different) vehicle:

http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002532/

In short, they're trying to unfold a solar sail in space. If they succeed, I'm pretty sure they'll be the first to do so.

Solar sails are the epitome of the "slow but steady wins the race" school of travel. Their acceleration is trivial, but they can keep it up indefinitely. With careful maneuvering (the major difference between JAXA's IKAROS and the project I worked on is the method by which maneuvers are achieved), a solar sail can build up speeds impossible for any fuel-burdened spacecraft and go anywhere in the solar system.

I haven't been able to find any data on IKAROS's planned acceleration capability, but she's due to reach Venus in six months; not bad at all!

Words, words, words...

It would take a short novel to adequately describe this extended weekend.

Here are 42 words and acronyms that sum up the highlights, in no particular order.

lemons, bonfire, friends, family, sister, brother, California, Lincoln, heartbreak, soccer, alumni, sickness, signs, portents, s'mores, hope, backrub, silver, Love, love, tears, Judaism, marriage, confession, acceptance, radiance, whiskey, beer, pewter, Scadian, music, pictures, Fry's, DVD, Buttercup, fog, memory, wish, history, bacon, breakfast, GPS.

Yes, capitalization is significant.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Memorial Day

I posted this as a comment on another blog; thought I'd post it here as well.

War is sometimes necessary to prevent something even worse.

The fact that there are things worse than war is a sad commentary on the character of the human race.

The fact the individuals willingly risk, and often loose, their lives to protect others is a much happier commentary on the character of the human race, and that's what we're supposed to remember on Memorial Day.

To Absent Companions.