Another Parade

It's fantastic living between Monument Ave and Broad St, because you never miss a parade. I've no idea where they announce these these things. Usually the only warning I see is that the 'No Parking' signs go up. But apparently everyone else knew about it because they've turned up in droves to watch Scooby-Doo and Odie go past. I guess most of the on-lookers have kids in a High School band. Not sure what's Christmas-y about a guy with a Devil mask on!

Christmas Tree

Yay for Christmas Trees. Here's ours.

Judgement Day

I finally got around to watching the Nova documentary Judgement Day, investigating the attempt to introduce Intelligent Design to the classroom. There was a lot of hype about the program. While Intelligent Design advocates claimed that the show contained errors and was biased, the anti-ID camp reveled in how stupid it made the creationists look.

In fact, I thought it was a refreshingly balanced piece of journalism. Several members from each side of the case, including individuals from the Dover School District, members of each council, expert witnesses and the judge himself were given opportunities to express their point of view. The narration never ridiculed or belittled any contributor, expect perhaps towards the end when it was clear that the ID proponents had lied, held misguided opinions of science and were motivated by religious zeal, despite continuing to claim that their aim was the improved scientific education of American children.

Really this whole debate highlights the scientific community's failure to educate the general public about our understanding of genetics. Unfortunately, some of the best explanations for the lay person were penned by Richard Dawkins, who has unhelpfully assumed the role of self-proclaimed anti-Christ.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

I'm still working on how best to link from this blog to one of my albums on Flickr.

[edit]I've added a link to my Flickr photos to my sidebar. Enjoy! [/edit]

Keeping up with information technology

There are many options for managing digital information, and I am resolving to find the best solutions and use them properly. I have several criteria.

Looks

I know this sounds shallow, but in my experience, if I don't like how it looks, I'll never be happy with it. Things seem to work as good as they look; if the designers couldn't get it to look good, they probably couldn't get to to work either. I recently had some soft saddle bags stolen off my bike, but I'm not in the least bit bothered because they looked a bit crap, and thus didn't work very well. I hope the new owner enjoys them. I'm going to buy hundreds of dollars of Givi hard luggage instead because the Italians design things that look sexy.

Time

I don't mind spending a lot of time on IT, since it's an important aspect of my life. But I'm not going to waste any time. I want to be able to designate shortcuts. If I have to perform a task repetitively (like renaming photos) I want to be able to do it easily.

Cost

I don't mind spending some money on IT, and I'll willing part with cash to do what I want to do, but hate having to spend moolah to have something I didn't want in the first place. In fact, I'll even pay money to not have things I don't want. Which brings me on to the final point.

Order

I'm a messy person, but when I decide to clean up I demand the right tools for the job. I want to be able to turn off the things I don't like. I want to organise items by dragging them to my desired location.

The good:

• Flickr
  
• Panasonic DMC-FX01
  

The bad:

• Photobox, Snapfish etc - too many special offers, not enough organisation
  
• LG Chocolate - bought it cos it looks good. Hate the menus, broke the touch-buttons and the sliding mech, camera quality, music and in-call sound quality all poor.
  

Certain things are on my brown-list. Blogger, because I think there are probably more suitable platforms out there for my style of posting. Hotmail, because it has become over protective. iTunes seems to have a lot of the same annoyances as Windows Media Player did (I thought it'd be a lot better), but since I despise Media Player 11, I think iTunes will survive.

Flickr Account

I have decided to invest in a Flickr Pro Account so that I can try to keep my photographs more organised. Windows XP explorer isn't really designed to allow tagging or long descriptions of pictures, and won't easily organise by time taken. Plus a hard disk isn't sufficiently permanent for me. No, I don't back-up my files.

So far, I'm enjoying Flickr. It's a pretty interface, which I think is important for displaying photographs. I'm finding it easy to use so far, but there are obviously a lot of features still to investigate. I noticed Blogger will let me create slideshows from a Flickr account, so I'm going to try to set that up. WTS

Science Post - Stem Cell Research

My Uncle was asking me about the recent breakthrough in transforming adult skin cells into embryonic stem cells. Specifically, what is the role of retroviruses in performing the transformation.

To answer the query, I'm going to first direct you to pharyngula for a comprehensive summary of the latest article.

If you don't have time to wade through that posting, here's the short version:

The researchers have discovered the 'reset switch' for cells. This switch consists of four genes. To activate the switch, the researchers used retroviral transfection to insert multiple copies of these genes into a cell, along with 'promotors', which ensure that the genes are activated. As pharyngula explains, is not a particuraly elegant solution, but allows the researchers to demonstrate the effect of the genes. A better solution will involve a technique to activate the natural copies of the 'reset switch' genes already in the cell.

Retroviral transfection has been the foundation of gene therapy and other gentic research since the early 1990's. The technique itself is not new, just it's application.

Asheville, NC

Kristal and I took a long weekend vacation to Asheville to check out her old college and generally enjoy the mountains. For some reason, Blogger isn't letting me upload photos right now. On one hand, this is a shame, because I took some stunning photos of awe-inspiring mountain landscapes (the leaves were beautiful), but on the other hand, I have so many photos it's almost impossible to choose which to post!

We stayed at the Inn on Mill Creek. We got a free upgrade to a room with a jacuzzi tub, which was the most relaxing experience I can remember. The innkeepers are a young couple who have owned the property less than a year. They have fostered an atmosphere that is less stuffy than many B&Bs. We really enjoyed staying with them. The place is about two miles down an gravel track in the woods - great for star gazing. They have a dammed lake which runs a fountain a mile down the hill. Cool place.

We crammed a ridiculous amount into a two night stay. On Friday night we hung out in Black Mountain, having dinner at the Cellar Door (Kristal had fresh mountain trout - I had Ostrich!), then moving on the the Town Pump for a few local beers and music by a ridiculous Heavy Metal/Blugrass band.

On Saturday (after Belgian Waffles for Brekky), we went to check out Warren Wilson Collge. It's a crazy place. This small campus is nestled in small valley with acres of fields for crops and livestock, and fantastic views of the mountains. The students help on the farm, plus run recycling schemes, bike shops, blacksmiths - you name it: they do it themselves. Kristal took a look around the science building (nostalgia alert -- university science labs!), and we even broke into her Tardigrade lab to see what was up.

After that we hit up Chimney Rock and Mt Mitchell. Chimney Rock was crawling with school parties, so we did the main event and peaced out. The observation tower at Mt Mitchell was closed for refurbishment, so we didn't get the best view, but it was cool to be up that high (6,578 ft) where it got icy.

In the evening we headed into Asheville town centre. Everyone was pretty laid back, which I thought I would find refreshing, but instead I was annoyed at the lack of efficiency in the restaurant! What have I become!! In the end I chilled out (a Metropolitan helped), and we went to see Darjeeling Limited (funny Wes Anderson flick) at the local two screen theatre.

Finally on Sunday we caught Linville Falls and Grandfather Mountain on the way out. We didn't really know anything about Grandfather Mountain, and even asked the Assistant and the gate why we should pay $14 to get in! But it turned out to be a highlight. Halfway up they have a nature exhibit with Black Bears, Cougars, Deer and Eagles and a good museum showcasing the flora, fauna and geology of the area. Then at the top there is the 'Mile High' Swinging bridge, which was built at almost exactly one mile above mean sea level. Once over the bridge the 360 degree view is breathtaking. So, it was totally worth it.

Overall, it would've been nice to do some more hiking at the places we stopped at, but in the end, time didn't allow. Hopefully I'll get my photos online at some point. Western NC is definitely worth seeing.

Rain

We finally got some rain. It's been on and off since lunchtime today, and is forecast to continue through until Friday. The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service sets river levels at more than 8 feet by then. It's certainly a welcome change in the weather, and a chance for me to try out my rain gear. Here is proof that I put my personal safety before image. I can only imagine how the yellow jacket and my red bike compliment each other. I have a cover for the bike now too, from E-bay. Saddle bags are on order from Chase Harper. Now all I need is some boots, a windscreen, and GPS. PS, my birthday is in a month. Christmas is just around the corner.

Folk Festival

The National Folk Festival was held in Richmond this year for the last time before it makes it's tri-annual move to another city. So, we thought we should check it out. It's a mixture of music and crafts, and one of our friends was volunteering with a group that fairly trades ethnic craft goods, called ten thousand villages. To be honest, I didn't find the event terribly interesting, and it was hot and packed full of people. This dude with an autoharp was cool. And I met a horse, which afforded the opportunity for this shot of me looking like a country boy. That in itself makes it worth me posting.

Anniversary Antics

Kristal and I recently celebrate one happy year together. She impressively constructed me the quilt picture above in complete secret. It's beautiful, double sided and very cosy! In return I helped her buy a new sewing machine. Actually, it is my sewing machine and she's just borrowing it until I learn how to sew. I has around 70 different stitch settings, and features one-touch thread routing and needle threading. Basically, I though sewing machines were kinda dull - I was wrong. They're dead cool and I own one.
We spent the day putting together a scrap book using photographs from the past year. For the first time I actually printed a decent quantity of my digital pictures. I have a HP Deskjet and was printing on Office Max photo paper, and they came out looking relatively professional. Some hues seemed to take longer to dry than others, so we ended up with a few smudges but nothing serious. The book will be a nice memory.
For dinner we had another attempt at making Sushi, but over-confidence got the best of us, and it didn't work out as well as our first effort on Valentine's Day. Still, you can't beat fish. And rice. Cucumber. Avocado. Soy Sauce.Wasabi.Ginger.

The motorcycle diary

It's about time I published the full story behind my return to two wheels. Here it comes...
On Friday 9/14 John's car had a bit of a sideways adventure courtesy of a flat tire, wet weather, poor American road design, lack of roadway maintenance and many other factors other than driver error. Unfortunately, the adventure was cut brutally short by a crash barrier. I emerged unscathed and surprisingly exhilarated. Mostly I was happy to have not collected any other vehicles, having traversed two traffic lanes. The other good news is that no friendly state troopers stopped by to decide I deserved a trip to court.

I called Kristal, and she and her housemate Sara came out to pick me up and call a tow truck. This 21 year old comes out, reversing 200 yards up a on-ramp shoulder to reach us, and jumps out of the truck wearing flip-flops. It turns out her ripped a toenail off while riding a quad-bike barefoot, and shoes are too painful. Despite all this, he does a good job of getting my car back to Kristal's place, whereupon Sara (who is a paediatric nurse) jumps into action to re-bandage his toe so he doesn't have to work in flip-flops in the rain. Kristal gets some hot cocoa on th go, and soon the drama of the night is behind us.

I had to go into work on Saturday, so didn't get a chance to take care of my car. In any case, I've had my eyes out for a bike ever since I got my license (well, really since I arrived in the USA!). I took a ride on a BMW F650 but it wasn't really what I was looking for, and had too many problems. On Saturday at work, I found a Honda Nighthawk posted on the Norfolk Craigslist. Having already missed out on some good deals, I immediately fired off an email to register my interest. That interest was piqued when I saw a picture of the bike. I arranged to view the bike straight away. On Sunday, we drove down to a place just outside Williamsburg. The owners of the bike were selling everything to go travel in their RV for a year, so I got a great deal. The bike has only seen 6000 miles in 12 years on the road. It rides exactly how I want: not too sporty, but with enough power to be comfortable on the highway, and unlike American cruisers, it has been designed with some attention to handling.



I'll want to find a windscreen and some luggage for it, then I'll be off on some adventures (in a strictly forwards direction) while the weather is still fine. Kristal has a helmet so she can ride on the back. Pan Am anyone?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, YEAH!

Motorcycle License

Over the weekend I took the Basic Rider Course offered by the MSF. Involving one evening of classroom tuition and two afternoons of practical training, it provides the participant with a waiver for the DMV written and skills tests. Basically, you take the course and they hand you your license at the end. You gotta love motorist education in the USA.

This morning I took the waiver into the DMV so they could reissue my license complete with the 'M'-class. Now I am able to go test ride some bikes. I've been agonising over what bike to get for a long time. My dream bike right now is a Suzuki Bandit 1200. Fitted with some luggage, it is apparently a good two-up sports-tourer, plus I think they look great. There was one for sale in Fredericksburg, very affordable, but it sold this morning. I was totally gutted. Hopefully another will come my way soon.

The bike of my wildest dreams right now is a Triumph Tiger. However, these are almost impossible to find second hand. Um, which would mean buying a brand new bike, and I'm not to sure about spending that much money. But watch this space!

OBX - Part the third

For our Labor Day holiday we went camping in (you guessed it) the Outer Banks. This time we stayed at the National Parks campsite in Frisco, returning to the NPS after a terrible experience with KOA last time. When we arrived, they had just three sites left, and when we went back to the office a short while later, they were full, so we were lucky to get a spot. Rather disappointingly, the beach near the campground is open to offroad vehicles. This has become common on the East Coast under the present Administration, and is a bit of a shame. Although there are regulations these are not adhered to by a small minority who are too stupid or too selfish to respect common courtesy. Ultimately, I'm disappointed by anyone who is too lazy to leave their vehicle in the parking lot and make a short walk to the beach. If all they want to do is tailgate, stay in the parking lot!

But what did we expect, having chosen to visit on Labor Day weekend! We enjoyed ourselves all the same, playing travel Scrabble at the campsite, and enjoying a nearby beach that didn't allow ORVs. We ate surf and turf on the first night (I grilled steak and shrimp on one of those one-use barbeques), and ate at the Froggy Dog the second night. We also bought some beach chairs and a body-board, which we come in handy on future trips.

Highland County

My Aunt and Uncle invited me up to the house they are renovating in Highland county. In fact, they invited a bunch of friends and relatives and put us to work tearing out fireplaces and rotting floors in return of food and a place to pitch our tents. I think we managed to work for one afternoon. The rest of the time was spent swimming in the creek, or fooling around on this Honda Trail 70.

It took Kristal and I just over three and a half hours to drive out there, including a couple of stops. She kindly let me drive her PT Cruiser over the mountains. I loved it. Manual transmissions are few and far between in the States, but it really does the job on the twisties! Also, it has arm rests, so on the Interstate you really feel like you're cruisin'. The only problem was getting down the rocky driveway to the house.

The place is a bit of a dump. I don't think the owners would take offense to me saying that. But the location is great, and it has a lot of nice features. From the outside it almost looks like it just need a new coat of paint. On the inside, they are basically stripping most of it down the the original walls or the frame. There have been so many alterations on the place, not all of which were performed by professionals, but I'd say that adds character! We did what we could, and all foolishly volunteered to do another weekend of work soon.

It was also great to catch up with the friends and family in the county who I haven't seen in a good seven years or so... I'd forgotten what characters George and Peggy were - it was so fun to see them again. David is running to a position in local government, so it was interesting to chat to him about the challenges and opportunities facing the county. Julia scolded me for not visiting sooner and insisted that I could arrive without invitation! To other people who were there: you are also all very nice!

blog layout changes

Hopefully regular readers will have noticed a few changes in the appearance of my blog. It's been a while since I 'studied' HTML programming, but making changes to existing code is fairly simple, especially with a bit of trial and error. I was finding it hard to write much, knowing that the blog displays in such a narrow column. I've widened the width of the main section. Please let me know if is isn't displaying correctly, due to low resolutions, for example. Also please tell me if the text is too wide to read comfortably - if so I may get really adventurous and try to format posts on two columns! A few colour changes here and there also help make my page a little more individualized.

Nickel Creek

Nickel Creek are the definitive 'Newgrass' band, and one of K's favourite performers. Their farewell (for now) tour came to Innsbrook After-Hours on Friday so a few of us grabbed an early sushi dinner and went to check it out. Four some reason they are touring with Fiona Apple, doing bluegrass renditions of her hits as well as a few other covers and a bunch of their own material. It's kind of a new genre to me, but it's a lot of fun to listen to. I'm considering getting myself a mandolin...

A trip to Mathews

You can take the girl outta Mathews, but you can't take Mathews outta the girl. With that in mind I thought it would be nice for my family to get a glimpse of where K was from, so we took them out to Mathews for a day. Plus I think it's a cool place with fun things to do and great people to visit, so I'll take any excuse to get myself invited out there. We got together a couple of canoes and paddled out into the bay to work up an appetite. On our return, the crabs were boiled to perfection, along with corn, tomatoes, potato salad, apple pie and cookies - fabulous country fare! The meeting of respective parents seemed to go well - birds formed the common interest through which new friendships could be forged. Good Times.

At the Beach

On Wednesday Kristal, myself and the family took a trip to Sandbridge beach. We got great weather for it - you might say a little too good as everyone came away with at least one spot of sunburn. We did all the things you have to do when you go to the beach: build a sandcastle, jump waves, take a walk down the beach, throw a frisbee and eat an ice-cream. Yup, I'd say we about covered it!