Daisy, my dog, and I drove back and forth across the country from Oakland to Louisville for the holidays. I’ve done the trip 3 times before, but every time I had my lovely wife with me. The trip is about 2600 miles one way, and I did it in three days each way. Most people cringe when I tell them about this kind of lonely mileage, but I loved the independence and tranquility of the journey.
The round trip drive time was about 70hours, and this gave me ample time to listen to music and just be. On the trip out, I was so excited to be on holiday that that is all I really did. I just sat there completely mindlessly — no thoughts in my head — almost meditative. At the time I didn’t think much about this, but in retrospect, it was very uncharacteristic of me as I NEVER do that. I’m always working something out, one way or another. It was a quite refreshing way to spend my time. My way home was a completely different story as I forced myself to think about my research. Again, I seldom take the time to ONLY think without the distraction of multitasking. Well… I guess I was still multitasking, but after you get out of Memphis the roads open up and driving can become somewhat unconscious. This experience was also quite refreshing because I came home with loads of ideas to try.
The journey presented me with an unadulterated view of American landscapes. The small wooded mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee give way to the parries of the heartland which subtly transition to the desert landscapes of the southwest and finally to the mountains, valleys, and shores of California. My most memorable moments came on the trip home through Northern Arizona. On the second evening, the sun was setting directly in front of me under an iridescent sapphire blue sky. The only clouds were silvery ribbons left from high flying airliners lit-up orange from the low sun. The Johny Cash/U2 song The Wanderer was playing on the stereo — a touchingly beautiful song if you’ve never heard it. As I descended into into a valley I glimpsed a freight train coming around a bend in the tracks, and instantly a wonderful peaceful feeling overcame me. I transcended myself, a knot formed in my throat, and I experienced pure bliss. Alone, this experience made the solo trek worthwhile. The world is beautiful, you just have to be willing to notice.
The journey gave me a modern impression of what it must have been like to, “go west” before civilization inhabited every corner of our continent. I felt like a modern cowboy, only my dog and my trusty silver steed to keep me company. The trip would have been exceedingly treacherous with the extreme weather and insane terrain unmolested by modern asphalt, but how rewarding it must have been. The modern version sure was for me.
A couple of pedantic notes: I was plesently surprised by the cell coverage I got with the smallest of the major networks — T-Mobile. I was rarely without signal for more than a few 80mph seconds. Also, people across the country drive very differenly depending on their origin. In California, people squat in the left lane no matter whether they are passing or not, and the drivers in the heartland obey the speed limit even if it is 60mph on the freeway. I could go on and on about this, but I won’t.
This is absolutely amazing. I really can’t believe that I never thought of it. I can’t believe that I’ve never seen this done before. It’s so simple… it’s so obvious… but at the same time, it’s not. It completely blows my mind.
I haven’t actually tried this out yet. So no warranty is offered. Let me know if it works in the comments.
A few days ago, the end of this Lifehacker article inspired me into a quick project. The idea is to have a dynamic computer desktop background that pulls day/night/weather images of the earth from Opentopia. They update the image hourly, so the background should change hourly.
This seemed like a pretty cool idea to me, and it’s pretty easy in Linux. Check out the detailed instructions here, and below is a quick version:
1. Download the script here.
2. Update the script with your preferred WORKING directory.
3. Create the cron job like such: 05 * * * * [path to script]/background_rotate.sh
Piece of cake! Geeking out couldn’t been more quick and easy.
The image is a screen shot of my computer with the background in place. It’s really need to see the shadow move across the earth. You can even see tropical storm Fay moving toward Florida.
Let me know about any problems or concerns in the comments.
Don’t worry, you’re in the right place. We’ve just been doing a little late summer cleaning. I thought that the blog needed a better, cleaner, look. Most of the navigation around the site should be just about the same. Let me know what you think about the simpler look in the comments.
I’ve also added a sidebar widget listing my most recent shared items on Google Reader. I read hundreds of blog/news postings in a day using Google Reader, and I like to share stories that I find interesting in one way or another.
Many of you have probably already talked with Grandma and Lola, but Molly Z is home!!!!!! Last night we got her home around 7:30 and had a great night. I will post more a little later today. We have a pediatrician appointment this morning so we need to get moving so we can make that.
Molly Z went into an open crib yesterday! It is so wonderful to be able to reach in to touch her without having to open the portholes that we could reach into with the incubator. It is also much easier to get her in and out to hold her, though she is still attached to a lot of wires.
She is being a very good eater, eating from her bottle when I am not there to feed her. My routine for the last two days has been to feed her and allow her to eat as much as she wants, and then pump the rest of the milk out. Yesterday I was finishing up pumping (which at the hospital requires putting the pump away, marking my milk, putting all my pumping stuff away, and storing the milk in the freezer or refrigerator) and as I was coming back in Molly’s room, she was crying again, acting hungry. It had only been about 20 minutes since I finished nursing her, but I was all out (so sad for both Molly Z and momma). So the nurse got some of my milk from the fridge, and I fed her from a bottle. I know she will do it multiple times every day, but I never realized how cute babies are when they are eating! I’m sure the parents reading this are nodding in knowing agreement here. She just looks so happy!
Ever wondered who the ugliest woman in the world is? Google will tell you and give you an image. Just type ‘ugliest woman in the world’ into a google search box or click the link below. Check out the first image result. Look who just beat out a cracked-out Amy Winehouse.
Molly Zelda born at 12:52pm today. She was slightly shrimpy at 4lb 8oz but as beautiful as can be. She is currently wiggling in the neonatal ICU. She didn’t need to be intubated or a feeding tube, but she does need oxygen tubes in her nose.
I can’t believe how fast it went. I went home around 9am to take a shower and get some things, and I got back at about 11am. Literally two hours later we had a daughter. The first time they checked her cervix she was 10cm dilated. That means she was about to pop. The nurse immediately called the doctor, Krista pushed for about ten minutes, and Molly Zelda was born.
We’re back in the hospital tonight. Krista’s bag of water broke while at her birthday dinner. The two of us were just finishing up dinner at Cafe Colucci, I had just paid the tip when she came back from the bathroom with a very weird look on her face. It was the look of a very pregnant woman with wet shoes. Well… it wasn’t quite that bad, but regardless it was nice that we were close to Alta Bates because the on-call doc told us to go the labor and delivery ward right away. Thankfully, Alta Bates has free wi-fi because that is from where I’m posting.
We are only 31 weeks into the pregnancy. They consider it ‘full term’ at 37 weeks, and the due date is set at 40 weeks. So any way you cut it, Sprout wants to come early. This isn’t a huge deal, but it is certainly cause for some concern. To put it into perspective, the doctor told us that 1 day in utero is equivalent to two days in an incubator. Also, she won’t be able to stay with us in the room if she comes this early. So we need to keep her in there for as long as possible. We could be in the hospital for a while — up to 3 or more weeks.
But, not much longer until the two of us are three. Check back often over the next few days because I’m going to be posting quite often. I’m even toying with the idea of live blogging the birth. I’m not so sure I want to get my puter slimy though.
I just saw Iron Man and loved it. It is as good a super hero movie as I have ever seen. It is Right up there with the recent Batman, Tim Burton’s first stab at Batman, and the first Spiderman. Excellent movie, and far better than I expected. I don’t even know anything about the Iron Man comics, and I still loved it.
This kind of movie always leaves me with a strange feeling afterward. I feel like I should be a super hero. I’m firmly grounded by physics, so I wouldn’t have super powers or anything. I would be like Batman, or Iron Man, i.e., I would have super gadgets. I don’t think I would fly either (mainly because it doesn’t seem possible). I would ride a flat black nuclear powered super bike instead. My wrath would mainly be directed at drug dealers and gang bangers in the inner city. Well… that is until my nemesis showed up.
Is this weird? Does everyone feel this way after this kind of movie or do I need to grow up? If you sometimes think about your super powers, I’d love to hear what they’d be.
Molly Zelda born at 12:52pm today. She was slightly shrimpy at 4lb 8oz but as beautiful as can be. She is currently wiggling in the neonatal ICU. She didn’t need to be intubated or a feeding tube, but she does need oxygen tubes in her nose.
I just saw Iron Man and loved it. It is as good a super hero movie as I have ever seen. It is Right up there with the recent Batman, Tim Burton’s first stab at Batman, and the first Spiderman. Excellent movie, and far better than I expected. I don’t even know anything about the Iron Man comics, and I still loved it.