From a Bloomberg Press article titled, "Heathrow T5 Opening `Chaotic'"
March 27 (Bloomberg) -- London Heathrow airport's 4.3 billion-pound ($8.6 billion) fifth terminal canceled flights after the baggage system broke down on the first day of operations, prompting passengers to brand the opening ``chaotic.''
As many as 68 inbound and outbound flights were scrapped by British Airways Plc, the terminal's sole occupant. Baggage check- in was halted while Heathrow owner BAA Ltd. worked to resolve ``operational issues'' and the airline said in a statement passengers should fly with hand luggage only, rebook for another day or claim a refund."
Guess which airline, airport, and terminal Mandy is flying into this morning...
And it's filled with people that are filled with shit. And all the vermin of the world inhabit it. And it's called... London." -Sweeny Todd
So, I'm off across the pond yet again. Only, this time it will end with my friends Dean and Erin and my beloved Mandy joining me in the Big Smoke, where we will spend a week touring Scottland and the eastern coast of England.
Rather than put random postings on the blog, I am going to try something new this time around. I am going to maintain a Twitter feed at the behest of my friend Josh. To use this feature, you will need to subscribe to the Twitter RSS feed. This is really, really simple. It's so simple, in fact, that I have already added the RSS feed to the right-hand nav on the Blog (where it reads "Matt's Twitter Feed" and everytime you refresh the page, if I have added something new, you will see it). If you would like to subscribe, simple click this link LINK. Then, on your browser of choice, click the Subscribe Now button, and the feed will be added to your bookmarks. Then, to follow our progress around the globe, you simple have to check the feed and you'll see. If you have any problems getting this to work, either post a comment or email me and I'll step you through it.
I am heading over to the UK to attend the Immersive Cinema conference, an amazing conglomeration of the visionaries guiding the dome, curved-wall, and virtual reality crowd. The web-page for the conference can be found here, and the itinerary of amazing speakers can be found here. I know four of the people giving talks, and one of them, Mr. Dan Neafus, is giving the keynote speech on the last day on of the con. I am bringing my beautiful Canon XTi with me, so I will be posting and live-blogging as much of the conference as I am able to attend.
Either way: I'm off! And soon, so is Mandy, Dean, and Erin to explore the Ole' Country 'Cross the Pond. Love and well-wishes to the lot of ya'!
"It can't be bargained with! It can't be reasoned with! The tongue doesn't know pity, or remorse, or fear... and it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are licked!" -The Terminator
The company I work for has recently been showcased by the BBC. Being a company based out of the UK, it makes sense. It's also because we recently installed the projection, audio, and real-time space simulation system at the largest digital dome in the UK.
Since the BBC is made up of boogers, I can't embed the video in the blog, so you'll have to follow this link to see the videos of my boss and co. talking about how super-sweet our presentation solution is. We rock!
Here's a more detailed article on the technology we use, with specific emphasis on the projectors we use. Sadly, I have note been able to convince them to give me one as a bonus, but I'll wear 'em down, so says I. Aarrgghhh... (that's my pirate projector voice)
While I am a big fan of exploration, I can't help but watch this and think of David Cross when he pretended to be a homeless man asking a lady for some money for food. She replies, "No, we don't have any money to give you for food... we're putting a robot on the moon!"
The headlines says it all, "Sheriff: Kansas woman sat on boyfriend's toilet for 2 years; didn't want to leave bathroom"
And
"WICHITA - Authorities are considering charges in the bizarre case of a woman who sat on her boyfriend's toilet for two years - so long that her body was stuck to the seat by the time the boyfriend finally called police.
Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital."
Hey all, This is the first post in a while. I'm hell-bent on posting more than last year (128), and I haven't been doing very well with that resolution.
The main cause for the delay has been sheer busyness. But, everyone's busy, so that's really not much of an excuse. My grandma died on 21st of February, and I could use my grieving as an excuse for not posting, but that's not it either. Sometimes I lose interest, and sometimes I don't. I think that's about it.
I am planning a long write-up on my grandma, my thoughts on her death, and how she's impacted my life, but this isn't that post. I need to think more on it before I post something.
I was out at NASA Ames Research Center last week and this week I'm off to Houston (to buy me some pants -Beck) then from Houston to NYC until next week Tues. Then home for four days, and I'm off to the UK for two weeks. It goes without saying that I'll be as busy as always, but it shouldn't stop me from posting and updating. I will make a conscious effort to post more over the next few weeks as I bounce from one side of the country to the other, from one side of the world to the other. I have recently updated the cool-ass Google Map on the right-hand navigation bar with my visit to NASA, and will update it as I pop around the next few weeks.
Updates:
1. As I mentioned before, my Grandma (on my father's side) died on the 21st. She wanted the funeral and visitation to be done with as soon as possible, so she died on a Thursday, the visitation was on Friday, and the funeral was on Saturday. Mandy and I literally jumped on a plane and did a crazy circuit with family and friends for the few days we were there. I will write more on this later.
2. Nikki, our dog, graduated from her Pet Smart Beginner's Training course. The cool thing is, the class has a practice exam before the real one, that way the dogs have two chances to complete the list of commands they have to obey. Nikki passed on the practice exam, a week earlier than the time normally allotted. Only her and one other dog out of a class of ten completed early. The teacher of the class told us we should run her through the rest of the classes because she's smart enough to complete them, so we're signed up for the intermediate. Hopefully she'll pass, and be as well-behaved as Mandy's sister's dog Stormy. Either way, Nikki did really well and has been adapting to her new behavior modification like a champ. She's so smart... (*Note: If this is how I talk up my dog's training, just wait until we have kids... there will be no end to it)
3. The house here in Denver is really shaping up. Thanks to all the help from Mandy's parents, we have a fully functioning set of curtains in our newly painted kitchen and an awesome fold-out spice rack on its way in the mail. Mandy painted the upstairs, and we've put in a faux-bamboo roll-up to cover the closet, and bought new office furniture. As we find places for the rest of the crap, the upstairs is finally turning into a work / living space. Our next steps are to finish the furnishing of the living room, paint that area, then start working on the master and guest bedrooms. By the time people come out to visit this Spring / Summer, we'll be mostly done decorating and organizing.
4. Work has been crazy for both of us. Mandy is hard at work pointin' out bugs in her HR software. Point of fact, the other day, she found a bug so devastating it might delay the whole product launch. Go Mandy! My work has involved lots of traveling, big displays systems, and crazy dancer / astrophysicists (it's true). I have begun my HSPD 12 security clearance process, which should take about six months. It's a security clearance I need to access NASA computer system as well as gain access to any NRL (National Research Laboratory) sites. Some of you will be getting calls from the goverment asking about my ability to handle sensitive government docs. Whatever you do, don't tell them about that time I ruled the small island-country of "Kalembesh" in the Adriatic sea.
That's about it from here. Many of these items need more info and updating, I realize. I will be doing my best to fill in the gaps of these past few weeks, and will work harder on putting up more content.
Mandy and I watched "Across The Universe" last weekend. If you are a Beatles fan I would recommend seeing it once, just for the music. If not, you could as easily skip it and not miss very much. The most striking thing about the music of The Beatles, is how transcendent it is. The simple melodies and 4/4 rock timing of the majority of their songs is simple, bordering on formulaic, but it's still so good. As an example of how Beatles music can carry even the simplest imagery, here is one of the most toe-curling cute videos I've ever seen, and it's topical.
Some days, I guess, you shouldn’t try to fly.Today is one of those days.It went down thus:
I got a ride out to the airport with my trusty cabbie Pamela (yes, I know her name…I travel a lot).Arrived at DIA around 9:00AM, breezed through the check-in line and security, and with a quick stop off at Einstein Brother’s Bagels, I was on my way to the gate to catch my 10:49 flight to Raleigh.After arriving, eating my bagel and drinking my coffee, I looked up at the digital marquee to notice the flight had been delayed to 11:15.Not terribly unusual.I shrugged, put on the new Hot Chip CD (Rolling Stone gave it 4 stars, by the way), and continued reading a great book by Jimmy Carter.
I didn’t hear the announcement since I had my noise-canceling headphones, so when I looked up and noticed the departure time had changed to the awful, blinking “Plane Being Serviced” message which really means, “You’re Screwed” I pulled my headphones off and asked kindly elder gentleman next to me what was up.He looked over his crossword puzzle at me and, this is true, pulled his spectacles down saying, “The fucking place is fucking delayed until God fucking knows when.”He must have been filling out a naughty crossword, I think to myself.Too startled to respond, I picked up my bag and walked over to the counter to ask the flight attendant what was up.It turns out something was wrong with the plane, and that we would be delayed for another hour.
I chose a seat further away from the man suffering from what had to be Turrets Syndrome, and kept reading my book, but with my headphones off.
“Passengers on flight 802 to Raleigh/Durham.Things are looking up.We’ve secured another plane, and will be departing within the next 30 minutes at Gate B50.”A slight cheer went up and we all shambled one gate over to wait for our plane.I didn’t bother to put on my headphones again and kept reading my book.
Thirty minutes passed before the same flight attendant piped up, “Passengers on flight 802 to Raleigh/Durham…we seem to be missing one of our flight attendants.No one knows where she’s gotten off to, but as soon as she’s on the plane, we’ll begin boarding.”
Another thirty minutes pass and he pipes up, “The flight attendant has been found. We will begin boarding shortly.”
Twenty minutes pass and the flight attended, obviously frustrated, comes back on, “Well, ladies and gentlemen, it turns out the GPS on this plane won’t start.We have a decision time of one hour. In one hour we will make a determination about the departure time.Please note, this is not the departure, this is the decision time.”
An hour passes.“Ladies and gentlemen, t he plane has been fixed and is certified to fly.We will begin boarding in twenty minutes.”A louder cheer goes up from the crowd.
Twenty minutes pass.“Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has refused the flight.We are attempting to rectify.We will give more information as it becomes available.”At this point several suit-and-Bluetooth-headset wearing glitterati leap from their seats and crowd the attendant’s desk with shouts of suing, lawyers, and more suing.This, apart from the swearing 70-year-old man, was the most amusing part of the whole ordeal.I put down my book and listened to this alpha-males, now emasculated by this flamboyantly gay flight attendant, puff their chests and pound the desk.It was very reminiscent of the scene from Fear and Loathing where the police chiefs are trying to check into the Flamingo Hotel and gay clerk is messing with them.It was a delight to behold.
Another thirty minutes pass.“Ladies and gentlemen, the a new plane has been found and we will begin boarding in two hours at gate B33.”
So… here I am.In the airport bar eating a burger and drinking a diet coke.If this plane does actually take passengers on, and gets airborn, and lands in one piece, I’ll be as amazed as you.
My work requires me to travel quite a bit. The traveling is pretty interesting as it affords me the opportunity to see how completely homogeneous the world is. It really is the same everywhere. From the music played on the radio, to the chain stores, to the types of cars. I'm sure this feeling would lessen if I had to fly out to Cambodia and consult on a display system in the middle of the steaming jungle, but so far it's just been Western cities and countries I've visited. So, my view is naturally skewed.
Anyway, to keep track of the places I've visited and to supply some information on the types of virtual reality displays and what the clients are trying to use them for. There is a new link added to the right-hand nav that says "Matt's Travels." Clicking the link will bring you to a custom Google map that shows all of the displays and, when not prohibited by Federal Law, I've included some information on the displays. I've included the Google API below for a quick view, but click the "View Larger Map" link on the right for a bigger display. Also note, both the map below and the map to the right are interactive. Click on a thumbtack for more info, and click-and-drag the map to look around. Man, I love the Google Map API.
I love Paul Simon's writing. While a unquestionably talented guitar player, his true strength as a songsmith lies in his writing. He's still cranking out the tunes, and melding his folky, contemplative writing and playing with contemporary luminaries such as Brian Eno. I recently started listening to "The Rhythm of the Saints" the sequel to his every-possible-away-winning album "Graceland." While not as much a critical darling as Graceland, Rhythm showcases some of the most profound lyrics Simon has written.
For your consideration, the lyrics to the climatic song "Cool, Cool River." The song always reminds me of Ginsberg's epic beat poem "Howl."
"Cool, Cool River" by Paul Simon "Moves like a fist through the traffic Anger and no one can heal it Shoves a little bump into the momentum Its just a little lump But you feel it In the creases and the shadows With a rattling deep emotion The cool, cool river Sweeps the wild, white ocean
Yes boss. the government handshake Yes boss. the crusher of language Yes boss. mr. stillwater, The face at the edge of the banquet The cool, the cool river The cool, the cool river
I believe in the future I may live in my car My radio tuned to The voice of a star Song dogs barking at the break of dawn Lightning pushes the edge of a thunderstorm And these old hopes and fears Still at my side
Anger and no one can heal it Slides through the metal detector Lives like a mole in a motel A slide in a slide projector The cool, cool river Sweeps the wild, white ocean The rage of love turns inward To prayers of devotion And these prayers are The constant road across the wilderness These prayers are These prayers are the memory of god The memory of god
And I believe in the future We shall suffer no more Maybe not in my lifetime But in yours I feel sure Song dogs barking at the break of dawn Lightning pushes the edges of a thunderstorm And these streets Quiet as a sleeping army Send their battered dreams to heaven, to heaven For the mothers restless son Who is a witness to, who is a warrior Who denies his urge to break and run
Who says: hard times? Im used to them The speeding planet burns Im used to that My lifes so common it disappears And sometimes even music Cannot substitute for tears"
Sample of "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked,dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix;Angel-headed hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night."
The last few weeks Matt has been traveling Monday - Thursday, which allows him to be home the entire weekend. We decided at the beginning of January to have Sunday where we could both help make dinner together. This allows us to spend time together as well as have something to look forward to the week as we are apart. It has been going fabulously! (The only difference of yesterday is that he doesn't have to leave this week)
This week we created a new chicken roulade sauce involving: tomatoes with green chilies, a little mayo, ginger and garlic paste, and a smidge of soy. We filled the chicken with green onions, mushrooms, and green peppers. Matt made spatzles (or wormels - ask him if you have questions) and I made crowned cauliflower.
Yummy!
Nothing tops off a great dinner than watching a bit of MythBusters. Although a very relaxing weekend it looks like they are a bit tired, huh?
Here is a link to the most useful hard drive space analyzer I have ever come across. While it does make my geek bones tingle, it's not just for computer geeky-types. It's also useful for video editors, graphic designers, and sys-admins. Okay... it is for geek types, but it's so useful I just had to shout it on high from the mountain tops.
What it does is analyze your hard drive and give you a very simple view of your directory structure based on how much data is stored in that director as a percentage of your overall hard drive usage.
The upshot is once you have run it, you can easily tell what files and directories are taking up the most space on your hard drive, and easily drill down to those directories and do some house keeping. It's great for finding out where you can free up some space on your hard drive.
This utility will likely become less and less important as hard drive space increases seem to be out-pacing software space requirements.
Oh, it's also open-source, so you can hack to it your heart's delight and have it do what not with your files. I love it!
The web page for the Util: http://windirstat.info/
So, you want to leave your city, quit your job, and start a new life under the sea? It is possible! Everything except for the living-under-the-sea part has a chance of success, and even that is possible if you have gills and/or a ton of money to spend on some kind of underwater research station a la Sealab 2021 (and fortitude!)! Don’t fret! I’ve moved more times than most people have drunk 12oz cans of Pepsi purchased from vending machines for the reasonable price of $1.25!!!
This guide should help you in this endeavor. If you don’t find what you’re looking for or have any questions that weren’t answered, feel free to read it again. All of the answers are here; you just need to be brave enough to look for them more than once.
What you will find herein is a blog-i-fied version of my much longer tome, “Kickin’ The Habit! How I Learned To Leave, and Love Leavin’ Behind” and can be found at any respectable bookstore. Respectability is easily testable. Walk into a book store, ask for my book by name, if they don’t direct you to an enormous display of the books, kick their teeth in. If you have asked via email to some book-selling-web-site like Amazon (who doesn’t have any teeth) kick your own teeth in. Then take a picture of your gums and send it to me.
To leave your city, you need motivation, a plan of action, and the all-important ability to grow a pair and "Buy the tickets, already!"
Motivation: The first thing you'll need to leave your city is a reason. Do you absolutely love the city you live in? If so, moving may not be the best option for you. If, on the other hand, you're not very fond of your city, job, family, or the smell of the paper factory down the street, moving could be a good thing.
Motivation isn't that difficult to come up with. People tend to hate everything from time to time. The question isn't "Do I hate it here right now?" The real question is, "If I were to rate every day on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being absolutely loathing hatred of the city and 10 being the feeling you get when you want to make wild, passionate love to your city, and add them up then divide by the number of days I've just added up I would arrive at a Motivation score. If the score is lower than 9.5, it's time for me to move!" Do that.
Plan of Action: If you want to not do something, and you have the ability to not do it because of some excuse, you will never do it. The reason? Excuses are really easy to make up. Don't want to mow the yard and a simple excuse will allow you to skip the chore? Easy! Just say, "Lawn mowers make me anxious and grass is green... I don't like green." BAM! You don't have to mow the yard.
Let's say your house is on fire and you have a healthy, well-developed sense of self preservation. You couldn't really come up with an excuse to not get out of bed and leave the house. The fire would force you to do something: Leave, whilst flailing your arms about your body in a vain attempt to put out flaming head.
To leave your city, you need to burn it to the ground (metaphorically). You need to put yourself in a position where an excuse will have no effect on your leaving. Quit your job. Sell your house. Write to everyone you know and tell them you are leaving, and if you don't, they all get a chance to kick your teeth in. And don't just quit your job, find another one somewhere else with a starting date that you have to be there for. Put a deposit on an apartment in another city. Things will, in a sense, force you to leave. The only trick is forgetting that you willingly set the plan in motion, that way you can feel a victim of circumstance. And if people say, "What the hell did you just do, Trey?" You can say, "I have to." Ding!
Grow a pair: Self-explanatory. If you're lost: Watch the following video
"Buy the tickets, already!" This is an old saying that harkens back to my traveling days of yore. Whenever I was planning a trip with friends, we would always say "Buy the tickets!" Which basically meant, once you've bought the tickets, you're going. When we would plan to do something a few months out, if there was a way to buy a plane ticket or concert ticket or whatever, we would do it because it meant we had a fixed day in the future when we would be doing something.
My advice is to buy the tickets, already. Set an actual timetable with real dates and goals. Buy the ticket to fly to the place you're interested in moving to. Make plans with friends to visit the place. Look at events going on in the new city when you'll be living there and buy tickets to them. Etc.
If none of this helps, wait for the next installment, "Kicking your teeth in: A beginner's guide"
