Ben's Blog Sunday Stuff Ben 110229838189817269




I did get home until well after dark, since I took along my camera - a photography website I frequent has "weekly assignments", and this week is "solitude". Here's my submission:



Here are some other pictures I took:

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> More TPMC10 Stuff Ben 110209846415703862 "Total Home Technology" video, which leads off with the TPMC10.

Press release: TPMC10 receives an Innovations 2005 award.


There's also some articles about homes that are controlled by Crestron:

10/03 Home of the Month
11/03 Home of the Month
Residential Systems 12/03
Inside Stories - Toronto-area Home
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> More PhotoImpact Fun Ben 110196463312760520 Iona Island hike. Press F11 to put IE in full screen mode.





]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Fun with PhotoImpact Ben 110188198315978109 FredMiranda.com, I decided to do a little PhotoImpact work on one of my Kutchers photos:



(Press F11 to toggle Internet Explorer into full screen mode if the image doesn't fit on the screen)
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday Stuff Ben 110169583975178476
Today we had some pretty nasty weather, but last Sunday was nice and I took another ride to Stony Point. I took a slightly different route in order to avoid the steep downhill on Thiels-Mount Ivy Road. On the way back, I took Halley Drive onto Cheesecote Mountain (It's the hump on the profile after Call Hollow Road):





Even though my cyclecomputer, which was in the pocket of my biking pants, went through the wash twice, it's still working, although the display is pretty dim (hopefully it's just the battery). 23.4 miles, 1:56 ride time, 13.28 MPH average, 38.6 MPH max.
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday (11/7/04) stuff Ben 110100327816763926 Stony Point Battlefield. Weather was just on the chilly side of perfect. The ride took a bit longer than planned, and I ended up riding the last 5 miles in the dark with only front and rear LED strobes.





The descent on Thiells Mount Ivy Road was pretty amazing - I hit 43.8 MPH. Sadly, when I got to Stony Point Battlefield, it was closed for the season. Riding through the Stony Point Marina at sunset was really nice - the sun's rays were shining through the rushes as I rode past the wetlands. I had to detour on the way back, as the bridge over Cedar Pond Brook on Old 210 was gone, so I rode south and took Reservoir Road across.

TopoUSA shows 26.7 miles, but the cycle computer shows 24.75. Hmm.... The ride took 2:17, of which I was moving for 1 hour, 52 minutes. 13.22 MPH average according to the cycle computer, but if I use TopoUSA's distance I get 14.22 MPH.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Some things just don't mix Ben 110066542455127608
A website that lets you fire a gun mounted on a motorized platform at passing animals from the comfort of your home, of course.

The idea came last year while viewing another Web site on which cameras posted in the wild are used to snap photos of animals.

"We were looking at a beautiful white-tail buck and my friend said 'If you just had a gun for that.' A little light bulb went off in my head," he said.


Here's the rest of the story.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> It's awfully dark in here.... Ben 110039970944835980 ]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> So sick.... Ben 110005173992521581 TPMC10 using remote desktop to control my PC (and in this case typing into Bloggar). If only the on screen keyboard were 25% bigger....

Since remote desktop routes the audio to the remote desktop client, I'm also listening to music via RealPlayer.

With Crestron, life is good, even when It's lousy. :)
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> So I was wondering.... Ben 109978512207352819
Well look what I found:



Even my county of Rockland, NY, less than 20 miles from Manhattan, went to Bush.

Update: Counties won by President Bush currently comprise 3.28 million square miles of land. Kerry's counties constitute 741,000 square miles. In other words, measuring by land, President Bush carried 82% of the country, while John Kerry took 18%. (Hat Tip: Evan Maloney)

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Heavenly Ovens Ben 109942479448655409 article from Wired called The Geek Guide to Kosher Machines - Meet the hacker who makes your home appliances right with God]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday Stuff Ben 109935010674441934 Walk 'n' Roller kit). After circling the lake, we let Mechel use his Fisher Price roller skates. I left the camera in the van, so you'll have to settle for pictures at New Yorkled.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Retirement will be a busy time Ben 109934746135200315 This has got to be close to the top of the list. Even higher that the Garden Monorail.

I wonder if the cheesy CHiPs-esqe music is included...]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> The Leaves are Falling... Ben 109928156531527158


]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> A dew-covered morning Ben 109928130429949107
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Everything but the moat Ben 109928109259728031
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Campaign 2004: High Stakes Ben 109918653513333572 article from Paul Johnson. Here are some highlights:

The great issue in the 2004 election—it seems to me as an Englishman—is, How seriously does the United States take its role as a world leader, and how far will it make sacrifices, and risk unpopularity, to discharge this duty with success and honor? In short, this is an election of the greatest significance, for Americans and all the rest of us. It will redefine what kind of a country the United States is, and how far the rest of the world can rely upon her to preserve the general safety and protect our civilization.

I don’t recall any occasion, certainly not since the age of FDR, when so much partisan election material has been produced by intellectuals of the Left, not only in the United States but in Europe, especially in Britain, France, and Germany. These intellectuals—many of them with long and lugubrious records of supporting lost left-wing causes, from the Soviet empire to Castro’s aggressive adventures in Africa, and who have in their time backed Mengistu in Ethiopia, Qaddafi in Libya, Pol Pot in Cambodia, and the Sandinistas in Nicaragua—seem to have a personal hatred of Bush that defies rational analysis. Anti-Americanism has seldom been stronger in Continental Europe, and Bush seems to personify in his simple, uncomplicated self all the things these people most hate about America—precisely because he is so American. Anti-Americanism, like anti-Semitism, is not, of course, a rational reflex. It is, rather, a mental disease, and the Continentals are currently suffering from a virulent spasm of the infection, as always happens when America exerts strong and unbending leadership.

All the elements of anarchy and unrest in the Middle East and Muslim Asia and Africa are clamoring and praying for a Kerry victory. The mullahs and the imams, the gunmen and their arms suppliers and paymasters, all those who stand to profit—politically, financially, and emotionally—from the total breakdown of order, the eclipse of democracy, and the defeat of the rule of law, want to see Bush replaced. His defeat on November 2 will be greeted, in Arab capitals, by shouts of triumph from fundamentalist mobs of exactly the kind that greeted the news that the Twin Towers had collapsed and their occupants been exterminated.

I cannot recall any election when the enemies of America all over the world have been so unanimous in hoping for the victory of one candidate. That is the overwhelming reason that John Kerry must be defeated, heavily and comprehensively.
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Political Condiments Ben 109907993542298929



You don’t support Democrats. Why should your ketchup?
www.wketchup.com
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> In the Face of Evil Ben 109873914794789426 trailer.

The makers of the movie also have a clip from the Reagan/Mondale debates. Watch.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> For the love of the French Ben 109846675792169430
Its simple, really.

Just turn our backs on Israel.

Think about it: What do the Europeans and the Arab states endlessly rail about in the Middle East? What (outside Iraq) is the area of most friction with U.S. policy? What single issue most isolates America from the overwhelming majority of countries at the United Nations?

The answer is obvious: Israel.

In what currency, therefore, would we pay the rest of the world in exchange for their support in places like Iraq? The answer is obvious: giving in to them on Israel.

Read the article.


Perhaps that's why America’s largest Jewish newspaper, the Jewish Press, has endorsed George Bush for President. Here are some highlights:

The choice Americans must make on November 2 should be an easy one. One can prattle about the significance of this or that difference between President Bush and Senator Kerry on the environment, Social Security, jobs, taxes and a whole slew of other domestic issues. But that avenue ineluctably ends up as a clash of partisan talking points about inherently insoluble problems. When it comes, however, to the war on terror — the overarching issue of our time — the choice of Mr. Bush over Mr. Kerry is a clear one from everything available in the public record. And for those with a special interest in Israel, the choice is even clearer.

Senator Kerry has spoken of former president Jimmy Carter and former secretary of state James Baker — both blatantly anti-Israel — as his choice for emissaries to the Middle East. He has also retained as advisers many of Bill Clinton’s discredited Oslo architects and others who have urged moral equivalence between the murder of Israeli women and children and Israel’s reaction to terror.

To our mind, based on their own statements, the imperative of responding to the worldwide terrorist threat, and the particular targeting of Israel, the choice this year is George W. Bush over John F. Kerry.

And this is not even to address Mr. Kerry’s shameful creating, out of whole cloth, politically motivated scares over a reinstatement of the military draft and a reduction in Social Security benefits. Mr. Kerry’s assertions are totally without foundation, and they put his credibility further into question. He should be ashamed of himself.

All things considered, we all will be better off with George W. Bush as president for the next four years.


Personally, I think Protest Warrior has the right idea.


Update: "He [Kerry] would reach out to the moderate Arab states. He'd put more pressure on Israel." -Richard Holbrooke, foreign policy spokesman for the Kerry Campaign.
Read the article.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Ashley's Story Ben 109823538756722928 video. Visit the website.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Need I say more? Ben 109815545791523925
Yasser Arafat certainly hopes so. After all, Kerry is much more pro-Palestinian than Bush. Yasser Arafat endorses Kerry.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Couple o' Ads Ben 109772751695366044 They Served
Why?]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Back from Kutshers Ben 109768067204321321 Journeys and Adventures page.
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> TPMC-10 Wins @ CEDIA Ben 109630904143959511 2004 Best New Product award at CEDIA, a trade show for installers of home audio, video, HVAC, and automation products.

I've attached a press release below. Did you miss the entry for the TPMC-10 at Infocomm?

*****


Crestron Exhibits Leadership, Innovation and the Best New Product at CEDIA

The residential market's signature trade event of the year, CEDIA 2004, was a powerful display of Crestron's industry leadership, technical innovation and marketing excellence.

Our expansive 5,500 square foot booth dominated the show floor at the Indianapolis Convention Center, as the world's home technology professionals spilled into the aisles to get an up-close-and-personal look at our new Isys i/O product family. Perhaps the biggest attraction on the entire show floor was the TPMC-10 WiFi Touchpanel, which was chosen by CEDIA as Best New Product.

A panel of expert judges honored the new TPMC-10 for its unique combination of wireless touchpanel control, built in Internet access, mobile computing, WiFi compatibility and modern industrial design. Completing the successful launch of the new Isys i/O family of touchpanel media centers at CEDIA Expo 2004, Crestron's new TPMC-10 WiFi Touchpanel was chosen as a winner of CEDIA's Manufacturers' Excellence Award for Best New Product.



Chosen for its design, engineering and benefit to the home technology marketplace, the new 10.4" Isys i/O TPMC-10 brings the ability to browse the web and wireless touchpanel control together, in an alluring design that goes effortlessly from tabletop to laptop.

The TPMC-10 is only available from Crestron and it's shipping right now. In fact, there are already hundreds of panels successfully installed and in use in both commercial and residential applications.

Crestron's new Isys i/O TPMC-10 is not the only wireless touchpanel on the market to feature WiFi technology. But ask yourself: What good is WiFi without the Internet?

Putting the needs of the AV dealer at the front of the list, Crestron has developed the only wireless touchpanel on the market with a direct connection to the Internet. No outside computers. No servers. No middleman. Just a connection that's always on, always ready to serve your customers.

Like every Crestron product, the TPMC-10 is designed for use in the AV world - your world. Crestron's WiFi touchpanel is a portable, personal control center that monitors or controls any device, directly connects to the Web and views many popular applications.

We also know that, with wireless, security is always a concern. Not with Isys i/O WiFi. Dealers and their customers can rest assured because Crestron has integrated all the standard encryption - including SSL - to ensure a safe wireless experience anywhere.

Bright 10.4" SVGA, high resolution active-matrix display
Integrated 802.11b WiFi 2-way wireless communications
Embedded PC for browsing the Web, streaming media and accessing email
Stylish design offer optimal viewing angle on tabletop or laptop.
Built-in high power tuned-port speaker system provides the ultimate multimedia experience.

Look for Crestron's new TPMC-10 ad campaign in all of today's leading AV trade publications including Residential Systems, Home Entertainment & Design, CE Pro, System Contractor News, Sound and Communications and Sound and Video Contractor.

Visit the new Isys i/O section of our web site and download a brochure:
www.crestron.com/isysio

Download a spec sheet from:
www.crestron.com/downloads/product_spec_sheets.asp]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> You knew it was a lie.... Ben 109603791706677594 Trailer.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Nine Innings from Ground Zero Ben 109569405433019459 Nine Innings from Ground Zero that tells the story of the 2001 World Series in New York. Watch.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday Stuff Ben 109504235336427643 drill press and compound miter saw.

Today I finished putting everything away. I also installed 4 shop lights. Now I'm running 8 40-watt T12 bulbs. It's really nice.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Voting Republican and eating on Yom Kippur Ben 109482455172471710 I used to think that voting Republican was as bad as eating on Yom Kippur. But at least with eating on Yom Kippur, it would be between me and God, but voting Republican would harm all of society.

Voting Democrat has always been something a Jew just does. But not anymore.

Read the Article.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Iraq and Ms. Genovese Ben 109470313878949030
*****

The Iraq war started as a fight to knock out a regime that invaded its neighbors, murdered its domestic enemies with poison gas, subsidized terrorism, and flouted the international community. Obviously such a regime was dangerous to American interests. But as the war continued and we confronted Saddam's gruesome tyranny face to face, the moral issue grew more important, as emancipation did in the Civil War. For years the Iraqi people had been screaming, in effect: "Oh, my God. Please help me! Please help me! I'm dying!" How could America have answered, "We don't want to get involved"? We are the biggest kid on the playground. If we won't help, who will?

I have just quoted the death-cries of Kitty Genovese, who died on the streets of New York 40 years ago. And I have quoted the response of an onlooker who didn't feel like helping. Her case still resonates in America's conscience, and tells us more than we want to know about the president's enemies.

The New York Times ran the story in March 1964.

For more than half an hour 38 respectable, law-abiding citizens in Queens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks in Kew Gardens.

Twice the sound of their voices and the sudden glow of their bedroom lights interrupted him and frightened him off. Each time he returned, sought her out and stabbed her again. Not one person telephoned the police during the assault; one witness called after the woman was dead.

The left wanted America to watch Saddam stab Iraq to death and do nothing. That is the left's concept of moral responsibility in the post-Cold War world.

Miss Genovese screamed: "Oh, my God, he stabbed me! Please help me! Please help me!"

The Iraqi people were dying. The left had no pity. The Bush-haters were opposed to American "arrogance." The New York Times shrugged.

It was 3:50 by the time the police received their first call, from a man who was a neighbor of Miss Genovese. In two minutes they were at the scene. . . .

The man explained that he had called the police after much deliberation. He had phoned a friend in Nassau County for advice. . . .

"I didn't want to get involved," he sheepishly told the police.

Let's not get involved, said the Bush-haters. It's none of our business. Let the U.N. do it.

One couple, now willing to talk about that night, said they heard the first screams. The husband looked thoughtfully at the bookstore where the killer first grabbed Miss Genovese.

"We went to the window to see what was happening," he said, "but the light from our bedroom made it difficult to see the street." The wife, still apprehensive, added: "I put out the light and we were able to see better."

Asked why they hadn't called the police, she shrugged and replied, "I don't know."

We have paid a steep price in Iraq, a thousand dead; but if you choose duty, you must choose to pay. Speaking for America, the president has said: We choose duty. What do we get in return? Nothing. Except the privilege of looking at ourselves in the mirror, and facing history and our children.

*****


Read the Article.
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Today's Ride Ben 109418124178006175
For the ride home, Doug showed me a route to Nyack. There were several major hills. By the time I got home, I was pretty sore. Looking at the route, its not surprising: even though the ride home was only 8.9 miles longer, the number of vertical climbing feet was more than twice that of the usual ride (2200 feet vs. 1100 feet), as much climbing as the 40 mile ride I did a few weeks ago.

Here's today's map and terrain:





In the end, 12.47 MPH Average, 39.8 MPH Max, 23.6 Miles.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> The traveling Zalesman Ben 109409730392492436 mentioned Senator Zell Miller's (D-Georgia) comments at the Democrats for Bush campaign. He had quite a bit to say at the Republican National Convention today.

Strange, I didn't see any Republican Senators speaking at the Democratic National Convention.....

Update: Here's the video. Wow.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Spider! Ben 109348923498891748 Argiope near our front door. Mechel came running in this morning from a flower picking expediation and said that there was a "huge igantic arantula" outside. Sure enough!


]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday Stuff Ben 109322182315239502


Today I cleared Gutters, etc. I took Mechel on a ride in the late afternoon. The bike weighs about 100 pounds (40lb Linear + 40lb Mechel + 20lb Trailer) when he's in tow, so it makes for great hill climbing training. We rode around the pond at Willow Tree Park (a.k.a. the "Goose Park") and took a ride on the swings at Eugene Levy Park (a.k.a. the "Digger Park"). 13.23 Miles, 12.07MPH Average. Here's the map and cross-section:





]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Rockland Bike Club Ride Ben 109261236280944561 Cold Spring and back. Due to weather, the ride leader decided to head south instead. We left the parking lot at around 11am. I was riding the Linear Recumbent.

Had I known that two people on the ride were training for the Ironman, I might have had some insight into what was in store for me.

Things started going wrong almost immediately. I remounted my fairing last week to give it a more "aero" shape, but I guess zip ties aren't quite good enough, so when I got above 30 miles per hour the fairing would slip down and my feel would hit it. In the process of trying to fix it I broke the zip ties about 3 miles into the ride, so I rolled up the fairing, taped it to my bike bag and dropped it off at the Piermont bike shop (I'll pick it up tomorrow).

At mile 10 or so my chain broke while climbing the 10%+ grade hill on 9W. It took a couple minutes to get the chain fixed, but by then the 5 people on the ride were long gone. A fellow on a pretty fancy bike passed me about 12 miles into the ride, and I sped up and manage to draft him (we were going about 23 miles an hour) until I caught up with the group.

We rolled into Tenafly and stopped at the bike shop so the other guys on the ride to say hello to the people working there. We then stopped at a bagel store where the guys got stuff to eat and complained about "all those Orthodox Jews" in Spring Valley.

Guess they didn't notice the peyos. Heh heh.

Folks peeled off one by one until it was just the ride leader and I as we made our way back through Piermont. We rode on a dirt path along the river in Nyack Beach State Park. The map below doesn't show it because it won't do routing off the roads. Anyway, riding up this path I could feel my quads seizing up. I got off to walk the bike up the hill and found that I couldn't walk all that well. Most of my leg muscles were starting to spasm. I had to walk for a while before they recovered. This happened again as we rode into Rockland Lake park. I had to hop off the bike and stumble about for a couple minutes. Three charlie horses at once is three too many.

All in all it was about 40 miles. I had a really hard time keeping up the hills, since my bike weighs 10 pounds more than theirs did (mine was the only bike on the ride that cost less than $1500, I think) (or maybe it's that they're in much better shape), but on flats I was able to keep up just fine. Here's the map (East is up) and terrain cross section:





There should be a ride report posted soon.

Update: here's the ride report.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Behold, the tailbox! Ben 109228564176962787





Here are some other folks who have done this: link | link

Ultimately, the cardboard prototype will be replaced with Coroplast, the corrugated plastic used in making lawn signs.
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> After work ride Ben 109176496508299146 Rolling Thunder after work for a little riding. We ended up riding down to the GW Bridge and back. Here's a map (East is up):



Here's the elevation profile. Big climbs from Sparkill on 9W and at the end of Hudson Terrace. Amazing descents from 9W onto Hudson Terrace and on CR505 down into Englewood:



The cyclecomputer was acting up, so we don't have a good reading (it kept saying 0MPH when we were rolling along). Based on how long we were out, I think our average was a bit over 15MPH. Our maximum speed (during the descent into Englewood) was over 45MPH!]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Under the sea.... Ben 109141751346268377 Bacopa and Ludwigia over there. I added a Red Crypt and a Pygmy Chain Sword as foreground plants, and a piece of Sawhala wood in the center rear. What do you think? Click on the image below to see a larger version:




I used Picasa and Hello to generate the image and link to the larger image. Picasa is much nicer than the Casio photo loader we've been using up until now, and Hello makes publishing images a breeze. I then came back and cleaned up a bit with wBloggar. So many tools!
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> The meaninglessness of privilege Ben 109119865801693439 Let's not flatter ourselves: If we do not find it within ourselves to identify the terrorism inspired by radical Islam as an unequivocal evil—and to pronounce ourselves morally superior to it—then we have lost the ability to identify any evil at all, and our democracy is not only diminished, it dissolves into the meaninglessness of privilege.

Read the Article.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> It's a small, small world Ben 109079162667841936
Never mind.

Anyway, here are some pictures. For the butterfly pictures, I screwed together my 1967 Pentax's 135mm lens and 3x teleconverter and mounted them reversed onto the FZ1. For the fly pictures I used the 135mm lens by itself (since the lenses are reversed, shorter focal lengths yield higher magnification). The fly is less than half the size of a typical house fly.






I should mention that on Sunday, Yehudah and Mechel and I rode from Sloatsburg to Awosting and back. With our detours, it was around 22 miles.

Three Sundays ago, that is. Here's the map:

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Ride Lance, ride! Ben 109034205780625293 Nike video until I saw the AMD logo on his jersey.

Oh well. No one's perfect.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Caviar and diamond-tipped canes Ben 109033085752726480 You know, I’m not wealthy like Al Franken or Michael Moore; I can’t go somewhere to give a speech and pocket 30 grand. I don’t begrudge them their success, but I do wish they would stop going purple because I get a tax cut and can afford to fix my daughter’s windows without dipping too far into savings. Okay? Deal?

Read the Bleat]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday Stuff Ben 109020602930983853
This afternoon, we went to Iona Island. A former Navy installation, it's now part of Harriman Park. We went there looking for birds, as the Audubon Society lists it as a "hot spot" in Rockland county. We saw lots of swallows, and one Heron fly by, but that's about it.

Trish and Mechel look out onto the marshlands

Barge on the Hudson
A commuter train on the other side of the Hudson




Quite the day!]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Behold the zoom-age! Ben 109001434588444787 new lens today. I drove out towards Piermont over lunch. On the way there, I saw the herons below in Sparkill creek. The rest of the pictures were taken on the Piermont Pier:






My camera now has a maximum zoom of 924mm. For a total cost of $425, the results are pretty impressive. Of course, with $2200 ($1200 camera + $1000 lens), you can do stuff like this.

Wow.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Place your tray in the upright position..... Ben 108995153545210649
Read the article.

Update: Lileks picked up on the article today. "I tell you, something like this happens on a big scale – lots of planes dropping out of the sky, half the country is going to ask for detention camps. All because we didn't dare delay or inconvenience self-professed bands of Syrian "musicians" because it might suggest we were (gasp) dispositionally suspicious of a dozen Syrians clutching violin cases. Is profiling a good idea? Read the piece, put yourself on that plane before you answer the question."

Read the Bleat.

Update: here's a follow-up article.
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday Stuff Ben 108960600393737343
All in a days work.

Actually, making the website was pretty interesting. I used NetObjects Fusion 7 to create the site. I had received a complementary copy of NOF7 a while ago, so I thought I would give it a whirl. Making a website using a tool like NOF was very different than doing everything in HTML by hand like I've done so far. Some aspects were much faster, but occasionally I would get to a point where I couldn't get NOF to produce an effect that I could implement in HTML manually with 30 seconds of effort. After a steep-ish learning curve, though, I was able to get it to do my bidding (once I accepted the fact that I was not in control).

It's like that whole "I'll collect your garbage for you but you can't use pointers directly" thing that Java does. In that case, I say good riddance. In the case of NOF I'm not so sure.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> A new lens for the camera! Ben 108960444877181102 Raynox 2020Pro teleconverter for by birthday (thanks Mom and Dad!) I didn't realize I needed a special adapter ring to mount the lens to the camera, so today I took some pictures by holding the camera in one hand and the lens in the other. Shooting handheld at the equivelant of 900mm at 1/125th of a second didn't yield the sharpest image. Plus, I shot through our 60 year old living room window. Still, not to shabby eh?

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Too big, too big! Ben 108848036149997711
As long as we're talking shop, I'm using CSS now to render the page (as well as XML and XSLT). Here's the stylesheet. It puts the white border around the images (except the ones it doesn't!) and centers images in tables.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday pics Ben 108839231703755602




Later, I was in the den and saw a bird in the tree we haven't had around before. Turns out it's a Northern Flicker:

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> This weeks ride to work Ben 108812970479427742
17.8MPH Average on the way in.

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Ride on Sunday Ben 108810984443206556 URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday at the Nursery Ben 108795964215738972 Matterhorn nursery:



]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Farewell, Yonah and Yaacov! Ben 108795688617989230 Yeshiva left this week. Yonah and his family moved to Long Beach, California to run the Hillel there, while Yaacov and his wife are moving to Phoenix, Arizona. The Yeshiva had a going-away get-together last Thursday.


Yaacov and Avi

Yonah

The Rosh Yeshiva gives chizuk (words of encouragement) to Yaacov and Yonah


On Sunday, Yonah had another get-together for families. While there, I spotted an insect eating a fellow bug:
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Pictures from last sunday Ben 108795606713358346
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Infocomm pictures Ben 108776323551202133 TPMC-10, was shown at Infocomm a couple weeks ago. Here are some pictures:


]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> No One Asked Us Ben 108756523617431753 "The analogy is simple. For years, you have watched the same large, violent man come home every night, and you have listened to his yelling and the crying and the screams of children and the noise of breaking glass, and you have always known that he was beating his wife and his children. Everyone on the block has known it. You ask, cajole, threaten and beg him to stop, on behalf of the rest of the neighborhood. Nothing works. After listening to it for 13 years, you finally gather up the biggest, meanest guys you can find, you go over to his house, and you kick the door down. You punch him in the face and drag him away. The house is a mess, the family poor and abused...but now there is hope. You did the right thing."

Read the article.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday Stuff Ben 108735751936627408 URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Saw the Venus transit Ben 108669591171922207 Venus Transit today with my Meade ETX90-RA. I projected the sun onto the telescope manual:



]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Hiking the Sherwood Trail Ben 108597190763520049 Geocache GCHQF0 and GC2226 along the way. However, as is always the case in Harriman, the map was so poor that we got lost a couple times. Thankfully, the book was descriptive enough that we were able to recover.



The first surprise was that the bridge over the Mahwah River was washed out. We looked around for a while and found a log to cross over the river:



Next we ran into a junction. I thought we were crossing over a jeep road associated with a gas pipeline, and that this was the continuation of the trail:



We didn't really want to hike through waist high brush, so we walked back down to the river. We met a fellow who told us that we need to turn left at the "T" and that is the trail (so what's to the right? Nothing on the map!). So, we went back up and kept going:



Oops, got lost again! We ended up going up the wrong way on the high tension service road. Too bad the map doesn't show the offset as the trail crosses the service road (Grrr!):



Baila woke up on the way down. She was looking around at the scenery, having a great time:



Even though we didn't get where we were going, it was a great first family-of-four hike. Here's a map showing our route, along with the two Geocaches and the lake:



Here's a close-up of our route. The spur on the left was our misadventure to the high tension tower:










]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Bird pic o' the week Ben 108596946052688379
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> I knew it! Ben 108552173817710274 Saturday Academy Robotics class when I was in High School, Neldon Wagner, had built a two legged walking robot. It seemed to me that the Segway is just a two motor platform with a gyro (like the one in the R/C helicopter I had in college) to let it know when it's falling over.

It's so nice to see that someone has demonstrated that that's the case.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Miracle in the Catskills Ben 108549761488444039

This bus carrying 49 Monsey Bais Yaakov girls home from a camp in the Catskills crashed on Sunday.

As the bus crossed the water main, it toppled over on its right side into the water below, causing the occupants to suffer serious to minor injuries. No one was killed. According to Sullivan County Fire Coordinator Dick Martinkovic, the crash could have been much worse. “When the bus rode over the top of the water main, it prevented it from plunging head-on at full speed into the creek, which would have caused a far worse crash with possible fatalities,” he said.

Wow, what a happy coincidence!]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Last Sunday Ben 108545541286279207








...We went up to Pamona road, East to Route 45, South to Eugene Levy Park (where we played for 15 minutes), then home. 8.37 miles, 11.35MPH average.

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Random pictures Ben 108545462101915908


]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday stuff Ben 108492946434553733 Burley, so we covered our 6.85 miles at a rather slow 11.45MPH. We rode up to Willow Tree Park, and around the lake. Mechel liked that part. Maneuvering an 11 foot long trailer towing a 4 foot long trailer around the bike path was no easy feat.

Late in the day, we went to Kakiat County Park. I played with the new camera a bit. Here are some shots, including some long exposure pictures to give the water that blurry effect:

















]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> More FZ1 pictures Ben 108492845892554598








]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> The new camera! Ben 10849283979330710 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1 arrived today. While only 2 megapixel, its 12x optical zoom with image stabilization gives it quite a reach! It was being closed out at $225, so I bought one to hold me over until the kind of camera I really want gets a bit cheaper.





Here's a picture of a goose, taken about 100 - 150 feet away:





Here's the center of the frame without resizing:







Not close enough? Maybe I'll put one of these expansion lenses on my "wishlist":





Excessive? Nah.

Update: Here's a review.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Parenting is tough! Ben 108429013359465805
"My 11 year old daughter is prostituting herself for mall money (guess we shouldn't have bought her the child-size underwear that says "eye candy" when she was 8 years old). Now that she's pregnant, why can't she get a "morning after" abortion pill without my consent?"

And this question from a couple living in a village in the West Bank:

"My 18 year old daughter was coerced by her fiance towards intimacy. Now that she's pregnant, should we strangle her with a cord like her sister, or douse her with gasoline and set her on fire?"

Scary, scary stuff.

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday outing Ben 108492806211316719 biking there, I decided it would be great to take the whole family.

The highlight of the trip was Mechel getting to feed the Swans. One got a little too close (and Mechel was putting the bread down on the dock, not throwing it like I told him to) and got Mechel's thumb along with the bread. Mechel was more scared than hurt, I think; it didn't break the skin.





Later in the day, I took my neighbor Yehuda on a ride on Rolling Thunder. We covered 9 miles at an average speed of 13.14 MPH.









It looks like I have an up-and-comming backup stoker if Yehuda isn't available someday:



]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> This week's ride to work Ben 108386927189976398
AM Avg: 17.83MPH
PM Avg: 14.03MPH
Overall: 15.70MPH

This is week #18:



]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Catch the (micro)wave Ben 108355015241625084 microwaves mounted on a temporary shelf until we get the cabinets:



The shelf isn't bent - it's the barrel distortion of the camera. Too bad PhotoImpact doesn't have a filter to correct it.

The microwaves are great - they provide truly variable cooking intensity (not the pulsed 100% intensity that cheap microwaves use to approximate a lower setting). Trish put some corn in and pushed "vegetables". "Fresh? Frozen? Canned?" asked the microwave. We told it canned and pushed start. The microwave has temperature and humidity sensors, so it runs until the food is hot 'n' steamin'!

Eventually it will look like this.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Save a cow - eat bison instead! Ben 108328660320236741 ]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Today's ride Ben 108312751290506207 Burley and we rode to Rockland Lake State Park. 21.05 miles, 11.88 MPH average. It was very hilly, and Mechel is getting very heavy! I had to get off and push, and one hill was so steep I had to take a break from pushing! That hill at least has a name - it's bad enough when you're defeated by a hill, but when the hill isn't even worthy of a name....

Taking this to seriously, am I?

Anyway, it's called Phillips Hill. In the image below, which is a altitudinal cross-section from our house to the lake, the ride home was from right to left:



We also got to ride across Lake DeForest, which is the flat spot between mile 6 and mile 7.

Mechel had a great time. We saw baby geese, and a train, and a fire truck, and....

When I put him in the Burley, he was squirming around a bit. I asked him what he was doing. "I'm getting comfortable," he said. Not bad for a 31 month old...

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday Fun Ben 108300719484071949
Since our house is so old, the power company would not allow a simple repair. The folks building the new house had to dig a trench from the road to our house. In the process, they had to dig through our ornamental garden.



Tricia asked the Digger operator to move the plants first, so he dug up each plant with the 2'x2'x2' chunk of dirt it was planted in.

Trish and I moved the plants to the side of the house where the oil tank used to be. I found some paving stones in the yard and we made a little path:



We had a couple left over, so we planted the Clematis and a Hasta next to the parking area:



Thankfully, it rained quite a bit on Monday, which should be great for the newly transplanted plants. Some of our Hasta looks as if it has been nibbled on. We found some deer tracks around the yard yesterday, so I suspect they're the culprits.

----------


A few weeks ago I had diverted the gutter that used to run across the path to the front door. It fell down, so yesterday I reinforced the joints with screws. Not as elegant as the St. Louis arch (who was no saint, by the way), but at least no one will be tripping over the gutter any more:



]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> The Meaning of Vanunu Ben 108274318093189863 article.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> RIP Pat Tillman Ben 108274272138699317

Tillman, 27, turned down a $3.6 million contract with the Cardinals to be an Army ranger after 9/11.

"There is in Pat Tillman's example, in his unexpected choice of duty to his country over the riches and other comforts of celebrity, and in his humility, such an inspiration to all of us to reclaim the essential public-spiritedness of Americans that many of us, in low moments, had worried was no longer our common distinguishing trait.

When Pat made his choice to leave the NFL and became an Army Ranger, he declined requests for interviews because he viewed his decision as no more patriotic than that of his less fortunate, less renowned countrymen who loved our country enough to volunteer to defend her in a time of peril. It is that first lesson of patriotism that we should reaffirm in our own lives as we celebrate the courageous life and mourn the heroic death of this most honorable American." -Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz

In other words, who knew there still exist Americans whose aspirations and passions extend beyond the local shopping mall....

CNN | MSNBC | FOXNEWS]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> This week's ride to work Ben 108257005974762168
AM:
Avg: 17.74 MPH

PM:
Avg: 13.88 MPH

Unlike last time, I was able to get all the way home without getting off and pushing.


]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Prager: The World Stinks! Ben 108247756072991655 "In sum, I feel that I am living in a world that is morally sick. Good is called bad, and bad is called "militant," "victimized," "misunderstood" and "the product of hopelessness," but rarely bad. Only those who fight the bad are called bad."

Read the article.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> And then there was one.... Ben 108243170387943661
Cox and Forkum
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> B"H So many Simchas! Ben 10824303928280935 Seudas Bar Mitzvah (the dinner in honor of the Bar Mitzvah) of our neighbor, Yehuda.



At the dinner, Yehuda was Mesayem Shishei Sidrei Mishna (he completed the Six Orders of the Mishna). This is an incredible accomplishment, one which I hope to soon accomplish.



(L to R): Yehuda, Yehuda's father Avraham Hillel, and Yehuda's Grandfather


-----


On Sunday, I went to the wedding of our friends Rafael and Shalva in Woodbury, NY. Rafael and I were in Yeshiva together in 2002. Here's Rafael at the Kabbalas Ponim:



The Rabbeim (Rabbis) sign the Kesubah (wedding contract):



I haven't been to so many weddings, but I was struck by how different it felt this time, since I've known Rafael for a couple years. I was just so happy for them - it was really something.

The first dance lasted a little over an hour (!):



...Of course, that was at least partially due to the fact that leading the band was none other than Yisroel Williger (listen)!

As a gift, I got one of those four picture folding frames with a picture of Rafael and I, and maps of the three adventures we went on together. Here are the images:



Mazel Tov to all!]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Have seven months with nothing to do? Ben 108214629638993882
Big Mech!

...It's a 38% scale replica of the 20 to 100 ton mechanized robots from the role playing game "BattleTech". Many an afternoon were squandered playing BattleTech in my teen-age years. At least it kept me out of trouble. More or less.

Here's the article detailing it's construction.

Finished? More free time? How about a garden monorail?

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> 9/11 - The Movie Ben 108204096988485242 "This will sound crass, but bear with me. 9/11 would make a hell of a movie."

Read The Bleat.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Grow up already! Ben 108165347935029869
Read the article.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Barnum and Baily meet Bagels and Blintzes Ben 108153274601389890
Here's the article.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Designing our kitchen Ben 108052687461344654


We got our two new ranges and microwaves today, so I went to millspride.com and used their Online Kitchen Designer. Here's what we came up with:



Neat, huh?]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> The folly of following numbers Ben 108032159349586325 article.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> C and F delivers the goods Ben 108027191083202805 Cox and Forkum:





]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Ds for W Ben 108022594626502762 Luckily, Democrats like me have a courageous and honorable leader that we’re proud to support. It just so happens that he has a little R next to his name.

-Democratic Senator Zell Milller

Here are his remarks.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Bush, Kerry, and Clinton have something in common Ben 108022575034830457 video.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Anti-war protestors: more US dead, please Ben 107992983983329315

Touching, isn't it?]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> This week's ride to work Ben 107984349496733613 Avg: 16.65 MPH
Max: 38.4 MPH

PM:
Avg: 12.14 MPH
Max: 33.6 MPH

Yikes! I can really tell I've been off the bike for 4 months! On the way back I had to get off the bike 4 times - my legs were really hurting. It took 2 days for the sore sensation to go away.

Hopefully the chart will show a pretty rapid improvement like it did in '03 (the x-axis is the week of the year):


]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Only in Monsey Ben 107905642904410838 ]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Stuff's happening Ben 107880580425156122 The Vault (e-mail me for username/password).]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> And then there were four Ben 107850966581277610 Baila's Blog]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Barrier To, or For Peace? Ben 107817122668178465

Cox and Forkum]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> More flying Ben 107810198173045379 1/25/04, 1/11/04, 1/04/04):







Like last time (video), I circled a few times and got stuck in a tree about 30 feet off the ground. Dad and I managed to shake the tree until the plane fell down a bit farther, then we pulled it out:



I really need to join a club with a bigger field. Or I need to learn how to fly. Or both.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> More bird pictures Ben 107707449000204432 pictures with my Meade ETX-90RA on Sunday. Here's a sample:

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> New fish picture Ben 107655261188627816
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Be scared. Ben 107653555819656120 Celebrating 9/11 at the FBI]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> TOC or no TOC? Ben 107628289127570133
In the end, though, I switched back to this format. I didn't like how it broke up the reading experience. To read the blog, the user would have to click on the latest link, read February's entries, then return to the table of contents, click on a January entry, read all the January entries, go back to the table of contents, click on a December entry, etc. I like being able to just continually scroll down without having to click back and forth.

What do you think?]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Janet Jackson and the Frog Ben 107601710275527206 "Never mind the message it sends to international audiences...who may have been wondering whether America really is immoral."

Was there ever any doubt?

Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal

(Hat tip: Avi)]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Citizen Hero (or something) Ben 107566689929355427 Communities. Since our bike trip involved using the Internet while traveling through Virginia, they felt we were a good way to end the "communication technologies" chapter. Anyway, I added scans of the cover and pages from the book to the website.

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Prayer Amid the Office Machines Ben 107523878159228485 article.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Flying and Sledding Ben 107508088466668668


I found some tips on how to fly in cold weather, so hopefully we'll do better next time.

On our way out of Silvermine, I took Mechel sledding down the abandoned ski run while doing my best Howard Dean impersonation. You can either watch the video, or download it and then watch it.


]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Let there be (more) light! Ben 107500283690919600 55 watt light kit to my aquarium tonight. Here are before and after pictures. Both pictures are taken at 1/15th of a second at F2:


Before: Stock 36 watt (2 x 18w T-8 bulbs) lighting.



After: 36 watts + new 55 watt kit = 91 watts!
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Rockin' C++ routine o' the day Ben 107480410842119648 strtoc! What a function!]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday is for the birds Ben 107445678653918020 digital camera to my little telescope using my SteadyPix adapter and took some bird pictures. Here's a sample:

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Breaking in the snowblower Ben 107421947280418545 snowblower and got to work. It took about an hour to clear our 300 foot long driveway.

After that, I drove the snowblower up to our walkway and blew some snow onto the window for Trish and Mechel:





Shortly after that I ran over the power cord for the walkway lights. It cut the cord, and tore the connector out of one of the lamps. Tonight I fixed the cord, but that lamp is still broken.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> No wonder I like cycling! Ben 107388172448079335 article.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Come fly the friendly skies Ben 107388169548421191
Anyway, the last flight went pretty well until I got a little too close to the trees. A 1000 x 1000 foot field isn't all that big when you're going 30 miles an hour! If you like, you can watch the video, or download it and watch it later.

As you'll hear in the video, the engine noise made Mechel upset. He also cried when the plane crashed. Its OK Mechel!

I realized I was in trouble when I saw the left wing go behind a tree branch (below). I tightened up the turn, but I was too far into the trees and hit another tree 25 frames (0.8 seconds) later.



Living up to it's name, the DuraPlane survived the 40 foot fall unscathed.

Mechel helped me clean up the plane and posed with me for a victory shot:



I'm looking forward to next Sunday!

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Saw the ISS Ben 107350129109498818 J-Pass webpage, I verified it was the ISS:

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> We're in the Eruv! Ben 107326866270706706 Eruv. It took a few hours and several 16 foot high poles to get the job done:

Before:



After:



Now friends with infants who can't walk yet can come over for lunch on Shabbos.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Flying in Harriman State Park Ben 107326686973968656 Duraplane 20 Trainer up to Harriman State Park. I joined the Interstate Model Flying Club and the AMA, which allows me to fly my plane at the abandoned parking lot at Silvermine lake (formerly overflow parking for the Silvermine Ski Area, which was closed in the 1980s.) As you can see from the width of the road, the lot is roughly 1000 feet by 1000 feet:



It was raining quite a bit, but I really wanted to fly, so we gave it a shot anyway. Mechel helped me prep the model before we started. We brought along the controller for his radio controlled car so he could pretend to control the plane:



I throttled up to 100%, and Trish gave the plane a toss. I throttled down too soon, though, lost airspeed, and crash-landed (The plane was never more than 20 feet off the ground). The elevator came off, and I broke the propeller, but otherwise the plane is fine:



Even though I only got to fly for 10 seconds or so, it was fun. It will take a while to get back to where I was in 2000, able to do loops and such.

On the way back to the van, we spotted some berries dripping with water:



Can't wait for next Sunday!]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Why people fear guns Ben 107321505623075553 article.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> A not-so-funny comic Ben 107273960203050511 ]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Planning the basement Ben 107240275386970539


All the rooms already have sheetrock, outlets, etc. except for the southern bathroom and the kitchen.

If you install the Cortona 3D viewer for Internet Explorer, you can view our plan in 3D!

If you want to be able to move stuff around in the floorplan, download Room Arranger and edit our Room Arranger data file.

]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Trish and I go to a concert Ben 107240122150302064 Yerachmiel Begun and the Miami Boys Choir teamed up with Dedi for Miami 26 (!) in Hackensack, NJ:



MBC is like Menudo (there's a word I never thought would show up on my blog) in that the members keep changing as they get older. Either that, or they do something to keep them young - their first album is called "Entebbe", and the song of the same title commemorates Israel's raid on Entebbe in 1976.

I didn't take my camera, but other people took plenty of pictures. The concert started at 8pm, and we left at the half-time intermission at 9:45pm, so we only got to see the colored outfits, not the black-and-white ones.

The two title songs were excellent. Here are some other selections: 1 2 3 4

Dedi was telling jokes throughout the concert.

It was also the first time Trish and I went out on a "date" without Mechel since he was born.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> The new living room Ben 107136332320066058
]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Confession: I am a Republican Muslim Ben 107109508413899384 2004 Presidential Candidate Selector, I discovered that I should vote for Bush (although not by a large margin - I guess that makes me a moderate. Or indifferent). Even more gratifying was the discovery that I have 0% in common with the views of Al Sharpton:

1. Your ideal theoretical candidate.   (100%)  Click here for info
2. Bush, President George W. - Republican   (68%)  Click here for info
3. Gephardt, Rep. Dick, MO - Democrat   (51%)  Click here for info
4. Edwards, Senator John, NC - Democrat   (48%)  Click here for info
5. Kerry, Senator John, MA - Democrat   (47%)  Click here for info
6. Libertarian Candidate   (37%)  Click here for info
7. Kucinich, Rep. Dennis, OH - Democrat   (34%)  Click here for info
8. Dean, Gov. Howard, VT - Democrat   (30%)  Click here for info
9. Lieberman, Senator Joe, CT - Democrat   (26%)  Click here for info
10. Phillips, Howard - Constitution   (23%)  Click here for info
11. LaRouche, Lyndon H. Jr. - Democrat   (15%)  Click here for info
12. Clark, Retired General Wesley K., AR - Democrat   (14%)  Click here for info
13. Moseley-Braun, Former Senator Carol, IL - Democrat   (0%)  Click here for info
14. Sharpton, Reverend Al - Democrat   (0%)  Click here for info



That was so much fun that I used the Belief System Selector. Turns out I'm a Muslim:

1. Islam (100%)
  • Browse Islam related books.  Click here for info
    • 2. Orthodox Judaism (100%)
  • Browse Orthodox Judaism related books.  Click here for info
    • 3. Sikhism (91%)
  • Browse Sikhism related books.  Click here for info
    • 4. Bahá'í Faith (83%)
  • Browse Bahá'í Faith related books.  Click here for info
    • 5. Reform Judaism (82%)
  • Browse Reform Judaism related books.  Click here for info
    • 6. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (77%)
  • Browse Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) related books.  Click here for info
    • 7. Mainline - Conservative Christian Protestant (63%)
  • Browse Mainline - Conservative Christian Protestant related books.  Click here for info
    • 8. Jehovah's Witness (62%)
  • Browse Jehovah's Witness related books.  Click here for info
    • 9. Jainism (62%)
  • Browse Jainism related books.  Click here for info
    • 10. Hinduism (60%)
  • Browse Hinduism related books.  Click here for info
    • 11. Eastern Orthodox (60%)
  • Browse Eastern Orthodox related books.  Click here for info
    • 12. Roman Catholic (60%)
  • Browse Roman Catholic related books.  Click here for info
    • 13. Seventh Day Adventist (53%)
  • Browse Seventh Day Adventist related books.  Click here for info
    • 14. Orthodox Quaker (51%)
  • Browse Orthodox Quaker related books.  Click here for info
    • 15. Liberal Quakers (51%)
  • Browse Liberal Quakers related books.  Click here for info
    • 16. Mainline - Liberal Christian Protestants (49%)
  • Browse Mainline - Liberal Christian Protestants related books.  Click here for info
    • 17. Mahayana Buddhism (46%)
  • Browse Mahayana Buddhism related books.  Click here for info
    • 18. Unitarian Universalism (41%)
  • Browse Unitarian Universalism related books.  Click here for info
    • 19. Theravada Buddhism (37%)
  • Browse Theravada Buddhism related books.  Click here for info
    • 20. Scientology (33%)
  • Browse Scientology related books.  Click here for info
    • 21. Neo-Pagan (32%)
  • Browse Neo-Pagan related books.  Click here for info
    • 22. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (31%)
  • Browse Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) related books.  Click here for info
    • 23. New Thought (30%)
  • Browse New Thought related books.  Click here for info
    • 24. New Age (23%)
  • Browse New Age related books.  Click here for info
    • 25. Non-theist (23%)
  • Browse Non-theist related books.  Click here for info
    • 26. Secular Humanism (14%)
  • Browse Secular Humanism related books.  Click here for info
    • 27. Taoism (13%)
  • Browse Taoism related books.  Click here for info
    • ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Another snow picture Ben 107085369578808458 ]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Lots o' snow Ben 107076436333796321





    Here's a picture from early October when we installed these new lights leading to our front door:



    Of course, this is nothing compared to last year (2/17/03), when we got about 30 inches:






    Three cars in a row (see the side view mirrors?)
    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Fun with the digicam Ben 107075849603613218

    Stationary fire truck: 4 second exposure, 200 ISO equivalent




    8 second exposures, 200 ISO equivalent



    Next I drove Mechel's radio controlled ambulance around in a circle:


    8 second exposure, 200 ISO equivalent


    Finally, I tried messing around with flashlights and one of those LED keychain lights:



    With the lights off, I rotated my arm while holding the LED keychain light - 4 second exposure, 200 ISO equivalent





    Began the exposure with the flash - 4 second exposure, 200 ISO equivalent




    Began the exposure with the flash - the slashes in the middle are the flashlight shining into the camera as a swung it around - 4 second exposure, 200 ISO equivalent




    The "me" on the right was illuminated by the flash. I then walked to the left while swinging the flashlight, and then shined the flashlight at myself to create the right "me". 6 second exposure, 200 ISO equivalent




    The "me" on the right was illuminated by the flash. I then walked to the left and shined the flashlight at myself to create the right "me". 4 second exposure, 200 ISO equivalent
    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> This week's ride to work Ben 106980265731787412
    My poor performance is probably on account of having to stop five times to fix the fender.

    AM Climate: 40F and Windy
    Distance: 14.95 Miles
    Ride (moving) Time: 49:56
    Total Time: 1:02:00
    Avg Speed: 17.96 MPH
    Max Speed: 39.8 MPH


    PM:
    Avg Speed: 15.04 MPH
    Max Speed: 34.9 MPH

    Here's a picture I took when I got home. Notice the reflective band on the rear tire:


    Let there be (halogen) light!


    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday Stuff Ben 106970490918034539 hub brake as the Linear's rear brake, so I was able to get rid of the side-pull cantilever brakes. Back in '96 I modified the Linear by cutting about 18" off the beam, to make the bike shorter. This brought the bottom of the seat very close to the rear brakes. Unfortunately, when I would sit on the seat, my weight pressed against the brake cable sheath, causing the rear brake to pivot and press against the rim. So now I won't have that problem anymore.

    Another advantage of the new wheel is it comes with a Shimano Deore XTR 8 speed cassette - a major upgrade from the decades-old 6 speed freewheel on the other wheel.

    I also put a new Primo 1 1/8" tire on the wheel - it has a nifty reflective strip!


    The Aerospoke with hub brake



    Close-up of the hub brake - the brake cable is pulled through the blue sheath,
    causing the arm at the bottom to pull upwards, engaging the brake pads in the drum.
    (The rectangular aluminum component mounted next to the quick release is my custom Burley trailer hitch.)



    Close-up of the hub brake from the inside of the "rear triangle"


    It did, however, add about 2 pounds to the bike.
    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Just in time for the holiday buying season! Ben 106935630374235320
    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> New fish for the tank! Ben 106921407072890088

    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> This week's ride to work Ben 106917480417822829
    Last night I installed new rear brake pads, as well as a new section of brake cable sheath. Back in '96 I modified the Linear by cutting about 18" off the beam, to make the bike shorter. This brought the bottom of the seat very close to the rear brakes. Unfortunately, the new brake sheath is quite stiff, so when I sit on the seat, my weight presses on the sheath, causing the rear brake to pivot and press against the rim.

    That's why my performance was so poor - having the brakes on the whole time tends to slow one down. Hopefully I can fix it for tonight's ride.

    I must have left my USB flash drive on my bike seat when I left the house, as it fell onto the street when I went around a corner. I managed to recover it before it was squashed by a passing car.

    AM Climate: 48F and foggy
    Distance: 14.90 Miles
    Ride (moving) Time: 52:54
    Total Time:
    Avg Speed: 17.05 MPH
    Max Speed: 39.9 MPH

    I think I still have rear brake rubbing issues. I also need to glue the front fenders to their clips (so they don't pop off when I hit a bump), adjust the cycle computer sensor (it's under-reporting distance travelled), adjust the shifter cable to allow shifting into the highest gear, and adjusting the fairing so it stops striking one of the front spokes.

    PM Climate: 50ish and somewhat muggy
    Distance: 14.95
    Ride (moving) Time: 1:00:39
    Total Time: 1:10:00ish
    Avg Speed: 14.79 MPH
    Max Speed: 34.7 MPH



    The new front light mount



    The new rear fender and xenon strobe





    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Thanks to both of you Ben 106856218778098587
    Cox and Forkum]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Tonight's Lunar Eclipse Ben 106835004717601372 lunar eclipse using the SteadyPix mount to attach my Casio QV-2000UX camera to my Meade ETX-60AT and Celestron 8" Star Hopper Telescopes.

    The total eclipse lasted for about 30 minutes, as the moon barely passed fully within the Earth's shadow. Even at totality, the moon was still distinctly brighter on one side. The first three images are before the total eclipse, the last two after.











    Taking pictures afocally is a major pain! Hopefully someday I'll have a digital camera with threads for attaching accessories, so I can use something like this to attach my camera to the telescope.

    It was really neat watching the moon get darker - during the total eclipse, the moon was a dull red color.

    Here's a picture I took back in 2000 - since the moon is first-quarter, the sun light lit up the crater edges nicely:

    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> This week's ride to work Ben 106797332478148803
    I installed my new rear xenon strobe and a second headlight (see 10/28/03), so we'll see how it goes tonight.

    I tried a slightly different route today, which while slightly shorter involved a killer hill. I suspect my speed would have been even higher had I stuck to the old route.

    AM Climate: Cool (55ish) and nice
    Distance: 14.86 Miles
    Ride (moving) Time: 46:48
    Total Time: 53:40
    Avg Speed: 19.05 MPH
    Max Speed: 38.1 MPH

    Before I left work, I installed my front fender, which kept me much more dry on the way home. Having the two lights on the fairing was the best arrangement yet, but the light still illuminates the fairing, making it hard to see. I'll try mounting the lights on the fender and see how that goes.

    PM Climate: Raining Lightly
    Distance: 14.70
    Ride (moving) Time: 58:06
    Total Time: 1:10:00ish
    Avg Speed: 15.18 MPH
    Max Speed: 33.1 MPH

    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Blast from the (lunar) past Ben 106789253346745023 the website for an experiment I participated in 16 years ago: building a simulated lunar base in an underground lava cave. In the picture below, from this article, we're assembling the "sanitation unit" (read: toilet). I'm the fellow in the center of the picture in the background. Fellow Spartan Al Shupp is the shorter fellow in the right foreground:



    Hard to believe that was 16 years ago!]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday Tomfoolery Ben 106782895726533343
    I also took apart one of our dehumidifiers to see if I could adjust the humidistat, but there were no potentiometers on the circuit boards.]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> About my new bike lighting system Ben 106736330873532931 really nice lighting system for my bike but didn't want to have to pay a lot for it.

    Solution: I bought a pair of inexpensive bike lights and replaced the 6 volt, 5 watt bulbs with a 12 volt 20 watt bulb and a 12 volt 12 watt bulb. Back in '01 when I was working on the Intel Web Tablet, the battery design was changed, so hundreds of four cell (7.4 volt, 3Ah) Lithium Ion battery packs were thrown away. These scrap batteries were offered to the engineering folks, so I took 10 of them. I took the packs apart and made a 6 cell (12 volt 3Ah) pack for the 20 watt lamp, and a 3 cell (12 volt 1.5Ah) pack for the 12 watt lamp.

    I've used the 20 watt lamp, mounted on the recumbent's fairing, for a couple weeks now. It's great! I had to buy a special charger to charge these Lithium Ion cells. I finished building the 3 cell pack yesterday, and mounted the 12 watt lamp on my helmet. We'll see how it goes (assuming I can fix my front tire).

    I'm waiting for my front and rear xenon strobes to arrive - they're much brighter than the LED blinkers most bikers use. There's no such thing as "too safe"!]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> This week's ride to work Ben 106736215315236999 Joseph B. Clarke Rail Trail leaves Blauvelt and heads south towards my work.

    The trail was pretty rough, especially for a recumbent with one inch wide, 100psi tires (see the last photo on this page). I punctured my front tire, and when I tried using the tire irons built into my Topeak Alien tool, I broke one of them. So, I called someone from work who picked me up. I'll have to go down to the local bike shop to pick up some real tire irons so I can fix the tire for the ride home.

    I rode a little over 10 miles before the flat, so at least I got some exercise out of it. I doubt I'll ride the trail again on the recumbent, but I have a feeling I'll be back on my mountain bike.]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Poor Fishy! Ben 106713082653593733


    It was in the hospital tank twice in the past with the same disease that killed Baxter, our Siamese Fighting Fish.

    The Dwarf Gourami was almost DOA from the pet shop. They pack each fish in a plastic bag, then put the bags into a paper bag. The paper bag had gotten wet, and when I stepped out of the car, the bottom of the bag broke through. The three plastic bags hit the ground, and two of them held, but the bag with the Dwarf Gourami broke open. There I was, at night, with this fish flopping around on the pavement, about 50 yards from our apartment. I picked it up and ran all the way to the apartment, and threw it into a glass of water. It wasn't moving at all, but after about 30 seconds it started wiggling a bit. I then realized I had left the other two fish in their bags back on the pavement, so I ran back out and got them. That was back in late January, so its pretty amazing it lasted this long, I guess.]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> This week's ride to work Ben 106675506694430979
    AM Climate: 58 degrees, somewhat muggy
    Distance: 14.98 Miles
    Ride (moving) Time: 49:46
    Total Time:
    Avg Speed: 18.05 MPH
    Max Speed: 42.5 MPH

    On the way home, it was raining, and I got pretty wet from road spray. Guess I'll have to install fenders on the bike.

    The bulb I have for the bike light has a very wide beam, so it disperses too quickly. I failed to see a storm drain grate, and went over it. My front wheel went between the grate bars, and I started to fall over before clearing the grate. I ordered new bulbs today, so hopefully it won't be a problem next week.

    PM Climate: 60ish degrees and raining lightly
    Distance: 14.84
    Ride (moving) Time: 58:11
    Total Time:
    Avg Speed: 15.30 MPH
    Max Speed: 35.0 MPH

    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Last week at the Homowack Ben 106675428170138304 The Homowack for Chol Hamoed Sukkos (this past Monday through Friday). I hope to create an adventure page for the trip shortly. We played mini-golf, did some bowling, rowed around on the lake, found the Homowack water tower, and explored the Shawangunk mountain range. The food was great, as was the evening entertainment - we got to hear Ira Heller and Yossi Goldstein, as well as see magicians, contortionists, etc.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Hey, there's our house! Ben 106572102317416329 GlobeXplorer:


    July 2nd, 2001


    The image on the right shows our approximate property lines. Note the car in the driveway for scale. The grey building in the lower center is the detached garage, and the white building next to it is one of the two 8'x12' sheds on the property. The other one is immediately to the right of the first, and is mostly obscured by the trees.

    Since the GlobeXplorer logo is always in the same location relative to the picture frame, I screen-captured three different images with slightly different locations (so that the position of the house relative to the logo changed), then used PhotoImapct's Clone tool to copy the logo-less sections from the other images over the logo-ed sections of my master image.

    Never mind.

    Here's a broader view - the field to the left of our house is where the new house is currently being built. The road is on the far left.

    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> This week's ride to work Ben 106570650012307998
    I'm becoming increasingly convinced that average speed doesn't tell the whole story. The cycle-computer only factors in time that the bike is moving (to eliminate traffic stops as a factor in the result), but that means that two identical rides, except where in the middle or the 2nd ride I took a 10-minute break, would yield the same result. Today, I had to wait through three or four traffic light cycles at the corner of Germond and Route 304 - while that stopped time doesn't detract from the average, the break it affords certainly improved my later performance.

    I don't think there's necessarily a way to solve the problem, but it's something to consider, especially with my overall average speeds being so close to each other now.

    AM Climate: 62 degrees, somewhat muggy
    Distance: 14.96 Miles
    Ride (moving) Time: 48:27
    Total Time:
    Avg Speed: 18.53 MPH
    Max Speed: 40.2 MPH

    PM Climate: 70ish, somewhat muggy
    Distance: 14.96
    Ride (moving) Time: 58:35
    Total Time:
    Avg Speed: 15.32 MPH
    Max Speed: 36.2 MPH

    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Latest on the Aquarium Ben 106515102329489999 Siamese Fighting Fish, died today:



    Baxter was our only named fish - Trish bought him back in February for "fish week" when she was the director of The Goddard School. Hopefully we can find a similarly colored one before Mechel wisens up....

    Check out our Aquarium page for more on the aquarium (I created the page today). We currently have three Siamese Algae Eaters, a Bushy Nosed Placo, three Red Eye Tetras, two Praecox Rainbows, two Pearl Gouramis, a Dwarf Gourami, and a Bosemani Rainbow.]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> This Week's Ride to Work Ben 106504418199648154 Piermont Bicycle replaced my broken spoke, so I'm back in action!

    AM Climate: 57 degrees (summer is over!)
    Distance: 14.95 Miles
    Ride (moving) Time: 49:13
    Total Time: 56:20
    Avg Speed: 18.23 MPH
    Max Speed: 39.4 MPH

    The ride home was a little slow, mostly because it was in the dark. I was going down streetlight-less hills at 35+ MPH with a little AA battery headlamp on, just hoping the road kept going straight.

    PM Climate: 60ish
    Distance: 14.82
    Ride (moving) Time: 57:54
    Total Time:
    Avg Speed: 15.36 MPH
    Max Speed: 37.3 MPH

    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Today's ride to work Ben 106442922300192971 Distance: 14.95 Miles
    Ride (moving) Time: 49:01
    Total Time:
    Avg Speed: 18.29 MPH
    Max Speed: 40.5 MPH

    I hit a bump and my lunch box came off the bike, went into the rear wheel, and broke a spoke. It's always something.....

    PM Climate: Cool
    Distance:14.93 Miles
    Ride (moving) Time: 0:57:11
    Total Time: 1:05:00
    Avg Speed: 15.67 MPH
    Max Speed: 35.8 MPH

    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Sunday Stuff Ben 106419419006757772



    Today, I covered the sump pump pit with plastic sheeting. That way, the dehumidifiers don't work so hard to dry out the basement only to have the water in the sump pit evaporate and increase the humidity.

    I also fixed my recumbent's rear shifter cable - hopefully biking will resume this week.

    In the afternoon we went to Van Saun Park (link, link) in Paramus, NJ. Mechel fell asleep on the way there, and refused to wake up, and it was late in the day anyway, so we decided to let him sleep. Trish and I briefly checked out the train, the zoo, the carousel, and the pony rides. We'll have to come back when Mechel is awake!


    1/2 sec, f10




    1/4 sec, f10




    1/8 sec, f10




    Wake up Mechel, you're missing all the fun!



    ...When we got home, he was still sleeping. You snooze, you lose!


    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Here She Comes! Ben 106367345867855560


    Am I supposed to cover my windows with plywood? It will have been over land for about 300 miles before it passes by, so it should have calmed down somewhat, but then again "calmed down somewhat" from 155 MPH winds might still be pretty nasty.]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Weekly ride to work Ben 106333720680885087 URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> We've been robbed! Ben 106333681274787347 low voltage path lights were not working. Tonight they were also not working, so I went to check the lights in the garage - I assumed the breaker for the outsie power had tripped. When the lights in the garage came on, I thought I had perhaps unplugged the transformer for the lights. I noticed there was nothing plugged in, and if fact the cord that comes in through the garage wall was missing, so I walked around the side of the house and discovered that the transformer had been torn off the garage's exterior wall, and the wires leading to the sidewalk lights had been cut. Grrrr. Trish will call Ruud to find out how much the thing costs, and then she'll call the Police. We suspect it was stolen while Trish was taking me to work on Wednesday - when she came back, the garage door was open. Perhaps it had been left unlocked when I put my bike away that morning? In any case, we were only gone an hour. Oh well.]]> URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Our new people-mover Ben 106333636411428241


    ...We bought it yesterday in Queens. We used the Motley Fool car buying method with great success!]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> More insect pictures Ben 106296079934170947

    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Hiking in Monsey Glen Park Ben 106295974172570463 Monsey Glen Park. The whole hike was not more than a mile. Mechel hiked about 75% of it himself - his first hike!



    I climbed up to the old Consolidated Rail railroad track - its still there, but not in use. I'm tempted to build a rail bike....]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Last Sunday.... Ben 106295944924898488
    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> To Bee or not to Bee Ben 106295931277441674



    Here it is after a little PhotoImpact magic:

    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Today's ride to work Ben 106268367182660748 Distance: 14.91 Miles
    Ride (moving) Time: 50:14
    Total Time:
    Avg Speed: 17.81 MPH
    Max Speed: 43.5 MPH

    Excuses for poor performance: Brake rubbing on rear wheel (grrr..), Bad weather, wet roads, bad luck with traffic lights.

    PM Climate: Cloudy, hotter and still humid
    Distance: 14.88 Miles
    Ride (moving) Time: 56:53
    Total Time: 1:03:22
    Avg Speed: 15.70 MPH
    Max Speed: 37.4 MPH

    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Folly. Utter Folly. Ben 106262249378448767
    Date: 9/3/03
    From: response@wamu.com
    Subject: Re: DDATypeAccount
    September 3, 2003

    Dear Ben:

    We're sorry we are unable to open a new account online for you
    at this time. Our decision is based on information we received from
    Experian, a consumer-reporting agency. There are discrepancies with the
    date of birth provided on the application.

    So here's my question: If I mistyped my birthdate (among the many pages of information I was required to enter) why not call to confirm the information? I guess if you mis-enter one piece of information, you have to start all over again. That's just plain silly.

    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> We're off the grid (sort-of) Ben 106209176649616075 Vonage, as it offers area code 845 phone numbers. Here's a diagram (from Vonage) of how it works:



    There several advantages:

    Cost: $26 a month for a "phone line" with all the usual features, free local and regional calls, and 500 free long distance minutes a month.

    Portability: The phone number is associated with the ATA-186 - if I take the box (and my phone) anywhere in the world and plug it into an internet connection, when someone calls my home phone, the phone will ring! If we move across town or to another state, we can keep our old phone number

    The primary disadvantage is reliability: If the cable modem connection fails, bye-bye phone service. Fortunately, we can call the cable company using the cell phone. Power failure is also a problem, but we have a 450VA UPS which should power the cable modem, router, and ATA-186 for quite some time.

    ...So, I called verizon and cancelled our service with them. Its pretty amazing that phone calls can be thrown around on the internet in real-time - being attached to the phone company with thousands of feet of copper wire suddenly seems so passé. Of course, we're still attached to the cable company, but one utility is better than two.



    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Today's "weekly ride to work" Ben 106190476151110233
    AM Climate: 74 degrees, 79% RH
    Distance: 14.39 Miles 14.92 Miles
    Ride (moving) Time: 48:35
    Total Time: 54:00
    Avg Speed: 17.77 MPH 18.42 MPH
    Max Speed: 38.7 MPH 40.1 MPH

    PM Climate: 78 degrees, 68% RH (Forecast)
    Distance: 14.40 Miles 14.93 Miles
    Ride (moving) Time: 57:52
    Total Time: 1:01:05
    Avg Speed: 14.93 MPH 15.48 MPH
    Max Speed: 35.8 MPH 37.1 MPH



    Fortunately, the weather forecast below did not come true; I made it home dry (as far as rain is concerned, anyway):


    Severe Weather Alert from the National Weather Service
    ...SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE UPTON NY445 AM EDT TUE AUG 26 2003

    THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS PLACED MOST OF THE TRI-STATE AREA IN A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR LATER TODAY. ONLY THE EASTERN PART OF SUFFOLK COUNTY ON LONG ISLAND AS WELL AS NEW HAVEN... MIDDLESEX AND NEW LONDON COUNTIES IN CONNECTICUT REMAIN OUTSIDE OF THIS INCREASED THREAT AREA.

    THE COMBINATION OF A WARM AND MOIST AIRMASS ALREADY IN PLACE OVER THE REGION AND AN APPROACHING SURFACE TROUGH WILL PRODUCE ENOUGH INSTABILITY TO ALLOW STRONG AND POSSIBLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING. THESE STORMS COULD BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH OR LARGE HAILOF PENNY SIZE OR GREATER. AREAS OF VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

    THOSE WITH OUTDOOR PLANS AND ACTIVITIES SHOULD STAY ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING SKY CONDITIONS AND SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IF THREATENING WEATHER IS OBSERVED. SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING....]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Star Gazing at Wawayanda Ben 106183136332090903 Rockland Astronomy Club, I have a permit to go observing at Wawayanda State Park all year 'round. This past Saturday night, the club had a scheduled viewing night there, so I packed up my stuff and headed out there for the first time. I took along Alan, one of the Brits from Yeshiva.

    By the time we got the scope set up (I took my strutted 8" dob) it was about 11:30pm. We looked at Mars for some time. I tried out my new color filter set - the red filter did seem to bring out more detail as promised. In the past, when I've looked at Mars, I haven't been able to make out any detail, but this time I was able to see the Southern Polar Cap, as well as the large dark area Syrtis Major on the left equatorial area and the smaller dark area of Mare Erythraeum to the right (you can check this out using Sky and Telescope's Mars Profiler - enter "8/22/2003" for the date and "21:30" for the time to get a feel for what we saw (our view wasn't nearly that detailed, but the basic shapes were there)). The blue, green, and yellow filters didn't seem to do much.

    After Mars, we looked at some deep sky objects - I showed Alan some objects I had seen before: M45, M57, M71, M27, M31, M32, and M110.

    ...I also sighted four new Messier Objects I had not seen before:

    M26 - unimpressive - just a diamond of four stars.
    M11 - was nice - largish, with one bright star and hundreds of dimmer members.
    M72 - was dim fuzzy patch (at least at with my 32mm lens, which is 38x on my 1220mm focal length telescope).
    M73 - quirky asterism.

    We got home around 4am. The skies were surprisingly good - Its only a 40 minute drive, and we could see the Milky Way nearly from horizon to horizon.
    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Today's "weekly ride to work" Ben 106139657472753809
    AM Climate: 74 degrees, 80% RH
    Distance: 14.37 Miles 14.90 Miles
    Ride (moving) Time: 49:51
    Total Time: 54:48
    Avg Speed: 17.29 MPH 17.93 MPH
    Max Speed: 39.4 MPH 40.9 MPH

    PM Climate: Hot and Wet
    Distance: 14.39 Miles 14.92 Miles
    Ride (moving) Time: 1:01:55
    Total Time:
    Avg Speed: 13.94 MPH 14.45 MPH
    Max Speed: 34.1 MPH 35.4 MPH
    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> The Hakimi / Bloom wedding Ben 106131569263626456 Huntington Station, NY last night. Trish and I have known Annie since our Oregon days - she came back from Neve Yerushalayim a few weeks before Tricia went. It was wonderful to see two people come together to form a bayis ne'eman b'Yisroel.



    Mechel at the wedding




    Annie receives Tricia and Mechel




    Annie receives other guests



    It was also great to see a number of folks from Portland:



    (left to right) Rabbi Oppenheimer, Yosef Rosenberg, Rabbi Shmuel Goldstein (former Kesser Israel youth director)




    Yosef Rosenberg, Mechel and I




    Rabbi Oppenheimer speaks with Mrs. Bloom


    In addition to Rabbi Oppenheimer and the Goldstein and Rosenberg families, we also saw Janice Cohen, Ariza Fax, and Annie's roommate, Laliev Ben-Avraham. Trish and I miss the Kesser gang, so its great when Kesserites pop up in our neck of the woods!]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> The New Dishwasher Ben 106130564192023684
    Unfortunately, the disposal wasn't working consistently - I think its because the X10 wireless receiver is plugged into a circuit that's not on the same leg as the X10 appliance module. When the A/C is on, which uses 220v (and thus bridges the legs), the disposal works (look at this page for an explanation of the problem). For some reason, Trish doesn't like the idea of having to turn on the A/C to run the disposal. One more thing to fix...

    We also continued our battle against a mildewy basement by buying two dehumidifiers - after 48 hours of operation, the humidity in the basement is down from 70% to 46%. It feels warmer and dry, but there is still a faint "basement-ish" smell.]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> A biking we will go.... Ben 106078333890702288 Monsey to Rockleigh (at least the way I went) was 14.74 miles. Here are the stats:

    Update: I re-measured my wheel circumference, and discovered that the cycle computer thought my wheel's circumference was 3.7% less than it really is. I've updated all the statistics for the "go to work" rides.

    Elevation change: 450 foot drop (0.58% average grade)
    Time: 55:28
    Average Speed: 16.72 MPH 17.34 MPH
    Max Speed: 40.8 MPH 42.3 MPH

    I used my linear recumbent (mine was originally an underseat steering model like the one on the left, but I converted it to overseat steering so it looks more like the one on the right) with my Zzip fairing (shown on my tandem, "rolling thunder"). The ride went well, despite it being 80 degrees with 95% humidity. Blech. The ride home will be even nastier, I suspect.

    Update: Here are the stats for the return trip:

    Distance: 14.64 15.18 (I went back a slightly different way)
    Time: 1:10:00
    Avg Speed: 12.81MPH 13.28 MPH
    Max Speed: 35.8 MPH 37.1 MPH

    It was really hot and wet going back, and I definitely noticed the elevation gain! For a 15 mile ride, I think eating something, or at least drinking a Gatoraide-type drink instead of water, would make a big difference.

    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> More Sunday stuff Ben 106061342122996049
    To try and combat the mildew smell that comes up form the basement through the A/C ducts, I put up a sheet of plastic to isolate the well area in the basement from the rest of the basement. The well is in a small cubby which is actually not under the house (unlike the rest of the basement, which is immediately under the house). Since there's no house to keep the basement's ceiling dry there, water seems to seep between the concrete slabs which make up the roof for the well cubby. My humidifier was reading 70% when it was down in the basement. If this doesn't solve the problem, I'll try using a dehumidifier.

    I did many, many loads of laundry, and we did a bit of weeding and shrub trimming. The former owner of our house, a landscaper, said that the shrubs leading up to our house are Taxus sp., a type of Yew tree. He said they can't be trimmed past the needle line (leaving just the branches) as it would take years for the shrub to regenerate. The folks at OSU seem to disagree - clearly more research is needed.]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Answer: A lot! Ben 105996231875541043
    He was chucking wood!

    Never mind the berries, he was eating leaves and branches. A member of the Marmot family (Marmota monax, to be precise), the woodchuck, or groundhog (also known as the "Whistlepig", apparently) is a largish rodent, about the size of a cat:



    It was raining quite a bit - they don't always look so soggy.]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> So many tasks, so little time! Ben 105996178116455976 three piece furniture set I had purchased at Home Depot:





    They were being closed out at $80 - not too shabby!

    After that, I set out to install a new faucet in our kitchen sink - the old faucet was not compatible with our portable dishwasher. I ended up having to pull the sink out just to get the old faucet off:



    Trish said "Well, as long as you had to take the sink out, you might as well install the garbage disposal". Its this sort of logic that has folks go in for an oil change and come home with a new transmission. Despite that, I acquiesced, and the two of us spent a good bit of time getting the thing installed. Its pretty amazing how nasty the stuff in and around old plumbing can be. Blech! Mechel also got in on the project:



    Finally, we got the new faucet and disposal installed. I still have to hook up the water lines to the faucet (I need longer connectors). I also need to pull out the dishwasher to hook up the power for the disposal. Rather than install a new wall switch, I'll probably use an inline X10 module to turn the disposal on and off.



    Of course, the minute I pull out the dishwasher, I'll hear "As long as you've got it out, you might as well install the new dishwasher".

    ...Which is what I'll do.

    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Oil, that is.... black gold.... Texas tea. Ben 105970876913026073
    So, before we bought the house, we had the ground around the tank tested. The tests came back negative, indicating that the tank had not leaked. We had the tank pulled out today. I aimed my videocamera at the work site and hooked it up to my computer, which was running webcam software, so I could watch the work proceed throughout the day. Here are some highlights:




    Here's the site on the south side of the house - I pained an "X" on the ground so they would know where to dig. Note the date and time at the top of the image.




    The bulldozer goes to work




    The top of the tank is cut open with what appears to be a circular saw




    The tank's contents are sucked out




    Thar she blows! A hump like a snow hill! Well, OK, more like a 550 gallon oil tank, 5 feet long and 4 feet across. It's huge!!




    The hole is (mostly) filled in. Tomorrow they will be filling in the hole the rest of the way and reconnecting the electrical connection between the garage and the house that was (oops) severed during the digging.


    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Of Tables and Telephones Ben 105935357946326137
    My parents we're kind enough to buy us a dining room set for our new house. I was perfectly happy using our 8 foot long Office Depot folding table, but Tricia doesn't really appreciate my "steel 'n' chipboard" sensibilities. We chose the Bassett "Options" line, in the "light oak" finish to match our dining room - we got the table with 6 chairs, and a china hutch.

    Unfortunately, the table only sits 6 with the 18" leaf installed, and we really wanted a table that seats eight. So, I ordered new table slides from a table slide manufacturer and an extra leaf from Bassett. Today, I installed the new slides - my custom 2 leaf, 8 foot version of the table worked out very well:




    I also got around to installing a deadbolt in the dining room door, in addition to the those I installed in the other two doors a couple weeks ago.

    A new house is being built in the lot in front of ours, and on Friday the construction team managed to cut of phone cable. The contractor sent his phone guy to fix it today, and they rigged up a temporary solution - we have a phone cable going from tree to tree until it reaches our house. I guess the plan is to properly re-install the phone cable as the construction nears completion.]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> Shabbos Flowers Ben 105917723700963008






    ]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]> It's Alive! Ben 105907021317092719
    The idea behind this journal is that I'll be able to quickly add entries when we go on trips, etc. without having to fashion webpages, make links, etc.. Additionally, the main page shows the latest entry, so I don't have to maintain a "log of changes" page.

    I hope to soon have a journal up for Tricia and Mechel.]]>     URL for this entry]]> ]]> ]]>