Rachel Dunn score 14 Kills!
Rachel Dunn, the daughter of one of my co-workers, is attending West Point and is on their volleyball team. Here is a shot of her in action during a recent game against NJIT.
Running 32-bit Flash Plugin on 64-bit Ubuntu
As of the time of this writing there is not yet a fully-functional pure 64-bit solution for playing Flash content on a 64-bit Ubuntu Linux system. However this was a great post on the Ubuntu forums that automate the process of installing and configuring the 32-bit Flash plugin to work inside the 64-bit Firefox browser with the nspluginwrapper. Click Here to read the post and download the very simple script.
Ride to Sheldon Lake
I was chomping at the bit for 17:00 to come around today at the office. As soon as we got home from work I changed clothes and headed out on the Bacchetta. On the way out I was going against the wind, but it wasn’t too bad!
Here I am taking a brief rest break at the half-way mark:
Here is a view of the boat landing and part of Sheldon Lake:
Click here to see the route I took in Google Maps.
Here are my stats for the ride. Lap 1 is outbound. Lap 2 is inbound.
| Lap | Time | Distance | Max Speed | Avg Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 52:36 | 14.98 mi | 23.8 mi/h | 17.1 mi/h |
| 2 | 40:54 | 13.77 mi | 31.1 mi/h | 20.2 mi/h |
Team Bent, first ride
On Sunday I took my first ride with a few of the illustrious members of Team Bent. The day before I had picked up a new Bacchetta Corsa from Planetary Cycles in Houston.
They are a great bunch of folks to do business with, by the way!
This is my first recumbent bicycle. It took me a while to get used to riding it. But except for a bit of awkwardness in starting, it’s a very comfortable bike and the riding position is very relaxing.
For this ride we met at the park-and-ride lot near the intersection of HWY 288 and CR45. I uploaded a GPS map of the entire ride. Click here to view it in Google Maps.
I also uploaded some pictures from the ride. They are not my best photography work ever — I haven’t quite figured out the mechanics of taking smooth and well-framed pictures while pedaling a bike — but oh well!
If you click on the preview image below you will be taken to a Flickr photoset.
These pictures were taken and uploaded at a pretty high resolution and Flickr will let you click on an images and then click an “All Sizes” button. There are several shots that show deer off in the distance and also a few pictures of a field full of vultures, which was very interesting. If you view the largest resolution picture you can see the critters pretty well.
Raccoons!
We heard strange noises in the wall and discovered that a family of raccoons (a mom and 3 youngsters) had managed to get into the house. After many holes cut in the wall in various places we discovered their entry point.
A contractor who did a bunch of (very expensive, over-budget) work on the house had left a large hole in the floor in an area that was not visible except by cutting a hole in the wall. This contractor was Butch Needham. He and his gang of drunks, thieves, and ex-cons did really shoddy work and this it yet another example of it.
We managed to get the mother raccoon and two of the babies out the first night. We finally found the third baby last night. We have been feeding it kitten formula and Mikie is trying to re-unite it with the rest of it’s group.
If you click on the picture below you can view a Flickr slide show.
Trip to Mount Pleasant, SC
I had to drive to Mount Pleasant, SC this weekend past to deliver Jennifer’s new car. I have a few photos from the trip. If you click on the image below you can view a Flickr slide show.
Chipley, Florida
On the drive to Mount Pleasant, SC, I got a chance to stop off at Biddie’s place for a quick visit. There was a lot going on because she was getting delivery of her two Texas longhorn cattle later in the day. I have a few pictures from my visit. Click on the image to view a Flickr slideshow.
Update from Gordy Jr.
Just got a call from Gordy Jr. We got to talk for quite a while. He is doing pretty well. They have been experiencing more rocket attacks lately. At the FOB they are spending a lot of time filling sand bags and using them to make low walls around their tents. The purpose is to contain shrapnel if a rocket hits one of the tents.
He was driving a PLS on a convoy recently and was so out of it from heat and general exhaustion he missed a turn at a traffic circle and ended up isolated from the rest of the convoy. When he discovered the problem he did a 180 in that big truck and came blasting back up and through / over the traffic circle, parting the civilian traffic like the Red Sea. He got back onto the proper road and hauled ass until catching back up with the convoy. Scary!
Gordy told me that Tito Ortiz (famous mixed martial artist) is visiting at their post right now. Gordy got to talk with him.
He’s been enjoying the packages but doesn’t need anything in particular. He said they are supposed to be getting a small post office soon so he will be able to send letters out from the FOB.