I must have forgotten to mention this awesome link because I was too busy building bridges. I'm pleased to say that I had no problem beating all the levels, although the last one was rather unfair I think.
5.2.01
A very happy birthday to my bro Michael!
I've been missing an SLR camera lately. My digital point-and-shoot is handy and can do a lot, but I do wish I had a longer lens and better manual features. On that topic, here's a nice bit from Ars on the state of the art in digital photography: Digital Photography: Today and Tomorrow. Feeling kind of curious, today I took a look at digital SLR cameras... still WAY too expensive. :-(
I am on the verge of making my camping gear shopping spree. I've got my list, now I just have to wait for camping season to get a little closer...
5.1.01
I have returned from a busy trip to California to see my good friend Tyler's wedding in Redding. The wedding was simple, short, and to the point. I found it to be very touching in ways that most fancy weddings do not achieve. The bachelor party was also great and very supportive of the groom. I also got to attend Tyler's graduation from Simpson College and meet another good friend Bryan's soon-to-be wife. I'm so happy that two of my long-time friends have found such wonderful women to spend the rest of their lives with. If you read this, congratulations guys!
I spent most of my time hanging out with Tyler, Bryan, their younger brothers, and other friends. Conditions were not well suited to photography so I didn't take very many pictures but I did make lots of good memories. It's amazing how old friends are growing up and where life is taking them. Gosh.
It was a long drive but the scenery was good (although the visibility was too poor for photographing). Oregon does have a lot of spectacular peaks though. It makes me want to take a long road trip to properly appreciate all of the many points of interest. I took highway 97 which is posted 55 MPH the entire ways (Oregon must be dumb) but traffic was moving much faster and I pushed my poor vehicle to previously unheard of speeds. I was horrified to find that gas costs well over $2 in California yet drops a full 50¢ across the border in Oregon, even with Oregon's dumb "no, you can't pump your own gas" law.
- approx. 1120 miles
- almost 4 tanks of gas
- approx. 9 hours (making "good time")
- not a single ticket
- countless splattered windshield bugs
4.25.01
For once, I had an interesting day at work. Just to catch your notice, I got radiated TWICE today at the nuclear plant. Now that you are paying attention, let me explain. In the morning, after going into the plant to take some pictures, I tripped a personnel radiation scanner (beta contamination). This was a great surprise to me but I called HP (Health Physics, aka rad people) and they diagnosed me with a typical case of naturally occuring radon (radon is not a major radiation concern). I've heard stories of this but fortunately I didn't have to sit for an hour to wait for it to decay. They sprayed me with Static-Guard, which immediately dispersed the contamination from my pants and I passed the monitor successfully. Later in the morning, a Civil Engineer invited me to join him for surveying on a new roadway that will be added to the site. It was informative and interesting, but mostly it involved me standing in the 85' hot sun holding a striped pole perfectly straight. As you might guess, I got a rosy sunburn from this unseasonally hot weather.
4.23.01
I'm looking forward to going to my good friend Tyler's wedding in Redding, California this Sunday. It will be a long drive though.
For those of you who want to know, my truck looks dirty already.
4.21.01
I spent most of the day working in the yard. Trimming hedges really makes your arms hurt. It felt good to get some stuff done for once. I even washed my truck.
I treated myself today to the newest Def Leppard album. It is fairly true to their original 80s sound. I'd give the album a B. I'll have to get more of their other albums too. I need some Celine Dion too.
4.20.01
Work at ENW has been VEEEERRRY SLOOOOWW. Positively boring in fact. I spent a good part of the week reading the (terribly interesting... not!) WNP-2 system manuals to become more familiar with the plant. If things don't pick up I might have to see about spending some more time downtown with M&D.
I've been playing more Age of Empires II. The Saladin campaign Acre seige defense is an incredible battle. So far I have not been able to defeat the overwhelming opponents.
OK, it sounds like the P4 thermal protection isn't so bad, since it only kicks into effect if the CPU is already overheating, so a properly cooled P4 will always run at full speed.
4.14.01
The conspiracy for the day is misleading specs on the Intel Pentium4 processor. Their stated specs are 55 Watts, however, digging deeper into the datasheets (check out the bottom of p23) indicates that actual heat rate is 73 Watts! Apparently if the heat rate gets too high the CPU will run at 50% until it cools off, resulting in a disturbingly slow 750MHz P4 processor, right in the middle of intense usage. Those smokin' hot Athlons are starting to look even better!
I finally got around to working on my homemade bed expansion. Soon it should be able to fit the extended 80" mattresses I got at the WSU auction for $0.05 each.
4.9.01
It's that time of year again... yes, the CIH virus triggers April 26th. I actually got this one a few times but it didn't activate. This is some bad stuff. Get the scoop on some current virus threats.
Eric conveys an emotion. This is absurd... but I did get a perverse pleasure in looking at them all. What is the web coming to?
4.9.01
I just returned from a restful and luxurious vacation to Leavenworth. I stayed at the Enzian Inn with my family and spent most of the weekend eating too much and hanging around in town, browsing the shops and other local points of interest. I saw a number of cool items in the shops which I sadly decided to defer purchase on (probably indefinitely), such an "Engineer Parking Only" sign and "100 uses for a dead cat" coffee table book. I might return for that one once I move out... While on vacation I also took the opportunity to read George Orwell's famous 1984 novel, along with the new Darwin Awards book. Both were fascinating.
On the way home I stopped by to visit several (now married) friends in Wenatchee, the now Mr. and Mrs. Dan Booker. It was good to see that they are doing well and are interested in joining me for some Wenatchee-area camping expeditions. Fun times surely lie ahead!
The last night of my vacation I was playing cards (Scum, of course) with my fam. Unfortunately, we were short on players so we created a "phantom" player who was simply an unmanaged hand where we would draw the top card and play it, if possible. Although Phantom was showing a suprisingly competitive edge we also gave Phantom an added advantage of being able to play a mixed combination to make up for it's not being able to sort the hand. Phantom proved disturbingly successful and in fact beat myself for the position of Scum. Immediately thereafter Phantom proceded to best all 3 human players (while using it's combination advantage only once) and rising to the exalted position of King. Having suffered beyond reason we unanimously quit, assuring each other that we were not sore losers.
4.3.01
Starting Monday, April 2, I have been transfered to a contract position with Energy Northwest for approximately 3 months. They are on an 8x9 schedule, meaning that they work 9 hour days and get every other Friday off. Combined with a starting time of 7AM this means a certain amount of hardship to my sleep-sensitive self. I should be getting used to it soon though. Needless to say, this explains the recent lack of posts.
Here's another web gem from Brian: BonsaiKitten! Some may find this offensive but I think it's a fairly obvious attempt at humor. Rock on!
3.27.01
I felt strangely nauseous late in the evening. The feeling grew until I went to the bathroom and felt that particular demanding need... Aiming squarely at the toilet, I performed several perfect projectile vomits, streaming puke safely into the toilet. Afterward, I felt much better and even felt hungry. I don't know what that was all about but it must have been something I ate. I guess I'll consider it part of my new diet plan. Now if only I could eat food that fast...
3.25.01
Last week was very busy playing computer games and hanging out with WSU friends over their break. I played laser tag for the first time. It was fun but paintballing is way better. College students stay up too late. Now it's time to think about the new Half-Life: Opposing Force and Need For Speed 4 games that seem to have "fallen accidentally" into my possession.
3.20.01
I just switched my super hot Voodoo Banshee for a nice cool Diamond Viper 330. Now my computer is cooler and the 2D is better too!
I thought this was one of the most brilliant things Taco Bell has done in a long time. At least Mir is good for something! Almost as cool as using nuclear weapons on anywhere you want.
Going to bed at 7:30 really helps when you are very tired.
3.19.01
I had a busy weekend watching movies and playing computer games with Paul and Ed. We went back to our roots and got down with Descent II
and Shadow Warrior. It was a good breaking-in for my new computer. I'm very tired after staying up very late all weekend.
3.17.01
I've been working on the Pullman Swing Dance Spring Formal Pictures, so if you were there and had your picture taken you should be getting yours soon.
3.14.01
I recently got more of that nice fancy Crucial memory. It's a good thing, since at the moment my memory usage is reading at 375MB (not that I actually have that much in RAM). Ah Photoshop, I love thee. If I tried harder, I could use up even more memory.
3.13.01
I finally got around to putting my new computer together. Check the specs out here. It runs very nicely and cool at 75x2.5 but it doesn't seem to allow a multiplier higher than 2.5. Hmmm... go figure. I think I will keep with my Norse theme and name it "Valhalla". It still lacks comm ports, which prevents me from using a serial mouse for the moment. Hopefully that will get fixed soon.
3.12.01
I went up to Pullman this weekend to visit some old college friends. I had a great time and got to see lots of dear friends, although there were fewer of them left than I had expected. Friday night I went to BCM and afterward to BCM's annual GNO (guys night out) at Antioch. The activity this time focused on a very manly topic: burning things. We started out by playing "fireball" soccer with a flaming ball. The local police seemed to take notice of our rather suspicious gathering but we managed to light the intermural field up and play without attracting any undesired attention. The fireball soccer was exactly as you might imagine it- lots of flames as it flew. After that we hung out in Antioch's backyard and made s'mores while burning random things. We poured white gas on a pile of snow and watched it burn while attempting to golf with golf balls covered in Sterno. We also played hacky sack with a burning ping-pong ball. A few sparklers added ambience. We concluded the night with a rather large aerial rocket. After that we decided we had pushed our luck far enough and we gave it up before we all got arrested. That was Friday night. I was reminded that college students stay up way too late. Saturday night I went to Pullman swing dance's spring formal, where I took some "professional" portraits and danced with some very lovely ladies. Sunday morning I went to EBC church in Pullman where I met with more old friends. On my way out of town I even managed to catch a couple whose wedding I took pictures for. It was definitely the right weekend to visit and I had a busy action-packed time. I also had the opportunity to contribute to my alma mater (under duress), courtesy of WSU parking services.
3.5.01
I just got back from a little shopping trip to Portland while we flew my grandpa off to California. I took this opportunity to pick up my dream amplifier/ AV receiver for my stereo system. My old one was inferior and dying so this time I got a quality hi-fi setup that should last me for years to come. It is a Yamaha 5250 AV receiver with 500W of Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS, and all of the other usual goodies, including lots of S-video connections. This monster is way more than I need but I got a great deal on it and I know it will serve me very well for a long time. The sound is very clear but there won't be any really noticeable improvements over my old system until I get a subwoofer to fill out the bass. I am enjoying instant digital FM radio though.
The drive to Portland was plagued with heavy rains and poor visibility on the way down. On the way back the Oregon State Police were out in force and I saw a number of people pulled over. Maybe they should catch the person I saw reading a book while driving and the (sleepy/drunk?) SUV that had a disturbing love/hate relationship with the rumble strip on the side of the road. Get a grip (before you run off the road)!
This blister on my foot is killing me!
3.4.01
I had yet another exciting night at Ed's house with Paul and the gang. I watched several thrilling (not!) games of Star Wars cards. Then I watched Aliens on DVD. I was sure that I had seen the entire Alien series but apparently I was wrong. Great movie, needless to say. I also discovered a great line I had heard elsewhere but didn't know where it was from- "Not bad for a... human"
Please note that large versions of these older pics may no longer be available
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Holidays 2000 There's something different in the air... |
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Good looking people Dedicated to those who have enriched our lives |
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H2k Ken goes pumpkin wild and carves some great art |
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Prosser Hot Air Balloon Rally Every other photographer has balloon pics... why not me? |
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Cable Bridge at night I was inspired by a photo I saw at the fair |
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Labor Day Camping Adventurers brave the rain to worship God in the mountains |
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Modeling Melinda models and Ken practices his portrait skills |
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B-F Fair Good news, friends, and times at the Benton-Franklin County Fair |
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Fair entries In an exercise of my new hobby I am entering my 4 best pictures in the Benton-Franklin Fair |
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Mt. Rainier A college/ singles group has a "First Camping" experience at Mt. Rainier |
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Special Edition: Cats A special treat for all the cat lovers out there |
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July 4th Fireworks A big thanks to the City of Kennewick for putting on this grand display for us |
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Bumping Lake Ken and Will have returned from a fun camping trip with some breathtaking pictures |
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Hanford Wildfire The biggest fire here in 15 years burned 190,000 acres and 25 homes |
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Cool Desert Nights Classic cars, muscle cars, and some fast hotrods |