new direction

new direction for this blog... mostly cycling, some sports, some technology... less b.s.

coming in a week.... stay tuned

It's been a while...

Back into the swing of things... regular blog updates again! Woot...

So, found these on E-bay, ~$330-350
and yes, they are really sweet.
And yes, I want one.
And no, I have no money.
This makes me sad :(

Ironically, I also stumbled across this nifty little video tonight. It's pretty cool.

Makes me think though...

Cody... Harrisburg bicycle messenger Summer 2010. Does Harrisburg even have a bicycle messenger service though??? Talk about a pretty sweet job while trying to find permanent employment...

Mapping Hollywood...

The concert band is going to Los Angeles starting next weekend. I decided to spend all day mapping places of interest and bars and everything else! I love Google maps and Google Earth!

View CB LA TRIP in a larger map

Goals...

Goals: This is one of them

Snow Hike (Numero Uno)

Silly China...

The "key words" that are censored blow my mind...

Courtesy of www.strangemaps.worldpress.com

Full Article HERE

Insomnia + GIS... a deadly combo

4:04 am

I have a 9:30am class and a night class tonight (GIS420: Advanced GIS)...

I REALLY wanted to make a REALLY cool map for class tonight...

Here is my accomplishment, I REALLY like it... enjoy

Here's my favorite part... it's not even graded... ha ha ha

a break from Haiti

SATURDAY!!!!

crime

more GIS stuff to come on Haiti...

Now this is terrible and shocking, standing from a criminal justice student perspective instead of a geographer's point of view

HERE Newsweek unveils a photo slide show showing some of the chaos and anarchy and methods people are resorting to just to survive in the area. It's so sad, I can't imagine how much chaos and crime and anarchy there still is... someone may have lost their entire family, now a gang of rebel vigilantes points a gun in your face at night and takes what little money and supplies you have. It makes me sick.

ps. sorry, my blog may be plagued by Haiti GIS and images for the next couple of days

7.0

wow... just found this today and it is crazy to think about.

Here is a link with images (pre and post earthquake) of The Haiti National Palace, or Presidential Palace, in Port-au-Prince.

To put it into perspective, here is a google map of where the earthquake epicenter was in relation to the capital.

(This is an addition to the Original Post: I learned in GIS class today that Google has been very generous with their satelite imaging and Google and other Geographical Agencies have been publicly distributing very good high resolution imaging of this area of Haiti since the quakes... don't believe me... zoom in as far as you can go... yea... amazing...)

View Larger Map

Did more useless but interesting research... the island itself (in terms of land area) has roughly the same land area as Maine. Haiti & Dominican Republic = 32,456 mi squared, Maine = 30,862 miles squared. The island shape related to size though, is more like Indiana.

What's crazier... a good and dear friend of mine was headed to the Dominican Republic on the 10th. The 7.0 in Haiti was the 12th. I have no idea where she was going to in the Dominican Republic in relation to Haiti and I have no idea how long she stayed, and her facebook has no new recent activity since last Saturday. I'm 100% sure she's ok, I'm just wondering how crazy it must have been being on the same island with all that going on next door.

Check out these images from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/13/haiti.earthquake/index.html

I can't even imagine...

wise words...

 It is not the critic who counts,
or how the strongman stumbled and fell,
or where the doer of deeds
could have done better.

The credit belongs to the man
who is actually in the arena,
who knows the great enthusiasms,
the great devotion,
and who spends himself
in a worthy cause.

If he fails,
at least he fails while daring greatly,
so that he may never be
one of those cold and timid souls,
who know neither victory nor defeat.

  - Theodore Roosevelt (1910)

2009 Pop Music Remix... love it.

Avatar... great movie and I don't hate America

All I've been hearing when people talk about Avatar is "oh, you know that's an anti-American movie"  It's about to become the top grossing movie of all time...

This is the only respectable news article I could find... I couldn't find any on CNN, FoX, or MSNBC about it being anti-American.

Anyways.  This is such bull shit.  It is an absolutely fabulous movie and there is no reason why you can't sit and enjoy the movie, the colors, the story, the action, or the characters without leaving an anti-American communist.  Yes, it can be construed a little bit that way, but the story relates to history.  hello? Didn't we kind of do the same thing to the Native Americans?  Truth hurts, but we can learn from it and try to be more understanding now that we are becoming a less prejudicial nation. (yea, I said it... excluding the deep south, of course)  No lie, my 8th grade history teacher said it best, "The US has always had the same foreign policy: We see it, We like it, We want it, We get it."

Now, extreme right wing groups who are bantering on about how it is anti-American and an abomination against the nation are, in my opinion, complete idiots.  I hate these people.  Excuse the language, but chill the fuck out and enjoy the movie.

Anyways, here's my two cents... great movie, ESPECIALLY in 3D, great characters, great story, AMAZING special effects, and, I will admit... I almost (almost being the key word) teared up a little twice.  It's worth the $12, go see it. really.

Best Post To Date? A Dr. Seus Story...

Went for a ride today.  It was going well.  I then realized I was heading strait for the new Central Dauphin High School and it was 2:28.  Shit.  I hit the school traffic right at 2:35. Double Shit.  I'm glad I'm still alive.  Anyways, thinking about it the whole way home, I decided to write a Dr. Sues inspired story about my adventure today.  I think it ended up sounding more like The Christmas Story, written my Dr. Sues.  Anyways, here it goes:

Cold ride today, where do i go?
All I want to do is avoid roads with slick snow.

All through Linglestown,
the cold wind made me frown,
but my legs wanted to get stronger,
so I decided let's ride longer.

Oh look my old high school, settled high on a hill,
what time is it, 2:35, SHIT! I'll be killed.
I raced passed the school, now buses flew past,
their not as dangerous as the kids that came last...

First came the rich chicks who clustered like hens,
On! Brittany, On! Heather, On! Courtney and Jen,
driving daddy bought Audis, Rovers, and Benz.
I feared for my life at the sight of these girls,
for I knew they'd be distracted by their iPhones and Blackberry Pearls.

Next were the skaters that came with such might,
their hoodies and modified Civics bore a frightful, hideous sight.
They too were distracted by cleavage in the passenger seat,
a horny girlfriend who would dump him before his parents, she would meet.

Finally the Jocks,
in tall Nike Sox,
bass cranked so loud that their car actually rocks.

I feared for my life as these kids all went by,
remembering myself in their shoes... man does time really fly.

At the intersection I was. "Holy Shit I'm Safe!"
I thought. Let's get the hell home.

And then from the rear there arose such a clatter,
5 sluts in a Jeep that were all filled with chatter.

With whistles and cat calls, they all sat and stared,
at my obviously nice spandex covered "dairy air",
while the drivers Jeep horn left a sound in the air.

Little did they know that the light just turned red,
and a smartass move just happened to pop in my head.
My bike turned around and I came with surprise,
terror and embarrassment then filled their white eyes.

The girls all ducked and slid low in their seats,
while the driver rolled down the back window and turned down Chris Brown beats.

At first I said "hi", and no one replied,
only giggles and smirks came from inside.
Then one finally spoke, "pretty cold to be outside..."

"I don't mind I said, It's all in your head"

The next asked if I go to Ship?, and quickly looked away,
I looked down at my jersey and bibs, "what gave it away?"
(A smartass I was, today).

The girls knew they had been caught, who were yelling at my ass,
good thing I was taken, and they were too young to make a pass.

The light turned green and I said goodbye with a fake smile,
awkward moment then, the cars before them took a little while.

Ha ha ha, I thought, as I rode home real fast,
this bike ride today had been a real blast.

2 miles from home, uphill the whole way.
Zonk, Bonk, Zonk, and Bonk.
Dammit, I had for gotten to eat today.

Now I'm at home blogging alone,
while dad heats up bbq ribs... yum.

Did security behind stage at the Hershey Theatre for Spring Awakening.  A coordinator or manager was wearing these and I may have asked him where he got them.  I'm a big fan.  Real big fan.  Steve Madden (Gimlett).

anyone want to lend me $220???

Dreaming of Hushovd???

I had a very vivid and realistic dream last night involving this man, Thor Hushovd...

I woke up and instantly googled him to see if I had seen the correct face... I did. It was so realistic. I was riding behind the peloton in a big one day race to take video and make sure the stragglers went the right way. Thor was in the back and broke off with a group and somehow, we ended up going off course. Thor hit something and went down hard. I ran up to make sure he was ok. He mumbled something in a different language (German?) and kissed his bike. His shoulder was cut up but he said, rather the bike than my body. I tried to fix his rear derailleur to get him in the race, but he smiled and said (with a surprising good accent) to help him with the rear tire so he could just finish with dignity. It was a tubular, but he peeled the tire off pretty quickly. He handed me a spare, which was cut in half (from god knows where) and said to slip it on the rim so he could glue it. I did. (Why was his back tire blown if he crashed forward???) I don't remember much after that, I do remember his face and voice and crazy muscular legs when I woke up and I think he was wearing white or green.

I don't know why I felt the need to tell you that. Just thought it was creepy/weird to be having dreams about pro cyclists. What was even weirder, was the voice and face matched up pretty damn well when I found a velonews interview ( :40 in if you watch it) with him from the TDF... creepy.

reminders

, but it is a great video.  As Jon points out, catch the Cavendish sprint at 2:20... amazing.  That kind of speed just blows my mind.  I love it.  I love it.  After a ride today, this puts me in the mood for tomorrow.  A reminder that disappointments can change, and can be overcome....

disappointment

Have you ever just really been in the mood to ride?  Just so pumped to hop on the bike and crank the pedals, feeling the wind at your back and sun on your face?

After New Years, I was so pumped to go riding outside yesterday and today.

disappointment.

It has been EXTREMELY windy (which makes for a miserable ride) and extremely cold (a result of the thrashing wind gusts).  disappointment.

Ride inside instead, you say.      sigh.

Yesterday, I caught myself playing Wii and watching NCIS until it was time for work. Disaster.  After a miserable, horrible night at work (see below post), I was in no mood to spin last night... or today even.  I was so cold last night at work, I caused me to want to stay indoors in the warmth all day today, until I have to return to the ice box.  I can't believe the wind and work caused my cycling attitude to go strait to hell.   It's depressing.  I'll spin tomorrow, after work. sigh.

back to the abyss

I am under the assumption that this was created by the devil, el diablo, himself.

Yesterday and Today have been EXTREMELY windy and cold.  COLD!  And where have I worked... you guessed it, Sweet Lights!  My face is red and dry and burned, I feel like crap, and I have had a headache since last night.  I am thankful for the work hours, but it figures it would be in this soul sucking death trap called Sweet Lights.  You pay $20 to drive around and look at light displays.  Shoot me now.

WHY am I so upset?... let's explain:

Security mans 4 checkpoints.  The job consists of directing traffic in the blistering cold (when cones are already set up for moron drivers) OR sitting in a booth counting cars or giving directions.  People, if the sign says "road closed" and there is one lonely security guard sitting in a dark booth, IT ISN'T THE ENTRANCE!!!  FIND IT YOURSELF!!!

Anyways, let's do some math...  if I work 7 hrs, I make $50 after taxes.  It costs cars $20 to go through.  There are minimum 5 guards working a night (most making less than me).  If 3 cars go though, the company makes up my wages.  If 13 cars go through, it makes up all the wages for all the security guards.  I've seen nights where at least 1,200 cars, buses, and trucks have gone through.  Wrap your mind around that cash....

Charging $20, 3 cars make up my wages... either it is overpriced (yes) or I am not getting paid enough (yes).

Enough about the overpricing,  let's look at the stupid lights themselves.  This field of twinkling lights is a HUGE waste of our natural resources.  You've seen this ad, "turn your lights off at 7pm and save X amount of energy...".  The country right now is ALL about going green and saving energy.  So, let's pay $20 to go see lights that are SUCKING UP ENERGY!!! It's a WASTE!!!  Also, you drive through it.  It takes at least 30 mins if there is no backed up traffic.  Waste of gas as well if you ask me.

Wait now, don't cry hypocrite just yet.  Yes, my house in SHIP has a Christmas tree with lights and the house has 5 strands on it.  BUT, we leave our 5 strands on a lot less than Hershey. Hershey runs miles and miles of large bulb Christmas lights on for at least 6-7 hrs every night in December and three days in January.  It's a little different.

Point being after all this.  Sweet lights:

1. sucks to work at

2. is overpriced

3. is a waste of gas

4. is a waste of natural resources

5. was created by the devil

If you reply proclaiming you "love sweet lights" and "have made an exodus to sweet lights every year with your family" ... I will probably think less of you, and make fun of you.  Have a nice night, I'm getting ready to go work.... oh yea... at Sweet Lights.... sigh.

Tomorrow I am getting paid to tear them down... best. day. ever.

random pictures

Here are just some random pictures I've been hanging on to for a while... enjoy.

(from Mark Laser... thank you. Penguins AND Taylor Swift... LOVE IT!)

(Really? You joke, but what would you seriously do if you saw a crab this big dangling from your trash can???)

(this is coming faster and faster each day... scarrrrrry)

time.. MAP TIME!

I spent 10+ hours total this past week creating a bad ass map of the ECCC. It's definitely at 55/45! (yes, if you are asking, I did spend almost a half day on something worth 45 points). Anyways. I also spent about 10 hours total last week and this week on the final GIS lab. Again, those maps look pretty freakin' sweet, but this one was worth 80+ points. I would say, overall, from last Thursday to this Thursday if have spent a full 24 hours sitting in the basement of Shear working on GIS related projects.

That may seem like a lot, but I don't mind the work. I really don't. It's not like studying information from a book or memorizing statistics, this is practical and (yes I'll say it.. fun) and everyone wants to see the end result (a cool map). No one wants to read a 12 page report on whatever you spent all night writing. Maps are cool, reports are boring. I don't like, however, that I am spending all my time in the GIS labs. I noticed ALL this week I haven't done anything else! No biking, no studying, no eating, no girlfriend, no fun. Oh well.

A good post will be going up soon... as soon as something interesting happens or I actually bike... which may not be a while. sigh.

Don't be fooled by these maps. They don't look like they took over 20 hrs to make, but the GIS map required a LAB report and the Cartography map required a whole sheet of information and other related images. I would upload the final one, but this computer doesn't have Corel Draw (lame). Oh, I see google can't upload .tiff images either... nice.

For a special girl...

for you.

Fail - Sigh - Smile

I failed a test today that I spent 8+ hours studying for (on and off). FML.

I sighed when it was over because, well, it was over and I didn't have to worry about it anymore.

THIS made me smile. :)

Wait, let's be exact. Some made me smile, some made me confused, and some just made me tilt my head and think....

new drink on the block

I went into Sheetz one morning looking for an alternative to coffee. This was a great find...

Sweet Leaf Teas

They are a relatively small company that is mostly organic and has a nifty little website.. (see link above). These are beneficial factors... but the tea is good as well. I need to try the Pomegranate Green Tea...

That grandma on the front just puts me in a good mood in the morning as well!

winter is coming.... more "stuff" I want to buy

I hate it when people say "stuff". I try to use it minimally. When a prof. says "stuff", I cringe. When a student gives an answer that includes "stuff", I judge their intelligence. I think I have blogged about this before, don't feel like finding it...

Rewind, I bring this up because we were reviewing a test in GIS and a student kept on saying "stuff" for everything. For example "all the stuff is referenced to an ellipsoid model" The stuff you are referring to are points. Datum to be exact. Datum that make up a Geographic Coordinate System that are referenced to a specific ellipsoid model. Not "STUFF"! Shapefiles, Geodatabases, x & y coordinates, and map projections are all their proper names. They are not "stuff".

\/\/\/\/\ Anyways, here's the stuff...


OK, got it. When I work and actually get a little more spending money, going to get some Toms Shoes and a wool cycling hat for winter. Why not put these items on a Christmas list, you ask? Knowing my family, they won't justify spending $25 for a little wool hat and $80 for boots that look like this. I don't quite know how to explain it, but this is also why I love my family. I like getting Christmas gifts when they are items I actually need and can use often.