aerial topography
Maps have always been a fascination of mine. I never seem to tire of looking at maps, old ones, new ones, cities, countries, whatever, it doesn’t matter, I’ll keep looking. Topographic maps are especially fascinating – being able to see the undulations of the hills, and the way the rivers and streams have carved their way through the hills has always held my attention. While I was in college I used to fly back home for christmas and stare out the window at the snow covered landscapes below. One stretch I was always enjoyed was crossing upstate New York, between Buffalo and Syracuse. With a covering of snow the striations left behind by the glaciers was easy to see.
Just last month I was flying out west on a crystal clear day and I was able to take a few photos of the snow covered Great Plains, the Rockies the parts of the southwest canyon lands. The real challenge was trying to figure exactly where I was. I’ve included a few of the photos here, and there are more over here.
[ Please click on the photos for a larger image ]
There are several more photos in my gallery, Moon Shots, including Denver from 30,000 feet, the Front Range and the canyon lands. So go take a look.
Feb 15, 05:48 PM | Photos |
A Pearl of a toy - I mean phone
For the last month I’ve been using the latest offering from Blackberry – the 8100 aka the Pearl, and it’s great! After being frustrated with trying to get emails while on the road, and watching my wife’s addiction to her BB, I decided it was time to get my own.
After some research into models and plans I decided on a 7130 from Cingular. Fortunately my decision was delayed due to more pressing matters (i.e. life in general). Then the Pearl was released. After watching the video on the Pearl site I was sold – It looked to be an awesome phone/PDA/whatever.
More searching turned up a bargin! I could buy the phone for $100 and then get $100 in rebates – net cost =$0 – a no brainer. I would have to switch to T-Mobile, but I was already resigned to switching.
The 8100 is great! The phone is very good, the messaging (email, text, IM) all work without a hitch. The camera is good for a phone, and the media player handles mp3 & video without any problems. The web browser is very good and it’s easy to change options to handle sites that don’t behave very well on a small screen. I even have it set up as a bluetooth modem for my Powerbook.
One of the negatives that I kept hearing is that BB’s doesn’t play nice with a Mac, however with PocketMac for the BB (free) I can sync my addresses, calendars, etc easily – and with the memory card I can drag & drop music, etc. right from the finder.
If your looking for a great smartphone and want email, etc., look no further than the Pearl.
Nov 1, 05:39 PM | Gadgets |
what's in a name...
Being of certain age with a last name of Mullin I was given a nickname at a very early age, and it was one that was shared by all my brothers in some form or another. That nickname is Moon, based on the old cartoon strip Moon Mullins.
Now days most people are unaware of the comic strip and hence the true origin of the nickname. Sometimes I’m worried that people will identify with the controversial Rev. Moon, but I don’t worry that much about it.
Anyway I still use the nickname, it comes in very handy for interent related stuff, logins etc. (just try getting a user id called “Ed”, moon is much easier.) Well that’s the story and I’m sticking to it!
Feb 28, 05:56 PM | Miscellaneous | Comment
