And Hopefully the Slavers Aren’t Active During the School Year

It’s final, then: I’m going to Pittsburgh! The program has a great reputation and the faculty are outstanding — both in terms of their quality of research and, like, personality. And I think it’ll provide more than 3-4 hours of gameplay, especially since I’m not Level 20 in real life. I like to pretend I am, but I’m really not.

Pittsburgh International Airport: There Will Come Soft Rains

Pittsburgh has a fantastically nice airport that no one uses. It used to be US Airways’ primary east-coast hub, but US Air has gone from 500 flights a day through there to, like, ten. So now it’s mostly empty. But it’s a great layout, it’s easy to get from one gate to another, it doesn’t require a train to get from the A gates to the D gates, there’s plenty of room to sit…

This Is What Pittsburgh Looks Like

Got back from The Pitt on Saturday night, was there for about 44 hours total, during which time it never got over 20 degrees. Everyone there apologized for the weather, but honestly it’s kind of cool to have a good reason to wear said parka for once and anyway, clear skies and 15 degrees breaks up the monotony of overcast and 65 in a welcome manner. Seriously. For me.

Big Wave Day in La Jolla

Couple weeks ago SoCal had all these big storms. Big storms resulted in big waves, so I tagged along on a trip out to the beach to look at the big waves. Unfortunately didn’t bring my real camera, so all I had was the cell phone, but it was kind of cool out there, especially with the big waves, birds, and out-hanging seals.

Maui: Welcome to Compromise Island

I suppose the headline is unfair-ish. Just that: (a) if you want adventure, Kauai is way better; (b) if you want shopping and restaurants in a tropical setting, Waikiki/O’ahu is way better; and (c) if you want volcanoes, the Big Island is better (I’m assuming).

The Two Photos I Took While I Was in Oklahoma

I took them with my cell phone because that was what I had with me.

Where I’ve Woken Up the Last Eight Mornings

Just because this is a pretty good spread of places over a short amount of time (for me). It’s something like 9,000 miles or so traveled over that time via plane and automobile.;

Haleakala: Sunrise, Summit, and Sliding Sands

Haleakala National Park, Hawaii » I figured no one had ever been to see the sunrise at Haleakala before, so I better do it and take photos. Certainly no one has ever taken photos of it before. Woke up: 3 AM. Left Kahana: 3:10 AM. Arrived at summit: 4:55 AM. Realized I should’ve slept another hour: 4:55 AM also. Nah, earlier. Probably more like 3:45 AM is when I realized it.

Movie Review: Up

Best Part: The dog society. Biggest Question: Which laws of nature actually applied to this movie? (It was hard to think any of the main characters were ever going to be in jeopardy when it was revealed two-thirds of the way through the movie that dogs could fly planes. Also sort of cheapened all the

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Waihe’e Ridge Hike

About five miles IIRC, 1,500 feet in elevation, out-and-back, all-up then all-down. It’s about as typical a Hawaii hike as there is, where “typical” means “average”. Some nice views, distant waterfalls, a lot of green stuff, but nothing that makes you gouge your eyes out when you get to the bottom in order to ensure that no future images will crowd out the unremitting wonder of the sights you just beheld.