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Had a great time with the Millersville crew on Saturday, courtesy of Junior and his new apartment. We went to the Mad River, and drank a bit too much alcohol. The 2 AM cook-out helped a bit, but I was greeted by a wicked headache when Sunday morning dawned.

Today I drove up to Centralia, PA. To summarize Wikipedia: in 1962, a trash fire caused a seam of exposed coal to begin burning. The coal is still burning away underground. All but 11 or 12 families have left the town. Most of the town was razed after the others left, and is today covered in new forest growths.

Well this past week, DW and I were sent, with protest, to the bowels of America. Back to the depressing, barren fields. Back! To the chemical plants disgorging their putrid wastes into the sky. Back, once more, to Louisiana.

DW and I were driving to a job in Thibodaux, LA. Our drive was interrupted by around a dozen police screaming down the street. We followed after them and soon encountered this scene. I managed to snap a few pictures before we drove past. The police were arresting a man who had fled from an officer after the man was pulled over for driving erratically. The police were taking no chances with this guy.

You can read more about it from the Daily Comet (PDF).

...is coming to take you away. Last Friday, the Douglas Battery Manufacturing Company graciously allowed myself and the Raleigh crew to tour their Winston-Salem manufacturing plant.

RDO, JL and I were in Phoenix, Arizona this past week for work. We took the time to sample a little of everything nearby. For newcomers to this site, click the "Read More" link below to view the pictures.

Once again the monkey of fate flings an Ohio-shaped poo my way. An incredible feat of dexterity allowed JL and me to dodge the fun-killing simian's bombs and enjoy ourselves at the Newport Aquarium.

Once again we head for Ohio, and great potential misery.

For the end of 2005, KW, AB, JT, and I headed to New York City, home of the rock duo They Might Be Giants. Pictures and video are available.

We got to New York a little before noon, parked the car and took a bus to Times Square. We stopped and got drinks. JT was bullied until he ordered a scotch, so all of us were drinking (lightly). There was a neat international market with some great goodies: Irish Creme Truffles, Happy Hippos (excellent), Pirate Canonballs (YARGH), and soft licorice chews.

I use three different operating systems for a variety of things. At work I am required to use Windows XP. At home I use Windows 2000 for gaming. For graphics and programming I use Linux. And for surfing, and video I use Apple's OS X.

TC and I were in Corning, NY, home of Corning. Corning is famous for their glassware products, along with technical innovations such as low-loss fiber optic cable. They have a really excellent museum, which was a neat place to visit.

I returned home on Saturday to visit the family and carve pumpkins for Halloween.

Scott carved his up first. Well, carved is not the right word. "Dremeled" would be a better fit. His was carved into a skeleton. I think it turned out really good, and definitely the most creative of the three pumpkins.

Kristen created a partially inverted Jack O'Lantern like last year. Even though the eye broke and had to be glued back on, Mr. O'Lantern came out looking pretty sharp.

CW and I were out west this past week, and we got the oppurtunity to drive through the redwood forest along the Avenue of Giants. It was a really beautiful drive. Pictures don't do it justice, but I will try.

I arrived around 6:30pm - The smell of blueberry pie and beef (mmmm) was in the air, and Ann was furiously scrubbing at the berry-stained kitchen table. Cody was preparing the five pounds of meat, instructing Lindsay and Theresa to chop up the spices.

The burger's were great. They had onion, chipotle sauce, grated cheese, and I think parsley and oregano. Dessert was also excellent - the girls' blueberry pie and brownie cupcakes rocked, even though I didn't get a prize. Somehow I will carry on.