Travel's and Image's

WEEK 33 2011

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First Post, 17 March 2002

Nine Years Ago, This Week, 2002

Eight Years Ago, This Week, 2003

Seven Years Ago, this week, 2004

Six Years Ago, this week, 2005

Five Years Ago, This Week, 2006

Four Years Ago, This Week, 2007

Three Years Ago, This Week, 2008

Two Years Ago, This Week, 2009

One Year Ago, This Week, 2010

Saturday 20 August 2011

Saturday - Did I mention that Google Streetview captured my brother? Yep, working away on the G0lddddddevbgrandview house:

Back when I was a teenager I recall being excited about (actually reading a whole book about) the chance to drill into the Earth's crust and bring back a piece of the mantle; to reach the Mohovich Discontinuity (great term). Well, it never happened then.

But it almost happened this year, and may next year; a Texas A&M team drilling at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge apparently missed the thinnest spot in the crust by about 1000 feet (insert other scientists mocking them with Maxwell Smart's "Missed it by that much!" soundbite here).

So, next year they will either (a) keep drilling in the same spot or (b) move the drill about 1000 feet to the left and try again. Huh.

Yeah, they've (almost) drilled the thickness of that little line at the top.

Artist's conception of the Texas A&M drilling rig in action.

Friday 19 August 2011

Friday - Again, delays. I put together a compendium of video and defect stuff for work, but due to various issues the other person involved wasn't able to make it.

Instead, headed home to Lancaster. I went to the opening night of the fair with a friend.

Amusing story: we drove to the fair separately, and he announced his intention of parking far away from the fair in the "free" lot (a vacant field) while I preferred to pay the $5 for the trolley served lot. But this was the first night of the fair (motto: "Peel the Love") and the $5 fee was waived, while the owner of the vacant lot had decided to take advantage of his popularity and charge $5. Heh.

Thursday 18 August 2011

Thursday - down to Ventura. Due to a mix up the planned work didn't start until much later than planned. However we did make a start on inventory of some open channel defects for the client, a couple hours of work anyway.

Book #95 was Hexed, by Kevin Hearne. It was OK, book #2 in a series.

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Wednesday - doing a bit of web page work for the company.

Near the helmsman's station are heads-up speaking
tubes with 'trumpets' - no fancy electronics here!

Tuesday 16 August 2011

Tuesday - Feeling better. Searching around for some field data from an inspection earlier this year. I think the boss has it, but...

Book #93 was Brain Cuttings, a compendium of essays by Carl Zimmer. Very interesting.

Book #94 was Hounded, by Kevin Hearne. It was OK, not spectacular.

Monday 15 August 2011

Monday - Still feeling pretty ill.

For visibility in bed icy/snowy weather the Queen Mary
had a couple of spinning windows with fixed wipers. Note
the speaking tube just below the window.

At lower left (bridge port side) is what appears to be a
housing for a (Gyroscopic?) compass or repeater.

Sunday 14 August 2011

Sunday - Pretty tired, not feeling well. Very sore in the joints and muscles. Muscle's I understand, but joints? Probably age. Bah.

NPR had a poll, in which The 100 TOP Fantasy & Science Fiction books of all time were (supposedly) selected. Several blogs I read have mentioned the list. Looking at it I found I've read a majority of them (76).

I don't think I actually agree with the list, there seem to be a lot of books that were "fun" but not really the "best". The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, for example. Fun, but in the top 100? I think not, it's just typical British humor (think Monty Python) translated to SF.

And I think that there should be a minimum time in print, anything less than ten or twenty years really hasn't had time to age and be properly judged - most of Neil Gaiman's stuff is less than 10 years old (and, really, a lot of it is just comic books, too). The Kingkiller Chronicles fall in that category. And if one is going to admit entire series of books, then Terry Pratchett's DiscWorld series should be included, instead of two separate novels in that fantasy world.

Anyway, I've highlighted the unread books by myself in red.

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien

2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card

4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert

5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin

6. 1984, by George Orwell

7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov

9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman

11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan

13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell

14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson

15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore

16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov

17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein

18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss

19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick

22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King

24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke

25. The Stand, by Stephen King

26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson

27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury

28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman

30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess

31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein

32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams

33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey

34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein

35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller

36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells

37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne

38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys

39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells

40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny

41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings

42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson

44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven

45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin

46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien

47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White

48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman

49. Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke

50. Contact, by Carl Sagan

51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons

52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman

53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson

54. World War Z, by Max Brooks

55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle

56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman

57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett

58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson

59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold

60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett

61. The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind

63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson

66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist

67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks

68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard

69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb

70. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson

72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne

73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore

74. Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi

75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson

76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke

77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey

78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin

79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury

80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire

81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson

82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks

84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart

85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson

86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher

87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe

88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn

89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan

90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock

91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury

92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley

93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge

94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov

95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson

96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis

98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville

99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony

100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

Picture of the Week

Photo Notes: Bridge of the old Queen Mary,
San Diego, Ca.

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