In Sūzhōu we started by visiting the Humble Administrator's Garden, built by a civil servant in the 1500's. He could afford to built such a nice complex of streams, buildings, and bamboo lined walkways because he embezzled the money and then retired!
Lookout tower where ladies could view men without being easily seen themselves.
Detail in the walkway at the Humble Administrator's Garden.
After that we drove over to Ruiguang Pagoda, which is near the only remaining section of the city gate. The gate featured a double set of doors that could slide up and down, with a courtyard in between. In the old days, the city guards would let you in, shut both doors, and then verify you were allowed to continue in.
Near Ruiguang Pagoda and the city gate.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Vacation Reading Material
Today was just a bunch of errands, from visiting the bank, to cleaning and laundry, to packing (well that isn't quite finished yet), to stopping the mail, etc. One thing I spent some time on was selecting reading material for the plane trips.
I have the thick Lonely Planet China book, which will keep me occupied. But I also want to bring along other reading material. Plus, my bookshelf is jammed with novels I have been meaning to read.
So while I have many books I'd like to read (Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre, Lurulu by Jack Vance, Frek and the Elixir by Rudy Rucker, The Tour by Dave Shields, and many many others) I can't take any of those with me! Why? That is because I expect those books to be really good and earn a spot in my library, while the ideal novel to take on a trip is "disposable" - the kind I don't mind leaving in some distant hotel or airport when I'm finished with it. :)
So after combing through my "to read" section, I picked out Positively Fifth Street by James McManus, and Deception Point by Dan Brown. I'm expecting to be entertained by them, but they don't seem like novels I will really miss if they don't return with me. If I'm wrong and these books just blow me away, I suppose I will lug them back.
I have the thick Lonely Planet China book, which will keep me occupied. But I also want to bring along other reading material. Plus, my bookshelf is jammed with novels I have been meaning to read.
So while I have many books I'd like to read (Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre, Lurulu by Jack Vance, Frek and the Elixir by Rudy Rucker, The Tour by Dave Shields, and many many others) I can't take any of those with me! Why? That is because I expect those books to be really good and earn a spot in my library, while the ideal novel to take on a trip is "disposable" - the kind I don't mind leaving in some distant hotel or airport when I'm finished with it. :)
So after combing through my "to read" section, I picked out Positively Fifth Street by James McManus, and Deception Point by Dan Brown. I'm expecting to be entertained by them, but they don't seem like novels I will really miss if they don't return with me. If I'm wrong and these books just blow me away, I suppose I will lug them back.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Miracle Miles 15K
This morning was the Miracle Miles 15K, a fundraiser for a children's hospital. I hadn't been doing many long runs at all; this one was nearly twice the length of my longest run in several weeks. Thus I didn't really expect to set a PR or race it - instead I just wanted to stick to my planned marathon pace, ~9 min/mile.
That worked out pretty well, because I did 1:22:39 for an 8:50 mile, finishing 31/67 in my division. I'm actually shocked I placed that high in the division with that finishing time.
I ran with the Forerunner 305, but unfortunately I didn't get a GPS lock until about 2/3rds the way through the race. Argh, next time I'll turn it on earlier.
That worked out pretty well, because I did 1:22:39 for an 8:50 mile, finishing 31/67 in my division. I'm actually shocked I placed that high in the division with that finishing time.
I ran with the Forerunner 305, but unfortunately I didn't get a GPS lock until about 2/3rds the way through the race. Argh, next time I'll turn it on earlier.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Kansas concert
Amy called up in the evening and invited me to watch a free concert downtown. A local radio station brought Kansas in, and closed of a few blocks for the event. I thought it would be fun, plus I hadn't seen her in a while, so I agreed and met her there. She brought folding chairs so we could sit on the side... excellent planning! I got us some snowcones (one of her favorite treats) and we sat back and enjoyed the music.
Kansas played their big hits, including "Point of Know Return", "Dust in the Wind", and "Carry On My Wayward Son", the finale.
It was a nice evening - free concert, and we chatted for a while, catching up on the past few months.
Kansas played their big hits, including "Point of Know Return", "Dust in the Wind", and "Carry On My Wayward Son", the finale.
It was a nice evening - free concert, and we chatted for a while, catching up on the past few months.
NASA Shuttle Launch Viewing
I had the big plan tomorrow to drive out to the Kennedy Space Center to watch the Shuttle launch. However, the STS-115 launch was pushed back to Monday, so I can't go.
Actually I probably could show up to work Monday and plead for time off to zip out to watch this. But, there is no guarentee it will launch then either, since the weather has been a little iffy. Obviously nobody can predict exactly when the launch will occur, and I'm starting to realize if I really want to watch it go, from the viewing areas on the KSC grounds, I would need to make a major event of it - i.e. take a few days off. Anyway, I'll see how it is Monday, if the weather is good and the launch looks likely, I might bring it up with my boss.
The ticket I bought is good throughout the launch window, which is August 27 through September 13. It would be most convenient if the launch gets pushed back all the way to next weekend. ;) If I can't go I forfeit the ticket, since it is non-refundable non-transferable and so forth.
Watching a launch is a bit cumbersome. I have to arrive in a one hour time window (11:30 am to 12:30 pm) for an expected 4:30 pm launch. I can't leave until 1 hour after launch. It takes about an hour to get out to KSC, but with the extra traffic from spectators, that might go up to 2 hours one way. Thus watching a launch from KSC could literally be an all-day affair from 10:00 am when I have to leave to KSC, until 8:00 pm or so when I would return home.
I'm sure it is cool to watch a launch in person, but I'm leaning towards just catching on TV or the NASA cable channel, if I were inclined to see it.
Anyway, the packet that arrived with my ticket included a bright orange parking pass. It looks kinda cool. On the back is a little notice "U.S. Government Property... Illegal to counterfeit or alter... violation of Section 499, Title 18, U.S. Code... This permit may be kept as a souvenir." I think that wording is fuuny.
Entry Pass
Actually I probably could show up to work Monday and plead for time off to zip out to watch this. But, there is no guarentee it will launch then either, since the weather has been a little iffy. Obviously nobody can predict exactly when the launch will occur, and I'm starting to realize if I really want to watch it go, from the viewing areas on the KSC grounds, I would need to make a major event of it - i.e. take a few days off. Anyway, I'll see how it is Monday, if the weather is good and the launch looks likely, I might bring it up with my boss.
The ticket I bought is good throughout the launch window, which is August 27 through September 13. It would be most convenient if the launch gets pushed back all the way to next weekend. ;) If I can't go I forfeit the ticket, since it is non-refundable non-transferable and so forth.
Watching a launch is a bit cumbersome. I have to arrive in a one hour time window (11:30 am to 12:30 pm) for an expected 4:30 pm launch. I can't leave until 1 hour after launch. It takes about an hour to get out to KSC, but with the extra traffic from spectators, that might go up to 2 hours one way. Thus watching a launch from KSC could literally be an all-day affair from 10:00 am when I have to leave to KSC, until 8:00 pm or so when I would return home.
I'm sure it is cool to watch a launch in person, but I'm leaning towards just catching on TV or the NASA cable channel, if I were inclined to see it.
Anyway, the packet that arrived with my ticket included a bright orange parking pass. It looks kinda cool. On the back is a little notice "U.S. Government Property... Illegal to counterfeit or alter... violation of Section 499, Title 18, U.S. Code... This permit may be kept as a souvenir." I think that wording is fuuny.
Entry Pass
Thursday, August 24, 2006
New Gizmo
It has been months since I bought any gizmos. I just so happened to have an REI dividend burning a hole in my pocket, so after shopping around for a bit, I decided to spend the dividend on a Garmin Forerunner 305, which is a GPS and heart rate monitor. I have a Forerunner 201, but the unit has been acting up lately (it is 3 years old I believe) and perhaps too much time traveling in a bag in a hot trunk has melted something. ;)
The watch is large, but less bulky than the Forerunner 201. The HRM strap is the stiff plastic like the older Polar straps (as opposed to the newer ones which are mostly elastic with a small plastic transmitter). The unit has modes for running, biking, and a general multi-sport mode which is aimed at triathletes but lets you configure other sports as well. I will be trying out the various features in the next few days. However the key here is GPS satellite reception and all the other goodies - how well do those work? I haven't always been happy with the Forerunner 201 reception.
I took the 305 out for a "spin" and was VERY pleased to see it located satellites quickly, in less than 10 seconds. When I got back I uploaded the data and I must say it keeps track of a lot of stuff, enough to keep my inner data cruncher quite pleased. As a step beyond that, I uploaded the data to the Motion Based website - check out the info that is gleaned from what the unit records. My plan is to map out various biking and running routes and upload those as well.
Uploading to Motion Based is fun... as a free account I can only keep 10 workouts there. A paid account lets me keep all there, but I'm not sure it is worth $12 a month (or $96 per year with a discount) to do it. The offline software does nearly the same thing, without the sharing.
The watch is large, but less bulky than the Forerunner 201. The HRM strap is the stiff plastic like the older Polar straps (as opposed to the newer ones which are mostly elastic with a small plastic transmitter). The unit has modes for running, biking, and a general multi-sport mode which is aimed at triathletes but lets you configure other sports as well. I will be trying out the various features in the next few days. However the key here is GPS satellite reception and all the other goodies - how well do those work? I haven't always been happy with the Forerunner 201 reception.
I took the 305 out for a "spin" and was VERY pleased to see it located satellites quickly, in less than 10 seconds. When I got back I uploaded the data and I must say it keeps track of a lot of stuff, enough to keep my inner data cruncher quite pleased. As a step beyond that, I uploaded the data to the Motion Based website - check out the info that is gleaned from what the unit records. My plan is to map out various biking and running routes and upload those as well.
Uploading to Motion Based is fun... as a free account I can only keep 10 workouts there. A paid account lets me keep all there, but I'm not sure it is worth $12 a month (or $96 per year with a discount) to do it. The offline software does nearly the same thing, without the sharing.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Replay TV R.I.P.
I am sad to report that my ReplayTV, after 4 years of great service, is in its death throes. I can tell because of tell-tale signs I learned from the two TiVo units I owned before: spontaneous rebooting, pause/skips during playback, garbled menus, delayed response doing anything at all, and just general malfunctioning.
I looked on the ReplayTV site and it appears the company has left the hardware business altogether, and is entering the DVR arena with a software offering. Thus they will compete against the likes of SnapStream, Windows Media Center Edition, among many other projects such as Freevo, MythTV and on and on. I fiddled around with my own SFF DVR using just the stock Hauppauge software and it was quite nice, but clearly a hobbyist thing.
I have an SFF box running Windows Media Center 2005, so it can pinch hit for a bit as well. The problem is computers, even SFF ones, just don't integrate into home electronics very well. Fans and CDROMs are loud, plus the extra cables for keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc.
After considering various options, I'm going to give TiVo another chance. I had two previous units that lasted a combined year (8 months on a series 1 TiVo and 4 months on a series 2 TiVo), and I'm hoping that was either just horrible luck or TiVo isn't using junk harddrives for their units anymore.
So I ordered an 80 hour Series2 DT (dual tuner) DVR from TiVo and hope it gets here Friday or Saturday. I decided on the dual tuner model since every once in a while I have a show conflict and would rather resolve it on one unit than be forced get the other systems involved. Yeah I'm pretty lazy!
In the meantime I still have the HD tuner/DVR from the cable company so I'm not completely forced to watch live TV. ;)
I looked on the ReplayTV site and it appears the company has left the hardware business altogether, and is entering the DVR arena with a software offering. Thus they will compete against the likes of SnapStream, Windows Media Center Edition, among many other projects such as Freevo, MythTV and on and on. I fiddled around with my own SFF DVR using just the stock Hauppauge software and it was quite nice, but clearly a hobbyist thing.
I have an SFF box running Windows Media Center 2005, so it can pinch hit for a bit as well. The problem is computers, even SFF ones, just don't integrate into home electronics very well. Fans and CDROMs are loud, plus the extra cables for keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc.
After considering various options, I'm going to give TiVo another chance. I had two previous units that lasted a combined year (8 months on a series 1 TiVo and 4 months on a series 2 TiVo), and I'm hoping that was either just horrible luck or TiVo isn't using junk harddrives for their units anymore.
So I ordered an 80 hour Series2 DT (dual tuner) DVR from TiVo and hope it gets here Friday or Saturday. I decided on the dual tuner model since every once in a while I have a show conflict and would rather resolve it on one unit than be forced get the other systems involved. Yeah I'm pretty lazy!
In the meantime I still have the HD tuner/DVR from the cable company so I'm not completely forced to watch live TV. ;)
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