Time flies

Looking back to posts this a year ago (wow, I've been doing this over a year!) I notice that I also didn't post much around this time. Maybe something with Thanksgiving, Christmas, work, travel, etc....doesn't matter.

Finally got some new tires for my car, and the difference is amazing. Such a quiet ride now, compared to the truck w/ mud tires sound I was enjoying. While I won't start driving like a granny, hopefully I don't break it anytime soon. Not wanting a car payment.

What other randomness can I write? :) page now, which is awesome, and gets updated more times than I post. Along those same lines, look at this, snow on October 29th!

Learning to cook - take 2

I've mentioned cooking before (here), albeit it briefly. I've now started to attempt cooking again, with some teaching and extra motivation. The problem area for me before was the 'Does it taste good' decision box. What I cooked was good usually, but 'Kinda'. I would always have the leftovers in the fridge for way too long, or eat the same thing for a week straight. This all led to me avoiding cooking.

Now, I'm starting to enjoy and appreciate cooking, just. I've been shown how to do some things, and that is much easier for me to follow than a recipe. I'm getting to the point where I understand a few basics, which helps me to experiment with new, but still similar things. I never thought I would say it, but it is actually fun. I'm not good at it, but I'm not discouraged either. Can only get better from here. Still a lot to learn, and I will try the okra again (it was from scratch!). Hooray learning!

Tasted better than it looks (well, except for the okra. It looks better than it tasted)

Breakfast for dinner! French toast, eggs and bacon. All really good!

Bicycles and computers

"A computer is the most remarkable tool that we've ever come up with. It's a bicycle for our minds." ~Steve Jobs

This is a great metaphor by a great man. They were both limited in the distance they could transport until a few decades ago, when the internet started gaining popularity. Since then, the internet has become an integral part of the every day lives of most of the people in the United States, and is used by more than a quarter of all human beings.

In the past decade, with the popularization of social media, the internet has become not only about connecting people to new places and ideas, but also about connecting people. Or, more to the point of this post, reconnecting people. Ten years ago, I made a new friend in high school band when she joined as a freshman, and I was a junior. We talked some, but 2 years was a big difference in high school. After I graduated, we didn't talk again until earlier this year after I was persuaded by a friend to rejoin Facebook. To my surprise, on a post about the Tour de France, I heard from her (for the first time in at least 9 years!). We talked throughout the event, and it was fun. After another few months of not talking, we started again. But this time, to learn about each other. We've talked every day since and it's been better than I could have hoped. To list our similarities would be no easy feat, as there are A LOT. And, not only are there those that could be listed, but also ones that would just be challenging to put to words. For the sake of brevity, my girlfriend is an amazing woman and an amazing person.

Last weekend, when home for a long time friend's wedding, I got to see her for the first time since high school. This was a great weekend. One goal for the weekend was to find my old yearbook. I couldn't have been happier with what I found. The picture says it all. I just smile, literally every time I see it. A pre-Facebook message from over a decade ago!

Computers are wonderful tools and, in our case, bicycles a catalyst. 700 miles would be difficult to overcome on a bike. Less difficult with a computer.

Learning new things

I can't agree with Ayrton Senna more when he said:

‎"There is a, a great desire on me on improving; getting better. That makes me happy. And everytime that I feel I am slowing down my learning process, my learning curve is getting flatter or whatever, then it doesn't make me very happy. That applies not only as a profession, as a racing driver, but also as a man."

A few weeks ago, I started getting into guns. I took a 10 hour class on handgun safety, and I plan to take more to continue to improve. The next one will likely be personal protection inside the home. I really hope I never have to use what I'm learning, but it's fun to learn, and I like preparing myself as best as possible for unpredictable circumstances.

I don't like being limited by the equipment I use. This applies to all my hobbies. I want to be the limiting factor. I like having a lot of room for self improvement. This makes for a steep learning curve where, often times, the quality of my things is not proportional to my skill. This is challenging. Challenging is fun.

This is my 1911 (chambered, as the original, for the .45 ACP cartridge). The design was standardized 100 years ago during WWI. It was the standard issue side arm for the US armed forces from 1911 to 1985. The parts from 100 years ago are identical to the parts of today. Literally, exactly the same design. It's simple, and it's easy to see the singular function of each component. I am able to disassemble and reassemble with no tools, in about 5 minutes (but haven't timed myself, yet). It is fun to shoot, and has quite a kick. Having joined the local gun club and range, I'm enjoying improving. It will be a long time before I'm equipment limited. I'm certainly the limiting factor, and that is fun.

On happiness and optimism

On this day 10 years ago, I was in German 4 when our high school principle came over the intercom and told teachers to turn on the TV. It could be that I was overly naive, or just couldn't imagine how terrible it must have been to be affected directly by the days events; but I did not fully understand the significance of the days events. One thing was for sure, it happened, and it will be in the history books forever. We will not forget. However, our remembrance should not be in sadness or hatred, but in optimism and hope. We learned of the foolishness of intolerance. This is a two way street. We must try and understand each other and accept that we are all different. If a book written millennia ago says we should be intolerant of certain groups, does that make it right?

A lot can change in 10 years. Education, travel, and time can help provide worldwide context to events of this nature. These three things will help individually, but I believe their true power is only manifest when coupled with the unique power of the human mind to make sense of multiple, seemingly unrelated facts. This does not require belief, only facts and effort. Even if the facts are difficult to find, we must try. If we can't find the facts, we can speculate and hypothesize. Speculation and hypothesis do not equate to fact; and this must always be remembered. If forgotten, it is challenging not to fool yourself. The effort required is not reduced once we find a fact. We must think, attempt to find context, and use it to construct our view of the world. A fact may be proven wrong or inaccurate, and at that time it is important to reconsider how that changes your world view. When building your world view, a fact can not be disregarded, especially if it is an uncomfortable one. New facts can be uncomfortable, and difficult to accept. Just because they can be hard to accept, that doesn't change the fact itself. It is important to look forward and determine the best possible course of action.

"We can find a resonance, a harmony between the way we think, and the way the world works. When he found that his long cherished beliefs did not agree with the most precise observations, he accepted the uncomfortable facts. He preferred the hard truth to his dearest illusions. That..is the heart of science."
~Carl Sagan on Johannas Kepler and his acceptance of his failed theory

A lot can change in 3 weeks. On my way to work on a Tuesday morning, I got a call from my mom. She goes on to tell me that doctors have found that she has cancer. A second opinion since has confirmed the diagnosis. Talk about a difficult fact to accept, but nothing changes it. We can be optimistic and look on the bright side; they found it early. They found it using new, very sensitive equipment. Using equipment from just a few years ago would not have found it. There is reason to be optimistic. The day after I learned this, my dad went into the hospital for a scheduled knee replacement. He is working through rehabilitation now, and is doing very well. We can be happy about his progress, and optimistic for his full recovery. It's not possible to find happiness in all situations, but that doesn't mean we can't be optimistic and hopeful. Let's understand the situation and make the best decision for moving forward.

"Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere."
~Van Wilder (movie)

A lot can change in 6 days. Happiness has been easy to find this week...smiling and laughing a lot. Funny how just reading text can do that. I over analyze everything and am always trying to predict things. For this, I blame engineering...but it has also taught me to realize that predictions are just that, and can be wrong. I don't like being wrong, but regardless, with engineering it is easy because there (so far) has never a possibility of someone getting hurt. This is completely different. I didn't learn this in school. I'm trying to learn. Learning is fun. :)

"You just have to put yourself out there and hope they like you back! This isn't a game! This is my life."
~Just Friends (movie) 

It's so easy

Once again, the cover of a song in a car commercial turns out to be better than the original song! Here's an Audi R18 commercial, with what the comments and related videos suggest is a song originally by Ted Lucas, covered by Erica Bjuremark. I love the lyrics too..."It's so easy when you know what you're doing." Especially as the commercial is alluding to aerodynamics (or more broadly, engineering)! Good stuff.



...Which reminds me of this commercial that I first saw probably about 3 years ago. The original song, Space Oddity by David Bowie covered by Cat Power. It almost makes me want to buy a Lincoln....almost.

The development race

Here is Alonso discussing his 4th place qualifying at the German GP. This is why F1 is so awesome!

“We’re still improving the car, the new parts we brought here are also very positive, the car feels better and better every time. It’s not that our competitors are looking at the TV in the 15 days between the two races; everyone is improving. We know McLaren brought here a big aero package, Red Bull as well. It’s a competition also outside the races which team is quicker in developing the car as well.”

And a picture to make this post interesting. Here's Alonso doing some testing of a new rear wing in Canada. Some pressure sensitive paint and a few sensors on the rear wing. Not sure what he's looking at though :)

Been there!

This weekend is the German GP at the Nurburgring. The one place they always highlight during this weekend is the castle at the top of the mountain. They always have nice helicopter shots of it. Here's a view from the top, overlooking the Nurburgring GP course. The GP course is in the upper right of the image. Even part of the Nordschleife is in the left of the shot. I wish they would still race on that, but there is no way...much too dangerous for the speeds of these cars today! I loved that place, and hope to go back one day!

Hooray for keeping up with these posts on a regular* schedule.

*open to interpretation :)

The picture taker and the picture

Here's a cool thing that happened in my recent trip to see the F1 race in Montreal. As I was taking a picture, I was having a picture taken of me. And the picture taken of me was broadcast into hundreds of millions of homes. Sweet! So, here it is, the picture of me taking a picture, and the picture that resulted.

A picture of me taking a picture (look near the center of the frame, I have a red hat and big lens!)

The picture! Well done, Jenson. He had an incredible drive. I didn't mind seeing him win!

Hotel room - Montreal

Here we go with the continuation of one of my most pointless series of posts. Haha, I started the trend, and now I just want to continue with it for the sake of continuing with it. Oddly enough, it's kind of fun! So without further adieu, here's the hotel room from Montreal.

And because the view out the window in that picture is completely blown out, here's a shot out the window at night. I like this picture much more. :) 

Stunt planes and no speed limits

Video of me riding in a stunt plane from the summer of 2005. Found it while cleaning and figured it deserved an upload :). Good times! Doing work on that piece of gum!



Here's the second video of me driving on the Autobahn. More good stuff! This time, it's a proper highway.

Arachnophobia

Rather, Arachno-teamwork!

Went for a hike, had the spectacular 105mm macro with me, and came across this spider and web stretching across the trail. (It was actually quite an impressive web!). Luckily, I had a swarm of black flies around me. Lunch time for the spider! While these images are creepy to stare at, I encourage you to try, because some of the detail you can see is just amazing!

In this picture, you can see: 

-Hair on the spider's leg (not the black spiky things, look closer at the white part of the spider's leg close to it's body)

-The spider has already wrapped up one black fly and is in the midst of wrapping up another. You can see the silk it's wrapping around the second fly! Look how it's using it's front legs to assist in spinning the web.

In this picture, you can see:

-The spider has wrapped up one fly, and is on to the next. It was incredible to see how fast the spider responded to vibrations in the web. Evolution is an incredible thing.

-Look how it's 'holding on' to the web with it's left rear leg while the others are in motion. Amazing! Looking back, I wonder if a faster shutter speed would have been better, but I think not. Anyone have opinions about this?

-The spider may be a bit embarrassed that I've shown this picture, it's web there in the center is a little deranged. Look at the clump of silk...let's try to be neater next web spider. Ok? Thanks. But maybe his web was messed up from the wrapping of that black fly...then it's cool, function over form, I get it man...good work!

In this picture, you can see:

-You can see the spider excreting silk from it's abdomen, (is that what it's called? I'm not sure). Ass, we'll say. Look at him excreting silk from his ass while wrapping the black fly. :)

And here's our guy, or girl, up close (I don't know which, I'm not a spider expert). Thanks to the swarm of black flies I had surrounding me, he/she now has food for a while. You're welcome. And thanks to my 100% deet, the black flies were just interested, but couldn't commit to biting me. Well done, deet!

Here's a shot of the web, as I continued my hike. I apologize for not using a larger aperture, I'll correct that next time. This was f/10. Should have dialed in F/2.8. Next time I see a spider's web crossing a trail, while I have my D90 with the 105mm f/2.8 macro, and a swarm of black flies following me...I'll take this shot at f/2.8. Yep, this shot will be better next time. ;)

Hotel room - Rochester, NY

And so I continue with the pointless habit of taking (and sharing) pictures of the hotel rooms I stay in. Here's the one from Rochester, NY, and it was kind of a dump. There was duct tape to seal the window, and the toilet never stopped running. Anyway, it was a place to sleep for the week I was there, and that's really all I need.

The next hotel I stay in will be niiiiice :)

Half a century ago

Alan Shepard went to space and back, being the first American to enter space. Here's a replica of the capsule he rode in (from my visit to the space center in Florida). That thing is tiny!! Must have been a rush to ride.

I wish I was around for the space race, must have been an awesome thing for an engineer to witness. Hopefully we'll have something like that in my lifetime.

A train ride through Germany

I took a video on the train through Germany. I decided to play some piano in the background. Enjoy the scenery!

Hotel rooms - Germany

For some strange reason, I tend to take pictures of all the hotel rooms I've stayed in. These two are from my Germany trip, and there is a massive difference between the two. Here's the first, the one I stayed in for work. This was nice. It may have been the best hotel room I've ever stayed in. It was a resort/spa type place. Unfortunately I was so busy with work, I didn't have time to enjoy any of that. On top of that, it was only 80 euro a night!

And here's the second, I stayed in for the Nurburgring. I think my bed sheet in the second room was made from a fabric that is one step above burlap. It was rough...

Not like it mattered though, I had the autobahn and the Nordschleife to keep me happy! Speaking of, I should put at least one interesting picture in this post. 

Look at this, it's an Audi R8 (race prepped) with a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera in the background! (Glad I had a small aperture for that picture!) Both just finished a lap on the Nordschleife (I drove that track too!!). So awesome. I could live in Germany, or at least somewhere within driving distance of Germany. Formula 1 teams, I'm waiting on your call.

Second Germany trip...

...was better than the first! The work was harder and more stressful, but the fun was more fun. Which is really all that matters because in the long run, I won't remember much of the troubles of the work, but I'll for sure remember all of the awesomeness that was my Nurburgring weekend!

I'll be posting things from this weekend for a while. At the start of this post, I wasn't sure which thing to post first, but I'm just going to pick a video to start. This is one of a few videos I have, and I'll probably post more of them. Enjoy my terrible German, bad jokes, random movie references, over exaggerations, and sarcasm....I know I did, haha!



I realize that a few things that I say may surprise/offend a few people. I usually try to censor myself around some people to avoid offending anyone, but I was by myself in the car so no need to censor anything. If the video offends you, my apologies; but this is me, and I'm not apologizing for that :) !

Learning keyboard: Ep. 1

The first of many (or the first and last) video of me trying to play keyboard. What I have difficulty with is coming up with other background tracks for a melody. Don't worry, I know I'm not good, just trying to show progress (I've only had the keyboard for 2 months). Hopefully I'll be able to look back on this in a few years and laugh at how bad I was. After all, everything is always more fun when you're able to laugh at yourself.

Download here (right click and save as...)

I'll try to make the future ones shorter so I can upload them to YouTube. I just got carried away with the length of this one. Too much fun!

(Edit 9/25: this was a limited release)

Formula 1 '11::Race 01

This is going to be a great year for Formula 1. Some highlights and things to look for in the coming races:

• Before the start of the race, the 747 flying under the helicopter was a really cool shot! I don't know if that was planned, or an accident, but either way, it was sweet.
• Getting rid of the double diffuser made an absolutely massive difference. For overtaking, you don't need DRS (Drag Reduction System). You don't need KERS (Kenetic Energy Recovery System). You need clean air to the front wing! Did you see how close all the guys were racing? Wow, exciting stuff to come this year.
• Rubins needs to retire. Seriously. He has become a product placement guru; not a professional race car driver. Whenever he sees a camera pointing at him, he is more concerned about getting his sponsors seen than getting on with his job. Was he hoping the Mercedes he took out was Schumacher?
• Here's Alonso talking about the new button on the steering wheel for this year to control the DRS. Contrasted with what Webber had to say. How people like Webber, I'm not sure...what's he going to complain about next? Enjoy your $6.2 million a year and drive! (or retire?)
• "You have to understand that in qualifying we’re using it every single time we’re at full throttle, so it’s pretty busy. I’m on for a challenge. I’ve done Formula 3000 races round Monaco with a gear stick, so we can drive with one hand, this is not the problem." ~Alonso
• "For us to have to get used to the overload, it’s just an added bit of tummy-tapping, head-rubbing, multi-tasking which is a fraction unnecessary for qualifying, maybe." ~Webber
• Vettel is an impressive driver in an impressive car. He tends to have the same mindset as Alonso. He drives, doesn't complain and enjoys himself. I like drivers like this.
• Speaking of the Red Bull and Vettel...Are we seeing the beginning of dominance similar to the Schumacher-Ferrari days? Let's hope not!
• Well done Petrov, Perez, and di Resta. 

That is all for now. Next race Malaysia, April 10th.

Headlight restoration

With as nice as the weather has been recently (relative to how it's been for the past 4 months), I've been doing a lot more with my car. Last weekend I changed the rear brake pads. This weekend, I cleaned the interior and used the Mother's headlight restoration kit to take the yellow out of my headlights (or at least that was the sales pitch from the commercials). I took pictures before and after, so I could see how well it worked. Here's the result.

Before

After

It is an improvement, but maybe not as drastic as I hoped. Granted, in all it took me 30 minutes, so it's not bad for such little effort. I should be able to improve them more, but I need to wait for my cordless drill battery to recharge, then convince myself that it would be worth the effort.

Next weekend's car task: replace the exhaust manifold gasket. Maybe I'll get an aftermarket uppipe while I'm at it, haven't decided yet...more research required.

Fire!!!...

...in the picture! I had to be careful not to char the front of the lens, but other than that, I think it was pretty safe. Some cool shots, which required little effort/skill. I'm loving this lens! Be sure to check these out full size, it's pretty impressive.

The full flame/frame, un-cropped

1:1 crop!

From the top! Was a little worried for the lens on this one, but worth it!

Possibly the best lens ever?

...I'm not asking sarcastically either. I have a lot to learn about this lens, and photography in general. This lens is currently way out of my league. But anyway, here's my first attempt. 

Can you guess what this first picture is of?

Hint: it has the opposite effect of the drug found in this.

The later of which doesn't help when playing this.

This is a 1:1 crop. Look at the individual pixels!!!

Difficult choices

Went skiing with my sister and brother in law last weekend at Killington. Had a great time, even though there was a little bit of rain. Had a difficult decision to make when we stopped for lunch at the top.

More snow!

The past couple of weeks it felt like the winter was nearing an end. The past few days reversed that feeling. We have gotten a lot of wet, heavy snow. Good for snowballs, bad for shoveling. The problem now is that I need to lift every shovel full of snow over my head to get it on top or over the pile I've built on the side of my driveway. Here's a picture of me (to help you get a sense of the scale) sitting on the side of my driveway in the massive snowbank.

Don't bother zooming in on this picture. I'm not in focus, which is a little embarrassing.

I guess all the snow has an added benefit. Better home security! The door heading out to my backyard would take a while (not to mention a lot of effort) to open by a would be thief (not like we have those around where I live).

Discovery's final flight

The final launch of the space shuttle Discovery was successful! I'm so proud because I know I was instrumental in it's success. After all, could they have repaired it in time if I didn't take a picture of it from a mile away back in November? I think not! I've posted the picture before that was clearly instrumental to the success of the launch today (notice the expert analysis, where I pointed out that the shuttle is very big).

Here's a picture from my trip back in November. It's hard to believe that these tiles are able to protect the shuttle during reentry. They look so fragile.

I was able to watch the launch today live at work because nobody walked in my cubicle while I was watching it (it was only 5 minutes anyway). If you didn't get to see it, and want to, here it is!

      

Pale blue dot

I'm not sure why, all of a sudden, I'm coming across more and more space/planetary size comparisons. But I'm loving it! Here's the latest one, comparing the planets of our solar system to our star and others.



It's hard to even imagine how big the universe is, but it's fun to try!

That video reminds me of this picture, described by Carl Sagan himself in this video.

Learning to Cook

If I had anything else to add to better describe my cooking habits, I'd write them here. But, this flow chart sums it up perfectly. I'm about at the "I should cook more!" phase right now. It's only a matter of time until I buy ingredients and put some in a pan!

http://xkcd.com/ for more comics like this. Although be warned...the disclaimer at the bottom of the page reads "Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)."

Editing marathon done!

I've been working, slowly but surely, on editing pictures from Christmas. Spent a few hours this morning to power through the last of them. Out of the 619 pictures I took, 79 of them made the cut to be edited and shared. Maybe about 15 of those I'd consider really, really good. Glad I'm not shooting with a film camera, this hobby would get expensive quickly.

Here is not one of those pictures. It's actually a picture of the room I had when I went to Germany last year...random, I know, but I was going through some old pictures and thought this would be an interesting one to post.

Jupiter is massive!

Look at this video of what the other planets would look like if they orbited at the same distance as our moon. It's incredible to imagine how it would be if we saw these planets rather than the moon in our night sky. Simply amazing. I love anything like this that sparks my imagination. This is just our solar system in our galaxy in our universe, and it's breath taking. The possibilities are endless in other solar systems, galaxies, and (perhaps) other universes. Is there someone somewhere who has a Jupiter sized object filling their night sky, wondering what it would be like if their planet was orbited by a small moon sized object?


Scale from Brad Goodspeed on Vimeo.

888 - 430 = Perfection

Let me tell you, I am in love with the Ferrari F430. It's really an amazing car; just perfect really. There's nothing that would keep me from buying one if I had the money. Who could explain this better than Jeremy Clarkson...



Well, there's one thing that would keep me from buying it. The new 458. Brace your jaw so it doesn't hit the floor as you watch this clip. I was not prepared, and now I have a bruise on my chin. And yes, you want to wait for the 1080p version to buffer; it's worth it.



...Youtube needs a infinite repeat option

Birthday present

I've gotten into a habit of buying myself a birthday present once a year. Last year I got my camera, this year I got a keyboard (much, much cheaper than the camera)! Just hit the place order button on Amazon, it should be here Thursday! I love getting new toys, especially the ones that present me with a challenge. I don't play the keyboard, I've never tried to play the piano, but I did play trombone...so, there's that. Haha, this should be interesting...hopefully I'm able to teach myself without too much difficulty or frustration.

From my parents, I got a real coffee grinder (a burr grinder to replace my cheap chopping style 'grinder'). Had the coffee for the first time this morning, and it was really good. Now all I need is some whole bean French vanilla and I will be set. Now that I think about it, I should have gotten that with my keyboard order on Amazon.

As for the picture for this post, here's my parents dog enjoying the Christmas day snow (yep, it snowed down there, and yes, the whole city shut down).

I'm still here

It's been a while since my last post, so I figured it's time to get back into it. I've been really busy with work, working long days and weekends. Thanks to me being salary, I only get paid for 45 hours a week. Hopefully all this work will pay off in about 6 months. There is one more hell week, then it should ease up. I'm going to try and post more, but who knows...I can't predict how much I'll post.

I started going through pictures trying to decide which picture to post here, and realized that I have 687 Christmas vacation pictures that I haven't gone through yet. Started going through those while listening to a Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg Pandora station. That's really a good time. It's been a slow progression, but editing pictures is getting more and more enjoyable. About 10% of the Christmas pictures look like they'll be good. Here's one of the Christmas tree my parents put up.

That's enough for one post, I could go off on tangents and make this one really long post. I think I'll break up my tangent thoughts into more posts. Maybe more than one post this weekend!! Shock!