Zoltano

Clothespins

2010-06-03T06:03:00.000-07:00

The clothesline in my brother's studio apartment, strung from wall to wall again and again.

Happy Birthday!

2009-08-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

Hawaiian Food

2009-08-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

Ono Hawaiian food and Leonard's malasadas. A perfect combination and literally within a few blocks of each other.

Ono Hawaiian Foods is a little hole-in-the-wall family restaurant just down the street from the touristy Waikiki beach in Honolulu. One couple we met while standing in line had been coming for over thirty years! Pictures of famous Hawaiian stars as well as snapshots local families cover the walls.

The elderly owners are also the waiters and well as the cooks, in addition to their small staff. Not knowing what to order we picked out a couple of sampler platters, only to be told -- "that's too much food" followed by an excellent suggestion of what to get instead (and they were right!). (You can see her serving dishes in the first photo).

Leonard's Bakery is just down the street and just serves pastries, what could be better? The sweet scent of friend dough can be sensed from at least a block away, so by the time you get inside you can only thing of one thing: malasadas (which are similar to jelly donuts).

We brought bought some malasadas with us to the airport. The security ran it through the X-ray scanner. The screener wasn't sure what he was looking at. "Don't worry, it's just malasadas" the guard shouted to the other and let it pass through.

Can't make it to Hawaii? check out the Kauai Family Restaurant in Seattle for some amazing and authentic Hawaiian food.

Food around Guanajuato

2009-04-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday night in Guanajuato

2009-04-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

Guanajuato has a young and vibrant night scene, with people everywhere listening to musicians, strolling mistrals, comedians, or just taking a stroll through the Jardin de la Union. What a sense of warmth, culture, and community! It's a college town and tourist destination yet still retains its charm and authenticity. Of course Saturday night is the most crowded, but there was something going on seemingly every night, such as the State band that plays twice a week or just the mariachis being hired out to play a couple of songs over dinner.

Colorful Guanajuato

2009-03-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

Guanajuato is fractally colorful, from the entire town down to the locals. The town was built into a valley, so the homes are stacked and placed in no particular order along the hills, and only connected by narrow winding footpaths. Some have compared Guanajuato to Venice for the architecture, ornate cathedrals, charm, color, and beauty, among many other qualities, and I'd have to agree.

Be sure to check out "Me... in Guanajuato!", a great blog about another traveler's day-to-day experience living in town.

Mexican food

2009-03-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

The food in Mexico is delicious and cheap. I finally discovered the wondrous chocolaty joy of mole, and ended up ordering it at least once everywhere we went. Look for "enmoladas" on the menu. It's not an accident that "enmolada" sounds like "enchilada" -- they just mean "in mole sauce" or "in chili sauce" respectively. And don't forget the ever popular "enfuego" -- on fire!

Freshly made churros were definitely one of the culinary highlights of our visit to Mexico. It's just dough extruded by a giant spritz press, then fried and covered in coarse granulated sugar. The outside is chewy-crisp, and warm and soft on the inside. I've really only had them at Disneyland -- three bucks for one long reheated churro (still tasty) -- but for twenty pesos (about US$1.25), I had an entire bagful, freshly made, that I shared. Oh man, what an experience.

The Lebanese place (Meson de Terraplen) on the corner from where we stayed was excellent too. Very flavorful, great textures, and beautiful presentation. San Miguel has not one but TWO Lebanese restaurants. Who would have guessed?

San Miguel de Allende Colors

2009-03-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

Hot Air in the Jardin

2009-03-07T15:07:00.000-08:00

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

We heard from the locals that a hot air balloon was going to lift off from the Jardin the next morning at 7am. We somehow managed to wake up that early and rushed up to see it. Hot air balloons aren't normally launched from the center of town, but it looks like an exception was made here because it was being filmed for a Canadian art TV show. As you can see, the balloon is as big as the Parroquia (the cathedral)!

First the balloon is unrolled on the ground and the basket is placed on its side and attached. A big fan is used to mostly fill the balloon with air. Heating the air with a huge flame finishes the job.

Most people were right next to the balloon taking photos up until it lifted off. I ran around the Jardin instead to capture the balloon from the side and different angles before it flew away. The silhouettes of the geometrically cut trees framed the balloon in unusual ways (in more photos than I've posted here). I like how the size of the balloon is emphasized when seen towering over the trees and with the Parroquia just peeking out from behind.

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

2009-01-29T13:29:00.000-08:00

San Miguel de Allende is a small charming town in the central mountain region of Mexico.

San Miguel looks like it could be anywhere in Italy -- narrow cobblestone streets, colorful buildings, peeling paint, lots of people walking around. Most buildings are one or two stories, and have very simple facades, just a door and a few windows. You would never guess at the opulence and charming architecture of the buildings behind the walls.

Pear Jam

2009-01-21T01:21:00.000-08:00

Friends gave us a big bag of pears so I turned them into jam. It's delicious and almost like eating candy. What's funny is that I made four batches of blackberry jam (about 4 - 8 jars per batch) and only made 3/4 batch of pear jam (5 jars), but by the photos it looks like I only make pear jam.

I took several photos with the blackberry jam in the same setting but the pear jam just came out visually more appealing. The golden yellow really pops against the green moss, and in other images seems to naturally match the surrounding colors.

Snow Day

2008-12-19T00:19:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning to find the neighborhood covered in a thick layer of fluffy snow. A lot of fluffy snow. At least six inches of fluffy snow. Did I mention it was a lot of snow? It snows here once or twice a year, but usually an inch or less. My neighbor said this was the most he'd seen since moving here thirteen years ago. On top of that, more is on the way in the next few days. The weather will remain below freezing which means all the snow-covered streets will turn into ice and take seemingly forever (days) to melt.

All the neighborhood kids were out sledding in the streets (us too, briefly) which is a ton of fun. It also means that the city shuts down because it's nearly impossible to drive anywhere. To put it simply, infrequent snow, hills, and inexperienced drivers are a bad combination.

Kids standing at the bottom of the local steep street called out when a car foolishly started heading down it. The driver, realizing they made a mistake, experienced their car sliding and spinning in slow motion down the icy street. There were a lot of close calls with the one car abandoned near the bottom of the hill but amazingly most cars managed steer and avoid collision (although it was eventually hit with minor damage). Truly a suspenseful and terrifying spectacle. Good thing someone put up a warning sign at the top of the hill.

Golden Pear Jam

2008-11-27T11:27:00.000-08:00

Home-made organic pear jam illuminated by the sun.

Hide and Seek

2008-11-15T11:15:00.000-08:00

How long did it take you to see the rabbit in the picture? Isn't it amazing at how well the rabbit's mottled fur matches the dirt and twigs in the background? Wow.

Fall Colors All Year-Round

2008-11-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

Bold yellows, reds, and oranges from around the nation (Chicago, top; Columbia City / Seattle, middle; Lahaina, bottom)

Fall Harvest

2008-11-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

Fresh vegetables and squash from the local farm stand. The rainbow chard is especially delicious.

Garba-Raas dance for Navratri

2008-11-03T11:03:00.001-08:00

Celebrating Navratri is something everyone should experience. The whole room was moving up and down, forwards and backwards like waves breaking on a beach as everyone danced the Garba. Like gears in a clock, an overwhelming view of color and motion as circles of people orbited around other circles of people around the shrine in the center, like planets rotating about themselves and the sun at the same time. Hundreds of people following each other and they danced around the room. Oh the poor people who had to follow me. They eventually gave up in polite frustration and jumped ahead.

We formed a giant circle, two concentric circles for the Raas, the dandia dance. Yes, we banged dandias (sticks) together like swords and in a short pattern and kept rotating partners. Banging dandias with people of all ages, from 3 to 60 or more, is a great way to break the ice with a lot of people since you have to stare face to face as you coordinate the movements and rotate to the next partner.

People from all backgrounds were represented. Although most people were Indian or of Indian descent, people with backgrounds or from Asia, Africa, Europe, and local Americans were there too. Just in our group of seven there were people from Estonia, India, Africa (not sure which country), and the US. I even ran into some of my Indian co-workers who I think were more surprised to see me than I was to see them.

Ghost

2008-10-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

Sent in by an avid reader (thanks Mom!). The story is that she saw this cookie and it reminded her of a photo from many years ago, which she dug out of her archives (it runs in the family). What a great pairing!

The Apple of Man

2008-10-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

One of the favorite costumes that I've seen -- so simple and very clever. For those who don't know the reference, see this link at Wikipedia.

Wild Mushrooms

2008-10-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

These images represent a small sample of the myriad types of mushrooms that appear just within my neighborhood in the fall. I'm simply amazed at the diversity. Some are huge, some are small, some are layered, some are clustered, some stand alone, and come in so many shapes. They would be delicious grilled on a BBQ if only they weren't also poisonous.

Colors of the Fall

2008-10-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

The reds and yellows of the oil boom mirror the changing season. The blurriness was unintentional but it adds a lot of motion and draws out more of the color.

The image of leaves on a barberry bush is ok, but what I really like are the saturated pinks, yellows, and greens, and all the colors in between. The blue-green block in the background? That's a watering can. I used it to add extra color to the image by taking advantage of the property that a large aperture results in a blurry background. The color is there without having a recognizable object distract from the foreground image.

Students in Their Natural Habitat

2008-10-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

Tree-sitters protesting UC Berkeley's plans to chop down an oak grove.

I found this postcard on the ground next to the chain-link fence, a stark representation of what eventually came to pass. The light is coming from the numerous Klieg lights that surround the site. Normally that kind of lighting can come off as harsh and unattractive but I think it really works out here.

Looking out past Coit Tower

2008-10-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

Looking out past Coit Tower.

Chinatown Shop

2008-10-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

Inside a shop in Chinatown (San Francisco).

I love the flattened sense of depth in this image. Is that a contradiction? The large blurry lantern in the foreground leading to the sharp items in the background add depth as the view looks through the store. At the same time there are so many objects with similar colors and lighting that they just blend into each other, resulting a flattened jumble of colors and shapes.

On the Beat

2008-10-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

San Francisco police officers.

Pure Red Blueberries

2008-10-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

As a surprise I was taken to go blueberry picking out in the countryside. I picked several handfuls but very quickly became distracted by taking photos of the berries instead. I started by taking the standard photos of berries on the bush, in various clusters and of various colors, but found that capturing the intense colors, contrast, and shadows to be far more interesting.

To capture the image on the left, I held the bucket up directly in front of the sun, tipped the bucket toward me so the berries would pile up, and took the photo with the camera in my other hand. Holding the bucket high and shooting upward made it easy to ensure that only the pure blue sky was in the background. In addition, the simple blues and reds help emphasize the silhouette of the berries.

The image on the right was captured with the bucket on the ground. I placed the bucket so that the blueberry bush cast its shadow while still allowing direct sunlight to hit the bucket and to cast the red light over the berries.

---

If you want to go fruit and berry picking (and live in the Puget Sound area), see the harvest schedule to know what's in season at http://www.pugetsoundfresh.org/fruits_nuts_berries_harvests.htm

Cooling Down

2008-09-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

An idyllic moment on a hot summer day in New York City. I like how the tree, the bicycle, and the man on the right frame the image while also giving a great sense of depth when compared with the buildings and cars in the distance.

Grand Coulee Dam

2008-09-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

The Grand Coulee dam is the biggest dam (and concrete structure) in the United States, but I bet that when people think of big dams, the Hoover dam comes to mind. The rivalry between the dams was made clear by our tour guide who was born and raised in the city of Grand Coulee. During the tour she kept throwing out impressive facts emphasizing how much more powerful and bigger the Grand Coulee dam was over the Hoover dam ("the Hoover dam could fit in the Grand Coulee and still have four hundred feet to spare.") Her angle made the tour both informational (intentional) and amusing (unintentionally).

The Hoover dam is in a very scenic location and has amazing art deco architecture and statues, but I think the Grand Coulee dam still comes out ahead. Sure, the Grand Coulee dam has some impressive stats, but feeling and hearing the massive structure shake like a rocket ship (from the water flowing through the turbines) gives a concrete sense of the enormous power of the dam (if you'll pardon the pun).

Looking up the dam funicular, which rides on top of a massive octagonal concrete water tube that feeds the turbines.

One single shot capturing the myriad angles and spacing of the textured concrete walls.

Detail of the buffalo on the dedication plaque of the dam.

The image above only shows about half of the width of the entire dam. If you look closely, you can see the funicular and concrete landings from the other photos. Bonus: the dam architecture looks like a level from Quake II (particularly the massive octagonal concrete tubes curving around the rough rock underneath).

Colors at the Bonneville Dam

2008-09-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

Color is everywhere, even around something as drab as the massive concrete Bonneville Dam. The images below show part of the turbine with the red floor below, the fish ladder and green algae within, and the striking power tower above and against the rich blue sky.

Hors d'oeuvres and Coffee

2008-09-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

June Bug

2008-08-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

I almost always take two cameras with me if I'm planning on taking photos -- a Digital Rebel XT SLR with a 24-105 f/4 zoom and 50mm f/1.4 prime lens, and a little (but full-featured) Powershot S70 point-and shoot-camera. The SLR allows for better quality photos, but I find that I get the best macro shots with the little S70, as you can see below.

I carry two cameras because I never know where I may end up, especially when out for the day or on a trip.

The SLR works great -- the shutter fires immediately after pressing the release so I don't miss those split-second expression and actions, and I love being able to look through the lens to compose the shot (the live preview displays just can't compete with the full fidelity and sharpness of real light rays). One main drawback is that the camera can be intrusive because it's so big , plus it gets heavy very quickly.
The little point-and-shoot is far more discreet and works great when I just want to quickly take some photos or don't want to (or can't) carry around all sorts of camera equipment.

As a bonus, both cameras use the same battery and memory card types. Also, if I'm with a friend, I can hand off one camera to provide a different perspective.

Black and White Stripes

2008-08-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

(Striking new dishes. More here and here)

Rusty Walls

2008-08-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

I was walking along the beach and found this great rusty seawall mottled with rust and seaweed. I love the rich rusty reds against the pure blue sky. It's all about using natural light and knowing your camera. I found that the sky looks washed out, almost white, when using the automatic settings. Setting the exposure manually for slightly longer produced the deep blue sky.

These were taken at Alki, just around the point from the main beach.

Shadowing myself (self-portrait)

2008-08-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

The blurry shadows help make my sharp silhouette really pop. They also contribute a sense of depth even though all the shadows are flat against the same wall.

Composing words and pictures

2008-07-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

I love photography. Maybe it comes from the habits of my parents. Maybe it's because I love being able to compose shots in-camera, and it's a great alternative to my lack of drawing and musical abilities. Maybe it's just fun to press the shutter release. Really it's about taking a subject and finding a fun, unusual, or just beautiful way of portraying it. I still have a lot to learn.

I realize that most of you don’t know the people in the wedding (nor did I except for the bride and groom) but the point is to enjoy the compositions, expressions, and key moments.

Tactile Feedback (Touch)

2008-05-30T21:04:00.001-07:00

I've managed to acquire both an iPod Shuffle (the original style) as well as an iPod Touch. As attractive and fun as the iPod Touch is, for listening to music the iPod Shuffle wins for me hands down. Why?

It's all about touch.

With the iPod Touch changing tracks, changing the volume, fast forwarding, or pausing the tracks require me to swipe my finger across the display and then figure out where on the screen I should tap or touch.

With the iPod Shuffle, I can control it blindfolded. I need to make it louder? No problem, just feel for the round ring and press up. Pause the track? Just find the big round button and press. The tactile feedback is wonderful (and the way it feels when pressed is very intentional, I'm sure). Even better, I can control the iPod through gloves or clothes, whereas the iPod touch I would need to hold it and have the skin make contact with the screen.

This reminds me of some fascinating research done by Patrick Baudisch on audio-based user interfaces, where sound cues are used to let the user know what is happening. The video below demonstrates the work:

See http://research.microsoft.com/users/baudisch/projects/earpod for the writeup.

Word Play

2008-03-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

I love this kind of word play:

"Pricey Popcorn Prevents Premium on Picture Show"
[Santa Cruz Sentinel - http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_8345238]

The San Francisco Chronicle has been doing fun headline puns for years on their website. Recently it went through a major redesign. I wrote to the Chronicle and asked if they were going to continue writing puns. Sure enough, they wrote back, with a pun!

Thanks for the nice comments. Check one.

A. SFGate will go all serious in its headlines.
B. We'll never have any fun again.
C. Pun of the above.
(I'd bet on C)

-- News director, SFGate

I Kidjo not!

2008-02-24T23:32:00.000-08:00

Very few people know this, but I have danced on stage with Grammy winner Angelique Kidjo. It's true!

Buying airplane tickets on Virgin America makes me furious.

2008-02-21T14:46:00.000-08:00

Buying airplane tickets on Virgin America makes me furious, especially when pricing games are being played.

I had to buy plane tickets in two separate transactions that would let two people fly separately on different days but fly back together on the same flight.

I opened up two different browsers (IE7 and Firefox) so any settings made in one browser wouldn't affect the other one. Using Kayak.com I found the cheapest airfare at Virgin America for both of our trips, clicked through , and entered my billing info. I then purchased one ticket for a great price ($175). Next, I completed buying the other ticket only to be told that my original cheap ticket selection ($169) was suddenly unavailable and the only option for the desired flight was $243! Every other flight for the day and time were still cheap at the same $169 price.

Could it be that I bought the last cheap ticket for the flight home when booking the first flight? Maybe Virgin America has some timer, counter, or cookie set so that a user can only get one deal per unit time and then sneakily be shown the expensive prices after the first ticket is bought?

I tried to get prices for Virgin America using both browsers, both using Kayak and by directly visiting the Virgin American website. The specific flight was still extra expensive. Ok, maybe the price is just high. Next, I tried a different computer and also found that the price for the specific flight was still high. Hmm... I'm still not satisfied since it seems awfully suspicious that that one particular flight is so expensive while all the others are cheap and that there are still plenty of seats left.

Where can I get a different IP address? All my computers are plugged into the same router and I think look like the same IP address to the outside world. Ah ha! I also have a wireless connection on my laptop, and the wireless network has a different set of IP addresses. I visited the Virgin America website using the wireless network and the prices were cheap again! I was right! I quickly bought the right ticket at the cheap price.

Just to retest my hypothesis, after buying my ticket I immediately went back and searched for the same flight again. Sure enough, the price for the specific times had skyrocketed from $169 to $243!Very sneaky. It's completely legal but I feel like the company is playing games with me. I would rethink about buying tickets with them in the future.

(On a related note, Amazon.com used to do variable pricing for their goods (depending on when and how often you viewed an item) and that really upset a lot of people. See http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2000/09/38622 for the story in detail.)

Shadow Puppet Theater

2008-02-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

Last night I saw Printer's Devil Theater and Sgt. Rigsby & His Amazing Silhouettes presenting "A Boy in the Beastly City". This was a shadow puppet show and voice acting in one. Like a radio drama, it featured four voice actors sitting next to the screen in 40's clothing.

The story was loosely about a boy trying to find his lost pet monkey in the city. The humor was often Pythonesque, with non-sequiturs and intermittent complaint letters being read, as well as a couple of Benny Hill chase scenes. In some ways it felt like a 12-year-old had written it -- the story was all over the place and had juvenile humor -- but was contrasted by the beautiful set and great period costumes.

I love this kind of theater -- creative, unusual, and something off the beaten path.

HMS Endurance finds MV Explorer in the Antarctic

2008-02-01T18:48:00.000-08:00

After the Titanic sank, it took decades before it was found. By comparison, the MV Explorer found just a few days ago, only a couple of months after it sank. What's astounding is that it is more than two-thirds of a mile below the surface.

From www.mod.uk
After an initial unsuccessful search earlier this month, Endurance revisited the area to carry out the systematic search of an area ten kilometres by five using the ship's advanced multibeam echosounder, which uses sound waves to create an accurate chart of the sea bed.

The seabed in the search area was flat and featureless, but a contact was detected at a range of 4,373m from the reported sinking position of the vessel. When compared to the reported sinking position of M/S Explorer this was broadly consistent with the direction of the prevailing current.

The wreck's position is at the northwest end of the Bransfield Strait, and was located at a depth of approximately 1,130 metres. The actual location is at 620 24.2929' south 570 11.7748' west. It was judged that the depth of the wreck showed that it presented no hazard to shipping. Apart from the oil slick, no debris was seen in the water and no debris was observed on any of the land in the vicinity of the wreck visited by personnel from HMS Endurance.

A side view of the M/S Explorer on the seabed created with HMS Endurance's multibeam echosounder
[Picture: Royal Navy]

Gearing Up For Repairs

2008-01-09T22:16:00.000-08:00

Q: When is a gear not a gear?
A: When it's missing it's teeth.

The real punch line is that one of my favorite gears, the one in my garage door opener, needs to be replaced (because it's missing all of its teeth).

Signs that the gear is stripped include that the opener sounds like it is working but the chain does not move, and white "confetti" appears below the opener. There was literally a little pile on the ground, as well as plenty more in the cover, which I've removed so you can see it in the picture below:

In doing some research, I found this fascinating comment by Eric on why the gear may be designed to fail first and the larger issue (the garage door assembly probably needs work):

The plastic gearing is actually designed to strip when the GDO is under excessive strain. The “sacrificial” plastic gear saves the more expensive parts (motor, circuit board, sprocket) from being damaged. Garage door openers are not designed to lift doors, they are only remote control devices. The lift is provided by the counter-balance system (springs), which is why you can raise 150-400 lbs of wood or steel up over your head with one hand (a perfectly tuned door can be raised with 2 fingers). If the gear has stripped you probably need work done on the door. Weak springs, blown bearings and low quality/worn-out rollers are typical causes. As for Genie quality, it has diminished greatly in recent years, particularly in regards to their electronics and I certainly hope you didn’t buy the Excelerator model as it tends to damage doors and can in fact be dangerous. Get the door serviced by a qualified technician. Hope this helps, Eric - Garage door professional.

Looks like my education in home repair is only beginning...

Traveling Lightly

2007-12-14T21:39:00.000-08:00

I'm flying home for the holidays and with each passing year I bring more gear. I could travel lighter but since I go straight from being dropped off at the airport to being picked up from the airport and staying with family the whole time, traveling heavy isn't too big of a worry.

This year I'm bringing the following:

Lenovo Thinkpad laptop computer + power brick (for serious work and writing code)
Full-size mouse (see: serious work)
Ultra-mobile PC (Samsung Q1) (for photos, games, internet access, and watching movies)
Cell phone + charger
Headphones
Canon Digital Rebel XT SLR camera
Canon 24-105mm zoom lens
Canon 50mm prime lens
Apple iPod Touch 8GB
Canon PowerShot S70 camera (small camera for when a big one is too big)
Flash card reader (quicker to dump photos to other computers)

What's more amazing is that all this gear fits into my backpack and in my pockets. Going through security at the airport, however, is quite an ordeal. Despite all the electronics, I spend most of my time visiting people (with my trusty camera at my side).

In the Chilean News

2007-11-30T09:03:00.000-08:00

They made the front page in Chile, yet only made it to page A7 in the local paper. What's neat is that a few national news agencies have been calling and leaving messages on the answering machine requesting interviews. Good Morning America interviewed them too but another couple was featured instead.

Saved Before Abandoning Ship

2007-11-27T15:10:00.000-08:00

"I saved a memory card of all photos except last day == 2 gigabytes. Backed up my diary to flash memory two days before." They lost everything else (their luggage, their camera, and even a laptop).

A Sinking Feeling

2007-11-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

My dad is in Antarctica and is having a had a great time, with one exception: his ship hit an iceberg and is sinking. I think he accidentally signed up for the "Titanic Experience" package when setting up the trip. Fortunately everyone was evacuated safely to another ship. (What a deal -- two trips for the price of one!)

Read all about it at the New York Times . There are good photo galleries at the New York Times and ABC News too.

Update Fri, Nov 23:

Subject: We're okay
Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2007 15:56:33 -0800

You may have heard by now that we had to abandon our ship, the MS Explorer this (Friday) morning. We are now okay and are at a Chilean base in King George Island near the Antarctic Peninsula. If all goes well we will be evacuated by air tomorrow to Punto Areanas Chile. I heard a bump and then water leaking this morning at 12:30. Felt water on the floor. We gathered things up. Put on our heavy winter coats and went to muster station. We abandon ship at 2:30. Spent 2 hours in life boat. Fortunately weather was "good". We were picked up by the ship NordNorse and deposited here. We're coming home as soon as we can.

Update Sat, Nov 24:

Subject: RE: We're okay
Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 07:11:37 -0800

We just got word that a plane has punta areanas. We hope to leave today. If not tomorrow. Lost all our luggage. We we given clothes on boat. She has only her wellingtons to wear. dONT EVEN HAVE HOUSE KEY. fortunagely we have passports and a credit card. this is a bad connection.

Update Sun, Nov 25:

Subject: Punto Arenas
Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 05:52:26 -0800

We are now alive and well in Punto Arenas.

This whole thing is surreal. Things like this only happen to other people. In the Chilean base I gave phone interviews in Spanish (a trying experience) and English to a paper in London. Here have given an interview to Toronto Star.

We wont' get off until tomorrow at earliest.

I saved a memory card of all photos except last day == 2 gigabytes. Backed up my diary to flash memory two days before.

Today we go shopping for clothes.

Looking forward to coming home. We're leaving on the 4 pm flight for Santiago,Chile. Save newspapers and magazine articles for us.

Bill and Me

2007-11-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

This morning I met former President Bill Clinton after his speech. I reached my hand out in a sea of other hands and got a handshake back. A girl next to me wanted her photo with the President, who was gracious enough to pose with her, and I tried to take a photo with her camera. It didn't work so I quickly used my camera. The President looked at me and started to speak just as I was about to take the photo.

"Please hurry up. I'm getting late," he said.

Yes, I'm proud to say that I managed to annoy the President.