Brad and I driving the 88 at the ROVERS club Spruce Cabin Camp Land Rover rally in January 

Thirsty Land Rovers. When this photo was taken 2 years ago, we thought gas was expensive..little did we know... 

Camping with the 88 and the 101 

My husband preparing dinner on one of the wings of the 88 during one of our road trips 

The 101 and the 109

Taking the 109 on a road trip to visit the 1859 grist mill near our home 

The 101 and 88 at our campsite during a vacation to the Adirondacks 

My husband playing in the dirt with the 101...

...and the water!!!

That's it for now. Hopefully we'll have more photos to come soon... And better quality pics, since I've finally gotten a decent digital camera...

Virtual people... virtual adultery... real-life consequences!

 

An interesting article from the BBC... Computer gaming has spawned some issues of its own!

If you walked into a room and found your partner in a passionate clinch with someone else you'd probably have good cause to worry.

But would you worry if those doing the kissing were characters in a game being controlled by your partner and someone else?

For some players of Second Life, a massive multi-player online role-playing game, such virtual infidelity is a step too far.

So to keep an eye on their loved ones, some spouses are paying real money to in-game detectives, to snoop on the character or avatar used by their real world partner.

Testing times

Like its name implies, Second Life is an online world that encourages people to create a character and live out another existence doing almost anything they want.

It's an imaginary world without the elves and dragons people tend to associate with the "fantasy" tag.

Characters can buy their own island, create their dream house, become a clothes designer, go fishing, spend nights partying in clubs and bars and, of course, have virtual sex with virtual people.

Second Life - all the thrills and none of the danger

It is this last freedom that has driven some characters, like Markie MacDonald and Bruno Buckenberger, to turn to in-game detectives who will spy on other characters.

They will even set up a honey trap using an attractive avatar to test a character's fidelity .

More at the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4432019.stm

Motorola's first cell phone the DynaTAC8000X and their new Razr cell phone. 

Nostalgia for ancient technology

Long before Ipods came around, there were LP records. Before PSPs, we had Pong. Cell phones have also come a long way. CNN has an article about the first cell phone manufactured by Motorola in 1984 - http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/04/11/motorola.first.phone.ap/index.html

I believe my first cell phone was purchased in 1995 or 1996. I wasn't exactly on the cutting edge of technology in this regard, as they were still pretty pricey! As I recall, it was actually relatively small (not a bag phone), and had a horrible signal. Most of the Interstate 80 corridor in PA wasn't even covered. I justified its purchase by my frequent travels as an archaeological field technician. Unfortunately I eventually gave it up, as the monthly bill was too steep to afford(imagine that, a poor archaeologist)! I didn't get another cell phone until several years later.

There are reports of new cell phones coming out that have the capability for streaming media, including live TV broadcasts. I suspect that it will be just one more way for people to annoy others in public spaces. There is currently a debate about allowing cell phones on airplanes (though I'm not sure people would be able to use them very well at higher altitudes without some assistance from satellites). I hope that this is never approved. It's bad enough that we have to listen in to others' "private" conversations and ringtones elsewhere.

Ahh, Florida. I miss Florida sometimes. In comparison, Pennsylvania just doesn't have the same level of drama.

http://www.workingforchange.com/comic.cfm?itemid=18836

Three huskies! 

The two puppies. Tasha (on the floor) is 6 months, and Sitka 5 months old. 

Tasha or Sitka? Sometimes it's difficult to tell them apart. The meat on this one's bones tells me that this is Tasha... 

Puppy power! 

Here are a few more photos of our flooded road on the second day. As of this morning, the waters hadn't receded very much. 

Our road barricaded. The water level was up to the telephone pole last night... 

Puppy makes...4?!

Let me introduce you to our new puppy. Like Kotzebue, we adopted her from the Tales of the Tundra Siberian Husky Rescue organization (http://www.siberescue.com/). It's a fantastic group, and they really put in a lot of effort to make sure the dogs are going to good homes. Little Ebony has been renamed Sitka, after another town in Brad's native Alaska. This and the next photo were taken from the puppy's profile on the Tales of the Tundra website. She is a wonderful girl and we are already in love with her!

This little girl is 5 months old (1 month younger than Tasha), and full of puppy energy. 

Sitka enjoys a few minutes of quiet time away from the other rambunctious dogs... 

Row, row, row your boat...

Pennsylvania has experienced some heavy rains that came down on waterways that were already swollen, and we've gotten some serious flooding as a result. This is how my road looked this afternoon. It's under there - somewhere...

No, this is not a boat launch, though it appears to be. This is a picture of our road, about 100' from our house, and a bingo hall in the distance. The road has been closed off, though a few dimwits have still attempted to drive through this. This photo is several hours old, and the water is still rising rapidly. Some reports have said it may crest tonight at 3 or 4 feet higher than this level.

This is another view of the bingo hall down the street, with a lake filling what used to be a parking lot.

The small object in the distance is my neighbor's mailbox just sticking above the waterline. Here the water is likely at least 4' deep.

You can just make out a bridge in this photo that passes over the creek. The water has long since passed over the top of the bridge. Low-lying sections of this watershed are now indundated everywhere from here to at least 1 mile downstream. I recently just spoke with some poor folks who can't make it to their house on the other side of this.

Luckily, our house is on a terrace above the immediate floodplain and out of reach. However, we have our own problems, albeit not to this scale. The water rose to a height of 1 1/2 feet in the basement, and took out the oil furnace in the process (it was on blocks, but not high enough). We are going another night without heat until a repairman can be summoned in the morning...brrr!!! This is what the Chuchki tribe would call a "three dog night". Luckily we have 4 dogs (3 Huskies!) and a cat to help keep us warm if it gets a little too cold in the house overnight...