Very raw – even harsh – when first opened, but quickly opens up into a delightful soft round porto. Wonderful for sipping while coding. 😉 Deep purple/ruby color. Dark berry aromas and dark nutty tastes. Still a slighty bitter (but in a pleasant way) backbone and aftertaste.
All posts by rbowen
A word of warning
It turns out that there really is a big difference between a 2 and a 3 on the beard trimmer.
I feel so bald.
Ben Shabalala shot in Durban
Those of you familiar with Ladysmith Black Mambazo might remember Ben Shabalala, who was a member of the group from 1979 to 1993. He was Joseph’s brother. He was shot in Durban on the 16th. You may also remember that Headman Shabalala was shot by a policeman in 1991. And Joseph’s wife, Nellie, was shot in Durban in 2002.
These folks – Mambazo – are an international treasure. If you haven’t heard their music, you really should. Some folks are aware of Mambazo because they worked on Graceland with Paul Simon. I’m aware of Paul Simon because he worked on Graceland with Mambazo.
Several years ago I got to hear Mambazo when they came to Kentucky and gave a concert at Asbury College. It was absolutely amazing, and it was as though the acoustics of the place were specifically designed for their music.
Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika
Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo lwayo
Yiva imathandazo yethu
Nkosi Sikelela Nkosi SikelelaNkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika
Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo lwayo
Yiva imathandazo yethu
Nkosi Sikelela
Thina lusapho lwayo.
Coordinates -> GPX file
Just in case anybody wants it, I’ve put code for my coordinates CGI program up where you can get it. Yes, it’s trivial, but I thought someone might get some use out of it.
The code is released under the HJTI license.
Camping again
I went camping again last night, with much better results.
I started out at the “trailhead” at the Asbury College challenge course. I had pitched my tent, and was settling in and reading, when the manager for the property arrived. Although, of course, I suspected, I never knew for sure what the policy was about random strangers (or even Alumni) camping on this property. I can now tell you without any doubts that the policy is “No, don’t do that.”
*sigh*
Due in part, I think, to my RailTrail bumper sticker (he had one too), rather than just chasing me off in shame, he suggested a couple of other places, with the caveat that it would take a little doing to get there. I picked one of these places, and I’ll probably post the corrdinates, as soon as my GPSr finishes syncing.
Since I didn’t have a decent pack yet, I had rather counted on driving to the camp site, and didn’t really have stuff in a format that was easy to carry. But it was only about a half mile, so it wasn’t a big deal. I left some of the stuff behind, and carried my tent, sleeping bag, and a satchel of other stuff, up to the spot.
Turns out that getting chased away from my chosen spot was the best thing that could have happened. It was absolutely gorgeous up there. There was a little firepit, a stone wall, and a view down into the Kentucky River. I didn’t take any pictures of the place, as it was getting rather dark. I’m not certain I even had my camera with me. Sunset was at 9:04 yesterday, and I had about 30 minutes to get set up.
On the way up to the campsite, I came out into a clearing, and there was a large doe perhaps 150 feet away. We stood and watched each other for about 3 minutes. Then, when I started moving again, she bounded off into the bushes.
After it started getting dark, the frogs started. There were two different songs – two species, I presume – and they were *LOUD*. There were crickets, too, but they were much quieter.
I went for a little walk in the dark. I have a head lamp, which is 2 white LEDs and is very bright. I saw, down the hill from where I was camping, a pair of eyes reflecting the light. They were close to the ground, and fairly close together. I don’t know what it was, but later in the night – maybe 3 or 4 in the morning – I heard a coyote, and a bunch of dogs barking at it. The coyote sang for quite some time.
The other big advantage of being a fair hike from the Jeep is that there’s less incentive to pack up and wimp out. You kinda have to stick it out until the sun comes up, since lugging all that stuff in the dark would be less than safe.
Although it was a new moon last night, it was still very bright, which was a bit of a disappointment. I’m not sure where the light was coming from, but I HATE LIGHT POLLUTION.
Anyways, I’ve wanted a decent pack for some time, and the hike up the hill with my tent and my sleeping bag in my arms, along with the fact that a nice check arrived from Big Nerd Ranch, persuaded me to go ahead and get one. I got the North Face MG55, which is probably more pack than I need, but I think that it’s a worthwhile investment. North Face makes the best camping equipment you can buy, and it should last at least as long as I’m capable of carrying it. The only problem I see so far is that I have a cheap Walmart sleeping bag which doesn’t compress very well, and so I have to hang it below. Perhaps this isn’t a big deal, but could get cumbersome for longer hikes. We’ll see, the first time I actually use it. Perhaps I’ll go back up to this spot next weekend, and see how it works out.
Or perhaps I’ll take Phydeaux up on his offer.
The sound of coming rain
On Sunday, I went out to my parents’ house for lunch. I had the top down, but as I approached Wilmore, the dark clouds got darker, and I knew I just had a few minutes. I pulled into the driveway, got the top up, and was starting on the windows when I heard the rain coming. It sounded like a car coming down the road, as it swept down the road, and over the houses. And, sure ’nuff, just about the time I expected it to arrive, suddenly it was pouring, as I struggled to get the last few windows on.
It reminded me of rain coming in Kenya. You could see it coming. It would be bone dry, but you could see the rain coming like a curtain approaching over the hills. And you could hear it long before it arrived – the hissing, pattering sound. The curtain would reach you, and it would be pouring. Then, just as quickly, it would stop, and you could watch the rain travel on its way.
The rain in Kericho was very predictable. During the rainy season, it rained at 4 in the afternoon. You could watch it coming, and you had just enough time to get inside before it hit.
Mikrotec++
I have a server co-loced at Mikrotec. It’s part of my bi-monthly security scans. Today Mikrotec called to say that they noticed a large amount of activity to my coloc, and, on further investigation, it looked like attacks.
I don’t think I’ve ever had an ISP alert me that a machine was being attacked. This was a pleasant unexpected surprise
Thanks, Microtek.
Rincon
This evening I had dinner at Rincon Mexicano (37° 59.303N 84° 30.918W) which, it turns out, is the best Mexican restaurant in Lexington. Their Mole sauce is absolutely stunning, with heavy overtones of chocolate. I am so full I hurt.
Note that this posting uses my new Geo::Cache module to generate a GPX file which you can load directly onto your GPS device using EasyGPS, or onto your Palm device using GPX Spinner.
Geo::* modules
My Geo modules are working now. Some of the tests are not passing, but I know why, and it’s a bug in the test, not in the code.
I spent nearly 2 hours fighting with files that would not work in Spinner and/or EasyGPS, only to discover that it was because I had the time format wrong in the XML output.
Oy.
I’m not going to put these on CPAN until all the tests pass. Hopefully someone out there has a need for this, and will submit a patch or two.
Geo::Waypoint and Geo::Gpx
I’m finally writing real, useful code again. Well, useful to me anyway.
I have Geo::Waypoint, and I’m about halfway to having Geo::Gpx working. A Geo::Gpx is a collection of Geo::Waypoints. The eventual goal is to be able to generate GPX files from stuff in a database, so that I can keep useful waypoints in a database, and generate GPX files for loading on my Palm and/or on my GPS as needed.
This is partially for a concept web site that I’m working on, and partially because I think that they are useful modules, and I have needed, for some time, to be working on something that makes me think, so that I don’t get dumber and dumber as I do brain-numbingly tedious tasks at work, and then come home and do nothing.
I’ll start releaseing actual files soon. I’m not sure if I’ll put them on CPAN, but I probably will, once I have an API that might be useful to someone other than myself.
There will also be Geo::Cache, which ISA Geo::Waypoint, but with more geocache-specific fields. I think that this is inline with the intent of the GPX and LOC files, but I need to see if there’s an actual standard for this, or just GeoCaching.com’s conventions.