June 2005

Compass

Well, I finally took the leap and signed up for a Flickr Pro account. So expect to see me posting a lot more photos now that I don’t have to worry about the upload cap and I can actually organize them.

If you haven’t noticed yet, I added a sidebar on the left side that shows my last five Flickr photo postings. You can also go check out my Flickr homepage.

Light Air

Well, this past weekend I had the pleasure of racing in the Lake Huron Doublehanded Challenge with my father on his C&C 41.

The wind was “light and variable,” we spent most of the race drifting, and we didn’t finish until Monday at noon, but it was an enjoyable race overall. It was nice to escape Pittsburgh and get some time on the water. Plus we got 3rd in our class.

I just had to write a short post on my latest TV show addiction.

Top Gear. I recently acquired the first season and I’m hooked! A simply awesome car show produced by the BBC. Like your standard car show they include lots of coverage of the latest supercars and luxury vehicles, but they also tend to try insane stunts like jumping over rows of motorbikes in double-decker buses.

And its all done with that special kind of wit that only the British can pull off successfully.

So since I haven’t been blogging, what have I been doing instead?

Well, as usual, I’ve managed to find way too many things to fill my plate. Summer semester was supposed to be a breeze but I’ve taken up some “extra-curricular activities” that have kept me really busy.

For one, I’ve joined Red Team, Carnegie Mellon’s entry in the DARPA Grand Challenge. Along with hacking C for the computer-controlled gimbal upon which the machine’s primary LIDAR sensor is mounted, I’ve also been recruited for lots of other little tasks like taking photos, administering Linux servers, and mucking around with carbon fiber.

I’ve also managed to squeeze in some sailing this summer. Last weekend I did Detroit NOODs, and I’ll also be doing the Lake Huron Doublehanded Challenge with my father and the Port Huron - Mackinac race with some friends.

All that along with my practicum project (think of it as a “thesis project” for my masters program), my independent study, and a miscellaneous class has kept me pretty busy.

No rest for the weary…

My ISP decided to move my host without telling me, so things will be weird today. As my new DNS setting propogate, various parts of the site may or may not go down.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Update: The transfer was a bit bumpy but it looks like everything is ok now.