I did a bunch of server maintenance yesterday, upgrading almost all the system software. Some things got broken in the process, and I think I've fixed them, but some things might have slipped by here and there. If you notice anything strange, I'd appreciate a note. Thanks.
View full post »

We just got back from a long weekend visiting my brother Alan and his family in Charlotte, North Carolina. On the way down from Ohio where we're spending the summer at my folk's, we stopped in West Virginia for some river rafting and a night at the hotel at Pipestem Resort State Park.

In the morning, we opened the curtains to find a friend outside...

The hotel had a pool, so we tried out my new Panasonic TS3 waterproof camera. It was too dim for good results with this camera (and frankly, being used to a semi-pro SLR, most everything [...]

View full post »

Thanks to all who responded to my request the other day on something to do near Rt77 between Cleveland and Charlotte. I followed up on one of the suggestions and ended up stopping by Cantrell Ultimate Rafting in Hinton, West Virgina, for a two-man "duckie" (inflatable canoe) trip...

Then we headed a bit south to the Pipestem Resort State Park for the evening...

We'll continue on tomorrow to visit my brother Alan and his family (Aunt Natalie and Titi)....

View full post »

Continuing with the series of photos from last month's Gion Matsuri festival in Kyoto (first seen in this post), here are some more photos from the third day I went out to the evening street festival...

The two colorful ladies were posing for a touristy-looking lady (seen at left). I'm not sure whether I'm more impressed by the shear volume of their hair, or their selection of shoes to accompany their traditional yukata: high-heel platforms for the one, purple Crocs for another.

The third day was by far the most packed with people, and it was a struggle to make [...]

View full post »

Next week, I'm going to be making a round-trip drive with Anthony on US-77, roughly between Cleveland OH and Charlotte NC. I'd like to stretch the trip out with stops of interest to an 8-year-old boy... any suggestions for things along the way that are not too far from our route along US-77?

View full post »