Intermission in LA

Chessmaster

My Dad always used to beat me at chess. Well look at me now! Should've used the rook, but not bad :|

Acts of Kindness

Though absent long,
These forms of beauty have not been to me,
As is a landscape to a blind man's eye:
But oft, in lonely rooms, and mid the din
Of towns and cities, I have owed to them,
In hours of weariness, sensations sweet,
Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart,
And passing even into my purer mind
With tranquil restoration:—feelings too
Of unremembered pleasure; such, perhaps,
As may have had no trivial influence
On that best portion of a good man's life;
His little, nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and of love. Nor less, I trust,
To them I may have owed another gift,
Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood,
In which the burthen of the mystery,
In which the heavy and the weary weight
Of all this unintelligible world
Is lighten'd:—that serene and blessed mood,
In which the affections gently lead us on,
Until, the breath of this corporeal frame,
And even the motion of our human blood
Almost suspended, we are laid asleep
In body, and become a living soul:
While with an eye made quiet by the power
Of harmony, and the deep power of joy,
We see into the life of things.

- William Wordsworth

Welcome Back Blog

Well I have moved to California and taken on a new job, which is very challenging and I am loving, and puts me within reach of realizing the dream of this cartoon (click to enlarge).

Rose Poem

Oh dear rose, why did you have to die?


Stupid rose.

Storm Season

Time for spring weather in Oklahoma, aka tornado alley. Took this picture from my porch while playing with the high dynamic range (HDR) option on my camera.

Norway!

Finally got a chance to take a mini-vacation, but it was nothing near restful. It was however a great adventure that few will ever experience.

Starting out, here is a picture from Copenhaven airport, getting near the destination. Beautiful woodwork everywhere.


Onto Norway and the land of Vikings. Norway, though officially "neutral" during WWII, aided the Allies and was invaded by Hitler. It is interesting to note Norway has the largest capital reserve per capita of any nation (unlike some *cough cough*).

A satellite map of BodØ, Norway, my initial destination. BodØ is within the Arctic circle and the largest city in Nordland, Norway. Being on the coast, the ocean keeps the temperatures moderate, and it never went below freezing.


Showed up unannounced, and checked into the Radisson Blu hotel, very good accommodations.


Had some fantastic fish for dinner at the Bryggeri Kaia. Ate there the next night also and sampled some whale meat!

Of course had to experience the local night life, like here at the Public, a Rock'n'Roll bar.


On Saturday, a beautiful day, took a drive to the Saltstraumen, the largest tidal eddy current in the World.

First picture here you can notice a faint rainbow in the sky. This is due to an atmospheric phenomenon where tiny rectangular ice crystals high in the atmosphere align and create the rainbow.

Another nice picture from the Saltstraumen. You may notice some waves in the background, but it wasn't the right time of day for the full tide.

A view from our hotel window on the 11th floor.

A suspicious looking camper with horizontal line of sight communications dish parked below.


Time to escape on the midnight ferry then! Just us and a half dozen truck drivers.


The view at midnight, looking to the bow of the ferry. Very wavy in the ocean waters, and the engine power started going out at some point (lights dimming, strange noises, etc.) As they say in Norway, "No problems", and we survived.



Arrive in Moskenes Lofoten Islands, even further North in the Arctic circle, a few hours later (lower left of map).


After driving around for a few more hours, we ended up "crashing" these upscale red cabins, Reine Rorbuer. Totally recommend for anybody who take the proper preplanned measures to stay there.

Did not get an opportunity to see the Moskstraumen, another giant whirlpool, but we had already become the maelstrom.

Pictures never do justice to the majesty of nature (click on picture for larger version, one of my faves(.

All over the islands, they air dry Cod fish, the only place in the World it is possible because of the climate. Did I mention they STINK and STINK everything you own!? I had a chance to take a shower, but my friend Steve did not. As we were on the flight back to Copenhaven, I overheard the flight attendant say in Norwegian, "I didn't know there were any fishermen on this flight!", but in a very good natured way, as is pervasive in their culture.

One of my favorite things was driving on their roads. So fun through all the curves and hills. Many roads get reduced down to one lane (and could hardly be considered 2 lanes wide normally) and you need to be aware when to pull over at intermittent ditches to let traffic through. God knows how they even made them through all the rocks and obstacles.


This sign means drive 60km per hour. Obey it very strictly.


This sign means no regulations! Mini autobahn though cliffs and mountains! YAY!

My friend Steve near one of the white sand beaches (background).

Final trip back to Tulsa from southern Lofoten was almost 2 days pure travel time I figure, with very little sleep. A little frazzling to say the least. Good to be back and hope you enjoyed my story!