The Stinky Flower is Blooming

Visit the live stream of the corpse flower. It's top flowery parts are opening -- you can watch people stare at it as well, which is quite interesting.

All the world is a (Super Mario) stage...

In case life is not interesting enough, here are directions on making your own Super Mario question blocks to put around town.

Also, I've redone the webstore. You can find lots of framed photographs, notecards, journals, etc. there from photos I have made. Check it out!

Big Flower Stories

A HUGE titan arum is about to bloom at the University of Wisconsin Greenhouse. This is a huge flower, more than 95 inches tall, and there have only been 17 blooms of these animals in the US in history (this one blooms every 4 years).

It's not the type of flower you want to put in your garden, or add to your perfume collection. The fragrance is described as a "rotting-fish-with-burnt-sugar" scent.

It should bloom in a few days, so make sure to check the link above to see it!

The greatest thing since the Eggstractor!

I just drank a Wolfgang Puck Gourmet Rich Caramel Latte in a self-heating can by OnTech. I bought it last night on impulse at the grocery store (I still can't resist new consumer product gimmicks), because it sounded so wild.

Basically the idea is, the can heats up using chemical processes instead of using a microwave or other implement, making it great for times when you do not have either a cafe or your own espresso maker with you.

I was a bit leery to try it -- the label claims that the can heats to over 140 degrees -- but I got my nerve up this morning. You have to turn the can over, open a lid, press this little pop button to release the water into a cone of "natural mineral" (limestone). No, the limestone does not contact the coffee -- they are separated by plastic (see the demo on the OnTech page). Then you turn over the can to wait for it to heat up. A little pink button turns white to tell you when it's done.

The opening was the hard part for me. You are supposed to be able to twist the safety cap and pull the pull tab, but I could not get this to work without a lot of force -- the black band is a bit too thick or high on the pull tab for me. So I pulled the pulltab a bit, twisted the cap 180 degrees around the hanging pull tab, then pulled the rest of it through.

I was impressed that it did exactly what it said it would do. The taste is pretty good as well. The two minor faults were a strange chemical-ly smell in the air when the heating process occurs, and the awkward pull tab problem that I describe above. I hope this is not another gimmick that gets killed by lawsuits from exploding lattes or anything.

So, is this the best thing since the Eggstractor? I would go further to say it's better than the eggstractor, which only marginally works. So go buy one for yourself today and try it!

24 Hours

Wunderground reports that Anchorage has now 24 hours of effective sunlight. It's true! The sun barely goes down, and it only looks like twilight. The whole thing is pretty unnerving -- if you do not keep track of your watch, you find that you have no idea what time it is.

Gardening Update

The Garden is finished! Below is photographic evidence :)

First of all, the weather has been great for gardening, albeit a bit "Seattle"-like for me. It has rained in the afternoon for most of the last few weeks. However, the rain also creates beautiful colors afterward.


Rainbows

First of all, the rock bed has many beautiful flowers that have appeared, seemingly out of nowhere! Here are some pictures of them:

Flowers from the rock bed


More rock bed flowers


Clearly, I like the rock bed flowers a lot :)

Now for the new garden beds! Here is the herb garden from the side. You will see that the two beds follow the slope of the yard, creating a stacked effect.

Herb garden side view


Herb garden front view

Next, we have our vegetable garden in, complete with a snake hose, pea poles, and trellises...

Vegetable Garden with snake hose on


Do you think we will have any raspberries this summer?

On to our perennial/tree beds. We planted two currant trees, one red cherry tree (of some sort -- it produces pretty pink flowers that looked great), and two "montana willow" bushes, which should do very good in the sogginess of that area of the yard. You will see that these two beds are staggered downward to accomodate the sloping lot as well.


The black currant already has a few buds on it


Cherry Tree close-up

And now, the mint garden. We decided to have a place where mint species could "duke it out" in a relatively safe environment. This bed is raised above the last two, to actually be even with the vegetable garden.


Mint Garden closeup

Here's the whole yard garden altogether:

All in all, a beautiful garden!

Close Encounters of a Wildlife Kind

Frank and I had some wildlife adventures yesterday ourselves. We went to Kincaid Park to cycle along the coastal trail (one of the 127 miles of bike trail in ANC). Coming back from Pt. Woronzof, we saw a porcupine along the side of the road. I've never seen a porcupine in real life before -- never had any idea that they actually lived in Alaska! Frank scared it, and I was worried that it would chase after us like a dog, but it didn't.

That wasn't even the best wildlife viewing of the day -- As we were climbing our own "Mt. Ventoux" at Kincaid at about 7 mph, a bull moose decided to eat his way down the hill. There we were, about 10 ft from a bull moose on the trail! As suggested by guidelines, we stopped and waited for the moose to pass. Of course, it did not. After a while, we decided to chance it by getting off our bikes, walking slowly on the total other side of the trail, less than 5 ft from the moose. The moose did not even twitch his ears at us, which was great.

Hope, AK Trip

Last weekend, Frank, Galileo, and I went to Hope AK for a day trip. Hope is on the Kenai Peninsula, and is literally the end of the road. It's a very small town, although historically there was a time when Hope was well populated. The town was wiped out during the earthquake/tsunami in the 60s, so it was rebuilt away from the floodplain. Here are some pictures:

Frank and Galileo in Hope, AK


Galileo sees another dog!

The town itself was nice to see -- little shacks of houses that were historical, but not really my type of thing. We did eat at Tito's Discovery Cafe, which was really good (get the Bonanza Omelet!). After our breakfast, we went out on the Gull Rock Trail. It hugs the shoreline, and is a nice trail for a day trip.

After a bit, there is a turnoff to a little cove that was really beautiful:


Gull Rock Trail overlook


Galileo looks out at the ocean

After the overlook, one descends into a forest that reminds me of the east coast...


Fungi growing out of trees!


An Alaskan squirrel was the only wildlife we saw...


The Devil's claw is growing again...

It really was a great day to see fantastic views of the arm. Here is a shot looking back on the Seward Highway...


Looking over to the other side of the arm


Another Seward highway shot -- see the cars on the right hand corner?

Dandilions are NOT NATIVE to Alaska, but they are invading here like everywhere else in the US.


Alaskan Dandilions

It was a nice trip. Here's a shot of the Hope Road...


The Road to Hope

Sick and tired

Today, I am sick, or allergic to something -- I am not sure which. It has been incredibly wet here for the last few days, so it could be mold. On the other hand, I could also have a head cold. Either way, I am miserable, wandering around the house clutching Kleenex boxes.

My being under the weather is also not helped by the phone situation. My work phone, apparently, still shares the last seven digits with the Alaska Airlines' employee arrangements desk. This means that at least a few times a week, an AA employee calls, gives me their employee number, and then asks to change their flight that leaves in an hour. I point them to the real number, and suggest that they tell their friends. I have talked to Alaska Airlines about it, and they have no plans on changing their 1-800 number, even though I was here first. Agh.

To make it worse, I also get other wrong calls. Some of my favorites:
-- There is an engineering company in Florida that people think this number belongs to. So I get calls to speak to so and so.
-- ACS (a local telecom) calls with a mechanical voice to tell me that they will get to my call as soon as possible. I don't use ACS services at all.
-- Yesterday, the phone rang continuously from 7-9pm. When I picked it up, someone called Ramirez who only speaks Spanish. He kept calling eventhough I told him it was the wrong number. This morning, we finally got it straightened out -- he is an AA employee and needed his ticket changed :). I gave him the number for the AA employee desk to help him out.
-- My favorite of all calls was Randy from the Anchorage Jail. Apparently Randy was using his one phone call to call someone collect, but called my number instead. I have never been called from jail before.

So I'm tired of wrong calls, and I'm not sure what to do -- is it my number that is too easy, or are all these people just not able to dial correctly? Any ideas?

In other news...

-- Lisa Murkowski does not like the current plans for the Knik Arm bridge. Instead of doing the logical thing and bring traffic down A/C streets, she would like them to go through the Air Force base or something. I just doubt that the Air Force will want a freeway right through their base. But I could be wrong...
-- The Alaska Psychiatric Institute is almost ready! The way that they describe the place, it almost makes you want to go there...

-- The food review this week is for El Paisa, which is run out of a van somewhere along Old Seward. Apparently it is very good. I would try it this weekend, but from the review the owner drives around during the weekends, so I am not sure where I would find El Paisa.

You might think it's weird that there are restaurants being run out of vans here. I think it's a bit weird as well. However, in a place where coffee shops are tiny sheds sitting in parking lots and empty lots, I can see how this type of business can do well.

Anyways, have a good weekend!

Bee Aggressive!

It's time for the Spelling Bee! Anchorage's contestant is out in the fourth round :(.

A Pirate looks at 28

The Captain stepped out of her quarters into the fresh morning air, on a ship somewhere off the coast. She took just a minute to take in the view. It was a beautiful day, the type of day that reminds a pirate why she sails the open seas, searching for bounty. What a life!

"What a life, indeed!" she thought, as she made her way down to the galley. She had hit her knee on her captain's table a few nights ago, and had developed a limp. She found that it helped her feel more like a pirate, and had begun toying with the idea to continue limping when her knee healed.

Down in the galley, she could hear lots of work being done, which always made her cheerful.

"Captain!"

She swiveled around to find to find a rather odd looking pirate in a business shirt and "colorful but appropriate" tie, sporting a parrot on his right shoulder. It was Bonney, her galley crew manager, and his parrot Peetie.

"Captain ! The galley has finished module 8 and is now working on module 9! Harr!"

"Harr! Harr!" squawked Peetie.

"Ahead of schedule again, eh? Excellent, extra Chinese take-out for all tonight!" she shouted in her best Pirate Captain voice. A raucous cheer erupted from the programmer's cubicles. It was, of course, Thursday, which was take-out night in the mess hall.

Bonney smiled broadly. The man always had so much enthusiasm, this is why he makes such a good galley manager now. The programmers seemed to respond to his use of pirate imagery. Of course, his name wasn't always Bonney, but he picked the nickname before they set sail using an internet quiz. She had taken the same quiz, but her name, "Dirty Mary Cash", did not sound appropriate for a Pirate Captain.

They all had normal names once, when they were all mild-mannered, landlocked IT professionals. At the time, the company was having trouble competing with companies that outsource their IT jobs offshore. In fact, the newest fad was to fill up cruise ships with programmers who could stay in international waters but travel between gigs, giving both the benefit of outsourcing and also the ability to "grab the programmer by the throat" if needed. The only way to compete, they reasoned, was to be smarter, and they commenced an optimization project to find the answer. Of course, most people thought it was just another benign improvement project that would not go anywhere, and did not take it seriously.

She was the one that brought up the pirate ship idea in the first place. As the project manager, she had meant to show by example what type of "out-of-the-box" thinking was expected at the planning sessions. It was a joke, meant to at least earn a few chuckles. One thing was for sure, she could never have imagined the super-positive reaction that it received from management.

That was how "Project Ahab" was born. And in six months (ahead of schedule and below budget mind you) the Jolly Raider was launched off the San Fransisco coast, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.

Long ago, she had been tested as most likely to be either a ship captain or in IT. Who would have thought that she could be both? She laughed to herself, adjusted her pirate hat, and limped towards the Ops Bridge.

Mayday for May Days and other stories

-- Anchorage is being invaded by the European Bird Cherry (aka May Day). Apparently, this tree is taking Anchorage by storm, out-competing other native plants. In Alaska, invasive plants are a big deal, since we have so many special species of plants here. Now, if only we could find something that would kill those dandilions....:)

Update: While driving to Exceed yesterday, I took special notice of European Bird Cherry trees. They are indeed everywhere you look, and are cramping out the other trees! There is one incredibly beautiful corner by the university that is not "invaded" yet, though. In the wind, you could see the trees (all types -- birches, alders, other trees I guess) shimmer. I wish I had gotten it on video because it is just an incredible sight. Although the May Day trees are beautiful, I will be sad if the native trees are truly overtaken like this.

--Save the Squid! Sitka anglers are finding California squid off of the harbor. Since no commerical license is required to hunt squid, many people are looking to cash in on the high price for these guys.

--Althouse is closely watching the government of Eugene, OR determine whether to ban "gender identity" discrimination. The most likely result if this is approved? Transgendered folks could use whatever bathroom they want. It sounds like a strange thing to be legislating, but it brings up a lot of different emotions in people. My opinion? Well, if you are transgendered and presenting as a woman, I'm cool with it. But a creepy guy saying he "identifies" with women and sitting in the women's bathroom? I don't like that idea as much. I'm hoping that attached to this bill is also one that extends the number of women's bathrooms required by code to over-accomodate the new influx.

-- Garden/House update: The garden area looks spectacular! We only have one more planter to go, and we will be completed. How about that for techies doing something practical? I'll send out some pictures once we get a sunnier day.

Also, while Frank was about to mow the lawn today, a moose and calf decided to walk down our street towards Lake Otis. Mom was all about safety, keeping the calf at bay. I half expected her to look both ways before crossing the street, but she instead decided to take the sidewalk (good move). Thank goodness the moose was not spooked by Frank, who quickly stopped trying to start the mower until they were gone.

Poor Woody

Woody, a stellar sea lion male, gains weight at .5 lbs an hour for the mating season, which allows him to impress the ladies by pushing around males. However, since he's at the Alaska SeaLife Center, he not only has no males to push around, he also has no ladies available to impress. Poor Woody!

Ten things Friday fun

A daily Meme on Professor Bainbridge includes "Ten things I have never done". Here's my list:

I have never...
10. Partaken of any illegal drug.
9. Jumped out of an Airplane, Bungee Jumped, or ridden on a Motorcycle. (anyone who knows me would guess this)
8. Been to South America, Asia, or Africa.
7. Seen Schindler's List (I do not like movies that will make me upset)
6. Run faster than a 7:00 mile
5. Eaten anything that still had a "face". Yuck.
4. Watched one episode of Everybody Loves Raymond.
3. Nevermind hunting, I've never even held a real gun.
2. Read Crime and Punishment past the first 20 pages.
1. Had a massage or a pedicure.

So there you go, kind of a measly list, but I guess I have done a lot of things :).

Gold Nugget Report

Well, I successfully completed the Gold Nugget Triathlon here in Anchorage. It's an all women's event, and consists of a 500m swim in the Bartlett HS pool, a 10 mile bike through Ft. Richardson, and a 4.1 mile run.

My goal, since I had only decided to run the race on Wednesday, was to survive. On the day of the race, I'd had the total of 2 prepatory swims and one bike ride to lean on. Needless to say, my race preparation was not making me feel really comfortable.

The bike drop-off happened on Saturday. After bobbling my bike on the bike rack of doom (our bike rack is on top of the tracker, which is hard for us short folk to get to), I had to fix the chain, which had come unsettled during the debacle. In AK, apparently you have to provide your own bike stand, so I brought my cyclops trainer to hold the bike. Also in preparation for potential rain, I did bring a few plastic bags for the seat and bars (nothing like a soggy seat and aerobars to bring you down). I tried to look like a proper triathlete, and my coordinated - but not so coordinated outfit I believe hat that effect. I asked pointed questions to the bike drop off folks, which also made me feel more in my element. In all, it was a successful T -1.

Of course, the work started much earlier. In order to pull of a successful triathlon, a participant must think ahead as to what one might need in different times of the race -- in this race, the planning was crucial since the Swim-Bike transition (T1) and bike-run transition (T2) were not going to be in the same place. Any slight slip-up and an athlete could find themselves without something very important, like running shoes. So, by Friday afternoon, I had already placed all my gear into three piles -- T0 (pre-race), T1, and T2. T2 had to be ready for the bike drop-off where it was placed at the bike-run transition in the army base.

Because of this preparation, race morning was not hectic. I had a powerbar and meandered to Bartlett High School around 10am. Racers were to be called up to enter the pool for their swim by number, and so when I heard that they were only up to 200 by 10am, I was suprised (my number was 975). With an average of 100 racers being able to swim at one time, it was going to be a long day!

When checking on my bike, I thought I was lucky that I had gotten there early, because the nice fellow guarding the bikes allowed us into the bike area to set up our other gear. So I put my bike gear out as I am used to, including shoes, socks, and, from top to bottom, gloves, glasses, race number, helmet. Luckily I took my towel and clothing with me for something to change into in the locker room, because maybe a half hour after I set out my gear, it started to rain!

At around 1pm, us late-numbers got into the pool for our swim. The swim was 10 laps, three women per lane. Although the swim is the quickest part of a triathlon, it always seems to take forever to me. This time was no different, but I did successfully swim 10 laps without drowning. I was very happy!

In the locker room, I quickly switched from my tyr sleeveless tri jersey to a more proper bike jersey and jacket combo. The bike jersey is our old one from Team Dayton cycling, which still looks very impressive. Running through T1, I put on my soggy gear, took off the garbage bag on my seat, and was off!

My bike ride was awful. It was exacerbated by the fact that I kept confusing my gears, making me ride the entire first 3 miles in my big gear. Once I got that down though, I started to say to myself "Hey, why am I working so hard, and not going so fast?". That's right, because I had ridden my bike once this year :). The good news is, I looked really fast, and actually passed a few people. The bike consisted of bike trails, then a long slight uphill, followed by three more hills through Ft. Richardson. Although the ride was very bumpy, I did have a lot of fun going downhill and was totally exhausted by the end of the bike leg -- I think I rolled in at around 14 mph!

T2 was great. They took care of me, although I hardly could take care of myself. Someone whisked away my bike, and pointed me in the direction of the folks that already had my gear bag. The gear bag people were so nice, and set my shoes down on the ground so that I did not have to deal with the strain of getting things out of the bag myself! When I had shoes on, they then turned me around and led me to the start of the run.

The run, as I said before, was on tank trails in Ft. Richardson. Noone ever feels great getting off the bike, but the rockiness of the trail made it that much worse. It took me about a mile to recover something of my running legs, and I started to pass people. In fact, noone passed me except this one lady who was just FLYING. I was so jealous. The final parts of the 4 mile run were on the bike trail again, and I started to feel pretty good. I passed two people and was coming up on my third at the finish line. I was hoping to sneak around her, but I guess it was my wheezing that tipped her off and she started sprinting! I couldn't keep up and finished about a step behind.

All in all, it was a good race. As for my goals, I did survive the race itself, and actually came very close to my predicted time. I was looking for a 15 min swim, a 40 min bike, and a 40 min run, and came under my predicted time by three-four minutes, mostly due to an awesome swim (10 mins!) and a decent run. It's gotten me interested in doing more, and I might just sign up for the Eagle River Tri in June :).

Gardening roundup

As promised, here are some pictures of our gardening results. As you can see, the gardening is "almost" complete! We now have our border rails on, and the start of our herb garden!

Next up, the vegetable garden needs to be purchased, and we need to put in the angle braces on all boards to keep them from slipping. Other than that, we are well on our way to a beautiful backyard!

Here's our "to be" vegetable bed. Currently, puppy uses it as his personal futon outside, but that will need to change soon. At the left you can see we kept the berry bushes.

Picture of our herb bed before we put the border on. From front to back in the front row: lemongrass, thyme, hyssop, lavender, basil, cilantro. Back row: Fennel, rosemary, sage, asian basil, chives, oregano.

One of our transplanted sod circles...looks like it is going well so far

Here's the flowers that just popped up in our lawn