American River Trail

I took this while mountain biking today (soon after my encounter with the GPS Yeti in the previous blog entry) on the Jedediah Smith Bicycle Trail. The lake below is Lake Natomas just west of Folsom Prison and Folsom Lake.

Nerd Sighting

I saw this character today in an Old Folsom parking lot. Although he gave me some story about a summer job with county surveyor department, I think he was just a gigantic nerd wanting some extra accuracy with his handheld GPS.

P.S. No, this is not Wanzenried.

THINK

So I saw this person driving their THINK smartcar down Green Valley Road here in EDH today (Sorry about the image quality - my windshield is really dirty). It was a completely pimped out version with the canopy, luggage rack and four seats. I've always wanted one of these to drive me and my dog around the neighborhood - as I don't drive more than 3 miles on most days. I'll have to chase down the driver and ask them where they got it next time I see them.

New Treo Ace/Treo 650 on Engadget

They are showing some new pictures of my phones' upgrade over on Engadget (Actual pics of the new Treo Ace/Treo 650). It's got a few cool upgrades like a large, higher resolutions screen, bluetooth and more memory.

I"ve already decided to buy this when it comes out.

Home Again

After 15 hours in the air from Sydney to San Francisco and then a wicked layover before my Sacto flight, I am back in El Dorado Hills no worse for wear. As luck would have it, I believed I ducked a engagement in Alberta, Canada so I should be home for a while.

Woolloomooloo

It's my last day in Australia today (and maybe forever). I've flown back up to Sydney and I decided to treat myself. As this may be my last trip down under, I got a room at the W Hotel on Woolloomooloo wharf just south of Sydney's CBD. This picture is from the glass elevator looking down into their trendy WaterBar.

Giant Acorn ?

Leaving Melbourne today, but I had to post this picture that I took in the Telstra Building lobby. I have no idea what it is, but it is very cool.

Good Music Fall

After my brother Brian flowed me some new Jimmy Eat World bootlegs, I got to thinking that there are a awful lot of good albums coming out over the next three months.

It looks like The Foo Fighters, U2, R.E.M., Saves The Day and Further Seems Forever are all issuing new albums in the next three months.

Historical Site

I saw this plaque outside a pub near my hotel in downtown Melbourne.

Working Melbourne Weekend

I am in Melbourne this week, trying to finish up some work so that I can go back to California on Tuesday. Unfortunately, this means that I am working in the office this weekend. This is the view out of our 7th floor window on St. Kilda Street. It's winter here and has been bitter cold (4C) for most of the week but I am hoping that it might still warm up before I leave.  

Counter-Strike Source

The folks at Valve have updated Counter-Strike's graphics while keeping the gameplay engine:

mutewinter writes "CounterFrag.com has posted an article reviewing the recent CounterStrike Source beta. What is unusual about Source is that it keeps the same gameplay, including guns and maps, of the original CounterStrike and simply brings CounterStrike (which uses the original Half Life engine) up to date graphically. Imagine if Doom 3 had been just like the original Doom, but with a better engine. Many gamers look down on recycled content, but is this a problem for a 5 year old game that is still as popular as ever?" [Slashdot]

Damn, these guys have gotten so much out of this bit of coding, it is sick. However, its still one of the best games out there (after 5 years). Go grab it via Steam.

BTW . . . Steam is also publishing their RSS feed.

Oporto

This is my favorite Australian fast food franchise, Oporto. It is a combination Aussie / Portugese restaurant that started out near Biondi Beach in the early eighties. It serves nothing but chicken, marinated with their special chili sauce. Very tasty.

Salmon Falls

I have been out riding some new trails this week. Since I was venturing outside EDH, I decide to fully load up the Element for the trip.