Trip to the center of California

This last weekend I made a trip to the heart of the California central valley, the Big Valley as it is known. Of course I am talking about Sacramento. The capital city of California is not what you may expect as the center of government of the most populous state and one of the major economic players in the world. Sacramento is actually a laid back place, surrounded by farm land, rice fields and grass lands. Though now a lot of that incredible farm land has been turned into cheep housing developments. It is a waste to build on such fertile farm land but then it is cheep and easy to build on.

Sacramento has and always has had an inferiority complex because of the close proximity to San Francisco. Locals actually think Sacramento has comparable restaurants… Sacramento isn’t a bad town, I have been to many worse places in eastern parts of America, so I can’t complain too much.

Sacramento, this last weekend had one of those typical weekends, some sun and a little clouds, comfortable weather, no rain and some sun. In the summer it can be very hot and uncomfortable, but this time of year it is very pleasant. I just spend a couple of days in town, didn’t do much, had family to deal with. I would have preferred to have been in San Francisco but I will be there soon enough. I put my time in at Sac, now I am free for a few months to not have to worry about going back.

Bang Bang Weekend

This past weekend I accompanied a good friend out of town for a day of target practice. Well it was more like learn to shoot than practice. I myself did not shoot, but my friend wanted to learn for experience mainly for her job. She deals with hunters, as customers, and to gain the respect she needed to be able to say “Yes I have fired guns before”. So her brother in-law said he would help and I tagged along for support. We drove out to an area that is used for target practice and had a few targets to shoot at. A metal target was placed 50 yards out and on the second shot she hit the target. Though it was rainy and I just stood around, I was impressed with her shooting. She hit the target with small and medium caliber shot and really showed she could do it. Now she can look them in the eye and say “Yes I have shot a gun many times”.

Since we were out, we headed up the road a few more miles, after all the shooting, and had a lat lunch/early dinner in a nearby town. We sat and talked and joked, she was happy to have done it but she isn’t going to do it again. It isn’t her thing. Before we stopped for dinner, we walked the main street of town and looked in a few shops. There are only a few blocks of stores but they do have nice little places and some good things.

It was a nice weekend day and even though shooting is not something we would ever do, we both were happy with the results and that she could check this off her list of things to do

Skiing on Mt Hood: Part IV

Crunch crunch crunch was the sound of the chains on the snow, up the drive to the parking area and surprisingly few cars. I drive up to the hut and park, get out and walk over and in. A small single-wide trailer is all it is, a place to rent equipment more than anything. I go in and pay the $9 for the half day pass and pay the $10 for a lesson. I will have about an hour to kill so I put on my boots and get everything together. It is relatively warm and sunny, the snow is melting in the lot and big puddles are everywhere, there has been no new snow in a few weeks.

I put my skies on and get all set, I will ‘practice’ for a while before the lesson. I slide out and try not to fall in front of the shed, it would not look good. I make my way onto the trail, there are two forms of Nordic, the traditional and skate ski. I will traditional and that means using groves cut into the snow. Skate is more like ice skating and you can’t use the groves. I get going in the groves and seem to be doing OK, then the first little hill. Well more like a bump than a hill. Up and over, down and up the other side. Survived without falling, felt good.

Mt Hood from the North side, driving from Hood River.

Then the next ‘hill’, this time there was no down and up, just down. From here on it is down till the trail turns back up the hill. I stopped and waited for a few people to pass then I pushed off, faster, faster, turn??? No… Straight into the snow-bank and face-first in the snow, no turn or anything, mostly no control. I get back up and make my way back up the hill and headed back to the hut, lesson time.

The lesson was held in front of the hut and there where two small kids and a teenager along with me, two instructors so it was broken into age groups. After a few minutes talk about how to stand, put on and take off skies, walk up hill, we headed for the trail I was just on. We went up and back a short distance and worked on how to slide our feet. The instructor decided that we should go to another area so we went back and waited for a shuttle to drive us. Turned out we could have walked there faster so it was a waste to ride the bus. But the area was wide open and we could practice on a flat ground.

My biggest problem was stopping on a hill, I kept plowing but I just never could slow down and I ended up falling a few times. The lesson ended and we headed back to the hut, skiing this time and I worked a little longer on the things covered in the lesson. Back at the hut, I changed and dumped my stuff in the car then looked around. It was a nice day and I didn’t know why more people hadn’t come up. Oh well, time to head home and I had a few hours drive ahead.

Skiing on Mt Hood; Part III

Hood River's famous brewery.

Crunch crunch crunch was the sound of the chains on the snow, up the drive to the parking area and surprisingly few cars. I drive up to the hut and park, get out and walk over and in. A small single-wide trailer is all it is, a place to rent equipment more than anything. I go in and pay the $9 for the half day pass and pay the $10 for a lesson. I will have about an hour to kill so I put on my boots and get everything together. It is relatively warm and sunny, the snow is melting in the lot and big puddles are everywhere, there has been no new snow in a few weeks.

I put my skies on and get all set, I will ‘practice’ for a while before the lesson. I slide out and try not to fall in front of the shed, it would not look good. I make my way onto the trail, there are two forms of Nordic, the traditional and skate ski. I will traditional and that means using groves cut into the snow. Skate is more like ice skating and you can’t use the groves. I get going in the groves and seem to be doing OK, then the first little hill. Well more like a bump than a hill. Up and over, down and up the other side. Survived without falling, felt good.

The Ground Cafe in Hood River

Then the next ‘hill’, this time there was no down and up, just down. From here on it is down till the trail turns back up the hill. I stopped and waited for a few people to pass then I pushed off, faster, faster, turn??? No… Straight into the snow-bank and face-first in the snow, no turn or anything, mostly no control. I get back up and make my way back up the hill and headed back to the hut, lesson time.

The lesson was held in front of the hut and there where two small kids and a teenager along with me, two instructors so it was broken into age groups. After a few minutes talk about how to stand, put on and take off skies, walk up hill, we headed for the trail I was just on. We went up and back a short distance and worked on how to slide our feet. The instructor decided that we should go to another area so we went back and waited for a shuttle to drive us. Turned out we could have walked there faster so it was a waste to ride the bus. But the area was wide open and we could practice on a flat ground.

My biggest problem was stopping on a hill, I kept plowing but I just never could slow down and I ended up falling a few times. The lesson ended and we headed back to the hut, skiing this time and I worked a little longer on the thing covered in the lesson. Back at the hut, I changed and dumped my stuff in the car then looked around. It was a nice day and I didn’t know why more people hadn’t come up. Oh well, time to head home and I had a few hours drive ahead.

Skiing on Mt Hood, Oregon: Part II

There are two ways up to Mt Hood, either from the south or from the north. I decided to go the northern route, which follows the Columbia River to Hood River, then turns south and heads up the mountain. It is almost twice as long as the southern way, but everyone goes that way and traffic can be very bad so it may just take as long.

Nordic Center hut at Meadows.

The drive along the river is always nice, the river is in almost a gorge the whole way so there are high cliffs on one side and the wide river on the other. Once you reach Hood River, it is always nice to stop and have a coffee or grab something before you head up the hill. There isn’t much at the Nordic center so it is a good idea to grab something before you go. Hood River is a nice small town with a great coffee shop, The Grind, at the eastern end of the main street.

With some supplies, I head up the hill, the resort/ski area starts at the 4500 foot level and the snow level was at about 3500 or so. Most of the trip up is snow free and very little traffic. The views are of orchards and some vineyards, open pastures and views of the mountains. The road is good until you enter a stream canyon and finally the snow begins to appear. Ice is the big concern and once the road turns white, the chains go on and the drive slows down for safety. The last few miles are where the chains are needed and driving slow makes it safe and easy.

Skiing on Mt Hood Oregon

The lot at Meadows Nordic Center

After many years of thinking of taking up skiing, I finally decided to go for it this year. I wasn’t sure if I should try Alpine or Nordic, I did ski Alpine a very long time ago and I didn’t do to well. Though it was in southern California and what passes as snow is more like ice, Alpine just seemed to hurt more when I fell. So I decided to try Nordic. Since Nordic is more like running I was sure I would be able to do it better than I thought I could Alpine.

I looked around for equipment and soon found that finding boots in my size would be a challenge. Most Nordic boots only go up to 12 and very few go up to 15, I would need a 14 minimum. So I went on line and found a company that sold boots in my size, but I needed to try a pair on to see if they really fit. So I found a place that sold boots in my size and tried a pair on. I was glad since they fit very poorly. I again looked and found a different manufacture and I was able to try on a pair of those, they fit. So I made up my order online, they had the best price even with shipping.

About a week later the first box arrived, the boots and they did fit perfect. Then the skies and poles, a friend was so kind in giving me some other ski equipment, hat and gloves, I was now ready to go and ski. Nordic is different from Alpine in that it is very aerobic and you almost are running the whole time, so the clothes needs to be loose and more like running clothes. I collected a good set of cold weather running clothes, loaded the skies on a Saturday morning and headed for Mt Hood.

Weekend at the beach

Looking down at Manzanita from Hwy 1

A somewhat cold and windy weekend, but a sure cure is a trip to the beach. Even if it is cold too, there is nothing like walking on the sand and hearing the wind and waves. Looking for shells or just looking out to sea, the beach is always a place where one can relax and think about nothing or everything.

Grab some lunch or a coffee, look in the small beach shops, walk up and down the short streets and see all the other people doing the same. Small crowds in town and on the shore, a few kites flying, dogs running into the water wanting to play. A hidden sun throwing ghostly shadows and the prick of blowing sand on your face is common but enjoyable all the same.

My Greek Olympics: More work

Working with Rick and Eric:

Now that David and Vic were gone, Rick and Eric were the ETeam experts. I had them and the other ETeam crew members at the MOC. Eric was doing everything he could to make SAIC happy and Rick did his "I know everything" act. I got along good with Rick and I knew Eric from previous work. I warned them not to go beyond their contract, but Eric wanted to do a lot more. This set them up for problems down the road, but at the time they happily went along with everything asked. I spent a lot of time with Rick, since he was working with the customer mostly and I had to as well.

Some of the ETeam crew were screw offs and I didn't quite know what they did half the time. They were to help with the customer, yet hardly ever went anywhere. Also some of them complained about living arrangements, but this was an ETeam issue. ETeam was asked to do a lot, since the IET was fast approaching and nothing was working.

Rick liked to have a good time and was somewhat like David, he liked to drink and eat and hangout with his little group around him. Rick made good friends with the police guys and talked them into a lot of stuff, but he didn't hold a firm line with SAIC shitheads. Jesus and the Vampire manipulated them to do things and it would come back to bite them at IET time.

Lunch:

One day we invited Stavroula, Alex and Sophia to lunch at the noodle bar. So we all walked to the place, about a 10 minute walk and we went in. Stavroula and Sophia hadn't had noodles like this before, so we helped them decide on what to order. When the food came, we all had a good time watching Stavroula try to eat with chop sticks. We knew what to order so it was easy for us, but the others had to look for something to get. It was fun to watch and we gave encouragement. We paid for them and they all said that it was very expensive. We didn't think much of the 6 euros per plate, but for them I can see why they thought it was so expensive. With a salary of just 1000 euros a month, 6 euros on lunch a day was a lot.

On another day, I took Stavroula to Poliathina for lunch. It was expense too, but I liked the place and I always got good service. I ordered grilled sardines and took my time eating them. Stavroula said I spend too much money on lunch and that she would take me to a place for lunch that she goes to. All the staff at the place run around and gives us great service while the other people are left waiting as we get our food first. A few days later we go to a place that makes crepes and we get a ham and cheese crepe, a big one like a quesadilla. It was good and only cost a Euro, so I could see why she would go there. 

Fire Bombs at the bank:

One night, the whole gang of ETeam and 'the good guys' went to dinner in the Adrianou square area. We went to the place that had OK food and served a cheese stuffed squid and it also had a night club inside which would get crowded. It was an average night and as we walked back to the annex, we heard a couple of bangs. I didn't think much of them but as we went around a corner onto Pandrosou street, we could see a fire burning in an alley. I went around the building and could see three fires burning at three different banks, one in an ATM vestibule and the others on the ATMs in the street.

This was an anarchist attack on the banks. It is a common occurrence actually and I wanted to see how it was handled. I waited and finally a cop showed up and looked around, he didn't ask anything of anyone. I could see the fire brigade trucks coming down the street, but they were blocked by cars and since this was Athens, no one moved for them. I stood there for about thirty minutes and watched the fire and police guys do their thing. Just an average day, no one ever asked me if I saw something or to step away. I stood and saw how they handled the incident. If it was here, the FBI would show up and it would be a big deal, attacking a back is a federal offense, not in Greece.

Sushi:

On Apollonius Street, at the end, there was a Japanese place that had Sushi. It wasn't bad and since it was one of the only places in town that we knew of that had sushi, we ate there from time to time. The place was small and the guy who owned it wasn't very friendly. We would do as we said "channel Semos" and order a bunch of food. Soup, platters of sushi, fried things, what ever we wanted. We would eat until we were stuffed, it was expensive, but once or twice a month it was worth it.

The noodle bar down the street would fill in and they would be a cheaper alternative to sushi. A bowl of noodles and a beer would be about 10 Euro compared to 25 at the sushi place. I could always count on the noodle bar and I would go there for lunch once in a while. Once while I was eating, I met Ari and the prime ministers brother, who were eating there and talking business.

I had to spend time at the Fire Brigade center which they were still building the place so we had to deal with the construction. Some times the power would go out or the stairs would be blocked by garbage. We would have to move from room to room as they worked on finishing the place. The daily operations were still going on in the old part of the building, soon they would move up to the new offices.

My Greek Olympics:Before the IET2

SAIC CEO:

Finally the CEO was coming, we had been trying to get Byster to come, but he never did. Now we had a new CEO, Dahlberg, and he was coming to meet the Greeks and the crew. The Greeks thought it was not nice for him not to come and met the customer, the Greeks are into the personnel relationship and having the CEO not come was an insult. So on the big day, every one at the Regis Office in Marousi was excited and running around like little children. I was at the MOC and would be listening in on the Telcon. So we dialed in and everyone was yakking away, then Shitsler speaks and everyone shuts up. He introduces Dahlberg and he speaks for a few minutes. The usual talk of 'how wonderful' a job we are doing and the other crap like that. I really didn't care about his trip and it would not effect me at all.

Then I get a call from TJ, he is bring the CEO to the MOC to get a quick demo of the system. I run down and tell all to clean the place up and get ready. George is there with me and when TJ arrives, I come down with George and meat the CEO. We do the introductions and I give a quick demo of ETeam on the video wall. It lasts about 10 minutes and they leave after he meets everyone. The next day on the Telcon everyone is still excited, I still don't care.

IET2 prep:

The run up to IET-2 was such a mess, nothing was working and Jesus and the Vampire kept me in the dark, plus I had to go to meetings all the time to see what was happening and what had changed behind my back. The scenario was going to be done by some SAIC guys who I knew from Salt Lake, they were OK guys and they did their own thing. I did have to go over their scenario because of the parts that I had to deal with. I spent a lot of time with the Greeks who would be the interpreters and facilitators.

I was going back and forth between the different command centers doing installs and updates. I would have to take the metro to one place, then taxi to another, then back on the metro to a third. I would have to get permission to go into some facilities and others I would just walk in. The military places were hard to get into, but once in I could go all over.

Most of the people we had trained didn't know what to do because they had practice with the system. I was also the video wall god and had to deal with issues at the centers. I seemed to be doing everything and the other shit head nothing. Minerva, who was working on the CCTV sub-system and Tetra radio system was suppose to help me with my work. She never seemed to do anything and always was going somewhere for vacation.

Ouzo:

I had started to drink Ouzo once I arrived, most people here drink it as a shot and it isn't very good that way. In Greece it is drunk with ice and a splash of water. It is very common to have a glass before dinner. The after dinner drink is Metaxas, which is like cognac but not quit as good. When ever I would go out with Dimitris or Alex, I always would get an Ouzo or in some case several.

ENC mess:

I dealt with this issue for a long time and had many meetings about the data. A requirement in the contract said we would provide a means to view data and ENC charts in the system, the problem was the Coast Guard wanted the data as well as the viewer. ENC are now commercially available and are used in GPS units. But the map data is expensive and to get data for the whole country would be very expensive. I was trying to work out a way to just provide a cheap means of showing data and the data could come from any source. I had several meetings with companies that supplied systems and data to many agencies. I tired to find a source of data we could use, but most had the data in a form which required special software.

It was painful to deal with this, Tryphon was always asking and I tried to explain it to him over and over. What was worse was when CG Stavroula would talk to me. She would look at me with her big eyes and kind of flirt or pout; it was like she was intimidating me with her looks. Even though I liked her, I didn't want to have to deal with her in the meetings or else where.

AVL meeting:

I had Danny sit in on a meeting with the Police because I had to start working on the AVL interface and look at how we would make the system work. One of the biggest problems with the AVL system, even though we were using a commercial system, was we couldn't seem to get it to integrate. All I needed to do for my sub-systems was demonstrate it, sounds easy but the committee was causing problems all the time.

I had Danny talk to the Police and he did a good job smoothing things, but the Police officers didn't want to be tracked and they would disable the system by simple ways of interfering with the antenna. I was trying to work with a few other SAIC people, but they never helped or lifted a finger to do anything. Even though it wasn't totally my system, I would have to deal with the issues by myself half the time. I never seemed to get the support that I needed and I was always running in circles because of it.

http://youtu.be/430ykbW1zqA

A really cool video from space. Look at the stars and look for familular constelations.