Auckland, Viaduct Marina

Got some sun breaks on Wednesday, my free day in Auckland between classes, and walked around the downtown marina area for a while.  Beautiful.  Full gallery in the 'Galleries' section of the blog.

Back to Australia

Love being there ... hate getting there.  And it's no better when you start out on the Atlantic instead of the Pacific!

11 hours to Ghuangzhou, China on a KLM flight, then 9 hours to Sydney on China Southern.

So yeah, every electronic device I own will be on life support by the time I arrive!  Sweats and a t-shirt on the plane, 2 big bags checked, just my computer backpack to carry on with laptop, Transformer tablet w/keyboard, mp3 player, 2 sets of headphones and the phone.

One Last Time

The ISS from Atlantis after the last space shuttle separates from the space station for the last time:

Sometimes you forget ...

... just how ridiculously skilled Lebron James can be.  Back at work already:

Beating the Great Firewall

Nice article in the BBC today about a software development project called Telex that embeds encrypted data in Web requests that makes the request look like it is going to a site allowed by government censors, but is then redirected to the genuine site, allowing people subject to draconian information restrictions (like China's) free access to information.

Go get 'em, Telex.

It's Not 101 Dalmatians

But 16 in one litter is a handful

From the Space Station

The Southern Lights, seen from the ISS, Atlantis on the final Space Shuttle mission.

Japan Wins Womens World Cup

What a great game!  As a USA fan I can't be too happy about the final score and the numerous missed scoring opportunities in the first half when the American ladies were basically kicking the crap out of Japan, but the match had fantastic pace, great sportsmanship, and the women of Japan showed inspiring resilience and team spirit to make it a special match to watch.  And Japan needed something like this, for sure.

Fall Gal

Today the BBC reports that former News of the World executive Rebekah Brooks has been arrested by London police as part of the investigation into illegal hacking of private phones.  "She was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and on suspicion of corruption allegations."

Conspiring to intercept communications ... aren't there like 10,000 people employed by the U.S. government to do that already?

Anyway ... this is Rupert Murdoch's fall girl.  She must have a big pile of cash in Switzerland waiting for her after her minimum-security slap on the hand.

Shark Hounds

Pretty funny.

FlightTrack

FlightTrack is an Android app customized for my tablet that gives you flight schedule information, status, and performs real-time tracking.  Pretty neat.

Does the Fifth Amendment Protect Your Encryption?

Good question posed in this CNET article about whether you can be compelled by prosecutors to turn over the keys for encrypted data they want to use against you.  Is this a violation of the Fifth Amendment's prohibition of requiring a defendant to testify against themselves, or not?

Not surprisingly, the Obama administration's Justice Department says "Yes, we should be able to compel you do to this."  Well ... a little surprisingly, come on Obama.  Without protecting this, there is virtually no protection left in the Fifth Amendment as move forward to more and more of our lives being preserved in digital form.

USA v. Brazil

Way to go ladies ... great example of athletic perseverance.

Beckham Youth Program Goes Co-Ed

After three boys, soccer/fashion power couple David & Victoria Beckham welcomed daughter Harper Seven Beckham to the world this week, the middle name honoring Beckham's number for Manchester United and England.

***update -- the Beckhams posted these pics via Twitter.

 

Another tough day in the 'Dam

In the Jordaan

Final Liftoff May be Delayed

**update: or not.



Storms near Kennedy Space Center may prevent Atlantis from making the final space shuttle launch on schedule today.

Cool & Useful

Google Maps 5.7 for Android includes a Beta feature to integrate directions with transit systems to advise you of the bus/tram schedule and the stop where you need to get off. Pretty useful feature for the frequent traveler!

Blame it on your blood

One week on the job and Japan's new Minister of Tsunami Reconstruction quits:

Japan's Minister for Reconstruction Ryu Matsumoto has announced his resignation after just a week in the job.
He had been widely criticised for making insensitive remarks to governors of areas badly affected by March's deadly earthquake and tsunami.

Mr Matsumoto berated Miyagi prefecture governor Yoshihiro Murai for keeping him waiting. He then told journalists filming the exchange that it should not be broadcast, saying their networks would suffer if it was.

In a meeting with Iwate governor Takuya Tasso, Mr Matsumoto warned the government "will help areas that offer ideas, but will not help those without ideas. I want you to work with that kind of resolve".

His comments were aired on television, and the footage received thousands of hits on YouTube and other video-sharing websites, prompting a public outcry and calls for his resignation.

When challenged about his remarks on his return to Tokyo the minister blamed his blood group - those with type B are reputed in Japan to have abrasive personalities.

West Amsterdam

4th of July pics from the West:

O-kay then

Not sure how I'd feel about seeing this in someone's kitchen on a first date ...

Happy 4th of July

Fireworks from Nagano, Japan's festival:

Awwww ...

Six week old Jaguar cubs in Peru:

Sidewalk Dining

A block from my house ... that's not a cafe or restaurant, just some locals that took a table out to the sidewalk to enjoy dinner by the canal, you see that a lot.

Hi there!

Think you're having a bad day?