Eric's Journal

Playing with Google Public Data Explorer

Eric — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:45:32 +0000

Using the new Google Public Data Explorer, I created a graph comparing life expectancy, GDP and population. The concept was inspired by this TED Talk featuring Hans Rosling, which features his Gapminder software.

Click this link to view and adjust the graph within Google Public Data Explorer.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

Eric — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:43:32 +0000

There have been a few disappointing reports in the past few days about the disappearance of the Sea Lions from Pier 39 in San Francisco. Here is a report in the New Times, and another from Wired Magazine. LeAnn and I visited San Francisco last spring and we had a blast at Pier 39 listening to the bark of the Sea Lions, catching a great view of Alcatraz, and shopping for salt water taffy. Here are a few pictures from our afternoon at Pier 39.

Pearl Harbor Day

Eric — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:36:01 +0000

In memory of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, here are some pictures LeAnn and I took while on our honeymoon last summer.

The Fire Extinguisher Incident

Eric — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:17:45 +0000

Last night, while trying to put away a jacket in the closet, I knocked a box of cards off a shelf, which landed squarely on the handle of a fire extinguisher. Evidently, the safety pin was missing and the fire extinguisher triggered, blasting a thick white cloud into the closet. Within just a few seconds, there was a half-inch of dust on the floor, and enough dust in the air to set off the fire alarm. Yadda, yadda, yadda, it took us several hours to clean up the mess.

The lesson learned is to inspect your fire extinguisher annually.

I have to admit however, that this is not the worse mess I’ve ever made with a fire extinguisher.

Indians Welcome

Eric — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:48:58 +0000

This Thanksgiving marks the 40th anniversary of the American Indian occupation of Alcatraz Island. Here is a great PBS web site about the event (via MetaFilter). Below is a photo I took last Spring of the “Indians Welcome” sign that is still visible.

Sign from the 1969 Occupation of Alcatraz Island

Here a picture of the penitentiary while approaching by boat.

Photo from our Spring trip to Alcatraz

Happy 4th of July!

Eric — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 03:09:15 +0000

I remembered this afternoon that I had some video from our visit to Washington D.C. in 2006 that I never published. Here is a short video of the fireworks as seen from the Capital Mall.

This was a very eventful night. We found a spot on the lawn with a great view of the Washington Monument early in the afternoon, equipped with supplies to survive a long wait for the show. After about an hour, we saw a police car driving down the middle of the lawn, blaring over its loudspeaker that everyone needed to evacuate the Mall because a lightening storm was on the way. We were able to take shelter in the The National Museum of the American Indian and had some great food while the worst of the storm passed by. After the storm, we decided to risk it and go back out to the lawn, which was already drying up. We managed to find an even better viewing spot and enjoyed the show.

Music source: Stars and Stripes Forever on Wikipedia.

Moonwalk

Eric — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:39:49 +0000

Animated gif created by a student years ago.

[Shell] PowerPoint

Eric — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:31:34 +0000

I found this presentation while sorting through my usb drive from work. I remember it suddenly appeared on my desktop one morning. Could it be a message from the ghost in my machine, or a rare amusing Windows error?

Magnolia Blossoms

Eric — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 06:16:28 +0000

There are a few signs of Spring, even if it is not very warm. At least it is not snowing.

Hawaii Pictures (Finally) Online

Eric — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:36:09 +0000

I finally uploaded some pictures from our honeymoon trip to Hawaii last summer. I’m on Spring Break but it is snowing right now (seriously, not an April Fools joke), so it was great to spend time sorting through pictures of real sunshine.

Click this link to visit the gallery.

LeAnn and I were married on August 8, 2008 and then we flew to Maui on August 10. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency at Kaanapali Beach until August 16, then we flew to Honolulu and stayed at the Moana Surfrider at Waikiki Beach until August 20.

I didn’t have time to write captions for every picture like I did for the Europe gallery, so if you have a question about where a picture was taken, leave a question in the comments.