All Things Yummy

I went to the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival with my dragonboat team over the last weekend. I’m figuring a picture of worth thousand words, so 253 pictures is worth at least 253,000 words. I will point out some interesting/funny photos, though.

Day 1: Body bag, Duck Car, Pinned!, Faux-Unabomber, Victoria Clipper IV, Seattle, Jimmy, Pimpin’ Car, Empress Hotel, Sleeping Gordon, Horseplay

Day 2: Todd, Tag Newbie, Donut-Hole-Eye, Bear Wrestling, Veggie “Burger”, Darth Violin, Charlie’s Angels, Kilted Gordon, Haggis (Wow, it really does look kinda nasty…), Haggis Eating Competition (Go Mark!), Sneaky Jimmy, Origin of Half-Life 2, Street Art

Day 3: Marshal, Unmasked Darth Vader, Restin’, Slumped Kathy, Team Photo, Lifting Brandon with one finger, Crazy eye, Final, Ribbon, O’My!, Wine Change, Gambling Table, Drinking Table

So, on my way to work this morning (on my mountain bike, this time), I got run off the road by a semi-truck which was driving close by, resulting in yet another fall.  D’oh!  No wipeouts whatsoever for almost a year (including mountain biking at the Wilder Ranch) followed by two falls in what’s gotta be the safest road in town.  What are the chances… :(  At least my beast of a bike came out with nary a scratch.

I fell off my bike while getting to work today. :(  The frame and the rear wheel is fine but the front wheel is completely bent out of shape.  The current theory is that one of the spokes on the wheel broke while I was riding, which resulted in the wheel changing its shape enough to rub against the brake and suddenly stop.  I managed to roll twice and get right back up, but not before getting nice scrape along the right side of my body.  Thank God that it happened on one of the side streets instead of the main road.

Come to think about it, I think it’s been a fairly long time since I’ve been involved in something like this.  Ah well, time to go find a new wheel, I suppose.  Speaking about wheels, I figured this is as good a time as ever and also got my car tires changed as well.

I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many months of struggle and suffering.

You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea, and air. War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy.

You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs - Victory in spite of all terrors - Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival. - Churchill

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage—and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

This much we pledge—and more. - JFK

I’m a proud owner of Bianchi Volpe touring bike that I bought for $225. I think it’s about ~10 years old, but it’s still a very nice ride. From a rider’s perspective, it doesn’t feel that much different from my $140 Amazon.com bike, but I’ve been told that I’m going a lot faster. Maybe I’ll time myself during my morning commute tomorrow.

Anyway, one of the things that I’ve been thinking of going is to take an overnight trip to the Point Montara Lighthouse (There’s a hostel there) along the Highway 1 from Santa Cruz. It’s just under 42km along the gorgeous pacific coastline. It should be fun, though I don’t know when I’ll get the time to do it. :p

Apples to Apples is a fun party game, though it’s a lot more fun if you make it up as you go along while changing the rules all around. Fun @ Sebastopol, I love barn parties (and barns too! If I buy a nice with a large property, I’m sooo building myself a barn!)

Here’s an interesting artlcle that basically says invest in Altera and Xilinx beacuse we’re the future. Wee! It’s good to see the company being written about in this way even though the article has its share of mistakes. Embedded soft-core microprocessors are specifically mentioned too, including specifically mentioned Nios II and C2H.

By contrast, Altera recently announced a new microprocessor productivity tool for its Nios II soft core that enables, for the first time, software engineers to design hardware. Nios is already the industry’s most widely used soft microprocessor.

Anyway, the article does a very good job of portraying the market conditions as well as describe variety of products that Altera supplies as well as some of the momentum that we have behind us. So, if you want to know that Altera really really do, then give that article a read.