For such a relaxed people the inhabitants of Berlin all seem to have the German sense of efficiency drilled into their very cores related to driving resulting in quick and productive transport.

P.S while on the topic of cars, I want one of these:

I’ve been back in the USA for about 36 hours and I’m finally pretty much caught up on sleep and free of jet lag. As great of a time as I had in Berlin I’m quite glad to be home. I’ve finally got the last of the photos from the trip that are worth posting uploaded to my Berlin photoset on Flickr.

The HP event was actually really fun and informative to attend. To be honest I was a little worried that it would be a pretty mundane event announcing 5% faster this, and 8% smaller that but my fears turned out to be unfounded. HP launched both a massively improved Touchsmart as well as the stunning and lustworthy Voodoo Envy.

Another one of my 101 goals is completed and I’m left with a desire to return to Europe and explore more of what it has to offer.

HP has put us up in the Concorde, a beautiful 5 star hotel in the West German town center. It’s a great location which makes walking hither and yon an easy task. As busy as I’ve been I’ve taken every effort to get out and explore, taking photos along the way. I’m way behind in posting those photos, but I’ll try to catch up in the next few days and get another batch uploaded to my Flickr stream.

Ciao for now – off to get ready for the first day of interviews.

The Sparkasse bank, Berlin, Germany.

Getting on the flight was also an interesting experience. I’m not sure if this is normal for international flights but they had a long line of customs agents lining the hallway to the plane as I entered and were pulling every other passenger or so off to ask them conversational questions about their trip and duration. I suspect given the way the conversation happened that they were looking for nervousness or other signs of illicit activity.

While Northwest Airlines is no British Airways or Virgin it does manage to impress with a few amenities. Most notably is the inclusion of standard united states AC power outlets for each seat enabling laptop usage during the entire 12 hour flight without the use of additional batteries or proprietary charging adapters.

Aside from the availability of power (sweet, sweet power) the Airbus plane I’m on features a small screen embedded into the back of every seat. Coupled with a wired remote control in the armrest this screen is theoretically supposed to offer on-demand movies, in-flight information, games, and a variety of ways to part from one’s money. However the particular linux-powered system in my (rather the row of seats I am currently occupying) seems to have some problems as after three hard resets they still can’t get movies working. The attendant offered me 5,000 air miles for my trouble, but as I fly about once a year it wasn’t really worth the trouble of filling out the paperwork to claim them. Poor me.

*** time passes ****

I’m currently hurtling above the Atlantic ocean near Greenland at approximately 580MPH. As such the flight has been blessedly uneventful. The food service is average at best, but not so bad when I factor the fact that it’s being served to me 36,995 feet in the air while hurtling along at nearly the speed of sound.

I’ve been struck by how many male flight attendants there are on this flight. In my past experiences most flight crews have been predominately female – a stark departure from this 2:1 male to female ratio I’m seeing for this one. I wonder if that’s because this is an international flight, because this is a Northwest flight, or if I’m just lucky to get some decent eye candy on the 10 hour leg of my journey.

*** more time passes ***

While whisking along through the air I decided to flip through my download of Little Brother, Cory Doctorow’s latest book. It’s actually a fairly creepy book to read given how close it smacks to the truth. The subject of the book is a kid, barely 17, who is in the wrong place at the wrong time and is detailed and questioned for potential involvement in a terrorist act. Having just been questioned needlessly by customs while leaving the country I’m suddenly even more aware at how the United States government has become just a little too Orwellian of late, all in the name of protection.

*** even more time passes ***

Well, Little Brother is done, and an excellent book. Bravo to Cory for writing in a language that the up and coming generation can understand bringing light to an issue that often adults find confusing. I highly recommended reading it – wether from a free download from Cory’s website or by purchasing it from your local retailer (and thus supporting Cory).

On a less related note I’m very glad that this plane has AC outlets. I’m already more than 8 hours into this flight and think that without the digital comfort provided by my laptop in the form of books, movies, and music I would have gone stir crazy by now. As is I think I’m on the verge of stir crazy just based on the fact that I’ve essentially been sitting in the same cramped and uncomfortable seat for 8 hours straight without standing up now. I can’t wait for the flight to land (less than 2 hours now) so I can stretch my legs and get some circulation going again.

*** time passes, but not much ***

Although walking about is discouraged I finally couldn’t take it any more. I managed to do a few laps around the plane (and hit the frighteningly small bathroom). It wasn’t much, but after 8 hours I’m not too picky when it comes to stretching my legs.

I’m now struck by the prevailing fact that I’m further from my home (or my birthplace) than I’ve ever been before. In the grand scheme of things it’s pretty trivial to be 4,037 miles away from Seattle (if the in-seat entertainment unit is to be trusted) given how man is on the verge of exploring the universe and expanding our horizons on a cosmic scale, but it’s still a big deal for me.

I’m very interested to see what my personal take on Europe is going to be. Somehow it now seems strange to only have a single viewpoint on life, to have only seen the American way. From what I’ve heard the rest of the world is a very different place – I’m eager to see how different (and how the same) it really is from the reality I’ve known my whole life.

*** 700 miles remaining to Amsterdam ***

As I’m sure my mother could attest I’m not so good at sitting still. I’m not so good at traveling either. I guess combining the two is one of those little personal tests one must go through to experience the world. Weird thing is that if my 101 goals are to be believed then I’ll be doing this all over to visit Japan, and then a miniature version of this to see the east coast of the United States.

Side note: I wonder what kind of coffee will greet me at the Amsterdam International Airport. Regardless of type, quality, or concentration I can assure you that immediately upon landing coffee will be consumed.

*** 48 minutes remaining to touchdown ***

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? How about now? Now? Soon? Are we there yet?

Further side note: The iProduct is ubiquitous. Of the approximately 30 people I can see from my vantage here in the bowels of a giant plane I can count no less than 18 of them using the signature white earbuds. Sadly I myself am in this lot while I wait for my Vibe Duo’s to come back (yet again) from Vibe after their last failure.

*** the second leg ***

I’m currently on the second (and much shorter) leg of my journey. Nate and I made it to Amsterdam and got a chance to stretch our legs and wander about the Amsterdam airport for a few hours. Now that we have boarded our final leg we have less than one hour remaining until we land in Germany.

I’m busy cramming Learn German 101 podcasts trying to brush up my vocabulary to a meager minimum to allow me to get by. Yes – I realize that on the plane to Germany is likely not the best time to be learning German, but really when it comes right down to it I think this falls into the ‘better late than never’ category.

I’m quite looking forward to landing and getting checked in to our hotel. We will be landing at roughly 2pm local time and have the rest of the day free. After a quick shower I’m hoping to get out into Berlin with my camera and get in a little tourist time before the HP PSG event starts and I get sucked into work related stuff.

Wish me luck in Berlin!

I now see why people cringe at the thought of crowns – putting a ceramic cap on a live nerve certainly makes for a tender mouth. My dentist said it was actually due to a galvanic response which between my naturally saline saliva and the metals used in crown construction can create a weak battery and thus current to stimulate the nerve ending with. Luckily this should fade within a day or two and I’ll be left with yet another ready-for-anything ceramic chomper with which to chew for the rest of my biological days.

Also: squeeeeeeeeeeeee! Berlin in 12 hours!!!one!

Update: Oh yeah – as Andru pointed out, I’m going to cover the HP event for Gear Live. Fun tech coverage for all!

I’m off through Monday which is nice – having 3 days to relax after CES is key to not collapsing into a sick little mess. I’m mildly terrified of the email nightmare I’ll be walking into when I get to work on Monday, but that’s the price I pay for taking a week off.

Yes I’m OK. Yes I was a little numb for a while. And surprisingly I’m actually more pro-Taser than I was before this whole thing started. It’s effective at dropping you for sure, but really doesn’t leave lasting harm, and assuming you don’t have any weird medical problems it’s surprisingly safe from what I’ve read.

Oh yeah – and you can get the file here if you really want it. A longer version with far more details including what lead up to this will be posted to Gear Live in the next couple of days.

Update: The Gear Live video (which is over 7 minutes long and has a lot more lead up, comedy, and wonderfulness) has gone live. check it out, or better yet give it a digg.

Had a great dinner with Chris from Bloghaus and partied a bit with some of the Monster Cable guys – but now the time to sleep has come. I’ll post more of my adventures shortly in the hear future – I promise! If you simply can’t wait you can always check out my Twitter feed for the minute by minute, blow by blow of my CES experience.

So far I’ve actually made good progress. I made it up to Broadway to pick up some Gear Live branded business cards for CES, have done 5 loads of laundry, packed most of my stuff, and cleaned up. I still have a little work to do, but over all I’m feeling much better about leaving – thanks to Traskpro

Amazingly with all the CES stuff I did today I even found time to do a few usability tweaks to Traskpro. Now tags can be entered separated by spaces, commas, or semicolons, and tags can be marked as high or low priority by tagging them ‘high’ or ‘low’. I got some great user feedback from two of my users and hopefully this will make entry more intuitive for new users by sticking to the arching design goal of flexibility.

Not too sure if I’ll be doing much personal blogging from CES – I will be pretty busy this year between doing video production and writing up the sights and sounds of CES. Check out the Gear Live coverage of CES, or you can click to see Gear Live filtered to only my content.

After getting the call nearly a month ago informing me that ‘Tami has died’ I’ve gone through a strange progression from barely knowing of her existence to slowly lifting the shroud of mystery that has long covered my mothers side of the family. I’ve reached to my mothers half-brother (trailer-park loser), searched the internet for her abusive and estranged father (rotting in a California Veterans Center, broke, drunken, and worthless), and sifted through death records looking for other half-siblings and blood relatives.

The more I learn the more I realize how my mother is a shining star – an amazing person who has made a name for herself, becoming a loving wife, mother, and friend. She has propelled her career to lofty heights, is a well-respected pillar of society here in Walla Walla, and has a network of friends that care for her. When I look at the rest of my mothers estranged family and compare it to the family I know and love it’s obvious that the two are night and day.

After attending the funeral today I feel strange about the experience. It’s weird sifting through all the photos of Tami and looking at her lives leftovers I feel like I should feel something, but I still not a spark of emotion or connection stirs.

I know my sister has some desire to reach out to the side of the family we never knew, but my brief brush with them has left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I have no desire to dig deeper into the depths of that particular branch of my family tree, preferring to leave it to slowly age from this earth, myself and my sister it’s only real legacy.

To make matters worse while driving to work today the check engine light lit up on my dash. With an impending trip to Walla Walla tomorrow for a funeral I’m a little nervous about it. I am currently calling University and Barrier Audi trying to get an emergency appointment so I can find out if it’s a serious problem or not.

Update: So I’m still sick, but I finally made it home to be sick in bed which is a marked improvement. On the way home I stopped by Barrier and they hooked up their diagnostic console to my A6. The good news is that it’s only an exhaust leak – perfectly safe to drive with on my way to Walla Walla this weekend. They set me up with an appointment for next week so I can get it fixed, and the only downside in the interim is that I’m spewing slightly more CO2 into the atmosphere than I normally would.

Off to bed – I need about 24 hours of solid sleep!

That being said I feel pretty damn good about myself! Sitting in court for 2 hours waiting my turn at justice roulette gave me an opportunity to see a stream of inmates from the state penitentiary, and various other dregs of society parade before the judge all with problems far worse than my own. There is something highly sobering about seeing a man brought to court for a list of charges so long that it actually made sense to alphabetize them, and see the ridiculous scuffles neighbors get into aired out for the world to see in public court.

It’s days like today that remind me that I really do have a good life – I might get stressed out from time to time, but when it comes right down to it I’m a productive member of society, I have a decently paying job, I’m father to the worlds coolest dog, a ton of great passions, a mortgage, car payment, and in general have my life together. Things could be worse – much worse, and it’s good to be reminded of that from time to time.

Regards,

Sparky

P.S. Getting ready for trips sucks.

Saturday morning the Wheatland Wheelers held their annual ride to memorialize Ann Weatherill up Mill Creek to Kooskooskie near Walla Walla to drink a toast to Anne’s memory. It’s good to see that my former teacher, and my moms best friend is remembered well by her community.

The above shot I got on the way back from the ride of my mom. I was pacing her in my car and ended up being not quite happy with the composition (the light upper left corner is the doorframe of my car – cropping it out fails to help the rest of the composition sadly), but while driving a car and trying desperately not to hit a tree, biker, or drive into a ditch while taking photos is surprisingly tricky. I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone unless you are in a very remote location like we were – it could be quite dangerous. I took some other shots at the mid-point of the ride that can be viewed here.

I’m glad to be back from Walla Walla – I’m such a homebody that I really do appreciate being home no matter where I’ve gone, or how long I was gone. I was a bit stressed out last week with packing and keeping up with work, but now that it’s all behind me I’m ready for one heck of a week. The ride home had a few surprises as well which added to my relief at getting home, but I won’t go into those here and now.

Happy Mothers day Mom!

“Back bikers line” by sparktography
“Mom rolling shot on bike” by sparktography

He’s a genius – speaks 7 languages, understands fine art, and grew up a professor of language as an open man – embracing of all cultures and walks of life. Grandpa was a role model to many of his students, and as well for his two children.

Sadly when he retired he moved back to the Mennonite community in Abbotsford and has been gradually becoming bitter, bigoted, racist, and homophobic. His Christian moral values are becoming more extreme, and his world view is becoming more and more negative.

Losing Grandma last year was very hard on him. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be married to someone for 60 years – it’s so much longer than I’ve been alive – let alone lived with someone. I sympathize for him and have appreciation for he’s lived through – he’s experience everything from WW2 and the great depression to losing Grandma after a life of pain.

I love him and realize that he’s lonely and should visit more often, but it’s really hard to do when everything around him seems to center around negativity and hate. The decline I’ve seen in both his outlook on life, as well as and end to his feeling of swamped and love for all human being fade has left feeling that It’s simply no longer fun to be around him.

“Grandpa” by sparktography

In technology news I’ve been on one heck of a spending spree – I need to stop! In two days I’ve purchased both a GPS unit for my car, and one of the new Apple TV’s. The GPS unit is cool (and might help keep me from getting lost), and makes up for one of the two missing features in the A6. The other missing feature is rain sensor wipers and I doubt if there is a way to hack that in after market.

In a way I’m looking forward to the drive tomorrow as it will be my first long haul in the A6 (now affectionately named the PimpMobile (in honor of Bender)), and a great chance to play with the GPS unit. I already asked it to calculate the route up to Abbotsford and it is a different one than I’m familiar with. Looking at the details in Google Earth it actually looks to be a faster and shorter way there so I think I’ll give it a go.

The Apple TV is great so far. Exceptional and simple out of box experience (like all Apple products in recent years), and the initial setup was a breeze. I plugged it in to the wall and to HDMI and I was off. After selecting my 802.11n network, entering the WPA password, and selecting the computer I wanted to sync with it was ready to use. Total time from plugging it in to me watching an episode of the Colbert Report: 2 minutes.

A shot of the main fountain display outside of the Caesar’s Palace casino in Las Vegas, NV. I like how with a little bit of photoshop tweaking the wing caught in the mist looks like it’s radiating energy.

“Dragon mist” by sparktography

Another Lensbaby 2.0 shot from my CES 2007 trip to Las Vegas. This one is of the front fountain facade in front of the Treasure Island casino and hotel. I like how the Lensbaby gives it a miniature look akin to some of the tilt-shift miniature fakes I’ve seen.

“Cascade” by sparktography

Above is a Lensbaby shot taken from the base of the 1/2 scale Eiffel Tower at the Paris. I also took another similar shot of the tower different angle which has a very different feel to it:

“Looking up at paris” by sparktography
“Eiffel up” by sparktography

CES was a blast. So many sights and sounds. Gearlive recorded well over 100 individual video segments and I’m excited to see the rest of them them get in up the coming days. CES is a very impressive event: everyone spends a fortune showing off their best and brightest of current and future tech.