it's hot in kansas

I'm packing for my trip home to Kansas this weekend for my high school reunion...and of lordy, I took a look at the weather forecast and almost passed out at the thought of being back in that heat:

Tomorrow: Generally sunny. Very hot. Heat index near 115F. High 103F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.

Tomorrow night: Clear skies during the evening followed by isolated thunderstorms overnight. Low 74F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

Friday: Isolated thunderstorms ending in the morning, becoming sunny late. Very hot. Heat index near 110F. High 101F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

Saturday: Plenty of sun. Highs 103 to 107F and lows in the upper 70s.

Sunday: Sunshine. Highs 99 to 103F and lows in the mid 70s.

It's 1am there *right now* and it's 86F. Sheesh.

Sousas in Seattle

Sousas in Seattle
Originally uploaded by moohaha.

I just spent the entire weekend with Matt's parents, meeting them for the first time on their trip here to Seattle. We did a bunch of things: go to a baseball game, lunch at the Pink Door, visiting EMP, checking out the Ballard Locks and Fish Ladder, taking pictures in West Seattle along Alki, dinner at Maximillien in the Market, Via Tribunali and Cafe Flora. Quite action packed! The Sousas are wonderful people, super easy to get along with and much fun to hang out with! Check out the rest of the photos I took...

Celebrities inpersonating celebrities

Celine as Michael
This is seriously disturbing.

the fine print

I'm mixed now. There's been a recent initiative in Seattle (901) to ban smoking indoors. I'm all for it--especially after seeing the effect (none) in major cities like New York and Los Angeles. The other week, I became one of thousands of local voters to sign the initiative so that it can be on the ballot. However, I just came across this article in the stranger---Up in Smoke?--which basically cites a small clause within the initiative that also bans outdoor smoking—if the outdoor space in question lies within 25 feet of any door, window, or air vent that leads into a protected public space, such as a bar, club, restaurant, office building, or vehicle used by the general public. There are many neighborhoods in Seattle where this won't fly---Belltown, Pioneer Square and Capitol Hill come to mind. I'm not even a smoker and generally hate sitting near smokers...but this clause is stupid. I want to be able to go out with friends that smoke and have them be able to duck out to the outdoor terrace (i.e. Linda's, Capitol Club) for a quick smoke---not wander down the block. Assuming this initative goes into law, who knows if local authorities will really enforce this 25 ft rule.

Repliee Q1

An adult type android
This life-like android debuted in Japan over the weekend at the 2005 World Expo. It's made of skinlike silicone and has 31 points of articulation in its upper body. I just watched a video clip of this robot/android creation (there are more videos from the japanese website)---pretty amazing.
"Internal sensors allow the android to react "naturally." It can block an attempted slap, for example. But it's the little, "unconscious" movements that give the robot its eerie verisimilitude: the slight flutter of the eyelids, the subtle rising and falling of the chest, the constant, nearly imperceptible shifting so familiar to humans."

Fourth in Montana

I just spent the Fourth of July weekend in Big Sky, Montana with Kutta, Matt, Matt and Ian---we had a really great, relaxing time over there. The drive over actually wasn't as bad as I feared--just read magazines and slept most of the way. We were back in the same cabin that we stayed at when we snowboarding there earlier this year. Fortunately, we got great weather the whole time there.

Good memories:

Hiking up Lone Peak--Matt and I only made it to the top of the Gondola, but the other boys had the extra stamina to actually hike it to the top top at 11,000 feet.

Shooting bottle rockets and roman candles in the backyard like I did when I was a kid

Going whitewater rafting for the first time along the Gallatin River all day--it was an absolute blast and I want to do it again. We watched a family in the raft behind us highside it along a rock--3 of them crawled onto the rock while the rest floated off in the raft, one leaping into it last minute. What great drama. The 3 were left standing there, not knowing what to do..but they were able to paddle the raft back and pick them up eventually.

The last dinner--I ate New Zealand Red Deer and most of the boys had Surf n Turf: bison tenderloin with rainbow trout. Yum yum.

Montana is just absolutely gorgeous in the summertime. Check out all the photos I took there--unfortunately, didn't bring my camera for the day of whitewater rafting. It would've been a hoot to catch us all wearing the wetsuits.

Itching to leave for the holiday weekend...

Giant Catfish May Be World's Largest Freshwater Fish
Sheesh. And they ate it too. Freaky.

It's Friday, barely anyone's in the office since it's a holiday weekend. I'm heading back to Big Sky, Montana later this afternoon for some firework shootin' in the backcountry. It's going to be a lo-o-o-ong drive.

Recently bought a new digital camera---the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX7--to replace my Olympus C-50 which was starting to get annoying with an open/close hatch that has a mind of its own. (I basically could only keep the camera on/open by squeezing the body of the camera) I know I know--I probably could've just fixed it...but the gadget queen in me found it as an excuse to get a new camera. Hmm..it takes SD cards. Need to buy a new one. Anyone want to buy my old digital camera? I have 2 128MB mini XD cards to go with them too.