September 2005

I have always enjoyed playing around with satellite maps on the internet, but Google Maps offers worldwide coverage of their maps.  Even though the hybrid and street modes only work in North America, you can see detailed maps from everywhere on the planet.

Last night I decided to try something different: try to find my house in Cairo, Egypt by geographic details (remember there are no street labels).  I eventually found it, and did other poking.  In addition to my house, I found the Pyramids, the Citadel, the American Embassy, a couple of airbases and even Cairo International Airport.  Very neat stuff.

As you can see from the picture below, CAC really dominates the Maadi landscape.  I had no idea how much it doesn’t fit in with everything around it.  Another observation Erin made was how close my house really was to CAC.  You can even see ’s old house as well!

I learned a very powerful lesson Monday, and that is that anyone can become a victim of credit card fraud.  Someone obtained my Visa CheckCard number and used it to buy ~$5000 worth of stuff throughout Mexico and South America.  The charges started happening on Thursday of last week, and the bank didn’t call me until Monday when I had to ask them to block any further charges.  I’m still trying to figure out how/why they spent US$25 at McDonald’s though, maybe all that spending made them really hungry!

Upon further questioning, I was able to find out that my credit card number was probably lifted from one of any number US-based merchants that illegally store credit card numbers when purchases are made.  Among the examples I received were Wal-Mart, Sams Club, and DSW Shoes.  Every time you use a card at one of these locations, they store it attached to your purchase (ever notice the barcode at the bottom of those receipts that make returns easier?).  It’s such a big problem, in fact, that Visa has launched a lawsuit against the aforementioned merchants and others.  I’m not sure why, because it is actually the banks who pay for the insurance policies that restore stolen funds.

In the end, the bank is working to restore the money, and so far have replenished ~$1500 or so.  Hopefully the rest will come back in before rent is due!

This past weekend (starting last Wednesday night) I was in remote Durango, Colorado with Erin attending her cousin’s wedding.  I had an amazing trip, and promise to post all of the pictures soon.  The area around Durango is gorgeous, and we happened to be in town as the leaves were changing.  We stayed in the mountains at The Silverpick Lodge, about 30 miles outside of the city completely free from any sort of wireless coverage and traffic jams.  The view out of our room was of the mountains and a nearby valley.  Absolutely amazing!

We arrived Wednesday and attended a beautiful wedding ceremony on Thursday with most of Erin’s paternal extended family present.  On Friday she and I rented a car and drove to the Four Corners, and stopped through the Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec, NM.  Saturday Erin’s parents took us on a very scenic tour through the region, the word about which even made it on the homepage for the Silverpick Lodge:

09/25/2005 – A couple of folks drove the Scenic Skyway and made the loop to Silverton, Ouray, Telluride, Rico and Cortez yesterday and said that it was just wonderful.

I would love to live in one of these small mountain towns someday, working from home, enjoying the view from my front porch, and taking day trips in my Cessna parked at the local airstrip.  The one thing that is hard to keep in mind is that these towns are very cold in the winter and often receive snow that would be enough to bury me from head to toe!

On Sunday we made the journey home.  After my suitcase falsely set off the TSA ionizer machine that detects explosive residues, we boarded what would prove to be the bumpiest fight I believe I’ve ever been on.  Moments before our Dash 8 – 100 Series was to land in Denver we passed over the remnants of the Rocky Mountains.  At several points during this descent it felt like we were free falling, with many of us getting lifted inches out of our seats.  Luckily we made it to Denver, and then a few hours later into Baltimore with no further incidents.  All-in-all, I had an amazing time and it was certainly nice to spend time with Erin and her family for the weekend.

I’ve studied different representations of political spectra and what kinds of issues place people into different categories.  I do think, however, that this test from OkCupid is pretty cool!

You are a Social Liberal (75% permissive) and an… Economic Liberal (13% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

Erin’s apartment has been couch less since she moved in back in February, 2005.  This means that we have all been on the lookout for a couch that Erin might like for her apartment for the past several months.  This weekend Erin’s mom went to a garage sale down the street from their Bethesda, MD home just to see what kinds of things they were selling.  She found a lovely couch which seemed of appropriate style, size and color.  The lady selling the couch, who had only recently moved to the neighborhood, introduced herself as the wife of a former Congressman and that now that her husband has retired, he no longer needed it in his office.  When asked which state her husband represented in Congress, she said “Pennsylvania, before he went on to be the first director of Homeland Security.”  Of course she was talking about Tom Ridge.

So Erin’s new couch, pictured on the right, has probably seen the asses of many important people who may have come through Tom Ridge’s office.  Except for a few curious stains, it’s a great Drexel Heritage sofa.  I suppose this kind of thing only happens in Washington DC!

Following the release of the Google Desktop Sidebar last week, I’ve become obsessed with syndicating all of the data in my life into one portal for myself.  While that sounds a little weird and perhaps even a bit maniacal, it’s quite convenient to have the happenings of my friends, news headlines, current weather, stock quotes, and even my e-mail come to one place.  This short video clip offers one interpretation of what may come with respect to this information collection: EPIC 2014.

But for now, I’ll keep the point of this entry to drawing attention to a cool moblog service called Text America, which allows camera phone users (and digital camera users as well) to upload their pictures via MMS or e-mail for all to see.  If you visit my website you will even see these pictures in a teasing syndication on the left hand side.