18 North

New Location- http://ianthere.wordpress.com/

2007-07-29T23:28:00.000-04:00

I've moved this blog to Wordpress.com, and included links to more projects. New updates will go directly to:
http://ianthere.wordpress.com/

NYC

2007-07-29T20:59:00.000-04:00

I find myself in New York City for the summer-- commuting, sailing, eating pizza etc. Here Hans and I are enjoying an early summer day in Central Park. Rest assured, I've gotten a haircut since this photo.

Put that in your pipe...

2007-03-10T00:42:00.000-04:00

It may be time to fire up that long-forgotten Yahoo! account after all.

Yahoo's new service, Pipes, is turning heads, and with good reason.

Want a two-bedroom apartment near a Whole Foods? Need a studio across from a pub? Look no further. One of Yahoo's featured "pipes", Apartment Near Something, will find it for you. This particular pipe searches craigslist, identifies the location of apartments that match your search, and then examines which apartments are near whatever else you searched for. But that's not all you can do with a pipe.

Yahoo Pipes enables users to control, manipulate, and reuse internet content by creating customized searches. While it's usefulness to technophobes and internet newbies is questionable, it's ingenuity is not. If you've ever had that feeling that it's all been done before, but it all could have been done better, now may be your time to shine. From the Pipes website:

Pipes is a free online service that lets you remix popular feed types and create data mashups using a visual editor. You can use Pipes to run your own web projects, or publish and share your own web services without ever having to write a line of code.

If that seems unclear, it's because a 'pipe' can relate to practically anything you want. One pipe finds people's public photos (on Flikr) of things the NY Times has reported on recently. Another pipe searches Google and Yahoo simultaneously.

I was pleasantly surprised by the results of one pipe, entitled Picture Near Place which promised to find thing X, in setting Y, near Z. I entered 'tree' and 'park' in Madison, Wisconsin. The first result was a tree in a field (possibly in Madison), and the second was a picture of University of Wisconsin's main library with a tree squeezed in the corner. The third was a triple-whammy: trees, a park, and well-known Madison landmark. One of the pictures did look suspiciously like the Serengeti, but hey, it's still in beta.

And because Pipes is still in development, it is yet to be seen exactly how it will be used, and by whom. According to Yahoo, the nifty graphical interface means you can build your own pipe "without ever having to write a line of code." So you don't need to know HTML, but being slightly web-savvy will help. And while services like Blogger and Myspace provide a code-free template within which you can expound to your heart's content, by creating a Pipe, one is creating something entirely different: a web service. Additionally, you can 'clone' other people's pipes and edit them to make a new pipe.

This may signal a greater shift in the way information gets from one point to another over the internet. Bill Thompson, a contributor to the BBC said "this isn’t user-generated content, it’s user-controlled content." He also points out that while Pipes may not be the Post-Web 2.0 breakthrough everyone is waiting for, it is "a glimpse of the networked future, where the world’s information is not only at our fingertips, but available to be mixed, mashed and filtered on demand."

So go ahead, take somebody's pipe, rewire it, and make it your own. Or rather, make it everyone's. And inevitably, someone else will make it theirs.

No Bones!

2007-02-25T18:02:00.000-04:00

New Zealand Fishermen were fishing for Patagonian Toothfish (aka: Chilean Seabass) when they caught a Colossal Squid last week. The specimen was a 10-meter long male and weighed just under 1000 pounds, which makes it the largest ever recorded. This is the first time scientists will be able to study an adult Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, as all previous squids were incomplete or juvenile.

Colossal squid are larger than the better-known Giant Squid, and females are probably significantly larger than males, as is common with invertebrates.

Strangely, this is skipper John Bennett's 2nd colossal squid, according to The Nelson Mail.

Steve O'Shea, of the Auckland University of Technology said if you made calamari out of it, you'd have rings as big as tractor tires.

News and pix

2007-02-21T01:28:00.000-04:00

Haven't posted in a while, so here are some goodies:

Newspaper article about the recent 2007 Anguilla Optimist Regatta I helped organize

Photos of the race

Fotografian: A blog where I'll be posting of some of my photographs

Anguilla Youth Sailing Club

2006-12-09T21:33:00.000-04:00

Check out a quick video on the Anguilla Youth Sailing Club-

http://homepage.mac.com/travistv/iMovieTheater6.html

It gives a little view into some of the work I've been doing here.

I hope you enjoy it!

St. Lucia Rainforest Hike

2006-11-19T23:09:00.000-04:00

Rite and I on our hike through the Rainforest n St. Lucia. The trails were really well kept.

Nice trees. Yep.

Me and the big, big bamboo.

Pidgeon Island
Old ruins of the English forts have trees and creepers growing up through them.

Cannons!

Here's the view from the fort on top of Pidgeon island. The path leads up to a lookout point from which the English spyed on the French fleets on Martinique, which is visible to the north.

Look at that cannon!

St. Lucia Tour

2006-11-19T22:11:00.000-04:00

PitonsHere we are with Arnold, and the twin Pitons behind us. Arnold showed us around a bit of St. Lucia on his day off, and we had a delightful time.

In this picture, Petit Piton is the closer, higher and pointier one. That's Gros Piton behind it, and the town of Soufriere (pronounced 'soo-fray') in the valley below.

Arnold and I on one of the main road's beautiful views. At alot of these spots there were peddlers with handicrafts, tales of history, 'tour' guides, and snake charmers.

Arnold's friend gives us the tour at the gardens in Soufriere where we saw all sorts of gorgeous plants and animals. There was even a chameleon eating cocoa beans.

Gorgeous flowers, very sensitive to the oil on your fingers. Don't touch.

Hot Springs
Rite gets spa advice from a nice rasta who's been at the volcanic hot springs collecting the mud for the afternoon. I put it all over my feet too, and it felt great!

My foot. My hand.

The mud dodged your fingers in a very stange fashion. It was on the bottom, but not settled by any means.

The Diamond Waterfall

The 'Diamond waterfall' was the gem of the gardens in Soufriere.

Arthur and Ansel.

St. Barths

2006-11-11T22:17:00.000-04:00

There were a lot of buildings in St. Bartholemey that looked quite well-preserved, though a few were probably just faux-antique facades. The island was once part of Sweden, and strange small cultural relics here and there are reminders of such.

We spent a couple nights at 'Le Select,' the inspiration for Jimmy Buffet's song Cheeseburger in Paradise. He was also once the part-owner of this late-night burger patio. A very cute little place to hang out in the heart of Gustavia.

The balcony at Sunset hotel is perfect for reading and enjoying the view over their lovely breakfast. Due to their customer service and organization, however, I wouldn't recommend the place.

Josh and Michael visit

2006-11-11T22:07:00.000-04:00

Here we are on Maunday's Bay, with St. Martin in the background. Joshie needs a tan.

Joshie wants to hang with the cool crowd, but his bodyguard says, "the area's not secure."

Halloween

2006-11-11T21:58:00.000-04:00

Me and my youth assistants at the Pumphouse Halloween party.
Rocking!

Rite and Regatta

2006-10-20T16:19:00.000-04:00

Rite has arrived, and we've been exploring some of the sandy beaches... Kenny emphasized certain features of Rite on the wipe board...
And everyone enjoyed the Regatta in Saint Martin!
Yellow ASA hats made everyone stand out!

Building, Relaxing

2006-09-07T01:32:00.000-04:00

The deck of the clubhouse, with a couple future members hanging out on our 'Canada' chairs next to the lopsided tiller and centerboard rack I built.
Eli gets some assistance making a cubby cabinet for kids to keep their stuff in.

The finished project!
Eli relaxes at the end of the last day of class as the boats come in...

Munich Pact

2006-09-03T13:31:00.000-04:00

We are fortunate to have a leader of strong resolve at a time of war...

America is not what's wrong with the world. -Donald Rumsfeld

The following was posted September 2nd on Metafilter. Of special interest is the fact that Rumsfeld quotes Georges Clemenceau in order to acknowledge the setbacks inherent to war. Juan Cole's comparison to British Decolonization is brief and a bit fiery, but worth reading too.

"Donald Rumsfeld's recent speech at the American Legion Convention has revived interest in the 1938 Munich pact between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler and its use as an analogy in foreign policy debates. Military historian Jeffrey Record weighs in with Appeasement Reconsidered: Investigating the Mythology of the 1930s. Michael Cairo examines how analogical reasoning based on "the lesson of Munich" influenced the first Gulf War and Clinton's intervention in Kosovo. Juan Cole argues against "the crock of appeasement" as applied to the Middle East, whereas MacGregor Duncan claims that the Munich analogy has caused us to underestimate the diplomatic value of appeasement. Finally, Pat Buchanan claims the Islamo-fascist label is historically inaccurate (or is he worried that non-Islamic fascists get a bad rap?)."

Sandy Island

2006-09-02T22:40:00.000-04:00

About a mile and a half north-west of Raod Bay and Sandy Ground (where the Sailing Club is) you can find Sandy Island. After a hurricane took the palm trees away a few years ago, the name fits the place even more.There was an old wreck sitting on the nortern corner. In the shallows and tide pools on either side I found lots of fish, crabs, and snails.
Because of the way the old ship was leaning, you can see blue sky right through the cabin doors.
There is one building here, and they serve food and drinks on weekends I hear. They weren't open the Saturday I went, and with how quiet it has been the last month, I'm not surprised.The island is surrounded by a reef, and you want to approach the beach from the side opposite of the Anguilla mainland. Eli and I didn't know that, so we had some close calls in the motorboat upon entering and exiting, but all's well that ends well!
I even got a dinner out of the experience, but that story is for another time.

Eli arrives, sand and sail

2006-08-09T14:59:00.000-04:00

Eli found this cave on the east end. The waves gnashed a bit too much to venture inside, but it was very colorful to watch from outside when the turquoise water recoiled from the shelves of urchins and sea creatures. The sand was so aerated and soft that you could sink in almost to your calves

Here are some of the youth sailors I'm teaching on the AYSC's Optimists. They're sailing south in Road bay, towards the 'big wharf' where groceries, cars and other things make their way to Anguilla. The previous week was tricky because it was the first time the wind didn't come directly out of the East. The wind comes from the east so consistently, that it was pretty funny to watch the young sailors adjusting their standard sailing routes. It was as if they had to alter their entire world view. Up is down, left is right!

Iguana Cave: Part 1

2006-06-29T22:20:00.000-04:00

To get to Iguana Cave you need to start at Katouche bay, cross through a little marsh, hike up the trail through Anguilla's "Rain forest," go up some (very) old steps, and mosey through a few cacti. Otherwise, you can start at the top by the road, but it's pretty hard to find unless you mark the spot by hiking the trail upwards first (*hint hint* two sticks in an 'X' 15 feet before the bulldozer). A beautiful beach to start at! Please don't take the coconut trees, as requested by the sign.
Every hole-- every single one-- had a little crab that would positively freak out when I walked by! There must have been some crustacean nervous breakdowns that day as I ran aroud chasing every little animal I found. Hermit crabs, Land crabs, Cattle Herons, Damn huge crabs...
Steps to Iguana Cave! I still don't know who made them- let me know if you have any ideas. Frontrunners right now are the English (who mined Phosphorous from caves in Anguilla) Arawak indians, and lastly: very enthusiastic naturalists who decided to maintain the trail for future generations.
Me! At this precipice, peaceful wasps were buzzing around the plants as songbirds were echoing across the valley. Quite a beautiful part of Anguilla. Shortly afterward I found the (very dark) Iguana cave. Next week I'll remember to bring a flashlight and investigate the interior.

Green flash... Pshaw

2006-06-29T21:56:00.000-04:00

This sunset literally brought people out from their houses like it was the first time the sun had gone behind the horizon. Neighbors grabbed cameras, exclaimed how amazing the colors were, and owed and awed like it was a fourth of July fireworks display. I snapped a couple photos from my balcony, and these colors aren't touched up. Though more scientific, that Pacific 'G reen Flash' can't have anything on this.The view from my balcony. Seriously, you could count to ten, and the purple ocean had changed back to a different hue of violet, and the waves were crimson. Every minute the sea mixed the blue water with the reddening sunset and all around were unbelievable shades. I said to my neighbor I wouldn't have believed it if someone tried to describe it to me. Hence the photo.

Island 92

2006-06-25T22:45:00.000-04:00

"The hottest music in the Dutch West Indies."

"Your Classic rock source in the North Caribbean."

"Rock, Blues and good time radio."

"Broadcasting from atop St. Peter's hill, St. Maarten, DWI."

Probably the worst slogans ever, but they play a lot of things I didn't expect to hear: The Doors, Cream B-sides, Moody Blues, CSNY, T-Rex, live Grateful Dead, and the Talking Heads.

Limestone Coast 2.1: Salt Spray and Junk

2006-06-19T00:26:00.000-04:00

Walking toward the coast, the spray from the breaking waves and the turmoil of the channel make a hazy mist that glows in the late afternoon sun. I noticed the sun's rays scattering behind Greg here as we left the cacti and scrub to navigate the sharper rocks.

The spray is so fine that you don't notice it until you taste the salt that settles on your lips as dust left over from the evaporating water droplets.

Me wearing sunscreen & red!

Towards the end of the hike, we came across what appeared to be the aptly named 'Junk's hole.' This is the spot where 'junk' from here to Africa washes ashore, due to the local currents and reefs. Amongst the coral, sponges and sea fans were plastic bottles, fishing nets, sandals, and all sorts of floating man-made debris. The garbage was definitely the exception to the rule on this all-but-uninhabited end of the island, but it was still a reminder of the everlasting nature of our actions and carelessness.

It was an odd cross-section of typical garbage, and I started thinking about what wasn't washing up, and why. Then I realized that all the aluminum cans, plastic bags, and batteries probably go straight to the bottom of the water where they cause far more damage.

Limestone Coast 2: Windward Point

2006-06-19T00:19:00.000-04:00

Hiking out toward Windward point on the East side of Anguilla. There we find more wonderful rock formations, old coral and strange little creatures in places that otherwise look quite desolate. This reddish material kept popping up, along with long slabs of rock like this one that must have been forced up by some kind of geological pressure.

The side of windward point that faces south gets battered by waves. One finds fish, snails, crabs and other marine aliens in the nooks and crannies of this sharp landscape.

The gnashing seawater that rolls over the sharp rock looks kind of like a big salty cappuccino. I said I'd find one on Anguilla for you, right R?

Limestone Coast

2006-06-09T22:53:00.000-04:00

Strange things come from limestone. I turned my back to the sea and noticed this horizontal rainbow of earth, trees and sky. It felt like mars or iceland or nevada except that I was sweating and could hear the ocean roaring.

Ladders to Cavemen

2006-06-09T21:45:00.000-04:00

These are views down into and up from from "The Fountain"-- a cave in AXA. There's no way to describe how immense it was- but if you look closely in the second picture (which only shows the top half of the descent), you can grasp the height by observing how small the rungs in the ladder look. The roots come through rock one foot thick, and stretch 40 feet straight down to find water and soil in a cave I can only describe as feeling as big and open as my high school basketball gym.

This is one of the Amerindian petroglyphs, created a long long time ago. Do you see the guy's face?

This one below is of a god figure called Cap Juluca I think, although it reminds me of a Munch painting

Just a really cool drip formation. Bigger than a breadbox, smaller than a rotweiler. A stalagtite-ite?

Madison beer down here?

2006-06-01T19:11:00.000-04:00

I was at the supermarket, shopping for dinner, and I was surprised when I found this. It's beer cheese made from bavarian lager, made by Capital Brewery, the Madison beer company! That's a picture of the Wisconsin state capital on the cover. Now I'd be even happier if I could get Wisconsin beer down here, but this will certainly do. Very strange to find a Madison product that I'd never seen in Madison.

Patty and David

2006-05-23T22:40:00.000-04:00

Patty and David are my first visitors! They came in on the catamaran Scoobi doo from St. Martin (the hilly island in the background). We're at Smokey's on Cove Bay.

Anguilla boats

2006-05-23T14:05:00.000-04:00

AXA boats have huge mainsails, no permanent ballast, and have 28 foot long wood hulls. Crews of around 15 are common, and lots of removable iron plates and bricks rest in the bottom to balance. Here they are exiting Road Bay heading west during the 2006 AXA regatta.

Viking(ships) in the Caribbean

2006-05-23T13:50:00.000-04:00

A viking ship in St. Martin. This thing definately stood out in the harbor. Rumor has it some guy sailed it over as a publicity stunt long ago.

Channel sunset

2006-05-22T22:41:00.000-04:00

The sunset view on the ferry from St. Martin to AXA. This was the 6:00 ferry, and the last one leaves at 7pm.

My Car

2006-05-22T22:28:00.000-04:00

My car on AXA. A '92 Ford Explorer, the first year they made them. Pictured here with half kayak rack, power (front) windows, in Johnno's parking lot. A happening place to be on Friday night!

View from work

2006-05-22T21:50:00.000-04:00

This is my view west from work, out the double doors of the ASA building. The lovely, white-sand beach is Road Bay at Sandy Ground, Anguilla. There are around twenty sailboats and as many fishing boats moored out there currently, and the waves are low and slow. I've seen Tarpon and Sea turtles in the bay, and someone saw a ten-foot shark last week!
I live, for now, about a hundred yards east, inbetween the ocean and the old salt pond. On the right, in the photo, is NWO-- one of the local racing Anguilla boats. I haven't been out on them yet, but I hope to soon, as most of them are located here in Sandy Ground. More to come!