The Rogue Ducky

rd84 @ 2008-07-17T17:41:00

2008-07-17T18:48:06Z

So I'm hanging out in Kodiak again. We're waiting on some personnel to get underway on Monday to Dutch Harbor where we'll pick up a bunch of scientists and start on FISHPAC, a habitat research project that will be conducted in the southeastern Bering Sea.

Planning on a few hikes this weekend before we leave. Also a bunch of the crew are going bowling this Friday at Tsunami Lanes here on the Coast Guard base. I think it might be the preliminary tryouts for the Fairweather's team for Hydro-Bowl this winter (the Hydro-Bowl trophy is currently in our possession).

I had a good time in Homer last week. Picked up a few books at a used book store, which included a collection of Leonard Nimoy's poetry. Also got some new music, its a local Homer band called Three Legged Mule. And spent some time at the infamous Salty Dawg Saloon drinking the local Homer brew which is exclusively bottled in Sobe bottles.

For work we setup two tide gauges for our work in Kachemak Bay in August. The gauges were installed in Katsitsna Bay and Bear Cove (click either to see the active tide data on tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov).

I was largely involved in the additional work outside of the actual gauge installation. We had to recover any existing tidal benchmarks, set additional benchmarks as necessary and reference the benchmarks to the gauge with differential leveling. I was one of the few people with ample experience with the tasks from my previous job as a land surveyor. It was particularly difficult conditions so it was a good initiation to leveling for the people without much experience. And I recovered one of the benchmarks that had been buried over the years! They had no expectation of finding it.

Still in Homer

2008-07-09T21:05:01Z

Still in Homer
Originally uploaded by rogue drone

The ship has been in Homer since last Wednesday and I think we'll be leaving tonight. The picture is the mountains to the southeast of Homer. I'm on my way to a tide gauge that we installed last week. We're finishing the work to estabished the benchmarks we are referencing for the gauge.

Old Womens Mountain

2008-06-25T20:49:31Z

Above are a few photos from a hike across Old Womens Mountain during the in-port in Kodiak over the last weekend. Its more of a ridge than a mountain. Its a 4 mile hike with 1200 ft elevation gain which is basically all in the first 3/4 mile. Went out for sushi twice over the weekend and it was surprisingly good.

Last night we came into the Shumagin Islands just south of the Aleutians, midway out the chain. The "total population as of the 2000 census was 953 persons, almost entirely in the city of Sand Point, on Popof Island." I'll get some photos in the next few days. Pretty remote, so we're not getting the Dish Network out here so instead of watching TV I went down to our "gym" for about an hour and a half. The weather is pretty dreary, foggy, winds 15-20 knots and raining. We anchored up in reasonably protected little bay. After the gym I hid from the wind and rain in a corner on the fantail and drank tea and smoked a pipe with one of the Junior officers while a few people fished off the fantail.

Today we went into Sand Point very briefly and we should be headed back out shortly and get some ships hydro done.

On the ship

2008-06-09T22:02:38Z

So I made my way up to Ketchikan, Alaska, on friday. Got to the ship just fine and went out drinking with some of the crew.

Saturday I just bummed around in town. I found a little stand that said "locally roasted coffee" so I got talking with the guy. He had worked in Seattle for about 6 years at a coffee shop and commented that his current setup made it hard to make decent esspresso, but the tourist coming off the cruise ships could care less. The roastery, Raven's Brew Coffee, has a shop up the road from town. One of the blends is called Three Peckered Billy Goat, which I thought was funny.

Yesterday went for a hike on the Deer Mountain Trail (a photoset). It was a 2 mile hike in with 2,000 feet of elevation gain. We got up into the left over snow pack from last winter!

Today we got the launches over the side for patch testing. We will be using them next week for the project!

See you all later. It will be harder to update once we're under way because the internet connection is painfully slow and costly. Our next inport should be two weeks from now, but it may be sooner.

Also I made a little links and info page with some usefull stuff for keeping tabs on me.

So It's official

2008-05-23T17:23:03Z

I still have to sign paperwork in the next week, but I should be shipping out June 6th to meet up with the NOAA Ship Fairweather somewhere in Alaska.

So the first thing that I'm gonna try to fix is the ship tracker. In theory it updates every hour, but it hasn't updated in the last month. So watch that if you're interested.

On the job

2008-05-09T20:14:54Z

On the job
Originally uploaded by rogue drone

Another day at work

2008-05-03T00:37:45Z

Another day at work
Originally uploaded by rogue drone

Got out of the office today, which meant traipsing through the forest, machete in hand, killing nature that got in my way.

areyouponderingwhati'mpondering

2008-04-29T19:16:53Z

Well, I think so Brain, but... balancing a family and a career? Ooh. Its all too much for me!

Well, I think so Brain, but if they called them SadMeals, kids wouldn't buy them!

I think so Brain, but if Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why does he keep doing it?

I think so Brain, but it's a miracle that this one grew back (holding left leg).

Uh, yeah Brain... but where are we going to find rubber pants in our size?

I think so Brain, but the Rockettes?, I mean its mostly girls, isn't it?

Well, I think so, Brain, but if Clark Kent wore contact lenses, wouldn't he look just like Superman?

http://blather.newdream.net/a/areyouponderingwhati_mpondering.html
http://www.patman.org/interests/comics/ponderings.asp

Google Identity

2008-04-29T18:45:27Z

I googled myself today... I've done it in the past and I've been like the first three pages, now I'm the first 5 pages. Not sure how I feel about that. Not really important stuff though. But I found that a photo of mine was credited and used on the KEXP blog!

Rev. Jeremiah Wright

2008-04-29T15:42:42Z

Bill Moyers interviews the Reverend Jeremiah Wright in his first broadcast interview with a journalist since he became embroiled in a controversy for his remarks and his relationship with Barack Obama.

If you have time I highly recommend you see the video on PBS.Org

Boobs and Privilege

2008-04-29T00:17:06Z

I am not at all involved in and just barely aware of the con scene but my curiosity pulled me into a very large discussion/debate around the Open Source Boob Project (OSBP), which seems to have rightly died as fast as it was born, but promoted some amazing discussion in the process. I initially got dragged in by a link from fenmere to a post clearly against the proposal written by ursulav.

In the process of forming my own opinion I waded through the morass of varied discussions and I was forced to think about my privilege and even re-evaluate how my awareness of social inequalities informs my actions. But first some links...

Here is a person that was really excited about the project at the con until much later when the social prejudices in which it was couched were flushed out.

springheel_jack does a great job of dissecting the social injustices which the OSBP inadvertently plays off of and interacts with. And addresses the "cognitive error" which propagates these injustices in privileged groups.

It has not been true for you as it has for others that the ways in which you are treated and the scale of opportunities afforded you are methodically distorted on the basis of these assumptions; these omnipresent distortions are not, therefore, visible to you in the routine, continual way in which they are inflicted upon others, and because of this you have been able to generalize your own experience, which is one of coordinated advantage, i.e. "privilege," to be that of (and normative for) any and all "human beings." This is a cognitive error, and to willfully keep making it is a condition we call "racism" or "sexism."

I don't know that this post by synecdochic directly related but it was linked in some discussions and it was very informative for me in relation to understanding the concept of privilege especially as it relates to gender roles and how to let that inform one's actions. Please at least skim it because it will help give context to what I have to say with regards to my position.

Coming back to my thoughts...

I am a 23 year old attractive white male in a white collar career track with a stable income and close friends and family at almost every strata of our class system. I am inescapably privileged. I have had my own struggles but they do not pertain to privilege. I do my best not to pretend to understand the injustices unprivileged people face or equate their struggles to my own. I regularly question how to react or respond to that privilege to combat those injustices but often fall short.

In most cases I try to empower those around me, but I think there is a fine line with empowerment. Empowerment as a means to break down injustices and inequalities in privilege based power structures can very easily become patronizing and turn into a propagation of the existing injustices and inequalities. I think its disingenuous to say that I can give you my privilege.

In addressing the sexism embedded in the idea that it is gentlemanly to open the door for a woman a women remarked "allowing me to open a door for you is a way of respecting me". I completely agree, I'm not harping on her semantics, but to address my point, its one thing to allow someone to open the door for you, its another to take turns opening the door for each other. Its a door and we need to get through it. Whats the most convenient way to get through? Oh look you already have it open it would be less convenient if I had to open it again.

I am constantly checking myself in this regard. I think the line is stepped over where there is an underlying presumption of inequality versus an understanding of the presence of differences, which is a strange paradox. Treating people as equal and unique is not and should not be construed as an act of kindness, it is an act of justice.

If I fucked this all up please educate and inform me. I do my best with the hope of doing better.

And, by the way, I had forgotten the original definition of boob. Yeah... let me empower you by touching your stupid.

rd84 @ 2008-04-15T08:00:00

2008-04-15T15:00:39Z

rd84 @ 2008-04-14T08:32:00

2008-04-14T15:49:52Z

My Personality


Neuroticism	23
Extraversion	64
Openness to Experience	76
Agreeableness	88
Conscientiousness	85

You rarely get angry and it takes a lot to make you angry, however high levels of stress can lead to you feeling panic or confusion, but usually you cope with day to day pressures. You get overwhelmed by too much noise and commotion and do not like thrill-seeking activities. You prefer facts over fantasy and are more interested in what is happening in the real word. You dislike confrontations and are perfectly willing to compromise or to deny your own needs in order to get along with others, however you are willing to take credit for good things that you do but you don't often talk yourself up much. You take your time when making decisions and will deliberate on all the possible consequences and alternatives.

Take a Personality Test now or view the full Personality Report.

rd84 @ 2008-04-11T14:59:00

2008-04-11T22:08:49Z

When I first started going to school I went to study Bio-medical Engineering. I was very interested in brain machine interfaces (BMI), ways to control electronic devices with interpreted brain activity.

Emotiv Systems has made the gaming device that I imagined being a part of the development for. Called the Emotiv EPOC™ the headset "uses a set of sensors to tune into electric signals naturally produced by the brain to detect player thoughts, feelings and expression." The release is planned for late this year, you can reserve one online for the initial release. Most importantly it will ship with software to map keystroke and mouse commands to interpreted brain activity.

rd84 @ 2008-04-02T13:34:00

2008-04-02T20:53:44Z

A little bit of web history resurfaced yesterday and today. The Game Neverending Prototype, which influenced the creation of Flickr, popped back into existence. It was live back in '02-03. It was in the tradition of MUDs and to my mind represents a solidification of many of the concepts of Web 2.0 just before the technologies appeard, specifically AJAX, that would facilitate the evolution.

All that being said, I was silly happy to see everyone and be back in the game after 5 years. It was an amazing community that loved to play creatively.

And it was soo nice to see my house in Cheerio again...

We met in departures

2008-03-11T17:59:42Z

A large duffel bag hung awkwardly askew across my chest, my messenger bag hung opposite.
In tow was the rest of my belongings in a wheeled suitcase.

Leaving failures behind me
I entered the airport's departures hall.

In a row of seats against the tall glass windows near my airline's check-in desk sat an aging woman.
Paper birds trapped in silent flight hung overhead.
Her hair was now peppered,
her features were now heavy with loss.

She had travelled several hours by bus and train to say goodbye,
again.

A few awkward words were exchanged as I removed my bags,
and we hugged.
Fear, loathing, longing and love welled up.
This moment lived in dreams and nightmares a decade old.

She tried to apologize to the boy I once was,
but for everything that wouldn't matter to a nine year old boy.
She didn't apologize for leaving.

I absolved my mother without giving her forgiveness, explaining
I would not be the person I was in that moment if it was not for the life that lead me to it,
and I realized I liked who I was in that moment.

This is the first time that I've written down an idea and let it evolve over several drafts. I finished this draft yesterday after trying to explain what I like in poetry. I wrote:

My aesthetic for poetry is distinct, subjective, and personal. I usually prefer free verse. I appreciate grand ideas presented with simple language (but there are exceptions). And I am fond of emotionally charged imagery. I don't regard my opinion as being definitive of any widely held aesthetic but just that, an opinion. Which is all to say I know what I like and its very possibly not whats popular.

Compound Sinisoidal Wave

2008-02-10T00:37:48Z

Compound Sinisoidal Wave
Originally uploaded by rogue drone

My latest paper project about 2/5 done. The wave form varies in height based on the sine wave.

Paper mountains

2008-01-29T23:32:27Z

Paper mountains
Originally uploaded by rogue drone

Moose Drool

2007-12-28T23:30:23Z

Moose Drool
Originally uploaded by rogue drone

Moose Drool cans in the ceiling of the food shack at the bottom of chairs 4, 5 and 6 at Mt. Baker

Quarantine

2007-12-23T01:38:06Z

E.T. came to the ginger bread neighborhood...

Weekends

2007-12-18T20:33:09Z

I had a thought and it fell away between the paint cans and their wintry shadows
It was near the ink sketches of intricate leaf patterns
      laced over cartoon tree forests and stick figure animals
      grazing by a fresh mountain stream
Past the twice emptied coffee pot
Found on the backs of breakfast tickets
Below the angsty teen's coffee stained journal
Beyond the solemn lighthouse and misting breakers

Radiators full blast
Sun glaring off lacquered table tops
Even at noon the winter sun casts shadows twice as long as they are tall
      making the scalloped shadows of paint cans
      like the exaggerated eaves of gingerbread houses

The paint project is still on hold
      can't decided between a warm tenuous red and a soft safe yellow.

I truly did have a thought. By the time I had sat down and opened my journal I forgot what it was. And instead of shutting the journal I made a point of writing something down. At first it was a train of thought free write recalling recent memories. Incorporated a few lines from elsewhere in the journal, and by the end I felt catharsis.

I slipped back into a mindset marked with purposeless anxiety about a month ago and I'm only recently finding my way back out. Things like sketching and writing help because I have to let go of so much anxiety just to start. And when I'm done I usually look back and am happy pleased. All the while I've been unsure what to think of, or do, with several friendships/relationships.

I wonder...

2007-12-16T20:39:10Z

Cherish life and live it to the fullest. No regrets.

2007-12-13T06:56:16Z

I left my grandparents house so sad but elated. They are joking about death, but its not that far off. More than anything though, they are happy about the life they have lived and are currently living. They take in stride the struggles that have come their way that are out of their control.

Before getting in the car to leave I told my grandpa that I loved both of them. I don't think I've ever said that to either of them. As I drove away I realized that was only the beginning of what I wanted to say. They mean so much to me. Throughout my life they have been so supportive but never controlling. They have always been available but not invasive. They never had expectations. So many memories to cherish.

It took me so long to get in touch with my grandparents. The guilt and associated anxiety of not keeping in touch made it that much easier to not find time (avoid contact). I'm realizing the guilt serves no purpose.

Roadside blur

Faux aged Mt. Shuksan

City Winter Morning

2007-12-07T16:39:59Z

Seen on my walk to work.

Huh??

2007-12-03T18:46:07Z

LiveJournal sold to Russia's SUP
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7124541.stm

To Russia With Love: Six Apart Casts Off LiveJournal
http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/12/six-apart-casts.html