Recycled Electrons - Blog of Keith Horowitz

I found something different today moon.google.com Like Google maps , but showing the moon landings. I was curious if I could see any signs of human activity at the closest zoom - don't miss it!

I am in the process of making a group for geocaching in the Colorado Springs area: Pikes Peak Geocaching I know, not very original, but it describes things decently. I like it better than Southern Colorado Geocaching. Right now, I'm just trying to get a group get-together going for next month. So far, the response has been very positive from other local geocachers I've emailed with in the last few days. The first challenge is finding a place to meet. If nothing else, we can always descend on the food court of the Northern Mall. I was hoping for something a little more conducive to pleasant conversation. So that may mean finding a restaurant. But that then puts an obligation to pay for food to the attendees. I would prefer not to do that for the first meeting. If all goes well, I may try to turn it into a more formal group - like they have up in Denver. We will have to see. If nothing else, it is something more to do with my Geocaching obsession. To the end of the meet ...

So Christmas day Sunday, but we don't do Christmas. And a day off Monday. No real plans until Sunday evening for Channukah. My toe finally feels well enough for a hike. Blodgett Peak has been calling to me for months - especially since I learned there was a geocache on top. So I get up a bit early - early for a day off from work - and head out for a hike. I don't know how far I'll get - but I want to at least get to the top of Blodgett Peak. I've got about 8 geocaches I can try for, depending on how I do. A couple are up in Pike National Forrest, past Blodgett Peak. It is slower going than I expected. I spend more time than I wanted looking for the first 4 geocaches - I only found 2 of them. The trail is Icy and muddy. It is not a great trail - it is not well prepared like the trail going up Pikes Peak. It is very easy to lose the trail - subtle paths seem to go off in many directions. In many places, the trail seems to go up very steep, loose gravel. Step...

This weekend we went to the Light Zoo in town. It was snowing, as it had for over a day, lightly, and one of the sets of friends who was supposed to go with us wimped out. It was cold - but we were smart enough to bring along hot chocolate, so that helped. It was fun to go to again. It seemed like there were a few more lights, but a few less electric animals.

I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I've been reading it to my eldest son for the last month or so. A half-chapter or a whole chapter a night, a couple of times a week. We got near the end last night. So tonight I started reading a little early. Luckily, they are off school, so he was able to stay up a little later so we could finish the book. I won't say much about it, to avoid spoiling it for anyone. I enjoyed reading/listening to the earlier books. This is the first one I've read. I must say, I do not like the writing style for reading out loud. Almost all the cues for character and intonation come halfway through a quote, or at the end. Very hard to know how to read a line. I must imagine that the people who make the professional recordings must have to pre-read and re-read a lot to get it right.

I like popcorn. Microwave popcorn is fine by me, but I prefer the light popcorn. The regular is too greasy. But when I'm at work, I like a mini-packs - I don't need a full regular-sized bag. But they don't sell light-minis. I wish they did. So I have to eitehr get the minis or the light. Greasy, but the right amount, or the right flavor/texture, but too much for an afternoon snack. I supposed I could just eat some of the regular-sized, light bag. But when the popcorn is there, it is hard to resist finishing it. Dangerous food! Popcorn manufacturers: I want light, mini microwave packs!

Yesterday I dropped my Palm PDA into water. It flickered on and off. The screen got this glitch that spread out from the middle. Eventually it turned off and would not turn back on. I dried it as quickly as I could. I spent a bunch of time opening it up so I could dry out the insides. It was really hard to open, as the screws were this special hex screws. I managed to work them out with my Swiss army knife. But it seems it was too late. I could not get it to work. I am not sure it is worth having it repaired. I looked online for a new cheap palm. But the one that was on sale a year ago, with MP3 playback ability, was sold out everywhere. It looks like I'd have to pay at least twice as much for a Palm with MP3. The one I killed didn't have MP3, but I'm determined to have MP3 in my next one. And I use my palm a lot - for tracking my hours at work at a minimum. So I'm feeling kind of lost without it. But E-Bay to the rescue! Same model as the one from last y...