Cheap hotel rates

I've been surprised how cheap hotel rates are if you do a little research on the Internet. For example I stayed in a new Marriott Springhill Suites in a nice section of northwest Austin for $75 per night. I tried to extend my stay but the Internet rates were no longer available – their cheapest suites were $119. So I did a bit of research and moved into an Extended Stay America suite nearby for $74 per night. The Extended Stay is not as classy as the Marriott Springhill Suite and there are no free newspapers and free breakfast buffet; however, it has an even bigger benefit: free passes to Gold's Gym.

The super cheap Internet rates disappear quickly. I figure the hotels dump rooms onto CheapTickets, Orbitz and the other Internet sites when their occupancy rate drops too low. The advantage is you get a good deal. The disadvantages are they charge your credit card immediately when you accept the reservation rather than when you register at the hotel. And worse – the cancellation policies are really bad. For example, most cancellations or changes made after 4:00 PM local hotel time on the day of arrival are subject to a 100% charge. Still, if your travel plans are firm you can save a lot by using Internet rates.

Chuck is in Austin, Texas

This picture was taken 4-5 miles west of Austin

It was taken from SkyscraperPage.com's Forum > Photography Forum > My City Photos.
For more Austin pictures go to http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=170186

Camp Ford park in Tyler, Texas

During the civil war 5500 prisoners from every Northern State except Delaware and Vermont were imprisoned at Camp Ford. Camp Ford had the distinction of having the most naval prisoners of any camp, north or south. As the highest ranking prisoner in the camp Lt. Col. J. B. Leake of the 20^th Iowa was allowed to have a cabin set at a prime location closest to the spring. The cabin pictured is a reconstruction based on his diary and drawings using materials from the park.

The Old Rock Gym in Winnsboro, Texas

This historical gym, completed in 1939 as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, is one of America's premier examples of WPA depression style construction. It was used for basketball, football field house, band hall and auditorium from 1939-1974. In 1989 it was restored, preserved and passed to future generations as a historical landmark. Each year students gather the 4^th Saturday of October for an all school reunion. Older Winnsboro High School graduates have fond memories of playing basketball, participating in concerts and attending their graduation exercises in the Old Rock Gym.

Texas vs Virginia: the difference

10-15 degrees warmer each day

You always look for a tree to park under

Some of the Texas undercover police vehicles are trucks

About half of the restaurants are Mexican – not bad if you like Mexican food…

Wolf brand chili

Cowboy Churches

Quitman, Texas

After leaving Dallas I will be visiting relatives in Quitman, Texas, a small town in Northeast Texas. It's biggest claim to fame is being the birthplace of actress Sissy Spacek. It is the county seat of Wood County and claims to be the "Big Bass Capital of Texas." Not a bad claim considering that Lake Fork, a nearby 27,690 acre lake built on the Sabine River, holds 15 of the top 20 Texas State Record Largemouth Bass catches.

First round in Internet war goes to Iranian Intelligence

http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1396

Subtitle could be "Welcome to a new type of 21^st century warfare"

Excerpt from article: "Wednesday, June 24, when the extent of the damage the Iranian Internet invasion had inflicted on American interests was brought home to him, US secretary of defense Robert Gates ordered a special cyber defense system set up to protect the US armed forces' 15,000 Web sites, which encompass seven million computers. Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, head of the National Security Agency, was put in charge of getting the new system up and running by the end of 2010.

Tuesday, June 23, a group of US senators led by the Republic presidential candidate John McCain and independent Joe Lieberman initiated legislation to fund a cyber defense system capable of combating Internet assaults like the one mounted by the Iranian government."

First impressions of Dallas

1. It's hot.
   
2. McKinney Avenue is nothing like when I lived there in an apartment in the 1960s. It is now an older upscale neighborhood with lots of new condos and chic restaurants.
   
3. It looks like the first nationwide glimpse of the new Cowboy Stadium will be via American Idol:
   

   http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-idol_scene_0627new.State.Edition1.215de13.html
   

   Now I must cram for my classes next week…

Martie at 5th Street & the Boardwalk, Ocean City, MD

Trimper's Rides & Amusements

According to the National Amusement Park Historical Association Trimper's Rides & Amusements in Ocean City is the oldest continuously owned amusement park in the United States. Trimper's opened in 1890. Trimper's Rides is open again this summer but the future of Trimper's is in doubt. As Ocean City has exploded into a megaresort, property taxes have soared for Trimper's, which operates on the last chunk of undeveloped land on the town's three-mile boardwalk. In the past three years, Trimper family members report that their assessed property tax assessment increased by 163 percent from $29 million to nearly $80 million. As a result, taxes on the property increased from $387,000 in 2004 to a staggering $914,000 in 2007. In addition to property taxes, insurance and energy costs are up. So the Trimpers are facing reality and making the decision each year whether to continue operating the historic amusement park. They are probably holding on because there are efforts to turn the amusement park into a historic district. That would have the effect of freezing the tax assessment at the 2004 rate.

First day at Ocean City

It was a crazy day. Rained all the way from Fairfax to OC. The sun came out soon after I arrived about 3:00 PM so we hit the beach. NOT. Within one hour we had a severe thunderstorm. The rest of the day alternated between sun and thunderstorms. We were under tornado warnings until about 9:00 PM. Tomorrow is supposed to be better.

It has been many years since I have been to OC. Happily some things haven't changed: Trimpers Amusement Park (will do a separate post on Trimpers), Thrashers Fries, Bull on the Beach, Phillips Crab House, Candy Kitchen, the Doughroller, Dumsers Ice Cream Parlors, etc. The clerk at my hotel said the locals preferred Cravens Pit Beef instead of Bull on the Beach for beef and BBQ. I tried it – their beef sandwich was about what I remembered from Bull on the Beach.

Tip for my Fairfax friends heading for OC: Try the Harris Crab House, 433 Kent Narrows Way N, Grasonville, MD. It is about half way to OC and about 10 miles after you cross the bay bridge. It serves all the regular seafood entrees, with an emphasis on blue crab of course. The second floor dining room looks onto the water where you can see the bay bridge and fishing boats crossing paths with luxury yachts that frequently dock at the restaurant.

Famous People Painting

http://cliptank.com/PeopleofInfluencePainting.htm

Subtitle: Painting with Wikipedia Links & Mouse Over Tagging

Thanks to Richard Belt for this incredible link (he was also the source for the "Just For Fun" post). I can't say it better than Richard: "I can't believe how much work has gone into this painting. The painting itself is great but as you run your curser over the people in the painting, it tells you who they are and provides a link (if you double click) to get more information on each person. This could keep you occupied for hours."

Printing New Organs

The US Department of Health and Human Services predicts: "Within 20 years regenerative medicine will be the standard of care for replacing all tissue/organ systems in the body." Work to make this a reality has already begun in the US: http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8366&Section=AGING&source=DHB_090613&key=Body+Title

and Japan: http://technutnews.com/2008/11/04/bio-printing-technology-to-produce-functional-human-organs/

Nanomedicine & Nanorobots

Nanomedicine is the medical application of Nanotechnology. The approaches to nanomedicine range from the medical use of nanomaterials, to nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology in the form of nanorobots. Nanomedicine research is directly funded, with the US National Institutes of Health in 2005 funding a five-year plan to set up four nanomedicine centers. In April 2006, the journal Nature Materials estimated that 130 nanotech-based drugs and delivery systems were being developed worldwide.

Nanorobots: Some medical scientists are researching the possibility of using nanorobots in medicine. Advocates say this would totally change the world of medicine once it is realized. Nanorobots would be introduced into the body to detect or repair damages and infections. Most likely nanorobots would initially be used to monitor body functions and deliver medicines (such as substances used for cancer treatment) with pinpoint accuracy. For more information see Breakthroughs & The Future - Medicine

Windows tips

Using the mouse wheel to zoom: if you have a mouse with a scroll wheel, simply hold down the "Control" key and slide the scroll wheel up to enlarge and down to shrink the window. This feature works with web pages and most applications, including Microsoft Office applications like Word. I know this works with XP and Vista – not sure whether it works with older versions of Windows or not. I use this a lot when viewing newspaper articles on the web. And of course it works on my blog.

Still home in Fairfax – next stop Ocean City, Maryland

Universal ‘Rubik’s Cube’ Could Become Pentagon Shapeshifter

A DARPA project is trying to develop "programmable matter" that can be ordered to "self-assemble or alter their shape, perform a function and then disassemble themselves." One day, that could lead to "morphing aircraft and ground vehicles, uniforms that can alter themselves to be comfortable in any climate, and 'soft' robots that flow like mercury through small openings to enter caves and bunker complexes." A soldier could even reach into a can of unformed goop, and order up a custom-made tool or a "universal spare part."

Intel, which has done a bunch of programmable matter work on its own, is looking beyond those basic steps. Way, way beyond. The malleable stuff could one day "mimic the shape and appearance of a person or object being imaged in real time, and as the originals moved, so would their replicas," according to their website. "These 3D models would be physical entities, not holograms. You could touch them and interact with them, just as if the originals were in the room with you. "

The complete article is available at http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/06/universal-rubiks-cube-could-become-pentagon-shapeshifter

And of course you know that any technology that DARPA develops for our military will inevitably end up in the private sector. That's how we got the Internet and GPS satellites.

Making Water From Thin Air

Aqua Sciences Inc., a company that has developed technology capable of creating water out of thin air nearly anywhere in the world, is now under contract to nourish U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq. The machines reduce the cost of logistical support for supplying water to the troops in Iraq by billions of dollars, said Stuart Roy, spokesman of the DCI Group, Aqua Sciences' public affairs firm.

The cost to transport water by C-17 cargo planes, then truck it to the troops, runs $30 a gallon. The cost, including the machines from Aqua Sciences, is reduced to 30 cents a gallon, Roy said.

Several systems on the market can create water through condensation, but the process requires a high level of humidity. Aqua Sciences' machines only require 14 percent humidity, Roy said. "That's why this technology is superior and why they are getting the contracts."

This solves a BIG PROBLEM for military deployments and emergency operations. And if the technology can be scaled up to factory size I can see it eventually replacing desalinization plants in places like the Middle East.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/01/aqua_sciences_c_1.php

http://www.aquasciences.com/products.html

My favorite Fairfax restaurant

http://www.greatamericanrestaurants.com/coastalfairfax/

Coastal Flats calls itself “A casual 1950s Florida inspired seafood house.” Don’t miss it if you’re ever in Northern Virginia. Great American Restaurants has seven restaurants in Northern Virginia: Artie’s, Coastal Flats, Carlyle, Mike’s American Grill, Sweetwater Tavern, Silverado and Jackson’s. Each has a different theme and menu and they’re all very good.

Just for fun

Pinball - The person who wrote this has too much time on their hands…