Krispy Kreme Challenge 2012
[singlepic id=7291 w=320 h=240 float=right]The premise sounds simple - run from the belltower at NC State to the Krispy Kreme eat a dozen doughnuts and return in under an hour. Approximate distance 5 miles give or take. This isn't the first time we're been to or participated in the challenge and while it is much harder than it sounds - it is likely the most fun race in Raleigh. Congrats to Mark, EdG, Eileen/iLean, BobG 11.75, Zach, Nick, Lisa, Bentley, the rest of the DC crew and anyone else I may have missed that we saw. Special congrats to those runners ...
Rembrandt in America at the NC Museum of Art
The Rembrandt in America exhibit at the NC Museum of Art uses the slogan "You know the name. Now find out why." And much in the same way that I had heard of Genghis Khan I could have told you very little about our other museum guest in the city. Namely he may have been French (not true) and he didn't have a Ninja Turtle named after him (this one is true). Rembrandt in America is the largest collection of Rembrandt paintings ever presented in an American exhibition and the first major exhibition to explore in depth the collecting history of ...
Genghis Khan at NC Museum of Natural Sciences
[singlepic id=7209 w=320 h=240 float=right]The name Genghis Khan is probably a familiar one even if you don't know who he was exactly. Before going to the exhibit at the NC Museum of Natural Science I had a very vague idea of who Genghis Khan was and something of a concept of who he was historically but knew very little about the role he played in history. Genghis Khan is famous as the ruthless Mongol warlord who conquered half the known world. Under his rule, the Mongol Empire grew to be four times the size of the Roman Empire at its largest ...
| BobG on Our float needs a theme… | I drive a Dodge Stratus !!! | [READ MORE] |
| Anthony on Guess (Photo from BobG) | I assume you are speaking from personal experience? | [READ MORE] |
| BobG on Guess (Photo from BobG) | that's cuz when idiots get locked up there, they're gonna yell "DAMN!" | [READ MORE] |
| Nick on Guess (Photo from BobG) | Well I would have never guessed that. It really does look like a dam though. | [READ MORE] |
| BobG on Guess (Photo from BobG) | Wow that took a while. (yes, thats what she said...) This is from the 10th floor of the current Wake Co ... | [READ MORE] |
So I came close to leaving the Android fold and joining Apple with an iPhone from Sprint. (Largely a result of how much I like the iPad.) Instead I opted for the longest named phone I could possibly find with the Samsung Galaxy S ll, Epic 4G Touch which since it isn’t named iPhone isn’t running on iOS. This may come as a surprise since I already had an Android phone but the system took a couple of days to figure out. More than I would have expected but most of the changes/updates are really great and the overall speed of the phone is beyond impressive. Phones and Android operating system have come a long way since my Hero HTC.
First impression? It is really large – much larger than I thought I would like. That being said the graphics are unreal, the speed is great and the overall product is fun and easy to use. Added bonus? It does a great job as a phone. I’ve been able to do everything with I have wanted and have learned a lot about the limitations of my previous device.
The deciding factors – the iPhone has no free driving/GPS app, Siri – while cool isn’t exactly what I had hoped with in store testing, cost – the iPhone was more than I wanted to pay, the battery is replaceable (no battery lasts well after a year much less a two-year contract), memory is cheaper (I added 32GB for less than the jump from 8GB to 16GB on the iPhone and the phone started with 16GB internal memory) and full Google integration doesn’t really happen on iOS.
What I would like to fix – the phone will not let you turn off the shutter sound on the camera. Great camera but it is LOUD. Otherwise? Not much but I will report back as I use it more and experience more of what the phone does and doesn’t. The device didn’t ship with Ice Cream Sandwich and is running Gingerbread. I’m not sure if it will get or if it can handle the upgrade but I am happy with how it is running and don’t think ICS has significant enough changes to be a huge problem if it comes or a huge loss if it doesn’t get ported out to my phone.
Best line of the shopping experience (rough quote) “The iPhone is for people who don’t understand smart phones – an Android a is a smart phone for a smart user.” I don’t know that I agree 100% but I do think that the one thing you give up with an iPhone is anything that adjusts the system. You can’t change the keyboard to swype (which is awesome) and you can’t add a widget to the home screens (which is unfortunate). I don’t think you lose either way but am definitely happy with my purchase no matter how long Sprint makes the name.
On the 22nd day of the Advent Calendar we got an A-wing (or RZ-1 A-wing interceptor) to go with our X and Y wings and you can see much like the others this one resembles the letter A if you look at it top down. I won’t go into the issues of English/Latin Alphabet again but you know where I stand on it.
The RZ-1 A-wing interceptor was a starfighter designed by the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War. One of the fastest mass-produced interceptors in the known galaxy, the A-wing was even faster than the Imperial’s TIE Interceptor. [SOURCE]
This was the “sports car” of the starfighter world. It was never a favorite but much like Chewbacca I imagine this ship landed in a lot of people’s top five or at least their top ten. Only two days left.
Twas four days before Christmas and hush fell on the crowd. Could it be? Why yes it is. The most famous starship in the galaxy. (He said twas.)
The Millennium Falcon became famous as the personal smuggling starship of Han Solo and Chewbacca. It began life as a standard Corellian Engineering Corporation YT-1300 stock light freighter. Eventually it was won by Solo from Lando Calrissian in the Cloud City Sabacc Tournament. Throughout its operational lifetime, the ship endured many adventures and upgrades which led to its dilapidated exterior appearance. Under both Calrissian and Solo, it played a vital role in the Galactic Civil War and later conflicts. [SOURCE]
This is my favorite ship in Star Wars – I’m glad it was in the Advent Calendar and plan on putting it right in line with my other two when Christmas is over.
Verb: Be unsuccessful in achieving one’s goal: “he failed in his attempt to secure election”.
Noun: A grade that is not high enough to pass an examination or test.
Ran across this today and it was a great reminder of why I don’t do any of the things shown in this video. Sure it may look like fun but my guess is it will hurt like hell the next day. Enjoy.
Yesterday was the TIE Pilot and today we a Twin Ion Engine (TIE) starfighter.
Ships in the TIE series were usually armed with one or more laser cannons. More advanced fighters were equipped with a variety of warhead launchers, and the TIE Avenger and TIE Defender could be fitted with a small-scale tractor beam. [SOURCE]
We are in the home stretch. Christmas is coming soon…