The Alan Sondheim Mail Archive

Roadtrip! Big data synthetics!


http://www.alansondheim.org/bctrip0730.jpg
http://www.alansondheim.org/tripsofar.mp4 (new additions)

Some states - Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland,
Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Idaho, North
Carolina, Georgia, Wyoming, Missouri, Washington, Oregon, New
Mexico, Colorado, Utah, British Columbia, Alabama, Kentucky,
Tennessee.

Sleep: Our sleep's constantly thrown off, since we've started
driving any time between midnight and 7 in the morning. I drive
far too bleary sometime; neither of us really sleep when we're
on the move.

Moving: We're going only between six and eleven hours a day when
we're traveling.

Total distance we will have covered: approx. 10000 miles. Total
distgance we've covered to date: approx. 7800 miles. Average
mpg: 33.4-33.7 (varying). Oil down: 90%-40%. Car: 2013 Honda
Fit. Color (in case you pass us, in case we pass you): "midnight
plum."

Probable dates: May 13 (leaving at midnight); returning around
the third week of July.

Total cost: Too much!

Speed: Between 0 and 92 (mistake! slow up!) mph. usually we
average around 60-63mph. Sometimes reverse 1-2 mph!

Food: As much vegetarian as possible. We travel with vegetarian
BLTs, trailmix, a lot of fruit, coffee and teas; we stop between
one and a half and three hours throughout.

Atmosphere: We use an in-car humidifier to keep the instruments
and ourselves comfortable; we also have a hygrometer/thermometer
for measurements. The temperature varies between 62 and 82F; the
humidity between 17 (very rare) and 60% it's usually at 35-40%.
We also have various windowshades, and whitesheets/reflective
surfaces to use.

Motels: Pendleton, Ellensburg, Bellingham, Ferguson, somewhere
in North Carolina, Boise, so far.

Cities: Atlanta, Denver, Las Cruces, Salt Lake City, Omaha,
Victoria.

Some animals: Mule deer, wolf spiders, various prairie dogs,
camels, antelope, bison, sandhill cranes, limpets, bald eagles,
banana slugs (black), dark-eyed juncos, ferruginous hawks,
Swainson's hawks, coots, great blues, snow geese, Gambrel's
quail, jack rabbits, road runners, swifts, yellow-headed
blackbirds, swallows, double-crested cormorants, magpies,
mockingbirds, robins, doves, Mesilla wasps, otters, seals, sea
urchins, mosquitoes, crows, ravens, vultures, humans.

Some plants: red cedar, spruce, juniper, monkeypuzzle tree,
ocotillo, opuntia of various sorts, teddy-bear cholla, jumping
cholla, saguaro, daisies, wild roses, pecan trees, walnut trees,
pistachio trees, cotton, creosote, sagebrush.

Performances: Atlanta (improvisation, talk), Victoria (talk,
improvisation, talk).

Weather: Mostly cool or cold out through Victoria and back
through Washington, very hot, sometimes stormy otherwise.

Television show locations: Roslyn (Northern Exposure), North
Bend and Snoqualmie Falls (Twin Peaks).

Dangers: Bad hail, thick fogs, thunderstorms, high winds on the
high plains, parts flying off cars and a car trailer, mid-air
trashcan, coyote, bubbled tire (hit by piece of metal flying
from a car ahead).

Escapes: So far we've hit nothing and nothing has hit us.

Unusual sites: Pelican over the desert, largest chiton species
in the world, limestone shore outcroppings, world's biggest
world.

Sicknesses: Occasional food issues, migraines, carpal tunnel
pains, headaches, dizziness, mostly brought on by changing diets
and pollens, changing sleep habits and accompanying exhaustion.

Friends: Too many friends and relatives and friends of relatives
and relatives of friends to thank, along the way, wonderful
experiences (except for one), and we've made it so far!

Drivers: myself and Azure; in Victoria, my brother Mark, and in
Colorado/New Mexico, Azure's father Jim Carter as well. Other
shorter trips with others - we thank everyone!

Musical instruments: Traveling with viola, cura saz, shakuhachi,
clarinet; on the way picking up 1870s giraffe banjo, 1926 Hohner
echo harmonica, small Albanian cifteli, flute (needs work).

Media: 2008 stills kept, approx. 50 videos, 20-30 audios;
approx. 50-60 books including Catlin's vol 2 of his European
journey with Native Americans; the Blue Annals (Tibetan
history), D. A. Levy's collected works, mathematics and physics
books, and approx. 20-30 cds.

Institutions: DHSI, ELO, Eyedrum, CDC museum/gallery.

Beaches: Point-No-Point, Botanical, bit of shore below Dan's and
Amie's.

Maximum elevation: 8640' / 9000'+ (inconclusive).

Traveling with: Sony still/video camera; Alienware and ASUS
gaming machines; Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon; Nook and Kindle;
binoculars; Zoom 2hn and 4hn recorders; Sony audio note
recorder; 1 terabyte external harddrive; various flashdrives;
various connectors; medications; a piece of marble from my
parents' coffeetable; a Remington antique typewriter; offline
cellphones; portable hotspot; various drink containers;
blankets; and us.