Message-ID: <alpine.NEB.2.20.1607031254110.14692@panix3.panix.com>
From: Alan Sondheim <sondheim@panix.com>
To: Cyb <cybermind@listserv.wvu.edu>, Wryting-L <WRYTING-L@listserv.wvu.edu>
Subject: Roadtrip! Big data synthetics!
Date: Sun, 3 Jul 2016 12:57:50 -0400 (EDT)
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.