Month: January 2006

Alaska

Augustine Updates

There have been three more eruptions so far today and the status has been moved back up from “orange” to “red”.

From the Alaska Volcano Observatory Augustine Eruption Page:

January 13, 2006
Level of Concern Color Code: RED

Several explosive events occurred at Augustine Volcano this morning: at approximately 3:55 AM AST (13:24 UTC); 8:47 AM AST (17:47); and 11:22 AM AST (20;22). Pilot reports and satellite imagery confirm ash clouds in excess of 30,000 ft above sea level moving eastward. Seismic data suggest that pyroclastic flows and lahars (volcanic mudflows) are occurring on the flanks of the island and possibly extending beyond.

Similar short-lived explosive activity is expected to continue over the next several days or weeks. Individual explosions are expected to produce ash plumes accompanied by pyroclastic flows and lahars (volcanic mudflows) on the flanks of the volcano.

More information is also available at National Weather Service, Anchorage Forecast Office – Augustine Coordination.

2DL

Finally got some samples up

I finally got around to uploading some samples from the first released 2DL album for Now

Since the fastest upstream rate I can get here without going to a managed T1 (why, oh why, can’t I get an unmanaged T1 here?) is 360kbps the files are in lower quality MP3 and limited to only the first two minutes of each song. They are, however, decent enough to give you an idea of what we (2DL) are doing.

To access the samples go to http://www.evardsson.com/blog/2dl/ and check them out.

I do ask that you are gentle on my server, though, for the reasons listed above.

Alaska

Augustine Eruption

Mt. Augustine started spitting ash this morning, as we all knew it would. (Details available at The Alaska Volcano Observatory.)

Currently all the ash is staying East of Anchorage, but if the wind shifts we’ll get plenty. That may mean a long day or night for me and my co-workers as we power off every piece of equipment with a fan or moving parts, bag all the servers and PCs and seal the server rooms and wire closets with plastic sheeting.

In case you were unaware, volcanic ash is actually tiny pieces of glass and it can do serious damage to electronics, glass, cds, car paint jobs, your lungs, ad infinitum.

Python

My First PyBlosxom Plugin!

Ok, ok, I know. It’s not a big deal. But it is to me!

I have been looking all over for the amazingly elusive breadcrumbs plugin for PyBlosxom
and found it nowhere. So, having the kind of attitude I do, I decided to try my hand at it. You can see the results in action on this site.

Prior to now, all the Python coding I had done was directly related to either server maintenance or parsing large text files.

If you would like a copy of my breadcrumbs implementation you can download it here.

Writings

Procrastination vs. Brain Breaks

Why is it that when things really get busy you find yourself thinking about everything but the task at hand? You have to wonder, are there still vestiges of teenage procrastination (the “I-can-get-it-done-any-time” syndrome) lingering about.

Perhaps the real reason is that after working long hours on a project, any project, the brain just needs to rest. Perhaps, just like those long sets at the gym that leave your muscles feeling bloodless and dead, long bouts of intellectual strain leave you brain-tired.

BREAK

I happen to think that may be closer to the truth. I have put in many long hours trying to get this site up and functional, and it has already been through several iterations, software-wise, to get to the point it is now (about 50%, functionally speaking.)

There are lots of other things I want to implement here, but am finding it hard at the moment to sit and concentrate on coding. So, I guess this is as good a time as any to throw some content up in the writings section, and to test the readmore functionality while I am at it.

Once I have this up and have taken a brain break, (I think a stupid movie may be in order), I will have to get back on what I am doing.