[Michael] got his hands on a refrigerator that he intended to store beer in but found that it ran constantly. Instead of buying a new thermostat he and his friend [Doug] set out to build an Arduino-based controller for the fridge.

The finished project will switch 240v so they’ve used a transformer to power the logic circuitry and a solid state relay to handle the load switching, with a Dallas 1820 for temperature data. Because the Arduino offers more capabilities than the average thermostat hack they also decided to tap into its potential by adding an Ethernet shield. We see the Arduino as a prototyping device and so do these folks. Once the bugs in their first PCB prototype are worked out the circuit will use the ATmega328 and do away with the Arduino.

[via @littlebirdceo]

After months of promoting the race, I was excited to partake in this event. My youngest son Chito studies in Shine Intervention, a school in Kapitolyo specializing in educating children with special needs.

Since Shine was one of the prime supporters of the Let it Shine Foundation, Chito’s school was naturally turned into a channel to market Race & Shine, a fundraising event to raise funds for the foundation.

Let it Shine Foundation is one of the few groups setting up research for the creation and sustainability of VOCATIONAL PROGRAMS for individuals with autism to provide them the equal opportunity to work and earn. The foundation created a research team to evaluate which jobs are best suitable for individuals with autism. This research will hopefully lead to the creation of a variety of therapy programs that will develop the skills necessary for them to work independently.  Information from this research will be shared to all schools and centers that cater to individuals with Autism. For more information, please contact the foundation at 218-2362/ 0920-9244282 or email shine.foundation@gmail.com. More Information on our foundation may be found on:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/LET-IT-SHINE-FOUNDATION/128336142230.

As soon as I found out about the race, I immediately spread the news to family and friends. I wanted to make sure the event would be a successful one as I believe in the cause that the event was supporting.

Registration

After helping friends to register, I realized that I haven’t registered myself and my family! With the race just 6 days away, on the morning of the Pacquiao-Cotto fight, I immediately took the kids to Libis to register in All Terra, Club 650. I chose to the 3k relay so Chito and Ben can run as well. I was pleasantly surprised to have received great quality singlets for this race. Too bad they didn’t have extra, extra small for Chito. That would have been really cute J

Race Day

Chito had a bout of cough and Noy felt that we shouldn’t push through with the run L After convincing him that our baby will be fine, we started to get ready. Our 3k relay would start at 7am. We were just leaving the house at 645am. Crap! We’re late again! I really hate being late during races. I lose all motivation to finish strong. Then again, this was about the boys running their first race not about me beating my PR. I had planned to let Ben run the 1^st km, Chito with daddy the next and I would finish the remaining 1k. When we got to the venue, the race hasn’t started yet (Relief!)

waiting for the race to start

3k relay here we come!

Chito was starting to become anxy, he actually wanted to cross the starting line, away from the crowd, as soon as we got to the venue.  Thankfully the host started to prepare the 3k runner after about 15mins or so of waiting.

8,9,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 and off we go!

run chito run!

I decided to let Chito and daddy start the relay run, since my little one has very little patience. It was a good call as we found ourselves running with his favorite teachers. Chito sprinted the 1^st 50m but decided to walk when he found himself amidst a sea of runners (more of a pond of runners J). He then was cajoled into continuing his run but after 200m, he decided he had enough and sat in the middle of the road. Good thing Teacher Jaybee was there and he helped motivate Chito to continue his run/walk pace until the finish line. I took tons of pictures of Chito and Daddy while walking under the warm sun. After about 900m (was wearing my trusty Garmin J), we finally saw the finish line but Chito was growing tired, he wanted daddy to carry him. Noy instead ran ahead and pushed Chito to run towards the finish. I must say, he’s a natural. Hand in hand, my beloved Chito and Daddy Noy crossed the finish line marking my baby’s 1^st road race.

i will be a future hardcore runner (mommy wishes)

i'm tired!

finally! the finish line!

i finished my part

Now it was my 12 year old’s turn. I decided to join him for his part of the relay. I still remember the 1^st time Ben ran with me and Noy. We convinced him to join us for a short run to Greenhills from home. If he can run/walk 5k, 1k shouldn’t be hard for him. I was right. He just breezed through it with sprinting pace.

My share of the relay race was uneventful. I was photographed close up by FPS and I looked bloated. Not my best picture. Noy tried to take a picture of me as I crossed the finish line but he was about to just take a millisec video. Oh well, again…it wasn’t about me.

I saw a few running peers supporting the race, Sam (the running Ninja), Sir Mon of Happy Feet, Roselle (the Running Diva). Thank you so much for being there! J

We capped off the morning by driving thru Mcdonald’s and grabbing breakfast. The free breakfast was not enough for my 2 growing boys (Daddy and Ben).

happiness!

I look forward to another race with my family.

Keep running! No barriers…

Today, I went to see the Olympic Torch relay at 5:45pm.

Torch; bus train; random peoples; bus train

Yeah. Then, I went to the mall to get KFC (which is wtf because why did I have to go to the mall to get KFC?) I got Dairy Queen’s Brownie Explosion thing too. Yeah. Fat.

My bro and I, munching on some KFC

My Bro and I, again.

So... Fat........ Brownies, soft serve icecream, hot fudge, and vanilla fudge....

Okay. Great. Now for some random pictures:

The bubble wrap dress I'm working on for Textiles. This is a really old picture, because I've basically finished most of this dress by now. More pictures after break.

LULU'S PENCIL POUCH THAT IS A KAT. WOW.

The day after the electricity outage day at school (which is also the day after I heard from Cornell), I tripped in the art room and SCRATCHED MY Coey BRAND SHOES.)

This was really cool. The payphone at the mall had a keyboard in it for TEXTING. I mean, TEXTING. wow.

Well, I have been very busy building a photocell relay box to evaluate for work. Photos of it are up on deviantart if you want to have a look. It’s not completed yet as I still need a few odds and ends to go with it. I need to purchase a DIN relay holder and a DIN relay with a 240v coil to make the relay. I also plan to add a weatherproof toggle switch to override the photocell, energising the relay coil straight away to allow lights to be switched on during the day. This is so that it will be very handy for engineers to test group switched lanterns easily. The relay box will make it easy to group switch street lights on telegraph poles or lights on buildings as one box is only needed.

Also, additional ’slave’ relays can be connected to the output of this photocell relay box to switch a second group of lights on as well. The photocell relay box is the central control source, allowing plenty of lights to be switched off one sensor, which isn’t normally common with telegraph pole lighting. I reckon it’s a very good idea and it saves a lot of wiring to be done, and saves a lot of time as well.

This relay box will be very handy for switching especially high-powered lightning loads. It’s handy to switch on a group of combined sodium, metal halide, mercury vapour, fluorescent and regular tungsten/halogen and even energy efficient CFL lamps.

Junior Quiz – Crusade Prelims:

You can view the question paper online, here; or as a viewing document, on Scribd (you can download a .txt or .doc from there as well). You can also download a .pdf format of the same, from here.

Senior Quiz – Crusade Prelims:

You can view the question paper online, here; or as a viewing document, on Scribd (you can download a .txt or .doc from there as well). You can also download a .pdf format of the same, from here.

Mathematical Relay:

You can view the question paper online, here; or as a viewing document, on Scribd (you can download a .txt or .doc from there as well). You can also download a .pdf format of the same, from here.

Junior Surprise Event:

You can view the question paper online, here; or as a viewing document, on Scribd (you can download a .txt or .doc from there as well). You can also download a .pdf format of the same, from here.

Oakville residents are going to be able to experience the Olympic spirit first-hand tomorrow as the Olympic Flame makes its journey across Canada to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games.

“The town is proud to have the Olympic torch pass through Oakville on its long journey to Vancouver,” Councillor Tom Adams said. “The Olympic spirit is alive and well here, and we’re excited to welcome the torch on December 19.”

The Town of Oakville is one of 1,000 Canadian communities the Olympic Torch will pass through on its way to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The torch will arrive in Oakville on Saturday, December 19, 2009.  The relay route through Oakville will follow along Lakeshore Road from Southdown Road to Dorval Drive. Oakville residents are encouraged to come out for this exciting, historic event and show support for Canada by wearing red and white.

Let’s show Canada and the world that national pride burns bright here in Oakville!

“As a community that is a passionate and proud supporter of recreational sports in Oakville we hope the torch will inspire all our athletes to reach for their dreams,” added Adams. “After all, the young athletes of today may be the Olympians of tomorrow.”

Oakville is the hometown of several outstanding Olympians, from Larry Cain to Donovan Bailey to Adam VanKouverden.

Source: Olympic Torch Relay Interactive Map

For more information visit the Olympic Torch Relay web page.

I am home. Which is nice.

I was also quite sad to leave South Africa. Which is not so nice.

The last two weeks in the country were a lot of fun. I met my parents in Cape Town and we had a lovely, wee holiday there and in the surrounding area. Seeing beautiful sights, eating lovely food and defending the awesomeness of Jozi to small-town Western Capers were amongst the many joys, and I’ll post some highlights in the next few days.

The trip home was predictably long – though made better by the fact that I had company (the ‘rents) and only two hours in Dubai (as opposed to the eight hour wait on previous trips). We landed in Newcastle and I remembered how cold winter is and I really quite wanted to fly back to sunshine and 30 degrees. But then I got home, saw my sisters, my nephew, my youngest niece, and my soon-to-be brother-in-law, went to church, had a lovely dinner, and got to sleep in my own bed again – and things rather improved.

Off to London today for a Relay reunion tomorrow. But for now just trying to get used to the differences.

In summary: glad to be back. But cold.

These are some amazing pictures of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. From The Big Picture blog.

A lot of pictures here, each telling a small story within a much larger story…

Author : KANDHITO, BONDAN

Kestabilan supply listrik dalam suatu sistem rangkaian listrik sangat diperlukan. Adanya gangguan dalam supply listrik dapat mempengaruhi bahkan merusak suatu sistem rangkaian listrik. Gangguan yang dapat terjadi antara lain adalah adanya under voltage atau over voltage. Salah satu cara untuk mengatasi hal tersebut adalah dengan menggunakan alat pengaman yaitu relay. Relay ini digunakan untuk mendeteksi adanya under voltage atau over voltage. Output dari relay dapat dihubungkan pada rangkaian pemutus (circuit breaker/CB) untuk memutuskan aliran listrik jika terjadi gangguan. Relay yang dirancang bertujuan untuk mendeteksi adanya under voltage atau over voltage pada tegangan 3 phasa 220/380 V 50 Hz. Setting tegangan referensi ? 20 % dan setting waktu ls – 20s. Perancangan alat ini meliputi 2 bagian yaitu relay dan power supply. Dari hasil pengujian yang dilakukan, relay yang dirancang dapat bekerja dengan baik. Relay dapat mendeteksi adanya gangguan under/over voltage sesuai dengan setting tegangan dan setting waktu yang ditentukan. Pada pengujian rangkaian power supply tidak berhasil. Hal ini karena power supply dirancang secara linier mode sehingga menghasilkan daya yang besar. Daya yang besar menyebabkan panas yang berlebih sehingga rangkaian terbakar.

Keyword : under voltage, over voltage, relay, power supply

Sumber : http://repository.petra.ac.id/1650/

The Olympic Torch Relay for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver passed within 100 metres of our house and unknown to us beforehand it was a transition point for passing the flame from one participant to the next.

Web site: www.robhuntley.ca
Click on the image to go straight to the same image on my website.

I think it’s fair to say the last month may have been the busiest of my entire life!  Sheffield Hallam CU Houseparty in the Peak District, the Biblical Evangelism Conference in Ledbury (including a rather amusing road trip…), Hallam CU events, a whole week helping at Leeds Uni CU events week and Relay training days … and all that on top of my normal study and general Relay life! It’s been tiring but GREAT! When I got back to church on Sunday it felt like I’d suddenly woken up from a dream that’d taken me half way around the world!

I’ve been learning so much and have been doing things I never thought I’d do in a million years – like answering ridiculously hard questions, giving talks and such like. Crazy! I knew Relay was going to involve doing lots of things I’ve never done before, but still it’s so good to see how God takes us and gently teaches and shapes us, helping us grow. I’m finally getting away from being the secretly terrified little blonde girl and am becoming something else, without even realising it half the time.

There’s still a long way to go and I have many things to learn, and am grateful that God is a good and loving God and that ‘He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart’ (Is 40:11).

When I first arrived in Paris and felt terrified I read that verse and it was a real comfort to me. It still is. I’ve come a long way since then, but I am still a helpless lamb that needs the shepherd. Praise God for his grace and that he is so good, gentle and patient with us!

By Rev. Ed Hird

2010 has almost arrived!  A new Olympic Year is virtually with us. Vancouverites have put tremendous energy into the 2010 Olympics.   With just over one month to go, the lengthy preparations have indeed been a marathon.

The world’s most famous Olympic race is the marathon.  The original Battle of the Marathon in 490 B.C was just twenty-two miles from embattled Athens.  A Greek soldier ran all the way, day and night, to Athens to give his dying words: “Rejoice. We have conquered”. 

In 1896, the modern-day Olympics were revived in Greece, spreading throughout the globe.  Each one of us in our own way is running an Olympic marathon every day of our life. The Bible tells us: “Run with patience the race set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1)  Dr. William Barclay commented: “It is easy to begin the race of life but hard to finish. The one thing necessary for life is staying-power, and that is what so many people lack.  It was suggested to a certain very famous man that his biography should be written while he was still alive.  He absolutely refused to give permission, and his reason was: ‘I have seen so many men fall out at the last lap.’  It is easy to wreck a noble life or a fine record by some closing foolishness.”

There will be many gold medals won in another month, hopefully a good number by Canadian athletes.  Winning is exciting.  Many athletes realize that the Olympics are about more than gold, more than just winning.  Olympics co-founder Pierre de Coubertin, inspired by a sermon at St. Paul’s

Pierre De Courbertin

Cathedral in London, wrote the following ‘creed’ for the Olympics: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”  The Christian community in Greater Vancouver has come together for the Olympics across denominational and ethnic barriers to affirm that life is about more than gold.  You can learn from Ryan Walter, Assistant Coach for the Vancouver Canucks about the More Than Gold Olympic outreach by dialing into http://morethangold.ca  The wider Christian community is committed to playing its part in truly welcoming the world to Vancouver.  Many athletes are sharing their experiences of what it is like to win medals, and what is worth more than gold to them. You can watch them online at http://beyondtheultimate.org

Probably one of the most famous ‘Olympic runners’ is the apostle Paul, a former Rabbi who was knocked off his horse while racing to Damascus, Syria. He often used Olympic Marathon language to communicate his heart: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown of laurel that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly…” (1 Corinthians 9:24-26). 

Paul’s dying words were profoundly Olympic: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” As Bishop Michael Baughen depicts it,

“The relay runner is pounding round the track, using every ounce of energy, heading for the hand-over point.  Ahead of him is the next runner in the relay, feet beginning to move in anticipation, eyes on the runner coming towards him,  his hand now outstretched to take the baton at the appropriate moment and then to run and run, while the man he took the baton from collapses breathless on to the grass.  Paul is pounding towards the end.”

The Vancouver Olympics will come in like a storm and then be gone.  The Gold medals will soon be a distant memory. The lasting question is how your daily marathon is doing? Are you stretching each day towards the finish line?  Are you running the race of life in such a way as to get the prize? Life is truly about more than gold. 

My prayer for this Olympic time is that the love of God will pour through us in the gift of hospitality so that the world will come to know the prize that lasts forever.

Rev Ed Hird, Rector

St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver

Anglican Coalition in Canada

http://www.stsimonschurch.ca

-an article for the January 2010 Deep Cove Crier

-author of the award-winning Battle for the Soul of Canada

http://www.battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com

Mark your calendars for Stanford’s Relay for Life on May 15th-16th, 2010 from 10am to 10am at The Track!

Relay For Life is a fundraiser that benefits the American Cancer Society. It is a 24-hr event walkathon where members form teams and take turns walking around a track. The event will feature live music, food, and an epic camp out! Start a team and spend an amazing weekend with your friends!

Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back.

Join our Facebook group here.

GEICO offers many rewarding and stable careers in Sales, Customer Service, Claims, Auto Damage, Service, Property & Casualty, Business Administration, and other fields and provide leadership programs, summer internships, and training, more info at http://www.geico.jobs.

What you’ll find here:

• Video Profile of jobs at GEICO
• Summary of the job
• Tanscrip of the video
• Keywords that may be helpful in your other searchs

Summary:
GEICO is one of the largest private passenger auto insurers in the U.S. and is owned by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. Established in 1936, GEICO has a base of 8.5 million policy holders that is steadily growing. We are the fastest growing insurer in the U.S., and with that growth comes career advancement for our associates. Jobseekers at any level should consider joining our team. Our reputation for stability, growth, and excellent customer service is well earned, and our consideration extends not only to our policyholders but also to our employees and communities. We’re currently seeking applicants for GEICO careers at offices throughout the United States, and you can find current openings in your area at http://www.geico.jobs. We seek out positive “people” people who are comfortable interacting with and helping others every day-including GEICO customers, and associates on the GEICO team. Our goal is to provide low-cost insurance without sacrificing high-quality customer care. As a company, GEICO is focused on people. In fact, our first operating principal is to show respect toward our associates by providing them opportunities to advance and grow within our company. With the help of the guidance and feedback our managers provide and the work-related training we provide to our associates, hardworking GEICO employees can pursue multiple career paths within GEICO over a long period of time without ever leaving the company. In addition, we concentrate on diversity in the workplace and feel that it’s important to give back to our communities through work with charities such as United Way and Habitat for Humanity. Visit us at http://www.geico.jobs today, and see which GEICO career opportunities await you.

Transcript:

SPEAKER: GEICO has developed itself as being the new thing.

SPEAKER: Every time our marketing team comes out with a new marketing campaign, it’s always like the number one talked about advertisement on TV or the radio.

SPEAKER: GEICO is a household name. Everybody knows the GEICO Gecko. They think I come to work with the Gecko each day.

SPEAKER: That just opens the door though for our customers. And once they call us, they see that we’re not just commercials, we’re not just entertainment, we’re a solid professional insurance company.

SPEAKER: GEICO is the fastest growing insurance company in the industry.

SPEAKER: We are in a period of enormous business success and have been for the last number of years. We enjoy the heck out of it, but we don’t take it for granted.

SPEAKER: Our approach to become a number one is very aggressive.

SPEAKER: Our drive to focus on the customer is definitely setting us apart from our competitors. We don’t just advertise having a great price, but we also can provide great service.

SPEAKER: You have to be able to change with customer needs, even anticipate customer needs. And not just what your customer wants today, but what they might want tomorrow or a year from now. Being part of a winning team means you have to be able to deal with change as it comes.

SPEAKER: We know something about longevity, we know something about stability. We’re in a business that isn’t going away. People will continue to need automobile insurance forever.

SPEAKER: For the past few years we’ve been promoting about a quarter of our associates every year. Everyday I feel like I get an email that somebody is getting promoted.

SPEAKER: We have certain job functions, certain responsibilities where you can make a very logical, systematic progression, and at the other hand, the nice thing about GEICO is you can spend a long career here and have many different careers without even having to leave the company.

SPEAKER: Whether it’s through sales or our customer service department or in claims. You can be an actuary, a product manager, you can work in IT. It’s such a big company that there’s so much to do.

SPEAKER: There’s a lot of classes that GEICO offers and it helps you move from one position to another.

SPEAKER: Since I’ve been at GEICO I’ve had the opportunity to take classes for my current job, for the job that I’d like to get some time, and also develop basic skills in myself, such as public speaking or working on different Microsoft applications. Learning about different moral or ethical dilemmas that I might encounter in the business world. Learning about relevant legislation that might impact my job as well.

SPEAKER: We’re all very very friendly, we’re diverse. There’s high school graduates, college graduates that join us, and then there’s more experienced associates. This is their second or third career at GEICO.

SPEAKER: We make it easy for every associate to see the impact that they’re actually making towards the company.

SPEAKER: Our supervisors and managers really do a good job of giving you really good feedback and telling you where this project is leading or how this is going to help our profitability or our growth.

SPEAKER: Through different projects that I was involved in, I feel like I’m making the system more efficient. I’m cutting the cost down for the customers and bringing more customer satisfaction.

SPEAKER: Our number one operating principal here at GEICO is to provide opportunities for our associates. So there’s something to be said about a company that puts their associates and their success first.

SPEAKER: As a company we’re interested in what the customer wants.

SPEAKER: Our goal as a company is to please a customer so much that when they’re done talking to GEICO, they feel so excited about that, they’ll go out and they’ll tell their friend or family member about the wonderful interaction they had with GEICO.

SPEAKER: To do this job you have to be able to care about your policy holders and your non-policy holders.

SPEAKER: Every person we quote, every claim we adjust, we know that the impact on the person that’s not currently with us can define whether or not they will actually ever try us.

SPEAKER: It isn’t a transaction that we’re dealing with with the customer, it’s an interaction.

SPEAKER: Whether we get a sales call or whether we get a service call how are we talking to our customers? Are we making it easy for them?

SPEAKER: And when it comes to customer service, it doesn’t begin and end with just talking to someone on the phone or interacting with a policy holder face to face. Customer service to us also means how we treat each other. The department’s interaction on a daily basis. Everyone is our customer as far as GEICO is concerned. And so we also focus on giving great customer service to each other.

SPEAKER: The type of person I feel is going to be very successful is one that comes in with a great attitude and a desire to do well. Come in with that great attitude because it’s going to show in your performance on a day to day basis. Not just being content on, OK this is my job, this is what I’m going to do. But what is that next step where it’s actually going to take you to be more successful?

SPEAKER: We’re in a people business. We want folks to be good team players, to link up with their colleagues to make positive change here. We want them to have superior interactions with our customers. And you genuinely got to like people to be able to successfully do that.

SPEAKER: Associates here work hard and play hard.

SPEAKER: There’s a lot of hard work involved. We have high expectations of all of our associates. But there is no reason why we can’t do all of that and at the same time have fun.

SPEAKER: You really enjoy coming to work every day. There’s always a party when it’s somebody’s five year anniversary or their 10-year, 25- or 35-years.

SPEAKER: We have luncheons and celebrations every time we have successful projects go in.

SPEAKER: Some of the opportunities or activities that are available to our associates include sports teams through GEICO, softball, basketball.

SPEAKER: Different cultural events. We promote different ethnic groups to come out and demonstrate their cultural background.

SPEAKER: GEICO’s presence in the community always means that there are a lot of opportunities for associates to get involved.

SPEAKER: We participate in causes such as the United Way.

SPEAKER: The Relay for Life.

SPEAKER: Habitat for Humanity projects.

SPEAKER: The Big Brother Big Sister program.

SPEAKER: We support Special Olympics.

SPEAKER: The Red Cross’ blood donation event.

SPEAKER: American Cancer Society.

SPEAKER: A lot of the charities that we sponsor and a lot of the public events that we’re involved in, they start at the associate level. If an associate has a particular idea, they bring that to their work and they decide they want to run with it, and the company encourages that.

SPEAKER: There are programs where management will support the cause and actually match contributions.

SPEAKER: It isn’t all about taking from a community where you have a facility. It isn’t about you know, even on a larger basis, the national basis, just taking and taking. You have to give back. And especially a company as fortunate, as successful as we are, you don’t even think about it. It’s just the right thing to do.

SPEAKER: I made GEICO my career choice because it was an opportunity for me to grow.

SPEAKER: Once I got here I immediately felt a sense of belonging. I immediately felt peace of mind. I finally felt that a company is going to do as much for me as I was going to do for them.

SPEAKER: Because if you work hard at GEICO, we are going to reward you.

SPEAKER: The folks who come through the door, the new associates who come through the door understand that I’m going to work hard. I’m going to make sacrifices. I’m going to invest myself in this company and truly invest all that needs to invest. They’re the ones who end up 10 years down the road, 15, 20 years down the road having these enormous careers and all kinds of success well beyond what they ever thought they would do.

SPEAKER: I’ve been here for 15 years at GEICO. The time has gone by really quickly. I enjoy what I do, it’s very exciting. Everyday is different.

SPEAKER: Still to this day I still find the work that I do interesting and challenging. I’m going to learn something new today. I’m going to get involved with something today that I haven’t done before, and it just makes life great.

Keywords/Tags:

geico adjuster auto careers claims customer service sales entry level insurance internship jobs employment rep property casualty business actuarial analyst geicocom training GEICO, Everyday, Learning, GEICO Gecko, TV, Gecko, People, Microsoft, Customer, Cancer Society, Associates, United Way, Relay, Life, Habitat, Humanity, Big Brother, Big Sister, American, Special Olympics, Red Cross’,
GEICO, Learning, People, Everyday, Gecko, Microsoft, TV, GEICO Gecko,  GEICO, Customer, Associates, Humanity, United Way, Relay, Life, Habitat, Big Sister, Special Olympics, American, Cancer Society, Red Cross’, Everyday, Big Brother,  company, associates, work, job, great, service, time, lot, day, years, hard, involved, number, business, customers, basis, feel, successful, invest, success, making, door, today, call, change, felt, insurance, enjoy, person, interaction, people, projects, talking, year, impact, career, means, team, associate, opportunities, good, big, gecko, giving, high, graduates, attitude, everyday, focus, folks, events, holders, support, policy, marketing, easy, classes, careers, road, associates, feel, impact, call, service, business, insurance, success, team, time, years, year, graduates, person, work, holders,  work, geico, hard, associates, customer, great, lot, company, day, basis, involved, successful, invest, service, time, felt, years, projects, life, face, community

So this seems like a random post that doesn’t follow the pattern of my other posts here on Nimble Ogre.  Yet, remember this is The Ramblings of Sha’ul not exactly the “new” Engadget or Worldstarhiphop.com.

Anyways, I heard about this today on Bloomberg Radio, the WISE program from NASA.  It will map the sky in infrared to see the origin of star systems, find new stars, galaxies and more.  I’ve been obsessed with space since childhood, and of course Mass Effect (on a side space dork note).  This truly is amazing.  The WISE program begins in roughly 4 days.

This is straight from the site:

“WISE is a NASA-funded Explorer mission that will provide a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the Universe. Among the objects WISE will study are asteroids, the coolest and dimmest stars, and the most luminous galaxies.

WISE is an unmanned satellite carrying an infrared-sensitive telescope that will image the entire sky. Since objects around room temperature emit infrared radiation, the WISE telescope and detectors are kept very cold (below -430° F /15 Kelvins, which is only 15° Centigrade above absolute zero) by a cryostat — like an ice chest but filled with solid hydrogen instead of ice.

Solar panels will provide WISE with the electricity it needs to operate, and will always point toward the Sun. Orbiting several hundred miles above the dividing line between night and day on Earth, the telescope will look out at right angles to the Sun and will always point away from Earth. As WISE orbits from the North pole to the equator to the South pole and then back up to the North pole, the telescope will sweep out a circle in the sky. As the Earth moves around the Sun, this circle will move around the sky, and after six months WISE will have observed the whole sky.

As WISE sweeps along the circle a small mirror scans in the opposite direction, capturing an image of the sky onto an infrared sensitive digital camera which will take a picture every 11 seconds. Each picture will cover an area of the sky 3 times larger than the full Moon. After 6 months WISE will have taken nearly 1,500,000 pictures covering the entire sky. Each picture will have one megapixel at each of four different wavelengths that range from 5 to 35 times longer than the longest waves the human eye can see. Data taken by WISE will be downloaded by radio transmission 4 times per day to computers on the ground which will combine the many images taken by WISE into an atlas covering the entire celestial sphere and a list of all the detected objects.”

via NASA

World Speedskating champion Shani Davis has done it again!

http://wp.me/pEzT2-kP

Shani Davis smashed the world record by running the third fastest time ever Sunday in Calgary,and fastest anywhere but Salt Lake City, the world’s fastest rink — to win the 1,000 meters at the speed skating World Cup.

Davis was chasing his own world record (1:06.42) he set in Salt Lake  last March, and missed it only by a few seconds by  finishing in an astounding 1 minute, 6.91 seconds at the Olympic Oval, well ahead of Lee Kyou-Hyuk of South Korea in 1:07.61.

Shani Davis is unbeaten in three world cup’s this season, and his dominance is only getting stronger. As it stands now, Shani is in competition with himself-because there is no one in the world that has a chance to beat him.

He is demolishing the competition, and this is only the beginning. I predict a clean sweep at the upcoming 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

The world will come to know Shani Davis by his accomplishment dominating the sport of speed skating, and not for his little ‘row’ with comedian/Team sponsor Stephen Colbert.

Last Friday, Shani was thrust into the tabloid press by his very public denouncement of the acerbic comedian, that had upset Shani, by referring to the great nation of Canada in a very disrespectful manner.

http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/12/03/speedskater-shani-davis-calls-team-patron-stephen-colbert-a-jerk/

Some in the media have been trying to portray Shani to be a self-centered, self-absorbed glory seeker, but I say that this is unfair,if you look at the main objective here. You are not self-centered if you simply look after your strongest business position, and sometimes the solo competitions take precedence over the team relay competitions.

There is a time and place for both.

Shani is in this sport to win, and he is fully aware of the fact that when he does win in a severely dominating way-ala Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps….then all the eyes of the world will be on him, as well as the sport of speed skating.

Face it…do you think that I know anything about it, outside of ”Hans Brinker” stories and my man Shani Davis here.I am certain it’s like that throughout black America. Shani is going to let us all know what’s up with Speed skating through his dominant streak of world record victories, and by being a black man doing it in a white sport…if you know what I mean…

The reality of it is that he can have the same effect his sport that Joe Louis had in his,and become the pound for pound speed skating champion loved by all.

Kids will probably make up a dance called the ”Shani!”…after he sweeps the Olympics.

Just wait and see.

Shani also has to recognize the basic financial realities that can be rewarded to him when he sweeps all of his competitions in the Olympics-and I want him to have all that he can attain. He, as well as all of his fellow Olympians, must desire the financial windfall that Olympic swimming hero Michael Phelps’ and Sprinter Usain Bolt received after they dominated and swept their respective competitions.

Do you think that Shani Davis is selfish for wanting to be like Michael Phelps….rather than Cullen Jones?

I think the answer for Shani is simple, as he is a champion.

Handle your business Shani, and just know that, as your star rises as in the sport of speed skating,you will inspire a nation of  African-Americans to become fans of your sport, as we join together to support and celebrate your continued streak of victories.

The world will have to bow down to your dominance in the sport of speed skating.

Follow the story here at these trusted sources…

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/vancouver/speedskating/2009-12-06-world-cup_N.htm

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2009/12/davis-speeds-to-world-cup-win-track-record-in-the-1000.html

Shani Davis Does It Again...World Cup Speed Skating

I am officially overwhelmed with work and have been terrible about keeping up with anything outside of it! I ran once this week on a treadmill (it is getting awfully chilly here in Seattle- brr!) but have neglected any other gym time this week. Hopefully after work today will be a good time.

I’ve also neglected the potential entry into the Gettysburg to DC relay! Yikes, I’m sorry ladies, I will hopefully get to it before the end of the weekend, and will then send the money back to those who do not want to be included in it. I just think that since it’s the same amount that you’ve already sent and I’ve cashed that it will be way easier for me to move forward with me sending a new check to this relay rather than do all the writing of check work over. PHEW, organizing relay race teams is hard work!!

Anyway, I’m considering going to Wednesday night workouts still, but work continues to drag me under. I hope to have a better handle on things at some point!

So last night I was driving to Ferndales prayer meeting (which took a record 20 minutes! the joy of living next door to a football ground!) and Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” came on the radio.

The last time I remember listening to this song (because I’m sure I’ve listened to it hundreds of times in between!) was driving back from a Relay Training Day in Manchester. It was memorable because it was about five months into relay and therefore halfway through! But, also one of the things that Relay really taught me was to rely on God for everything . . . literally “living on a prayer”!

It was slightly bizarre, but great to be reminded of this in a secular song that really isn’t about relying on the amazing God of the universe for all things!

So, yea, we’ve had some “car trouble.” Nothing we couldn’t handle, though. Well, let me (Amy) start from my first day of work in early October, when the truck wouldn’t start. I awoke early to prepare for my 45 minute commute to a babysitting position I had accepted, and found snow covering the ground everywhere. It was a beautiful sight, but when the truck didn’t start and we discovered there would be too little energy from the solar panel system to support us plugging in the giant diesel, I knew I had to act fast. I quickly called a neighbor, who told me our other neighbors hadn’t left for work yet and were heading our way. Since they had no phone, I proceeded to put on a jacket and I ran. I ran up our driveway, I ran underneath the maple canopy along the road, and then down the long path to their cabin. The dog barked wildly to signal my approach, and in a swift request, we had a ride! I “booked” back to our place and, without letting the half-mile run slow me down, I felt relief that I would be making it to work. Jon joined me, and we arrived in town only 45 minutes late!

We eventually discovered that the glow plug relay was not in good shape, and planned on replacing it, which we finally did earlier this month. But that wasn’t the end of our adventures. Later, on the drive home to Philadelphia, during some freezing rain, our windshield wipers started freezing up! Only it wasn’t the cold temperature, they were ceasing to work for good. Gradually, my hand felt like a brick of ice as I would push the wipers time and time again to encourage momentum. Finally, we pulled over at the next exit, and got to work planning a system. Nothing would stop us from getting home!

If you remember the name MacGyver, you know he would have been just as crafty. We rigged thin ropes to the wipers, through the front seat of the car, and took turns pulling the wipers, and it worked! It was a non stop adventure the entire 8 plus hour ride, and it ended up feeling kind of like we were riding horses with all of our physical pulling of the ropes. And hallelujah, we made it home!

Along with replacing the windshield wiper motor, we also went ahead and got some all terrain tires. Not a cheap purchase!! Oh my, all this getting ready for winter in Northern Vermont is no joke. But we will be grateful come snow time for sure…

And when it snows, you know it’s pretty cold, and when it’s pretty cold, we need to start thinking about the grease car system. When is it so cold that running grease will be not so wise? When will it freeze up so much that it won’t turn to liquid even when heated? The mechanic here in Vermont told us we will save ourselves lots of headache by waiting til the warmer seasons to use grease again. He said he has seen many grease cars have challenges, and was adamant about his advice. We heed his warnings, but are still determined to run on the deliciously deep-fried veggie oil until it is just too crazy! Wish us luck.

Another thing that we need some luck with is our mouse situation. There have been very rare nights since August 1st that we haven’t heard the sounds of mice in the cozy four walls of the cabin. Now that it is freezing up here, they have come full force. We have caught a total of seven over the past many months, and have later released them into (another) woodsy location. Oh, but there are more! They are scratching, biting, nibbling, and, perhaps I’ve gone mad, but I think they are having dance parties with their friends on occasion. I swear a wine bottle is missing even! So much of our time has been spent “mouse proofing” the cabin, and below are some photos capturing our efforts. May our winter nights end up being quiet and peaceful, and may these stinking cute little creatures find some barn or something to lease for the season!!!

Sunken Foal (Dunk) and Chequerboard (John) were both guests last night, treating us to some gorgeous live tracks, and their favourite new tracks for us to listen to.

The show kicked off with Dunk chatting to Donal about the recording process for his Sunken Foal project, and other music projects including Ambulance (with Trev) and Natural History Museum (with Carol Keogh).  Dunk kicked the selections off with Leafcutter John and In the Morning, followed by music from Oscar Sala on the second new instrument Fresh Air has introduced me to:  the trautonium…

D’Arcangelo – Sinclair  was followed by two beautiful live works from Chequerboard, and before John took over on dj duties Donal and Dunk played Jackdaw is the Kingpin from Natural History Museum and told a great story about the recording of that particular tune.  The also later played a Natural History Museum cover of Si Schroeder’s (the previous nights’ fresh air guest) C4.

John chatted about his 2007 music residency with The Model in Sligo and a sound art commission from The Model that arose from that relationship, devised and curated by John called Relay. John went on to talk about, and to play, Relay pieces from Bibio and Pierre Bastien – the latter providing yet another new instrument: a scissors player. Relay also provides a link between tonight’s artists with Sunken Foal having contributed to the project with Beard of Mercury Switches.

Dunk played two extremely varied live pieces, Colloidal Silver (using a random sample generator programme he created – which you can read a little about on the Relay page for Beard of Mercury Switches)  and the more pared back Bullhorn Handlebars.

John’s fresh air selections included a wonderful  Bibio track (Carosello Ellitico) that uses a winding child’s toy as a starting point, and concluded with Bark Psychosis‘ Bloodrush.

A Ceephax (Squarepusher’s younger brother) track (tranzbonse) concludes the show, which for some reason cuts out early on the MP3!

Listen back to all of the above HERE>

Sunken Foal played two totally contrasting pieces of music live

I’m over the disappointment of Hood to Coast and almost at the point of sending the checks back to everyone (it’s been a very busy week, so forgive me ladies!) I’m happy to report that we are looking into all sorts of relay races for this year, Arizona, Chicago, New England, Utah and DC! It looks like DC could be a good contender, it’s from Gettysburg to the city and since we all went to school there it kind of makes sense. I’m not expecting everyone to be on board so it’s probably not going to be a complete alum first year, BUT alum and friends of alum who’ve heard our stories about Coach will make for a great time. I’ve got to get some people to commit before January 1st when the deadline hits, after that the price goes up!

With this news, I’m back on the horse. I’m going to run club tonight, and while I know I’m probably going to be the slowest out there, I won’t be too alone, my friend Penny is forcing me to go! She and I have both not been running frequently while the other regular Tuesday night runners are so fast right now! It’s killing me, so getting out there tonight will be good. Maybe it will motivate me to do another run this week. We were going to do the Seattle half marathon that takes place over the weekend after Thanksgiving every year, but we didn’t get ourselves in gear and no one from the club seems to be doing it this year. With moving into the new house I think we’re a bit overwhelmed at this point anyway.

Alright that’s all my news currently. I’m happy that the girls are getting excited to do another relay!