It's dark..

Well we have entered that part of the year where the sun peeks over the hills for less than 4 hours a day. I went out and bought a compact florescent Daylight bulb for my room.

So what has been happening you ask.

Well work has been on going, we have big goals for the next release, and have been working hard to get some of them done before x-mass.

Speaking of x-mass we had our party up at the Perlan. I took some photos when I was there :)


The next morning I had to bike up for lessons, and we went through the saga Museum.



Then after wards I set up the tri pod and took some photos of the geyser outside.



Also been doing some walking/ biking along the shore line, these where a few days ago.




ta ta for now.

Fan Fest

Well Fan Fest is over for this year.
It was a hell of a party last night, and the music was performed by work people. So that was cool.

The bars though had only beer, and shots. and most of you know my opinion of beer.

It is something you rent at a bar!

I had the Idea to set up a table in there and was asking people to fill out a survey and talk to me about AI. I had made it clear that we where not planning anything and I was just collecting ideas and data to make a case for changing it.

Igot some good ideas and had allot of fun talking with lots of fans from all over the world, Met people that play even together one lives in Germany and the other in San Fransisco and they had met for the first time at fan fest. They have been playing eve for 2 years together, so that was cool.

But I met people there from all over the US and Germany and 1 guy from the Kiwi islands. (I think that is how it is spelled, that is the way it sounded)

Anyway back to the story. For my little table I bought a bottle of rum and some coke and was going to hand out rum and coke to people that came to talk. There was lots of drinking but my give away got kyboshed.

So all night during the party I would go up to the bar and ask for a glass full of ice. I figured they though i was chewing ice all night. Then I would head back to the coat room and fill my glass up with rum and coke. So for once I had a party that had a drink I enjoy :)

Yep you guessed it I was very drunk last night!!! You would almost think I am a teenager again :|

Dang, just burned my lip on hot cheese from a pizza!

Flickr

Flickr just announced that they have had there 3 billionth photo uploaded. This is the site I use to host my photos.

3 billion!

If you looked at 1 photo every second it would take you the next 95 years to look at all the pictures.

That is allot of photos.

Not much new...

Well next week is EVE fan fest! so we are all super busy getting ready for it.

This morning I could see the stars when I got to work, it has been a while, it was either to bright out, or cloudy, so that was a nice change.

I stumbled across this photo the other day, and I want to go where that is some time :)



Update: this is from the Portalnd, OR Japaneses gardens.

Update 2: it ended the day miserable and raining...

Last day in iceland

Well I got the last of the photos processed. There wasn't many from the last day as i was sick and didn't take allot of photos, and i had seen it all before. :)

Jen found the sweater I gave her very useful, it was nippy out and since it has only gotten colder.

We rented a car and drove around the golden circle, we had a nice and sunny day if cold. The trees where changing color ( but I did not realize it at the time) . And thinkervillr was very nice in autumn colors.

That night it snowed and Jen and Andrew had to drive in snow to get back to the airport.

Any way. in other news i bought a Mac mini computer to start learning programming on macs. I think the days of M$ being the monopole in computers is past. Mac is now a serious contender and Linux (Unbootu) is giving both a run for it's money. So in the future I can see the need for software companys to have products on all platforms not just on windows.

So time to start learning.

Dagur tvier...

Well day two of the London trip.

We started the morning out at the British Museum, and Andrew goes through museums like Dad does. Lets put it this way Glaciers move faster!

Anyway a bought noon Jen and i headed to the tower of London. But i had a stop to make first, and headed to Reagent street to buy a Ipod at the apple store, then i cot a cab to the tower. Jen on the other hand walked there.

We spent the afternoon at the tower and saw the crown jewels, they wouldn't let me take picturees :( But i bought postcards...

Anyway we saw the tower and had a good time then caught a cab back to the hotel where we had supper in the room, the following day we headed to the airport and flew to Reykjavik.

More photos coming from that part.

First pictures of sis vacation up.

Ok
i have processed and uploaded the first day in London. I am not going to do a lengthy write up as i am tired and going to bed. Still have the sniffles.

We started out early heading to Buckingham palace and did the tour of that, there is no photos of the inside as they don't allow you to take any.

There is a nice photo of Jen and Andrew in front of the Canada gate. Then some of the front of the palace, then we jump to the queens gardens.


After that we caught a hop-on-hop-off tour buss and went all over. We saw Trafalgar square, tower bridge, tower of London., a bunch of statues a long the way.

Anyway enjoy day one.

no photos

Photos not done yet. been sidetracked by other things, like the world economy going into the crapper.

Home and the sib is off.

A short post to say back from London. Jen and Andrew spend a day here and we drove the Golden circle. They did the stops much faster than mom and dad as it was 2c out side. If you know Jen she doesn't do cold well.

And speaking of colds I brought one home from London so I spend Thursday driving around Iceland shivering and sweating alternately. But sis had a good tour of Iceland and we walked the sea wall a bit also and stopped at the Pertlan the day we arrived.

And I have spend most of today curled up in my bead freezing, but i think the cold has broken. I still have the coughing my lungs out phase to go. and my guts are sore already from the coughing.

I have a bunch of nice photos from London and some not so nice ones. But I will get them processed and posted this weekend hopefully. and a real trip report up.

As it was 2c yesterday but nice and sunny. It was good, but it started snowing last night, and Andrew was worried about driving to the airport. I guess they don't get a lot of snow driving in Vancouver :)

But they called me from the airport they got there ok, and the roads had mostly cleared by the time they left. BUt we have nice snow topped mountains again :)

Now back to bed for me...

walk about in loundon

Hi from London

This. Jen and Andrew waiting for the tour bus. So far we have seen bucking ham palace, Westminster Abby, big ben, house of parliament, the eye, saint pauls, Hyde park, green park.

Now e are off to the London bride and the tower of London. Then. Boat ride back to the. Eye and the bus to the hotel.

darn huricanes

The hurricane that hit the US, is causing storms here. According to the weather site we will have 22m/s winds and rain tonight, that is almost 80 km/h winds. it should drop down to the mid 50KM/h by tomorrow morning. but that is some serious wind, and winter feels like it is on the way.

Photos

Ok just a quick note the photos have been uploaded! Yea!
Atlanta Botanical gardens
Parents in Iceland
Sisters Montage

Bus Sore Butts!

Well the last two days we did bus tours to two distance parts of Iceland, the first was up to the glacier Snæfellsjökull north of Reykjavik. It was a long day, 10 hours on the bus, and it was cramped :( We stopped at several small attractions and took the tunnel under the ocean. and stopped at a small fishing village.






At lunch we stopped at this small harbor and had lunch in the red roofed house.


After lunch we continued around behind the mountain, the glacier was in the clouds :( We stopped at a black sand beach, i found it funny there was a life preserver station half way up the beach. But in the 1930's there was a ship that wreaked here and there was rusted scrap iron all over the beach.



We got back to the Nordica about 8:00 pm, and then wen't to bed. The next day we headed out to Landmannalaugar for the day. It is a area of the interior that is very colorfull.
But first stop was a waterfall and a old viking village.




Then we whent into the interior, Washboard is one thing, but 30km of it is a new definition of PAIN! and I don't think washboard quite describes the ordeal anymore. :(



We then did a nice two hour hike up to the steam vent over the lava fields. Dad managed without to much problem.


After the walk you could change (there was a wooden deck for changing, not walls ) and take a swim in a geo thermoly heated stream.


Then it was sore and tired travelers back on the buss for 3 hour drive back to reykjavik. we stoped for coffee and a photo op with Hekla, the volcano.

Parental Invasion of Ikea !?!?!?

Well today was a slow day, we started out late with breakfast, then we drove to Ikea and looked ad bedding stuff. I picked up a new kitchen knife and a anti skid pad for my bed, and a mat for in front of my bed.

Then we went to the Perlan, the big water tanks in the middle of town, and walked around the observation dome.


Then we headed out and went to the blue lagoon.


Spent 2 hours floating around and getting healthy in the therapeutic waters. I don't think I have ever seen mom enjoy a pool more, I think if heather and Mike came they would spend the whole day getting all the spa treatments. They do massages and facials in the pool.

well that was the day, tomorrow we start early, return the car, be at the bus terminal for 9:00 to take the bus tour to the north.

Night Night all.

Parental Invasion, Day Next...

Well today we hopped int he car and headed out on highway #1 AKA the ring road. We headed towards south Iceland with the goal of getting to Vek (Veek) and having lunch. Well lunch happened about 2:30 :)


The first stop was a waterfall that was about a hour driving, it was about 9:00 - 10:00 am at this point, and the falls where still in shadow.

The sun was highlighting the top of the falls and producing a nice effect.

Just down a small trail and around another bend was another falls tucked away in the rocks, you had to wade in to see it good. Mom took a picture with my camera.

BTW that water is only a few minuets removed from a glacier! it is COLD!!!

There said source of COLD water!

Next dad found another falls on the map that was close that I hadn't seen before, so we headed off on a secondary road, it was bumpy and pothole filled, we thought that was the worst road we had ever seen, little did we know.

This one I remember the name of it is Gullafoss, and from the top of the lower section.


Next waterfall, sry can't remeber the name.

To the right of this picture is a set of steps up to the top, mom counted 479. She and I climbed them all, it was a amazing view!

We stopped at Vek for lunch at a N1 (gas station) and then turned around, this is a small church on the hill, we saw several that look to be the exact same floor plan during the day.


First stop on the way back was a black sand beach. I thought it was black gravel beach, but mom liked it. You can see our next destination in the back ground.


To get to our next point of intrest you follow this nices paved road, it becomes gravel, then there is the sign saying warning rought road, drive with care and watch for nesting birds.
So I drive carefully over some of the worst washboard I can imagine, about 5KM of it. Then we get to a seond sign, warning offroad driving prohibited, rought road ahead. We start seeing large potholes and the road starts going up. Soon i am going up a switchback picking my way around smalle bolders in the a toyota. But we made it to the top of the bluff and had a amazong view.



Oh and a light house for sis :)


We had supper in Hella (Het-la). They had Very good fish and ships... They had a small typo in the English menu.

We stopped at a small museum that mom found, but they where closed for the day so we poked around outside at some of the restored houses. Dem Vikings where short!


Finally we got back to Reykjavik about 9:15 pm, so it had been a very long day of driving.

Heather in Iceland

Now that the sibs. have stopped choking. I meant the flower not the person :)

I am so far behind processing, and uploading pictures it isn't funny. And I am tuckered out, there is just something wrong when the parents can wear you out. But i think they are kinda tuckered out also :)

We Lucked out and got a BEAUTIFUL sunny day, it is looking like it could be the only one that will happen for there trip. We rented a car today and headed out to do the golden circle tour at our own pace. First stop was Þingvellir this is a national park in Iceland and from 970 AD to 1890 ish it was the site of the yearly parliament. The tribes from all over would come each year and meat and create laws, trade, and try cases. The neat thing about the courts was that it was left up to the victim to enforces the ruling. If the court said that someone should die, it was up to the victim family to carry out the sentence or not. That has some interesting safe guards built into the justice system.

One of the cool things about Þingvellir is that there is a big crack running down the park where the NA and Euro/Asia tectonic plates are pulling apart. And there is a cool waterfall that is falling off the NA side and running down the crack and out into the EA side. When i did the bus tour almost a year ago. It was A: Raining, and B: we had a pushy tour guide... This time not tour guide and a nice sunny day.

This time as you can see we had time to walk up to the waterfall :)

Next stop was Gyser, we stopped and had lunch here also. Turns out that the sause that i didn't like from the hamburger from last trip is also on the chicken burgers :(


After lunch and shopping in the tourist trap, I picked up some herbal tea that should help somebody upset stomach in the morning :)


We headed to Gulfoss Water falls next, this fall is also knowen as the golden falls.



That done, and the rain starting to creep in and threaten, we headed back to Reykjavik. All told it was a nice day tour. I am wondering if sister and husband when they come would like to do this trip, weather permitting.