It was cold and a stiff north wind made for a chilly experience. More than a few luminarias were blown out. Here Schlepp is seated beneath the huge Christmas tree just off the main plaza.
A Happy Christmas to all and a Joyous New Year!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas!
It was cold and a stiff north wind made for a chilly experience. More than a few luminarias were blown out. Here Schlepp is seated beneath the huge Christmas tree just off the main plaza.
A Happy Christmas to all and a Joyous New Year!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Traveling without Leaving Town
Went to the zoo this weekend with the folks. Beautiful weather and a great opportunity to get them out of the apartment. We managed to get through about 1/3 of the place in 2 hours of leisurely strolling.
As it happened in Victoria, we came across some small primates. I was hoping for lemurs, but those are in a different section. In the Tropical Americas Exhibit there were Golden Lion Tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia). The little critters pretty much stayed at the far back of their cage. I don't blame them--they are critically endangered in their homeland of Brazil.
Then Schlepp, of course, got out and made friends. They were timid at first but soon, just like in Victoria, they were at the front of the cage, eager to find out what this strange new animal was. Perhaps they think he's another tamarin. Maybe he's just friendly and furry like they are.
Either way, a good time was had by all. We'll have to go back soon and see the lemurs.
As it happened in Victoria, we came across some small primates. I was hoping for lemurs, but those are in a different section. In the Tropical Americas Exhibit there were Golden Lion Tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia). The little critters pretty much stayed at the far back of their cage. I don't blame them--they are critically endangered in their homeland of Brazil.
Then Schlepp, of course, got out and made friends. They were timid at first but soon, just like in Victoria, they were at the front of the cage, eager to find out what this strange new animal was. Perhaps they think he's another tamarin. Maybe he's just friendly and furry like they are.
Either way, a good time was had by all. We'll have to go back soon and see the lemurs.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
A Quite Summer... Almost
Not much travel for a Travel Schlepp since May. Perhaps something will come up in Oct-Nov. But there's always time for adventure. Yesterday the furry one got to meet our resident salamander. Whether its a Suzi or a Steven Salamander, we don't yet know.
Here's a picture of our intrepid bear with his new tiger salamander friend in the Hidden Garden.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Schlepp Visits Oak Ridge
Its been a couple months since Travel Schlepp had any traveling to write about. This past week, though, he was in Oak Ridge, TN visiting Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Here we are inside the ORNL conference center. There we were instructing over a dozen students in the nuances of on-site inspection under the International Nuclear Safeguards Additional Protocol.
When we flew back to ABQ, we left from the nearby Knoxville airport. In the main hallway leading to the security checkpoint, there are beautiful waterfalls that fill the area with the sound of tumbling water. There's also a couple of Tennessee black bears soliciting donations for black bear habitat. Schlepp of course took some time to chat.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Albuquerque Fencing
No, this isn't about building a fence, which is what fencing usually refers to in NM. This is about Fencing--foil, saber, and epee. Nephew Peter is in town for the Junior Olympics, which this year is being held in, of all places, the fencing capital of the U.S., Albuquerque, NM. The tournament is this weekend and we'll be there on Sunday cheering Peter on.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Happy Birthday, Travel Schlepp!
Well... its been 10 years already--ten years since Karl opened a small box and found the furry one inside. And with that first trip to Vienna combined with his first digital camera, we've had 10 years of adventures together. 
Here's the very first photo of me: #61 taken on Jan. 22, 1999, in Hotel am Stephansplatz:.
We were working with the UNSCR 678 Action Team, the fellows who were keeping Saddam from getting the big, bad bomb. Nuclear disarmament inspections in Iraq had been halted, but Gary Dillon wisely realized that the pause was the time to bring the Action Team up to date with its information systems.
Debbie and I worked on their intranet, their inspection planning systems, and their analysis tools. We were probably just getting started with GIS, mostly by giving Martin a surplus copy of an old ArcInfo license.
Then it was off to Amsterdam. Here Karl and I lounge around the hotel room before going out and exploring the town. The next day it snowed and was icy everywhere. We took a train to The Hague, gave an ACE-IT demonstration at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, took the train back to the the airport, and late in the evening caught our flight back to the States.
Since then its been trips from Ankara to Shannon, Mumbai to Cairo. Eventually, Karl would take over 7,000 photos on that old reliable Kodak. Even though its been retired, there have been over 7,000 photos taken on a second Kodak. The way things are going, the second 10 years will have even more trips to more exotic locations--gotta keep the bad guys from getting those big, bad bombs.
Here's the very first photo of me: #61 taken on Jan. 22, 1999, in Hotel am Stephansplatz:. We were working with the UNSCR 678 Action Team, the fellows who were keeping Saddam from getting the big, bad bomb. Nuclear disarmament inspections in Iraq had been halted, but Gary Dillon wisely realized that the pause was the time to bring the Action Team up to date with its information systems.
Debbie and I worked on their intranet, their inspection planning systems, and their analysis tools. We were probably just getting started with GIS, mostly by giving Martin a surplus copy of an old ArcInfo license.
Then it was off to Amsterdam. Here Karl and I lounge around the hotel room before going out and exploring the town. The next day it snowed and was icy everywhere. We took a train to The Hague, gave an ACE-IT demonstration at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, took the train back to the the airport, and late in the evening caught our flight back to the States.
Since then its been trips from Ankara to Shannon, Mumbai to Cairo. Eventually, Karl would take over 7,000 photos on that old reliable Kodak. Even though its been retired, there have been over 7,000 photos taken on a second Kodak. The way things are going, the second 10 years will have even more trips to more exotic locations--gotta keep the bad guys from getting those big, bad bombs.
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