Wingsuit Base Jumping

Very much the exact opposite of the last video I posted here... this is probably the ultimate kick.
Turn up the volume and switch the video to full screen.

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

Discover Centralia, PA!

We're going to Centralia, PA!

Mostly colleagues from LCSR and DMIP went to Centralia, PA last Sunday: http://www.offroaders.com/album/centralia/Visiting-Centralia.htm and here: http://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=Centralia,+PA&geocode=&dirflg=&saddr=baltimore,+md&f=d&sll=40.804503,-76.340883&sspn=0.008917,0.019312&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=8.

In a nutshell, this city sat atop a coal mine that was accidentally set ablaze. The fire migrated underground, where it has now been burning for forty years, stubbornly thwarting any efforts to put it out and slowly consuming the city's foundations. As a consequence, the city had to be given up and was abandoned. Nowadays, the ground is hot, is spewing steam and smoke, and on and off caves in (in what is technically called "subsidences").

Of course, we couldn't resist the temptation to see this hellish place first-hand.

VM Size Overload

At some point, even a well-maintained Mac OS X machine will give up.
Here, the MATLAB instance with its outrageous VM request made it stop completely (click the pic to embiggen).

Early Morning (Another Early Morning)

Experiments are looming tomorrow and the day after tomorrow... well, since it is already 3:07am in the morning, they are scheduled today and tomorrow. I am still in lab, writing programs like a busy squirrel.

In any case, this is an instant message I just got from a student:

"I am in [the Hopkins] lib.. and its very difficult to find [a good] place to sit... even at this time"

Hopkins people are crazy.

Intel, we are rock stars

Feels like our lab...
... every morning, the Researchers are coming in.

Beauty, and the Lumix GH1

This place and this camera will be my next treat... after I finally accomplish what I am still missing...

Kauai sunset: Lumix GH1 slow motion from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

JHU Robofest 2009

Saturday, the robotics people at Hopkins organized a "Robofest" - lots of young kids from neighboring highschools came in and competed in several different robotics tasks... like finding dark spots or navigating a slalom course.



As usual, larger pictures after the click (on the slideshow above).

Early Morning

It's Sunday 2:30am, and the robotics lab is still busy with people working. PJS submitted his abstract, so felt entitled to go home... although this leaves a slightly guilty feeling behind.

Outside, birds are singing in the trees.

This is America.

DMIP Retreat 2009

Last Monday, the JHMI DMIP (the department where my little boss has his primary affiliation) had its annual retreat at Oregon Ridge Park north of Baltimore. Kind of Watschenfeld, only with 3x as many people and 1/3rd the available time.

PJS presented an awesome project proposal idea. However, it is still just an idea. And, PJS got an award - not for technical or scientific excellence, but for being the first on location (no, really).

Wildlife!

Raccoons are visiting us (rather the birds' feeding box) regularly!



(As usual, click slideshow for full view.)