I feel more on edge than usual and thats probably because I crave a smoke. Things annoy me more than usual in the same regard.  I am writing now because I want to light up so bad I nearly started to bite my lip until it bled. Oh well. We'll see how the rest of the day goes.

More detail and a suggested temporary solution can be found in my main Internet blog:

http://www.fireflake.com/tech/2008/07/18/slow-loading-with-google-analytics/

Hope it helps if you're having problems with it. Unfortunately if you are experiencing it on a site you're visiting there is nothing you can do about it. I've found the easiest work around is to hit "stop" and then "go" to the page again. The scripts doesnt seem to lock the second time the page is loaded.

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1) "On Spiegelstraat towards Herengracht. Sexiness on two wheels. Hey, how can you not enjoy this?"
2) "Herengracht near Thorbecke/Rembrandt Square. Probably somebody who confused having a sense of humor with vandalism while drunk last night."
3) "Utrechtsestraat towards Frederiksplein. She was too fast for my slow ride, had to hurry."
4) "On Van Baerlestraat, which is being reconstructed. Girl is comfortably talking to a friend on her mobile phone."
5) "On Van Baerlestraat, parking at the Albert Heijn supermarket at Museum Square, next to an identical bike as mine, apart from the rack on the back and different color."
6) "Parked behind me at the Albert Heijn supermarket at Museum Square was one of Workcycles' handmade Preacher's bicycles."
7) "On Jan Pieter Heijestraat towards Kinkerstraat. Your Message Here. Bike taxi."

for those over 18- please visit the new "berri after dark" page for some r-rated funberris

Visiting my dear friend Erin and her boyfriend John in Vermont.  Halfway through the trip, as often happens on visits to far away loved ones, the time somehow begins to slip away.  On realizing that one only has so many days left, a frenzied air begins to stir and stress kicks in.  I think to myself “I cannot be this close to the

A furor of phone calls, google searches, mapping applications.  The question: “If you only have six hours in the Adirondacks what do you do?”  in the midst of all this planning I pause for a second and think. I imagine the uncomfortable wait at the ferry (will we make it on this one, or will we be in line for another hour?), the relief of touching ground at the other side, the impatient departure from the dock and onto the highway.  Then the negotiations over rumbling bellies, full bladders, the feet itching for the water battling the feet itching for a rocky climb.  “Where to now?  How much time is left?  How much can we squeeze in?”  Then, inevitably, “we’ll just have to change the plan.”  When the new plan is in place, it’s: “Hurry, let’s go!”  Scurrying from one pit stop to the next, jumping from cars like so many lemmings.  In my rush to see and do as much as possible I feel I will loose any chance to truly connect to this land.  What am I rushing to see that I cannot see from the deck of John and Erin’s woodland retreat?  Am I interested more in the bragging rights than the actual experience? (“Oh, it was a marvelous trip!  I traveled by plane, car, boat, and bicycle! I visited X, Y, and even Z!”).  Does my time here have more meaning if I’ve been more places and done more things?  

I think not.  I don’t want to buy into the “Great American Vacation!” hype; as a matter of fact, I think I’ll rebel against it.   That’s right, I resolve to breath.  To let my chest rise and expand, contract and then fall.  To listen to the falling of leaves in the forest, perhaps to hear the footfall of fox or elk, the whir of hummingbird wings.  I want to sink like a stone to the bottom of the pool, slowly eroding until my consciousness has become the lake.  And as the lake I also become the moose who wades, the heron who hunts, the frog who splashes, the tree and fern and moss that drinks. 

I’m going to spend my time in Brooksfield, on the sixty acres of land owned and cared for by John and his family.  A person could spend a lifetime learning from this place.  I have only a few days of summer in which to inhale her verdant fields of flowers and hidden damp darkness.  I choose to spend my time collecting the spice of the earth, the gout de terroir, that particular flavor of soil which makes this place unique in all the world.  If I’m very lucky I can come to know this place a little bit, perhaps to recognize the angle of the sunflowers bow, or the change in lilt of the chickadee song when the sun comes out from behind that cloud.  Yes that particular cloud, the one that is now changing, the one that is now changed, the one that is no more and will never be again.  

This is the truth of living in the moment.  Knowing that every breath of the universe is a precious gift that will never be again.  It exists in and for itself and the most that we can do is join the dance.

If the forecast is wrong, there is a greater chance that growth will be slower than expected, rather than faster, he told the Senate Banking Committee.

For the rest of 2008, "output would expand at a pace appreciably below its trend rate," and "growth is projected to pick up gradually over the next two years as residential construction bottoms out and begins a slow recovery and as credit conditions gradually improve," he said in his prepared text.

But members of the Fed committee that makes key decisions, including setting interest rates, "indicated that considerable uncertainty surrounded their outlook for economic growth and viewed the risks to their forecasts as skewed to the downside," Bernanke said

He laid out the factors that define the "significant challenges" for the central bank, which must balance between stimulating a weak economy, and fighting inflation.

The economy is fragile, and facing strains from interrelated problems, including:

Higher oil prices.Tight credit markets.Turmoil in financial markets.Weak real estate.Higher unemployment.

The Fed has tried to address the liquidity problems facing financial companies, such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, he said. "Although these policy actions have had positive effects, the economy continues to face numerous difficulties."

Bernanke also said the U.S. government's fiscal stimulus ? tax rebates of up to $600 US a person, $1,200 for couples, and $300 per child ? is helping but "overall, consumption spending seems likely to be restrained over coming quarters."

Meanwhile, rising oil and food prices are pushing inflation to an annual rate of nearly 3.5 per cent in the first five months of 2008.

Central banks, including the Fed, have been more focused on inflation recently. Rather than boosting the economy by cutting interest rates, they are holding rates steady ? as the Bank of Canada did Tuesday ? to limit demand.

Many U.S. economists expect the Fed will leave rates unchanged at its next meeting, Aug. 5.

The Fed has offered emergency loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because of their key role in the U.S. mortgage markets. They hold or guarantee more than $5 trillion of U.S. mortgages, almost half the total, and if they got into trouble, the consequences would be dire for the world economy.

The U.S. government has asked Congress to temporarily increase their lines of credit to Fannie and Freddie. President George W. Bush on Tuesday asked legislators to pass the law promptly.

With files from the Associated Press

Slowing economy will stall stock market: economist
European Central Bank raises rate to fight inflation

After all of the usual preflight checks and procedures, we made our call to Van Nuys ground and began our taxi to hold short of 16R. There was a slight wind coming from the East but it didn't affect takeoff too much. We made our right crosswind departure over Warner Center and I learned a little more about using the Nav when my instructor set a heading for Fillmore. We followed the heading but stopped at our usual training spot above Simi Valley.

We did a lot of review work but I was happy to do so because I want to make sure my maneuvers are as close to perfect as possible. Today I actually felt my steep turns getting better and I was able to rely more on visuals and keep my eyes off the instruments. I still need work on maintaining altitude while doing a steep turn but I am sure that will come with practice.

The next thing we did was some more stalls. Again, this is something else I feel myself getting a bit more confident with. I am able to keep a heading more accurately while maintaining proper airspeed. We followed the stalls up with some slow flight for a bit then gained some airspeed and altitude for some ground reference maneuvers.

We started our ground reference training with turns around a point in which we used an overpass on the 118 freeway as our marker. After a couple of passes we used that point to begin our rectangular course. We followed the surface streets below us to fly rectangular patterns and after doing that a couple of times we used the 118 freeway as our reference and finished up our lesson with some S-turns.

We made our way towards the Santa Susana Pass and after getting information from ATIS, we made a call to Van Nuys tower for landing. Keeping our eyes open for some traffic that the ATC mentioned, we made our approach and landed on 16R.

I logged another 1.1 hours and am amazed how fast my training seems to be going. I started the week I graduated college and already have 9.9 hours (and will most likely be at 11 hours by next week). A lot of the articles I read, whether online or in the AOPA magazine, mention that an airport is not jst a place to fly but a place to network with other pilots. After my lesson I stuck around for a bit talking to my instructor and to a couple of other PPL students and sometimes that can be a learning process all in itself.

I want to thank Charles for all the photos he took.

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I apologize in advance for the lack of my usual hilarious satire and frequent shenanigans in this post. You have been forewarned, but I'll make it worth your while by the end of it. I promise.

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The title of this post is a phrase which my mother is reminding me frequently of. As gas prices are rising, more people have to choose which is more important: gas or food.

There is little I can say about the economy that isn't already being felt, and what is being felt is more than I could ever convey into words. But I will say that scarier things could happen. Thousands of truck drivers in Europe, for example, have gone on strike due to outrageous gas prices (in case someone needs reminding, gas prices are WAY more expensive in Europe than the states). The result is low morale at home, poor stock in the grocery stores, and empty stomachs to those who would be fed otherwise. The real question is: Why couldn't that happen in the States?

I have been hearing that more and more people are shopping smart: Wal-Mart, discounted stores, buying in bulk (such as my very own Sam's Club). But now I don't know what to believe. Sam's Club has been slower since the 4th of July. Even the weekends, and excluding sign-up-for-credit-and-get-a-free-apple-pie day. Yeah, that's all this country needs: more credit.

Personally, I'm lucky to be living in a city that is faring better than the rest of the country, and to be in a family that manages their finances well. But I'm curious to hear of others' opinions on how they're faring. How about it, then? Are you on the upside of this economic downfall?

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I hope you've enjoyed my crudely Photoshopped image of a shopping cart in a Costco. My own attempts of taking a picture at Sam's that would strike sorrow and agony into the hearts of men and other furry creatures alike were foiled by my manager. There was also going to be a cute, cuddly, and lonely kitten to finish the task of inflicting some serious sorrow. Be thankful. You lucked out... this time.

Six-part metal masterpiece,

Holy f*cking sh*t.

I've just realised it's 8:05 and I still need to dry my hair and have breakfast! It seems I'm having a slow day. I blame the serial killer dreams!

Sudah beberapa bulan ini, ritme kerja di kantor gw slow banget... Tempat kerja gw adalah bergerak dibidang pengadaan barang dan jasa, kontraktor pembangunan infrastruktur telekomunikasi. Client kita sangat luas, dari yang kelas teri ampe yang kelas kakap, PT Qdc Technoligies namanya.

Sehubungan dengan adanya peraturan baru tentang penggunaan tower bersama bagi operator telekomunikasi, menyebabkan proses perijinan sewa lokasi pembangunan tower jadi susah dan mahal.

Hal ini menyebabkan proses approval dokumen menjadi lama, dan juga jumlah site yang harus dikerjakan hanya sedikit. Ngerinya lagi, peraturan baru tersebut menyebabkan beberapa ratus (mungkin ribuan) tower tidak bisa diperpanjang lagi perijinan sewa-nya dan harus dibongkar.

Jika melihat perkembangan seperti ini, tidak lama lagi industri infrastruktur telekomunikasi (khususnya greenfield) bakal sepi, kalaupun ada paling-paling hanya pekerjaan colocation (membuat mounting antena di tower existing) dan maintenance service.

Kalau udah begini, mengerikan juga lah kondisinya. Jika tetap dalam industri ini, yang kebayang adalah pengurangan jumlah karyawan. Karena untuk scope pekerjaan colocation dan maintenance, tidak membutuhkan karyawan yang banyak. Scope kerja tersebut hanya kecil bo...

Kalaupun mau banting stir, harus upgrade level. Upgrade level yang tersisa bagi karyawan dengan basic keilmuan teknik sipil adalah mining dan oil and gas...

Wow, kayanya harus segera cari nih... hehehe...

Bukan karena apa sih, hal ini semata-mata untuk mempertahankan kehidupan dimuka bumi ini, khususnya keluarga gw sih... hehehehe...

Oke lah, let's start to search the job... wish me luck guys...

Well there's been no time for idle pleasures actually which is why I haven't written but here's some you might want to indulge in, I'll explore some of them in more detail later on:

Idle pleasures to indulge in...

taking a bath, poking the fire, slouching, leaf catching, waiting for the tea to brew, messing about in boats, tree houses, strolling through the city, procrastinating, the deckchair, taking a nap, deja vu, public benches, river swimming, reclining on the top deck of the bus, the beach, just looking, melancholy, walking with toddlers, singing, sunbeams, sticking matchsticks in vegetables to make vegetable aliens, looking at maps, gathering food from the hedgerows, putting out the washing, being ill, sleeping in your clothes, sitting on the loo, grottos, face pulling, competitions, tree climbing, reading poetry, sleeping outside, dreaming, telling, stories, feeling the wind in your hair, staring, dressing gown, autumnal sneezing, chatting to the postman, learning the names of trees, writing a real letter, conkers, wandering round old churches, shadow watching, garden shed, sit down protests, contemplation of things that fly, squeezing bubble, wrap, whistling, whittling, morning sex, getting dressed, smiling, breast feeding, libraries, doodling, slippers, skimming stones, pacing, merry making, lying around in fields, butterfly hunting, cloud watching, hiding, snow, charity shops, leaning on gates, overnight trains, star gazing, gossip, philosophising, good company, building houses of cards, cycling, dancing, choosing to get wet in the, rain, launderettes, reading Edward Lear poems out loud to children, folding paper, reading gravestones, walking back home drunk, bell ringing, lying in hammocks

I think it is a nice book. The best (and unexpected) thing is that the author explains everything as a personal experience, i.e. he has personally gone through each of the aspects of slowing down his life: slow driving, food, reading, sex, health...

The only significant weakness I can think of in the book is that, in the introductory sections, the author associated the slow movement with some traits that I don't particularly agree with, such as the following: acoording to the author, Fast is controlling, analytical, superficial and quantity over quality, whereas Slow is careful, intuitive and quality over quantity. I disagree. One can be Slow and still be controlling, analytical and superficial. And one can be Fast and keep being careful and intuitive. And regarding quality and quantity, I don't see why either of them has to be intrinsically "better" than the other, or why Slow must prefer quality while Fast tends to prefer quantity. I think the author has gone too far in making a well-defined (but poorly defendable) split between behavioural characteristics.

However, the book was enjoyable and, although not a revealing and mesmerizing source of insight, still an interesting read.

I will read them soon and keep you posted.