mikal – Page 27 – Made by Mikal

The End of All Things

Post author:mikal
Post published:August 3, 2015
Post category:Book

I don't read as much as I should these days, but one author I always make time for is John Scalzi. This is the next book in the Old Man's War universe, and it continues from where The Human Division ended on a cliff hanger. So, let's get that out of the way -- ending a book on a cliff hanger is a dick move and John is a bad bad man. Then again I really enjoyed The Human Division, so I will probably forgive him. I don't think this book is as good as The Human Division, but its a solid book. I enjoyed reading it and it wasn't a chore like some books this far into a universe can be (I'm looking at you, Asimov share cropped books). The conclusion to the story arc is sensible, and not something I would have predicted, so overall I'm going to put this book on my mental list of the very many non-terrible Scalzi books.

Geocaching with a view

Post author:mikal
Post published:July 29, 2015
Post category:Diary

I went to find a couple of geocaches in a jet lag fuelled caching walk this morning. Quite scenic! [kml: 20150729-1]

Chet and I went on an adventure to LA-96

Post author:mikal
Post published:July 28, 2015
Post category:Diary

So, I've been fascinated with American nuclear history for ages, and Chet and I got talking about what if any nuclear launch facilities there were in LA. We found LA-96 online and set off on an expedition to explore. An interesting site, its a pity there are no radars left there. Apparently SF-88 is the place to go for tours from vets and radars. I also made a quick and dirty 360 degree video of the view of LA from the top of the nike control radar tower: [kml: 20150726-2]

Geocaching with TheDevilDuck

Post author:mikal
Post published:July 27, 2015
Post category:Diary

In what amounts to possibly the longest LAX layover ever, I've been hanging out with Chet at his place in Altadena for a few days on the way home after the Nova mid-cycle meetup. We decided that being the dorks that we are we should do some geocaching. This is just some quick pics some unexpected bush land -- I never thought LA would be so close to nature, but this part certainly is. [kml: 20150725-1]

Casuarina Sands to Kambah Pool

Post author:mikal
Post published:July 19, 2015
Post category:Diary

I did a walk with the Canberra Bushwalking Club from Casuarina Sands (in the Cotter) to Kambah Pool (just near my house) yesterday. It was very enjoyable. I'm not going to pretend to be excellent at write ups for walks, but will note that the walk leader John Evans has a very detailed blog post about the walk up already. We found a bunch of geocaches along the way, with John doing most of the work and ChifleyGrrrl and I providing encouragement and scrambling skills. A very enjoyable day. [kml: 20150718-1]

Wanderings

Post author:mikal
Post published:July 16, 2015
Post category:Diary

I am on vacation this week, so I took this afternoon to do some walking and geocaching... That included a return visit to Narrabundah trig to clean up some geocaches I missed last visit: [kml: 20150715-1] And exploring the Lindsay Pryor arboretum because I am trying to collect the complete set of arboretums in Canberra: [kml: 20150715-2] And then finally the Majura trig, which was a new one for me: [kml: 20150715-3] I enjoyed the afternoon. I found a fair few geocaches, and walked for about five hours (not including driving between the locations). I would have spent more time geocaching at Majura, except I made it back to the car after sunset as it was.

Quartz trig

Post author:mikal
Post published:July 14, 2015
Post category:Diary

A morning of vacation geocaching, wandering, and walking to quartz trig. Quartz was a disappointment as its just a bolt in the ground, but this was a really nice area I am glad I wandered around in. This terrain would be very good for cubs and inexperienced scouts. [kml: 20150713-1]

Hunting for GC1D1NB

Post author:mikal
Post published:July 2, 2015
Post category:Diary

I went for an after work walk to try and find GC1D1NB on Tuggeranong Hill yesterday. It wasn't a great success. I was in the right area but I just couldn't find it. Eventually I ran out of time and had to turn back. I am sure I'll have another attempt at this one soon. [kml: 20150701-1]

Percival trig

Post author:mikal
Post published:July 1, 2015
Post category:Diary

I had a pretty bad day, so I knocked off early and went for a walk before going off to the meeting at a charity I help out with. The walk was to Percival trig, which I have to say was one of the more boring trigs I've been to. Some of the forest nearly was nice enough, but the trig itself is stranded out in boring grasslands. Meh. [kml: 20150630-1]

A team walk around Red Hill

Post author:mikal
Post published:July 1, 2015
Post category:Diary

My team at work is trying to get a bit more active, so a contingent from the Canberra portion of the team went for a walk around Red Hill. I managed to sneak in a side trip to Davidson trig, but it was cheating because it was from the car park at the top of the hill. A nice walk, with some cool geocaches along the way. [kml: 20150629-3]