From The Back Row

Ok, so school is officially 1/4 done for the summer (2.5 weeks in, 2.5 weeks to go in this first session). As in previous summers, not much to report. I get up, walk to class, come back. Two days a week I have 3 classes, 3 days a week I have one class then head to the gym for an hour of personal training. Weekends are uneventful & I pretty much just watch sports and Fox News Channel’s Red Eye. Planning is ongoing for the back half of my 2008 US Tour, the dates are set now I’m just figuring activities and lodging, etc. I’ll list them below and you can buy me lunch when I come to your town. The answer to the inevitable question is… After this summer I’ll need 4 classes to finish (I’ll walk May 15 2009). I’ll come back next spring break and for just one session next summer.

8/3-4 NYC
8/5-6-7-8 Boston
8/8 Lake Champlain NY
8/9 Syracuse by way of Cooperstown NY
8/10 Toronto
8/11 Windsor/Detroit
8/12-13 Chicago by way of South Bend IN
8/14 Lincoln
8/15 Denver
8/16 Cedar City UT

9/25-26-27-28-29 Austin TX

Ok, so I railed against folks who confused the KSC with Cape Canaveral and apparently the confusion was warranted. Kennedy Space Center and the Air Force base at Cape Canaveral are two distinct locations. KSC is actually located on Merritt Island. The two are a short bus ride from each other and work together, coexist, etc. You can see virtually all of KSC, they don’t have much to hide… the afb is another story, many areas are off-limits. Today is move-in day, so I won’t have an update for a little bit, until then enjoy this photo of the Rocket Garden and use this flickr link to access other pictures from the day.

When I put Day 6: Cocoa Beach, don’t think I spent all day basking in the sun or doing laps in the pool. It was 500 miles of hard drivin’ my friend, paying about $10 in tolls along the way and trying to stay awake. Here’s the view from my hotel, one last respite before the onslaught of pictures I’ll be taking tomorrow at the Kennedy Space Center

Not much to report other than my regular cel phone has died. I’m now on a much more blue-collar and temporary GoPhone, same number as always. Pensacola is, well, I’ve never explored it much, it’s a stopover. Tomorrow Cocoa Beach, Monday Kennedy Space Center…

Also known as “How many rural stops can John make in one trip?”…

Basically, I’ve traversed this great nation a few times all the while staying on the main highway so as to not “disappear” into the trees that line the route. This time, with the aid of the GPS, I turned off to visit The Ranch in Center TX. Basically there’s a whole other world off the main road where people appear to live and work in relative peace. I saw kids playing, plenty of open spaces and a ton of old cars that don’t appear to have run in the last decade or two. It’s not a good place for the connected person with it’s janky cel reception (Invention Idea: ability to send a short text message via my GPS unit).
All in all, a pretty good detour in our journey…

Today… The South and John goes completely bonkers.

A shorter day in miles & time today (next big stretch is Center TX to Pensacola). Skipped Lockhart TX for time considerations, got into Austin early afternoon. Scouted out the Zilker Park area, getting the lay of the land before ACL Fest in September. All of these landmarks I’ve seen through the eyes of Google Maps just don’t seem too far apart in “real life”. Cruised around the downtown area, got my bearings for our eventual hotel and relevant bars, shuttle stop, etc. Staying tonight at the Intercontinental SFA – nice place. Dinner tonight at the much recommended Ironworks BBQ, good enough to warrant two pictures below. Bottom photo is downtown skyline from Zilker Park that I took with my phone and uploaded from the car (tech!).

Longest day in miles of the trip ended in Ft. Stockton, the town with no amenities whatsoever. Can’t get a cel signal, highspeed internet is less than high (more lo-speed) and only a 10pm closing McDonald’s for sustenance (missed it by a few minutes). No room service at the Days Inn. Since Ft. Stockton is so depressing, please enjoy this photo of the Welcome to Texas sign.

Daily Playlist: Pop Siren, Mahalo Daily, This Week in Media, Macbreak Tech, Geekbrief, Loaded

Got a late start to this Trip Across 2008, 1:15pm, so I rolled into Tucson, AZ at around 8:30pm. Very nice little hotel here in the Windmill Suites, too much room for a low-roller like myself. It was dark and Tucson doesn’t offer much for scenery, but I did manage a snap on my drive. Tomorrow: Ft. Stockton, TX

Daily Playlist: Geekbrief TV, TWiT, Smodcast, Loaded, Mahalo Daily, Tekzilla