|
A perfect hot, sunny day. If you get your sunblock right it can’t be beat. I got a little pink yesterday, but today I lathered up more, sat in the shade, read, listened to the waves, snorkeled … it was the complete day at the beach. Here are a few views from the sand:
The sun setting over King’s Wharf, from the veranda of our stateroom:
A lovely day.
I don’t know what you had for dinner tonight, but we went here:
It is one of those look-forward-to-it-all-day places. We always visit here when we’re on the Gold Coast. It wasn’t even especially good tonight and it was better than most things you could enjoy.
Tonight we attended the year-ending party of Special Church, which is a program my mother-in-law runs for special needs community members. The Waffle Man was there, with ice cream. The music therapist played songs on a ukelele. One of the attendees did a great solo, others danced and shook noisemakers. We had party favors and tropi-coladas: coconut and pineapple juice and huge sugar rushes. We got hugs. It was a fine party; it always is when we are there.
Things to read … because when have you not been to a party that had a lot of great reading?
Exactly.
Huge leap in mobile video usage and ad interaction
Mobile is fast becoming a central hub of entertainment decisions, with not only content usage climbing but also a commensurate leap in ad engagement, says research from Vdopia.
Among the key findings revealed by the latest edition of the mobile video advertising provider’s Vdopia Mobile Insights (VMI) report was the fact that the number of people who consumed entertainment content on their smartphones ever in a month jumped 28% in the past year to 109 million. Americans now average 33 minutes each day watching videos on their smartphones.
Moreover, mobile entertainment audiences not only are twice as likely to click on mobile ads but 45% recall seeing ads compared to only 24% for non-mobile entertainment audiences.
Which one of you is watching that much video on your phone? Pretty sure it isn’t me.
There’s an Alabama hook here, and four amazing stories: Four POWs we should all remember.
Veteran, 89, Recreates D-Day Parachute Jump: “They made me feel very relaxed but I wanted to get out that door!”
I’m just going to read every D-Day story, aren’t I?
This one features a different fellow. D-Day paratrooper, 93, to jump again for anniversary: “They are worried about me getting hurt. I said, ‘Don’t worry about it. If I get hurt or I get killed, what is the difference? I’ve lived 93 years. I’ve had a good life.'”
And, finally:
We’re getting ready for another big trip tomorrow, so today we ran errands in Anchorage, ate at an incredibly healthy restaurant, wanted more food and doing laundry. Even the laundry in Alaska is an adventure. I suppose it could be, if you were living off the grid or in some place where you have to get water hauled to you — such places exist.
We used a brand new, modern washer and dryer that communicates with the Mars Rover. If you leave your clothes in the dryer for too long it automatically re-starts them, so they don’t get wrinkled. Even the laundry in Alaska is an adventure.
So, instead of scenic shots, today’s pictures will be of people.
Adam, when he isn’t doing his normal 14-hour work day, has been driving us around:
You can see why he’d want to:
The Yankee at Chair 5 Restaurant in Girdwood:
And here she is in Seward:
Right outside our lodge, just outside of Seward:
They’re all checking out this glacier, which is calving right in front of us:
Did you see the video of that I made?
Our wonderful friends and hosts and tour guides — Jessica and Adam:
We’re having breakfast. I should take more shots like this, I think:
The cat. He is heavy, but cuddly:
Tomorrow, we head to Denali.
Most of the pictures today, I confess, are of the mountains. Because the mountains have deep, rich colors standing in contrast to the remnants of what was apparently a mild winter. I like mountain pictures. And since I grew up at the edge of the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains (which don’t look like these) and live on the coastal plain, you’re going to get more than your share of them on this trip, I suspect.
But, first, a plane. As far as I know this is the first time I’ve seen a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. It is 174 feet long with a wingspan of about 170 feet and is powered by four Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines each capable of 40,400 pound force of thrust. Hauling cargo is the Globemaster’s purpose in life. It can support a 69-ton M1 Abrams main battle tank, other armored vehicles, trucks, and trailers and palletized cargo. The cargo compartment is 88 feet long by 18 feet wide and can carry 170,900 pounds. It can also airdrop 102 paratroopers and their equipment. This one has an un-refueled range of about 2,800 nautical miles and can cruise at Mach 0.74.
I also saw my first F-22 in person today, but I didn’t get a picture.
And, now, a series of photos featuring some of the mountains of the Eagle River Valley.
The Yankee, Jessica and I enjoyed the Eagle River Nature Center, where we saw most of this scenery today:
This is our roommate, Zach. He likes to cuddle:
Of course we received a temporary fix to our air conditioner problems as the temperatures dropped 20 degrees. But today’s overcast skies didn’t include any rain, so I was able to get in a little bike ride. I took a simple 15 mile spin around the neighborhood as I try to save my legs — the legs I haven’t built up whatsoever recently — for the weekend.
I had two disparate thoughts on the bike.
On the flat stuff, which was much of the route I chose: I’ll have a great race this weekend!
On the hills, which are somewhat unavoidable: I’ll have a lousy race this weekend …
And so it goes.
So we bundled up in sweatshirts for tonight’s baseball game. An outdoor event which took place in May in Alabama:
In the sixth inning I was chosen to take part in a promotion. And I won! They walk you down to the dugout and they present two Yeti coolers. You open one and there’s a gift inside. Then you play Let’s Make A Deal. Do I want what I found in the white cooler? Or should I try my luck with the blue cooler?
The white cooler held a broken fungo bat and a few baseballs they haven’t been able to give away all season. They’ve sweetened the offer with a t-shirt that features the new baseball coach. It is a line art likeness of his face, but the mustache is creepy. So I opened the other cooler and won a gift card to Kinnucans. That’s great timing, I need new outdoors shoes, so I’ll be there tomorrow.
Oh, and Auburn lost 10-0 to LSU. LSU, which is a very good team, has scored 37 runs in their last 15 innings of play. Auburn is still looking to find itself, and this loss all but sealed their fate of being shut out of the postseason. The dream isn’t over yet, but drubbings like that aren’t a good way to start the last series of the season.
Things to read … because reading is always a good start.
This is gobsmackingly foolish. Newspaper nabs website’s article, claims most of it is ‘public domain’ — The Georgia Press Association’s non-action is disappointing as well.
This isn’t the sign of a healthy democracy. Where are the candidates? No contests in 20 of 35 Alabama Senate districts on June 3:
All 35 seats in the Alabama Senate are up for grabs this election year.
But candidates are sparse.
There are no contested races in 20 of the 35 districts in the June 3 primary, now less than three weeks away.
In fact, 14 senators – eight Republicans and six Democrats – will coast to new four-year terms with no opposition in either party.
Job growth! 2013 New & Expanding Industries Report highlights solid year of economic development in Alabama:
Companies launching operations in Alabama or expanding existing facilities in the state announced nearly 17,000 new jobs and more than $4.4 billion in capital investment during 2013, according to a report released today by Governor Robert Bentley and the Alabama Department of Commerce.
There are plenty of details at the link.
Are you building for mobile? Quantcast: Social drives 34 percent of mobile Web traffic, 17 percent of desktop traffic
In Kansas, Professors Must Now Watch What They Tweet
One of these is a former student of mine. He’s a sharp young man. I knew him when: Three From Samford Earn Fulbright Grants
