I will be eaten by an alligator

Unix for fun and profit

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:23:00 +0000

So today, someone asked me for a favor. A simple favor.

Or so I thought.

Some background:

See, about a year ago, we went to the Raleigh Drum Circle birthday bash, which is basically a get together for the drum circle that meets in Raleigh. It happens about this time every year. We brought our Nikon D40, and took a bunch of pictures, then posted them on flickr. Some of them turned out pretty good, I think.

So today, someone from the drum circle asked if he could use some of them for the drumcircle newsletter, flyers, and things of that nature. He wanted to get some higher resolution versions to use for the above purposes. Well, color me flattered! I was happy to comply. However, I had a problem. Between the camera and flickr, I'd lost the original filenames...flickr had the descriptions I put in, but not the original filenames. I originally took about 350 pictures, and only posted 40 or so. How would I find the originals for the 6 or so the drum circle guy wanted without inspecting each of the 350 originals?

I didn't have the original filename, but I did have the exif data. So I conceived a fiendish plan! The exif data includes, among many other juicy details, the date and time the picture was taken. Flickr shows that data, and I could cross-reference the data from the original files to find the file I wanted. So, I wrote a quick python script:


#!/usr/bin/python

import os
from PIL import Image

for filename in os.listdir(os.curdir):
    img = Image.open(filename)
    print filename, img._getexif()[36867]

The PIL interface to exif data is unfortunately pretty raw at this point. To interpret the dictionary you get from _getexif(), look in the ExifTags module in PIL. That's where I found the magic number '36867'.

The script doesn't have any error checking or other features, but it took less that 5 minutes to write, and gives me results I need.

# python ~/python/imagedates.py > /tmp/imgdates.txt
# grep "20:01:24" /tmp/imgdates.txt
dsc_3626.jpg 2008:09:15 20:01:24

Viola! The file I wanted. A few more greps, and I had everything I need.

I could probably turn this into a more generic tool, with error checking, commandline arguments, an API to flickr, and whatnot, but quick and dirty got the job done.

One of those days.

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 03:36:00 +0000

I just spent the last 30 minutes breaking into my own house.

Nice to know the kids are such heavy sleepers.

Public service announcement

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:09:00 +0000

Do not go so the new animated Star Wars movie. It is horrible. Absolutely, unredeemably horrible. Do Not Want.

Brought the kids to see it, since I'd heard it was 'ok, for the kids'. Bad idea. It was not 'ok' for kids. It was horrible. The dialog. The voice acting. The 'plot'. The animation was at least decent, but everything else...I have not the words to express how horrible it was.

Garlic Hummus, a poem

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:51:00 +0000

4 cloves garlic, 1 can garbanzos, liquid reserved.

Food processor. Whir. Add some liquid. Whir.

Scrap, scrape, whir.

Grind black pepper.

Pinch salt. Some cilantro. Dollop tahini.

Whir.

Drizzle olive oil

Whir.

Drizzle drizzle.

Whir.

Done. Scrape, scrape. Refrigerate.

Alligators and milk

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:58:00 +0000

I have just conducted an unscientific experiment.

Method:

3 boys.
6 cups of milk.
- 2 pink, 1 orange, and three blue.

In the 2 pink and one orange cup, put a small amount of skim milk, purchased This Afternoon from the local farmer's market.

In the three blue cups, put an approximately equal amount of 2% milk from lowes foods, purchased Yesterday.

Do not allow The Boys to observe which cup contains which milk.

Place 2 cups in front of each Boy. One blue, one pink or orange. Ask Boys to taste each cup of milk in front of them, and then place the cup they prefer in the center of the Table. (I forgot to mention The Table above, but it is critical to this experiment.)

Results:

Boys 1 & 2 chose the Pink cups, containing the Farmer's Market milk. Boy three chose both the Orange and Blue cups. Despite the predilection of boys for Colors Other Than Pink, it is interesting to note that Boys 1 & 2 chose the pink cups over the blue. Boys 1 & 2 indicated that the milk in the Pink cups tasted 'like honey', and asked for more. Boy 3 said they both were the same, but wanted the milk in the orange cup because it 'tasted healthier'.

Conclusion:

None whatsoever. The sample size was too small, and the study was not double-blinded. More research is recommended.

Alligators:

We've just returned from New Orleans, and I should post about that, too.

Four things...

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 21:57:00 +0000

I've been...lacking...in my weekend chores lately. Today I did better, though, so I'm happy. I:

Replaced the leaky showerhead in the boy's bathroom

Mowed and weedwhacked the lawn

Ran some cat5 under the house to connect the downstairs computer - I even did the 'wall-plate' thing, instead of just a bare hole in the wall.

Replaced the broken toilet seat. I don't know how it got broken, and I don't want to. It's replaced now.

Not a lot, but it's progress. I still have a #5 I want to get done - play 'Sorry' with the kids after supper. Joni's making latkes for supper now. The kids are all downstairs playing around instead of cleaning the playroom. So maybe no supper or game for them if they keep it up. :-/

Oh, yeah!!!1!!l!

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:19:00 +0000

Thanks to my lovely and talented wife, I now own a Jayne Cobb hat! Aren't I just the luckiest?

Yes. Yes I am.

[edit - the wife wasn't happy with the lack of excitement in the title, and the shortness of the post overall]

William Shakespeare - Sonnet #18

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Bodies...

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 02:56:00 +0000

So, I took Isaac, Annette, and Christopher Robin to see Bodies, the Exhibition today.

It was, in a word, freaky. And pretty cool, too. Collin didn't go because he already had a chance to see it with some friends a few months ago. He and Joni went to play at a friend's house for the afternoon.

The fact that the displays were actual cadavers was a little weird, but it didn't seem to bother the kids at all. I was a little concerned about bringing Annette, both because I was worried she might be a little freaked out, and because we weren't sure if she would really be interested or get much out of it. I needn't have been concerned about the first part - she clearly understood that it was dead bodies, but it didn't bother her a bit, she was just curious and fascinated. As far as it being something she was interested in...well, we asked her what she wanted to learn by going to it, and she immediately started with "I want to learn how this is put together!" pointing at her ankle, and moving it around. Followed by her knee, and other parts of her body, for the next 30 minutes or so she asked lots of questions, and had lots of theories about what was inside her. So, clearly we had to take her. We were worried about Isaac for different reasons...he tends to get tired of museums and other activities quickly, and starts to whine and complain after a fairly short time. I decided to chance it anyway, since I thought he would find it interesting. Luckily, he didn't have too many problems.

We got there, got our tickets, and went into the first room, which was about bones. Like all of the exhibits, these were entirely real bones from actual cadavers. The kids were particularly interested in the three tiny bones from the ear, and the complete spine. After looking at the example spine, Isaac bent over as far as he could, and then leaned back the other way, while we talked about how the small bones in his spine allowed it to be flexible. Annette was also fascinated by the fact that there are no bones in the outside part of her ear. She pointed out the small hole in the head of the skeleton, and we discussed that the outside part of her ear was mostly made of cartilage. I let Christopher Robin explore wherever he wanted, as long as he stayed in the room we were in. He did a good job following this rule, and it was good that he didn't have to stick with us, since he wanted to look at things at a different pace from his brother and sister.

The next rooms showed muscles, nerves, the endocrine system, the circulatory system, and the reproductive organs. One of the most memorable parts to me was one exhibit where a skeleton and the muscles and tendons from the same body stood facing each other, holding hands. I'm not sure if Isaac and Annette ever quite 'got it', though. She seemed to think the skeleton and muscles were 'friends'. I guess that's close enough to true. :-) Another impressive part was the room with the circulatory system. I'm not sure how they managed it, but they had veins and capillaries separated from the various organs and other parts of the body, down to fine, fuzzy-looking capillaries. They even had an entire body-sized circulatory system. Christopher Robin had several questions for one of the employees of the exhibit in this room, who seemed fairly well-informed. Another display included the fairly predictable comparison of a healthy lung and one from a longtime smoker, looking....nasty. Next to this display was a large clear plastic container with a cigarette-box shaped hole in the top. There were several packs of cigarettes in the bottom. After I explained what was going on, Isaac wanted to go buy some cigarettes to put in the box. So, the exhibit actually *encouraged* my son to want to go buy cigarettes....oh well. :-) I explained that, no, we didn't want to go out and buy cigarettes for the box, but if any of us *did* smoke, we might decide not to because it was so unhealthy for our lungs.

The next room was the room with the reproductive system, and Annette wanted to know where the eggs were kept...so we found where the ovaries were on one of the models. In a small hallway off of this room, there was a room with a warning sign, that explained that the room contained embryos and fetuses, which were recovered from pregnancies that failed due to natural causes. I debated for several minutes whether to bring Annette into that room, because I didn't want to disturb her. Since we were in the reproductive room already, she asked if there were any babies. So, after having a talk with her and the boys, and preparing to deal with any problems she might have had, we went in. Isaac, at this point, was so tired I don't think he really cared one way or another. We went into the room, which had embryos from various weeks of development, as well as fetuses up to about 7 months. Annette was fascinated, and at first I didn't think she realized they were 'real' babies...but then she asked how one of them died. I was worried for a bit, however, while she was sad about it, she was very matter of fact and self-controlled. I explained that it didn't say why the babies died, but that sometimes things went wrong while the baby was in the mommy's tummy. She accepted this explanation, and was ok with the displays, which I was relieved about. I guess I shouldn't have been worried, since she had been so phlegmatic throughout the entire exhibit. Christopher Robin was a little unsettled by this room, but he was ok. And Isaac still seemed to tired to care.

The final room contained a few more models, and a large cross-section view of another body, with mounted transverse slices from an entire body. There was also a small display where you could touch a preserved heart and brain. Annette and Isaac very much wanted to touch them, but Christopher Robin wouldn't have anything to do with it. After a brief stop in the gift shop, I took the kids across the way for some ice cream, which they appreciated very much. Afterwards, we went to visit with some friends, and had a lovely dinner.

I think it was a very rewarding experience for all of the kids, and I'm glad that my fears of them being freaked out by the displays were unfounded. They all seemed interested, looked at all of the exhibits, and asked all kinds of questions. I highly recommend it to anyone who is in the area. I think there are several more cities on the 'tour', and it's in the Raleigh/Durham area for another week or so.

1 down...

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 19:31:00 +0000

So I noticed yesterday that Netflix was down. I expected it to come back right away, so I checked a couple of times throughout the day. Nothing. Pretty strange that a big web-based company would be down all day long. I took notice again when the event was mentioned on our local NPR station during Marketplace.

Today, my friend Chip mentioned that the hosting company 365, which hosts Netflix and lots of other companies went down for almost an entire day. That explains it, I guess.

Will they change their name to 364?

Too bad it isn't a leap year.

What the heck is wrong with Nintendo's customer service?!

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 01:25:00 +0000

Well...pretty much nothing, as far as I can tell.

We've had a Wii since Christmas, and mostly pretty happy with it. However, a month or so ago, a couple of the games started having problems where the unit couldn't read the discs. At first I assumed the kids just hadn't been handling the discs properly, but, upon further inspection I noticed that there were scratches around the perimeters of all of the discs. The scratches were perfectly circular, and seemed the same on all of the discs. Discs we played more had more scratches.

So, I called Nintendo customer service...the rep seemed skeptical, but went ahead and sent us a shipping label and told me to send the Wii in, along with the discs. (Nintendo paid for the shipping). After a week or so, I got an email asking me to contact them (at a different 1800 number). Fearing the worst, I called.

They essentially admitted the unit was at fault ("This can happen sometimes, especially if the unit is moved while the disc is running, but it shouldn't happen.") For the Nintendo licensed games, they said they would just replaced the discs for us. For the other, non-nintendo games, they said they did not have those discs to replace, but they offered to replace them with Nintendo games of our choice from their catalog. I didn't press the issue, so I don't know if I could've gotten some other form of satisfaction (cash?) if I didn't like that option. I picked some replacement games, and now they are sending the discs and unit back to me.

On the whole, I'm mostly very happy with the situation. Unfortunate that the unit scratched the discs, but, hey, things happen. Their customer service was pretty excellent, and no charge for the shipping was very good of them. A little annoying that they couldn't work something out with their licensee's to replace those discs, but on the other hand, we're getting new games. If we really want to play one of the other games we had, we can just buy it or rent it.

Philosophy with a three year old

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 23:14:00 +0000

I will postulate that it's impossible to 'win' a philisophical discussion with a three year old. They're too smart. I can't prove this, but here's a data point:

Annette: Can I play Elebits?
Me: No, we're about to have supper.
Annette: But I want to play!
Me (Attempts to distract): Well, maybe *you're* an Elebit.
Annette: I'm not!
Me: How do you know?
Annette: Just because Elebits aren't real!
Me: Oh. Are you real?
Annette: Yes!
Me: How do you know?
Annette: Because I'm wearing pants!

Valentines day

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 18:10:00 +0000

Valentines day was pretty good this year. I lavished Joni with presents, so I think she will forgive me that she didn't get flowers. We had our traditional fondue dinner. We were afraid at first that the cheese wasn't going to work out, but with some patience (on Joni's part), things worked out ok. We had two kinds of cheese fondue, and chocolate for dessert.

After supper, we put the kids to bed...they were all very good, but Annette in particular managed to be extra 'sweet'. We tucked her into bed, and sang to her ("Over the Rainbow"). She was very sweet to me, and cuddly - giving hugs, squeezing me tight, the whole deal. I stayed after the song to talk to her, and ask her if she had a good day, if she liked chocolate, etc. Then, when it was time for me to go, I said "Good night, I love you." Her reply:

"Go away now."

Ah, little girls!

Little girls...

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:44:00 +0000

So, this morning, Annette wanted to listen to The King. I, of course, complied. Then, since The King was singing, she wanted to dance. I danced with her for two songs, then said "Ok, one more and then we're done.". We danced once more, and then I put her down and told her it was time for me to go to work.

This is where things started to go awry, from my point of view. She ran from me and sat on the stairs. She looked down. She looked at me. She looked down again. She was sad. So sad.

So, I went over to her to talk. She ran away from me, sat on the rocking chair, and turned her face away.

You see where this is going. Of course, in the end, I capitulated, and, after much begging (on my part), she permitted me another dance. Then I handed her off to Joni for a dance from mama, and went to work.

I am so doomed.

Oh, frabjous day!

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 17:50:00 +0000

A good day to blog.

So, Isaac's favorite toy is "kid k'nex" - similar to the k'nex you may be familiar with, but with bigger pieces, and adding various fanciful parts...such as animal, vehicle, or robot-themed attachments. One of his favorites has been the airplane themed pieces. Alas, when we last visited Joni's parents, he lost the 'nosecone' piece, making his airplanes, unfortunately, incomplete. Well, today he called Joni's mom to see if she'd found it...she had not. He asked her to look under the couch...and there it was.

So...a good day.

In other news, my project at work is going very well, and I've been cooking more again, which is always fun.

I signed up for the newsletters from The Splendid Table, a public radio show about food. The show itself is entertaining to listen to, and sometimes a great source of ideas, even if it's a little more...gourmet...than I'm usually up for. However, the recipes in the newsletter are really fantastic. I've made a few of them, and they've always been delicious, and a great excuse to try something new. The instructions tend to be wonderfully detailed, which is especially nice for someone like me - I always feel like I'm 'missing' techniques or knowledge when I'm in the kitchen.

I made the Lemon Cream Tart - amazingly good, and relatively easy. I did of course make a terrible mess, which is to be expected.

Anyway, you can, and should, sign up for the newsletter at http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/ - look on the right-hand side of the page.

Really.

Death of a Crocodile Hunter

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 13:13:00 +0000

Yes, I know...I've been bad, and haven't updated this thingie in months.

But this seemed appropriate:

Death of a Crocodile Hunter

Poor Steve. :-(

Late update for Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 20:25:00 +0000

Sorry for the late update. On Friday, we were able to get our
schedule changed so we could leave for the work site at 7:30 instead
of 8:30. This gave us an extra hour of work in the morning before it
got too hot. We were on track to finish the second house, but
unfortunately there was a tornado warning in the area from a storm
system coming over the Gulf. For safety, we had to pack up and quit a
few hours early. I'm sure if we had been able to finish the day, we
would have been able to get the house done. The team was a little sad
that we weren't able to complete the house, but also very proud of
what we were able to accomplish in the time we had.

The big news for me personally was that, finally, I was eaten by an alligator!

After we got back to the camp, cleaned up, and packed, we headed into
the French Quarter for a little 'downtime'. We spent all evening
there, and make sure to visit the Cafe Du Monde one last time. A good
time was had by all, to be sure. There are lots of stories to tell
from that night, and many others that we are sworn to secrecy to never
tell. :-)

I don't have time to tell them right now, but I will hint that there
may be pictures appearing on Pete's people page showing several of us doing the 'YMCA' dance in full regalia.

Last night, we stayed at the Marriot hotel near the French Quarter, and this morning most of us flew back home.

I'll try to give a more thorough update tomorrow!

A picture

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 02:27:00 +0000

1000 words

The Camp.

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 01:38:00 +0000

Sorry about the triple-post...the internet connection at the camp is less-good than I'd hoped, so I mashed the submit button a few extra times to help it out.

For now, let me describe the camp in a little more detail. I'll leave the report about the house for a little bit later in the evening, for reasons which will become apparent. The camp is a grade school that was damaged by Katrina. Habitat for Humanity and Americorps are running the camp jointly. FEMA is no longer in the picture. I've heard various stories about mismanagement of funds and even embezzlement as the reason FEMA is no longer in charge, but I'm not sure how much of that is true. I can't compare it with the old camp, but from everything I hear, the new camp is much more relaxed than the old one. It definitely has an 'organized chaos' sort of feel. Most of the people running the operations of the camp are in their (low) twenties. Everyone seems to be running around, and often no one is sure who's responsibility something is, but everything somehow gets done. The busses out to the work site run on time, the food is prepared, the laundry gets done, and we can see day-to-day progress on the camp infrastructure. At the work site, everyone is safe, the rules are followed, and we are provided with everything we need. The 'Bus Captain', who is in charge of 2-4 teams, has a walkie-talkie to comunicate back with the camp.

Our bus captain is 'Jen', and she is the bestest bus captain *ever*. She makes sure everything is ready for us in the morning, makes sure we have everything we need. She reads us the safety rules every morning. she is constantly running back and forth between us and her other team, and when she isn't running, she's helping out with the work. She's an Americorp volunteer, and is here for seven weeks. Our bus driver today was also very cool - she gave us a tour of parts of St. Bernard Parish today, and has promised to take us for snow cones tomorrow!

I'll give you an update on the house a little later.

Over the hump

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 22:40:00 +0000

Woohoo!

We've got wifi at the camp! :-)

In other news, we finished our first house this morning, and we made a *huge* amount of progress on the second today. I think we can get it done by friday!

Today was a really, really good day. I think we all got into the swing of things, and that really helped us knock out a lot of...well...stuff. We got the majority of stuff out of two rooms and a large closet, down to the studs. We were all a bit amazed at the huge pile of debris in the front yard. We were also amazed by the amount of Crown Royal in this house. These people are true CR fans, to say the least. All of it goes to the EPA now, since it could be contaminated.
At this point it the week, I am tired, hot, and sweaty, but I'm also really, really energized. I am ready to go out and really get stuff done on this house.

Oh, and still no alligators. They'll be here, though, just when I least expect it.

Public service announcement.

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 02:48:00 +0000

By the way, if you post an anonymous comment, I have no idea who you are. Hence the 'anonymous' part. So give me a clue in the body of the message, or create an account. Otherwise I have no idea who I'm eating the beignets for. :-)

Also, Pete is updating the images on his people page, so if you can't get to them, please be patient and try back in a few minutes.

Napoleon's Itch

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 01:24:00 +0000

So, I'm sending this from an...interesting bar in the French Quarter. Still no internet at the camp, so we have to drive into town to get our internet fix. Luckily for us, this particular establishment has free Internet access.

The second day was in some ways easier and other ways harder. It was overcast and somewhat breezy, and therefore cooler. It was, however, far more humid. The work went very well today. We are almost done with our house. We did have some more 'critter' sightings -- a family of rats. About 30 of them. An extended family, I guess. Or maybe the in-laws were in for the week. I don't know. Anyway, the rats fled, and we continued work. No snakes yet. And no gators. Yet. I do have to say that I am *way* more sore today than yesterday. We'll see if I last the week.

The highlight of the day was, of course, the icecream man. Some enterpising guy had decided to drive through the flooded out neighborhoods in his ice cream truck, delivering his ice creamy goodness to the very few families with kids who are back in the area, and to the people working to clean out houses. Several of us ran for the truck with gleeful abandan, grateful for the chance to take a break from the work and enjoy.

We should get this house done tomorrow morning, and then we can move on to the next. The second house is somewhat larger, and has had virtually no prep work done to it. All of the furniture and appliances are exactly as they were after the hurricanes hit. This second house is a complete disaster. The water reached the attic, so all of the ceilings have fallen in. It's very sobering to take a few minutes to imagine your own house after a flood like this. Ten feet of water, soaking the house for a few days. All of the furniture is lifted off of the floor, and redistributed as it floats. Now, almost a year later, everything is covered with mold. The houses are inhabited by all kinds of vermin, including several kinds of viper.

After work, and showering, and rest, I went to dinner with my mom and grandmother. They live in Metaire, if you didn't already know. Their house got a few inches of water...which wasn't enough to devestate it, but enough to destroy the carpets, appliances, and cabinets. The people in the area we are working faired much, much worse.

Pete Graner, another Red Hatter here for the week, has put up some pictures.

They aren't organized at all, so you'll have to figure them out for yourself right now.

Anyway, I'll keep you guys updated when I can.

Doctor says you gonna die.

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 01:47:00 +0000

Can't sleep. I woke up at 5:30am this morning, which is ridiculously
early for me, even considering the time change. So, I got up, and
wandered around. I found a nice guy with an electric teakettle, so I
got a nice cuppa tea with breakfast. One thing I've gotta say,
there's a very eclectic bunch here. The man I borrowed the tea
kettle from for my tea was driving through the area, and decided to
stay for a little while, and is still here, five months later. I've
seen church groups, and high schoolers, hippies, and lots of Americorps
volunteers.

So, at about 8:30am, we headed out to the work site, not really sure
what to expect. The house we stopped at had already had a 'once
over', it looked like - all of the windows were already open (to let
in air and dry the place out), the fridge was gone, and some other
preliminary work had been done. Even so, the house was a total mess.
Drywall soaked with water and falling apart, parts of the ceiling
collapsed, insulation everywhere. We were well supplied with masks,
gloves, helmets, and of course the steel-toed boots. We broke out the
tools and started the destruction. We took down walls, broke up
cabinets, took up soggy, mildewed carpet, and took everything to the
curb. We didn't get the house quite complete, but I expect we'll get
it done tomorrow. The hardest parts were the personal effects of the
people who lived there. Most stuff was ruined of course, but
everything that seemed like in might be salvageable we put aside in
case the owners want it back. Most things, clothes, papers, books,
and anything else susceptible to water damage was not. We did find a
box in the attic with some wedding and baby shower memorabilia, so we
hope the owners can come back and retrieve that. I think since the
house had already had a chance to dry out, we were lucky with regards
to the presence of wildlife. No snakes, no spiders, only a few bugs
and roaches. And no alligators.

The work was hot. Sweaty. Highly unpleasant. We drank lots and lots
of water, though, and everyone stayed safe. We stopped at about 3:30
to head back to the camp. Everyone was in dire need of a shower, so
we showered off. After a shower and a nap, we decided to head to New
Orleans in search of food and Internet access! The drive back was
again very sobering...miles and miles of flooded-out houses,
practically until we reached the french quarter. Most business were
closed, and the ones that were open proudly proclaimed the fact with
hand painted signs. Once we got to the French Quarter, the city came
back to life. Most shops and buildings in the Quarter avoided the
worst of the damage, because the elevation is higher than the
surrounding areas. Yes, we visited the Cafe Du Monde. The beignets
were delicious, as always. The Internet access proved more difficult
that I'd expected, since the Cafe Du Monde's Internet access was down.
We've ended up in the lobby of a hotel, feeding off of their wifi
connection. We're going to head back to the camp now, and try to get
a good night's sleep.

Again, no idea when I'll be able to write back, but I'll keep in touch
when I can.

Still no alligators in sight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Oh, and the title? It's an 'in' joke. No, I'm not going to tell.

The Arrival.

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 01:21:00 +0000

This is a day late, because there ain't no internet at the camp. :-( I'm sending this from a hotel lobby near the French Quarter, through some random wifi connection.

4:15am. The alarm goes off. Way too early. Shower, pack the last
few things, and head to the office. There, I meet Laurie and Jimmy,
and we carpool to the airport. After handing our luggage over, we
pass through security. Jimmy and Laurie get through fine, but as I
pass through, the buzzer goes off. I get the..."please
step over here and have a seat" treatment. Things go pretty smoothly, though. A couple of
waves with the wand and a quick pat down, and I'm through. I meet up
with Greg, and we find our gate.

Then, after a short delay due to a thunderstorm, our flight is ready, and we head out. We head for Dulles first,
then on to New Orleans. The flights were pretty uneventful, all told.
Once we got into Louis Armstrong airport, we waited around for a few
of our team mates. Among us, we only had one set of lost bags, and
one seriously delayed flight. Not too bad. Once we had most of the
team collected, we got our rental car arrangements taken care of.
This took much longer than expected, due to the fascinatingly baroque
checkout system of our rental agency.

We then headed in our two rented vans to the campsite. Which turned
out not to be where it was supposed to be. They've moved campsites
since the last Red Hat team was there. The new camp was just a few
miles down the road. We registered without any trouble, and got our
room assignment. The new camp is a grade school building that was
apparently flooded. All of the walls, floors, and ceilings have been
removed. It's down to metal girders and brick walls now. Teams are
putting up drywall and doing other construction tasks constantly.
Apparently this is only the second week this camp has been inhabited.
The 'tents' turned out to be rooms separated with blue tarp, with
about twelve cots per room. There's an air conditioner in each room,
but it's still pretty hot here. There's also no Internet access to
speak of, so...

After getting acclimated and exploring for a little bit, we went to
orientation, which was pretty uneventful. Lots of safety information
and a basic description of the procedure. The part that got everyone
excited was the snake identification section. Cottonmouths,
rattlesnakes, water moccasins, and copperheads, oh my! The woman who
was presenting said that she found at least one of these snakes in
each house she cleaned, so tomorrow should be eventful.

I'm not sure how frequently I'll have access to an Internet
connection, but when I do, I'll try to update here. We took some
pictures on the way in, but I haven't had a chance to upload them yet.
I'll try to do that soon.

We leave for our first house tomorrow morning at 8:30. No-one has
mentioned alligators yet, but I'll keep my eyes open...

All packed

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 21:42:00 +0000

Everything is packed up, except the laptop. I'm meeting a couple of the other Red Hatters who are going at the office tomorrow morning at.....5:15?! What was I thinking?? Anyway, carpooling to the airport will make the parking cheaper.

What did I pack? Do you really care? I didn't think so.

But you're still reading. Why? Why can't you look away? Is it the power of the Blog? A human fascination with the mundane details of other people's lives? Or is it like that terrible wreck on the side of the highway that you can't not look at?

Anyway. Clothes, obviously. All the boring stuff like deoderant, shampoo, toothbrush. A very large container of foot powder. Q-tips. Lots of Q-tips. Two books (fantasy: The Runes of The Earth, by Stephen R. Donaldson and The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold). Tea (Green Hyson). Sandals. Steel-Toed boots. The paperwork required by The Feds that run the camp we'll be staying at, and Habitat for Humanity. Some CD's and DVD's (rumor has it there's a DVD player/tv available at the camp.) I won't try to list them now. Maybe later. Probably other stuff I'm forgetting. Probably not everything I'll want when I'm down there. But that's ok. I'm sure I'll have everything I need.

In case you're wondering, most of the actual equipment is provided by Habitat for Humanity when we get down there. The only 'equipment' we're required to bring is the steel-toed boots.

Assuming I can get internet access, I'll be back online tomorrow.

So I'm going to St. Bernard Parish

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norwood) — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 19:50:00 +0000

Ok. Right. Here goes.

So, my employer, being a socially responsible company, and also being composed of exceptionally Nice People, is funding a team of ten of us to go to St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana. St. Bernard Parish is east of New Orleans, and is essentially swampland. Very low-lying, and therefore susceptible to flooding. Many, many houses in the area were flooded when Katrina hit, and many people are still in need of assistance. Our purpose is to help the Habitat For Humanity with 'cleaning out' many of these houses. I understand this essentially means taking down the walls, taking out the carpet, taking out the cabinets. We'll leave basically the frame intact, and a later team will come and rebuild the houses. I understand axes will be involved. And respirators. And axes. And steel-toed boots. And alligators.

Yes, I know. The chances of getting eaten by an alligator while I'm down there are vanishingly small. I'm not really worried about alligators in particular. The alligator, however, makes an excellent focus for the apprehension I'm starting to feel about this whole venture. I am not in shape for this. I am not prepared, mentally, or physically. It will be hot. Humid. There will be mold. And possibly dead things. And face-eating rats. And alligators.

This was first announced several months ago, and I knew it was something I wanted to do. I had plenty of doubt, though. How would I manage to take a week off of work to do this? Am I really up to it?

Red Hat has already sent people to the area, and will be sending more. When the need for volunteers for this particular trip was announced, I turned to Greg, a coworker of mine, and said "Y'know, I really should do that." He replied "Yes, you really should. I'm going. Sign up." And so, before I could talk myself out of it, I checked with my wife, and I checked with my boss, and I signed up. Done. Volunteered. Doomed to be consumed alive by giant reptiles.

It will be a rewarding experience, one that I'll never forget. I am going there to help people who really need it. It will be hard, painful work, but ultimately I will look back on the experience, and I'll be glad I went. I know this. However, I also know, deep down, that I will get eaten by an alligator. Probably not in a literal sense of being chewed and digested. But in a somehow deeper, truer, sense. Eaten. By an Alligator.

Oh well. Here goes nothing. Gators, it's dinner time.