Hello Mister

You're promoting what?

2008-09-07 21:10:06

I was at Power to the Peaceful this weekend, a free concert promoting peace and those who empower it. Michael Franti and his head of spears. Volunteer booths galore. You get the idea. Whilst perusing the booths, a woman stops me and asks me to sign her petition. "What is this petition about?" I begin.

Google Chrome (Beta) released

2008-09-03 23:17:59

I, for one, welcome our Google Overlords. Today Google released Google Chrome (beta). How exciting; a web browser from the people that have the best web stuff. Here's a cartoon about how great GChrome is supposed to be, and the motivation behind it. So how does it compare? Well, it looks a lot like a normal browser, except that the address bar is below the tabs. That this is an a

New look. New RSS feed!

2008-08-31 11:47:40

I've been wanting to update the site for a while. I think the fixed-width look is much cleaner, and the text is easier to read when in skinnier columns. I've also decided to rip out WordPress entirely and use my own system. WordPress just provided too much for the simple things I wanted to do, in fact making it more difficult to integrate into a custom site without using its templating system. I was also getting loads of spam comments (several a day). There are ways a

Focability

2008-08-28 06:58:08

I just discovered the Engrish site, a derivative of Lolcatz and the FAIL blog. It reminds me of a great moment in Indonesia. I was in Jakarta, navigating the glorious bureaucracy to obtain my permits. There was an Indonesian woman that hung out in front of my hostel, looking for English lessons. I agreed, so we set a time for a one hour lesson. So I meet her in the pavilion outsi

Thumbs up; let's do this.

2008-08-26 08:29:10

Quite a weekend. Friday night I saw Tropic Thunder with my co-workers. Funny but forgettable. I'd wait until it's on Comedy Central. Saturday I made it up to Japantown for the first time. After a bit of searching, I found some great Rilakkuma paraphernalia. I found my first Rilakkuma doll in a 3 story toy store in Shinjuku, Tokyo about four years ago. I bought it because, of the many bizarre things there, it seemed overly sexually sug

iPhone

2008-08-22 07:40:04

I bought an iPhone yesterday. The Apple store in San Francisco still has a 2+ hour wait at all times of day, so I got clever and went to an obscure-ish AT&T store in the Mission, near my apartment. Rumor has it the 3G network rivals DSL for speed, so I was excited. The thing they don't tell you, is that some areas (a lot of areas) aren't 3G compatible, even though there's no way to decouple this from your plan. That means, if you live in a rural area / small town like most Americans, y

I haz a funee

2008-07-20 12:22:50

HAI CAN HAS STDIO? BTW If u get dis, u haz 2 much time on ur handz VISUALIZE http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com/pictures-by-mekin/lolz KTHXBYE

Utilizing the big environment

2008-07-15 05:06:49

From today's e-mail: Dear Sir or Madam, Hope you all fine! This is Kevin from Shanghai ,China engaging in export various blinds ,fabrics . I am so glad to get your info about the photography, from my perspective ,it has common ground ,similar characteristics. Would you like to establish cooperation relationship with me on our business utilizing the 2008 Beijing Olympics big environment If you have intent or other advice ,pls feel free to cntact me! Best Regards!

I have a meme

2008-07-12 22:45:39

A meme is a "viral encapsulated idea, with built-in feedback loop". Popular YouTube videos are memes, funny pictures that get forwarded a thousand times are memes. You get the idea. In college, before the RIAA decided to take aggressive action against illegal (and legal) downloaders of music, Napster was all the rage and I, perhaps accidentally, managed to download a rather interesting tidbit. It has to be amongst the funniest things I've ever heard in my life, and most of my friends would agree wit

Best...ever

2008-07-10 06:05:58

Love my job. Love my city. 'Nuff said. I'm keeping the domain name.

San Francisco

2008-07-02 06:02:09

Day 2 at Havok. First things first: I'm supposed to become familiar with the Havok SDK, which means exploring some demos and reading documentation. The demos involve things like driving a big-rig through a field of ragdolls, which is hella fun. People (still?) use "hella", apparently. I'm (temporarily) living in Berkeley and commuting to San Francisco, which isn't nearly as bad as I feared. There's a comfy express bus that only

I'm moving to San Francisco

2008-06-25 05:53:00

Havok offered me a job as Developer Support Engineer in their San Francisco office last week. I start next Monday. Havok makes physics simulation middleware, mostly for video game developers, although Havok was also used in the attack of the Smiths sequence in The Matrix Reloaded. Support engineers are kind of like tech support for clients. I'll be doing that. I've been interested in physics simulation, particularly dynamics, for some time; consequently, I've

Destination: Truth

2008-06-19 06:42:59

Alex has informed us that the SciFi Channel will be showcasing orang pendek during a September episode of Destination Truth, a show that investigates "tales of the unexplained". The best part? The film crew is in Kerinci right now and just interviewed Alex as a representative of our project. Cool! I'll post details about the airing as they become available.

Results!

2008-06-16 03:17:59

As of Thursday, June 6^th, I've left Indonesia and returned to the United States. I was replaced by Alex, so he'll be carrying on the project. Alex just got back from his first trip to the field, where he collected photographs from the cameras I set up in April. We had long heard that Sumatran tigers were prevalent in the area; looks like it's true: <

It pays to be mentioned in the NY Times

2008-06-08 14:16:57

One of my web design clients got a mention in this Sunday's NY Times, with a link to their website...which I designed. I also took all photographs appearing on the site. They usually average about 50-100 hits per day. The article, which has been online since Friday, has caused a sp

Walking scab

2008-06-03 07:29:37

I awoke in Padang Airport a few days ago to find this miserable creature curled up with me on my air mattress.

Wha Mister? A compendium of strange moments.

2008-06-02 18:43:41

Back in 2006, I was driving around Kerinci about 10pm looking for an open wartel, a privately run phone booth. You see, Indonesians can't have pay phones like the rest of us, oh no; they have normal phones that you pay a guy to use. So in order to call the US (12 hours off), I had to call during unusual Indonesian business hours. I was out riding around on my motorbike, trying to find one of these places, when I spotted a gentlemen on the sidewalk. I was just beginning to feel comfortable wit

I'm a Singapore regular!

2008-05-31 07:42:35

A new first: Singapore immigration officers know who I am before opening my passport. That's right: I'm a regular Budget Terminal patron. I have 12 Singapore entry stamps and counting.

Vacation in Haiku

2008-05-19 15:35:16

Shopping paradise Four cultures blend together Relax. Singapore.

Ancient Thai culture Royal city of Bangkok Do you like Ping Pong?

Sukhothai ruins Buddha subduing mara Someone peed in here.

Have a foot massage And a six dollar Guiness Chiang Mai Night Bazaar.

Stop following us You are not the government. Taxi mafia.

Faces at sunset Silent stone. A king? A god? My pedal fe

Siem Rape

2008-05-11 13:57:21

So this morning I started out from Bangkok, Thailand destined for Siem Reap, Cambodia. Siem Reap is the closest town to the famed Temples at Angkor, and thus the Bangkok - Siem Reap route is extremely common. Some quick background on making the Bangkok to Siem Reap run: Travelers and guide books alike warn of so-called 'scam buses' that operate out of infamous Khao San Rd, a popular street for backpackers in Bangkok. The basic form of the scam is as

Crossing Batang Tebo on MAKE

2008-05-03 03:00:31

Sahar and I filmed a bit of a river crossing on our last trip out. I pieced it together in iMovie, sent it to my colleagues, and it found its way to MAKE magazine. Lots of useful comments telling us how wrong and deadly we're doing it. Click here for the original movie.

Older than I thought

2008-04-05 03:36:58

NC State University's Department of Registration and Records just sent me a letter on official NCSU stationary, notarized, and signed by a PhD holding representative of Registration and Records. The letter testifies that I was born on April 26, 1956. Apparently, I'm about to retire. These things come at you fast; you lose track of time and before you know it, you're facing your 52nd birthday. Where does the time go? Back in my day (apparently), we weren't concerned with such things. But you know

Dust. Damn dust and allergies.

2008-04-02 06:06:14

To my Indonesian readers: how do you do it? Really. I am allergic to dust, mold, mustiness, etc. I'm also allergic to cats, but not dogs. Otherwise, very few things bother me. Sometimes pollen does -- you know that springtime pollen where you find a layer of yellow stuff 1/8 inch thick over your car 4 hours after washing it? Well, Indonesian homes, being located on the equator and enjoying a balmy 80F year round, have never had the need (or money) for central heating and air. Thus, there i

Vince Vaughn

2008-03-30 14:36:17

I found this nugget of a story I wrote a few months back. At the time, I was cautioned against unnecessary publications, but I feel enough time has passed that it's okay. This has nothing to do with the camera trapping project, living in Indonesia, or anything else for that matter. But it's blog-worthy, and this is my only blog. The following story is an accurate representation of data contained in my memory. It's Wednesday night, and I have plans to meet some friends in Knoxville. Although three of u

Arrugh? [cocks head]

2008-03-28 04:42:29

You may relax. Please discontinue work on suicide plans; the site is back. So apparently the site went down sometime shortly after I left for the jungle. Perfect timing, really. Site goes down when I'm least able to do anything about it, or even know it. Anyway, the issue has been resolved (obviously), and it's back up and running normally. Life can resume as before.

A Pocket Guide to Indonesian

2008-03-13 14:27:29

Useful phrases

Salutations

Hello. Whoah!!!! And a fine day to you, sir/ma'am. Heeeellloooo, Mistair/Mistair!

Introductions

My name is ______. Nama saya ______. I am from _______. Saya dari ______. I am ______ years old. Umur saya ______ tahun. Please refrain from touching my genitals. Tolong jangan menyentuh kemaluan saya. The size is not important. Tidak apa apa ukurnya. I am already ale

A bit of the crazy

2008-03-06 11:25:40

I'm in an historical little town in southern Thailand called Nakhon Si Thammarat. I was wandering around looking for my favorite cultural entity, the shadow puppet (wayang kulit in Indonesian). The shadow puppets are painstakingly handmade from animal hide. Then, in all-night marathon performances, a master story-teller / puppeteer relates stories from the Hindu epic Ramayana while accompanied by a the unique soundings of the gamelan orchestra. It's in a class of its own. And every country in SE Asia tha

Zip Line

2008-02-25 20:36:22

I've had some requests for photos of the zip-line I used to cross the Tebo:

Successfully installed cameras in field: +1 objective completion Failed to bring all planned cameras: -0.1 objective completion Traversed difficult terrain for seven days: +283 a

Masih ada biji

2008-02-01 13:21:48

After yet another trip to the jungle I've formed the following conclusion regarding Indonesian men: either there are a statistically improbable number of homosexual men living in Indonesia, or there are some fantastic (and apparently positive) rumors concerning the genitalia of white men. Being the rare and fascinating specimen of a white male that I am, I often find myself in some rather pecular and socially anomalous situations. Although I remain ignorant of their content, these aforementioned rumors

Go time

2008-01-26 13:32:20

At last, it is time for me to collect on my arduous journey through Indonesian's infamous bureaucracy. At last, I'm going to the jungle! I've got all my permits lined up, complete with stamps, and all it cost me was 2 months of patience. I'm planning on a 7-9 day trip, with an extra day on each end to travel to the nearest town. I've talked to a lot of people who have been in or near our target area, but reports of both feasibility and route seem to vary greatly, so this first trek is mostly explora

Good planning, poor implementation

2008-01-13 08:41:44

Many things in Indonesia are a constant mystery to me. For example, I see corn growing everywhere, yet I never see it for sale in the market, and it is never served in restaurants. So where is all this corn going and who's buying it? A more common bizarreness causes me to wonder, "who thought that was a good idea?" You have to laugh at the absurdity of this situation:

Muara Angke

2008-01-08 07:32:37

Last night I went to a fish market in Jakarta in an area known as Muara Angke with Aya and her friends. You buy your fish in the market, which is a typically hectic Asian fish market, then take your catch to a series of special restaurants that only prepare food. They grill it up, add some spices, and serve rice.

Happy New Year

2008-01-02 09:59:06

I neglected to update my Tim Locator before taking off for a New Year's romp around eastern Java, but I've spent the last few days in places called Garut and Pangandaran. Garut is a hot springs "resort" about 5-7 hours by bus from Jakarta, depending on your luck. It's a sleepy mountain town famous for its hot springs that hotels pipe directly into your bathroom. Most places only have water of one temperature, and this is no exception. But for it to be hot water, now that is a treat.

Pangandaran

2008-01-02 09:57:49

After Garut, we went to Pangandaran, a beach in south Java, about halfway between Jakarta and Jogjakarta (Borobudur). We arrived on New Year's Eve in the, well, evening. Our hotel in Garut cost about US$10 / night, but they informed us as we were leaving that for New Year's the price would sky-rocket to US$50. Pangandaran is like the Cancun of Java (apparently). The beach is not particularly great, and the water is particularly deadly due to rough water. We were prepared for a crowd and price-gouging

"You are not cool. Please leave the bar area."

2007-12-22 15:34:56

I just got myself ejected from a bar for not being cool enough. Mate. My hostel has a bar on the ground floor with free Wi-Fi and live music. Cool. I'm a guest here, and there are no other common areas, so I grabbed a table and began going through some of the day's photos on my computer. After an hour or so, the bar filled up and the bar tender asked if he could get me a beer (S$6.00). As I'm down to my last S$7.00 (which I need for breakfast), I decided I didn't really need a beer. The sudslinge

Podcast

2007-12-20 12:02:34

Just posted my first podcast from Indonesia. Hear Yan singing a mournful rentak song about a love that never was. Appropriate for the wedding we were at...

Back in Singapore

2007-12-19 16:40:14

Sorry, this is a bit delayed. I've been in Singapore since Saturday night. I've returned to collect my (very official) research visa from the Indonesian embassy in Singapore. It takes a few days to process, there are public holidays, and, of course, they lost my application, so I have the week to, well, do nothing. I've been well fed and sheltered by a Czech family living in Singapore. I met the father last week in Kerinci of all places. This strikes me as particularly odd since (1) I lived in Kerin

Flood inspires video cast

2007-12-14 11:55:41

A few nights ago there was a fantastic flood in Sungai Penuh, during which the streets became rivers, Yan discovered his van's engine doesn't use a snorkel air intake, and various homes suffered water damage. Luckily, as the rain subsided, the water drained away within a couple of hours. However, it was exciting, as Yan's overzealous nature managed to strand us in the middle of thigh-deep rushing water. Unfortunately, I only had my pocket-digital with me (at least I had that, right?). But I took a

Delayed in Singapore

2007-12-05 05:40:56

A luggage delay and infrequent flights to Padang means I'll be staying in Singapore until Saturday, 8 December. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying free Wi-Fi, underground malls, and my airport-provided skin-whitening deodorant. I walked around Singapore rather aimlessly yesterday. Singapore has some nice attractions, if you enjoy shopping and can afford the plethora of classy restaurants. They do have the nicest zoo I've ever seen, but, well, I've seen it. I did, however, visit the Esplanade, a th

HelloMister.com launches!

2007-11-16 08:09:36

Welcome to HelloMister.com. I designed this site so that my friends and family could keep track of what's going on with me while I'm in Indonesia. So, a little bit about myself: My name is Tim, I'm 26, and I have bachelors of science in physics and applied mathematics from NC State University. From fall 2005 to fall 2006, I was involved with a National Geographic funded camera-trapping expedition in Indonesia. The goal of our project was, and still is, to capture the first photographic evidence of a sh