Racism

I just read an article on Yahoo about a huge number of anti-black hate crimes popping up around the country, and it reminded me again of how entrenched hatred and racism are in this country.

I remember seeing the Watts riots on TV in 1963, and wondering why the blacks in Los Angeles were so angry, and why they took it out on their local businesses, burning and looting the furniture stores and liquor stores of the south Los Angeles area.

I remember being shocked at the disparity between the opinions of blacks and whites in the O.J. Simpson case. As I recall, during the criminal trial, some 80-90% of white people though O.J. was guilty while some 80-90% of black people thought O.J. was not guilty. I remember wondering how this could be so, when the facts of the case seemed so clearly to point to O.J.'s guilt.

The Yahoo article pointed out that the widespread expressions of anger and hatred against blacks is like when a man comes home from a bad day at work and kicks the dog. The dog didn't cause the bad day at work, but gets to be a convenient target. Likewise, the store owners represented wealth and power not available to most Watts residents, so they were the target of their anger.

The only way I could reconcile the disparity of opinion on O.J. is this: It seemed that blacks wanted O.J. to be acquitted because it would show that wealth and status counts in overcoming being accused of a crime, even for black people. That the black population wanted to believe that the reason so many black men are in jail, are on death row for crimes white people would not be in jail or be on death row for was because of economic disparity not because of racial bias.

If this were true, if a rich and prominent black man could get acquitted or a light sentence for a crime he clearly committed, as so often happens for white people (Nixon, Dan White, Charles Keating, Enron for example), that would give black people hope. Hope that the source of the bias in the legal system is economic, not racial. After all, we can change our economic situation more easily than we can change the color of our skin.

I for one am amazed and pleased that 52% of the population is willing to elect a black man as president. I take it as a hopeful sign that racism is waning, as significant a step as abolition of slavery and the 1964 civil rights act. Those milestones brought about open expressions of racism, bringing hatred's ugliness out into the light of day. Is it possible that we can look forward to a day when race is not a factor in how people are viewed? That a man can "be judged not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character" as Dr. King prophesied?

In the Yahoo article about race crime, someone was quoted as saying that racism is like cancer; it goes into remission but is never really cured. The racist response to Obama's victory has shown that the cancer of hatred continues to thrive in the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave.

"Model" Photo Shoot

My daughter is in high school and wants to go to college to learn costume design. Part of getting in to an art school where they teach things like that is to provide a portfolio. Fortunately, she goes to an art-oriented high school, so she has some art already, and also has made some of her own clothes.

So she came to me yesterday wanting me to make photos of a few outfits she has made for herself. Great oppo to put my Strobist learning into action.

So we hung a sheet over a PVC frame I made for a backdrop, set the camera up carefully. My new D90 has a great function where you press Info and it displays all the important settings on the back, and you can just work your way around the screen and make sure all is well. Focus mode AF-S, WB Auto, ISO 200, Shutter speed 1/200 s, and F-stop about 6 or so.

We're in the living room with no direct sunlight in sight -- am figuring to light the scene entirely with strobe. Pop a test shot with no flash, make sure ambient is not a factor.

Create ambient: set an SB-600 on 1/16 power and aim it at the ceiling behind me. Adjust power up a couple times. Final test shot shows about 1-2 stops below normal exposure. Cool.

Next, create key light: set an SB-800 at 1/4 power into a shoot thru umbrella on a stand about (her) head height. Test shot shows fall off down her body; we're not doing portraits, we're capturing how the clothes look. Lower the stand one foot.

Last, set up the on-cam flash for a bit of fill. TTL set at -1 should fill in any dark shadows. A test pop and things look great.

Made all the shots with no further fussing on lighting, which was great; we had to concentrate on making poses and making sure everything looks right. Except for the all-black outfit. Chimping showed there was little detail on the black (I didn't think to check the histogram though). So I boosted the key light up one full stop to 1/2 power.

She opened the images in photoshop and said "these are great. The only thing I have to do is take out the bruises on my legs." She expected to have to mess with the images, and was happy that they were great as-is.

Thanks David Hobby for the Strobist inspiration!

Gooseberry Mesa and the Grand Canyon

What an experience! Five days with Rim Tours on mountain bikes.

The plan was to ride across the Kaibab Plateau to the Grand Canyon. But the weather at the Grand Canyon was not cooperating, with 4 inches of snow reported on the Arizona Trail.

We met up Monday, Memorial Day. I was eating breakfast at the hotel when Mike, one of our Rim Tours guides comes in to the breakfast area and introduces himself. He explained that the weather wasn't looking good, and got onto his laptop to get a weather report. Then we went outside and, at the planned meeting time, 8AM, I was the LAST guest to give my stuff to the other guide, Christina. Yep, all the other participants in the tour were there, ready, and had already loaded their stuff before I showed up at 8:00. Well, maybe it was 8:05.

We rolled out about 8:20 and headed to some of the local trails near Hurricane, UT.



One was called the Jem trail, and I can't remember the other trail. The weather was sorta warm - maybe 65-70, but very unstable, with occasional squalls and hard rain. The trails were very cool, with some medium steep climbs, and some really great roller coaster sections. After riding for a few hours, a great lunch provided by our guides, then a few more hours of riding, we packed up and headed for Gooseberry Mesa.

I should mention this is the second trip I've done with Rim Tours. They really do it right. Their fees are not cheap; you can stay in a nice resort for the $/day Rim Tours charges. But it's so worth it. The food is great, the guides are really cool and knowledgeable. The other patrons were a lot of fun to ride and hang out with too.



Gooseberry Mesa was above where we were riding earlier in the day, but it seemed like another world. The only structure I saw there was an outhouse; one of those cool cinder block ones with a vent stack that is designed not to stink much and isn't loaded with graffiti and trash.



We found space for our five tents - two Australian couples, and three of us who came on the tour by ourselves. Our guides didn't bother with tents for themselves; Mike slept on a cot under the stars, and Christina slept in the van.

Tuesday morning we got to sample the trails of Gooseberry Mesa. Unbelievable. Trails that wind in and out of pinyon pines, yucca and various cactuses and lead to technical slickrock sections. These trails have *flow*, and are super enjoyable riding. There are a few areas that were too technical for me, so getting off and walking messed up the flow a bit, but the trails are just super cool riding.




I'm already looking forward to my next trip to Gooseberry Mesa.

After 2-1/2 days near St. George, we did take off for the Grand Canyon, and of course it was beautiful. We were in the Kaibab National Forest, so we could ride on the trails. In National Parks, riding on trails is against the rules.



Our camp near the edge of the Grand Canyon



This view was a 3 minute walk from the camp site.



Riding through this meadow, I was really impressed with the trees bowed toward the trail.



Aspens.

So, the Grand Canyon was an awesome experience, and I do want to go back to the Kaibab Plateau. The mountain bike riding at Gooseberry Mesa was the very best I've ever seen, and I probably never would have ridden there if the weather hadn't been too cold at the beginning of the week. How lucky can a guy get?

Photo Stream on Flickr

Please take a look at my photo stream on Flickr here.

freewheel510 - What's in a name?

I was looking for a distinctive email name for myself for a new account on Yahoo a few years ago, and came up with "freewheel". The name specifically refers to the component of a bicycle that, having worked to reach the top of a grade, allows us to relax our legs and coast down the other side. I happen to think that the freewheel is one of the most brilliant ideas of all humanity. Along with its close cousin, the ratchet wrench, that allows us to turn a bolt by increments without having to lift the socket off the bolt. Somehow the wheel has received much well-deserved attention, but its close cousin, the freewheel, is relatively an unsung hero.

There are many other components, of course, that make a bicycle possible, the chain and sprocket, spoke wheels, pneumatic tires, and I don't want to take anything away from those brilliant inventions.

I don't really understand the current fascination with fixed wheel bikes, where your legs must turn whenever the back wheel turns. I guess I need to try it, and maybe I'd like it, but I can guarantee if I ever had a fixed wheel bike, it would be at least a third bike, behind a geared road bike and a geared off-road bike.

I did try a friend's single speed mountain bike one day. I was just getting over a cold, and could have used the gear to be a bit lower, but it was pretty cool. For some people, a single speed bike recalls their youth; most bikes owned by kids are single speeds of course. I was 10 when I got my first 10-speed for Christmas; a light green Schwinn Varsity. It was a tank of a bike with welded steel frame and steel 27-inch rims, but way faster than my friends' Sting Rays and utility bikes (now called "cruisers").

The other implication of freewheel is the notion of freedom that goes with wheels. When I was a 6 or 7 year old kid I fantasized about having a Land Rover -- the old kind that goes anywhere and is easy to fix, not the high-maintenance toy of the wealthy they produce now. Later I got into motorcycles and the Freedom of the Trail That Goes Nowhere beckoned. Ironically when I was fantasizing about the Land Rover, I had a bicycle and didn't recognize the potential for Free Wheeling of the bike. Now I've had motorcycles and cars (no Land Rovers though), the freedom of movement offered by a modern bicycle is ultimate. No fossil fuel needed.

My current favorite ride is a Parlee carbon fiber bike, with Record gruppo. It works super well. My off road ride is a Yeti 575 with SRAM drivetrain and Hayes disk brakes. Also works great, although I'm not super happy with the Manitou forks. I have a couple other road bikes as well, including a old lugged steel Colnago that I don't ride much because it's just too pretty. I also have a 1988 Honda Hawk that I enjoy, but don't ride too often.

My ID is freewheel510. I explained the freewheel part already. The 510 is a combination of the two interstates I've lived near since I was young. I grew up in LA, then moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, about 40 miles from I-5. Then lived in Houston, about 15 miles south of I-10, then back to the greater LA area, and work about 2 miles from where the I-5 and the I-10 intersect.

Monte Carlo Filter Simulation

Right now, this is a placeholder, but my plan is to include links to descriptive documentation, source code, operating instructions, a compiled "library" file, and test data sets for a simple filter simulation. The filter simulation models the interaction between the sand/gravel filter and the relatively impervious core material of an earthen dam.

There are other applications for sand/gravel filters, of course, but my field is dam engineering, so that's how I describe it. Other applications might include wells, pool filters, and many other areas.

Why Travel?

The other day I had a conversation with a fellow on the train. I ride the train to work most days, and will occasionally chat with fellow passengers. This fellow said, "I don't see why I would want to travel overseas, when there's so much to see here in the USA."

He has a good point. There is plenty to see here in the US. I live in California, and within a few hours you can be in the desert, the mountains, on the beach, in a big city or in deserted canyons. The natural beauty of Arizona, Utah and Colorado can't be beat. There's a lot to see here all right.

But in some ways it's all the same. Everywhere you go there's a Denny's and a Starbuck's and a McDonalds and a KFC. The wealthy people drive big new cars, the poor people drive big old cars or ride the bus. Every town has a Main Street and a Broadway and the fruit looks the same from coast to coast.

When you go south of the border, into Mexico or Central America, you see a different world, where there is no minimum wage, where welfare is not guaranteed, where the fruit is local and seasonal. Where graffiti is not just claiming gang territory but makes political statements. Where not everyone speaks English, but your bad Spanish is listened to patiently, and people want to help.

Not better in every way, but very different. Why travel?

To get perspective on the world, on the lives of others, on our own lives.