125 years ago today

125 years ago, the entire world shook. Almost literally.

On Aug 26-27, 1883, the volcano Krakatau/Krakatoa blew it's lid. It had simmered for several months, spitting out ash and smoke, but nothing like today. Krakatoa is a volcano island sitting between Java and Sumatra in the southeast Asian Indonesia.

Why is some volcano eruption 125 years ago important? Listen to the effects around the world:

• The volcano eruption had the force of 200 megatons of TNT, roughly equivent to 13,000 times the force of the "Little Boy" used in Hiroshima, Japan in WWII
• The sound of the explosions (actually at 10:20am on Aug 27 1883) were so loud, they were measured at 183 dB 100 miles away. Let me put this into perspective: A jet engine at 100 meters produces about 110-140 dB. This was 100 miles. 134 dB is supposedly the threshold of pain. Anyone within 100 mile radius of the explosion would have not only heard the explosion, but would have lost their hearing (at least maybe temporarily)
  
• The blast was audible in Perth, Australia, 2200 miles away, and also the island of Rodrigues, nearly 3000 miles away (and 4 hours after the event). The Guinness Book of World Records reports that the blast was heard on over 1/13 of the surface of the earth.
  
• The pressure shockwave from the final blast was measured on barometers all over the world. In fact, the wave was measured to circle the globe atleast 7 times, days after the event.
• According to an official Dutch count (Indonesia being a Dutch colony at the time), the eruption and resulting tsunamis killed 36,417, however unofficial counts place the death toll somewhere around 120,000. These tidal waves were reported anywhere from 100-130 feet high.
  
• In 1884, the year following the eruption, average temperatures around the globle dropped 2.16 degrees F due to ash in the upper atmosphere. The blast shot ash up to 50 miles high
• The ash in the upper atmosphere would have caused spectacular blood red sunsets all around the globe for years. The yellow light of the sun cutting through the earth at an angle at sunrise/sunset usually causes the reddish color, however it would have been amplified by the ash. It's thought that Edvard Munich's painting "The Scream" was directly influenced by the eruption, despite the fact that he was in Norway.

The power and effects of an eruption like this leave me in awe.

More info: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/08/dayintech_0826

Day 13: Cabo San Lucas

For those of you just joining us (or if you've forgotten since I've taken forever), I'm doing a recap of my 15-day Disney Magic repositioning cruise through the Panama Canal. DCL repositioned the Magic from Port Canaveral to San Pedro for the summer, and actually just yesterday set sail back. Onto the magical day in Cabo.

I woke up the morning of Cabo early (we had to adjust our clocks another hour back), and woke up with a bit of a sore throat. Some other cruisers called it "the Cabo crud." It was fitting. Regardless, I woke up around 6am-ish, looked out our stateroom window, and saw this:

Wow... Ok so just take me back right now! The blue ocean, the marine layer, the light off the rocks... Yep, this was my fav place. We took...ok everybody say it with me... a city tour.

Our first stop was a hotel, overlooking the small bay of Cabo. Cabo San Lucas literally means the cape of Saint Luke. If not, I just made that up. Don't blame me, I took 2 years of "thank-you-very-much" at St. Pats, and don't even remember any French. Except... oh nevermind. Where was I.... Ah yes, Cabo. And city tours. Turns out our tour guide (a lovely woman who gave us her email address and I've forgotten, but it had something to do with smile 2000 and yahoo) anyway, she teaches Spanish up in Chester, CA which is just across Lake Almanor from where I went to Sierra Bible Camp. Back in the day. My parents wanted to take a picture of me, so I finally posed next to some sort of agave plant. Maybe I should have taken off my backpack, I look like a photogeek wanna-be.

Back to our city tour, we next went to San Juan de Cabo, I guess John was Luke's brother. And they both had capes. Like superheroes. Here's the town square in San Juan de Cabo, and the family.

The third stop was to Cactimundo, a cactus farm! They created this cactus arangement just for us. You can see more cactus photos on my photo gallery.

Our final stop was at a glass blowing place. The glass was beautiful!

The tour ended and they gave us the option of being dropped off in the city, rather than being taken back to the dock to reboard the ship. We stopped in town, did some sightseeing and shopping before heading back. We stopped by the famous Cabo Wabo. Dad and I were going to get Hawaiian shirts, but they were like $75 so we said no thanks. :)

Before heading back to the ship, I went around to the far side and got one last shot of the beautiful Disney Magic:

At night, we had our last evening in Animator's Palate. It was "Pirates in the Carribbean" night, although we had been in the Pacific for several days. Just don't teach the kids. Grandpa looks like a menacing pirate, if only he could see through his bandana. Patricio, our assistant dining server found a butter knife, and you know pirates of the Pacific with butter knives are always up to no good!

I was really not hungry this evening for dessert, so when it came time for me to order, I simply said I'd pass. Maybe they took that a little too literally!

One last look at the beautiful Cabo San Lucas at sunset:

We went up on deck 10 for the Pirates in the Carribbean party! It was chilly, in fact I got a nifty sweatshirt that I plan on wearing this winter. The captain turned the boat, and we had a nice fireworks show to cap off the evening. It looked like there were plenty of people wanting to get pictures of the fireworks show! I have more fireworks and pictures in the gallery.

Check back again soon for the last two days at sea, embarkation in San Pedro, one exhausting day at Disneyland, and the end of the trip at http://mynameisnotjonas.blogspot.com!

Day 12: Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta was a cute little city! It was definitely smaller than Acapulco. We went on... yes, you guessed it, another city tour! The zip line excursion was all booked, and golf was way too expensive.

The first thing you notice is Wal-Mart is directly across the street from the ship. How about that! Yes, we went... I found an awesome gray silky button-up shirt with iguanas on it.

We had another cruise ship come into port just after us. I didn't think there'd be enough room for the both of us to fit!

Puerto Vallarta is a city of iguanas. We saw several on our short walk through part of the city. It was neat to get to walk around the city with our group. We passed shops, eateries, street painters, even went in an old Catholic church.

What really caught my eye was the flora. I got several shots of some flowers that just really caught the sun beautifully:

We didn't really do much that afternoon. We rested. That evening I didn't even take pictures of the dinner menus! The next morning we'd be pulling into Cabo San Lucas for our last port of call. And it was my favorite. Tune in next time (I promise it won't be a month!) at http://mynameisnotjonas.blogspot.com

Evening Music

My my... how time flies. It's been a while since I posted! I am working on finishing my cruise pics and trip report, I promise.

I recently (like 3 min ago) went through my MP3 collection (well most of it) and pulled out a list of evening music, nite time music, going to bed music, or even falling asleep music. Music that isn't hard, doesn't have a driving beat, and doesn't get the heart racing.

It features some jazz, some acoustic, some classical, some rock, some christian bands, some old school, some new school.

There might be a few suprises. BoyzIIMen is definitely old school. I remember playing this CD in 7th grade for the 8th grade graduation with Brooke. Donna Lewis "I Love You, Always Forever": yeah, I know it's really pop-ish, but I like it. I bought this single CD the day I got my drivers' license, Monday Sept 30, 1996. Hillary Duff... what can I say, I think it's a good song! ;) I bought the Hootie album in Japan with Katie and Dave. Jars of Clay fits my mellow mood quite a bit, so they are well represented. Jim Brickman, I think this song was in my wedding. "Bittersweet" indeed! Journey's "Lights" makes me think of the bay bridge, covered in fog, with the city (*the* city) in the background. Makes me homesick every time. Shawn Mullins' "Lullaby" reminds me of freshman year of college. Snow Patrol is one of my new favorites. Starship's "Sara" reminds me of my first crush... in kindergarden! That was back when I had velcro shoes. You know the ones, and you had 'em too. Admit it!!

Do you listen to music before/when you go to bed or use music to start to relax and help fall asleep? If so, what are your favorites? Leave me a comment on http://mynameisnotjonas.blogspot.com!

Here's my complete list:
Alfred Brendel - Mozart Piano Sonata in A, KV 331: 1. Tema con variazioni
Alfred Brendel - Mozart Piano Sonata in A, KV 331: 2. Menuetto
Alfred Brendel - Mozart Piano Sonata in A, KV 331: 3. Alle turca: Allegretto
Benny Weinbeck - Love Lights
Benny Weinbeck - Sweetheart
Bleach - Waving Goodbye
Boyz II Men - It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday
Caedmon's Call - There's A Stirring
Cake - Sad Songs And Waltzes
Chris Rice - Deep Enough To Dream
Chris Rice - Nothin'
Dave Matthews Band - Crash Into Me
Donna Lewis - I Love You Always Forever (Sylk Edit)
Eagles - Desperado
Enya - Orinoco Flow
Eric Clapton - Blue Eyes Blue
Eric Clapton - Layla
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven
Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight
Extreme - More Than Words
Hallmark - Clair de Lune
Hallmark - Largo from Xerxes
Hallmark - Meditation from Thais
Hilary Duff - Someone's Watching Over Me
Hootie & the Blowfish - Goodbye
Hootie & the Blowfish - Not Even The Trees
James Taylor - You've Got A Friend
Jars Of Clay - Dig
Jars Of Clay - Frail
Jars Of Clay - Hand
Jars Of Clay - Lonely People
Jars Of Clay - Much Afraid
Jars Of Clay - My Heavenly
Jars Of Clay - Needful Hands
Jars Of Clay - No One Loves Me Like You
Jars Of Clay - Overjoyed
Jars Of Clay - River Constantine
Jars Of Clay - This Road
Jewel - You Were Meant For Me
Jim Brickman - Bittersweet
John Lennon - Imagine
Josh Groban - You Raise Me Up
Josh Groban & Charlotte Church - The Prayer
Journey - Lights
Les Miserables - A Little Fall Of Rain
Les Miserables - Empty Chairs At Empty Tables
Les Miserables - Stars
Lisa Loeb - Stay (Acoustic)
Phantom of the Opera - The Music Of The Night
Miles Davis - It Never Entered My Mind
Newsboys - The Tide
Norah Jones - Don't Miss You At All
Norah Jones - Little Room
Norah Jones - Painter Song
Norah Jones - The Long Day Is Over
Norah Jones - The Nearness Of You
Norah Jones - Turn Me On
Nouveaux - I'll Cry Too
Petra - He's Been in My Shoes
PFR - Garden
R.E.M - Everybody Hurts
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Aeroplane
Restless Heart - I'll Still Be Loving You
Restless Heart - The Bluest Eyes In Texas
Richard Marx - Now And Forever
Richard Marx - Right Here Waiting For You
Richard Marx - Silent Scream
Richard Marx & Donna Lewis - At The Beginning
Seal - Kiss From a Rose
Semisonic - Closing Time
Shawn Colvin - Never Saw Blue Like That
Shawn Mullins - Lullaby
Sierra - I Know You Know
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
Starship - Sara
The Doors - People Are Strange
The Eagles - Peaceful Easy Feeling
The Katinas - Draw Me Closer
Vertical Horizon - He's Everything you Want

Tuesday Quickie

I'm working on the last few entries of my trip, here's a quick funny of math conversions:

1. Ratio of an igloo's circumference to its diameter = Eskimo Pi
2. 2000 pounds of Chinese soup = Won ton
3. 1 millionth of a mouthwash = 1 microscope
4. Time between slipping on a peel & hitting the ground = 1 bananosecond
5. Weight an evangelist carries with God = 1 billigram
6. Time it takes to sail 220 yds at 1 nautical mile/hr = Knotfurlong
7. 16.5' in the Twilight Zone = 1 Rod
8. Half a large intestine = 1 semicolon
9. 1,000,000 aches = 1 megahurt
10. Basic unit of laryngitis = 1 hoarsepower
11. Shortest distance between two jokes = A straight line
12. 453.6 graham crackers = 1 pound cake
13. 1 million-million microphones = 1 megaphone
14. 2 million bicycles = 2 megacycles
15. 365.25 days = 1 unicycle
16. 2000 mockingbirds = 2 kilomockingbirds
17. 52 cards = 1 decacards
18. 1 kilogram of falling figs = 1 FigNewton
19. 1000 milliliters of wet socks = 1 literhosen
20. 1 millionth of a fish = 1 microfiche
21. 1 trillion pins = 1 terrapin
22. 10 rations = 1 decoration
23. 100 rations = 1 C-ration
24. 2 monograms = 1 diagram
25. 4 nickels = 2 paradigms
26. 4 statute miles of intravenous surgical tubing at = 1 IV League
27. 100 Senators = NULL

Have a great Tuesday!

Day 11: En route to Puerto Vallarta

We had one sea day in between Acapulco and our next port of Puerto Vallarta. Here's the Indiana Jones-esque map:

I didn't take many pictures on the sea day, you've seen lots of pictures of the boat. I didn't even take a picture of the menus! I bet they were good tho. Steak, chicken, seafood, something memorable I'm sure.

Our special guests for this evening were Joey Fatone from N'SYNC and Alfonso Ribeiro who played Carlton on "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air." They were the evening entertainment!

Joey sang "Under the Sea" and needed some help with the words. ;o)

They actually did a pretty good job, I thought Alfonso had a very good voice!

That's it for today folks! The next post will cover Puerto Vallarta, the city of iguanas, the Mexican navy, and Wal-Mart. Stay tuned at http://mynameisnotjonas.blogspot.com!

Day 10: Acapulco

Acapulco... a city with a mysterious name. Supposedly the Pacific coast resort town became famous because Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton came here for their honeymoon, and the rest is history. Something like that. It was a big, interesting, busy place.

We pulled into the harbor later in the morning, around 10:30-11am. My family had a city tour bus ride with the famous Acapulco cliff divers. It was pretty cool. I've been trying to work on a neat slideshow, frame by frame of the cliff divers diving off the cliff, but it is going to take waaaay too long to finish. Maybe another blog entry!

The city tour took us down the main drag and through Acapulco's three districts. I don't remember what they are, diamond, gold, and silver? Something like that.

We went down and drove by a really expensive area, armed guards at entrances and we couldn't really go anywhere. I got a few good shots from the bus tho.




This is a really nice looking area that we didn't get to go see. I looked very scenic, a beautiful little cove with a wonderful beach:

We drove past this nice hotel, it was Mayan-inspired, can't you tell??

For my good friends Jeremy and Amanda, Mexican gelato (with Internet access):

We did see the cliff divers. If I find the inspiration, I'll make a cool animation of them jumping from the cliff. Or you can just take my word that they did it and save me the trouble!

My grandparents ended up on a different bus somehow, I personally don't think that Jewish Mexican tour buses scare me, but I guess there's always exceptions!

Dinner the night of Acapulco was the Mexican Riviera night, complete with Minnie's Mexican Party (or something like that) later that evening:

I met Suzi (on the left) in the cafe one evening, and we chatted for a bit. I saw her later at the Minnie party serving drinks and posing for someone else, so I decided to snap a shot myself! I found out later, Suzi had her wisdom teeth pulled when we stopped in Cabo San Lucas. Ouch!

We pulled out of port about 10:00pm local time, waving goodbye to the city of Acapulco.

One interesting shot, taken on deck 10 aft, on the right is Palo (mmmmmm), with the ship's stacks and the bright moon in the distance.

That's it for now! Our next night would feature two special guests, who all children of the early 90s will recognize. Check back soon for our special guest, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and Los Angeles at http://mynameisnotjonas.blogspot.com!

Day 8-9: En Route to Acapulco

Off we go!

We had a couple of sea days. One of these featured another guest speaker, Don "Ducky" Williams. Don had a dream when he was a kid of working for Disney. In fact, when he was 10, he sent a letter to Walt himself asking if there was any openings and to keep him in mind. He actually received a polite reply from Walt explaining that they had no openings for aspiring 10 year old artists, but to keep them in mind later. Don explained that of all his collection, this was his most prized possession.

Don went into the banking business, as a teller, then a bank manager. He loved to doodle. Every Christmas, he'd put up some of his drawings in his office. This caught the attention of a local news reporter, one of his clients, who did a feature story on him.

Many people convinced him to send his work to Disney, and after much prodding, he finally did. They sat on somebody's desk for months, untouched. His contact liked his work, and asked him to send more. Every week, Don would create 100-150 works, and mail them down to Walt Disney World. He'd work his 40 hours in the banking business, then come home and draw.

Eventually, he decided he would need to move to Florida in order to work at Disney. He said he would get any job he could at the Walt Disney Company, and maybe he could work his way in. He got a job waiting tables at a nearby hotel, visiting the Disney HR group daily to ask about jobs. Finally, he found something, and it turned out to be a park caricature artist! He took the position. Instead of mailing the 100-150 works of art each week, he could hand deliver them to his contact. Finally they eliminated the caricature artists. He was looking for something else when a position opened for an artist.

The guy who he was to interview with was in the office right next to the contact he had been sending all his art to! So when they wanted to see some samples, they had about 10,000 works to check out.

Don began working on a 30-day trial position, and just kinda stayed around. He did artworks of Mickey, Donald (his favorite), Goofy, Minnie, and all the other characters. In addition, he learned how to draw portraits of Walt, and other real-type pictures. He has now been with the Walt Disney Company for over 30 years.

Don explains his story over a 60 minute session, and while telling his story draws some characters on a sketch pad. His sketches are raffled off (for free) at the end of the session. During the session, he sketched out 26 characters. I was one number away from getting one! There are some on ebay... but I don't need one that bad. :o)

Dinner was the Prince and Princess menu. The signature dessert was the glass slipper. The evening show was "Twice Charmed" which I've seen before, and I skipped.

Day 9 was so eventful that I only have pictures of the dinner menu! Looking back, I don't think I even did anything this day. Must have been nice. :o) Dinner was the Master Chef menu:

The show was new, it was called "The Art of the Story." It was really neat. I managed to snap some pictures later on deck 10. The picture on the right is the adults only area, with pool, two hot tubs, bar, and coffee shop in the back.

Thanks for stopping by at http://mynameisnotjonas.blogspot.com! I'll have more pictures and trip report from Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas before the final leg to Los Angeles!