Bring me back!

Hillside Trail II
Originally uploaded by Rohan Kohli.

I purchased a handheld GPS device a couple weeks ago, and today I made the dinky device go the distance. I walked a mile and a half of an unmarked trail in Bloomington, marking waypoints along the way on the handheld. At the end of my journey, I had no clue where I was - having suspended my own sense of navigation so I could really test the gadget. This is approximately where I was


And, boy, did it bring me back to my starting point! It's a Garmin eTrex (the yellow cell phone-like device you see on the ledge in the first photo), and it locks to 4 satellites before a trek. Then an animated character walks along with you leaving a trail behind. When I wanted to navigate back to where I started, I simply had to walk along with the on-screen character and bingo! I was there. About 40 ft from the point of origin, the GPS flashed 'Destination arriving' which impressed me no end.

Carving it as much an art as hunting it

CAUTION: If you're queasy about looking at animals being cut up, quit reading now.

We cut up the deer at Jim's garage Tuesday evening. It was a great big stag party with Keith, Jim, Matt, Mike, and I hacking away with pop and beer for company. Oh, and there was Chuck the Unlucky Buck.

Here's Keith with his 7-point prize, his biggest and first with bow and arrow


We started with something like this


and ended up with something like this


Under the careful guidance of expert carver Jim, newbies like me learned the delicate art of slicing, sawing, cleaving, chopping, and packing the meat. The deer yielded about 40 pounds of meat, portions of which will be used to make jerky, bacon, hamburgers, and steaks. Here's Jim and Keith totally engrossed in extracting another pound of flesh


Mike drove from out of town to help with the butchering. And Matt's always a fun guy to have around. He's a smart aleck who pulled quite a few legs, except the deer's. Here's Mike at work with Matt for company


Chuck, RIP.

Yeah, right.

Chicago - The Whirlwindy City

It's been a while since I posted. In that time, I've been around the Twin Cities a little more and spent one 'Walking Weekend' in Chicago. And it had to be this big city where I would meet an acquaintance from 26 years ago. Crazy thing - and it seems crazier the more I think of it - but I recognized him within seconds of seeing him after a score and six years!

Anyway, so we started our city tour on foot a good 45 minutes after the appointed time, thanks to my colleagues full of excuses. I, therefore, had lots of time to click pictures of the Birmingham Fountain in all manners. Here's a group of Segway tourists getting a lowdown on the fountain's architecture.



At $75 an hour we weren't doing the Segway the whole day. So we straightaway hit the Mag Mile walking, and among the towering big brands, I saw some genuine local innovation. Watch this:



Just a few empty paint cans, a couple sticks, some skill, and lots of dollars. But after a while, it was just noise. Downtown Chicago was crawling with these guys on the weekend.

Later, we did lunch, the Art Institute, many invigorating cups of coffee, and the mandatory climb up the Sears.

There was also a public wedding underway. The bride and groom walked hand in hand



looking longingly into each others' eyes



and finally sealing it with a kiss



Ah! a Kodak moment.

We rounded off our day with dinner at the Navy Pier. It was too late for Ben & Jerry's to keep up with us, so we went home without ice cream.

Interview: Pilot who intercepted AMS-BOM NW42

On August 22 2006, a dozen men on board flight NW42 were responsible for what is known as 'turnback' in aviation terms. Their suspicious behaviour caused the crew to call for fighter jet escorts.

One of the pilots of a jet that intercepted the Northwest flight spoke to me about what happened that morning. For reasons of confidentiality, his identity cannot be revealed.

Listen to the interview.

Theme - "Three Away From Zero"Written & Performed by:Derek R. Audette - (C) MMV(Creative Commons)

Thanks to Sanjay Gulati (Tony) for arranging and hosting the interview.

The Laughing Princess

The Minnehaha Depot was dubbed 'the Princess' when it was part of a busy railway line in the late 19th century. Standing in one corner of the Minnehaha Park, the Princess' laughter may be muffled in the early 21st century, but her charm remains intact. You ask for evidence? Watch the jolly old station master still hanging on to her.