NCAR- Mesa Lab

This is truly one of the most remarkable works of architecture. And true to the theory of fabulous works of architecture- it leaks when it rains. It is also incredibly difficult to find your way around and the floor with the board room doesn't have a bathroom. It is located 4 floors below.
It was fabulous to see. Imagine working in a place where the deer romp in the back garden and you can climb mountains or ride bikes in your lunch hour

National Energy Lab

This is the super secret lab that we had to show our passports in order to get see what I gather was a very large, empty office building. Apparently we had to submit document several days in advance to be approved. Since we couldn't go in I asked one of the jounalists to take notes and tell me what was there. He told me that the Mars Rover prototype was in the building. Of course he was joking, and it was very funny as each of the other journalists took turns telling me about all the cool things we had missed.
Honestly- I have a Nexus pass that I needed an FBI background check and a retinal scan and a fingerprint, but they won't let me in an empty building.

nailed it!

For reasons I can't explain, nothing is loading on this web site. I have some terrific video which crashes each time I upload it. The last few blog postings are of the NCAR super expesive and way cool plane. It's like a kid's toy. Scientific equipment snaps on and off the wings and nose cone. The entire plane is stripped bare and people and equipment can be strategically loaded into place. They have a room where the equipment is spray painted. Now the interesting thing was why some of the equipment was a funny puke yellow. If something is this color it means it is a prototype. We couldn't take photos of the nose of the plane as it was a secret. Not that any of the journalists would know what the equipment might be, but no photos.
It should be noted that I am a "foreign national" and so cannot be trusted to know such details.

part 3

argh!!

I have now loaded these silly pictures 4 times and each time the program crashes. Let's try this yet again

where do hurricanes come from - part one

turtle independence day- photos

Number two on my list of things to do before I die, was the Turtle Independence Day at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel. The staff there work with Seaworld to save the endangered Hawaiian Green Turtle. They raise the tiny turtles for several years to give them a chance to grow large enough to survive some of the predators who want to eat them. They clean them up, put on a tracking chip and with great ceremony, release them into the wild. The chanting and dancing by a local group made the release more meaningful. Each turtle was given an Hawaiian name and was gently carried to the ocean on a stretcher held by children or Keiki.