Over on Randy & Kristi’s Flickr account. I guess we still have to try to rescue ours from our drowned camera’s card; but maybe Martha already did.
UPDATE: More at Jacqiue’s Flickr account too.
Side note: for some reason those Blogger feeds never seem to update in my feed reader (Rojo). They work fine in other ones, but I am still using Rojo primarily for right now.
After finally deciding that it really is time for a new cell phone, I did some initial research and was pleasantly surprised by my current carrier’s data plan pricing policy. I initially switched to them (T-Mobile) because they were the only GSM provider at the time to offer truly unlimited data service, and they did so at a pretty decent rate ($20). Since then, I’ve added HotSpot coverage at a discounted rate, so I now have unlimited cell data PLUS WiFi at any Starbucks (or other “HotSpot” locations) for only $30.
The great surprise for me was in inquiring about moving up to a phone that supports the faster “EDGE” speed data on the phone, as well as (and probably more relevantly) for use on a paired device (PDA, laptop, etc). I was somewhat surprised to find that I can just keep my current data plan, because T-Mobile data plans will cover the top speed that your equipment is capable of using, and that’s all there is too it. All I need to do is get a phone that CAN use EDGE, and I’m already set up for using it, with no additional fees or configuration, INCLUDING no ridiculous surcharge for tethering (meaning using another device like you laptop) that some other providers try to get away with.
The last two days it appears that my spam filters have been getting a bit aggressive, which resulted in some legit comments being moderated. They should all be back now, for the world to see. Sorry Nathan and Jacquie!
Oh, yeah, and before I forget, I got pulled over on the way through some podunk 25MPH town right below Bishop on the way there, at about midnight.
I was pleasantly surprised to experience my first time getting pulled over without getting a ticket; I’ve never gotten away with just a warning before. I was going to take back all the crap I’ve said about Kern county cops after that, but then I was reminded that I was already in Inyo county by that point, so I guess my rather negative opinion of those Kern county policemen still stands. 
(for six hour car rides with kids, at least): Kids books on CD.
We enjoyed listening to the mystery adventures of Sammy Keyes during the large amounts of time we spent in the car over the last few days. Each book set is about six hours long, and we stocked up on several of them, all for free from the Oxnard public library (which is way better than the ones in Ventura, BTW).
It’s definitely a lot better than listening to the kids fight amongst themselves the whole way; although we didn’t completely miss out on that, it was definitely good to have something that could hold their attention for extended periods of time, and reading actual books while driving can make you carsick.
Well, it was quite a weekend, jam packed with camping fun. We drove up to Mammoth after soccer practice on Thursday afternoon -left about 7pm, arrived around 1am at the campsites that Randy & Kristi & Randy & Jacquie had saved earlier on Thursday.
We hiked a lap around Convict Lake on Friday, and got back just in time to hurry and put up the makeshift tarp-based coverings before (well, actually during) the rain starting to kick in. But the rain quickly passed, and it was worth it to hear those loud cracks of thunder, which I think is my favorite “nature” sound.
On Saturday we took a drive through Yosemite with several stops along the way, like we did last time (sorry, no photos yet for this year, but that link goes to the ones from the previous trip). Highlights for me included taking a swim in a river containing what was by far the coldest water I’d ever jumped into, and then seeing it start to sleet and snow on the way back down the hill exiting Yosemite and heading back to Mammoth.
Our camera got dunked when we were crossing over a waterfall on one of the trails, but I think we can still salvage some pictures from the card and then mooch off of the others for the rest of the photos. At least now we have an excuse to get a new camera, I guess.
More details later; for now, time to catch up with work…
This recent comment reminded me that after looking at my site stats, it’s surprising that my short and sweet Coke Zero Review post from last year has resulted in “coke zero” continuing to be one of the top search strings leading to this blog ever since.
I have no idea why…