Jamie Thingelstad

The first privately funded spacecraft successfully reached suborbital space today!

Our power, which is horrible and goes out on a regular basis blipped today. This was a very short blip. Some devices didn’t reset. The UPS on all the system that have them kicked in and more sensitive systems did reset.

I’m logging this mainly for my own purposes with XcelEnergy.

Tammy and I went and played paintball today. It was pretty fun. Neither of us had done this before. Tammy actually brought the flag home for the victory in two different games. We played about 7 or 8 games throughout the day. My first game I played defense and didn’t even fire a shot. That was no fun. I also learned on the other side that Rambo tactics only work in the movies. Running and jumping over barriers with two guns blazing is just a quick way to get yourself out of the game.

Paintballs do sting a bit when they hit, but no welts to speak of. Quite a bit of fun. We played at Combat Zone which is about 90 minutes out of the cities up by St. Croix State Park (we were just there last weekend. It was a really well ran place and the people who ran it were good folks.

Huge thanks to Kristina Mauersberger for coordinating and herding all the cats to actually get this setup!

We went and saw Dodgeball tonight and I have to admit that while it’s a pretty stupid movie it is really funny. Don’t go expected any type of intellectual experience, this is chewing gum for the brain, but fine chewing gum it is.

“The average American is listed in at least 50 databases, and that’s not counting government files.”

This is the lead line in this article from PC Magazine about the amount of data that is stored about you in all the databases that different corporations have. Privacy on the Internet continues to be a long-term issue that concerns me greatly. I worry that our personal information is becoming a commodity on the network and that it will only be the technically savvy/elite and wealthy that are able to retain some control of their personal information.

What can you do to help ebb the flow? Be aware of this issue! The next time you are at Best Buy and they ask you for your zip code when making a purchase, say no! When asked to give freely information that can be used to give a profile for you, refuse. If you receive value that you feel is justified for turning over this information then go ahead, this is a transaction to buy your personal information. Just don’t give it away!

Organizations like the EFF are keeping an eye on this and they can use your support. Also, there is legislative action going on in this arena and it’s worth being aware of and letting your representatives know you care. With George W. at the helm, who knows what could happen to privacy legislation!

Tammy and I went to the Prince concert last night at the Xcel Center. I’ve never seen Prince before and he put on an impressive show. It was non-stop for a little over two hours. The stage and the lighting was very cool and the music was very good as well. Not being a consummate Prince fan, I probably wasn’t as “into it” as others at the show were.

We were guests of Trizec which is a property management firm we are considering moving our offices to. The suites at the Xcel Center are very nice. Nicer than even the Target Center.

Tammy and her Mom went and picked fresh strawberries today. I’ve already had at least a pound and a half of them. Fresh, real, vine ripened strawberries are just amazing. Strawberries are by far my favorite fruit and these are like an entirely different thing than what you get at the megamart or even the co-op. Yum!

Here is a series of three articles called Beyond Megapixels (part 1, 2 and 3) that is a very good read on the issues around digital photography and where the technology and industry is going.

We just got back from a quick overnight car camping trip to St. Croix State Park. The beauty of car camping is that you do really bring everything and the kitchen sink with you. We had our large tent which I affectionately refer to as “the condo” and blow-up mattress. The weather was fine even after a very rainy Friday.

We went for a long hike on Saturday covering a total of 9.6 miles. The first three miles of the trail, just like our actual campsite, was swarming with mosquitos. They were really terrible, and turned the first bit of our hike into an unplanned speed hike as we tried to stay a step in front of them. They were in fact so bad that it actually drove Tammy to use DEET for the first time. She hates the stuff – in fact is downright scared of it. This was no simple first time either since she used my Jungle Juice which is 95% DEET unlike your typical 10-15% found in most bug sprays. Enough with the skeeter talk.

Our hike was great. We had a wonderful campfire and good food. We broke camp right after completing breakfast on the new Coleman camp stove that I just “had to have”. Made pancakes, eggs and sausage (hey, this is car camping!). After leaving the jungle behind we went to Hinckley and did a couple of hours on our road bikes on the Willard-Munger State Trail out of Hinckley.

Aside from the mosquitos, it was a good trip. With the mosquitos, it was less than fun!