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MOUNTAIN bike My old camera died a curious death. I bicycled from my home in Hsi Chih into the mountains to the East. Up and down and through some bizarre remote spots I went. I took many pictures of roadside temples and shrines and a memorial on top of a big-ass not-to-be-biked-up-again mountain. I found myself, eventually, at the NorthEast Shore natural park. From there, I bicycled south to the beaches on the East Coast. Then I back tracked to Keelung. The odometer on my legs reached approx. 70km that day. I put the bike on the train and road home from Keelung.
How did my camera die? My friends at Quantum can attest to my rare talent for sweating. Note to Gary: do you still leave sweat angels? I do, and I do my sit ups on the concrete slabs on the roof of my building and I still leave the mark. The camera was in my pocket for this long trip. Sweat + camera = dead camera.
Initially when I tried to download the images, the computer said that they were all corrupt. Somehow I got it to work, though, and here are the images I could salvage.
I saw so many tiny temples and shrines dotting the mountains, I stopped taking pictures after the fourth or fifth. The coolest was a huge memorial on the side of a mountain. I climbed up the 3-billion steps on the shrine below and then began hiking up a path to the top of the mountain an realized that I still had to bicycle at least an hour in any direction to get anywhere. I got back on the bike and continued east.
Sadly, many pictures did not survive. This was my first trip to Keelung and none of the pictures of the city made it. The great thing about this camera dying was that it inspired me to spend large sums of money on the good camera used for taking pictures (and the short m-peg videos) since the old one's demise.
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Summer time in Taipei: It was only blistering hot when these pictures were taken in May. Now, I think my apartment is giving hell a run for its money. I drink a lot of watermelon slushies. For 50NT you can get a half of an inumanily large watermellon. Slice, dice, blend, add bacardi, and serve. Good stuff. Keeps you cool. Or it helps you pass out so you no longer feel the heat. I am not sure.
A quick shout out to folks back in the homestead: thanks Malcolm for finally emailing me, same to Joe C. and Grumpus Von Poofybottom himself, Mr. Piper. Barbara & Mark: remember that Bubba is carrying guns, so watch out with those "how many 300lb butts CAN you fit in an elevator?" comments, ok?" To Racheal, Brenda, Gary, Kristen, Tyler, Gitai, Ellis, Reggi, Chris, Rhonda, EJ, Laura, Patti, Dave, Sarah, Joel, Alex (and Speight!) -- not a day goes by that I don't panic about the ass whooping waiting for me in Seattle. I even miss Bill the Dog, Daisy the Puppy, and Gary's Chinchilla. Mom & Dad: A postcard from Japan is in the mail, honest. Pat & Pippa: take note of the advice to Barbara and heed it well. Dan: cool pics from FLA. . .send my love to Dave and Dr. Nick, ok? Ryan, Patrick, Janeen, Chris, Joel, Brett, OX, and the rest of the posse: Ever consider Taiwan as a winter vacation destination? We can have poker night at my house. . . Griff and Greg: Thailand it is. . . woohooo. Ditore, Mock, Hauptman, Karp, Luke, et al: I'll order the prawns at Honey Court next time. I've been learning the Chinese for everything on their menu just to be damn impressive at three in the morning. EVAN: HAPPY FRIGGING BIRTHDAY!!! - August 20, 2002 |
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