I've been posting photos from my visit to southern China. Very cool place. Maybe I'll have the energy to post them under snapshots.

It's been a long time since I've made updates to this Website. There's lots of things wrong with it but at the request of my friend, I'm reposting this Website for the photos.

I've created a page for the Sedona photos in the Snapshot section

As promised, the Sedona photographs are on the way. Sedona is a very relaxing place to be. A prime example of how to properly develop tourist attractions, Sedona is a wonderland of quaint little stores, beautiful cafes, good eats, and a whole lot of hiking trails! I've yet to see a city so tastefully done.

There must be a strict building code because all the buildings in Sedona just fit in. This is the only city that has a McDonald's golden arch done in a tasteful pale blue. You can tell the city really cares about its appearance. Nothing is visually jarring and everything and the residential houses just blend into the scenery.

Here are a couple of photos of Sedona to give you an idea what the place is like until I put the rest under my Snapshots section. The comments all need to be clarified because it's been quite a while since I took these photos.

• Old ruins native north americans. It's been quite a while and my memory is fuzzy but these ruins are intact only because they reside underneath a natural cliff overhang. Quite old and theirs a park ranger to give you the facts about the ruins.
• Noami among the ruins. I just like the posture and expression on her face as she steps into an old shelter.
• Vortex tree. These trees are found in a couple of places in Arizona. Specifically, in Sedona, they are termed Vortex trees for the so called magnetic forces that have caused them to twisted in strange manners! Okay, you don't have to believe in the new age stuff but its still a neat sight.
• Pink Jeep Tours. I have to recommend this as its really a crazy ride! Our driver had us gripping our seats and holding on for dear life. In any case, you'll see some interesting rock formations and the Jeep's capability to climb and descend ridiculous trails.

Lot's of goodies yet to come. Please be patient as I try to jostle my memory and look up the places I've been at.

While visiting the San Francisco Botantical Garden, we encountered a most amusing sight. Two signs, of the sign sized, confront us at the entrance. The one on the left was a welcome sign; the one on the right was a prohibition sign. I'm not criticizing the management but the sign is rather intimidating.

It's been a long time since the Website was updated. I've been addicted to a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) for the last 6 month. I'm finally shaking it, cancelling my subscription (which still has a couple of month left) and getting back to life. A relapse is always possible. Let's hope not.

It's sad how much time I've wasted playing that game. I can't begin to tell you why MMORPGs are so addictive. Perhaps the Daedalus Project might provide some clues. I take full responsibility for my wasted time. I never thought I'd become an addict. I think I'm going to write a section devoted to my experiences in the virtual world and why it was so appealing.

Some time in May, I was in California for my cousin's wedding. Lots of photos were taken, none of them any good. In any case, I'll make good my promise and start putting up all those neglected photos of Arizona and pehaps, some of California.

Well, some of the Grand Canyon photos have been put up in the snapshots section. I'll revise when there's some time.

On other fronts, I've began reading Designing with Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman and am fully convserant how bad, and how woefully inadequate this Website is. By the way, nice Website Jeffrey. I suppose part of it is that Web development isn't my profession and I'm not immersed fully into it like full time Web developers are. Well, I'll spend more time and try to move myself away from Web hack status to something better.

Furthermore, Blogger doesn't seem to want to talk to MyCybernet's ftp server anymore. Maybe, I'll use the office's FTP server... For now, I'll have to update this Website manually (*sigh*).

The Grand Canyon photos are in the work. I'm in the process of selecting and cropping the photos. During my vacation to Arizona, I took more than 400 photos, most which are just no good. There are a couple of photos which did come out despite my shaky hands. Here are a couple of photos from the Grand Canyon to tide you over until the lot is done.

• Tarantula. I encountered two small tarantulas while in the Grand Canyon. They are mostly harmless and so am I.
• Plateau Point. You can see Plateau Point from here. There wasn't enough time to get to the Phantom Ranch so I hiked down to the Plateau Point and back. If you look carefully, you'll see this little trail that leads to a cliff. At the cliff, is Plateau Point. From there, you can see the mighty (and muddy) Colorado River.
• The Grand Canyon. Just so beautiful. I want to go back.
• Mule Train. The mules go from the canyon top to Phantom Ranch daily. Those riders have it lucky. Reservations for mule rides are over a year long. Mules have never been known to cause a fatality in the Canyon. They are sure footed, good tempered, and leave stinky poop all along the trail.
• Sun and clouds over the Canyon. This photo was taken from an observation tower. From moment to moment the scenery changes as sun and the cloud play their game over the canyon below.
• Sunset over the Canyon. A beautiful sunset over the Canyon.

I'll see whether I can get the photos up over the weekend. It takes time to comment and crop those photos so please be patient. After that, I'll put up Havasupai Indian Reservation, Sedona, and Painted Dessert and more!

I read this article on the BBC Website about hunger. The article mentions that hunger cost the world about $30 billion, annually in terms of medical aid. An annual increase of $24 billion annually is required to stop hunger in the world. Going back to the CIA factbook, the world's expenditure was close to $900 billion in 2003. You draw the conclusion.

Well, it would appear my new ISP allows a proper FTP connection for Blogger can work now. I've yet to customize these pages to take blogger, but it's on the way. Also, the Website is now somewhat functional. The theme is black. I'm not too impressed and will probably change it again soon. Still in the process of selecting which photos should appear in the Arizona section. Three vacation photos do appear in the random image on the home page though.

This Website is going undergo some major changes. Things look terrible right now but that'll change. Photos from my vacation to Arizona will be placed in the snap shot section as soon as I get around to it some time next week. What can I say? Arizona is awesome. One forgets about the frivolity of humanity when faced with such beauty. The Grand Canyon is so large, it has its own local weather patterns.

Nothing beats the majesty of Mother Nature. Forget your expensive car, forget your expansive home, and all those trinkets. Just remember what is, to be human out in the plains of Arizona, with nothing but sage, cactus, jutting buttes superimposed on an ultra sky blue canvas.

There are many stories to be told of this vacation. Of the Hopi Indian Park Ranger with a wry sense of humor. Of the hike at night up a mountain with the lightning and wind threatening us with a deluge. Of the dear friends who bought me my adventuring hat because I was too frugal to buy it myself.

I despair at the quality of the photos. It's a pity the E-100RS is defunct because the Kodak DC240 just couldn't capture some of the colors. Still, looking at the photos, the memories are their of the cool breeze and the clean air that is the Grand Canyon. Some how, it feels like home. How many other people have felt the same?

Back to the Website. Everything is off right now. Learned much more about CSS and discovered I was doing things wrong. Please pardon the mess until the Website is fixed up. It's been quite a while since I've done any Web work.