Andy Carvin's Waste of Bandwidth

Our Dear Sweet Winnie, 1999-2009

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:43:59 -0500

Our Dear Sweet Winnie, 1999-2009, originally uploaded by andycarvin.

This morning, we had to put Winston, our dear sweet orange tabby, to sleep.

Not long after we adopted him at the age of two, they told us he had an enlarged heart and would probably never make it to five years old. That was eight years ago.

We came very close to losing Winnie a year ago and knew we were on borrowed time, so the last year has truly been a blessing. That doesn't make it any easier, though; when we woke up this morning we thought it was going to be just another day. But at it turned out, it wasn't.

This picture was taken about three weeks ago. It was the very last picture we took of him at home. It really captures how sweet and loving a kitty he was. We'll always remember him like this.

Right now we are simply devastated, but know we've been blessed to have him a part of our family for the last eight years. He was, and will forever remain, a member of our family. He was one of our boys.

Goodbye Winnie; we love you.

Dizzy and Winnie, Best Buddies

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Sat, 16 May 2009 16:52:25 -0500

Dizzy and Winnie, Best Buddies, originally uploaded by andycarvin.

It took us eight years to get a really good dual portrait of the cats, but we finally got it.

Shriner on a Segway

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:12:52 -0500

Shriner on a Segway, originally uploaded by andycarvin.

The Shriners were in full force at the 2009 Alexandria St. Patrick's Day Parade today. Some of them were in little cars, but I wasn't expecting to see any of them to be riding a Segway. If the Dead Kennedys ever get back together, they'll have to use this one for an album cover. :-)

And yeah, I know it's not St. Patrick's Day yet. I think they do the parade the first Saturday in March. -andy

Gigapan Photo of the Inauguration

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:16:23 -0500

I was hoping to take a Gigapan panorama photo of the Inauguration but unfortunately my credentials weren't good enough to set up a tripod. Fortunately, photographer David Bergman had the right credentials, and took this extraordinary photo:

The entire photo is nearly 1.5 gigapixels in size. Be sure to zoom in closer and closer to experience the full effect. Learn more about how David took it on his blog or check out the full screen version on the Gigapan website.

Congratulations on getting the photo, David. I'd really hoped to do it myself so I'm glad at least one other Gigapanner got to do it. -andy

Comparing the Scale of Gaza & Israel to DC, Baltimore and New York

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 15:41:41 -0500

As Israel's ground troops enter Gaza after more than a week of bombardment, it's worth spending a moment getting a sense of the geographic scale of the region, particular for those of us in the US who aren't used to the scale of smaller countries.

First, here's a map of Gaza and Israel. Gaza is in the bottom left corner of the map, surrounded by the small red border, and Jerusalem is near the top right. The larger red border on the right side represents the demarcation between Israel and the West Bank. The image was taken in Google Earth at an altitude of 125.19 kilometers.

Next, let's look at the DC-Baltimore area at the same scale. DC is near the center of the map, while Baltimore is near the top right of the picture.

Last, we've got the greater New York City area, also taken at the exact same scale of the Gaza and DC maps. Manhattan is in the center left, while the western end of Long Island dominates the rest of the image.

NPR Science Desk Flavor Tripping Party

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:50:58 -0500

Watch the Video

Yesterday, the NPR Science Desk hosted a "flavor-tripping party," in which you suck on a West African berry known as miraclefruit and see how it affects your tastebuds. For example, lemons tasted like the sweetest lemonade you've ever tasted, while horseradish was extraordinarily sweet. Watch and see how we react to different foods.

Formats available: mp4, mobile

NPR Holiday Road Race 2008

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:50:26 -0500

Watch the Video

Formats available: mp4, mobile

Fall Forest Canopy

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:54:07 -0500

Gigapan photo (360 megapixels, give or take) of my backyard, taken straight upwards, among some of the 20 trees on our property. Taken just before a storm came in and removed the vast majority of leaves that were still remaining on the trees. Zoom in by clicking on the picture and try to identify each tree by its leaves.

Backyard in the Mist

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:42:46 -0500

I took this 370-megabyte panorama photo of my backyard today using the Gigapan robotic camera mount. Click the picture to keep zooming closer and closer to see the full resolution.

September 11 Memorial at the Newseum

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:06:06 -0500

Here's a high-res panorama photo (250 megapixels) I took of the Newseum's 9-11 Memorial. Because the panorama is taken as a series of dozens of photos that later get stitched together, it causes an eerie effect, with people moving around within the photograph. Click the picture and zoom in - you can actually read the headlines on the newspapers in the background.

Sneak Preview Tour of NPR's Election Studio

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:23:13 -0500

I just streamed a live 15-minute tour of NPR's election studio with NPR election producer Tom Bullock. Here's an archive of the video in case you missed it:

It's Sean!

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 14:28:22 -0500

It's Sean!, originally uploaded by andycarvin.

Yeah, it's a bit out of focus, but it's a real cute pic of him nonetheless. -andy

Mixed Messages from Starbucks

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:56:58 -0500

Mixed Messages from Starbucks, originally uploaded by andycarvin.

While having coffee at a Starbucks with a couple of NPR colleagues today, one of them noticed that the cardboard jacket holding our cups was from Seattle's Best. We swear we didn't stage this.

I'm sure there's a lesson in it, particularly in the midst of the financial meltdown, but I'm not sure what it is. What do you think? -andy

Introducing Sean David Carvin!

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:45:18 -0500

Sean, Susanne and Andy, originally uploaded by andycarvin.

Our son Sean David Carvin was born today at 1:40pm. He weight 7 lbs, 8 oz and stretched an even 20 inches. Susanne and Sean are both doing great, though she'll have to be in the hospital for a few days to recover from the c-section. Tomorrow, we'll bring in Kayleigh to meet her new baby brother. -andy

Sean meets his mom

andycarvin@yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:34:40 -0500

Watch the Video

- Taken at 1:47 PM on September 24, 2008 - cameraphone upload by ShoZu

Formats available: MPEG4 Video (.mp4)