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Notes from the Lab
Meredith: Not all of our exciting research takes place in the field — there's a lot going on behind the scenes in our lab, and we rely on an invaluable group of undergraduate research assistants to help us go through the massive amounts of Snapshot data you guys provide! Jess has been working with us for the last few semesters and has some insight on what it's like to work with this Serengeti data set.
Hello everyone! My name is Jessica Dewey, and I am currently an undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota working in the research lab that runs this project! Cool, right? I'm new around here so I thought my first post should be an introduction of myself and how I got involved in this lab.
Imagine me a few years ago: a young high school student, undoubtedly procrastinating in some way, suddenly stumbling upon a website called "Snapshot Serengeti". At the time, I was only certain of two things — I loved animals and I loved research – so this discovery was perfect for me! I spent most of my evening identifying animals, and continued to go back to procrastinate even more.
Now flash forward to last semester, when I get an email from one of the university biology clubs saying that Dr. Craig Packer, head of the Serengeti Lion Project, will be giving a talk about his work. Well I HAVE to go! I sit and listen intently, eager to learn all about research being done with lions. Near the end of his talk he then mentions a website (Snapshot Serengeti, of course) where all of the images from the field get uploaded for the public to identify, and I'm immediately floored. How did I get so lucky, to go to the very University that uses those pictures I spent time identifying years ago in their research? The best moment was when the graduate students working with Craig said that they were looking for undergraduates to help them with their research. I took the opportunity to introduce myself to Meredith, and so far my experience in this lab has been amazing.
I've learned a lot about how field research is done, how data is collected and analyzed, and what it takes for someone to actually be a researcher in the field. Not everything I do is as fun as going through tons of pictures a day, but all of the work in this lab is interesting and meaningful, and that's what really matters to me. One of the major projects the lab has been working on with Meredith is trying to characterize changes in habitat at the camera trap sites by looking at the Snapshot pictures. We have been going through the giant list of data to find pictures to use for this characterization. We haven't been going through the images themselves – rather the metadata, or the data ABOUT the data (it's literally the biggest Excel sheet I've ever seen). It can get monotonous at times, but what keeps me going is the thought that when we finish picking out all of these random images, we will get to look at them and use them for this research project.
I hope that was a thorough enough introduction for you all, but let me say one last thing: THANK YOU! Without the time you all put in to identifying these pictures, the research we are doing would not be happening at the pace it is.
Here is one of my favorite images I've seen so far:
Honey badger:1 chicken:0
Have you ever seen the look on a dogs face when confronted with a cat that fights back? There is utter confusion about his role in life, "hang on a minute that cat is way smaller than me, I could stomp her in a second, but now she's scaring me?" our imaginary dog says. Well that's about my reaction the first time I came face to face with a honey badger.
Honey badgers are small, reaching somewhere between your ankle and your knee and no more than 1 meter long. They weigh around 10kg but don't let these dimensions fool you; a honey badger is full to the brim with confidence.
Most small animals will run when they find themselves face to face with a human; a sensible option given our species general nature. A honey badger on the other hand probably won't and this can be very disconcerting.
One night I was sat round a fire in what classed as my garden, though in reality there was nothing to distinguish it from the rest of the bush surrounding us as home was in a nature reserve and there were no fences. It was a crisp, for the lowveld in South Africa, winters night and the stars were shining brilliantly as we sat in the sand by the fire waiting for the chicken to finish cooking. From the other side of the river the hyena started their whooping and the hippo disputed the rights of some patch of dry grass. Winter is the dry season here and things get difficult especially for bulk grazers. The African night sounds had as captivated as usual. The chicken smelt good. My husband was just about to rouse himself to check it one last time when we both heard something moving behind us in the dark. As it got closer we saw it was a honey badger moving at a lopping determined gait that they have straight towards us. It was a wonderful treat to see one of these guys close up and for a few seconds we were rapt. But it didn't stop. It trotted straight to the grill, a small pause to give us a low growling warning and chomp, there went half our chicken. We couldn't believe our eyes, this wasn't a hand reared animal or an animal in a public campsite in a national park that gets used to people, this was a real live wild animal. It had no fear of us, it totally wrong footed us as we were not expecting it to just bull doze its way in. Needless to say we grabbed the rest of our meal and took it into the safety of the house to finish in peace.
Honey badgers really are remarkable creatures. Whilst in search of food they can cover up to 30km in a night. They eat a varied diet of mammals, birds, reptiles and some roots and berries and of course honey when they can get it. They climb well and can swim; they will dig furiously to follow a rodent down a hole and just don't seem to give up in their pursuit of prey.
Honey badgers are tough and there are many stories about them killing buffalo, fighting lions, being bitten by cobras and surviving. One of the tricks they use to help evade predators is by having very loose skin around the back of their necks. A lion or leopard will grab for this area, coming up with a mouthful of skin but leaving the vital bones and muscles untouched. The honey badger can then twist round and start biting and scratching with it all its might often inducing the dog/cat scenario from the start of this blog i.e. predator dropping honey badger in utter surprise.
So next time you classify a honey badger on Snapshot Serengeti remember it's not always size that counts.
The lost lions of the Transect Steady pride
### Today we've got a guest post by our very own Daniel Rosengren, lion tracker (& photographer) extraordinaire. ###
It started with some mysterious footprints around the Loliondo Kopjes. There were a lot of fresh paw marks in the mud following the road. I could tell it was a big pride but the only big pride with a territory nearby was the Young Transects. But I could not hear their collar. Neither could I hear any of our other prides. I drove around for a while looking for lions, especially on the rocks and under trees. I didn't find any and guessed it could have been the Young Transect lions anyway, only without the collared female.
A couple of weeks later I was headed out east when I soon caught eye on a big group of lions. As I drove closer I realized they weren't any lions I knew. I tried to get photos of all of them but it wasn't easy knowing who you'd already got in a group of 17 lions. Luckily they all started walking along the track. All I had to do was park ahead of them and take photos as they passed one by one. Once I had photos of all their left sides I went home to try to figure out who they were.
I concentrated on the older females as the youngster probably never had been seen before by the Lion Project. After a while I found a couple of matches. It was TR86 and TSF from the Transect Steady pride, not seen since December 2009, almost three and a half years earlier. But the last time they were seen regularly in our study area was in 2008.
Now I contacted TANAPA and the vets to organize a collaring of one of the females. They were coming. I drove back to the place where I'd seen the lions and hoped they hadn't walked too far. I found them in the shade of a tree. Then a long wait started for the vets to organize themselves and drive all the way from Fort Ikoma. Once they came, the collaring went smoothly, the rest of the pride watching from a distance.
About a week later I found the pride just outside the northern edge of our study area along the Pipeline track. Two more old females known since before had joined them, TR93 and TR106. Then they disappeared. So two weeks later I decided to search for them and drove along the Pipeline track north. But instead of driving on the actual track, which in many places was disappearing because of little use, I drove parallel to it, hitting all hilltops to be able to pick up the radio signal from a greater distance. The drive was terrible as the hills in the area are specked with large rocks and I had to drive dead slow. I held on the the steering wheel as little as possible. Having no power steering means that every time I hit a rock I risk breaking thumbs or worse.
I picked up the signal after a while but I still had to pass several hills before finally finding them, right by the track at a river confluence. That was quite far north of our study area and too far to go and see them on a weekly basis. The future will have to show where they finally settle.
The sound of silence?
## Today's guest post is from our moderator and regular contributor Lucy Hughes. ##
What does silence mean to you? Maybe it's that moment at the end of the day when the telephones stop ringing and the office hubbub finally stops and you can hear yourself think. Maybe sitting in your garden listening to the insects and aeroplanes pass overhead. Or maybe it's that first 5 minutes of waking before the baby starts howling. Whatever it means to you the point is silence isn't really silent. Something is always making a sound even if it's a leaf rustling in the wind or a cricket singing.
In the African bush night time silence is deafening. Just before sunset there is a rush of activity. The day shift starts looking for a place to spend the night whilst frantically searching out that last mouthful of food. Young banded mongoose are scolded into their burrows by older siblings. Antelope take a drink before heading to thicker cover. Francolins are calling out their staccato calls whilst sandgrouse flock to drink. As the sun sets and darkness looms everything quietens down, the last to make a noise are the guinea fowl who wait till it is just dark to, one by one, barrel up to adorn their favourite roosting trees like giant Christmas baubles. They finally settle down, and the nearby baboons stop squabbling and there is a moment's peace before the night shift takes over.
The Scops owl is first with its 'poop poop poop' call sounding almost like an insect. Then the night-jars join in. A distant rasping bark and the jackal are off calling ownership of their territory. They stop suddenly and a moment later there it is, the slow wo-oop! Woo-ooop! and the hyena clan are declaring they are up for business.
There has been no respite to the constant noise of the African bush during this transition between day and night; a seamless mix between the two sound tracks. As the evening wears on and the night shift are out hunting in earnest it gets quieter. If you are lucky enough to experience this it is unforgettable. The silence is thick, it hurts your ears and you want to shake your head to clear it. You are straining to hear anything out there in the blackness and your senses have you on high alert, never mind that you are in a vehicle your primal instinct knows this is Africa and beasts roam that want to eat you.
The only sound is a cacophony of insects and it is this that gets in your head, it is a relief when a spotted eagle owl calls breaking the pitch and giving you perspective again. Staring into the blackness you see a shape move , you can't make out what it is, then comes a noise that goes right through you, a guttural, low sawing sound, a leopard is calling broadcasting its presence using the ground as a sounding board. He walks out in front of you, pauses for a moment, then strides off purposefully into the night.
The silence of the African night is palpable. You could slice it with a knife. It is so full of promises of wonderful animal encounters that I never want to sleep. It's my favourite sound of silence; what's yours?
The short and happy life of a Serengeti lion
### Last week Craig spoke for Cafe Scientifique about lions and shared the research that Lion Project has been conducting for the last 45 years. Check out the video here. Peter and Faith, UMN undergrads conducting research in the Lion Lab, attended the talk and share their experiences as well. ####
Peter and Faith here! Last week we had the opportunity to attend the Bell Museum's Cafe Scientifique. Cafe Scientifique allows scientists from all disciplines and specialties to share their research directly with the public in the form of a casual presentation given at the Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis, MN. This past month's talk was given by Snapshot Serengeti's own Professor Craig Packer, giving a historic rundown of some of the highlights of the lion research conducted by the University of Minnesota's Lion Research Center.
As prospective lion researchers ourselves, it was both interesting and valuable to hear the conclusions of past research from the perspective of the researcher. Not to mention having it be told in a casual and humorous way, which is a refreshing break from the stack of scientific papers we are usually reading! The audience, which was made up of local community members, was also engaged in the talk. Even though Dr. Packer presented complex graphs and maps, he explained the research in a way that was accessible to everyone. The studies that were discussed during the talk included the lion's mane study, why lions form prides, and even a bit about lion conservation and the potential use of fences to protect vulnerable populations. In addition to reviewing past research, Dr. Packer also talked about the lion project's current research–Snapshot Serengeti. The audience was amazed by how fast volunteers sorted through the millions of images on Snapshot Serengeti. (To all of you that have contributed to the success of "Snapshot", cheers to you!) By the end of the talk, the entire audience, (including us!) had loads of insightful questions, and left with a piqued interest in the world of lion research.
Close Encounters
## Margaret and I are both recovering from a crazy week at the Ecological Society of America conference and the incredibly successful Save Snapshot Serengeti campaign, so we're posting a fantastic story from our regular contributor and Snapshot moderator Lucy Hughes. Thank you all again for helping us to make Snapshot Serengeti so successful. ###
When you live in the African bush you imagine it will be full of close encounters with wildlife like lion, hyena and elephant. It's true to say there is a fair number of these encounters but in reality it's the small critters you encounter more frequently. Often these can be far more heart stopping. I am talking about snakes. What's more, they don't relegate themselves to the bush; they tend to congregate around your house.
My house was a thatch and stone affair that nestled in amongst rocks, very scenic but also perfect snake habitat. Snake encounters were an almost daily occurrence on the reserve and life with them took a bit of getting used to.
My first encounter just weeks after I moved in was right by the front door. Coming home one day I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and realised I had just walked past a snake sticking its head out of the rock wall. I went hot and cold as my ankle must have been inches away from it. Fumbling with the key I burst through the door and from the safety of its glass watched the now empty hole to see if the snake would reappear. Oh yes, it came out alright, a Mozambique spitting cobra. To cut a long story short Sid the Spitting cobra and I became friends. I didn't disturb my door sentinel and he didn't bite me. I regularly saw him peak out of the same hole. Learning to live with snakes is important in the bush. Killing any wildlife is frowned on in a reserve.
One night whilst doing the dishes idly gazing out the window the rock wall suddenly seemed to move. Once my brain readjusted to the image I realised a rock python was making its way out of the thatch and down to the ground on a night time foray. Now a 2 meter python in the roof is not a bad thing. For a start it keeps the tree squirrel population down and that in turn keeps the black mambas away (who love tree squirrel snacks). As long as it's a small python you don't worry about it finding its way into your bed at night, a black mamba on the other hand caused me quite a few sleepless nights after I saw it disappear into the thatch.
My shower was out doors and had a resident foam nest frog living on a shelf. One morning going for a shower I heard a terrible squealing. A spotted bush snake had my frog and was busy devouring it. It took over an hour to swallow my friend.
I once had a pair of orphaned baby tree squirrels (yes mum fell afoul of a Mamba) When they where big enough I would sit in the garden with them whilst they ran around exploring. The little female was quite brave and was scampering around on the rocks. Next thing I hear a piercing squeal and the little squirrel shot up into a low branch. I raced over and scooped her up and sat with her in my hand for about a minute whilst she breathed her last. A Puff adder sitting in a crevice had struck her.
But for all the horror stories snakes are fascinating things and it is a thrill to see them in action so close. I would rather they stayed out of my house though, the garden is close enough! When we learn to live with nature it offers us such rewards.
Stuck. Part 2.
##### Today's post is a continuation of last week's adventure, written by Patrik Dousa. #####
When we left off the story from last week, all of us in the Serengeti team were out deep in the sour tern range of the Serengeti trying to free a land rover from thick mud. All we accomplished was securing the range rover even deeper in the mud. From 1/4 of the wheel being submerged to a half, with the bumper touching the ground. Good going. A beautiful sunset was going to occur in an hour or so and the last place to be at that point was in the middle of a hazardous plain with a large pride of lions waking up for their nighttime prowls.
The lions are still watching us from their mesas to the north and Ali is figuring out the next move. I thought it was a clear decision. Leave. Now. Have I described to you the fortitude and diligence of a lion researcher? A job that requires you to spend most of your time in the dry plains with the only the basic minimum requirements to sustain you doesn't attract individuals who give up too easily. No, Ali and George see the sunken rover as a challenge that must be faced. We aren't leaving, not without a fight.
Just then a tourist vehicle pulls up along a road about a half-mile from our area on the other side of the uncrossable mud plains. The guide is in the process taking them back home to one of the southern lodges and apparently decided to stop, having spied the magnificent example of male lion that was observing our vehicle. The new arrival attracted King Simba's attention and the powerful elegant beast starts walking towards the tourists. I can see their excitement mount through my binoculars — this moment is going to be the highlight of their trip. George and Ali are laboring through shovelfuls of the thickest, reddest, peatiest mud you can imagine and only a short distance away, well-scrubbed observers are preparing themselves for the the apex of their Serengeti experience. Such is life.
I see a bold cub follow his master lion and play around his feet incurring his wrath for a moment. The king playfully swats back and raises his head to the heavens letting out an immense roar to the delight of the tourists. The greatest show on earth — with our little car-trouble side-show of going on right in the background. "Who are those crazy people back there?" they must have asked their guide. "Well, they're professionals, so they must know what their doing." the guide is certain to have responded.
The lion's roar triggered a slow migration of the lionesses and their cubs from the low mesas to the area closer to the tourist vehicle where the male lion had settled. As the single file procession began, we felt a wave of relief since the pride was now headed away from our rover. A few more attempts to drag out the stuck vehicle failed. By now the sun is steadily growing larger and more rosy as it begins its decent. The sky eventually reaches the particular hue that Ali reads as our signal to leave.
We secured the vehicle and took all the valuables and began a slow retreat back thinking, "please don't get stuck" on repeat until we got back on the main road. The pink sun blossomed into a deep red bloom that backlit the acacia tree line creating the beautiful silhouetted postcard image that the Serengeti is so well know for. The mood in the car was impervious to these romantic supplications. Exhausted and temporarily defeated, the crew made the long journey back toward the research house.
Being the visitor who expended the least amount of sweat that day, I suggested that we stop at the local canteen Seronera and that I'd treat everyone to a chicken and rice dinner and a Stoney Tangawizi (the extra spicy ginger ale that is everybody's favorite drink in Tanzania). This turned out to be a very cost effective way to turn the sour mood sweet — just a few bucks per plate and brew to get everyone back to their happy place. Soon the team was back to the bantering with the locals and planning tomorrow's adventure. That was my last night at the Serengeti, the next day I was back on the road to Arusha. Ali messaged me later and mentioned that they were able to round up a crew to go back and successfully drag out the rover the next day. This did not surprise me since I had well learned: you can't keep a lion research team down for long.
Stuck. Part 1.
Stuck. Surrounded by lions. Please come.
This is not a text message that you'd necessarily expect to get on your cell phone…unless you work as a lion researcher in the Serengeti like Ali does. Receiving this text in the early afternoon, she takes the news in stride as a necessary task that needed to be finished before dark. I on the other hand, as a visitor, am charged up and nonplussed with the drama of it all. George, one of the field research assistants on a lion tracking expedition, obviously needs help and pronto, so we are on our way out within a few minutes. In the wild Serengeti, a few minutes can separate success from tragedy — the research team has an exceptional awareness of this and also the discipline to do what it needs to be done in a methodical and prompt manner as Ali is demonstrating to me at this moment.
We track George and his land rover down just like we do lions. Each rover is outfitted with the same tracking unit that is on the collar of each radio-tracked lioness. So we chase the rover's signature signal deep into the southern range, driving on the dirt roads as fast as we can safely afford. As the day draws towards a close, the animals become restless. Elephants trumpet in the distance. A serval — a beautiful African wild cat one doesn't see everyday– trots across the road and disappears in the brush. Normally such a sighting would warrant an immediate stop, but not today.
Finally, we go as far as the roads can take us and we must venture in the unmarked grassy plains that are a minefield of axle-breaking holes and mud-traps. Driving off road is risky business in the daytime –as George was just reminded of — and completely a fool's errand in the nighttime. Ali looks for the tell-tale signs in grass patch coloration that indicate a possible hole as she swerves deftly through the treacherous terrain in a labored crawl.
Finally on the horizon, we sight George and his rover axle deep in a seemingly stable area. The dry cracked surface, however, masks a vast mud hole created by the recent rains. This is the worst kind of environmental trap that even a seasoned veteran like George can fall prey too. With a lighthearted smile that belies any frustration, George explains how he tracked a pride of lions into this area and was surprised by the sudden drop into the mud. Luckily, our rover remains in the solid area just short of George's rover. We check the area and see that the lions have moved off to a series of small mesas to the north. It's safe enough to exit the vehicles as long as one of us keeps a 360 degree lookout.
Our cellphones at that point record no bars, so as Ali readies a tow line, she inquires how George was able to get a message out.
The calm exterior and wry banter of every lion researcher I've met is always the counterpoint to the fierce passion and iron discipline at their core. George is all smiles and laughs a bit as he recounts the sinking feeling he had when he saw that he had no bars on his cellphone and lions surrounding three sides of the vehicle. A thickly maned adult male lion stood watch right outside the drivers side as if he sensed George's desperation.
A good scientist, when faced with a problem, puts together an experiment to test its boundaries. Perhaps the cell phone could be made to transmit somehow? As George raised his hand up and out of the vehicle he noticed to a single bar flicker on and off. This observation made him hatch a plan that he reflected on as he eyed the attentive dark-maned sentinel waiting outside along with the multiple groups of lionesses and cubs surrounding him.
The day was not going to get any longer so George, did exactly what he contemplated: he composed his terse message on his phone, climbed out the window onto the roof rack, and jumped up several times pressing the send key until the signal caught and the phone indicated the message was sent. Then he waited for the animals realize that he was still out of their range and relax back down to their lazy poses and before slipping back into the car to await rescue.
By the end of the story, the tow cable is fastened and mud traction ladders are in position under the rear wheels of the rover. Ali is ready to begin the first effort to pull the car. The gears lock in, the engine strains, the wheels spin, and…Georges car slips off of the ladders and deeper into the mud.
To be continued…
All in the name of science
Today's guest blogger is Lucy Hughes. Lucy lived and worked on a private nature reserve in South Africa for four years, carrying out field research that included a camera-trap study into the reserve's leopard population and twice monthly bird surveys for Cape Town University's Birds in Reserves Project (BIRP).
Arrhhh, that really hurts! A three inch thorn had just penetrated my, admittedly inadequate, footwear and was stuck deep in the sole of my foot. Thorns are a serious hazard of camera trap placement in the South African bushveld where plants with thorns or hooks seem to make up about 90% of species.
My colleague Michelle ran back to the landy to get a first aid kit whilst I set about extracting the thorn, there seemed to be an awful lot of blood. I watched the path eagerly for Michelle's return but as she got near she seemed to slow down and as she opened her mouth to speak I knew exactly what she was going to say. "Luce, if it's not too painful, what about spreading your blood around a bit?"
Callous as it may seem it wasn't a bad idea. We had been having trouble with capturing clear night shots of leopards. They always seem to be in a hurry and the shots we had were often blurry making it impossible to id the individuals. We needed a way to get the leopards to pause for a second or two in shot of the camera trap.
We had been advised that scent was the answer and were experimenting with various different ones and now it seemed human blood was to be the next test. I dutifully hobbled out in front of the camera and scraped my bleeding foot around on a nice flat rock Michelle had procured, wondering about the sensibleness of using human blood as bait for a predator. My slight discomfort was all in the name of science.
In the end it didn't work, It rained a couple of nights later and my efforts where washed away. We never did find the perfect scent. We were told that tinned sardines worked wonders as well as catnip and perfume. We tried them all. It seems our cats where immune to these. The only thing that stopped them in their tracks was the scent of other leopards. I did learn however that the scent of tinned sardines was particularly interesting to giraffe of all animals. My method was to bury a plastic cup up to its rim in sand and put a blob of sardines in the cup. Now you would have thought that giraffe would have walked on by but as the picture below testifies, giraffe just have to take a closer look. You always learn something new!
Safari Phil Goes to the Serengeti
Today's guest post is by Phil Thiesse, the KSTP video photojournalist who shot the footage for the TV report on Snapshot Serengeti and the Lion Project.
I am a television photojournalist from Minnesota currently operating under the nom de plume "Safari Phil," at least during my visit to the Lion Research Center in The Serengeti.
My colleague Safari Chris and I traveled all the way from the Twin Cities to spotlight the Snapshot Serengeti project for KSTP TV's 5 Eyewitness News. We just happened to be in the neighborhood, working on a series of reports in Arusha, Tanzania. We were able to sell the story to our bosses because one of the researchers, Ali Swanson, is a graduate student at the University of Minnesota and would be our tour guide amongst the lions.
The plan was to rendezvous with Ali at a restaurant in Arusha as she passed through on a supply mission. The thought was to ride with her the following day in her well traveled Land Rover to the middle of The Serengeti, about seven hours on a good day. The restaurant we were meeting at was closing early, so Ali suggested we move to the Impala Hotel, a full two blocks away. We rode there in the Land Rover, the three of us in the front seat…the only seat, Chris bravely straddling the gear shift. It was after that 5 minute ride we decided to fly to the Serengeti instead.
Daniel Rosenburg, another lion researcher, picked us up at Seronera Airport and in another well worn Land Rover, brought us to Lion House, where we would wait for Ali. She eventually arrived with all of the supplies necessary for lion research: food, cameras, batteries, a punching bag. Wait, what?? For kick boxing. An excellent workout, I've been told. We were treated to a satisfying dinner of pasta, bacon and tomatoes. And a sip of Scotch. Or two.
We hit it early the next day, heading out at sunrise to get video of lions and of Ali and another researcher, Stan Mguzu, tending to the hundreds of game cameras that provide images for Snapshot Serengeti. The cameras were easy to find, but the lions proved to be a little more elusive. Daniel's expertise at tracking finally got us in the middle of two prides. In addition, we were up close to zebras, impalas, cape buffalo, dik-diks, giraffes, topi, an eagle, warthogs, gazelles, mongoose, baboons, monkeys, hippos and hyrax.
There was a dinner party to top off our last night in the Serengeti. Two people from Cheetah House joined us for sausage, fried egg plant, and some fantastic made-from-scratch mashed potatoes. Chris made a run to the outhouse as the evening wound down and the researchers made it a trip he'll never forget. As we waited patiently for his return, I expressed my opinion that this was a really bad idea, but the others were confident in their decision. Like they had done this exact thing before. We heard the returning footstep stop dead in their tracks and even retreat a bit, but luckily, we didn't hear Chris grab his heart. He did have a few choice words for the group, but survived yet another close encounter with a Serengeti lion.
Thanks to the expertise and hospitality of Ali, Daniel and Stan, we were able to bring the story of Snapshot Serengeti to our viewers in Minnesota. That story, along with others featuring Minnesota connections to Tanzania, can be seen on KSTP.com.


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Joined: May 2011
Location: NELSPRUIT,MPUMALANGA,SOUTH AFRICA
Oddometer: 80
Joined: Aug 2012
Location: Belgistan
Oddometer: 579
Ok I'm in, just read the whole thread.
Seeing as I only just returned from my first bike trip, of similar but slightly smaller scale, and at the sligtly older age of 26, I can relate to how you experienced your trip. Keep doing what you're doing
| KTM 690 SMC RRP | Honda RD04 Africa Twin |
Balkan ADV - RR around Europe on the AT
Bacon trip log map
Big Bearded Boy
Joined: Jul 2010
Location: Joplor, NC
Oddometer: 1,341
Well, I keep forgetting to round up pictures, but for those of you who've been waiting, here's another entry.
Willits, CA - July 9-14 2010
Steve and Kelly were there to great me when I arrived at their home. I hadn't seen them since they'd left Nicaragua ealier that year, and it was great to reunite with one another. They'd made a significant donation toward my trip, too, and been a huge part of encouraging me in this journey.
After catching up breifly I returned to the bike, which they'd had me park under their shelter, to begin unloading. As I walked up behind the bike I happened to glance down at the rear tire and see the wire showing through. It was a strange sight, though, becuase it wasn't worn down the middle, but rather on each side of the tire not too far from the sidewall edge. No pics, didn't think of it at the time.
I thought to myself, "Man! I must have really been carving those corners good through the redwoods!"
I later realized I must have been riding quite some distance with too low pressure in the rear, causing the aforementioned wear pattern. It wasn't my crazy non-existent riding skills.
Thankfully I had planned to be in Willits for a few days so I had time to get tires, assuming I could find them.
Steve and Kelly's grandson Malachi was turning 3 or 4 and they were having a get-together at their daughters house that night. We loaded up and drove to their house in Ukiah and got there right around sunset. I met a whole bunch of people and told them about my trip, had some good burgers and my first Bud Light Lime. Yeah, that beer was the highlight of the trip. Haha. For some reason I remember that.
I spent several days there. I managed to catch a cold (that would later result in damaging my bike - stay tuned for that story), but otherwise it was really great. I was able to share my story and a bit about our organization with their whole church on Sunday. Several hundred people and definitely the largest group of people i'd ever addressed. I later met with a smaller group of people one evening that were interested in travelling to Nicaragua. Many people blessed me with donations completely out of the blue to help pay for travel expenses.
Steve was one of the pastors at the church. He was bivocational, in that he sold copiers for a living and co-pastored their church along with several other bi-vocational pastors. I thought that was cool, and ever since i've thought that was a great model to follow if you're going to do "church" the way most people do. Steve and Kelly are both 20+ years clean from methamphetamine addiction and are experienced addiction counselors - something they were helping us with in Nicaragua. It's pretty incredible to see how someone who has dealt with addiction and escaped from it can related to someone in the muck of it.
One evening we went to see a movie with Steve and Kelly's son Adam, who was my age, and his girlfriend. Can't remember the name of the movie so I guess it wasn't so great, but I remember feeling like this was the most "normal" thing i'd done in a long time.
Another day while there I got a call from the Charlotte Observer, the newspaper in Charlotte, NC, who wanted to write a story about my trip. They ended up publishing it with the photo of me and my Bandit in front of the Mountains on my way to Jackson, WY. They also ran it as a cover story in the more local Lake Norman paper that runs in our area. Not sure how they found out about me, but it was cool to share my story and encourage others to take risks and seek adventure. I ended up hearing from a lot of poeple and got several unexpected donations as a result of the articles.
I also had the chance to catch up with my family and fiancee during some down time. Most days, if i'd been riding, I really didn't feel like talking to anybody at the end of the day, especially after i'd already had to give my life story to the person hosting me. Staying in one spot for a while helped that fade, which was a good thing for my family who really didn't deserve to be shut out.
I found a nearby bike shop in Ukiah called Motosports of Ukiah that had the right size tires for my bike in stock.
Steve followed me there in his Hyundai and took me way off the beaten path to a nearby park to hike down to see the redwoods while they were changing them.
This was the first time i'd been this close to these monster trees. It was just as awesome as the first time I'd laid eyes on them just a few days before. Supposedly one of the biggest trees in the world was in this grove.
That's me at the bottom left...
A little closer...
There's Steve...
Me again, tree dwarfed me...
We headed back to the bike shop and picked up my bike with freshly mounted tires. The tech there suggested I set the air pressure to the "two up" pressure listed in the manual for better longevity, especially in the rear, considering the load and my size. I remember how good those new tires felt riding back to Willits! I felt safe again, knowing my rear tire wasn't running on wires.
After a few days it was time to head out on July 14. It was a great time of rest for me.
Steve and Kelly had lined up a place for me to stay with some friends of theirs in Monterey, CA. They kept saying how beautiful it was, I had no idea though. They made a few suggestions of things I should do when I stopped in San Francisco on the way. I'll share that next.
Current Steed: '08 FJR1300
9 states left to ride: WI, MN, ND, SD, UT, OK, KS, AK, and HI.
Big Bearded Boy
Joined: Jul 2010
Location: Joplor, NC
Oddometer: 1,341
Willits, CA to San Francisco, CA
July 12, 2010
It was good to be on the road again. My extended time in Willits had been restful but the reality had set in that I still had a long way to go. A mini-finish-line awaited me in Vegas, soon, where my family would be flying out for vacation and meeting me, along with Kelly my fiancee.
It seemed like I made it to San Francisco in no time. I paid some outrageous toll and crossed the famed Golden Gate Bridge in the fog and could make out the city in the distance on the left. I entered into the city and was soon surrounded by interesting stuff. I remember wishing I had a few days to spend exploring.
Based on reccomendations from Steve and Kelly, I had only a few things I hoped to do in my short visit to SF. First, ride Lomard Street. Second, have lunch at the New Asia Restaurant in Chinatown. And third, get a sundae from the Gharideli factory. It wasn't much, but I didn't have much time. I'll be back again someday to really enjoy the city.
So, first stop was Lomard Street. If you don't know, Lomard Street, specifically the Russian Hill section, is well known for it's eight hairpin turns in an extremely short distance. Aparently they designed it this way for an actual reason and not just to build the crookedest street in the world. It's an extremely steep grade at 27%, so they did this to make it less of a hazard to drivers and pedestrians. I still think they had to be trying to be at least a little bit ridiciulous, too. I took a video of me riding it but I can't seem to find it. I remember there was a VW Thing in front of me. It was one way (down), paved with bricks, and there were flowers growing all around it. It was a cool thing to experience.
Some kids posing with guns...violent Californians...
Next up was the New Asia Restaurant in Chinatown. This is one of the stories I continually tell about my trip and comes to mind immediately anytime I hear "San Francisco", so I hope I can do the experience justice here.
If you didn't already know, San Francisco has the largest Chinatown outside of, well, China. It's huge. It's like stepping into another world. Literally everyting is in other laguages and almost everyone walking around is asian. I say Asian because i'm not certain it was all actually Chinese (the people and signage).
Anyway, my Droid directed me straight to the restaurant without any trouble. When I got there, I was a bit concerned about leaving my bike on the street. There were lots of poeple around and I wasn't sure how safe it was to leave it unattended with all my stuff attached, especially one sidecase full of camera gear and electronics. I ended up squeezing it between two cars and hoping for the best.
I snapped a photo of myself in front before I entered...
Off the bike, in full gear, I entered the retaurant. The place was the size of Wal Mart. The reception area was full of people and the dining area was hustling and bustling at what had to be near capacity. I was clueless as to what to do. Needless to say I was already out of place because of my stature in comparison to the rest of Chinatown, but on top of that I was bearded and in full gear. I finially identified the "check in" table and approached. The receptionist handed me a paper ticket with a number printed on it. 84, I seem to recall.
Okay, guess I wait for my number, I thought to myself. I found a seat and tried to look inconspicuous. No luck. I quickly realized they were calling the numbers in another language - probably chinese. Great. Finally they called a number about 5 times and nobody aswered, so I guessed that was me. I guessed correctly.
The lady motioned for me to follow her, to my table I assumed. We weaved through the multitude of tables and dodged carts of food. I don't recall seeing a single other caucasian and I certainly never heard a word of English. I wish you could have seen the looks on these people's faces as I walked through.
Finally we arrived at an empty table along the back wall and I sat down. The hostess immediately headed back toward the front, no menu, no instructions, no nothing. Alrighty then. I waited. I began to notice people pushing carts of food and delivering it to tables. I assumed the tables had ordered the food, so I continued waiting.
Little did I know this was Dim Sum, where workers cart around prepared food and you stop them when you see something you want. Thankfully, one kind lady noticed i'd been there a while and didn't have any food, so she stopped and offered me whatever it was she was carrying.
She didn't speak in English, so I just nodded. No idea what I was getting, but by this time I didn't much care.
I'm pretty sure I got some shrimp dumplings and lo mein, both a first for me, and both delicious. I also had some hot tea, I seem to recall. This NC redneck was getting some culture that day, by gollie.
As they delivered the items they made note on a slip of paper on my table. When I finished devouring everything I carried the paper to the front to pay, after realizing nobody was coming with a check.
Wow, what an experience. I rememebr sitting at the table thinking how much funnier it would have been to share the experience with someone else. I'm sure we would have been ROLLING.
I exited the restaurant and found my bike undisturbed, much to my relief. I loaded back up and set out to explore the city a bit. I remember deciding to give legal lane splitting a try at one point, a skill that would come in handy the next day heading into LA.
I rode around for quite a bit, with my GPS off, just exploring anf checking out the roads. The slopes of the roads were really crazy. Hope you have good brakes ifyou plan to drvie or ride here.
I rememebr seeing Alkatraz out in the Bay and wishing I had time to go out and explore it a bit. A year or two later I'd see Book of Eli and make the connection, sorry for the spoiler.
Here's a photo I took in front of what I think/thought was the Bay Bridge.
After a while I decided to check off the third item on my list before heading to Monterey: a Ghirardelli sundae. I plugged the address into my Droid and followed the directions. Again, found a spot right out front to squeeze between two cars.
I went in and ordered up something that sounded normal and went outside to enjoy it in the perfect weather. I think that was the most expensive sundae i'd ever eaten - at least $8 to $10. It was good, though, even if i'm not a big fan of sweets.
Now that i'd accomplished my 3 tasks in SF, it was time to head to Monterey.
Current Steed: '08 FJR1300
9 states left to ride: WI, MN, ND, SD, UT, OK, KS, AK, and HI.
EvanADV screwed with this post 08-23-2013 at 06:44 AM
Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: May 2013
Location: Williamsburg
Oddometer: 115
Nice RR. Sounds like it was quite the adventure.
My son made several mission trips to Nicaragua with our local church.
If this was real time, Id tell you to try some of the clam chowder in a bread bowl at the fish hopper in Monterey (your next stop).
PS. That bridge in your picture is the bay bridge. Just to the south should have been the baseball stadium (called PAC Bell Park when I lived in the bay area).
Big Bearded Boy
Joined: Jul 2010
Location: Joplor, NC
Oddometer: 1,341
Thanks man. Where'd your son go?
I was hoping that was the Bay Bridge. Wish I had one of the Golden Gate but I couldn't find a decent place to pull over at the moment.
Current Steed: '08 FJR1300
9 states left to ride: WI, MN, ND, SD, UT, OK, KS, AK, and HI.
Gnarly Adventurer
Joined: May 2013
Location: Williamsburg
Oddometer: 115
Ill send him a note to ask him where they went (might take him a while to respond he just went back to college).
The Williamsburg Community Chapel been going to the same place in Nicaragua for many years now.
motorcycle snowman
Joined: Nov 2006
Location: right in the middle of Wyoming
Oddometer: 152
Ride On!
well that's my 2 cents anyway..
Hayabusa Adventurer
What the?!?
Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Reno, NV
Oddometer: 167
Just stumbled upon this RR this afternoon - you know you started this in March right? I was hoping to read this ride report all the way to the end but I guess I'll be patiently waiting.
I love your writing and narration - keep this RR going!
'06 Suzuki DL1000
Big Bearded Boy
Joined: Jul 2010
Location: Joplor, NC
Oddometer: 1,341
I'll do my best to get it finished up soon.
Next time i'll be writing it in real time. Thanks for following along.
Current Steed: '08 FJR1300
9 states left to ride: WI, MN, ND, SD, UT, OK, KS, AK, and HI.
Big Bearded Boy
Joined: Jul 2010
Location: Joplor, NC
Oddometer: 1,341
San Francisco to Monterey, CA
July 12, 2012
I left San Francisco mid-afternoon after finishing my sundae and headed for Monterey.
The ride was short and pretty nice. Traffic was a bit more than I'd seen thus far in California, probably because of the time of day. I got behind some pretty lady in a BMW convertible who was booking it through traffic pretty good. Figured she could plow through and I'd follow like a running back through a hole in the line. I could occasionally get a peek at the ocean to my right as I continued south. I was there in no time.
My hosts were old friends of Steve and Kelly (from Willits, CA). Pam was a teacher, I want to say, and had been battling cancer. Rick was her husband. He rode a Kawasaki cruiser and was intrigued with my trip. They had a great little place right in town and were great people.
Pam offered to give me a tour of the area, and I of course was up for it. We hoped in her Prius and started the tour. First time in a Prius for me, neat little vehicle. This was beginning to be more what I expected California to be, in the most cliché sense – Priuses and beautiful beaches.
Prius cockpit...
Carmel by the Sea
I remember thinking this had to be one of th emost beautiful places in the world.
Later that night, we headed out for dinner. They asked if I liked seafood, to which I replied, "Absolutely."
We went to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. on Cannery Row.
Food was good, as was the conversation we had. I really enjoyed talkeing to that couple. They were a rare sort that seemed to "get it".
Looking back, I guess Bubba Gump Shrimp wasn't the most authentic Monterey cuisine (at the time I hadn't ever heard of it, now I know they're everywhere), but who cares.
We headed back to their place and continued our conversations about life and faith. After a while we headed to bed and I spent some time editing photos and updating the blog. Then got a great night's sleep.
The next morning Pam insisted on packing me a lunch for the road. She made me a sandwich and gave me a bottle of green tea, which I packed in the cooler I'd been carrying.
We discussed my plan for the day's route to Orange, CA just past Los Angeles. She encouraged me to take CA-1 through Big Sur and continuing along the coast, though it would take longer, it would be beautiful. I was thankful for the advice and proceeded to load up and head on my way mid-morning.
Almost immediately I was extremely grateful for the advice to follow the road along the coast. It was one of the most beautiful rides I've ever been on. I pulled off often for photos. Here's some north of Big Sur.
Then, the moment you've all been waiing for. The moment I went down.
When you get near Big Sur, the road goes inland a bit and the scenery changes as you enter a more ferrested area. Still, very pretty. Along the road are lots of cabins and hotels. Well, as I mentioned in passing a few posts back, I managed to catch a cold. This is one of those colds where your nose just constantly runs. Which really sucks when you're trying to ride a motorcycle. I was stopping often not onlyy for pictures, but to drain a couple gallons of snot out of my face regularly. Anyway, this all relates, I promise.
As I was coming through Big Sur I felt the urge to sneeze coming on. I noticed a little cabin parking lot, so decided to pull off. As I went to put my foot down to come to a stop, the sneeze came, and in all its glory, managed to blow me and the bike on our side.
Oh. Crap.
I cut the engine off and just laid there a second laughing at myself. You've got to be kidding me. I hope nothing's broke.
Of course step one was to take a picture. Once that was out of the way I turned the key off and began trying to lift the bike. I now know a better technique for such a feat, but it was a real struggle. I remember wanting to punch people in the face as they drove by watching me struggling to get the bike up. I finally did, and proceeded to evaluate the damage.
My pelican case had fallen off and the bar end mirror had broken off. That was all that was immediately apparent.
Minor nick on the pelican:
Mirror mount and broken brake lever:
Highway peg. The SW motech crash bars they were mounted to did their job - no engine damage.
The bike was otherwise unharmed. I was astonished, and relieved. I was imagining fairings busted off and who knows what else.
So, then came the repacking process. I unloaded everything I had strapped onto the back and attempted to reattach the pelican. It wasn't going on. I had my hands on the top handle and was pushing with all my might. Then, of course, the handle folded down as I was pushing and jammed the living crap out of my right forefinger.
And it hurt. I mean, bad. If my pride wasn't already hurt from tipping the bike over from a sneeze, this was the kicker. This day was getting worse by the minute. Snot pouring out my face like a fauctet and now a busted finger.
I quit being a baby about my finger after a few seconds of pity party and realized the lock mechanism had broken on the pelican case attachment, which was why it wasn't going on. I decided to bungee cord it on for now. I'd later find out that SW Motech designed it so the locks would fail in the event of a tipover, I guess so it didn't break somewhere else. Thanks, SW Motech.
Here she is loaded back up:
Alright, carry on.
I continued south on CA-1 and got back to the coastline. It continued being beautiful as ever. My finger was throbbing, I couldn't bend it, so i was riding down the road with my right forefinger out as if I was pointing to something with the rest of my fingers around the throttle. That combined with the annoyingly runny nose had me distracted. I decided to pull off and eat the lunch Pam had packed me.
I was in some state park south of Big Sur. Looking at the map doesn't ring any bells, but I suppose it was probably Limekiln State Park.
I pulled off and parked the bike, this time with sure footing. Grabbed my cooler and took a seat on the asphalt leaning up against my bike.
As I was sitting there a big rental RV pulled in and out jumped a bunch of young Europeans who I thought were speaking German. I had fun watching them. I assumed they'd flew out here to the US and rented an RV, which sounded really awesome.
Later, as I was eating my lunch, I had a few friends come visit.
Guess he could sense I was too crippled by a hurt finger to bother him.
Okay, fun is over, time to get back on the road. I popped a couple Ibuprofen, something I rarely do because I'm so stubbornly opposed to medication, in hopes it would make the throbbing go away and let me get my mind off it.
Not too much further I was peering off to the right at the coast wehn I saw a monstrous creature on the beach. Then I realized there were a whole bunch of them. Then, I saw there was a parking lot, so I pulled off. The area was "closed" but a bunch of people had jumped the fence and were there checking out the creatures. So, of course, so did I.
This was Point Peidras Blancas, home to a huge elephant seal population. By huge, I mean both individually and quantity.
Who knew you could just be riding along and stumble across sucha marvelous thing? My mood was improving and my finger was becoming less of a distraction.
I continued south and the temperature began to get hotter. I got onto the 101 and stopped off at a Wal Mart in Arroyo Grande. I picked up some more bungee straps and an ATV mirror I stumbled across so I could see behind me on the right, since my mirror had been broken off in the tipover. I managed to mount it in the parking lot using the few tools I had. Spotted a VW Rabbit convertible similar to one i'd had.
The landscape changed from green, lush, and cliffy to more desert like.
As I got to about Sanat Barbara the traffic began to get a bit crazy.
I pulled off the highway and stopped to get a drink at Jack in The Box.
So happy.
Back on the road and into the traffic. I saw a big bagger harley lane splitting, and I figured if he could fit, I could fit, so I followed along. I took some video of it but can't seem to find it. It was a surreal experience for me to be moving through those cars, so close to them, yet feeling perfectly okay. Hard to explain. I continued like that for about 30 miles. It would have taken me at least 2 or 3 more hours to get there had I not lane split.
I finally asrrived at my contact's house in Orange. My host was the sister of my fiancee's neighbor. Yes, another strange and distant connection. She was married with a few kids. Having never met her, we talked for a while and I told them about my trip. They seemed intrigued as most did. They showed my to my spot, the couch in their den. They were planning to head to Disneyland the next day, so I would have the house to myself. I told them I had plans to meet some friends and maybe do some exploring. Everyone headed to bed soon and I spent some time uploading pictures of the day's events before dozing off.
Current Steed: '08 FJR1300
9 states left to ride: WI, MN, ND, SD, UT, OK, KS, AK, and HI.
Loftin' the wheel
Joined: Dec 2012
Location: Charlotte area
Oddometer: 896
Heh, first sneeze fall I've ever heard of...
I grew up in Orange CA. Where abouts were you? Or maybe that's for the next installment.
2013 Triumph Tiger 800 XC
2013 Husky TE 449
Big Bearded Boy
Joined: Jul 2010
Location: Joplor, NC
Oddometer: 1,341
Ha, yeah, not my finest moment.
Orange is the next installment but not much to share really. The family I stayed with lived on Anchor St. according to my records.
Current Steed: '08 FJR1300
9 states left to ride: WI, MN, ND, SD, UT, OK, KS, AK, and HI.
Joined: Jun 2013
Location: Darmstadt, Germany
Oddometer: 46
Great to hear from you again. Take the time you need to upload your episodes, as much as I hate waiting they are worth it.
Big Bearded Boy
Joined: Jul 2010
Location: Joplor, NC
Oddometer: 1,341
A day in SoCal
July 13, 2010
The next day I slept late and the family had already left for the day. I unpacked my bike and tried to reorganize a bit since I'd repacked in such a hurry after the tipover. I spent some time trying to get the ATV mirror I'd bought at Wal Mart on correctly but ultimately ended up trashing it. It vibrated way too much to the point that it wasn't usable, plus the mounting options weren't really working. Was worth a try. Didn't do much else for the rest of the day.
I met some friends I made in Nicaragua who lived nearby later that day. Kimi and Tiffany were on a World Race team back in 2009 and we hosted them on our base in Chichigalpa while I was there.
From the offical website:
[The World Race] is a journey to 11 countries in 11 months to serve "the least of these" while amongst real and raw community.
These folks pack up everything they need for the next year in a backpack and do this all on a budget that would make a KLR rider squirm. We were their second stop, and that month was probably one of the most transformative times of my life, and some of the best people I've ever been around. It also was one of the first experiences I'd had with real community, which I referred to in some of my opening posts, and something I've yearned for ever since.
Anyway, it'd been quite some time since we'd seen each other and lots had changed since then. Kimi was working a regular job now – last time I saw her she'd been covered in mosquito bites that eventually landed her in the hospital. Tiffany was still wandering a bit, as I recall, visiting friends all over CA. Last time I saw her she hadn't washed her hair in 2 months. It was strange seeing the girls in their "normal" environments, showered and dressed normally. You live out of a backpack in third world countries with limited access to plumbing and electricity a little differently than you do here in a comfortable stateside life. As for me, well, I looked about the same I'm pretty sure.
Kimi (right)
Tiffany (left)
Some of their team, while riding on the back of a truck we hitch hiked through the mountains of Matagalpa on (i'm on the left safely seated)
Whole team
It was awesome to reunite, hear about each other's lives, and catch up. We talked for several hours about what had been going on in. We talked about the people we missed and I heard stories about the 9 more months of their travels after they left Nicaragua.
They took me to Wahoo's, a popular fish taco chain from CA, which was pretty great. I've since started to see fish tacos everywhere, even here in NC, but that was my first time having them. Very nice.
Late that night I headed home. Traffic wasn't bad, and the lights of the city lit up the streets. It was pretty in its own way. I remember feeling pretty at peace and content on that ride for some reason, can't quite put my finger on why. Probably the reminiscent taste of that previous summer.
Everyone was in bed already by the time I got back. Tomorrow I'd ride to Las Vegas to see my family and wife-to-be, something I'd been anxiously anticipating for weeks.
Current Steed: '08 FJR1300
9 states left to ride: WI, MN, ND, SD, UT, OK, KS, AK, and HI.
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West Allis — At the end of balloting in Tuesday's spring election there was barely a hare's breath between the two candidates to fill a vacancy in the West Allis 5th Aldermanic District.
Kevin Haass was just seven votes ahead of Gerald Matter in the race to serve the two years remaining on the term of James Sengstock who retired before his term ended.
The unofficial vote totals are:
Kevin Haass 530
Gerald Matter 523
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But Haass said on election night, "We'll see what that number is."
The outcome will still be close and either candidate could request a recount.
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While the race was close, it was also clean, he said.
"A good positive campaign was run by both myself and Gerry Matter and it's something we can be proud of and that the community can be proud of," Haass said.
Matter could not be reached for comment on election night.
The four-way race for three seats on the West Allis-West Milwaukee School Board resulted in first-term board member Kristi Bonaparte being bumped off the board.
The three candidates winning three-year terms on the School Board were Dan Bailey with an unofficial 2,531 votes, Gail Radonski with 2,466 votes and Diane Narlock who was making her first try for public office and garnering 2,403 votes. Bonaparte's unofficial vote total was 1,892.
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Holy Week Explained
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On Saturday April 4th at 12PM Fr. Michal will be blessing Easter baskets. Learn more about this beautiful tradition.
New Pastor Announced - Fr. Joseph Clifford
Effective March 23rd, Fr. Joseph Clifford will become the new pastor at St. Thomas More Catholic Church. Click to learn more about our new shepherd!
Fr. Guarino - "Sometimes the correct answer isn't the right answer."
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Texas A&M announced the final non-conference football matchups for 2015 which includes three home games in the newly redeveloped Kyle Field.
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A&M Finalizes 2015 Non-Conference Schedule
Started by SECTalk.com, Jun 05 2014 01:37 PM
Posted 05 June 2014 - 01:37 PM
Posted 05 June 2014 - 06:29 PM
I'm looking forward to these games! Also, hoping to make it to one at Kyle feild! Go Aggies!
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"I used navy/gray colors with black&white pictures. The paper was semigloss. It really looked elegant and simple. I just love it! I received many compliments from ALL My recipients."
"These announcements are phenomenal and far exceeded my expectations. The paper quality was outstanding and my photo looked better than I could have even imagined. My son's shirt in the picture had green stripes, so the design team matched the pattern on the back to his shirt at no cost. The designer called me and communicated with me verbally about the customization and send me a digital proof for my approval. It was exactly what I was hoping for! The icing on the cake was that the announcements were delivered ahead of schedule--even with the custom design work. I have received several phone calls from recipients telling me how wonderfully they turned out. TinyPrints has earned a customer for life."
"This is a wonderful card for a boy's baby announcement! I love the bold name on the card, along with the contemporary font. I chose the shimmer stock paper and am so glad...it gives it such a lux look and the paper feels substantial. I changed "Merry Christmas" to read "Welcomed With Love" since we had already sent Christmas cards out. Great quality card for such a special occasion!"
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text:
According to the invention, an apparatus and method are disclosed for requesting and providing enhanced InfiniBand connectivity configurations.
1. A method comprising:
requesting an InfiniBand connectivity configuration;
receiving a response regarding whether the requested configuration can be provided; and
attempting to establish the requested connectivity configuration if the response to the request is affirmative.
2. The method of
3. The method of
4. The method of
5. The method of
6. The method of
7. The method of
8. A method comprising:
receiving a connectivity configuration request associated with an InfiniBand connector, the configuration request representing an expanded InfiniBand connector configuration including information indicative of one or more desired links to be established through the InfiniBand connector and assigning one or more physical lanes of the InfiniBand connector to each of the one or more desired links; and
configuring the InfiniBand connector in accordance with said connectivity configuration request.
9. The method of
10. The method of
11. The method of
12. A method comprising:
an InfiniBand management link operating to enable the establishment of an InfiniBand connectivity configuration, wherein said management link:
records a request for a connectivity configuration made by an InfiniBand module;
allows an InfiniBand chassis to obtain said request for a connectivity configuration;
records a response from said InfiniBand chassis to said request for a connectivity configuration; and
allows said InfiniBand module to obtain said response to said request for a connectivity configuration.
13. The method of
14. The method of
15. The method of
16. A network apparatus comprising:
an InfiniBand connector;
an InfiniBand module that is operable to make a request for an expanded connectivity configuration for the InfiniBand connector;
a chassis management entity coupled to said InfiniBand module that receives the request for an expanded connectivity configuration for the InfiniBand connector and that provides a response regarding whether the requested configuration can be provided.
17. The network apparatus of
18. The network apparatus of
a single link comprised of a connection to the first pin of a plurality of pins on the InfiniBand connector;
a single link comprised of a connection to the first four pins of the plurality of pins on the InfiniBand connector; or
a single link comprised of a connection to the first twelve pins of the plurality of pins on the InfiniBand connector.
19. The network apparatus of
20. The network apparatus of
21. The network apparatus of
22. The network apparatus of
23. The network apparatus of
24. A machine readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
requesting an expanded InfiniBand connectivity configuration;
receiving a response regarding whether the requested configuration can be provided; and
establishing the requested configuration.
25. The medium of
26. The medium of
[0001] This invention relates to computer networks in general, and more specifically to the configuration of InfiniBand links.
[0002] In order to overcome many of the problems and limitations that are inherent in common system bus technologies, new architectures are being developed. The InfiniBand architecture is a new standard based on switched serial links to device groups and devices. In the InfiniBand architecture, all devices are attached through a central, unified fabric of InfiniBand switches and links. InfiniBand architecture is intended to simplify and accelerate server-to-server connections and links to other server-related systems, such as remote storage and networking devices. InfiniBand is a merged proposal that was derived from the Next Generation I/O group (NGIO) and the Future I/O group (FIO).
[0003] The standards for the InfiniBand architecture are being developed by the InfiniBand Trade Association (ITA), and are provided in the architecture specification for the system. (InfiniBand Architecture Specification, Release 1.0, Oct. 24, 2000) (hereinafter referred to as the �Specification�) In addition to other features of InfiniBand architecture that are described in the Specification, there are specifications for connectivity configurations. Only certain limited configurations are provided in the Specification, these configurations being 1X, 4X, and 12X links.
[0004] For InfiniBand configurations, connections are defined by �physical lanes�. A physical lane is comprised of one transmit differential pair of conductors and one receive differential pair of conductors. A 1X, 4X or 12X link is composed of one, four, or twelve physical lanes, respectively. The twelve possible physical lanes on a standard InfiniBand backplane connector are designated by lane identifiers 0 through 11. Under the Specification, a 1X link must use physical lane 0, a 4X link must use physical lanes 0 through 3, and a 12X link must use physical lanes 0 through 11, as shown in Table 1. No other possible configurations are specified, and only a single link is specified for any connector in use.
[0005] The Specification thus defines the possible connectivity configurations using an InfiniBand connector as including only a single 1X link, a single 4X link, or a single 12X link with rigid pin-outs. If a 1X link is present, eleven of the twelve physical lanes on a standard connector remain unused. If a 4X link is present, eight of the twelve physical lanes on a standard connector are unused.
[0006] As shown in FIG. 1, a typical InfiniBand backplane connector 100 contains a plurality of connections 110, these connections being the twelve physical lanes numbered 0 through 11 in this example. An InfiniBand backplane connector also includes a management link, bulk power connections, and auxiliary power connections, which are not shown in this illustration. Typically, connector 100 utilizes either the first connection in configuration 120 for a 1X link, the first four connections in configuration 130 for a 4X link, or all twelve connections in configuration 140 for a 12X link. No other connectivity configuration for the connector is provided in the Specification. The usage of a standard connector is therefore very limited, and does not allow for flexibility in configuration, or allow for the provision of multiple links on a single connector. For this reason, the limitations in the Specification standards do not allow sufficient options to precisely balance the data flow into and out of an InfiniBand module and do not allow full use of the capabilities of the InfiniBand architecture.
[0007] The appended claims set forth the features of the invention with particularity. The invention, together with its advantages, may be best understood from the following detailed descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which:
[0008]FIG. 1 is an illustration of the InfiniBand link portion of an InfiniBand standard backplane connector and the typical alternative connectivity configurations provided for said connector;
[0009]FIG. 2 is an illustration of certain examples of expanded connectivity configurations possible using the InfiniBand link portion of an InfiniBand standard backplane connector according to one embodiment;
[0010]FIG. 3 illustrates the typical backplane connections for an InfiniBand chassis and an InfiniBand module;
[0011]FIG. 4 illustrates the backplane connections for an InfiniBand chassis and an InfiniBand module and the process of requesting a connectivity configuration and responding to such request according to one embodiment;
[0012]FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of an InfiniBand module according to an embodiment; and
[0013]FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of an InfiniBand chassis according to an embodiment.
[0014] A method and apparatus are described for configuring expanded InfiniBand links.
[0015] In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form.
[0016] The present invention includes various steps, which will be described below. The steps of the present invention may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor or logic circuits programmed with the instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, the steps may be performed by a combination of hardware and software.
[0017] Under one embodiment, the possible connectivity configurations for the InfiniBand architecture are expanded beyond the configurations provided in the Specification. Different links are possible under this embodiment, and multiple links may be provided simultaneously using the physical lanes defined by the Specification. Under this embodiment, the requirements of the Specification continue to be met, and the limited connectivity configurations that are provided in the Specification remain available.
[0018] One embodiment utilizes a standard InfiniBand backplane connector to allow connectivity configurations beyond those provided in the InfiniBand Specification. An embodiment allows a combination of different links to be provided simultaneously on a single connector. As shown in FIG. 2, InfiniBand backplane connector 200 contains a plurality of connections 210, which are physical lanes 0 through 11 in this illustration. An InfiniBand backplane connector also includes a management link, bulk power connections, and auxiliary power connections, which are not shown in FIG. 2. Under one embodiment, connector 200 could simultaneously provide for a 1X link through utilization of configuration 220, a 4X link through utilization of configuration 230, a 1X link through utilization of configuration 240, and a 4X link through utilization of configuration 250. Under various embodiments, up to twelve 1X links or up to three 4X links could be established on a standard InfiniBand backplane connector that contains twelve physical lanes. The configurations described here and illustrated in FIG. 2 are meant solely as an example of the usage of a single connector under one embodiment, and such configurations do not limit how the invention may be implemented. Many different links and combinations of links are possible using the invention.
[0019] According to one embodiment, an expanded connectivity configuration may be obtained by making a request for the configuration. A response to the configuration request is made, and the requested connection may be attempted if the response to the request is affirmative. Under one embodiment, the configuration request and the response to said request are made by InfiniBand devices that are defined by the Specification.
[0020] Under the Specification, an InfiniBand module is a unit that, at minimum, consists of an InfiniBand board, a carrier module, and a protective cover. The Specification provides that a module will include at least one InfiniBand link, a baseboard management agent, one InfiniBand management link agent (an interface to the InfiniBand management link), one module management entity, and the applications the module performs. Pursuant to one embodiment, such a module may request an expanded connectivity configuration. Under this embodiment, the request would be made to an InfiniBand chassis management entity, which is part of an InfiniBand chassis. Under the Specification, an InfiniBand management link (abbreviated as �IB-ML�) is defined, and such management link will connect devices on an InfiniBand module with an InfiniBand chassis. The management link allows communication between the chassis and the module entities, and is available even when the InfiniBand fabric is not operational and before a link is connected. Under this embodiment, the InfiniBand management link is used in a novel way not discussed in the Specification to provide a mechanism for making the connectivity request and the resulting response. Under one embodiment, a module requests an expanded connectivity configuration by making the request to the chassis management entity through the management link, and the chassis management entity responds through the management link regarding whether the chassis can support the requested connectivity configuration. The invention is not limited to a physical InfiniBand management link, but may also include communication using a virtual InfiniBand management link or other connection.
[0021] Under one embodiment, the configuration request by a module and the response by a chassis management entity may be made by writing to a memory space. According to one embodiment, the request is written to a configuration register in the vendor/product specific space in the management link's serial electrically erasable read only memory (SEEPROM). When a configuration request is made, the response by the chassis management entity to said request is written to another configuration register in the management link's SEEPROM. If the module detects a positive response to the module's request, the module then attempts to establish a connection over the requested links.
[0022]FIG. 3 is an illustration of a typical InfiniBand backplane connection. As shown in FIG. 3, a module 300 contains a management link agent 305 and a module management entity 310. Module 300 is connected to chassis 315, which contains chassis management entity 320. Module 300 and chassis 315 are connected by InfiniBand backplane connector 325. The connection is comprised of InfiniBand link 330, InfiniBand management link 335, and the power connections, which are comprised of bulk power connection 340 and auxiliary power connection 345. Chassis 315 includes InfiniBand management link SEEPROM 350. In this configuration, InfiniBand link 330 is limited to a single 1X, 4X, or 12X link that utilizes the physical lanes specified in Table 1.
[0023] As shown in FIG. 4, an embodiment may comprise a module 400 containing management link agent 405 and module management entity 410. Module 400 is connected to chassis 415, which includes chassis management agent 420. Module 400 and chassis 415 are connected via InfiniBand backplane connector 425. The connection is comprised of InfiniBand link 430, InfiniBand management link 435, and the power connections, bulk power connection 440 and auxiliary power connection 445. Chassis 415 includes InfiniBand management link SEEPROM 450. According to this embodiment, module 400 is operable to request an expanded connectivity configuration from chassis 415. The module communicates the configuration request to chassis management entity 420 of chassis 415. The request is communicated using InfiniBand management link 435. According to this embodiment, module 400 writes the configuration request to a first configuration register 455 in the SEEPROM 445 for InfiniBand management link 430. Chassis management entity 420 detects the configuration request that has been written to the first configuration register 455. Upon detecting a configuration request, chassis management entity 420 issues a response to the module by writing the response to a second configuration register 460 in SEEPROM 450. The response that is written to second configuration register 460 indicates whether the chassis management entity can support the requested connectivity configuration. If module 400 detects a positive response to the configuration request, module 400 then attempts to establish the requested links.
[0024]FIG. 5 contains a flow chart that illustrates the operation of an InfiniBand module according to one embodiment. In process block 500, the module determines what connectivity configuration is needed. If the request is for a configuration that is expanded beyond those provided in the Specification, process block 505, the module requests this configuration by writing the configuration request to a register in the InfiniBand management link SEEPROM, process block 510. The module detects the response regarding the configuration request, process block 515. If the response is in the affirmative, process block 520, the module will initiate the links contained in the requested configuration, process block 525, and commence operations, process block 530. According to this embodiment, if the response to the configuration request is not in the affirmative, process block 520, because the configuration request is denied or because the chassis does not respond to the request, the module will again formulate a configuration request, process block 500, and proceed through the process defined. If a request is not for an expanded configuration, process block 505, then the process may proceed according to the Specification. In this case, the module will follow the specified requirements for normal link establishment, process block 535, and proceed to initiate the configuration, 525, and commence operations, process block 530.
[0025]FIG. 6 contains a flow chart that illustrates the operation of an InfiniBand chassis according to one embodiment. From this point of view, the chassis attempts to detect any configuration request that has been written to a register in the management link SEEPROM. If there is a request present on a register, process block 605, the chassis will determine whether the configuration request can be provided, process block 610. If the request can be provided, the chassis writes an affirmative response to the request to a register in the management link SEEPROM, process block 615, and proceeds to commences operations, process block 620. If the configuration request cannot be provided, process block 610, the chassis will write a negative response to a register in the management link SEEPROM, process block 625, and again attempt to detect a configuration request on a register in the management link SEEPROM, process block 600. If no configuration request is present on a register in the management link SEEPROM, process block 605, then the chassis will follow the requirements contained in the Specification for normal link establishment, process block 630, and proceed to commence operations, process block 620.
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text:
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to His people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
Almighty God and Father,
we worship You, we give You thanks,
we praise You for Your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ,
only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
You take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
You are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For You alone are the Holy One,
You alone are the Lord,
You alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of the Father.
Four things to know about your candle on Catholic Online:
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text:
The Cure for Anything…
My cyber buddy Lisa has a blog which has the title of the Isak Dinesen quote. To be quite honest, I never pondered upon the true meaning of those words. However, for me in the time I've spent here on the beach in Puerto Peñasco I've found them to be true.
In the two months I've been here, I've been "seeking out my bliss." I've joined a couple of social groups that meet for drinks and dinner, and have become fast friends with a couple from Prince George, British Columbia. I'm exercising (on an outside patio facing the ocean) three times a week, and have indulged in pedicures with some massages booked.
The American Legion AND the Playa Bonita RV park (next door) play Bingo (on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively). To be honest I've never been much of a Bingo fan, but both places play "Shooter Bingo." There are six games with the last being blackout or coverall. After someone wins a game, the caller calls a "shooter number." If you have that number on your card, you either get a shot of tequila or a small chocolate candy. I won the blackout game at the American Legion, and one of the games at Playa Bonita. :-) It's great fun.
Cali has thrived, and it's a joy to see her romp on the beach chasing pelicans and introducing herself to other dogs out for beach walks.
I've had a sun drop made for my awning, so now I have a pleasant patio to sit and watch the ocean. Next week, I've having the two sofas in my Lazy Daze recovered. After much pondering, I've decided upon a light tan "pleather" (vinyl leather).
I had my 63rd birthday last Sunday, and my friend Al took me out to dinner at what I think is the best restaurant in Puerto Peñasco – Chef Mickey's. My new Canadian friends came along too, making for a very pleasant evening.
Please forgive me for not posting, but the truth is I'm healing in the "salt water." Seriously…


text:
Yankee Hill Machine Muzzle Brake Phantom 5M1 Aggressive 1/2"-28 Thread AR-15 Parkerized
Product #: 124926 Yankee Hill #: YHM-28-5M1 UPC #: 816701013658
Product Information
The Yankee Hill Machine Phantom 5M1 was designed with Phantom styling in mind but works as a muzzle brake and compensator. This 5 port design has no downward facing port which helps eliminate dust problems when shooting in the prone position. The 5M1 maintains the aggressive front end for hand-to-hand situations, Threaded 1/2"-28. Includes crush washer.
Technical Information:
Technical Information:
- Caliber: 5.56
- Threads: 1/2" - 28
- Length: 2.25"
Delivery Information
The total weight of the product, including the product's packaging as it sits on our shelf. Since some products ship directly from the Manufacturer, their weight may be unavailable. Because of variations in the manufacturing process, similar products may have differing weights. Unless the product is designated as "Ships Alone", Shipping Weight does not include the shipping box or packing materials associated with your order.
Product ships from MidwayUSA, separate from any other products on your order due to its size. Products that are Shipped Alone incur separate "Per Order" and "Per Pound" shipping charges.
Product is regulated by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) and cannot be shipped via USPS or air shipping methods. DOT-Regulated products must ship UPS Ground.
Product is restricted by shipping carriers and cannot be shipped to certain locations or via certain shipping methods.
Additional shipping charge for HazMat products. Carriers charge extra to ship packages with products they consider hazardous, such as reloading powder and primers.
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text:
What I claim now applies to what I do now, not what I did in the past.<quoted text>
1)[="Mike Duquette"]<quoted text>I was once a believer, so your argument fails yet again.
2)I am humble enough not to make claims I cannot back up, unlike yourself.
Does that mean that you can not back up your claims for having once being a believer?
I have learned things since I have grown up and one of them is how to not say absolute things I cannot back up.
Kids often say a lot of silly stuff but when pressed, they cannot back up what the say.
Religious people are just acting like immature kids, in my opinion.
I am a grown up and value my reputation. I am not going to make a bunch of unfounded claims.
Some here do not value their reputation enough to register on topix.


text:
Johnson confirms Hibbard fitness issues
ESPNscrum Staff
January 20, 2012
Richard Hibbard was overlooked for Wales' Six Nations squad © Getty Images
Ospreys boss Scott Johnson has admitted that Richard Hibbard's omission from Wales' Six Nations squad may be fitness related.
The 28-year-old hooker was overlooked in favour of Matthew Rees, Huw Bennett and Ken Owens, having missed the Rugby World Cup due to an ankle problem sustained in a warm-up game against Argentina.
Since his debut in 2006, Hibbard has been in and out of contention with Wales but was in the reckoning for a call-up following an injury to Dragons front-rower Lloyd Burns. Johnson believes that his conditioning may have let him down on this occasion.
"There's a side to Richard which we love and there's a side that lets him down," Johnson told BBC Sport. "And he has got to understand there are physical requirements all of the time and he has to acknowledge that all of the time.
"To compete with opponents who are up against you all the time you have to got to make sure that you are physically at 100%. Richard sometimes can ebb and flow with regards that.
"As a rugby player he should be in the team. Physically, sometimes, he lets himself down, and he wouldn't mind me saying that because I'm on his back all of the time. I've got a soft spot for Rich as a kid. He epitomises everything I like."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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