Car Photo of the Day: Parallax View

Name that car.

This is actually a lousy photo. The depth of field is off – pushed too far towards the lens. Pushed a bit outwards, it would have been a bit better as the window frame and other further bits would have been sharp. Oh well.

However it is salvageable as a CPotD though as the odd view of this car, with a wide lens, and a close perspective on the trailing edge of the window presents a view that few people have really paid attention to. The car itself is somewhat common, and has appeared here before, so don’t go fishing into exotica to name it.

My Next Challenge: Facebook in Prineville, Oregon

Facebook's Prineville, Oregon Data Center.

Now I can finally tell everyone what’s been going on… what all those cryptic status messages I’ve posted on Facebook & Twitter over the past several weeks have meant:

I’ve taken a position with Facebook in their Technical Operations group as the Lead Datacenter Technician at their new Prineville, Oregon facility, working for Ken Patchett. I’ve talked often about the migration of the datacenter industry into rural areas, and now I’m living up to that conclusion. Facebook is a rapidly growing company and performs technical operations on a scale I never could have experienced at digital.forest, so I’m very excited about this opportunity. In the decade I’ve worked at d.f I was immersed in every facet of the datacenter business except scale, as our largest project ever topped out at ~2MW/10,000sq’. Day One at Facebook for me will exceed that scale by a wide margin. I can’t wait to meet my new colleagues and be a vital part of building and operating the best facility on the Internet. I start at Facebook on Monday, August 2nd.

Sue has found a position as a Public Defender in Crook & Jefferson counties. This move will something of a homecoming for Sue as she was born in Prineville and grew up in various small towns in central and eastern Oregon – her dad worked for the USFS. We’ll be close to family now too, as Sue’s dad and two sisters still live there. When I first heard about Facebook’s choice of Prineville for their new facility I joked to Sue about her birthplace being suddenly thrust into the limelight… then a few months later they called me! It was like fate or something. She’s very excited about being able to move back to Oregon. Due to the Oregon State Bar process she can’t start practicing law until early October, but we hope to be all moved down there by early September at the latest to have Nick ready for school.

Nick is mildly apprehensive about all this, as he’s really settled into a good spot in life here in Arlington. He has all those things teens need: great friends, good grades, and a passion (running X-C.) As much as we tell him that he’ll be able to find all that in Oregon, he doesn’t know that … yet. We hope to find a place where he can fit in, so we’ve been emailing the coaches of the various X-C teams in the area.

We’re currently shopping for a home down there (dictated by Nick’s terms above, and of course with some good shop or barn space to build my “Garage Mahal”) and will update everyone with our new address as soon as that process comes to a close.

It is of course tough to say goodbye to our home of the past eleven years here in Arlington, and our friends, family, and colleagues. But we’ll still be in the region. Come visit us at hit the slopes!

This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the Goolsbee’s life. As always stay tuned to follow along!

Car Photo(s) of the Day: More of that 1938 Tatra T-87

I posted a tight crop of a headlight and partial bonnet of this car a few days ago. I thought I had perhaps posted a real puzzler, but you guys are all too good. It was properly identified instantly! Perhaps my post title was the give-away as I called it a “Secret Weapon” a shortened moniker it received by the occupying Germans during the Second World War, as it had a habit of killing German officers who drove it beyond its performance envelope.

Until I stumbled upon this example I had yet to see a Tatra T-87 in the flesh. This one appeared before me as soon as I stepped onto the show field of the Art Center School of Design’s 2009 car Show. A great introduction to this amazing car as well, as this example is in near perfect condition. I hovered around it for quite a long time – so long in fact that the car’s caretaker noted my minor obsession and opened a door for me so I could photograph the interior.

I’ll just shut up and let the car speak for itself via my photos. Feel free to share observations, obsessions, and/or Tatra knowledge in the comments!

Continue reading “Car Photo(s) of the Day: More of that 1938 Tatra T-87”

A two-part Boeing Wing Truck captured.

I’ve mentioned the odd tandem trucks that Boeing uses to move large aircraft assemblies between plants here in the Seattle area on Twitter before, and people there have asked me to snap photos. I finally snagged one recently so here it is. Not great photos, but they do capture the essence of these odd wing-movers for the big lorry fans out there:

Seen from the rear.

Basically the tractor is a standard-issue truck, but the trailer is supported by an independent rear tractor unit as well. This one is low-slung with a driver underneath the covered wing section. The whole parade is completed by pilot vehicles.

Here is a blurry close up of the rear tractor:

Note the driver.

Now I’m not certain that these rear units are actually powered in some way. They could be merely steerable, but without any motive power. I never get a chance to look them over very well as I always encounter them in traffic. Not the best environment to perform in-depth analysis of adjoining lane vehicles!