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Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(000)b.jpgTravelling out to the park on the highway, past hills covered in yellow burnt grass.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(001)bg.jpgThe road also went by this massive wind farm outside Los Angeles.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(002)bg.jpgRow after row of windmills.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(003)b.jpgA better picture of windmills, but they ran out here.  I don't know why one of them only has one blade.  Not all of them were going round at once.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(004)b.jpgPiles of rocks will become a recurring theme of this trip.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(005)bg.jpgTrying to get a picture of the rocks but the bendy road sign got in the way (a lot of these were taken from the car window while moving).
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(006)bg.jpgThe first of the famed Joshua Trees (which only grow in this area) that we saw.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(007)b.jpgA bigger pile of rocks.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(008)g.jpgSome things in the desert are larger than they at first appear.  I got to watch Roger, Grahame and Chris (left to right) dwindle into the distance until they were dwarfed by this Joshua Tree.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(009)k.jpgRoger was excited at seeing this bird in the desert.  Before it flew away, I took this photo which shows that the bird exists, if not much else.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(010)b.jpgA desert plant with flowers.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(011)b.jpgA nice view from the car as we drove further into the park.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(012)b.jpgThe rock piles here were characteristically rounded and had a rough eroded granite surface, making them ideal for climbing.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(013)b.jpgIn the slightly moister 'Hidden Valley', there was this miniature desert variant of the Oak family.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(014)b.jpgThe valley also contained different cacti, such as this old and manky one.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(015)bg.jpgBoulders lead up to a high peak, with a variety of plants growing between them.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(016)bg.jpgThe valley was bounded by these high rock walls.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(017)bg.jpgDead wood doesn't rot away very fast in the desert, instead becoming dry and blackened.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(018)bg.jpgSome rocks with a hole.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(019)bg.jpgComing out of the valley there was a good view of the plain of Joshua Trees outside.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(020)b.jpgBy the time we got down onto the plain for lunch, a thunderstorm had started up and it was threatening rain.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(021)bg.jpgFrom a viewpoint we could see many miles of desert but it got increasingly obscured by smog blown up the valley from Los Angeles with distance.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(022)bg.jpgLooking from the viewpoint in another direction, across a more barren part of the desert.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(023)b.jpgDriving back from the viewpoint meant going back through the rain, which was by now quite intense.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(024)bg.jpgIt didn't seem to soak into the ground, instead forming pools of water.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(025)bg.jpgThe road was filled in places with several inches of water.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(026)b.jpgAt one point we had to stop for half an hour until a flash flood in the form of a torrent crossing the road had subsided (the one shown here was shallow enough to drive through).
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(027)bg.jpgI think this was meant to be called "Skull Rock", or something.  It doesn't look much like it in the picture so maybe I took the wrong one.  It was around here that we had to stop.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(028)b.jpgAnd now for something completely different.  It hadn't rained here and you could feel the heat coming up from the ground into your shoes.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(029)b.jpgThe reason for stopping was the colony of vegetatively-reproducing cacti, such as this fine specimen.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(030)bg.jpgThere were quite a lot of cacti.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(031)bg.jpgThis didn't come out well but what I think I was trying to show was that the rock piles here were more pointy and fractured than the ones earlier on, but you will have to take that on trust.
Joshua Tree National Park (Aug 2006) [jpg]20060823(032)bg.jpgI'm not sure why this was there.
Tsukuba trip (Jan 2006) [jpg]20060121(000).jpgJust arrived: on the coach away from the airport.  It is snowing!  Our plane was lucky to land at Tokyo/Narita that day, others travelling a few hours later experienced long delays or had their flights cancelled entirely.
Tsukuba trip (Jan 2006) [jpg]20060121(001).jpgThe sunrise illuminates two buildings visible from my hotel room window.
Tsukuba trip (Jan 2006) [jpg]20060122(001).jpgSnow melting on the trees.
Tsukuba trip (Jan 2006) [jpg]20060122(002).jpgOrnamental garden on the plaza outside our hotel.  The 'tree' and 'reeds' are made of metal and also have snow on them.
Tsukuba trip (Jan 2006) [jpg]20060127(024).jpgView at night from high up the mountain overlooking KEK.  You can see some lights but it was difficult to identify anything (it was also cold).  The most notable thing that happened in this excursion was that Shinji got a flat tyre on his parents' car.
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(000).jpgOn arrival at Akihabara.  The sun was still up.  We couldn't quite figure out how the "Duty Free" sign on some of the shops worked.  This particular street was mobile phone territory.
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(001).jpgThis was an impressively sharp high-definition LCD TV.  The effect is somewhat spoiled by my unsteady grasp of the camera, which almost obscures the label on the top left of the screen stating its 1920x1080 resolution.
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(002).jpgPerhaps the most distinctive place in Akihabara is the indoor electronics market where rows of small stalls selling various components are packed in almost underneath the train station.  This one was LEDs.  You can also see a row of bright ones being demoed (which my camera didn't like very much).
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(003).jpgAlso on sale were CCTV systems and 'spy cameras' ranging down to the size of sugar cubes.
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(004).jpgThis seems to be every possible size of computer fan from 120mm down to 15mm in small increments.  I probably should have put my finger there to show just how small those ones at the front really are!
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(005).jpgThe impressive thing about some shops was the comprehensiveness in the range of components available.  This entire price list is hard disks.
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(006).jpgEvery CPU in existence!  You have to go down into a basement to find this shop.
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(007).jpgThis is the... well, you can read can't you?
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(008).jpgANOTHER hard disk price list, this one notable because of the new 500GB size being listed.
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(009).jpgYou have to walk a little way before coming to a 'normal' shop.  In search of a coffee shop (not to mention somewhere to sit down after a couple of hours), we eventually settled on the very traditional "Mister Donut". From the window I could see this nice matrix of lights in the office building towering above us on the opposite side of the street.
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(010).jpgAs night falls, the lights switch on.  This block was particularly illuminated.
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(011).jpgNope, whichever way I put my camera, I still can't get all of it in!
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(012).jpgLights, the main street and the railway line crossing it.
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(013).jpgThe presence of neon lights, ramps and the Sega logo makes this photograph remind me of a Sonic the Hedgehog level.
Akihabara [jpg]20060125(014).jpgStealth spy cams, disguised as screw heads.
Restaurant Garden [jpg]20060124(000).jpgA view up the garden; the fallen snow had persisted all week.  It wasn't green though - not sure what caused that.
Restaurant Garden [jpg]20060124(001).jpgThe garden path.  The shadowy figure directly in front of me is Grahame Rees.
Restaurant Garden [jpg]20060124(002).jpgA bridge over the stream in the middle of the garden.  On the far side you can see one of the mini-houses that were scattered through this restaurant's garden.
Restaurant Garden [jpg]20060124(003).jpgBamboo pipe water feature.
KEK [jpg]20060123(000).jpgI guess I just took this to prove that some work took place on the trip.  You can see the snow outside.  The many laptops connected through extension leads and adaptors turned the floor of the room into a kind of death trap or spider's web...
KEK [jpg]20060126(000).jpgBEST PHOTO EVER
KEK [jpg]20060126(001).jpgOne morning I went for a walk around the laboratory grounds.  Here you can see the nearby mountain above the buildings.
KEK [jpg]20060126(002).jpgAnother view of the lab from a different direction.
KEK [jpg]20060126(003).jpgLooking behind me, I found that I was walking beside the electron linac.
KEK [jpg]20060126(004).jpgPicnic area!
KEK [jpg]20060126(005).jpgStart your day the cyrogenic way with a refreshing can of liquid nitrogen.
KEK [jpg]20060127(000).jpgInside the warehouse where the 150MeV FFAG accelerator was located.  For more on this see the FFAG tour page...
KEK [jpg]20060127(015).jpgIt is quite common in Japan to have pools of water surrounding the buildings (offices in this case).  The outside part had frozen.
FFAG Tour [jpg]20060127(001).jpgLooking into the ring from the outside through a gap between the magnets.
FFAG Tour [jpg]20060127(002).jpgIn order to get inside the ring we have to cross this filmsy aluminium ladder.  This is made more difficult by the fact the entire thing is now inside a concrete block structure for radiation shielding and the ceiling is not particularly high.  The one taking the assault course here is Mike Zisman, leader of the scoping study accelerator working group.
FFAG Tour [jpg]20060127(003).jpgView from on top of that ladder.  The strip lights unfortunately dazzle my camera, but below you can see the cyclotron and injection line with four of the (ten?) magnets of the ring behind.  I can't work out whether the slight blurring in this picture was due to my hand or the ladder shaking.
FFAG Tour [jpg]20060127(004).jpgThat injection line again, featuring a quadrupole triplet and what I presume to be a load of diagnostics.
FFAG Tour [jpg]20060127(005).jpgCyclotron on the right, water cooling splitter on the left.
FFAG Tour [jpg]20060127(006).jpgApparently one of the parts of the accelerator got warmer than expected and needed a bit of additional cooling.  Air cooling, in this case, was added with a bunch of 12" fans.
FFAG Tour [jpg]20060127(007).jpgThe light-coloured pipes have water flowing in them, which goes out to cool various coils and returns to this splitter again.
FFAG Tour [jpg]20060127(008).jpgPipes.  Pressure gauge.  Valves.
FFAG Tour [jpg]20060127(009).jpgSo we went around the outside of the ring again and had to step over this wire trench.  They seem to have enough wires.
FFAG Tour [jpg]20060127(010).jpgExtracted beam line (also with a quadrupole triplet on it).  The main ring bends away behind.
FFAG Tour [jpg]20060127(011).jpgThis is closer to the magnet where the extracted line branches out.  I've forgotten exactly what that handle does.  I think it seals off the vacuum of the main ring from the extraction line.
FFAG Tour [jpg]20060127(012).jpgBeam dump.  This is a research machine, they don't actually do anything with the extracted beam other than measure it and then dispose of it in this large (and now radioactive) block of iron.
FFAG Tour [jpg]20060127(013).jpgI was a little concerned for my credit cards when I saw this sign but I assume it only applies when the machine is switched on, in which case people really shouldn't be going inside there anyway (let alone with scissors).
FFAG Tour [jpg]20060127(014).jpgI knew it wasn't switched on because this handy "FFAG ON" sign wasn't lit.
temple [jpg]20060127(016).jpgThe street in the village where the temple was located.  This shows you something of what average buildings in Japan are like, although perhaps this street is more tourist-orientated than most.
temple [jpg]20060127(017).jpgA side building to the temple.  The terracotta things to either side actually contain buckets of water for if the wooden structure catches fire!
temple [jpg]20060127(018).jpgAn old painting in the eaves of the main temple.
temple [jpg]20060127(019).jpgInside the temple there was a drum and some weird stuff.  It later turned out that we'd gone the wrong way and weren't supposed to be here.
temple [jpg]20060127(020).jpgThe temple garden with a waterfall.  I liked this, it was a very peaceful place.  It doesn't really go with the red and white striped ribbon, but I think that was a temporary decoration to celebrate the Japanese new year (2666).
temple [jpg]20060127(021).jpgAnother picture of that with a bit more of the carved bridge roof, which was also interesting.
temple [jpg]20060127(022).jpgAnother side building with a very intricate roof.
temple [jpg]20060127(023).jpgOdd.
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