Almost done...

Everything came together today in regards to our project, we had several successful tests with both UNI and the university in St. Petersburg, with only one brief internet glitch to slow us down. Lunch was the usual T&C salad, followed by some chicken soup and then a pork medallion, fries, and kidney beans. Very tasty, with that spicy mustard.

After lunch, Chuck experimented with adding some additional audio capabilities to our setup, at the request of the MISA staff. We weren't able to do it, as we didn't bring the right cables with us, but explained to them what they'd need to buy in order to accomplish it, if they so chose. I spent most of the afternoon surfing the web, as we're really done with the project now. Tomorrow we'll help the MISA staff document the setup, if they need any more details, though I think they've gotten most of it. Then we'll do a final test at 4:00 p.m. (7:00 a.m. Iowa time) in which we'll introduce the professor teaching the class from the U.S. to her proctor here in Russia for the first time.

After that, Pitr has promised us a party, I'm not sure what that entails yet, but I'm guessing that means I won't be online tomorrow night.

Dinner tonight was a salad of so many things I don't know what it was, to tell the truth. Mostly vegetables, I think, but we didn't pay too much attention. This was followed by something similar to the Khinkali, a sort of pasta stuffed with sausage. They were good, especially with some sour cream on them and a red sauce that was sort of a cross between taco sauce and sweet and sour sauce. Very filling though.

After dinner, Chuck and Alexey went on a walk, and I crashed for a nap. Just when I think I'm adjusted to the time difference, I keel over like a narcoleptic. I'm going to be absolutely worthless at work when I return to the states if it takes me a week to adjust back the other way.

They came back after an hour, and we went you-know-where to do you-know-what. :)

Bad wireless journalism

This article from the Arizona Republic (as seen on Slashdot) talks about war drivers out to steal your bandwidth and maybe even your credit card number. What the article fails to mention is that every site that deals in credit cards uses SSL encryption, which can't be hacked via wireless, and that if these people had bothered to secure and encrypt their home networks, their packets couldn't be captured. If they don't want their information to be received, they should stop broadcasting it as if they do.

More pictures from Russia

Chuck has posted a whopper of a PowerPoint slideshow, on his web site. In it, you'll find many more pictures from Russia. You'll need PowerPoint, and a fast connection, as it's a big file.

Success

We ate the usual breakfast, with the new addition of a sort of hot cereal, which we think was made from barley or hominy, and tasted fine, though I think it would have been great with some honey. We then crossed the courtyard over to MISA, and were pleasantly surprised with the arrival of the new TV and VCR for the classroom. The projector hasn't arrived yet, but that doesn't really matter, we really needed the TV to rule out our NTSC-to-PAL converter as a source of trouble. The TV is a really nice one, a big Sony Wega Trinitron, and we were extremely glad to see a normal video image appear on it, as it means all the gear we lugged from America is working properly. The internet connection is back up too, the MISA staff worked late last night, and eventually tracked down a bad patch cable somewhere in the network, so everything looks ready for our next testing window at 4:00 this afternoon (7:00 a.m. Iowa time).

First Drink

I had Alexey get me some vodka, Russian-style. I told him I wanted like the natives, and had him select and order one for me. Wow, the others who've been here weren't kidding when they said Russian vodka is good, it makes the American stuff taste like kerosene in comparison. I had a shot of it, with a cucumber to bite afterwards (yes, more cucumbers, though these were pickled or marinated or somesuch). I've got to say, it's quite good, though I'm not a big drinker. Apparently, the brand was Russian Standard Platinum, which Alexey says is quite good, and I'm inclined to agree. No, I will not bring you home a bottle, so don't even ask. I've already filled my quota. :)