Andrew Ferguson
Rejecting Your Reality and Substituting My Own Since 1986
You Are Not Eligible to Donate
I tried to donate blood last week during a drive at work (interesting side note, Boeing pays for time spent donating blood). One of my coworkers asked me and I thought it would be a fun experience, especially since I haven’t donated in a while.
I knew that because of all my recent travel, there was a chance I couldn’t donate, but I thought that enough time had passes and that at least I hadn’t been to Africa.
I told the nurse what areas I had been to, Europe, Eastern Europe, and Haiti. She was pretty sure I wouldn’t be eligible to donate, but we went through each country I visited just to make sure. The nurse meticulously wrote down every single country and major city I visited, from Moscow, Russia all the way through Frankfurt, Germany, and Haiti. As it turns out, all of Haiti is at risk for malaria. And despite the fact that I had taken chloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, I have to wait an entire year until I can give blood again.
I understand the need to be safe, and I promise I’m not complaining, but it seems like the odds of someone actually getting malaria are low enough that it should be worthwhile to collect the blood, test it, and use it if it’s clean. What diseases are tested for anyway?
Tags: blood, blood donation, chloroquine, Haiti, malaria, Puget Sound Blood Center, Travel the World
Haiti: January 8-21, 2010, A Photo Essay Book
I spent the last couple of weeks putting together a photo essay on my time Haiti. Unlike my last book, this one is almost entirely full bleed photos. It was a difficult book to put together because I initially didn’t know how I wanted to tell the story. I spent a lot of time fiddling around until I was able to decide on the format, using my fundraising letter as the introduction and a letter Bruce sent us as an epilogue.
The book finally arrived last week and the people who have had the opportunity to spend some time with it have been very impressed (some people actually didn’t believe I made the book).
I made this book for me…so I could have something to be able to look at and be able to share with other people when they came over (without having to jump on the computer). However, you can also purchase a copy of the book. It comes in two flavors, softcover ($41.95) and hardcover ($60.95)[1]. The book is 122 pages in length and includes 242 photos.
- You can buy a copy of the book here: Haiti: January 8-21, 2010, A photo essay by Andrew Ferguson
- You can also preview the first 10 pages here: Preview first 10 pages
As a side note, I’m starting to cook up ideas about making a book for my Europe trip. I’m currently convinced it will have text, however the text will be separate from the photos. With 1665
photos (three times the finished amount I have from Haiti), it’s going to be a nightmare putting that together. Maybe I need an editor…any takers?
- Both of these are at cost and I make zero dollars [↩]
Tags: Blurb, editor, Haiti, Photo essay, Travel the World
Operation Water Engineering: A Mission Trip to Haiti?
For several months now, shortly after I saw The Advent Conspiracy, I have wanted to be involved in humanitarian/missionary projects to bring clean water to places that don’t have it.
Last semester (Spring 2009), I was part of a group at Merge (Flatirons Community Church) that was looking for opportunities for college-aged people to be more active in mission work. It was at that point that I started developing more passion for using my engineering skills to serve other people, specially with regard to getting access clean water.
A specific idea I had was doing what I’ll call “emerging technology transfer.” The idea is that we would take some form technology and extract the emerging technologies out of it to be put to use in different ways. For example, technology in a Toyota Prius, could be used to design a wind turbine where the blades would be made using the same composite technology[1], which would connect to a generator that is based on the regenerative braking system. The same motor-generator system would also be used to power the water pump. Excess energy would be stored for later use in NiMH batteries ius. And for the cloudy days, the efficient gas-engine could be used. There are other issues, such as: will they be able to maintain this equipment? So I digress.
Convergence, the Young Adult Ministry at University Presbyterian Church, is going on a mission trip to Haiti in January to “come alongside UPC ministry partners Bruce and Deb Robinson as they serve the Haitian people through various community development initiatives, mainly through flood control projects.”[2]
From upcconvergence.files.wordpress.com:We will be doing a variety of work, ranging from irrigation projects, rebuilding structures damaged during hurricane season, and more. We will primarily work on construction projects. If you have specific professional skills, we will inquire to see if they might be useful to the community. In addition, you will get to see how God has been working through the Robinsons during their time in Haiti.
As it turns out, I do have specific skills that could probably be useful. I have a passion for the project, I can get the time off, and I can mostly afford the trip (if I decide to go, I may ask for some fund raising help). I’ve also never been to Haiti before, which would sort of tack on a bonus country to my Travel the World goal.
But there’s still that hint of reservation…is this what I should be doing?
- I actually don’t know if such technology is used on the Prius, just assuming here. [↩]
- http://upcconvergence.wordpress.com/mission-trips/haiti/ [↩]
Tags: Advent Conspiracy, Bruce Robinson, clean water, Convergence, Deb Robinson, emerging technology transfer, Flatirons Community Church, Merge, Prius, Travel the World, University Presbyterian Church
Flying Home
I’m flying home today. Right now, in fact. My plane is due to touch down in Seattle at 2:21pm local time.
Feel free to track my progress: United Airlines flight 945 from Frankfurt to Chicago (9 hours) and United Airlines flight 929 from Chicago to Seattle (4.5 hours).
And it all started here, Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport…
18.0 mm || 1/400 || f/8.0 || ISO640
…62 days ago.
See you on the flip side.
Tags: airplane, flight, Travel the World, UA929, UA945, United Airlines
Dateline: Berlin, Day 3 – A Day Spent Wandering
Berlin, Germany
1 August 2009
70.0 mm || 1/1600 || f/4.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/100 || f/3.5 || ISO200
48.0 mm || 1/800 || f/4.5 || ISO200
46.0 mm || 1/1600 || f/4.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/8 || f/3.5 || ISO1600
29.0 mm || 1/640 || f/4.0 || ISO200
24.0 mm || 1/10 || f/3.8 || ISO1600
Tags: Starbucks, Travel the World
Dateline: Berlin, Day 2 – Sandeman Tour, Again
Berlin, Germany
31 July 2009
60.0 mm || 1/1250 || f/4.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/640 || f/3.5 || ISO200
70.0 mm || 1/1000 || f/4.5 || ISO200
70.0 mm || 1/1000 || f/4.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/3200 || f/3.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/640 || f/3.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/30 || f/10.0 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/125 || f/22.0 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/2500 || f/3.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/1000 || f/3.5 || ISO200
70.0 mm || 1/2000 || f/4.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/1600 || f/4.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/1600 || f/4.5 || ISO200
22.0 mm || 1/1600 || f/4.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/125 || f/22.0 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/2000 || f/3.5 || ISO200
38.0 mm || 1/1250 || f/4.2 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/60 || f/3.5 || ISO200
62.0 mm || 1/3200 || f/4.5 || ISO200
Tags: Berlin, Charlie Wyman, Germany, Quinn McGinnis, Sandeman's New Berlin Free Tour, SANDEMANs, Travel the World
Dateline: Berlin, Day 1 – Chocola(te)
Berlin, Germany
30 July 2009
18.0 mm || 1/40 || f/3.5 || ISO1600
29.0 mm || 1/30 || f/4.0 || ISO1600
Tags: Berlin, Germany, Travel the World
Dateline: Krakow, Day 3 – Schindler’s Factory
Krakow, Poland
29 July 2009
50.0 mm || 1/2500 || f/2.8 || ISO200
50.0 mm || 1/1600 || f/2.8 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/25 || f/3.5 || ISO800
18.0 mm || 1/100 || f/3.5 || ISO1600
18.0 mm || 1/125 || f/3.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/160 || f/3.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/2500 || f/3.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/640 || f/3.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/800 || f/3.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/1000 || f/3.5 || ISO200
27.0 mm || 1/1250 || f/3.8 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/2000 || f/3.5 || ISO200
70.0 mm || 1/500 || f/7.1 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/50 || f/3.5 || ISO1600
18.0 mm || 0.3 || f/3.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/40 || f/3.5 || ISO1600
25.0 mm || 1/5 || f/3.8 || ISO1600
Tags: Charlie Wyman, Krakow, Poland, Quinn McGinnis, Schindler's List, train, Travel the World
Dateline: Krakow, Day 2 – Auschwitz-Birkenau
Krakow, Poland
28 July 2009
Auschwitz
18.0 mm || 1/8000 || f/7.1 || ISO1600
38.0 mm || 1/640 || f/5.6 || ISO200
70.0 mm || 1/500 || f/4.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/320 || f/4.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/13 || f/4.5 || ISO1600
18.0 mm || 1/10 || f/4.5 || ISO1600
18.0 mm || 1/10 || f/4.5 || ISO1600
18.0 mm || 1/10 || f/4.5 || ISO1600
18.0 mm || 1/400 || f/4.5 || ISO1600
18.0 mm || 0.4 || f/4.5 || ISO1600
18.0 mm || 1/1000 || f/4.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/800 || f/4.5 || ISO200
70.0 mm || 1/800 || f/4.5 || ISO200
70.0 mm || 1/1000 || f/4.5 || ISO200
62.0 mm || 1/2000 || f/4.5 || ISO200
Birkenau
18.0 mm || 1/500 || f/4.5 || ISO200
29.0 mm || 1/640 || f/4.5 || ISO200
70.0 mm || 1/1600 || f/4.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/2500 || f/4.5 || ISO200
70.0 mm || 1/1250 || f/4.5 || ISO200
70.0 mm || 1/1250 || f/4.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/25 || f/4.5 || ISO1600
18.0 mm || 1/50 || f/4.5 || ISO500
46.0 mm || 1/200 || f/4.5 || ISO500
35.0 mm || 1/4000 || f/4.5 || ISO500
Tags: Auschwitz, Birkenau, Concentration Camp, Krawkow, Poland, Travel the World
Dateline: Krakow, Day 1
Krakow, Poland
27 July 2009
18.0 mm || 1/3200 || f/3.5 || ISO200
18.0 mm || 1/15 || f/3.5 || ISO1600
Tags: Charlie Wyman, Krakow, Poland, Quinn McGinnis, Travel the World
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