CrAZy in AZ http://pirrotte.lu "On ne découvre pas de terre nouvelle sans consentir à perdre de vue, d'abord et longtemps, tout rivage." (André Gide) Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:09:41 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 San Diego Diego Diego and LosA http://pirrotte.lu/2011/09/25/san-diego-diego-diego-and-losa/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=san-diego-diego-diego-and-losa http://pirrotte.lu/2011/09/25/san-diego-diego-diego-and-losa/#comments Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:09:41 +0000 Patrick http://pirrotte.lu/?p=164 A couple of new pictures, mostly about either day trips or weekend getaways in and around Phoenix. San Diego and Los Angeles are both about 4.5 hours drive from my Phoenicean base of operation.

]]> http://pirrotte.lu/2011/09/25/san-diego-diego-diego-and-losa/feed/ 0 Invasion! http://pirrotte.lu/2011/07/13/invasion/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=invasion http://pirrotte.lu/2011/07/13/invasion/#comments Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:33:50 +0000 Patrick http://pirrotte.lu/?p=158 Over the last two weeks some friends from Tudor flew over to do some serious overtime at TGen. In their spare free time, we’ve still managed to organize several (half) dasy trips through Arizona. Below a few pictures of our adventures.

]]> http://pirrotte.lu/2011/07/13/invasion/feed/ 0 Vive de Grand-Duc! http://pirrotte.lu/2011/06/23/vive-de-grand-duc/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=vive-de-grand-duc http://pirrotte.lu/2011/06/23/vive-de-grand-duc/#comments Fri, 24 Jun 2011 04:45:55 +0000 Patrick http://pirrotte.lu/?p=152 Hmmm. two weeks since I posted something. A lot has been going on lately, with less weekend trips and more lab work. I guess that’s where reality kicks in and days are getting blurry. I do enjoy the work in the lab though, running around, pipetting stuff and figuring out all how all that crazy stuff works. And then the heat just kicked in, like that, without a warning… It just got from tolerably, mildly warm to simply hot and then just Bang! That’s where I understood that heat is just a state of mind made bearable by A/C. Jusqu’ici tout va bien also.

Monsoon season is goign to kick in soon, probably first week of July, and apparently that’s just another word for heat. Clear sky during the day followed by clouds at 5pm, rain, and a cloud cover which keeps the heat right where it should belong, namely in Phoenix. As a result it just doesn’t cool down during the night until September. Ain’t that nice :-)


 

 

]]> http://pirrotte.lu/2011/06/23/vive-de-grand-duc/feed/ 0 Room with a view http://pirrotte.lu/2011/06/05/room-with-a-view/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=room-with-a-view http://pirrotte.lu/2011/06/05/room-with-a-view/#comments Mon, 06 Jun 2011 01:18:29 +0000 Patrick http://pirrotte.lu/?p=145 Short trip to South Mountain, with an excellent view of Phoenix.

]]> http://pirrotte.lu/2011/06/05/room-with-a-view/feed/ 1 Lessons learned Number 1: Never ever play pool against a chinese guy http://pirrotte.lu/2011/06/05/lessons-learned-number-1-never-ever-play-pool-against-a-chinese-guy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lessons-learned-number-1-never-ever-play-pool-against-a-chinese-guy http://pirrotte.lu/2011/06/05/lessons-learned-number-1-never-ever-play-pool-against-a-chinese-guy/#comments Sun, 05 Jun 2011 15:45:32 +0000 Patrick http://pirrotte.lu/?p=132 You will lose. Playing with him against others is an alternative to be encouraged…

My well-honed skills are solely based on trying to shoot somewhat straight on (i) a lousy table, (ii) with ever-changing rules, (iii) fighting to get some space (iv) amidst a bunch of imbibed guests (not counting myself of course). That, mixed with Average Luck™, I usually get by pretty well. Not yesterday… I had to learn the hard way that public pool tables are common in some regions of China and that kids learn to play at very early age.

Probably the most useful thing I learned yesterday…

iphone_201106155210637 ]]> http://pirrotte.lu/2011/06/05/lessons-learned-number-1-never-ever-play-pool-against-a-chinese-guy/feed/ 0 At the Four Peaks http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/23/at-the-four-peaks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=at-the-four-peaks http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/23/at-the-four-peaks/#comments Tue, 24 May 2011 02:49:27 +0000 Patrick http://pirrotte.lu/?p=129 Wow trailing is fun! We climbed up the Four Peaks on Satuday, which took around 4 hours before coming down on Roosevelt Lake. We then came back by the Apache Trail, passing through Tortilla Flat (smallest Zip code in the U.S., population 8 souls). Our final stop was the Goldfield Mine, where some of us ate a Mammoth Burger and drank a well-earned Corona (Light). All in all a very nice day.

 

]]> http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/23/at-the-four-peaks/feed/ 0 Home sweet home! http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/20/home-sweet-home/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=home-sweet-home http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/20/home-sweet-home/#comments Sat, 21 May 2011 02:11:56 +0000 Patrick http://pirrotte.lu/?p=120 Some pictures of my new home. I’ll upload more as they come.

 

]]> http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/20/home-sweet-home/feed/ 0 Intruder! http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/11/intruder/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=intruder http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/11/intruder/#comments Wed, 11 May 2011 17:21:51 +0000 Patrick http://pirrotte.lu/?p=113
  • 20 mins to read the driver’s manual. CHECK.
  • 5 mins in the line at the Motor Vehicle Division. CHECK.
  • 10 mins to pass the theoretical exam. CHECK.
  • 10 mins to pass the driving test = drive once around the block with the driving instructor. CHECK.
  • 5 mins to get the driving license/ID card. CHECK.
  • 1 min notice wrong birthdate on card. CHECK.
  • 1 hour to get hold of the employee who punched in my data (on coffee break, not unlike Luxembourg…). CHECK and …
  • wait 20 mins for him to figure out the IT system and correct his mistake. CHECK.
  • 5 mins to get the final driving license. CHECK.

    • Total of 2h 16mins to get my license. Yay!

    Proof below…

    img_0665 ]]>     http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/11/intruder/feed/ 2     Fishing @ Willow Springs Lake http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/07/fishing-willow-springs-lake/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fishing-willow-springs-lake http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/07/fishing-willow-springs-lake/#comments Sun, 08 May 2011 05:13:38 +0000 Patrick http://pirrotte.lu/?p=104 Before moving here I only knew Phoenix and the road to Tucson. I knew there was something else to be said about Arizona besides its dry climate and the arid wasteland between both cities.

    Now I stand corrected! Only the lower half of the state is an (admittedly beautiful) desert. The other half is mountains, lakes, forrests…

    Et gett een sou aal wei eng Kou, et leiert een all Dag dozou.

    Today I bought a fishing license + a trout stamp, and here I am trying to catch my supper.

    I ate at Burger Kings…

    ]]>     http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/07/fishing-willow-springs-lake/feed/ 0     What’s the odd one out: Crash, Boat, Truck, Arizona http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/07/whats-the-odd-one-out-crash-boat-truck-arizona/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=whats-the-odd-one-out-crash-boat-truck-arizona http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/07/whats-the-odd-one-out-crash-boat-truck-arizona/#comments Sun, 08 May 2011 02:02:48 +0000 Patrick http://pirrotte.lu/?p=97 Answer: NONE

    img_0655 img_0656

    Luckily no-one got hurt.

    ]]>     http://pirrotte.lu/2011/05/07/whats-the-odd-one-out-crash-boat-truck-arizona/feed/ 0