Looking back on Jan 1, 2007...
I remember ringing in the New Year -- literally -- at the Korean bell-ringing ceremony at Angel's Gate Park in San Pedro, Calif.
I don't go every year, and this year, I almost didn't feel well enough. Fortunately, it took less than a 20-minute drive down the coast to get there.
Once I arrived, found a remote parking spot, and walked up to the Korean bell pavilion, the speeches were finishing and midnight was minutes away.
After the ringing, I walked around to take some pictures.
Of course I picked up some free rice cakes that were put out on refreshment tables.
[Note: later, when I compared one to a similar rice cake (also with red bean filling) bought at a Ranch 99 supermarket (Chinese chain), it (the Korean one) tasted a little saltier. At least, the rice dough seemed to have had some salt added to it.]
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Every New Year's morning, my mom will watch the Rose Parade on tv. A local channel will rerun their coverage, immediately after the parade ends, so that people can catch whatever they may have missed.
I watched the rerun, because I wanted to see the Oklahoma Rising float. My mom had told me, when I woke up and popped into the kitchen, "They have the man who woo!" And she raised her arms and hands when she conveyed this.
I wasn't sure what she was talking about (as I'm sure most people wouldn't). But I figured that further explanation would be forthcoming.
[Note: My mother did go to graduate school at Cornell many years ago, but currently does real estate and her English vocabulary seems to be most developed in that field, these days. So I have learned to adjust to her "limited" verbal skills in English. (Of course, she comes in handy when ordering in Cantonese or Mandarin in a Chinese restaurant, but that is another story...)]
Back to the Rose Parade... so I finally determined that a man had popped out of the Oklahoma Rising float wearing a rocket pack. I had to see this, so I had the kitchen tv tuned to the parade rerun, as I prepared brunch for myself.
Midway through the parade, the Oklahoma Rising float stopped at a bend in the parade route, and out popped the Rocket Man. The parade commentators pronounced the crowd as speechless after his 29-second flight.
It was pretty neat. But after reflecting on the technology, I wonder why it is used as a novelty act, and why the crowd would be stunned.
I guess they don't realize that the backpack-like rocket harness was developed over 45 years ago by Bell Aerospace in Buffalo, NY.
Maybe this sort of thing is dead-end technology, and has limited military capabilities. So there was no funding for further development? I don't know what happened, so I guess I'll have to do an internet search, when I have more time.