Friday, January 20, 2006

Pink



Photo Friday

Marzipan goodies - Telc, Czech Republic.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

And Now for Something Completely Different


Saw this on Phil's blog the other day, and thought why not do this here. So here goes:

5 JOBS YOU’VE HAD IN YOUR LIFE:
  • Sales clerk at my father’s store in the Italian Market in Philadelphia (I hated that job!)
  • City Park Maintenance Worker (I was the guy that goes around the city park with a nail on the end of a stick picking up trash -- hey, the pay wasn't bad for a summer job!)
  • Engineering Drafter (in the days before computer aided drafting when they still needed a separate room for the computer - if they even had one in the building!)
  • Hydraulic/Hydrologic Engineer (god, was that boring after awhile!)
  • Project Manager

    • 5 MOVIES YOU COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER:
    • Dr. Strangelove
    • McCabe & Mrs. Miller
    • The Right Stuff
    • Aguirre, the Wrath of God
    • The Shawshank Redeption

      • 5 PLACES YOU’VE LIVED:
      • Philadelphia, PA
      • Baltimore, MD
      • Daly City, CA
      • Frankfurt am Main, Germany (when it used to be West Germany)
      • Seattle, WA

        • 5 TV SHOWS YOU LOVE TO WATCH:
        • The Daily Show
        • ER (I know … it’s not as good as it used to be, but I’ll probably watch to the bitter end)
        • Seinfeld reruns (except for the series finale -- that was the worst!)
        • Deadwood
        • 24 (How many plot holes or loose ends can you spot during the season?)

          • 5 PLACES YOU’VE BEEN ON VACATION:
          • SE Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos)
          • Alaska
          • Egypt
          • Israel
          • On the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon

            • 5 WEB SITES YOU VISIT DAILY:
            • Huffington Post
            • MSN
            • NY Times
            • Google
            • WSDOT Seattle Area Traffic (except on weekends)

              • 5 OF YOUR FAVORITE FOODS:
              • Ben and Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk Ice Cream
              • Chocolate
              • Pizza
              • Real burgers – not those cardboard fast-food imitations
              • Indian Food (both vegetarian and carnivore dishes)

                • 5 PLACES YOU’D RATHER BE:
                • Flying. Going anywhere or nowhere in particular on a clear and sunny day in my Cessna Skyhawk
                • Skiing on a sunny day at Les Trois Vallees with my knees dialed back to the condition they were in when I was about 30
                • Rafting down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon on a sunny but not-too-hot day - OK, it can be a hot day.
                • On a year-long sabbatical traveling around the world – sunshine every day would be great, but I'd tolerate some days that weren't so sunny
                • In an America where the citizens were informed and intelligent enough so that they would never have tolerated the election (or selection) of someone like George W. Bush – even if it weren’t sunny, things would just seem to be brighter!

                  • 5 ALBUMS YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT:
                  • Traveling Wilburys
                  • Graceland – Paul Simon
                  • Rubber Soul – The Beatles
                  • Beautiful Maladies – Tom Waitts
                  • Bob Dylan – just about any of his albums – especially the Bootleg ones
                    • Saturday, January 14, 2006

                      Success / Soggy in Seattle


                      This week's Photo Friday challenge is Success, and I think this picture represents the theme on at least several levels. First, in all the years I've been playing with cameras, I don't think I've ever had an opportunity to shoot a rainbow until today! Second, I succeeded in taking a reasonably interesting photo (at least I hope it's not a totally boring picture) with my brand new camera -- I'm still trying to figure out how to use it, so I was pleased this one came out. Third, I think the post processing with PS Elements (removed the bright green grass) was successful in making the photo even a little more interesting than it would have been otherwise.

                      But possibly the real "Success" represented in this picture is it provides evidence that the sun actually managed to pop out for a few minutes this afternoon. Despite that brief appearance by that bright object in the sky, we may very well break the local record for the number of consecutive days of precipitation next week. Today was the 27th straight day of rain in Seattle. The record was set in 1953 with 33 consecutive days of rain. I've seen forecasts calling for another 10 days of rain. I may need to trade in the old Cessna for a boat!

                      This was taken at Seattle's Magnuson Park on Lake Washington. Click on photo for larger image.

                      Saturday, January 07, 2006

                      Another Panorama



                      I selected a different photo for yesterday's Photo Friday "Panorama" challenge, but seeing some the other panoramas others have posted, I decided to add this one today. Yesterday's photo of Mount St. Helens and Coldwater Lake was a single wide-angle shot. I created this panorama of Piran, Slovenia, by stitching together three separate photos. Please click on image for larger view.

                      Friday, January 06, 2006

                      Panorama


                      Photo Friday

                      Coldwater Lake and Mount St. Helens last summer.

                      Update: This is a single-frame wide-angle photo. I've enjoyed some of the multi-frame panoramas others have posted for this week's Photo Friday challenge, so I decided to post one of my "stitched together" panoramas, here.

                      Sunday, January 01, 2006

                      Last Night of Chanukah


                      Tonight was the last night of Chanukah and we lit all the candles on Bev's old family menorah from Lithuania!

                      Happy New Year

                      Wishing you a Happy, Healthy, and Peaceful New Year!