100-Meter long picture?

Below is a link to a 100-meter long photograph. Yes, 100-meter long. It's interesting to scroll horizontally and see the looks on the faces of the people having their photo taken, and not knowing it. But, check out one guy in the mid part of the photo, and see him "flipping the bird". He definitely knew his photo was being taken. If you have time to waste, check it out here.

My work partner

I am often joined when I'm working by my "partner", Lucy, who sits patiently in a rocking chair next to my computer desk. Cats are cool. So are dogs. In fact, Lucy has "her" own dog, in the form of our 13-year old, 100 pound Alaska Malamute, Mystee. When we first got her from our daughter as a kitten, Lucy went right for Mystee and promptly crawled on her back, with only a slight nod from Mystee. So, we say that Lucy has "her" dog, and Mystee has "her" cat. And, I have a work partner. Oh yes, Lucy "reads" the morning paper with me at the kitchen table, laying right in front of me, usually on top of the paper.

Equipment for Army Engineers

I've begun putting together a feature article for the next issue of Army Engineer magazine…it's about engineers and their equipment. While doing my initial research, I am reminded once again at how slow the Army equipment fielding process has been, and at how many "wished for" items of equipment never see the light of day, even after spending millions of dollars to built prototype vehicles. As an aside I read the following today from the AP, "The Pentagon will be forced to make tough choices in the coming years about what kinds of surveillance and vehicle programs to buy for troops in Afghanistan amid a backdrop of continued budgetary pressures caused by two wars and a recession, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said". Too often military planners overlook where we've been in the past when they try to decide where to go in relation to equipment development and fielding for the future. My guess is that this will be the case again, but I hope I'm wrong.

Army's New Online Look

The Army has done a complete make-over of its website. I like it. Clean, compact, simple interface, etc. What we're seeing with this revision is similar to many other websites who, over the years, have gotten away from all the "flashy stuff" that used to clutter up what we saw online. One thing I've never liked are scrolling banners, embedded mood music, "enter here" titles on the opening page, and so forth. If you're interested, check out how Soldiers Magazine looks today. It's also really well done in my view.

Climate Change?

Up on the Blue Ridge Parkway yesterday, it was 53 degrees. But, as you can see here, it's been much colder than that recently. In fact, below zero several nights last week. Fully understanding all aspects of climate change is beyond my pay grade, but there's no doubt in my mind that most of what I read in the media depends on political or economic motives of the person doing the reporting.

Thursday Quick Post

Army Times has a short but interesting article here about President Obama's meeting yesterday with key military and other advisors regarding Iraq.

Country Breakfasts

One thing that's "hot" in the winter where we live are "breakfasts" sponsored by local service and church groups. Giver that (1) we live in a relatively rural region of Virginia, and (2) that much of the local food has a definite "southern" flavor to it, there is no doubt that while the breakfasts are wonderful to enjoy, they make your blood vessels cringe with terror at all the fat pulsing through hopefully not overly restrictive passageways. Reading the Martinsville Bulletin today, I noted numerous reports on upcoming breakfast events. Country fried ham, Virginia ham, bacon, sausage, pancakes, grits, hash browns, biscuits and gravy, and fried apple pies…a local favorite. Of course lots of great coffee goes with the entire feast. So much for resolutions to eat better in 2009.

Did you notice?

Anyone besides me see (during the inauguration ceremony) VP Biden take a digital picture for one of the Obama girls (I assume) sitting behind him and President Obama, and then pass the camera back to the girls just as the singing of the National Anthem began? The President had his hand placed over his heart as Biden passed the camera back…Biden saw that and then quickly did the same, albeit late. I thought it was a nice thing the VP did, taking the digital photo for one of the girls that is.

The Future

It can't be predicted…the future that is. But, given that we Americans work together to make it better, there is no doubt we'll succeed. I wish President Obama well as I sit here watching him and his wife being greeted by outgoing President Bush and his wife at the White House prior to the official inauguration ceremony. America is a great nation, and today its greatness is on display for the entire world to see.

Good food, and fun to watch

Perhaps you've had the pleasure of eating at a local Japanese Restaurant where (with much flourish and fanfare) a "chef" cooks your meal right at the table. Over the weekend we went to one in Greensboro, NC just south of where we live in Virginia, to celebrate the 18th and 16th birthdays of two of our grandkids. My small pocket camera did not do a very good job at capturing the moment, but the stacked onion "volcano" Joey the Chef made was fun to watch.

Will he or won't he?

That is, will the new President fulfill his campaign pledge to withdrawal from Iraq in 16 months after taking office. Given that day is near, Army Times has an interesting read here, which describes Pentagon planning in that regard.

Professional Envy

Sometimes I have more than enough free time than I really need. I'm talking about the period in between magazine issues, when I'm waiting for a specific issue to be printed and mailed, before I begin work on the next edition. In total, my annual "free time" when I can do essentially what I want to do (a perk of being a part-time self employed individual) amounts to around 10-12 weeks. In warm weather, finding fun things to do is much simpler…wandering about with camera in hand, fishing via kayak on a quiet lake, or exploring the back roads of SW Virginia and NW North Carolina. On the other hand, during winter (like now) a lot of my free time is spent being a "visitor" on numerous photographic websites, and a "lurker" on dozens of photography-related blogs and interactive forums. In that regard, I am essentially in the midst of some VERY famous and highly talented people, who (unlike me) really know what they are doing, all the time, with a camera in hand. So, I have developed a fair amount of "professional envy", and while I shake my head north and south when reading something these famous photographers write, and then say to myself, "I know how to do that", deep down inside I know I have a long way to go to get to where they are. I guess I'm pretty fortunate to be where I am, and being able to do what I do is a great joy to me. However, it's not that bad in my view to be envious of what other people do well. You're never too old to learn.

Cold

It's expected to get colder this week here in SW Virginia, but not as cold as it is "up north" in the northern part of the US. Even in July, it's cold in portions way north, as is shown in this photo I took of a glacier in the Prince William Sound region of Alaska.

NASCAR countdown

Yesterday I took off with my Nikon camera, driving around the area to take some photos…nothing special, just messing around. I decided to take a run by Martinsville Speedway, and as luck would have it, one of the gates to trackside was open, so I went inside and snapped this from the middle of turn 4, where most of the wrecks happen. The wall usually is full of paint smears from cars running into it, but it's been repainted for the upcoming season. The racing surface was completely re-done a couple of years ago, and you can see it's still looking almost new. As I stood there, I remembered the time when a piece of concrete from the old surface came loose in turn 3 and hit Jeff Gordon's front bumper, to the delight of most of the 65,000 or so fans in attendance. By the time he got to turn 4, his race was over. In case you wondered, they stopped the race for about an hour while they did a quick repair, which held up quite well for the remainder of the 500 lap event. I was sitting right between turns 3 and 4, so got to see it all up close. It won't be long until the place is roaring again… March 29th for the Goody's 500. Can't wait.

Beer in the combat zone

I read today in Army Times online,"American troops in Iraq will be allowed to drink beer without fear of court-martial for this year’s Super Bowl — an exception to a strict military ban on drinking alcohol in combat zones." I understand fully why alcohol is essentially banned in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it's interesting for me to compare how it was in Vietnam when we had way more alcohol than we needed (or should have had) and it was available at unbelievably low cost, compared to today's prices. Examples: a case of beer in 1966 was cheaper than a case of Coke, and a bottle of vodka or whiskey was around a dollar. Different world…different war.

Winter Sunset

Last post I mentioned the day-long rain. After it stopped last evening, I grabbed my camera and took this photo in our back yard. The color range was pretty spectacular. Enjoy.

Wet weather, etc

We've received between 1-2 inches of good, soaking rain over the past 24 hours here in SW Virginia. Nice to see the local lakes fill up some more from last year's semi-drought in this area. What this means for me today is that I am holed up in the house, looking at a new external hard drive for my main computer back up all my files, instead of being outside with my camera. The January-February issue of Army Engineer magazine is at the printers, so that means that I have a couple of weeks to mess around with some other fun stuff. Speaking of backing up computer files, I hope everyone reading this has a back-up plan. If not, beware. The new external hard drive I got is 1 terabyte in size…that's 1000 gigabytes. The external drive I've been using is 300 GB, and when I bought it I figured it would be large enough to back up my computer's internal 250 GB drive. But, given all the photos I have, plus music, plus large files associated with all the graphics work I do, it started filing up faster than I expected. So, given that external drives are pretty inexpensive these days ($200 for the 1 TB I just got from Other World Computing) I figured why not just get one large enough to last me for a long time, assuming the drive itself does not fail. So, that's my story for today. When the sun pops out, so will I from my hunkered down position.

I’m gonna miss him…over time

I’m referring to President George W. Bush. True, over the past couple of years I’ve grown weary of some of the things he’s done, and not done. As the 2008 election neared, I often said to myself I’d sure be happy when we had a new guy in the White House…republican or democrat. Today, I read an interesting opinion article in our local newspaper about the personal side of George Bush…stuff the media hardly ever writes about because there’s nothing spectacular or controversial involved. Things like the President being a physical fitness nut, exercising almost every day no matter where he is; and when he could, wildly riding his mountain bike through the woods, with Secret Service guys panting in quick pursuit. Him setting up competition between his staff by giving “bragging rights” T-shirts to those who had run three consecutive miles in 100 degree heat at his Texas ranch. Him going into dining facility kitchens at military installations to personally thank the people who had made his french fries. Him sending birthday notes to his staff, and remembering little details about their families. Him giving nicknames to people famous and otherwise. Him liking peanut butter and honey sandwiches (so do I) and him never being served a grilled cheese sandwich without a side of yellow mustard. In staff meetings him asking questions that get right to the heart of an issue, and always being deeply inquisitive. Him being typically in his office promptly at 0645, and going to bed before 2200. Him being overly optimistic (something I grew weary of at times) even when his popularity nose-dived (something I respected him for). Him taking criticism in ways that do not show, and once having said to his press secretary to “Find a way to forgive, because that’s the way to lead your life.” And lastly, him clearing brush at his ranch and looking more like your buddy down the street than the President. I’m excited about President Obama taking over later this month and wish him well. Still, I’m sure that over time I’m gonna miss the type of guy I described above. Hopefully, four years from now, I’ll feel the same way about the new guy.