Monday, July 4, 2011
Monday musings - July 4, 2011
1. Happy 235th birthday America.
2. Independence weekend is a blast-literally! I have enjoyed fireworks and fun.
3. Traffic is lighter on the day before a three-day weekend ends.
4. I still love patriotic music and marches. Bring on John Phillip Sousa!
5. Friday as I was driving along the road past the house I grew up in I saw myself--a 13 year old boy on a bicycle racing the cars along the shoulder of the highway feeling the wind in my short hair. It took me back decades to when I used to do the same thing. Life was freedom along the highway on my bike.
6. I realized yesterday on the way back from Ithaca that exit 100 on I-81 in Pennsylvania is where the highway changes from rural speedway into a more frenetic urban highway. There are still rural stretches, but the scenery almost always has built up areas in view.
7. Driving under a canopy of trees on a rural backroad is a freeing experience.
8. Isn't it sad that sometimes when we are getting something that we want, live people visiting, that we choose to withdraw or not enjoy the company?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
2. Independence weekend is a blast-literally! I have enjoyed fireworks and fun.
3. Traffic is lighter on the day before a three-day weekend ends.
4. I still love patriotic music and marches. Bring on John Phillip Sousa!
5. Friday as I was driving along the road past the house I grew up in I saw myself--a 13 year old boy on a bicycle racing the cars along the shoulder of the highway feeling the wind in my short hair. It took me back decades to when I used to do the same thing. Life was freedom along the highway on my bike.
6. I realized yesterday on the way back from Ithaca that exit 100 on I-81 in Pennsylvania is where the highway changes from rural speedway into a more frenetic urban highway. There are still rural stretches, but the scenery almost always has built up areas in view.
7. Driving under a canopy of trees on a rural backroad is a freeing experience.
8. Isn't it sad that sometimes when we are getting something that we want, live people visiting, that we choose to withdraw or not enjoy the company?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Fireflies in the evening
The dark trees were alive last evening with the sparkling of the fireflies in the trees complimenting the fireworks celebrations around us.
We sat around a fire making s'mores and enjoying some family.
We heard the distant and persistent booms of the celebrations around us. Although we could not see the fireworks themselves, the sky lit as if lightning was all around us.
This is one of those prolonged celebrations of our Independence. Enjoyable with family.
As darkness fell, the fireflies made their presence known like so many persistent fireworks in the treelike. The dark trees were alive with their own celebrations. I tried to capture their cool lights in the trees, but they were so brief that I could not save the memory to an image.
As the night wore on, and we turned out the lights of the house, the fireflies came closer to include where we were sitting as part of the celebration.
I remembered my childhood running after fireflies on the lawn and putting them into jars to enjoy for the evening, but always letting them go before bed. They don't keep well it seems.
Fireworks lighting the sky and fireflies rekindling long forgotten memories, what a celebration.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
We sat around a fire making s'mores and enjoying some family.
We heard the distant and persistent booms of the celebrations around us. Although we could not see the fireworks themselves, the sky lit as if lightning was all around us.
This is one of those prolonged celebrations of our Independence. Enjoyable with family.
As darkness fell, the fireflies made their presence known like so many persistent fireworks in the treelike. The dark trees were alive with their own celebrations. I tried to capture their cool lights in the trees, but they were so brief that I could not save the memory to an image.
As the night wore on, and we turned out the lights of the house, the fireflies came closer to include where we were sitting as part of the celebration.
I remembered my childhood running after fireflies on the lawn and putting them into jars to enjoy for the evening, but always letting them go before bed. They don't keep well it seems.
Fireworks lighting the sky and fireflies rekindling long forgotten memories, what a celebration.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Fire Works on Friday
So we went to a cold college campus where the 64th community fireworks were conducted and we enjoyed some of the best fireworks we have seen. Why? Because we were close and they completely filled our field of vision with explosions everywhere.
Sadly there was no music with them. But that was the only downer.
Well it was cold, too. I mean see your breath in the in the air cold.
But it was worth it.
What a great way to start the holiday weekend.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Summertime Holiday Weekend
Friday and Monday. The summertime holidays are upon us. Today is Canada Day and of course Monday is the US Independence Day.
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A weekend framed by North American holidays.
Despite sharing a long border, the two countries, Canada and the US, also share days recognizing their creation during a similar time--but the circumstances are very different. Canada was the a union of colonies into a country by the British while, as we know, the US was formed by dissolving the existing bonds to the British and creating something new out of a loose confederation of colonies.
But no matter which side of the border you live on, it is going to be a messy weekend for travel and fun.
I do confess that Canada Day does not get up very high on my list of favorite foreign holidays. But I do note it, much like I note the Queen's Birthday or May Day.
So if you are traveling this weekend--take it easy and fly or drive or sail safely.
If you are lucky enough not to have to risk life and limb on the roads, in the skies, or on the water take a moment to clap yourself on the back.
But no matter what, holidays are a good time to pause and inventory blessings and be thankful for what we have and determine if what we are pursuing really all that important.
Enjoy some of the festivities. Mingle with our fellow citizens, and if in the US, take minute to read the Declaration of Independence. It is a ground breaking document and was produced at great risk to the men who wrote and signed it.
God bless the USA and Canada.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Despite sharing a long border, the two countries, Canada and the US, also share days recognizing their creation during a similar time--but the circumstances are very different. Canada was the a union of colonies into a country by the British while, as we know, the US was formed by dissolving the existing bonds to the British and creating something new out of a loose confederation of colonies.
But no matter which side of the border you live on, it is going to be a messy weekend for travel and fun.
I do confess that Canada Day does not get up very high on my list of favorite foreign holidays. But I do note it, much like I note the Queen's Birthday or May Day.
So if you are traveling this weekend--take it easy and fly or drive or sail safely.
If you are lucky enough not to have to risk life and limb on the roads, in the skies, or on the water take a moment to clap yourself on the back.
But no matter what, holidays are a good time to pause and inventory blessings and be thankful for what we have and determine if what we are pursuing really all that important.
Enjoy some of the festivities. Mingle with our fellow citizens, and if in the US, take minute to read the Declaration of Independence. It is a ground breaking document and was produced at great risk to the men who wrote and signed it.
God bless the USA and Canada.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Bees and Flowers
I was finally able to look critically at the images I took on our Charlottesville weekend and I found one that showed a bee departing a blossom. I spent a lot of time and took quite a few images to actually get this shot. I had fun and I learned that bees do not dawdle when they are preparing for lift off. It is a pretty sudden event.
I also experimented with depth of field and tried to isolate specific parts of what I saw on a soft background. I like the image here for the components.It was a great weekend in retrospect and now that I am beginning to enjoy the images we took, I can remember it that much better.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Life in the Slow Lane
Sometimes, I wish I could find time to live life in the slow lane. I is a dream anyway.
Afternoon naps, getting out of bed in the morning after 8AM, and taking things at a slow rate rather than the "hair on fire" speed of my normal life.
I'm sure it is good that I have more things to do than time to do them, but on the other hand, I could use a timeout.
That is what vacations are for, right?
Reflection and course correction.
Maybe that is when people decide to retire. When the speed of life exceeds the threshold where we can reasonable expect to keep up with it.
I see two very distinct paths, one is for people who spend their waking day zooming from one thing to another and collapse at the end of the day exhausted and unfulfilled by the crush of the activity. The other path is taken by those who start with an empty calendar and fill in activities they enjoy to complete their day. They may hit the end of the day exhausted, too, but they feel fulfilled by the activities they completed.
So, I've been traveling the superhighway of life--the I-95, six lanes wide, full of traffic and limited by few off ramps.
I need to find the back road, where every turn presents opportunity for stopping and places to explore at a less than hectic pace.
Ideally, I could merge these two concepts into a long term approach where I hop on the superhighway for a bit, but then drive along the rolling byway for a time as well.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Afternoon naps, getting out of bed in the morning after 8AM, and taking things at a slow rate rather than the "hair on fire" speed of my normal life.
I'm sure it is good that I have more things to do than time to do them, but on the other hand, I could use a timeout.
That is what vacations are for, right?
Reflection and course correction.
Maybe that is when people decide to retire. When the speed of life exceeds the threshold where we can reasonable expect to keep up with it.
I see two very distinct paths, one is for people who spend their waking day zooming from one thing to another and collapse at the end of the day exhausted and unfulfilled by the crush of the activity. The other path is taken by those who start with an empty calendar and fill in activities they enjoy to complete their day. They may hit the end of the day exhausted, too, but they feel fulfilled by the activities they completed.
So, I've been traveling the superhighway of life--the I-95, six lanes wide, full of traffic and limited by few off ramps.
I need to find the back road, where every turn presents opportunity for stopping and places to explore at a less than hectic pace.
Ideally, I could merge these two concepts into a long term approach where I hop on the superhighway for a bit, but then drive along the rolling byway for a time as well.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Freedom in Crisis
I don't want to be an alarmist--but I am concerned about our civil freedoms being squeezed more and more every day.
I read this somewhat frightening article about the TSA Now Storming Public Places 8,000 Times a Year. I am concerned about the information presented in this article. The potential for abuse is astounding.
Here are the opening paragraphs from the article:
Americans must decide if, in the name of homeland security, they are willing to allow TSA operatives to storm public places in their communities with no warning, pat them down, and search their bags. And they better decide quickly.
Bus travelers were shocked when jackbooted TSA officers in black SWAT-style uniforms descended unannounced upon the Tampa Greyhound bus station in April with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and federal bureaucrats in tow.
And the article goes on--but I think what I extracted sets the stage for my concern--
Conducting these types of activities, not in response to any specific threat, borders upon unreasonable search and seizure--and a violation of our 4th Amendment rights. Sorry--that is how I feel.
The vision of black uniformed, jackbooted, military-style personnel swooping into a public place is an image that I compare with what I have read about WWII and Germany. Are we really trying to control our "free" society?
Are we as free as we believe we are? Do you have your personal identification papers on you?
No--it is clear that we have ceded away many of our rights and there is a move afoot to further limit our rights. Years ago, there would have been a huge public outcry if a small army of government agents descended upon a public place without suspicion of wrong doing. Now, we barely bat an eye-lash and chalk it up to security.
A recent poll placed Maryland at the very bottom of personal freedoms in a ranking of the 50 states. New Hampshire (land of "Live Free or Die") ranked highest.
Where is the boundary line? The line between liberty and police state? Between reasonable and unreasonable search and seizure?
Between the Constitution and totalitarianism?
Coming soon to your home? The men in black? We've read the stories in the news already.
I bet I'm on TSA's list now.
I read this somewhat frightening article about the TSA Now Storming Public Places 8,000 Times a Year. I am concerned about the information presented in this article. The potential for abuse is astounding.
Here are the opening paragraphs from the article:
Americans must decide if, in the name of homeland security, they are willing to allow TSA operatives to storm public places in their communities with no warning, pat them down, and search their bags. And they better decide quickly.
Bus travelers were shocked when jackbooted TSA officers in black SWAT-style uniforms descended unannounced upon the Tampa Greyhound bus station in April with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and federal bureaucrats in tow.
And the article goes on--but I think what I extracted sets the stage for my concern--
Conducting these types of activities, not in response to any specific threat, borders upon unreasonable search and seizure--and a violation of our 4th Amendment rights. Sorry--that is how I feel.
The vision of black uniformed, jackbooted, military-style personnel swooping into a public place is an image that I compare with what I have read about WWII and Germany. Are we really trying to control our "free" society?
Are we as free as we believe we are? Do you have your personal identification papers on you?
No--it is clear that we have ceded away many of our rights and there is a move afoot to further limit our rights. Years ago, there would have been a huge public outcry if a small army of government agents descended upon a public place without suspicion of wrong doing. Now, we barely bat an eye-lash and chalk it up to security.
A recent poll placed Maryland at the very bottom of personal freedoms in a ranking of the 50 states. New Hampshire (land of "Live Free or Die") ranked highest.
Where is the boundary line? The line between liberty and police state? Between reasonable and unreasonable search and seizure?
Between the Constitution and totalitarianism?
Coming soon to your home? The men in black? We've read the stories in the news already.
I bet I'm on TSA's list now.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Monday Musings - June 27, 2011
1. The sun has been playing games with me lately. Every time I get into the pool ready to enjoy it's warmth, it goes behind the sun. when it get out, it returns and begins heating things up again.
2. The hydrangea that ate Elkridge lives in my garden. It is huge!
3. The vacation season really begins to ramp up this week. We are busy almost continuously through the end of July.
4. I heard that gas prices are supposed to drop 50 cents a gallon by summer's end due to release of oil from the strategic reserve.
5. I just noticed, as I was writing the previous item, that the symbol we used to use for "cents" is not on my iPad. I wonder where it went?
6. I read a scary article about the TSA the other day. I will blog about it this week.
7. I am continually amazed at how quickly weekends seem to slip away. At the beginning of the weekend on Friday evening there are so many plans and the days ahead are like an open book. But, by Sunday evening, sitting exhausted in a vegetative state in front of the TV watching a mindless movie, the weekend has passed and taken a far different direction than that envisioned on Friday evening. It is true that life is what happens while we are making plans.
8. And here we are on the week before a holiday weekend, waiting for the holiday and struggling to get through the week.
9. I hooked up the automatic sprinklers Saturday and it is kind of uncanny sitting here listening to the sound of running water surging through the pipes.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
2. The hydrangea that ate Elkridge lives in my garden. It is huge!
3. The vacation season really begins to ramp up this week. We are busy almost continuously through the end of July.
4. I heard that gas prices are supposed to drop 50 cents a gallon by summer's end due to release of oil from the strategic reserve.
5. I just noticed, as I was writing the previous item, that the symbol we used to use for "cents" is not on my iPad. I wonder where it went?
6. I read a scary article about the TSA the other day. I will blog about it this week.
7. I am continually amazed at how quickly weekends seem to slip away. At the beginning of the weekend on Friday evening there are so many plans and the days ahead are like an open book. But, by Sunday evening, sitting exhausted in a vegetative state in front of the TV watching a mindless movie, the weekend has passed and taken a far different direction than that envisioned on Friday evening. It is true that life is what happens while we are making plans.
8. And here we are on the week before a holiday weekend, waiting for the holiday and struggling to get through the week.
9. I hooked up the automatic sprinklers Saturday and it is kind of uncanny sitting here listening to the sound of running water surging through the pipes.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Orioles baseball in June
Friday night, Chris and I went to see the Orioles play the Cincinnati Reds at Camden Yards. It was rumored that the last time the O's and the Reds played in Baltimore was during the 1970 World Series. Baltimore won that World Series.
The evening was awesome temperature and humidity-wise. It was 88 degrees and 35 percent humidity to begin the game. The teams were ready to play baseball and it looked like the O's were going to have an easy time with the Reds, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. But nothing comes easy these days and the score became tied in the 6th inning at 4-4 and remained that way until the 12th inning when in addition to the planned fireworks after the game, Derrek Lee hit a walkoff home run leading off the bottom of the inning.
The fireworks were great too and over 45,000 Orioles faithful witnessed a rare extra-inning win.
The evening was complete with fireworks on and off the field.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The fireworks were great too and over 45,000 Orioles faithful witnessed a rare extra-inning win.The evening was complete with fireworks on and off the field.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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