Mikey’s Paradise!
More beach fun…this time in Maui! It was my son’s first trip there (July 2012), and of course he loved it! (Who wouldn’t?) We stayed in the building behind the trees and rock wall in the background. What an awesome place! The island in the background is Lanai, Larry Ellison’s new purchase! (Must be nice…)
You can see a few more favorite photos from the trip at this link.
Beach Mikey!
Boy, time flies when you’re trying to survive in this economy!! But this is who I do it for…my son!
This is a favorite photo (cropped it to make it a closeup) I took a little over a year ago on a trip to Morro Bay with my family. We arrived at the beach close to sundown. The light was fantastic and the weather was pretty warm for December! (Or maybe it is just the warmth I get from the memory. Maybe both!) But I absolutely love this one.
Take a look at the original here. Which do you prefer?
Hi Mikey!
View North from Iron Mountain
I took a fantastic hike to Iron Mountain on New Year’s Eve, 2012. What a fantastic, clear day! These photos really showcase the beauty that we have in San Diego. Truly memorable!!
Also note that these photos were taken with an iPhone 4S! These phones are excellent for capturing sharp, clear outdoor photos. (Indoor photos are another story, though!)
Mammoth Snow Trip!
This is the first White Christmas we’ve had in awhile, and it was awesome! We had blizzard conditions for the first two days, so there was plenty of “play in the snow fun” to be had!
I’m also displaying a test of Picasa Web Album’s “Embed Slideshow” feature. (If you’re looked at a nice blank box, you’re using an iPhone or iPad. Sorry! Here’s a link to the images.) Basically, you can easily set up Flash slideshows from the photo albums you’ve uploaded to your Google account. Pretty nice! There are multiple size options for the shows (This is the 600 x 400 pixel size) and you can even have it display the captions you’ve set up in your albums, as I’ve done here. (I do wish you could change the basic background color to something other than black, though. Having a white background would really blend into most websites better. It would also be cool to be able to adjust the font attributes, too.)
Happy Son and Dad
Talk about weird (and fun!) weather! These photos were taken on March 18th on the Sunrise Highway just off of Hwy 8 in San Diego!
Industrial image by Stephan Zirwes
Take a look at photographic images by Stephan Zirwes. I’ve always been interested in natural and man–made abstract photography and have done some of it myself (see images Golden Green Abstract, Study In Diagonals, and Rock and Lichen Abstract #4). Stephan’s images are beautifully done, and when elements give you a clue as to the scale of the image, it is especially striking. This photo is one of my favorites, but please view it on Stephan’s website as it needs to be seen at a larger size to get the full impact of what you are looking at. I think his industrial images are especially striking.
Wow, a land speed record attempt shooting for 1050 miles per hour, which is “faster than a speeding bullet!” The Bloodhound chassis is now under construction with runway trials to begin in early 2012. The record attempt will be run in late 2012/2013 in South Africa. See the Bloodhound SSC main site for all the latest news on this amazing car/jet/rocket! Also, take a look at Equinox Graphics, who did this video for the Bloodhound team and does other science–related graphics. Finally, see all the latest Bloodhound videos on their YouTube site. Amazing stuff!!
Team Oreca Matmut Peugeot 908
Man, what a weekend for sports enthusiasts! We have World Cup Soccer starting, the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Canada, and most of all, the granddaddy of all road races, and still the most famous endurance race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is running this Saturday and Sunday. The Peugeot 908s of Team Peugeot Total are favored again, but for looks alone, the Team Oreca Matmut Peugeot 908 gets my vote! But will the Audi R15s give ’em a tough race…you bet! The GT2 grid is awesome with Ferraris, Corvettes, Ford GTs, BMWs, the usual fleet of Porsches, a Lamborghini, and a Jaguar going at it. Check out the BMW “art car” too. Fantastic!
BMW Motorsports M3 “Art Car”
Again, the fine folks at SpotterGuides.com and andyblackmoredesign.com have come up with a great, printable, full–color car guide detailing all the cars, liveries, and drivers lineups for each. As I mentioned in a previous post about Sebring, it can be printed BIG due to its 2500 x 1618 pixel resolution. It is on my office wall now at a very nice 11 x 17 size.
Tune in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the Speed channel beginning 5:30 am Pacific Time, Saturday, June 12.
Jensen Button Wins China GP (Image courtesy GPUpdate.net)
Add a little (or a lot of) rain and Formula 1 shines. This race had many lead changes, pit strategies, crashes, and drama. It was a treat to watch. Again, Jenson Button stole the show in the wet, with his team mate Lewis Hamilton storming up to second place with some dodgy pit lane tactics and trademark super–aggressive passes. Fernando Alonso also stormed back from 17th place after a penalty from a jumped start. He’s a brilliant driver, but showed his true colors when he cut off team mate Felipe Massa while pitting. He takes the “winning at all costs” mentality to new heights!
The Way the Future Was
by Frederick Pohl
In memoriam: Frederik Pohl, Nov. 26, 1919–Sept. 2, 2013
If you’re interested in reading SciFi at all, take a look at SciFi great Frederick Pohl’s great blog The Way the Future Blogs. Lots of interesting stuff there such as anecdotes about his interesting life and other great writers he has known, book and story recommendations, etc. Extremely interesting and, of course, well–written!