tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59717321559666207242024-03-10T04:23:58.047-04:00The Foggy DewA little bit of revolution is good for the soul...FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.comBlogger384125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-35635886051162998722015-11-20T19:14:00.001-05:002015-11-20T19:14:37.555-05:00Surprise and Fear<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started this thing way back in the day to write about
politics and what was happening in America. Over the years, as I’ve adopted
other, newer, social media platforms, The Foggy Dew has lingered with only
sporadic updates. Part of this is because of other social media options – God!
I’m on Twitter now – but also because I’ve moved into jobs where I am the
spokesman for a large organization. Most of you know who I am and what I do and
sometimes my personal feelings might not be precisely aligned with my professional
responsibilities. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That said, what the fuck is going on with the republican
presidential candidates? Seriously, the frontrunner, Herr Trump, just suggested
a plan that would require Muslims – even American citizens – to register and be
tracked. “Just good management” he said. This type of thinking could cause a
dedicated Nazi to blanche a little at first. He also suggested it would be a
good idea to shut down mosques. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other loon in the field, Herr Doktor Carson, agrees treating
Muslims – even those who are American citizens – as potential enemies and
terrorists is a good idea. Except for the fact that these two are leading the
race to the republican nomination, this wouldn’t be so troubling except for one
thing: The other 10 people running for the nomination haven’t denounced them
and declared these actions to be patently un-American and a threat to the
country’s soul and national security. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is scary. Ideas like these have gained popular support
in the form of the republican frontrunners’ campaigns. American’s think it’s OK
for the fucking government to track citizens because of their religion. This
isn’t just scary, it’s terrifying. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We all watched the events in Paris – and now Mali – with
fear and a sickening sense it could easily happen here. Many of my friends are
tired of the wars in the Middle East and don’t believe the U.S. has any
business re-engaging there (actually, expanding our current operations) for any
reason. While I don’t welcome the possibility, I believe the only way to deal
with the <a href="" name="_GoBack"></a>situation is a mix of extensive humanitarian
outreach to show America is that light on the hill…and brutal, ruthless
military operations to show its power. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To sum up: Some assholes just need killin’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Facebook friend, one who’s always professed a devout
belief in god, shared something or other on her feed the gist of which was “I
believe there’s an internal revolution coming.” People believe this shit. They
are so worried “THE GOVERNMENT” is coming for their religion, their guns, their
bacon, their children (via Common Core), their land, their pick-ups and every
other goddamn thing and give it to someone with brown skin or a different
religion that they advocate open rebellion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is what’s un-American. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the most part, every single one of these people
screaming about letting 10,000 poor, starving, terrified, but now vetted and
checked and thankful to god and America they’ve finally escaped their living
Hell shithole of a country had an ancestor who once found themselves in a
similar condition. Living somewhere that for economic, racial, ethnic or
religious reasons, they fled the land of their birth, passed La Liberté
éclairant le monde (the lady with the torch in New York Harbor), and were thankful
just to be in America and have a second chance. For example: My ancestors
departed Ireland following the First World War. My grandfather worked for the
railroad, and my grandmother worked as a maid. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This country was founded by people fleeing religious
persecution, never mind it was because they wanted to practice a stricter form
of Christianity - hey! kinda like sharia law. So it’s pretty fucking ironic
that today’s adherents to Christian sharia would suggest reinstituting the
Spanish Inquisition…</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“NOBODY expects the
Spanish Inquisition! Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear
and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless
efficiency.... Our *three* weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless
efficiency...and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.... Our
*four*...no... *Amongst* our weapons.... Amongst our weaponry...are such
elements as fear, surprise....”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We, America – waving hands around in an all-encompassing
motion – are better than that. We defeated fascism through military might. We
defeated communism – OK, the Soviet Union – through economic might and
technical prowess (and Russian ineptness and stupidity). We can defeat the
threat of religious extremism with a combination of all of these and the
addition of kindness to our fellow man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-75717486868968596262014-07-27T20:22:00.003-04:002014-07-27T20:24:42.623-04:00Long time no pics...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been a while, hasn't it? There is a reason for that. Let's just say that I don't feel totally comfortable ranting and raving like I used to with the job I now have. It's not political or anything, but it's public enough that my opinions could be construed in ways I don't want them to. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That said, here's an opinion I don't mind sharing: U.S. government agencies need to immediately stop supporting the Washington football team in any way. No more fly-overs of military aircraft. No more color guards. No tax breaks for the team, its owner and, just for fun, the NFL. Definitely no consideration for tearing down RFK and building a new stadium there. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It may not force the owner to change the team's racist nickname, but the government shouldn't be supporting him in his racism. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All right. Who wants to see some pictures? Thought so. This is a selection from the past couple of months ranging from the Cherry Blossom Festival, to the Clarendon Cup to the Fourth of July. I kinda caught the cherry blossoms at the very end, actually on the very last day since it rained the next day taking all the flowers down. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhksKDfoCGassNVOcQFdSas6GusJ5sced8aStvZzzNTEdtU_C6BVAs8cJ9mBtwVC82uTsPf4-p4yw4ZbWyWdV3sRhR2EcL79pIjyIrfpxB6OfW6N9kc1jzwA7lQcvMANGjE3IeCP1-eymA/s1600/CB414-65.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhksKDfoCGassNVOcQFdSas6GusJ5sced8aStvZzzNTEdtU_C6BVAs8cJ9mBtwVC82uTsPf4-p4yw4ZbWyWdV3sRhR2EcL79pIjyIrfpxB6OfW6N9kc1jzwA7lQcvMANGjE3IeCP1-eymA/s1600/CB414-65.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jRPd7VAMemOmIBjj-JEGoorm3G5U30KfW81ipyv1HYbQpHNSbKS-kiYK5O6e0cTvnFewG1Ci3iGaJOQBA9aJ71Cu_efxwmLxO3iIs8XrhweBkS7D80tUppin-N_4-2JUe1IRnfkpIFA/s1600/CB414-173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jRPd7VAMemOmIBjj-JEGoorm3G5U30KfW81ipyv1HYbQpHNSbKS-kiYK5O6e0cTvnFewG1Ci3iGaJOQBA9aJ71Cu_efxwmLxO3iIs8XrhweBkS7D80tUppin-N_4-2JUe1IRnfkpIFA/s1600/CB414-173.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This next group are from the Clarendon Cup women's and men's races. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdH0d36wDk20qGoAZbPwX9w3iKjuffkwbR7vBSkEm_0cIYYYvfoNHtAmgHMoOM_SIJCdKAxNpAb2jm3bXarZrrtDlKOti1JqRwgTzoGEHn60rZBleK3yOpP_WOj-dTmNSEF2Xap8oUAKA/s1600/CC6714-49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdH0d36wDk20qGoAZbPwX9w3iKjuffkwbR7vBSkEm_0cIYYYvfoNHtAmgHMoOM_SIJCdKAxNpAb2jm3bXarZrrtDlKOti1JqRwgTzoGEHn60rZBleK3yOpP_WOj-dTmNSEF2Xap8oUAKA/s1600/CC6714-49.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The picture below is what it looks like from the inside of the corner across from Whitlow's. Not quite a Tour de France selfie, but the ladies were flying by me. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now these next two from the men's race are a bit special. I was testing a technique I'd been dying to try. What you do is slow the shutter speed way down - about 1/20 of a second - pick a point and then move with the target. It leave one point in focus and blurs the rest of the shot. It worked, to a point, but I need more practice. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzB__et8D3aUqtWbafqtcjdwa036TpN2erInP3dJkBU1Wp36r4ns_SoIcWJGaZxMn6YOtgysd56qw2Pfj50vhpX2-6wQBwaCW0xW6Lulxv5I3IuL2oLi7hXzbfdICPPgRJ3g4AfzoHkkU/s1600/CC6714-627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzB__et8D3aUqtWbafqtcjdwa036TpN2erInP3dJkBU1Wp36r4ns_SoIcWJGaZxMn6YOtgysd56qw2Pfj50vhpX2-6wQBwaCW0xW6Lulxv5I3IuL2oLi7hXzbfdICPPgRJ3g4AfzoHkkU/s1600/CC6714-627.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the obligatory Fourth of July fireworks pictures. This year, instead of setting up down by the river, I switched it up and rode my bike to the Netherlands Carillon (right next to the Marine Corps War Memorial). The angle let me get the Capitol in the frame, but it was a bit of a shit show. Packed with people and no where to set up.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Almost. I wedged myself in by some other photographers and set up. I shot about 250 or so pictures using two different methods: A short exposure of about 1.3 seconds, and a longer "burst" method of about 4 seconds. I think they turned out pretty well. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hope to be back soon. </span><br />
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FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-34299938825771851222013-08-03T22:41:00.000-04:002013-08-03T22:41:08.502-04:00Fur-Lough Fotos Vol. 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As promised, here is the first iteration of Fur-Lough Fotos! I took the opportunity on my unpaid day off to head up to the <a href="http://nationalzoo.si.edu/default.cfm">National Zoo</a>. The weather was beautiful for an afternoon outside, not too hot and not too muggy. An odd occurrence here in D.C. in August, so I had to take advantage. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I took several hundred pictures, 600 or so in fact, and these 11 are the best of the lot. I have to admit, I was having some trouble with the light. I wasn't totally on my game. I did, however, get to take my new toy - a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens - out for a decent spin. I think I was concentrating too much on using it and not on my settings. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This first shot isn't from zoo, it's one of the wildflowers in my backyard. As you can see, I was working on close-ups in this set. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9oGa5bSnXkIJBUCKilM133LaI6uuaeXc33GbJxsdHqa5G0SA4G5Ts3loOgK2wFU_GbF6k9IjRGsEgbYlb5hY_-cTis-pAvY9nFNNH9TsxyX9f5A_wBZ2KJ7mnOVXOKVeEXNGiJR1vBp8/s1600/NZ82-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9oGa5bSnXkIJBUCKilM133LaI6uuaeXc33GbJxsdHqa5G0SA4G5Ts3loOgK2wFU_GbF6k9IjRGsEgbYlb5hY_-cTis-pAvY9nFNNH9TsxyX9f5A_wBZ2KJ7mnOVXOKVeEXNGiJR1vBp8/s320/NZ82-7.jpg" width="256" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably the cutest of the animals at the zoo, the <a href="http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/AsiaTrail/News/newotters.cfm">Asian otters</a> were a big hit with all the kids. The otters are Chowder (dad) and Clementine (mom); daughters Pickles, Saffron, Olive, Peaches, Radish and Rutabaga; and sons Pork Chop, Turnip and Kevin. You can guess which one is my favorite. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Imagine for a moment, just how soft and furry this pile of otters is. They all kinda bunched up in a beam of sunlight and lounged about. Then some went for a swim.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not all the animals at the zoo live in cages. This bee, and its pals were busy hitting the nectar and spreading the pollen.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5jqZJEfy4GQ8X9WwS5x-OHX8jkJlopAKVtPiEKzgk07IAObdH6nYF17Xf5sT40yjXnsobSwK_Oim95y7D3FuUTwaZ8vEKdesdVJ0FVNKIUWTr8K2N44XKK-rYAoZQa2dg5IXWH8tJDo/s1600/NZ82-227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5jqZJEfy4GQ8X9WwS5x-OHX8jkJlopAKVtPiEKzgk07IAObdH6nYF17Xf5sT40yjXnsobSwK_Oim95y7D3FuUTwaZ8vEKdesdVJ0FVNKIUWTr8K2N44XKK-rYAoZQa2dg5IXWH8tJDo/s320/NZ82-227.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This kori bustard strick a noble pose for me. This shot, along with the one of the bee, really showed me what my new lens can do. Crystal clear and sharp as a tack...as long as I get the shutter speed and aperture right.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyz-TeE35O9D2QiCe9qdRE5-BZMXnVnuuFQBp-wBdZRbg2YwX3gIqHqkBF623paHDFjxkYUJU1VATGUaUF52hWQ2eiOL1TW_6-6ruU1cgvOUvsOcVgP83pvTXTO5hc1NZ8GZlV0dwR2TA/s1600/NZ82-266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyz-TeE35O9D2QiCe9qdRE5-BZMXnVnuuFQBp-wBdZRbg2YwX3gIqHqkBF623paHDFjxkYUJU1VATGUaUF52hWQ2eiOL1TW_6-6ruU1cgvOUvsOcVgP83pvTXTO5hc1NZ8GZlV0dwR2TA/s320/NZ82-266.jpg" width="255" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like the way this turned out, but flamingos have creepy looking eyes. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcB6MVnXOu2WcPvVhDx6icqC4bH4NZLzNXeFzVz0q54hkViNKQA_A5zvP2g4XnemjWU2yyoK46WQad8oCj7PO-ZtopA8dIThI_F8tPiDy5LNEhV26TVeFw7JsfYk7HE5m6-i31OiKXmVQ/s1600/NZ82-354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcB6MVnXOu2WcPvVhDx6icqC4bH4NZLzNXeFzVz0q54hkViNKQA_A5zvP2g4XnemjWU2yyoK46WQad8oCj7PO-ZtopA8dIThI_F8tPiDy5LNEhV26TVeFw7JsfYk7HE5m6-i31OiKXmVQ/s320/NZ82-354.jpg" width="232" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A feeling I first had while watching one of the elephants was reinforced as I said welcome to the monkey house. I know that for many, most in fact, of the animals at the zoo, it is a refuge for their species. American zoos are places where species are kept from going extinct. That doesn't mean I don't feel sorry for the larger mammals. I look at the gorilla below, and the orangutans that follow, and know that genetically speaking, they're not all that different from you and me. And I know I wouldn't like spending my life in a cage. But, then again, no one's going to poach this big guy. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjx4AEAmRd6T6KcqmKbCdHXbas3otGbR0ruPQ5dUrG6HA2W7oMPD9V8fkS2R25zEGsgOgzXA1NmiIpF8Cu_kwO1IdAbaZClkOzkhpnhXwl7AiQXpIW1SnyLblxCXaOeaTDDYtEn2VWZNs/s1600/NZ82-395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjx4AEAmRd6T6KcqmKbCdHXbas3otGbR0ruPQ5dUrG6HA2W7oMPD9V8fkS2R25zEGsgOgzXA1NmiIpF8Cu_kwO1IdAbaZClkOzkhpnhXwl7AiQXpIW1SnyLblxCXaOeaTDDYtEn2VWZNs/s320/NZ82-395.jpg" width="309" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtq4x1Wp84k4qp1Is3JuJemrbRPoNrcWT7OohXmWi7tLWdWWIMUvhLk1z0HwSHHpQCg9cLkhzT3IRI7EWFJKKepfOrRjrdYI8p0uGEo6T9nlt-vX7OIIQSwgpJ1LWfgv55nvX3zpDdvA/s1600/NZ82-418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtq4x1Wp84k4qp1Is3JuJemrbRPoNrcWT7OohXmWi7tLWdWWIMUvhLk1z0HwSHHpQCg9cLkhzT3IRI7EWFJKKepfOrRjrdYI8p0uGEo6T9nlt-vX7OIIQSwgpJ1LWfgv55nvX3zpDdvA/s320/NZ82-418.jpg" width="197" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The orangutans do have one advantage, it's called the <a href="http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ThinkTank/OLine/default.cfm">O-line</a>. The tower the ape on the left is holding onto is connected to several others by cables 45 feet off the ground. The orangutans use these to move about the park if they feel like it. They didn't feel like it on Friday.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This little gator or croc, not sure which, was just lounging about. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnnk8znefKQUxdoQROIG0R-0EGujZlVydHQ303MMABDrFOz62yw6ebjow414CUGEqkxphDOpWLdIuTuxtoCWx4A0AhZlXUWHhfKhVLsbQNAMVq0q2obo5a6-fIJi6SAu36PLjq8ZY_-w/s1600/NZ82-453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnnk8znefKQUxdoQROIG0R-0EGujZlVydHQ303MMABDrFOz62yw6ebjow414CUGEqkxphDOpWLdIuTuxtoCWx4A0AhZlXUWHhfKhVLsbQNAMVq0q2obo5a6-fIJi6SAu36PLjq8ZY_-w/s320/NZ82-453.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kinda like with the apes and elephants, I'm pretty sure this big guy would much rather be lunching on something brought down by some lionesses. But his meat/bloodcicle will have to do for the time being. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52rqZoLNbZQGZH4hdQZgYSUWs3w1LwRczK1Opqt_yX7IiZlHw4gRVAd9JIG4JzsyDWBUGthaSmKW3A6x_YZirrQJ8fGPa_ZhJFJEu7DhgAYN7E8YuCbslmXtcev72WSkiwFgg6ioUWkU/s1600/NZ82-485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52rqZoLNbZQGZH4hdQZgYSUWs3w1LwRczK1Opqt_yX7IiZlHw4gRVAd9JIG4JzsyDWBUGthaSmKW3A6x_YZirrQJ8fGPa_ZhJFJEu7DhgAYN7E8YuCbslmXtcev72WSkiwFgg6ioUWkU/s320/NZ82-485.jpg" width="279" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know if I was reading some thing that wasn't there, but it seemed to me that many of the larger mammals don't like being gawked at. This was especially true for the apes. It seemed like they made a conscious effort to keep their backs to the humans. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know, maybe it was my imagination. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not sure what Volume 2 will be, but stay tuned. </span>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-36792060347258339302013-07-22T14:01:00.001-04:002013-07-22T14:02:19.072-04:00So, July, yeah...<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I spent a couple of minutes trying to come up with a way to tie this post to Julius Caesar, inventor of the month of July, but drew a blank. Nothing there. Nada. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, I'd written a bit of a rant about how slightly craptastic this month has been, but after reading it I deleted it. It sounded really whiny. So, instead, how about some pictures? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These shots were taken last Saturday (July 20) during a short walk around the National Mall between dusk and dark. How do you think our cracked Washington Monument looks as it's being repaired? Not too bad, eh?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuBFMFWVDKJfO5b88wltF7XWE6dVxQOgg5qFB_YfI5YiRLHW_OFYG7ualiYdlebGuLhd9maDFBModdkcSjfhXVbR7SCNvSEm8v8nSMjHzpL6hAhIIgQkZGkcWzQMaOFfohbGrJky6xXxw/s1600/WMN720-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuBFMFWVDKJfO5b88wltF7XWE6dVxQOgg5qFB_YfI5YiRLHW_OFYG7ualiYdlebGuLhd9maDFBModdkcSjfhXVbR7SCNvSEm8v8nSMjHzpL6hAhIIgQkZGkcWzQMaOFfohbGrJky6xXxw/s320/WMN720-12.jpg" width="214" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I kind of like how the scrim changes depending on your distance and the brightness of the sky. Something I'm sure the designers intended. Except for the first shot, all of these were taken off a tripod at varying ISOs, apertures and shutter speeds. For example: the picture below was shot at ISO 200, f/9 for 1 second. Gives a nice, soft texture to the flags as they wave in the first breeze D.C. had felt in oh these many days. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZVClNiVXlXsaqLrjy80dx5vU11TEleyWVUdOz4veQT16X98CT__lNW-7u-jZyWxNhDvfSWBESjj_03eWVEGIElgi8ZFa-nhzWxM74jY75Hx6i3cxOCRQyH0qJQYd4WXh7K4WuTEGLqs/s1600/WMN720-38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZVClNiVXlXsaqLrjy80dx5vU11TEleyWVUdOz4veQT16X98CT__lNW-7u-jZyWxNhDvfSWBESjj_03eWVEGIElgi8ZFa-nhzWxM74jY75Hx6i3cxOCRQyH0qJQYd4WXh7K4WuTEGLqs/s320/WMN720-38.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I was concentrating on what was in front of me, the thunder rolled behind me. I tried a couple of different methods to catch lightning in a bottle, so to speak, and none of them worked consistently. I went with a modified fireworks technique - shoot as many pictures as you can - and set the camera at: 200, f/2.8, 0.6 seconds. It kinda worked, but unlike with fireworks, there's really no anticipating lightning. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWtL49oTFGN8I4VWZis450tdUMJ0DdN9swKyAjIR5y39SMHRNx9chYOVfxUMQ8sdAWu4wWmETe-QSoDIVVzJ9061JfLVInVpThCbN6tgcaZIeTx6xSyUIZSXjt3_dxwHkEp8-Ch169qc/s1600/WMN720-65.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWtL49oTFGN8I4VWZis450tdUMJ0DdN9swKyAjIR5y39SMHRNx9chYOVfxUMQ8sdAWu4wWmETe-QSoDIVVzJ9061JfLVInVpThCbN6tgcaZIeTx6xSyUIZSXjt3_dxwHkEp8-Ch169qc/s320/WMN720-65.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Same ISO for this one, but with a shutter speed of 1.6 and an aperture of f/4. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1McyVxPG5BZzuKF-OcoR86mNly9YnYlGkDLpLFfJSvqvw7FbyZu84He27097vHM6uJwnNfRGw2DK0neLtIn7jSY-FtHR2TBcQr6706CSVVt-sn5VFvLKLdODbKJpOAeU-NPMe4yJOvKA/s1600/WMN720-103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1McyVxPG5BZzuKF-OcoR86mNly9YnYlGkDLpLFfJSvqvw7FbyZu84He27097vHM6uJwnNfRGw2DK0neLtIn7jSY-FtHR2TBcQr6706CSVVt-sn5VFvLKLdODbKJpOAeU-NPMe4yJOvKA/s320/WMN720-103.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the toughest things I've found to take a picture of is the moon. Unless you catch it right on the horizon, you're not going to get any details. As this picture clearly illustrates. The flags look nice, though.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGjMWQTYJgXwEUgI3Pu2XMBTGbNxPRI3vX3ffQUPv5i_PG558dfNXtJ5gNoY3v3hcvUqR6gZMgFng-NDoW0I0er7i36w4WO8xj2gXOI3kGifuHIfDZr25EPZDZ9BpQ7OE9dbHHEiLj2E/s1600/WMN720-197.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGjMWQTYJgXwEUgI3Pu2XMBTGbNxPRI3vX3ffQUPv5i_PG558dfNXtJ5gNoY3v3hcvUqR6gZMgFng-NDoW0I0er7i36w4WO8xj2gXOI3kGifuHIfDZr25EPZDZ9BpQ7OE9dbHHEiLj2E/s320/WMN720-197.jpg" width="214" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This picture inspires me to come back one of these days and catch that bad moon rising just over the level of the flags. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCSEfipkQDX__2LhG13uhcDqoROFtrwkEBfUcbdluYLaOTTrHYPif1HOdsvYaC8256v-y5AOzE9LZU503e5zLxBzGGo2HfBzxGZjCisD-GuttTEcD-KuooEPAKQrY0MqqZKW-jYE6yIo/s1600/WMN720-207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCSEfipkQDX__2LhG13uhcDqoROFtrwkEBfUcbdluYLaOTTrHYPif1HOdsvYaC8256v-y5AOzE9LZU503e5zLxBzGGo2HfBzxGZjCisD-GuttTEcD-KuooEPAKQrY0MqqZKW-jYE6yIo/s320/WMN720-207.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This one really works for me. You get the details of the scaffolding and the scrim, but the lights give it a whole different feel. Like the monument is encased in glass or something. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbyaukvA5DjBY0afKerff1S0jrsI4R7r-AsPmbOl8kbR7iN1c7-0Om9u1ncFzBArpo0Y6VqgEx3GUH023OpgCDtgYm5cpLxuxqebJ6ztxZaOJIJAV_HuwNbFtam0vJxGJuQs47P0qLYw/s1600/WMN720-263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbyaukvA5DjBY0afKerff1S0jrsI4R7r-AsPmbOl8kbR7iN1c7-0Om9u1ncFzBArpo0Y6VqgEx3GUH023OpgCDtgYm5cpLxuxqebJ6ztxZaOJIJAV_HuwNbFtam0vJxGJuQs47P0qLYw/s320/WMN720-263.jpg" width="271" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, that's all for now. I promised some Furlough Fotos in the last post, but a combination of factors has prevented that. Hopefully, this coming week I'll be able to kick off that feature. </span></div>
FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-53291241654804252432013-07-08T21:42:00.000-04:002013-07-08T21:42:33.062-04:00New look, new thoughts...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do you think of the new look? They say black is slimming...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I figured a little change, a revolution if you will, might spur me into writing a bit more. And, thanks to congress, I'll have a little extra time on my hands until the end of the fiscal year. Twenty percent more time, that is. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a couple of ideas about how to spend some of it, so keep an eye out for "Furlough Fotos" coming soon to a blog near you.</span>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-51242686710861182752013-02-06T11:36:00.001-05:002013-02-06T11:36:15.276-05:00On my honor…<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this here before, but I’m an Eagle Scout. Yeah, big surprise, right? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I joined my Boy Scout troop in the first week of October 1980 and went on my first camping trip the following weekend. It was glorious. We were out in the woods, learning to make fire, cooking our own food over those flames, tying knots, using knives and axes – all kinds of manly skills. Later on that evening we all gathered around the campfire and sang songs and had a great time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I spent almost seven years as a Boy Scout earning my merit badges and the various ranks on my “Trail of the Eagle” as it’s called. I was learned skills and spent time with other boys who enjoyed the same things I did. Many of these skills, I’m sure, will keep me alive while the rest of you are the main course at future zombie buffets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My troop has a storied history. It honored its first Eagle Scout in 1965 and has honored 169 more young men as of 2011. In 1987 I was the 59th. The list includes seven pairs of brothers – my younger brother is number 66 – and four sets of three brothers – there would have been one more, but my youngest brother never finished his Eagle. Between 1973 and 2011, there was only one year, 1989, when no one earned their Eagle. However, I think that may be because in 1988, 1990 and 1991, there were 25. Twenty-five Eagle Scouts in four years. Think about that for a minute, 25 young men who each dedicated five to seven years to achieving a goal that, truthfully, not many reach. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suffice it to say, it’s not easy to become an Eagle Scout. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That said it shouldn’t be impossible for a boy to aspire to that goal just because he may be gay (or doesn’t believe in a god, for that matter). It’s difficult enough in the first place. Boy Scouts of America shouldn’t force young men who are already going through the stress and fear that comes with being different – stress that can and does drive some boys to suicide – to give up the support of their peers in Scouting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my opinion, Boy Scouts of America, like other organizations, has been taken over by radically conservative forces. Forces who believe that because someone is gay they are also a predator just salivating at the idea of getting their sons alone in the woods. If I have a son someday, I’d like him to have the same experiences I did as a Boy Scout – they’re an important part of who I am today – but I don’t think I’d allow him to join an organization that institutionalizes hatred. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s time for the Boy Scouts of America to drop this ridiculous policy and allow every boy the chance to stand in front of his family and friends as that red-white-and-blue ribbon suspending a silver eagle is pinned to his chest. It’s the right thing to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-75825761432524735392012-07-05T15:55:00.001-04:002012-07-06T09:12:27.339-04:00Fireworks! Ohhhh! Ahhhhh!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been so long since I've posted here it seems like one of the last posts I did was of my pictures from last Fourth of July. Actually, that's pretty close to the truth. Also, there's a strange new interface. Not sure I like it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, forgive me?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A lot of you may have seen these elsewhere, but for those who haven't, I present them for your approval. This picture was shot at my standard fireworks setting: ISO 100 at f/8 for 1.6 seconds. Over the years I've come to rely on this setting since it generally produces some pretty good pictures. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTk81gtZZCgkQPNszUY7SZKAT2qmRBXYFoydJZIFLM92kf_Mn3ZsgTXzbXkYQ4DdlMEzsNBOo2CcCXiJnyz4YM5ViV54T-h6LZ_njYSCdDx9C9uJVV8gP8JVMrtDwDZk-WKX4x_Zva70/s1600/FoJ12-29.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="218" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTk81gtZZCgkQPNszUY7SZKAT2qmRBXYFoydJZIFLM92kf_Mn3ZsgTXzbXkYQ4DdlMEzsNBOo2CcCXiJnyz4YM5ViV54T-h6LZ_njYSCdDx9C9uJVV8gP8JVMrtDwDZk-WKX4x_Zva70/s320/FoJ12-29.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's not to say I'm afraid to try new things. Since the show was about 20 minutes long, I reset my camera to test the "burst" method I'd read about earlier this week. Using the burst technique, the camera is set to ISO 200 at f/11, but the exposure is set to bulb. In this case, the exposure is about 5 seconds and multiple bursts are captured. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I kinda like it. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn045B4-gesaC2zmtVSPcLoip1CQcBjIwiXPR_R9QUZ5apXtaGFUCuiN4mTgz6-PK4BgZ0FTnVFlrYhve0Uqu8krcCc1zOxQKr1jkHAL8pYmMPNnW0vx5LRbNJtlod-v2jRmiVYc29Nrk/s1600/FoJ12-102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="296" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn045B4-gesaC2zmtVSPcLoip1CQcBjIwiXPR_R9QUZ5apXtaGFUCuiN4mTgz6-PK4BgZ0FTnVFlrYhve0Uqu8krcCc1zOxQKr1jkHAL8pYmMPNnW0vx5LRbNJtlod-v2jRmiVYc29Nrk/s320/FoJ12-102.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rest of these are back to the standard ISO 100, f/8 with slightly varying shutter speeds. I didn't want to rely completely on a new technique. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This final shot was a bit of luck combine with my keeping my head up as I was riding my bike home. I caught a glimpse of the almost full buck moon rising through the pines along the Potomac and had to stop. Even luckier, they were still shooting fireworks over in PG county. All the streaks of light you see at the bottom of the frame are boats heading down the Potomac after the fireworks. It was just like the Queen's flotilla. OK, maybe not. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you'd like to see more of my fireworks pictures, head over to my Flickr page linked over there on the right side of this page. Hope everyone had a good Fourth, and I promise to try to post more. Yep, I know, famous last words. </span></div>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-2142680484170549072012-04-17T19:27:00.007-04:002012-04-17T19:58:08.149-04:00Discovery in the skies over D.C.<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I headed up to the Mall Tuesday morning to see a sight never to be seen again ... Well, at least until they fly Enterprise out of Dulles to NYC. Anyway, as anyone who reads this knows, I'm a space buff and the chance to see the space shuttle Discovery flown over the National Mall was enough to convince me to take the day off. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">It was totally worth it. Seeing Discovery on the back of its 747 carrier aircraft was an amazing sight. I never got to see a shuttle launch, so I'm glad I saw Discovery on its way to an honorable retirement at the Air & Space Museum out at Dulles. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">When I got to the Mall around 8:45, it was pretty deserted. That didn't last long. Within 45 minutes there was a festival-like atmosphere going on, and a cheer went up as Discovery made its promenade down the Mall. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfhueatiAeV1NxNhLFqYY4BB9DX70nI-2WpSUj4SfllAXK3g4-ZZFIWPGROgGNeAW3gr3GH8J_fkkhNeo1VZfxLOV_kBdJ1JnZVxVjz5y1e9nNp4xUj4NDbIKFjvinmPNazi0Jb7eGeg/s1600/DDC417-77a.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 274px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfhueatiAeV1NxNhLFqYY4BB9DX70nI-2WpSUj4SfllAXK3g4-ZZFIWPGROgGNeAW3gr3GH8J_fkkhNeo1VZfxLOV_kBdJ1JnZVxVjz5y1e9nNp4xUj4NDbIKFjvinmPNazi0Jb7eGeg/s400/DDC417-77a.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732516457176917410" /></a><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">After flying past the Smithsonian Castle, Discovery headed down toward the Capitol. I really like this picture because it reminds me of the opening of The Day the Earth Stood Still. In the movie (the original, not Keanu's remake), Klaatu takes his saucer right over the dome of the Capitol before landing on The Ellipse. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_uCO3u10SUc8N6iZa5ZzvhYNCPTUfFJD32mh1IQOrAzArj-lkRS9OVuRuK8fvWifwbogTAbZ6qOV9yDBc3Q0W6vQOxJDn56gAuAWtOZQ4MDnt7Hvs-ygqp-qTaPqaV7GLC3hbApRs8lw/s1600/DDC417-119.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_uCO3u10SUc8N6iZa5ZzvhYNCPTUfFJD32mh1IQOrAzArj-lkRS9OVuRuK8fvWifwbogTAbZ6qOV9yDBc3Q0W6vQOxJDn56gAuAWtOZQ4MDnt7Hvs-ygqp-qTaPqaV7GLC3hbApRs8lw/s400/DDC417-119.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732516454762290082" /></a><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Without a doubt, these guys had one of the best views of Discovery. Always wanted to run a crane ... Oh well. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwRhUTjFZ4_fg5_M8eamyFbb_tSPAUIwRtPGRlr_svt4n1ErmdubfnQfTSADcRaRlYvbKkt7rr-2cY3oudbjvVAOmn6uTO6zstWPIApTUYiNptstR2ru6YcicaTKf09mNS40oXCkE6RY/s1600/DDC417-91c.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 285px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwRhUTjFZ4_fg5_M8eamyFbb_tSPAUIwRtPGRlr_svt4n1ErmdubfnQfTSADcRaRlYvbKkt7rr-2cY3oudbjvVAOmn6uTO6zstWPIApTUYiNptstR2ru6YcicaTKf09mNS40oXCkE6RY/s400/DDC417-91c.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732516450605370370" /></a><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The sky, blue with puffy white clouds, was a perfect backdrop for Discovery's flybys. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM25pArZRvg-8d3ZnQTMAPjRuoJwwfPFokKae2kmUQmlufNJMD4GBf4sMPDG_PVzKHv36ZFM63vBBgNsSRp1zwSwVGX1JU5XuMPlUEHRPj1UfUecUEsmZve2FPK4YjBVWq4ihutCGheqo/s1600/DDC417-173.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM25pArZRvg-8d3ZnQTMAPjRuoJwwfPFokKae2kmUQmlufNJMD4GBf4sMPDG_PVzKHv36ZFM63vBBgNsSRp1zwSwVGX1JU5XuMPlUEHRPj1UfUecUEsmZve2FPK4YjBVWq4ihutCGheqo/s400/DDC417-173.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732516439167501170" /></a><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">This is probably one of the best pictures I got Tuesday. You can even see the T-38 chase plane just below and behind Discovery. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3BfRINReugeZcLTm2jxxQ67kIhIOlkO2ILfjxqOFP2kwEr1PDIiBCdSUDpYfhl4Rnmq_DUKVz5rNyzJbMwtqxCPwJ6C8RxlwaRcfka2rKXNFK5KTMGX-huINvyElRAScn6-6cUUfjHs/s1600/DDC417-184.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 359px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3BfRINReugeZcLTm2jxxQ67kIhIOlkO2ILfjxqOFP2kwEr1PDIiBCdSUDpYfhl4Rnmq_DUKVz5rNyzJbMwtqxCPwJ6C8RxlwaRcfka2rKXNFK5KTMGX-huINvyElRAScn6-6cUUfjHs/s400/DDC417-184.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732516435355297458" /></a>As we bid goodbye to Discovery and her sisters Atlantis and Endeavour, I think it's important for us to remember all they've done and, especially, what the future holds. I've heard comments about how shameful it is that America now lacks the ability to put humans into space. True, at the moment we can't. But, for the six years between July 1975 and April 1981, from the launch of the Apollo-Soyuz to Columbia's first flight, we were also unable to "slip the surly bonds of earth."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I look forward to the day, hopefully soon, when America will send its astronauts into space, either in NASA's Space Launch System or SpaceX's Dragon capsule atop a Falcon rocket. Until then, I'll be heading out to the Udvar-Hazy Center to pay my respects to Discovery. </span></div>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-34452149370476494222012-03-29T15:44:00.012-04:002012-03-30T11:22:15.079-04:00Before they're gone...<span style="font-family:arial;">I cut it kind of close this year, but I did get out for the annual Cherry Blossom Photo Shoot. It was an iffy proposition, what with the blossoms all showing up two weeks early and disappearing a week before the start of the actual Cherry Blossom Festival. There's going to be a lot of disappointed people visiting this weekend and next.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Even though the blossoms are gone for 2012, they will live on here (and on my Flickr page, link to the right).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The goal for this year was influenced by a call from my dad asking for landscapes of the Jefferson and Lincoln and a portrait of the Washington that he could frame together. Told him I'd do my best, although it was going to be tough getting Lincoln in the same frame as the cherry blossoms since, to the best of my knowledge, there really aren't any nearby. I did get some good ones of Washington and Jefferson, so I'll be sending those off to him. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">One thing I did decide to do was concentrate on depth of field. Rule of thumb: </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_f/64"><span style="font-family:arial;">Smaller apertures</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> - the ones with higher numbers (yeah, I know) - give you greater depth of field, i.e., f/32 is deeper than f/14 which is deeper than f/2.8. But shooting small apertures at 1/30 or 1/20 of a second with out at least a monopod (which I left at home) can be tricky, to say the least. So, through a combination of adjusting aperture, shutter speed and "film" speed, I kinda pulled it off. For instance...</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEX9dPFxO8z0Cmj_S-oho45oUZOI5aCmQ4i4b1G0Q8GjDTxIcnYfDSKzeYYTJVJPSg4MSaVntSOWEAWQR-GmDo8xuMUDvR7pv_boiNVxHbg-77KjPgfGBxhVN3vUDJs7XUXpcpQBRw5lk/s1600/CB325-33.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725408104272244962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEX9dPFxO8z0Cmj_S-oho45oUZOI5aCmQ4i4b1G0Q8GjDTxIcnYfDSKzeYYTJVJPSg4MSaVntSOWEAWQR-GmDo8xuMUDvR7pv_boiNVxHbg-77KjPgfGBxhVN3vUDJs7XUXpcpQBRw5lk/s400/CB325-33.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> This shot of the Jefferson Memorial was shot at 1/180 at f/10 with a 400 ISO. The higher ISO - what we used to call film speed - gave me the ability to shoot faster at a medium aperture giving a middling depth of field.<br /><br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Pe8UR1BapJJRHAd2VQUwDGa4R8QRxGNUN53B6KrHl9WCB6Ujd7e7A22LOmNyL_skDgr_iW54MWmdHojv7rNOK4QGFvqoGJQ2H2FagyoKhkkn9R29KaLaeunYL3OlN8pjDVfqBso0stc/s1600/CB325-325.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 284px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725408097861727090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Pe8UR1BapJJRHAd2VQUwDGa4R8QRxGNUN53B6KrHl9WCB6Ujd7e7A22LOmNyL_skDgr_iW54MWmdHojv7rNOK4QGFvqoGJQ2H2FagyoKhkkn9R29KaLaeunYL3OlN8pjDVfqBso0stc/s400/CB325-325.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> This picture of our beloved, but cracked, Washington Monument, on the other hand, has a greater depth of field (both the blossoms and the monument are in focus). It has the same aperture (f/10), but a slower ISO (200) meant I had to slow down the shutter speed to 1/60 of a second. Basically, I gained three stops from the previous picture.<br /><br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDkbsvud3-aeW4nqSS9T_vEcPwvENrq6dbmVA2n9XcQ92c7DMaEB3V0wzMk1To2rDtGRoC_mGWbiE_xm5m5UOSPmZr6LRtMEplyYiOtxDmbfmLQVDD-o9j1sJ7Vv8A72_x36zqFFWkWs/s1600/CB325-390.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 257px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725408076983693714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDkbsvud3-aeW4nqSS9T_vEcPwvENrq6dbmVA2n9XcQ92c7DMaEB3V0wzMk1To2rDtGRoC_mGWbiE_xm5m5UOSPmZr6LRtMEplyYiOtxDmbfmLQVDD-o9j1sJ7Vv8A72_x36zqFFWkWs/s400/CB325-390.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> I could go into all the technical details of this picture (400 for 1/125 of a second at f/10), and how they did what and why, but I won't except to say the slightly slower shutter speed put the monument into slightly sharper focus than the first picture. It's one of my favorites. So I'll leave it at that and just enjoy looking at it.<br /><br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMF5anzfGSQql-W_lK_iUIruKjCJ9szAm2ch7sGCWwzZIOAq4yH_zxRQHX62qVcBOpHgXZFDAsbKUaM69PJEqhA0EaYHyL8f9td2N8EnaJMEdzEPM4vw-dK1vtrnRZCOJ9k3Gli-tpoUQ/s1600/CB325-542.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 325px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725408061203659618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMF5anzfGSQql-W_lK_iUIruKjCJ9szAm2ch7sGCWwzZIOAq4yH_zxRQHX62qVcBOpHgXZFDAsbKUaM69PJEqhA0EaYHyL8f9td2N8EnaJMEdzEPM4vw-dK1vtrnRZCOJ9k3Gli-tpoUQ/s400/CB325-542.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">And, finally, DCist liked this shot enough it chose it for a story earlier this week, </span><a href="http://dcist.com/2012/03/gallery_the_great_cherry_blossom_ma.php#photo-2"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Great Cherry Blossom Massacre of 2012</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">. I think the title speaks for itself.<br /></span></div></div></div>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-85992909605139751112012-02-07T08:40:00.014-05:002013-07-09T08:20:46.192-04:00Moonrise Over Del Ray<span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Been a while, hasn't it? I skipped an entire month of posting and, really, I do feel bad about that. </span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">So, to try to make up for that, how about a couple of pictures of a bad moon rising over Del Ray last night? I first tried shooting these with my phone (I'm more and more impressed with that camera every day) but, sadly, it lacked the necessary flexibility to capture the moon. To fix that I darted inside, grabbed the real camera and started clicking away. </span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">And this is what I got:</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbi4ClNQKzYEL7OmRZIifOMeL5Ph0iP9cri9ysyqkhtTZO5yIL1catC0ZdzSStvTWIxHGHgGu3K-kHSvgNqcvDcrBYawlIBCBQe-ObyoPgbQkbATvVPhvVTBKS1ouYH0d8U8coyF0lxdg/s1600/DRM26-18.jpg"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706388873396523506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbi4ClNQKzYEL7OmRZIifOMeL5Ph0iP9cri9ysyqkhtTZO5yIL1catC0ZdzSStvTWIxHGHgGu3K-kHSvgNqcvDcrBYawlIBCBQe-ObyoPgbQkbATvVPhvVTBKS1ouYH0d8U8coyF0lxdg/s400/DRM26-18.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 267px;" /></span></a><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The power lines kinda got in the way, but what can you do about that? Nothing, that's what. These were all shot at about 1/30 of a second at f/10 or so. I was trying to balance going for a greater depth of field without having to run and get my tripod.</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I am not unpleased with the results.</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfrbkln0RfILQUVIIv3rA46RlzbeAwM3j8efmc-17xSHYSe0CP9bNLGVBvLjpwTHgvJYaHBJR_hH6JMZE5l7FMsWrRvwoHXb8hIgPOBJwFt9BxR3IiZTNok6NdZCaiiieOn247IRASgUA/s1600/DRM26-25.jpg"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706388847288683250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfrbkln0RfILQUVIIv3rA46RlzbeAwM3j8efmc-17xSHYSe0CP9bNLGVBvLjpwTHgvJYaHBJR_hH6JMZE5l7FMsWrRvwoHXb8hIgPOBJwFt9BxR3IiZTNok6NdZCaiiieOn247IRASgUA/s400/DRM26-25.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><span style="font-family: arial;">I got lucky on these next two as I was able to get the plane (just below the moon) while it was climbing out of National.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ5QsFEKZtBvVQko-dVfFhyphenhyphen5jD9vx31WVacHxxB3BJCan3qeLs1U8t1cafJaFaDbPBWVE2asMtCb4s_u8VypFnxOvhq634UrPYBd4HqD6nK0XwhEVE1KmKvU3LDTKD58njVEu5nat2m7Q/s1600/DRM26-37.jpg"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706388813642132754" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ5QsFEKZtBvVQko-dVfFhyphenhyphen5jD9vx31WVacHxxB3BJCan3qeLs1U8t1cafJaFaDbPBWVE2asMtCb4s_u8VypFnxOvhq634UrPYBd4HqD6nK0XwhEVE1KmKvU3LDTKD58njVEu5nat2m7Q/s400/DRM26-37.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a></span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSRXXwvKq_YhAp1Jzu6xV1KLIjFComjt161TNZ4KLHB2LkLIEbGctgIXwxhEFgPYwrT4dX-wRj-CDVOoDNGbiqoShdvfjZc1nWXycFglMSAT43hDmp-ptAE0FmxrSNL0Nz-InXe08FyM/s1600/DRM26-38.jpg"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706388808030445906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSRXXwvKq_YhAp1Jzu6xV1KLIjFComjt161TNZ4KLHB2LkLIEbGctgIXwxhEFgPYwrT4dX-wRj-CDVOoDNGbiqoShdvfjZc1nWXycFglMSAT43hDmp-ptAE0FmxrSNL0Nz-InXe08FyM/s400/DRM26-38.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><span style="font-family: arial;">Well, that's all...for now. With the campaigns now in full swing in their fight for the hearts and minds (and fears, prejudices, hatred, stupidity, misogyny and intolerance) of America, I'm sure there'll be plenty to write about in 2012.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
<div>
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
<div>
<span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">.</span></div>
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FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-4229507857222171492011-12-26T00:59:00.006-05:002011-12-26T01:29:40.385-05:00A Christmas walk<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Here's the situation: You're done with Christmas dinner at your brothers but, because his nights end a bit earlier than yours do due to his kids (who were adorable, I should add), what do you do? Going out drinking on Christmas night could be interesting, but that just seems a bit ... not right.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Wait a minute, you've been taking pictures of your family all night, so you've got the camera in the car. And you know, I bet the usual nighttime crowds at the monuments will be pretty light on Christmas night. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">So I went for a walk around the Lincoln end of the Mall. Which wasn't quite as deserted as I thought it would be, but it wasn't too, too bad. (All the pictures are clickable for a bigger version.)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">First up, a look back across the Potomac toward Rosslyn. It looks pretty good at night.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YWPkvFZysf0DZ4a_YsX8Ona_cM8KvE4n2bmkTwMSuZB3QI5wZ-S7Dt7O8WN3rx7mWkTI8cio5hBFkZx77RcbQrawdS2VtHqs7fZkTQki0jld1SrjzXb-lbhLDoci0amd2ae0YuuHzM0/s1600/MXN1225-10.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YWPkvFZysf0DZ4a_YsX8Ona_cM8KvE4n2bmkTwMSuZB3QI5wZ-S7Dt7O8WN3rx7mWkTI8cio5hBFkZx77RcbQrawdS2VtHqs7fZkTQki0jld1SrjzXb-lbhLDoci0amd2ae0YuuHzM0/s400/MXN1225-10.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690313514289943810" /></a><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The traditional view down the Mall. I shot a bunch more from the Lincoln but, apparently, I'll be seeing an optometrist come 2012. They were a touch out of focus. Of course it was dark...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic40cwrICfpheHKp-l7p4ov-r2lZAFCVcfddEhexNU8avGBeX1jngiokBfZbHcjTXmVPBmOAuLHooyKY8gE8YYof6fQCdAancwAy9_vbVHLZL6nPgLgcGTMKS6xT8Z2TepFv6FjvCB6ow/s1600/MXN1225-15.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic40cwrICfpheHKp-l7p4ov-r2lZAFCVcfddEhexNU8avGBeX1jngiokBfZbHcjTXmVPBmOAuLHooyKY8gE8YYof6fQCdAancwAy9_vbVHLZL6nPgLgcGTMKS6xT8Z2TepFv6FjvCB6ow/s400/MXN1225-15.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690313406758948834" /></a>There's a lot of different light going on inside the Lincoln Memorial. It took me a couple of tries to get it, well, if not right, than OK.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8hMsFg1mZjM1Rt-484jdQnm9hDb0wRjEuG4L7J33UPliEfaV4h6ya5U-AAOSGziK8bYRINYIv86iPUE9LyN5hkyltfncg1SRmO131ooxSycGYHAdRdbD5-ZfkajVmEeIJqdFP0VXuZg/s1600/MXN1225-55.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8hMsFg1mZjM1Rt-484jdQnm9hDb0wRjEuG4L7J33UPliEfaV4h6ya5U-AAOSGziK8bYRINYIv86iPUE9LyN5hkyltfncg1SRmO131ooxSycGYHAdRdbD5-ZfkajVmEeIJqdFP0VXuZg/s400/MXN1225-55.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690313403291745042" /></a>The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was very peaceful and quiet. The only thing missing was snow in the air.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhjnW-ipMUnkZAL7bvdrUni10gq0AYn791WCTB2qDV0ihdjOPPY9362AosnCtN7wZGSVvVCd3ETbLRwKUrUtMLIdfxqpyFYBOmSTPHK29ydqcyjpzrHrt98lgTX-BDgpzAXvnzlE1AyA/s1600/MXN1225-90.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhjnW-ipMUnkZAL7bvdrUni10gq0AYn791WCTB2qDV0ihdjOPPY9362AosnCtN7wZGSVvVCd3ETbLRwKUrUtMLIdfxqpyFYBOmSTPHK29ydqcyjpzrHrt98lgTX-BDgpzAXvnzlE1AyA/s400/MXN1225-90.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690313394279212546" /></a>I noticed this reflection while I had the memorial all to myself. Probably the first time I've ever had that happen.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Wo-Beyu-8KIuYsOyKuwjY8JRCMTz2O-u25vRWYSCOUuOrRZXjLKnbcwOsN9aMgXS1pkhvtquJJrUpGydxl8iRgIiKBIro-9P_r4HUY2DBsvui7uYoM-YjVoExjK8uoBckSh1fvjXOB4/s1600/MXN1225-100.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Wo-Beyu-8KIuYsOyKuwjY8JRCMTz2O-u25vRWYSCOUuOrRZXjLKnbcwOsN9aMgXS1pkhvtquJJrUpGydxl8iRgIiKBIro-9P_r4HUY2DBsvui7uYoM-YjVoExjK8uoBckSh1fvjXOB4/s400/MXN1225-100.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690313392715389042" /></a>Merry Christmas...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhug_Uh9fQXr0Ugm-Jkej8oNcbTIpDz96QkfQBAje2eLumnO4mITi9ILz5CTjlDpbBk-edVNlVRmC6NUUeg5R0ERcmt-hYLaAhvfPG7wT8D7vOD0-Lh3eKMs9bzFduGmtCIy5umAgRPM0o/s1600/MXN1225-94.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhug_Uh9fQXr0Ugm-Jkej8oNcbTIpDz96QkfQBAje2eLumnO4mITi9ILz5CTjlDpbBk-edVNlVRmC6NUUeg5R0ERcmt-hYLaAhvfPG7wT8D7vOD0-Lh3eKMs9bzFduGmtCIy5umAgRPM0o/s400/MXN1225-94.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690313387818852962" /></a></span><br /></div>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-57072625654720388702011-11-10T12:55:00.005-05:002011-11-10T13:19:32.779-05:00Happy 236th Birthday!!<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Two hundred and thirty-sixy years ago, on Nov. 10, 1775, at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, Capt. Samuel Nichols, the first commandant of the Marine Corps, began recruiting the first two battalions of Continental Marines. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">For those of us who've claimed the title of United States Marine, it's a special day. A day we reach out to our brothers and sisters we've served with, remember the years we spent together, how we were young once and say a little prayer for today's Marines - in whatever clime and place they may be. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">One special tradition on the Marine Corps Birthday is the reading of General John A. Lejeune's 1921 birthday message. Even after 90 years it - especially the last paragraph - says exactly what it means to be a Marine. </span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3SkqeTcUyi4vXDaFUO7itUhoqFY7-xiCmDbk40y6AXxuX-KozrHGmWtwqG065dCFVfpcdrVleWgDPEsAOpTQaUwANmIw5VhpaOIy-7-QQcKrdnv9M5yK6UeyKaL2nwa5zhJMuq4qsyA/s1600/Lejeune+b-day+message.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3SkqeTcUyi4vXDaFUO7itUhoqFY7-xiCmDbk40y6AXxuX-KozrHGmWtwqG065dCFVfpcdrVleWgDPEsAOpTQaUwANmIw5VhpaOIy-7-QQcKrdnv9M5yK6UeyKaL2nwa5zhJMuq4qsyA/s400/Lejeune+b-day+message.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673427554064358034" /></a>Today is particularly special for me because not only was I a Marine, but so were both of my brothers. So, if you will excuse me, I've got a couple of phone calls to make. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Semper Fidelis.<br /></span><div><br /></div></div>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-65407714400536117102011-11-07T10:26:00.007-05:002011-11-07T11:42:07.834-05:00So, it's been a while...<span style="font-family:arial;">I was a little taken aback when I looked at the date of the last post. It's been more than a month and half since I last posted and, well, I feel a bit bad about that. But not so bad that I'm going to beg forgiveness. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">There are still many things I want to write about - elections anyone? - and just like a fine writer in my neighborhood, I'm just going to have to make the time. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">How's this for a topic: Social media has made us less social. I say this not in the way everyone thinks - that <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Facebook</span> and Twitter and such allow people to cut themselves off from actual human interaction - but in that it forces us to restrain ourselves and our opinions. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I succumbed to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Facebook's</span> Siren song a little more than a month ago, probably right about the time I should have been updating The Foggy Dew. I've reached out and reconnected with people I haven't seen or heard from in years and, truthfully, I got some friend requests I had to think long and hard about. What is the social media definition of a "friend"? Does this person sending me a "friend" request really count as a friend anymore? Why hasn't that person responded to my "friend" request? Oh, God, Why!</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Except for a very small number of people I work with - who I actually count as real-world friends - I haven't sent, and received only one (from my boss, which I ignored) "friend" request from co-workers.Strangely, I do have two "friends" I've never actually met, but with whom I've corresponded electronically over the past year or so (both of you read this, so you know who you are). I find this almost old fashion. Long ago people would correspond with people they didn't know through these things called "letters" which they sent through the "mail." I'm speaking of people like Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. They had correspondence with a wide array of people, shared their thoughts, ideas and dreams, and built a network of friends that spanned the Atlantic. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The hard one's to decide about are the college and high school friends. Except for the two guys I count as my best friends, I've not accepted any of the three friend requests from people I knew in high school. If I'd wanted to stay in touch, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">I'da</span> done it before now. College friends? Do I need to be <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Facebook</span> friends with the girl who broke my heart, but who I (now) have nothing but fond memories about? (FYI, I did.) Also, my how some of them have changed. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The world of social media is a minefield my friends. A single misstep can have lasting consequences. I've seen it, you've seen it. A misconstrued comment or status update can cause drama that continues long after the real-world friendship gasps its last. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">[On a completely unrelated note, I just realized the clock in my office was still on Daylight Savings Time and lunch is still an hour a way. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Doh</span>!]</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">To avoid those kinds of situations, I've adopted the "<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Primum</span> non <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">nocere</span>" <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Facebook</span> doctrine. First, do no harm. I will do my best to avoid mean snark (as opposed to the funny kind), ridicule and passive aggression in any status update or comment. The effort involved in being nasty is just not worth the calories burned. But, also, because I know that many of my posts are only important to me and someone, somewhere is annoyed to see them pop up in their feed. Yeah, sorry 'bout that. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Finally, for those of you who like irony, did you see the videos I posted on <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Facebook</span> last night? If not, here's a link to my </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/49452679@N07/"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">Flickr</span> page</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> where they're posted. My first attempts at time-lapse photography. Sorry for the jerkiness. They'll get better. </span>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-45847006860800641792011-09-15T15:29:00.015-04:002011-09-15T19:30:36.476-04:00I'm proud to claim the title...<span style="font-family:arial;">…of United States Marine. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Sgt. Dakota Meyer, somehow </span><a href="http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2010/11/marine-dakota-meyer-medal-of-honor-113010/"><span style="font-family:arial;">just saying Semper Fi doesn’t seem like enough</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">. How do you say thank you to a man credited with saving three dozen fellow soldiers (13 Americans and 23 Afghans)? </span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYh6lwOcm-aPOCv-gAgQ7Dqy3IZ31fHnf8LUOa_AyZRum0DbIFAYahyphenhyphenVVlWs-GpBwRWkwb0QC3OrilW9TcUonFNh91ilNT8c4K6Z5Wo16f9sjQd9IxfEEbHMkIUMnL2fRFkSaNIbJuss/s1600/Sgt.+Dakota+Meyer.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652670877198085730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 272px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYh6lwOcm-aPOCv-gAgQ7Dqy3IZ31fHnf8LUOa_AyZRum0DbIFAYahyphenhyphenVVlWs-GpBwRWkwb0QC3OrilW9TcUonFNh91ilNT8c4K6Z5Wo16f9sjQd9IxfEEbHMkIUMnL2fRFkSaNIbJuss/s400/Sgt.+Dakota+Meyer.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">That there is the picture of a hard, hard man.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">For those of you not familiar with Sergeant Meyer's story, he received the Medal of Honor from President Obama today, becoming the first living Marine to be so honored in almost four decades. He got it for willingly running back into a withering enemy fire not just once, not twice, but five times to rescue his fellow warriors during a battle in Afghanistan on Sept. 8, 2009. The last time he went back, he went to recover the bodies of three Marines and a Navy Corpsman who’d been killed in the ambush.<br /><br />That is what being a Marine is.<br /><br />If you want to read more about Sergeant Meyer, </span><a href="http://militarytimes.com/blogs/battle-rattle/tag/cpl-dakota-meyer/"><span style="font-family:arial;">go here</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">. </span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; ">With a humility that's difficult for any Marine to summon, but is easy today, "Thank you."</span><br /><p><em><span style="font-family:arial;">Here's health to you and to our Corps<br />Which we are proud to serve;<br />In many a strife we've fought for life<br />And never lost our nerve;<br />If the Army and the Navy<br />Ever look on Heaven’s scenes;<br />They will find the streets are guarded<br />By The United States Marines.</span></em></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">– Marines’ Hymn, Third Verse</span></p>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-53408780503271070572011-09-11T15:31:00.016-04:002011-09-11T16:50:36.278-04:009/11 Memorial at night<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Living as close as I used to to the Pentagon, I thought it was strange I'd never been to the 9/11 Memorial. I'd ridden past it countless times, but I'd never stopped to take it in. So Friday night I changed that. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">It's pretty moving. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">One hundred and eighty-four benches and reflecting pools dedicated to the men, women and children who died there. It's an amazingly peaceful place considering what happened. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The memorial is filled with </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Memorial#Design_and_construction"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">symbols representing those lives</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">. The wall surrounding it begins at 3 inches eventually rising to a height of 71 inches, the ages of the youngest and oldest people to die: Dana Falkenberg, 3, and John Yamnicky, Sr., 71. The benches are arranged so if you're reading the name of someone who was aboard Flight 77 you look up into the sky, and if they were in the Pentagon, you look at the building's south facade. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">As I said, it is a powerful place. Here, let me show you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRMiEzpMTPDC9yzUmxg8q5F2ntWiWvWWYtQfcTQTXRvoBxmqsQy0arhWEFT7-IsFR83EUnQd3bic3Vm5bwMvrHz9lKXHM8aqdPOn79VMb-CRcxYXWxVdUwDmQj1o6U7Cam2v_hidh3pAk/s1600/NEM99-10.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRMiEzpMTPDC9yzUmxg8q5F2ntWiWvWWYtQfcTQTXRvoBxmqsQy0arhWEFT7-IsFR83EUnQd3bic3Vm5bwMvrHz9lKXHM8aqdPOn79VMb-CRcxYXWxVdUwDmQj1o6U7Cam2v_hidh3pAk/s400/NEM99-10.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651188691724340226" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">As you walk in, the first bench you come to is dedicated to Dana Falkenberg, age 3, who was aboard Flight 77. Because they're arranged by age, Dana's bench sits by itself. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbsjLfgY3-XOs1JlCGl_vIjYJ_uxkhPCe7udlGIgGO-kr830wBDnDbzvNQKfm9u14J6srvpJ61M7JzjNOBIGVXKJ_s4jcpxJwu0V0E8x5BD2KlbgjKd4h9C4Z6Tlx6pOFK4O3y4T-TvE0/s1600/NEM99-44.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbsjLfgY3-XOs1JlCGl_vIjYJ_uxkhPCe7udlGIgGO-kr830wBDnDbzvNQKfm9u14J6srvpJ61M7JzjNOBIGVXKJ_s4jcpxJwu0V0E8x5BD2KlbgjKd4h9C4Z6Tlx6pOFK4O3y4T-TvE0/s400/NEM99-44.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651188689045979746" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">As you move deeper into the memorial, the benches become more numerous.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL9L_l7NIi8hTw8jBoqhu3X8hfds4cg6mvR6oIoeFzow2_ufPrfD_yreOJw77hx-PH25r7pmOxnq6gcfNt-1Dc2tR2FNBObHURwlSCaHCvSd0cXoXX2AewoeguB094SDrUFsledmZ9FsA/s1600/NEM99-54.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL9L_l7NIi8hTw8jBoqhu3X8hfds4cg6mvR6oIoeFzow2_ufPrfD_yreOJw77hx-PH25r7pmOxnq6gcfNt-1Dc2tR2FNBObHURwlSCaHCvSd0cXoXX2AewoeguB094SDrUFsledmZ9FsA/s400/NEM99-54.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651188688182429442" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">As the 10th anniversary approached, many had small tokens placed on them. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKh3gEvHrmsBWVMZ_o8Bt0bCDjGfIk8r-SuKD0Qgvu00VQDzrkxjo4WyEQkPE3hs0bE4Hi9otuYS3R5_OwRFKR-HlI97iyeTa_Xl5HfmfR3rPvgENOXIovl37J6lZ4nRf1Mp3kB8uQJ0/s1600/NEM99-67.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKh3gEvHrmsBWVMZ_o8Bt0bCDjGfIk8r-SuKD0Qgvu00VQDzrkxjo4WyEQkPE3hs0bE4Hi9otuYS3R5_OwRFKR-HlI97iyeTa_Xl5HfmfR3rPvgENOXIovl37J6lZ4nRf1Mp3kB8uQJ0/s400/NEM99-67.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651188451598447666" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">One thing about the memorial, the 184 reflecting pools - combined with the week of rain beforehand - made for some condensation on my lens. I kept clearing it off but, in the case of this picture, it made for an interesting effect. I particularly like this shot.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJA0l5dV_eLMrj2xQ1vpPC5EObTJh5uR1AB5_tY89QMuAR4KoPQ_n0AsHExieTA0Mv-MA-vxRgld8eVEr89Wjm_D3m26v8mM491IezYSMuaYwzgeSxl2zj5D1cto8Lnd5kOqL2PJVyd24/s1600/NEM99-101.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJA0l5dV_eLMrj2xQ1vpPC5EObTJh5uR1AB5_tY89QMuAR4KoPQ_n0AsHExieTA0Mv-MA-vxRgld8eVEr89Wjm_D3m26v8mM491IezYSMuaYwzgeSxl2zj5D1cto8Lnd5kOqL2PJVyd24/s400/NEM99-101.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651188448958967122" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Another example of the moisture on my lens working with the light to create an otherworldly effect.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdyi536XqzVrSonj_I20dBdK_bX7yMODffJ9hXk8QDqpi3JM8LUpwGS5HdedN8gVKTbl43cgwLjEg4c6AwAmr5FeQjmHAI_eCSmDE4UjN2CLTPSxnu2FryAjiMd_bX9u-LelMGNLGHVg/s1600/NEM99-105.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdyi536XqzVrSonj_I20dBdK_bX7yMODffJ9hXk8QDqpi3JM8LUpwGS5HdedN8gVKTbl43cgwLjEg4c6AwAmr5FeQjmHAI_eCSmDE4UjN2CLTPSxnu2FryAjiMd_bX9u-LelMGNLGHVg/s400/NEM99-105.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651188448543295714" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Looking back across the memorial toward Pentagon City.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzj9pu3uvm5Ev5lMxzsSBLjFapZfGTw91iMhCVBZrBun6aO9oiiktPL0UcXPvfH3OQ5G8VR9jSNUS1q2t2E_NiV3-ZI2pfXB7A4Mzu6c5f0y-mbDinrVbsTpXgbBA6aQ0m7OI6X959ws/s1600/NEM99-124.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 297px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzj9pu3uvm5Ev5lMxzsSBLjFapZfGTw91iMhCVBZrBun6aO9oiiktPL0UcXPvfH3OQ5G8VR9jSNUS1q2t2E_NiV3-ZI2pfXB7A4Mzu6c5f0y-mbDinrVbsTpXgbBA6aQ0m7OI6X959ws/s400/NEM99-124.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651188423494620914" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">This one took me a couple of tries to get right. Trying to focus on something a good quarter-mile away, in the dark, isn't the easiest thing in the world.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">For some more pictures, check out my Flickr page. The link's at the right.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">It's been a week of remembrance in D.C., New York, across the country and around the world. I was in Texas getting ready to go to work covering the Army on one of the biggest bases in the country. Little did I know how interesting, exciting and, yes, tragic that job would become. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">How do you remember that day 10 years ago?</span></div>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-243033391364392082011-09-08T13:15:00.005-04:002011-09-08T13:21:35.198-04:00Ummmm, salty<span style="font-family:arial;">According to Time: <em>"Today Ben & Jerry's announced their newest ice cream flavor—which might not immediately sound appealing. Schweddy Balls, an homage to Saturday Night Live, is vanilla ice cream with a hint of rum and a huge scoop of cheekiness."</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Yep, Schweddy Balls...balls of malt and rum covered in fudge. </span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPXfN1K334hJjQ5-u7ny9d4-A67clRviCcBK3R8VWV89xpWn89H5MO_19wonqe14RdEjVQHuDNM_4E12ZMUi-TbqmGWCKcdoM8NcisvBjNk1VEmi6jq1t14GDipCdunnuv-DbKFV3LIU/s1600/schweddyballs.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650038923670182210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 392px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPXfN1K334hJjQ5-u7ny9d4-A67clRviCcBK3R8VWV89xpWn89H5MO_19wonqe14RdEjVQHuDNM_4E12ZMUi-TbqmGWCKcdoM8NcisvBjNk1VEmi6jq1t14GDipCdunnuv-DbKFV3LIU/s400/schweddyballs.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I can't say it any better than the folks at </span><a href="http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/09/07/schweddy-balls-ben-jerrys-newest-vermont-export/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Time already have</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">.<br /></span><br /><div></div>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-56933059992459874072011-09-07T10:15:00.012-04:002011-09-07T10:31:35.256-04:00Definitely not like tears in the rain…<span style="font-family:arial;">As anyone who’s ever read this little corner of the interwebs knows, I’m a sucker for just about anything that has to do with human spaceflight. The video below comes to us courtesy of NASA’s </span><a href="http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">, and shows some interesting pictures of the moon’s surface. Specifically three of the Apollo landing sites – take that moon landing conspiracy theorists!<br /><br />According to NASA’s website, LRO carries </span><a href="http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/spacecraft.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">six instruments</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">, one of them being the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. This camera, “…[R]etrieves high resolution black and white images of the lunar surface, capturing images of the lunar poles with resolutions down to 1 meter, and imaging the lunar surface in color and ultraviolet. These images provide knowledge of polar illumination conditions, identify potential resources & hazards, and enable safe landing site selection.”<br /><br />Just another way of saying some pretty cool pictures. </span><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/lro-tycho.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Like this one</span></a>, <span style="font-family:arial;">of the sunrise over Tycho</span><span style="font-family:arial;">. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />With that thought in mind, let’s go to the video. These shots are of the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_12"><span style="font-family:arial;">Apollo 12</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">, Ocean of Storms (one of my favorite place names on the moon), </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_14"><span style="font-family:arial;">Apollo 14</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">, Fra Mauro, and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17"><span style="font-family:arial;">Apollo 17</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">, Taurus-Littrow, landing sites.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">For a non-chopped off version of the video, go <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yi1WoZzeXWs">here</a>. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yi1WoZzeXWs" frameborder="0" width="560" height="345"></iframe><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">I know why it is, no wind or weather, but isn’t it amazing that 42-plus years on you can still see the tracks the astronauts left in the regolith? </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-54468374662736337852011-08-31T16:34:00.004-04:002011-08-31T16:43:05.223-04:00Stuck the landing…finally<span style="font-family:arial;">Back in March I set goal, a goal I came tantalizingly close to during both June and July only to watch it slip through my fingers like <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091814/">quicksilver</a>. Failure almost reared its head again in August, but I knuckled down and last night, somewhere across from Terminal B at National on the Potomac Trail, the trip odometer on my handlebars rolled to 25.00 miles.
<br />
<br />Doesn’t seem like much, but the 25th mile of the ride was my 200th in August (ftr – the ride ended up being 27.25 miles). When I set the goal, I had no idea how hard 200 miles in a month would be. Actually, looking at my ride-tracking app stats, there was a period between mid-June and mid-August where I’d done 400 miles in 60 days, but it wasn’t quite the same.
<br />
<br />It was like the Tiger-slam of goal fulfillment.
<br />
<br />But August was different…and a bit the same. I kicked ass the first half of the month riding a total of 136 miles on the 4th, 9th, 11th, 13th and 16th. Then I took a week off because of weather, alcohol and just not giving a shit and had to get 64 miles in during the last eight days. For some 64 miles isn't a big deal. For me it's three medium rides or two long rides. Or one really, long ride and a couple of laps around Haynes Point.
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<br />I did it, but let me tell you it as a Herculean task making myself hit the road last night. Once I got out there I was fine, it was the gettin’ that was tough. You wouldn’t think it’s hard to ride eight times in 31 days, but it is. I think my biggest stumbling block is that I most often ride alone. Most of the people I know who ride, ride a lot faster and longer than I do. When I ride with them it kicks my ass and I don't have fun. When I ride along I ride at my own pace (about 16-17 mph), but I get bored after about 90 minutes.
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<br />I don’t know if – OK, who am I kidding – I’m pretty sure I won’t be hitting the 200-mile barrier in September. What I think I’d like to do is get to 1,500 for the year (I’m at 973 right now), which I think is pretty doable averaging about 150 miles a month till the end of the year.
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<br />Who knows, now that it’s cooled down a bit, might be able to go even longer. Yeah, no.</span>
<br />FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-48630374954535670102011-08-28T22:07:00.004-04:002011-08-28T22:10:13.710-04:00Follow in my wake…<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">As I went to bed Saturday night/Sunday morning (about 1:30 a.m.) the rain from Irene was still coming down. Despite my concerns about losing power, it was my house’s Achilles heel – no power, no power to the sump pumps in my basement – there was one thought rolling through my head.</p><p class="MsoNormal">“Is this all there is?”</p><p class="MsoNormal">I’ve been through a hurricane or two (or 13). The names of some of the storms are familiar to anyone living in hurricane territory: Hugo, Fran, Floyd, Katrina and Rita. These are the big ones. Storms that made the news for days – or weeks or months or years – on end.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, in my experience Irene was a little storm. According to the news, the first hurricane to hit the U.S. in three years. Probably why the news went way nutso as it arrived. Could also be because Irene aimed herself at the most densely populated part of the country – more than 50 million people live in Irene’s path. And, except for the folks in North Carolina – go Tar Heels! (sorry, had to) – none of them have any idea what the hell to do when a hurricane comes knockin’.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The only experience they have with hurricane’s is what they’ve seen on the news, and that news always focuses on the destruction of the historic storms: Hugo, Andrew, Gloria, Ivan, Katrina. Sadly, they never seem to mention Rita, one of the five most powerful storms to ever hit the U.S.</p><p class="MsoNormal">So a little overreaction is expected. In fact, in my opinion, it’s not a bad thing. Better safe than sorry when there’s a sixth of the country’s population in the path of a tropical cyclone, I say.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Yeah, CNN, MSNBC, Fox, the Weather Channel, the WaPo and all the local channels went way over the top, but let me tell you the one thing that’s really annoying me and the whole point of this post.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I was reading through the reader comments on the WaPo and, it seems, the whole situation is the President’s fault. Be it the overreaction (true) or the lack of preparedness (false, never seen a storm better prepared for) or how it’s going to be used for political gain (like this has never happened) or how it caused an increase in the July jobless rate<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(what the fuck?).</p><p class="MsoNormal">How is it that we’ve become so divided as a country? I’m really tired of this crap. Democrats demonizing Republicans and Tea Partiers; Tea Partiers and the GOP blaming all the ills facing us today on the Democrats and the president. The problems we face today are a direct result of the base animosity among us.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I know this isn’t a blinding revelation.</p><p class="MsoNormal">One thing I learned from all the hurricanes I’ve lived through and covered (especially in Texas after Rita): Once the storm’s passed it doesn’t matter what color your skin is or what ticket you punch on election day, if you don’t work together it takes 10 times longer to clean up, rebuild and get back to the business of life.</p><p class="MsoNormal">We’re facing serious problems here in the United States today and if we don’t work together it’ll be a miracle to find the light at the end of the tunnel. People need to shut their mouths, roll up their sleeves and reach out a hand to their neighbor. Calling someone in another political party stupid or un-American or a traitor is exactly that – stupid and un-American.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I don’t know how we can sway people to this point of view, I think the hatred is too deep-seated. But I think if those of us of good intentions try, we can maybe drown out the chatter.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>“The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it”</i> – P.J. O’Rourke.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Note:</b> I started this blog back in the closing days of the last presidential election – relatively speaking – and there was lots and lots to write about. I’ve been remiss of late and not posted anywhere near as much as I want. More times than I can count in the last couple of months I’ve said, “That’ll make a great post,” and done nothing about it. Hell, it took a hurricane for me to write something. I’m thinking that with the election getting into full swing – god help up, the election is 14 months away – I won’t be lacking in subject matter. </p> <!--EndFragment--> FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-39326385809140965642011-07-07T15:10:00.015-04:002011-07-07T16:00:33.074-04:00Things that make you go WTF?!?!?...<span style="font-family:arial;">As I was driving home from work yesterday along the tree-lined streets of my hood, this car in front of me caught my eye. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLMEASxfk3WGxJle-YIFY6n6H9mf57K49B3i8V29kwAu-tUY9wJAQjmnwug9XywyvH1o9-320ufvq5BwfLLx2jcB57etIRNqM5nm5JTuZhPfzsLIRT3J8IIvnMhx1iEcKoAvC3wf64Rk/s1600/prius+1.1.JPG"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626690253210619666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 292px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLMEASxfk3WGxJle-YIFY6n6H9mf57K49B3i8V29kwAu-tUY9wJAQjmnwug9XywyvH1o9-320ufvq5BwfLLx2jcB57etIRNqM5nm5JTuZhPfzsLIRT3J8IIvnMhx1iEcKoAvC3wf64Rk/s400/prius+1.1.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">While a Prius is not by any means a terribly unusual sight in Alexandria - Hell, there's three or four on my block alone - this one was different. Oh so very, very different.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">What? You can't see it in this picture? Let me blow it up for you...(it's clickable if you want a really good view)</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ1bnqfF04ba-gnY1SsFRZm2MFv-dr0cvnHy2Fvxu59MNbLh7NNajE-FDjtSktQVtEPglRJux_VZh1nc6uivn-hztCYV01loN_LVo3APsHshyGgiRSr1rVXG593RY4mw-6dnPbtD9MRe0/s1600/prius+2.1.JPG"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626690244927636210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 269px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ1bnqfF04ba-gnY1SsFRZm2MFv-dr0cvnHy2Fvxu59MNbLh7NNajE-FDjtSktQVtEPglRJux_VZh1nc6uivn-hztCYV01loN_LVo3APsHshyGgiRSr1rVXG593RY4mw-6dnPbtD9MRe0/s400/prius+2.1.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> Do you see what I see? Yeah, that's a Prius with a Palin bumper sticker. Isn't that like matter and anti-matter? Good and evil? Intelligence and American Idol? Chocolate and peanut butter? (Oh, wait, strike that last one, I got carried away).</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Shouldn't this combination cause some kind of massive conflagration as one obliterates the other? A microscopic supernova (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femto-">femto</a>nova??) in Del Ray?</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Seriously? As crunchy as owning a hybrid is, and as smug and pretentious as their owners can be (some, not all), it's still a good choice for a car when it comes to lowering the carbon footprint. But then you go and ruin all that good karma by supporting a deluded, vacuous demagogue like Sarah Palin?</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">I weep for the future.</span></div>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-56642467364152052832011-07-05T09:28:00.014-04:002011-07-05T16:24:53.070-04:00Look! Up in the sky...<span style="font-family:arial;">Hope everyone's recovering from America's big birthday party yesterday. Two hundred and thirty-five years old and we barely look a day over 200. Especially when you look at some of the roads around here. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Kidding. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Anyway, instead of battling the traffic or the barbarian hoards on Metro yesterday, I decided to risk Mother Nature's fickle mood and ride my bike downtown for the firework on the Mall. Although I didn't go to the Mall, I'm sure it would have worked just as well. All told, about an hour of commuting (30 minutes up and 30 or so back).</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Except for the idiots around Gravely Point who thought it was a great idea to let their little kids play on the path, it was relatively painless. I'm thinking the bike is the way to go for all things outdoors, in the evenings in D.C. (basically, Screen on the Green or jazz in the sculpture garden).</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">And, for the moment you've all been waiting for, the pictures. Unlike previous years when I shot from the Mall, this year I went to the other side of the display and made my pictures from the Virginia side of the Potomac down by the Lincoln Memorial. I have to say, the crowds were a lot less and you're a lot, a lot, closer to the fireworks. You can feel them explode and don't have to worry about the sweaty stranger next to you getting in your space. For those who are wondering about the technical aspects of the pictures, they were all shot at 100 ISO equivalent, an f/8 apeture and, generally speaking, 1.6 second shutter speed. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Enjoy.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY5mpneM3f73hw9F4AhYYOUIAYE9_uZ57LAMWHaZ1pZIDkOagCNnmShSi92zaHkVFpYmriAkh28eSACge1yoXtVyBO54G0ZZ_GHNML4jROgbMHzu6P-TGU2S9kFhyWIGJe-OxCVv8h8l8/s1600/FoJ11-60.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625860096704003970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 285px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY5mpneM3f73hw9F4AhYYOUIAYE9_uZ57LAMWHaZ1pZIDkOagCNnmShSi92zaHkVFpYmriAkh28eSACge1yoXtVyBO54G0ZZ_GHNML4jROgbMHzu6P-TGU2S9kFhyWIGJe-OxCVv8h8l8/s400/FoJ11-60.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> This picture shows one of the main reasons I decided to forgo the Mall - you get very few reflections off a mass of sweaty humanity.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQo_A8qN3YRs6-ThTTIjVjlHmkaftMYBLqAQzY5ME-2IZS-htK1sftSgv5RTwAX-r_VzxWv34UdQEHduyxS3FgPh-mEmlgxlC0wnhrGR0uT_CV86UftHrEcGJQuhyZWitg8tcBe1dL1zw/s1600/FoJ11-65.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625860088096087794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 275px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQo_A8qN3YRs6-ThTTIjVjlHmkaftMYBLqAQzY5ME-2IZS-htK1sftSgv5RTwAX-r_VzxWv34UdQEHduyxS3FgPh-mEmlgxlC0wnhrGR0uT_CV86UftHrEcGJQuhyZWitg8tcBe1dL1zw/s400/FoJ11-65.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">I really, really liked these ground-bursting shells. Very cool effect.</span></div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmcFZ0fsJgXr4Eoaz9hjoOmNAkkqd7ys5jnuUTKDC0jrl3plyYyHLAL5M2zXyx5ND5_TpWM_CXy7DbAqQ3a9g9Co2MLEOnme7zsPwHznhUlUcvCPEviQUG3O8fPdJDelv-jDoOcPGy_o/s1600/FoJ11-238.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625860084180321890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 310px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmcFZ0fsJgXr4Eoaz9hjoOmNAkkqd7ys5jnuUTKDC0jrl3plyYyHLAL5M2zXyx5ND5_TpWM_CXy7DbAqQ3a9g9Co2MLEOnme7zsPwHznhUlUcvCPEviQUG3O8fPdJDelv-jDoOcPGy_o/s400/FoJ11-238.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">More ground-bursts.</span></div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Dg4L08rBBFEWaoO-zhnYE6LyFThwGQb5DkLItXJn_QeX4wUj4qhn0ZkTuzi-ZRGGoj3uBQrf3K3-Ycqv6-mYy10iMRxOVhMPzzai9TPh59c8cWYYOpbapsCduWFI0lWeQeYxiZnZkaE/s1600/FoJ11-152.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625860078802322562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 309px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Dg4L08rBBFEWaoO-zhnYE6LyFThwGQb5DkLItXJn_QeX4wUj4qhn0ZkTuzi-ZRGGoj3uBQrf3K3-Ycqv6-mYy10iMRxOVhMPzzai9TPh59c8cWYYOpbapsCduWFI0lWeQeYxiZnZkaE/s400/FoJ11-152.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> And, finally, I got a whole bunch of shots where this guy in the kayak slowly drifted through the frame. I kinda like it.</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">If you want more from the fireworks display, they're posted on my </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/49452679@N07/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Flickr page</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">.<br /></span></div></div></div>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-78534489977275233282011-06-30T09:05:00.007-04:002011-06-30T09:13:37.669-04:00The Mobeus Family Tree<span style="font-family:arial;">I found this poem in a clan newsletter. If I might make a suggestion, it sounds best if you hear it in your head spoken in an Irish accent. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;">.</span><br /><br /><div align="center"><em><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>I am my own grandpa!</strong> </span></em></div><br /><div align="center"><em><span style="color:#ffffff;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">.</span><br /></span></em><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Many, many years ago when I was twenty-three,<br />I got married to a widow who was pretty as could be.<br />This widow had a grown-up daughter who had hair of red.<br />My father fell in love with her, and soon the two were wed.<br />This made my dad my son-in-law and changed my very life.<br />My daughter was my mother, for she was my father's wife.<br />To complicate the matters worse, although it brought me joy,<br />I soon became the father of a bouncing baby boy.<br />My little baby then became a brother-in-law to dad and so became my Uncle,<br />Though it made me very sad.<br />For if he was my uncle, then that also made him brother<br />To the widow's grown-up daughter who, of course, was my step-mother.<br />Father's wife then had a son, who kept them on the run.<br />And he became my grandson, for he was my daughter's son.<br />My wife is now my mother's mother and it makes me blue.<br />Because, although she is my wife, she's my grandmother too.<br />If my wife is my grandmother, then I am her grandchild.<br />And every time I think of it, it simply drives me wild.<br />For now I have become the strangest case you ever saw.<br />As the husband of my grandmother, I am my own grandpa.</em></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">As I'm off tomorrow, stretching a long weekend even longer, I'd like to wish y'all a Happy 235th Birthday. Enjoy the burgers and brats and a Happy Fourth of July to everyone! </span>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-13564189053009564292011-06-24T14:16:00.007-04:002011-06-24T14:46:37.862-04:00Oh, there's just one other thing...<span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Do you hear that, Fezzik? That is the sound of ultimate suffering. My heart made that sound when the six-fingered man killed my father. The Man in Black makes it now.<br /></em>- Inigo Montoya<br /><br />As anyone who’s ever wandered by here knows I’m a total sucker for a good Princess Bride quote or reference. And while I’m not making the sound of ultimate suffering, there’s a bit of … melancholy to this post.<br /><br />Peter Fault, known best as “Grandpa” in the Princess Bride to anyone born after, oh, 1975, and before that as Lt. Columbo, </span><a href="http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43526826/ns/today-entertainment/"><span style="font-family:arial;">died today at age 83</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZu9bDqU14shqm0k_ogHGzpWRa8_IlcMwr6kEAAwZT86uI2LzJV2z26xfErRcPZ9vwleAkdyBiVYn9fa6cukXtOJOrj-iX7cOzmA-2HPN4ulSUeKHpfYQA29uqUUmS8euBuhE2OWVsXQ/s1600/Faulk.JPG"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621858090047521602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZu9bDqU14shqm0k_ogHGzpWRa8_IlcMwr6kEAAwZT86uI2LzJV2z26xfErRcPZ9vwleAkdyBiVYn9fa6cukXtOJOrj-iX7cOzmA-2HPN4ulSUeKHpfYQA29uqUUmS8euBuhE2OWVsXQ/s400/Faulk.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Grandpa in the Princess Bride seemed like the kind of grandfather we all might want. He’d come to visit us when we were sick and bring us presents we didn’t know we want.<br /><br /></span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000625/"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Grandson</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">: <em>A book?</em> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000393/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Grandpa</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">: <em>That's right. When I was your age, television was called books. And this is a special book. It was the book my father used to read to me when I was sick, and I used to read it to your father. And today I'm gonna read it to you.</em> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The Grandson: <em>Has it got any sports in it?</em> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Grandpa: <em>Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...</em> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The Grandson: <em>Doesn't sound too bad. I'll try to stay awake.</em> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Grandpa: <em>Oh, well, thank you very much, very nice of you. Your vote of confidence is overwhelming.</em><br /><br />I think I know what may be on my playlist sometime this weekend…</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The Grandson: <em>Grandpa, maybe you could come over and read it again to me tomorrow.</em> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Grandpa: <em>As you wish.</em> <br /></span>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-89334387724755257242011-06-21T09:21:00.005-04:002011-06-21T09:30:16.437-04:00Things that make you go "Hmmm"<span style="font-family:arial;">I was headed downtown on Saturday evening to enjoy the High Life with some friends at 18th Amendment. Since the city has become somewhat (OK, totally) Draconian in its parking regulations and enforcement duirng the past year, I chose Metro. (Seriously, who enforces parking meters until 10 p.m. on a Saturday? Yeah, D.C., that's who.)</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It seems Metro must have recently gotten some of those new Matter Displacement Trains allowing them to speed up their operations by having two trains on the platform at the same time. I can only assume this because this is what the info board read at Braddock Road...</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdphcDQNH4-SjJl1sfX77tbG_SBCF25ml5YP9FOBdLB_Fee9JzVxsjNspW0YenWFZMjLrFqFWNIXgG7KWt0J7utpdu9OCrNOUi092ozTlAHCR8fNxb-2ZJTESDoD9XzztTmImwDCXnZr4/s1600/Metro+5s.JPG"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620662859636666546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdphcDQNH4-SjJl1sfX77tbG_SBCF25ml5YP9FOBdLB_Fee9JzVxsjNspW0YenWFZMjLrFqFWNIXgG7KWt0J7utpdu9OCrNOUi092ozTlAHCR8fNxb-2ZJTESDoD9XzztTmImwDCXnZr4/s400/Metro+5s.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> As they say on Mythbusters, "Well, there's your problem..."<br /></span><br /><div></div>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971732155966620724.post-62656343677800451092011-06-15T11:05:00.004-04:002011-06-15T11:15:28.478-04:00Lost and found<span style="font-family:arial;">Some good news here. Someone found my lost saddle bag and phone on Sunday and, apparently, I must have lost it a lot earlier in my ride than I thought.<br /><br />You see, I know this because whoever found my phone began trying to find me at 9:38 a.m. when they made their first call. They obviously didn’t find me since a) I didn’t have my phone, b) I was riding until almost noon and c) most important, I actually wasn’t in El Salvador where they were tyring to reach me. I was in Bethesda. An easy mistake, people make it all the time. <br /><br />I understand this confusion. You find something that obviously fell off a bike, c’mon, the spare inner tube, multi-tool and inflator are a dead giveaway, but the phone, the phone could throw anyone for a loop. “One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong.” And in the confusion it’s totally understandable someone could confuse Alexandria and El Salvador - they both have an "L" as the second letter, and "A" near the middle and a "D" near the end. (There was also $30 in emergency Gatorade/Snickers cash in there, but I consider this a finder’s fee for the effort to find me.)<br /><br />And they tried hard to find me for the next five and a half hours until I was rude enough to brick the phone. So, to the person I inadvertently cut off in the middle of your valiant attempt to locate me and get my phone back to me, I apologize.<br /><br />This Good Samaritan’s efforts to find me in El Salvador were revealed to me yesterday when my shiny new iPhone beeped with a text from AT&T telling me, “You have exceeded $200 in voice usage charges. Manage your account @ att.com to find the plan that’s right for you and minimize a costly bill.”<br /><br />Don’t get me wrong, I am deeply grateful for the effort someone went to find me. I don’t know if I’d have spent five and a half hours of my Sunday accidentally calling another country trying to find someone so I could return their 5-year-old Motorola Razr, but it’s the thought that counts. Right?<br /><br />Now here are some words you’ve probably not heard before:<br /><br />I <3 AT&T<br /><br />Yes folks, it’s true. Not only did an actually human (a very nice lady whose name, sadly, I didn’t get) answer my call on the second ring, she spent the next 15 minutes chatting with me as I promised her this was all a misunderstanding and that while I was glad someone was trying to find me, I really wasn’t in El Salvador. She understood completely and within minutes the more than $200 in charges between 9:38 a.m. and 3:16 p.m. were removed from my bill.<br /><br />I’ll say it again – I <3 AT&T! They rock and they’ve earned a customer for a very long time.<br /><br />One final thought. To anyone who says this is a victimless crime, I call bullshit. There was a victim here, multiple victims in fact – AT&T and everyone else who pays higher fees because a corporation writes off these losses. Theft like this is no different than someone trying to steal from Wal-Mart or Target.<br /><br />And it’s only because AT&T was kind and understanding enough to write off more than $200 in charges for services stolen from me, that I’m not digging myself out of a hole.<br /><br />So, to AT&T, thank you very much.<br /><br />And to the douchbag asshole who used my phone to steal from me: Fuck You! </span>FoggyDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07934197854661226301noreply@blogger.com3