Obviously I still have to work on my night photography skills, not to mention I was being assaulted by a trillion skeeters as I took these, but still you gotta like fireworks over the water.
Happy 4th of July to all!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
July 4th
Obviously I still have to work on my night photography skills, not to mention I was being assaulted by a trillion skeeters as I took these, but still you gotta like fireworks over the water.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
YUM!
Next Friday we're going to Braza Lena for dinner and I can't wait! Thank goodness our boss is picking up the tab because it is VERY expen$ive, but I plan to eat every dollar's worth - this picture shows just a portion of what my stomach is gonna contain. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
Muzak
On the right side of this page is a box/playlist titled 'Songs to Learn and Sing', a list of some of my favorite tunes past and present (from Project Playlist's available archives). Due to the formatting of this template it doesn't fit correctly, and I'm too lazy/ignorant to make it conform, so if you'd like to browse the list just click on the "Pop out" button (or here) and turn up the volume. Or just listen to your same old bleh music - it's your 6 hours to kill...
Sunday, May 3, 2009
River of grass
Where do you go for a vacation when you live in Key West? The mainland! I took the canoe and headed to the Everglades for a week of chasing gators and reds and snook, but thanks to some heavy winds I only managed to get in a couple of days of paddling. I still got in some fishing every day, whether from the canoe or the beach or the banks.
I love fishing on the surface. It increases the fun because you get to see the fish hit, and because the surface plug targets more aggressive fish you can count on some exciting (and very violent) strikes. It turns out that gators are also very interested in the wounded fish that the surface lure represents. This is not news to me, in fact I once cast a lure that a gator jumped and ate before the lure even hit the water. At the other end of that extreme is this guy - I cast to him expecting that same type of result, but instead the lure just landed right on his nose. And sat there. It was like a milk bone on a dog's nose.
After taking the photos, I kept twitching it until the gator had finally had enough and snapped his jaws shut on the lure. As bored as he initially was with this battle, he was now on a mission to pull me into the water. He won - no he didn't pull me in, but he snapped my rod in two. You'd think that $100 lesson would deter me, but rest assured that's not the last gator I'll do battle with. Fun is fun.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Obama inauguration gigapan
The photo below is just a still image - for a version that allows you to zoom in on every individual face, click here and enjoy an interactive gigapan from inauguration day.
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Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Fog / Bahia Honda
Friday the 13th. We come out after seeing the new Jason movie, and find that a thick fog has dropped down onto the Lower Keys. Perfect timing! I went back to the CG base and took several pix, most of which were bleh but a few seemed to capture the mood. The water was calm, there was barely a breeze - all you could hear was the gentle splashing sound of tarpon rolling just off the pier, using the CG's spotlights to find their dinner. I traded my camera for my fishing pole, but of course the tarpon ignored my efforts.
Perhaps it was because I was distracted by everything going on, and constantly looking over my shoulder for Jason.
The next morning I grabbed my canoe and headed for Bahia Honda. If you click on the pic of the beach, at first it looks normal; if you zoom/look closer, as you follow the beach you'll see the fog becoming thicker over the island. Oh and you'll also notice people swimming. Gotta like February in the Keys!
The old bridge never looked so ghostly.
Funny Analogies
Every year, English teachers from across the USA can submit
their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found
in high school essays in order to have them published and
sent out for the amusement of other teachers across the
country. Recent winners:
1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its
two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.
2. His thoughts tumbled around inside his head, making and
breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling
Free.
3. He spoke with the kind of wisdom that can only come from
experience, like a guy who goes blind because he looked at
a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in
it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools
about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one
of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he
was room-temperature Canadian beef.
5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like the sound a
dog makes just before it throws up.
6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.
8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disin-
tegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude
shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM
machine.
9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly
the way a bowling ball wouldn't.
10. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene
had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation
in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead
of 7:30.
11. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after
a sneeze.
12. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers
raced across the grassy field toward each other like two
freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m.
traveling west at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19
p.m. traveling east at a speed of 35 mph.
13. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with
picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.
14. John and Mary had never met. They were like two humming-
birds who had also never met.
15. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and
she was the East River.
16. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel
trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted
shut.
17. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But
unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
18. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get
from not eating for a while.
19. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck,
either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from
stepping on a land mine or something.
20. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he
heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.
their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found
in high school essays in order to have them published and
sent out for the amusement of other teachers across the
country. Recent winners:
1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its
two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.
2. His thoughts tumbled around inside his head, making and
breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling
Free.
3. He spoke with the kind of wisdom that can only come from
experience, like a guy who goes blind because he looked at
a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in
it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools
about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one
of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he
was room-temperature Canadian beef.
5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like the sound a
dog makes just before it throws up.
6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.
8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disin-
tegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude
shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM
machine.
9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly
the way a bowling ball wouldn't.
10. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene
had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation
in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead
of 7:30.
11. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after
a sneeze.
12. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers
raced across the grassy field toward each other like two
freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m.
traveling west at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19
p.m. traveling east at a speed of 35 mph.
13. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with
picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.
14. John and Mary had never met. They were like two humming-
birds who had also never met.
15. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and
she was the East River.
16. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel
trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted
shut.
17. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But
unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
18. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get
from not eating for a while.
19. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck,
either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from
stepping on a land mine or something.
20. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he
heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
New Years Eve 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
Knowledge is...
Dangerous? Oh yeah, in the wrong hands (Cliff Claven?) knowledge is a disaster waiting to happen. Power? Absolutely. Useless? That depends - knowledge is useless only when you don't benefit from it. So get out there and start benefitting from some of these random nuggets:
Alaska
More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska.
Amazon
The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% of the world's oxygen supply. The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river, one can dip fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon River is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States.
Antarctica
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country. Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica. This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.
Brazil
Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.
Canada
Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined.
Chicago
Next to Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.
Detroit
Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, carries the designation M-1, so named because it was the first paved road anywhere.
Damascus, Syria
Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.
Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.
Los Angeles
L.A.'s full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula.
New York City
The term "The Big Apple" was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930's who used the slang expression "apple" for any town or city. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple. There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin, Ireland; more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy; and more Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Ohio
There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio, every one is man made.
Rome
The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome, Italy in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent.
Sahara Desert
In the Sahara Desert, there is a town named Tidikelt, which did not receive a drop of rain for ten years. Technically though, the driest place on Earth is in the valleys of the Antarctic near Ross Island. There has been no rainfall there for two million years.
Siberia
Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.
S.M.O.M.
The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M.). It is located in the city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001 has a population of 80, 20 less people than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under international law, just as the Vatican is.
Spain
Spain literally means 'the land of rabbits.'
St. Paul, Minnesota
St. Paul, Minnesota, was originally called Pig's Eye after a man named Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant who set up the first business there.
Roads
Chances that a road is unpaved in the U.S.A.: 1%, in Canada: 75%
Texas
The deepest hole ever made in the world is in Texas. It is as deep as 20 empire state buildings but only 3 inches wide.
United States
The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one-mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.
Waterfalls
The water of Angel Falls (the World's highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet (979 meters). They are 15 times higher than Niagara Falls.
Alaska
More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska.
Amazon
The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% of the world's oxygen supply. The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river, one can dip fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon River is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States.
Antarctica
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country. Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica. This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.
Brazil
Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.
Canada
Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined.
Chicago
Next to Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.
Detroit
Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, carries the designation M-1, so named because it was the first paved road anywhere.
Damascus, Syria
Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.
Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.
Los Angeles
L.A.'s full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula.
New York City
The term "The Big Apple" was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930's who used the slang expression "apple" for any town or city. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple. There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin, Ireland; more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy; and more Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Ohio
There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio, every one is man made.
Rome
The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome, Italy in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent.
Sahara Desert
In the Sahara Desert, there is a town named Tidikelt, which did not receive a drop of rain for ten years. Technically though, the driest place on Earth is in the valleys of the Antarctic near Ross Island. There has been no rainfall there for two million years.
Siberia
Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.
S.M.O.M.
The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M.). It is located in the city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001 has a population of 80, 20 less people than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under international law, just as the Vatican is.
Spain
Spain literally means 'the land of rabbits.'
St. Paul, Minnesota
St. Paul, Minnesota, was originally called Pig's Eye after a man named Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant who set up the first business there.
Roads
Chances that a road is unpaved in the U.S.A.: 1%, in Canada: 75%
Texas
The deepest hole ever made in the world is in Texas. It is as deep as 20 empire state buildings but only 3 inches wide.
United States
The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one-mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.
Waterfalls
The water of Angel Falls (the World's highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet (979 meters). They are 15 times higher than Niagara Falls.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Pass or fail?
From a great blog that finds failure all around us...
Brutal honesty:
Obscene ham:
A failure, corrected:
One way to move a refrigerator:
Brutal honesty:
Obscene ham:
A failure, corrected:
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Up in the sky...
The Moon and Venus and Jupiter are all out together these days. I tried to take some pix but I couldn't get any that weren't blurry, so I decided to experiment with movement and light.
The smaller patterns were made by the planets, the bigger/brighter ones were made by the moon. Yep, that's the moon.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Perfect game
Last night the Phillies won the World Series. It was a perfect game. Not because there were no baserunners, but because it was only 4 innings. Every pitch mattered, every out was that much more impoprtant. For once you could watch a game without falling asleep, and not have to wait until well past midnight to see the finish.
Perfect.
Better luck next year, Rays. You were the better team but the Phils had the better stars, and they showed up. Next season you won't sneak up on anyone, but you can take comfort in knowing that the Yankees are a permanent fixture in your rear view mirror. I know that makes me happy. Looking forward to another battle in 2009.
Sincerely,
Red Sox Nation
Perfect.
Better luck next year, Rays. You were the better team but the Phils had the better stars, and they showed up. Next season you won't sneak up on anyone, but you can take comfort in knowing that the Yankees are a permanent fixture in your rear view mirror. I know that makes me happy. Looking forward to another battle in 2009.
Sincerely,
Red Sox Nation
Friday, October 24, 2008
Red and wet
It's that time of year again. FantasyFest week is here, and that apparently means two things: Duval Street will be full of crazy drunken revelers in all forms of dress (and undress), and that the skies will dump oceans of rain on the party. So far this year's party is right on schedule.Last year I was a judge at the homemade bikini contest at Hog's Breath. It's a very popular event of the week, even better when you get to sit right at the stage while the contestants try their best to influence you for your vote. The contest (including the pre- and post-contest VIP parties) took about 5 hours, and when I walked out onto Duval street afterwards the street was flooded with nearly a foot of water. Apparently it had been raining the entire time.
This past Wednesday night, exactly one year to the day, we went out to enjoy the festivities. I didn't manage to get a seat at the judge's table this time, so we decided to pass on that event.
Instead, a group of us went to the 'Red' party at Fogarty's, another signature event of the week. It's exactly what it sounds like - everyone wears red, whether the color is in the form of clothing or body paint. Making things interesting was the rain. It poured, setting a record for the date (7 inches!) and was the 11th rainiest day in Key West history. Considering that we live in the tropics and battle hurricanes every year, that's saying something.
There are several wet t-shirt contests and body paint contests and naughty costume contests etc, but the rain did a fine job of making sure that everyone was wearing wet clothes so no need to pay that cover charge and crowd into a bar for any contests - just look around you!
Sorry to disappoint but I have no pictures to post. I left my camera at home, knowing we'd be walking in the rain for a good portion of the evening. Click here for some random pics (not mine) from last year's party.
Monday, October 20, 2008
World Seriezzzzzzzz
As a Red Sox fan I have to admit that I was expecting the BoSox to breeze to victory once they'd managed to force a Game 7 - Game 5 was another classic Sox comeback, and their Game 6 win seemed like a prelude to another series victory. Then something happened in Game 7: The Rays showed up, and against the best pitcher the Sox had to offer. They finished off Jon Lester, and then used a 23 year old rookie pitcher to get the last 4 outs, getting the first save of his career in the process.
The result is a snoozer of a series with the Rays against the Phillies. Outside of Tampa/St Pete and Philadelphia, who cares?? Yeah I'm bitter that it's not the Sox, but prove me wrong. Show me TV ratings that prove people care. Ain't gonna happen.
At least I can get some sleep now. Good luck Rays.
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