The storm continues, but it is supposed to break today and, with my fingers crossed, I am going to make it out on Saturday for the journey back to my beloved California. Meanwhile, I just thought I would share a few pictures for the heart of the storm.
The Ranch In Winter
Showing posts with label Photos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Photos. Show all posts
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
The Watcher - Original Photograph
I thought I would share this picture - this is an Asian Eagle Owl, the largest species of owl. The photograph was taken at the 2012 Highland Games. There are few things in this world that match the pure predatory stare of an owl. You just know that they are looking at you saying "My, aren't you a tasty looking morsel."
It was a full day today. I started with an early work email, then a call with T.R., and then off to run a friend of mine back and forth to the medical clinic for an outpatient service. (Think...roto-rooter.) While I was running that errand I went to a pair of work teleconferences, grabbed a simple breakfast at a diner, then took a walk around a local park. I actually went to a teleconference when I was in the park, which was very nice. I think I should do more teleconferences from the park.
From there, when my friend got out, we grabbed lunch and I headed off to run a pair of personal errands in the late afternoon. By the time I got home I realized the day had flown by and I was simply tired. I took a quick nap, then up for dinner, then logged on for another round of email, then offline and some quality time with T.R. (whose day was as hectic as mine). Then, finally, to this point, here and now. Whew. A Monday.
My plan for the immediate future is to watch "Bones" and then head off to bed and read some more of the novel that I am currently working on, William Gibson's "Zero History". Whoever you are, wherever you are, I hope your day ended well.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
October 1st Photo - Gort in Action
As an exercise I thought I would take and post one photograph of one ordinary thing in my life for each day in October. This is today's photo - Gort in Action. Klaatu Barada Nikto.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Two Very Ordinary Pictures
Two very ordinary pictures. The first is my new lamp (a Possini Euro Lightstack from Lamps Plus) in action and the second was tonight's dinner (chicken, hot links, potato salad, and garlic bread from JC's BBQ on Saratoga Avenue in San Jose, California.
There is an art to celebrating the very ordinary things of life. They hold such beautiful simplicity inside of them. They are what they are, nothing more, nothing less. These two pictures really don't serve any purpose other than to be simply ordinary. That is my plan tonight - to be simply ordinary. And watch Ghost Hunters.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Comic Con 2011 Photo Set
Here's the link to the final photo set from the 2011 Comic Con trip. An outstanding time as usual!
San Diego Comic Con 2011
Have a mentioned that in my heart of hearts - I such a total geek.
San Diego Comic Con 2011
Have a mentioned that in my heart of hearts - I such a total geek.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
A Day in Pictures
The day went well - I've two picture sets for you viewing pleasure.
Official San Diego Comic Con 2011 Publications
These are six pictures of one of the official bags (there are several variations) and the official program and souvenir book. I spent part of the evening browsing through both of them, then had an excellent conversation with T.R., while dining on mushroom soup and hot wings.
Incidental Pictures from Wednesday in San Diego
This second set of pictures includes Janet's Montana Cafe in Alpine, some more pictures of the Town & Country resort, and a pair of pictures from the line to get our badges for the convention. Tony went down to the preview night but I skipped it - I was tuckered from standing in line and wanted to make sure I moved on a smooth pace through the weekend and didn't burn out on the first couple of days.
So, tonight, I am going to get a good night sleep - and tomorrow will be the first official day of San Diego Comic Con 2011 for me.
Official San Diego Comic Con 2011 Publications
These are six pictures of one of the official bags (there are several variations) and the official program and souvenir book. I spent part of the evening browsing through both of them, then had an excellent conversation with T.R., while dining on mushroom soup and hot wings.
Incidental Pictures from Wednesday in San Diego
This second set of pictures includes Janet's Montana Cafe in Alpine, some more pictures of the Town & Country resort, and a pair of pictures from the line to get our badges for the convention. Tony went down to the preview night but I skipped it - I was tuckered from standing in line and wanted to make sure I moved on a smooth pace through the weekend and didn't burn out on the first couple of days.
So, tonight, I am going to get a good night sleep - and tomorrow will be the first official day of San Diego Comic Con 2011 for me.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Semi-Random Thoughts Early on a Tuesday
An early morning here in California. I went to sleep last night about 9:30 or so, after spending some time with T.R. and I fell straight into a deep sleep. I woke up this morning about 4:30 AM with no memories of dreaming, rested and refreshed. I laid there in the darkness for a while, contemplating the nature of the universe, and decided falling back asleep wasn't in the cards today. I got up, had Gort brew me a cup of coffee, made a bowl of cereal, and than settled in to ease my way into the day.
I mentioned in an earlier entry that I had gone up to the Los Altos Art & Wine festival and had a good time. As usual, I carried my camera with me. I posted five new pictures to my Flickr account. As I went through them I was amused that, of my favorite pictures from the day, none of them actually have anything to do with the festival. One of the pictures includes a couple sake bottles, but that was entirely incidental.
Here is the link: Los Altos Art and Wine 2011
I'm in final countdown to vacation of course. I have three days of work left and I am planning on going in a little early today, since I like to leave work as cleanly as possible when I start vacation. I already have one meeting planned while I am on vacation, but it is a pretty straightforward thing in support of a project I am a contributor on. It's a pretty top down driven program, so my contributions are limited. (The project team has been told what their result is going to be, so there really isn't any creativity or imagination there.)
The apartment complex here is going to install new lighting (ceiling lights with fans) in three rooms and new carpet on the 29th. So, on the 28th I've got to get all the stuff in the apartment (fortunately, there isn't a lot of it) moved off the carpet. Supposedly they can do the whole place in a single day, so it will be inconvenient but not to bad. I am looking forward to getting the new carpet. Between here and there, into the first couple of days of my vacation, I am going to do some more purging. I've got approximately six items of furniture and some more small stuff that I need to get rid of as I continue on my journey of minimalism. I parse out things I don't need or use and continually find, layered beneath them, more things that I don't need or use. It's been an interesting journey and I am curious where it is going to end up.
We're entering a period of high change at work, with many teams running in many directions looking at many projects, and changes in the process of how we actually operate as a larger entity. As with all change, the verdict is still out. There are things being done now that I do not like (my objection has primarily been with process, not results), as we seem to be transitioning to a very top down structure. Quite frankly, I am not sure it is going to work, but that may definitely be reflected in my own philosophy that an open and collaborative environment is far more effective and efficient. My boss came around the other day and scheduled a series of meetings for some workload redistribution and then asked us how we were feeling about it and I responded "ask the question again in ninety days". It's going to be a personal challenge for me to try and embrace changes I don't necessarily believe in, that I may in some cases actual think is movement in the wrong direct - but the thing I keep reminding myself is - everything changes.
To keep me focused, I've got one of my favorite little haiku displayed on my computer desktop at work. It is from Eric Lustbader's "The Golden Naginata".
We were dawn's dewdrops
Blasted from existence.
We were never stone.
I think it speaks eloquently to the transitory nature of the world, including the working world. The only constant is change. I think that as long as I keep reminding myself of that, I should be fine. I am currently in a place where I am well equipped to deal with the rising stress that comes with change. I will just approach in a focused and disciplined manner, with my sense of curiosity intact, using the variety of stress management techniques I had refreshed during my time in work stress counseling. Chief among those is this - give an honest days work, do the best you can, and don't become attached to the outcome.
I mentioned in an earlier entry that I had gone up to the Los Altos Art & Wine festival and had a good time. As usual, I carried my camera with me. I posted five new pictures to my Flickr account. As I went through them I was amused that, of my favorite pictures from the day, none of them actually have anything to do with the festival. One of the pictures includes a couple sake bottles, but that was entirely incidental.
Here is the link: Los Altos Art and Wine 2011
I'm in final countdown to vacation of course. I have three days of work left and I am planning on going in a little early today, since I like to leave work as cleanly as possible when I start vacation. I already have one meeting planned while I am on vacation, but it is a pretty straightforward thing in support of a project I am a contributor on. It's a pretty top down driven program, so my contributions are limited. (The project team has been told what their result is going to be, so there really isn't any creativity or imagination there.)
The apartment complex here is going to install new lighting (ceiling lights with fans) in three rooms and new carpet on the 29th. So, on the 28th I've got to get all the stuff in the apartment (fortunately, there isn't a lot of it) moved off the carpet. Supposedly they can do the whole place in a single day, so it will be inconvenient but not to bad. I am looking forward to getting the new carpet. Between here and there, into the first couple of days of my vacation, I am going to do some more purging. I've got approximately six items of furniture and some more small stuff that I need to get rid of as I continue on my journey of minimalism. I parse out things I don't need or use and continually find, layered beneath them, more things that I don't need or use. It's been an interesting journey and I am curious where it is going to end up.
We're entering a period of high change at work, with many teams running in many directions looking at many projects, and changes in the process of how we actually operate as a larger entity. As with all change, the verdict is still out. There are things being done now that I do not like (my objection has primarily been with process, not results), as we seem to be transitioning to a very top down structure. Quite frankly, I am not sure it is going to work, but that may definitely be reflected in my own philosophy that an open and collaborative environment is far more effective and efficient. My boss came around the other day and scheduled a series of meetings for some workload redistribution and then asked us how we were feeling about it and I responded "ask the question again in ninety days". It's going to be a personal challenge for me to try and embrace changes I don't necessarily believe in, that I may in some cases actual think is movement in the wrong direct - but the thing I keep reminding myself is - everything changes.
To keep me focused, I've got one of my favorite little haiku displayed on my computer desktop at work. It is from Eric Lustbader's "The Golden Naginata".
We were dawn's dewdrops
Blasted from existence.
We were never stone.
I think it speaks eloquently to the transitory nature of the world, including the working world. The only constant is change. I think that as long as I keep reminding myself of that, I should be fine. I am currently in a place where I am well equipped to deal with the rising stress that comes with change. I will just approach in a focused and disciplined manner, with my sense of curiosity intact, using the variety of stress management techniques I had refreshed during my time in work stress counseling. Chief among those is this - give an honest days work, do the best you can, and don't become attached to the outcome.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
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