The Zombie Walk

We went on a new adventure yesterday. The 2009 Portland Zombie Walk. The basic premise is that Zombies "WERE people too" and "deserve the right to eat whoever they want". Ok, maybe not. In reality, it's a fun event where people gather, "dressed" as zombies and walk around the streets of Portland, culminating in an odd re-enactment of the Micheal Jackson Thriller video. We tagged along as non-zombie participants, taking photos along the route. My favorite shot was one that I titled "Last Call" where someone had put bloody handprints on a phone booth (against coordinators specific directions against putting "blood" on any public or private wall, window, surface, or vehicle). I had a couple of favorite quotes that I overheard. One, a young lady decked out in a tattered white blouse and tan skirt, fake blood dripping everywhere, stated, "Oh NO.. I hope I don't get mud on my mom's good boots!" The other, an over the top young man, "blood" soaked, multi-pierced face, lips, nose, upon seeing a fellow zombie with a bloody bottle protruding out of the top of his head exclaimed, "Dude, THAT is disGUSTing!" I wanted to point him in the direction of the nearest mirror, but I was laughing too hard.

Seasons Come and Seasons Go

Summer is over, and autumn has arrived in it's usual stormy way. Gusty winds blowing leaves all around. Rain beating down in bursts. Washington State isn't known for its overall fall foliage, although there are some really pretty places... or so I have heard. An odd thing that I noticed last weekend was that the capitol campus of "The Evergreen State" has a relatively small amount of Evergreens, dominated rather by maples and other deciduous trees. Near the WaDOT building I found a rhododendron with a single blossom still clinging mightily to its stem. This is odd, since most rhodies are done blooming by...oh... early summer. I love the autumn storms. I drove home through a rare thunder & lightning event the other day. Traffic slowed to 40 or so on the interstate, mostly due to the fact that the visibility had shrunk to about 6 inches. I would have much preferred to be somewhere with my camera set up to catch that once in a lifetime lightning shot. I almost got one once. It was with my previous camera,and just a millisecond too slow. Maybe I'll get another chance this fall.

Mammograms

Really... If you are a gal over 40, get your annual exam. It's a bit uncomfortable, sure. But, what is worse, 15 minutes of discomfort, or the pain and horror of breast cancer treatment?
C'mon… Do it!!!

Sorting

I have begun the monumental task of sorting and archiving the over 10,000 photos that I have taken in the past year. Last week, I purchased a 1TB WD External Storage Drive, and I have been using the book "Digital Asset Management" by Peter Krogh.( ISBN-10: 0-596-10018-3 )

After deciding on a directory structure, the next step is breaking the existing folders into ~4GB "buckets" for easy archiving to DVD-R. By far the worst part is going to be going through each one and deciding "Keep or Toss", and adding tags for ease of location later. Any bets as to exactly how many pictures I have taken of Molly since August of 2008?

In flight thoughts

I discovered a fun way to confuse "Tom", my gps. Turn him on at 34000 feet going 577 mph. Oh yeah. The starboard engine looks loose. Feeling a bit like shatner in that tz episode. I actually had to deal with a little bout of anxiety. My mind suddenly decided that I has been in this can long enough. Now the current order of songs on the iPod: amazing grace followed by Jesus don't want me for a sunbeam… and we are hitting turbulence. We are over Ohio and should be starting our descent as it is 5:55 local and we are scheduled to land at 6:15 or so.

Travel

First off… never take an ambien before an early flight, not even Half of one. I had planned to get up at 2:30 am. My flight was at 7:00 so I figured that would give me lots of time. You know the saying about the best laid plans… I overslept … by two hours. I managed to get out of the house in an amazing 15 minutes. Yes... Dressed and pilled but no coffee or food.
As I said, my flight was at 7:00 with boarding at 6:40. I got on to the courtesy shuttle from parking at 5:54. Smartly I had taken advantage of United's advanced check-in and baggage check, so I dropped my bags with the skycaps and headed for the cattle chute called "security". Made it through with no issues (phew) and to my gate at get this … 6:34! Alas, no time for the restroom or coffee.

We Don't Need Another Hero...

My pampas grass needs a makeover. I'm sitting here looking at the 2 of them and they resemble Tina Turner's hair in Beyond Thunderdome... from the back. Or maybe Bowie in Labarynth. Anyway... they need work. Now, if you have never dealt with pampas grass, just imagine a six foot tall pile of 8' long, thin spring-steel blades sharpened to a razor's edge. Then dip them in some sort of skin irritant... oh yeah, serrate the edges a bit too... just for fun. Ok... NOW turn on one of those special effects wind machines and point it at the pile... and try to load those blades into a wagon... without getting cut to ribbons.

I saw a hint somewhere that I am going to try. Take duct-tape and wrap completely around the middle of the clump. Cut the clump off below the tape... you get a pre-wrapped bundle. We'll see........

Climate Change

It's March... and it's snowing. I think we have had more snow this year than any time in the past 20+ years. I know we have had more snow events. Odd thing about today was that it was snowing 10 hours ago, and now it's all melted... but it's 32º out there, so if it precipitates again... it will probably be snow.

Online reservations

I just made the reservations for our anniversary weekend. This year we are going to try a different place. I would still like to go to Lake Quinault, but maybe for my or dvb's birthday instead. It kinda doesn't make sense to go to a rain forest in the spring if your passion is outdoor photography. The funny thing was, I actually had to call this place on the phone. I always find it amusing when places still don't do online reservations. The place we stayed at for our honeymoon (ironically, it is literally a stone's throw from my back door) took online reservations and that was 13 years ago. Okay, so it's not EXACTLY the same place. That B&B burnt down in a rather spectacular fire several years ago. The owner rebuilt pretty much the same house. The place we are staying this year is actually in the process of setting up an online system, and in fact, I had my confirmation in my email in-box within 30 seconds of hanging up the phone.

Where are we going? Leavenworth Village. Now, I just have to get tire chains and secure a pet sitter.......

Flickr

I love Flickr© It gives me the chance to put my pictures out where people can see them. I entered a photo "contest" once. They told me I was a winner and then told me that for $75 I could get a copy of the book it was published in. I paid the $75 (+s&h). The picture wasn't that great, and the title was worse. But, it was published... and me and the other 2000 suckers made somebody a few bucks. Flickr only costs me a few dollars a year, and probably more people will see the pictures... and maybe get to comment on them. I would be really kind of upset if someone wrote in my $75 coffee table book. Oh, by the way... here is the "winning " picture:
It's called "Say "Cheese!"

Vasaya Warty Pig

So... in October we went to the zoo in Portland. I took a picture of a warty pig. Not a particularly outstanding picture, but still... an interesting animal. It has now become my most viewed picture on my flickr photostream.

Note: at one year... 459 Views... and 1 comment. (and I think I had to pay for it! :) ) The Page.

Phoneblogging

I just found an app that will let me blog from my iPhone. I can't post pictures, but this is better than nothing.

Cold Winter Day

The sun was out yesterday. We took advantage of that fact to go out and take some pictures. We ended up at the park in Longview... kinda the default "take outdoor people picture" location nearby. The lake was really ugly after this winters' heavy rains and flooding. But the birds and people were out in force.

We also found that once again, the coffee stand across the street from a Starbucks had the superior mocha. This time it was Pacific Rim Espresso. If you are interested, it's on Oregon Way just before the L/C bridge into Rainier, Or. (Across the street from the Starbucks).
Howard really needs to look into this. We have generally found that although Starbucks Coffee is kickass, the espresso served at the stores is fairly weak.

Face Book

I took the plunge... created a Face Book account. This is in addition to the Twitter that I already had. Sadly, I have discovered that my dog has more friends than I do. (Current score-Kathy:13, Molly:126 ) I guess I need to get out and sniff some more butts or something, maybe pee on some fire hydrants...

Note: I'm up to 21 now....
2/28/09 WOO HOO... 24!!

Barnegat Lighthouse, LBI, NJ

"Old Barney" was recommissioned on January 1st, 2009.
It was built in 1858 and first lit on January 1, 1859. On that same date in 1944, the light was extinguished.

The day we visited it was about 30º below. OK, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but it was REALLY cold. Note the ice on the rocks and cable. This is in a saltwater bay on the Atlantic coast! The wind was biting. Fingers, nose, and lips were numb. However, it was really awesome. I had never seen up close one of the lighthouses so often features in nautical paintings and postcards.

For more information: Barnegat Lighthouse

I am grateful to Kerry, my husband's oldest friend, for playing tour guide.