Posts from the ‘old blog’ Category
SUV vs. Electric car
Did you know that over 100 years ago there were more electric cars on the road than gas? Me either. However, it’s true. The first gas/electric hybrid was built with power steering…in 1903.
What am I getting at? Where is the story? The Smithsonian decides to take out and store a GM EV1 -the only one that is still intact. What’s that? The GM EV1 is the only mass-produced electric car that was EVER made (currently electric cars are not mass-produced).
It must be stored to be replaced with something more important, like a Ford Model-T or something…right? Wrong. A Robotic VW Touareg will take it’s place. Well that’s kinda interesting considering the opening of the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” shows GM in a negative view and GM is one of the museum’s largest financial supporters. I mean, why else would a environment unfriendly SUV trump the last existing environment friendly “vehicle of the future”?
Politics. You love it.
You’re fired
A friend of a friend made the news in a typical “grey area” situation the news likes to jump all over. If you have not yet heard an art teacher has been suspended and may lose her job for topless photos of her that appear online.
The photos were taken by a photographer whose pages I visit often (no…not for the nude content) and whose work I admire. A highly professional artistic photographer takes photos of an artistic person, who happens to be an art teacher. The school finds out and all hell breaks loose.
I know where my opinion stands, but alas, my views are never in the popularity when it comes to expression.
I get sidetracked
As I said recently, I can get distracted. Before I went on lunch today I looked up some information on Moleskine journals, because I find inspiration in odd things (recall: Confession Wednesday #5). Naturally I needed to do research before purchasing a $10 (hardcover) or $3 (softcover) item. Everyone does hours of research on their daily commodities right? Right.
So after a year –yes a year– of day dreaming about what Moleskine to get I settle on one. Well two actually. I realized that a nice small hard cover notebook would be perfect for me while shooting shows and taking notes of tracks, performers, etc -so I got a small reporter type version for my camera bag…but that’s not the point of this story. Not long ago Moleskine came out with a new notebook that is just what I want for my classroom notes, but I could not find the size and style I wanted in stores. I wanted to see it in person before ordering online -because I can’t stand wasting graph paper (mmmmm graph paper!!).
So today I embarked on my adventure…to get my first Moleskine; the legendary notebook of Hemingway, Picasso, Chatwin and others. See, I’m not the only one that finds solstice in office supplies!
A store that sells the ones I am looking for is two mini-complexes over from my office. I drove out and went right past it as I was day dreaming. Big surprise there. Once I realized it I figured I would just go to Borders, because they are supposed to sell them at some stores. I get to Borders and see the 3 for 2 new paperback table. I pick up one book…than another, then I find a third (to get the deal right?). Then I wonder the store looking for the notebooks and they don’t have the ones I am looking for. So I go over to the magazines, because I need to get a few updates before the June issues are gone and the July ones come out. The ones I have been researching before getting a subscription (for photo/book stuff) are about $15/ea. I walk up to the counter and spend $111. No Moleskine.
I drive back to the office, loop around and go to the store I wanted to go to. Find the exact ones I was looking for, buy an extra pack of one style -because I know when I want one for Fall semester I will be out of luck. Than I grab another I can’t resist not to have, because it’s one that I started drooling over when I first was looking. $66 later I am out the door.
Now I am wondering why I spent $180 (plus lunch and gas) in one hour to do something I could have walked to and spent about $40. Not to mention one of my friends made me a personalized notebook, complete with quotes and graph paper for my birthday 2 years ago that I have yet to touch.
I’m a graph paper junkie.
I wait until the last minute
Procrastinators Unite. Yes I know it’s Monday. Get over it…either I’m late from last week or early. Either way you get to read something. Okay okay I’m getting distracted (and that’s my segue).
You see sometimes I get distracted. I know it’s hard to see that happening when I only do one thing daily -well maybe more than one thing. I have this big project at work that I am running close to deadline on, yet I was thinking about 400 other things totally unrelated to work today…while getting a glass of water and thinking about how this would make a good blog.
Last week I had a long formal proposal due on Thursday night for my business writing class…that I knew about since the first day of the semester 3 months ago (short semester). I had yet to find a good topic as of Tuesday. After skipping a concert on Wednesday night I got a topic and some initial research laid out. I took a 1/2 day at the office on Thursday and worked on the paper for 9 hours straight. I had to turn it in by 9:50pm…so naturally I walked in the door at 9:20 after running out of the parking lot and into the building -just in case he wanted to leave early.
On the positive side, I think I work bet under pressure and I usually get A’s on the papers i write at the last minute. No word yet from the professor, but I’m expecting something back from him next week.
Ah, good times. Now what else can I work on besides my project for work…
“I dream of wayward gulls and all landless lovers, rare moments of winter sun, peace, privacy, for everyone.”
– William F Claire
[anonymous lovers]
June 2006: Seattle
5 Days in Seattle. What did I see? West side, Pike Street, the Financial District, U District, dog parks, sushi on conveyor belts, Arboretum & Japanese garden and the rarest thing of all: the sun. With a constant forecast up to the moment I got on the plane of 3 rain filled days, I was in for a treat. Almost no rain (just a sprinkle or two) and sunny for all 5 days.
Pike Street Market is tge place many have seen on TV, where fish get tossed like sandbags while seafood stands are yelling out they have the “freshest fish”, “we fillet free!” and “buy today and eat for breakfast tomorrow!”. The veggies are always fresh and displayed in a rainbow of brilliant color as they are misted by hand every few minutes to give an even fresher look -as if their aroma wasn’t enough. What else? Every corner has a musician, so you know what I took photos of. The Arboretum surprise, Seattle’s Japanese garden was lacking color with very little in bloom so I focused on the snowflake-unique stone lanterns they had throughout the park. I was left with a nice collection of shots that I can’t wait to print.
Outside of my mission to get a ton of fire hydrant photos I did get to see the skyline -a few times.
For the rest of the photos of the trip and some nice shots of the Japanese garden, check out the Washington set @ Flickr.
.: the babbling dweeb :. 