August 2007 Archives

I can think of few things more annoying. If I could wave my magic wand, all cell phone ringing would cease immediately. Cell phones would only vibrate. If we missed a call, oh well!

But for those who just really want to annoy me, go ahead, buy it.

Politicians using fear to mangle power and wealth from the average American? The article is interesting reading.

HOW POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY EXPLAINS BUSH'S GHASTLY SUCCESS.
Death Grip
by John B. Judis
Post date 08.17.07 | Issue date 08.27.07

In June, 2004, I went door to door in a white, working- class neighborhood of Martinsburg, West Virginia, a small blue-collar town in decline. There, I found voters disillusioned with both the Iraq war and the flagging economy. But, when I returned five months later-- the Sunday before the election--I had difficulty digging up anyone who didn't plan to vote for George W. Bush. As far as I could tell, Martinsburg voters were backing him for two reasons: first, because he opposed gay marriage and abortion ("There are two gays around the corner who are voting for Kerry," one fellow, with a Bush sign in his yard, advised me scornfully from his stoop); and, second, because he was leading the war on terrorism ("I feel more safe with Bush in there," an elderly disabled man explained). There was still grumbling over the war, the economy, and other topics--the same elderly man who praised Bush for making him feel safe also bemoaned America's lack of universal health insurance--but these issues were eclipsed by the threat of gay weddings and terrorist attacks. ...

Source: The New Republic: How Political Psychology Explains Bush's Ghastly Success

This was an interesting post in which photos of two different faces were merged together to create a new face--the face of terror! Click the photos to increase the fear factor.

Source: Freaking News

Apple's notebook market share climbs to 17.6 percent
By Jim Dalrymple

While Apple may be focusing a lot of its attention on the iPhone lately, consumers are clearly still interested in the company’s computer offerings. Data from one market research firm shows Apple’s notebook business broke 17 percent while another research firm said Apple has moved into third place among computer makers.

According to NPD, Apple’s U.S. retail notebook market share for June 2007 was 17.6 percent, an increase of 2.2 percentage points over the same period last year when Apple posted a 15.4 percent market share.

As well as the notebooks are doing, Apple’s overall standing among computer makers is up too.

According to data from research firm IDC, Apple’s continued rise in computer sales puts it in third place overall among all computer makers in the U.S. This is the first time since 1996 that Apple finds itself this high on the list of top selling manufacturers. ...

Source: Macworld: News: Apple's notebook market share climbs to 17.6 percent

On August 19th, I took a walk in Kincaid Park, a wonderful, enormous park filled with miles of walking trails and lighted ski trails provided by the Anchorage Parks and Recreation service. The park is bordered by a large expanse of water, the Turnagain Arm, that appears to be a bay. At least one of the trails, the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, goes all the way into downtown Anchorage, some 12 miles away.

In fact, on this very morning, runners from around the country ran the Humpys Marathon along this trail. Many encountered moose. The marathon begins and ends in downtown Anchorage in front of a local bar called Humpy's Great Alaskan Alehouse, pictured below. The name comes from the Humpy Salmon.

But, I digress.

I began walking a trail in Kincaid Park that frequently overlooked the Turnagain Arm just beyond the bluffs dropping off to the water's edge. I took the picture on the left (above) at 6:35PM. I took the picture on the right (above), which, while not of the exact location as the first, is very close, at 7:39PM. I then walked down the bluff (a bit of a horror in itself) and shot the pictures below, which were taken at 8:12PM (left), 8:23PM (right), and 8:32PM (bottom). The shiny reflections are not water but wet mud--the bay floor now exposed. The entire bay had drained at low tide to become a mudflat. I had never seen such a thing before! I really think that, if you wouldn't sink in the mud, you could actually walk to the other side of the bay.

Thinking this to be among the really cool things in life, I wanted to shoot a pano. But most of the pano equipment was back at the hotel, and the car was at least an hour's walk. I could never have made the trip and still caught this moment. So, I did the next best thing. Using the wide angle lens I had with me, I tried to shoot along the distant horizon across the Turnagain Arm. I then used Photoshop to crudely "stitch" the 4 pictures of the 180º shoot together to create this pano. It's anything but perfect, but it gives a wonderful sense of the intense experience. Click on the pano picture below to see the full screen rotating pano. Remember, it only goes 180º and then stops. However, you can pan the picture back and forth if you like.

Click above to view the panorama.

Moose Creek rushed noisily through the wilderness right next to my cabin at Denali Backcountry Lodge. In the areas pictured below it ranged between a couple of inches in depth to perhaps as much as 3 feet.

After dinner on August 22, at 7:11PM, I recorded this walk around the gazebo (1), across the first bridge (2), along the small island (3) to the second far more primitive bridge (4), along the second island to a third bank of the creek (5), and back again. At times in this podcast you can hear my footsteps. You can hear the rapidly rushing creek. My guess: if you stepped into these frigid, fast-moving waters, you would be immediately swept off of your feet and pulled down stream.

(1) (2)
(3) (4)
(5)

The air was cool--in the 40's. The smells were those of fresh forest. The sharp angle of the Alaskan sun was mitigated by the mountains. The sounds were of peace.

Click the icon below to listen to this podcast. Breathe. Enjoy. Relax.

Here is just a glimpse of the Alaska photo album that is to come in the next few weeks. When you take almost 2,500 pictures, some of them have to be good!

Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, likes me!

The lakes were often reflective and clear.

Perspective is everything. Don't miss the ship in the bottom right.

Perhaps the long summer days cause the flowers to grow out of control!

When the tide goes out, the bay empties into mud flats.

No, that's not a smily face I drew in the sand!

I've never had a caribou stick out its tongue at me before!

The mosquitos were worse than I was told! (Actually it was too cold for them!)

I saw this bumper sticker on a pickup truck with oversized wheels in Anchorage, Alaska, yesterday. It made me laugh. The vehicle seemed to be associated with a bail bonds business.

My child was Inmate of the Month
At County Jail

I've been silent but very busy. This past Monday I drove out to the Alaskan wilderness, deep inside the back country of Denali, a 6 million acre national forest. I've only ventured in to the first 2 million acres, seeing only what is visible from the road, which at times clings to the very edge of the mountains. I'm literally "at the end of the road"--92 miles from the main road where the only road into Denali ends, about 32 miles from the foot of Mount McKenzie, which locals prefer to call Denali to avoid politicizing this extraordinarily beautiful place. There are no roads from this place to the western coast of Alaska, 400 miles of wilderness ending at the Berring Sea. There are no roads to the north, 600 miles of wilderness ending at the Arctic Ocean.

I've been living in a little cabin right next to the rushing, freezing Moose Creek and have seen a tremendous amount of wildlife: grizzly, fox, moose, caribou, squirrel, rabbit, mountain goats, and beaver--all just doing their thing out in the wild. I've taken many pictures, over 2,000. Though, unfortunately, Danali has been hidden from view behind thick clouds. However, this picture is just a taste of things to come when I return to reliable electricity and internet.

Yesterday I was struck with several things about Alaska that shocked me, being from one of the lower 48 states. Alaska has no sales tax on anything! No, this isn't just a tax-free weekend, it's a tax-free way of life! When you go to the store to purchase something that sells for $1.75 (my Starbucks tea), you pay them $1.75. The receipt doesn't have a subtotal, plus tax, total--just the itemized list of purchased items and the total cost of the items you purchased.

Additionally, the state has no income tax at all. And, amazingly, the state has a surplus of $50 billion in the bank. Well, I take that back. The local news is full of stories about the missing $2 billion.

The sistoid unit was very upset that I forgot her birthday last year. Well, even though I didn't forget it, she didn't get the emailed birthday card. So here is a whole post dedicated to saying,

"Happy Birthday!"

The font, color, and size may not show up in most browsers. Let it be recorded that this post is the first and only use of any other font and color in a post on timtyson.us!

Arrived in Anchorage in the early morning hours (1:00AM my time). The sun doesn't go down until after midnight and was up around 5:00AM. I'm off to the peninsula today, via Homer. Pictures to come. Verizon wireless access card seems to crawl up here!

The flight in had dramatic views from the plane. Here are some shots from my iPhone.

So tomorrow I'm off to Alaska. I couldn't be happier to leave this unmerciful heat. Today's high according to the thermostat in the car was 102º. The high in Anchorage today was 66º. I hope to take some wonderful pictures--of the rain it seems. But it will indeed be cool rain!

It has been over 100º here in Atlanta since I returned from Florida, where it too was over 100º. I'm over it!!

My office is on the 4th floor of the condo which has two air conditioning units. The thermostat is set for 70º. The temperature on this floor has reached at least 80º for the last 3 days. The air conditioner just can't keep up. Even with a fan blowing on me, I can't work any longer. It's just too hot.

I'm outta here!

I just spent a few days in Pensacola visiting mother and the sistoid unit. I hadn't been for at least two years. Time flies by quickly.

We went down to the beach. I was very surprised about several things:

• The road along the beach on the island itself is still closed on the way to Navarre--some 3 years after all of the hurricanes. I suspect it was closed at the point where the National Seashore started, part of the National Parks Service.
• At the other end of the island, when we got to the Fort Pickens gate entrance, it too is closed. Yes, another National Seashore Park. Has the federal government chosen to just completely abandon our national responsibility to the Parks' budget? Naturally, since the parks are not a profit center, this is not one of "W's" priorities. Perhaps if Halliburton could get a no-bid contract to restore these parks...
• Shockingly, even with a heat index of 110º, the beach was basically dead. Perhaps because the kids were back in school?
• The major restaurants on the island are no longer open for lunch. They all open at 4:00pm. What is this all about? This is a major vacation destination. Has the vacation industry suffered so badly from the storms?
• The work on I-10 looks no further along than when I was last in the city some 2 years ago. In fact, I must confess it actually looks like it's regressing.
• The images on Google Earth of Pensacola were obviously shot shortly after the hurricanes as you can see hundreds and hundreds of blue tarps atop the houses with roof damage caused by the storms.

Maybe it was just because of the infernal heat, but the whole town seemed sleepy and sluggish. Several areas of the city seemed to be experiencing major economic hardship. On a positive note, I had forgotten how delightful rush hour is in my hometown! And, of course, visiting the family is always good.

Some of the pictures included here: the foundation footers for a house is being dug in the historic section of old Pensacola. Third picture down: Here you see "archeologists" at work sifting through the dirt to make sure no artifacts of any historical significance are lost. Fourth picture down: Interesting flower in the front yard of a home on Historic Seville Square. Fifth picture down: The lobby of the historic Pensacola Train Station turned Crown Plaza Hotel. Sixth picture down: A rose in my mother's front flower bed. Bottom screen shot: Google Earth of downtown Pensacola.

I'll post more pictures from the trip in my photos section when I have more time.

I really can't complain about the summer season this year. Much of July was unseasonably cool–delightfully so in fact. But for the last couple of weeks, the Atlanta summer in July and August has been everything one would expect: mercilessly hot and humid.

Naturally then, it was time to do the Fall dance, to encourage the advent of cooler seasons. So, pictured here are the Fall colored towels and rugs in the bathroom.

The old rugs in the bathroom developed an "issue." They were dark brown. Well, they were dark brown before mildew cleaner was sprayed in the walk-in shower and then tracked out on the rugs. They then developed pink tennis shoe tracks--like footprints. I like the new rugs because they remind me of the 70s.

It was time for the old towels to go as well. They had faded significantly and became more like sandpaper. And while the new towels are delightfully soft, they don't seem to absorb water as easily.

Another good bumper sticked will be cited as it was sighted:

Yes, it's my truck.
No, I won't help you move.

Apparently the Helvetica font, which I love, will celebrate its 50th birthday this year. It was developed by Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann in 1957 for the Haas Type Foundry in Münchenstein, Switzerland. Perhaps I love it because we were born in the same year. Perhaps I love it because it is clean and less visible to the message being communicated. I find it easier to read a sans serif font anyway. Glifs slow down my reading. I notice them. They bother me. They intrude into the reading of the message.

I also find myself torn between the Trebuchet font and the Verdana font. Notice their similarity to the Helvetica font. Smooth, unobtrusive, with some style but clean and flowing. Sometimes I'm more in a Verdana mood with its round dots. Sometimes I'm more in a Trebuchet mood with its straight "y" but more rounded "t".

Helvetica, the movie, has been produced in HD. I'm actually eager to see it, but then I'm odd that way. A movie about a typeface? A movie about style? A movie about modernism or a graphic culture? What typeface are you?

Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.

Source: Helveticafilm