November 2009 Archives

Dublin is a very busy city. As I was out and about last night, I noticed how very young everyone was. But, I just thought that I was in the city centre area near Trinity College. I was just in college town. However, I've been told that, astoundingly, over 50% of the population of Dublin is under the age of 25!!

The catholic influence against no family planning combined with the booming economy before the economic crash (so the children stayed in Ireland) is credited with this astounding fact. However, the catholic church is losing its influence here. Businesses are open on Sunday. Abortions are performed. And a highly anticipated, national, reputable report (The Murphy Report) was just released stating that the leaders of the catholic church and the police were both in collusion to keep an enormous pedophilia scandal all quiet for decades resulting in its continuing unchecked. Heads are, as they should be, beginning to roll in Ireland.

The number of homeless people begging for money on the streets here in Dublin is concerning. Organizations such as the YMCA are on the streets asking for donations to address the homeless crisis in Dublin. But what I found very disturbing is the significant percentage of the homeless that are teenagers and young people in their twenties.

Capitalism in its present form does not work for too many people. Something must change! The divide between those who have more than they could ever need or want and those who lack basic needs is staggering and immoral.

The cold here in Dublin has been biting, bone cold! The pedestrian street traffic has been incredibly intense. The Irish don't seem to mind the cold so much, some even wearing short sleeves!

Rain was, yet again, in the forecast. But, astoundingly, it didn't rain today!! [Follow up correction:  It rained later that night; so, it rained every day I was in Ireland.] However, it was really foggy. Here are some pictures from the day in Dublin.

I've never spent the night in a castle before this trip to Ireland. In fact, I've never even seen a real castle before this trip. The experience was most interesting.

The castle grounds are spectacular. The heavily wooded spaces (virtual forests), and the green grass (most typically golf courses) were expansive beyond belief. Driving beyond the massive stone and gated entrances for some time before seeing the enormous castles in the far distance, surrounded by water, was truly impressive. The grounds are indeed something to behold. Hidden deep in the woods, one finds a variety of gardens: sunken, formal, trellis, and carpet.

The buildings themselves were also just massive--not only in physical size, but the materials used for construction. Even though the river was literally lapping up against one of the walls at Ashford Castle, I had some sense that the water would never make in inside because of the permanence of the thick stone construction.

The interiors were very different. Dromoland Castle was more divided up, probably as a result of the modernization of the interior. Ashford Castle was more open and expansive inside [See above photo.].

I knew castles used heavy curtains to keep the cold outside during the winter. I didn't realize just how heavy and thick these curtains would be. The numerous, enormous fireplaces burning wood and serving a significant function for heating as well as display were also lovely. The extensive use of wood paneling, especially in Ashford Castle, pictured above, was warm, ornate, and gorgeous. The molding (balustrades) at the top of the heavily decorated ceilings was ornate and intricate beyond belief. Who were the original owners that could live in such luxury?!

The Irish people are so warm and friendly by nature, but their sense of hospitality and service in the castles was a calling card of pride. They appeared to thrive on being asked about something which they promptly then volunteered to do for you. The heat was stuck in the full on position in the sitting room of the hotel room in Ashford Castle. When hotel maintenance promptly arrived to fix it, they were so apologetic I felt bad for having asking them to take care of it.

I personally don't like the smell of alcoholic beverages, but most people aren't like me. After having been outside in the cold and rain, when you walked in the main entrance of the Ashford Castle, they were heating wine, which they immediately offered everyone. The hotel stationery (isn't that a thing of the past?) stated "in residence at" and the name of the castle. You don't just feel at home. You feel attended to in so many ways. These brief visits were a glimpse into a time and place, a way of living, a lifestyle I can not begin to imagine: incomparable privilege and position.

If a person actually lived in such a space, s/he would have to have large staffs just to maintain the massive physical space both inside and out. I'm thinking a maintenance budget the size of Texas.

The hotel rooms themselves were smaller rooms with considerably small bathrooms. They were probably renovated years ago when luxury hotel bathrooms were not the same as those of today.

As I was leaving Dromoland Castle, I saw the falconer working with his bird. Had I not been driving off when I saw him, I would have stopped and taken pictures. The attire. The bird. The ritual of it.

I really wouldn't want to live in such a place as these. But an overnight visit is a must. One could easily get lost in time very quickly. Pamper yourself. These places have mastered the art of welcoming, serving, and entertaining noblemen and gentry for centuries.

Today was primarily a travel day--from the west coast of the island to the east. It rained the entire drive. So, not a lot of photos were shot today.

This morning on the way out of Cong, the village nearest the Ashford Castle, I shot a few pictures of some old church ruins and the associated cemetery. You can get a sense of the flooding from one of the pictures.

These last four shots are from the main shopping district in Dublin tonight. The first is the candle from the restaurant table. Dublin is overrun with visitors this weekend: a major shopping weekend for the upcoming holidays, and a huge rugby game is in town.

Entrance onto Castle Proper

Peering through the Entrance

Wood Carving on the Side of the Fireplace in the Reading Room

Eagle over the Front Door

Engraving over an Outside Wooden Gate Below

Coat of Arms High Up on the Back Castle Wall

Corner Tower

Peering through the Window in the Back Tower Wall

Back of the Castle from the River's Edge (Outside the Castle Wall)

Coat of Arms over a Fireplace in the Sitting Room

My favorite holiday! I share it with everyone.

Today the weather provided periods of sunshine (and sudden downpours), so... back to the Cliffs of Moher with wind gusts of up to 120kph (almost 75mph!). I can't describe this place: the view, the wind, the cold, the drama of nature.

One of the guys who works at the park told of a man who got lifted off of his feet by the wind and blown "like a rag doll" about 20 feet into the air! Another spoke of people getting blown off the edge before the slate wall was installed 6 years ago. This place is serious.

I know I keep mentioning this, but Ireland is rather astounded by all of the rain. And with their road infrastructure, this is a huge problem. While driving through 5 of the 8 flooded areas on their roads, I was seriously worried the car would stall. Luckily, it didn't. But with no real knowledge of where you are or any alternate routes as the roads are few, rural, and far between, travel has become a very difficult issue.

Here are just a few pictures from the 355 I shot today. (I've also been shooting some HD video which will be posted before the end of the year.) Click any photo to enlarge it.

The Cliffs of Moher in the Far Distance

Cemetery in Clariecastle (on the way to the Cliffs of Moher from Dromoland Castle)

View along the Atlantic Ocean Just North of the Cliffs of Moher (in Doolin)

View along the Atlantic Ocean Just North of the Cliffs of Moher (in Doolin)

View along the Atlantic Ocean Just North of the Cliffs of Moher (in Doolin)

The Cliffs of Moher As Seen by an Ocean Side Cow (from the North in Doolin Looking South)

The Cliffs of Moher As Seen Ocean Side (from the North in Doolin Looking South)

View along the Atlantic Ocean Just North of the Cliffs of Moher (in Doolin)

The Cliffs of Moher in the Sunlight (with Reverse Waterfall--Waterup??)

The Cliffs of Moher in the Sunlight

Tonight I'm staying in a castle, the Dromoland Castle, built in 1543, just a few years before Pensacola, Florida, my hometown, was first established. I can't wait to shoot pictures of it tomorrow.

Also, the heads of government around the country of Ireland must be reading my blog and took immediate action [this of course is my sense of humor.]. Today, after posting about the horrible litter problem in Ireland yesterday, I came upon several cities with anti-litter campaigns: "Keep it tidy with a Tidy Town!" I really am glad. This is such a beautiful country!

To quote The Irish Times: "The word unprecedented is a bit overused. But the amount of rain we have had is truly unprecedented." And the wind was as well, with gusts up to 70kph, which is almost 45mph.

This morning, at 7:00am a huge, very old tree next to the hotel, blew down with a thunderous, earth-shaking noise.

The 3.5 hour ride from Killarney to the Cliffs of Moher included a ferry, somewhat rough seas, and lots of wind and rain.

I love how the Irish have structured the visitors' center at the Cliffs of Moher. It's built into the hillside so you don't even see it. They have also built a hidden stone wall (about 4.5 to 5 feet high) along the cliffs's edge so people don't fall to their deaths. I've seen pictures shot before the stone wall was in place that absolutely terrified me of this place!

However, the wind gusts were unparalleled in my entire life experience on this earth. I'm rather confident they significantly exceeded the 70kph gusts that were forecast back in the Killarney area. A couple of times, I simply could not stop or walk. The wind blew me so hard, I was forced to begin running and leaning back and down into the wind, or I would have been blown completely off my feet without doubt. If the stone wall had not been in place, I would have been terrified beyond belief!

The distance to the ocean below is significant, as you can see. (Unfortunately I'm not posting any pictures with people in them right now.  That would give a sense of scale.  Just think "tiny dots.")  Yet the wind blew the foaming, frothing ocean up the sides of the cliff where it rained down on everyone. At first I couldn't figure out what it was: snow? ice? Then a giant piece of the foam landed in front of me. Also, the wind would actually blow water up the side of the cliff and onto everyone. You can see it prominently in two of the pictures below. Amazing!

This was a spectacular display from Mother Nature!

Here are a few pictures to whet your interest for the Ireland photo album. Click to enlarge.

Ireland surprised me a lot today. With the exception of the cliffs on the west coast, I had a mental image of the country as pastoral, relatively flat, and rather green. Today I saw mountains (or giant hills with lots of goats, sheep, and cows), coastal areas along the Atlantic Ocean that reminded me of California's famous Highway 1, the beautiful and heavily wooded Killarney National Park, numerous lakes (all flooding their boundaries--the most rainfall in 20 years!), and a healthy number of rainbows.

This area, a circular drive called the Ring of Kerry, is gorgeous! 

Reminding me of the USA before the 60's litter campaign, I must say I am dismayed that the Irish seem to lack the concept of litter. They seem quick to discard their trash, without any hesitation at all, from the window of their cars along the roadsides or in the water ways, even in the most gorgeous areas. I didn't see any trash receptacles (not even one) anywhere. Ireland needs a very aggressive national litter campaign and a funded systematic roadside trash disposal system. To spoil such beautiful land and water is so sad. (And this is the off season for tourists!)

The weather was a bit of a challenge. Rarely was the sun actually lighting the vistas before me, and at times is was raining intensely. But I managed to shoot over 150 pictures today. Here is just a small sample. 

I must say, the Irish do seem to enjoy their drinking and singing.

And Ireland's birds start singing their hearts out around 2:00AM in the dark of the night.  It's just the oddest thing!

Today was a very interesting travel day: from Kilkenny to Killarney.

My travels first took me to town center Kilkenny to see the Castle Kilkenny, which is situated immediately next to a river. Immediate access to water seems to feature prominently in the ruins I've seen thus far. I recalled a professor's comment at Emory: "Everything in human history is about geology."

The town, perhaps once home to the peasants who served the castle, is now a thriving community filled with energy on this Sunday morning.

I recalled reading Indian Givers, the story of the impact of the American Indian civilization on the world, in which the author said the potato, which made its way to Ireland to become the "Irish Potato" because it grew so well here, created the middle class and ended serfdom.

Next, I was off to see Jerpoint Abbey in Thomastown. The abbey was first started around the turn of the last millennium--not century. I've been fascinated by the ancient ruins of Catholic churches and abbeys. They abound here in Ireland.  Often by ancient graveyards, these entire structures are now a tomb of an ancient way of being.

I want to know the stories these places tell.

How could such a prominent, expensive structure often in such rural areas, places that at one time had to be a center of community, if not survival, fall into ruin? How did these places become irrelevant to the people around them?

Then I was off to Cashel to see the Rock of Cashel. Unfortunately, I arrived 3 minutes after they closed for the day. But I really wasn't too upset about this. The weather was quickly becoming impossible. The wind has been astounding to me since I've arrived in Ireland. As I was leaving the Rock of Cashel, the walk became treacherous. The road was a very wet and steep descent back to the car park. I seriously worried I would be blown off my feet!

I've only worried this would happen twice before in my life: at Point Lobos, California, after a storm came in from the Pacific Ocean, and atop Dalsnibba, Norway--one of the more terrifying, yet beautiful, places I've been.

On the way up to the ruins, a group of about 5 or 6 boys was playing foolishly close to the edge of the wet rocks. As I was coming down, fearing I would be blown off of my feet, I happened to notice these same young daredevils had the sense to cower all huddled up near a huge rock that shielded them from being blown down the precipice.

Then the weather really turned foul. The sky became so dark, combined with the wind and the rain, I had to abandon photography shortly after shooting this shot of a nearby abbey in ruins.

A Garmin GPS has successfully steered the course on this trip. Today, however, was a bit of a nightmare!

In a previous post, I've mentioned that the constant rains have caused significant flooding all over the country. The roads in Ireland are mostly rather small. Actual highways seem to be fairly new--some seem to be very new indeed. So the GPS has often placed me on very small roads, like the one I shot below--completely unaware of the new highways. (I would never incriminate myself and suggest the photo was shot in a moving vehicle through the windshield and is therefore a bit blurry.)

Yes, that's one of the actual roads the GPS had me taking! They are cute. They are quaint. They are perilously narrow. They have a speed limit of 60kph!  (Dear god!  Who in their right mind...)  And, they are all too often flooded!

Think of a rectangle with Kilkenny in the top right. My destination is Killarney on the bottom left. Tiny little roads much like the one pictured above, cut diagonally across. The GPS chooses these roads. Off I go.

It's now dark and rainy as I come upon my worst nightmare: "Road closed because of flooding!" I have no idea where I am. It's pouring rain. The roads, even the large ones, rarely have lighting.  (Think  r e a l l y  dark!!)  I turn around hoping the GPS will reroute me. It does--via a quick tangled web of roads, it puts me in touch with another road closed due to flooding. All told, I found three of them, all in the dark middle of no where!  I was beginning to feel like I was trying to escape some twisted horror movie.

The GPS would not take me south to Cork and then west to Killarney as that was so out of the way. Yet those were far bigger roads. Those roads were passable.

After much trickery, I ended up in Cork, first heading for a ferry (oh god, no!). Cork's road's, in town at any rate, were jammed as much as the roads in Rome. I barely squeezed through between the parked cars on the sides. I felt like an embolism squeezing through a clogged capillary.

What a nightmare! I finally arrived in Killarney in one piece, safe and sound, about 4 hours later than I should have.

For me, the worst part of traveling an extended itinerary (both distance and duration) is actually getting to the destination. From LAX to Dublin, via Atlanta, was a bit of sitting. And, in my dreadfully customary way, I couldn't sleep at all on the plane. I arrived dried out (think: eyes stick shut), exhausted, and grumpy.

On arrival in Dublin this morning before the sun came up, the weather was very gusty! It seemed we had to land with a good bit of speed to compensate. By contrast, customs in Ireland is a breeze. :o)

The sun came up to find me waiting under a little covered outside area for the car rental shuttle. The wind was blasting the misty, drizzly rain in every direction, yes, including upside down. I was cold and wet. Everyone's greeting, and these are amazingly friendly people, was the same, a cheery, "Lovely morning we're having today."

I named the car "Droplet" because it looks like a little tiny bubble or water droplet--a very rounded and red Nissan something-or-other, cute really. [The car is a Nissan Micra. I checked.] Upon immediately getting lost trying to get out of the huge car park, a lady at the entrance of what looked like a construction site, came out into the miserable rain and gave directions in the most lovely Irish accent. "Yes, love, you turn right, then right, then left, then right, then right. Do you want me to right it down for you, love? I'd be glad to." Again, very friendly and helpful people.

Kilkenny, about 90 kilometers from Dublin, was destination one. The 170 acre, Lyrath Estate Hotel is a lovely spa and convention center sitting on beautifully pastoral acreage. [In the photo to the left, you can see the house, which is part of the hotel, in the distance on the left. In the photo in the center below, the house is in the center.] Apparently the original estate was purchased by a local photographer who pulled together a group of chemists back in the 1970s to start a photo developing lab that became a world wide business success. This hotel/spa and conference center is one of his investments. (I learned all of this from one of the 3 people who attempted to get the room phone and internet connection working. They never did, but seeing the camera equipment in the room, we all had a delightful little chat.)

Fortunately, even with a 10am arrival yesterday morning, they had an available room. The doorman, an elderly gentleman with old world charm: a jovial, welcoming, gracious face framed in his top hat, overcoat, and gloves welcomed this weary traveler to the estate. (I had hoped to get his picture later today before leaving but wasn't able to do so.)

After a 3 hour nap, the weather had cleared, the sun was out, and I was heading back about 50 kilometers to shoot the skeletal remains of an old cathedral I noticed off the road in Castledermot on the drive in. The weather changes quickly and often here.

I also was treated to an interesting view along a ridge: the rain clouds were moving rapidly over the ridge at sunset with the sun casting a unique orange glow through the wind-dirven drizzle and rain atop the ridge. To the south of the clouds hovering along the ridge was an area of clear sky with the moon prominently showing in the blue sky at 4:30pm. I was only able to get one picture through the car windows as the weather was just not going to allow me to get out of the car. They have had so much rain this year, according to the local papers, flooded areas abound. I saw several of them.

The Fox and the Geese Pub was the selected authentic local dining experience. Obviously a popular community pub (the place was huge as if 2 or 3 businesses had grown into 1 at this location) though I ate there earlier than the locals. Only 4 or 5 families or groups were in the pub around 3:30pm. I had fried cod, mushy peas, and french fries. I haven't had mushy peas since I was last in London.

I returned to the hotel to engage with the staff for some time about the phone and internet connection before retiring early (around 6). One last thing, before trying to go back to sleep in an effort to get on local time: I purchased 2 wool base layers from REI before making this trip. This is the softest wool I've ever felt! (By the way, sheep are everywhere here!) Warm, not hot, and delightfully comfy! Tim likes!!

Ever year I give, as a holiday gift, a calendar of select photos I shot that year. Last year, instead, I gave a book of photos, all from one vacation destination, to family members who I knew loved that place.

This year, back in sync with my traditional holiday gift-giving, I'm selecting photos for the 2010 Calendar. But now I have 2 years of photos from which to choose!

The task of selecting only 12 photos from 2 years of astounding travel has been all but unbearable! I narrowed the selection down to 60 and then had to begin sawing off my appendages to get it down to 12.

Here are a few that I love, but, for various reasons, these didn't make the final cut. Click any image to see the larger photo.

My dislike of AT&T has been no secret on my blog. Others have shared similar disgust both in my blog's comments section and in personal email.

To recap just a single reason AT&T has earned my ire: Because AT&T will not offer me the tethered wireless internet connection* my iPhone supports, I have a Verizon wireless card that allows me to surf the internet on my laptop. (AT&T didn't even offer this service for Mac users when I purchased the Verizon card!!!!!) I have yet to be in a location where my Verizon card does not get a robust signal. It always works flawlessly!

However, I can't begin to recall all of the places where my iPhone's AT&T signal did not exist at all or was so unspeakably sporadic (full signal one second and no signal the next, resulting in a dropped call and no internet connection) as to make it useless, or it connected to AT&T's slower, creeping, crawling Edge network.

From my vantage point as an end user, Verizon's network is vastly superior and more expansive when compared to my experiences with the AT&T network. My only gripe with Verizon is that they have been rumored to have turned down Apple's proposed iPhone deal when it was first offered to them. Foolish, foolish choice! They could have all but killed the monolithic AT&T!

Cingular then accepted Apple's offer only to then get bought by the giant AT&T that had previous been dismantled as a violation of anti-trust law.

Whatever did happen to those laws?!!!!

This week, Verizon filed a sarcastic and defiant response to the lawsuit earlier this month alleging that Verizon's "There's a Map for That" ads falsely assert that AT&T has major gaps in its wireless coverage. In Verizon's response filed with the U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia, the company eschewed standard legalese and instead launched into a bombastic broadside against its rival.

"AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon's 'There's A Map For That' advertisements are untrue," said the introduction. "AT&T sued because Verizon's ads are true and the truth hurts."

The response then went on to taunt AT&T for the small size of its 3G wireless coverage.

"Verizon Wireless has invested billions of dollars since 2004 upgrading nearly its entire network across the continental United States... and today covers five times more of the United States than AT&T's 3G network," it said. "Despite the far smaller size of its 3G network, AT&T has spent tens of millions of dollars making its 3G network... the centerpiece of its national advertising."

Verizon's "There's a Map for That" ads typically show AT&T users struggling to use applications on their mobile devices while Verizon customers happily watch live streaming videos. The ads then display maps that show the total geographical reach of 3G coverage for each carrier, with Verizon's map showing a far larger area of the country covered by its 3G service.

AT&T has not disputed that the maps used by Verizon in its ads are accurate. Rather, it has accused Verizon of misleading consumers by implying that AT&T has no wireless coverage in large parts of the country, when in reality parts not covered by AT&T's 3G HSPA network are still covered by its 2G EDGE network. However, in Verizon's ads the company clearly marks the maps as "AT&T 3G Coverage" and "Verizon Wireless 3G Coverage."

link: Verizon ups the smarm, mocks AT&T | Phones | iPhone Central | Macworld

Live streaming video???!!! Where's that AT&T?!! Why are you not providing iPhone users with that service AT&T?!!

AT&T just needs to stop pocketing all of that cash from iPhone users' absurdly high billing plans, and start investing it in provided a vastly improved network. But no! Of course not!

The day Verizon kicks off full support for the iPhone will be the day this customer drops AT&T in less than a heartbeat, even though AT&T will extort its $200 cancelation fee--a small price to pay for no longer supporting AT&T's corporate interests over their customers' interests. AT&T probably knows I will only be the first of millions of iPhone customers to do so and therefore, I'm guessing, chooses to pocket the cash while they can rather than invest it in an improved user network experience. I'm guessing they've done the math, and it appears to be all about profit for AT&T.

And the PR firm that came up with Verizon's "There's a Map for That" advertising campaign is completely brilliant! It's so effective on so many levels it has AT&T crying foul. Hopefully it will also be a catalyst for forging a partnership between Apple and Verizon sooner rather than later. AT&T is indeed the weak link crippling the iPhone user experience!

*Tethered wireless internet connection: The iPhone has the ability to automatically connect to my laptop wirelessly when it is physically near (within 30 feet) the laptop and seamlessly, without the user having to do anything, allow my laptop to surf the internet through the iPhone's connection to the cell phone carrier's network. Astoundingly, considering how much money iPhone users pay for their service plans, AT&T currently refuses to support this feature! I suspect they refuse support because their network is, as Verizon has clearly pointed out, inadequate for the task.

Uninsured patients with traumatic injuries, such as car crashes, falls and gunshot wounds, were almost twice as likely to die in the hospital as similarly injured patients with health insurance, according to a troubling new study.

The findings by Harvard University researchers surprised doctors and health experts who have believed emergency room care was equitable.

"This is another drop in a sea of evidence that the uninsured fare much worse in their health in the United States," said senior author Dr. Atul Gawande, a Harvard surgeon and medical journalist.

The study, appearing in the November issue of Archives of Surgery, comes as Congress is debating the expansion of health insurance coverage to millions more Americans. It could add fodder to that debate.

link: Uninsured ER patients twice as likely to die // Current

And let's set the record straight: George W. Bush and the Republican Party spent this nation into oblivion and bankruptcy by cutting taxes and spending the budget surplus and vast amounts of money on a needless, pointless war to make their buddies at Halliburton wealthy beyond belief. Nancy Pelosi had nothing to do with it at all. Those who say otherwise are ignorant and/or liars!

And these people didn't want their children to hear President Obama challenge children to do their best in school? These religious extremists are dangerous! They are the radicals that have already ruined the country! I feel so bad for their children.

A new conservative children's book titled Help! Mom! The Radicals Are Ruining My Country! prominently features Nancy Pelosi as an evil villain. Author Katharine DeBrecht, whom you may have seen on Fox News, explains:

"When Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker of the House all we heard was how wonderful it was that a mother and grandmother rose through the ranks to such a position. In reality, that mother and grandmother has played an enormous role in ensuring that our children and grandchildren are shackled with debt for decades to come."

link: Conservative children's book vilifies Nancy Pelosi - Boing Boing

A few pictures from my Santa Barbara day trip this past Wednesday. Downtown is wonderfully quaint.

Avalon

View from high above Avalon

The jagged western coast

Western coastal pano

The Avalon harbor

Nicholas Carr's writing over at Rough Type often makes me think. He recently posted "Does My Tweet Look Fat?" I laughed.

I've grappled with Twitter for some time now. Yet I still don't know what I think of it.

I have no interest in knowing "What are [most people on this planet] doing?" at any particular moment in time. Most of what we do day to day is just not all of that interesting. It's routine. It's, as it must need be, mundane and perfunctory. And I personally find the narcissistic emphasis of the late 20th and early 21st centuries completely revolting. I guess, to be trite, I'm just not that into "you" when you think it's all about you.

Some have suggested to me that Twitter is more like tapping into the stream of consciousness for the world, or at least the Twitter-verse. Yikes, so much noise! My life is already filled with enough noise. Besides, managing my own stream of consciousness in real time is pretty much a full time job.

Now, when friends are traveling and tweeting pics and such: cool--I rather do find that interesting. And some virtual friends pique my interest when they tweet something fascinating or informative. But these seem to be the exception to the twitter-verse. And I suspect that almost everyone on this planet, except for my mother, has no interest in what I am doing at any particular moment in time.

So what does it say about us when our skinny little 140 character tweet is too fat? And from my vantage point, so many of the tweets that stream through this virtual spinal tap are all but anorexic--completely devoid of sustenance and meaning.

For me, tweets are too often like digital ADHD--disconnected flits of thought thereby rendered pretty meaningless. Yes, that's more like what it is to me: digital ADHD. (And don't get me wrong, I can ride that vibe for a while.)

I feel a need for deeper engagement with people than a flittering tweet here and there. And I don't really enjoy the tweet overload. I rather enjoy a good, realtime conversation--virtual or face to face. Yeah, whatever happened to the art of conversation? Surely we're not too busy for that, are we?

I wish the creators of this info-graphic would include a third color to signify the percentage of the land mass that would be considered habitable.

As I fly over the USA, which I seemed to do a lot this year, I have noticed that such a significant percentage of the country is just inhospitable desert.

The land that can be comfortably inhabited seems to be teeming with people and infrastructure.

So the info-graphic, while informative and interesting, could provide more helpful information with another layer of data.

By the way, only a small portion of the entire graphic is presented here in this post and is presented in miniature size. To see the full graphic, click the link above.

These photographs of albatross chicks were made in September 2009 on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.

To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world's most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.

~Chris Jordan, October 2009

Chris' creative work on trash and the 21st century has been eye opening. I've followed it now for a couple of years. He has enlightened my perspective on the impact the consumptive culture in which we live is having on our world and its animals.

I didn't realize that our plastic is in fact an oil-based product.  In fact, last summer I read a post in which the writer concluded that a single bottled water should be seen as two-thirds water and one-third oil, because that's how much oil is required to manufacture the plastic and transport it to market.

The, I came across this TED presentation.

Carrie Prejean
is your typical right wing extremist: If you don't play by my rules, I'll take my toys and go home. Can't she think things all the way through? First she sues the pageant. They counter sue her. All is settled quietly. Then she agrees to do an interview with Larry King and admonishes him for being inappropriate before taking off her mic and just sitting there? And who is the mystery person off camera to whom she keeps communicating? She's sadly bizarre in my opinion. Hasn't it been 15 minutes yet?!

Lou Dobbs
has finally gotten the boot from CNN. Over time I've watched him become his own kind of fanatic. He remained on CNN far too long in my humble opinion. I think we need to take the media spotlight away from those who live in the fringe element. To do otherwise appears to legitimize their bizarre perspectives which no longer is good entertainment or news.

Current TV
was going to connect TV and the internet generation by allowing today's youth to create real news programs. Apparently, after four years of effort, America's youth aren't ready for such a thing as Current TV announced massive layoffs and is restructuring its programming strategy, making it more traditional. Children are trained by our current model of schooling to consume, not process and think, find higher levels of meaning, solve problems, and offer a value-added contribution. Sadly NCLB, which focuses school on just memorizing basic facts, is leaving CurrentTV behind.

Mormon Church
is trying to refurbish its tarnished image by supporting anti-discimination legislation for gay rights? This former mormon thinks so and believes that church doesn't want to be seen as part of the extremist religious movement in this country. The mormons I know personally are very good people, but their church has "quite a history."

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) - With the establishment of government-mandated death panels just days away, grandmothers began fleeing the United States in record numbers today, reports Fox News.

"I am never one to yell 'Fire' in a crowded theater," said Fox News host Glenn Beck. "But run for your lives!"

Across the country, slow-moving caravans of 1980s-era Cadillacs with turn signals blinking were making the torturous journey to the Canadian border, their back seats laden with cats, knitting projects, and bottles of Ensure.

Fox News may have set off the mass exodus by warning grannies that if they did not flee quickly enough they would face government-mandated organ harvesting.

Elsewhere, anti-healthcare protesters objected to the language of the House bill, saying there were too many polysyllabic words.

link: Fox News Reports: Millions of Grannies Flee U.S. as Death Panels Loom - Borowitz Report

I took a slow drive south along the ocean this morning. Numerous scenes softly called to the camera lens.

High atop the craggy precipice, she pondered nature's pillowy display

On the paws of kittens it crept

Listen, breathe and feel the fog float by you

The American Family Association, a conservative Christian group, has published an article on its website calling for Muslims to be barred from military service. Bryan Fischer, AFA's Director of Issues Analysis, argues that the Fort Hood shootings are a signal that "It it is time to stop the practice of allowing Muslims to serve in the U.S. military":

"[T]he more devout a Muslim is, the more of a threat he is to national security. Devout Muslims, who accept the teachings of the Prophet as divinely inspired, believe it is their duty to kill infidels.... "

"Of course, most U.S. Muslims don't shoot up their fellow soldiers. Fine. As soon as Muslims give us a foolproof way to identify their jihadis from their moderates, we'll go back to allowing them to serve. You tell us who the ones are that we have to worry about, prove you're right, and Muslims can once again serve. Until that day comes, we simply cannot afford the risk. You invent a jihadi-detector that works every time it's used, and we'll welcome you back with open arms."

"This is not Islamophobia, it is Islamo-realism.... "

And just as Christians are taught to imitate the life of Christ, so Muslims are taught to imitate the Prophet in all things. Yesterday, Nidal Malik Hasan was simply being a good Muslim. You can read the whole thing here. Fair warning: It's a vast wasteland of stupid. I don't think I need to waste time responding to its "points": if you can't immediately see how bigoted it is, there's no way I'm going to be able to convince you otherwise.

If you're looking for a more reasonable view, here's Gen. George Casey, the Army's chief of staff, who definitely knows more about the Army than this clown:

"Our diversity... is a strength. As great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well."

Right on.

link: Conservative Christian Group Calls for "No More Muslims" In Military | Mother Jones

Sufficient superlatives simply do not exist. Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto in c Minor is just glorious! And, well, then there's the 3rd one as well! But his second is among my most favorite musical works of all time.

This non-partisan article, Many still believe that Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11, and now we have some idea why, is an interesting read. I would like to know more about the study. I think it just requires less effort to conform facts to our present, existing perspective. But I also have always suspected that extreme religious leaders cultivate an unhealthy faith-based over reason-based world view among their followers.

I am reminded of my father's humorous statement, "Don't confuse me with the facts."

Scientists studying a crevasse in the Ethiopian desert say we may be witnessing the birth of a future ocean. In 2005, a 35-mile-long rift broke open as two parts of the African continent separated. Researchers from several countries have confirmed that the volcanic processes at work beneath the Ethiopian rift are nearly identical to those at the bottom of the world's oceans. They say it is likely the beginning of a new sea. Host Liane Hansen talks with Professor Cynthia Ebinger of the University of Rochester about the event.

link: New Ocean May Be Forming In The Desert : NPR

I like this perspective. Too often what catches out collective attention in this country is the negative, the fear-based, the gloom and doom. The bad energy seems to go so much further.

But Seth is absolutely right. The world now contains more "fabulous" than it has ever contained.

This is so cool: because we only look at things we want to look at, only talk about things worth talking about, the amount of fabulous in the world continues to rise exponentially.

Even though we're at the tail end of the great recession, think about all the cool stuff in your life. Not just stuff you can buy, but experiences, works of art, innovations of all kinds... the bar has been raised for what you need to do to be noticed, and the market is responding.

Not only do I notice more fabulous, but it sure seems as though the creators of it are more engaged, dedicated and yes, joyful, than I can remember. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do work that matters, this is it. You can't say, "but I need to make a fortune instead," because that's not happening right now. So you might as well join the people who can say, "I love doing this."

link: Seth's Blog: Fabulous

I'm back home after traveling all week. When I got home, the mail was way beyond out of control. But I was most excited about the arrival of the Magic Mice I had ordered.

Installation was a nightmare on two machines of the three machines because I had installed USB Overdrive. The second AppleCare representative identified the issue. We removed the software and everything installed without issue. So, word to the wise: if you have USB Overdrive installed on your system, you can not install the Magic Mouse software. And, you must use the uninstall software for USB Overdrive to remove USB Overdrive. Simply right-clicking and removing it from the system preferences window does not uninstall it from the system.

I generally don't like using a mouse. I really don't. I much prefer a trackball. I hate running the mouse off of the trackpad yet still needing to move it further and therefore having to pick it up and start back in the center to keep going. With a trackball, you just spin it to get where you want to go.

With two of Apple's largest monitors as my desktop, getting from the far side of one monitor to the opposite far side of the other could involve picking the mouse up and relocating it a time or two. But the Magic Mouse actually works very well for me and doesn't require this.

If I move the mouse with just a little bit of speed from one side to the other, within 3 or 4 inches on the mousepad I can traverse the entire distance of both monitors. This feels rather natural to me as it fits the natural space my wrist will move in one space.

Of course, I really like scrolling up and down, swiping, moving around in an image or web page, and zooming using the mouse. I'm hopeful 10.6.2 will add more gestures like those found on the trackpad of my MacBook Pro.

Rating: Tim Likes!

The financial results have been nothing short of astounding -- for Apple and for Jobs. The company was worth about $5 billion in 2000, just before Jobs unleashed Apple's groundbreaking "digital lifestyle" strategy, understood at the time by few critics. Today, at about $170 billion, Apple is slightly more valuable than Google (GOOG, Fortune 500).

Its market share in personal computers was plummeting back then, and the cash drain was so severe that bankruptcy was a possibility. Now Apple has $34 billion in cash and marketable securities, surpassing the total market cap of rival Dell (DELL, Fortune 500). Macintoshes make up 9% of the PC market in the U.S. today, but that share is increasingly beside the point.

With 275 retail stores in nine countries, a 73% share of the U.S. MP3 player market, and the undisputed leadership position in innovation when it comes to mobile phones, Apple and its CEO are no one's idea of underdogs anymore.

In 2006 Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) paid $7.5 billion to acquire Pixar, the computer animation film studio Jobs had nurtured and controlled. Jobs, in turn, became a Disney director and the blue-chip company's largest shareholder. His net worth, solely based on his stakes in Apple and Disney, is about $5 billion. Other executives have had stellar decades but none can compare with Steve's.

link: The decade of Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple - Nov. 5, 2009

The devil's mask was just too frightening for the younger children. It had to go, and it was much too hot. Then my standing on the balcony over the front door shooting silly string terrified a few unsuspecting parents. (I didn't shoot the young children. Middle-aged children begged to be shot.)

The entrance to the house was also just a little too frightening for some of the younger children--that, I didn't anticipate. Perhaps they found it scary because of the loud sound effects from the DVD playing in the lower main front window, or maybe it was just so busy with scary things: pots of fire, large hanging bats, a hanging mummy, tombstones, a spider skeleton (I didn't know they had them either), a jar of eyeballs, chains, a giant rat, etc.

Unexpectedly, about half way through the evening, the fog machine set off the smoke alarms, adding even more drama to the scene. I then moved the fog machine to spray the fog out the front door.

But many parents said the house won the award for best haunted house in the hood. In the beginning there was a large caldron full of candy--24 bags of candy. It was all gone by 8:30pm. Hundreds of children came by.

Favorite quotation from the night:
"What do you say honey." after the child took candy from the caldron.
"May I have a fourth?" answered the child.

Clicking on any of the pictures will enlarge the shot. And, presented below, is a short video I shot of the DVD that was playing in the lower main front window of the house along the street where many children and adults stopped to watch. Showing the DVD, Hallowindow, while the haunted house was "open for business" was my favorite part of the evening. You can click on the movie to watch a brief excerpt, but to see the movie, visit Mark Gervais' site. He really did an awesome job with these animations!