Month: September 2012

More Apple Inc. Corporate Chicanery

I once delighted in an image of Apple as counter-corporate culture. But Apple is now officially living in my “just as bad as Microsoft ever has been” category—maybe even worse. Now that Apple Inc. is the most valuable company on planet earth, they have become even more greedy. The new head of Apple Retail recently laid off a significant percentage… Continue reading

The Power of Imagination

I’ve always believed that our lives assume a higher purpose and meaningfulness when we strive to make the world around us just a little bit better than we found it—when we empower human potential for good, when we find new and unexpected meaningfulness in familiar patterns. The cumulative affect of this simple approach to living can propel humanity forward in… Continue reading

Fall And The Commons

Yesterday I was a VIP at PoBo—a volunteer in the park at the Point Bonita Lighthouse. I love volunteering there! It’s so beautiful. I leave with sore legs but a lighter spirit. We always have several hundred visitors. They are always so friendly and love the location. I am intrigued that every time I have volunteered at the lighthouse, at… Continue reading

A Blast from My Childhood Past

I saw these at our neighborhood grocery store, Mollie Stone, this evening. I had to buy one for old times sake. They even still have the cloth string across the top! We would walk barefoot up to Harlie’s Meat Market to buy goodies. My sister and I especially loved the snow cones! I think they were a nickel back in… Continue reading

Goodbye, Old Friend!

This is a sad, sad day! I’m distraught! Do you have old clothes that become like good friends? They stick with you through thick and thin for years, and years? That’s how I feel about these shoes. They are ecco shoes I bought 10 years ago: back in January of 2002 along with several pairs of black SmartWool socks—all from… Continue reading

Downtown Sausalito Weeping Willow Tree

I’m not completely pleased with this pano, but it’s still very interesting: the little planet fly in from the top of the tree, the fog in the bay engulfing San Francisco, the peaceful water… I shot this for HDR, and it’s been impossible to shoot the weeping willow with completely still branches/clusters of leaves. At the very least, the smallest… Continue reading

So, What Have I Learned?

Panoramas are such fun to shoot and create. But this is some really deep territory. Not only am I learning about various ways to physically shoot panos (Currently I’m enamored with arial and kite panos. Check out this stunning arial pano of the Eiffel Tower!), various optical characteristics of the different pano projections, stitching tricks (including HDR and normal outputs),… Continue reading

And What a Week It Was…

The last couple of weeks have been, well… intense. I traveled to Florida to visit my mother. I was there for one day when Steve called with unspeakable pain from the worst sciatica flare up (while actually doing physical therapy for the sciatica) to date. He couldn’t stand, sit, move, be still. He could barely talk or think through next… Continue reading