Baby Apollo
About 3 or 4 months old - a week or so after I got him.
Posts
Like a waterfall in slow motion, Part One
3 years ago
March 18, 2008
March 16, 2008
Random Pictures
From last Sunday
This cracked me up. A sign on edge of my apartment's property.
The ONE time Apollo looks at the camera...
The ONE time Apollo looks at the camera...
How can anyone resist this fuzzy goodness?
Snowdrops?
The letter "S" is for...
Stained?No clue what this is. Looks like a funky anchor to me.
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March 9, 2008
Man-Holes
"Man-Holes." Reading this makes me snicker every time. When I told a friend of mine (JC of Texas) I was going to do a photo series of manholes, he started cracking jokes about how it'd either be easy or hard (depending on joke) to get a guy to show his "hole."
A very plain man-hole.
Watery Man-Hole
Mm, not going there.
As I say whenever the topic gets too touchy..."Let's change the topic!"Cute lab pup did not like Apollo and I walking by his fence.
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March 6, 2008
Irish Drinks
Guiness: Diageo - British
Baileys: Diageo - British
Bushmills Irish Whiskey: Formerly Pernod Ricard (French), now Diageo - British
Jameson Whiskey: Pernod Ricard - French
Are there any commercial liquors that are still pure Irish? St. Paddy's Day is coming up, and I don't want to drink French or British-produced liquor.
March 3, 2008
Climbing
It's an idle fantasy of mine to open the perfect rock-climbing gym in an old warehouse (or better yet, an old Ikea store). It'd have state of art features without being obnoxious about it.
The facility would have:
- "Smart" Cameras - not only to function as security, but also to keep an eye on climbers so that if anyone had an accident, there's no need for the climbers to run to the front desk. The camera/computer would alert the staff immediately. An added bonus - it could take snapshots of people climbing and staff would either sell them (like at theme parks) or display somewhere on a digital wall.
- Self-belayer system - so that the climbers who don't have a partner could climb. This already exists, but most gyms don't have this.
- Computer matching program for climbers - enter information about times when you climb, your skill level, age, and so on, and the program matches you up with other compatiable climbers to trade belay with (Match.com for climbers, romance optional).
- Magically cleaned shoes for rent - anyone who has rented shoes will appreciate this.
- Regularly-changed routes - 'nuff said (climbers will know what this is about).
- A state of art gym
- A very-separate area for classes, kiddy parties, and so on.
- A very thorough training session for the new folks. None of that "Ok, you know how to tie a knot, off you go" brushoff.
- Digital climbing wall and simulated weather conditions - want to pretend you're climbing a frozen waterfall? The digital wall can be changed to mimic a waterfall while following the same contours the real wall has, along with an occasional cold gust of wind or fake snow. Crude version of a holodeck ala Star Trek. More feasible: hire an artist to paint the walls so it looks like real rock.
- ???
I Went to Mecca and Didn't Know It
A friend of mine felt bad about my lack of climbing partners, and offered to go with me to the indoor facility yesterday. I told him I wanted to stop at Ikea and pick up a few things that I'd seen online. Ok, he readily agreed.
I expected a big box warehouse store like Walmart or Home Depot. Wrong. When we drove up, the first thing I saw was the Ikea sign...It loomed over the highway, signalling us. The closer we got, the more apparent it became that the sign was bigger than my apartment.
Finally, we got to the exit and turned onto the road - "Ikea Road". The store is so freaking big that it has its own road.
When we pulled into the parking lot, the first thought I had when I saw the building was, "Oh crap." Then I thought, "Man, this building would be great for an indoor climbing gym." Three "super" walmarts could've fit in this building.
Inside, we were "guided" by a series of signs up to the second floor where we had to follow the circuitous, winding path leading through various segments...Living rooms...offices...kitchens...bedrooms...bathrooms...All set up to give you an idea of what your homes could look like with various Ikea furniture. It reminded me of the old Disney ride, I forget the name, that took people on a tour of the future.
Geez...I confess, I did buy some items. It was hard to pass up on bargains on incidentials that I needed. I'm not proud of myself for supporting these kind of stores - in the hard times like now, we should be doing all we can to support small businesses. But on the other hand, in these hard times, it's hard for me to muster up motivation to shell out extra dollars that I'd rather save. It might not sound like much - just a few dollars - but it adds up fast.
This little detour sidelined us and took us about 3 hours (darned tour) instead of the expected 20 minutes. Never made it to the gym. Alas.
February 29, 2008
Posting...
I'm having a bit of a writer's block. Everytime I start to write a post, I stop after a few sentences and think, "Man, that's boring," and delete it. That's why there hasn't been many posts recently.
Also, remember to comment! A study done by blogspot shows that the more active the comments there are, the more people are likely to return to a blog. I'm not sure of the correlation though. Maybe it makes them think, "Gee, this blog is cool/popular" and makes them want to read the future posts?
Go figure.
February 27, 2008
I'm So Ready for Spring!
And, apparently, so are the local flora in DC. Yesterday, I saw snowdrops and crocuses already in bloom. Trees are starting to bud, and daffodils are pushing up from their beds.
Could it be a sign we'll have an early spring? I hope so! I normally love winters, but this year I'm just ready for it to be over! Although if we were to have one true snowstorm where we get more than an inch of snow (read: slush), that'd be awesome. I'm thinking a foot or so would be nice.
February 25, 2008
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