I'm Dreaming Of A White(-ish) Christmas

So after 3-4 days of hard rain, we woke up Christmas morning to see big snowflakes fluttering around. Very nice touch, though it didn't last long....

This is our front yard, showing our total accumulation. Close enough to a white Christmas for me (and my 9 y/o son!).

New (Old) Music!!

So, for Christmas, I got a new CD-Recorder, which allows me to dub my vinyl LPs over to CD's (which can then be transfered to mp3). The first things I recorded? A couple of college era albums from Central North Carolina bands, Suddenly by Arrogance, and an EP by The Fabulous Knobs. Both albums from 1980. I saw both bands in Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill nighclubs back in and around that time.



Arrogance's album was actually on Warner Brothers label, but I don't think either band got any notice outside of Research Triangle area. It has been many many years since I've listened to either.

Heroes Are Hard To Find

I’ve been seeing a lot of complaints about the Pittsburgh Steelers today. Comments like “Horrible dude. Absolutely horrible. They should be embarrassed to wear an NFL uniform.”, “they are just stinkin' up the joint”. After all they've dropped 4 in a row, including OT losses to KC and Baltimore and a last-second loss to Oakland.

Now, I’ve been a huge Steeler fan for 30+ years, and I hate to see them struggle. This has certainly been a disappointing year, and they seem to be fading as the season goes forward. But I have 3 words for you: St. Louis Rams. As in: how about a little perspective? I currently live in the St. Louis area, and am subjected to the St. Louis Rams every Sunday. We’re talking 6-34 over the past 3 years, and trending down. Down as in 3 wins in ’07, 2 wins in ’08, 1 win (so far) in ’09. Heck, the next worst teams (Detroit and KC) have won 9 games over that span. Yes, the Steelers have been pretty frustrating the past few weeks, but they are still 6-6 this year. They are 28-12 over the past 3 years (regular season) and are still the defending Super Bowl Champs. And while this season appears to be shot for the Steelers, there’s a good chance they’ll be contending again next year. Unlike the St. Louis Rams. Or quite a few other teams for that matter. Imagine how lucky Steeler fans are to be so upset over 6-6?? It could be worse, remember the Mark Malone years?

On the other hand, if they lose to Cleveland this week.......

Desktop Update

I like to rotate my desktop image occasionally, and almost always use one of my own images. The one below is one my work computer, just put up today. Nothing too dramatic, but matching my mood as we move into colder weather. This is the Channeled Scablands area of SE Washington State, something I shot during late Jan. / Early Feb. 2008, when I was working out that way. I don’t remember the exact location, but it is along Rt. 26, pretty sure just a bit west of Washtucna, WA. Just a pull-off spot along the road.

Tree Berries

I took this over a month ago, just before Halloween. Late afternoon, these berries were in bright sunlight, with deep sahde behind them... There's actually very little digital darkroom. Pretty cool, huh?

Hoops!

My son played his first (ever) basketball game this week. Over the years, he has played organized soccer and baseball, and is active in Tae Kwon Do. But he just started basketball this year, after enjoying it on the playground. As a typical parent, I’m enjoying watching him… and shooting around with him using our (recently acquired) backyard hoop. Who knows? Maybe he can get a scholarship to Duke in 2018!

Bare trees, Blue Sky, Cloud

Just a view from my office window, earlier in the week. I liked the way the sun was backlighting the clouds……

A Wordle for a Wednesday

I've been playing around a little bit with "word clouds", have a couple of interesting concepts in mind.... Anyway, I decided to do one based on President Obama's speech last night on Afgahnistan... Not related to my "concepts", but it's kind of interesting. Click on the image to jump to a bigger version:

I generally try and keep politics out of this forum, and in that spirit, so I'll leave my personal political positions out of this post. But if you know me, you know where I stand.