September 11, 2006 by admin.

I was fortunate to have had an opportunity to spend some time in New York City during the summer of 2001.  In June I attended a trade show and award ceremony, and spent a full day seeing the city before heading back to visit family in Boston and then I flew home via Washington.

And in September I visited family in Boston again, and then visited friends in New Jersey.  I dropped my friend Preston off at Newark Airport, and then drove back to Boston, where I caught my flight back to Indy.

Two days later, terrorists departed from those same airports.

Five years later, some of the shock, sadness and anger have dissipated - for me, at least.  Yet for many the losses that day had a far greater impact.  My deepest sympathies to all who lost friends and family on that day and in the wars since.  And we all pray for the safety of Charles and all his comrades deployed overseas.

~ Lee

Battery Park - June 5, 2001

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in In the News, Personal, Pics, Travel | No Comments »

September 7, 2006 by admin.

Okay, so I was away from work for two days last week, and when I came back, this is what my inbox looked like:

…a foot-high stack of change notices to review!

What’s the deal?  Do people drop stuff off at my desk when I’m not there because I’m not there to defend my desk?  A practical joke maybe?  NOT FUNNY.

And now I’m gonna be away for another day-and-a-half.  Uh-oh.

Posted in Work, Personal, Pics | No Comments »

September 6, 2006 by admin.

In 2001 I had to go to Reno, Nevada for a conference on Pro/ENGINEER computer aided design software.  So, I tried to make the best of it, and I added extra time on both weekends for personal travel.  I got to see Reno, Lake Tahoe, Carson City, Virginia City, Devil’s Postpile, Yosemite National Park and Mono Lake.  That’s a lotta stuff to fit into two weekends!  But somehow I managed it, and for the most part had a great time traveling.

I had read about Mono Lake many years ago in a National Geographic article.  It described how the lake was isolated in a desert valley, and how Los Angeles was taking the freshwater from the local streams and piping it away.  The result is that the lake is gradually drying up.

The unusual thing about Mono Lake is that it has hot springs that pump water in from the surrounding water table.  Some of this water dissolves the minerals, and deposits them when it enters the lake.  This creates chimneys of tufa, which have become exposed as the water level has dropped.  The landscape is eerie, spooky and alien-looking.  Seems almost like a Tim Burton fantasyland.

It is bizarre and fascinating to walk among these formations.  Now that they are exposed to the wind and rain (and tourists!), they are gradually eroding away.  I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to see them.  And now I am sharing some of my pictures of this surreal landscape.  Hope you enjoy.

Read the rest of this entry »