061031 0600 Happy Halloween!
Selected photos from the display at Lookout Farm in Natick. They brought in artists from around the nation to create their breathtaking display of jack-o-lanterns.
Category: Pics
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Painting the living room
I don’t like doing work around the house, so I tend to procrastinate and let it slide.
Case in point is painting the living room. The house is jam packed full of stuff, so I have to move it all, and then move the furniture and curtain hardware, and then clean, patch, sand, primer coat and then finally paint. And it’s the living room, so Grandma is a more-or-less permanent fixture there – so I kinda hafta do my work on weeknights after she’s gone to bed. It’s a pain in the neck, and it takes forever like this, ’cause I’m spending as much time on set-up and clean-up as I am actually getting stuff done. I guess it’s been about three weeks so far, and I still have to hang new curtain rods and paint the trim.
It was about eighteen years ago that Dad was redoing the room for our neighbors, the Franklins. Dad, bless his soul, didn’t know a lot about house renovations, plus he had me as his assistant, so he was doubly cursed. We put up new sheetrock on the walls and ceiling, and he relocated some of the electrical outlets from the wall to the baseboards. The work was kinda rough. There were a lot of rough edges, joints between panels were rough, extra globs of spackle around here and there… And after fifteen years of exposure to kids, kids and more kids – us and the day care kids – the walls were pretty badly dinged up. I think that Mom bought the house to be close to Dad’s work after he died – and because it was so close to where we lived before, so moving wouldn’t be such a big deal. But man, this place needs lots of work…
Hopefully when this room is all done and cleaned up, things will look decent. And then I can go back to a few more months of procrastination…
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Photoblog – Boston / Head of the Charles Regatta
All that I know about rowing is that these people get up at wee hours of the morning to go out on the water in the chilly fall weather. Always seemed crazy to me. But what do I know? I like to go fight rush hour traffic on two wheels.Anyway, there has always been something elegant and maybe a bit romantic about this sport. Ya gotta admire these people… So I enjoy this autumn spectacle from the shore on my two wheels.
I love the Charles River. I used to commute to work along its banks some years ago, and it is just great for enjoying the scenery while getting some exercise. I regret that I don’t get into the city often enough to enjoy it much these days.
On another note, I missed out on the record-setting jack-o-lantern festival put on by the Life Is Good folks. I guess I should read the newspaper in the morning, not the evening… Anyway, by the time I showed up the next day, all the gourds were sitting in dumpsters, waiting to be taken away to the compost heap.
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How can a VW cost $100,000? and other interesting blurbs
Did you ever wonder why Volkswagen Phaeton costs up to $100,000? Check out the factory where they assemble them:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1837641And speaking of impressive facilities, check out these 10 seeeeeriously cool workplaces. It’s enough to make me want to look for a new job…
http://positivesharing.com/2006/10/10-seeeeeriously-cool-workplacesLiving in a litigious society:
http://www.glumbert.com/media/consentWhen I lived in Indiana, and the thunderstorms would keep me awake at night, I’d set the camera up on a tripod and take pictures through the patio doorway. That’s how I managed to get pics like this:
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Photoblog – Crater Lake – July 2000
In July of 2000, I had to take a business trip out to Redding, California to investigate failures of some of our oxygen systems. The investigation was very short, but the point of the trip was more to reassure the customer.
On the plus side, much of northern California is amazingly beautiful. I flew into Sacramento, and drove up to Redding. One evening, I drove out to Lassen Volcanic National Park, where I got to see hot springs, beautiful scenery, deer and foxes. After a brief second visit to the customer, I then headed north to beautiful Mt. Shasta, and then kept going towards Oregon and Crater Lake.
These sites represent the southern end of the volcanic Cascades mountain range – better known for Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Ranier. And while most of you may not be geology geeks like me, you’ll probably agree that these volcanic sites make for some spectacular scenery and some interesting history and folklore.
Hope you like the pics.
Sorry, some of these are from the early days of digital cameras – quality ain’t so hot…Lee
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Photoblog – 2004 Red Sox victory parade
As yet another Red Sox season ends with a whimper, I thought I’d reminisce about an epic season (no, not ’86!) and share my photos from the victory parade.
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In Memory of 9/11 – Ground Zero
I’ve visited New York City a number of times in the past few years. People still go about their daily business – this is New York, after all – but there is a huge void there. The World Trade Center complex was a landmark from which you could get your bearings no matter where you stood. Now its absence marks the loss of 3000 souls. May they rest in peace.
View of post-9/11 Manhattan from Jersey City – August 25, 2002
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In Memory of 9/11
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
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Work – My freakin’ inbox
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.
