And it’s off to DC we go…
< 1 minute read
August 17, 2005, 5:26 AM
Still amazed by the success of my “Shades of Gray” photo shoot in DC on August 3, I’m heading up to DC once again to see what kind of mischief I can get into. The last time that one day’s photos became a single photo set was back in March, when I did my Life and Times set entitled If These Streets Could Talk, which was a retrospective “clip show” photo set. That shoot was when I shot all the linking material for the set.
Then the next DC trip after that was the A16 trip. This time around, I’m not going to any demonstrations (but stay tuned – something’s coming in September). So we’ll see what happens.
And today is also the day that Sis goes back to Virginia Tech. We’ll miss her very much while she’s away.
Whoever thought dry skin would be so debilitating?
< 1 minute read
August 14, 2005, 11:51 PM
After my day on Thursday running around in flip-flops, my feet were VERY dry. I presume, since I was in the heat for much of the day that it was caused mostly due to perspiration evaporating off of my feet. This didn’t happen when I did that Hagerstown/Martinsburg/Winchester trip, though.
Still, Friday morning when it was time to go to work, I realized that my feet were so dry that they’d cracked, and that the left foot was so much so that it was painful. So much so, in fact, that I was actually walking with a noticeable limp at work on Friday. Needless to say, I broke out my “Extra Strength” lotion in an effort to improve the conditions. It seems to have improved things some, as I was walking with less of a limp on Saturday, but it was still noticeable, and I was moving really slowly. Then Sunday, I was walking normally again, thank goodness.
So now I’m concerned. I go to the beach in a little more than a week (I leave August 23), and I’m so hoping that I don’t have a repeat of this at the beach, since this could so put a damper on the excitement like that. Speaking of my vacation, though, it’s funny… with my vacation falling during the first week of school around here, I don’t know when I’ve ever been so excited for school to start. Selling the back-to-school crap at work makes me even more excited, since every notebook scanned is like one step closer to the beach. I’m sure those coworkers who are still in school just love me for it, too, since I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ll be lounging on the beach during the first week of school.
Categories: Personal health, Shoes
If it’s possible to make an unexpected trip to Washington, this is it.
7 minute read
August 13, 2005, 12:14 AM
Thursday, August 11, was, to say the least, interesting. My plan was to go to Fredericksburg and to Potomac Mills via Richmond. The idea was to go to Potomac Mills first, and then to Fredericksburg on the way back down. That would take me on I-64 east from Waynesboro, and then up I-95 from Richmond. Let me just say that plans changed a bit.
I did the I-64 to I-95 thing just fine. I stopped at Zion Crossroads to get a quick breakfast at McDonald’s, and then also made a pit stop at the rest area in Goochland. Interesting there was running into a coworker from Wal-Mart. About 80 miles southeast of the store, and I run into a coworker. She was visiting family in Hopewell. After that, I successfully made the switch to I-64 eastbound to I-95 northbound.
Going north on I-95, which is three lanes each way even in rural areas, I made a quick stop in Massaponax, which is just south of Fredericksburg. Nice area, but awful traffic situation. Too many lights in too small of an area, and people often are sitting in the middle of an intersection. However, at a Raceway gas station, I did get gas for $2.21 a gallon, which is considered cheap at this time. Woo hoo. Blasted gas prices. Looking at this in the not-too-distant future, when gas has rocketed to eight or nine bucks a gallon, I’ll be like, I can’t believe that gas was $2.21 a gallon!
Continue reading…I’m becoming a Wikipediholic…
< 1 minute read
August 9, 2005, 4:16 PM
My, my, my… I realized I’m starting to turn into a Wikipediholic when I sit down at the computer and immediately pull up Wikipedia. From there, I immediately pull up my watch list, and see what’s changed. And then I start reading and editing. Then of course, I was on my discussion forum, and wanted to format a link to a Web page like [[wikipedia article|this]]. Those who are familiar know that [[that]] is how you form a link to another Wikipedia article, with the former using custom link text, and the latter without.
You might want to blame Wikipedia for the fact that my Malcolm X Park photo set is not yet out. I’ve been playing around on Wikipedia, my “intellectual playground”, as I like to call it. It’s fun, but it’s also quite addictive.
So there you are. I’m certainly dedicated, but it’s starting to use time I usually spend on this site. I will get Malcolm X Park and Shades of Gray (both of which have been sorted down some in preparation for the respective sets) up before too long. As long as I can pry Wikipedia from my grasp, it seems.
Categories: Wikipedia
I lost my Breda sticker… very sad.
3 minute read
August 6, 2005, 7:29 PM
How sad, indeed. I lost my “My other car is a Breda” bumper sticker magnet. I think I know how I lost it, though. I believe I lost it when I took my car through the car wash on Friday with the magnet still in place. I noticed it after work on Saturday, after Mom and I went to Home Depot (she met me after work), when I finally got a good look at the back of my car when she drove me back to it, and noticed it was missing – showing an outline of dirt around where the sticker used to be. Mom said that next time I go through a car wash, I need to remove the magnets first. Good idea.
And it’s not like the sticker is irreplaceable. I still have the pattern for it, so I’ll just have a new one made up. This would also be an opportune time for me to get the “Stand to the right” bumper sticker that I designed, to add to the right side of the car, similar to the Breda sticker. The Breda sticker being on the left was a coincidence. The “stand to the right” sticker being on the right is deliberate. After all, that would be a little hypocritical otherwise, no? The “stand to the right” sticker magnet standing on the left side of my car? No. Still, check it out:
Categories: Arlington, Toyota Previa, WMATA
A day without color…
5 minute read
August 4, 2005, 8:44 PM
My, my, my… I realized I’m starting to turn into a Wikipediholic when I sit down at the computer and immediately pull up Wikipedia. From there, I immediately pull up my watch list, and see what’s changed. And then I start reading and editing. Then of course, I was on my discussion forum, and wanted to format a link to a Web page like [[wikipedia article|this]]. Those who are familiar know that [[that]] is how you form a link to another Wikipedia article, with the former using custom link text, and the latter without.
You might want to blame Wikipedia for the fact that my Malcolm X Park photo set is not yet out. I’ve been playing around on Wikipedia, my “intellectual playground”, as I like to call it. It’s fun, but it’s also quite addictive.
So there you are. I’m certainly dedicated, but it’s starting to use time I usually spend on this site. I will get Malcolm X Park and Shades of Gray (both of which have been sorted down some in preparation for the respective sets) up before too long. As long as I can pry Wikipedia from my grasp, it seems.I went to DC on Wednesday with the intention of shooting entirely in black-and-white. And except for seven photos (out of 262 total), I kept my end of the bargain. I also shot two black-and-white movies, both of which were of the Metro, and most likely won’t get used. The photos, on the other hand, will be used for a Photography set, with the working title of “Shades of Gray”. Why did I shoot in black-and-white this time? I wanted to try something new. In the fifty trips to the Washington DC area that I’d made between July 7, 2001 and July 20, 2005, you know how many black-and-white photos I shot? Zero. Everything was shot in color. So for my August 3, 2005 trip, I went and did black-and-white, which made things more exciting for me. I can fire off a color photo with little effort, because I’m used to it. With black-and-white, it’s made me think again. I’ve got to set up my shots differently. I’ve got to pay more attention to contrast rather than color. In color, a red object on a green background might be quite interesting looking. In black-and-white, it all kind of runs together, because it’s all gray. All in all, it’s a different way of thinking, and it was fun. I might just have to do this again one day.
Categories: DC trips, Photography
This Wednesday, I’m going black-and-white…
< 1 minute read
August 1, 2005, 10:24 PM
I’m going to Washington DC on Wednesday, August 3, and I’m turning the camera over to black-and-white mode in the morning, and leaving it there all day. So instead of railfanning, which is what last summer was all about, I’m going to spend my day on the town for a bit, shooting black-and-white photos. In the evening, when I usually play with some long-exposure stuff, I’m also shooting in grays. No color! Why no color? It’s something worth a try. Something to keep things interesting for me, if nothing else. And who knows… it might end up as a photo set if it turns out well enough.
Of course, turning the fun into a photo set requires some planning on my part, and so we’ll see what kind of things I can come up with. I know that the Infoshop is on my list of places to go, so you may see some black-and-white pictures of DC’s Shaw neighborhood come up, among other things. It ought to be fun.
Categories: Photography
You never know who you’ll meet…
2 minute read
July 30, 2005, 11:08 PM
Friday at work was interesting. You know how you never know who you’ll see at Wal-Mart? I met a famous artist at the self-checkouts on Friday. Specifically, I met P. Buckley Moss. I recognized her initially, thinking, I think that’s P. Buckley Moss, but didn’t ask the question. Then I saw the screen on the pin-pad where she signed. P. Buckley Moss. Wow. I hadn’t seen her in some time. But she remembered me, and also remembered Mom, since both of us went to some of her art signings at her barn in Waynesboro, which is actually a converted apple barn in a nice little neighborhood. That was neat. You never know who you’ll see come through Wal-Mart. I’ve met Reo Hatfield, a Waynesboro city councilman and an instrumental player in the truce between the Hatfields and the McCoys, and I’ve also met Moreko Griggs, who made headlines when he was named as Waynesboro’s first black valedictorian, and then was changed to being one of three valedictorians, next to two white women. That story is outlined here. So all in all, it’s neat.
Then on Saturday, there was an interesting discussion in the breakroom regarding the fact that I didn’t shave for Thursday’s trip. It went like this:
No more gate lodge for the old Howard Johnson’s in Harrisonburg…
3 minute read
July 30, 2005, 11:05 PM
Going through Harrisonburg on my way up to Pennsylvania on Thursday’s road trip, I noticed something unusual out my right window. At the site of the former Howard Johnson’s in Harrisonburg (which, according to both official and unofficial sources, is being upgraded in order for it to be used as a dorm again due to capacity issues), another building had bitten the dust. Recall that on October 9, 2003, I photographed the old Howard Johnson’s as Rockingham Hall – perhaps the last photos ever made of the complex while still whole. Then in June 2004, the unused restaurant was demolished. Gone. I drove by on June 23, 2004, and was shocked. A pile of rubble stood where the restaurant was, including the mangled remains of the cupola. Then this summer, you may recall, the remainder of the complex, meaning the gate lodge and the motor lodge, was slated for demolition. However, the demolition was called off, and the motor lodge building was upgraded slightly for use as a dorm once again. However, the gate lodge was demolished, having been reduced to a pile of rubble. The gate lodge had been done over in the 1990s, and there were even remnants of the blue roof installed at that time (replacing the signature orange roof) visible in the debris.
For the back-story on that, JMU learned in 2004 that they couldn’t use the Howard Johnson’s buildings anymore unless they were upgraded to higher standards. Thus the buildings were vacated, because it was not considered feasible to upgrade a building that they bought with the intention of demolishing. Thus, for 2004-2005, the facility was unused as a dorm, and offices housed there were intended to be relocated (no word on how that went). However, capacity reared its ugly head again, since JMU still hasn’t figured out that it’s not a good idea to admit more freshmen than you have space. And I also don’t believe that bunking three people in a room designed for two is a solution, either, even if you do have a suite living room at your disposal. What JMU needs to do is find the funds to demolish the R5 parking lot next to Chesapeake Hall and build the third CISAT dorm that’s in the master plan for the east campus. That would either be three separate buildings of five floors each that are basically single-wing versions of my beloved Potomac Hall, holding roughly 200 students each, or the same three structures as “A”, “B”, and “C” wings connected by low-lying corridors like at Potomac Hall. Which one it’s slated to be depends on whose drawing you look at. But until then, they’re remodeling buildings whose days are already numbered. It looks fairly nice, with JMU putting new furniture, carpeting, and fixtures in, according to some new-freshman literature I found on the Web. One may notice right offhand driving by on I-81 that the sliding doors to the balconies were removed, and replaced with a more conventional glass door with windows on either side. Additionally, new railings were installed on the balconies. And this is going to be a FRESHMAN dorm.
Categories: Howard Johnson's, JMU
I did go out, and I certainly covered some distance!
11 minute read
July 30, 2005, 10:59 PM
Yes, I did go out on Thursday, and it was quite a road trip, for that matter. I drove up to Pennsylvania and back via I-81.
I left the house at around 10:30 AM. The outfit was black shirt, blue shorts, and flip flops. Also unshaven for that matter, but the last time the razor and I had spent some quality time together was Tuesday morning. So I could almost pass it off as one of those thin beards that some men wear. Moving along, though, one look from Mom at how I looked leaving the house got this reaction: “You’re wearing flip-flops?” I’m like, “Yes…”
I still don’t understand what Mom’s obsession is with my shoes. After all, I’m an adult, and I can wear what I want, and look as sharp or as dumpy as I want. I decided to go for “casual”, thus no shave and the flip-flops. Still, the objection to it was weird, but expected. But it’s rare that I’ll wear flip-flops. Normally, I’ll wear my chucks or my real sandals (with socks, of course). Never flip-flops with otherwise bare feet. So that was a surprise for Mom, but lately on my off-days when I’m not doing anything too important, I’ll wear that. It’s quick and easy.
Moving along, though, I ran this like DC to an extent. But obviously, the destination was not DC this time around. The 10:30 departure, for one thing. Still, I went to Mt. Jackson on the way up and enjoyed some grub at the Sheetz there, which I do on the way up to DC. It was busier there, though, since it was around 11:30 when I got there, vs. 7 AM or so when I go on my DC trips.
Rain, thunder, and lightning… that ought to break the heat wave!
< 1 minute read
July 27, 2005, 5:21 PM
The last three days in this area have been best described as HOT. The temperatures stayed just barely under 100 degrees, and the heat indexes (i.e. what it really feels like) were well over 100, with Weatherbug showing today’s heat index at 105. I think I could likely cook an egg on the driveway with all the heat it’s absorbed.
And now, clouds have rolled in, and thunder and lightning are up to their old tricks again. And it rained a bit. Nothing like a good rain to help dissipate the heat. Hopefully it will cool things off a bit.
Now tomorrow, it’s only supposed to get up into the upper 70s. Compared to these last few days, that’s winter-coat weather. And I will welcome it with open arms, since it’s just been awful. And we may recall that my car has no air conditioning, which makes things just awful in there.
And I’m still deciding if I want to go anywhere or not, but I think I’m going to go somewhere on Thursday. Today I decided to stay home, which worked out for me, since I’ve been romping around on my little “intellectual playground” of Wikipedia, and trying to get something done on this site as well.
Categories: Weather
The toilet is in the bathtub!
2 minute read
July 25, 2005, 5:17 PM
What is wrong with this picture?
2 minute read
July 24, 2005, 10:35 PM
What is wrong with this picture from the Sunday, July 24 edition of the Staunton News Leader?
Categories: Amusing, Virginia local news
I went to Singles Shopping… or at least tried.
2 minute read
July 23, 2005, 5:38 AM
I went down to Roanoke on Friday evening after work to visit the Wal-Mart on US 220, where, you may recall, I wrote in this space about “Singles Shopping”, the place for desperate singles to tie a red ribbon onto their cart and try to find true love.
So after traveling 90 miles from Stuarts Draft to Roanoke, I arrived at Wally World way down in Roanoke, only to find out that Singles Shopping was cancelled, and that they wouldn’t be having it anymore. I knew something was up as soon as I got in, considering there was no signage for the event, and saw no red-ribbon carts. I asked the greeter, who, after enthusiastically greeting me with a hearty “Welcome to Wal-Mart!” (major plus points there), told me it was cancelled. Turns out that earlier in the day, the store received a directive from Home Office in Bentonville: Do not have Singles Shopping tonight, and do not have it again. Drat. And I was looking forward to it, too. I, along with several others, put in comment cards about how we traveled distances to see this, only to find it was cancelled. Some even came from West Virginia, though from Roanoke to West Virginia isn’t as far as from Roanoke to here. All the store associates I spoke to were very apologetic about it, from the managers and right on down, since this was their great idea, and Bentonville nixed it (though I was told that some associates absolutely HATED the concept). After all, it got such wonderful press in the Roanoke Times (linked in the first entry I posted on this topic), and via the Associated Press to other papers. Jay Leno even made fun of it on his show.
DC can be so fun, but in this heat, the fun is best had in the shade or indoors…
10 minute read
July 21, 2005, 10:03 PM
I had fun in DC on Wednesday the 20th. It was a long day, but fun nonetheless.
However, the fun didn’t start right away. Oh, no. The drive up to Vienna was “more challenging” than usual. For those of you who don’t know, my car will have been in our family for fifteen years this month. So it’s an old car as these things go. And it’s seen fairly continuous service for those fifteen years. As a result, things start doing strange things as they age. My cruise control can be a little tricky sometimes. When it wants to work, I get up to speed, start it up, and then set it. It will catch, and it will work fairly well. However, other days, it will do one of two things. It will either try to catch and miss, or do nothing at all. In both cases, the cruise control light blinks several times, and then goes out, and the light will not come on again until the car is restarted. The end result is no cruise control until the car has had several hours sitting turned off.
So coming off of VA 608 in Fishersville onto I-64, I set my cruise. It caught and we were sailing. Changing to I-81, I always come off of cruise control, since it’s too tight a curve to take at full speed. Then once I get back onto I-81, I set the cruise control back to where it was. And life is good, don’t you see. Today, coming off the ramp and onto I-81, in re-setting my cruise control, it missed. So no cruise for me on the way up! Thus instead of just sailing up there, I was kind of doing an up-and-down thing speeding up and slowing down, since my mind wants to be on cruise control, but my car just won’t agree to it. I’ll get up to the proper speed, and then accidentally let it drop. Not a good thing. So we have to start over, getting to the right speed again. It’s a vicious cycle. After my stops at Sheetz and Wal-Mart on the way up, I checked my cruise again to see if it would come to life again (it sometimes does), but unfortunately no. No cruise for me. Several blinks and then dark. But at least it’s during the day, and I’m still fresh as a daisy.