Arizona Steve

Quck San Diego Vacation

2008-08-20T21:50:00.002-06:00

Mary and I were lucky enough to spend a couple of days out in San Diego with Mom and Dad recently while they were on vacation.

We stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado, which is incredibly luxurious and peaceful. The Hotel Del has a lot of history and is in a pretty cool location, surrounded by military installations. What that means is while Mary relaxed on the balcony, I could check out the aircraft carriers moored nearby, the F-18s flying over regularly, or the Navy Seals doing beach assaults right on the hotel beach. It was pretty neat.

I highly recommend the Hotel Del, but be sure to bring a cooler of your own food. $25 for a cheeseburger is a little steep for even my taste.

Welcome to the Hotel Del Coronado!

Front of the Hotel
(In HDR)

The Lobby is Old and Neat.

Lobby Centerpiece

This Hotel IS Old.
I Hear These Devices Are Called "Pay Phones" and Are What People Used to communicate Prior to the invention of Cell Phones

Old Can Sometimes Be Spooky Too...

Our Room
(In HDR)

View From Our Hotel Room
(In HDR)

Dinner Time!

Mary & Mom At The Mexican Restaurant

Brand New Morning
(In HDR)

Mary is Enjoying our Balcony

We Took a Tour of the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier

F-14 Tomcat

A-4 Skyhawk

Monument In The Life Preserver

The Hangar Bay Is ENORMOUS

Anchors Away in the Forecastle

Living Space Is Cramped

But It's Better Than Living In The Brig!

Up In The Con Tower

The Air Boss and Mini Boss Run Flight Operations

View of the Carrier Deck

Mary and Mom Watch the Bay

A panoramic shot of the Three Other Carriers In For Rehab
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

There Was a Lot of Security In the Bay

Back to the Hotel!

And Time for Portraits...

Mom & Dad

Mary & Myself

Me & Mom

Mary & Mom

Still Time Left for Candy!

And Ice Cream Too!

The Ice Cream Shop was Cool

Moon Over the Dell
(In HDR)

Time to Say Goodbye From the Beach
(In HDR)

Movie Review: Star Wars - The Clone Wars

2008-08-19T17:53:00.003-06:00

I've said it before, I will say it again. CGI is not some magic wand the studio can wave to make their lack of animation talent and their sucktacular writing simply vanish and be replaced with quality film. Doesn't work that way. Can you hear me out there, George Lucas?

I have to admit, I didn't really go into Star Wars: The Clone Wars with a whole lot of high expectations. In fact, my expectations were quite low. And the movie still failed to even meet those pathetically low expectations. Oh well, I should be used to it by now after suffering through the edited re-releases of Episodes IV through VI, and the premieres of Episodes I through III. But I digress. I suppose I should give you an actual review of the movie, even though that just expands the amount of time I've wasted on it.

The Clone Wars follows the story of Obi-Wan, Anakin, and some orange chick as they try to rescue Jabba the Hutt's larvae. Really. Although there were a lot of blaster and lightsaber battles, the story just wasn't there. The characters were annoying too. Anakin complains the whole time, and the orange chick has some kind of teeny-bopper attitude going on. I half expected her to whip out a Nokia and start texting Anakin. OMG UR 2 KoOl with UR LiteSaber!!11! LOL k G2G!

The animation was heavily stylized, but wasn't very pretty or inspiring. It also certainly didn't break any technology barriers or wow me like Pixar movies always do. The characters weren't animated very much at all, and their faces seemed like rubber masks that stretched to make them talk and emote. Even characters with beards just had their beards painted on, and they stretched like skin. It's was kind of creepy. It's almost like this is the CGI equivalent of the old Speed Racer cartoons, where they moved the characters as little as possible to save on animation costs.

If you're a huge Star Wars fan, you'll probably find the movie entertaining enough. For anyone else though, it's a rental at best. I would classify The Clone Wars as a pretty good Saturday Morning Cartoon or a standard direct to DVD release. It's just not movie theater material.

SCORING: I give The Clone Wars 2 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Zombie Hunting

2008-08-10T15:33:00.002-06:00

Scott was in town visiting, so we stopped by the gun club and killed a few zombies. Shot a bunch of different firearms, and the MAC-10 even worked pretty well. It didn't explode or kill anyone! Yay!

Scott Shoots a Silenced HK USP Tactical CT

I Think He Likes the M4!

HDR Photography Fun

2008-07-20T18:06:00.002-06:00

So I'm just beginning to learn HDR photography, and I really seem to like it. Because I plan on doing a lot more HDR here on the site, I figured I should take a minute to explain what HDR is for those who are interested.

My Street (In HDR)

Now, this isn't a technical explanation, so don't send me hate mail telling me I've got it all wrong. This is just a little functional explanation of HDR. Basically, when you take a normal photograph, your camera is limited in the range of exposure it can take in all at once. If you over-expose the image, the dark parts will show detail, but anything white or bright will be washed out. If you under-expose, you get the detail hiding in the bright parts, but the shadows are so dark there is no detail. It's a trade off, with the photographer trying to "properly" expose the photo by taking it in the middle of the spectrum.

With HDR, you take a series of photographs of the same subject (usually 3 or 5), taking one as a "proper" exposure, while under-exposing and over-exposing the others. You then use software, such as Photomatrix, to combine the photos, taking the best parts from each one to create an amazing level of detail in your photo.

This can create all sorts of weird results, or can just give you a highly detailed, highly saturated photo. It has a lot of potential.

This House Across the Street Has Been Up for Sale for Well Over a Year (In HDR)

My House! (In HDR)

HDR is still relatively new, so I expect we'll see more and more of it in the future. It's somewhat controversial, with some photographers claiming it's not "real" photography. I disagree however, and think the whole point of photography is to capture memories of people, places and events. If HDR helps capture the memory more closely to how you remembered it, even if that's not how it really looked, then I think it's served its purpose and helped advance your photography.

If you haven't tried out HDR yet, give it a whirl and I think you'll be surprised with what you can do.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight

2008-07-20T16:25:00.002-06:00

Everything burns. And after this weekend, the makers of The Dark Knight are going to have ridiculously large piles of money to burn... for fun... while eating money... and wearing hats made out of money.

Batman mania is upon us. After waiting in a line that stretched around the building and spending more than enough quality time with the costumed persons waiting in line next to me, I experienced the latest offering in the Batman saga: The Dark Knight.

I can't remember the last time the blockbuster movie of the year actually turned out to be something other than a cinematic turd, but in this case The Dark Knight is amazingly good. It was worth the wait, worth the $70 it costs to go to the movies these days, and worth having to spend an hour in line with cosplay fanboys (and frighteningly ugly cosplay fangirls.)

This time around, our hero is fighting the twisted and sadistic Joker, played by the recently exhumed and re-animated corpse of Heath Ledger. The Joker is one messed up dude. Really messed up. More than two cups of prescription drugs messed up. He represents anarchy and chaos in the movie, and is basically a vicious dog unleashed on society. Heath Ledger plays the part phenomenally well, and the Joker really steals the show. It's disturbing to find yourself laughing along with the Joker even as he rams pencils though people's eyes and cuts them up. He's easily the best played character in years, and Heath Ledger will win the best supporting actor, hands down.

The Dark Knight's story revolves around a theme of order vs. chaos, with the Joker introducing anarchy in an attempt to twist Gotham's paradigm of fairness, Harvey Dent, into the maniacal Two-Face. Because Batman is bound by the rules of an orderly society, he is unable to defeat the Joker. Ultimately, he must decide if he is willing to break those rules to preserve justice.

This movie takes a slow burn. It really takes it's time getting to the point, with several interacting sub-plots. At first, I wasn't sure if I liked it, but once it got into full gear, it was all good to go. Be warned however that it clocks in just over two-and-a-half hours, so you have to be prepared for some storyline in between your kung-fu fixes. Oh, and go to the bathroom first.

Overall, The Dark Knight is a gritty piece of film noir that would make a great crime drama even if Batman wasn't in it at all. I think that's what really makes the movie a sucess. It's good on its own, without relying on the Batman franchise as a crutch, gimmick or fallback. Go see it... a few times.

SCORING: I give The Dark Knight 4 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Movie Review: Hellboy II

2008-07-14T20:38:00.006-06:00

What do you get when you combine crap acting, crap writing, $65 million in crap CGI, heavy-handed Tecate product placement, and freaky fish/elf sex? Why, you get the epic sucktacular that is Hellboy II, The Golden Army!!!

I really don't know what to say about Hellboy II. I mean, I like monsters, I like action, I like special FX, but I did not like this movie. It was just bad. Really bad. So bad, I skipped out early from work to see it, and felt cheated afterwards because work would have been more entertaining.

How can I explain this movie to you? Well, start with Men In Black 2, which sucked badly enough on its own, then mix in a few characters from Lord of the Rings, and imagine a movie that is about twice as bad as what you have pictured in your mind right now.

A great deal of Hellboy II is a quasi-Men in Black ripoff, with the characters lounging around the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. Of course, lots of wacky alien/monster slapstick is constantly occuring in the background, and none of it works. It's forced and corny.

They also tried to make this Hellboy more appealing to a wider audience by cutting down the machismo, and inserting a storyline about Hellboy's relationship and how he's sad that his girlfriend is mad at him. FAIL. The best feature of Hellboy is his macho ass-kicking attitude, but now that they've made him into a weepy emo chick a-la Spiderman 3, he holds no appeal. It also doesn't help that the heavy makeup and rubber face-masks meant the characters showed no emotion in their faces, which is kind of necessary for a storyline about relationships.

All in all, Hellboy II was painfully boring and corny through most of the movie. There were a few chuckles, but no drama, no intense action, and no real story to appreciate. I would recommend it if it came on late-night TV and you had to pick between Hellboy II, and say... Yentl.

SCORING: I give Hellboy II 1 Agent Smith out of a possible 5.

Monsoon Season

2008-07-13T16:53:00.002-06:00

Arizona may be hot as hell, but every year we get a nice break from the heat when the monsoons sweep in. Heavy rain, heavy wind, and heavy lightning always make for a nice end to the sweltering summer.

The storms are just starting to ramp up for this year, so I took a photo of this one coming in over the McDowell Mountains near my house.

It's That Time of the Year Again!
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

Movie Review: WALL-E

2008-06-28T10:25:00.008-06:00

Let's be frank. WALL-E is good. It's damn good. And the more I think about the movie after having watched it, the more I like it.

I went into WALL-E concerned since this was the first Pixar film to be fully produced under the new Disney ownership. And as we all know, the modern Walt Disney Company has a magnificent way of, well, screwing good things up. Thankfully, it appears Pixar can still make a great film, because WALL-E delivers on almost every level.

WALL-E tells the story of a lonely waste disposal robot living alone on a post-apocalyptic planet Earth. Eventually, through a fortuitous turn of events he finds love, adventure, and a greater purpose in life than endlessly cleaning up the shattered remains of humanity's past.

The setting for WALL-E surprised me a little at first, since I don't think I've ever seen an animated children's movie take place in the destroyed ruins of humanity before, but the more I think of it, the more I like it. WALL-E carries some good moral messages in it, which no movies seem to do nowadays, nevertheless children's movies. (Bratz anyone?!) Instead of trying to pander to kids and sell them movie-based toys, WALL-E carries a message that the things we love and own sometimes have a price much larger than what we realize, and when all is said and done, even our most valuable possessions ultimately end up worthless in comparison to what life and the universe around us have to offer.

Visually, WALL-E looks magnificent. Pixar's mastery of the available technology gives us a film with incredible detail that never ceases to amaze. However, we've come to expect that from Pixar, so the real shining aspect of WALL-E is the storytelling. It's refreshing to see such a well written and executed story. Even more amazing is the amount of personality the animators put into WALL-E, considering he has no face, and is actually voiced by a computer generated synthesizer that doesn't even create words. Within the first half-hour of the movie, you actually feel for WALL-E and can identify with him. It's incredible.

My only gripe with WALL-E as a movie would be the lack of a truly good soundtrack. The movie sounded fine, and there was good scoring for the background, but there were no real blockbuster songs or musical numbers like we've come to expect from past Disney and Pixar films. I can't recall any of the songs now off of the top of my head, even though I just saw the movie.

Overall, WALL-E is an excellent movie that I would recommend to kids and adults alike. It's fun, it looks good, and it tells an engaging story with some meaning behind it. Go see it.

SCORING: I give WALL-E 4.5 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Ana and Mike's Wedding

2008-06-18T22:12:00.003-06:00

Just got back from a trip to Toronto, Canada. This time we were up in the great north for a family wedding. Specifically, Ana and Mike's wedding.

Our trip was great, and the wedding was very nice. I'm particularly happy that it was planned for the summertime, as my last trip to Canada in December was a little rough. Canadian winter is a bit too cold for my continued survival. Visiting in the summer is definitely the way to go.

Another cool thing about this trip is that I used High Dynamic Range photography (HDR) for some of my shots. Combining multiple exposures gives you more detail, and hopefully I will get better at it with some more practice.

We flew in a SMALL aircraft. Yes, the Cockpit Door is Open

Flying over Chicago!

You Can Rest Easy Knowing Jetway Technology Remains Solidly OUT of Canadian Hands

So That's Why My Luggage Never Arrives...

I Don't Think We're In Kansas Anymore...

Home is Ouest

Castle Balen (in HDR)

The Entryway to The House is Cool (in HDR)

After my last trip to Canada, I got a lot of grief from everyone in Arizona about not taking photos of the inside of the new house. So this time I took a few to keep everyone pacified.

Inside the Front Door (in HDR)

The Main Stairway (in HDR)

My Arch Nemesis... The Sun Room!

Family Room

Kitchen

Sprawling Back Yard (in HDR)

Rambo Pulls Guard Duty

More Rambo

Gas is $1.36 a liter. That's $5.24 a gallon in America-Speak. (Note They Had to Paste a '1' to the Gas Station Sign Since It Doesn't Go That High.)

Getting Ready for the Wedding

Mike is Getting Ready Too

It's a Groom!

And He has a Posse

The Croatian Church

Inside the Church

The Bride and Her Parents

Ceremony in Progress

Time to Make It Official

This is My New Friend, Boris (On the Right).
Boris Is a Dentist in Slovenia

Sweet Ride!

The Reception Was In a Cool Old Train Station

It Was Pretty Neat Inside

The Old Tracks Ran Under the Grand Ballroom

M.C. Mary Strikes Her Best Hillary Pose

The Ladies Celebrate

And So Do The Guys

Well, that's it for this trip. Hope you enjoyed the photos!

Built With Bad Intentions

2008-05-25T16:11:00.002-06:00

I recently traveled waaay out into the middle of nowhere for a tour of the Titan II Missile Base. The Titan II Missile Base, more formally known as Titan II ICBM Site 571-7, is located in the Arizona desert about 20km south of Tucson, and is what would be commonly referred to as a "Nuclear missile base."

The complex is a massive 8 level facility located 140ft underground, hardened against potential nuclear attack, and protected at ground level by Doppler ground intrusion radar installations. The Titan II missile inside the launch silo is 103ft tall, uses hypergolic propellant for immediate launch, and was equipped with a W53 warhead yielding 9 Megatons. I say "was" equipped, as the warhead has been deactivated pursuant to the 1981 SALT Treaty.

Not a Good Place to Trespass. Use of Deadly Force Authorized

Doesn't Look Like Much from the Surface

Spare Re-Entry Vehicle For the Top of the Missile

Looking Down at the Missile From the Top of the Silo

Let's Head Down Into the Complex

For Security Reasons, Everybody is Armed and Nobody can be Alone at Any Time. You Watch Me, I Watch You...

This is the Launch Control Center

The Red Safe is Where the Launch Order Confirmation Codes are Kept

Two Keys on Opposite Sides of the Room Must be Turned at the Same Time to Initiate Launch. There is No Stopping the Launch After That...

Missiles Away. You'll Need Something to Read While You Wait for Incoming

It Must Have Served Its Purpose... The Flag is Still Flying

The Titan II Missile Base was definitely built with bad intentions. Everything gives off that vibe, from the massive blast doors and reinforced concrete walls to the rooms that are entirely suspended on massive spring coils to absorb shock waves. However, we lived in a different world back then and were facing some very real threats to our security and way of life. I hope the Titan II Missile Base is kept up and continues to offer tours to the public so today's and tomorrow's kids can get a glimpse of what the Cold War was like for us.

Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008-05-25T12:10:00.002-06:00

Yes, we've been waiting 19 years for it, and we finally have a sequel to original Indiana Jones trillogy! Yesterday I braved the opening weekend crowds to get a taste of the latest in the Indiana Jones... uh... quadrilogy? Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull! (Or, IJATKOTCS for short)

Yes, IJATKOTCS has action. Yes, IJATKOTCS has adventure. And yes, IJATKOTCS has Indiana Jones! But sadly, that's about all it has that is of value. I think the best way to describe IJATKOTCS is that I came away from this move entertained, but disappointed.

I'm not sure if the expectation factor for this movie was just too high, or if it truly is a poor movie, but I'm leaning towards the latter. There is the usual Indiana Jones plot line here, with Russian Communists replacing the German Nazis, car chases, spooky tombs, and lots of creepy crawly creatures, but the movie just didn't seem well done.

I think the biggest problem with IJATKOTCS is that it was done by George Lucas, who seems to have lost all filmmaking ability sometime in the late 1980's. Much like the new Star Wars movies, IJATKOTCS took what was previously a mainstream, serious action series and created a new movie that is pretty much two hours of over-the-top slapstick comedy seemingly written for children as opposed to an adult audience. The comedy is oppressive, bad, and in-your-face. There were several points where the theater audience audibly groaned at the humor.

The cinematography in IJATKOTCS was also very heavy-handed and cartoonish, often relying on an overuse of CGI. It reminded me of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow at several points. Finally, IJATKOTCS lacked any suspense since Indy and his friends are basically indestructible super heroes that can smash through walls, be hurled 200 yards through the air to the ground, and plummet off of 20-story cliffs and waterfalls without suffering so much as a scratch. They might as well have slapped a Superman costume on him. There is literally a scene where the good guy befriends the monkeys of the jungle, swings from vine to vine to vine a la George of the Jungle in order to catch up to a speeding vehicle, then swings to the vehicle and has his monkey friends attack the Russians. I am not making this up.

Overall, IJATKOTCS was a poorly put together piece of film that suffers from many of the same faults the new Star Wars films do. It relies too heavily on fake-looking CGI and seems to be a slapstick montage designed for children instead of adults. The mere fact that it's Indiana Jones gives it a great deal of redeeming value in my book, so if it were any other protagonist, I would have rated the movie much lower. But is is an Indiana Jones movie, and Indiana Jones kicks ass, so I rated it a little better than it probably deserved.

SCORING: I give IJATKOTCS 2.5 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Movie Review: Iron Man

2008-05-05T20:52:00.003-06:00

Decided to check out the new Cine Capri theater in Tempe with a few friends this weekend. It's big, loud, fancy, and a great place to see a kickass movie like Iron Man.

Iron Man was a good flick. He's a superhero who goes around killing terrorists. What else could you ask for? Well, I suppose you could ask for more terrorist killing, but let's not get greedy now. Plot-wise, Iron Man follows the life of Tony Stark, a playboy weapons developer who gets captured and held hostage by terrorists. He then develops the Iron Man technology to free himself from captivity and right the wrongs done by his corporate life of weapons peddling.

The audience is supposed to dislike Tony Stark before his redemption due to his cocky elitist attitude and disregard for the well-being of others, but I have to admit I liked the character from the start. He's a weapons developer, he drives fast cars, he dates hot women, he's witty, and he loves America! Besides, there's something to be said for a superhero who's self-made, as opposed to to one that's accidentally exposed to radiation or God-knows-what. It takes a real man to decide to go out and save the world as opposed to having it tossed into his lap.

One of the best things about this move for me was that for once, in a movie with terrorists, the terrorists are the bad guys. There are some other villains involved as well, but at least I can finally see a movie that doesn't make the U.S. military the villain, or try to morally equate us with the terrorists. About damn time!

The music included some awesome old-school rock, the acting was good, Gwyneth Paltrow was hot, and the CGI was very well done. I imagine it's difficult to render such outlandish technology in a way that makes it at least possible to suspend disbelief.

Overall, I enjoyed Iron Man thoroughly. There were only two issues that held the movie back for me. First was that most of the movie was about how Tony Stark became Iron Man, so it was almost like a prequel to the real movie, which is surely in production already if not soon. Second was the fact that after a good dose of killing terrorists, the plot shifted to Iron Man vs. evil corporate fat cats. It was still a good plot line, but not as engaging for me as the first half of the movie. But if you like good action, good humor, and stuff blowing up, go see Iron Man. You'll have a good time.

SCORING: I give Iron Man 3.5 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Fresh Mountain Air!

2008-04-20T19:55:00.003-06:00

We finally broke in our camping gear this weekend on our first camping trip of the year. Loaded up the truck and headed north into the woods north-east of Payson. Mary, Jason, Paul, Shay, Seth and myself found a nice backwoods site right on the edge of the Mogollon Rim (pronounced 'mug-E-on'). Awesome views, windy nights.

Yep, It's a Campsite!

The Awesome View Over the Rim from our Campsite

Mary Attack!!!

Whachya' Doin'? Whittlin'.

It Takes a Real Man to Chop Down a Tree... and Gloat Over Its Remains

Paul and Shay Enjoy their Luxury Accommodations

King... of the Mountain!

Taaaall Dead Tree

F150. The ONLY way to Travel

Fire GOOD

Mary is Enjoying Her First Camping Trip

Jason Checks to make sure the Rim is Still There. Yep, It's Still There.

Group Photo on the Edge

Movie Review: The Ruins

2008-04-20T16:24:00.003-06:00

Saw The Ruins this week, and have to say I was somewhat disappointed. The basic premise is that a group of college-age kids vacationing in Mexico wind up at an ancient Mayan temple where they fall prey to an ancient unspeakable horror. Now, I'm all for ancient unspeakable horrors and it had been some time since I'd seen a good horror movie, so I suppose I built my hopes up a little more than I should have.

While providing a little creepiness and a lot of gore, The Ruins falls short as a good horror movie mainly due to its setting and plot. With the exception of two very brief scenes, the entire movie takes place on top of and around the temple, not inside it. What this means is that all the action takes place in broad daylight, really killing any opportunity for scary ambiance or cinematography. You can always clearly see what's going on and there's no real mystery to what's about to happen in each scene. I realize the storyline is based upon a book, but the story really misses what could have been terrifying had they been fleeing from room to room inside the mysterious temple instead of just camping out and waiting on top of it.

Another reason The Ruins really just didn't work for me was the fact that the aforementioned ancient unspeakable horror was really not so terrifying. They really had me interested and guessing at what this ancient unspeakable horror was, so much that I can't write ancient unspeakable horror without putting it in italics. What I got at the end of the movie however, was just... well... I won't spoil the movie for you, but lets just say that unless you have no legs, are actively bleeding all over, and lie perfectly still right next to the ancient unspeakable horror for some time, it might kill you... if you exercise enough patience, that is.

All in all, The Ruins provided a couple of interesting / creepy moments, and a LOT of gore. If you can't stand people cutting giant hunks of their own flesh off with hunting knives, this isn't the movie for you. It had a lot of potential, but never delved far enough into the spooky temple to make something of itself.

SCORING: I give The Ruins 2 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Springtime at Squaw Peak

2008-03-22T15:36:00.002-06:00

Spring is in the air! And along with it is some awesome outdoor weather. I drove down to Squaw Peak today (also known as Piestewa Peak) and did a little hiking.

Unfortunately I wasn't the only one who had this idea, as the Summit Trail was packed. I went half-way up the mountain before coming back because the crowds were just too much. It was still a good workout though, and I took a few photos as well!

Only a 1.2 Mile Hike... Up a 1,200ft Elevation Change!

I Like the Wristwatch Affixed to the Map Board

Summit Trail is the Only Pet-Unfriendly Trail. Too Rocky and Steep

Too... Many... People!

Downtown Phoenix on the Left, Uptown on the Right

Closeup of Downtown from Faaaar Away

Literacy

2008-03-21T18:45:00.002-06:00

Quick question: When did the public library become a Blockbuster Video franchise? Today I ventured out of my cave to visit our local library with my wife. After navigating my way through aisle after aisle of DVD movies and displays, I finally found my way to the bookcases that apparently have been banished to the back corner of the library. All twelve of them. If the library were a supermarket, the books would be the milk. Something trivial to be utilized only as a lure to draw unsuspecting consumers through the minefield of profitable merchandise.

Having selected my literary prize, I patiently waited near the check-out for my wife to finish her perusing. While doing so, I surreptitiously spied on unsuspecting patrons, making note of whether they were departing with books or, as the library has christened it, "media". To my mild astonishment, not a single person departed with a book. Well, not that I could see at least. I suppose they could have smuggled the books somehow beneath their clothing, but that would bely an even deeper, more disturbing revelation than I am prepared to handle. Every single person departing the library during my wait was checking out a movie. What's up with that? Granted, it's been a little while since I've been to my public library, but when did this change take place? When did the library stop being about books? Should I even care? Or am I just getting old?

NOBC Bel-Air

2008-02-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

Spent the week in sunny California attending the NOBC (National Organization of Bar Counsel) Conference.

The Conference was good, and I picked up some good caselaw that should come in handy responding to motions. It was also interesting seeing how other states, and even other countries, handle their lawyer discipline programs.

We stayed at the fancy Luxe hotel in Bel-Air. It was nice, but very secluded. We ended up taking cabs to go out and find food. The pizza delivery guy was also our good friend this trip. (Dominoes that is, Pizza Hut refused to deliver to us!)

Matt is so Happy to be back in LA!!!

Too bad the Super Shuttles won't stop for us

Fancy

I call this one, "Fruit... and Apples"

My Room was Fancy too.

Rusty is so Stoned...

Amy and Maret posing

The Less-Than-Reliable Hotel Shuttle. It was only 45 Minutes late when I took this Picture

Time to go to Class

You can almost See the Learning taking place

Did some good Drinking in Westwood Village. These are Crazy One Screen Movie Theaters on each Corner

Fatburger! Best Food of the Trip!

Shooting Holiday

2008-01-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

Took advantage of the long weekend and drove out north of town to do a little shooting. I don't normally shoot off of Table Mesa Road, so it was interesting to visit a part of the desert I don't see often... and destroy it.

Had several friends join me, as well as our intern from Germany. I don't think they get to do very much shooting over there, so it should have been a good time for him to try out various weapons.

Daniel the Intern Fires an AR-15

And tries some Full-Auto Action with the MAC-10

Jason Killing an old Computer

Don't have These back Home!

Love Paul's AK-47. Caught the Casing Ejecting

More AR-15 Action

That would make a Good Drivers License Photo

Daniel Catches on Pretty Quickly

More Posing for the Camera

The Voices Tell Me to stay at Home and Clean my Weapons...

Silencers for Everyone!

White Christmas

2007-12-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

Mary and I flew up to the great white north of Canada to visit family for Christmas this year. The house they've been building is pretty much done, and it's pretty darn nice. It was good seeing all the family as well, we don't get to see them enough.

Didn't get to take quite as many pictures as I had hoped as the cold got to me and I was pretty sick for a good part of our trip. Good to be back in a dry warm climate now though, I guess I'm just not built for the cold.

Air Canada lost my luggage. Looks like I'll be Stinky for a while

House is all done!

Rambo Guards the House. Rambo does not like Company

Fancy!

Mary Rests at Home

...before a Traditional Christmas Game of 'Find the Leak in the Roof'

Back Yard. I think a Winter Lawn would be Tough to Grow Here

Toronto! Yes, that's the CN Tower, the Tallest Building in the World, completely Disappearing into the Fog

They Love their Hockey Here... a lot

Welcome to Our Fully Automated Public Parking Facility... NO PUBLIC PARKING

Can you feel my Nose? I Think it Froze Off

CN Tower Hiding in the Foggy Sky

Falling Ice... from the CN Tower... at Terminal Velocity... are You for Real!?!

No Trains Yet

Guess We'll wait at the Station!

AAHH! Dodge the Subway!!!

That's All for Now, I'm Spending My Evening in the Amuse-O-Matic Centre!

Had a great trip and everyone was friendly as usual. I think we'll have to plan some summer trips from now on though. This desert dweller can't take sub-zero temperatures like the rest of the family can.

Idaho & Washington Thanksgiving!

2007-11-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

Met up with the family for Thanksgiving and had some good times. This year we all got together at Christy's and Trapper's new home, in Moscow Idaho.

All in all, the weather was pretty good for our trip, even if I'm not so used to the cold. ;) We had a good time in Moscow, and spent a few days across the state border in Spokane Washington as well.

Look! It Snows in Idaho!

A panoramic shot of the View from Christy and Trapper's Patio. Fresh Air!
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

If You can't Tell, I Suck at Ice Skating. It's a Miracle I'm even Standing in this Photo

But Dale and Jared Seem to have No Problem

Checked out the Old Power Plant and Hydroelectric Dam

River and Dam

Say Cheese!

Awww. Family Bliss

Spill-over from the Dam

Looking at the River

The Old Main Street Bridge in Spokane

Walking the Riverfront

We Stayed at the Davenport in Spokane. Fancy!

Grandma is Enjoying her Vacation

While Jared approves of the Food

Grand Canyon!

2007-07-21T22:52:00.000-06:00

Took some time and made the drive up to visit our local natural wonder, the Grand Canyon. You know, I've lived in Arizona most of my life and never really get around to visiting the Canyon. I think I recall going once as a kid, but that's it.

Canon was having one of their Photography in the Parks workshops on the South Rim, so I figured I would go check it out and maybe get a few photography tips at the same time. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had another plan and the Canon people bugged out when the lightning starting coming after them.

That's okay though. I still got to take a lot of photos, do some light hiking, and enjoy several hours out of the normal scorching temperature of the desert. I can learn about the histogram function on my camera another day...

Looking out into the Canyon from the South Rim

That Squirrel is Flaunting the Park Rules!

Yes, He's Real. And not Afraid of Anyone!

Uh-oh, Storm is Moving in over El Tovar

Spooky Tree Clawing at the Storm

Wait, why is Paul taking Telephoto Photos facing away from the Canyon? Must be the Local Wildlife...

Is that what I look like when I take People's Photos?

And we begin our Descent into the Canyon...

...but not too Far!

Who's Toes can those be?

Heather's of Course!

A panoramic shot of the Canyon from the South Rim. Sorry, didn't use my Exposure Lock, so you have to deal with color-changing sky.
(Click Image for Large Panorama)