Before I left DC for my short Christmas vacation to see my family in Florida everyone was saying how lucky I was to get away from the cold and snow of the District. I told them that Florida itself was having record low temperatures. Today I went shopping with my niece. I wore a short-sleeved shirt in the temperate rain. Yesterday my mom told me to put a jacket on and it was in the 60s.
Me, my mom, my sister-in-law, and my nephew all went to the barber today. For my nephew who is nearly 2, it was his first haircut. It was my first trip to the barber in approximately 3 years, maybe more. (I usually just buzz it off myself.)
Here we are in the reflection of the skylight at Orlando International Airport. By "we" I mean me, one of my sisters, my brother, my sister-in-law, and my nephew. We are one of the dysfunctional families that both legend and movies are based on.
Monday was the last day of the semester. Adam was out in the school's parking lot carving through a decent-sized tree trunk with an electric chainsaw. It's the first step in shaping before he goes at it with chisels. Even though classes have stopped, for serious artists the work doesn't.
I went out to walk around tonight during the first snow of the DC Winter. Me and my friend Don stopped into CVS in the middle of the flurry. The security camera allows you to greet yourself on the way in. If WalMart catches on to self-hosting there will be a lot of old people out of a job.
I took this photo in January 2000 in the Mojave Desert during a large training exercise I participated in and covered called the Combined-Arms Exercise or "CAX." This photo (which has to be the coolest self-portrait I have ever taken) had recently been hanging in my bathroom behind the toilet. Yesterday I decided to stay home and clean up some old stuff, so my photo choices consisted of this or a pan of fried rice.
I was already on my way to comatose when the Swing's Christmas party started. It seemed like I did something out of order that made me uncomfortable the entire night. By "out of order" I'm not referring to hurt feelings or belligerence; I'm talking about drinking 4 eggnogs after several rum and Cokes. Enough second-hand smoke materialized in my lungs to give a giraffe a sore throat. After several performances by Frank, Swing's electrician/magician, I made a fan out of a fork and a Styrofoam plate. Someone called me Cleopatra because of it. Instead of acting out (with at least violent words) against the remark, I was too tired to care. The atmosphere was perfect at the Xchange Saloon. My final drowsy moments (before staggering through the crowd and out the door) were submerged in a Charles Dickens underworld. I believe this illusion was created by both Frank the Magician and the eggnog.
This is my own variation of the first photograph which was a heliograph by Nicephore Niepce made in 1827, and entitled "View from his Window at Le Gras." I am doing some last minute studying for a History of Photography Final Exam I have this morning.
This is Kurt taking a look at my laptop. I mentioned I had a display problem and he said I could bring it in and he would look at it. Since it is no longer under warranty "look at it" can also mean remove panels and poke at computer innards marked "Warning: High Voltage" with a small screwdriver. "Hey that thing says 'High Voltage,'" I said. Kurt assured me the sticker was only there to ward off any attempts at home repair. In a very short time Kurt found that his earlier diagnosis of a faulty video cable was correct. He was sure it was the video cable, but mentioned that it might also be the circuit board right next to it marked "High Voltage."
The monitor to my laptop is acting crazy making it hard to view anything. As a result I watched part of a Charles Shultz cartoon last night. Mostly to practice taking screen shots with my camera. During a commercial break I was both saddened for him but happy for the health of the World, when I realized that Ronald McDonald might be going through a difficult time.
My computer is having some type of display error. This makes it more difficult to use. I put up two new sections in my portfolio, photo stories and photo essays. The pages still need some work. It's the first time I've ever done any web-related work this in depth. I'm still working on it.
