Window View to Seattle
Seattle Space Needle
Seattle Cruise 1
Seattle Cruise 2
Glacier Kayaks
Raft Excursion
Sea Otters
Alaskan Fishing Boat
Glacier
Ketchikan
Pencil Plant Sunset
AA Museum
Helicopter Girls
Helicopter 2
Helicopter 3
Sunset 1
Cabo 1
Hawaii 1

Blog

Getting Away.

Ah, vacation time has finally arrived, leaving for Tennessee in the morning. So what’s the appeal, you might ask? Well primarily it’s because it’s someplace we’ve never been. Not to mention it’s the country capital of the world. While I’m not a huge country fan I do have certain favorite performers, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flats, and Big and Rich to name a few.

One place I do want to go is the Gibson guitar factory in Memphis and take the tour.

I’ll be posting more including pictures as I have the opportunity.

Oct 08, 2010 | Categories:Travel, Vacation | Leave A Comment »

Added new Gallery – Sept Sunset 2010

Sept Sunset Gallery

The end of September brought us some very unique weather here in San Diego. A low pressure off of Southern California forced tropical moisture up from Mexico into the southwestern US. On Sept 30th we experienced thunderstorms most of the day. There were over 2,000 lightening strikes throughout the day in SD county. Fortunately there was no serious damage. The rainfall we experienced was enough to extinguish the majority of the fires started.

This gallery is a subset of a series of photos I took that evening from my backyard. The progression of photos were taken Sept. 30th, between 5:30pm and 7:00Pm PST.

Oct 04, 2010 | Categories:Photography | Leave A Comment »

Christians in Gaza Fear for Their Lives as Muslims Burn Bibles and Destroy Crosses.

Rev. Terry Jones of Gainesville, Fla. has stirred a firestorm of controversy with his proclamation for a so called “International burn a Koran day”, originally scheduled for this 9/11. Admittedly this guy is a flame missing a wick, and while I disagree with his ideology and his method of protest, I’m astonished that the dinosaur media is so focus on him and not the reactions coming from the middle east.

The so called main stream press seems preoccupied with trying to label elements within our own society as being extremist and  they overlook the obvious examples within the Muslim communities of the middle east. In Gaza Christians are  already being targeted at the mere threat of someone in the U.S. possibly burning a copy of the Koran.

Father Musalam additionally told The Jerusalem Post that the Muslim gunmen used rocket-propeled grenades (RPGs) to blow through the doors of the church and school, before burning Bibles and destroying every cross they could get their hands on.

Where are the examples of Christians using RPG’s to break into Mosques and desecrate their holy shrines. There are none.

In the U.S. there have been art exhibits which have depicted the crucifixion cross of Jesus in urine. While there were protests by many and death threats for the “so called” artist by a few, no acts of violence were committed.

Andres Serrano (born August 15, 1950 in New York City) is an American photographer and artist who has become most notorious through his photos of corpses, as well as his controversial work “Piss Christ“, a red-tinged photograph of a crucifix submerged in a glass container of what was purported to be the artist’s own urine.

Let us look truthfully at how Americans react to acts they find offensive verses the reaction in the Muslim world to acts they, find offensive. There is no correlation.

Sep 11, 2010 | Categories:Common Sense, Politics | Leave A Comment »

Grasshopper Skeleton Clock.

Clock 17

I’ve added a new gallery with images of my construction of a solid brass skeleton clock. Built from plans by W.R. Smith and published in the book, How to make a Grasshopper Skeleton Clock, this clock uses a unique escapement dubbed the “grasshopper escapement” due to the motion of the pallets while the clock is running. It is made almost entirely from from solid brass. The exception being the gear arbors, pallets and pendulum rods. Every piece is custom machined and hand fitted. All the material was purchased locally with the exception of the main spring and fusee line which were purchased from Ian T. Cobb in the U.K. I’ll soon post a page with a more in depth description of the images in the gallery.

Sep 08, 2010 | Categories:Metalworking | Tags: , , | Leave A Comment »

Mission Style Morris Chair.

Morris Chair

Labor day weekend and I find myself with some time to spend in the shop. I started this project back In December of 09. The plans are from an article in Fine Woodworking by Gregory Paolini. The chair is constructed from quarter sawn white oak. I have the main framework of the chair complete as well as the ottoman. I’m currently working on the back which is about 80% complete. Please fell free to comment.

Sep 08, 2010 | Categories:Aside, Woodworking | Tags: | Leave A Comment »

White House Panicking Over Elections!

With democrat approval ratings swimming with the fishes, it’s no wonder they are quaking in their boots over the possibility of loosing both the house and the senate in the upcoming mid-term elections. What’s even sweeter is that the dinosaur media are beginning to realize it as well.

CBS Congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes said the Democrats are distancing themselves from President Obama.

Cordes pointed out that predictions show the Republicans can win 45 to 50 seats in the House, and they only need 39 seats to take control.

Jim VandeHei, the executive editor of Politico notes:

…Democrats are much more pessimistic than they were merely three or four weeks ago. He cited a recent Gallup poll that showed Republicans with a 10-point generic edge. “They’ve been polling for 60 years. We’ve not seen a number like that.”

While the outlook is good for republicans this fall, we must stay vigilant and focused on the prize. If you are concerned about the disastrous effects of the Obama agenda on the future of our country and the legacy that will be left to our children, I urge you to take action and get involved. You can make a difference. Please visit Wining in November and take the pledge.

Sep 05, 2010 | Categories:Politics | Tags: | Leave A Comment »

Obama’s failed stimulus program cost more than the Iraq war.

The Democrats and liberal pundits have been crying for years that the cost of the Iraq war and the Bush administration economic policies are what have caused our current economic crisis. As we approach the November elections you’re going to hear this talking point repeated over and over. Mark Tapscott of the Washington Examiner posts a nice distillation of a piece done by Randall Hoven at AmericanThinker comparing the actual costs of the Iraq war contrasted with Obama’s failed stimulus spend program.

Aug 27, 2010 | Categories:Iraq War, Politics | Leave A Comment »

Praying for an Indian Summer.

Sheez, I can believe August/Summer is winding down. Seems like yesterday that my kids were celebrating the end of the school year, anticipating time off with friends, and going to the beach; but here we are registering for classes, buying books, and prepping for the beginning of high school & college fall semester.

It’s been an unseasonable cool summer. Typically, August and September are our warmest months in the great southwest, but only in the last week or so have the temperatures been consistently above 80. The last couple of days have been in the high 90′s and it feels great. Keep it coming.

My wife and daughters went to see the Padres play the DBack’s this evening. Unfortunately they picked a bad night. 4-0 by the 2nd inning. 9-0 by the fifth. 11-0 by the 7th. In the eighth we scored 5 runs and it looked like there could more, but alas, a pitching change brought everything to a halt.

I pray the warmer weather holds, as I love the dog days of summer. There is something about the sultry heat especially in the evenings as the sun is setting. Nothing is more peaceful than sitting on the patio with my wife, a cold adult beverage, and enjoying a game of Zilch.

Aug 26, 2010 | Categories:Aside, Life in SoCal | Tags: | Leave A Comment »

No-Armed Pitcher Gets a Hand From Pro Baseball Teams!

If you don’t have to push your adam’s apple back into your throat after reading this story, you aren’t breathing.

Every throw I’ve done has made it into the catchers mitt.

Aug 26, 2010 | Categories:American Spirit, Aside, Life in SoCal | Leave A Comment »

Another day in paradise!

It’s another typically beautiful day here in Southern California. We’re having guests over this afternoon so, after mowing the lawn it was off to refill the propane tanks for the barbecue.

Waiting in line to get the tanks filled, I met a character with a PINCH between his cheek & gum. He was very colorful and quite talkative. I was trying to focus on what he was saying but the wad stuffed in his lower lip was too distracting.

From there I headed over to the local hardware store to pick up some sprinkler supplies and Hummingbird food, we don’t want the little critters go undernourished.

Finally back at home. Cleaned up the patio, and now I can relax and enjoy the view with my favorite adult beverage.

Aug 22, 2010 | Categories:Aside, Life in SoCal | Tags: | Leave A Comment »