I’m using PC as in the generic “personal computer.”

That milestone is that PCs are now smart enough to mess with you. They know you’re working late, maybe all alone, you’re tired and that extra beer didn’t really help — and then your PC grabs the opportunity.

A minor, insignificant, unobscured thing just to mess with your brain, but be gone just before you get the opportunity to show it to someone.

Like this one which got me the other night …

###

This just sort of made me laugh when I found it, so I just thought I’d take a moment and share.

I sure do hope this didn’t cause you to miss your bus.

###

I just found this, and it’s quite fascinating.

Peter Schiff virtually had a crystal ball to see the financial health of the U.S., and the other financial “experts” just laughed at him.

This includes financial news clips from 2006 and 2007.

###

The following post falls directly into the category of shameless self-promotion.

This is a closely monitored category by the Special POC Police Force. The POC consists solely of police cadets who failed training in any other police program — this is a group you do not want to mess with.

Those who break the rules concerning self-promotional activities are usually snatched-up, without warning, as they walk out their door, exit their car, or are just taking care of business in a public rest room. They are immediately blind-folded, and taken to the special venue established for public humiliation.  At that point, only the unspeakable remains.

So, to play it safe, I just checked the Big Book of Rules, sub-category Self-Promotion, sub-section Shameless or Flagrant, and there it was — it would appear that I am no where near my quota.  Actually, I’m in a credit status, telling me that I need to do more of these.

In any event, you can comfortably breath a collective sigh of relief.

WAIT! Don’t go yet. We haven’t arrived at the start.

Sorry about all that — just taking care of business (not as in the way used above).

OK, here’s the start:

MSNBC.com has a sub-section in the Travel sub-category titled Picture of the Week.

A photo that was exposed in the camera I was holding, loaded with Kodachrome 64, back in 1983, while shooting a Honda commercial in Arches National Park, is in this week’s finalists for Picture of the Week.  I would guess the idea now is to be the highest vote-getter.

So, to make it easier to find my photo on the MSNBC Web page, I created a focused version — simply click on the Web page thumbnail and you’ll see where my image is.

As it looks now, I don’t have a chance in hell of winning.  But, if you take the time to look at the page, and feel just a bit of pity … that’s good enough, as I’ll gladly accept a vote of pity.  And sharing this info with your closest friends (down to distant acquaintances) would be acceptable, too.

Just think how great you’ll feel as being part of a group that really made a difference — or, consider how you’ll feel if you don’t.

Lastly, please feel free to use any or all those little tiny buttons right there … see them? … just below these last few lines, for your added convenience.

Ready to Vote?   MSNBC’s PICTURE OF THE WEEK

Gracias … Thank you … Obrigado … Вы … 감사하십시오 … Merci
Dank u … 谢谢 … Σας ευχαριστούμε … ありがとう… Danke

FINE ART PRINTS

This photograph is also available as a high-resolution, gicleé print, with many sizes to choose from. Custom framing is also available.

###

From the time a baby is born, to sometime before they learn to speak, they still remember where they came from … and I’m not referring to the womb. I mean the place before that — that place we return to when we leave these cheap, humanoid housings behind.

And that’s why babies cry so much: they are totally bummed when they get here, and want to go back.  But by the time they can speak, those memories have been overwritten by Tipsy-Aunt-In-Your-Face-Martha, Crazy-Uncle-Bad-Breath-Bob, and all the other Earth monsters.

Hell, maybe this is purgatory … uh?

###

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – If a woman wants to drive the men wild, she might want to dress in red.

Men rated a woman shown in photographs as more sexually attractive if she was wearing red clothing or if she was shown in an image framed by a red border rather than some other color, U.S. researchers said Tuesday.
The study led by psychology professor Andrew Elliot of the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, seemed to confirm red as the color of romance — as so many Valentine’s Day card makers and lipstick sellers have believed for years.

Although this “red alert” may be a product of human society associating red with love for eons, it also may arise from more primitive biological roots, Elliot said.

Noting the genetic similarity of humans to higher primates, he said scientists have shown that certain male primates are especially attracted to females of their species displaying red. For example, female baboons and chimpanzees show red coloring when nearing ovulation, sending a sexual signal that the males apparently find irresistible. continue reading >>

As we have probably all heard: “If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem.”

I believe, in this situation, it does hold true.

First, my credentials: I do not have any training in veterinarian medicine, I do not have any advanced training in statistical analysis, and I am not a recognized mathematician nor a scientist.  My point is that it does not take a genius to figure this out.

At random, I selected a county that I was able to access historical animal-handling data.  The following is from fiscal years 1999-2006, Merced County Animal Control in central California. The numbers do not include dead animal recovery (i.e., road kill).

• 70,219 pets were handled

Of those 70K pets …

• 4,528 were recovered by owners … approx 6%

• 6,211 were adopted … approx 9%

• 49,340 were euthanized … approx 70%

• the remaining 15% were transferred to shelters, etc.

Therefore, in Merced County alone, almost 600 animals per month were euthanized (or 20 per day).  Where did they come from?  Why did no one claim them?

The total Human Population in Merced County was 240,162 (latest available 2005).

Let’s extrapolate …
continue reading >>

Since the early-1950s, it has been common scientific knowledge that one in every four PAD clusters attached to each strand of DNA is constructed with a limited number of syllables available over a typical lifespan.  These are the larger of the two DNA PADs, and commonly known throughout the scientific community as maxiPADs. It’s the smaller of the two, the miniPADs, which carry the unique, and often overlooked identifying punctuation.  As is evident, this is rock-hard science broken down into a more granular form.

continue reading >>

Displaying photography is the primary visual aspect of my Web site. I’ve tried many different methods and technologies over the years, yet I’ve never been satisfied with the results. They’ve been tedious, cumbersome and slow.

For the visitor, viewing my photos should be a pleasant experience that can be customized to their liking, not one hampered by constant clicking, waiting for pages to load, etc. One that automatically adapts to different screen sizes … and even has a full-screen option.

For me, the gallery should permit simplified changes and updates of images as needed, without turning it into a big project … continue reading >>

In 2003, I had the honor to meet and work with Dr. Hank Payne, President of Woodward Academy. He was to be introduced, in a somewhat formal fashion, to the business leaders of mid-town Atlanta, by Tom Murphy, owner of Murphy’s Restaurant.

Not being very comfortable with public speaking, Tom elected to introduce Hank via a video. Hank graciously agreed to take the time to be part of this video, even though he knew he would be making fun of himself.

I do believe this video allows you to meet the man loved and admired by so many, and now truly missed.

Please watch to the very end for a brief blooper by Hank. It captures his wit, his modesty, and innocence, and for me holding the camera, I couldn’t stop laughing.

Tom Murphy contacted Chris Schroder to produce the project, and Chris contacted me to make it happen. I co-wrote the script with Chris, and then I shot and edited the project on an extremely tight schedule.

Related: I Lost a Friend

Addendum 2008, July 22

I really do not know what to make of this, nor was I sure if I should even post it. But searching Yahoo! for “hank payne” results in over two-million Web pages. I doubt those who were closest to him will ever fully heal. He was one of a kind.

Dr. Hank Payne

Some years ago, my long-time friend and colleague, Chris Schroder, contacted me to see if I could shoot and edit a five-minute video in four days, with four different shooting locations.

“Of course,” I replied, with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

We were to shoot two of Atlanta’s prominent residents, with one introducing the other. Tom Murphy, owner of the very popular Murphy’s Restaurant in Virginia-Highland, was to introduce Dr. Hank Payne, the president at Woodward Academy, the largest private institution in the United States.

I knew Tom, and I knew we’d have plenty of laughs with him. But the president of a huge, private school? Dr. Payne, or Hank as he preferred, was a surprise from the first moment. One of those rare individuals who has you all busting up within minutes after meeting him. He fell into his acting character like a natural.

The video (link below) — even though rushed and a bit unpolished — was a huge hit for both Tom and Hank. We all had a great time making it.

BUT WHY?

Sadly, there was something about Hank Payne that he kept very close to himself. Because this devoted family man, active in the community and his Temple, ended his life earlier this week, placing all who knew him in a complete state of shock.

Just hours before he took his life, he headed a huge rally at Woodward, with all the motivation and excitement people came to expect from him. But apparently no one has any idea what drove this very special man to end his life. Hank Payne is now at peace.

Hank Payne’s Video Introduction

Godspeed my friend.