Old October walk.


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Last time the weather changed, I was embracing darker images. That was a very very hot day in October, at Robert E. Lee Park, just north of Baltimore City. I was excited about bunking down for the eventual fall and the winter. I was livid that it was so hot, especially since we were to take a daytrip to Washington a day or two later.

Now, I’m happy when the forecast is warm. I am thirsting for some color, some sun, sandaled feet. I am bummed at this weekend’s forecast, which means movies and reading and cooking. But no fun outside awesomeness, especially since I woke up with a tickle in my throat today.

Poor me.

It’s been cloudy and crappy so many days this spring that I would enjoy a nice, sunny, hot day today.

Remind me, in two months, that I said all this.

Photo Friday: Fragile.

SR-71 engine.


The engine of an SR-71 at The Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum.  I kept thinking of how insanely high-tech that plane looked and the fact that it is an obsolete technology now.

Photo Friday: Far From Home.

I will also be far from home today.  My paternal grandfather is back in the hospital, and my maternal grandmother fell yesterday and is staying at my parents’ house, where I am headed today to help out.  I get to teach a ditty tonight on bike types and the basics of bike parts, which is fun and a useful means to not think about things too much.

Enola Gay Bay.

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Bomb bay doors on the Enola Gay. (Please forgive the poor picture quality this week.)

Photo Friday: Emotions. At the risk of sounding corny and/or overly dramatic, here is the plane that changed the world, that the door that did it.

Cog brush bristles.

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I’m not certain how useful/effective my chain cleaner was for chain cleaning because, frankly, I waited too long to clean our chains and over-did the lube last time i put it on — and used too-sticky lube.  The jury’s out, though it is fun to use.  But this cog brush worked great for getting the crud out of our cassettes, chainrings and pullies.  It looked like it got run over by a greasy truck when I was finished, but, hey.  It took one for the team.  It cleaned up pretty well, too.

For Photo Friday: Found Object.

Coffee shots: the good life?

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Photo Friday: The Good Life. You might be thinking, “The good life? Coffee? Isn’t that shallow?” I mean, after a decade of studying Western philosophy, shouldn’t this be a photo of a relaxed person, contemplating comfortably in a cafe’? Or after studying Eastern philosophy, why photos of a mind-altering substance like coffee?
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It’s been…a week. So right now, Friday morning, when I have to run around until about ten or eleven tonight, teach kids about bikes, go see my sick grandfather days after his 80th birthday, work on job stuff, etc., coffee is the good life. I know; everyone is busy. So you should know what I am talking about then.

Watercolor’ed last week.

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Along with the small spending limit for gifts, we thought we’d have fun with V-Day this year with the help of homemade cards. I pulled out the Moleskine watercolor book a friend sent me a year ago and a watercolor set I got for Christmas in 2004 and set to sketching. What I wound up using for the card was a roughly-brushed heart and wash deal that I almost tossed. This is the corner of a bad little woods and sky sketch that my wife stole and took to work, only to return it when I had a hissy fit. A total hissy fit. I don’t think I can paint like I used to be able to.

I was, however, happy with the Moleskine watercolor paper. The original sketch books just let the water run and never soaked anything up, at least in my experience. Which is not to say that I don’t like that paper for making cartoons about funny things I read about and people I don’t like. The color and texture of the Moleskine watercolor paper are both just right for some quick dabblings. The pages are cut at the edges for removal, too.

Especially considered the sketch/notes nature of Moleskines, it was nice to have paper so welcoming to the watercolor. Regular Moleskines don’t take thick inks very well, but I always assumed this was because of their origin as notebooks, where ballpoint ink or pencil makes the most sense, on the go, in a pocket, waiting for a train or a lover.

Photo Friday: Art.