The last entry for the year

Well its been a good year. Much has transpired and many memories made. But now its time to say good bye to the old and welcome the new year. To all of you out there here's wishing you the very best in the upcoming year and may it bring all the things you need.

More late night ramblings...

Well with the advent of the rain and the melting of the snow that for the past couple days had me holed up in my house gone it was a day to venture forth and once again see the world. I must say it was good to once again step out the door and smell the air though it still held a faint hint of the crispness the snow brought. The fields not encumbered by the mantle of snow was once again showing its rich soil in furrows and ridges. 

As I sit now back in my house, listening to the falling drops of water outside my window and contemplating my bed being as the hour is quite late... or early if you consider that this is the morn of the new day, my thought goes out what other aspects of this year came and went. To each of you out there this year has undoubtedly brought firsts, lasts and events in between. Having passed the winter solstice and the days getting longer as we hurtle on through time and space towards another long summer day what other new firsts, lasts and events in between will we encounter.

I once contemplated the usefulness of being able to see into the future. What fun, I could figure out what the daily jackpot numbers were going to be and be as rich as a pig with a field full of mud. I could know when danger was coming and save millions.... and I could also see into the far distance and read my own obituary and live every moment with the knowledge that I would die at a very set time and place and there would not be anything I could do to stop it. Because if the thought is that I could know the winning numbers to the lottery and that thought and knowledge did not change the course of events then why should I be able to change the time of such things as that which is bad and harmful. 

But I cannot see the future and in a way it is for the best I guess. Looking back though with the well known 20/20 vision that we all posses we can see the actions that we have taken over the course of the past year and I wonder how many I would have made had I known the outcome of them? How many such decisions are yet to come I cant say but what will I do with them in the future. But the drip, drip, dripping of the rain is slowing and so should I. Off to bed, rest relax and rejuvenate to face another day. And besides I got a few more days of 2008 to enjoy before it is but another memory to store in my collection of memories and I should make the most of it while I still can.

Finally something to post

Well I guess I have been somewhat lax in posting... and so here I am again. Yesterday with was sunday I had the opportunity to go out and do some shooting. Being as it is cold this was a bit of a stretch for me as I have mentioned in past posts I like it not so frigid. Anyway shoot I did and on my walk I noticed that in the black and white world of snow and everything else there still seemed to be subtle shades of color peaking though. I was captured by the shades of brown leaves which in contrast to the rest of the scene which was blanketed in white almost had a red or rust colored look to it. Well having worked with the images of the trees I decided that by them selves they did not adequately tell the entire story so I turned them into a triptych, Enjoy.

Finishing Finals and getting ready for more white stuff

After spending the last several weeks getting ready for finals and looking back over notes and handout it is finally over. To some extent it can be called anticlimactic just because once you hand it in and walk out well thats it. There is no real feeling of elation other than knowing that the quarter is officially over. 

On a unrelated but equally interesting note, because you know things are hopping in this end of the world... More Snow! I like snow... the white has a clean and fresh look and it makes the mountains look so pretty... but that does not mean it makes everything pretty. The sidewalks are festooned with patches of ice that make walking on it somewhat of an exercise in balance and agility... and humility if you have the great fortune of allowing your feet to get the best of you and tell your body to go one way while they go another... feet can be tricky like that... Specially when its so cold that the messages between your feet and your brain freeze up. Anyway the forecast is for more snow. Well I am sure children all over Walla Walla are looking forward to it as the snow we have to this point gave them a snow day today and I am sure if the weather gets bad they might be expecting another tomorrow... and then its vacation starting on the weekend so who thinks they are going to want to come in on friday anyway... I guess with it being a snow day today everyone is just going to hit the holiday mood early and kiss the next two days goodbye as far as getting any work done. 

This thought brings me to wonder about all the poor adults as it would seem who are wishing they were kids and got a snow day too. Isn't being an adult great? You get to do all the cool adult things like pay bills, worry about the economy, go to work in snow, hail, rain and all manner of crazy weather. And I am sure your boss is always looking over your shoulder just to make sure your not goofing off. 

Happy holidays.... No really... enjoy it... it could be worse... you could have an itch in the middle of your back from all the layers you are wearing because its so cold... Oops you have that too... Oh well I guess you are going to have to find a nice long ruler or stick or something and wont that be sooo good when you get that itch... see things are looking up already. 

More snow and more pictures

Being as the white stuff keeps falling it is an occasion for staying indoors and working on my pictures. And being that the last shoot gave me something to work with this seems like the perfect opportunity. 

First snow of the season

Well the white stuff keeps falling and falling. The first big storm of the season... well at least thats what the meteorologist are saying... is bringing a dumping of snow. Within the last several hours at least 2 or three inches have fallen and it doesn't seem to be stopping. I have not decided if this is something good or bad yet. On the one hand it makes for some very interesting photography and on the other its cold. 

I cant say I am not accustom to the cold having experienced at least 10 winters now, but on the whole I think I like the warmer weather as far as something to live in. It just might have something to do with my being born and raised on an island 7 degrees north of the equator. But winter is officially here and with it the snow. Well at least the option of building snowmen is there... and maybe an igloo as well....

More pictures and Joe

I have been working on processing a few more images from tuesdays impromptu photo-shoot. Today as I was working on these images I had one of those rare (for me;-) "ah Ha" moments that helped me to understand why the images look the way they do. I have been wanting to experiment with this look and have not quite understood why the images looked this way even though I knew the process of how to get them to look this way. But today for some strange reason things aligned and in my head there appeared a pictorial representation of the zone system and how the tones of these images stretched and squished that scale to look like what they do.... anyway it makes sense in my head even though it comes out as crazy babbling sounds when I try to explain it. 

But understanding is the first step... which reminds me of an old cartoon saying. 

If anyone remembers the cartoon G.I. Joe, soon to come out as a movie which is not to be confused with Joe the Plumber... but anyway, at the end of all the episodes one of the "Joe's" would advise a kid who was doing something "wrong" who would naturally see the light and the phrase "... and knowing is half the battle." would be uttered. Well what no one seems to get is that they just had a half an hour or 20 minuets of violent action with bullets flying and buildings exploding everywhere as the good guys battled the bad guys.... and the rest of the story is that knowing may be half the battle but the other half is bloody violence and mayham... Hmmm.... I am sure thats not it.... or is it? You tell me?

Beating the dead week blues by getting spontaneous

I have been wanting to do some shooting for some time using some lighting equipment. Being as the end of the quarter has been drawing near and all the other commitments piling on it has had to be on the back burner. Last night almost in a spur of the moment... well I actually thought about it two mights ago... but none the less I drug out the soft box, grabbed my camera and was off to do some shooting. 

Last night we had a very cool concert by Aaron Roche, setting up the soft box at first outside on the grass and later moving it into one of the side rooms of the village hall I literally snagged people as they walked by and had a mini photo-shoot. For those of you who stopped by a huge thank you and we should do it again because you are beautiful people!!!

I have also been intrigued with a very specific style of portraits and the images attached are my experimentation and exploration of this style. Out of the shoot I think these three images best suited the style. Enjoy, and next time you see a goofy looking dude with a crazy setup looking for volunteers... well come on by and say hello.

Parade

This evening Walla Walla celebrated its parade of lights. About 60 cars, truck, bicycles and other forms of colorfully lit floats paraded down main street and others in a loop that gave everyone present a eyeful of the brightly lit contraptions. The mood was one of merriment yet at the same time there was a sense of people doing their own thing. 

I am not sure if it is just the season that is bringing me to notice this but as I have mentioned in a previous post I am noticing the facade that society calls community. I recently re-watched the movie WALL•E and this may also have something to do with this tangent I seem to be on. But as in the movie everyone is so connected with everything that they don't even know each other or that they had a pool. 

Anyway back to the parade and the lights. Maybe we need more of these events so that people once again start coming out and mingling and maybe we will start to get back the sprit of the community back.

Caroling to Hunting Men

This has been quite the eventful evening. It started with the festive activity of caroling. Being the season to bring good cheer to others via the singing of songs on the door step, a group of Walla Walla University students went from door to door singing the songs of the season. While this was a most enjoyable activity I wonder why it does not happen more often. It seems that as a society we are becoming more and more separated and isolated, shunning communal activities that once brought us together.

The recent story in the news about the "Black Friday" tragedy in New York in a sense is a typical example of where this leads society. To be so driven to acquire materiel objects that we as a species would step on someone else with no remorse or concern is sad. On the same token were the people gathered there viewing others present as fellow shoppers who like them were enjoying the seasonal low prices and reveling in each others company waiting for the doors to open for a morning of shopping? I think not, more like trying to elbow their way to the front of the line, what your pregnant well an elbow in the kidney will get you out of my way and give me an edge. We are getting so distant from each other that we have forgotten how to interact, behave even.

But not all is doom and gloom. Several students have organized a game of Man Hunt. The object of this game is to complete a route of several locations and get back to the starting location within a given time period. Now you may say... piece of cake... or, what thats just like a foot race... well the catch is that there are several others who drive around in cars that if they spot you will pick you up and deposit you back at the starting point where you can hang out till the next game or in the case of the last game till everyone gets back. 

Its a fast paced game and knowing where to hide and which fence to jump if the need arose makes the chilly air more bearable and the people one meets helps to bring that sense of community and camaraderie. It is often seen that in times of stress or need such as a war or in our own recent history of 9/11 or the hurricanes, people came together to support each other. Well being as such events have more negative aspects than positive aspects, games such as this are a much more exciting and rewarding way to build that sense of community.

Playing with Pigs

Today was the last Biology lab of the quarter. While I am both happy and sad to see the quarter almost over the last lab being what it is was also a time for some fun. We have been studying the anatomy of a fetal pig for the last couple weeks and with the project coming to a close it was an opportune moment do do a little exploring and do some casual dissection. Liz, Chelsea and Brandon who I share a table with were quite voracious in the scalping and exploring of the remnants of our beloved specimens.

Fishing the Yak... again

Well on the way back from Seattle, determined to get in some time on the water I stopped along the Yakima river to wet a line. The evening was quite productive with the trout being quite willing to take a fly. Being as it is starting to get colder these fish seem eager to stock up on what little insects they may happen by before the icy grip of winter takes hold.

Thanksgiving in Seattle

Well its been a while since I have had the time to update this and much has transpired since. Going back and retrieving memories in a chronological fashion what comes to mind first is the trip to Seattle. Having the couple days of break from tests, homework and other misc. studies it was good to get out an visit with friends. During this visit I decided to play with the idea of creating some images with my point and shoot which I have got into the habit of carrying with me. I have been looking into the concept of the decisive moment that Henri Cartier-Bresson so eloquently often spoke and more correctly captures in photographs. Well only being a student of the subject and my no means a master of the technique and also because I have a perverted nature that forces me to create "homework" assignments for myself even when I am on holiday... Well I played with the idea. The technique of zooming through the exposure was something I had seen and tried in the past and when the off chance of that synapse crossed with another in my brain I spent most of that evening sitting in the passenger seat of my buddies car as we drove on errands snapping away and reveling in the interesting images that I got.

The trip was fun and I think that I will have to keep this style in mind and feel more free to experiment and capture other decisive moments of my own life as I go through them.

Hiking to the sun

The gloom of fog shrouding the valley with its cold and clammy fingers prodding and poking into bodies as they hurried down paths leading to errands and places. Being a sun loving tropical kind of person I was missing seeing the big shiny orb in the sky and to some extent was starting to go though withdrawal... I needed a fix... and as far as I knew, short of driving to Tollgate the other place I could access the sun would be up Blacksnake ridge. Convincing a buddy of mine to go on a hike I headed out for the sun. The fog was thick going up the steep and narrow road and often we could not see for more than 20 feet in front of the car. But we made it to where the car could not go any further without damage to the underside and hiked from there. 

As we climbed though the cold of the mist still hung around us we were greeted by the scent of pine and fir needles wafting through the air. This sweet smell drove us on with renewed energy to reach higher up the ridge.

And sun, the faint rays poking holes through the mist was our reward. Enjoying the sun for about 20 minuets when it started to drop below the tree line we sighed a satisfied sigh and began the trudge back to the depths of the gloom and back home. But sun we had if only for a moment and that small glimmer recharged us for a while.

Frost and fishing

Another weekend has come and gone, and with each passing day the air gets colder as the march of winter comes close. Determined to get a few more days of fishing in before I must hang up my waders for the winter I set out to once again ply the waters of the Walla Walla river and discover what bounties of aquatic delights awaited me. 

Arriving at the parking lot to the area I spent a few minuets chatting with some of the locals who had bagged themselves a couple birds. We chatted about our fortune of having such an ideal accessible area so close to where we lived and the fortune it provided through the seasons. 

A few minuets later donning my gear I sally forth into the thicket that encompasses the river. I have on previous occasions traveled down stream so today I decided to explore upstream. During the last couple weeks heavy rains, well heavy for this end of the state, caused a rise in the river level and with it caused the bed of the river to be scoured in some places and the substrate to be deposited in others. But as this was relatively new area to me while I could see the effect of the rushing water the holes and lies of the trout were yet to be explored. 

I did not find the monster that broke me off when I was last here but my day was not a complete bust. One thing that I enjoy about the trout in these small streams are that they fight like they have something to prove and that no lure is a match for them. It may also be the case that being a smaller stream they need to be more opportunistic in their diet and feed on whatever may come their way.

After catching and releasing a couple my eye was drawn to the frosty leaves along the high water mark. Though clumped together, cottonwood and aspen leaves formed a intricate pattern with the crystals of ice heralding the end of Fall and the near arrival of winter.

Sitting at home feeling mellow

The weekend is here and for the most part well looked forward to. Its been a busy week and while there are many things that got accomplished there are a number that didn't. I guess this is true of all weeks. But, now the weekend is here. Do I stay active all weekend working on projects, exploring interesting places, catching up on all the fun things that I had to put off during the week or is this the weekend for relaxing, sleeping and the general veg-out? 

At this point though I am leaning more to the side of the latter I feel the need to be doing the former. For the last hour I have been reading the general blogs and sites that I try to follow and there have been a couple things that have caught my eye.

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wa/nwis/uv/?site_no=14018500&PARAmeter_cd=00060,00065

Looking at the most recent results the Walla Walla river might be in good shape tomorrow... Low and clear, however the wether report points it out to be a windy day with sunday being similar with less wind... I might have to put it off for a day or so. 

On the blog Canon Rumors the latest post talks about Canon holding off coming up with a new body till late 2009 while Nikon is planing on a body to be shown in a couple weeks or so... I don't know if I really believe that Canon will sit that long. While I believe the turn the economy has taken makes it harder for new equipment to be sold as everyone is penny-pinching, will the camera giant be allowed to be shown up for too long without coming back with a one up of their own. 

Looking back at the recent scuffle with video on a still body, Nikon was first to market, but Canon one-upped them with more impressive features. At the same time Canon did this to the mid range cameras which means it is either going to one-up them selves with even more features in the flagship model or not have this feature in the flagship model and really concentrate on making it a studio/ high image quality camera. Also with the latest breakthrough (now a couple weeks old) in reducing the space between the micro-lenses and developments of new forms of substrate such as black silicone the future looks interesting. Going back to the post that got me thinking about this, in the winter/spring (March) the photographic industry will be converging on Vegas for PMA 09, an ideal location me thinks for a one upping... 

Well we are going to have to be patient about it... but being as I am in a vegetative mood... I guess I can wait.

Just the words

They say a picture is worth a thousand words... well I guess that would be true if I had the chance to get the picture. Since I had about an hour and a half of free time this morning between classes and work I decided to be productive and go fishing... 

I headed down to the Walla Walla and spent about half an hour walking along the bank when I spotted a splash and the back of a monster trout. Quickly switching flies to one that I though would entice it I cast up stream and tried to get a natural as possible drift to the fish. Being a novice it took more times than I wish to confess to but in the end I was rewarded with a slash and a grab and the game was on. At first the fish was not fighting too hard as the river at that point was not very deep nor wide so it did not have much room to run and I was able to bring it towards me quite quickly. That was my first mistake.

Being that this was a beautiful steely that was glowing with color and if I had to guess several pounds... it was about 18 or 20 inches easy and definitely thicker than my shoe to which it got about 3 feet away from... well I guess my shoe was not to its liking and my 3wt, which was the second mistake, was not the beefiest rod... it did a flip, splash, slip and was off down stream, reel screaming for a couple seconds before the line managed to wrap its self around a snag and with a twang give back the fish its freedom. Man I was so close.... Next time I need to take the 6wt and someone else to carry the camera. That way I can just show you the picture and not have to worry about the thousand words, which in retrospect would not have done that picture justice anyway had I got it.

A day and today...

Well it is officially thursday which means a day and today till the weekend. Its been a busy week as all weeks around here tend to be. The weather has been on the wet side with gusts of wind bringing rain one moment and blowing it away the next. As it is the end of fall the rain is hastening the dropping of leaves creating giant piles which are tempting to go jumping in except for the fact that the whole pile is like a sponge soaking up the rain and would make for a wet landing. Not quite the idyllic situation. 

I hope the weather starts to get dryer as the forecast is predicting. It might be a good weekend to go dunk a fly with the hopes of pulling it back out of the water with a fish attached to it. But a day and today to get through till then.

Back at home

Well the adventure over I am back at home. It was not exactly what I had planned but not all things happen as we expect. Anyway I did get to go fishing today and saw the sun so overall it was a good day. As an added bonus I got to see Dalls Sheep in the Yakima canyon.  Pictures from this weekend.

Off on another adventure...

Well I am out the door and looking forward to another adventure. I will be going fishing in the morning with a fellow fly fisherman that I met online via a fly fishing forum so it will be a great opportunity to met someone new as well. 

Went on a lovely walk this afternoon with some friends and it was cloudy and cold, but the kind that makes you want to be out and just enjoy the mist as it faintly swirls around you. When a warm jacket is like a long hug. And the colors of the fall though past its prime still lingers in the limbs and on the ground covering the trail in a golden carpet. 

But, I must move on. More later...

Energy from the sun and other clean energy

As a graduate with a degree in Environmental Science I am always interested in seeing what new technological advances are made that would create clean energy. While browsing though the articles I came across a couple that caught my attention.

Sun + Water = Fuel

This article in the MIT tech review caught my attention as the concept of plants capturing energy from the sun to perform such feats as to grow for hundreds of feet or like varieties of bamboo a foot per day where you can almost watch it grow... How can such a humble organism with its fragile proteins and enzymes do what keeps scientist scratching their heads. Well looks like we have finally caught up. This discovery combined with another recent discovery for black silicone might bring about a new revolution in clean energy. Interesting times.

On another note, Walla Walla is surrounded by hills where wind farms are common. I have on occasion had the opportunity to go close to these giants and watch as the sometimes 50 ft blades swing round with a commanding swish. Another new discovery that may make this form of energy more efficient is right now being tested up in Canada at a wind farm. 

Laser Sensors for Wind turbines

Maybe one day soon all these new devises will go into production and we can gain the benefits. 

Lugging the camera

I have made it a habit this week to carry my camera around with me as I go about my day. While this has allowed me to use those free minuets to capture interesting compositions of fall and the colors around me it also serves to remind me to pay attention to the details. In a previous post I made mention of a dream lens. A 28 - 135 mm f/2.8 with internal focusing. 

Image stabilization would be a nice touch too; however, one can't expect everything. I have been walking around with the Canon 100 mm f/2.8 lens. While this is a very nice lens that is fast as well as sharp I cant but daydream of the possibilities of the perfect lens that would have this and more. Sharpness, large aperture, zoom and most important an affordable price tag. I'll post some images from this week later when I have time to edit the stack down. But for now I think I will continue to carry the equipment I have and continue to look at the world and notice the details.

A blustery day in the Valley

Election day and as the presidential race has been called all the pundits and commentators are on the air gloating about having called the results or defending their statements. In the valley it was a cold windy day and I must give props to anyone who braved it to vote. Way to make you voice heard regardless if your candidate won or not. 

I on the other hand decided to be proactive as well but regarding lugging my camera and using those otherwise wasted moments to and from places to make some images. I think I will be doing that more often. 

Objects

Over the past several weeks I have noticed that I am shooting less primarily due the my busy schedule. Today was no different but for the fact that I happened to have my camera on me and when the opportunity of two spare minuets showed its self I was quite happy to go trigger happy. I cant say that all or even many of the images that I took are worth or deserving a second glance but one did stand out as a favorite.

I guess on the whole it pays to have the camera with me and I think I will be doing it more.

Fun Weekend

I had the opportunity to visit a friend up in Pullman this weekend and had a blast over there. She had invited several of her friends over, and being the night of halloween, came in dress and disguise. 

Pirate, Witch and Jester among others rounded up the more traditional costumes but we also had the unique and the voluptuous and the nitrogen fixing bacteria that came attached to quite a nice legume. The night wore on with conversation, laughter and puppets that terrorized. 

More pictures of the night.

Dunes and dust

A few more images that I was able to work on from the Juniper Dunes shoot. The almost sunset like atmospheric conditions were courtesy of the ATV's that were zooming about.

Juniper Dunes with Matt

I spent the afternoon with a old friend hiking in the Juniper Dunes wilderness. Both Matt and myself had unwittingly decided that this would be a place to explore so when I met up with him and the topic of where we should go came up it didn't take much time to decide. 

The Juniper Dunes area is ringed by privately owned farmland and access is very limited. However I had read online prior to meeting up with Matt that there was an easement agreement that the landowners had agreed to so that the public could access this area. Heading out we followed the directions and came to the area. Parking the car in the area designated for such we decided to hike in. After we had walked in about 200 meters up to the top of the first rise we were overtaken by a gentleman who was taking his brand new ATV for a spin. He offered to give us a ride in and being as we could increase our time in the area this way we accepted.

The ride in brought back memories for both Matt and I, who had spent a year on the island of Pohnpei many years ago. Riding in the back of the ATV with our legs dangling off the back and holding on to the side made for some fun times. Our travel benefactor mentioned an area that few other ATV's traveled so that we would have a more peaceful stay and agreed to give us a ride out to it. As we had turned off the main path the trail got more rugged and this gave us the need to hold on for dear life. The worst/best/you gotta be crazy for doing this, instance came when the ATV was gunned down a 40 degree back to pick up speed and then proceeded to climb up the other side which was even steeper. 

One must remember that we were sitting in the back of an open bed with the tailgate down and being as this was only a ATV our legs from the knees down were sticking straight out of the back. Well when that puppy hit the uphill slope and the driver gunned the engine to get it to the top a couple things happened all at once. The first bump gave both Matt and I some air... our butts were probably a good two or three inches off the bed of the ATV. Having gunned the ATV it picked up speed and decided to go up the hill. Well this would all have been good except for the fact that since our butts were not in contact with the vehicle was in danger of getting left behind. For a fraction of a second both Matt and I went into survival mode scrambling to grab on to each other and also anything else solid we could get a grip on to keep each other attached to the now speeding ATV as it finished its climb out of the gully.

After dropping us off at a spot not far from this spot we bid our new friends goodbye and proceeded to hike about enjoying being both alive and still in one piece. I must say that this is a area that I plan on going back to real soon as I only had about three hours in the area and could see that to fully appreciate the possibilities I would have to spend much more time here.

Dream Lens

I have been giving this topic some though over the past few weeks, and to some extent this might just be my own fantasy but if I was to have any say in the design of a set of lenses I would have a very specific set. Right now I have a Sigma 17-35mm, 50-500mm and a Canon 100mm (macro) as the standard set in my camera bag. However what I find is that for many of my shooting situations the ideal focal lengths don't quite cut it with what I have hence the thought put into this subject. 

If I could design my own line of lenses I would have 4. Some of which already exists. Going from wide to tele; I would love to have a Canon 16-35 mm f/2.8, The second would be a 24-135mm 2.8 IS, the third, the 100-400 mm canon lens that exists but that I cant afford right now along with the Sigma 300-800 mm lens. The last two are more for specific situations such as wildlife, birding, sporting events.

The closest lens that comes to the second exists as the 24-135 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. While I love the range on this lens the variable aperture could be made better by going to a fixed f/2.8. There was also some wobble in the front end of the lens that I used due to the design dictated that the front element extend and therefore was on a separate tube.

When I talk to many of my friends who are also gear-heads to some extent many if not all consider to Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS the de-facto lens to have. I think that even they would agree that if the 24-135 f/2.8 IS existed the four lens lineup I wish for would be the most versatile.

But for now all I can do is play with what I have and look forward to the day when I can have the dream lineup.

Timeline

Sometimes it is important that each of us look to the future and decide where we want to be. Its is also important to look back and see where we came from. Ten years ago I would have been hard pressed to guess and or predict that where I am now would be where I wanted to be. Furthermore when I look to the future and say here is where I want to be in ten years that may not be a realistic summation of where I will be. 

There is a saying "Shoot for the moon, and if you miss you will end up in the stars". While this lofty goal is both admirable and insightful it by no means makes it valid to the here and now. Can I say I am among the stars now because I missed the moon of my prediction ten years ago? What if my goal now is and always will be the same as that I had in the past...? Am I supposed to do a "U" turn and go for it. 

As far as I can tell humans have not developed a method for traveling through time. Well it is possible that someone may have discovered how to move forward in time at a rate faster than the rest of us and my one of these days appear to us miraculously at the same age as when he or she left the past but what good is that going to do them. OK so the didn't have hi-def TV and microwave ovens back then but really is the world that much of a better place? Hopefully they bought some stocks that didn't crash in the last couple weeks and they are rich or else they are sure to not be able to buy gas for their time machine. But I digress.

So what's up with setting a goal for what one wants to be. We ask little kids what they want to be when they grow up. What a horrible thought. Well kid, what profession would you like to be in so that you can work too many hours a day to pay for things you want to have but cant afford in the first place. 

There is the idea that we should get a job that we like doing and not one that we have to do. True, but, some ones got to wash the dishes and clean the cobwebs... and after all this you could be hit by a bus in the morning as you cross the street and its all over. The latin saying "carpe diem"  says that we ought to seize the day. Live for today, or as a recruiter for the army might tell you "Be all you can be". But what does that mean. Am I being less than I could right now. Maybe I could be learning to juggle with my feet while my fingers tackle the keys on the computer. Am I more than I was? 

Goals and timelines only point out what could happen. Who you are right now is all you can be right now. Maybe in the next minuet you will grow a second head and be more than you were the minuet before but till then you are always all you can be. Then you can once again be that child and say I want to be a grownup when I grow-up, but for now I am a child who on the whole has less of the worries of the world on my shoulders. Timelines and goals... someday I am going to look back and say, ten years ago I was wondering what the deal was with timelines, now I understand. Well maybe I will by then or I might still be wondering that, in any case I hope I outlive the timeline.

Weekend on the coast

This last weekend I had the opportunity to spend some time on the Oregon coast. The initial excuse was to take pictures of the surfers on the surf trip but it turned out to be more of a photo exploration for my self.