Sharing photos, videos, vintage images I've discovered, and -- occasionally -- commentary and thoughts from retired life and travels.

May 2010

Kite Surfer

May 31, 2010

Kite Surfer, Virginia Beach, Virginia, May 10, 2009


Gallery: Virginia Beach, Virginia, May 10, 2009

(click on image for larger version)


We spent part of a day walking the beach, boardwalk, and a pier when we were in the area visiting family.  This photo was taken from the pier.


See more of our Image Galleries at Haw Creek.


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When it comes to many projects, endeavors, and merchandise touted as “green” these days, I find myself becoming more and more skeptical.

“Green” – for whatever reason – has come to symbolize environmentalism, likely through the association of green color with nature, health, and growth, and “green” energy generally refers to renewable and alternative production and use of energy.

An recent article in the Washington Post looks at five myths about green energy:

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Americans are being inundated with claims about renewable and alternative energy. Advocates for these technologies say that if we jettison fossil fuels, we’ll breathe easier, stop global warming and revolutionize our economy. Yes, “green” energy has great emotional and political appeal. But before we wrap all our hopes — and subsidies — in it, let’s take a hard look at some common misconceptions about what “green” means.

5 Myths:

  1. Solar and wind power are the greenest of them all.
  2. Going green will reduce our dependence on imports from unsavory regimes.
  3. A green American economy will create green American jobs.
  4. Electric cars will substantially reduce demand for oil.
  5. The United States lags behind other rich countries in going green.

Check out the full Washington Post article: Five myths about green energy.

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There are 3 children missing and a television reporter was killed by a “blizzard of rocks and debris” in the current eruption of Guatemala’s Pacaya volcano near the capitol, Guatemala City. At least 65 people have been injured.

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Gunnison Point

May 27, 2010

Gunnison Point, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park


Gallery: South Rim – September 9, 2009, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado

(click on image for larger version)


See more of our Image Galleries at Haw Creek.


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Setting

May 25, 2010

Canton Lake, Oklahoma, August 29, 2009


Gallery: Canton Lake – Oklahoma, August 29, 2009

(click on image for larger version)


The sun was setting in a sky laden with smoke particles from fire in the Los Angeles area.  Canton Lake was the first stop on our 2nd trip of 2009.


The Station Fire (August 26 – October 16, 160,577 acres (251 sq mi; 64,983 ha), 209 structures destroyed, including 89 homes) started in the Angeles National Forest near the U.S. Forest Service ranger station on the Angeles Crest Highway (State Highway 2). Two firefighters were killed on August 30 while attempting to escape the flames when their fire truck plunged off a cliff. The blaze threatened 12,000 structures in the National Forest and the nearby communities of La Cañada Flintridge, Glendale, Acton, La Crescenta, Littlerock and Altadena, as well as the Sunland and Tujunga neighborhoods of the City of Los Angeles. Many of these areas faced mandatory evacuations as the flames drew near, but as of September 6, all evacuation orders were lifted. The Station Fire burned on the slopes of Mount Wilson, threatening numerous television, radio and cellular telephone antennas on the summit, as well as the Mount Wilson Observatory, which includes several historically significant telescopes and multi-million-dollar astronomical facilities operated by UCLA, USC, UC Berkeley and Georgia State University. A 40-mile (64-kilometer) stretch of the Angeles Crest Highway was closed indefinitely due to guardrail and sign damage, although the pavement remained largely intact.


See more of our Image Galleries at Haw Creek.


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Several years ago, I took a blogging journey through the American Civil War.  Each day, I posted material from the corresponding day in a specific year of the war.  I started with the fall of 1860, the last several months before the war started

At first, the material was from news articles, including images, from both sides, with a semi-regular entry from the diary of a Washington, D.C. clerk.  Over time, a couple of more diarists were added with fewer and fewer news articles. 

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On of the things I was trying to do was to – like so many others – “make money online.”  While I was making virtually nothing from the civil war chronicles, I was making a couple of hundred dollars a month on another website.

With another year until the diarists would reach the end of their war, I made the decision to abandon the civil war chronicles and concentrate on trying to capitalize on the success of the other site.

Two years later, that site is still earning money – a couple of hundred dollars a month. 

I keep getting distracting off into other things that interest me more.

That being the case, I’m taking a step back to the beginning – a new civil war based blog. 

It’s called Diaries of the Civil War, though it will also include letters and other narratives.  Most posts will be for the corresponding day 150 years earlier. 

The blog is organized as though there is a community of authors. Each diary, letter, and journal writer will appear in the blog as a contributing author.

And, yes, it is already live. 

The main events don’t begin until later in 1860.  Until then, I will be populating the blog with material, for the most part, that occurred before the current date in 1860.

It is at http://dotcw.com.  Please come visit.

It’s pretty plain right now.  I will be adding graphics later and links later on.  Yes, there will be advertizing, but the ads will not intrude into the content. 

I’m already learning new stuff – and, it’s hardly even started.

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