Tag Archives: Tulsa

Oklahoma Sugar Art Show and Grand National Wedding Cake Competition 2016

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One event I try to never miss is the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show at the Tulsa State Fair. it is only two days so if you snooze you lose. This year I couldn’t go Saturday so like a pagan heathen I went Sunday. Lots less pushing and shoving if you you Sunday I found out but there is still a lot of people.

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The theme this year was “Mad for Metallics” so there was a metallic theme to the entries. My favorite cake was this Steam Punk themed cake. All sorts of gears and pipes and such.

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Here is a detail. Marvelous is what I say.

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I loved this gardening themed piece with the butterfly.

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And this Winnie the Pooh themed item with the Pooh and the bee hive.

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And this was absolutely gorgeous.

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And these gears,

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And these happy flowers. I wonder if they are a bit creepy though.

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And there were a couple of Day of the Dead pieces also. That day is fast becoming my favorite holiday. Now I am sounding creepy.

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And a mask, I love masks. There used to be lots of mask entries but they are so fragile.

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And a classic beautiful piece.

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I love the lattice work. How do they do that?

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And a Victorian themed cake.

Our World – Tulsa’s Renovated Central Library Opens

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On Saturday the Tulsa Central Library reopened after a three year renovation. They had speeches and presentations and all that. I missed them, but you and I know what they said probably.

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I was happy with what they did. They opened the structure up, added lighting, and all sorts of whiz bank technology. They still have lots of books but the emphasis is more on computers and education now. The days of patrons wandering through the stacks looking for books is over. Most of the books I get from the library are digital downloads to my Kindle or Ipad. If I need a physical book I order it and they deliver to the library of my choice. Plus libraries are storing more of their books offsite in non-public buildings. Lots cheaper than using expensive downtown real estate.

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They knocked out the center parts of the second and third floors to give the building a more airy open feel. It works.

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Plus they have all sorts of new furniture to facilitate what patrons do these days. The old library had tables with chairs and rows of chairs. Many people bring their laptops and so now they can sit in semi privacy with a laptop table and plugs and a place to stow their backpack.

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Or they have these cool chairs. I don’t like semi-privacy cuz I like people watching and listening in their conversations. You better watch what you say when you are around me because I have big ears. I like that the furniture has a midcentury modern “feel” to it in tune with the building it is in.

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One of the coolest things are these study spaces that they have extended off the second floor onto the balcony. They are climate controlled and have windows on all four sides, three of them to the outside. They are of various sizes and configurations. I think they are wonderful.

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And here is a view of one such study space looking to another. I think these are fabulous.

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And speaking of the balcony they have opened it up again and there are more seating out there. What a way to spend a lunchtime in nice weather.

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They have computers for the regular clientele plus they have computer education rooms of different types. They have literacy education spaces. It is all pretty exciting.

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As for the books they have new undershelf lighting. I don’t know about you but sometimes the lighting is dark in libraries the few times that I have tried to find a book rather than order it.

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I got all excited, a card catalog!! Alas, it appears to be a catalog of obituaries from way back when. Remember the good old days of searching through card catalogs and making notes with little stubby pencils on little pieces of paper and then going off to find the book. Yeah, I remember those days and they sucked. Give me a digital search any time!!

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See that glass and granite building over there? That is where I work, one block away. I’ll be resuming weekly visits to the library to sit and read, people watch, and listen in on your conversations.

I’m linking with Our World Tuesday

Shadow Shot Sunday – Downtown Tulsa Shadows

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Autumn is here and some of the trees are changing colors. We are several weeks behind friends in Colorado and elsewhere higher and further north.

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There is still lots of green. I love this ramada at Guthrie Green just north of downtown. Nice and shady in the summer and sunny in the winter when all the leaves fall off.

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Our downtown Library is reopening after a three year renovation. I’ll be going there later today to check it out. Solar heating, rainwater collection systems, revamped heating and air,  a 3D printer, enhanced technology. I haven’t heard anything about books. Do libraries still have books? You can depend on me to let you know.

I’m linking with Shadow Shot Sunday (even though it is Saturday). Sunday will be here soon enough.

Skywatch Friday – Arkansas River Sunset

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Tuesday night I made a run late in the day on the Arkansas River Trail right off downtown here in Tulsa. I was able to get this shot above of a sunset. Pretty soon my evening runs will be in pitch dark but now I’m enjoying the earlier sunset and slightly cooler weather.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday

Turkey Mountain Skywatch – Eastern Sky at Sunset

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This is a cell phone photo from the lower yellow trail on Turkey Mountain looking roughly northeast across the Arkansas River across south Tulsa. I’ve learned over the years that sometimes the best view at sunset is not towards the sun. I love how the river is reflecting some of the pink in the sky.

Summer is rapidly coming to a close. The temperatures are a bit lower, the humidity is much less, and the mornings are very nice.  Autumn is my favorite season in Tulsa.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday

River Parks Ride with Heather

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Heather and I went on a bike ride today on Tulsa’s wonderful River Parks trails along the Arkansas River.

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We started on the east bank and went north a ways. (“A ways” is how we say things in Oklahoma, just so you know.)

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That was about a mile and then we went across the west bank across our brand spanking new pedestrian bridge with emergency call stations every 50 yards or so.

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And then headed down south past the PSO Tulsa Power Station.

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Not as many people on the west side of the river compared to the east side. It is a lot more remote with fewer access points.

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Heather kept the pace up even though she said she said her legs were dead. She teaches Zumba classes a few times a week. I’d be dead myself.

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I injured myself in a Labor Day run but I guess that I’m cured. My knee doesn’t hurt at all any more. Don’t tell Heather or I’ll have to vacuum or mow the yard or something. Can you keep a secret? Yeah, well I can’t either.

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Anyway, we got about 15.5 miles. My garmin shows a half mile less but I didn’t get it started until we started the ride.

You know, I think a 15 mile plus or minus is a good ride. So we celebrated by going to a frozen yogurt place. And then home to watch the Cowboys lose to the Giants. Heather cleaned house because she didn’t know about my miraculously cured knee that you promised you wouldn’t tell her about.

So, what did you do Sunday afternoon.

Hit and Run – Downtown Tulsa

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I was taking a noontime stroll Thursday on 7th Street, not too far from the Double Tree Hotel in downtown Tulsa when I heard some yelling behind me. I turned around and I saw this guy, looked to be in his late 20’s or early 30’s running toward me chased my two other guys. They were yelling at me to stop him!! I had no intention of doing any such thing and wouldn’t know how anyways. Then appearing out of nowhere was a police car that passed within a few feet of me, and then stopped. The lead guy running basically run into the car and the policeman was out of car in a flash and told the guy, “Back up!!” And then “Turn around and puts your hands together behind your back!” I was impressed, the cop wasn’t yelling but he definitely had his command voice going really well. I thought he was doing his job in a very professional manner.

This was all happening within five feet of me which I decided was too close so I started walking on and I stopped and turned a couple times to see what was going on and I noticed the cop studying me really hard but I guess that I didn’t look like a criminal or anything so besides the middle level bureaucrat that I am so I just kept walking on, wondering, “What did the guy do?” I had wanted to take some photos of what was going but the cop had his hands full and I didn’t want to be a distraction to his task at hand.

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So I walked a block west until 7th street diagonals into 6th street and I saw all sorts of firetrucks, fire rescue trucks, sheriff’s deputies, and policemen right near the county courthouse so I meandered down there and got up on the plaza of the adjacent police headquarters building and asked some ladies who were there also supervising the action what happened. They said a guy in a car ran into a truck and then took off on foot. I could not find any personal injury attorneys Platte River Injury Law. So I’m guessing that was the dude the policeman caught a few minutes earlier.

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Despite all the emergency vehicles there, I didn’t see any ambulances so I am hoping that nobody was seriously injured. There hasn’t been anything on the news either, according to the  Las Vegas injury lawyer, who handles injury cases. You can also get in touch with Mike Massey Law – Injury Law Firm to get legal help from the best attorneys for accidents and injuries.

With the help of the Tips From Recovering from a San Antonio Workplace Accident, my theory is that the great majority of criminals are just not very smart. It takes a real dummy though to take off on foot from an area with the highest concentration of law enforcement officers in the city.

Anyways that is the most exciting thing that has happened to me all week. What about you?

Negativity and More with my Takashi Special Effects Camera

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Holy Family Cathedral

When I was rummaging around Saturday looking for my generic Go Pro camera and I found my Takashi Special Effects Camera. It is kind of strange little camera with only 5 MP but it has various special effects built in such as negatives, black and white, sepia, and so forth. Check here for a list of my previous posts. Anyway I found it and fed it the AAA batteries it chews up like candy and took it for a walk at noon in downtown Tulsa.

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I love the negative effect. It makes me see old sights in a new way.

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It also gives scenes a spooky feel. I kind of like that.

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The camera also has no shutter. When you press “the button” the camera just scans the photocell. So if you are moving the camera while it is scanning it distorts the image in ways that are pleasing to me. It is called the Lartigue Effect after a Frenchman named Jacque Henri Lartigue who discovered the effect in the early 1900’s. It can make buildings look kind of wavy.

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I went down to the temporary replacement library for the Tulsa Central Library to pick up a book that I had on order and found out that that since they are closing it to move back to the regular library  they moved it to another library, miles away. Oh well.

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I love our library and the staff and have known a couple of them over the years but the present administrator I kind of worry about. The library gave him several months off to finish his PhD and then we come to find out that that he spends a huge amount of time and money flying to conferences here there and yonder. Much more so than libraries of similar sizes both regionally and nationally. He says that is where he found out about automated book checkout machines. Wow, I remember those from the last century. Oh well. I go to one conference a year and I think I’m pretty much up on what is going on in the natural gas industry. Oops, off topic.

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My favorite sidewalk in downtown Tulsa on Denver avenue.

So I walked back to the office taking pics along the way. Isn’t it wonderful that electrons and photons are still free?

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Downtown Tulsa in a negative mode.

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The entrance to a downtown apartment complex.

Anyway I always dragging my lowfi funky Takashi out, feeding it some batteries and taking it for a walk.

Bike Ride to Sand Springs and a Blowout

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I was on my own Saturday afternoon. Heather is in Dallas with other fitness instructors learning all sorts of stuff and son Logan at rehearsal as has a small part in musical based on Romeo Juliet (more to come later on that) so I thought what the heck I will ride my bike over the recently reopened bridge linking the Tulsa bike trails with those of Sand Springs. Also, I wanted to use my GoPro camera clone. An SJ4000 that I’ve had over a year and half and hadn’t used much. See it mounted on the handlebars of my bike.

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Here I am adjusting it.

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Us guys know that looking at something sideways always helps with whatever you are doing.

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I finally got it going. It can take video continuously or it can take photos when you hit the button or it can take pics at set intervals. I had it set to take pics every 20 seconds. Once you get it started it just keeps on going.

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So I got to the north end of the of the Riverparks trails and went under the freeway via the new underpass headed to the reopened pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks. The bridge has been closed for several years it seems.

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And here is the bridge, just as narrow as I remembered it. The approach from the south is a lot better with more room but the exit at the far end is still a blind turn and very sharp. Oh well. As a bonus a train was going under just as I passed over. Have I ever told you that I love trains. I do.

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And then across the bridge and then along Charles Page Boulevard to Sand Springs.

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Past the Tulsa Police Department garage. Lots of wrecked police cars there. Makes me think of the guys who keep us safe. I am totally behind Black Lives Matter but am also totally behind Police Lives Matter also. Shoot, everybody’s life matters. You may notice the photo is tilted. The bicycle mounts that come with the the SJ4000 are not very robust. I might have to invest in something better. They lose position with the jostling and vibration of the ride. People can have a peek at these guys if they need the best limo services.

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Oops, I used to ride this route a lot years ago when the bridge was last open. I forgot about the steep climb from the Arkansas River Bottom up the hill. I didn’t have to walk the bike.

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At the top though there were two other bikes and this walker all hit the intersection at the same time so we all turned into walkers. They guy walking said, “What a ***** traffic jam you guys have going on, in a good natured manner. I turned to the left. Going to the right heads you back to Tulsa and you go past back side of the jail and then by the Day Center for the Homeless. Years ago, I took that route and a couple drunk guys outside the Homeless Center were cheering me on: “Go Lance Go!!!” they yelled and pumping their arms.  That was kind of the highlight of my athletic career. I went by there a couple of other times and they weren’t there. You know, fans are fickle. Just ask Lance.

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Hanging a left, the trail is an old railroad bed. So it is flat and shaded in a few places.

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You have a few roads to be concerned about.

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Oops, the camera shifted again.

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I met a few bikers coming back at me.

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I had a three hour window and so my plan was to turn around after an hour. Give me an hour leeway in case something went wrong. With Heather out of town and having to pick Logan up at a set time after rehearsal I was a little nervous. So here is the one hour point where I stopped the bike and took a little water break. Oh, and don’t worry I wore a helmet. I just took it off during my break.

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So then I headed back and pretty soon the bike was like bonk, bonk, bonk, It is like what? Well the front tire had a little hernia. So I said well, I’ll just ride it until it quits. And then I thought that last time I had a blowout it was on the back tire and I almost lost control. Not good on the front tire. So I got off the bike and walked it and sure enough, POW!!! and it was all over. So, now what?? Hmm, my plan was to stash the bike and get an Uber or a taxi back to my car.

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I didn’t see a good place to stash the bike on the trail so I went under a freeway overpass.

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So see that white fence leading to a concrete wall? I walked the bike and put it up against the wall. Hidden from traffic and no sidewalks or anything. Best I could do.

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Yep, that is the spot. I didn’t lay it down, I leaned it up so it was all shadowed. I was a little nervous. Then I went across the street  to the Taco Bueno, found out that there were no Ubers available so I called Yellow Taxi. About 15 minutes later, Enrico showed up in the Taxi  and took me back to my car. I drove my car rented from MiramarSpeedCircuit back out to the Taco Bueno and my bike was still there. So I loaded it up and went to pick up the kid with 15 minutes to spare.

Pretty amazing I think. Just think how different things are now compared to when we didn’t have cell phones and apps and all that.

Anyway, it was a lot of fun. My camera, with its 20 second timer, took 240 photos and I cut them down to about 30. Digital is a lot more convenient and cheaper than film. Maybe next time I’ll cu cut the interval down to five seconds. The camera is pretty noticeable and I had a couple of pretty female bicyclists smile and wave at it as they went by (surely they weren’t smiling and waving at me!). I passed a couple geocachers looking for a cache. And lots of other people. None of them showed up on the camera.

So, all in all, not a bad day it turned out. I got to visit an area of town I hadn’t seen in a long time, check out my camera, and was able to bail myself out of a situation.