X is for Xylophone, played by my wife Sweetie at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in Saint Louis.
Check out ABC Wednesday for Alphabet Photos from all over.
Microsoft Image Composite Editor
Microsoft Image Composite Editor is a free handy tool from Microsoft that combines multiple images into one such as panoramas.
I was at the airport picking somebody up today and I took pictures of a mural depicting various people in the energy business. The mural was too big to fit into one shot so I took five photographs with the idea of combining them somehow.
The result
All I did was open the photographs into the program and it did the rest.
It’s free, check it out at the link above.
Deep Woods Geocaching
One day the week before Christmas I used my lunch hour to find a geocache in one of our city parks in west Tulsa. The cache is called “Corbin’s Deep Woods Cache.” How could anybody resist a cache with a name like that? I couldn’t. There is nothing better to get your head on straight when you are all frazzled than taking a walk in the woods. “Deep Woods” sounds so much better.
The first part of the trail was great. It was more of a sidewalk than a trail but it is headed the right direction.
I turned off the concrete onto this. It had the barest hints of a trail. Generally when lunchtime caching its not a good idea to wear anything knit. It’ll get ruined. I go lunchtime caching two or three times a month. My coworkers make fun of the leaves in my hair, seeds stuck to the back of my shirt, mud on my shoes, and other tell tale signs of my hobby. I’ve thought about putting some overalls in my truck to wear. That’d be ok in the winter. It would be too hot in the summer.
My coworkers put up with a lot. On business trips I’m always asking for somebody else to drive so I can take photographs and I get up early and go to bed late to go caching. Plus if we go to the People’s Republic of Kansas it takes me several liquor store stops to get all the Fat Tire beer I need. I haven’t quite figured it out but the State of Oklahoma won’t allow it to be sold within its borders. Just one reason why Oklahoma has just a touch higher moral tone than the rest of the world. We may have one of the highest unwed teenage pregnancy rates in the country, but just think how much higher it would be if we allowed Fat Tire to be sold in Oklahoma?
Oops, sorry, I’m off topic.
Anyways I found the cache. The coordinates were good, and the cache as there! Score one for lunch.
There was another cache, named “Chance’s Forest Cache” several hundred feet further on. I bushwhacked through the woods until I found a trail and followed it.
I didn’t find the cache but I found this jacket. I find the presence of the jacket very puzzling. (Sorry, I’ve been living with a seventh grader too long.) I didn’t find the cache. I saw lots of beer cans and a camp fire with a totally smashed television set. It seems like a lot of trouble to haul a big television set so far into the woods to demolish it.
I didn’t find my cache but I got my walk in the woods, and leaves and burrs on my clothes.
What do you do to get your head on straight? I mean that you can share with us.
Ruby Tuesday – Cardinal Rules
Disposable Camera at the Races
I just love Disposable Cameras. They are cheap to buy and if all you want is the photo disk, they are cheap to process. It is also nice to see what is you photos you took when you get the disk. I like to take them while running, if you drop it, you haven’t lost much. These pics were taken at the Jingle Bell Run here in Tulsa a few weeks ago.
Why doesn’t that lady want to talk to Santa? I bet she got some coal at Christmas.
Cmon pup!!
Elves warming up
Where’s Rudolf Santa?
The Grinch comes in Second.
Yogi Bear, the Movie
SuperPizzaBoy and I went to see the movie Yogi Bear. Dan Aykroyd provides the voice of Yogi and Justin Timberlake is Boo Boo’s voice.
The movie had bad reviews so my expectations were low but I didn’t think that it was really that bad. I mean what do expect from Yogi? SPB and I had some popcorn and enjoyed ourselves.
I give it a rating of of 5 stars out of 10. Kids may like it, the parents are happy that the kids are happy. We didn’t see the 3D version. It would be hard to imagine that it would be worth it.
Apollo 8 Christmas Eve Message from Lunar Orbit
I know it’s not Christmas Eve but I came across this video this morning of the crew of Apollo 8 in 1968 reading a little bit of Genesis and sending a Christmas Eve message to us earthlings. Apollo 8 was in lunar orbit at the time. It was one of preparatory flights for Apollo 11 which landed on the moon.
For other pairings of verse and photographs (or video) check out That’s Baloney.
Christmas 2010
We started our Christmas celebration last night. Northeast Oklahoma had a big snow and ice storm last year and many churches, including ours, cancelled their Christmas Eve services. Bummer. So we were ready. I love the candlelight service.
Santa always treats us very well. In addition to being our exemplary selves during the year SuperPizzaBoy always makes sure that Santa gets egg nog and some gingerbread men cookies to eat. Santa appreciates it. Delivering toys to a gazillion homes in just one night is a little tiring.
World’s greatest MIL, Nana, scored a nice pot with a cat face. Ginger, our dachsund mix mutt kind of likes it also.
SPB and I both got Legos. His was some sort of Star Wars type thing. Mine was a model of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater.
810 pieces or so!
SPB moved in some of his Star Wars guys in a “Mashup” of Frank Lloyd Wright and George Lucas. Talk about a fusion of egos between those two dudes.
Sweetie cooked us up a great dinner and we really enjoyed Christmas.
I hope that you had a great Christmas also.
Merry Christmas!!
Christmas Eve
It’s Christmas Eve folks. The day before the Big Day.
Christmas is one messed up holiday. I’m not saying that I don’t like it. I do, much of it anyway. You have the celebration of the birth of Christ. That’s the big deal, the real big deal. It is what gives meaning to Christmas to me. Of course, from what I understand Jesus wasn’t actually born on Christmas, nor were the Wise men there the night of his birth. But who cares? I am not being sarcastic. I think that it is good to celebrate his birth and why not do it in December? Its the beginning of winter, lets have a party!
Of course to kids, it is when they get presents from their parents, grandparents, and Santa Claus. I mean who doesn’t like getting presents? Who doesn’t like giving presents, especially to kids.
The food. The food at Christmas is wonderful. Especially the candy and baked goods.
These are Sweetie’s cake balls.
She and SuperPizzaBoy are championship gingerbread men bakers. I think the best thing at Christmas is making memories. I hope SPB never forgets baking with his Mom.
I guess what gets me about Christmas is that it has a long buildup, at least a month. Then you have Christmas. All the gifts are exchanged, the meal is eaten, and then it’s done. And I’m there going: Hey what about God on earth, and good will to men, and that mysterious “Spirit of Christmas” stuff? But everybody else is worried about returning that ugly sweater that cousin Sue got them, Bowl Games, taking the tree and lights down, and figuring out what to do New Year’s eve.
I have a little trouble with the abrupt transition, so I’ll leave my lights up a little longer than you. I’ll use my Christmas coffee mugs all year round. Plus I’ll be telling you Merry Christmas the whole 12 days of Christmas. Sorry if that annoys you. My favorite time of the year is the interlude between Christmas and New Years. It is very relaxed and slower paced. A time for hanging with the family, going to movies, visiting friends and just chilling.
In the meantime, Christmas is tomorrow. Don’t mind me, I hope that everybody is having their own favorite Christmas. So Merry Christmas Everybody.
End of the Road Skywatch
Drove to a dead end to capture the sky.
