New Project

I've started a new project. I'll be taking pictures every day, and posting them on my Flickr site. Most of the pictures will be taken with my Motorola RAZR, since that's what I have with me every day. It takes crappy pictures, so I will mainly be working on composition.

I like to impose arbitrary limits and then see what's possible within those limits. My all-time favorite camera is my Olympus OM-1. Fully manual, with built-in meter. No spot metering, no subject tracking auto-focus, but it will take pictures with a dead battery. I take it out occasionally and shoot a roll or two with just the 50mm. Forces you to work with your subject to get the framing just right.

Setback

As I type this, I'm lying flat on my back. Too much gardening yesterday, resulting in a muscle spasm this morning, followed by prone typing this afternoon. Not concerned, just a little frustrated. I don't much like physical inactivity.

For some reason, I don't mind mental inactivity. I find meditation quite relaxing. I guess it's more an issue of wanting to do something I can't. I was supposed to be racing my bike today and instead I'm just lying around. The Zen thing to do would be to lie on my back and focus on lying on my back.

Maybe instead of complaining, I should take advantage of the opportunity and breathe deeply.

Should I Quit My Day Job?

This is so cool: TerraCab is offering free pedicab rides in the downtown Seattle area this summer. It's so cool, I'm trying to figure out how I can be a rider and still keep my day job.

Oh, and Happy Earth Day! Still driving? How's that working out for you?

750 Billion

I spent Saturday morning having three-quarters of a trillion thrombocytes extracted. Yep, I volunteered for platelet donation. I've been meaning to give this a try for a couple of years now, and the Puget Sound Blood Center finally talked me into it. Process wasn't any more complicated than having an IV drip, and was under more pleasant circumstances.

One needle: blood goes out, through the centrifuge, and then back in. Goes out for about a minute, then the pump reverses and it goes back in for 15 seconds. Bag slowly fills up with this yellowish-looking fluid. Ninety minutes later, there's 7.5 x 10^11 of my platelets in there, and I'm free to go.

The big test came the following day. I was told that donating platelets wouldn't impact my hematocrit, since they put all the red cells back in. So Sunday, I made six trips up Holmes Point Drive. No problems! Well, I mean it still hurt like hell, but not any more than it normally would. This is great! I donate whole blood during the off-season, but now I can donate platelets during race season.

No post tomorrow

Keeping my mouth shut, for a good cause:

Hey! Where's my jetpack?

I am a child of the space age. Saturday mornings were spent watching The Jetsons and Jonny Quest. I grew up believing in miracles. I personally witnessed NASA progress from an organization that couldn't get a vehicle off the launch pad without exploding, to one that sent three men to the moon in less than a decade.

I'm willing to give up on the jetpack and time travel. But Dude, where's my (electric) car? It's been twelve years since GM introduced the EV-1 and we're still "2 to 3 years away" from a mass-production electric car. I'm losing my patience. I even bought stock in ZAP, hoping they'd be able to bring something to market that didn't look like a golf cart.

Is it too much to ask for an electric car that looks like a car, reaches freeway speeds, and goes 100-150 miles between charges? I can live without the hover capability and cloaking device for now.

Spring?

White falls from the sky.
Is it Winter returning?
No -- cherry blossoms!

Spare Oom

I've decided to get one of these. No, seriously. I've been thinking that I really haven't been doing my part to help Detroit. This will give the auto industry a shot in the arm, and will probably lift the neighbors morale: "Honey, look at that new Escalade across the street. Maybe the Dow has bottomed. Let's go buy that big 4x4 pickup you've always wanted!"

Besides, there's nothing like the smell of a new car.

Don't get me wrong -- I have no intention of actually driving the thing. But I've been seeing these ads for "man caves". Satellite radio, dual DVD screens, leather upholstery, and 400+ horsepower. Just the ticket for us real men.