Humans or Machines?

Not the only place I have seen this but the airport in Houston has gone to an IPad-like ordering systems. So, this is what $15/hour servers look like? On the flip side, if the drinks come up through the table it would be very "Star Trek". That's probably coming next. Not sure I like it. Even more interesting, they had these ordering IPads sitting at each bar stool, where you could just order from the bartender standing right in front of you.

A Line of Depression

Near the MLK statue is the FDR memorial. Part of it includes some long forgotten history. We fight a lot over the politics of this era, but we have to remember that things are not that bad. A little perspective within our conflicts should be considered.

Stephen Davern and Southside Jake

As I posted on Facebook, I was blown away by Stephen Davern and his band, Dark Passengers who I saw play at the Irish American Heritage Center for an event that Stephen created, Cash for Kids, Chicago's Only Johnny Cash Festival, to support Pediatric Cancer. What an amazing event. I have seen Stephen play many times before, but never with his full band. In this picture, Southside Jake appeared with Stephen's band to sing a new song that they created while hanging at Davern's Tavern. As Stephen said, my brother has a talent for putting people together.

I have to relate another story about last night. The Irish American Heritage Center is inside an old high school and the event reminded me so much of being back in school. The hallways were crowded. There was beer all over the place. Outside, the cool kids were smoking and there was the smell of weed here and there among the crowd. Wow. Those sights and smells really brought me back to the 1970's. LOL.

Springtime in Washington DC -- 2019

No, its not spring yet, but one can hope. This is from a shot at the Tidal Basin that I took after work in 2019. Got down to that area before sunset for a nice run along the basin. Fun area, especially if you go in late March when the cherry blossoms are in bloom.

Beatles Mini Model Mayhem

Feeling blue? I was never much of a fan of the Yellow Submarine movie. I liked the album and one of the songs on it, Hey Bulldog, has become a sleeper favorite of mine.  The Beatles channel is always playing it (well, they always play everything Beatles). The original title of the song, written by John, was Hey Bullfrog, but Paul got into it and started barking like a dog, so they renamed it Hey BullDog. As to the Yellow Submarine movie, the Beatles had almost nothing to do with it. They allowed it to happen to fulfill the third picture in a three picture deal when they couldn't think of anything else to do (and the Magical Mystery Tour movie wasn't the hit they expected, although the album was great). The voices in the cartoon are not even the Beatles' voices. Anyway, feeling pretty blue with the snowy and rainy weather and this made a great choice for today's Shot of the Day for that reason. From a Beatles pop-up shop in So-Ho this past Christmas.

MLK Monument -- My Favorite Place in Washington DC

I have been to the Tidal Basin around 5 or 6 times now and the Martin Luther King Jr.'s monument, to me, is by far the most powerful monument that I have ever seen. Maybe the Michelangelo in Florence tops it, but they are close. You can't miss the impression of power that the sculptor took from the 1964 "I Have A Dream" speech, where Dr. King said "Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope". A fitting tribute to a powerful American.

Model Mahem 2

Wow. Mannequins as an art form. Who knew? I don't think I have enough shots of mannequin models to make a display of these shots, but I will look for more in my catalog. From the Chelsea area in New York.

How much are these models in the window?

Ok, I don't really care how much these models in the window are, I just needed a cute title for this picture. So, hopefully, I got one. They are starting to look real which is really freaky. If one of them moves, I am out of here.....

2020 Travel Begins

So, after a 2019 full of travel to places near and far, the year starts up again this week. Here's to hoping everyone has a good 2020 and all your travels will be safe.

Bristlecone Pine Lollipop Tree

The Bristlecone Pine is a great name, but I see this particular one as a Lollipop tree. I love the starkness of the trees in this area. We were hiking to see a glacier on the way back from Vail last week and these trees stuck out as being unusual. They certainly are growing in a harsh environment as the snow just a little bit higher and behind me stays all year round. Anyway, it looks like a lollipop to me!!!

Three Bare Trees

If you are not an Evergreen tree up in the Rockies, you can get pretty naked during the winter. These trees don't even have a protected covering of bark on them. I love the starkness of the shot although I should have shot with less depth of field to help the trees stand out from the background. Oh well, maybe next time. These were taken on a hike to see St. Mary's Glacier on the way down from Vail, near the town of Idaho Springs. I am not sure we saw a glacier but it was a nice, tough but short hike at altitude, so more difficult than you would expect for just a one mile hike. Maybe the glacier was on the other side of the hill shown below but we were tight for time and couldn't hike to the top. That's Jono way out there in the distance walking on what I hope was a very frozen lake. He survived but made us very nervous.

Evergreen Trees in Vail

When things are this pretty (and you are dressed for it), you don't care how cold it it. A scene from the chair lift near the top at Vail.

One Last Peak

Had to post one last peek at one last peak as Shot of the Day leaves the Vail picture files. Just can't get enough of these views. The air is so clean and sharp, even before you edit the pictures. I wish I could make Vail more than a once in a year, 3 day trip. Just when you start to get your ski legs under you and breathe up at that altitude, the trip is over. Oh, well. Maybe next year.

Windy Vail Peaks

Here is another view of the peaks near Vail with a little wind or clouds up near the top. Every time I go out west and see these mountain peaks it just refreshes my soul. So beautiful. Those living out west are lucky to have these views but I wonder if those of us who are flatlanders just appreciate them more? The drive back from Vail had a lot of those views (our drive up was in the dark and in near white-out conditions--that was an amazing experience as well). Soul refreshed. Now back to work and family. I can also confirm that skiing is an anaerobic activity and, despite the amazing breakfasts that Samantha, Joe Jr and Joe Senior made for us, you can lose a pound or two while skiing. Got to keep it off!!

Peaks from Vail

Just got back from a weekend of skiing at Vail and the views from the top were just amazing, as you can imagine. This is a view looking towards the west and over some of the back bowls in Vail, which, we were told, have some of the best skiing in the world. I haven't been to that many ski resorts but hard to imagine anything much better. The runs go forever at Vail both on the front side but especially in the back bowls. It took almost half a day of skiing just to cross from the left side of the mountain to the right side and then over to the back bowls. Caught a first day of snow and then a second day a bit on the seasonably colder side but the third day, pictured here, was just about perfect. I wish I was able to get out and ski more. Great sport and a great Shot of the Day for the first post in 2020. Have a great year.