Image for 7-15-11 - Playing Hooky

Sometimes you just gotta break out of the routine and reclaim your life. I took the day off from work today. It was necessary to recharge the batteries. I decided to devote some of the day to reconnecting with my creative life. I've been feeling guilty about not working on my book project to collect my old underground comic, so today was the day to get back on track. I also finished my first wood carving, the fish I posted about not long ago. All he lacked was a sealing coat of polyurethane. Good night my son.

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Goodbye Atlantis - July 8, 2011

I watched the Shuttle launch for the last time today. It was a flawless launch, though there was a brief delay at the :31 second mark for one last bit of reflection. I work at NASA Langley, so this milestone means a lot to me. I've always been a fan of the space program and it's been a true honor to get to work with the people who make the Shuttle possible. To share this historic moment with my such a good group of people is an honor. There are two theaters here on center and the main viewing event was set-up at the Pearl Young Theater, I opted for the back-up location as it is across the street from my office and it was also not as packed. There was no cheering when the spacecraft cleared the launch pad, we all have learned the hard way to wait a bit now until that brilliant sliver of light reaches high enough to be safely in orbit. It was a somber, sad affair for the people watching in the room many of whom have spent their entire career working on the Shuttle. The USA will officially have no way to put humans into space after this mission. NASA's limited budget ($19 Billion this year, less then one sixteenth of one percent of the overall budget, less then two months worth of what we spend just on the Afghanistan war) forces the choice between maintaining a fleet of low orbit vehicles like the Shuttle or going for deep space goals like the Moon, Mars and beyond. They are choosing the later leaving the low orbit work to the private sector and Elon Musk's Space X Falcon System which is scheduled to have it's first manned launch in 2014. That seems like a long way off. Godspeed Atlantis!

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Image for 7-6-11 - The Speed of Life

Time is going by too fast for me right now. Once we get past the Fourth of July, it feels like a quick jump from Labor Day to Halloween and Christmas. I've been spending a lot of time on the road lately between the trips to Mississippi and Nags Head, not to mention my daily commute to work of fifty-four miles (roundtrip). Life becomes a blur at times, my own version of "Groundhog Day", wake-up-work-home-sleep-repeat. All we can do is make the time we have count for something.

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Image for 7-4-11 - Happy Birthday America!

I spent the weekend down in Nags Head, NC with friends. It was a classic Fourth of July weekend; hot, hazy and lazy. The beach was covered in tourist. The pelicans glided through the hot air. Occasionally, a pod of dolphins cut through the waves. We ate, we drank and we napped. It was a fine time. Unfortunately, we had to drive back today,  so no fireworks at the beach, which was a slight drag. Any hope to catch some here at home was dampened by a heavy storm front. Happy 235th Birthday America.

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image for 7-2-11 - Train Game

Saturday night dominos with friends. Nothing better. Especially when I win!

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Image for 6-30-11 - Sunset

I did something last night that I haven't done in awhile, I walked on the beach to enjoy the sunset. It's easy to take for granted the beach option that lies just a few feet from my front door. I'm not naturally a beach person, you won't find me hunkered down in my beach chair sizzling like a hot dog in the blazing sun. I do like to walk on the beach, particularly in the off season. I also like a good sunset (who doesn't). The beauty is so brief. That twilight glow is unreal, calming and peaceful and can help one forget the tensions of the day. I need to do that more often.

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Image for 6-26-11 - Hiking and the Bayou Bugaloo

I was off my hiking routine for the last week and a half or so, but made up for it this weekend by hiking Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I got up and hit a solid seven miles this morning. The heat rung me out, but still managed to get a strong pace going. I saw these weird, alien-like seed pods hanging off some trees along Shore Drive and had to get a shot. The remind me of some kind of science fiction illustration from the 1950s. Tiny, organic Sputniks.

Later that afternoon we went down to Town Point Park in Norfolk to catch some New Orleans flavor at the Bayou Bugaloo Festival. I remember back to the old days when it was free and the Neville Brothers would play every year filling the park with drunken, dancing fools. Now it costs ten dollars a head, so the crowds are smaller and less drunk and don't dance as much and it's been years since the Nevilles have been through. We caught The Savoy Cajun Family Band, Bonerama, Anders Osborne and The Funky Meters. My fav was Bonerama, always a good time. They went from "Down By the Riverside" to "The Big Chief Song" to "Helter Skeletor" without breaking a sweat (that's not true, they were all sweating like dogs, but we all were 'cause it was hot). Anders Osborne was OK, basically just played one long jam session, which got tedious after awhile. The Funky Meters fell to the jam groove too, which was too bad as their set just melted down into an indecipherable never-ending series of noises that were no fun. Some folks tried to dance to it, but gave up after awhile. The musicians looked like they were having fun, so nice for them. We left as they were still trying to find their way out of that maze of sound. Just in time for me as I was red as a crayfish and needed some shade and a big glass of ice water. Man, do I miss New Orleans.

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Image for 6/23/11 - Cat taking a picture

It reads, "Smile God Loves You", with no irony. Ever see one of these cheesy wall hangings in a thrift store and wonder, "Gee, do people actually hang this crap on their walls?". Well, yes they and do and you might be related to them, or, in this case, I am related to them. Got to admit, it is a cute picture of a cat operating a camera.

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Tennessee Fireworks

From the road heading home from Mississippi.

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Road Tiki

Found this Tiki on the side of an energy drink can
--Sent from my Virgin Mobile!
Location : lat=35.558, lng=-84.545


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Sent from my Virgin Mobile

Image for 6-19-11 - My First Haircut

I am down in Mississippi visiting my Dad and Step Mom. It's always strange for me to be down here because, despite the fact that my Father is from here, I feel no connection. The Weaver side of the family has lived in Eastern Mississippi for generations. My Dad broke that chain when he went into the Navy and left the sweltering, kudzoo-covered life down here to see the world. He eventually came back home, but none of his children have ever followed him here.

My Dad's living room is filled with pictures of his kids, grandkids and Betty, my Step Mom's children. I found this photo of my older sister and me taken when I was about one or so. My Dad told me that it was taken shortly after I had my first haircut given to me by a barber that had cut my Dad's hair, his Dad's hair and his Dad's hair. Four generations of Weaver hair had fallen under this guy's scissors. I wish I had a photo of him.

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Mountain Sky

On the road, heading to Mississippi.
--Sent from my Virgin Mobile!
Location : lat=35.658, lng=-81.993


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Sent from my Virgin Mobile

Image for June 17, 2011 - Making a Mark

This leaf is long gone, but it left it's mark on the world. It's shape endures for now etched into this strip of white crosswalk paint. Whenever I walk over to the mailbox here at work, I pass this leaf silhouette and it always brings my mind around to how brief our time is on this planet and how will anyone know we were here. Leaving one's mark has been a motivator to people in all walks of life since cave people took up a charred stick and drew on a cave wall. Some people leave their mark through their children and families, some through their creative pursuits. Some people don't care or feel it's out of their reach to make any meaningful impact on the world. Whether we chose to or not, we are all affecting the world and the people around us for good or for ill, mostly in ways that we'll never know or understand. I've been making a conscious effort to bring art into my life more, both in reality and online. I've also been trying to encourage people, friends and strangers to create art, write, make music, exercise that creative passion too. Make that mark. You never know who will eventually see it and what it will mean to their life.

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Image for 6-15-11 - Potatoes in a Bag

Do you love potatoes? I sure do and I never thought I could grow'em myself until I heard about the garbage bag method. For those of us that are "gardening challenged" or have limited space or resources, this is a great way to easily grow some yummy taters. This is my second attempt, last year was a practice run, but this year the leafy gods have smiled upon me. When I lived in Ireland, I learned that home grown taters taste mush better then store bought. I can't wait to harvest these dogs in a couple of months.

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