What have I gotten myself into?
Images
Orange clouds underlit by the sunset
Orange clouds underlit by the sunset
Storm, smog and sky above LAX.
They’re finally replacing the broken window in my old 11th-floor office. (It’s been held together with duct tape for months.) I’m still in the same suite, so the air pressure just started pulling a serious breeze from the vent in my ceiling.
I should really go grab lunch…
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Why, yes, that was thunder I heard. Good thing the window replacement is done.
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Storm, smog and sky above LAX. I’ve seen one lightning bolt and heard a few thunderclaps. The darker clouds are bunched up over Palos Verdes.
Graphic showing consolidation in the US telecommunications industry
Interesting timeline.
Consolidation in the Telecommunications Industry – Graphic
AT&T’s proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA would cap two decades of deal making that has left the U.S. telecom industry with just a handful of major players. Today’s AT&T…
The US government broke up the AT&T monopoly in the early 1980s, leaving the original AT&T doing little more than long-distance service. NYNEX, US West, Pac Bell and the rest were all separate companies until they started buying each other up again.
Looking back at it, what I find weird is that while Pacific Telesis ended up as part of AT&T, and MCI ended up as Verizon, their wireless divisions ended up owned by the opposite companies.
A recent Pearls Before Swine strip. Remember, no matter how rude, obnoxious or insulting someone …
A recent Pearls Before Swine strip. Remember, no matter how rude, obnoxious or insulting someone is, you can’t be mad at them if they include a winking smiley emoticon.
Happy Fourth of July! I like the way this one just lights up the cloud …
Happy Fourth of July!
I like the way this one just lights up the cloud of smoke. It reminds me of pictures of nebulae in deep space, clouds of gas reflecting the light from nearby stars.
I’ve got a few more shots in this Independence Day 2010 photoset.
xkcd explains Google+
xkcd explains Google+ https://xkcd.com/918/
Insane beverage? Spotted at Trader Joe’s.
Insane beverage? Spotted at Trader Joe’s.
I think I finally *saw* this commercial.
Mt. Saddleback
Today is moving day. I’ve spent most of my life in Orange County, where the eastern skyline (when not blocked by trees and buildings) is dominated by the Santa Ana Mountains. The two highest peaks, Santiago Peak and Modjeska Peak, are known locally as Saddleback because of the shape they form together.
We’re not moving far — just to the South Bay — but it’s going to be weird not seeing this landmark on a day-to-day (well, non-smoggy day-to-day) basis. You can see it from that far away, but it takes a very clear horizon and a very clear sky. On a good day I can just make out the silhouette from LAX.
This shot was taken in Lemon Heights, where you can (usually) see a lot more than just the silhouette.
Level 2 coffee? Character profiles? Is this a new Coffee-themed RPG?
Level 2 coffee? Character profiles? Is this a new Coffee-themed RPG?
For the record: The back explains that it's roasting levels.
Katie: I can see coffee having strength, constitution, and charisma, but the rest…not so much.
Wayne: roasting levels themselves are a stat right? ;> Actually, how does one measure charisma on coffee? How sane it ends up making you after you drink it? ;p
Katie: I'd think of coffee charisma as being layperson appeal…how friendly it is to the general public's palate. But tea automatically has a better charisma, being CHA.
Wayne: (forehead slap) groooan TEAed off good there
Kelson: That's a measurement of Total Effective Armor, right?
Wayne:totally 🙂
Katie:Yeah, that stat increases steeply over time. Makes a big difference in whether you take one lump or two.
Wayne:ba-lump-dump!
Glenna:now, do you want Charisma to mean attractiveness of a person or how hyper-bunny that person is thus driving the rest of us insane? lol 😀
Post-Rain LA Gloom
Barn After the Storm
Well, technically, it’s Old Town Irvine during a lull in a storm last December. The clouds were moving very fast, with light and shadow moving over the empty fields and office parks, and I waited several minutes for the sun to play over this scene.
I particularly liked the contrast of the dead brown tumbleweeds scattered around the bright green meadow.
My one regret with this photo is not being able to capture the steep drop-off into a wash right below the frame. I could get the wash, or the sky, but not both.
Gee, I’m glad I didn’t park on the floor with all that smoke coming out of it…
Gee, I’m glad I didn’t park on the floor with all that smoke coming out of it…
Something’s burning on the 5th floor of the parking structure. I’m so glad I parked on the 1st floor at the opposite end!
Better pic of the rainbow over the Hollywood sign. (Remind me not to use Android’s crop function.)
Better pic of the rainbow over the Hollywood sign. (Remind me not to use Android’s crop function.)
UCI Student Center: Then and Now
Composite of two photos of the University of California, Irvine Student Center: One taken in 1997, the other in 2007.
The biggest difference (aside from the time of day) is that the Student Center itself was torn down and replaced with a new complex, which is why I focused on the center area for the cut-out. The Irvine Barclay Theatre, Administration Building and Student Services II, ring road, and the office building in the distance are all still there.
See also my write-up about taking the second photo.
Downtown LA Skyline
Yerba Buena Gardens
Looking north across the park on a spring afternoon during WonderCon 2010. It rained most of the weekend, but the one day we were (mostly) indoors was the one day that the sun came out.
The tiered building to the left is the Marriott Marquis, the convention hotel. The church across the way is St. Patrick’s. The tall building behind it is the Four Seasons hotel.
Photo: Yerba Buena Gardens
Santiago Canyon in Green
Santiago Canyon after Rain, originally uploaded by Kelson.
Looking roughly southeast on the side of Santiago Canyon Road, somewhere between Irvine Lake and the turnoff for Silverado Canyon. The peaks of Saddleback, with a dusting of snow barely visible at larger sizes, are shrouded in clouds.
Taken between rainstorms last January.
Gnarled Tree
Somewhere in Cuyamaca State Park (now Cuyamaca Rancho State Park) in the mountains east of San Diego, California. We camped at Paso Picacho, but I don’t remember whether this was near the campsite or spotted during a hike.
This was taken in April 2002, about a year and a half before a devastating fire destroyed large areas of the park.
(It was also about a year before I got my first digital camera, so this image was scanned from a print.)