Miscellaneous

Wild Raspberries

The other day I mentioned that I picked and ate some wild raspberries and that I planned to go out to pick more when I had the chance. We’ll, I finally got out again today and picked a nice big tub of them. It was pretty hot out but fortunately I was working mostly in the shade rather in bright sun. Still, I worked for these. I think it was worth the effort, though. Don’t they look good? They aren’t huge but they are very tasty.

Fountain Splash

For those who don’t like pictures of the creepy crawlies, here’s a non-insect, non-spider photograph. It’s interesting that people who are given the willies by spiders or most insects often don’t have any problem with butterflies. They are pretty, to be sure, but they are still basically just bugs with big wings.

In any case, this is a picture I took in the evening after dinner. We went to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream and then sat watching the fountain. There were no children playing in the fountain, as there so often are, but Cathy and Dorothy at least put their feet in the spray.

This picture is of a spout of water against the darkening evening sky. It’s a photograph that makes me strangely happy.

Rockville Fireworks

We decided to walk with Albert and Brady to see the Rockville fireworks this year. As it turns out, we stopped walking a bit sooner that we probably should. Ralph and Tsai-Hong went on and saw them much more closely than we did, although we got a reasonable view. We were a bit surprised at the brevity fo the show. Well, it turns out that it was due to a technical fault. The City of Rockville put out the following notice:

Due to technical difficulties, the annual Rockville Independence Day fireworks show was shorter than anticipated.

The show, planned to be about 20 minutes, experienced technical difficulties about six minutes after it started.

Unable to diagnose the problem, the fireworks technician made the decision to move directly to the show’s three minute finale, which was unaffected.

Thank you to everyone who attended. We will be working with our fireworks vendor to do everything possible to avoid this from occurring in the future.

Still, considering how little effort we went to, the show was fine and we were with family and good friends. You really cannot ask for much more than that.

Leather Tiles

I happened to be in Bethesda this evening and ran some errands before finding a place to get a quick dinner. There are lots of choices in terms of eating establishments but most of them would probably have taken longer than I had time for. Nando’s Peri Peri looked like it was just what I wanted. It’s name is a misspelling (I assume intentional for trademark purposes) of piri piri, the Portuguese hot sauce made with African bird’s eye chilis (Capsicum frutescens) and often containing some or all of the following: citrus peel, onion, garlic, coriander leaves (cilantro), salt, pepper, lemon or lime juice, paprika, pimiento, basil, oregano, and tarragon.

I found the decor of the place interesting and I took a few photographs with my camera sitting on top of my camera bag to hold it steady in the dim light of evening (and it was raining outside). This column in the middle of the restaurant is covered with beautiful, brightly colored tiles. It turns out, though, that they are not ceramic, as I first thought. They are made of colored leather. I also liked the assortment of incandescent light bulbs. Somehow, compact fluorescent lamps wouldn’t have given the same feel. I wonder where you have to go to get those. They’ll probably be a black market item, soon.

The chicken was delicious, by the way. I got it “hot,” which I recommend.

Raining Cats and Dogs

Downed Tree, Near Miss

Since most of my followers are reasonably local, most of you probably already know of the severe storm we had here. For those of you seeing this from further afield (I know there are a few folks in Alaska and England, to name a few places) we had a small tornado touch down about a mile and a half from our house.

We had little or no damage to our trees. The cap blew off the top of our furnace chimney. That chimney isn’t actually used any more, so except for keeping water out, it’s not that bit a deal. There were a lot of trees down in the neighborhood, though. Around the corner the road was blocked and in the evening crews were working. Up at the end of a court a tree was down on a van, but thankfully no one was hurt. Our friends had a tree fall between their house and the neighbors’ house, doing only minimal damage and barely missing one of their cars. Yes, this one could have been a lot worse. To add great news to the good news of it missing their house and cars, it turns out the tree belongs to the county so they won’t even have to pay to cut it down.

Some people were not so fortunate, of course, and our prayers go out for them.

My Hand with IV Tube

Sort of unexpected turn of events. I had hernia surgery just over a month ago. It wasn’t healing well and seemed to be infected. I went to see the doctor yesterday and we decided he should get in and clean things up. So, I’m back in the O.R. to be reopened. Would have been better if he put a zipper in me so he didn’t have to use a knife this time, but that’s the way it goes. The nurses got a kick out of me taking pictures of the pre-op area and of my hand with an I.V. tube going into it. I didn’t know if I would feel up to taking pictures later in the day, so I figured I better get something done before they put me out. As it turned out, I didn’t take any more pictures, so you’re stuck with this one. The surgery went well and I’m home, recovering.

Rain On My Window

We had a bit of rain today. I hadn’t realized it was coming because my desk is situated so that I’m facing away from my window most of the time. I also have a fan running most of the time because it’s always pretty hot in my office. A particularly strong gust of wind blew the rain against the window loudly enough that I noticed, so I pulled out the camera and took a few pictures. Rain on a window isn’t all that interesting, I suppose, but it represents today pretty well. If you happen to like water on glass, as I do, then you might enjoy the work of this painter. I have to keep reminding myself that these are oil paintings, not photographs. http://www.gregorythielker.com/Under/unmindingsky.html

Headless Rabbit

I took a fairly wide variety of pictures today, as well as some video and I wasn’t sure what I should post but in the end I decided to go with something a little off beat. Dorothy and I were coming home from a church meeting and decided to take the scenic route. It doesn’t exactly cross the moors or go through mountain passes but it’s different to our normal route. This picture is something we spotted on the way. I don’t really have any explanation for it or comment on it, though. It is what it is.

Back Patio

This isn’t much of a photograph, I know, but it’s probably going to be an off week for me. I’m home because I’m recovering from outpatient surgery (which went well, thanks) and I’m not supposed to life anything more than ten pounds for a while. Cathy asked me to take pictures of the front corner of our house, because we have some work being done and they will be digging up a little of that part of the garden. Those pictures are fine in terms of documenting what it looks like but they aren’t much to speak of. I also went out back and took a few pictures of the containers on our patio. They are not any great shakes, either, but that’s what you get. Maybe tomorrow will produce something better.

Water Droplets on Daffodil Leaves

Well, yesterday I commented that I wanted a good, soaking rain. We are getting it and it is lovely. It was still wet this morning so you get to see another picture of water droplets on leaves. This time, the leaves are the long, strap-like leaves of daffodils. The flowers are gone (from these, anyway, there’s one variety still finishing up its blooming) and it’s time for the leaves to do their job of converting light energy into chemical energy, which can be stored in the bulbs for next years blooming. In terms of this photograph, I like that there are water droplets clinging not only to the top surface of the leaves but to the edges, as well.

Tree Cutting

When we bought our house almost seven years ago I said I’d really like to take out the two trees in the middle of the back yard. They are poorly placed and the larger of them, in particular, makes me nervous every time the wind gets strong. If it were to fall, it would definitely fall toward the house and it would do serious damage. This morning they came down. This is one of the crew up in the tree cutting off a largish limb. This was taken from out front, looking over the top of the house as I left for work.

I like trees, really I do. But when it comes to small, suburban yards, they need to be the right trees in the right place. If I had a couple acres (or more), I’d be planting trees. But this huge tree this close to the house was an issue.

Stinky Cheeses

I picked up Dorothy this morning in Bethesda and we stopped briefly at Balducci’s, in Wildwood. I don’t shop there often, or we’d be broke, but it’s fun to go there once in a while. I do splurge and buy some expensive cheeses from time to time. Today, I got a little Stilton, some red Leicestershire, and some cheese called Jasper Hill Landaff, which I knew nothing about. It is made from raw cow’s milk and comes from Landaff Creamery on Springvale Farm in Landaff, NH. I took a few pictures while we were in Balducci’s, including this one of the “stinky cheese section.”

7-Eleven

When I started this project I said that I couldn’t promise that any of the photographs I took would be worth anything. I flatter myself that there have been some pretty good photos among the considerable amount of chaff. I’ve taken and used my camera in places I never thought to take it before — the dentist office, getting a CT scan, the grocery store — but I recognize that some days it just doesn’t work out.

Frankly, my life is pretty pedestrian and the pictures I take are for the most part pretty run of the mill. Today, I was in my office all day. I looked up and it was 6:10 and I had to be set up for a Skype-based interview at 7:00. I rushed home to get my computer and then to the church and by the time we were done it was after 9:00. I took this picture on the way home. I think it’s safe to say that this one lives down to my promise of not being worth much. But, I took a picture today, my 826th consecutive day taking a picture.

Corvette

It’s a little bit funny. I don’t think that I’d be interested in a Corvette even if I could afford to be. On the other hand, I think they make good photographic subjects. I happened to be passing Criswell Chevrolet this morning and decided to stop to take a few photos. Partly it’s because they have a nice, curving line of them along the road. I suppose their bright colors and sleek lines also contributes. Anyway, this photo is a bit more red than I remember the car actually being, which seemed more orange but perhaps that was because of the deep, dark red car that was next in line.

College Hall

Dorothy and LKarlee on Locust Walk

The last of our five college visits was to the University of Pennsylvania, or simply Penn, the only Ivy League school we’re likely to consider. Two of Dorothy’s cousins went to Penn, I have a couple friends who went there, and my grandfather earned his Ph.D. in applied mathematics there, about 100 years ago. I was a little (but only a little) surprised to find that there are more graduate students at Penn than undergraduates (11,092 vs. 10,324).

Like Swarthmore, I think of Penn as an engineering and science school, but only about 1,700 of their undergraduates are in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, with 6,344 in The College at Penn (School of Arts and Sciences).

There is no question that it’s a beautiful campus. It is very different to Swarthmore in being an urban school rather than in a quiet, tree filled, suburban setting. For all of that, though, there is a surprising amount of open green space. While Drexel fills city blocks with buildings, Penn seems to have eliminated (or never had) every other street, filling the space with a quad, either green or paved. This produces a much more pronounced campus feel. The fact that Penn was in session, while Drexel was on spring break contributed to this difference, of course. Penn was teaming with people, Drexel was not, making the comparison somewhat unfair.

Dorothy liked Penn the best of the five schools we visited. I know the Director of College Placement at Dorothy’s school will be excited to hear of Dorothy’s interest. Of course, getting in and paying for Penn is not a given. It’s a tough school to get into and a tough school to succeed at. It’s also not a cheep school, although it’s hard to know how much any school will cost, since few people actually seem to pay the sticker price any more. Still, at about $60,000, that sticker price is pretty scary.

I have mixed feelings about so many schools and about the Ivy League in particular. Intellectual diversity and intellectual curiosity are not encouraged in most departments at most schools. There was a time when “question everything” was a popular idea. Now, questioning the liberal orthodoxy can cost you your education and even your career. And I’m supposed to send my daughter there to learn. And to pay dearly for the privilege. Scary.

Westphal College of Media Arts & Design

Continuing our two day college visit tour, we dropped Cathy off at her training and then took the train from Malvern into Philadelphia. It’s a short walk from the 30th Street station to the Admissions office at Chestnut and 32nd. What a beautiful building that is. Both the train station and the administrative building are great, actually. They don’t build them like that any more, and that’s a pity.

The girls got signed in and we had a chat with Maggi, who pointed us to various buildings we should visit. Unfortunately Drexel is on spring break, so the campus didn’t really have much of a campus feel. The Chestnut Square buildings are being renovated so they are covered with scaffolding. They are fine inside, but of course, without people, they are just buildings. We did like the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design building, which is one of the places Maggi suggested we see.

Scott Outdoor Amphitheater

Cloister at Clothier Hall

Jonathan, Karlee, and Dorothy

Our third college visit today was Swarthmore. It is possibly not so well known as Villanova, at least partly because it doesn’t have a basketball team that features in the NCAA tournament. It’s also a fairly small school with enrollment between 1,500 and 1,600. For all of that, they have a surprisingly broad variety of courses of study.

My contact with the school has been mostly through two friends and two cousins. The two friends were Carol and Erik, a sister and brother who were very good friends of mine in high school. My cousin, David, went there, as well and his son, Jonathan is a freshman there now (and is in the third picture presented here). All four of these folks were on the science end of things (engineering and physics) so I think of it as an engineering school but they have good programs in the social sciences and arts, as well. I just don’t know much about them.

Erik is now a professor of engineering at Swarthmore and he gave us a private tour, which was very nice. We started by walking through the science center and then down past the Scott Outdoor Amphitheater, where graduation is held. What a nice place for a graduation ceremony, unless it’s raining, of course. We walked through a few other buildings including going into a few art studios, which was nice. The second picture here is a cloister that’s part of Clothier Hall. Clothier Hall is built to look like a church but in fact it houses the college bookstore, a snack bar and café, the Intercultural Center, offices for various campus organizations. We also got a slightly different tour with Jonathan, who took us to see his dorm room and a few other places we hadn’t been. He seems to be doing well and obviously likes Swarthmore quite a bit.

The campus is quite pretty and in a few weeks, when everything starts to bloom, it’s going to be really something. There is a lot of space for a school with so few students, so it’s fairly quiet. Dorothy didn’t think it was the place for her, and I think she’s probably right. Still, I’m glad we visited and it was good to see Erik and get caught up a little.

St. Thomas of Villanova Parish

The second of our three college visits today was Villanova. It’s a much different place to West Chester and for a number of different reasons. First, rather than being a state school, it is a private school, founded in 1842 by the Order of St. Augustine. Second, and it’s clear that they have a good deal of money. Considering the tuition at the two schools, there’s no question why. Villanova isn’t a cheap school, by any stretch of the imagination.

Dorothy and Karlee liked the campus and it had “good vibes.” It’s a big enough school (about 6,600 undergraduates) although not huge. It seems to take its Augustinian roots seriously, which I think is a good thing.

It was also great to visit with my old friend Pedro, whom I haven’t seen in far too many years. Thanks for having lunch with us.

Plato, Aristotle, Bacon

Because everything goes better with bacon…

I took Dorothy and her friend Karlee on three college visits today. The first was a school I knew very little about but we were going to be in the area and it turned up in a list of schools. West Chester University of Pennsylvania is in, not too surprisingly, West Chester, Pennsylvania. Our hotel was also in West Chester, so it couldn’t have been more convenient. I’m glad we gave it a visit, although Dorothy wasn’t too keen on, it in the end.

Still, any school that recognizes the empirical importance of bacon can’t be all bad. I think Francis would agree.

Snow in Tree Branches

We’ve had some late snow this year, although the &#x201cbig” snow we were supposed to get on March 6 was a big dud. We had a dusting again four days ago and I posted a picture of the Pachysandra in our back yard with a little snow on it.

Today, however, we got a real snow. It wasn’t a blizzard, by any stretch and I still went to work and had no trouble on the roads, but when I woke up there was already an accumulation of about three inches and it continued snowing for most of the morning. While it wasn’t a problem in terms of traffic, and while it didn’t affect school, since they’re on spring break anyway, it was quite beautiful. It’s hard to get a great picture of snow, though. It’s so white. These are the trees to the south of our house, covered with snow.