August 06

Boyfriend and I made the trek to Orlando and Epcot today. After a minor kerfuffle with the GPS unit (our charger broke) and about 30 minutes' detour to get a replacement charger, we were finally on our way to Orlando and the Magic Kingdom. Then we headed for a walk around the world.

Once we arrived, we headed through Canada and England to France for lunch. Boyfriend described it as tasting like "something from Air France." Morocco, Italy, Germany, the American Experience, and a few other countries along the way, we finished walking around the central lake.

We went on a couple of the rides (most notably: Spaceship Earth) and considered dinner there, before deciding to head home and eat some of the food we have to finish in the next two days.

I don't often get to visit 11 countries in one day -- especially without a passport. It was an interesting day.

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August 05

Boyfriend and I spent a low-key vacation day today. We made $125 by sitting through one of the most entertaining and charming high-pressure sales pitches I've ever had the pleasure to sit through, then headed over to my parent's place here for dinner and games night.

I love Scrabble, and Boyfriend and I consider ourselves pretty good at it. Having a third and fourth person in the game is tremendously helpful in making the game interesting, and my mother was a willing participant.

While she claims not to be very good at the game, she won the thing, leading by 40 points a couple of times during the play and ending more than 60 points ahead of either Boyfriend or me. The board was kind of dense, and the distribution of tiles is pretty even.

It was really a lovely way to spend the evening.

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August 04

The vacation continues apace. Boyfriend and I meandered down to the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse Museum just south of Daytona Beach this afternoon.

Unfortunately -- or fortunately, considering the muggy, humid atmosphere of Florida in August -- the lighthouse itself was closed because of a nearby lightning storm. The other buildings of the museum were open, including a really fascinating exhibit about Fresnel Lenses. The First-Class Fresnel Lens -- 12 feet tall, about 10 feet wide of about a thousand prismatic lenses -- is truly impressive. It looks like something out of Jules Verne.

I managed to get some interesting photos of the lenses and the property, including this classic view of the lighthouse itself. All in all, a great evening.

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August 03

Boyfriend and I had my parents to dinner at our timeshare tonight. It was an opportunity for me to show off his cooking skills.

It was also a chance for us to give my mother her birthday gifts for the past two years.

Last year, we had a beautiful handmade lapel pin created especially for her by an artist friend of mine. It is quite stunning, but when we flew down for her birthday, I didn't check a bag -- and an eight-inch long straight pen would not have made it through security.

This year, Boyfriend tracked down a bottle of my mother's favorite -- and long since discontinued -- fragrance: Geminesse by Max Factor. This was quite the coup, and I knew my mother was going to be thrilled. As indeed she was.

Her birthday was last month, but I think this was well worth waiting for. :-)

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August 02

The last person to stay in this unit before us left the alarm clock on and set for 6 am. It was quite a surprise to be awakened so soon after we'd gotten in, unpacked, showered, and finally dropped to sleep.

Turns out, it was kind of a nice surprise.

I got up and scratched myself before stumbling out into the living room. Our living room has two large sliding glass doors overlooking the Atlantic, and I was startled to see this amazing sunrise. The cumulus clouds in the distance were silhouetted perfectly by the rising sun. Not being a morning person, it's a minor miracle that I was able to get my camera and tripod, set up on the balcony, and shoot several images until I got the shot I wanted.

It was a great way to start the morning, and hopefully a good omen for the rest of the week.

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August 01

This is a "safety shot." It's an easy-to-get photo for the blog, since I knew it was going to be a busy day of travel going on vacation. (That's also why this didn't get posted yesterday.)

The Boyfriend and I jetted off to Daytona Beach on Saturday for a week's vacation. It's only three hours by plane, but there's a world of difference between the Atlantic Coast of Florida and Boston.

Obviously, we're not practicioners of the art of packing light. In fairness, I usually use the smaller red bag, which will fit in an airliner overhead bin, and consolidate my camera bag and computer bag into the red backpack. As I had to bring gifts for my mother, who we're seeing here, I knew I would have to check a bag. (My friend Keith the jeweler custom-made her an exquisite eight-inch long lapel pin that never would have made it past security!) I also had a couple of books, which would have been too heavy to carry on, even had I wanted to.

We got a late start on everything involved with this vacation, so it was a delight to arrive here and see the wonderful timeshare condo waiting for us. Once in Florida, everything went flawlessly.

More vacation photos will be forthcoming in future entries. I'm looking forward to seeing what I get.

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July 31

Believe it or not, I really don't mind the rain.

The city got inundated with showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. With rain coming in diagonally, though, umbrellas don't do a lot of good. The blurry figure in the foreground is my doorman Ash, who was trying valiantly to hail a taxi for the gent with the bumbershoot. I have to comment Ash for his dedication; getting a taxi in the rain in Boston is a little like finding a four-leaf clover: it can be done, but it requires a lot of effort and not a small amount of luck.

Tomorrow is my first day of vacation. Hopefully the storms won't cause too much of a commotion at the airport tomorrow.

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July 30

I used to take photos of bumper stickers. Rather like this blog, it was a project to document something. Bumper stickers can be funny, or eloquent, or stupid.

My project never came to an end so much as it sort of petered out. Massachusetts doesn't have a shortfall of opinionated people -- quite the contrary -- but bumper stickers here tend toward the political or the environmental. And frankly, they're usually not that interesting.

I liked this one, though. It's not technically a bumper sticker, and I suspect it's a custom decal job. So, without further ado, I present "B rican."

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July 29

This might be the best license plate ever.

Some photographs look good because of composition, or lighting, or post-processing to bring out what the photographer saw when he captured the image. Some photos, on the other hand, are good because the content is compelling, or beautiful, or in this case, just plain funny.

I’ve toyed with the idea of getting a vanity license plate, but the desire and the wherewithal have never quite coincided. Massachusetts license plates only have six characters anyway, so the options for a vanity plate are somewhat constrained. I promise, if I do get one, it’ll be posted here.

How does “PHOTOG” sound?

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July 28

Jake is one of my favorite puppy dogs. He likes to stop by my desk after his evening walk for a pet and a kiss and a chat most evenings. I think it might be one of the highlights of both our days.

He's a real sweetheart, and though you couldn't tell it from this photo, a cheerful fellow. He is just an extraordinarily laid-back creature; very mellow and blessed with a gentle temperment and sweet disposition. Bring out a ball, though, and he transforms into a playful puppy, completely content to bound after the ball, catch it, and throwing it to himself again.

Dogs are very instinctive creatures. When a dog likes you, you know you have something redeeming to offer.

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July 27

The reason I usually keep a camera in my passenger seat when I drive is that there is occasionally something worth photographing.

I was waiting at a red light on Huntington Avenue when this car pulled up next to me. The brightly-crayoned window definitely caught my attention -- and held it. I studied the colors, the composition, the creativity expressed, and wondered whether this parent was raising an artist or a vandal.

This strikes me as a bad idea for a couple of reasons. I can't imagine a child in a car seat or booster seat, or even one properly belted in, could color a window so completely. That would imply the child was bouncing around the back seat unsecured. Then you have to wonder what this does for the driver. When changing lanes, I always briefly look back to see if there's a car in my blind spot. Could this driver even see I was back there?

Still, despite being of questionable utility or safety, it was still cheerful to behold that bright swath of pink and the blue "sky" on the inside of the window. Maybe it's not so bad after all.

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July 26

Today's photo walk was the largest, and the longest, ever. We even had guests of honor.

Brandon's Aunt Karen is visiting and accepted an invitation to come along with us. She's a professor at a college near Kansas City. Marion's sister Rebecca, visiting from Virginia, came along as well. With Tom, Anna, and me making up the remainder, seven of us wandered the Back Bay and Faneuil Hall snapping photos, laughing, drinking, and having a great time.

This is going to be the last photo walk I participate in for a little while. Next weekend Boyfriend and I head to Daytona Beach for our vacation, and the weekend after I'll probably be pooped. But I've had a good time -- plenty to keep me thinking of new photo walk ideas.

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July 25

The things I see when frequenting junk stores never ceases to amaze me.

The Treasure Chest is a junk store near my home in Roslindale. I've posted about visiting it here and here. It is something out of the past, really, with all kinds of items that have been cast off, sold, lost, or given away. Usually I stop by, chat with Rick (the owner), nose through whatever items have floated to the top of the mess, and leave. Occasionally, I purchase something interesting.

I have no idea what this is or what it's used for. It looks like a turnbuckle, except that it could only be used to spread things apart, not pull them together. Is there such a thing as a reverse turnbuckle? Whatever it's for, it made an interesting topic of conversation for a few moments outside the store -- and today's Photo of the Day.

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July 24

It's so tempting to just whisper "Rosebud," and leave this entry at that. Alas, I've never owned a sled.

My friend Marion brought her sister Rebecca to meet me today. It was interesting. I'm not often around young people, but I enjoy the chances I do get to meet them. Rebecca was a charming young lady, and an aspiring photographer. When I'm too interested in conversation to take many photos, you can tell I've been charmed.

Marion and Rebecca had roses with them, so this photo of Marion's rosebud is the best photo of the evening. "Marion's rosebud" ... does that sound dirty?

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July 23

I'm not a morning person.

What I am is a dedicated employee. Late last night, when my coworker called out of work for this morning, we only had one shift to find somebody to cover her. A few frantic phone calls later, the only way to cover shifts today was for me to cover the morning shift (7 am - 3:30 pm), with a coworker covering my shift for me.

Thus, I had the misfortune to catch the sun rising over the skyline this morning as I drove in to work. At least it netted me a photo of the day.

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July 22

Making lists usually helps me to be more organized. Today, instead of being a tool to create and foster order, my lists became a force of entropy.

I started off the day with two lists: one a punch list for my upcoming vacation to Daytona Beach, the second a more general to-do list for today. By the time I was done, I had four lists and various printouts scattered all over my desk.

In order to work out what to do and where to do it, I needed to make a vacation budget. But when I went into my budget to double-check my figures and balance my checkbook, there was a discrepancy. My planning for this trip hinges on my having money; effective planning requires I know how much money I've got.

Inevitably, my lists began to overlap. To-dos for today matched stuff on the Daytona list. Unfortunately, while some items were redundant, other's were not. I was spending more time looking at lists than accomplishing tasks by the time it was over.

By the time I had two highlighters out to check stuff, I knew it was time to step back and start over. It was the right decision. While I'm only a little closer to being done with my to-dos today, I'm a lot closer to being able to make progress. And small progress is better than none.

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July 21

I spotted this guy in his quaint raingear waiting to cross the street as I drove to work this afternoon in the rain.

The good news about the rain is that my coworkers have something to complain about again. With several days of warm weather and sunshine, they were getting pretty hard-pressed to come up with something complaint-worthy. The rain and cool weather was helpful, because they could trot out all their complaints from the spectacularly-wet month of June.

Meanwhile, as I sat at the red light looking at this guy, I realized that his old-fashioned hat and raincoat actually serves a good purpose in this weather. The drizzle wasn't affecting him one whit. I may invest in a good hat before my vacation, to help protect me from the sun and rain.

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July 20

It's good to have friends, and I'm fortunate to have some pretty great friends in my life.

My friend Brandon snapped the photo above (see original here) on one of our photo walks out to Castle Island in June. Anna is one of my best friends in Boston, and the sense of camaraderie we feel when together is remarkable. Brandon managed to capture that in this photograph; it's one of my favorite images.

Anna's birthday was last Saturday, so I didn't get the chance to give her a birthday gift. With the current precarious state of my finances, buying anything worthwhile was out of the question. However, I have a photo printer, glossy inkjet paper, a frame, and a wonderful image to work with. I desaturated the image and put a black hairline around it to define the edge, then set it off with a broad white margin to give it a classic dignity. I'm pretty proud of the results; it's playful and fun, while having an elegance that most photos of me lack.

Now that I've made one for Anna, I'm going to make another print for myself. It's going to occupy a place of honor on my office wall -- along with other images I collect of all of my great friends.

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July 19

Boyfriend and I didn't plan to do a lot today, and for what it's worth, we accomplished it.

We had brunch -- how gay is that? -- at Geoffreys, a marvelous cafe in Roslindale Square. For a chi-chi cafe, they serve pretty good biscuits and gravy, and a lot of it! We walked past the house in the photo as we headed to Geoffrey's, and I snapped the colorful photo above. For some reason, it seemed a very American house facade, with the bright blue sky, pretty window boxes and the United States flag flying from the pole in front. It makes for an altogether satisfying photo of the day.

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July 18

I thought I was being clever and sneaky in getting this amusing photo of somebody standing on the grass next to the "keep off the grass" sign. If I'd been really clever, I'd have noticed the bag she carried is from Agent Provocateur, a high-end seller of women's knickers and things.

Brandon and I went on a photo walk in Back Bay today, starting off in Copley Square and quickly seeking shelter in the shady areas of the Public Garden and Boston Common. We had no real plan for this photo walk, other than possibly meeting up with Tom and Steph somewhere along the route. Eventually we ended up at Government Center before reversing course and heading back.

I ate the entire way, it seemed. A hot dog on the way to the Commuter Rail, another one on Boston Common, a fried dough with cherry pie filling near Park Street Station, and a cherry slush on the way back.

All in all, it's been an excellent way to spend an afternoon.

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July 17

Can you guess what this is?

It's been a weirdly unproductive day today. I woke up late, I didn't get much done this morning (although I did what I could to help a neighbor in need), and once at work, I got the necessary tasks out of the way without getting a lot accomplished otherwise. On the plus side, the night has passed pretty quickly. All these factors combined explain both why I'm posting a photo so late -- I had trouble getting one that I liked -- and why the one photo I chose is difficult to interpret.

The photo, by the way, is a close-up of the Murano glass chandelier in the lobby of my workplace. Pretty, isn't it?

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July 16

I live a life mostly free of conspiracy theories (and conspiracy theorists). So it was with some surprise that I pulled this single from my wallet this afternoon and saw the stamps some conspiracy theorist had festooned it with:

The Federal Reserve is
Privately Owned
This money is backed by
Nothing

All righty, then.

I showed it to my friend Anna, who graciously did a pseudo-Norma Desmond impression for me holding the worthless little piece of paper in question.

One has to wonder if the person who bartered to have the stamp made (since money is worthless) only crusades about the Federal Reserve Bank. I'm left wondering whether he also rails on about the New World Order, or chemtrails, or the idea that the moon landings were faked.

On reflection, I suspect not. Conspiracy theorists are loyal to their theories, and this guy (I can't imagine it's a woman) gets his jollies telling the rest of us about this theory -- and stamping money in the process.

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July 15

The past few days have been beautiful in the Boston area, and I've taken advantage of that (and serendipity) to work on catching up on laundry.

Why serendipity? We've had a rotating clothesline connected to our back porch since we moved in eight years ago. As our enclosed back porch is also the only storage space we have, we piled it so full of our crap that getting access to that clothesline wasn't a big deal. Then our clothes dryer broke. Since this has been the summer of hemorrhaging money, we haven't had enough money at any one time to have it repaired or replaced. So weekly trips to the laundromat to dry our clothes have been an integral part of the ol' summer routine.

However, our cleaning jig over Independence Day means that we can reach our clothesline now. Which is nice, once you get past worrying whether birds are going to use your laundry as a loo. With the nice sunny weather and access to the clothesline, we're no longer at the mercy of the Big Spin Laundromat.

Well, until it rains.

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July 14

It was a beautiful, partly-cloudy day in Boston today. High temperature of 80, light breezes, and just really delightful.

It's a pity I had to work.

I took my camera with me both times I had to go do the meter dance (moving my car space to space), and caught the clouds reflecting on the mirrored glass facade of 111 Huntington Avenue. I originally planned to zoom way in and get the faceted effect up close, but I only had a mid-range zoom. Cropping was a possibility, but after polling friends online, I decided I liked this composition well enough to go with it as-is.

Many city dwellers -- unlike tourists -- go about their lives in cities with their heads down, charging through the crowds to get where they need to be. It's really a shame, because you can see beautiful things if you just look up occasionally.

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July 13

It's no secret that I'm picky and have an eye for detail. I'm meticulous about many things, and I have a laser eye that homes in on errors, omissions, and the just plain stupid. Combined with my occasionally-blunt nature and strongly-held opinions, this makes some interactions with people less than productive.

Fortunately, my friends have learned to accept these traits about me, in the same vein that I've learned to shut up occasionally and not spout my instant appraisal of things if somebody's feelings may be hurt. It's a good combination.

Sometimes, though, being the bastard described above can have its benefits. My friend Julie is applying to graduate school, and she's enlisted me to help proofread and edit her written application materials. I made sure to ask first before I really ripped into her stuff, and even though it is well-written, I still managed a page and a half of handwritten notes before I put fingers to keyboard to write up my recommendations.

And for what it's worth, I was careful to preface my comments to her, so she wouldn't think I thought she'd written complete crap. :-)

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