While I was on the road trip I took last week, I saw this tree for the first time on the side of the freeway.
Survivor Tree 1
Somehow this tree lost half of itself, but kept on growing.
Survivor Tree 2
The withered, sun-bleached remnant was stretched on the ground beside the living tree, still wrapped along its’ roots.
Survivor Tree 5
Standing midway between the treeline and the freeway, it really was a striking sight.
Survivor Tree 6
A few more photos from the road trip earlier this week.
Road Trip 03 30 10 c
Every other median along the highway has these little purple buds just rising above the grass mixed in with the white flowers from the last post. Very serene.
Road Trip 03 30 10 d
I managed to take a few photos while I was on the road trip yesterday.
The medians were filled with generously sprinkled little white dots along the way. Every so often, there was a patch that fully opened and were catching the hot breeze as it raced by.
RoadTrip 03 30 10 b
RoadTrip 03 30 10 a
This isn’t mine. I found it on a wallpaper website but nobody knows who originally made it.
It had me laughing for awhile though. You have to click to enlarge this one.
Hellloooooo bear!
If anyone has any idea who made it, please let me know!
My nerd card is getting a real workout today.
President Obama is holding a Thundercats sword with what appears to be a genuine blade.
Thundercats!
Right. So who’s Mumm-Ra?
EDIT: It’s a fake!
More photoshopped images of President Obama playing with assorted toys here.
So the box of batteries for my Surefire E2D LED Defender Flashlight came in, and this is how it looked straight off the truck…
Lithium Batteries Warning
Wow. Apparently these little batteries are real trouble in certain situations.
The official reason for this sticker according to the TSA/FAA is that…
“…the Federal Aviation Administration has studied fire hazards associated with both primary and lithium-ion cells… as a result of this research, the FAA no longer allows large, palletized shipments of these batteries to be transported as cargo on passenger aircraft. The research also shows that an explosion will not result from shorting or damaging either lithium-ion or primary lithium batteries. Both are, however, extremely flammable. Primary lithium batteries cannot be extinguished with firefighting agents normally carried on aircraft, whereas lithium-ion batteries are easily extinguished by most common extinguishing agents, including those carried on board commercial aircraft.”
“Lithium batteries are prohibited from aircraft because of the components of the battery require it to be sealed. Lithium reacts violently with nitrogen, and water specifically requiring the batteries to be hemetrically sealed. Because the batteries have to be sealed they become an explosion problem due to overheating from a short.”
Primary lithium batteries, the non-rechargable kind, is what I got. So if this box caught fire, it couldn’t be extinguished with firefighting agents normally carried on aircraft. That would be bad.
FedEx even has a “Dangerous Goods Specialist” that puts a “PRIMARY LITHIUM BATTERIES — FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT” sticker [PDF] for their boxes too.
I really love my SureFire flashlight, but now I wonder if I will be allowed to fly with it as carry on or as checked luggage.
All the times I’ve used the work truck, I’ve never noticed this little sticker.
An ambulance in another life
The sticker says “This vehicle is not equipped with the Ford Ambulance Preparation Package and is not suitable for use as an ambulance. Making this vehicle into an ambulance will void the Ford warranty and may result in elevated underbody temperatures, fuel over-pressurization, and the risk of fuel expulsion and fires.”
COOL!
Now I’m wondering how to convert it.
I saw this fellow making his way along the wall while I was working in the garden. My camera isn’t that great on closeups, but I think it’s a baby Micrommata virescens / Green Huntsman Spider. The fellow was much greener than the photo shows, but this was the best image of the lot.
SpiderBug
I thought it was a grasshopper at first with that elongated abdomen and bright green color.
Just two miscellaneous photos I took this week.
This first one was from early in the afternoon. The wind had just come from the beach, and properly tussled your hair as it raced on by.
March Passing Skies
This second one was from late in the afternoon the same day. Although the skies were tinted a flush autumn red, the breeze was teasing my nose with slight floral scents of the oncoming spring.
March Skies At Dusk
Let’s say, hypothetically of course, you’re the kind of person who takes photos of foreign Law Enforcement Officers and their activities.
And let’s say, again hypothetically, those foreign LEOs in the country you are visiting just don’t feel all that pretty at that particular moment, and if they realize you have taken a photo of them, they decide to move toward you asking (very nicely, of course!) to see all the photos you just took.
I think I found a way out of a situation like this.
Hypothetically, of course.
First off, if you know you’re going to be in a foreign country, you really need to bring a new blank memory card for your camera. The risk of losing a special photograph just because it’s on the same memory stick you’re currently traveling with just isn’t worth it. Spend the $10 to $20 and have a new, blank memory card in your camera when you travel.
Second, you will need to take a series of this next image as the initial photos on your camera’s new memory card (click to enlarge)….
NO IMAGES ON CAMERA
You will have to set your digital camera to capture “low light” or manually change the settings so you don’t get the “waves” on your monitor coming out on the photo. Plus you might need a tripod (or a stack of books) to make sure the image is in the same position in every photo.
When you have 7 (or more!) photos of that image, click to review it on your camera. If it looks centered and passable, you’re all set.
Here’s what hypothetically happens. As some foreign LEOs are heading toward you, press PLAY (or REVIEW) on your camera to get to the photos you have already taken. Hide every menu option that shows up on the LCD (that usually means pressing the DISPLAY button to cycle through the display options). When the camera’s LCD display is showing the photos you have already taken in full screen, press FORWARD on the review buttons to jump back to these first photos you took.
Photos that appear to say the camera’s memory card is empty.
Jump ahead 3 or 4 photos so you can cycle back and fourth.
Now here’s the moment you want to go for the academy award for best acting in a foreign film… act very apologetic. Very contrite. Right before the foreign Law Enforcement Officers get to you, say you’re very, very sorry, you didn’t know there was a problem taking photos in that area, and you have already erased the whole memory card. That’s why you were pushing all those buttons on your camera as they got closer! Show them the camera display, and press forward twice and back twice.
It really is better if your performance lets you keep the camera in hand, but if the foreign Law Enforcement Officers do grab your camera from you, and if you’re lucky, they will also press FORWARD and BACK to see if there are any images on the camera.
Nope. None at all officer!
And then, when you’re far, far away, you should immediately email those photos to get them out of your possession!
Of course, this is all just a silly hypothetical situation, and I have no idea if it will work at all in the real world. No idea whatsoever!
Best of luck, everyone!