Finishing 2008 with a Bang

Kyle and I jumped off the mountain today for a last fishing trip in 2008. It was beautiful out on the water. Chilly at first, but it warmed to the low 60's. We knocked it out, bring home about 10-12 pounds of fresh caught snapper, rockfish, and perch. Kind of fun to look east today. We could see our mountains nearly from Catalina Island, or about 75 miles away.  Nice end to 2008!

Slow Train Coming

There was a time when "hoppin' a rail" meant freedom, manifest destiny, a chance to stumble into something greater than ones self. Or, as a photographer once waxed nostalgic, where Woody Guthrie would have roamed.

But the rails are dirty, dangerous ribbons of metal and men; where hot days and cold nights rule. The rail riders today are not the charming hobo's from the past, sitting around a campfire singing in simple prose. They are outsiders; beyond Madmax and the Matrix. All at once angry, but scared to admit a simple fact, that they are alone, tossed aside, discarded.

I see the rails a lot in my job. I never considered them for anything other than for their utility, which is why I decided to 'train' my camera lens on them for a day. The result is the above photo, entitled Slow Train Coming. Hopefully, it evokes that sense of taking you some place further than when you started.

Mac Daddy

So, the computer got a virus. Ended up losing a bunch of programs and about 800 songs on my music library. Plus, the pop-ups and spam were horrible. The PC was getting long in the tooth at about 5 years old, and it was the first (and only) PC I've ever owned.

After looking around, I decided to return to Macs. I arranged for a no interest purchase through work and snuck in a beautiful iMac this week. While Tami was teaching on Friday, I set it up in her craft room and said nothing. I swear she walked in an d out of the room a couple of times before she finally saw it.

Her initial response was an ass-whuppin' for me (not for the purchase, but the lack of consultation), but now she's had some time on it and she's pretty darned pleased. Whew!!!! Anyway, now the whole family will get more out of the computer experience because this thing rocks!