North Shore – I was there today
If you’ve visited it then you know how unique it is and how much of Hawai’i is still alive in the surf mecca of the middle-Pacific. Some suggest it’s the mecca of surfing only beaten by “the big waves” off Maui at Outer Sprecks. Whatev. The North Shore is consistent year-round and a super relaxing part of Oahu. The photo for today was taken at sunset on the North Shore.
Aloha.
Micronesia? Iokwe (ee-awk-way).
Is that a ‘micro’ sized version of “nesia?” Think not. It’s a real place that’s some 3,800 west of Hawai’i. Some travel. With jet travel by Continental Airlines (only), Micronesia is 4 or 5 hours from Hawai’i. Umm, so that’s a real haul from little ‘ol Tennessee. Attached is a photo that I uncovered from my searches of – specifically – the Marshall Islands. WOW. Can you soak that up or what. Robert Louis Stevenson called it the “Pearl of the Pacific.” More wow. I’ve thought about this photo most of the day (during free thinking moments), and there were so few that I’m now thinking about it again and WOW. I’m going there. Period.
I learned about Micronesia from a flight instructor I met while on the island of Oahu. His wife, from Micronesia, was lovely and they were a neat couple. They spoke so lovingly of Micronesia that – it was better than any brochure or website. It was – WOW. So – if and when the work-gods allow me to take a break, I’m haulin my happy ass to … Micronesia. I may stay there for a year or two or forever. Yeah.
Iokwe – translation – Welcome.
North Shore — looking North inward on Oahu
The sunset closes the day on the North Shore, Oahu. This a favorite photo looking toward the tip of the island. It’s a great section of the island because there is a strong flow of winds aloft that keep the area sunny most days. The clouds that form over the mountains pictured here give great lift for soaring.
Tattoos by the numbers.
This is my 1,000th post on the PhotoMotoBlog.
More than 574,480 unique visitors have been to this site since its inception.
The weekly average the past four months has been in excess of 14,000 unique visitor per week.
My busiest day was February 17th, 2010 with 2,359 unique visitors.
Folks logging on my site originate from 37 different countries and the Hawaiian Islands.
Google is used to translate my site into 12 different languages.
I’ve logged more than 400 hours creating the site.
There are 2,535 images contained in this weblog.
Interestingly, it uses just a ½ MB of space.
The masthead has changed more than 100 times.
The posting rules have been broken once; that person didn’t break the rules again.
My blog site ‘encouraged’ management to create a ‘blog posting policy’ within my company.
This site has spun off into 22 other weblogs that I’ve created; the unique visitor totals for all sites is greater than 4,000,000.
I’ve been repeatedly asked to monetize several of my sites (no ads please).
The best part is that I really don’t care what anyone thinks about the content, the images nor the layout.
Somehow I’ve managed to connect with people whom I don’t know … for those folks … mahalo nui loa!
Thank-you for logging onto my site.
Aloha
Weigel’s Family Christmas, 2008: Santa visited and the kids went CRAZY!
Enclosed herein is a selection of my favorite photos that I took today at the Weigel’s Family Christmas event. More than 170 kids along with Weigel’s chaperons made their way into the Knoxville Salvation Army (gym) to enjoy the celebration. With lots of food, treats, and of course, Santa himself, the event was a huge success. I enjoyed being included because the event reminded me that Christmas is about giving to others without any expectation of a return gift. I’ve not seen nor felt this kind of spirit in many, many years.
It certainly frames Christmas in a new light. Mele Kalikimaka.
Boomsday Photos – the dessert of a wonderful evening.
The final day of August left us with a real “bang” – as in the 11th annual Boomsday fireworks show. This year we enjoyed the show from high above Knoxville in the First Tennessee building with some friends, Jack and Cathie. The view was excellent from Jack’s office – and the best part – no smoke, crowds, traffic issues, the bathrooms were close by and the AC felt pretty good too.
If someone could figure out how to charge for the experience, we’d put “priceless” as a starting point. Enclosed is a brief gallery of shots taken from our viewing post – all of which were taken without a tripod – thus the blurring of city lights at the bottom.
Thanks again Jack and Cathie for a wonderful evening.
More from Tremont: Twice to Mecca on a Sunday.
The Duchess and I visited Tremont early this morning. Enjoying the quiet roadways, parkway and Mecca itself. Very few cars were moving – and even fewer toward the National Park. The access road to Gatlinburg is closed for a few days and thus car traffic was minimal. I visited Tremont just after the rain finished and captured these shots. Click to enlarge. Enjoy.
Joe Martin Stage Race: Elite Men – atop Mount Gaylor
The photos are few in number because the pros were moving … as if they didn’t (!) ascend the 9 miles to Mount Gaylor. They came up on us very quickly – jumped by us quickly – and were GONE.
Joe Martin Stage Race: Atop Mount Gaylor
After a brief ride on my bike this morning, I took a quick shower, ate some lunch and visited Wal-Mart. Yeah. I bought the Canon EF f/4.5 70-300mm lens for my 400d. Alas, most of today’s photos resulted from my purchase. I’m certainly no professional – but I do enjoy capturing what I see. These are from the top of Mount Gaylor – from what’s left of the tourist stop on Highway 71. Prior to I-540, this was a stopping point for lots of travelers …. today it feels like a ghost town.
The Foothills Parkway: Spring has Sprung. Finally.
This past Sunday I traveled to the Foothills Parkway and enjoyed the mountain air, the scenic views and some climbing. Getting there was a challenge due to the line of cars backed up from the “open house” on the north side of the Foothills Parkway. I’m not certain what was served at the open house, but I suspect it was either money or alcohol (due to the number of cars – ha). The attached photo is just a Pentax snapshot of spring – springing in Great Smoky Mountains. I enjoyed it – a lot.
Hawaii: the TOP 10 Reasons to consider visiting.
With a four-day work-week behind me, I made time to consider the great state of Aloha. Ergo, I’ve developed my Top 10 reasons to visit the great state of Aloha … aka, Hawaii.
The Top 10
10. It’s Hawaii, do I REALLY need to enumerate the reasons? It’s far enough away that you feel far enough away.
9. Sun. Plenty of it and no industry to pollute the air.
8. No snakes.
7. You can enjoy a sunrise and sunset on the same day without flying.
6. The temperature is highly stable. Average high temperature in Hawaii in August: 88. Average low temperature in Hawaii in January: 75.
5. Great fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing, kayaking, sailing and boating opportunities all around.
4. Beautiful wahines in tiny bikinis. NOTE: a wahine is a woman and when you pronounce it, it rhymes with bikini. Yes, now you get it.
3. Some of the world’s best beaches and scenic mountains are within sight of one another.
2. Almost no mosquitoes or flies. Well, there are mosquitoes, but few.
1. Laid-back lifestyle. The laid-back lifestyle and attitude makes Southern “front porch sittin’” seem stressful and hurried by comparison.
Diamond views from Hawaii. Just a few photos to illuminate the Pacific.
Plumeria is a small genus of 7-8 species native to tropical and subtropical Americas. The genus consists of mainly deciduous shrubs and trees. P. rubra (Common Frangipani, Red Frangipani), native to Mexico, Central America, and Venezuela, produces flowers ranging from yellow to pink depending on form or cultivar. From Mexico and Central America, Plumeria has spread to all tropical areas of the world, especially Hawaii, where it grows so abundantly that many people think that it is indigenous there.
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of a body of water. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, or cobble. The particles of which the beach is composed can sometimes instead have biological origins, such as shell fragments or coralline algae fragments.
The State of Hawaii (pronounced /həwaiiː/ or /hawaɪiiː/; Hawaiian: Mokuʻāina o Hawaiʻi) is one of the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. The state was admitted to the Union on August 21, 1959, making it the 50th state. Its capital is located in its major city, Honolulu on the island of Oahu. The most recent census puts the state’s population at 1,211,537.
Size matters. So do Photos. We all know that Hawaii matters. And your bank account(s).
And a dozen other things that are mentionable but unmentionable. This photo is terrific. On oh so many fronts. I love the fact that life has its ups, downs and tallness to get us into noticing what’s around us. I notice so many things because of my career, my second career at UTK and because of the way I view the world – through a camera.
This coming weekend is a spring-fling of photos and we’ll find out what Mother Nature offered up this year by way of flowers, spring bugs and buds on trees. Later.
Vote. Or Vote for a No-Vote. Either way – you elect something or someone.
The last of the group presentations focused on “voting.” A burr under my saddle because I’ve got major issues with voting in general. Hanging chads, sneaky candidates, prostitute rings, mismanaging money, taking SUPER-long breaks from sessions, greasing PAC leaders’ vacation plans, etc. etc.
Putting those biased thoughts aside, I opened up to the idea of voting – again. Sorta like the second strike by MLB (I gave up on them and haven’t gone back to watching). Ok-Ok.
Much like the prior three groups – this was an excellent presentation. It was informational, newsy, and persuasive. I felt as if the team of students really dug in and worked hard to convince all of us (i.e., me) to vote. The call to action was a voter registration card! Go figure.
My vote will be cast — in the next presidential election. No worries. And to COM240 – great work!
Survivor in the middle of the Pacific. Way-out there in the midst of ahhh.
You got to love it – it’s far, far, far away in a galaxy unknown to most of the world as we know it. Those who are in the know, divers that is, favor the region because days are generally “blue” and the sun shines like it’s stuck on SPF50. Divers favor Chuuk Lagoon for its array of colorful maritime species and its large proliferation of shipwrecks. The lagoon is littered with Japanese vessels that were sunk during fighting in World War II.
Now the blah-dity-blah-blah … Micronesia consists of the Caroline Islands Archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean. In 1899 Spain sold the islands to Germany. Japan later occupied the region and fortified the islands just before World War II. In 1986 these 600 islands and atolls, formerly part of the U.S.-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, became self-governing in free association with the United States. American aid is crucial to the islands’ economy. Enough of the history lesson. Let’s see some good visuals.
Ahhhhh.
More ahh – Hawaii-ahh. How Nice.
Another week at the office. Another week at school. Another week that flew by me way-way too quickly. Another month gone.
Someone told me years ago that life speeds up (perceptively) as we age. My age must be moving pretty fast because the last two months were blurry.
Thinking of far away places like Hawaii consumed a few hours over the months of January and February – but not nearly enough. There were too many anxious moments dealing with things that were distractions … such as … 1) people who lack manners, 2) assholes who felt like proving they are indeed assholes, 3) people spending way-too-much time piddling in the kitchen with nothing to show (not even a few pounds of extra weight), 4) driving to and from the TH/CH and work, 5) time spent going to the store I HATE, 6) time spent trying to help a loved one who doesn’t want help, 7) time spent repairing reputations damaged by assholes who do push people under the bus, 8) dealing with people who lie to avoid being real, and various other crappy-crap things. Venting done.
On the positive side, I set aside time to feel good about my relationship with Ames, time to contemplate racing, time to prepare for my students – and interns, time to care-take of my body, time to care-take of my home, time to reach out to my family, time to dream, time to relax – but certainly not enough of that, and time to build my music library. Along with many other things – - –
March rolls in like a lion and I intend on rolling in with it – but with more smiles, more laughter and more thoughtful allocation of my time. Because as we age – and because time passes quicker as we age – I’m calling a board meeting with my advisers to reallocate the available time. I’ll get back to you about it.
Oh. The scene for today represents an important component of time: vacation. Ahhh.
Nuaailua Bay
Nuaailua Bay – along the route to Hana is beautiful. It’s on the windward side of Maui and accessed via the scenic Hana Highway. There are many, many terrific views – sites – sounds and fresh flower smells along the road to Hana. If you have the opportunity to travel via a convertible you’ll enjoy the trip even more so. Primarily because the lush vegetation overhead is fully visible and with the trees you also enjoy cooler temperatures. Mostly – that is. Aloha.
