Geek Habitat

{stolen from a post I just wrote on a password-protected blog I follow. The impetus was a recurring theme about the person’s fear of flying, which itself is okay — I guess (I personally think it’s overcome-able, with patience and education). But when that fear keeps you from doing things you WANT TO DO, like take an unexpected trip or see something you’ve always wanted to see, well then, that’s just wrong.}

Here’s my personal life statement. Do with it what you will (it may not work for you, but I used to not do a lot of things out of fear of “what might happen”):

Still fighting off my headache (it’d help if I would take a break from the computer, or go to sleep which at 2:15 AM is sort of the normal thing to do!)

In the meantime, I started fiddling around with some photos I took a week or so ago at a neighborhood playground. Weather-beaten, happy-children-worn playground equipment is pretty irresistable to photograph, especially after a morning rainshower provides perfect lighting.

PS: I know it’s not terribly original, and certainly not too terribly funny to those affected, but –
4 hurricanes in Florida, deadly floods in Japan, a “swarm” of earthquakes in California, AND Mount St. Helens stirring once again
WHAT … the … HELL ?!

Noah’s entry about being told by security, “you can’t photograph here” outside a famous landmark in Los Angeles reminds me I have yet to do a proper entry about my feelings regarding our post-9/11 world. Specifically, my feelings regarding the erosion of people’s “inalienable rights” to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. In my Life, three such Pursuits — General Aviation (GA), photography and public access to City, State & Federal parklands — are very much “under fire” due to rampant fears and knee-jerk reactions in our terror-ridden world.

While commenting to an entry in a password-protected blog I read daily, I was struck with the seed of an idea. Until I can actually ACT on it properly, I wanted to repost a portion of my comments here.

… I am addicted to computer input devices — keyboards, mice, trackballs.

Awhile back, I wrote about buying a new trackball. The “honeymoon period” was still in effect, so I thought I’d found a new alterate input device to alleviate some of my computing overuse wrist pain. In the end, the trackball wasn’t compatible with my hand.

Computer input devices are a personal thing, at least when you spend as many hours on a computer as many of us do. I’ll grant you that most people don’t do 14 consecutive hours on a computer with no breaks (”Lunch/Dinner, what’s that?!”) — I don’t either, very often at least, but that’s what has caused my latest tenosynovitis wrist flare-up.

Justin and I took our nephew downtown to the Institute of Texan Cultures on Saturday to meet a a Tyrranosaurus Rex named “Sue” — the most complete T. rex skeleton yet discovered. After meeting “Sue” and learning about the 40 deadliest dinosaurs of all time from Dinosaur George, we walked to the Tower of the Americas (Hemisfair Tower) and took the 1 minute/11 mile per hour elevator trip to the observation deck.

My right wrist and arm’s in an over-use flareup so I didn’t bring my camera; no matter, Justin was on fire, capturing some wonderful photographs I have to share — including a casual portrait of me I’m actually happy with (a rarity!)