"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood" Burnham, chief architect of the 1895 Chicago World's Fair.

My first "Hermitage"

I had a life-changing experience recently. Well, let’s call it more of a road adventure. I made reservations to stay at a monk retreat, you know, friars and monks and clergy and stuff. Why? That part deserves its own story, maybe later.

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Rusty pilots...

LOOK OUT! LOOK OUT! My mind screamed these words as I reacted in the cockpit to the low-wing Piper suddenly filling my windscreen at 1600 feet...

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Getting through to companies when you have an issue

This brief article is inspired by the Why I sued Google AdWords and won" article seeded by krich. I was going to post to the seed, but found that my answer grew too long! Here goes...

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Plums, Rainbow, Tracks & Wine

The title may seem rather prosaic, but it is more of a list. Here are a few recent shots around San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties.

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Is your 'Vine Name an Action Verb?

What NewsVine name or 'handle', means the same as an action or specific event to you? One historical reference, for me, is to "Gerald Ford", or to fall or hit your head on something; to act in a clumsy manner.

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Dcuben is >alt, delete< today! Happy Birthday!!

Dcuben turns 110 in metric years. Today!! An accomplished Teacher (Earth Sciences) in a top-rated North Carolina School, Dcuben has won the prestigious Teacher of the Year award for the district and the state.

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Science vs God

Each day I receive a plethora of useless E-mail. For some reason this one caught my eye. The below conversation made me realize that "faith" is a wondrous thing. No matter how you believe after reading the below I think that we will all have a new respect for the word faith.

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Photos in Phog

An Ode to my Fog Whether it is by chance or by design, she is majestic and all-consuming, changer of lives, protector, curse or tantric in its scope. Fog.

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Trees @ Sunset

Hi to all~ Just a quick photo or two (or more) on some of the beautiful lighting this time of year. This was shot in Pismo Beach by the campgrounds access path; the pier is North-ish about half mile.

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Stay Open? Watch and Wait? Toss in the hat?

This is a candid commentary about my heart-wrenching search to see if I can keep my small business open, or if I need to close the doors after almost 20 years. If for no other reason, I am writing as a cathartic experience, to allow me to come to terms with my choices.

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Morro Bay Civil Twilight

Words cannot convey the feeling of being surrounded by a vista such as this.

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Reflection and a Good Smoke

Out for a drive around sunset, I thought we'd take a chance at shooting a cliche subject, "sunset at the pier".

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Bad Roots & Fire in San Luis Obispo

A number of fires and wind gusts have put us all a little on edge this week. This morning around 10 minutes to 8, I got "on edge" too, when my curbside tree propped itself onto the building I lease.

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Minority Voting Guidelines: Remember to Vote November 5!

Minorities: Scroll down to the second-class citizen voting block which most closely resembles your race, creed or non-Christian system of belief. New Voter Guidelines have been issued in conjunction with Americans for a Whiter Brighter Democracy, Inc.

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Sunset on Main Street (beach)

So my wife and I were looking for a place to try out my new lens. Here are the best three from last night's shoot.

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Time to Stop Electing Presidents?

Every four years, we find ourselves mired in a raft of promises that, given close examination anytime except during the fervor of political posturing, would not float on their own merit.

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Mooning over Nature

I took a few photos last night and this morning in (and near) Shell Beach CA. Surprisingly, the seagulls and brown pelicans were up and doing their bird thing by the time I found a scenic vista.

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Our little bundle of Dirt

No room in my heart for a dog. No sir, they're dirty, smelly, licky-icky and full of fleas. Who needs 'em. Still, I hear stories from dog lovers who insist the world is a better place with them in it. Okay, I just made that up to make a point.

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Really Coping with Annnoying Ads [mini rant]

Maybe I'm ADHD, or maybe I'm just easily distracted. Perhaps that's redundant. I don't really care.

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At Work? [new group]

Whether you own or run a company or work for someone else, At Work is a catch-all forum for anything work-related, from office politics, humor and paydays, to very casual dress, really bad bosses and overpowering scents just over the cubicle wall.

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Hating & the A.D.A. [Americans with Disabilities Act]. Where do you stand?

This is a brief one-sided diatribe about being well in a world made increasingly difficult to navigate.My back hurts, and it's not politically correct to complain. And it's bad karma to hate.

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Gas: What is your tipping point ? [follow-up article]

April 16th, I wrote a brief ranticle (article/rant) about the price of gas.Regular (unleaded) was $4.099 at the time.

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A 10¢ difference between gas grades? Doesn't make sense.

In 1970, the difference between "unleaded regular" and the next grade up was about 10 cents. For 40-cent-a gallon regular gas, you paid an extra dime for the next better grade.

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Gas Pool: What cost per Gallon is your tipping point?

At some point, you will decide that enough is enough, and that perhaps a $100 fill-up is too much every week. What is your tipping point? At what dollar figure does mass transit become the only choice?

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    Oh yeah, next time you are complaining about those dang squirrels getting into the bird feeders, remember this black bear.   I don't know who took the photos. One of the hubby's friends emailed them to him this morning. Apparently they were taken off the back deck.

Profile

Nycam

Articles Posted: 58
Links Seeded: 685
Member Since: 7/2006Last Seen: 5/14/2012

I am a Cuban-born American, a former CBS News video photographer (Phoenix). Currently a web business owner in San Luis Obispo CA. Training to be a pil …