A Little Wandering Downtown

When the trees lose their leaves it just makes things look cold. Or maybe because it is cold, it also looks cold. The sun's lower trajectory this time of year gives unique tones and texture with the long shadows.

I haven't taken pictures in the Park Blocks for a couple of months, so I thought I would wander in the cold a little.

  

Most days the park is bustling with people during lunch hour. The cold weather has them staying inside on this day.

Finding a parking place was easy.

A couple of weeks ago Irondad posted an article about "Avoiding The Ambush" in which the author mentioned a favorite Portland bikers eatery called Kelly's Olympian. I did a drive-by so you can see it.

The parking along the curb is "motorcycle only". I've been here years ago, before it was a biker place. Hopefully in the near future Irondad and I can meet here to check it out.  If you can be in the neighborhood please join us.

It looks like parking is easy here too on cold days...

Computer Woes

Yesterday afternoon my 5-1/2 year old desktop computer crashed. It's been showing signs of aging so it wasn't a complete surprise. I've been trying to squeeze every bit of life out of it. My laptop is a Mac and I prefer using the Mac operating system. The catch is, my employer's platform is PC based and even though the Mac can operate on Windows there are some complicated issues that are to boring to include here.

I spent the day working from home trying to patch the PC back together. Today brought back the adage of how the thought of losing something that has become such a part of life makes you appreciate it a whole lot more. That's the second time I've written that recently. I've got to stop and appreciate things more.   

In my work I do a lot of searches on Google to research maintenance parts for customers. I relied on it today for help with the computer. A couple of weeks ago in a post I asked the question, "what did we do before cell phones?"  It's also hard to imagine life without a computer.

I wish your computer input/output operation well...

Beautiful Brisk Day

A short post to report on the two mountains close to Portland.  Above is Mt. St. Helens as seen from the parking lot of the Washington State University Vancouver campus. Today was below freezing and we've had an east wind 10-20 mph, so visibility was very good. The mountains are stunning in appearance which gives them a "Wow Factor". Still, these pictures don't really show their true display today.

This view is from the campus.

Here's Mt. Hood as seen this afternoon about 12:30. When flying in or out of Portland most flight paths take a course very near Mt. Hood. People actually say out loud, "Wow"!

Hope you were able to ride today.

What's Your See Level?

Last Saturday afternoon I was involved in a project at home and needed a few things at Home Depot. We happen to have two Home Depots fairly close to us. In years past I would have jumped in the car or truck and driven to the closest one, get my items and shoot back home. These days any excuse to ride is standard operating procedure. And going to the furthest one with a loop through the country was almost mandatory.

I've passed by this barn many times but always going in a westerly direction. This time I was coming from the west and really saw it for the first time. Have you ever done that? You look at something many times but never really see it. As riders on two wheels we don't want this to happen to us. We want to see and be seen...always.

I witnessed a car accident late this afternoon. Someone in a long line of traffic waiting for a light allowed enough room for a Volvo driver to come out of a driveway to turn left onto the road. A guy in an Explorer was going fairly fast down the center emergency lane to make a left turn up ahead and they met pretty aggressively. It all happened very fast. No one was hurt but both were dazed. A lady and I stopped. She comforted them and made the phone calls while I directed traffic.

I remember last year when I did the same thing the driver of the Explorer did today only I was on the Vespa. Fortunately the other driver stopped just short of nailing me. I was only looking at and thinking about the turn I was about to make up ahead. I didn't see the opening or the car about to come through it. This could have been a deadly trap. When I think about the velocity with which the two cars hit today, had one of them been a bike I think the result would have been grim.

This has been a public service announcement to remind you to "see and be seen".

Still Thankful

"For the first time in the city's history, the Portland Water Bureau issued an emergency boil-water alert late Saturday afternoon to more than 50,000 customers west of the Willamette River because of an E. coli contamination."

Above is a quote from the front page of this mornings Oregonian. Amber called me from the store late yesterday afternoon and asked if I'd heard anything about having to boil our water. She overheard some people talking about it at the store as some were loading up bottled water. For about an hour or so we weren't sure if we should be cautious with our water. It turns out that we're not in the affected area.

It got me thinking about the people who will have to alter how they do some things that are ordinarily taken for granted. We drink bottled water because our plumbing has old galvanized pipes, but we're use to having water on demand for all the other household needs. To think that tap water could no longer be trusted or even available is a serious proposition that would alter how we live.

My thoughts then turn to how grateful I am to have convenient necessities which I normally don't think about. It's a reminder that everyday is a day for giving thanks.

An announcement was made about 5:00 tonight that the boil-water alert had been lifted. Further testing showed no more signs of contamination. Taps should be run for about two minutes before drinking water again.

This was the view this morning a little after 7:00 outside one of our back windows. It's a black & white image and it's looking south. It shows the vivid contrast of the various kinds of trees against the new morning sky. It's as though each one is looking with anticipation of the new day and what it will bring. They're totally reliant on the sun and oxygen and water.

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24)

Black Friday at the Mall

Look at what a beautiful day it was today, and late in November! All week it's been like this, except for yesterday, and I've been riding each day for work. Today I didn't really want to ride somewhere by myself again so I told my wife and oldest daughter that I would meet them at the mall for lunch. Wait, did I say I would meet them at the mall on Black Friday? What was I thinking?

One of the worst parts of this day at any mall is being patient, forgiving, and generous while making your way through the parking lot. No problem when you're on a bike. I figured I'd find a spot in my favorite corral when I come during the week to my "field office". These two guys work in the mall so their bikes won't be moving for a while.

Here's the food court. I should have a picture of what it normally looks like on a Friday. Here's where you do the same routine as in the parking lot except with tables and chairs.

In past years on this day I'm usually assigned to being the mule. I carry the shopping bags and occasionally shuttle them to the car. Today I spent a fair amount of time people-watching with my camera. I figured I'd take pictures of other mules and it might make an interesting blog post. But to my surprise I didn't see many.

What I did see were a lot of people using their smart phone while walking. They had the tell-tale head down and concentrating posture.

 

These shots were taken using stealth mode. Act like you're adjusting the camera and push the shutter button and hope the shot turns out.

It even worked on our oldest granddaughter. And hey look, she's messing with her smart phone like most everyone else.

I managed to pop this shot of the lady next to me and it turned into a two-for-one. She has an iPhone and I think she was watching a video. Or maybe posting on her blog about the guy next to her constantly adjusting his camera. What did we do before cell phones?

Another surprising observation was that many people carry their smart phone in their hand, choosing not to put it in a pocket, purse, or holster. This wouldn't work for me. I'd set it down somewhere and that would be the end of it.

These three guys look like potential mules. They have that classic blank stare and they're waiting outside the store for their significant other. They're too macho to go in Bath & Body Works. Some of that applies to me but hey, I'm on a photo assignment.

It was a good afternoon at the mall. It's interesting how having a blog causes heightened awareness about the surroundings. I've always enjoyed people-watching but have never done it with a camera. So when you go to your mall watch out for people adjusting their camera.

Thanksgiving

 (photo courtesy christiananswers.net)

Being thankful assumes that there is someone to be thankful to, although rarely do you hear the who people are thankful to but only that they are thankful. Being generally thankful is good I guess, but it makes one wonder who gets the thanks. In our politically correct era where God is being systematically removed it's good that we still have this holiday to observe.

I thought it would be interesting to take a brief look at how the Thanksgiving holiday came about. The following was copied from Christian Answers Website.


Pilgrim Edward Winslow described the Pilgrims' Thanksgiving in these words:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on fowling [bird hunting] so that we might, after a special manner, rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as... served the company almost a week... Many of the Indians [came] amongst us and... their greatest King, Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted; and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought... And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet BY THE GOODNESS OF GOD WE ARE... FAR FROM WANT."

In 1789, following a proclamation issued by President George Washington, America celebrated its first Day of Thanksgiving to God under its new constitution. That same year, the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which President Washington was a member, announced that the first Thursday in November would become its regular day for giving thanks, "unless another day be appointed by the civil authorities." Yet, despite these early national proclamations, official Thanksgiving observances usually occurred only at the State level. Much of the credit for the adoption of a later ANNUAL national Thanksgiving Day may be attributed to Mrs. Sarah Joseph Hale, the editor of Godey's Lady's Book. For thirty years, she promoted the idea of a national Thanksgiving Day, contacting President after President until President Abraham Lincoln responded in 1863 by setting aside the last Thursday of November as a national Day of Thanksgiving. Over the next seventy-five years, Presidents followed Lincoln's precedent, annually declaring a national Thanksgiving Day. Then, in 1941, Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday of each November as a national holiday.
Lincoln's original 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation came - spiritually speaking - at a pivotal point in his life. During the first week of July of that year, the Battle of Gettysburg occurred, resulting in the loss of some 60,000 American lives. Four months later in November, Lincoln delivered his famous "Gettsysburg Address." It was while Lincoln was walking among the thousands of graves there at Gettysburg that he committed his life to Christ. As he explained to a friend:
When I left Springfield [to assume the Presidency] I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving with your family and friends. We have much to be thankful for.

Mike