Old Pictures Revisted

I have spent the last couple of days looking for a digital photograph I took several years ago. Most of my images are on my external hard drive but some are on cd's that I used for backup. It has been fun traveling back in time.

Here are two images of Mt Shasta. The first one I took while driving North on I-5. It was a beautiful day and I could see the mountain way off in the distance. I knew just where I was going to stop to get a picture. There is a viewpoint just South of Dunsmuir. As the miles rolls by I looked forward the stopping and snapping the picture. I had never seen the mountain so white. It must have been covered with a fresh blanket of snow.

Finally I arrived at the view point, only to experience a big disappointment. A band of low clouds blocked the view of the mountain. After a short rest stop I continued on up I-5. The mountain remained blocked from view. After a meal stop in Yreka I continued North. Just North of Yreka the interstate crests a low ridge before dropping down to a bridge over the Shasta River. Looking back over I shoulder I could see the mountain. I quickly pulled off the road and took this picture.

On a later trip South I arrived in Weed, at the base the mountain just before sunset on a clear night. I stopped where I could get a good shot of the mountain and took another picture. The mountain was glowing pink and there was a full moon. However, it was not hanging over the mountain. This is one of the very few pictures that I have used a editing program to enhance. A little clipping and pasting moved the moon to where I wanted it.

I know, I doubt Ansel Adams would have approved. It was a chance shot, with the mountain bathed in the pink light of a setting sun. This was a once in a lifetime shot.

Mt Shasta is part of the Pacific ring of fire and like Mt Saint Helens, she will come back to life. The appearance of the mountain will be changed forever.

Upbeat Times "No Bad News is...Good News"

Today I discovered a new newspaper here in Sonoma County. Actually, it's an old paper that has returned to print format. They have been publishing the positive side of life since 1998. Visit their website at www.upbeattimes.com. It is great local reading.

The Joy of Sending Cards

I was stationed in Washington, DC, in 1976 when I met my first computer. It was a giant mainframe machine in the basement of the National Institutes of Health across the street from the National Naval Medical Center, where I was the assistant Military Personnel Officer. We had a remote data entry station. My systems guy could create reports but had to drive over, find a parking spot and go into the data center to get the printouts. I think I drove him crazy thinking up new ways to use this new tool. We finally got a printer and that made life a little easier.

The second machine we had was an IBM magcard typewriter. The technology was new but we took advantage of it. We only had to type a document one time. When we upgraded to the magcard2 it got even easier. As you revised a document the new version was saved to the second card. At one time my brother had a shop full of these old machines. He was an IBM typewriter repairman and worked in the factory that made the magcard machines.

I got my first computer a couple of years later. It was an Atari 800 and I was hooked, especially when email and the Internet came along.

In the fall of 2008 and friend showed me a neat program called Send Out Cards. It combined the benefits of the computer with the warmth of actually sending and receiving a card in the mail. The card has a first class stamp and can be written in own handwriting.

Today I average better than a one heartfelt card a day. I'm able to use my own pictures for a little more. The average card costs less than a $1.40 when I use my own pictures. I love taking someone picture and then sending them a card with their picture on the cover. I have also scanned old family photographs and used them on the card, like this picture of me and a friend.

Not everyone has an email address, I don't know it, or cannot find it. I have learned to send a card and in a few days I usually get an email or a phone call.

Why not try it out? Just click on the "Custom Greet Cards" link to the left and I will let you test drive the system. you can send a couple of cards on me and experience the fun of sending out greeting cards. One warning, it can be addictive.

Valentines Day with Williams and Ree

Sunday we went to the Citrus Festival in Cloverdale. This was the 118th annual Festival, which is like a small country fair with everything including the 4-H animals. Not sure how this guy got in, but he was keeping his eyes on everyone. One beautiful bird.

Williams and Ree, The Indian and The White Guy, (you can find them in the internet) are among my favorite entertainers. First saw them at the Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles about 20 years ago. I have been known to drive 2-3 hours to see them perform.

The weather was great this weekend, which the people at the festival enjoyed.

Time with Bill

Today I'm at Kaiser Permanente Optometry clinic with a friend. Bill is a World War II veteran with dementia. We're here for his annual Photographic Diabetic Screening.

While setting in the waiting room I asked Bill if he remembered the day World War II ended, August 14, 1945. He seemed surprised to hear the war had ended. He was looking at a Time Magazine and the time and was looking a combat pictures from Iraq. So much of his memory is gone and maybe it's good that he has reached the point where he doesn't get upset when I cannot remember the past.

I asked because I have become involved with an organization dedicated to establishing a National Day of Remembrance so that our :greatest generation can help education and inspire future generations of Americans. This August 14, 2010, we will be marking the 65th anniversary of the end of war. Communities across America are being encouraged to held commemorative events to mark the day.

August 14, 1945 was the day that the burden of war was lifted from millions of military members. Theirs was a commitment to serve for the duration and a transition period. For them and their families, August 14th marked the day the greatest generation could start thinking about the future. A grateful nation thanked them with the GI Education Bill and home loans. The depression was history and the face of America would never the the same.

Now the these veterans are in the twilight of their lives. Some remain very active and while others are suffering from illnesses like Bill. The third objective of the Spirit of 45 campaign is to collect first hand memories of those who experienced the joy of August 14, 1945, so they can be a permanent reminder of a time when the people of America were united to face a common challenge. I wanted to record Bill's memories but discovered I was too late.

You can help us capture these memories. If you know a World War II veteran or someone who was on the home front, visit www.spiritof45.org and learn how to collect their memories. Then record them and add them to the website. Time is running out!

First Post of 2010

Ok, I have been absent for several months. As I mentioned earlier, I have moved to Healdsburg, California, in the heart of the Sonoma County Vineyards. There have been many distrations here, but it's time to put those aside and get back to writing in my blogs.

I have added a weekly reminder on my to-do-list to write a weekly blog entry. Maybe that will help me focus.