Backseat Blues

Teen Malcolm has a habit of taunting Claire lately. At age 4 she can't help but fall for it. I think he's told her when she hears scratching on the wall, it means there's a monster nearby. I'll tuck her in and just as soon as I come downstairs he'll start scratching.

Last Sunday we're in the van coming back from church and Malcolm's at it again, sticking his thumb between his fingers and showing Claire "I stole your nose!" We're all suffering in the enclosed space.

After Claire shrieks a few times, Carter (6) stuck in the wayback seat says in a weary voice, "Steal her mouth."

From Our House To Yours

Merry Christmas!

Wolf in the Fold

Claire's preschool put on a Christmas play for the parents last week. She portrayed a sheep looking in on the birth of baby Jesus.

While the kids were waiting for their part in the play to come up they sat on these risers behind the "stage." I was laughing watching this little guy make the moves on Claire. She got out of the way in time.

Maybe if the kid was offering a cheeky zerbert she would have gone for it. Here's a great step-by-step to explain the procedure (proof that people have too much time on their hands).

Today's title borrowed from a 1967 Star Trek episode. It took me a few years, but I recently finished all three years of TOS on DVD.

Doric? Ionic? or Corinthian?

Today's quiz question comes from the Roman architecture section of your Humanities 101 class: identify the form of column used on the entryway of Philadelphia's 30th Street Station.

When you exit the station to get a cab, they are lined up under this open but covered area supported by these massive columns. The roof must be 95 feet up like the inside of the station.

It makes quite an impression for the train passenger arriving in Philadelphia for the first time.

Spirit of Transportation

Waiting for my train in Philadelphia's 30th Station I was on my way to the men's room when I saw this enormous relief sculpture in a forgotten alcove. It is the work of Karl Bitter and is called Spirit of Transportation. The plaque reads:

This panel, the conception and work of Karl Bitter, was executed in 1895 and placed in the waiting room of Broad Street Station, Philadelphia, from which place it was removed to this site in January, 1955. The Spirit of Transportation is represented in triumphal procession of progress led by a little child carrying a model of an airship, a prophetic vision of a mode of transportation to come.

I had to catch my train or I would have spent more time studying it closer, like the man in my picture. Even from a distance the detail and dimension of it is pretty amazing.

A Quick Peek

On my whirlwind trip to Philadelphia last week I knew I wouldn't have time to see the city.

Outside the train station I sneaked my way out of the taxi line to take a couple quick shots of the skyline.

Lifting

I didn't get to see much of Philadelphia itself, but the most impressive thing I saw was this 39-foot tall memorial at one end of the 30th Street rail station.

Inscribed around the granite base of the Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial are the names of 1,307 Pennsylvania Railroad employees who never returned from World War II.

The bronze sculpture on top is called Angel of the Resurrection, and depicts Michael lifting a dead soldier from the flames of war. I found it interesting that the angel's proportions are a bit larger than his earthly counterpart — it makes him even more superhuman.

30th Street Station

This is the main hall of Philadelphia's 30th Street Station which opened in 1933. We were trying to guess the height of the ceiling, and our estimate came up short — it's a grand 95 feet. The art deco chandeliers themselves are each 18 feet long and irreplaceable.

Here's something wild: the roof is built with reinforcement so light aircraft can land on top. I'm guessing they no longer allow that with all the high rises of downtown Philadelphia around.

Behind the menorah at bottom center of my photo is the schedule board. The letters and numbers on the board are split in half horizontally and spin around like Rolodex cards. Every so often the board updates, sending a loud and satisfying clatter echoing across the main hall.

The original 1978 application for the National Register of Historic Places concludes:

The 30th Street Station has endured as one of the last examples of the architecture of the past great railroad era. it is a building of self-evident importance and a significant landmark for the City of Philadelphia.

The application also uses schmancy words to describe the architecture: travertine, clerestory, entablature, porte cochere, spandrels, caissons, modillions, dentils. Someone's been studying their architecture. I just think it's pretty.

It's an impressive space to occupy, it reminds you of the past sophistication of rail travel.

Bigfoot

OK, it's not a picture from Philadelphia, but I was on my way there when I found this size 1,200 spike.

Can you spot anything in the archway that gives away I'm in DC's Union Station?

I've Been Everywhere, Man

Driving tonight I was flipping through radio stations, and was happy to come across the old Johnny Cash song, "I've Been Everywhere." You used to hear it on pickup truck commercials a couple years ago.

I haven't quite been everywhere yet, but whenever we plan meetings around the country my vote always goes to the city I've not visited yet.

I'm getting sick of showing DC photos, so I'm happy the next couple of days I've got some photos from my Philadelphia trip last week, a place I've never been. Though I didn't get to see much.

Here's a picture of my laptop against the train tracks, somewhere on the way to Philly. I've said that most of my photos happen on my way someplace else. This shot pretty much sums it all up.

Keep Those Doggies Rolling

This year I made gingerbread cookies for my coworkers in DC. Claire walked through the kitchen a couple times and didn't notice what I was doing. I may have shielded the pastry counter with my body.

I could only hold out so long, she's a smart kid. She soon caught on, and then dragged the stool over, as she always does to let you know: she will be involved.

Christmas is Coming

Carter and Claire making ready. Sort of a Norman Rockwell moment, but with Rock Band drums and an A/V cabinet.

Two-Tone

Did you ever notice the Washington Monument is two different colors?

Construction began in 1848 and went until 1854 when donations for the monument ran out. Then the Civil War came up. Construction resumed in 1879, but the builders couldn't find the same color marble used in the earlier stage.

Flip Side

This is the south Truman Balcony side of the White House. It's the end I never see because my office is on the north.

I took this shot from the National Christmas Tree along the big, circular drive called The Ellipse. So I was out last night with my camera and small tripod resting on an elevated plaque at The Ellipse. Some guy saw my long zoom lens and asked me whether I could tell if Obama wore boxers or briefs. In the full size 12 megapixel version of this shot you can pick out individual ornaments on the Christmas trees in the windows. See it large.

This is the side of White House you usually see, I noticed this south view on TV several times last night without even trying, it's pretty iconic.

4, 3, 2, 1 ... Merry Christmas!

Earlier this week I glanced at a headline in the paper about the National Christmas Tree. I figured I'd go see it, as it's a few blocks away from my office. Unfortunately I didn't actually read the article, or else I would have learned the lighting was Thursday, rather than Wednesday as I walked through 30° F cold to see a dark tree.

Tonight was the actual lighting, so I gave it another try. Unfortunately you needed a ticket to get in; the entire park where the tree stands was blocked off by armed guards because the President was there.

So I watched the lighting from the road, listened to a couple songs, then went off to get some dinner and let the program end and the crowd dissipate.

Later I walked back the third time and finally I got to see the tree up close — it's beautiful.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

I'm traveling just about every day this week. Monday I flew down to Washington DC from Albany. Tuesday I met up with others from work at Union Station in DC and took the train to Philadelphia for a couple days of meetings. Today is Wednesday and I'm on the train headed back into DC for a couple more days of work before heading back to New York on Friday afternoon.

This is maybe my second or third trip by regional train and I really enjoy it. It's like being in a plane except there's a lot more room, you get electricity, Internet, phone reception, and there's a lot to see going by out the much larger windows. There's a bit more rocking back and forth than in a plane, but not the kind of bumps that make you want to lose your lunch, or worry you're going to fall out of the sky. The sound of a train is like all the railway crossings you've ever sat at — familiar and good.

We just went over some water as the sun was setting, rimming out the clouds and glowing ice crystals above the sun's disk in brilliant orange. I grabbed my camera quickly to get a shot out the window, and got it out just in time to get a gorgeous shot of the sky reflecting over the water. I kept mashing the shutter but nothing happened: my memory card was in the computer. Bummer, I hate missing scenes like that.

50,000 Words Later

If I appear thin and malnourished, it's because over November Joanie again has been participating in NaNoWriMo, a.k.a. National Novel Writing Month. And she won!

You spend the month writing 50,000 words of your Great American Novel along with thousands of your fellow unshorn, bathrobe-clad peers. The name of the game is getting the writing process started and flowing.

As my mother legendarily shouted across a convenience store parking lot from her car to mine on my wedding day, I salute Joanie in similar goofy fashion:

I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!

Happy Girl

On Thanksgiving Day Madeleine was a super sweet big sister to Claire. Madeleine let Claire come into her bedroom (a really special thing) and she helped her pick out an outfit, brushed and curled her hair, and painted her nails green.

Joanie suggested we take some nice pictures of Claire while dolled up because she was our only kid without a school photo. I'm glad she suggested it — I got so many good shots it was hard to pick these. What a ham.

If you're looking at this on Facebook you're probably only seeing the first photo. Come to Blogger and see the rest.

Locked In

President Obama announced yesterday he was freezing federal employee salaries for two years to help reduce the federal deficit.

While this affects my family directly and I'm not wild about it, the President makes a compelling case. Inflation is supposedly down, and the proposed COLA increase for 2011 was only 1.4%.

Meanwhile my wife and I were just talking yesterday about how much grocery prices have risen lately. I'm watching gasoline continue to creep up a few cents every day (I saw it at $3.14 today — yikes). What are the odds our health premiums will go down next year?

It sounds like further cuts are coming. I'm willing to do my part. Ask me in two years how it went.

Money Always Gets In The Way

Standing at the side of the Treasury Building you can look down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol.

Before the Treasury was built, you could apparently see directly to the Capitol from the White House — it was a straight shot down Penn Avenue.

Maybe the symbolism is fitting these days that the capital is now on the way to getting to the Capitol.

Treasure

Flag and columns from the east side of the Treasury building, Washington DC.

St. John's Church

I've shown pictures of its landscaping, but I guess not of the actual St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church, in Washington DC. I find it an unusual church building because of its striking color, but St. John's is also distinguished because of its POTUS parishioners. The plaque outside reads:

Every President of the United States since President James Madison has attended occasional services here. Many of them were communicants of the parish.

St. John's is along the north end of the White House bordering Lafayette Park, and it's a beautiful landmark along my path between work buildings when I'm walking to and from meetings.

Walk in Shadow

Pennsylvania Avenue near the end of the day, Washington, DC.

Coliseum 2

Another speleothem from Howe Caverns which reminds me of another coliseum.

This time, it's the coliseum from Star Wars Episode II, where the flying termite bug-people all descend to watch three different monsters try to defeat our Jedi heroes and smoochy girlfriend. Not three of the same kind of monsters, but one of each kind. These drones really know how to have a good time.

Oops, Jango Fett, your helmet came off. Wait, maybe that's a good thing.

Coliseum 1

A speleothem 156 feet underground at Howe Caverns. It was formed as water-borne minerals dripped from the cave ceiling over hundreds of years. It quite reminded me of the Roman Coliseum.

We went to Howe Caverns around Halloween when it was set up as a spook alley, they pumped it full of fog and hired a few dozen kids to dress as zombies, act creepy and follow you around.

I would have rather had the real tour and heard about cave geology, but I was there with a bunch of teenage boys who came for the creep show.

Spectre

Straight out the camera, no tomfoolery except for underexposure.

They say stormy weather and fog are a photographer's best friend, but a close third is a smoke machine.

Taken 156 feet underground at Howe Caverns.

Steuben

As a former resident of Steuben County, New York I was interested to know about this statue I pass often in DC's Lafayette Park.

Baron von Steuben was a Prussian military officer that came to serve the American colonists as a general in the Revolutionary War alongside George Washington. He is called the "drillmaster of the American Revolution" for introducing military training and discipline to the Continental Army.

After his retirement, he had a summer home in Remsen, near Utica, NY, a couple hours west of us. He is buried there, at what is now the Steuben Memorial State Historic Site.

Southeast

A beautiful fall morning looking southeast from the middle of Lafayette Park in Washington, DC. The Treasury is in the distance behind the golden trees.

This would be a picture of the White House if I spun my camera a quarter turn to the right.

My Favorite Mistake

This was a mistake I made this summer at the edge of the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

I was using my tripod to take these really long exposures, like 20 and 30 seconds.

After one picture I went to zoom my lens to change views. What I didn't realize was my camera was still in the middle of taking the previous picture. And this is what I got.

Boston Temple Trip

On Veterans Day I helped take 35 church kids to visit the Boston Temple (somehow we missed a carload for the photo).

I added the extra middle row seat to our Odyssey so I could squeeze in Malcolm plus six more 12-14 year old boys. It was hilarious to watch them work out the seating arrangements amongst themselves to stagger the younger, skinnier boys amongst the older, bigger boys for the 3-1/2 hour ride each way.

A few years back when we were shopping for vans, the Honda dealer of course gave us the test drive in the most extravagant model with leather seats and a DVD player. When we first loaded our kids in they were bouncing off the seats, folding them up and down, looking in all the little compartments, exclaiming about all the cup holders, and generally making a racket. In the glove box we found a boring sales DVD about the van's features. We popped it in to see what it would be like to have TV in the car.

Sudden stillness. Complete silence. Guess which van we bought?

Being stuck in a van with seven young teenage boys for 400 miles sounds like a painful way to spend a day off. But they watched movies the whole way and found other ways to entertain themselves, and the trip went right by. The one movie I had to turn off was "Toy Story" — so many of them had every line and nuance memorized and felt compelled to quote it the entire way through. They couldn't promise me they'd stop. Next film, please.

We had late lunch at a huge buffet, and from the adults' table I saw the boys go back for multiple Slurpees and dinner plates of cake and ice cream. It was fun to watch them laughing so much.

In the end I'm hoping their experience at the temple at least balanced out all the movies and dessert they pumped into their systems. I know I had a really great day.

I Was Just Leaving

I hate to tell you I didn't hike for hours to find this idyllic scene. Out our bedroom window our neighbor's trees rain these perfect golden leaves. Raise the window, pop the screen, tilt out the top window, and then it's shooting fish in a barrel.

I took this photo last Saturday, just before I sucked up the leaves on our side of the yard with my mower.

Happy Veterans Day

I work for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. One of the nicer things about my agency is its clear-cut mission. I'll be sitting in meetings and someone will say, "What would be best for our veterans?" That little possessive word "our" says a lot. I love that dedication to our citizen audience. I can happily report this attitude is ever-present.

This photo is from the front of VA's headquarters, which is within sight of the White House. The quote on the lower plaque is from Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address, delivered a month before the Civil War ended. Lincoln used the occasion to make a statement on the nation's next "course to be pursued," which included caring for veterans and their families.

Lincoln's speech does not mark the start of caring for military veterans and their families on the American continent — it is evidenced among the Plymouth colonists and earlier American civilizations. And it is a priority VA helps lead today, which I am glad to be a part of.

Dappled

Facade of the Hotel AKA across the street from my office in DC.

Autumn in White

Last Friday in Washington DC. I had a morning meeting a few blocks from my office so I took my camera along to sightsee on the walk back.

Their fall is a little behind ours in New York. The sun was still low and golden — it was brisk but otherwise sunny and beautiful. Just a great time to be out walking around.

I'm used to seeing red flowers around the waterfall on the north lawn of the White House, so this was a little surprise I loved finding.

That's A Mouthful

I found a cool online app called Wordle that generates a "word cloud" based on the 150 most frequently used words in the text you submit. The larger the word appears, the more commonly it appears in your writing.

I input a text file with four years of blog entries from the Grandon Fan Club, and this is what it spit out.

So evidently the Grandon Fan Club's author is fixated on "got, get, one, time, see, around, week, and camera." As in —

"I've got to get around to see if I have time to get that one new camera next week."

Kind of reminds me of playing Apples To Apples, when at the end of the game everybody uses the green cards they won to describe themselves.

Spires Afire

One of the scenes from my trip last Friday on my way home from a week in DC — the Washington DC Temple.

What's amazing about this shot is it's a total grab taken at 65+ mph on the Beltway from the back of a bouncing shuttle through tinted windows. Despite the odds, when I saw the spires emerging the flaming trees I had to give it a try.

I want to kiss whoever invented camera vibration reduction right on the mouth.

Details, Details

Nighttime details of the incredible glass mosaics as seen from the outside of St. Stephen Martyr Church, in the Foggy Bottom area of Washington, DC.

Grandons 1, Pumpkin Store 0

Claire poses with her jack-o-lantern. C&C drew out the faces they wanted on paper. Then they transferred the expressions to their pumpkins, and I wielded the blade.

These pumpkins came from our retired next door neighbor, Sandy, who has a huge garden and brings us all kinds of vegetables over the summer. We picked a great place to live!