sand, sun, hurricanes, our founding father and the inner harbor
Vacation. Yes, vacation. This past week I was on vacation. And a glorious one it was. A handful of my best friends and I travelled to the Outer Banks in North Carolina for a week of sand, sun and fun. It was my first time in the Outer Banks and I had a blast. Renting a house near the beach I spent the majority of my time making the tough decisions in life, such as, should I read some more of my book? maybe have a snack? boogie-boarding? no, I think it might be time for a nap. These were the most frequent dilemmas I faced while taking in the bright sun and ocean breeze. North Carolina is a beautiful area. Mostly just beach, beach, and more beach, which was fine with me. I was able to relax, de-stress, and not think about work once. I also indulged in some fantastic meals prepared by my 5-star chef friends :)
We enjoyed five picture perfect days at the beach … until … he came. Yes, the hurricane named Earl. He swept in and
pushed us off the beach two days before we were ready. It was an interesting experience really. I’ve never been affected this much by weather, growing up in Pennsylvania. We found ourselves glued to The Weather Channel several times during the week and were finally forced to evacuate Thursday morning before the storm hit that night. What a bummer. I admit that I did fall into a beach depression for some time, but we ventured forward determined not to let Earl get the best of us.
Leaving the Outer Banks, we spent some time in the Washington D.C. area and visited Georgetown for an evening. The following day we turned our vegetable-like vacation into an educational one and drove to Mount Vernon, the old home of the original “G Dubya.” We took a tour of George Washington’s old mansion and walked some of his enormous estate. I tried to place myself back in that time period and was amazed to think how much life has changed since Washington was the man of the hour. From Mount Vernon, we continued our hop up the east coast and made a final stop at the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland. A good dinner and beach reminiscing at the local Hard Rock Cafe prepared us for our final trip back home to the ‘burgh. While I’m still not giving up my grudge against Earl, I had an awesome time this past week. It was a trip I’ll never forget; a gratuitous amount of fun, really ;)
an Independence Day not to forget
Over this past weekend, I was blessed to have the opportunity to visit for the first time, our nation’s capital, Washington D.C.. Thanks to a handful of my best friends, I was able to experience something I’ve been wanting to do for many years.
My weekend began on Saturday, July 3rd, with my first stop in Arlington National Cemetery. This was such an overwhelming place. I’ve always known that there would be many, many tomb stones, but I didn’t believe there were as many as I actually saw. It seemed that no matter which direction you turned, the stones looked to go on forever. Walking through the cemetery I tried to put myself in the shoes of the family members who come to visit their fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. On several occasions I saw families doing just that. I also made the walk around to section 60 of the cemetery which is now the eternal earthly home of the men and women that have given the ultimate price in Iraq and the Middle East. It was very strange to walk by these stones with dates as recent as June 2010. It boggled my mind to think about it.
Another impressive stop within Arlington was the visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This memorial was constructed in honor of all the servicemen who gave their lives and have never been identified. The tomb is guarded 24 hours a day 7 days a week by a U.S. Infantry soldier. In the tradition of the 21 Gun Salute, the soldier takes 21 steps, holds for 21 seconds, and returns in the same manner back and forth in front of the tomb. During the summer months, the guard is relieved of his duty every half hour, every hour during winter months. While visiting the tomb, I was able to experience this changing of the guard. The ceremony was impressive, regal, humbling; it can only be seen rather than described.
After my visit to Arlington, we took the metro further into D.C. and visited the Thomas Jefferson Library at the Library of Congress. This sight was one I was very surprised to see. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was certainly very impressed when we walked into the main hall of the Library. The interior was very ornately decorated with gold flourishing details, marble floors, stairs, and sculptures. The architecture reminded me most of an Italian Renaissance style. Frescos and paintings also adorned the walls and ceilings. In what seemed to me to be the heart of the library, was the Reading Room. This room, which is only accessible with special permission, was a large circular room with desks oriented in multiple rows going around the circular room. The Reading Room was also exquisitely decorated and produced a very intellectual and respect demanding persona. This room was very much one of my favorite stops in the Library. Across the street from the Library I visited the U.S. Senate building. It was neat to see the place where our elected officials have been meeting to make the decisions that affect us all. And as one who enjoys architecture, the U.S. Senate is another beautifully architected building, also emitting the Roman/Italian style.
The following day, Sunday, July 4th, we first spent a few hours at the Natural History Museum within the Smithsonian Institute. Dinosaurs, octopus, giant squid, whales, dolphins, sharks, rhinocerous and elephants galore. After leaving the Smithsonian, we came outside on the sidewalk along Constitution Avenue to find the tail end of the Washington D.C. Fourth of July parade. None of us had really planned on watching the parade, but it definitely seemed to stop us in our tracks that day. Just seeing the bands come by playing patriotic tunes, kids and adults alike in Uncle Sam hats and red, white, and blue, and everyone being joyful in the hot July sun, seemed to make the parade become something we all had to be a part of on this Independence Day.
Further down the street, I made sure to stop at the National Gallery of Art. I very much enjoyed the art gallery and was excited to see many oil paintings, drawings, and photographs, include paintings by Matisse, Picasso, Degas, and Leonardo DaVinci. On my next trip to D.C., I would like to visit the many other art galleries in the area along with more of the Smithsonian museums.
A long trek through the mall and around the Tidal Basin brought us to my first major memorial stop, the Thomas Jefferson memorial. This memorial is definitely one of my favorites. The openness and simplicity of the structure gives it a very comfortable feeling, one that I thought was most inviting compared to the other memorials. I think this was evident in the way that many of the visitors that were there take time to sit on the marble floor of the memorial and just take in their surroundings. The larger than life size statue of Thomas Jefferson stands prominent in the center of the circular memorial surrounded by four of Jefferson’s most significant writings. This memorial certainly explains and projects the respect and honor due to a man that without his work and dedication, our great nation may not exist as we know it today.
With the sun beginning to set, we decided to take our place in the National Mall to prepare for the Independence Day fireworks. We found a spot and camped out listening to the sounds of the Navy Concert Band playing American tunes. Thinking back, this experience was one that I’ll never forget. As we sat and talked, the crowd of thousands continued to gather around us under the Washington Monument. It truly was awesome to see so many Americans gather together in this historic place to celebrate the Fourth of July. Kids playing soccer, people throwing frisbee, friends playing volleyball, and families just talking, chatting, and laughing together in every direction. The scene made me think how those that came before me really did do everything they did so that I could have this. That is a very awesome thought.
As the sun finally fell below the horizon, the lights and colors lit up the sky. We sat and watched the fireworks shimmer over the Reflecting Pool. The show ended with a grand fireworks finale. Afterward, we walked through the streets of D.C. with thousands of our closest friends back to the metro, stopping along the way to take a peek at the White House.
On Monday, July 5th, we made our final trip on the metro back into town to visit the rest of the memorials. We first visited the World War II Memorial. This grand memorial gives honor to all soldiers of the second world war by noting those who served in both the Atlantic and Pacific campaigns. The first of my two favorite features of this memorial was the relief sculptures along the outside walls of the space depicting scenes from various WWII battles. The second was the wall of stars. This arced wall situated at the center of the memorial housed over 4,000 stars. Each one of these stars honors 100 American soldiers who died in the war. This fact leaves one speechless.
Next I visited the Korean War memorial. My favorite aspect of this memorial was the wall which lines the side of the monument. On this wall were ghost-like etchings depicting men, women, and scenes during the time of the war. We stopped at the famous Lincoln Memorial next at the end of the Reflecting Pool. As I grew to know from seeing the other buildings and memorials around the capital, the massive scale of the Lincoln Memorial was no different. A grand statue of Honest Abe placed in the center of the memorial depicts the 16th President of the United States sitting humbly in a mighty chair. On the walls to either side of him are etched his two inaugural addresses. My final stop was the Vietnam Memorial. This simple memorial is definitely most powerful. The stone wall constructed in the shape of a ‘v’ is inscribed with the names of the thousands of casualties from the Vietnam conflict. Walking past these thousands of names demanded my reflection upon what these people did for our country.
My first trip to Washington D.C. is one that I’ll never forget. I learned a lot and gained a refreshed respect and love for my country. And I have to thank Ashely, Steve, Sam, Turbo, Aunt Carol and Uncle Carl for an awesome weekend :) You can find more pictures from my weekend in my online album.
learn to drive, for goodness sake
So I have a complaint to make. I’m not sure what it’s like these days in the rest of the country, but I’ve come to the conclusion that a good portion of people in western Pennsylvania have lost some fundamental driving principles. It’s amazing. I can’t count the number of times in the past few weeks I’ve encountered others who A. don’t know how to use their turn signal and B. don’t seem to understand the concept of ‘right-of-way.’ I’m not sure if the cars these individuals are driving don’t have turn signals, but if they do, they certainly are too lazy to make an effort to flick the turn signal arm. And when it comes to pulling up to the intersection, these particular drivers don’t realize that whoever is first to the intersection, proceeds through first. Only when two cars arrive at the same time does the person on the right have the ‘right-of-way.’
And just one more thing. Headlights. I am continually amazed that people do not turn on their headlights when it’s raining. First of all, it’s illegal (pg. 66). Second of all, it’s just silly.
Okay. I’m done.
Papa Smurf and the 4th OS
Yesterday, Apple released iOS4 for the iPhone and several generations of the iPod. I hooked up to iTunes and downloaded the latest update last night. I can say that once completed, which took about 5-10 minutes, I was glued to my iPhone for about the next hour :) The update is awesome. New features like folders and multitasking are done very well and are super easy to implement. I think this is something that continues to impress me with Apple products. The UI design of Apple software and operating systems are impeccable and certainly are tailored for the customers ease of use. The new camera zoom feature is nice along with the ability to designate different background wallpaper for your home screen and main menu screens. Actually, this little wallpaper feature is one of my favorite new additions. May sound silly, but having a picture of my choosing in both places is really cool. I think my other favorite new features is app-switching (a.k.a. multitasking) for applications like Pandora. Now I have the ability to continue listening to my internet radio music and switch over to check a message or email and use the iPod music controls to move to the next song or pause. I’m finding new little things here and there as I continue to use the updated OS. I haven’t found much I don’t like yet.
It was also brought to my attention today that with this latest update, Apple additionally made an update to its iTunes privacy policy, inserting a new section which describes that by accepting the new policy, the user agrees to allow Apple and third-party applications to collect specific location information, as CNET describes in more detail, to enhance application services along with marketing and advertising research, of course. The privacy policy update is a little disconcerting, however, as a user I have the ability to deny any applications from sharing my location information at anytime. In my opinion, this is a much better approach than Facebook has taken. Apple has ensured that I have control when a service is using my information, rather than Facebook deciding for me. Now, this is assuming that all of the information that is being reported back has been expressed by Apple. Still though, I guess this is the internet, so I can’t complain too much :P
On another note, here’s an intriguing trailer for next summer…
art n’at
After several years of wanting to go, I finally made it down to the Three Rivers Arts Festival last night. It was a very nice event. There were many artists from not only the local Pittsburgh area, but also from around the country selling their artwork throughout the downtown area and in Point State Park. The art varied from painting, prints, sketches, drawing, sculpture, photography and fabric work. They also had some good food, of which, I indulged in a most enjoyable Italian sausage sandwich. The only disappointment of the night for me was the live music of Kris Kristofferson. I don’t think that type of music was the best choice for a sunny Friday night, but I guess they didn’t ask me. Overall, I’m definitely glad I went and would recommend you to check it out if you haven’t already or make a point to attend next year. The festival definitely inspired me to get back into art mode and start creating more again. Who knows, maybe I could have my own booth next year.
a facebook word and i think i want another iphone
Since my previous post on the subject, the Facebook wars go on. Zuckerburg and company have updated the Privacy Settings area once again. This time however, I can say that I’m feeling a bit better about the situation. The Facebook team has definitely simplified things. And giving users the option to select predefined settings is nice. Although, there still is buzz and chatter that the social network still hasn’t fixed anything. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens and who makes the next move.
On a more exciting note, Apple announced the iPhone 4 today. I have to say, it looks really sweet. Sleek and thin design, 5MP camera with flash, front-facing camera, high-res display…it is a beautiful device. If only I was eligible to upgrade now…darn. I do have the new OS to look forward to later this month. Multitasking…mmmm.
what’ll they think of next!!??
WolframAlpha
I was given a link to a crazy cool website by a family member today. The site is called WolframAlpha. It’s a search engine-ish website that allows you to type in any kind of calculation, measurement, geographical location etc and provides for you a plethora of information about that particular thing. It’s also smart enough to dissect your input if you type your query in particular terms or in question form and make educated estimates when your input could have several different matches. An introductory video is available to provide a look at the power of the website. And if you want it for your iPhone, don’t worry, “there’s an app for that.”
farewell flickr, hello picasa
I’ve been using flickr to share photos for a while now. I’ve never been really thrilled with it though. The service only allows you to upload so many photos before you have to sign up for a paid subscription to use more space. Pretty poopy. Over the past few nights, I’ve been converting over to Google’s Picasa. It’s pretty sweet! You have 1 gig of space to start, which is awesome. I also downloaded the Picasa Web Album application which makes organizing and uploading photos a breeze. The one feature I really like is the ability to resize photos during the upload process. That way I don’t have to do it myself :) And I just found the Faces feature which is crazy cool. Check out my uploads so far.
very interesting…
For a little more on the whole Facebook privacy issue, just came across this nifty chart created by Matt McKeon. He has provided and interesting look at how the privacy of information has changed over the past 5 years. The data speaks for itself.