Forester321

1. When technology works, it is wonderful
2. The Subdudes
3. Free admission at Boston’s Museum of Fine Art
4. It did not rain while I stood in line
5. Fajitas for dinner

Around patriotic holidays, former soldiers who are members of the American Legion can be seen collecting for donations to help support services to verterans. These two former soldiers were at the transfer station in our town this morning. 8 hours ago

1. The company of a colleague on a long drive
2. Figuring out a computer glitch
3. Cool avatar effects
4. Coffee and a petite vanilla bean scone
5. The start of a three day weekend – possibilities abound

1 day ago

Mehriniso is 39 years old, married and has a son and daughter. Her husband is a migrant worker in another country. Mehriniso works and provides for her family as much as her husband, working in agriculture. Now, she wants to start a new business buying and selling cows. Each month, she plans to buy, fatten and resell four head of cattle. She already has the land to do this on. In order to start this business, she is requesting a loan with which she will buy her first animals and their feed. 1 day ago

1. A good workout this morning
2. Not “reacting” to a crisis
3. Stickybun Latte
4. Getting out of the office a few minutes early
5. Catching up with a friend
6. Creating a project newsletter
2 days ago

Most of my photos are of things or places. The subject matter is seldom people. if there are people in my photos, they are often incidental to the actual subject matter. A talk I heard earlier this year challenged me to leave my comfort zone on this. Many great photos are of people, whether they be candids or portraits. I’ve played with this a bit this past year. Twice, I asked sttrangers to pose for me. When Amania and I toured Poland and nearby countries, we took some candids. Both are tricky. You need to get used to asking people if you can photograph them and be prepared to hear “no.” Candids are great, but shooting without affecting the people in the shot can be difficult.

I’d like to take more photos of people i don’t know and get better at it.

We took this shot in Dresden. 2 days ago

1. The great thunderstorm early this morning (The lost sleep was not so great)
2. Working on my family history
3. A brisk walk at lunch
4. Finding a protein bar in my lunch bag
5. A glass of wine on a quiet evening

A fountain in the Zwinger in Dresden 3 days ago

Phil Hansen is an artist who early in his career developed a neurological condition causing a tremor. At first, he stopped producing art and then decided to “embrace the shake.” He discovered that working with this limitation and allowing it to help him create allowed him to develop a whole new type of art. He has continued to let limitations he now self-imposes in his art help him to reach places he could not otherwise.

I really enjoyed this talk. Enbracing and using our limitations to reach a new level is so much better than just whining and giving up.

http://www.ted.com/talks/phil_hansen_embrace_the_shake.html 3 days ago

1. Getting an estimate to “fix the windows on the back of the house”
2. Listening to an interesting episode of This American Life
3. A productive day at work
4. Pomegranate flavored Honest Tea
5. Ghost Army – A PBS documentary about a US Army troop who created the illusion of troops where none existed in WWII.

4 days ago

How badly do you want out of management? Do you think you could manage this group or is learning the work tasks going to be enough of a challenge?

I’ve begged off on higher level positions because I think the challenges of my current job are enough. I already manage a few people, sometimes more and other times less. I’ve explained my reasoning. I get the feeling they are no longer going to be asking, but that suits me fine at this point.

Would it help to explain your concerns in managing a group? As long as you don’t think it will harm your standing there, it could either help them to understand why you don’t want to apply for a management position at this time, OR they could offer you some concessions if you do accept a management position. 4 days ago

1. Doing a slide show of travel photos for colleagues
2. Getting to the gym on a Monday
3. Photos in my in-box
4. Vanilla latte and an oatmeal cookie
5. Quiet time at home

American fair-food 5 days ago

This was fun and a good opportunity to play with different shutter speeds while photographing still vs moving objects at night. It took almost ninety photos, many of which are just blurs. I got some nice photos to use for posts etc. I also got to talk with one of the workers for a while and was even approached by a teenager who asked if I was available to “shoot for her Sweet 16 party.” It’s nice to be asked, but I prefer to keep this as my avocation. 5 days ago

Kraków was pretty cool. We really enjoyed it. I’ve heard good things about the highlands but did not make it up there. Another reason to go back ;-) 6 days ago

Aziza is 40 years old and lives in Tajikistan. She is married with two children, ages 10 and 12. Her husband is a migrant in Russia and making it difficult for Aziza to provide for her children.

Aziza is a smart teacher, who has worked at the local kindergarten.
Now, Aziza is going wants to open private kindergarten at her house. She lives with her family in the house which is in poor condition. Her house is old and it needs some repairs. For this she needs a Kiva loan 6 days ago

1. Showing photos to Sue at Starbucks this morning
2. Wonderful messages, chats and e-mails
3. Breakfast out
4. Getting chores done: Washed vinyl siding, cleaned mower air filter, got my bike in riding shape
5. Finished my special project.

We spotted this very colorful mailbox in Dresden Germany. 6 days ago

...Amania and I shared picture taking duties and worked really hard to get some good shots.

Poland was great. You must have some good memories of summers there. 6 days ago

So I am marking this goal as done, though I wish it could have gone on longer. It was the most amazing adventure on so many different levels. If given the opportunity, I would do it all over again.

This is the Rynek (Market Square) in Wroclaw very late in the evening. 6 days ago

...like you worked really hard for this. I can’t believe you could have tried any harder. Your effort and coming so close to the goal you set speak volumes. 1 week ago

1. Connecting and hope
2. A busy day
3. The lawn looks and smells so nice
4. Baking strawberry cupcakes and making a favorite dinner
5. Time to make photographs
6. Progress on my project

Looking out from the top of the dome of the Frauenkirche in Dresden 1 week ago

If Prague was a bit unexpected, Dresden was a total surprise. We had not planned to visit until literally that morning over breakfast. Also, while I’d heard the city had been beautifully restored, I was totally unprepared for the extent of the beauty of this wonderful baroque city. The top photo is the wonderfully restored Frauenkirche, whose dome we ascended. The other two are street scenes. 1 week ago

1. Getting back to the gym this morning
2. Time to work on photos
3. Some of the weekend chores are already done
4. Telling coworkers about travel experiences
5. Chinese food for dinner

The Zwinger in Dresden was an unexpected surprise. 1 week ago

...We were very happy that we visited there. 1 week ago