Ugly Kid Joe Run

Other than having Ugly Kid Joe stuck in my head for 6.6 miles, this was an awesome run.

Easter morning run

A 3D flyover view of my run this morning. If you're not from Gainesville or have never been here, the only thing you'd recognize would probably be the football stadium. (Right side of screen around mile three)

You'll need the latest google earth plug-in to view the video.

Easter morning run

A 3D flyover view of my run this morning. If you're not from Gainesville or have never been here, the only thing you'd recognize would probably be the football stadium. (Right side of screen around mile three)

Also, you need the latest google earth plug-in to view the video.

Easter morning run

A 3D flyover view of my run this morning. If you're not from Gainesville or have never been here, the only thing you'd recognize would probably be the football stadium. (Right side of screen around mile three)

You'll need the latest google earth plug-in to view the video.

Come and see the violence inherent in the system. Help! Help! I'm being repressed!

-I'm 37. I'm not old.
-Well I can't just call you "man".
-Well you could say "Dennis".
-I didn't know you were called Dennis.

I'm ashamed I didn't bust out that quote while shooting the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire in Gainesville last weekend. Would have been great to use while getting a name or something. But yeah, plenty of Python quotes were tossed around... in my head at least. I even purchased a marshmallow catapult. It's awesome. Launches those suckers across the room.

-We are now the Knights who say... "Ekki-Ekki-Ekki-Ekki-PTANG. Zoom-Boing. Z'nourrwringmm.

And here are some others from the past week including a wrestling tournament, soccer playoffs, a 3D movie screening, flipped truck and the first UF baseball practice

Enjoyeth thy images.

-If she weighed the same as a duck... she's made of wood.
-And therefore...
-A WITCH!

Rain

The Gainesville Sun loves them some weather features. And with strong thunderstorms and lots of rain in the area, I was sent out to find some "it's raining photos." I camped out under different overhangs in downtown Gainesville and made some images of people in the rain.

Kicks and Fumbles

I'm not an expert at the game of football, but two things you can't do if you want to win a game is miss kicks and fumble in the redzone. Florida did both on Saturday. Here are a few of my favorites from the game that Mississippi State won 10-7. (in no particular order)

The Florida kicker missed two field goals in the game, including one in the final seconds that would have tied the game. But a few minutes before that, Florida fumbled the ball inside the 20. Oops.

KC/DC

Alrighty... I'm going to post something ASAP because if I don't, these images will forever be lost in the depths of my computer, then archives. And this was too cool of a trip to let that happen.

Laura and I just got back from our KC/DC trip. We flew to Kansas City where I ran half-marathon with Ben and Dad. We spent the weekend there with family... including a Royals game, then headed to Manhattan for a few days... where we spent a good chunk of the time buying me a car. Not quite the best way to spend vacation time, but it was a good deal and gives mom an excuse to come visit me. How else is the car going to get to Houma?

-Ben and I after the race

-The shirt I made and wore during the race

-The K

-The New Ride (a 2007 Nissan Murano)

After looking through my Kansas Photos, I realized a majority of them were of Nephew Alec. What can I say, the kid takes god photos. A TON more photos from the Kansas section of the trip can be seen here.

-Alec at the City Band Concert

-Laura at the Tuttle Creek Tubes

-Bob breaking into his own house

-Alec at a train station/burger joint in KC.

-Grandma, Alec and Ben on a lazy Sunday morning after Bagels and a long walk.

We left Manhattan on Wednesday and flew to Washington DC where we stayed with Laura's Aunt and Uncle just outside of the city. We played tourists most of the time. Trips to the majority of the monuments, Arlington National Cemetery, the Newseum and Holocaust Museum to name a few.

-Washington Monument at night

-Green door in Georgetown

-Photographer as part of a plaque at the WWII memorial

- Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers

-Bird at Arlington National Cemetery

But the DC portion was highlighted (in my opinion) by two afternoons. The first was a personal tour of the Pentagon by Laura's Uncle Pete... he works there. It was pretty darn neat to be walking the halls inside the Pentagon. It's a small city inside that thing, including a gift shop where I picked up a t-shirt. And can you believe they don't have a pentagon shaped coffee mug? That just seems too easy.

The next highlight was an afternoon with one of my mom's best friends Janet. She met us at the Eastern Market and treated us to a crabcake lunch. It was great catching up and having a local tour guide through the capitol, supreme court and Library of Congress. Janet showed us the way to Georgetown and dropped us off there. (where we enjoyed a self-guided tour of the university and an awesome oven baked pizza).

Again, a BUNCH more photos from the DC section of the trip can be seen here.

Big thanks go out to Mom (for driving my new car down to Louisiana) and to Aunt Mary, Uncle Pete and the three cousins Jacob, Matthew and Abby for being such great hosts and letting us take over the basement.

Now it's back to sauna-like heat and oil coverage.

They Just Don't Mix

Training for a half-marathon and covering an oil spill just don't mix.

I've been training to run a half-marathon on June 5. The last half-marathon I ran, nothing else was on my mind the weeks leading up to the race. Even my photography took a back seat to my running.

Now, the race is a little more than a week away, and running is kind of an afterthought. I'm still getting my runs in, but mentally, I'm just not ready to run a half-marathon. Hopefully that will change once I get my bib number and wake up the morning of the race.

However, the running has really helped me escape from all this oil. Even just a quick run gets my mind off work and into that "zone." Then I can get back to work.

So maybe those two mix better than I thought. Oil and water on the other hand...

Anyway, lets look at some photos. One of the big concerns right now is the lack of protection (boom) for Terrebonne Parish. Especially since oil has been found just a few miles south of Pointe-aux-Chenes. I went out with some local fishermen to see the oil coating the marsh grass. It's scary because the marshes are so important for this area and the oil looks as if it's coming from underwater. You can't see it on the surface, but it's showing up on the marsh grass.

Gilbert, Gayle and Russell make their way along the marsh looking at the oil-covered grass. They took a few samples back to show the other residents the oil that's just a few miles from their homes. Where they are in this photo isn't just some water near their house... it's where they make their living. The catch their shrimp there. They catch their oysters there. Their income is in this water. I can't begin to put my self in their shoes.

The majority of the residents in Pointe-aux-Chenes are native American and have been born and raised there. The live off the water, it's their way of life. So having it invaded by oil could force them to leave. They also have tribal burial grounds they want to protect. The grounds have already been invaded by salt water killing the trees, but oil just doesn't seem fair.

Today, 24,000 feet of boom arrived in Pointe-aux-Chenes. Much like the fisherman from a few weeks ago, these guys will deploy a fleet of boats to protect their land and water. Why hasn't it been boomed off before now? Good question. According to the the coast guard captain in charge "I guess I'm just slow and dumb." (By the way, he's been replaced. And the new guy says it has nothing to do with the comment.)

So cross your fingers, knock on wood.... whatever... that the oil stays out. Well, doesn't get any closer.

$1 target sunflower