Long Hunter State Park

I took the dog to a park by Percy Priest Lake today. It was a good day for it - tee-shirt weather in late November. We walked 8 or so miles, seeing only one other pserson the entire time. Mid-way through, my parents called from Key West, Florida, where their cruise ship was docked for the night. They'll return to Miami tomorrow and start driving back home.

I think I'll spend tonight in the Emergency Room with my friend Kam. There's always interesting stuff to see on Friday night there.

Telephone poles at dusk

Dr. F., as I shall refer to her, is rather uptight about some things. She has very strict rules on days that she brings patients to class (all common sense, I might add).

Rule #1: Do NOT arrive late. If you do, that's fine, just go and sit in the projector booth in the back of the classroom so you don't disturb everyone when you enter.

Rule #2: Do NOT eat food in your seat. Eating a Big Breakfast from McDonalds might seem disrespectful as a patient describes how his life was ruined.

Rule #3: Do NOT wear shorts to class. Looking like you just came from the beach is not a good idea.

Today we had a lecture about diabetes. Dr. F. brought one of her patients to class (an 11 year old boy and his mother), and he told us about his disease, how he was diagnosed at 2, how he checks his blood sugar 4-5 times a day, etc.

The day before, Dr. F. sent us all an email reminding us of the patient presentation, and of the rules. Right before class, she reminded us again about not eating.

About 15 minutes into the class, Veronica walked into the classroom, loudly opening the doors. She sat down, ruffled through her bag, pulled out a bunch of food, and started to eat it. I kind of wish it had been summer so Veronica would have completed the triad.

Dr. F. Looked like her head would explode. She walked behind the patient (so he couldn't see her) and pointed towards Veronica, shaking her outstreached index finger as she mouthed "Put it away! Put it away NOW!"

One classmate later described this as the scene in Indiana Jones where you look into the gates of hell and simply incinerate.

After class Dr. F. Pulled Veronica aside, and it wasn't pretty.

I didn't feel bad for Veronica for being a dumbass until I saw her crying four hours afterwards.



I find the black and white image creepy, yet beautiful for some reason.

Shot through a Celestron C90 1000mm f11 lens. The poles are at least a quarter mile away.

Moon

This is what the moon looked like tonight, through a 2000 mm lens.

Cleaning the oven

While baking the turkey last Friday, I spilled a ton of grease in the oven. Fortunately the oven has a self-clean mode where it heats up and burns up everything inside. There's a little vent on top where the smoke comes out.

A little drop

I took the dog for a walk in the park again today. We did the red trail, which is about six miles long. I let him run without the leash (mainly because he chewed the thing into two pieces). Sometimes I wonder what goes through his head. He sniffs everything, and then urinates on every prominent tree he passes. He pees only a few drops at a time, spreading his urine over the maximum number of trees possible.

We passed by a waterfall. I got close and got this picture of a single drop of water falling.

Day after Thanksgiving

I went to the store today and found an irresistable deal. A 23 pound turkey for only 30 cents a pound. That's less than $7.00 for something that will feed me for at least a week. It's in the oven as I write this. Smells delicious. In the future, my Thanksgiving dinner will be held exactly one day late - when the turkeys go on sale.

On the roof today, the sun was setting in one direction, and the full moon was rising in the other direction.

My Bear

I took Bear for a walk in the park today - a three hour walk. He pulls me up the hills, and also down. A good way to spend Thanksgiving.

He's seven years old now. Time flies. I still remember how he chewed up every hose and extension cord in the house as a puppy. And how he got run over by a car. And how we found him that night, wimpering under a bush. And how we drove him to Knoxville that night so he could get his broken hip pinned back together.

Pictures after the storm

A month ago, I bought a giant sack of potatoes for only three bucks on sale. I ate five of them, leaving about 20 that were getting moldy. Really moldy. I was shoving them down the disposal as fast as I could when one jammed, the disposal ground (har har...) to a halt, and smoke started coming from under the sink. So tonight I'll be bolting in a new one. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

It rained hard for a few hours today, but after the storm was over, I lugged the camera + tripod to the roof and got off a few shots.




A tree at MBA.

Top of telephone pole across the street.

Walk in the park

Today was beautiful, so I went to walk the trails in Percy Warner park, just a few miles from my condo, camera in hand. It's getting to be peak leaf season. Click on picture for full resolution.

Night shot from the condo

Just playing around with the camera. 20 sec. ASA 200. F 11. 18 mm lens.