Perennially . . .
This page holds pics of various places I've been and/or things I've done (one way or another) in my wanderings through the ages. Mostly, I think they're nice pictures of great places to be, or at least interesting places to visit, or fun things to do (or see or own or...). Well, maybe not all of them, but I see no reason to let that stop me from inflicting them on you anyways. I mean, I have a disk quota to use up!
Unless otherwise identified, I am the author of all pictures on this page.
Kwajalein [93KB]
(Alt spelling Kwajelein)
By: Unknown (I got the pic from my dad, lo these many years...)
This little piece of coral out in the middle of nowhere (somewhere on the far side of Hawaii, and I do mean far) is where I lived from about age 5 to about age 8 or so, between stints in my native state of Kansas. (And if you think Kansas is the middle of nowhere, you ain't been to Kwajalein!) It's about a half mile by about a mile and a half, give or take half a mile or so. You may notice most of the island is the runway . . . It was actually a pretty neat place for a kid to be. You basically can't go very far, so the 'rents tend to let you go pretty much wherever you want, which wasn't ever very far. No TV. Now, while those of you of the current generations may think that is cruel and unusual punishment, one of the paybacks was three separate movie theaters, all free. Not to mention all the Monster Stereo Systems -- there was nothing else to spend money on, so the adults seemed to spend all their money and time on Monster Stereo Systems; maybe that's where I caught the bug? Of course, from the perceptual vantage point of a 6-year-old kid, what more could life possibly hold besides the freedom to run around, free movies, and Monster Stereo Systems? Other than that, the favorite pastime seemed to be worrying about whether or not the Japanese had mined the island during their brief tenure there in WWII, and when the whole island was gonna blow up. (This was the late 1950's, and memories were still active!) You could not dig a hole without finding some piece of unexploded WWII ordinance, or a skeleton. (Like I said, a kid's paradise!) For a brief period, Kwajalein enjoyed the dubious distinction of being the world's largest Nike Zeus Anti Missle Base.
Catalina (cove) [96KB] and
Catalina (hill overlooking the cove) [121KB]
In theory, Santa Catalina island (about 30 miles or so off the coast of Los Angeles) is a "resort" island. Outside of the main harbor (not pictured) and a little airport, I guess there's not much other than desert scrub and a bunch of goats roaming wild, so I suppose that qualifies it as a "resort". CalTech holds (or held, anyways, when I went there) its freshman "orientation" on a remote niche of the island, away from the distractions of civilization. These pictures were taken in September of 1971, the little bay way too early in the morning, and somewhat later (still lots of morning haze left in the air) the hill overlooking the bay. There was (from what I overheard) lots of good scuba diving nearby -- a couple of the professors sail out and "help" at the orientation, just to go diving (that's my theory, anyways).
Yosemite [110KB] and
Yosemite Falls [115KB]
Yosemite National Park (as created by Congress in 1890) comprises over 750,000 acres of Sierra Nevada mountains, glacier-carved valleys, and waterfalls on the Tuolumne River in east/central California. Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America, falling some 2,425 feet in two segments. These pictures were taken sometime around the summer of 1971 (I think). Yosemite is a must-see if you ever find yourself wandering around California. Unfortunately, it is so famous (popular) that it has gotten way overcrowded. Yosemite Valley actually has serious smog problems from all of the tourists driving through (which is a real shame, it's a truly marvelous drive for those not afraid of heights). There's a great monster old stone hotel located in the park, if you can get reservations; excellant food (aside from the superb views) too.
Universal Fish [128KB]
By: Sheila Rose
Well, OK the author, for some strange demented reason, really entitled this artwork simply "Light". Eh, what does she know? I used to have this in poster-size (like 3 or 4 feet in size), but it somehow disappeared in one of my previous lives. I never could find a replacement, which is quite the bummer! (If anyone has leads on this, please lemme know!)
Elixir of the gods [98KB]
Ah, Coca Cola®, the elixir of the gods.
Those of you with a sharp eye for the archaeological detail might date this back to the days when men were men (and sheep ran scared!), predating the current end-of-the-millenia plethora of Cokelettes flooding the market (I mean, Diet Cherry Caffeine-free Coke Lite? Gimme a break...). This shot was not staged, it was entirely natural and spontaneous. Not much of an excuse, I know, but the best I can proffer at the moment.
DCX.[138KB]
This thing is straight out of a 1950's Grade-B SciFi movie. It is a rocket. A true-to-life, honest-to-god Science-Fiction Rocket! Flames gush out of its tail, and it takes off, goes up, flies around for a while, then comes back, and lands on its tail of flames. (Actually, the special effects were lousy -- hydrogen flames are nigh-on invisible, mostly what you see is dust kicked up, and just a touch of heat shimmer. The Space Shuttle with its monster solid-fuel polluters has much more "Hollywood Presence".) I got a chance to go out to White Sands to see it on its maiden (public) flight. This photo was taken up close and personal, a few hours before takeoff. While many more details are available elsewhere, the DCX is a one-third-scale prototype SSTO (Single Stage To Orbit) reuseable, commercially-targetted cargo rocket. Built on a shoe-string budget, using off-the-shelf components, the DCX overwhelmingly demonstrated the concept. (On a later test, they flew the DCX around, landed it, re-fueled it, and sent it back up again -- The Same Day! About the same turn-around time as a 747...think about it!) Unfortunately, it's far too simple and practical and cheap, and employs far too few managerial personnel, so NASA and the Feds hate it. Pity.
My IPSC Toy [138KB]
This is the Browning High Power (the world's best handgun, by the way; just in case you were wondering...) I use for IPSC competition. It is somewhat "tuned" by Pachmayr: hard-chromed receiver with blued slide; lo-mount BoMar rear sight; "Commander"-style hammer with wide trigger (and attendant trigger job); BarSto barrel; and a mag well internally relieved to allow the mags to "drop free". Naturally, it sports Pachmayr grips as well. The .45 bigots scoff at its puny 9mm pills, of course, while desperately lobbying for 7-round-neutral stages.
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19-Dec-97 (Update 13-Jan-01, 29-Jul-03)
