An Otter World

Like cats and dogs.

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:53:00 +0000

What're wrong with this pictures.

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:56:00 +0000

Still flapping

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:13:00 +0000

It's been a while since I posted, but, as they say, life happened. I was away from work for a couple of months getting the rental house in order so there was nothing too exciting to post. Now I'm back up in Cape Cod for the summer so some pictures will be forthcoming.

Can't help but think of Ender's Game.

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:19:00 +0000

I recently acquired Call of Duty 4 for the PC. If you like FPS games this one is completely top-notch. The single-player campaign is one of the most engaging I've ever played. In one of the missions you take to the skies in an AC130 Spectre unleashing divine vengeance from 25mm Gats, 40mm Bofors, and 125mm cannon. I must admit while I was playing through this I kept having flashbacks to Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

Here's a video from the game:

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

Here's real-life over Afghanistan:

It's just a game. It's just a game.

Right Whale Party

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 02:05:00 +0000

Does FDOT encourage speeding?

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 21:50:00 +0000

I was out of town when these signs went online. So recently, when I was driving southbound and noticed the advisory sign was live, the information jumped right out at me. Something wasn't quite right. Notice the speed limit sign, and then look at the distance and the estimated time. At 55 mph it would take a driver about 5 min 27 seconds to travel 5 miles. To reach the I-4 exit indicated on the sign in 4 minutes a driver would need to travel 75 mph. It would seem that their numbers rely on drivers breaking the law.

On the other side of the camera for once.

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 22:39:00 +0000

Funny what memories and reminders the holidays bring. Here are some photos of my first solo and my first plane crash.

Off I go into the wild blue yonder...well, maybe not so much.

Any landing that you can walk away from is a good one, so they say.

Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:08:00 +0000

With the winter season and the holidays, we will be taking a brief recess(I know..I haven't been updating much lately) I'll be combing through some older shots and try to get some material up soon.

A poem

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:18:00 +0000

My true vocation lies in living each day to its fullest, to experience all the joys, pain, trials and victories life has to offer.
To dream is to plant the seeds of adventure and sorrow, but to live you must harvest the fruits of each with sweat, toil and tears.
A fool for love shows wisdom no sage can match. To live a dream simply requires you allow yourself to take the chance and let go
of the rail, for a safe life is one not truly lived.
Each disappointment, each sorrow, each wound to the heart enriches the soil of experience and is the fertilizer of life itself
Pain is the affirmation of life well-lived, for it sweetens the taste of each joy, enhances the sensitivity of the soul and
punctuates the dull moments to imprint life itself upon the heart and mind. The soul that bleeds knows life, the painless heart
passes silently and alone.
Joy is simple, and is found everywhere if we just let go of preconceptions and allow ourselves to see it, to hear it, to feel it.
Betrayal is sibling to Trust and Truth and it is a tangled game they play. The only real betrayal is forgetting yourself and
failing to follow what your heart knows is true.
Beauty surrounds us and envelopes us and fills us. Storms stir and enrich the seas and nourish the land, fires renew the soil, and
even death makes way for life anew.
There is no failure so long as we continue to try. Mistakes are opportunites for growth. Each scar is as much a part of our being
as each success and joy.
The promise of life sustains me, the promise of a love not yet realized, the promise of what next life has to offer will forever
nourish my soul until my flesh fails me.
All those I have ever met, all those I will meet one day, all the dreams, each and every memory. Those are always with me and
ensure I will never be alone no matter how far away I find myself.

Gotta love the leaves

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 18:28:00 +0000

Can't argue with how pretty Fall is up this way.

Boston Common Thanksgiving Day

Gettin out of Beantown

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 18:25:00 +0000

Zakim Bridge from the hotel. Lots of folks heading out of town on Turkey Day Eve.

Plymouth, MA

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 18:17:00 +0000

Dance your cares away, worry's for another day, let the music play, down at Plymouth Rock.

Mayflower II

Proceed with caution

A rare treat

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:08:00 +0000

Awoke one morning to this sight.

The wind had been blowing for days and the suspended dust enhanced by sunrise was quite lovely.

Let's beat a Deadhorse

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:01:00 +0000

It's finally starting to snow. Just amazing what an improvement a little bit of the white stuff makes on this place.

More snow.

Even more snow.

The road out of town, often one of the most beautiful sights in Deadhorse.

Blowing snow.

Ice Ice Baby

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:35:00 +0000

Sea ice... the patterns are amazing

Welcome to the Arctic

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:17:00 +0000

Shortly after returning from Barrow(I only took a handful of pictures, and the memory card they're on is misplaced) I got the word I was heading back up to the Arctic. This time I'm doing time in Deadhorse, a work camp for the Prudhoe Bay oil operations. Hasn't been above 20 since I've been here and it's getting colder.

Deadhorse AK, my "hotel" is the brown building at the intersection.

More Deadhorse

The ocean is starting to freeze......

The rivers are already there.....

So's the shoreline.....

Brrr.....

Time for the polar bears.....stay tuned. They're out there, but have eluded my lens thus far.

My cheeks are turning red, my toes are turning blue, out there on the tundra, I see a couple of caribou...

Of injured possums

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:11:00 +0000

One of the nice things of living in our fair city is that, in many ways, it has not quite transitioned to a total concrete and asphalt jungle. We still have citrus rats roaming our back yards, snakes making a regular appearance, as well as visiting ambassadors of many varieties of birds, mammals and reptiles. Here at our house even have an opossum living under the shed in the back yard.
The downside is that occasionally those creatures interact with modern living and are most often on the losing side. For instance this morning an opossum was behaving erratically just down the street. It appeared to be sick or injured, and truth be told, the sight was heartrending. What it is about the suffering of animals that touches something so sensitive inside most of us. I'd rank empathy as one of the most human of qualities, and it was hard to see that little fella in pain. A call to animal services was made so, I can only hope the creature is no longer suffering. Anyone else have more positive wildlife encounters here in town?

Really cool clock

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 18:17:00 +0000

A friend passed this along to me. It's a really nifty clock showing various rates of events affecting the planet.

World Clock

There's no place like home(particularly with the lightning, humidity and bad drivers)

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 21:24:00 +0000

After clicking together my ruby slippers(well, my hiking boots which for a brief time were stained with pink paint, so I guess that counts) I finally have made it back home. I stepped out of TPA right into this soup that those of us around here call air. I do have to give kudos to Frontier Airlines, my new favorite budget carrier. The little TVs are awesome, the seats quite comfy, and we were, gate to gate, right on time with no hassles at all. Suck it Southwest. We flew our plane from Alaska to Boulder. Many shades of summer, it was nice and moderate in Anchorage, and Juneau. Then it just started getting warmer from Seattle to oven-like Boise and Boulder(104 and 98 respectively, but it's a dry heat(that makes the turkey feel better too I'm sure)), to the swampiness of good old Tampa Bay. One thing that struck me my first days back were just how aggressive the drivers are here. I guess being immersed in it here and in New England I was just conditioned, but getting away from it made me all the more aware at just how bad it's gotten around here. Oh and while I was gone, we had a lightning strike, toasting various electronic components throughout the house, thanks Fios(the only thing thats not on a surge protector, but directly connected to many of our gadgets). It's great to be home!

Skinny Dick's Halfway Inn

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 14:14:00 +0000

As seen south of Fairbanks.

Mommy, what are those bears doing?

World famous?

If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 05:46:00 +0000

Whitman wrote of it, Kerouac inspired a generation with it. The allure the road holds for some of us is positively irresistible. It's the siren song of the open highway, the anticipation of unimagined sights around the next bend, just over the next rise. The pavement marks time for the very beating of our hearts. I was never a Harley guy, don't quite get the branding, but I am definitely a motorcycle guy. Always have been. Something about taking to the highway on two wheels with the wind in your face defies explanation. Seems you either love it or you want nothing to do with it. For me few things rival the sensuality of riding. The tactile, but subtle changes in temperature as you top a hill into the sunshine, or dip into a shady hollow rounding a curve. How morning brings the smell of coffee and bacon wafting from homes. The afternoon breeze carries the scent of fresh cut hay, or the smell of the sea. It's as though the wind embraces you, wrapping it's arms around you, as it caresses each of your senses. The call of the road is like your favorite song. The wind, the engine, the tires on the asphalt are all music if you know how to listen.
Today was special. Some free time offered up the chance to do something I couldn't resist. Found myself with a day off here in Fairbanks, so I decided to rent a Harley and ride down to Denali. This ranks up there with some of the best fun I've ever had.

Never miss a chance to take a picture of a bridge.

Oh look, water.

The open road(just wouldn't be complete without bug guts)

If you look closely you just might see the grin(which is bug-free thanks to the windshield) on my face.

Denali entrance.

Inside the park(didn't see the mountain today, it was much too cloudy).

Valley shot.

Railroad bridge in the park.

See, I just can't pass up a bridge shot.

Mama moose and the lil' ones.

More of the meese.

A few more villages

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:43:00 +0000

Streets of Quinhagak

Near Quinhagak, AK

A basketball court at the high school in Kwethluk

The general store in Kwethluk

Street in Kwethluk, AK

Kasigluk, AK

Midnight sun

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 08:27:00 +0000

Outside Fairbanks International Airport Sunday "night"

Still 20 minutes to sunset.(notice the state trooper hiding behind the sign)

Alexia Pipplin reincarnated

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 19:13:00 +0000

A feisty little old lady passed away, and upon arriving at the Pearly Gates was met by St. Peter. Thumbing nervously through his book, he announced that she wasn't scheduled to arrive for a couple of years. To make up for the mistake, he told her that she could be reincarnated as anyone she chose to live out her remaining days she was owed. Without a moment's hesitation she blurted out Alexia Pipplin. St. Peter looked a bit stunned as he was at a loss since he expected her to choose someone familiar. He rifled through his files and still came up with nothing. He asked the little old lady just who was this Alexia Pipplin, as he did not have anyone by that name on record. A bit embarassed she slowly produced a tattered old news article. A quick glance brought a smirk of understanding to St. Peter's face. It seems the article was about the Alyeska Pipeline and indicated how it was laid by several thousand people over two years time. Guess maybe her eyes were the only thing not working so well.

The pipeline snakes it's way 800 miles across Alaska

Hope this thing doesn't leak

One of the transitions the pipeline makes going from underground to elevated. A nice stop if you're ever in Fairbanks.

The long days are awesome. I find myself rarely getting sleepy until after midnight, and wide awake most days by4:30am

Various village vistas

noreply@blogger.com (IFly) — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:50:00 +0000

This go round I'm posting just a miscellaneous collection of photos from some of the villages we've visited. I will add to this entry as I'm able.

King Salmon aerial

Downtown King Salmon

King Salmon Mall

Our home away from home in King Salmon

Naknek, AK

Tatitlek aerial view

Tatitlek Russian Orthodox church

Larsen Bay

Larsen Bay cannery

Larsen Bay Post Office