Jerry Byers

The Personal Autobahn Effect

2019-08-19T07:40:00.000-04:00

When traffic is not crawling at a snail's pace, it's generally racing along like a NASCAR speedway. Unfortunately, there is no slow lane, and the occasional slow driver is impeding the rest of us Mario Andretti's on the road. Autobahn is the German word for a major high-speed road restricted to motor vehicles capable of driving at least 60 km/h (37 mph) and having full control of access, similar to a motorway or freeway in English-speaking countries.

In most countries, it usually refers to the German autobahn specifically. The advisory speed limit of the German autobahn is 130 km/h (80 mph), but there is no general speed limit.

In my last article, I talked about one of the contributing factors for the traffic in Washington, DC - Closing the Gap. Let's talk about another phenomenon known to exist around the beltway and I-95 – the Personal Autobahn Effect.

While it is common courtesy (and the law in some states) to yield to overtaking traffic, some aggressive drivers abuse this and treat the roads as their own personal autobahn.

When traffic is not crawling at a snail's pace, it's generally racing along like a NASCAR speedway. Unfortunately, there is no slow lane, and the occasional slow driver is impeding the rest of us Mario Andretti's on the road. Read more…In this area, it is not uncommon to drive faster than the posted speed limit around the beltway and on I-95. And if you're on the left-most lane, you routinely see speeds exceeding the legal limit by 20-30 mph.

Each individual driver must decide what they are comfortable with, but some aggressive drivers take it further by insisting all drivers get out of their way to allow them to speed. Even if you're doing 70 mph in the left lane and have visible traffic in front of you, these drivers will flash their lights, honk their horns, and give other visible signs to insist that you get out of their way.

What makes them so special? If I'm doing 70 mph, keeping up with traffic, and dealing with the regular assortment of road hazards, what's makes the guy behind me believe it's his privilege – no, his right – to run up on my tail and try to intimidate me?

Like I mentioned earlier, yes, it's the law in some states to give way to overtaking traffic. But most of these laws also mention a second condition that must exist – a condition that most drivers ignore, or simply don't know – the overtaken vehicle must be driving abreast of another vehicle.

What's does that mean? It means that if I'm driving in the left lane and AT THE SAME SPEED as the car abreast of me, then I must give way to an overtaking car in the left lane.

However, what if there is no car next to me? Or, what if I'm safely passing in the left lane, to begin with? If an overtaking driver proceeds to harass you at this point, they are clearly in the wrong and only demonstrating the aggressive nature of the driving in DC.

So, the next time you proceed to pass in the left lane, take a second to see what the traffic conditions are like ahead of you. Remember, we are all in this race together.

5 Simple Rules

2018-10-16T17:40:00.000-04:00

A 92-year old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who was fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, he was provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. "I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged — it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!"

"Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing."

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

Free your heart from hatred
Free your mind from worries
Live simply
Give more
Expect less

~author unknown

The Cost of a Child

2017-09-11T16:02:00.003-04:00

The government recently calculated the cost of raising child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock. That doesn't even touch college tuition. For those with kids, that figure leads to wild fantasies about all the things we could have bought, all the places we could have traveled, all the money we could have banked if not for (insert child's name here). For others, that number might confirm the decision to remain childless.

But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.44 a day. Just over a dollar an hour. Still you might think the best financial advice says don't have children if you want to be rich. It's just the opposite.

There's no way to put a price tag on:

Feeling a new life move for the first time and seeing the bump of a knee rippling across your skin.
Having someone cry, "It's a boy!" or shout, "It's a girl!" then hearing the baby wail and knowing all that matters is it's healthy.

Counting all 10 fingers and toes for the first time.
Feeling the warmth of fat cheeks against your breast.
Cupping an entire head in the palm of your hand.
Making out da da or ma ma from all the cooing and gurgling.

What do you get for your $160,140?

Naming rights. First, middle and last.
Glimpses of God every day.
Giggles under the covers every night.
More love than your heart can hold.
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sandcastles and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.
Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, You never have to grow up. You get to finger paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus. You have an excuse to keep reading the adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts and flowers under refrigerator magnets, and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there's no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a sliver, filling the wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, first bra, first date, first time behind the wheel. You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.

You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality no college can match. In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God. You have the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

~unknown

Weird Words of Wall Street

2017-07-18T19:06:00.001-04:00

What do dead cats, gunslingers and zombies have to do with investing? In the often cockeyed parlance of Wall Street, each has a very specific meaning. Here are a few examples of Wall Street's more colorful terms:

Air Pocket Stock
A stock whose price plunges like a 747 hitting an air pocket - usually caused by shareholders rushing to sell on unexpected bad news.

Chastity Bonds
A bond that may be redeemed at par value after a takeover.

Dead Cat Bounce
When stock prices rebound right after a precipitous market decline. Even a dead cat will bounce if it falls far enough, right?

Dwarfs
Pools of income-oriented, mortgage-backed securities - issued with maturity of 15 years by the Federal National Mortgage Association (better known as Fannie Mae).

Elephants
Large institutions like mutual funds, pensions, banks and insurance companies whose voluminous trades can dramatically impact stock or bond prices.

Elves
The 10 technical analysts who forecast stock price movements on PBS's "Wall Street Week" television program.

Fall Out of Bed
When a stock's price drops on negative news about the company.

Fallen Angels
Bonds whose ratings have declined from investment grade to junk (i.e., downgraded from BBB or higher to BB or lower by Standard & Poor's, Duff & Phelps or Fitch, or from Baa or higher to Ba or lower by Moody's). Investment grade bonds are generally considered to be suitable investments for conservative investors. Junk bonds are speculative.

Falling Knife
A stock whose price is in the midst of a nose-dive. Investors are often told, "Don't try to catch a falling knife."

Footsie
Nickname for the Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100 (FT-SE 100), an index of blue chip stocks traded on the London Stock Exchange.

Go-Go Fund
A mutual fund that invests in highly speculative stocks in an effort to provide big gains to shareholders.

Goldilocks Economy
The economy of the middle and late '90s - not too hot, not too cold, but just right.

Goodbye Kiss
A payoff by a corporation to a company or individual attempting a hostile takeover. In accepting the payoff, the corporate raider vows to purchase no more shares for a certain number of years. The goodbye kiss is sometimes known as greenmail.

Gunslinger
A gung-ho portfolio manager who invests in big-risk stocks looking for high returns.

Killer Bees
Investment bankers who help companies thwart hostile takeovers (see shark repellent, below).

Misery Index
A combined index of unemployment and inflation rates. Coined during the Carter administration when high unemployment and high inflation made the lives of many Americans miserable.

Nifty Fifty
The 50 stocks most favored at any given time by banks, mutual funds, pensions, endowments and other large institutional investors.

Q-tip Trust
A qualified terminable interest property trust designed to transfer assets from one spouse to another. Upon the death of the creator of the trust (the grantor), all income from the assets held in trust go to the grantor's spouse for the rest of his or her life. When the spouse dies, assets are distributed to individuals specified by the grantor in the original trust document.

Red Herring
A preliminary prospectus released prior to a new securities issue.

Santa Claus Rally
A jump in stock prices often occurring the week after Christmas - also known as the year-end rally. Some consider the Santa Claus rally to be linked to the January Effect.

Shark Repellent
A tactic designed to ward off hostile takeovers. Common forms of shark repellent include severance packages that make it expensive to oust existing management or lay off workers, a special issue of stock or bonds that may be redeemed at a premium in the event of a takeover or even a merger with a more attractive company.

Sleeping Beauty
A company ripe for takeover (it has large cash reserves, undervalued real estate, etc.), which hasn't been approached by a suitor.

Stock Jockey
A stockbroker who attempts to produce short-term gains within client accounts by constantly buying and selling stocks.

Ted Spread
Short for "Treasuries over Eurodollars" - the margin separating the interest rate on U.S. Treasury bills with that of Eurodollars. Futures traders follow the Ted spread closely, speculating that the margin will expand or tighten.

Tenbagger
A stock whose value increases tenfold.

Three Steps and a Stumble Rule
A rule of thumb that says prices will often fall following a third consecutive rise in the discount rate.

Tombstone
Stark, type-only advertisements that announce new securities issues.

Triple Witching Day
The third Friday in the quarter-ending months of March, June, September and December when options, index options and futures contracts expire.

Vulture Fund
A limited partnership that seeks out distressed assets during depressed markets, speculating that prices will bounce back and produce strong gains.

Wallpaper
Suggested use for stocks of failed companies, bonds from defaulted issuers and other securities that have become worthless.

War Babies
Securities issued by defense contractors.

Zombies
Insolvent or bankrupt companies that continue day-to-day operations. Also known as the "living dead."

On Science and Spirit

2017-05-27T15:30:00.000-04:00

A thermodynamics professor had written a take home exam for his graduate students. It had one question: "Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)? Support your answer with a proof."

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools off when it expands and heats up when it is compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So, we need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the rate they are leaving.
I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.
As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there are more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all people and all souls go to Hell.
With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially.
Now, we can look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand as souls are added. This gives two possibilities:
#1 If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
#2 Of course, if Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls entering Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.
So, which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Ms. Therese Banyan during my Freshman year, "It will be a cold night in Hell before I sleep with you", and we take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in having sexual relations with her, then #2 cannot be true, and so Hell is exothermic.

The student got the only "A" in the class.

21 Simple Tips

2017-03-13T12:31:00.000-04:00

ONE Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO Marry somebody you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR When you say, "I love you," mean it.

FIVE When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.

SIX Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN In disagreements, fight fairly. Please No name calling.

ELEVEN Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"

FOURTEEN Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions

EIGHTEEN Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY ONE Spend some time alone.

My Summer Thrill

2016-10-19T13:39:00.000-04:00

Old Florence Library

Most people look forward to this time of year. For some, it means new jobs, having to move, or that dreaded family vacation. For the majority of people, it is a time to relax, a time fotr recreation, time at the pool – for some, even a time for chaos. As a child, mine were a mixture of these – a mixture of a free-for-all attitude with the sense to accomplish something, nothing, and usually leading to do something crazy. Thrills were a necessity to keep my young life exciting. But one particular thrill, during one of my childhood summers, almost changed my life for good.

This summer started out like any other summer. School had let out and everybody was off to explore everything new and old, hoping for something new to do. However, after a few weeks, we were wishing school would start back up – we were bored. So like every other day, my friends and I set off for adventure. As we stopped by to pick up each of my friends, their mother would follow him to the door, telling him to be careful and stay out of trouble. It looked like we were marching off to war somewhere; and we were, our own little adventure. Several hours later, we had played long enough and decided to get something cold to drink. On the way to the store, we passed the town library and noticed that the older kids had left their normal hangout. It was then; we decided to try their fun, their thrill – riding the ropes.

The library was an old bakery, a two-story building, enclosed by a fence. The fence was made of brick stanchions and metal rails. It would go on to the far side, and from there, it would be a brick wall. Located in the center of the courtyard were the ropes – on an old flagpole. To ride the ropes, one had to climb the metal rails and position himself on the brick stanchion. Then somebody would hand the ropes to the person atop the fence. He was ready for flight. He would step forward, swing Tarzan-style across the courtyard, dodge the flagpole, dodge a wood post, kick off the wall and then reverse the course. Seemed easy at the time – except for that post. It was a 4x4 post, five feet in height, and had a pyramid like top. It served as the end post for the handrail on stairs leading down to the basement. One had to clear it to survive. Everybody took their turn, accepting the dare, and I was no exception. My turn came up – it was my chance to ride the ropes. My thrill for the day.

As I ascended the rails, the whole procedure went through my mind – jump, swing across, dodge the flagpole, miss the post, kick off the wall, and then repeat the process in reverse. Easy. But my heart raced at an unbelievable rate and my thoughts blurred as the ropes were handle to me. I told myself out loud, “no problem,” but prayed silently to myself. Then I took that step – everything happened in a blink of an eye. The trill was over, everything went as planned – no complications. I could hardly wait for my next chance to ride the ropes.

My turn soon came up, and I heartily grabbed the ropes. But this time was different – everything slowed to a snail’s pace. I watched the whole sequence play before me – the jump, the swing across, dodging the flagpole, missing the post, and kicking off the wall. But as I kicked off the wall, the unthinkable happened – the rope snapped. I dropped like a shot sparrow and the sight below was not inviting. That post. That stupid post. I landed on it, square in the middle of my back. It took its aim leaving me breathless and sprawled out on the lawn.

As I lay there, I gazed up at the sky and wondered if I was still alive. I then looked around and noticed nobody was in sight. I immediately jumped up, not realizing the full extent as to what just happened, and began searching for my friends. Everybody had disappeared. How could they do such a thing? Feeling no pain except for a small throbbing in my lower back, like that of when one bumps their knee into something, I headed back through the empty courtyard. As I stammered along, the thoughts of my friends’ mothers entered my mind – and those casual warnings. I was lucky this time. From then on, the scar on my back was a constant reminder to heed those warnings and to carefully evaluate my next adventure.

Written on June 30, 1984

Sand Animation | Kseniya Simonova

2016-10-12T13:29:00.000-04:00

The story begins sometime before June 21,1941. Two people fell in love and were hoping to be together - forever. On June 21,1941, Adolf Hitler attacked the Soviet Union. The young man goes off to fight. The woman and their newborn son remained at home trying to survive the occupation - a time when many experienced lots of pain and suffering. In 1945, the WW2 is over and the son and mom are waiting for the father/husband to return home.

The whole story is a tribute to the people those who died or survived during the war. The loss and victory should never be forgotten.

It is not only an animation, but the music and songs compliment it to complete the story.

Thanks to T. for the interpretation.

Closing the Gap

2016-10-05T13:16:00.000-04:00

Closing the Gap

In my last article about Driving in the Nation's Capital, I poked fun at the various things that we Washingtonians have come to love, hate, or just accept. After having the opportunity to drive in major cities worldwide, I have come to conclusion that our traffic problem is not due to congestion, road construction, or even the full moon. We are a victim of our own habits and “it’s all about me” attitude. The one maneuver that is responsible for the majority of the traffic problems is a maneuver I call “closing the gap.”

Growing up in the West, there were wide-open spaces and roads that go on forever. As a kid, we never thought about the hours spent in a car. You see, in the West, the roads go on forever and pretty much in a straight line. You could go faster, but the increase in speed didn’t really gain that much for you. A moderate increase in speed gained you some time savings, but anything more than that increased risk and reduce fuel economy. Give this fact, most drivers were contempt to put on the cruise control and just enjoy the radio as they rolled out the miles.

Herein lies the problem with driving in D.C. Most drivers have no experience with driving along as a constant speed – they have become a victim of closing the gap. In simple terms, we drive by relative distance and not by speed. As long as we are 10 feet from the car in front of us, speed doesn’t really matter. If the car in front of us goes slower, we slow down; if the car speeds up, we simply catch up, or close the gap.

Read more...Now why does this introduce a problem? Well, this constant slowing down and catching up creates this Slinky Effect. But instead of going with the flow, we constantly slam on the brakes or the gas pedal to maintain a constant distance from the car in front of us. This psychologically causes a traffic jam in our mind, and consequently, on the road. When the space opens up in front of us, we race to close the gap. When we see brake lights, we slam on the brakes. This Slinky Effect invariably leads to a traffic jam.

Now, let’s throw in drivers that are trying to enter the flow of traffic. They can’t! While each driver is trying to maintain their spot in the queue, they simply resist the common courtesy to allow other drivers into the flow. While the new driver is eyeing an opening and trying to account for speed and distance, the existing drivers are closing the gap and thereby preventing a safe and efficient flow for merging traffic. If somebody wants to change lanes and they eye a particular opening in traffic, their successful lane change attempt is thwarted by the surrounding cars closing the gap.

Now throw in the “it’s all about me” attitude, the constant road construction, the lack of time, and possibly the time of day, see can see that we are victims of our own bad habit – it’s all about closing the gap.

The General Store

2016-10-01T15:40:00.000-04:00

Country Store

Growing up in a small town, we only had one store. Everybody stopped at this store, since the next larger store was ten miles away. It was a small store containing only the essential items, but our store was ours and it satisfied our needs.

Every day after delivering the local newspaper, my brother and I would set off for the general store. As we came up the sidewalk, the store owner’s dog would come up to greet us. And usually somebody was sitting on the porch, drinking a Red Cream Soda, and chewing on some licorice whips.

Before we would go in, we would chat with the fellow for the local gossip. Then we would peruse the bulletin board for the local news and read all of the for sale signs. It was a ritual that was done before finally going into the store.

When you opened the door, our mouths would begin to water because of the tempting displays and sweet aromas in the air. The store owner would purposely place all of the snacks in plain view. The licorice whips, the candy bars, the All-Day suckers, and the ice cream box – all in plain view, all there to tempt us. In the back of the store was the less important stuff, or so we thought at the time.

As one walked around the wooden floor, we would try to walk as softly as possible in order to not make any noise. We would walk circles around the shelves, taking our time to decide on what we would buy. When we finally decided, we would take our goodies to the counter on which an old time cash register was set. The owner would always smile and ask how we were doing that day.

As we left the store, we would forget about the creaking wood floor and march out the door, sometimes deliberately trying to make the floorboards squeak. As we made our way out the door, we would grab a soda bottle from the machine and sit on the porch. You see, it was our turn to greet incoming customers and deliver the local gossip.

Written on June 28, 1984

Tree on Fire

2016-09-11T07:27:00.000-04:00

Union Cemetery Leesburg, Virginia

It was back to my favorite cemetery to take more photos. I took some great photos from the year before, so I was looking for something different. As I walked around the cemetery, I noticed this tree with red and orange leaves. It was the only tree in the cemetery with this color - very spooky. The photo was taken and processed as an HDR picture to bring out the vibrant colors. It truly looks like a tree on fire.

Established in 1855 on the immediate outskirts of Leesburg, Union Cemetery was created as a public cemetery open to people of all faiths. It predated three other "Union" cemeteries in Loudoun County established at Hillsboro, Waterford and Lovettsville. The cemetery contains the 1908 Union Chapel and several notable monuments, including a Confederate War Memorial at the north end of the site, and an imperfectly cut 30-foot- high granite column, allegedly designed for a D.C. public building, but rejected and brought to the cemetery in the 1890s.

This photo was taken on Halloween weekend with the Nikon D90 - an extraordinary camera.

Photo via www.flickr.com

Our Little Secret

2016-09-07T22:24:00.000-04:00

Our Little Secret

Years ago, during our lazy summer months, it seemed a certain ritual was performed every Saturday – the trip to our swimming hole. Our town, being an old mining town, was located in some rough country. We couldn’t just drive or even ride our bikes to our favorite spot – one had to walk. Even walking was a chore. The path was barely visible, littered with undergrowth, leaves, and fallen branches. The trees also present a problem, dodging higher branches only to encounter some fallen limb or dead tree stump. But we endured and after an hour trek, our reward lay before us.

Over the years, someone had attached a rope to one of mighty branches that extended out horizontally over the river and looked like the massive arm of a giant. There everybody stood, seeing who would the first one in. Why, one might ask, did we stand around after a long and painstaking walk and not take the plunge. A whirlpool! The tree, with time and the ever-changing course of the river, stood in the water and caused a natural whirlpool.

There was a look of fear among all of us. Finally, somebody would just grab the rope and proclaim his courage – or craziness. As he walked away from the river with rope in hand, all eyes were upon him like the ringmaster of a big top. Then he was off, swinging upward and outward, suspended for a moment only to drop to the cool river below – just clearing the whirlpool. Eventually, somebody would miscalculate and fell prey to the whirlpool. Everybody stood silent and waited – finally like times before, the victim would show up on the other side of the tree. It would give us a scare, but it would erase our fear and doubt of the whirlpool. A smile told the whole story.

As the day ended, we would gather our things and make the long trek back home. On the way, the fear and doubt of the whirlpool would creep back into our minds – would the whirlpool be so willing to give up its victim next time?

Written on June 26, 1984

Amphitheatrum Flavium - The Roman Coliseum

2016-09-03T10:37:00.000-04:00

Amphitheatrum Flavium - The Roman Coliseum

This photo was taken with a Canon EOS 10S with Fuji Velvia 100 positive film. I had an opportunity to live in Italy and Rome was one of my favorite destinations. The Coliseum and the Forums were some of my favorite subjects. The following article tells of the colorful history of the Coliseum.

Roman Coliseum by Gail Bellenger

When most people think of ancient Rome, they think of the incredible Coliseum; the grand oval amphitheater that was a central part of Roman culture. The setting where gladiators fought and crowds cheered. While this is true, there's a lot more to the Coliseum than merely an arena. It took two emperors about eight years to design and build it. Vespasian started it, but died before it was completed. His son and successor, Titus, finished the job and opened it with a celebratory 100 days of games. It was called the Flavian Amphitheater in honor of the Flavian ancestry of Vespasian and Titus.

It wasn't until somewhere in the middle ages that it was given the name Coliseum, due to a 'colossal' statue of Nero that stood near it. The amphitheater was designed to hold 50,000 people. It covers about six acres and is more than 150 feet hight. When Vespasian became emperor, right after a very trying time when Rome when through four emperors in one year, he decided to make an impression on the people, to quell the uneasiness. Nero had built a massive palace and artificial lake near the Forum, and the people were not happy with his extravagance, especially since most of them were starving or dying from disease.

Vespasian was an intelligent emperor. He knew he had to set an example for the people, so he drained the lake and began to build his project where the lake used to be. His gift was to give something back to the people; the Flavian Amphitheater. The design was based on class, but all were welcome to attend. The emperor and his family would sit on the lowest level, the upper classes on the next level up and the commoners and women at the very top levels. To protect against rain or the searing sun, poles were position out over the crowds so that fabric could be rolled out as a shelter.

It's also believed that protective nets were strung up in front of the emperor to protect him against blood splatters and gore from the games. There were 80 entrances, which allowed the entire amphitheater to empty within minutes, if need be. Below the arena floor were the holding cells for gladiators or animals. There are reports of the Coliseum being flooded so that pretend naval battles could be staged. Water would be diverted from an aqueduct or channel and the lower cells flooded.

When not flooded, the below ground structures would be used to raise and lower animals and people up to the arena floor. There were elevator platforms concealed so that slaves, gladiators and wild animals could be moved around quickly, almost without the audience members being aware. Throughout the life of the Flavian Amphitheater, thousands and thousands of animals and people were killed.

Photo via www.flickr.com

Simple Rules to Live By

2016-09-01T20:16:00.000-04:00

Under-Promise, Over-Deliver. Never commit to something you cannot deliver. When negotiating a deadline, be 100% confident that you can exceed it. Deliver before your deadline. Then do more than expected. Include value-added touches, such as an executive summary, talking points, implementation plan or slick packaging.

Meet Every Deadline. Late work is career suicide. Remember this — there are 24 hours in a day and seven days a week, and someone else may be able to help you. If there is no possible way you can meet a deadline, renegotiate it as soon as you know it might be late.

Ask For Help. It is a sign of strength, not weakness. Whatever your current task, someone else already has done a similar project and has learned from the inevitable mistakes and wrong approaches. Find these people so they can help you avoid pitfalls and improve your project. Look outside your unit and service — the answer may reside in a neighbor who works for another office, unit or agency, or in the private sector.

Search For Good Opportunities. Throughout your career, you will be assigned lots of special projects, collateral duties and odd jobs. Volunteer for collateral assignments where you can excel or from which you can grow and learn. Let your supervisors know you are interested in special projects that will help you grow.

Choose Your Battles Wisely. Nothing is more futile than fighting for a lost cause. If you choose to fight for something, make it worth your effort. Don’t choose insignificant battles.

Choose Your Enemies Wisely. Inevitably we all elect to make someone our enemy, either by taking an opposing position on an issue or for personal reasons. Either way, make sure you are willing to have that person as an enemy — and be ready to defend yourself next time you face off, which will likely be on your enemy’s turf and timeframe.

If It’s Broken, Fix It So It Won’t Break Again. When you find something broken, whether it’s a process, organization or piece of equipment, find out why it broke and fix it so it won’t break again. Take the opportunity to dissect the process and find ways to improve it. Leave it in the best condition you can.

Aim As High As You Can. Even if you don’t hit your target, you’ll still be higher than most everyone else.

Know Your Strengths. Exploit them. Choose assignments where you will excel. Design your workplace to exploit your strengths.

Know Your Weaknesses. Improve them through classes, reading, special assignments and challenges.

When Defeat Is Inevitable, Cut Your Losses And Perform Damage Control. You can’t win them all.

In Cases Of Ethical Or Difficult Decisions, Answer These Questions: Would I want my Mom and Dad to know what I did? What will I say to millions of viewers (and my next-door neighbor) when Mike Wallace questions me on 60 Minutes? Is this how I want to spend my tax dollars?

Take Care Of Your People. As a supervisor, you are successful when your most important job is writing awards and recommendations for your crew. Your job is to ensure that your subordinates excel and that they have whatever money, materials, time, training and direction is needed to do their jobs. If you do this, you’ll spend your time preparing awards and writing recommendations for them.

Make Your Bosses’ Jobs Easy. Give them what they want before they know what it is. Unwanted surprises are bad. Pass along bad news as soon as possible. If your bosses can take leave anytime they want, you’re succeeding.

Establish Personal Goals And Priorities. Set daily, weekly, annual, tour, career and life goals. Then establish daily priorities that will help you meet them. Periodically ask yourself, “What is the most important thing that I can do right now?”

Establish A Personal Support System. We all need emotional support — a safe place to blow off steam and be heard. Keep your personal life healthy, including spouse, children, friends and family. Don’t be afraid to seek professional help early. Just think how much easier marriage counseling is than divorce proceedings. Good health, proper diet and routine exercise are requirements to be effective at work.

Sit Back And Ponder. Use retrospection and introspection liberally and regularly. Take time to know your values, goals and mission. Then be sure your work is congruent with your beliefs.

Keep Learning And Growing. Or, as some say, “Sharpen you saw.”

Trust Your Intuition. It’s probably your most underused talent. When used, it will be your best sounding board and early warning system.

Have Fun. If you’re not having fun, something’s wrong. Figure out why and correct the problem. The answer may be as complex as a career change or as easy as a shift in your attitude.

Crazy for Corn!

2016-09-01T20:08:00.003-04:00

Corn "Maize" at Temple Hall Farm in Leesburg, Virginia

Every year, the owner cuts an elaborate maze into the corn field. Temple Hall Farm Regional Park preserves the agricultural, cultural and natural resources of the 286-acre farm and provides an educational and recreational resource that explores farming in Loudoun County for the people of Northern Virginia.

This beautiful working farm in Loudoun County provides an opportunity for children and adults to learn about farm animals and to enjoy the sights and sounds of the farm. Visitors can bring a picnic lunch or snack to eat at the picnic tables, bring cake and presents and celebrate a birthday, take a walk on the babbling brook trail over the creek and through the woods. On weekends you can join the farm interpreter for a free tour of the farm.

Educational programs are available to introduce school and youth to Northern Virginia's farming heritage. Designed as an outdoor classroom, the park educates children about the diverse aspects of farm life, animals and crops.

Temple Hall Corn Maize and Fall Festival

Every year Temple Hall Farm creates a giant cornfield MAiZE. Thousands of visitors "get lost" in the MAiZE as they try to find their way out. After going through the MAiZE visitors can go to the pick your own pumpkin patch, go shoot the corn cannon, ride on the cow train, bounce on the Billy Goat Bounce, or take a hayride.

This photo was taken with the Nikon D90 - an extraordinary camera.

Photo via www.flickr.com

Driving in the Nation's Capital

2016-09-01T18:01:00.000-04:00

Driving in DC Traffic

So you've decided to take a trip to your nation's capital. Well here's a few things you should know that will hopefully help you prepare for your trip.

The DC road grid was laid out by a Frenchman, which explains why locals hate the French and also explains much about US Foreign Policy. Within DC proper, the roads are laid out in a grid, with other streets crossing the grid at weird angles, usually through a traffic circle. No one in DC knows how to drive in a traffic circle, and people from the suburbs are worse. Many streets are one way, and making a left turn can require traveling three or four blocks out of your way. Right turns are worse. Right turn on red is allowed, except at intersections that are posted otherwise. Most intersections are posted otherwise.

Also, within DC we take security seriously! Primarily by shutting down major roads and intersections for no discernible reason.

If your road map of Montgomery County is more than a few weeks old, throw it out and buy a new one, it's obsolete. If in Loudoun or Fairfax County in Virginia, and your map is one day old, it's already obsolete.

There is no such thing as a dangerous high-speed chase in DC, it's just another chase, usually on the BW Parkway.

All directions start with "The Beltway," which has no beginning and no end, just one continuous loop that locals believe is somehow clarified by an "inner loop" and "outer loop" designation. The inner loop goes clockwise, the outer counterclockwise. This makes no sense to ANYONE outside the Metro Area.

The Metro Area stretches north to south from Southern Pennsylvania to Frederick, Virginia, and east to west from the Chesapeake Bay to the Shenandoah River. Also to parts of West Virginia and maybe the Delmarva (DElaware, MAryland, VirginiA peninsula.)

Construction on I-270 is a way of life and a permanent source of scorn and cynical entertainment. It's ironic that it's called an "Interstate" as it runs only from Bethesda to Frederick (unless you consider Montgomery County another state, which some do). Opening in the '60s, it has been torn up and under reconstruction ever since. Also, it has a "Spur" section which is even more confusing.

Any mild disturbance in the flow of traffic backs up the Beltway for miles in either direction. Something catastrophic, such as a semi-truck jackknifing on the Legion Bridge, can shut down traffic for 10 miles in each direction, and on all the side roads, in 15 minutes. You may have to detour through Leesburg, Point of Rocks, and Frederick, to get where you are going. Or you can go via Norfolk and the Bay Bridge/Tunnel. Not to be confused with the Bay Bridge.

To avoid these disturbances people listen to WTOP, 1500 AM, and 107.7 FM, for the traffic report which runs every 10 minutes. 24 hours/day. Even if they can't avoid the disturbance, they listen to find out what the disturbance is, and in the hope that the person who caused it died screaming in agony.

The minimum acceptable speed on the Beltway is 75. Anything less is a hazard to navigation.

The morning rush hour is from 5 to 11 AM. The evening rush hour is from 1 to 8 PM. The lunch rush is from 11 AM to 1 PM. Friday's rush hour starts Thursday morning, especially during the summer on Route 50 eastbound.

If there is a ball game at the Redskins stadium, there is no point in driving anywhere near PG County. Tip: Never say PG County to anyone from Mitchellville, Upper Marlboro or Fort Washington, they'll blow a blood vessel in their neck and go into a seizure.

If you run the red light, be sure to smile for the $100 "picture" you will receive courtesy of DMV. However, if you don't go as soon as the light turns green, you will get cussed out in 382 languages, none of them English. If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear-ended and shot at.

Rain causes an immediate 50 point drop of IQ in drivers. Snow causes an immediate 100 point drop in IQ and a rush to the local supermarket for toilet paper, bread and milk. IF it might snow, schools will be closed. If it is already snowing then the bus will pick up the children and they will immediately CLOSE the schools after 8 inches of snow has fallen. All parents must leave work upon arrival to pick up their children.

All unexplained sights are explained by the phrase, "Oh, we're near Takoma Park."

If someone actually has their turn signal on they are, by definition, a tourist.

All old ladies in Buicks have the right of way near or in Leisure World.

Many roads mysteriously change their names as you cross intersections. Don't ask why, no one knows or cares.

If asking directions in Arlington, Langley Park, Wheaton, or Adams Morgan, you must know how to speak Spanish. In Annandale and Seven Corners, a Cambodian, Korean or Vietnamese dialect will come in handy. If on Dupont Circle, Capitol Hill, or U Street, a gay dialect helps. If you stop to ask directions in Southeast - well, just don't.

A taxi ride across town will cost you $12.50. A taxi ride two blocks will cost you 16.75 (it's a zone thing, you wouldn't understand).

Traveling south out of DC on Interstate 395/95 is the most dangerous, scariest thing you will ever do. There is nothing more frightening than seven lanes of traffic cruising along at 75 mph, BUMPER TO BUMPER. It's not speeding, it's NASCAR time - let's DRAFT!!!

The open lane for passing on all interstates is the far right lane because no self-respecting local would ever be caught driving in the "slow" lane. Unofficially, both shoulders are fair game also.

The far left lanes on all interstates are official "chat" lanes reserved for drivers who wish to talk on their cell phones. Note: All mini-vans have priority clearance to use the far left at whatever speed the driver feels most comfortable multitasking in - it's not a mini-van, it's a bullet on wheels with a TV.

If it's 30 degrees, it's Orioles' opening day. If it's 100 degrees, it's the 'Skins opening day. If the humidity is 90+ and the temperature is 90+, then it's May, June, July, August, and sometimes September.

NEVER ask a native Washingtonian for directions. We don't know street names and will tell you to turn left where Woodies (Woodward and Lothrop) used to be. If the landmark in question was standing last week, it may not be there now.

NEVER, EVER leave town the Thursday or Friday of a three-day weekend. Leave on Wednesday and take Tuesday off to come back; otherwise, you'll arrive at the same time when you left a day early to beat the traffic.

Avoid I-66 at any time. Just listen to the traffic report ONCE and it is the same every day. The sun is in your face in the morning, and for your return trip, it's once again blinding you in the afternoon.

Avoid Route 7 (Leesburg Pike or any other name it changes to) at all times as well. Same story as above except you have no breaks because on this road, there are people who commute from West Virginia.

Of course you could take the subway, known locally as The Metro. Remember that either the Orange or Red line will be shut down or single tracked due to an accident. Unless both are shut down or single tracked. This is most likely to happen during rush hour. The escalators rarely work, the elevators even more rarely. However, the trains are very clean, kept that way by highly motivated police who will not hesitate to arrest a 12 year old for eating a french fry.

Have fun in DC!

Gazing Towards the Heavens

2016-08-30T19:08:00.001-04:00

Long lost photo from 1992. This photo was taken in the gardens of Tokyo, Japan, and has never been printed. The photo has been archived for 17 years.

This photo was taken with a Bronica SQ-AI medium-format camera.

Photo via www.flickr.com

Reach for the Sky

2016-08-28T11:55:00.000-04:00

Union Cemetery in Leesburg, Virginia

Established in 1855 on the immediate outskirts of Leesburg, Union Cemetery was created as a public cemetery open to people of all faiths. It predated three other "Union" cemeteries in Loudoun County established at Hillsboro, Waterford and Lovettsville. The cemetery contains the 1908 Union Chapel and several notable monuments, including a Confederate War Memorial at the north end of the site, and an imperfectly cut 30-foot- high granite column, allegedly designed for a D.C. public building, but rejected and brought to the cemetery in the 1890s.

This photo was taken on All Saints Day with the Nikon D90 - an extraordinary camera.

Photo via www.flickr.com

Hello world!

2016-08-06T17:27:00.000-04:00

This is my first post.