My GPS Camera Phone

At first glance, it may look like nothing, but loosen up a bit and look closer. I’d have put crosshairs in this image, but that would have given away the hidden animal’s identity. Have fun!

Something seems a little off with this picture. I can’t quite place it…

It’s fitting that my wife took this photo because it pretty much sums up who she is: strong, solid and majestic as an oak, but not like the other oaks. And that’s why I love her so much. Who wants to marry a plain old oak anyway? Not me.

Photo credit: Nancy

I am continually amazed at the quality of photos this Nokia 5610 can take. I think the best part is that with the macro ability and the lens focus, you can achieve a much better depth of field. The results are so much better than most photos from camera phones, which usually come out flat and lacking depth (which is what makes creating content for this site so hard!).

Happy Monday!

This sign is placed at an unmarked crossing area between the local mall and the Toys R Us. Though unmarked, it does have those big concrete barriers so a car cannot take the crosswalk as a short cut into the parking lot. The road it crosses is a sort of perimeter road around the mall, which also borders a smaller strip mall which includes the aforementioned Toys R Us.

Yes, cars zip along this stretch of road with reckless abandon, but I thought that’s what prompted the invention of speed bumps. Nope, not one good bump around to slow down anything. The burden of safety is placed solely in the hands of the pedestrian. It’s almost like if you did get hit by a car, the mall and driver would be absolved from any responsibility.

Victim: Ow!
Driver: Dude, didn’t you see the sign?
Victim: Call an ambulance!
Driver: I have to go. You should really think about the risks you take. They could get you killed, you know.
Police Officer to Victim: You are under arrest for walking into the path of a speeding vehicle. So, you’re just going to lie there and ignore me? (Victim gets Tasered for good measure. OK, one more time. Just to be sure.)
Victim: Ow!

And so on.

Why they went to all the trouble to put a sign and barriers there without marking the road is beyond me. I do know, however, five places where you would think this sign should be, but probably isn’t.

1. At the trailhead of the unexplored American West
   I’m guessing that it would have been a wooden sign, but still, you’d think it was implied to those who made the attempt.
2. Mount Everest
   Of course, the sign would be there for the foreigners. Everyone knows that the Sherpas can navigate those mountains with their eyes closed.
3. The line in the dirt that mean kid drew that you dared cross
   If it’s any consolation, that kid is either in jail or unhappily married to a domineering wife while paying child support for fifteen children from four previous wives.
4. The Amazon
   Home to botflies and the dreaded Candiru fish, the Amazon is a wonderland for people wishing to play host to other organisms. In spite of all the horrifying Candiru stories and graphic YouTube videos of botfly larva removal, people still go there. It needs a sign. A really big sign.
5. Death Valley
   What better place to adventure on your own than a place with the word “death” in it’s name. Oh, did I mention that it you can visit Furnace Creek and Badwater while on your adventure? Take solace in the fact that you wouldn’t be alone, but pretty darn close. The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe inhabits an area around Furnace Creek. Go to them for advice on desert survival, because you’ll need it.

Props to Nancy, my most awesome wife, who came up with the idea for inspired this post and urged me to take the picture, and to Joe for helping out with 4 and 5.

A few days ago, a terrible crime occurred on a different part of this trail. A 36-year-old woman was brutally beaten and then raped while on her morning jog around 6:30 am.

The crime occurred in an affluent neighborhood with a normally low crime rate. I’d be surprised if there were any crimes there, to be honest. But here we are, three days beyond something that isn’t supposed to happen in such a neighborhood. It isn’t supposed to happen in anyone’s neighborhood.

The photo itself is textbook, with the trail fading off into obscurity, bordered by young oaks on each side. How quickly a picture of serenity can become a crime scene photograph.

There were more patrol cars there than I had ever seen. This guy is at-large and there’s little to go on. The newspaper reported that he casually got in a car and drove away. That’s it.

Stay vigilant. Violent crime has no boundaries.