Desert Botanical Gardens - Phoenix

Early Monday morning Diane and I went to the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. We had been there before, but this time they were featuring Dale Chihuly's Glass Exhibition that has been featured around the world. I took over 200 pictures and you can see a few of them on my Photo Site.

It takes 5 semi trucks and weeks of work to set up the exhibit. Displays in a couple of pictures you will see are huge and have to be put together and taken apart piece by piece, and then packed up. Very interesting to say the least.

You can learn more about Dale Chihuly at www.chihuly.com,

Fireproof

Fireproof is a movie that came out in September of 2008. If you are married it's a must see, no matter what your age. Hollywood has always tried to make us believe that marriage is a fairytale and that couples live in utopia. Of course we know that's not true and that marriage takes work to stay healthy and happy.

You can visit the movie website to read all about it, then go to your favorite movie store and rent the DVD.

This movie is so powerful that it is being used as a study guide in churches across America including ours. You will enjoy it!

My Passion for Studios

All of my adult life I have wanted a technology studio in my home. In my first house in Davenport, Iowa I built one in the basement and it was pretty primitive. That was before personal computers so it consisted of music. In my second home in Davenport I built a recording studio. During the time we spent there I was on the radio and loved music. This is a photo of my third studio which consisted of music, video editing, and computers which was in Moline, Illiniois. I was very proud of that room. We had some great memories of karaoke parties where I would pass out several microphones and everyone would sing. (We sounded like real stars after a couple of drinks!)

I've actually had six tech rooms and this is a photo of one in our second house in Phoenix. We loved this home as it was beautiful and on the golf course, but we were only there a couple of years because we had more golf balls in the back yard than a driving range. Everyday was like an Easter egg hunt so we moved, but I loved that room!

This is my "Man Cave" in our present residence. It's not as complicated as the first photo, but you can do everything now with computers. Everyone who visits the studio asks "Why so many monitors?" Actually I use three in my everyday computing. The one on the left is Diane's, the 5th one is a TV and the 6th one is used to work on client's computers. Spending as much time as I do computing, I've often thought how I ever got along with just one screen. (Click on photos for larger view.)

In God We Trust

In God We Trust.

Write it on the back, front, or both, of your envelopes even your bills and emails. Some people are even having rubber stamps made.

You may have heard in the news that a couple of post offices in Texas have been forced to take down posters that say "In God We Trust," the law, they say, is being violated.

We must take back our nation from all the people who think that anything that offends them should be removed.

It's been reported that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore, we have a very hard time understanding why there's such a commotion about using the term "In God We Trust." Could it be that we just need to take action and tell the 14% to sit down and shut up?

Be bold and stand up for what you think. The reason bad things are happening in our society is that the majority of good people are sitting back and letting it happen. Stand up America! Watch this video.

Playing with Graphics.

This is what you do if you have some idol time and you're a computer nerd.

This started as a picture that I took of a sliced strawberry on a plate. You would think that this wouldn't be time consuming, but it was as many layers were added with different objects and some special effects. Now I must get back to some serious stuff!

I don't like Heights!

Tuesday we had a day of fun exploring a mountainous area called "Bull Dog Canyon" north of Apache Junction, Arizona. We trailered our ATV a couple of hours from our home and set out to explore the area with another couple.

Our first experience was to drive up the side of a mountain, park near the top, then hike the rest of the way. In this photo we are enjoying the fabulous view, but not thrilled with the feeling in my stomach! There's two things in this world that give me that queasy feeling; heights, and the dentist sticking a needle into my gums!

After almost crawling on my hands and knees back to the Quad, we descended and then had a great time the rest of the day riding on pretty safe trails and enjoying mother nature.

A Great Photo is Sometimes Unexpected!

Occasionally a very nice photo comes when least expected. We were invited to a friend's house for dinner and during desert this adorable little girl climbed up in grandma's lap. I was sitting across the table and pulled my compact camera from my pocket to capture this moment in time.

Sometimes the conditions are just right, the lighting, the pose, and the emotions of the subjects.

It's those times when you take a lucky shot with a camera that are memorable, just like remembering that great shot on the golf course.

A Fun Week!

A week ago today was my birthday and Diane hosted a surprise party for me at a local restaurant, and that was fun!

The next day we left for 5 days with our RV and friends to camp in the mountains north of Wickenburg, Arizona.

We saw this Diamondback Rattlesnake on the trail while riding our ATV, but he was not very happy to see us. They can be anywhere from 3 to 7 feet long, are very defensive, will stand their ground, are lightening fast and their bite can kill you! This bad boy is ready to strike, but I'm not as close to him as it looks because that's what a zoom lens is for! (Click the photo for larger view.)

I've Been Scammed!

This is a photo of my famous bottle of Acai Berry Tablets that I ordered on the Internet. Acai berry has been touted by Oprah and other TV stars as the miracle food. Consequently, companies have sprouted up selling Acai berry tablets that are supposed to help you loose weight and detox your system. I understand that this is a good product, BUT BUYER BEWARE! There are ads all over the Internet that will send you a free bottle of 60 tablets if you just pay the shipping charges which in my case was $3.95. I gave them my credit card number and I received my bottle of tablets. That was about 30 days ago, and since then my credit card has been billed several times for a total of $184! I called my bank and they gave me the number for this company which is FWM Laboratories in Hollywood, Florida. They claimed that I had signed up for a subscription for these pills which I informed them that I never did any such thing and that I wanted a total refund on all monies except for the $3.95. They said I would hear from them via email within the next 3 or 4 business days so we'll see what happens.
In the meantime I want you to know about this. If you type "Acai Berry Scams" into Google you will immediately see what I'm talking about. So shame on me as I preach and preach about personal security and scams in Cyber News and then get caught myself!

A couple of months ago my friend Spike O'Dell retired from WGN Radio in Chicago where he was the morning personality. He was an institution before that in the Quad Cities where he sparkled on WQUA, KSTT, and KIIK radio.

Another Chicago radio personality who was known throughout the world was the late Paul Harvey who passed away just a few days ago. He was truly an American icon and I remember listening to him way back in the 50s.
After Paul's death the new WGN morning man called Spike at his retirement home in Nashville and they had the following conversation which I thought you would enjoy.

Back from a fun trip!

We just returned from a jam packed fun trip. We took our RV and another couple to San Diego and parked at an RV resort. The next day we boarded a cruise ship for 4 days of heavy eating with a stop at Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico. I say "heavy eating" because they serve food all hours of the day and night, it's included in the price, and it's hard not to sample everything!

I took this photo of Jonathan Livingston Seagull from the top deck of the ship. I haven't had a lot of experience photographing birds in flight and it takes some practice. You have to follow it and shoot a little ahead to keep it in the frame.

After the cruise we spent a day at the San Diego Zoo where I got some good shots of its residents, including this big boy. The gorillas were really fun to watch, especially the young ones who liked to play like kids. Two of them spent some time boxing which was really funny.

After the zoo, we drove to Imperial Beach where we enjoyed a walk along the water's edge. There's something about the feeling of sand on your bare feet, the sound of the waves and the beauty of a sunset to put you in another world. I must have taken 50 sunset shots, but I liked this one because of the bird walking in the foreground.

Dinner with a glass of wine at a Greek restaurant next to the ocean rounded out our day. (Click photos for larger view.)

Now it's back to reality, but that's not all that bad because my week consists of 6 Saturdays and one Sunday!

Your Role in our new Government

In February's edition of Cyber News I talked about becoming engaged with the policies of our new government. I referenced the White House web site and quoted President Obama's wish for a "Transparent Administration."

I have stated openly that I did not vote for Obama but since he is in office my idea is to stay positive for America. We must strive to become one people, one voice, one Nation.

If you don't like his policies, directives or appointments then let it be known and go direct to the source. Don't hide behind an endless thread of nasty emails and conversations which are valueless, only spread negativism, and help to divide America.

Instead, use your energy to direct your opinions to your Congressman or Senator. They were elected to represent YOU. Here's a web site where you can click on your state and it will give you phone numbers and email addresses.

Go to the White House Web Site and send an email, or better yet if you have the nerve, give them a call on their published number, 202-456-1414.

Today I received an email from a Cyber News reader who did just that and here is what he wrote to me:

A few days ago I visited whitehouse.gov and did two things. I wanted to make some observations and suggestions regarding the stimulus bill, now in the senate. First I sent my comments via the website email address. Second, I saw a phone number for the White House, so I thought what the heck and called it. A very nice young man answered it and I told him I’d like to make sure that Barack had my comments re the stimulus bill. He told me to please make my comments; he would make notes and then make sure he had my thoughts down correctly.

So, away I went; my comments had five parts to them. He correctly summarized them and then promised that he would make sure that my comments were available to President Obama the following day. I thanked him and after hanging up decided I had two choices. First I could be cynical and figure that my comments would be round-filed. Or second, I could trust that this fine man would actually make sure that my comments were a part of the national dialogue. I made the latter choice. It’s made me even more determined to be a part of what happens to our country and to contribute to it’s future. It was a refreshing experience.

Super Bowl Sunday

To say that we were pumped up for Super Bowl Sunday would be an understatement! Guests at our party were greeted by monitors in my studio filled with Cardinal logos.

People visiting always ask "Why so many monitors?" Well, I actually only use three. The one to the extreme left is Diane's computer, then my laptop, the 3 that I use on my computer, a TV, and the last one is a spare computer which rarely gets turned on.

If I'm not at a customer location, traveling, or taking photos, I'm spending the good part of my day at the computer and once you have multiple monitors you wonder how you ever got along with just one.

Anyway, the Super Bowl game was fantastic, as you know, and even though we lost in the last seconds, we are very proud of what the Cardinals accomplished this season!

Also I salute Jennifer Hudson for a phenomenal job in singing the National Anthem!

Photo Contest Results

The MSNBC photo contest was over Friday and the picture of the baby sea lion took first place. I took 3rd with my Grand Canyon photo. Thanks to all who voted. That was fun.

MSNBC Photo Contest

Last week MSNBC announced that they were going to have a travel photo contest, so I entered one of my favorite photos of the Grand Canyon.

I sent out an email to lots of friends today asking them that if they thought it had merit, would they consider voting for it.
There are some beautiful pictures posted there so it would be an honor just to be in the top ten.

This is the web site where you can click on the photo to vote or to see how we stand. The contest has been narrowed down to 40 entries.

The photo was taken last year. Diane and I camped out at the Canyon, got up at 4 am and made our way to this spot, which is called "Moran Point." We sat on the rock in the foreground in darkness, then watched as the sun came up behind us. What a breathtaking site it was at 6 am when it was shot. Thanks for your vote!

Windows 7

Version 1 of Windows was released in November of 1985. Since then there have been versions 2, 2.1, 3, 3.1, NT, Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP, and Vista, along with a few others thrown in.

This month Microsoft released Windows 7 beta which is a testing version of the next operating system which we'll see in final form later this year. I have downloaded it to my HP laptop and now dual boot to Windows XP or Windows 7 beta.

I did not like Vista, along with most of the world, and Windows 7 looks and acts very much like Vista but with some nice new features. I'm keeping an open mind while testing it and will keep you posted on my opinions. It will be discussed at greater length in Cyber News.

Captain "Sully" Sullenberger

Captain "Sully" Sullenberger is now a household name, and he deserves to be. He made a one of a kind emergency landing last week in New York's Hudson River. Remarkable and miraculous were the results as all 155 people lived through it.

Being a retired pilot I have even more of an appreciation for the skills and focus of this man than the average person.

I received the above picture in email and can't give appropriate credit to the person who authored it, but it is thought provoking. Thank you Lord for Captain Sully and his dedicated crew. We salute you!

Look for his first interview on CBS's 60 minutes on February 8th.

Super Bowl & God

Tampa Bay here we come! Wow, what an exciting play-off game. Kurt Warner is an outstanding athlete and a leader. He has to be admired for that and the fact that he does not hide his faith in God. 89% of Americans believe in God, so why is the majority letting a small number of unbelievers take God out of our society?

There are many references to the following if you type "Atheist Holy Day" in Google and it's also floating around as an email. I don't know if this is truth or fiction, but I find it to be most interesting.

FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY

In Florida , an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays." The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant." The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned."

Arizona Cardinals

There's plenty of excitement in the air here in Phoenix for the possibility of the Cardinals playing in the Super Bowl! The win over the Panthers was exciting enough, then the Eagles beating the Giants meant that we would fight the play-off game on home turf instead of in New York.

I mentioned (with tongue in cheek) to my friends a month ago that "Wouldn't it be something if the big game was between the Cardinals and the Steelers," and now that just may come true.

So, two big games next Sunday. The Cards and the Eagles, and the Steelers and the Ravens. Of course the two winning teams will match up in Tampa Bay on February 1st for Super Bowl 43. GO ARIZONA!

3 Things Today

To start off your new year why not sit back, relax, and watch this powerful presentation.

Have you heard about Google's new service? It's information for your telephone or your cell phone. Just dial 1-800-goog-411. Say the city, the business or type of service you are looking for and they will connect you, for FREE! Here's a short video from Google that explains it all.

For you football lovers here's the play-off schedule for this weekend. We will certainly be watching the Cardinal-Panther game Saturday night!