Monthly Archives: April 2009

Can a Duck be Beautiful?

Posted on April 22, 2009 by thedude

Grant makes a pretty good case with this shot – frozen at 1/4000th of second.

Posted in Contributed, Old Friends | 5 Comments

With temperatures more than twenty degrees above the average for this day, thedude decided to take the smartie to NASA’s 2009 Exploration and Sustainability Exposition, where we saw some pretty cool stuff, including a car I’d love to own. Well, OK just the car is just a brochure at this point, but it’s still a beauty, isn’t it?

This was another opportunity to test my new point & shoot camera. I’d say the Canon G10 is capable of producing some pretty fine images! What do you think?

Posted in Bay Area, Computing, Toys | 7 Comments

Balloon Festival Parade

Posted on April 19, 2009 by thedude

This was one of the most beautiful sights we saw during our trip to Burma. The parade was the first act of our most amazing evening.

Posted in Burma 2008 | 3 Comments

Getting Ready to Party in Taunggyi

Posted on April 18, 2009 by thedude

The Balloon Festival in Taunggyi has to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest party in all of Burma. This incredible event takes place during November’s full moon, and has to be seen to be believed. These shots were taken as the sun went down and spirits began to heat up.

Come back soon to see the shots of the amazing parade.

Posted in Burma 2008 | Leave a comment

Happy Easter!

Posted on April 13, 2009 by thedude

thedude and Kelly celebrated the day with a non-traditional Easter brunch at the Claremont Hotel. We raised a toast to the U.S. Navy for rescuing Captain Phillips unharmed.

This was also a chance to experiment with my new Canon G10, which so far is wonderful to shoot with, and produces amazing images for a camera of its size. I think I’ll be using this new camera a lot.

Posted in Bay Area, Food, Holidays | 2 Comments

Pa-O Home Life, Winya Village

Posted on April 10, 2009 by thedude

We visited this delightful old couple in their home on the way back from Kakku. Although we could not understand a word of what they said, their warmth and hospitality could not be missed. It’s impossible to imagine living like these two, but at nearly 80 years old, they seemed as happy as any two people I’ve ever met. It was lovely to share tea with them.

Posted in Burma 2008 | 2 Comments

Carmel Weekend

Posted on April 5, 2009 by thedude

One of the best things about the Bay Area is that you can drive two hours and see sights like these and end up in Carmel-By-The-Sea. And if you’re like us, you’ll take the wrong turn at least once and discover a cemetery bursting with colorful flowers, lush, green fields, happy cows and sea lions on the rocks below Highway 1.

The next day, you can explore some of the Carmel’s unique shops enjoy lunch at the over-the-top Post Ranch Inn with a ridiculously splendid view of the green rolling hills and the ocean below, and spot California Condors floating gracefully above. These birds can grow to have a wing-span of 9-1/2 feet and weigh 22 pounds. They’re awesome to see this close. The shot below was shot with an 85 mm lens. The huge bird was maybe 30 feet away.

And if that’s not enough goodness, you can sit in the beach with your wonderful wife and watch the hardy surfer dudes catch the last wave before sunset.