Congratulations, Bailey and Oscar!

Bailey and Oscar tied the knot this weekend at a lovely ceremony. Luckily, they hired a professional photographer, which left me free to concentrate on the fun and the pretty girls!

Whisky Tasting

Andrew and I tasted a dozen Whisky’s last night at a nice event sponsored by the Whisky Shop. The tasting was held at the swanky E & O Trading Company, which means that in addition to the delicious spirits, we had fabulous food as well. If you get the chance, I highly recommend you attend…

Carnaval 2009

We almost didn’t go this year. We thought that the temperatures in the low-50’s with heavy overcast skies might mean fewer scantily-clad revelers. Luckily, we were wrong.

Cherubs with Face Paint

Andrew caught this fantastic shot of Sophie and Ursula on their first visit to Disneyland. thedude and Kellster like the shot so much that we made a magnet out of it and hung it on our refrigerator. That’s saying quite a lot, because like at least nine other people on planet Earth, thedude also hates…

Balloon Festival

The November full moon is cause for celebration in Taunggyi, Myanmar. The Hot Air Balloon Festival must be seen to be believed. It was a wild and wonderful way to end our trip. As beautiful as they are, still images can not adequately capture the cacophony of light and sound.

Hot Day, Cool Stuff

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…

Balloon Festival Parade

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.

Getting Ready to Party in Taunggyi

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.

Happy Easter!

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…

Pa-O Home Life, Winya Village

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…

Carmel Weekend

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…

Two More Kakku Panoramas

Well, it’s been five months since we returned from Burma, and I’m still looking at the pictures pretty much every day. Luckily, I like looking at pretty pictures of things and places I’ve seen. No matter how good (or bad) you think these images are, they definitely look even better to me, and hopefully, Kelly…

Walk in the ‘Hood

It’s a warm day. Spring is definitely in the air. Time for me and my camera to take a walk. My respect and sympathy to the families who lost a husband, dad, son. A terrible price.

Kakku and Pa-O People

On the morning of our twelfth day in Burma, our guide told us we would be taking a three and a half hour drive to Kakku. This is the amount of time required to drive 26 miles on Burma’s horrible roads. Our rough ride took us to yet another truly amazing site – more than…

I’m So Hooked on This Site!

My neighbor sent me a link to this page, and now I’ve spent close to 90 minutes looking at this site. Please check it out. Be prepared to spend some time. Scroll, baby, scroll. Follow the related links that appear at the bottom of each page. Go off on some wild tangent. Enjoy!

Xenophon Gala 2009

As you know, thedude and Kelly volunteer some of their time in support of an amazing organization called Xenophon Therapeutic Riding. Last night we attended their annual fundraiser. The Xenophon Gala is always fun, and this year’s event was no exception, as you can clearly see from the photos. Please visit the Xenophon web site…

The Spa at the Inle Princess

Kelly enjoyed a pedicure at the spa at the fabulous Inle Princess on day 11 of our Burma trip. Later, we had a bottle of wine delivered to the room where we relaxed as the sunset. Later still, we were surprised to see a grass fire in the distance. Based on the reaction of the…

Shwe Inn Thein

I can not believe that it’s almost March, and I’m still posting images from our November trip to Burma! These were taken on a lovely hill above the five day market in Indein. The 800 temples are in various states of disrepair, but a few have been meticulously restored.

Laughing Dogs

Once in a while a friend sends a photo that amazes me. Dave was practicing with his new camera, and managed to capture this cool image of googly-eyed puppies going crazy in the Wisconsin snow. Dave, I’d say this picture proves that some pet-owners do look just like their pets! 🙂

Horsie Day at Reinstein Ranch

thedude accompanied horsie-girl Kelly to her favorite weekend getaway. She had a great time with Tilly in spite of the muddy conditions, and thedude went a little nuts with his camera.

Indein and Five-Day Market

It’s day 11 of our trip now. We left our room at the Inle Princess and floated to this huge market where we did a bit of shopping and a lot of people-watching.

UNIX Time Milestone

Were you there? Did you feel it? Did your Geekometer spike at 11? Mine did. From Wikipedia: On Friday, February 13, 2009 at exactly 23:31:30 (UTC), Unix time will equal ‘1234567890’. Parties and other celebrations are planned around the world among various technical subcultures, to celebrate 1234567890 day. Find a party in your neighborhood. We’ll…

Burmese Blacksmiths

After the silk-weaving, we moved on to another labor-intensive activity – turning leaf springs into knife blades. We’ve seen this sort of work before, but the way this team of men worked the hot steel was something to see. Here are a couple of videos.

Lotus Silk

This has to be one of the most labor-intensive jobs we saw while in Burma. We saw a lot of meticulous work being performed by Burmese women, but these women had less to show for a full day’s work than most – a few yards of colored lotus silk thread.

Lunch on Inle Lake

We left our beautiful room at the Inle Princess early in the morning to take in some of the sites on Inle Lake. On the way, we saw how leg-rowing can leave both hands free for untangling fishing nets. We stopped and had a delicious lunch and cool beers at a restaurant with beautiful lake…

thedude Takes a Hike

When Andrew said that he knew of a place nearby where we could see “tens of thousands of ladybugs clumped like piles of scarlet coffee beans”, I knew I had to see it. It also happens that Andrew’s better half is an entomologist known to many as the Bug Lady, AND the topic for this…