Happy 4th!

These are pictures taken from the US Court of Appeals in DC. Nice - no crowds, big bay windows to view from. Definitely was a shorter program than usual - recession fireworks.

Fireworks are kind of hard to take, so these aren't great pictures. Because it's so dark, the aperture has to get very wide and stay open longer to get whatever light is there to expose the picture. So the fireworks come out "pulled" since the sparkly parts have already moved in the time that the aperture has closed to take the picture in this type of dark light. (Need a more expensive camera to get the more accurate view with less pulling). Still looks kind of cool.

White streaks on this were fireworks getting ready to explode - had been launched and probably would have exploded in 1-2 seconds after this was taken.

North Dakota

Where I went in ND, this is what they advertise on the "main drag" (I saw no signs of either...):

I would recommend to promote tourism, they don't destroy your baggage on the way to the airport. Just a thought. This picture is only 1 side of the bag...and doesn't do it justice for their handiwork. Doesn't show how the case was dented in 6 inches (on this side) - and pushed out almost the same distance on the other side, the pulley thing was disconnected from the bag; the front was almost torn off, zippers & all; the wheels didn't turn anymore; and a whole lot of things inside were broken or ripped out. Time for a new bag. Note to self: no more flying on NorthWest.

But this was pretty - the sun doesn't set until late...this was after 10PM.

Windows to the soul = open

Went to the eye doctor today, and they dilated my eyes - good times. When I got home and looked into the mirror: my pupils were the size of quarters! Ok, exaggeration, but they covered the entire iris...big ol' doll's eyes. Looks kind of creepy, actually, with the windows of your soul opened for all to see - they eyes were a bit vacuous looking (not in the "I'm an idiot" vacuous, but in the "deep-black-hole" vacuous). Like that episode where Homer (Simpson) licks a frog or something and his eyes are all zinged out. Anyway, so the point of the story - the drops were wearing off at different speeds in each eye, so I looked like a crazed lunatic - one pupil normal size, the other still the size of my iris. Bizarre.

What are the 10 secrets of happy people

I was in the doctor's office today, and picked up one of the magazines there...various headlines and whatnot...and there was an article about 10 things happy people have in common - people of various backgrounds, economic levels, religions, ages, countries, etc. - but who had certain qualities or mentalities in common - seemed intriguing. The author had previously written a book on some sociological or psychological and neurological something or another, and as a follow-up had interviewed 100 people, and found 10 common themes. (No one was happy all the time, she pointed out. These folks were at peace with and grounded in their lives, and predominantly enjoyed it.) So I curiously read the article, down to the last line on the page, which said (something along these lines): "The great 100 had the following in common: (CONTINUED on p. 22)". So I look for the place where it's continued to...and there are no pages. Some idiot ripped out the happy people pages. You can imagine how PISSED I was. An article that could have been somewhat interesting or enlightening had the opposite effect entirely. I actually thought it might be some type of joke or psychology experiment, or that I was on hidden camera or something...because damned if I didn't throw a mini hissy fit in my head about stupid people who deface others' property. Clearly I would not have been one of those interviewed for her survey...my angry button was pushed and I was not having anything to do with someone else selfishly stealing the happy to make themselves feel better. Bastards!