Digital Quixote

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Keeping the Shiny Side Up

I took the Ducati on a Fall ride to Mt. Rainier today. It was a gorgeous, crisp, cool, clear day; ... the bespoke kind of day tailored for college football games, walks in golden woods, and riding a motorcycle. It was mid-week and after Labor Day so there was virtually no traffic. Mt. Rainier was gorgeous. The sun was bright but low in the sky giving good definition to everything. During a break near where the shot above was taken, I chatted with several other riders and we agreed “life was good and that we’d keep the shiny side up on the way home.”

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Posted by Digital Quixote in • Motorcycles
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Sunday, September 02, 2007

Concours d’Italia

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I went to the Concours d’Italia today with my son-in-law, Nick. It was full of current model Italian exotic automobiles, vintage exotics and hot Italian motorcycles. It was a small show, held at the Des Moines marina. The weather was fine; the crowd eclectic and appreciative. The exhibitors were an odd lot spending most of their time discussing the availability of this odd part, or that one, and polishing their treasures. Sometimes shows like this one will have what I have come to call “car show girls.” Not this time. But a good time was had by all anyway.

The photo below is of a 1936 Alpha Romeo.

And if you were in doubt, the bottom photo demonstrates the show was not without eye candy, a Ferrari 430 in this case.

Posted by Digital Quixote in • and Automobiles
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Thursday, August 30, 2007

Cultural Biopsy - Italy

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During my working career, my travel patterns included very short, overloaded visits to exotic ports of call. Arrive at 11:00 PM; sleep; attend meetings from breakfast until the plane left; lather-rinse-repeat. Since I retired I have enjoyed a different kind of travel; travel where I can stay someplace long enough to begin to get a feel for its culture. I like this better.

Earlier this year I had a chance to live in Florence Italy for about 4 months. It gave me a chance to dig deeper into Renaissance art, Italian culture, and to live as a native, at least to an extent. UNESCO claims that 60% of the world’s most important art resides in Italy and that half of that is in Florence. Obviously the art was fantastic. So was the Italian food. And Italian style. And Italians.

I took 6,600 photos while I was there and just posted the best of them in 16 galleries on my website: • Ponte Vechio • Duomo • Piazza della Signoria • Palazzo Vecchio • Santa Croce • Santa Maria del Carmine • Ufizzi • Streets • Cars • Italians • Windows • Chianti • Bologna • Fiesole • Lucca

At the risk of coining a phrase, these photos represent a cultural biopsy of Florence. They are big, bright, sharp. Collectively they go pretty deep. I feel great about the experience and I feel great about these photos.

Feel free to visit http://www.DigitalQuixote.com. Take all the time you want and enjoy!

Now, let’s go exploring ...

Posted by Digital Quixote in • Casual Travel
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Monday, August 20, 2007

MY Tax Dollars At Work! - Part II - Jets

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I pay a LOT of taxes. If I allocate them all to the Blue Angels ... I think I get what I pay for! Here for your viewing pleasure are the Blue Angles at Seattle’s SeaFair 2007. In the photo above, ... Mt. Rainier in the background!

The pilots fly a low pass down the shore of Lake Washington ... below the altitude of the houses, ... maybe 100 feet above the water.. Imagine their view!!!

The 3 above from day two are definitely worth expanding. I love the way water vapor in the air condenses during high speed and aggressive aerobatics!

Posted by Digital Quixote in • Planes
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Monday, August 13, 2007

MY Tax Dollars At Work! - Part I - Context

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Seattle’s summer (last week in July + first week in August) is celebrated with a huge citywide party called SeaFair. There are Unlimited Hydro Races, Parades, Airshows, a Pirate Landing, and so much more. Here are some pictures I took on the water waiting for the Airshow to start.

Needless to say, it gets pretty crouded. The Army, Navy and Coast Guard patrol the waters keeping the boats out of harms way and look for safety violations (life jackets, alcohol, overloading and such.)