Fortunately, photoshop can help me fake it.  Here’s a digital sketch, from a digital photograph:

Seattle, on one of its rare clear May sunsets.

(Also check out this panoramic, taken at the same time.)

More photos!

Use the white balance of your camera, photograph all the colors of the rainbow.  Select a scene, object, etc for each color which adheres to your "inner association" of that color.

Here are the photos… I’m happier with some of them more than others.  :) 

The first assignment was to photograph 15 letters - but not real letters. 

Here are the results of my first assignment - can you guess which letter is which?  (You can click through to my flickr site to see if you’re right.)

Did you know that…

• A penny costs 1.7 cents to make?
• A nickel costs ~10 cents to make?
• A lobby funded by Jarden Zinc Products (major supplier of penny cores for the U.S. Mint) prevented the last "get rid of pennies" legislature?
• Coinstar is now one of the biggest pro-penny lobbies?

Just crazy. 

Ah, the way the world works. 

The official first day of spring was last Thursday.

QUESTION:  What the #*@(#% is it doing snowing???

–  Signed, California Girl

(Yes… I did just make you watch snow falling to the ground.)

That’s how I felt when I stumbled upon these shots today.

i seem to have a thing for empty chairs lately.

For the job, I went to AdoramaPix, which is my favorite photo printing site.  (I did a print test from several different places about a year ago, and they won hands down.)  Their prints are great, and they run great specials every once in a while.

The actual ordering of prints from Adorama, however, has always been ridiculously painful.  Adorama’s photo upload experience *sucked.*  The app was buggy & their server was slow.  

Happily, now Adorama has Flickr integration: no need to upload my photos twice! 

Flickr’s 4th Birthday Celebration:

photo by Ric e Ette.

FlickrViewr (app, code)

In order to run it on your own, you need to go to flickr and get your own flickr api key.

Special thanks to Pete Blois.  I expanded upon his Xml Serialization Flickr library. 

This FlickrViewr application uses:

• Styles
• Control Templates
• UserControls
• Custom Controls

There are also a few re-usable goodies:

• HorizontalWrapPanel
• ContinuousProgress control
• ModalDialog

You can grab these separately here.

“We’re all out of the blood of your enemies. You’ll have to settle for marmalade.”

Jason Beck
Los Angeles, Calif.

Drawing by Michael Crawford

Also, in last week’s New Yorker, there’s an excellent article on carbon emissions… It calls out how difficult it is to choose the most “carbon friendly” option, especially since “buying local” isn’t always the most environment choice. I highly recommend.

I switched to digital last year.  And, I love the power that digital gives me (picture preview, digital darkroom, unlimited # of exposures)… but I do still miss the texture and tone of my film prints.  I never used polaroids that much, but there’s definitely a “beginning of the end of film” feeling with this announcement.

Polaroid film is still expected to be on the shelf for the next year.

The one thing that has bugged me, though, is that the screen *always* dims when I unplugged & go onto battery.  This was especially irritating when trying to work on the bus or edit photos on the plane.

I tried all the Windows settings magic (power options, display brightness, etc) to no avail.  I finally found the trick to making it work today: you have to update your bios.

If you have a lenovo thinkpad & want to have full brightness while on battery, you need to change the “Brightness” bios setting from “Normal” to “High.”

Thought I’d share the wealth. 

MyHeritage.com helps you determine which celebrities you look like.  They also allow you create video a that “merges” your face to & from a celebrity’s. It’s pretty fun. 

Ah……Facial recognition technology at its most useful.

Collage

Morph Videos

Here’s to a joyous 2008. 

His last lecture was about how to live life… and was a message for his kids.  If you haven’t watched it already, I definitely recommend seeing it.  You can grab it here, or read more about the lecture here or here.

Here are some of his words that stuck:

• Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want thing.
• Be patient: Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you.
• When you’re screwing up and nobody’s saying anything to you anymore, that means they’ve given up on you.
• Never lose the child-like wonder.
• Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.

I’ve gone actual skydiving once.  It was tandem, and for me, the biggest thrill was jumping out of the airplane and backflipping through the initial acceleration.  That’s when your stomach flips and you have the “oh geez, am I actually doing this??” moment.

Once you hit terminal velocity, you feel like you’re floating.  However, since I went tandem, some of the sensation was lost:  you don’t feel like you’re completely “free falling” since you’re anchored to the instructor above you. 

The cool thing about iFly was that you got to move around and, well, fly.  Not to boast or anything, but I was a bit of a natural.  :)  The instructor showed off at the end - it’s really quite amazing the acrobatics they can do in the tunnel.

p.s.  This post is in both “life” and “work” because I used Silverlight Streaming, Expression Encoder, and Windows Live Writer.  Check out these posts on how to do it:  Ian Moulster’s and Angus Logan’s.

all suited up!

 starting to float

look, no hands!

the video streaming in silverlight!  the instructor (his name was Radio) let me “take off” my second time….

Monday, my, um, digestive system started to go down hill.  After dinner, it was completely shot.  I had a 101.5 degree fever, major cramping, dehydration, swollen stomach, and a migraine that went through the roof. 

Tuesday, I laid curled in my hotel bed until 5pm.  I had 2 pieces of toast and 8 soda crackers…. and somehow managed to go to the bathroom about 10 times (only slight exaggeration).  However, in the evening, we had to make the journey from Arequipa to Lima to Houston to Seattle.  It was 20 hours of travel with 4 flight legs.  Fortunately, I had a lot of medicine in my system and an amazing boyfriend.  Still, the trip was absolutely awful.

I went to the doctor yesterday, and the good news is its not a parasite - just a good old, Montezuma’s revenge bacterial infection.  (Interestingly, I had totally forgotten about that term - but both my dad and my doctor mentioned it.)

Tonight, I’m feeling significantly better.  It think the antibiotics finally kicked in.  Still, I haven’t really ventured outside yet.

The only bright side (?) to this whole experience is that I lost 6 pounds.  Personally, I don’t think it was worth it. 

Anyways, pictures coming soon.  Here is one to wet your appetite:

native woman with llama; Cuzco, Peru

I´m in Cuzco airport right now waiting for a flight to Arequipa. We just flew in from the jungle, so the altitude is bothering me again. I ordered some mate de coca (this time in a tea bag and not just the leaves). The package lists the ¨properties¨of coca tea:

• Restorative and energetic
• Excellent for diet.
• Digestive.
• Anti-diarrheac action
• Acts against fatigue and alitude sickness.
• Relieves tiredness of voice.
• Regulates the metabolism of carbohidrate.

Sounds like the perfect tea, no?

Growing up in Southern California, going to school in Northern California, and now living in Seattle, I´ve never really had to deal with mosquitos. Here are some things that I´ve learned:

1. Mosquitos can bite through clothing. Smart little buggers! On one of the nighttime walks, I got about 15 bug bites on my back…. through my shirt. Ridiculous!
2. Deet ¨repels¨ mosquitos….. but in the loose sense of the word. I was Deet-ed, and for good measure OFF-ed as well, and the little guys just kept coming.
3. There´s a reason why REI sells full body bug nets. Though you might look like a tool, you´re protected.

All said, i have something like 70 mosquito bites. They were easy to count since each flared up bright red like a hive. Thank goodness for Benadryl and Hydrocortisone.

Unfortunately, one of the catches of going to the Amazon during the rainy season is that you’re less likely to see wildlife.  (Since there’s a lot of rain, the animals don’t have to move around to get water… and likely to be spotted.)  What I really wanted to see, which we didn’t, was some funky monkeys. 

a capybara - the largest rodent in the world.

a caiman.  (here’s another where you can really peer into his eye)

turtles on a log

leafcutter ants on the move

i totally forget what this guy is called….  anyone know?

big ant!

moths

Machu Picchu, in all its glory….

the feet that got me there….

Arg!!  The weather on the entire Inka Trail was *perfect*…. until the very last day. 

We awoke at 4am to make our way to the Sun Gate, *the* place to see the sunrise….  We really booked it and we were the third & forth people there.  And by there… I mean a big wall of white fog. 

The “vista” above Machu Picchu wasn’t that much better.  Our guides kept saying that it would clear… and then around 8:30am, it finally did….

the llamas, also upset by the fog….
 

yep, that’s machu picchu.  not exactly how i envisioned it….

but then it started to clear! !

and clear even further!!

From there, we were heading to Dead Woman’s Pass (or Warmiwañusca).  At 4198m (13,772 ft) it is definitely up there.  The last 200m was the worst.  You pass through 3 stages:

• Excitement - you can see the top. 
• Exhaustion - each step takes absolute effort. 
• Extreme exhaustion - you’re inches from the top but each step now takes 15 second.

made it to llulluchupampa!

you can see how far we’ve climbed already!

last 200 meters…. think i might die….

looks like i’m smiling.  really, i’m just covering my pain…. and my gasping.  the air is thin this high up!

the rolled in magically as we got to the top…

…and then just as quickly rolled away…

2nd night camp site

me, around 7am.  on the bus, en route for the trail.  photo op break.

the start of the trail.  we were very lucky and had a very fun treking group.

friendly visitor - donkey!

our first camp site.

Well, the trail and Machu Picchu lived up to all my expectations.  It was an amazing experience.

Some basic info about the trail:

• 33 km (22 miles) in 4 days
• Lowest point:  2380m (7,808 ft)
• Highest point:  4200m (13,779 ft)

If you’re heading out on the trail, a few thoughts for you…

• Bring bug repellent.  Some parts of the trail are at “lower” alitutoides and there are mosquitos.  I got devoured at Machu Picchu during the 15 minutes I decided to make my convertible pants “shorts.
• They sell wooden walking sticks at the beginning of the trail.  They’re cheaper than renting metal walking sticks… and you don’t have to lug yours from the States.  For me, having 2 walking sticks was *key*.
• Bring lots of memory cards.  I went through about 6 GB. 

(I’ll add a few more points once I get through the rest of the trip’s photos.  I did a bunch of research on which agency & what to bring that I’ll share.)

To play with the delicate palettes of the foreigners, they bring out the cuy… whole.  I had been okay with the idea of eating guinea pig (”Hey, I’ll try it.  It’ll probably taste like chicken.”)  I just wasn’t expecting to see, well, all of it.  It’s a similar issue that I have with fish.  I don’t want to see my meat look like, well, a dead animal.  (I know, I get the irony.)

There’s a photo before this that didn’t turn out.  Let’s just say it was the cuy & me… and my eyes are close and I have a look of dread on my face.

About 5 minutes later, they took it back to the kitchen and cut it for us.  And, removed the head from the plate. 

Also, if you’re ever in Cuzco, I highly recommend Hotel Corihausi.  It was a beautiful quaint hotel seated on the hill behind Plaza de Armas.  Our “panoramic room #20″ had a beautiful 180 view of the plaza and the city.

me, above plaza de armas

cuzco’s plaza de amras from afar

local chidren

local woman

boys will be boys

the view from our hotel room at hotel corihuasi

me

local woman

We had one transfer in the city of Puno, Peru.  Just from the bus ride, Puno looked like a rather built-up but not very pleasant town - the exact opposite of Copacabana.  (The local floating islands, I’ve heard though, are supposed to be very interesting).

The large windows on our tourist bus enabled some good shots of the streets…

We stayed in Copacabana on the Bolivian side (not to be confused with the other Copacabana in Brazil.) Unfortunately, a combination of rain and me feeling the altitude prevented us from exploring Isla del Sol.  Still, Copacabana was a very pleasant if sleepy place to spend a few days.

The morning of our last day, I was feeling a bit better and was able to venture up to the summit of Cerro Calvario.  There was some puffing through the thin area to make it to the top, but I eventually made it and it was beautiful.

approaching copacabana

the city from atop cerro calvario

through our window…

local sheep

church

atop cerro calvario

i made it!

atop cerro calvario

Many different architects & builders worked on the different parts of Machu Picchu.  Some walls have a jumbled feeling.  Others, have an eerily modern “concrete” perfection to them.

Different Incan walls in Machu Piccu: 

In the afternoon, I was feeling a bit better and we ventured up even higher by taxi to El Alto, the upstairs neighboring city.  At its highest point, El Alto is 4150 meters (13,615 feet).   El Alto is much poorer than La Paz.  It’s this unending expanse of shanty towns, extending and growing as far as the eye can see.

looking down on la paz

el alto shanty towns creeping up the hill & continuing (on and on) to the plateau

me

the shanty towns

the shanty towns

Not surprisingly, I am clueless about international soccer.  But the day we were in Lima, Peru was playing Brazil.  (Which made walking around the city on a Sunday even quieter… except for the periodic collective shots or groans at corner TV shops & bars.)  Peru ended up tying Brazil 1-1…. which I’m told is huge for Peru and a bit embarrassing for Brazil.

On our flight out that night, we were at the airport and a flock of people were chasing after this one guy.  My boyfriend, a soccer player & fan, recognized Ronaldinho leading the pack and getting swarmed for autographs & photos.  We followed them… and found the rest of Brazilian soccer team waiting at the gate next to ours.  They were on the way home.

I grabbed two good photos.  The first is of Ronaldinho. The second is of the “random cute guy” on the team who caught my eye.   A few minutes later, I found out his name was Kaka.  Kaka just won the European Footballer of the Year last week.  Ironically, no one at the airport was asking for his autograph or his photo.

p.s.  After this, my new Nikon telephoto zoom lens was officially dubbed the “stalker lens.

ronaldinho

kaka

In Lima, I was surprised to see Paddington Bear in Peru… until a friend reminded me that Paddington Bear came from Peru.

From Wikipedia:

This gentle bear was found at Paddington railway station in London. …  He has arrived as a stowaway coming from “Darkest Peru“, sent by his Aunt Lucy (his only known relative, aside from an unnamed uncle who gave Paddington his hat), who has gone to live in the Home for Retired Bears in Lima. He claims, “I came all the way in a lifeboat, and ate marmalade. Bears like marmalade.”

He tells them that no one can understand his Peruvian name, so the Browns decide to call him Paddington after the railway station in which he was found. Bond originally wanted Paddington to have “travelled all the way from darkest Africa”, but his agent advised him that there were no bears in darkest Africa, and thus it was amended to darkest Peru, home of the spectacled bear.

Paddington Bear in a shop window

A friend’s parents live in Lima, and we had the pleasure to spend the day with them.  (Thanks Islas!)  It was a lot of fun, and we were pleasantly surprised by the city.  The neighborhoods of Miraflores & Barranco were very charming, and Lima Centro was beautiful.  I guess the current mayor has done a lot for the city (and tourism) in recent times, and it definitely showed.

Of course,  I think it also helped, though, that we had local tour guides.  :)  Lima is still not particularly safe, and having friendly hosts who knew the city was a great treat.

 the cliffs of miraflores

making jewelry in Barranco

placio arzobispal in plaza de armas

carriage in plaza de armas

 pigeons, pigeons everywhere…

placio arzobispal in plaza de armas

iglesia de san pedro

The current plan is:

• Fly in to Lima, Peru.  And then on to La Paz, Bolivia.
• Visit La Paz, wander through Copacabana and see Lake Titicaca.
• Make our way up to Cuzco
• Take the 4 day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
• Wander through the Amazon in Puerto Maldonado
• Spend last few days in Arequipa.

Not sure how much real-time blogging there will be - but expect lots of pictures afterwards!

The wedding was absolutely beautiful and ton of fun.

Here are some of my favorite photos:

at the alter…

giving away the bride….

don’t ask. 

To wet your appetite, here are the “Machine Wash” and “Water Temperature” symbols.  (Who knew those dots meant something??)

I’ve seen Yo-Yo Ma once before - as a part of his Silk Road Ensemble.  And while it was great, I left really wanting to see him playing classical music (and solo-ing!).

I’m so excited!

** If you’re a huge (dork) West Wing Fan, like me, you might have gotten the Donna reference in the blog title.   :)

The Lensbaby is this “glass-free” lens - it’s literally a spring with an aperture hole that you bend the to focus its “sweet spot” where you want.  The rest of the photo has a gradually increasing blur.

Here’s a photo I took with my Lensbaby while on the ferry to Bainbridge.

Hats off to the folks who made it happen.

On a personal note, I joined the Silverlight team last week, and am SUPER excited to be working on the 1.1 release.  The team has done an incredible job with 1.0, and I think things are just going to keep getting  better and better. 

If you haven’t had a Silverlight-powered experience yet, try these out:

Halo 3 Trailer

 The new Halo 3 trailer shown using Silverlight.  (There’s also an HD version.)

Tafiti

A new web search experience leveraging Live Search and Silverlight.

p.s.  Thanks to Tim for the pointer to Catherine Heller’s Silverlight animation, shown above.

I was catching up on my stack of New Yorkers, and read a great article on honey bees & their mysterious disappearance.  Highly recommend.

I also learned a couple random facts about bees:

• Honeybees are the only animals besides humans known to have a representational language: they convey to one another the location of food by dancing.
• When the queen lays an egg, she is able to choose its sex.
• Males, known as drones, perform no useful function except to mate. They are loutish and filthy, and the workers?sterile females?tolerate their presence for a few months a year, then systematically murder them.
• A single pound of clover honey represents the distilled nectar of some 8.7 million flowers.
• In a week, a productive hive can add seventy pounds of honey to its stores.

Last night, my friend and I went to see Ratatouille.  It was HILARIOUS. 

I was trying to remember the last time I had such an easy “laugh out loud” experience… and then it hit me: The Incredibles.  Of the two, The Incredibles is definitely better… but I saw both late at night when I was super tired.  And both managed to wake me up and keep me laughing for two hours.

Hats off to Pixar (and Disney).

pioneer square, seattle

pigs on parade, pike place market

Here is “Karen Simpson.”  :)  … also knows as 5 minutes of blissful randomization.

You too can create your own Simpson avatar at the Simpsons Movie website. 

BTW:  Hats off to the Simpson movie marketer.  The website plus the