Focalization 365/366 Photo a Day

Independence Day

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 CDT

The Fourth of July commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Congress approved the wording of the Declaration on July 4 and then sent it to the printer. Whether John Hancock, as the elected President of the Second Continental Congress, or anyone else signed the document that day is unknown, because that document has been lost — presumably destroyed in the printing process. Hancock's name and that of a witness do appear on the typeset broadside that was published within a few days. On August 2 in the following month, an engrossed document in script form was signed by Hancock and other delegates.

More Fireworks Photos

See!? Sea Lion

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 CDT

Went to the "Zoo Brew" last night at Blank Park. Whoever decided that free beer plus wild animals was a good idea... deserves a raise! ;) Hey Earl! Bech yawlz can't fit yer head in that thar giant kitteh's mouth!

Watching that penguin do a keg stand was well worth our yearly membership. Those birds can chug! And you thought their biddy t-rex wings and lard butt was the reason they could't fly! Waddle!? That's a stagger!

Recession

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 CDT

Happy Birthday, Mom!

The flood waters have receded... along with the economy. Oil is over $140/barrel. The dollar ain't worth squat. Subprime Mortgages. More corn is feeding our cars than our bellies.

Is a recession looming? Has it already begun? A recession occurs when real growth is negative for two or more successive quarters of a year. Apparently this hasn't been negative, so we aren't officially in a recession... yet. Go Economic Stimulus Package! Whatever...

Ginkgo Biloba

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 CDT

183 Photos down! Halfway to 366!

Ginkgos are very large trees, normally reaching a height of 66-115 feet, with some specimens in China being over 164 feet. The tree has an angular crown and long, somewhat erratic branches, and is usually deep rooted and resistant to wind and snow damage. Young trees are often tall and slender, and sparsely branched; the crown becomes broader as the tree ages.

During autumn, the leaves turn a bright yellow, then fall, sometimes within a short space of time (1–15 days).

A combination of resistance to disease, insect-resistant wood and the ability to form aerial roots and sprouts makes ginkgos very long-lived, with some specimens claimed to be more than 2,500 years old: A 3,000 year-old ginkgo has been reported in Shandong province in China. This specimen is from my backyard...

Stainless Braid

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 CDT

A braid (also called plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by intertwining three or more strands of flexible material such as textile fibers, wire, or human hair. A braid is usually long and narrow, with each component strand functionally equivalent in zigzagging forward through the overlapping mass of the others.

The simplest possible braid is a flat, solid three-strand structure. More complex braids can be constructed from an arbitrary (but usually odd) number of strands to create a wider range of structures: wider ribbon-like bands, hollow or solid cylindrical cords, or broad mats which resemble a rudimentary perpendicular weave.

Braids are commonly used to make rope, decorative objects, and hairstyles. Complex braids have been used to create hanging fiber artworks.

Art Festival

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:00:00 CDT

June 27-29 in downtown Des Moines' Western Gateway Park, celebrating the arts in all its forms. The Festival showcases the work of a multitude of visual artists with 175 professional visual artists in the Aviva Artist Village; 23 Emerging Iowa Artists; and over 360 visionary artists from Central Iowa students in grades K-12 in the Des Moines Art Center's Nurturing a Student's Vision program.

Setting Reflections

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:00:00 CDT

Did you know...

More frozen pizza is sold in Des Moines, IA than any other city in the U.S.? Des Moines also has the highest per capita Jello consumption in the U.S.

Did you also know...

13 boxes of jello are sold every second.

During your lifetime, you'll eat about 60,000 pounds of food, that's the weight of about 6 elephants.

A peanut is one of the most concentrated source of nourishment.

There are 27 chemicals that can be added to bread without being listed on the label.

It takes four tons of grapes to make one ton of rasins.

Apples are the most popular fruit in the U.S.

A can of spam is opened every 4 seconds somewhere on Earth.

Bye Bye Billy G!

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 CDT

After 33 years of leading the software giant that is Microsoft, today is founder Bill Gate's last day on the job. Now he can just hang out all day, swimming in a pool of a billion Susan B. Anthony's and complaining about Windows like the rest of us.

All bugs, security holes, buffer overflows, blue screens and antitrusts aside, you can't deny that Microsoft has done a lot towards advancing the personal computer, technology in general, and the way we work & play on a daily basis. Sure, if MS weren't there, somebody else probably would have still done it, and they might have done it better. We could all be running Macs, running OS XXXVII, with the name of everything in the world changed to begin with a lowercase i.

Condensed

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 CDT

Water vapor from air which naturally condenses on cold surfaces into liquid water is called dew. Water vapor will only condense onto another surface when that surface is cooler than the temperature of the water vapor, or when the water vapor equilibrium in air, i. e. saturation humidity, has been exceeded a cold bottle of water. The water molecule brings a parcel of heat with it. The temperature of the atmosphere also rises very slightly. In order to have condensed, the molecule tends to be relatively low in kinetic energy. Since the atmosphere has lost a slow-moving particle, the average speed of the molecules in the atmosphere has increased. Therefore, its temperature has also risen.

Stradivarius

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 CDT

Vincent Bach, in combining his unique talents as both a musician and an engineer, created brass instruments which remain the sound choice of artists worldwide. Born Vincent Schrotenbach in Vienna during 1890, initial musical training was received on the violin. However, young Vincent preferred the majestic sounds of the trumpet and eventually switched.

The first trumpets were produced in 1924. Musicians frequently commented "This is a real 'Stradivarius' of a trumpet," hence the brand name Bach Stradivarius. Trombones followed in 1928, a risky time for Vincent to expand with the stock market crash, bank failures, and the ensuing Great Depression.

N.E.W.S

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 CDT

"Forty seven dead beats living in the back street
north east west south all in the same house
sitting in a back room waiting for the big boom
I'm in a bedroom waiting for my baby"

"She's so mean but I don't care
I love her eyes and her wild wild hair
dance to the beat that we love best
heading for the nineties
living in the wild wild west
the wild wild west"

"Mandy's in the backroom handing out valium
sheriff's on the airwaves talking to the D.J.'s
Forty seven heartbeats beating like a drum
got to live it up live it up
Ronnie's got a new gun"

"Now put your flags in the air and march them up and down
you can live it up live it up all over the town
and turn to the left, turn to the right
I don't care as long as she comes tonight"

"Heading for the nineties living in the eighties
screaming in a back room waiting for the big boom
give me give me wild west
give me give me safe sex
give me love give me love
give me time to live it up"

Oh, Hai!

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 CDT

I guess Mr. Otter remembered me from our visit back in January. He took a few moments away from his swim to stop and wave hi. He appreeciated being PaD back then and has succeeded in a 2-peat.

Otty also sent his regards to Maui. Apparently he owes Maui $20, so she's a little upset we didn't collect. Whacha gona do?

Tastes Like... Burning

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:00:00 CDT

Oh, Ralph Wiggum, you so crazy...

"I bent my wookie."

"My cat's breath smells like cat food."

"Principal Skinner, I got carsick in your office."

"Ow, my face is on fire!"

"Me fail English? That's unpossible."

"Oh boy, sleep! That's where I'm a viking!"

"Mrs. Krabappel and Principal Skinner were in the closet making babies and I saw one of the babies and the baby looked at me."

"My knob tastes funny."

"When I grow up, I want to be a principal... or a caterpillar."

"Bye, witches! Thanks for not eating me!"

"Go, banana!"

"This is my sandbox, I'm not allowed to go in the deep end."

"That's where I saw the Leprchaun. He tells me to burn things!"

"This snowflake tastes like fishsticks."

"Hi, Principal Skinner! Hi, Super Nintendo Chalmers!"

"Eww, Daddy, this tastes like Gramma!"

Safe!

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:00:00 CDT

Softball is a direct descendant of baseball, with the first game being played in 1887 using a rolled up boxing glove as a ball and a broomstick as a bat.

But what are the main differences between baseball & fast pitch softball?

Nine innings in baseball vs 7 in softball. 9" circumference ball vs 11 or 12". 42" bat vs 34". 90' baseline vs 60'. 60' 6" pitching distance vs 40'-46'. Overhand vs underhand pitch.

Hot Strippers

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 CDT

Man, these [wire] strippers are HOT!

When engaged, an automatic wire stripper simultaneously grips the wire from one side and cuts and removes the insulation from the other. To use it, one simply has to place the wire in the jaws and squeeze the handle. While this device allows even a novice to strip most wires very quickly, it does have some drawbacks. An automatic wire stripper only works on wires in a certain size range. If a wire is too small it may be broken by the pulling force, and if a wire is too large it will not fit in the jaws.