Haiku ~ connections

I decided to write this haiku as I sat in the departure area of San Diego Airport following an unexpected flight delay, presumably due to the bad weather in the mid-west. My flight was initially delayed for 2 hours, then 3, making my connection at Phoenix impossible, so I tried to reschedule the flight.

Like many airports San Diego offers “free WiFi” but, again like many airports, it very rarely works, based on my experience on a half dozen trips over the last 3 months. I fail to understand why, but it seems a common problem, as Phoenix also has a signal that routinely drops. Perhaps they are in cahoots with the phone service providers so we have to use our data plans when stuck in a place we just want to get through.

Anyhow, I used my waiting time to write this as homage to the poor service…

Broken connections,

Communication delays.

“Free” Airport WiFi…

180211_AirportWifi — Note: I don’t take photos in airports these days, due to security concerns, but as they are much the same all over the US I include one I took a few years back at Philadelphia Airport while waiting for another flight…

~Richard

February 11, 2018 1

Boxing Day

Every year since I have lived in the USA I have been asked the question, “what is Boxing Day?” by at least one person during the Holiday Season.

This year I thought I’d use this blog to explain.

In Britain, the day after Christmas, also known as St Stephen’s Day, is traditionally the time to extend the excesses of the previous day’s obligatory over consumption of rich food and alcohol, known collectively as “the festivities.”

Being the day after Christmas Day, and living in a society subject to the the law of supply and demand kicking in, it is also the time for the biggest sales of the year as shop keepers try to offload all those items they overstocked for Christmas gift sales that didn’t happen.

The ability to purchase products for 75% or 50% of the price you paid for them only 48 hours previously made hard working people angry and this would often result in a round of fisticuffs in the stores and brawling in the streets, leading to the creation of the term “Boxing Day” as people let of steam. This was often fueled by copious amounts of alcohol that was available at this time of year since 63% of the annual alcohol consumption in Britain occurs over the week between 5pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day.

So, there you have it – the true meaning of Boxing Day!

In the spirit of fairness I must point out that one conflicting theory still persists that “Boxing Day” refers to parental treatment of ungrateful children who were unhappy with not receiving worthy gifts being subject to a “cuff round the head,” or a “clip round the ear,” or having their “ears boxed,” which are all jovial references to a little seasonal parental abuse, but I don’t ascribe to this analysis.

Happy Holiday!

~Richard

December 26, 2016 0

Trick or Treat?

It’s a funny old world, isn’t it? My wife pointed out this house near to us a few days ago when she was walking the dogs so I decided to bring my camera when it was my turn for the canine exercise this afternoon. I don’t know whether this householder is being ironic with the careful placement of the Trump yard sign in among the tombstones, but that’s how I view it.

I think the window and door decals with the spooky eyes looking through the blinds speaks volumes too.

Good Luck America!

~Richard

October 29, 2016 4

52 Week Challenge: Week 31

WEEK 31: Portrait: Street Candid – Candids on the street, show us life in your town through the lens.

OK, it’s not my town, but it is my side of the country at least, and quite nearby. I took this on a recent trip to NYC. A particularly muscular looking chap was using the reflective properties of a storefront to help his extremely strenuous workout with a resistance band. How ironic that he was stood next to a parasol advertising 100% beef…

~Richard

September 4, 2016 0

Corporate Inclusion

I have eluded briefly to the workings of my corporate overlords in a few previous posts, and today I feel the need for another such reference.

I work in a large US office, employing over 500 people, for an international corporation which, in turn, employs several thousand individuals on four continents. Very recently, our local office staff received a mail missive explaining how a new corporate initiative is being launched to connect, inspire and develop us all. This carefully crafted communication explained how the organization is celebrating Diversity and Inclusion as major principles within the work environment and that sharing of ideas will be key to helping to energize us all. These are very laudable goals and ones to which we should all happily ascribe and promote.

The email contained a colorful invitation, in corporate colors, to attend the kick off initiative and enable us to “connect” with key leaders and be inspired by their unique stories of personal and professional growth. It looks like an interesting opportunity to learn more from those who shape our daily routine perhaps, but as I read to the bottom of the invitation there was a statement, written in bold font, “maximum attendance of 40 colleagues.”

How ironic that in their attempt to be inclusive the organization automatically excludes over 90% of the potential audience!

I wonder if I am the only one to see it?

~Richard

July 12, 2016 0

The Room in the Elephant

And now, for something completely different. You are probably aware of the old adage “The Elephant in the room” to describe a big problem that everyone sees but no-one wants to address, but yesterday I had the opportunity to turn this phrase inside out.

Back in February, I wrote about Lucy the Elephant, at Margate, New Jersey. This week I finally got to meet the huge pachyderm, and she exceeded my expectations!

Lucy is in a wonderful looking condition, ready for her 125th birthday very soon. We climbed the spiral stairs through her left rear leg and entered what I can only describe as The Room in the Elephant. It is a large, splendidly wood-paneled, split-level room with a glass panel in the ceiling which is also the floor of the howdah, above.

Taking the small spiral staircase in her left side we ascended to the howdah on her back and partook of the views of the Jersey Shore from atop the behemoth beast.

In my opinion, this is the sort of place where serious debates should be held and important decisions made, in the style of Lewis Carroll’s Alice stories!

After all, the world is going mad!

~Richard

June 28, 2016 0

I am Iron Man

~ I am Iron Man ~

iron-man

On the Seventh Day

I descend to my subterranean sanctuary

And, encircled by mysterious machinery

In my windowless room

I become Iron Man

Starting with the yoke

I smooth out the material.

I check the front and back for marks

And move onto the arms

That will encase my torso.

As I press ahead

Ensuring my garb is in top condition

I try not to think of the week ahead

Finally, my task is over

And I place the five shirts onto hangers for my closet

~Richard

May 22, 2016 0

self help

~ self help ~

a surprise gift on my desk today:

a small paperback

with positive color and pointing arrows,

packed full of promises

of perfecting my personality;

meant to mold it

into another corporate citizen

who will nod and smile unquestioningly

at perfunctory platitudes

that stoke the share price,

and distract us from the realization

that we ourselves are but stock

in a world of cowering complicity,

from which I willingly help myself.

~Richard

April 8, 2016 3

Haiku

~ h a i k u ~

concise lines of prose,

syllables: five-seven-five;

haiku is complete

160405_Haiku

April 6, 2016 0

Latest Cameras from Nixon and Conan

Amid great fanfare the two flagship camera manufacturers today launched their latest and greatest DSLR products to an eagerly awaiting crowd of photographers at KameraTek 2016 in Berlin, Germany. The Conan CIII-p0 and the Nixon RII-d2 are similarly priced and are clearly aimed at the aspiring professional photographer, as well as those amateurs with bags of cash, who must have the latest gear. But how do they shape up in the field? Well, few have been able to get hold of the models yet as both manufacturers have kept them under tighter wraps than the details of a Donald Trump political plan, but we are able to report that novel technology is used in both models as we had pre-release models.

The Conan boasts a staggering new focus system, ADHD, with 1024 focal points being monitored to ensure that it’s almost impossible to get a blurry shot. Meanwhile Nixon has finally been able to launch its new OCD image stabilization system after more than 2 years in beta-testing. Interestingly, both models now appear to follow the same algorithms of Sunny’s latest WTF image capture engine which users of the iPharce 6 may find similar to Abble’s Live Photo feature, that became so popular in the last year.

Not to be outdone by the big two, Olympix also announced their latest m43 flagship model the Olympix OMG, which packs an astounding 26.8MP into this crop sensor, a 30 fps continuous burst mode and a new array of mouthwatering lenses to fit its rangefinder style body. Interestingly, although they have adopted a new RoFL mount system, it remains compatible with the old LoL system too, which is great news for those who committed to the much older technology introduced way back in 2015.

All these advancements of course will make very little difference to any photographer’s skill at being able to compose an artful composition, but then that isn’t part of the design. We consumers have an insatiable appetite for the latest changes, however incremental, and readily gobble them up on a six-monthly schedule in the never-ending quest for the latest gear. And the manufacturers are simply feeding the beast.

Carry on clicking…

~Richard

February 12, 2016 3

Tag: irony

Haiku ~ connections