Deadlines tomorrow, hours and hours and hours of head down, shoulder to the grindstone, nose to the wheel, not even sure what day of the week or time it is.
Thank god my watch beeps at me occasionally, so I can go, “Oh, shazzbatt!”
Fortunately, I have a steady supply of photos of me being goofy or wearing something bizarre or silly, be it an odd hat, sweatshirt, or a giant CHIEFS! onesie.
Having no sense of shame or embarrassment is the gift that keeps on giving!
Filed under KC Chiefs, Paul, Photography
If you pay any attention to American professional football, you probably know that we’re down to the last four teams in the playoffs and next week there will be two games to determine who will meet in the Super Bowl in Las Vegas in three weeks. If you have been here any length of time, you know that we’re huge fans of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Somewhat unexpectedly, even to die hards like me, we find ourselves in next week’s AFC Championship game against the Ravens. I’m not sure that many folks gave us much of a chance a few weeks ago. While we started something like 6-1 (it’s really late, I had the Gala Friday and I’ve been working all weekend on the budget that’s due this week, I’m really tired, so I’m not going to look it up, you can Google it yourself) we went something like 4-6 in the last part of the season, including a loss to the hated Raiders. While we won our conference, for the first time in several years we did not have a bye the first week of the playoffs, and tonight we had a playoff game on the road for the first time in several years. (Other than for the Super Bowl, obviously, which is at a neutral site.)
Buffalo had several opportunities to win the game, but they’re the ones who had the dropped and missed passes and missed field goals tonight, so the Chiefs won and will have a shot next week at going to their fourth Super Bowl in five years. Not bad.
It’s nerve racking, and there are plenty of other things out there shredding my nerves to begin with, but winning is nice!
Filed under KC Chiefs
The bird population of Casa Willett is doing its usual bird things. The house finches are starting to hunt for nesting real estate. The ravens cackle in the trees. The hawks soar. The hummingbirds feed incessantly. The mourning doves act like a freaking biker gang, chasing off the squirrels and the other birds when the morning feeding comes. And the juncos returned a couple of months ago, as they seem to every year.
There are at least five of them in this picture from this morning. They blend in well with the muddy background and there were at least a dozen flitting about, so others might be eluding me.
We have the pair that seem to be here all year around, but in the winter the whole flock shows up. They are cute as all get out.
Filed under Birds, Castle Willett
My first ALS gala. Wow! And it’s 23:33 already?
A good time was had by all!
Filed under ALSA Golden West, Photography
Through a thin layer of clouds, directly overhead at sunset tonight, there was a bright, distant planet quite near a bright quarter Moon.
Can you see it? Click on the image to look at it full screen.
There it is! A pair of binoculars will bring out the Galilean moons.
But now the storm comes and we will see none of this for the next several days.
Filed under Astronomy, Photography
To be clear, it’s an old picture of a hawk, not a picture of an old hawk.
This was up at the top of Mt. San Jacinto outside of Palm Springs in the summer of 2021. I saw this gorgeous red-tailed hawk, but he obviously wasn’t thrilled with hikers or tourists and wouldn’t let me get too close.
I also love all of the structure and detail in this old fallen tree trunk.
I don’t know what Mr. Hawk is staring at so intently, but I’m betting it ended up being lunch!
Filed under Birds, Photography, Travel
An old picture from the observation area at Van Nuys Airport – one of the local television news helicopters.
A good reminder that, even if I don’t have the time to get current and start flying again right now, I really should make the time or find the time to go sit out at VNY for an hour or so and watch the aircraft come and go. Better yet, maybe a trip down to LAX to one of the parks underneath the approach paths where the photographers and plane spotters gather.
Not this week. Or next…
Maybe February.
Filed under Flying, Photography
Yet another “proof of life” post…
In honor of the victory at Arrowhead by my beloved Chiefs in sub-zero temperatures…
It wasn’t from this weekend and it wasn’t sub-zero, but it was most certainly colder than I’ve been in many, many years.
This is from the December 30, 2018 game we saw at Arrowhead, a week after seeing the Chiefs play the Seahawks in Seattle. That was a great trip!
And we beat the hated Raiders to boot!
Filed under KC Chiefs, Photography, Sports, Travel
Inside of the men’s room door in a Mexican restaurant we’ve been to a few times, located in a part of town we normally don’t frequent.
Lots of what I assume to be gang names – but no cartoon dicks and no outright obscenities that I can see. So maybe it’s performance art instead of grafitti?
That is one hideous shade of green, however!
Filed under Los Angeles, Photography
My first view of Asia in person.
Not the best photo, but the conditions were what they were. It was hazy (polluted) and near sunset, so from 20,000 feet over the East China Sea everything was grey on grey with hints of brown & green squares. I was trying to figure out what time zone I was in after a thirteen hour flight, so I looked and felt my best.
It was the end of the beginning of a fantastic adventure and I was stoked!
I hope you all get to have an adventure like that some day.
Filed under Photography, Travel
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