Blogs from Norfolk, Virginia, United States, North America - page 5

My friend and his baby.... read more

I frequent occasional communities: the fast Monday night bike ride (a winter-only occurence), the slow Monday night bike ride (a summer-only occurence), the Saturday morning bike ride (used to be every week, but then the fair-weather friends dropped out when the temperature dropped), the monthly Taize services (every third Sunday for years now, plus an occasional feast day), North Carolina Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Conservative, and yearly), the Tuesday night vigils, (weekly after 9/11, then fortnightly, now monthly), and the Norfolk Catholic Worker soup line (Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday mornings). That’s not to mention the Virginia Beach Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (weekly, on “First Days”), the press corps at peace rallies (every 1-2 years), my mother’s extended family (Thanksgiving, Christmas & Independence Day), my father’s extended... read more

Somehow, the French make cycling sound beautiful- beautifully intense. After all, who else but a Frenchman would say, “Hey, Brest is only 600 kilometers (360 miles, for all good Englishmen) from Paris, let’s ride there and back!” And off they've gone “randonneuring,” or journeying, on a “brevet” called “Paris-Brest-Paris,” (PBP for short). Every four years for the better part of the past century hundreds of rider has attempted to complete the 1200 kilometer (720 miles, Queen’s subjects) within a time limit of 90 hours. It’s a crazy endeavor, but dang it, it sounds like fun! I must admit though that at an impressionably young age I read a story about a North American version of PBP, the BMB, or Boston-Montreal-Boston,. Perhaps it was Bicycling Magazine, or maybe it was in the pages of the slicker & ... read more

When I look back at it, my career path seems rather serendipitious. 9 years ago I was walking down a dripping wet pier in a blustery February thunderstorm, surrounded by the cold grimness of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. I endeavored then to take pictures that mattered, as opposed to the pictures that I was forced to take of award ceremonies and commissionings. I never imagined that I would find myself working for a Fortune 500 company as a photographic consultant. Last summer I went to see “What The Bleep Is It All About” at the Naro, our local arthouse cinema. At one point in the film a neurochemist discussed at length how thought patterns altered the brain’s neural network. Based upon his research this neurochemist resolved to alter his own brain’s neural network by thinking good ... read more

PFFffft... "Oh, geesh..." I was cold, but not so cold that I wanted to warm up by getting off my bike and walking the final two blocks home. But after running over a good-sized chunk of glass (judging by how fast I lost all tire pressure) I didn't have much choice. I could either sit around in the cold night air & try to change my tire in the dark, or I could walk back hime & change my tire in warmth & light. I chose warmth & light at the end of a long, dark night. I also once again confirmed my hypothesis that there is an inverse relationship between property values and the size and amount of glass shards on the adjoining streets. Let me just say that I did not flat out in ... read more