Bummer

The Oasis Restaurant, in Austin Texas, apparently caught fire in a lightning storm last night. It was mostly destroyed.

I had dinner there last fall as part of a professional organization meeting and caught a decent sunset photo, which was one of my earliest blog entries.

A Family Holiday

Memorial Day weekend is the start of the summer season and nowhere does that mean more of a change than here in Coastal Sussex County.

They start arriving with this week-end and they don't go away until Labor Day. Of course, a large part of our local economy depends on them and their vacation dollars. So we put up with them. We complain endlessly about them, but we do put up with them.

Memorial Day also means the start of regular visits by my brothers and sisters and their spouses and children to my parents' place in North Bethany -- the Beach House.

This week-end, we had Bob and Karen, with Jimmy and Andrew, and Connie and Mark, with Christopher, Valarie and Gus. My cousin Jennifer came along as well.

Here, Jimmy, Gus and Valerie play with bubbles after a big family dinner.

Rainbow

Rainbow
Originally uploaded by mmahaffie.

Actually, a double. I shot about a dozen digital images of this in an effort to get good picture. That's the beauty of the digital camera; you can shoot the great many times that are required to get a decent shot.

This one is posted on my Flickr site. I have more from that evening, but I've reached my monthly upload limit!

Abbey Road: Ubiquitous and Surprising

I spotted this shot on Flickr this evening. Of course, it is tagged "Abbey Road." So are about 85 other shots from around Flickr.

Many are the usual tourist shots. Some in homage to, and some inspired by, the famous Beatles album cover.

In some, we are reminded that Abbey Road is a working recording studio.

Are You a Member of WXPN?

May I respectfully suggest that you become am member of WXPN? I've just renewed my membership.

XPN is a listener-supported radio station from the University of Pennsylvania. It's the home of The World Cafe. It's a great place to learn about music beyond the pablum on the regular radio stations.

It's my favorite radio station and I don't live -- or work -- in range of its broadcast. Thank goodness for the web and broadband.

I would point out though, that I've been a member since before I could regularly listen on-line.

So. Maybe you should become a member and support the station too!

Well Played, Mike Castle

I was proud of my Congressman, Mike Castle, yesterday.

We can all agree or disagree on the stem cell issue; it is complex. Still, I have to praise Mr. Castle for clear, determined and principled lawmaking. He stood up to his party and to the easy emotional grandstanding that this issue can offer to tempt a politician.

I realize I'm a day late on this, but I was too tuckered to post yesterday.

Beachcombing with Christina

This past Saturday, Christina and I spent a pleasant hour or so walking along Lewes Beach, looking for shells and pebbles.

It was a bright and beautiful day, so I was busy with my digital camera. The result? Another photo set on my Flickr site.

Christina shares my taste for pebbles, though I'm trying to teach her a bit of discrimination. If left to her own devices, I'm sure she would cart home every pebble and stone on the beach.

Instead, we brought home a decent sample. We've added them to pebbles from earlier visits and other beaches.

Pebble-collecting always makes me think of my paternal grandmother, Isabel Cooper Mahaffie. Grandma was an artist; mostly a painter, but she also dabbled in terrariums and miniature landscapes.

She had an extensive collection of pebbles she used, some of which I imagine came from this beach, from Rehoboth, Dewey, the barrier islands now known as Delaware Seashore State Park, and Bethany.

I can see her wandering along these shores in the 1920's, 30's and 40's drawing beauty and art supplies directly from nature.

I like to think that some of her spirit and creativity has come down through me to join with the color-sense and music in my mother's family and with the music and determination of Karen's family to help form the characters of Christina and Colleen.

Third Golf Game of 2005

I had a chance to play a solo round of nine holes this morning. I had hoped to be beyond the third game of the year by now, but life is busy, so I will take what I can get.

I played the Heritage course again; Christina and I played a father/daughter round there last month. This time I kept score. I thought I had a fairly good round. I shot a 54 for nine holes. Par for those nine would have been 35. That's pretty good -- for me; I'm not a great golfer.

I enjoy the Heritage course. It's not in great shape, but it could be worse. It's still just a converted cornfield, but it has its small challenges.

And it's cheap. I can walk 9 or 18 holes -- or as many as I have time for -- for only 15 bucks. At least until the "high season."

A Walk in Dover

Legislative Hall, Dover, Delaware
Originally uploaded by mmahaffie.

The other day I decided to try combining my new hobby (taking pictures of everything, all the time) with my long-term need to get more exercise.

Instead of hitting the treadmill and weight machines at the YMCA on my lunch hour (as I have been trying, and often failing, to do for a while now), I stopped at the Y to change into workout clothes, grabbed my digital camera, and headed out for a jogging/walking tour of downtown Dover.

It was a beautiful day, and Dover is a lovely city. I have created a photo set of some of the resulting photos on Flickr.

This was fun. I'll have to do this sort of thing more often.

Know Your Market

Know Your Market
Originally uploaded by mmahaffie.

Sometimes I wonder what we're designing towards.

Based on this sign -- "Luxury 2 Car Villa Homes with Basement" -- the market for this new housing development is going to be . . . cars.

Cars that live as couples. Cars that like basements. Cars that want that little European flair that you get when you call it a "Villa."

I've seen similar advertising for other new developments around Delaware. I've seen town homes whose most prominent curbside feature is their garages.

Car culture, indeed.