The Boundary Between Day and Night
“God stretches the northern sky over empty space
and hangs the earth on nothing.
He wraps the rain in his thick clouds,
and the clouds don’t burst with the weight.
He covers the face of the moon,
shrouding it with his clouds.
He created the horizon when he separated the waters;
he set the boundary between day and night.
The foundations of heaven tremble;
they shudder at his rebuke.
By his power the sea grew calm.
By his skill he crushed the great sea monster.
His Spirit made the heavens beautiful,
and his power pierced the gliding serpent.
These are just the beginning of all that he does,
merely a whisper of his power.
Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?”
Job 26:7-14
Rays of Hope
Hope is a funny thing. Without it, there’s no reason to continue. But you have to be willing to let it raise you high into the air and slam you hard to the ground. And when you’re down there, hope is still all you have left.
Clouds Like Angels
They came like unexpected and undeserved blessings.
San Diego Glory
This is the incredible view I am blessed to see everyday (although this sunset was quite spectacular) from my home atop the hills in La Mesa.
Christmas Eve Sunset 2009
Sea, Sand & Sun Dogs
While at the beach on Coronado Island, I looked up from my novel and I caught a glimpse of a sun dog. A sun dog is an atmospheric phenomenon that creates bright spots of light in the sky, often on a luminous ring or halo on either side of the sun.
The photo was taken with my mobile phone and doesn’t do the scene justice. The sun dog on the left was more prominent than its counter-puppy on the right. The distinctive halo is not easily seen in the photo, unfortunately. The pink “petals” and the two horizontal rays coming out of the sun are refractions in the lens, but the bright spots at the ends were truly there in the sky.
Here are a couple of other photos I snapped.
A lone sun dog hovers over the Coronado islands on the horizon.
Looking south toward the world-famous Hotel Del Coronado, with Mexico in the distance. It was an awesome day at the beach — 79° in mid-December. Ah, paradise in my backyard.
To find out how sun dogs are formed, accompanied by even better photos, see this Sun Dog article.
Buzzing About Samsung LED TV Noise
This past summer, after studying favorable reviews of the Samsung LED TV series 7000 and 8000, I decided to get one. I ordered the 8000 Series unit (UN55B8000) with 240Hz refresh rate. It arrived in perfect physical condition and worked great. I was thrilled with the picture quality.
But then, things went terribly wrong …
A Good Walk Spoiled
"Golf is a good walk spoiled." — Mark Twain
No Place Like Home
It’s one day before the Fourth of July, and there’s no place like home. It takes traveling to a foreign country to make you appreciate all the blessings we have here in the United States. You don’t need to trek through Europe for the proper effect. I get the same reminder after a Saturday building houses in Tijuana for those less fortunate. Crossing the border back to San Diego or landing at Lindbergh Field … that’s all it takes.
To the US isolationists and America-bashers alike: go out and see the world. It’s not all bad and you’ll realize how great we have it here.
For the record, we spent almost three weeks in Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Paris, Normandy, and London (in that order). Not once were we subjected to any anti-American attitudes. In fact, some of the friendliest and most helpful people we encountered were in (surprise) France! When the stupid American tourists — that would be us — couldn’t figure out how to open the train door and missed the stop at Bayeux, two helpful Frenchmen onboard politely offered assistance.
Because the US gets plenty of bashing, mostly from Americans it seems, my family decided that one day of celebrating our freedom and independence is not enough. We’re warming up with a picnic on July 3 with friends and family. And the Fourth will be different this year.
Amid our patriotic colors and traditions, we hold in our hearts and minds the solemn reminder of the sacrifices Americans made at places like Utah Beach, where we stood only weeks ago. Americans volunteer to fight not only for their country but for those deprived of the liberties we take for granted. And we know there are kind people in other countries who still appreciate what Americans have done in the name of freedom even if we ourselves tend to forget. One day to remember isn’t enough.
Greetings from London
Greetings from London. We are back in the UK after three days in France where we toured the usual highlights (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Seine, etc.). But the best by far was a two day jaunt to Normandy — specifically, the little village of Bayeux, famous for the Bayeux Tapestry, a 70 meter illustration in cloth depicting the life and death of Britain’s Saxon King Harold as told by his Norman brother William.
From Bayeux, we were fortunate to get a private tour of several areas near the D-Day invasion 61 years ago, nearly to the date. Our guide, a former British Infantryman and WWII history expert, took us on a “Band of Brothers” tour, following the events of the real 101st Airborne “Easy Company” division upon which the acclaimed Spielberg/Hanks series is based. What an experience.
Just a few days left here in London as our extreme journey comes to an end…
