prod & ponder

You’ve got to start them on the coffee habit early!

Relax. It’s just coco.

Isn’t this sending a bit of a mixed message?

(I took this in Adams Morgan during DC Foto Week)

There are many ideas I have for improving stuff. Sadly, creators of stuff rarely consult me. Their loss, sure, but still, perhaps I should start sharing the ideas more freely.

For starters, I suggest that Real Housewives of New Jersey be merged with Shark Week. It’d be a subtle shift, but a positive one.

Sure, it looks nice enough from a distance (especially when you go a bit overboard in photoshop, like I just did), but you know when it’s not so cool… when you’re standing in the middle of the circle, squatting down to take a photo of your super cute kid, and all of a sudden the fountain gets turned on. Without any warning whatsoever.

Thankfully, the G1 seems to be reasonably sealed and survived just fine. Kiddo was equally unamused at the unannounced dowsing.

I’d kind of like to know who’s bright idea it was to put the fountain on an automatic timer (or worse yet, who just flipped the switch without bothering to look if anyone was there)–because I have a couple of water balloons I’d like to share with them.

Ok, yes, Ben might have questionable survival instincts. But he’s got a healthy dose of curiosity, which I think is about the best trait a person can cultivate. There’s even some good research to back that view.

This was taken at Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, which I’m happy to report has some terrific new (to me) exhibits.

My photo for today…

Doing my little part to spread the CDC public health reminder:

The CDC has a whole collection of social media tools related to H1N1 at http://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/?s_cid=tw_eh_28.

Ok, I haven’t been posting a photo a day while traveling over the weekend, but I have been taking the shots. From Saturday…

Muddy Creek Falls in Swallow Falls State Park, a 53 foot (largest in MD) waterfall.

A big hint for Garmin GPS users: do not follow your GPS’s instructions for getting into Swallow Falls State Park. Garmin sends you in via an unpaved trail, just barely drivable in the best of conditions. Quotes during the drive included: “WTF?!” and “Well, everything is probably ok, as long we don’t see anyone with a banjo.” To make matters worse, the park’s POI isn’t set to its actual entrance, visiting center, or parking area. As a result, it’s a bit discouraging when you find yourself on said path and the GPS announces “You have arrived!” when the only thing in sight is a random tractor abandoned nearby in the woods.