Ferry on

Homeward.

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

coming home from the arboretum

Great skies coming home from the Arboretum last weekend.

Big Puppy.

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

This is not the Big Puppy, my daughter’s absolute favorite animal, but his backup. Big Puppy recently started showing the signs any animal would if he weighed five plus pounds and was carried everywhere, usually in a stranglehold about his neck. My wife and I decided acquiring a backup would be a prudent decision, especially considering the Huge size was no longer available in the catalogs.

big puppy peeking out

I recalled having seen a Big Puppy in the window of Magic Mouse so I went over at lunch to pick one up – I didn’t recall it being so clean and soft! The clerk asked if someone had told us to get a second – just in case – but it was entirely our idea. He told me they get someone in once a week frantically looking for a replacement “it needs to be EXACTLY the same, she’ll KNOW!”.

Sun, mountains, animal.

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

So many old friends came out today, the sun, blue skies, Mt Rainier and an animal!

I made an animotion for my daughter over the weekend and it clearly re-sparked her interest in sending animals on the “big boat”. I arrived at the boat late, making only the last loading (after the cars) therefore missing the clear shot of the Cascades without the blinding sun – it didn’t matter, I was thrilled for a sunrise!

Tulips, lines, awards.

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks to all the well-wishing I walked away pretty thrilled with the outcome of the Mountaineers’ photography show. Three of my photos took awards, including the Best in Show:

Awards

tulips

Best in Show & Best Plant

flower

Honorable Mention & Best Macro

sunset and water wave

Best Sunr(ise|set)

Take-aways

First, I didn’t name any of my photos, the only photographer, I think, who did not. Throughout the evening I kept hearing “D-S-C-1-2-3-4 by Brian Zimmer” – never again.

Moon, weather, winter.

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I took these photos a day early because the weather forecasts called for cloudy skies this evening and I wanted to capture the largest full moon of the year.

full moon

I had some difficulty with exposures because the moon was so bright that it blew out any of the trees or surrounding scenery.

moon streak

I thought I’d play a bit and set the camera for a ten-second exposure and then slowly panned the tripod head – I’m not sure what to make of this, perhaps we’ll call it “art”.

Sunset, sunrise, mountains.

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We’ve been experiencing crisp, clear days and nights coupled with stunning sunrises and sunsets – it’s been so clear Mt Baker has been visible the last couple of days.

This evening’s sunset faded through the blues, magentas and yellows finishing with a blood red mushroom cloud – unfortunately I had only the iPhone and the photo didn’t come out so your imagination will have to suffice.

sunrise

Sunrise over the Cascades.

Morning, noon, dusk.

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The Mountain: morning, noon, dusk. Happy Thanksgiving!

mt rainier sunrise

mt rainier midday

mt rainier evening

Sunset, orange, fire.

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We saw quite a show on the ride home tonight – even the iPhone gives a sense for the colors and what looked like a sky on fire.

sunset

Sunrise, ferry, crossing.

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been wondering if the actual ferry path resembled that on Google Maps so I tracked it today.

sunrise over Eagle Harbor

Answered (at least on this morning’s sailing) – I love these maps. Sunrise – Seattle on the left, sun on the right.

Submarine, pineapple express, Polar Bear.

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Polar Bear was chosen as today’s ambassador for the great stuffed animal collection. While we’ve been experiencing some really heavy rains recently courtesy of a Pineapple Express today wasn’t so bad. I’m a bit of foul weather junkie so this weather suits me for the most part.

polar bear in seattle

I had two different people smile while I was propping up Polar Bear, one asking if I was a member of the Polar Bear Club (I’m not) and the other offered that she “won’t even ask”.

Sick, ships, skies.

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I, like Papa Bear, rarely get sick, but this week is the exception to the rule – I only went into the office twice and with no animals.

container ship

I’ve mentioned the giant container ships before but had no photo. This one crossed right in front of us as we waited to depart Seattle.

shipyard

The ship was bound for the shipyard alight under the dark, grey skies.

Slow, rain, broken.

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

“Gus wants to go on the ‘big boat’. He hasn’t been in a long time.” And so Gus spent a slow, rainy, start-of-winter day with me. I like Gus and I wanted him to have a good time but nothing much exciting happened. Sorry buddy.

gus in the rain

Gus waits patiently just out of the rain.

walking off the boat

About the only interesting event was the overhead walkway on the Island side failed so all the passengers (bikes, cars, motorcycles, walk-ons) departed via the car deck. Not exciting, but different.

Summit, sunset, Pierre.

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

My silence of late is attributable to having spent the better part of last week at eBay attending the Next-Generation Distributed Systems Summit. I was fortunate, in time and invitation, to attend, meet some really amazing technologists and learn a Tremendous amount (thanks Little Bear). I’m still consolidating my final notes and thoughts on the Summit so expect another post soon.

In the interim, enjoy some sunset photos from my travels with Pierre.

Sunset, trauma, pig.

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

When it rains, it pours – literally and figuratively. I left the house today in a pretty steady rain, managed to get about a mile from home and then stopped. My rear tire, fine on Friday and over the weekend, went flat! After a quick cyclocross run home, Pig and I made the next boat. Ugh.

pig waiting in the morning

Pig and I never made it out of the office today, sorry Pig, you get a raincheck.

Cycling, puncture, hippo.

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Today was rough – I punctured – I will never forgive the hippo.

I don’t puncture; I’m the envy of my cycling friends. It’s not that I don’t ride either, in a good year I routinely put in a couple thousand miles and knock out a half-dozen centuries.

climbing alpe d'huez

I can even climb Alpe d’Huez faster than Cheryl Crow (64 minutes; I’m in yellow).

Sunrise, Mickey, Minnie, PII.

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Sometimes an animal journeys with me with whom I have less history, today was one of those days. The reason in this particular case stems from a PII incident which I can’t divulge. Nonetheless, we still ventured out.

t overlooking eagle harbor

I’ve seen this a couple times now, the low-hanging, dark clouds with the brilliant red sunrise peeking through.

Sunrise, house, truck, tugboat.

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

No bike, no animals.

ferry coming into dock

house on truck with tugboat

I haven’t been commuting for too long so I’ve not yet seen everything, and I surely had never seen this before: a full house on a truck on a barge pushed by a tugboat!

Boats, trains, ark, sheep.

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I look to my left at a fellow cyclist stretching along the railing as I pull the sheep from my bag and secure them for the shot.

“Ok,” he says, smiling and walking toward me, “what are you doing?”

“Everyday my daughter gives me some animals to take on the boat. I’ve been all over the city for the last couple of weeks taking photos, it’s our little game.”

“That’s cool,” he says, laughing. “How old is she?”

Sunrise, falafel, turtle, bunny.

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The animals arrive pre-packaged now, nestled in their stuff sack, so I wasn’t exactly sure who made the trip this morning.

sunrise

Puget Sound, sunrise, skyline, ferry – I’ve yet to grow tired of the view though my fellow BIGeeks assure me I might.

waiting to depart

ferry through the sides

Say “hi” to Honey Bunny and Turtle as they await the departure of the boat; through the railing you can see a passing ferry on its way to Bremerton.

Sunrise, lounging, polar bear.

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

“There’s the polar bear. The polar bear is on the big boat. The polar bear is eating.”

Every night when I bring the photos home from the day’s adventure, my daughter, wife and I lay on our bellies while my daughter flips through the photos offering her own play-by-play.

sunrise

seattle skyline

polar bar on side of boat

Damn we have some fine sunrises.

Sun, water, old buildings, goat.

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Billy the Goat, fittingly (let’s see: the Badgers lost twice in a row with leads in the fourth quarter and the Cubs and White Sox got bounced from the playoffs (go Red Sox!)), traveled today on the big boat.

morning sun

After yesterday’s driving rain, the blazing sun this morning was quite enjoyable.

goat in eagle harbor

Billy doesn’t weigh much, so because of the wind I had to string his little arms into the railing to get the shot of the sailboats bouncing in Eagle Harbor.

Water, books, Miriam.

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

My daughter took no chances on forgetting this morning, booking down the hallway before I even opened the door to the garage. So while Gus & Balsmic, Bernard, Baby Ralph, Curious George and Pierre stayed at home I was joined by Miriam, my wife’s favorite of the animals.

grey skies

Where to go in this edition of take-your-daughter’s-animal-to-work day? Well, with the start of a new “water year” (and thick cloud cover) as harbinger of winter, my thoughts turned to books and reading. Did you know Seattle is one of the most literate cities in the US?

Morning, sun, commute.

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Sadly no animal shared the morning commute with me today. At dinner, it occurred to my daughter she had forgotten to send an animal and explained she could not provide one at that moment because she was “not wearing pajamas” – tomorrow perhaps.

I was able to take some photos on the way into work. I struggled with the bright sun blowing out the sky in some of the photos – well, and the fact my heart rate needed controlling to take anything close to steady.

Bikes, pigs, Pierre.

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Of all my daughter’s animals, I’m most fond of Pierre. He’s quiet, cute and small enough to fit in my backpack, important because I opted to ride my road bike today on what might be one of the last warm, dry days of the year. Because I had limited space, this was the first time I interfered with my daughter’s wishes, choosing not to take Gus – maybe tomorrow buddy.

Espresso, mountains, skyline, monkey.

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

No animals were harmed in the making of this Art – but it was close.

Ironically, my daughter offered some advice this morning she had never before proffered: “Daddy, be safe on the big boat!”

Down the driveway and up to the road I pedaled with Curious George tucked safely away to cheers of “Bye, bye Curious George!” He spent most of the day in my bag but his opportunity for further fame arrived on my daily walk for an afternoon espresso at my favorite local coffeehouse, Zeitgeist.

One, more, animal.

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

“Daddy, daddy, wait!” Away runs my daughter to arrive seconds later with yet another animal, Bernard.

bernard

I haven’t been cycling with my regular camera (these have all been iPhone shots) but I’d better start. The skies this week have been incredible shades of blue, orange and pink. Sometimes Rainier and its flanks are glowing and I spend the entire ride enjoying the majesty surrounding where I live: mountains, trees, water, boats, harbors, skyline – it’s beautiful.

Animals, boats, ideas.

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

My daughter greeted me twice last week as I was readying to leave on my bike with an “idea”. “Daddy, wait” she said as she ran back into the house, appearing moments later with one of her animals. She wanted them to experience the joy of the morning commute on the “big boat” – into the Ortliebs each went.

gus

balsamic

I think Gus got the better deal of the two, enjoying the sunrise over Seattle, while Balsamic suffered through watching me work at my desk.

A bike, a ferry, a commute.

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Five or so years ago my wife said “We should move to Bainbridge Island.” I responded “there’s no way in hell I’m commuting by boat”. Well, times change and a ferry ride is now part of my daily commute to work and back.

It’s only been a short while but I love riding to and fro and enjoy my quiet time on the boat. The first couple of weeks my wife drove and picked me up, then I rode to the ferry and locked my bike up on the island side. Now I’m a full-fledged, Ortlieb toting cycling commuter and I’m enjoying every minute of it, rain and all.