Robert Pence

Were you going for depth of field by using a small aperture? You may be facing a trade-off between depth of field and minimum starburst effect. Experiment with different aperture settings. If I remember correctly, my experience has been that smaller apertures (higher numbers) create more starburst. Actually, I think that's an interesting photo. Some photographers work to get starburst effects, and even buy filters to create it. Somewhere I discovered by accident that a piece of window screen close to the lens will create a good starburst.

I'll agree that downtown Columbus would benefit from more density and architectural variety, but it does look a lot better in the warmer seasons when grass and trees and plantings add some color and life. Still, I enjoyed looking at these photos. They're of the expected excellent MayDay Quality, and they show the city at a time of year when I'm not likely to see it.

About 800 people showed up for RALLY FOR RAIL! - ROLLING FORWARD, similar to last year. Main speaker was Leigh Morris, INDOT Deputy Commissioner. He announcement that INDOT has taken an official position recommending the route via Fort Wayne and Toledo as the preferred route was met with applause. Photos are here

Rally for Rail 2010 in Fort Wayne Baker Street Station, January 16, 2010 All Photos Copyright © 2010 by Robert E Pence The station was designed by William Price, of Price McLanahan Architects, and built by the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was completed in 1914. The clock was on the Calhoun Street facade of the bank that stood on the present site of One Summit Square. Renderings of One Summit Square showed the clock mounted on the side of the building, but it didn't happen. The clock ended up in a warehouse where it was rediscovered a few years ago. It was restored by local artisans and mounted on a structure just west of the Baker Street Station. Pre-program music was provided by Possum Trot Orchestra. A little bit of Who's Who: Former City Councilman Dr. Tom Hayhurst, one of the organizers and leaders of NIPRA and Democrat contender for the US Congress seat held by Mark Souder. State Senator Tom Wyss is Chair of the State Senate Committee on Transportation and Veterans' Affairs. Geoff Paddock, another NIPRA leader and Master of Ceremonies for the Rally For Rail. Fort Wayne City Councilman Tom Smith, a rail supporter and also an advocate for bicyclists. Win Moses, former mayor of Fort Wayne and now a State Representative. Walter "Skip" Sassmanshausen, retired educator and widely acknowledged as the area's most knowledgeable rail historian. Senator Wyss again. Justin Stalter of the Downtown Improvement District, a strong supporter of NIPRA and provider of technical support. Seats are filling up. Nice venue, eh? Geoff starts the program on schedule. Fred Lanahan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fort Wayne Public Transportation Corporation (Citilink) Standing room only, full to the doors! Dr. Tom Hayhurst tells how the return of passenger rail will bring jobs to Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana. Pam Holocher of the city's Planning and Policy Office, represented Mayor Tom Henry. Allen County Commissioner Bill Brown was caught off guard and hadn't expected to be called on to speak, but delivered an effective, concise statement on the benefits of passenger rail for the local economy. Fred Warner represented Steel Dynamics, now the only Fortune 500 company based in Fort Wayne. Steel Dynamics has invested heavily in rail production technology, and is developing a facility to manufacture composite crossties with a steel core and concrete body encased in a coating made from recycled rubber and plastic to protect from the elements and lengthen life. State Senator Tom Wyss makes it clear that he understands the importance of passenger rail to Fort Wayne. I didn't get this man's name, but he was here to communicate Senator Evan Bayh's support. Previously, a message from Senator Richard Lugar was read, so Fort Wayne passenger trains have strong bi-partisan support. Congressman Mark Souder spoke. The man everyone wanted to hear, INDOT Deputy Commissioner Leigh Morris. His statement that INDOT has recommended the Fort Wayne - Toledo route for Chicago - Cleveland service brought applause from the audience.

No kidding! I thought it looked vaguely familiar ... :wink:

Advocacy for the Chicago - Fort Wayne - Toledo - Cleveland route has been strong and vocal in Fort Wayne and the area from media, elected officials, business leaders, and the general public. Last year's Rally for Rail at the Baker Street Station (former Pennsylvania Railroad station), drew a jam-packed, standing-room-only crowd of more than 800 people. I plan to attend the rally this afternoon at 2:00pm, and I hope the turnout is equally enthusiastic. I intend to arrive by 1:00pm in hopes of getting inside the building this time. If I can get photos, I'll post them.

Excellent photos. It's been more than twenty years since I've been to New Orleans. When I got outside the tourist areas I really began to appreciate the distinct flavor of the place. I liked it.

Delightful! And just what do you find so funny about us?

Beautiful. In my teens I was caretaker for a cemetery at a country church near my home. The people buried there were, for the most part, hard-working farmers whose families didn't have money for elaborate monuments, but just following the visible histories of families and reading the inscriptions dating back into the 1800s created a long-term fascination.

I think they may have some interesting stuff there, but it's been a long time since I stopped. I never had the good fortune to get there when they're open, and had to content myself with peering through the chain-link fence. See if you can find a web site that has their hours, before you go. The Norfolk Southern railyard at Bellevue is vast and busy, but I don't know how much you can see from off the property. NS is very testy about trespassing, and their company cops are armed.

The bandwidthplace.com link doesn't work for me; I get "cannot display the web page."

High-quality video of , last summer's event in Owosso, Michigan. Found in the related videos; Cleveland's at work.

Another case of premature whatchamacallit by a TV reporter. That newcast was from January 11, and the Bluffton News-Banner on the 12th said that demolition may be necessary, but the owner and engineers will be inspecting it this week. The paper's web site today said that the mayor is pushing for rebuilding. Mayor Ted Ellis is a significant factor in making things happen. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Official cause of the fire was clothing that fell off a bed and became lodged between the bed and a built-in electric baseboard heater. Electric baseboard heat is the cheapest way for a landlord to retrofit an old building so that tenants pay for their own heat, but it's hazardous just because low-rent tenants often don't have the common sense or experience to know how to take care of things. A bed never should have been that close to a heater, and people should know better than to carelessly let flammable items come into contact with heaters. Hazards created by other tenants are the main reason I'll be very hesitant to move into a complex when maintaining a house becomes too much of a burden. My last apartment (1972) was in an old house, on the ground floor. One night I awoke to a house full of smoke and it scared hell out of me. I pounded on the door of the upstairs apartment to wake the drag queen who lived there, and found out that he had put a pie in the oven to take to his family's Thanksgiving dinner the next day, and had gotten stoned and fallen asleep. Could have been worse, but that was bad enough.

^ Looks like a fun spirit!

I'm retired, so leaving the house is up to me. I've been keeping my walks shoveled, walking when necessary, and not riding. I did go out for a short ride to observe New Year's Day, and it was brutal; the streets were in good shape, and going out wasn't bad. When I headed home, though, I realized what I nice tailwind I had had. As a headwind, it was brutal. I do have a car, and take it out maybe a couple of times a week for necessities.

In my opinion, one of the best building facades remaining in downtown Bluffton, although there are a couple of other good ones in the same block. I believe the block west of Johnson Street on the south side of Market Street has the best concentration of late-nineteenth-century facades in Bluffton. According to a resident of one of five apartments in the building, a curtain came into contact with a space heater about 11:30 Sunday morning. The fire department appeared to have the fire nearly under control, when it broke through into the attic and quickly involved the whole building. Seven area fire departments assisted, and the fight continued for several hours. My barber. One of the city workers said the barber shop and the owner's residence above received only relatively minor water damage. I hope that's true; he invested a bundle in turning unused space into a beautifully designed and executed home. New Image style salon was a brand-new business. Habitat for Humanity has lost its home. The building was insured. It's not known yet if the shell is structurally stable, or if it can be rebuilt. Considering the amount of commercial space and potential similar loft/apartment properties downtown that go undeveloped for lack of demand, I don't hold out high hopes.

Europe Slapping Rich With Massive Traffic Fines Switzerland, other European nations are slapping rich drivers with massive traffic fines By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press Writer GENEVA January 10, 2010 (AP) The Associated Press European countries are increasingly pegging speeding fines to income as a way to punish wealthy scofflaws who would otherwise ignore tickets. Switzerland and other European nations are slapping rich drivers with massive traffic fines. Advocates say a $290,000 (euro203,180.83) speeding ticket slapped on a millionaire Ferrari driver in Switzerland was a fair and well-deserved example of the trend. Germany, France, Austria and the Nordic countries also issue punishments based on a person's wealth. In Germany the maximum fine can be as much as $16 million compared to only $1 million in Switzerland. Only Finland regularly hands out similarly hefty fine to speeding drivers, with the current record believed to be a euro170,000 (then about $190,000) ticket in 2004. [read more ...]

Great thread! Austin is looking really good, and I enjoyed the interior views of the state capitol.

Gorgeous color saturation!

Beermaking isn't that much different from breadmaking; my grandfather was a baker by trade, and during prohibition he made his own beer in his basement. There are gluten-free breads, etc.; have you done any research to see if there are gluten-free beers? You might even be able to make your own beer, and come up with a formula that would make you a wealthy entrepreneur.

In March 2005 I attended an SSP forum meet in Milwaukee. March is just a tad early in the season for a forum meet IMO, but maybe it was the wet weather, residual snow, and near-freezing temps that brought out the Chicago vibe downtown. I got there a day early for some solo walking around downtown, and I felt it especially strongly in the vicinity of the river.

I learned from my grandmother. At first it was Sundays, when we'd pick her up for church and then take her home, either for dinner at her house, or after we had had dinner at our house. Dad made it clear that it was my job to clean her walks the way she used to do it whe she could. That meant shovel edge-to-edge, and then scrape to break up any stubborn packed clumps, and then sweep with a push broom until there was no trace of snow. After I turned sixteen and was able to get there on my own, it became my regular assignment every time it snowed. Grammy, as we called her, was of old-school Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. She had a place for everything, and everything was in its place. She swept the front porch floor every morning, scrubbed it weekly with a bucket of suds and a broom and a hose, and painted it every spring.

Did the airline furnish meals while he was stranded at the airport? :wink:

Just tell him that even in death, Wisconsin would be prettier than Ohio. :-)

How dare it snow on my sidewalk!?