Phosography

Unusual Flower

2007-07-01T22:39:00.000-07:00

pretty colors, too

Wave Statue

2007-07-01T22:38:00.000-07:00

"It's fun to find out what makes an ocean wave wave."

Fish Ladder

2007-07-01T22:35:00.000-07:00

At the Chittenden Locks.

Safeco Clouds

2007-07-01T22:32:00.000-07:00

... and the Sox lose again! ouch

Tortellini

2007-07-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

Homemade tortellini. Inspired by Heat and Whole Paycheck.

Aaaaaaand DOWN the stretch they come!

2007-01-27T21:55:00.000-08:00

This morning I had a rather unique experience. At least, if you're a human being it will probably seem unique. If you are at a race horse, it is, by definition, a rather frequent occurence in your life. But unless you're Mr. Ed, you're probably not reading this blog if you are an equine. And come to think of it, Mr. Ed was only known to be capable of talking, not necessarily reading. Coming back to my point here, this morning, as you may have guessed, I ran in a race on a horse track. Emerald Downs in Auburn, WA to be exact.

Fortunately I wasn't racing against four legged beasts but rather two legged ones, as part of the Super Jock 'n Jill (a local running store) Winter Grand Prix, a series of cross country races. At times the event was comical, bordering on strange, as we gathered in paddock area just before the race, and jumped over hay bales around the halfway point of the race. If only they'd passed out blinders, I wouldn't have had to watch a high schooler sprint pass me in the final meters.
The actual surface of the track was a much more pleasant than I anticipated. This being Seattle, mud seemed likely or else an awkardly uneven surface of hardened dried mud. Instead, the surface looked like a freshly groomed ski run, and felt to consist of firm dirt covered by an inch of two of loose fluffy dirt. The former in itself would have been ideal, as the loose top layer causes the foot to slide slightly on impact, effectively cutting an inch of two off each stride, and requiring greater concentration than running on a more even surface such as a treadmill.
The second surprise was just how BIG those tracks are. At the risk of plagiarizing the venerable Larry Rawson, think about your local high school track, which is four laps to the mile. One such lap is equal to the length of the home stretch of a horse track. Having frequently run the 400 meter event, I remember coming off of the last turn, legs burning, shoulders tightening, lungs screaming for more oxygen, and seeing that elusive finish line right in front of me, but taking forever to actually arrive there. Multiply that by four and, well, the novelty wears off pretty fast.
You would think there would be some common phrase or cliche involving horses and speed that would have made a clever end to that last sentence. But the only things I could come up with that even mention a horse are "don't look a gift horse in the mouth," and "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink." Got anything better?
In a "I thought you were joking but you weren't" moment, the race organizers actually had carrots, sugar cubes, and oats (Quaker instant oatmeal, that is) for post race snacks. A nice breakfast trifecta!

Take My Picture

2007-01-27T21:53:00.000-08:00

From the Silhouettes collection.

Signs of the Beach

2006-12-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

Bow of Rain

2006-12-10T12:52:00.000-08:00

Where's my pot of gold?

Surfer Girl

2006-12-10T12:51:00.000-08:00

Mr. Turtle

2006-12-10T12:47:00.000-08:00

Lights, Camera, Christmas!

2006-11-30T08:56:00.000-08:00

8.5 feet of tree, awaiting presents

Fall

2006-11-17T23:28:00.000-08:00

I thought Washington was the Evergreen State?

Gargoyle

2006-10-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

Candles

2006-10-12T21:33:00.000-07:00

inside Notre Dame

Horse Tower

2006-10-12T21:31:00.000-07:00

Transamerica

2006-10-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

Shadows in the Park

2006-08-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

Lighthouse

2006-05-14T23:15:00.000-07:00

@ Discovery Park

Reflection

2006-04-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

Central Way & Lake Wash. Blvd from JJJ

In Memoriam

2006-03-14T00:58:00.000-08:00

We have but faith: we cannot know;
For knowledge is of things we see;
And yet we trust it comes from thee,
A beam in darkness: let it grow.

Celebration

2006-03-14T00:56:00.000-08:00

Paul gets a raise, drinks alone.

Scar Tissue

2006-03-14T00:55:00.000-08:00

Recovery continues...

Nice Try

2006-03-14T00:51:00.000-08:00

I thought 1052 would be the last I'd hear of Prof. Mobius....

Pork Chops

2006-03-14T00:49:00.000-08:00

And Stuffing. Thank you Rachel Ray.

The Limit

2006-02-19T13:55:00.000-08:00

25. I guess I can't get any older. Or faster. Or something.

What's it?

2006-02-11T12:21:00.000-08:00

Object found near my washing machine. Any ideas?

There is some text on it that says "Fit over bottom of door opening," so I tried this:

Cu

2006-02-11T12:20:00.000-08:00

Yes, he's on the sidewalk.

Say What?

2006-02-06T22:15:00.000-08:00

License Plate of the Day

8 Ball

2006-02-06T22:10:00.000-08:00

Corner Pocket

My Girl

2006-02-06T22:09:00.000-08:00

Chocolatey

2006-01-30T10:01:00.000-08:00

Who wants cake?

Coming At Ya!

2006-01-24T22:52:00.000-08:00

Heading North on I-5

Mesh

2006-01-20T02:19:00.000-08:00

Seattle Library

Angled

2006-01-20T02:12:00.000-08:00

Art Collection sign

Penguin Awareness Day!

2006-01-16T03:26:00.000-08:00

Free Lunch with Formal Attire! (I forgot my tux, sadly)

Waterfall

2006-01-16T03:24:00.000-08:00

@ Lincoln Square shopping center

License Plate Of The Day

2006-01-16T03:20:00.000-08:00

Carved

2006-01-16T03:14:00.000-08:00

Ice Sculptures in the making

SnowSun

2006-01-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

One from the archives while my camera charger is missing in action.

Obsolete

2005-12-30T18:28:00.000-08:00

historic indeed. no more old man.

Don't run

2005-12-30T18:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve

2005-12-30T18:22:00.000-08:00

new little guy

Christmas Adam

2005-12-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

Time to go home

Wrapped

2005-12-23T18:19:00.000-08:00

Almost Christmas...

Foodography

2005-12-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

Mmm.... Tequila Lime Chicken Pasta

Cards

2005-12-21T01:02:00.000-08:00

This one's called "I need a mantel"

Like Alice

2005-12-20T00:19:00.000-08:00

I'm on the outside, I'm looking in.

Seattle Drivers

2005-12-19T00:27:00.000-08:00

Wondering why Seattle drivers are so bad? This might explain it...

Delicious

2005-12-19T00:24:00.000-08:00

Holiday potluck dinner. Everyone loved my sweet potato souffle. Possibly because it was covered in marshmallows.

Night Game

2005-12-15T23:33:00.000-08:00

Soccer fields at 11th and Pine. These guys must be freezing.

Water Table

2005-12-15T23:30:00.000-08:00

I always thought the water table was underground.

______, camera, action

2005-12-13T23:00:00.000-08:00

Downtown Kirkland at night. Hope you like the [easy] crossword clue title.

More Yellow

2005-12-13T00:26:00.000-08:00

Why are they giving these out at work? I have no idea. Maybe i should read the little papers that came with it.

London?

2005-12-11T22:06:00.000-08:00

Foggy Bridge

Bar Roll

2005-12-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

Bar Crawl on wheels? Yeah, that sounds like a great idea, guys.

Race Cake

2005-12-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

This guy at work is leaving to pursue a career in race car driving.

Mystery!

2005-12-08T00:31:00.000-08:00

An early Christmas present has arrived. What could it be?

Decorations

2005-12-08T00:23:00.000-08:00

I considered a tree for my home, but got these instead. Stop by and check'em out if you haven't already.

Windows

2005-12-05T23:51:00.000-08:00

Who's working late?

Jive Christmas

2005-12-05T01:04:00.000-08:00

One of many decorated homes along the waterfront

Slopes

2005-12-04T14:07:00.000-08:00

After a great day of snowboarding at Stevens Pass

Happy Hands

2005-12-04T14:04:00.000-08:00

From our screening of Napoleon Dynamite

White stuff

2005-12-02T00:30:00.000-08:00

This is about how much snow fell. People were really excited/concerned.

gas cap

2005-12-01T00:39:00.000-08:00

that looks dangerous

more than words

2005-11-30T01:50:00.000-08:00

We played Scrabble. I lost.

checkout skills

2005-11-28T22:52:00.000-08:00

I'm getting really good at checking out books from the library

hallcouch

2005-11-27T23:19:00.000-08:00

some things defy explanation

Vacation

2005-11-21T19:15:00.000-08:00

The Phos is on vacation in Boston. Photo of the day will return on November 27th.

Junk in the trunk

2005-11-13T23:43:00.000-08:00

Trunk, trunk. Helping ED move her new dining room table. It fit easier than the lovesac.

Not my doing

2005-11-11T00:50:00.000-08:00

Beer bottle psychology? Maybe, maybe not

Earlier Every Year

2005-11-11T00:48:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Time in Redmond

TJ's

2005-11-11T00:44:00.000-08:00

Some people prefer to be on the other side of the camera. In which case, they should stop complaining that I don't post pictures often enough. :)

Thrown

2005-11-11T00:38:00.000-08:00

My attempt. More here

Coworkers

2005-11-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

I don't think I'll be quite so 'creative' if I ever have to name kids

Interview

2005-11-01T22:15:00.000-08:00

Ron Burgundy! (last Halloween photo, I promise)

One Too Many

2005-10-30T22:11:00.000-08:00

Jeff recovers from having a bit too much to drink

Groovy!

2005-10-30T22:09:00.000-08:00

Yeah, Baby! It's Halloween! Groovy baby!

sunlight

2005-10-30T22:06:00.000-08:00

About as much sun as we'll see until June

Bedtime

2005-10-27T01:05:00.000-07:00

Early to bed, early to rise?

Autmny

2005-10-27T01:02:00.000-07:00

Something about the 'tilted hat' look of the light caught my eye. I think it looks French, and yet I don't hate it.

Dusk To Dusk

2005-10-27T01:01:00.000-07:00

One if by land...

K-Town Clock

2005-10-27T00:56:00.000-07:00

Getting late...

Post Gym

2005-10-20T01:12:00.000-07:00

Last car in the lot... Blurred vision from a strenuous workout... mmmm Clif bars...

Seasonal

2005-10-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

Closed for the "winter"?

Shrunk

2005-10-19T00:52:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't read the label. Yes I am an idiot.

Streak

2005-10-17T01:41:00.000-07:00

Plant

2005-10-14T00:59:00.000-07:00

Yes, plant. I'd elaborate, but I have no idea what this is.

Glass

2005-10-13T01:29:00.000-07:00

If only Ikea wasn't so cheap, I might actually buy some nicer stuff.

Perch

2005-10-13T01:26:00.000-07:00

Look at me, I'm a bird watcher!

stretchy

2005-10-10T23:45:00.000-07:00

I can touch my toes again!

Fall

2005-10-07T02:01:00.000-07:00

Dead leaves and dirty ground

Bonus

2005-10-06T00:28:00.000-07:00

One more Mexico picture for your enjoyment

Pool Hall

2005-10-05T00:44:00.000-07:00

Eight Ball, anyone?

Dude

2005-10-05T00:36:00.000-07:00

Surf's Up!

Infinite

2005-10-05T00:35:00.000-07:00

View from just outside my bungalow

ZIH

2005-10-05T00:29:00.000-07:00

Arrivals

Pesos

2005-09-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

Mucho Dinero

Wrong Way

2005-09-30T01:55:00.000-07:00

Do you know where you're going

Living Room

2005-09-28T23:38:00.000-07:00

Featuring new couches!