More 3D Photo Fun

Here is another 3D photo for your amusement. In case you have never done this before, the idea is to look at the picture in such a way that your left eye sees the image on the right and your right eye sees the image on the left. That sounds complicated but it really isn't. I find it works best to find an anchor in the picture; something that you can recognize even when it is out of focus. In this picture, any brown branch works pretty well. Then start to cross your eyes, and you will see the two parts moving together. You want to form a third image in the center that is an overlay of the two parts, so watch that anchor and use it to bring the two together. Then comes the most difficult part. Normally when you cross your eyes, it is to focus on something close to your face, but for this exercise, you need to focus on the computer screen. It can be done, but it may take some practice. When you get it, it will be well worth it. Enjoy!

The viewing experience is best if you look at this bigger version.

A Late Night

It has been a long time since I pulled an all-nighter. Last semester was terrible that way. I was so busy that any time I had a paper to do on top of my regular work, I was up all night writing it (and that happened nearly every week). This semester has been really laid back so far, and I really should have been able to avoid this, but last night I had a paper to write that took me on another adventure through the wee hours of the morning. So for a study break I played around with my camera a little and took this self portrait of me burning the midnight oil. I did go to bed for a few hours, and now at 9:30 am, I have just finished the paper. My class starts in one hour, which gives me roughly 40 minutes to add a bibliography, do a quick read-through, print the paper, jump on my bicycle and ride off to class. Right. I suppose I should get to it. This break is now officially over.

Disneyland

Torrey and I got to go to Disneyland on Monday for free. Free is, of course, always nice, especially when it relates to an expensive thing like Disneyland. Torrey's boss had given money to a fundraiser, and as a thank you, he was invited to dinner for two at Club 33 in Disneyland's New Orleans district. He wasn't interested in the tickets, and since he had been particularly demanding of Torrey around the time he received the invitation, he gave his invitation to us. Included with the invitation was admission for both parks (Disneyland and California Adventure) as well, and even though we weren't able to get off work until 2:00, we still got to go on a whole bunch of rides before dinner. I don't think we waited more than 10 minutes in line for any ride. Oh, and it is Halloween time at Disneyland, which perhaps begins to explain the pumpkin Cheshire Cat and the Candy Corn A's in CALIFORNIA. Torrey loves candy corn.



Then we went off to Club 33, where we had all-you-can-eat tri-tip, prime rib, shrimp, crab, etc., etc. The most interesting part of the whole evening came just as we were leaving the club to go home. As it turns out, the fundraiser was for a church planting ministry being run by someone affiliated with the church Torrey's boss attends. Torrey thought for sure his name sounded familiar, and finally realized that it is someone she had met on furlough in Junior High, and whose daughter had been a great encouragement to her that year. Who would have ever thought that at a dinner with a bunch of strangers in an exclusive club at Disneyland we would meet an old friend? It is a small world indeed.

Bursting with Goodness

Today Torrey was out with a bunch of girls who were helping Shelley shop for a wedding dress. So when I wanted to take a break from studying, I grabbed my camera and went for a walk. The weather this morning was beautiful. It rained last night for the first time in many months, and the sky was filled with white and gray clouds, with spots of deep blue here and there. Now just two blocks down the road from our house is a railroad track, and separating the track from the street running parallel to it is a row of shrubs. Mixed into the hedge are pomegranates, and I had in mind to take some pictures of the fruit and at the same time check to see if any were ripe enough to bring home as a treat for Torrey – she loves the things. In the Middle East where she grew up, pomegranates are a sign of luxury and extravagance, and as I walked along the tracks, I was reminded of the extent to which God has blessed my life extravagantly. As I searched for ripe fruit, I stumbled upon an opening in the bushes, and there, tucked away from the view of all but the closest passersby was the makeshift shelter of a homeless man. I was immediately struck by the vast contrast between my life and his. Last night, as I lay in my dry, warm bed, I was excited to hear the rain come, but here was someone who’s only protection from the storm is a greatly inadequate assembly of plastic bags strung between the branches of the pomegranate bushes. I so often take for granted myriads of blessings that others live without, such as the roof over my head and a lack of concern for the food I eat each day. God has blessed me so abundantly, that my life is bursting with goodness, like a pomegranate that is split open for lack of strength to hold back its own ripeness. I firmly believe that what God gives to us is not merely for our own pleasure and benefit, but that it ought to be used for the good of others. If we truly consider others better than ourselves, we cannot help but give out of our abundance to those who are in need. As I continued on my way I decided that this was one way that I could use a little of what God has given me to bless another, so I returned to offer the man some assistance. He refused, but today was a poignant reminder of the need we have as believers to be prepared to give of ourselves and of the things we tend to think of as our own for the good of those around us.

Baseball and Family

The company that Torrey works for has season tickets for the Angels, and when they have extras that their clients aren’t interested in, they sometimes give them to their employees. So last night we had four tickets to the Angels vs. Mariners game, and we took Shannon and Shelley along with us.

It was fun to hang out with the girls, and the game was interesting too. The pitcher for the Angels hit one of the Mariners early in the game, and throughout the rest of the game there was payback and tension between the teams. At one point, Vladimir Guerrero (Angels player) was up to bat when he had to duck to avoid being hit in the head with the ball. The photo below shows the chaos that resulted from that. Apparently the pitcher and manager for the Mariners were kicked out of the game after the commotion died down.

Here is Shannon, the Angels fan…

…and the girls goofing around under the big A after the game.

Canasta Caliente

This summer I exercised my creative powers and I made a deck of cards as a gift for someone in my family. The above image is the cover I made for the box that the cards fit in, and in case you don't know, Canasta means "basket" and Caliente means "hot". The images that follow are the templates that I used to print the cards (I printed them as 4x6 photos, then fixed a basket-weave contact paper to the backs of the photos and cut out the individual cards).

Remembering Yarina

I have started another blog for sharing stories from Yarina. I am hoping that a bunch of old Yarina types will contribute to the site so that we can all remember and enjoy our old stories and some that have perhaps never been told. Check it out here.
And if you would like to contribute to it, email me or leave me a comment on one of the blogs, and I will gladly allow you to do that.

I have also finally compiled my pictures from the reunion in August. You can see them here.

Jon Reid has also posted a bunch more reunion pictures here.