8.28.2007 | What I learned in Florida

Expect the amazing. At just about any time if you're in Florida and you don't look at the sky at least once, you're missing out. The name "Sunshine State" belies the number of thunderstorms that pass through in this tropical climate, but even in those there is a silver lining — or pink, or orange, or cyan. One day as I drove across the Howard Frankland Bridge over Tampa Bay, a fire-red sunset splashed the dark clouds of a storm front to the east with its hues, which were then reflected on the water below. No single photograph could have captured that immersion of color.


Use hyphens liberally. Common phrases such as "thank-you" and "buckle-up" require hyphens to make them … readable? I never got a reason for that. I did learn, though, that one newspaper here hyphenates dollar figures (e.g. $1-million) because they once did it to prevent the figure from breaking across lines. It just stayed that way.


Move to higher ground. Between hurricane storm surges and the predicted rise in sea levels from global warming, and with insurers abandoning the coastlines, it's a good idea to check hurricane evacuation maps before finding a place to live. But then again, Florida's beauty is such a powerful siren that any self-respecting sailor would be all too glad to be lured into her grasp.

5.01.2007 | Delta's new design

Delta unveiled a new logo and Web site after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, a design that aims at enhancing Delta's new international stance.

Over the past two years the airline has cut jobs and cut domestic routes, which are facing intense competition from low-fare airlines, in favor of more lucrative international destinations, which have yet to face the same competitive pressure.

The new logo, with a more sophisticated typeface and colors, seems to be aimed at gaining that type of clientèle. United has pursued a similar approach with its "It's time to fly" campaign that uses its classic Rhapsody in Blue theme in conjunction with artistic animations.

But what stood out to me wasn't just the sparse design of Delta's new livery (which incidentally saves Delta money because it uses less paint), but the bad puns on the site's home page and the press release announcing their emergence and rebranding. "'Brand' new era," "chapter of success." Who works for these guys?

6.23.2006 | Road Trip - Day 1

Finally got around to uploading my road trip pics. Here are the first batch from Day 1 of my adventure, starting out from Las Vegas June 3. I headed north on I-15 and took a detour through State Route 169 to visit the Valley of Fire State Park and check out the edge of Lake Mead National Recreation Area, the lake formed by the Hoover Dam. I managed to make it to Overton Beach and thought I would go for a swim, but the water was low from drought, muddy and too close to the boats that were docked at the Marina. Oh well.

	Unfortunately this one came out at half resolution, but it's a picture of people having their picture taken in front of the famous Welcome to Las Vegas sign at the end of the Las Vegas strip. The hotel in the background is Mandalay Bay.
	A mountain view approaching Valley of Fire State Park
	The rock formation here is apparently called a beehive.
	One of the rock formations approaching Atlatl Rock.
	Atlatl Rock. Apparently it was too hot for me to get out of the car to take a better picture. On second thought, I think Atlatl Rock itself was too big to fit in my camera. This may be another one of the rock formations off to the side.
	Interesting rocky crest on the roadway with a historical marker talking about the effort to build the Overton-Las Vegas highway (see this may look ordinary but there's nothing like this in Virginia – that's in the end what makes us tourists, I suppose, taking pictures of ordinary things).
	A single petrified log. The first I saw, but not the last. One of my last stops will be in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.
	This was the best picture I could get of the Seven Sisters rock formation. There were some amazing sweeping views from this point, but my camera has no zoom, and it's not panoramic, so I decided to stick to what I could see close up.
	And of course, how I could forget, the beautiful Wynn Las Vegas. Simply stunning. I had better pictures but accidentally erased them. This was taken from the car while I was sitting in strip traffic.