Uploads from hbmike2000

Did Confucius Go On Vacation?

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:05:54 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

The whole point of Chinese food (as yummy as it is) is to finish off the meal with a fortune cookie. As the last bite of Kung Pao Chicken reaches your lips, you eye the crescent moon cookie in the cheap plastic wrap, giddy with anticipation to find out what your fortune will be. "You will come across good fortune in a week", "A change for the better is on it's way" or "Your hair will grow back this year" (although, had I known it meant in my ears, I would of tossed that one). "Reward yourself with a Gift" is NOT a fortune! It's a statement. I feel totally ripped off. Did Confucius go on vacation? Has Walmart taken over the fortune cookie business? Fine. My gift to me is to smash this stale cookie with a waste of a good fortune inside and leave a trail of proverbial bread crumbs to the back door of this "I'm to cheap to afford real fortune cookies" chinese resteraunt for all the bugs to follow. Bon Appetite

View in Fortune Vision (Confucius said so)

for
Our Daily Challenge: Words

Two Goofballs

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:55:38 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

Sometimes, the moment just screams, TAKE MY PICTURE! So I did.

View in Goofy Vision

Hide And Go Seek With Planes

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 05:17:15 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

I love playing Hide and Go Seek with planes. You can hear them giggling for miles.

View from behind a fence way to small for you to hide behind.

for
Cliche Saturday
HCS

On The Rocks, Please

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:15:23 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

It Wasn't that the temperature was in the triple digits. (Not Celsius, for all you that just fainted) And it wasn't that I had to lay down on the hot ground with rocks poking me. It was the fact that I looked EVERYWHERE to make sure there were no bugs yet one lone giant ant crawled up my shorts and bit me in the rear!

If your asking why on earth I would lay on the hot ground in the hot sun being bitten in the rear by some sneaky bug, well there is a perfectly good explanation for it. I'm taking inventory of how many rocks there are in the Coachella Valley. I'm up to ten now.

View in LOOOOOMOOOOOO (that was my big booming movie trailer voice)

Low Maintenance Gardening, $5

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:51:14 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

What? Who said anything about pretty? Pay up, you already looked!

View in Sucker-Vision

for
Fenced Friday
HFF

Jurassic Bark

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:49:53 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

I found this tiny Sauropod skull out in the desert. I am sure it is from one of those movie stars from Jurassic Park. They look much bigger in the movie.

View in Dino-Vision

for
Bokeh Thursday: Your Choice

Smoke And Clouds

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:29:10 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

The challenge is movie inspired, huh? Well ...

My favorite movies are
Bonnie and Clyde (I'm not shooting up neighbors as they drive by just so I can have a photo)

The Godfather (I couldn't find a horses head and my other half was really opposed to having it in the bed anyway)

The Birds (dang Samuel's Dad and Grandma already did that one those goons!) :)

Star Wars (I ate the sticky buns I was gonna use for my Princess Leia hair)

So, your stuck with Backdraft (which I originally thought was a movie about having gas)

View in a thick cloud of smoke

for
Our Daily Challenge: Movie Inspired

PS. There is a mountain inside all that smoke that you can't see.

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The Hathaway Fire near Morongo Valley is around 25 percent controlled. There are over 1000 Firefighters fighting this fire. The fire does not threaten any structures. It's a really hard fire to control because it is such rough terrain with no access roads. Last I heard, it will take about three weeks to get 100 percent under control.

Hathaway Fire Near Morongo Valley

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 15:46:24 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

This was my view last night around 9 pm from my Desert Hot Springs home. The Hathaway fire burning in Morongo Valley peaking the crest of the mountains. Never seen anything like this before. The shot is a long exposure, 30 seconds and is straight out of the camera.

Just so we are clear, I am in no danger at the moment. The winds are picking up something fierce but it would be a long shot to make it here.

View in awe of nature ... unless someone started it, then shoot them and come back and view.

The Hatfield Hares And The McCoy Rabbits

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 06:56:11 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

Yes, it's true. The Hatfield Hares and the McCoy Rabbits have been feuding for generations. In these desert fields of sand and rock, filled and overflowing with Coco Puffs and shotgun shells, the story of their patience and violence can be found.

View in bunnyvision you wascally wabbit

for
Sliders Sunday HSS

Air Force One Lands At Palm Springs International Airport

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:09:36 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

and I stood in 113 degree weather with no trees and I forgot my Popsicle at home. I hope he appreciates me.

President Obama is here to visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. SInce I am only a couple miles from the Airport, I just had to go stand out there and wait. To me, I got to see a part of an historic event. Even if my hair did catch on fire from the heat. Don't worry about me though, my gallons of sweat put it out.

View from a plane

for
Cliche Saturday HCS
airports are cliche, don't know if I will ever get to see Air Force One land again though

President Barack Obama Lands In Air Force One

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:09:35 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

We found out what time Air Force One was arriving at the Palm Springs International Airport and since we are so close, decided to go and watch it land. We found the perfect spot next to the Palm Springs Air Museum. Air Force One was about 10 minutes late and I am sure if President Barack Obama had known it was 113 degrees and I was standing in the sun with no shade, he would of made those pilots speed up a little to be on time. Well worth the extra wait though, it is a beautiful jet and it's way bigger than I thought it was.

The President is here in Coachella Valley to visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping who I would of loved to have seen.

View in blistering heat

for
Our Daily Challenge: Technology
One of the very few NOT planned out shots for the challenge I have posted. I was so excited to find out Air Force One was landing here, I ran out the door with my camera and no plan. Air Force One is touted as one of the most technologically advanced plane today. It has a ... (gasp!) dare I say ... a BATHROOM!

The Lives Of Others

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 08:20:34 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

Shy or slightly odd. Maybe they just look, walk or talk different. They stand behind the fence staring out at the world passing by them. Quiet. Wishing.

We stroll by, stop talking, glance away and keep to our side of the fence. We continue on with our day.

It's not the lives of others that needs to be changed, it's our own.

And although the world is not there yet, I truly believe it will get there.

Say hello, it could change your life

View on the same side of the fence

for
Our Daily Challenge: Hope
Fenced Friday HFF
FlickrFriday: The Lives Of Others

Baby's On Fire

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 07:43:20 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

I've been working on getting this photo right for a couple of days now and I just couldn't get it to look like the way I see it in my head. Then I get a text at work from the Bozo in the other room that says, "hey, take a look at the photo I just put up". So I did. THAT is the photo I was trying to get. I think he deserves a bottle of Rat Bastard Root Beer, that rat bastard! I put his photo in the comments section because quite frankly I am both jealous and proud of the shot. Don't tell him though, he'll get a fat head

View in a big ball of flaming gas

But It's Pretty

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 07:36:55 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

The world is changing. Manufacturers, retailers, and designers have decided that the customer wants something visually stunning to have, hold and look at. My Microsoft Windows 8 looks amazing ... when I'm not restarting the computer for the tenth time in an hour. Yahoo decided I needed a pretty Flickr to look at ... and my favorite part is the moving navigation bar that keeps bisecting the photos I'm trying to look at. Don't judge them too hard though, they are not alone. All the manufacturers are doing this. They put all there resources into making there brand and product look pretty and no resources into making sure it works. The argument of course is they sold way more than the last the one or they now have more users than ever before. Well, yes they do. There are two reasons for this and neither is what they think. The first reason is we are fed up so much with the last thing they came up with that doesn't work, that we buy the new thing out of desperation hoping they finally got it right. We're usually wrong. The second reason is, we don't have a choice. It's the only thing on the market or the others are even worse. Sure I don't have to purchase or use the pretty broken thing but that's not a reality in a lot of things.

One day, someone somewhere will put all there resources into something and make it work ... then they will make it pretty.

View in pretty ... but make it fast before it breaks

no MORE please

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 20:22:39 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

On a walk through the desert, my other half told me to kick sand at the bushes as I walk by them. I gave him my slack jawed stare (I'm REALLY good at). He proceeded to tell me it's so Rattle Snakes or Scorpions don't jump out at you. My jaw fell a little lower. No really, he says, I think the sand gets in there eyes. Now I'm rolling on the desert ground. Or scares them in the other direction he blurts out.

I didn't find any scorpions or snakes but I did scare the grud of this piece of trash.

And I must say, if kicking sand at the bushes REALLY does scare snakes and critter to run in the other direction, I will run over the first person who tells my other half. He can't be right after I rolled across the desert floor laughing.

View in the ground laughing

Windmills, Wind, Dirt And Camera

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 09:24:20 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

On one of our "let's drive around with no place to go and gps off" trips around the Coachella Valley, we came across some wind turbines high up on a hill. We parked the car, I cleaned my lens, opened the door and got blasted by 30 to 40 mph winds. With the dust and sand blowing all around, my lens was instantly filthy. I did the only thing I knew, stuck up a particular finger at the wind, took some photos, then got hit with a gust of wind so strong it actually blew me off my feet. There I sat about five feet away next to a cactus and some desert critter who just sat there looking at me. It shrugged it's shoulders at me, held out it's hand and I took it. So there we sat, holding hands, waiting for the wind to die down enough so I could walk back to the car.

View on a dusty day

for
Sunday Sliders HSS

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I don't normally do this but all my photo software crashed the other day and I had no way to process any photos. The photo I submitted to Sliders Sunday earlier is not the one I wanted to submit, it was just one that had already been processed so I am replacing it with this one. I finally got some of the software up and I choose this one because all the dirt and grime on the lens added some cool textures.

Now if you don't mind, it's already 96 degrees at 9:30 in the morning, so I am going to go do a belly flop into the pool before work. :)

Meet Louise

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 06:55:50 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

She's not very lady like even for a gargoyle. I caught her burping the alphabet out back

View on goth

The Cliche Checklist

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 05:35:18 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

Body Part, check
Water, check
Waterfall, check
Hot Model (you have no proof, you can only see my hand), check
Fart Joke, check (it is in my photostream)

Yes, it's true, I farted in the pool. And for all of you who failed science, gas is lighter than water hence, the bubbles exploding into the air and why I am attempting to breath underwater

View while hanging on a rock

and will you all please stop going through my old self photos and saying HERE'S THE PROOF!

for
Cliche Saturday HCS

The Gargoyles Fight

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Fri, 31 May 2013 08:12:01 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

Gargoyles prowl the night,fighting off evil spirits. Broken and bruised as the morning sun rises and the first warm rays of the golden hour reach there bodies, they fall into a deep sleep to awaken the next evening to do battle all over again.

Too bad mine can't even win a fight against a little ole kitty cat.

View in the darkest of nights

for
Our Daily Challenge: Golden Hour

I'm Having Fun, Dammit!

nobody@flickr.com (hbmike2000) — Thu, 30 May 2013 13:51:10 -0700

hbmike2000 posted a photo:

And stop looking at me!

WAIT!

leave a comment first and possible fave.

NOW stop looking at me!

View on a sun shiny day

for:
Our Daily Challenge: Strike A Pose

PS.
If Fronge says I look like Leon the hitman from the Professionals, ignore him or I will shoot you with my potato gun. :)