December 2011
 
Just in time for Olivia's 10th birthday, here's one of the best videos I've seen on YouTube in a long time! Next is a new time-lapse photography video showing off the beauty of Oregon ... very impressive and inspiring!

Olivia had a special 10th birthday yesterday. Besides receiving this awesome guinea pig birthday card drawn by her big sister Joanne, we all went to the Olive Garden restaurant (where else would you take someone named Olivia?!) in nearby Eugene (you know, the Ducks place!). As always, we all had excellent meals there!   After that surprise, we had another one up our sleeve for Olivia: we took her to see the stage production of The Sound of Music at Eugene's John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts. We had great seats right in the center of the third row for this three-hour classic musical. I wonder how many times I (Brian) have watched The Sound of Music during the past decades? Between TV, video, and on stage, probably more times than I could count! I think that I have probably had my fill for a lifetime!

 
It was a pretty good production, and all of the actors, including the seven children, seems quite competent and able. But I found the decision to give all of the actors fake German accents to be quite distracting and irritating. In the end, I think it really detracted from the production rather then enhancing it. In spite of the hokey accents, I did enjoy the magic of seeing a live performance, especially from up-close.
 
After our seven-and-a-half hour excursion to Eugene, we arrived home for birthday cake and present-opening time. All in all it was a memorable way to celebrate Olivia's first decade!
 
Just because the sun sets early and rises late, and just because the weather has turned cold and rainy, doesn't mean that you can't indulge in the passion of photography! If you can't dodge the bad weather, you can always shoot indoors! In my latest photo album — Night & Low Light 2011 — I'm presenting photos which were taken outside at night, or indoors in low light. It's fun to let the imagination run wild, to see what kind of intersting new shots I can come up with. I've been very pleased with the results — I hope that you are too!
 
For our last entry for 2011, on the last day of the year, we will leave you with two videos for your enjoyment:

November 2011
 
Even though it's the beginning of the Pacific Northwest rainy season, I still have been managing to squeeze in a few more photo outings, both far and near. One morning in the third week of October I got up at 4:00, left the house at 4:45 heading east, crossed the Cascades and had breakfast in Sisters, then kept on heading east through Redmond and Prineville.
 
After about a four-hour journey, I finally arrived at the Painted Hills Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. As you can see from the photo to the right, the hill really DO look painted! I was so excited to find such stunning landscape in Oregon, not too, too far from my home. Everywhere I turned, there was another incredible view just begging to be photographed! I spent the rest of the morning there, had a late picnic lunch, and then headed east 35 more miles to the Sheep Rock Unit of the same national monument park.
 
During my afternoon exploration, I stumbled upon an otherworldly canyon of pale blue-green cliffs, that wound its way for more than half a mile back into the hills. Each few steps was another breathtaking view! I just couldn't believe the gorgeous variety of colors and textures! After finally making it back to my truck, I didn't have much time left, with the sun getting lower in the west and a long, long drive ahead of me.
 
Eventually I arrived again in Sisters at around 7:00 PM, this time to enjoy a nice dinner at Bronco Bill's Ranch Grill, located in the historic Hotel Sisters, built in 1912. I had eaten there a couple of times before, so I knew that their six ounce filet mignon with blue cheese butter on top is really killer! After that feast, a two-hour drive west over the Cascades brought me back home at 9:45, 17 hours after I had left in the morning. All in all, I drove nearly 500 miles — just about the distance from Albany down to Sacramento! Whew! What a long and awesome day!
 
I took so many photos that it took me over two weeks to sort through them and process the keepers. I've narrowed it down to 143 of the best, including 6 gorgeous panoramas which help give you a sense of the beauty and vastness of this amazing corner of Oregon. You can see all of the photos in my new Painted Hills 2011 photo album.
 
Last month I joined the local photo club in Albany, the Valley Viewfinders Camera Club. At my first meeting, it was announced that the Albany Library wanted to have club members take some photos of the library for an exposition they would be putting together, with the condition that no people appear in the pictures.
 
Always ready for new photographic challenges, I went over to the library one evening around dusk to get some outside shots, and then a couple of days later I tackled the inside. At this point I don't know if any of my photos will be used, but you can see the 29 unique photos, all taken with my ultra-wide-angle lens, in my new Albany Library 2011 photo album.
 
After taking the library photos, I realized I didn't have to travel hundreds of miles just to go on a photo shoot. So recently I decided to stick closer to home — literally! One day I headed over to the nearby swamp, only a five-minutes' walk from our house. There I got some nice shots of the pretty ducks who appear to live there.
 
A couple of days later, when going for my daily two-mile walk through the neighborhood, I decided to take my camera with me, just to see what I could see. It's amazing the interesting shots you can find once you start looking for them. It was so fun, I decided to do it again the next day.
 
But I've had to put the camera away for the time being, because I was starting to get too many photos! You can see the duck and neighborhood photos I took during the last couple of weeks, starting with photo number 10 in the Neighborhood 2011 photo album.
 
Gosh! Even though I put my camera away for a while, I just had to take it out for some more photos! Each day when I would go for a walk, I would see new things that I wanted to photograph. There are lots of trees in the neighborhood with leaves of many shades of yellow, orange and red — it's truly a feast for the eyes!
 
In addition to the neighborhood, I also went downtown to Monteith Riverpark to capture the beautiful interaction between the lights in the park and the multicolored autumn leaves.
 
You can see the results of my efforts in our new Albany Autumn 2011 photo album.
 
Well, it's only mid-November, so I'm sure we'll have more things to report as the month progresses — stay tuned!

October 2011
 
It's only the first day of the month, but there is still quite a bit happening photographically ... and in other aspects of life too.
 
Last week I went on another photographic outing — this time to Oregon's Deschutes River, east of the Cascades. I got up at 5:00 AM, left by 5:45, arrived at the Deschutes around 10:00, drove along the river for a while, hiked about 9 miles during most of the afternoon, hitchhiked a bit to get back to my truck because I was so exhausted during my hike, drove to Mount Hood to have dinner, and finally arrived back home at 10:00 PM. What a day!
 
I got some great photos — 310 in all. I've narrowed them down to the 84 best, and put them in the new Deschutes River 2011 photo album, for your viewing enjoyment.
 
The momentous day has finally arrived when it is time for Joanne to start learning how to drive! Last week she started taking a Driver's Ed class at Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC), which is conveniently only one-and-a-quarter miles from our house (as the crow flies).
 
Also last week, I (Brian) started taking Joanne out for an hour each day to learn and practice on our own. We've been going to the big, usually pretty-much empty parking lot at the Linn County Fairgrounds across town. Here's a photo I took yesterday of Joanne in the driver's seat of my Toyota Tacoma.
 
Joanne's class finishes at the end of November, so if everything goes well, she should be able to get her driver's license by the end of the year. Once that happens, you'll be the first to know!
 
Last evening I participated in a practice photo shoot sponsored by the Corvallis Photography Meetup Club. About 10 or so photo enthusiasts met at the Avery Park Rose Garden in Corvallis to take pictures of a few models who had volunteered for the occasion. I had never really done that kind of shoot before — as you can tell from my hundreds and hundreds of photos on this Web site, I usually prefer shooting nature and landscapes. But I figured it would be an interesting challenge and a good learning experience. This was the first time I had gone out on a shoot with the Corvallis Photography Meetup Club.
 
In order to capture the subtle changes of expressions on the models faces, I set my camera to "continuous" mode, so that it just keeps taking pictures as long as I hold the shutter button down — about 10 per second. Maybe I was a bit trigger happy, because I ended up taking about 800 photos withing a period of 57 minutes! But I was pleased with my technique, because I'm sure I got some nice shots that I would not have gotten if I had simply been taking pictures one at a time.
 
I ended up with quite a few nice shots of one of the models, Shannon (the daughter of one of the club members — see the above photo), that I decided to make a new photo album to show them off. You can see the best 17 photos out of the hundreds that I took by checking out the Shannon Modeling 2011 photo album. All in all it was a fun experience, and I definitely learned some do's and don'ts that will help me take better pictures next time.
 
In August I bought a wide-angle lens for my camera. Of course, I had to try it out as soon as it arrived, so I called Olivia up to my office. It was very kind of her to lend her face to the cause! I didn't have an appropriate photo album to stick it in, so I added it to the beginning of our recent Tahoe 2011 photo album. You can click on the link or the photo to see a larger version.
 
A couple of days ago I was on my usual walk around the neighborhood when my attention was suddenly grabbed by some bushes and trees on one resident's property. The arrangement of colors and textures was strikingly beautiful. A bit later in the day I returned with my camera, took some shots, and ended up with four nice photos. You can click on the link or the photo to the right to see all four in a larger size.
 
I've been exposed (sorry!) to black and white photography since my childhood. Some of my earliest memories are of going to my grandparents' house across town and watching my grandfather's black and white vacation slides on the big screen, and looking at his black and white photo albums. Earlier this year I even put together an entire Web site dedicated to the memory of my grandfather and his photography. If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to visit David Kaukonen dot com.
 
During junior high school I started getting into photography myself. One of the first pictures I took was this black and white shot of my sister Kristin doing her homework in the living room, as I have documented in My Photographic Journey. Even after I had made the transition to color film, I still shot a lot of monochrome images when I was a yearbook staff photographer during my junior and senior years of high school.
 
In my adult years I have been captivated by the stunning black and white photography of masters like the ledgendary Ansel Adams and Oregon's own official Photographer Laureate, Ray Atkeson.
 
Therefore, I decided to go through the hundreds of my best pictures from 2011 which I have included in the photo albums on this Web site, to see which ones would work in black and white. I found that some shots that looked wonderful in color didn't look so good in monochrome. On the other hand, some pictures that were just so-so suddenly looked better in black and white.
 
In the end, I found 150 pictures that I have gathered together in my Black and White 2011 photo album, in my feeble attempt to emulate the past masters of the art.

September 2011
 
Another day, another month! But things don't seem to be slowing down yet! A couple of days ago — the same day we went to the State Fair (see the bottom of last month's entry) — Joanne, Jeremy and I left the fair early so we could go to another event.
 
We had the privilege and joy to attend a Väsen concert in nearby Corvallis. This Swedish folk-music trio has been a favorite of mine ever since I bought my first CD of their music 14 years ago while visiting Sweden. It was an entertaining evening of music and humor. Awesome concert — awesome Väsen! You can read my full report, watch some videos of Väsen performing live, and find out what the strange instrument the guy in the middle is playing, by visiting the Väsen article on my Brian's Bits Web site.
 
This morning, Labor Day, Catherine and I got up early so we could be at the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge by dawn. This protected area is south of Corvallis, about a thirty-minute drive from our house.
 
We drove through the refuge, and then hiked for an hour or so through the forest. It was quiet, peaceful, and lovely, that early in the morning. By a quarter after nine we were back home. You can see the ten shots I got there (one from May) in our new Finley Refuge 2011 photo album.
 
Well, we started the week getting up early to go to Finley Refuge, and we ended the week getting up early to go to Lake Tahoe in California! In order to cut down on the travel time, we took some back roads, from Weed, California, through Susanville, and then on through Reno, Nevada — a route we had never taken before. We made it in ten-and-a-half hours to the rental house in Carnelian Bay, on the north shore of the lake.
 
We had a pretty full week there, and each outing was a new photographic adventure. The weather was not the greatest — almost every afternoon there were thunderstorms. But we were able to go out in the morning and early afternoon before the rain hit. And the thunderheads definitely made for great backgrounds in the pictures we took!
 
Besides hanging out around the north shore, we also visited Emerald Bay, Virginia City, Nevada, and Donner Pass. For the first part of the week, when the thunderstorms broke loose, we were happy to stay inside and watch the final days of the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
 
I'm happy to report that we got lots of great shots — out of the hundreds of photos that we took, I've narrowed it down to the best 75, which you can enjoy by clicking on the photo to the right, or by using the following link: Tahoe 2011 photo album.
 
In light of the recent Arab Palestinian application for statehood at the United Nations, and all of the misinformation floating around the media, I have written a new article for my Your Islamic Future Web site — the first article in nearly a year. It's entitled Loving the Palestinians — I highly recommend that you take the time to read it.
 
While we're on the subject — If you didn't get to see the speech of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the U.N. General Assembly, be sure to watch it now. Simply click on the video to the left. He does an excellent job of laying out Israel's position, and showing the fallacy of the Palestinian position.
 
The trip to Tahoe was very exhausting, and somehow (I have no idea how), I ended up straining my lower back the day before we returned. It was quite painful, and I couldn't imagine sitting in the car for the 11 or 12 hour ride back to Albany, let alone driving all that way. But a back support from the pharmacy did help quite a bit. I drove from Tahoe to just north of Sacramento — Catherine took over from there and drove to Yreka, just short of the Oregon border. I took over again, and drove the last four hours back to our home in Albany. I never felt so glad to be home, for with the way my back was hurting, sometimes I wasn't sure if I was going to make it!
 
My back has been feeling better, although it still does not seem back to normal. Giving myself only four days to recover from the Tahoe trip, this past week I set out on an all-day photographic outing to the Deschutes River in central Oregon, on the eastern side of the Cascades. But since I haven't even started processing the 310 photos I took that day, this story will have to wait to be told until next month.

August 2011
 
After months and months of waiting, nice weather has finally hit the Pacific Northwest! So I've been hitting the trail with my camera to capture the wonders of Oregon beauty. And what stunning beauty I found!
 
Last week I headed out to McDowell Creek Falls County Park, arriving around 5:45 AM after a 45 minute drive from our house. It was such a peaceful and lovely time of the morning. For about three-and-a-half hours I walked around taking pictures. You can click on the photo to the left to see the best 28.
 
This week we all went to the coast, exploring the 25 miles between Lincoln City and Newport. It was wonderful weather — not a cloud in the sky, with a high temperature of 64° F. The awesome scenery yielded an abundance of striking pictures. You can click on the photo to the upper right to see the best 45.
 
UPDATE: About three-and-a-half weeks after our first trip to the Coast, we made a return visit, resulting in 40 additional beautiful photos, including three by Joanne. If you have already seen the first batch from the Coast, you can jump straight to the second batch by clicking here. Or just click on the picture to the upper-right to start at the beginning of all 85 photos.
 
Well, it's only the fourth day of the month, so there's probably more outings to make in the coming weeks. Today Joanne arrives from her three months in Switzerland. Stay tuned for more exciting news from the Swiss Byrds!
 
Because I have the equipment to do time-lapse photography, it seemed high time that I take it for a spin and put it through its paces. Following is a 23-second video showing my first attempt — I think it came out pretty good for a first try. The photos were taken over a 12-hour period, from around 9:30 in the morning to 9:30 at night. I learned some things which I will be able to apply to future projects, so all in all it was a great success! Special thanks to Ludwig for the delightful music!  
Well, we're now approaching the end of the month, and we have A LOT more photos to share with you. Months of waiting for good weather has led to an explosion of picture taking!
 
A couple of weeks ago we took a family hike to the Sand Mountain area, at the top of the Cascades. After hiking along a pioneer wagon trail for a couple of miles, we took another road to the top of Sand Mountain, which is one of many extinct (hopefully!) volcanoes in Oregon. The photo to the right is just one of the many incredible views we captured with the camera. You can click on the photo to see the entire album of 41 pictures, or click here: Sand Mountain 2011 photo album.
 
Last week, Catherine and I spent an entire day exploring the Cascade Lakes area. Even though Catherine is not such an early Byrd, we left at 5:00 AM, to see if we could catch the early worms of great photos. Boy, did we! The photo to the right shows just one of the beautiful places we stopped to take pictures. You can click on the photo to see the entire album of 40 pictures, or click here: Cascade Lakes 2011 photo album.
 
Last, but not least (in more than one sense!), we're happy to present to you a collection of photos that Joanne (or occasionally, someone with Joanne's camera) took during her three months in Switzerland. I, Brian, have spent the last couple of weeks looking at each one of the 2,735 photos that she brought back with her (whew!). Based upon my experience as a photographer, I chose the best ones, and then edited them in Photoshop in order to bring out the best in each picture. The result is 181 striking photos which will give you a taste of all the various experiences Joanne had during her stay.
 
You can click on the photo to the right to see the entire album, or click here: Switzerland Joanne 2011 photo album. Also, don't miss the other album from the trip, featuring 50 of the best photos that Catherine brought back, in our Switzerland 2011 photo album.
 
Well, there are even MORE photographic events happening during this coming last week of August, so stay tuned for visual treats!
Wow! I didn't think more visual treats would come this quickly! This morning, the 26th, I woke up around a quarter to four to make my nightly pilgrimage to the toilet. When I walked into the bathroom, I was greeted by bright flashes of light — was I being stalked by the paparazzi? After recovering my senses, I pulled out my earplugs (because of the infernal trains that blast their horns at ungodly levels all night long, I have to wear earplugs each night), and then I could hear the thunder that accompanied the flashes. A thunderstorm! Cool!! I quickly got dressed and rushed downstairs, ending up on the front porch.
 
After seeing some lightning firsthand, I rushed back upstairs to grab some of my camera equipment. Once things were set up, I spent the next 45 minutes taking about 60 pictures of the night sky, hoping to capture at least one good photo of the lightning. And as you can see, I got two! That's our neighbor's house across the street, lit up with an orange glow from the nearby street light, which you can see in the first photo. You can click on each photo to see a larger view. Finally, around 5:00 a.m., I went to bed, a tired but happy and hyper photographer! It took me a long time to fall asleep....
 
...but, there's no time for sleeping when there are pictures to be taken! In the early morning, lightning, in the evening, glowing hot air balloons! Last night we went to the annual Northwest Art and Air Festival, right here in Albany, to see what we could see. It was kind of hot and crowded, and the glowing balloons lasted only about 15 minutes. But I did manage to get some nice shots before we went home. They're all pretty much like this shot — you can click on it to see a larger version.
 
Well, I've got a few days to recover — and process my photos from our return trip to the Coast four days ago — until the next photo shoot on Tuesday at the State Fair in Salem. Whew....!
 
This morning I was out early on my walk when I noticed balloons launching in the east. Not having my camera with me, I continued my walk and then returned home to eat breakfast. While I was eating, those balloons kept coming to mind. But I didn't feel like interrupting my breakfast just to take yet more photos.
 
The thought kept nagging me, so I got up and looked outside. It seemed likely that the rising balloons and the rising sun would cross paths at some point, so I grabbed my camera, attached my longest telephoto lens, and waited for that magical moment. These two photos, which you can click on to see a larger version, are the result. When I got back to my yogurt, the granola was getting kind of soggy, but it WAS worth it! My passion for photography seems to be inescapable, even when I feel a bit fed up with it!
 
Last week we also made a return visit to the Coast, about three-and-a-half weeks after our first visit. Our previous trip had been just three days before Joanne returned from Switzerland, so she missed out. (Of course, WE missed out on a lot of awesome things in Switzerland!) Therefore, we retraced our steps (in reverse order), so Joanne could enjoy a day at the Coast.
 
Unfortunately, the weather was cold and gray most of the time, not at all like the gorgeous weather we had previously — but I was still able to get quite a few nice shots, including some awesome photos of harbor seals. If you have already seen the first batch from the Coast, you can jump straight to the second batch of 40 new pictures (including three by Joanne) by clicking here. Or just click here to start at the beginning of all 85 photos.
 
Well, today is the last day of August, and this final entry brings the photos for this month to a close. Yesterday the family went to the Oregon State Fair in Salem. Contrary to the usual 100 degree weather, it was cool and cloudy, with even a few sprinkles of rain! The dramatic drop in temperature was a big blessing, even if it wasn't ideal weather for picture-taking.
 
I wasn't that interested in the fair, but I decided to treat it as a photo assignment / challenge. Maybe I shouldn't have looked at the photo exhibition first, because after seeing all those gorgeous photos, it kind of put a damper on my enthusiasm. Between that and the gray weather, it wasn't my best picture-taking outing. But still, I tried. I think I managed to get a few decent shots, including this pig. You can see the entire album of 23 photos by clicking on the pig, or with this link to our Oregon State Fair 2011 photo album.

July 2011
 
Jumpin' june bugs! The last thing I knew it was May, and now it's already July! Catherine, Jeremy and Olivia have been back from their six-week visit to Switzerland for about three weeks now, but Joanne does not return for another month. They all had a great time, but none of them feels inclined to write about it, and I (Brian) won't write about it because I wasn't even there!
 
Well, anyway, at least I went through the 700 photos that they brought back and picked out the best 50 of them for you to look at. That will give you a little idea of some of the experiences they had there. You can view the photos by checking out our new Switzerland 2011 photo album. To the right is a photo of Jeremy and Joanne, dressed up in the wedding clothes of their great-grandparents. They look like they are straight off of a movie set! There are a couple more photos of them dressed up like this in the photo album.
 
They also took over three hours of video, but we'll spare you that! However, we do want to share with you a very short (one minute and 19 seconds) video that Jeremy shot while there, called "Burglar." He did a really good job of setting up the various shots to tell a story — it was filmed with a single camera, and each scene was filmed only once. I just did a very minimal amount of trimming, and added some exciting James Bond music for the final touch. Jeremy's first movie — and its a foreign film to boot! Sorry, there aren't any English subtitles. Maybe Mr. Bean will watch it in Cannes next year! "Bean ... Sabine!" Jeremy's cousin Lucas and sister Olivia had a fun time acting out the scenes. Take a look....  
Once Joanne returns in August, there's going to be A LOT more photos and video. Hopefully she will write about some of her experiences too, because you just wouldn't believe all what she has been doing during her three month in the Old Country — stay tuned!
 
Last night we decided to go watch the big fireworks display in Corvallis rather than do our own fireworks this year. It was going to be very crowded downtown where they were shooting off the fireworks, so we went to a nearby park, and waited a LONG time for the fireworks to start. They finally started a few minutes before 10:30, and then we found to our dismay that the trees in the park were blocking the view. By then I was so fed up that we just went home! For me, that was really a wasted evening. Next year I'm just going to curl up in my reading chair with a good book, a glass of beer and a bowl of popcorn, and totally tune out the Fourth of July!
 
But I suppose it wasn't a total waste, because I was able to experiment with some low-light photography. To the left is a five-second exposure that I made from where we were sitting, looking west, at around 9:45 PM. You can see the lights and steam from a nearby factory, the crescent moon, and fireworks set off by some people near us. I was hoping to get some really great fireworks shots of the big ones, but things don't always work out the way we want. Oh well ... you win some, you lose some.
 
Last but not least, I wrote a new article for my Brian's Bits Web site, reflecting on the birth of our country, its current condition, and the dangers of believing that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are sacred rights of divine origin. You may not agree with my point of view, but what I have to share is definitely worth pondering. You can read the entire article at: Unhappy Fourth of July.
 
Now that the holiday is over, we went on a hike yesterday in the area of Dorena Lake, along the Row River Trail, close to Cottage Grove, a bit over an hour's drive away. Afterwards, we visited Elkton Community Education Center in Elkton, another 45 minutes further away from Albany. I got a lot of great close-up shots of flowers and butterflies — you can check them out in our new Flowers Close-up 2011 photo album. In addition to taking photos of flowers with a macro lens, I've also been having fun taking close-up shots of other subjects. You can see these photos in my new Macro Magic 2011 photo album.
 
Summer in Oregon has been unfolding as if we were still in Spring, or had skipped all the way to Autumn. While the rest of the country swelters in pressure-cooker heat, the temperature in the Pacific Northwest has been staying pretty much in the 70s.
 
One recent rainy day, three strange blond girls knocked on our door. It was only upon closer inspection that we realized that one of them was Olivia! She was having lots of silly fun with a couple of the neighbor girls. Golly — what next?
 
For those of you who are tennis fans, and for those of you who are art lovers (or maybe you're like us and enjoy both), you've got to watch the following video. In only four minutes, French artist Jean-Pierre Blanchard dramatically paints a portrait of Swiss tennis phenomenon Roger Federer. Once you are done watching this video, you will realize that Blanchard is a much an entertainer as he is an artist. I heard the painting sold for $20,000 — not bad for 4 minutes of work! Bravo!
 

May 2011
 
April showers bring May flowers — the old saying is proving true enough in our neck of the woods. Although we get days of sunshine here and there, the Oregon rainy season still holds sway over the region. I suppose we'll be melting under the hot, dry weather of summer soon enough, so I shouldn't complain too much about the cool, wet weather. But I AM itching to get out and see what I can do with my new camera. A number of days ago, between downpours, I popped out to the backyard to get this picture of tulips in our garden. As soon as the weather permits, I'm hoping to head out to some photogenic locales around Oregon and put the camera through its paces. If I get any decent shots, I'll be sure to share them here.
 
In our March entry, I mentioned that I had been going through some of my grandfather's old photos, and that I even created an entire new Web site to show them off. That project inspired me to go through a pile of my own old photos, which I took during high school and college. So I took some time to sort and organize them, and then I chose some of the best shots to share with the world on my new Brian's Old Photos Web site. If you are interested, you can also read about my 35 year photographic journey.
 
If you are into techie-type things, you might be intrigued to discover that I created this May entry entirely on my iPad 2 — the HTML editing, the FTP downloading and uploading, and even resizing the photo of the tulips. To the left is a photo of the very Web page you're reading right now, in the HTML editing app on my iPad. I love experimenting with the cutting edge of technology — it's amazing that I can perform complete Web site creation on such a small machine from the comfort of my easy chair. The more I use my iPod Touch and iPad 2 iOS devices, the more I'm astounded by what these miniature computers can accomplish. Very, VERY cool!!
 
Just this morning the media was ablaze with the news of Osama Bin Laden's death at the hands of the U.S. military. What I read inspired me to write a new article on my Brian's Bits Web site: God Is Not Rejoicing. As usual, I have a way of looking at things that seems very far removed from the mainstream. If I can say so myself, I think my article is well worth reading and pondering — check it out!
 
Well, it's the 22nd of May, and there's still snow on Marys Peak! (This mountain is so rounded that I always wonder why it's called a "peak" — I think "Marys Mound" would be more accurate.) This is the highest mountain in Oregon's Coast Range, and is visible from our neighborhood in south-west Albany. With a low elevation of 4,097 feet (1,249 meters), the fact that there is still snow on it this late in the season is an accurate indicator of the kind of Spring we have been having this year: cold and wet!
 
As I had mentioned above, I've been dreaming of exploring the great outdoors and putting my new camera through its paces, but alas, the weather has not been cooperating. But I have not been idling the time away. As I mentioned previously, I love using my iPod Touch and iPad 2 iOS devices. I've taken that passion to a new level by spending nearly all of my waking hours during the past two weeks learning how to write programs (apps), so that I'm not only USING apps, I'm actually MAKING them. Far from being a chore, this crash course has been very enjoyable and exciting. I guess I chose the right major in college, because I LOVE to write programs!
 
So even though the snow persists on Marys Peak, and even though the flowers are blooming in our garden, I'm as happy as a penguin in a blizzard, cooped up in my man cave (office) learning more and more about writting iOS apps. Yahoo!
 
Seeing that I'm writing this, and you're reading this, AFTER 21 May 2011, we can safely assume that "Judgement Day" did not come yesterday, as some were predicting. If they would have followed their own advice and read the Bible, they never would have made such ridiculous statements. Read the new article on my Brian's Bits Web site, Great Advice, Lousy Application, for more insights.
 
Well, it's the last day of May, and the weather continues cold and rainy. Hopefully June will be better, and I can get out a bit more.
 
Just this afternoon I stepped outside the house to pop over to the library, and in the west I could see the next batch of storm clouds rolling in. The amazing texture of the clouds really grabbed my attention and stopped me in my tracks. I turned right around and quickly grabbed my camera to take some shots.
 
By the time I got back from the library, the clouds were too close, and the spectacular views were gone. I'm glad I took these photos when I did. To the left are two of the best shots. Good thing there's no tornadoes in those clouds! Just boring, safe, Oregon rain!
 
You can click on these two photos to see larger versions (which will open in a new browser tab or window — simply close the tab or window to get back to this page).
 
I've been continuing to work on learning how to make iOS program, spending nearly every waking moment on it. I've been making some really good progress, and having a great time while doing it. When I need a break, I've been watching some of the French Open tennis matches on the ESPN3 Web site.
 
Catherine and the kids have been in Switzerland for nearly the entire month of May. When they get back in mid-June, we will give you a full report of their trip right here — so stay tuned!

April 2011
 
Last month I shared with you a video by Rick Joyner about preparing for coming events (below). Well, it's a new month, and Rick has some more insights to share. In light of the serious and sobering issues he touches on, I highly recommend that you watch it and take it to heart. These Rick Joyner videos have inspired me to write a series of four articles on the subjects of the earthquake danger in the Pacific Northwest, and the U.S. financial situation — the first article is called Cascandian Reckoning.

March 2011
 
My goodness! It's the last day of March, and I haven't written anything yet! My, my, my, how time do fly!
 
I, Brian, have been very busy the entire month, creating my latest Web site: David Kaukonen dot com. It's a tribute to the life of my grandfather, and his photography, based upon some 60-year-old negatives and photo prints that came into my possession recently. I've been putting a large amount of time and energy into this project, but the wonderful results have made it all worthwhile.
 
At the beginning of the month, Olivia followed in the footsteps of her older sister and brother by getting braces (as you can see!). A day or two later, Olivia was at her Awanas club meeting, and her team won a price for some sort of game: popcorn, caramels, chewy chocolate, and lollypops — all of which she is forbidden to eat because of the braces! What timing! Actually, as a parent I was happy that her braces saved her from all that junk! She had them only on her top teeth now, but next month she will get them on the bottom too. It's a real hassle to have braces, but out of all the kids, she's the one who needed them the most.
 
If an economic crisis or a natural disaster were to hit, would you be prepared to ride out the storm? With all of the earthquakes and floods happening these days, it would not be wise to ignore such a question — and such preparations. You don't have to be a prophet to realize that the United States is on the edge of an economic meltdown. All levels of American society, from the federal government, to the state governments, to individual Americans — all are staggering under a crushing load of debt and reduced income that is completely unsustainable. The stark reality is that it's not a matter of IF an economic collapse will come, but only a matter of how soon and how bad it will be.
 
The devastating earthquake in Japan this month highlights the frightening vulnerability of the West Coast of the United States, and indeed, all the lands along the Pacific Ring of Fire, where about 90% of the world's earthquakes occur, and which contains 452 volcanoes. I already shared about this back in our January 2007 blog entry. It's easy to be skeptical and say that big earthquakes have been predicted on the Pacific Coast for a long time. I remember when I was a child, people were saying that California was going to break off and fall into the sea! But on the other hand, prophetic voices predicted the 9/11 attacks, hurricane Katrina, and more recently, the Japanese earthquake, yet very little notice was taken of these warning.
 
As you can see from the Google Earth map to the right (click to enlarge), Oregon is the state that has the most volcanos in the continental United States (which excludes Alaska and Hawaii). Four years ago I watched a facinating video called "Cascadia: The Hidden Fire", which gives an in-depth look at the geological dangers facing the Pacific Northwest. (Click on the DVD cover above for more information.) Very sobering! Seems like maybe it would be timely to watch it again.
 
In the past two weeks, Rick Joyner of MorningStar Ministries has released five half-hour videos (as of today) in which he shares his perspectives and insights regarding the Japanese earthquake and the economic situation in the U.S., and where he sees things going. I don't think you can regard everything he says as Gospel, but what he shares is definitely worthy of serious consideration. I found Part Four to be especially helpful, so I have included it below:

February 2011
 
It's already mid-February and there's not much to report. All of the Byrds are holed up in their winter nest, working hard at their homeschooling. And that's just about it for the home front.
 
And now for something completely different.... with all of the unrest in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East, here are some great insights on how to pray for these current events, shared by a Christian leader in Israel. This is a two-part video, so be sure to watch the second part.
 
 
And now for something completely different.... I don't seem to have too many early childhood memories, but one that definitely sticks out is listening to Johnny Cash records. Folsom Prison Blues ... A Boy Named Sue ... Orange Blossom Special ... I heard them all, again and again!
 
Recently I ran across The Johnny Cash Project, which is a music video of one of Johnny's last songs, where each frame of the video is drawn by a different fan. It's like no other music video you have ever seen; it was even nominated for a Grammy award this year (unfortunately Lady Gaga won instead — pooh!). The clip below starts off with quick interviews with some of the fans whose work appears in the video, and then shows the completed video. Don't miss it!
 
 
Today, the 24th, a snow storm came to Albany! The two-minute video below will give you a taste of what we woke to this morning:  
We also took quite a few photos during the few short hours that the snow lasted. Some of them are below. There are twenty more in our new Albany Snow Feb 2011 photo album — some of them are real beauties, so be sure to check it out.
 



 
Just above you can see our Christmas tree, which has been setting out on our patio since the new year. It seems to be surviving well, and the birds like sitting on it as they wait their turn at the bird feeding close by. With a layer of real snow on the branches, it looks more like Christmas than ever!

January 2011
 
Well, here we are in the new year of 2011. There's not a whole lot new to report. Day by day, life goes on and slips away. Another day older, yes — but another day wiser? Who knows? Time will tell.
 
It's birthday time once again. Last week Joanne turned 17. In a year-and-a-half she will graduate from high school, and then be moving on to the next stage of her life. On the last day of the month Jeremy turns 16. Only a year younger than Joanne, he's right on her heels! Today he had a few friends over to help him celebrate.
 
In the not-too-distant future, Catherine will have only Olivia to homeschool! Time waits for no man, but rushes onward towards eternity.