are we all spies

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https://goo.gl/maps/SHomZYU9a9jadQ1B9

blog list blog roll blog name it

Well blog name it, I started using this blog to hold my favorite blog list (AKA blogroll) back in '09.  I didn't care for the long list on the sidebar and got the idea from some other bloggers.

Since then Blogger came out with "pages" and I could have probably taken that approach but I'm not sure it would make much difference.

Do you have a blogroll?  I've noticed that the updates of new blog posts seem to be slower than in the past.

Here's my list - please give them a click

My Blog Friends

Please visit these other interesting blogs - I do:
The list is below. I moved it here to clean up my main blog. Hopefully the list is more readable here.

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down there

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just playing with google maps

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shared travel picture suggestions

Do take fun or unusual pictures?



I tend to take them while traveling.


It's a tradition for family trips. Today with digital cameras those touristy photo shops might not be as popular as before. You know the ones where you get dressed up and pose in some staged set. One of my favorite family pictures was from the Wisconsin Dells area where we dressed up as late 1800's bank robbers. I don't have a digital copy of that one. Always fun to dress up.

The above picture is from a time travel trip to the Cretaceous period when I almost lost my hat. Ok, it was in Colorado.

I posted a picture from a European trip and challenged the readers to guess the city. Well the power of the internet searching made that go quick. I plan to do it again. So watch this space.

Here's the link to that post:
useful and entertaining public art

The winning reader/guesser suggests these travel pictures of hers:
kit suggested travel pics
(Actually that links to 9 pictures, all from Jekyll Island, GA. )

Another reader, Glennis, posted a great picture of a statue at an airport in New Zealand. check it out

I hope to be adding more links to travel pics here in the future.

a few clowns short of a circus

lighten up - most of us are working with a few clowns short of circus

Back in 2006 our small (relative to others in the industry) group of 150 or so were planning big. Maybe too big?

We were going to fly internet access across the sky. Actually, we had already launched a lesser capable internet service called JetConnect that was based on our old system and was limited to dial-up speeds. It was on a few airlines and gave us experience but not much revenue.

But now, we knew there was a way to have broadband speed up to the plane and we partnered with the technology companies to get it done.

We had flown the prototypes on our small aircraft.

It worked.

Money had been spent and much more was scheduled to be spent. Of course it was at prototype stage and sure more development was planned.

But we were excited about the challenge.

One minor detail/milestone needed to be checked off - win the FCC auction. Of course, we would win because we were part of Verizon, the telecom giant. Oh I didn't mention this - we were Verizon Airfone.

Funny thing happened at the auction - we LOST.

What a shock. We knew our dream project was lost too. We also knew the jobs that depended on the project were lost too.

One day during those shocking rumor filled days, I laughed at seeing this phrase passed on to me by a co-worker.

" A few clowns short of a circus, now aren't we?"

I thought we should have blog for common support to help each other get through this lay-off. I had done some blogging (my daughter got me started) and thought this phrase would be the title.

I was encouraged by some of the get-togethers planned on the blog. But really I must say I benefited the most.

Blogging is fun - sharing - exploring - and you don't even need all that clown makeup.



Another blogger presented me with one of those pass around awards so in following the award rules, I wrote some things about myself.  If you are interested click here.

restart this?

Remember that picture? Given the event of the picture and the little story of the first related posting, I thought it would the best first post on this new version of "a few clowns short".

the editing interface is much improved on this "beta" blogger site.

Great sign on road to Hana

If you have ever traveled this road maybe you came across this sign. It was a very welcomed stop for my wife who needed to use the facilities more than me. The facilities were simple - just porta-potties/johnny on the spot/outhouses - whatever your favorite name is for these plastic wonders.

I could have used a sign like this to post for the kids in their bathroom when they were young.

(Click picture for a closer look)

Rocks and retirement??

Another unusual occupation?

I found this one listed on www.memepool.com. I have no clue how much money he gets for his creations but he must live a very calm life. I wonder if this would be a good way to spend my retirement. He even teaches how to balance rocks. So can he balance a rock and a checkbook at the same time?

Doesn't look like a warning sign

Luckily we didn't see anything to avoid, but maybe they should use warning colors like yellow.