Tag, I'm It!

Goat Girl has used her mad skills to tag me with a task: to list 7 random facts about myself!

So, here goes:

1. I have a Master's Degree in Geography. I was aiming to get my doctorate and be a professor, but burned out after it took me nearly six years to get a two year degree. I got to be too fond of having a regular paycheck!

2. Reading is one my favorite hobbies and is the one with the longest standing. I have approximately 5 bookshelves stacked full of books, and some more stored at Mom's.

3. I like to keep lists: birds I've seen, books I've read, airports I've flown in/out of, etc. I also keep all the brochures that the National Park Service gives you when you enter a park in a little basket on a bookshelf.

4. All of my available brain power is shifted to the right side of my noggin. I can't do math to save my life.

5. I collect smooshed pennies (from those machines at touristy spots where you put in 51 cents and crank the wheel) and magnets, because because both are inexpensive and don't take up much space. And sometimes you find really cool designs, too.

6. I am a big fan of road trips. The thought of going to one place and staying there all week boggles my mind :)

7. Except for my first job (one summer at the local McDonald's), every job I've held has been with some level or type of government entity: two state universities, three state agencies, and one county commission.

And here's a bonus random fact: I saw the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile this weekend!

This is my picture, taken from the car as we zoomed by :)

What Do You See?

I snapped this interesting cloud on the drive home from Ohio. Justin thinks it looks like a jellyfish. I think it looks like a crooked finger, like someone is saying "come here." I guess clouds are kind of what you make of them :)

Election Day (Tell Me How You Really Feel)

Tomorrow, at least in this part of the world, is Election Day. I am a big fan, because it is a day off work, and that's always a reason to celebrate.

Usually, plenty of stronger emotions and a good deal of humor are wrapped up in the election of government officials. This year there are a couple of big issues that has everyone all worked up, but I haven't seen any really clever or outrageous campaign signs. So, in honor of Election Day, here are a few of my finds through the years:

From when I lived in East Tennessee

From vacation in Las Vegas, Nevada

Now with a name like Cotton in a state like Tennesee, you just have to take advantage. I made a special effort to get a picture of that sign. The second one I took from the car while waiting at a stoplight. Whoever posted these had no problem telling us how they really felt. I wanted to be able to blow the picture up to read the fine print, because the large print seemed bad enough! The sign says, among other things, "'Family friendly' assemblywoman will crush any child in her path"! Wonder how that election turned out ...

Handiwork

I live in an area famous for its large Amish population. My uncle, knowing this, wondered why I hadn't posted on this theme yet. Two reasons: One, most Amish find that being photographed is a violation of the Biblical restriction against graven images, and two, because tourists pester them constantly and I feel guilty adding to an already serious annoyance. We were in the southern part of the county, in the car, when I took this picture. The Amishman was not inconvenienced by this shot, and remains unidentifiable, so I feel relatively guilt-free over this photo.
Because farmland is scarce, many of the younger generation of Amish have gone into woodworking. Most still work with their hands, using traditional methods and hydraulic tools. Some even work for regular "English" construction crews. ("English" is the term used locally to mean non-Amish folks.) Many congregations allow the use of modern technology, such as cellular phones, computers, calculators, and other electronic equipment, as long as the item is a tool needed to do a job. Such items are always prohibited in the home, and cannot be used outside the context of work. Needless to say, how the Amish deal with the modern world is fascinating.

For more information on the Amish and photographs, go here. For general information, here is a good start.

And One Tenth

On a recent trip, Justin's car reached a milestone.

After several test shots at 111,110 miles, I was able to capture the fleeting moment - 111,111.1. You have to wonder what other drivers thought with multiple camera flashes going off inside our car.

The way this car runs, it may be around for 222,222.2!