Potpourri

The Chopper Saga - When I got out of the Army my dream was to get On The Road with a Harley.  That dream was delayed when my new Harley was stolen.  During the next few years I built my dream chopper, starting with a '56 Triumph with a blown engine I had bought for $80.  But the dream of getting On The Road never died...

Metamorphis - This picks up where the Chopper Saga ends.  If you had asked anyone who had known me in my Chopper Days, myself included, which would be more likely in my future - a prison sentence or a PhD in Engineering, we would almost certainly have gotten it wrong.  A tale of transformation on many levels.

Engineering Adventures - Not all engineering takes place at a desk. I have had the good fortune to have some interesting experiences on various test jobs, including a week at sea onboard an operating aircraft carrier.

Panama Panoramas - We took a trip to Panama in December 2009 to explore and escape winter. This is a series of panoramic images made during that trip.

Macro Photography - I've always enjoyed seeing nature on the small scale - this is a selection of some pictures I made with a Nikon D200 and a Macro lens.

Mountain Lake - Before and After - Mountain Lake is a natural alpine lake in SW Virginia, and the scene of the movie Dirty Dancing. Because the lake drains through a hole in the bottom, there are times in history when the lake has been completely empty, and now is the first time in many years. Just 4 years ago it was full. These are overlaid photos of full and empty.

Steve's Log Cabin - My friend Steve has some land on the side of a mountain, and he bought a log cabin that had once been in Iowa. Or at least he bought the logs, which were stacked in their original order on the stone foundation he had built. Next job was to build a roof. A continuing story...

Home Place Fire - I grew up in rural Maryland in a house that had been built in 1890 - by a neighbor and his father.  By the 70's the house was deteriorating, the property had been rezoned industrial, and vandals had begun damaging the now empty house even more.  Rather than see the beloved old place suffer further indignity, we called in the local fire department.

Freight Train Ride - Ever watch a freight train go by and think about hopping on for a ride?  So have I - ever since I was a kid growing up not too far from the railroad tracks.  I finally got around to doing it.

Digital Photography Techniques - I've always loved photography, but processing film photos in the darkroom can be a complex process.  A whole new world has opened with digital photography, making it easy to do things that were nearly impossible before.  This is an introduction to a variety of techniques

Steve Cole's Recycle - According to the builder, Steve Cole, "this is what happens when you leave a bunch of parts around a heated garage in the winter". It's built from parts of 15 different vehicles, and ridden year round.

An Engineer Shovels Snow - A daunting task of shoveling away two significant snow falls became much easier when it was turned into a construction project