I'm a father and professional amateur who enjoys the company of all creatures, great and small.
I’ve had the phenomenal opportunity to work on NASA/JPL’s Cassini mission as a computer systems engineer supporting the Radio Science team since I started work at JPL in 2000.
This month, the core Cassini mission will conclude in a beautiful and, at least for me, bittersweet, way.
Cassini’s Grand Finale:
We recently took some family photos in Mentryville here in Santa Clarita.
Click on the images for a larger version.
Here are a few of the cityscape photos I’ve made over the years. I enjoy exploring big cities, trying to find the best vantage point, and then taking in the view while I play with different ISO settings and shutter speeds.
This is Miette (French for crumb), a rescue Em and I adopted a few years ago. Now fully grown, she is all of 8 and 1/2 lbs. We were told that her mother was a Boarder Terrier.
Stopped by Lombardi Ranch last weekend to pick up of couple pumpkins. It’s a fun place to visit this time of year. Loved the JPL rover themed scarecrow!
My youngest sister got married this weekend. It was a beautiful ceremony in Palos Verdes Estates California.
My sister also had a professional Photog – his work is very impressive. You can check him out at http://pickerillcreative.com/
When I heard Disneyland added a Tiki themed bar to the Disney hotel in Anaheim California I just had to go and check it out. This is the souvenir cup and light cube that comes with the Krakatoa Punch cocktail. The cup itself is very high quality, and made by Tiki Farm. The light cube is sealed, with a non-replaceable battery. It looks like you can purchase the cube here for about $4.00.
The cocktail itself was weak, expensive, and tasted mostly of pineapple juice…
My close friend Bear organized a three night camping trip to Limekiln State Park in Big Sur California.
The campground is beautiful – extremely lush and green – nestled in forest canyon along with a rushing stream and massive coastal redwood trees.
This area was originally used as a lime quarry for concrete back in the late 1800’s. Three large stone and iron kilns are still on the property and accessible via a very short but beautiful hike.
In general, Big Sur is a wonderful place for photography. Thanks Bear, it was a blast.
The Bradbury Building, in Los Angeles California, “was commissioned by Lewis Bradbury (after whom it is named), a mining millionaire who had become a real estate developer in the later part of his life. His plan (in 1892) was to have a five story building constructed at Third Street and Broadway in Los Angeles, close to the Bunker Hill neighborhood.
A local architect, Sumner Hunt, was first hired to complete a design for the building but Bradbury ruled against constructing his plans which he did not view as adequately matching the grandeur of his
vision.
Bradbury then hired George Wyman, one of Hunt’s draftsmen, to design the building.
Wyman at first refused the offer to design the building. However Wyman supposedly had a ghostly talk with his dead brother Mark Wyman (who had been dead for six years) while using a planchette board with his wife. The ghostly message that came through supposedly said ‘Mark Wyman / take the / Bradbury building / and you will be / successful’; with the word “successful” written upside down. After the episode, Wyman took the job and is now regarded as the architect of the Bradbury Building. Wyman’s grandson, the science fiction publisher Forrest J. Ackerman, owns the original of this document. Coincidentally, Ackerman is a close friend of science fiction author Ray Bradbury.” – Wikipedia
The building opened in 1893 and is most famous for being featured in “Blade Runner”, with Harrison Ford.
Kevin Stanchfield 