Nigel's Jeep

I got a call from an old friend the other day. Nigel worked in the UAE for a few years. He liked to play in the sand. Nigel drove faster in the sand than he did on the road. Nigel was the only one in our little group to flatten two tires at once on a sand dune; the right rear is also flat.

Walking around in Rome

Walking around in Rome is one of life’s pleasures that I wish everyone could enjoy. Anyone with an opportunity should take advantage of it. You won’t be disappointed.

Meanwhile, until I can find my way back to Rome, I found this really cool website where I can take a virtual walk in Rome. They have beautiful panoramic tours of many of my favorite spots in Rome. There is one taken from Ponte Vittorio Emanuele that is very nice. It has a beautiful view of Ponte San Angelo.

Another, taken from directly in front of Fontana di Trevi, is interesting for having not a single person in sight. You can see that it was done in the early AM before dawn but still no people at all at Trevi Fountain. That’s amazing.

There is a second panorama from the fountain with the tripod moved to the left. You can see that it is an hour or so later and a few people have entered the scene, two men who look like grocers or butchers have stopped on the way to work. They sit on the hand rail seemingly unaware of the fountain behind them.

This photo looking down on Piazza del Popolo is a good example of why it's time for a digital SLR. My Olympus suffers from parallax between the view finder and the main lens. The Obelisk was perfectly aligned down the center of the street in the view finder.

Check out roma.arounder.com, it may not be the second best thing to a walk in Rome but it’s pretty good.

The panoramas are full spherical pans, you can watch as a movie or use your mouse to pan anywhere. There are also panoramic tours of the Colosseum, Piazza del Popolo, The Forum, Piazza di Spagna, the Pantheon and Saint Peter’s Square. There are also beautiful views inside and outside of the churches of San Giovanni, Santa Maria Maggorie and San Paolo.

The Churches of Rome

The dome of the Sistine Chapel in Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Follow this link for a panoramic tour inside this beautiful church. This is a really cool site, check it out.

Recently I installed Photoshop Elements on my PC. I have a plan to get my digital photos organized. No small task, I have six years and a dozen countries worth of photos scattered over my hard drive. Photoshop Elements should help. Should help, if I use it. You see, I recently installed Photoshop, more than a year after I bought it.

The problem is my habit of continuing to do a task in the familiar way, no matter how inefficient, rather than setting the task aside for a short while to find a more efficient process. I do it even knowing that a better way is available and that it is within my abilities. The task must be done. I don’t have time to learn a better way now. I’ll do it when the task is done. But then, the task is done. It can wait.

I have Limited Edition Photo Shop. It came with my Olympus camera. I’m familiar with it and it does what I need. For moving pictures around I use windows explorer and put stuff where I want. So I was reluctant to get started with Elements. I have to unlearn old habits. I can’t move, copy and rename photos with explorer. Elements loses track of them. I have to learn to work within the application.

In any case, my first effort with Elements is organizing a years worth of pictures taken in Rome. Rome is best seen on foot. It is a beautiful city for walking around and taking pictures. My habit while walking, with or without camera, was to enter any church with open door that I passed. There are so many beautiful churches, large or small, ancient or merely old. Each is a living work of art. One need not be religious to enter or to be awed. You do need to be respectful of those who are, to be welcome.

Tourists are welcome in Rome’s churches and not just the ones in the tourist books. Some do not welcome tourists during mass and post a sign saying so near the door. Be respectful and never take flash pictures. It is not permitted, it’s harmful to the art and it doesn’t usually work well anyway.

You can’t use flash and tripods are not permitted in the major churches. (The no tripod rule is to prevent unauthorized commercial photography. Kind of like selective availability on GPS except that they didn’t turn it off.) You can still get nice photos. Find a place and a way to set your camera down to hold it still for the needed longer exposures; use timer release if you have it. I frequently used my ball cap and the camera strap to hold and point the camera. A small beanbag would be perfect. Take advantage of whatever you can find to set the camera on (respect do not touch signs please). Sometimes just set it on the floor and point it up. You will get surprisingly good pictures (with some surprising angles too).

I have posted some pictures of the churches of Rome on my Flickr photo site. These are the first of my photos that have been readied for posting with Photoshop Elements. Stop by and check them out. Leave a comment, make suggestions let me know what you think.

Site Seeing in Italy

For far too many hours of nearly a year, this was my view of Italy. The corner of my desk at Telespazio (check out the quickBird satellite phots on the link )
i.e. Centro Spazio del Fucino Piero Fanti, in Italy’s Fucino Valley.

The Fucino valley is near Avezzano in Abruuzzo, in mountainous central Italy. The valley, once a lake, has no natural outlet, The lake was first drained by the Romans nearly 2000 years ago. . The site is major telecommunications portal and home to more than 100 satellite dishes, some more than 30 meters in diameter. The site is also home to the remains of the ship Marconi used to send his first wireless message. Click on the picture to see the view outside the office.

My three sons are seen in the picture in the center. It was taken far too long ago on the Shore of Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. The aspirin bottle on the desk is nearly empty; that says a lot in it’s self. I miss my bright ceramic coffee mugs. I bought four different ones in a shop in Avezanno. I left them behind when I moved to my next assignment.

The book is Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. I liked the movie, I’m a big Nicholas Cage fan, and Penelope Cruz doesn’t hurt either. Buy it paperback and tear out the last chapter before reading it. The ending is just not believable. Watch the movie, the director does it better than the author.

An Evening Stroll in Dubai

A couple of days ago when I was playing with pictures, I talked about taking the abra across Dubai creek for dinner at Pancho Villa's. When temperature and humidity permit. A pleasant stroll back to the car after dinner can show a side of Dubai much different than the glitter of Burj- Al Arab and the shopping malls. This photo is the textile souk shortly after closing time. One shop still appears open at the end of the street. I like the wooden sidewalk covers. You can see the ever present sand and dust on the wood and on my lenses. It enhances the memory if not the photo. (Click on the picture for woodwork detail).

Golden Arrows Novelties and Gifts was the last shop to close on that evening.






Don't go back on the same abra I told you to use on the way to dinner. Instead, take the one closer to Pancho Villa's and closer to the mouth of the creek.


Linger by the dhow docks as working class Dubai ends its day.



Detour through the spice souk then the Heritage House area. This recently restored area of Dubai dates back to the turn of the 20th century. Click on the picture for a peep inside the window and a whisper of color from a beautiful carpet.

Playing with Pictures

I am just playing. I am trying to understand the various options for uploading & posting pictures. This photo of an Abra on Dubai Creek was posted as small image with no layout selected. We can pretty much see how well that works.

This time
I have posted using medium and left layout.

Another image of an Abra on the creek.

Not a very good look for text with a landscape picture is it?

Next is a large centered image. The Abra is the best way to cross the creek, except most of the year when it is too hot. Park on the Deira side of the creek, next to the Sheraton or opposite the Intercontinental. Stroll by he Dhows, stop for a fresh fruit cocktail and a falafal before crossing. Use the Abra stop nearest the Intercontinental. Walk through the old textile souk then left, right, left to the Ambassador Hotel and Pancho Villa's for dinner. It's much faster than a taxi and costs only 14 cents. Besides, there's no parking near Panch Villa's anyway.

This image of the Dubai's famous gold souk was posted as small, left layout.

The gold souk is don't miss for a visit to Dubai. You can get good deals if you remember a few things. First, the guy behind the counter is a better negotiator than you are. Always! Next, know the current market price of gold. The price you pay will be based on the daily gold price and the weight of the item plus a "workmanship fee". If you know the daily gold price, you can determine the "workmanship fee" that is what is negotiable.
Next, be paitent. You must be prepared to walk away from the first several purchases you attempt. The first dealers "best price" is your starting point at the next. Remember these guys really are better at this than you are. Do this a couple of times on similar items and you will have a pretty good idea of the "workmanship fee" floor. And I now have a pretty good idead of how to use left and right layout with small images.

Now posting large, left with portrait picture.The Dubai spice souk. One of the more interesting sections of old Diera Dubai. Certainly the most aromatic part of town.

Does show that there is enough room for text beside a large portrait size image post.


Now medium, right, portrait. This shot is also in the Diera Dubai spice souk.

A medium size portrait image provides a better look for text beside the picture.
This next post is large center layout. It is from the Dubai Dhow docks.

. This last post is a large image, centered. I cropped it to make it square.



In any case, I had a lot of trouble uploading pictures today. I frequently got the get the uploading screen but the DONE screen never appears and I get no html for a link. Any ideas?

Dubai Dhow Docks

Loading Oil in Dubai

I used to describe Dubai in two contrasting ways. Dubai was the Singapore of the Middle East and also the New Orleans of the Middle East. This was before Hurricane Katrina.

The Singapore reference is fairy obvious. Dubai is the business and shopping hub of the Middle East. Dubai’s rapid five star development has received a lot of recent attention. Michael Jackson shops there now.

The New Orleans reference is less obvious. Friends have suggested Las Vegas of the Middle East. I disagree. It’s not a “What happens in Dubai stays in Dubai” kind of place. And it doesn’t have the decadence of Las Vegas. It’s much more discreet. For the Middle East, Dubai is a New Orleans kind of city. It’s a place to go to relax, unwind a bit and enjoy life. Dubai is a place where the rules are just little more relaxed than at home. It’s not that the rules don’t apply; it’s more that people are just a little more forgiving, just a little more tolerant. A place where it’s just a little bit easier to see people as just fellow human beings trying to get by. Dubai is the New Orleans of the Middle East and that’s a good thing.

With all the glitter of modern Dubai, a place not to be missed is the Dhow docks. Right in the heart of the city on the banks of Dubai Creek, the Dubai Dhow docks are a part of maritime transportation network that anchors this city to the Arabian Gulf.

Strolling along the Dhow docks was a favorite thing to do in Dubai. If you are visiting Dubai you shouldn’t miss it. Dhows come from all over the Arabian Gulf and the Arabian Sea; Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Oman. You will see every imaginable type of cargo being loaded and unloaded. The crews lounge onboard or relax in small groups by the docks. Stop and enjoy shawarma and a fresh fruit cocktail. Relax and watch life on the creek. It’s a world away from Emirates Tower and the glitter of Sheikh Zayed Road.

I have posted some pictures taken on the Dhow docks in Dubai and Sharjah in Dubai Dhow Docks a PhotoSet on Flickr. Please check them out

At Jim Thompson’s House

Bangkok was a brief vacation stop; less than a week. Bangkok was going to be some much needed R&R after a year in Bombay. I had heard lots of stories about Bangkok. I heard that it was dirty, crowded, and overrun by beggars and pushy crooked street hawkers. I heard that the only thing in Bangkok was sex and sleaze. That’s what I heard and that’s what I expected. It was an R&R trip.

Was I surprised. Bangkok is a jewel. It is spectacularly beautiful, the food is fantastic and the people are charming. OK it is crowded and traffic sucks but I was coming from Bombay. Bangkok was a breath of fresh air.

I explored the city using the Chao Phraya River ferry and canal taxis to get around; traveling by foot from the ferry stops. I shot 14 rolls of film in five days. I will post some pictures from time to time.

One highlight of my trip was a visit to Jim Thompson Thai House and Museum. Jim Thompson, an American, was once the OSS station chief in Bangkok. Later he became a very successful silk trader who built a traditional Thai home and garden in the center of the city. The house was built by transporting several traditional homes from the countryside and assembling them into a single larger structure enclosing a beautiful garden. Jim Thompson disappeared while vacationing in Malaysia in 1967 and was never heard from again. His home is now a museum. If you visit Bangkok, don’t miss it.

I have posted some photos from the gardens at the Jim Thompson house on my Flickr photo site. Please take a look and leave your comments.

My Apartment in Kazan

Part of 1997 was spent in this apartment in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia. Click on the picture to see the kitchen. This was not 5 star accommodation but the apartment had character and provided a much better glimpse of life in Russia than a hotel stay would have.



The footballer was one of the many children in the apartment complex. The boys liked to play pranks on me like heating the #7 button on the elevator with a lighter so that when I pressed it, I smashed the button and burned my thumb. This guy tried to trick me into saying vulgar Russian phrases to the neighborhood girls.

Kazan is the capitol of Tatarstan and home to the Kazan Kremlin.

My friend Sergey has provided this link for more information on the Kazan Kremlin.

I have posted some photos from in and around Kazan. Stop by, take a look and please leave a comment.

My Neighborhood in Juhu

My Juhu Beach Neighbors

I lived and worked in Mumbai in 1998. India was a difficult assignment. A year in India changed my life; I gained 40 pound while there and still carry it today.

I shared an office with a woman from Bangalore for some time prior to leaving for India. She was vegetarian and complained frequently about the lack of vegetarian variety in American restaurants. She was very excited for me. Said I would love the vegetarian food selection there. I was looking forward to it; healthy vegetarian food would help me shed a couple of pounds picked up eating borsch, pellmani and smetana in Russia.

She never told me about ghee.

I stayed in Juhu beach. A walk in the neighborhood was frequently a walk on the beach. As a westerner, wherever you go in India, you will be pressed upon by the very poor. Beggars and children with there hands out are everywhere. They can be very persistent. Most westerners find that among the most difficult aspects of life in India.

That was not the case for me. I had little difficulty with the beggars and the very poor. When I walked I carried a small pocket full of wrapped candies. The beggar children in the neighborhood quickly learned that if I had six pieces of candy and there were eight children no one got any candy. They learned to approach me in small numbers. They also learned that if I had a candy, I would give it to them. If I had none, I said so. There was no need for persistence. They would run off and leave me to my walk.

The woman in the photo approached me on the beach one day. With very broken English she asked if I lived in a hotel. I was very puzzled and unsure why she was asking. Finally I understood. Baby Shampoo. She was asking if I had any of the little hotel shampoo bottles. She wanted shampoo for her daughter. After that, I always carried a couple of bottles of shampoo. It was the candy for the ladies.

I was at first surprised by how many people would ask to have there photo taken. I would take photos then, later after the film was processed, I would carry copies of the photos as I walked. If I encountered the same people, I gave them a photo. The smiles I received remain a highlight of my time in India.

I have posted some pictures of the people of Juhu Beach in My Juhu Neighbors a PhotoSet on Flickr. Check them out. Leave a comment. Let me know you’ve been there.

Girls of Mumbai

The Worli Girls of Mumbai

I was out walking in near Worli in Mumbai when I came across these two girls brushing their teeth on the side of the street. The girl on the left asked to have her photo taken. The girl on the right seemed unsure. Their father was outside of camera range encouraging them.

One of the surprises of India was how frequently the poor approached asking to be photographed. At first I assumed people thought I carried an instant camera. Not so, they just liked to be photographed.

Click the Pic. to visit My Neighborhood in Juhu on LostBob's Blog.

To see more photos of the Girls of Mumbai please visit My Juhu Neighbors and Mumbai PhotoSets on Flickr.

My Room in St Kilda

This was once my room at the Hotel Tolarno in St Kilda in Melbourne, Australia. Part of the adjacent building was removed during a restoration. Suddenly I had a view. I like this one better. You won’t see it in tourist brochures.

Hotel Tolarno is a terrific little boutique hotel right on Fitzroy in the heart of Saint Kilda. I highly recommend it. While in Melbourne be sure to check out the Royal Exhibition Hall. I am pretty sure it is the largest wooden structure in the southern hemisphere.

I like to take pictures of and through windows. I have posted a few favorites in Windows around the World. I have been trying to learn a bit about a couple of photo hosting sites. I am looking for comments on the pictures and their presentation.

The Neighborhood Bar

Sea View Hotel - Juhu Beach, Mumbai

Everyone needs a neighborhood bar; a place to unwind and kickback with friends after work. In Prague it was U-Maleho Glena. In 1996 that was the best bar in the world. I have pictures and stories to prove it. Vaclav Havel stopped by one Sunday night to hear some jazz. Woody Harrelson stopped in once to drink absinth and hit on Maggie.

While in Jakarta, the neighborhood bar was Elvis’ Bar. They had great food, pool tables and dart boards. They had 2 for 1 on drinks at happy hour. You could phone in your drink order before 7PM and secure the happy hour prices for a later arrival. They had a great Indonesian band that did all the standard covers. A standout was Knockin on Heavens’ Door done Guns ‘n Roses style. There was another Elvis in Singapore.

For a brief time my neighborhood bar was at the Hotel Tolarno in St Kilda. Incredible food, the owner is a famous Melbourne television chef. The bar had a great music collection including some Ry Cooder music.

My neighborhood bar in Dubai was Jules Bar, In Avezzano it was Joyce’s Pub. It was once the Bentz Street Raw Bar in Frederick. I miss that one.

For nearly a year my neighborhood bar was the deck at The Sea View Hotel at Juhu Beach in Mumbai. I would have Kingfisher beer and freshly made paneer tika in the evening after work. I could watch the sea, the people, the sunset and the human powered Farris wheel from the deck. It was the best place to be in Mumbai. My apartment was in the Hotel Emerald just down the street. Or the beach, depending on my mood.

I am home now and I haven't found my neighborhood bar.

Maastricht Reflections

Shop windows in Maastricht, Netherlands March, 2003


I was working in Dubai during the lead up to the war in Iraq. When George Bush issued his 48 hour ultimatum I was directed to leave on the next available flight. I was flying to Frankfurt when the war broke out. Air traffic disruption added 2 hours to flight time. I left my baggage in the left-luggage office at the airport and took the train to Maastricht. I know some folks at a great little bar called Blues Café’ Duke there. I tagged along to an Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets concert at the Muziekodroom in Hasselt, Belgium about 25 km away. They're a great band and they kicked ass. The venue reminded me of the Grand Emporium in Kansas City where I saw them once before. I took these photos back in Maastricht the next morning.

Click onthe pictures to see them full size on my Flickr photosharing site.

A Day at the Races

Porsche Carrera GT 666

Taken at Dubai's Autodrome in October of 2004 on the day of the inaugural race for the newly opened track. It was a typical warm and sunny Dubai day. I was there with my friends Wageh who is Egyptian and Stephen from Scotland. Sergei was home in Kazan on paternity leave enjoying his recently born son.

Stephen honeymooned in Cuba and now lives in Mexico. Wageh is married to a Moroccan woman. We used to smoke sheesha and watch the Dhows and Abras (Dubai’s water taxis) at the creek side Lebanese restaurant in Bur Dubai.

I was told that this car is owned by Dubai's Sheik Maktoum. He drove a U.S. made Dodge Viper in the feature race on that opening day. I don't recall where he finished.

My friend Amos Anon says "The world is a very strange place" I think he is right.

You can read another post about the Sheik's cars in The Cars of the Beast Check it out.

Note: All Links in this post (except the last) open in a single new window.

Self Portrait

At the Race, Dubai 2004

It's not my car.

For many years, I was a telecomm engineer. I lived and worked all over the world.

I put satellite communications equipment on planes trains and automobiles; I installed equipment in the White House and the Pentagon and designed stuff for the folks at Fort Meade. My name is on patents for the satellite telephone system used by the Taliban and Osama bin Laden.

I was paid to play in private jets, high speed chase boats, railroad locomotives and over-the-road trucks. They paid me to fly over Juneau Alaska in a float plane and over Utah’s canyon lands in a helicopter. I flew over the great salt lake and Colorado Rockies in the cockpit of a Lear. I drove from Tuscan to Tucumcari and Tehachapi to Tonopah (and from Berlin to Paris. And Melbourne to Brisbane). I drove jeeps over sand dunes in the Arabian Desert. It was a magic carpet ride.

Told differently, I was away from home 50 weeks a year, working 60 – 80 hours a week and living in hotels. I got close to a lot of really nice places with little time to see them.

Either way, I loved what I did but came to dislike the folks I did it for so we parted company . I’m whittling away at my savings and bored out of my mind. That’s still a better than working for thieves, even thieves with magic carpet rides.

Thank you very much Rupert, changing the name does not protect the innocent, or hide the guilty.

This blog is an attempt to put it all in some perspective and help me decide what I want to be when I grow up.

I’m too old to become a postal employee.