Shameless Self Promotion

  After many months of threatening, I have finally launched my photography business.  I'm on the web at www.vortacphoto.smugmug.com.  (Note: No, I don't shoot weddings.)  Don't know if this venture will take me anywhere, but as I like to say, "We may be lost, but at least we're making good time."
 And now the Sunday photos...

High On Grass

 While out jogging/walking this afternoon I was mulling over several ideas for my next post. Ayn Rand. Spell-check. Fantasy sports. What are we doing in Libya, and why aren't we...uh...  Ah forget it.  It's too nice out to make my brain cells work like that.  Hey, I know! More pictures!

Vortac Photography the name of my soon to exist business. I'll let you know when that's up and running. Ah, running...isn't that how I got started today?

Scenic Sundays 3/20/11

No need to think today. (Just pretend you are a member of congress.) Hope you enjoy these.

Loony Tune Party System

  One of my original reasons for starting this blog was to stop forcing my friends to endure my politically motivated posts and links on Facebook.  Once I got started here though I decided to limit what appears here as much as I can to my own thoughts and creative efforts.  There are so many others that already do the political links and commentary thing that to concentrate my efforts along those lines would be just adding another snowflake to the blizzard.  So that leaves Facebook as my current outlet for those political urges. I have tried to cut back, but sometimes I just can't help myself.  And when that happens I can usually count on a response from one of my good friends whose political leanings don't exactly line up with mine.  In fact we've taken to bantering back and forth quite a bit lately about this that and the other.  That we can do this and remain good friends is, I think, a bit of an unusual situation in today's climate of win-at-all-costs hyper-partisanship.  My friend says our back and forth reminds him of these two characters:

It's an apt comparison.  No matter how hard we fight our little battles, in the end we remain pals.  One thing though. I think my friend sees me as the wolf, and himself as the sheepdog, the defender of the flock.  Can't wait to tell him he's wrong.  :-)

Control Issues

"To a large degree, I control my own destiny."

  That's a statement that, admit it or not, many of us in the developed world would agree with.  In fact I would venture to say that believing this statement on some level is what allows us to function without undue anxiety.  As I have considered the astounding and horrifying recent events in Japan, I can only imagine a tiny fraction of the sorrow and fear those that lost their homes and families must be feeling.  But what also has to have been ripped from them is their sense of control.  It's probably not something conscious, but must be, I think, a foundation of a great deal of their fear.
  Perhaps my personal outlook causes me to overstate this aspect. (I did spend 22 years with the word 'control' in my job title.)  But when I try to imagine myself in that situation it elicits in me a cold, empty void that I can not look into for very long.
 
So, I have two things to ask of you.

First: If you believe, pray for the people of Japan.

Second: Give. If you don't know where or how, might I recommend the
 United Methodist Committee On Relief, where every dollar given to a designated emergency program is spent entirely to support the intended need. UMCOR does not use any of your designated gifts for administrative costs. Those expenses are covered through other funding channels.

Ok, actually three things.  Hug someone you love, and tell them how you feel about them.

Sunday Photos and a recommendation

A couple of shots from the Flint Hills today.  The first was taken at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, outside Strong City, KS.  (Yeah, yeah, I know that's not grass in the photo.)  The best part of my drives back and forth from Oklahoma to Olathe is the portion in the Flint Hills. Most folks probably think of that stretch of road as the boring, desolate part of I-35 (in contrast to the boring, populated part?), but I find it beautiful, particularly near sunset.  Which brings me to my second photo of the day, and the recommendation.  If you haven't already, click on the link in my blog list over there on the right side of the page to Get The Flick, the terrific blog by another retired controller and darned fine photographer, Don Brown.  Don does a great job of covering the world of aviation safety, with some political commentary and his photography mixed in.  His work was an inspiration to me in starting my own blog.  Don is a great guy, but likes to photograph at sunrise, which means his circadian rhythm is about 180 degrees off from mine.  He mentioned the other day he was hoping for one of those "sky on fire" mornings.  I found mine in the evening, east of El Dorado.

Out Of The Blue - A love note

These days of physical separation are not easy.  There are so many moments when I would like to turn and see your smile, hear your voice, feel you near.   But know that you live with me, now and always, in my mind’s eye and in my heart.  I hear and see echoes of you in the world around me every day.  In a laugh, a place, an object.  These reflections of you comfort me.  All reminders of everything you are.  I hope that if you listen and watch for me, I might also appear to you out of the blue.  And know too the certainty of this; when we return to each other’s arms, time will disappear.  The hours and days that troubled us will be no more. 

Yours forever.

News from Cupertino

FBI, Homeland Security, fire and police units responded today to reports from Apple headquarters of a box of suspicious items.  Several buildings at the campus were evacuated for over an hour.  Employees were allowed to return after investigators determined the contents of the box were not a threat.  A law enforcement source that asked to remain anonymous stated that the box contained three yellow legal pads, two number 2 pencils (one sharpened and one unsharpened), a rotary dial landline telephone, wax paper, and a roll of Super-8mm movie film.  The source stated that police were called after no Apple employees were able to recognize the items.  The owner of the box is still being sought.

Scenic Sundays

I've decided to make Sundays here on the blog simple days of quiet reflection, with the main attraction a photograph.
Spring is on the way. Remember what that looks like?

And if you do feel like reading for a minute, check out this link to a book I was reminded of in church this morning.  When you get there, search inside the book for "Einstein's theory and the cross".

Perceptions

Since I have become more serious about my photography, I have begun to see in the world I encounter images and patterns that went unnoticed before.  I'm sure my family is tired of hearing "Ooh, I wish I had my camera!", but this new awareness makes every day more enjoyable for me.  There are bits of art, both small and large, man made and natural, everywhere you turn.  The wonder of it all helps fill in the spaces of my days with moments of joy.

I was thinking about this recently when it occurred to me that interior designers must strive to use this type of experience in their work.  I have always considered Feng shui, the ancient Chinese belief that proper aesthetics can improve your life by promoting positive Qi, to be a bunch of mystical nonsense on a par with astrology. Kind of like "The Force" in Star Wars.  But in using light, colors, patterns, and textures to elicit certain feelings or perceptions from the occupants of a space, I suppose good designers do in their own way use the same concepts of feng shui.  They just don't ascribe the result to some mysterious life force.

And speaking of photography, here are some of my photos. (All copyright of Tim Lundberg/Vortac Photography) I hope you enjoy them.

The right thing

This quote passed through my awareness in a quiet moment tonight.

"We need to try to do the right thing every time, to perform at our best, because we never know which moment in our lives we'll be judged on. 

Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger

  My current job is teaching air traffic control to new students at the FAA's academy in Oklahoma.  (Truth be told we actually just get them started here on a what can be a 3+ year journey to becoming a controller, but you have to start somewhere.)  The quote came to mind when I was thinking about what lay ahead for my students, and what impact I might have on that.  My influence might only be minor, as in, "Hey, you remember that funny instructor who used to make up his own weird phonetic alphabet?"  But I also recognize that I have the potential to say something to a student that could change the way they see things. And that might lead to some event in a year or three or twenty that could change the world, or as is more likely in our profession, that could prevent a tragic change in the world.  Few of us will be presented with as clear and dramatic a moment of truth as Captain Sullenberger, but we will all have our moment.  For most of us it's likely to come and go without our even knowing it.  The idea is just to be ready.