Panoramic pics from an iPhone

Here's an interactive panoramic view of the Braves & Marlins playing a spring training game on 3/22/12 in Orlando, FL. I built the picture using Photosynth - a very excellent free app for the iPhone that intelligently stitches together multiple images of the same setting.

More of my panoramas - including those from my visit to the Kennedy Space Center can be found here.

So you think you had a bad day.....

An F-18 stalled and crashed while making a low pass over an airfield in Canada. The pilot ejected just in time, and whole experience was caught on film and video (more pics and full video available here.)

The pilot was hospitalized but survived. (I remember reading that the rocket ejection seats are so powerful that pilots who eject have their spines compressed by a few inches, an effect which lasts a few days.)

Doesn't this look like fun?

I finished my first triathlon of the year, a sprint triathlon at the YMCA in Richmond's Shady Grove area, and, as luck would have it, about two miles from my sister's house.

The tri was a 300M indoor swim, a 20K bike ride, and a 5K run. All in all, I'm pretty happy with my effort. I beat my goal time by about 3 minutes (total time of 1 hour 23 minutes 56 seconds), with my swim time exactly as targeted, a minute quicker in transition#1, and two minutes better than targeted on the bike. The run wasn't fun, and I can definitely improve, but I pretty much hit my goal time for that portion of the event.

Relative to the rest of the competition, I was in the top 30-40% of all competitors on the swim and the top 20-30% on the bike, meaning I was definitely in the top third going into the run, where I either laid an egg or performed as expected, depending on your point of view. End result: I finished 19th of 28 in the Clydesdale category (>200lbs, all ages), and 297th of 493 finishers.

I've continued my training, as I have two more triathlons in June. I expect to perform at least as well in the swim and bike, and to pick up significant time in the run. My two races this month include:

- a very cool (but long) race in Washington that finishes at the steps of the US Capital, and includes a swim in the Potomac, and a bike leg in front of the White House.

-the Charlottesville Sprint Tri, a repeat of the event that was my first triathlon ever.

Doesn't this look like fun?

Pics from the annual spring training trip this past weekend

This year in Florida. To view the album, click here.

Another Kodak moment!

View of island of Lokrum from high above Dubrovnik's walls.

Stuck in rain in DBV

In the midst of walking the city walls, the rain that has been
threatening all day has arrived. The weather canceled sea kayaking
this morning as well, which was a bummer, but once I saw the sea
today, completely the right call.
Walking the walls of the city is the highlight of the trip so far (and
that's saying alot.) I snapped the shot below at the beginning of the
walk, pre-rain. It's a view into the city from the high walls, down
the main street of the city, or Stradun.
Am hoping the weather breaks soon....

Ah, Dubrovnik!

View leaving Korcula

Here's where World War I started

On this bridge in 1914, Serb Gavrilo Princip assasinated an Austrian-
Hungarian Archduke, thus starting WWI.
The Archduke had already had one attempt on his life made earlier that
day, yet he continued to ride in an open-top car when Princip got him
and his wife.
Incidentally, Princip is accorded hero status here.

Heaven?

I'm up in the Baltimore area to play in a baseball tournament this
weekend, but what to do at night?
You go to the ESPNZone in Baltimore to watch playoff baseball (go
Rays!) and college football at the same time!
Here's the view from my seat: 18 tv screens, including a 16ft big
screen!

Cool picture of the day

This looks like something from the movies (maybe Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back). Instead, it's a view of Dubai.



(Hat tip: Radley Balko's "The Agitator.")

Tim's online photo gallery

I'm dabbling with designing and hosting web pages. My first effort is to put my favorite picture online, which you can see here.

(Of course, with the advent of Flickr and other, this means I'm at least five years behind the times.)

More pages and pictures to come......

funny pic of the day

Though I don't agree with the conclusion - that the Democratic primary is all but finished, I still thought this was a funny picture.

hat tip: Club For Growth blog

Amazing picture of the day.....

From a Spanish bullfight, via Deadspin.

Asian sojourn highlights are up.....

Check out the highlights of my trip to Asia here.

Thru this link you can also find a few other photo galleries of mine thru the "My gallery tab" at the top of the Asian picture page, or here.

Test of mobile blog publishing

Here's a view of Saturday's tailgate.......