Streeterville

Streeterville
Originally uploaded by chmoss.

Now I am working on a set that contrasts trees and structures in cities.

700 Sundays

Last night we went to see the Billy Crystal show "700 Sundays". Most of the audience appeared to enjoy it enormously. I got a few grins from it, but no real hearty laughter. The word that came to mind as I left the theatre was "bathos". Realizing that I may be emotionally challenged, I Googled for reviews. The first one that came up was 700 Sundays from nytheatre.com.
I pretty much agree with what the reviewer said -- but maybe not quite so negatively -- so I will say no more.

So now I have another place to show pictures

Originally uploaded by chmoss.

I have stated posting my new pictures on Flickr
http://flickr.com/photos/chmoss/

So, for an almost complete view of where my pictures are, you must now go to all of
http://clive.moss.net
http://www.pbase.com/chmoss/profile
http://clive.smugmug.com
http://flickr.com/photos/chmoss/

Why? Its a long story, best told some other time. In short - the web evolves, storage schemas evolve, group interactions evolve - so I am scattered.

In Memoriam - Gertie Moss - Passed away on Thursday November 3, 2005 (1 Chesvan 5766) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

As she would like to be remembered - Margate Beach - 1957. For more, see here

Google Maps Mania

If you like maps you must check out this website. It tracks applications the are built on top of the open API to Google maps (like this CTA map) , as wells as tools to build more maps..
These applications are a window into the future of web-based applications for we have been waiting for ever so long.
On a similar note, look at what Amazon is doing with maps. Street Photography at its most basic!

The Smoking Gun: Arresting Images

Now -- if you are into portraiture, this is a great site.

The Smoking Gun: Arresting Images

Fall in Chicago...

... seems to be a little late this year -- but some spots are pretty. 

Frapper! - a neat new application

Frapper! is a neat application. It links to Google maps, and lets anyone create a group map. This is the kind of thing that happens when interfaces are opened and made accessible over the web.

I recently came across this "old" picture of Jacob and Julia

Jacob and Julia - about 4 years ago!

Happy New Year to all

May the New Year of 5766 bring a more peaceful world, free from both man-made and natural disasters.

Gina's wedding on Block Island

My first cousin (once removed) Gina got married on Block Island last week.
We traveled there with my sister Beverley and her husband Lionel (who were visiting from South Africa).

Starting to post again

I don't know why it has been hard for me to keep this Journal going -- something of apparently more pressing importance always gets in the way. However, I am going to try again. I am not sure why I want to do this. I think that the driving force for me is that when all is said and done, and my grandchildren have reached retirement age, and are trying to find out about their roots, this journal may be all that is left of me for them to wonder about. Blogger may not be around -- but web archive do seem to keeps everything. I have found things from my old web site that I had forgotten about, logged and stored by some web crawler.

You should read "The Island at the Center of the World" by Russell Shorto

In the interest of labor saving and because I agree with what she says, read the book after reading this review
Bookslut | The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto
The book can be found at Amazon here.

We went to Stratford to see Shakespeare

Last week we visited Stratford, Ontario.
See more pics here

Well ... my windshield is fixed, sorta kinda ...

So, the fixer arrived for the 2:00pm to 4:00pm fix at 6:00pm. He looked at the problem and said something along the lines of -- I am not sure I can fix that one, but I will have a go at it. He was clearly competent at what he did, and knew the limitations of the method he was using. He patched it, and the crack may or may not spread. We will wait and see, and hope that I do not get another $1000 ding soon.

How to get a chip in your auto windshield fixed

On a trip to Stratford, Ontario, I noticed a small chip in my windshield. This being a new car (less than 1000 miles on the clock), I called Lexus. Thus started a long sequence of calls, which I document here to prepare the reader for this ordeal.

1. Call Lexus. Get transferred to service department. Get information that they can surely fix it, no problem. Just bring it in. Warranty coverage, I ask. No, he says. All you need do is pay. No thanks, I say.
2. Call Allstate insurance . Yes, it is covered, but with a $500 deductible. If it is less than that, I should not make a claim.
3. Call Lexus. Get transferred to service department. How much, I ask. $1000 to replace the windshield, he says. AARGH, I say. Less if it can be patched, he says, we have a guy that comes in to do great patches.
   
4. Call Allstate. Make claim. She asks -- is it larger than a dollar? Is it in your line of sight? No, I say. OK, she says, if it can be laser treated, than Allstate will fix it, no deductible. Who do you want to have it fixed by? Here is a list of names. Wait, I say. Can I use the Lexus fixer. Sure, she says, if he is on our list.
5. Call Lexus. Get transferred to service department. Get voicemail. Hang up.
   
6. Call Lexus. Explain that I do not want voicemail. Get transferred to service department. Get voicemail. Hang up.
7. Call Lexus. Get transferred to a real person in the service department. Get the name of their windshield guy.
8. Call Allstate. Give them name of windshield guy. Yes, he is a preferred provider. Get transferred to Estella at windshield guy. She says to call at 8:30 Wednesday to get a time for the appointment.
9. Call Estella. Guy answers. I am calling to get the time of my appointment, I say. Pregnant pause. My name is Clive Moss. Pregnant pause. Can I speak to Estella, I ask. Sure, he says. Pause. Estella on the phone. She says -- I will call you back in 5 minutes. I wait 30 minutes.
   
10. Call Estella. Guy answers. Can I speak to Estella? Sure he says. Appointment is made for between 2 an 4 o'clock today.

Watch this space for the next enthralling episode...

PAW (Picture a week) - Julia at Summer Camp

I have caught up at last! Click on the image to see it larger. If you want to see my cumulative efforts for 2005..Click here

Olympia DualPhone for Skype

Do you want to use Skype like a normal telephone? I have a telephone like handset that plugs into a soundboard that works pretty well, but it has a short cord and no wireless capability. For a better way, look at this.
Olympia DualPhone for Skype reviewed - Engadget - www.engadget.com
And here is another way of doing it for only $69.

My China trip pictures have been uploaded...

... to smugmug. At last I have finished editing the images from our China and Tibet trip. We had a wonderful time, and we can heartily recommend Overseas Adventure Travel as a tour company. If you have never visited China - go now if you can.
This picture was taken at the Sera Monastery in Tibet -- probably the most exotic location I shall ever visit. The whole Monastery has changed very little in past several hundred years -- with the exception of the monks' shoes.

OK -- I am back from China

We returned from our China trip in the middle of June. My first reaction - WOW. I feel like the Europeans must have felt on seeing America emerging as the "New World". The energy and vitality and dauntless enthusiasm of the people and the economy they are fueling are overwhelming. If I could speak/read Chinese I would consider emigrating (if I could persuade my family to follow. I have done it once without family -- that was enough.) Barring unfortunate government action, China will emerge as a major - perhaps the dominant - world economic power.
Modern China, not the USA, stands as the experiment that proves the power of the marketplace. The USA's strength could arguably be ascribed to many independent factors -- the spirit of its large immigrant population, its natural resources, its constitution, democracy, its geographic isolation, you pick your own explanation. In China, we have the perfect controlled experiment. Until 1976, they had a centrally planned economy. They switched to a market economy. Nothing else changed. Bingo -- every thing got better.

PS-That's the Shanghai skyline viewed from the Bundt.