Ambrogio

This is a 24-foot, 2-ton steel & fiberglass "Sforza Horse" outside the Tech Museum of Innovation in downtown San Jose. It is part of the "Leonardo da Vinci:500 Years into the Future" exhibit. Leonardo designed the horse as a gift to Ludovico il Moro to memorialize his father, Francesco Sforza, who was the Duke of Milan in the 1400's.

A few 5th graders from a local elementary school decided to nickname the horse "Ambrogio".

I will be out of town for the next week. I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate this holiday.

- Karen

California Academy of Sciences Museum #3

The first California Academy of Sciences Museum opened in 1874, but was leveled during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. #2 was opened in 1916, but was again damaged beyond repair from the 1989 earthquake. #3 reopened on September 27, 2008 and almost 2 months later, the museum still draws a huge crowd.

Touted as one of the greenest buildings in the world, runoff rainwater collects in receptacles in the basement used to irrigate the 2.5 acres of plants on the museum rooftop.

- Karen

Conservatory of Flowers

Opened in 1879, the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers houses thousands of plant and floral species from the tropical forests of more than fifty countries around the world.
Click here to see a picture of this site probably taken early 1900's?

Front entrance

Close-up side view

- Karen

Wednesday Hero

Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody
55 years old from Fort Belvoir, Virginia


Call it breaking the brass ceiling. Ann E. Dunwoody, after 33 years in the Army, ascended Friday to a peak never before reached by a woman in the U.S. military: four-star general.

At an emotional promotion ceremony, Dunwoody looked back on her years in uniform, said it was a credit to the Army—and a great surprise to her—that she would make history in a male-dominated military.

"Thirty-three years after I took the oath as a second lieutenant, I have to tell you this is not exactly how I envisioned my life unfolding," she told a standing-room-only auditorium. "Even as a young kid, all I ever wanted to do was teach physical education and raise a family.

"It was clear to me that my Army experience was just going to be a two-year detour en route to my fitness profession," she added. "So when asked, `Ann, did you ever think you were going to be a general officer, to say nothing about a four-star?' I say, `Not in my wildest dreams.'

"There is no one more surprised than I—except, of course, my husband. You know what they say, `Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man.'"

You can read the rest of Gen. Dunwoody's story here.


These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Taking Down the Flag

Two firetrucks with extended ladders were used to hold up a huge flag on display for a parade.

Each firefighter had to climb to the top of each ladder to untie the flag.

All hands on deck. How many people do you need to take down a flag?

I wonder how heavy it is?

- Karen

Patriotic Pair

The dog and her owner were audiences at the recent Veterans Day Parade. The dog was a good sport being all decked out in her red, white, & blue outfit and quite popular with the photographers including this one.

- Karen

Roving Videographer

At the recent Veterans Day Parade festivities, this guy on rollerskates planned ahead by wearing rollerskates to catch all the activities. This is a good idea, but I will first have to learn how to skate.

Have a nice weekend,
Karen

Veterans Day Parade

To honor Veterans Day on November 11th, I went to watch the local 90th annual Veterans Day Parade which the city of San Jose boasts to rival the one put on by New York City. The 2-hour parade paid tribute to all veterans through the years, the different branches of the armed forces, POWs, the Red Cross, veterans of various ethnical groups, Shriner groups, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, JROTC, high school marching bands, ...etc.

One can't help but feel patriotic with all the flag waving, military themed music playing, and the clapping by the audience as veterans walked through the parade route.

- Karen

Wednesday Hero

Spc. Kenneth W. Haines
25 years old from Fulton, New York
2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division
December 3, 2006


Spc. Kenneth Haines joined the United States Army in September 2000 as a fire support specialist and had been assigned to his unit for just over three years. He deployed to Iraq in October of 2006.

During his time in service, he received several military awards and decorations, including the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and National Defense Service Medal.

Spc. Haines was killed by an IED that was detonated near his vehicle while on patrol in Abu Hishma, Iraq.

All Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Mighty Moss

This electricity generataion power plant called the Moss Landing Power Plant or "Mightt Moss" started producing 560 megawatt of electricity back in 1950. After its modernization in 2002, the plant generated 2560 megawatts of power and is the largest electricity producing plant in California.

The structure looked ominous at night with its monstrous haystacks looming in the dark.

- Karen

Interesting Signs I've Seen

Seen outside the San Francisco Giants baseball stadium

I had to photograph this Microsoft Windows "Blue Screen of Death" display at the airport terminal

A warning sign at the San Diego Zoo.

Quiet Please, animal sleeping at the San Francisco Zoo.

- Karen

Santa Ana School

This one-room schoolhouse was built in 1872 for $2,000. Teachers at that time were paid about $4 or $5 a month and sometimes received room and board. A total of 54 teachers taught at the school with the last time being in 1974. Today, it is a museum.

These were classroom rules from the school. Do you remember some grade school rules from your past?

If you ever sat at one of these desks as a youngster, do remember all those carvings and maybe put in one or two of them yourself? Haha!

- Karen

Cable Car Museum & Powerhouse

This is San Francisco's Cable Car Museum & Powerhouse. It is the central hub of where all the running cable cars in the city get their power and a place to view vintage equipment and cable cars.

Before I visited this museum, I had no idea how cable cars were powered, but the diagram here shows you the basics. Cables seen in the first photo go in motion whenever cable cars in the city moved forward. It is quite fascinating. To read more about the museum, click here and to read more about the powerhouse, click here.

In 1873, the cable cars replaced the horsecars due to the animals' difficulty in climbing the steep hills of the city. When the electric streetcar became more economical to operate in 1947, the mayor requested the cable car service be stopped. Citizens rallied to save the cable cars and the rest is San Francisco history. Today, if you visit San Francisco and want to ride the cable car, even at $5 a pop, your wait can be up to 90 minute to board during the height of the tourist season.

- Karen

Praying Mantis Eyeing Me Cautiously

I spotted this praying mantis sitting on my front gate the other day. It managed to stay put as I ran inside the house to grab my digital camera. It just stared intensely at me as I photographed it for several minutes. I did not stay too close for too long in case it decides to leap towards me.

- Karen

Wednesday Hero

Cpt. Gussie M. Jones
41 years old from Raleigh, Arkansas
31st Combat Support Hospital
March 07, 2004


Cpt. Gussie Jones was born in Arkansas and was one of eight children. She began her Army career by enlisting in 1988 as a personnel clerk and climbed to the rank of a sergeant.

In 1986, Jones earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Arkansas Central University. She was selected to attend the Army Enlisted Commissioning Program and earned her second bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University in 1998. It was in nursing.

Her career as a registered nurse and a commissioned officer began in September 1998 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. In 2002, after completing a course in critical-care nursing, she was assigned to Beaumont Army Medical Center, where she became a mentor.

"She was a very dedicated person and was always smiling, said a co-worker and friend, Capt. Susan Gilbert. If anyone asked her to do something, she would do it. And she was very kind and gentle and patient with the patients."

Cpt. Jones died of a heart attack while on duty in Baghdad, Iraq. During her 15 years of military services, Jones received a Joint Service Commendation medal, four Army Commendation medals and three Army Achievement medals.

"She was so much a part of their team, and so her death must really affect their morale," Gilbert said. "I'm very worried about the other soldiers because they've lost their battle buddy."

All Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Election Day

HOPE

- Karen

Golden Gate Bridge

If you ever visit San Francisco, try to visit the popular tourist area called the Marin Headlands to see this beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline.

On this beautiful day I could see many boats from the Marin Headlands sailing the bay.

I caught another brave soul horsing around the water. If you remember, back in August, I caught another daring individual playing around the water. Click here to refresh your memory.

- Karen

Elkhorn Slough Nature Reserve

"A clam THIS BIG got away, honest!"

"I'm the cutest looking harbor seal around here!"

"I'm just sitting here minding my own business."

For those who observed Halloween, I hope you have recovered from your sugar rush. I have never been much for Halloween even as a kids so it's just another day to me. Call me weird!

If you have been following my posts for the few weeks, I have completed postings of my Seoul trip and now it's back to reality. Here are some photos I took recently at Elkhorn Slough. This nature reserve is about 2 hours drive south of San Francisco and hosts hundreds of species of plants and animals. It was my first time here and the sea otters literally swim right up to your boat if you are very quiet.

Nine friends and I rented a pontoon boat and its captain to take us around the slough for a 2-hour photographic tour of the wetlands and wildlife. The captain said we should come back in April to see some sea otter pups.

- Karen