The Ice Storm

As I write this post it's day 3 of the 2008 ice storm here in Maine and I'm still without power at home. However, the CMP guys tell me our power should be back up within 15 minutes.

Admittedly, it was frustrating to go without power for three days when neighbors across the street, around the corner and behind me all had their power back the same day. However, we were blessed to have good friends who put us up for 3 days and 2 nights. Luckily, our daughters and theirs played like angels the entire time. It was more like an extended slumber party than anything else.

For the grownups, bourbon and beer got us through.

Besides the kindness of friends, the other silver lining was some great photos I got of the ice storm. You can view them in the slideshow below or at Flickr: Ice Storm 2008.

Rich Brooks
Thawing

Photos from Harbor Fish Market, Portland, Maine

Tonight's my last class of Introduction to the SLR at the University of Southern Maine, and we're having a critique of our photos. This kind of snuck up on me, but luckily my friends over at Harbor Fish Market were kind enough to let me come in and take some photos for class.

What's so cool about Harbor Fish Market is that it's a real fish market, not a tourist trap. As you can (hopefully) see from the photos, the fish is incredibly fresh and high quality; people and restaurants from around the country order from Harbor Fish.

Entering the retail store is a blast. The floors are uneven and a bit wet...you have to watch your step! Giant lobster tanks line one wall, and local and fish from around the world lay displayed on ice. Unlike some other fish markets in town, the prices are very reasonable, and the people who work there are very real, very cool, and very authentic.

There's a slide show below of some of the other photos I took. If anything looks appetizing you can have fresh, Maine seafood delivered to your door for dinner tomorrow. Just call 1-800-370-1790 x2 and ask for my good friend Robyn. She'll treat you right.

Rich Brooks
Fishing for Compliments

How to Take a Screen Capture of Your iPhone

If you've ever wanted to take a screen capture of your iPhone, here's how you do it:

Hold down the top button and click the big circle button at the bottom. The photo will appear in your photos section, and then you can email it to a friend or to tech support.

BTW, here's a possible April Fool's Day Trick. Confuse your friend swiping their iPhone while they're not looking and taking a random screen capture. Make it their wallpaper and/or the last screen the was up before the phone went to sleep. It's not a perfect trick, but it will confound them as they madly pound their iPhone screen with their fingers.

Chrystie Corns (@ccmaine) taught me that little trick, although the bit of evil was thrown in by me.

Rich Brooks
iPhony

Is 9/11 the New American National Holiday?

Today is September 11th, 2008, the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States. It's also the day after I started listening to Thomas Friedman's new book, Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How it Can Renew America.

Although I've just begun it, the book talks a lot about post-9/11 America, missed opportunities and our focus on security over freedom and collaboration. As Friedman states it, since 9/11 America has been in a "defensive crouch"...not the best position for a country that considers itself to be a world leader.

Having just started the book, it's hard to know if this is where Friedman's argument will ultimately go, but it seems to me that 9/11 currently has more impact on our daily lives than July 4th.

9/11 is about fear, uncertainty and the desire for security. 7/4 is about freedom and democracy. We can choose how we wish to be defined: are we about fear, or are we about democracy?

We all have gone through personal tragedies, or know someone who has--be they natural or man-made. Some people never truly recover, while others become stronger, even if they were scarred by the event. They don't allow themselves to become defined by that event, except in the fact that they were able to overcome it and go on living.

I'll continue to observe 9/11 and mourn those who died, but I refuse to let it cloud my vision about this country's potential...about the principles it was founded on: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I choose to do what I can to focus on freedom; in the way I live, in the way I act, and in the way I vote. I hope you can do the same.

"He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither." -- Ben Franklin

Rich Brooks
American

Photo Credit: Paul Goyette

Google Chrome & Simon: Separated at Birth?

Decide for yourself.

The Art of Perception

How I see myself:

How others see me:

Rich Brooks
Am I Really That Gray?

Lessons from Vacation

We just got back from a week's vacation here in Maine and didn't see a truly sunny today until today, at which point we had until 10am to clean the house and checkout.

Luckily because of last-minute planning, the only available pickup all week on our boat rental was mid-afternoon today. Got about five prime hours on the pontoon with the family floating in the sun-dappled lake, walking on sandbars, watching the loons dive for lunch, and throwing back a couple of tall PBRs. Amazing how a strong finish can change the entire experience.

Here's a few other plusses to the week:

1. Saved a lot of money on bug spray and suntan lotion.
2. Greatly improved my jigsaw puzzle skills. At this point they're now skillz.
3. Didn't spend nearly as much on gas for the boat as I thought I would.
4. Finally saw "Step Up". Now will add "Step Up 2: The Streets" and "Step Up 3: Son of the Streets" to my Netflix queue.
5. Schooled my four- and six-year-olds in Guess Who? and Littlest Pet Shop Game.

Rich Brooks
Wrinkled

The Woman Who Haunts My Emails

I've gotten more emails with this woman's face than I care to count. (And these are the ones that make it past my two spam filters and junk folder.)

Who is this woman? I mean, this is a real person out there, making the rounds in spam.

If the old superstition is true, that a photograph steals a little of your soul, then this woman is toast.

Rich Brooks
Have You Seen Me?

Williams-Sonoma Packing Job

Today I received a belated Father's Day gift, a great mesh pan for grilling from Williams-Sonoma.

Unfortunately, it came packaged with enough non-recyclable peanuts to completely fill a tall garbage bag. Nuclear waste isn't so well protected. The New England Patriots don't have this much padding.

It's a freakin' mesh pan! Yesterday's newspaper could have protected it as effectively. There's gotta be a better way.

Williams-Sonoma: can't you find a more eco-friendly way to pack your products?

Rich Brooks
Can I Grill Those Peanuts?

Problems Opening Up Word Docs from the Internet Using Firefox

I don't know if other Mac users are having this problem, but recently anytime I download a Word doc from Basecamp, our online project management software, the file would appear on my desktop but it would refuse to open.

If I clicked on the downloaded document with Word open Word would come to the forefront sans document. (Nor would it appear in the Windows menu or the Open Recent menu.) If Word was closed, it would launch, but no file would open.

For those who care, I'm running Mac OS 10.5.3, Firefox 2.0.0.14, and Microsoft Word 12.1.0, part of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac.

The Workaround:

If I copy and paste the URL of the word doc into Safari the file downloads to my computer and I can open it just fine. This is starting to happen to others in our company, and I think it's a problem with Firefox, but I'm not positive. The rest of my staff is running Mac OS 10.4.x.

Anyway, I post this in case you've run into the same issue and need a workaround, until this bug gets fixed.

Update: Gloria from our office realized that if you right-click a Word doc from the Internet and "save as" you can open it no problem. Thanks, Gloria!

Rich Brooks
Master of the Workaround