Friday, February 09, 2018
Friday, March 10, 2017
Friday, December 30, 2016
Very exited about these new hay roll pictures!
Monday, October 31, 2016
Waiting for the green Light
This is "In the Night" It is actually to be cropped by the frame and will be 14x22" I drove by here again the other day. It is at Post Oak and old Katy? Somewhere in that area.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
New series of paintings with night/day Themes.
The first one is an 18x24 oil titled 'Night Glow'
Above: 14x22 'In The Night'
Friday, September 02, 2016
Women's 2016 Olympic Soccer Qualification Final
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Deep Space Explorer Spaceship
Monday, April 25, 2016
Monday, March 07, 2016
Lead pencil sketches of Sci-fi lifeboat
Thursday, August 06, 2015
Observations of Brazil from a native Texas Resident
OBSERVATIONS OF BRAZIL FROM A NATIVE TEXAN
By: Glenn Mondshine (revised 2-3-16)
Before you decide to go to Brazil, get familiar with exactly what you are getting into. Your decision is a powerful one because it will send you far, far away, and you cannot get back to the states quickly. I spent 26 days in Pacajus, Brazil, which is near the city of Fortaleza in the state of Ceara. My girlfriend has relatives there so we had a house to stay in.
The travel part of the trip is one of the harder elements. It is possible to miss an airplane if you are not careful. Sometimes you will have to change planes in another city and they don't give you much time. American Airlines had cancelled my flight on departure day so I stayed at the airport for nine hours waiting for the next trip to Sao Paulo. I never heard them announce my group to board the plane and and almost missed it. Do not trust airline workers to accomplish your agenda. You have to look out for yourself.
There are a lot of hazards in Brazil that we don't have in Texas. In the small cities you walk everywhere unless you are going across town. Be alert when you move around the city. You have to keep cash and electronics hidden as much as possible. Crossing the street is hard to get used to because cars will not stop for you. It took me several weeks to forget what I do in Texas and learn what to watch for before stepping into the street. There are lots of motorcycles in the streets and the riders seem pretty good because they get so much practice. The hospitals may not be able to patch you up if you decide to ride one. They are just not willing to treat you right if they can avoid it. I saw two injured riders at the hospital get ignored. The more effective emergency rooms are probably in Fortaleza.
A quiet, zen-like state this place is not. There are cars with speakers stacked on them that drive through the city making noise like a loud concert. They do not spare the residential streets either. Locals blast their overpowered systems from their front porches all day if they think it's a good idea. This noise would never be tolerated in Texas. There seems to be problems getting people to protest and make changes. Noise can come in the form of loud motorcycles and cars too. I saw a lot of modified pipes on the scooters and Honda 125's.
The Brazilian house is not built the same as the average Texas one. The walls are made of a red brick that seems abundant in supply. The roofs have a different red clay tile that keeps out the rain but lets the air in. The houses have windows but not glass. They are openings with wood doors on hinges to serve as ventilation. You can escape the heat by avoiding the sun and finding shade. The houses have open areas with red tile roofs to block the sun. Hammock hooks are standard design in the houses and rooms so you can always use one of them to relax in the shade.
The utilities include electricity, gas, water and plumbing. Do not expect to take hot showers. The water can be cold if you are not used to it. Prepare to practice water conservation because sometimes you won't have it from the pipes. In this case you use reserve cans in the bathrooms until the elevated tank refills.
All of my cooking was taken care of by relatives, saving me from having to go out and buy prepared food. You can go buy fully cooked chickens at some of the nearby shops. They will also have sides of rice and beans. At our house the hosts were generous with large lunches and dinners. You will never go hungry here unless you are a vegetarian. There are not a lot of vegetables served here, but if you looked for them and worked at it you might get by. The coffee is mild and sweet with low caffeine level. In the house was adding sugar to the brew (her mother) but I got her to back it off. It was still not harsh. Stay away from pizzas because I got very sick from the cheese on one. My girlfriend took me to this hospital where I was able to get a saline bag in my arm, blood test, and prescription. As mentioned earlier, others ones with significant injuries, were largely neglected.
One day we shopped for a cotton blanket and a pillow for sleep at night. The hammock is an option if the bed isn't too good. Beware of sleep because earlier I mentioned there is a noise problem. Expect loud music on weekends and religious music in your bedroom whether you choose to go to church or not. An electric fan will also be worth it if one is not already provided.
On the Fortaleza area beaches you will find a much better scene than
that of the Gulf Coast. The sand is cleaner. Instead of brown and
gray, you get yellow and white. It does not burn your feet so readily
and will leave a more accurate yet volatile footprint. You will also
find a bigger wave and steeper beach. You can get away with wearing a
bikini if you are male, even if you are out of shape. In Texas you
would silently offend but here you have free reign. If you go to a more
crowded beach on a weekend there will be lots of Braziledas showing
off.
Despite all this, the Fortaleza beaches are a shadow of their former
glory. There is a long paved pier made from granite rocks with a wood
railing that needs paint. It would be a big project to re-paint it.
That was the idea in the first place, to have a grand pier. Everywhere
you find a wall, it will probably has graffiti. It is usually black
marks that look more like scribble than anything else. There is
probably a correlation between the amount of graffiti and mood of the
residents. More graffiti means less prosperity. Last time I came to
Fortaleza, the graffiti was not quite as bad. In Pacajus the graffiti
is less pronounced but the trash problem is big. Local governments
don’t use the taxes properly or steal the funds.
I don't get the sense that things are getting better even after a world cup blew through a year ago. In fact the addition to the airport was still under construction on our way out. With the value of the $Real being down against dollars, I see a struggling economy as the reasons for the graffiti and trash.
The language is what is holding things together here, as there is lots of communication going on. Those living here will have the task of becoming involved in their public affairs if it is to improve. We have the same sort of problem in America which is apathy towards civic affairs. We have our opinions but rarely do we take any action.
We were able to travel to the mountains, yet the trip was bumpy and a little bit scary. The problem is the big trucks coming at you on a two-lane highway. There are bumps and holes that drivers try to avoid and the yellow line gets crossed a lot. In the mountain towns it is quiet and desolate between locales. We drove for thirty minutes on a dirt road with nothing but the road and brush before a town appeared. It looked like the only road and it delivers all the water and resources.
The fruits found here are a nice treat because it will be new to you. The cashew fruit or caju, which is out of season, is one of my favorites and there is nothing like it in Texas. I found some half-size bananas called banana prata, or silver bananas, which were better than the boring ones you get here. A strange green fruit called atemoia is soft and white on the inside. It is very sweet like a vanilla shake. You will find cold green coconuts served on most beaches with a straw for the water inside. Imagine the canned coconut water here, without all the sugar and pulp.
There are a surprisingly small number of soccer fields here. Besides indoor, the ones I saw were mostly dirt or sand with an occasional set of metal goal posts. The guys like to play barefoot on the sand.
I was able to handle being without TV, cars, and retail because I was writing and painting. There is a lot of time to use and I bring art supplies to work on acrylic and water color paintings. I just set up two chairs in the shaded courtyard and get to it. The paint dries real fast because of the dry heat. Its good to have that but I add mixes to slow the drying when needed. Being able to turn inward and be independent for stretches of time allowed me to thrive. Bring books and a little LED light to read at night. Anything to keep you productive. Play chess, do puzzles.
This
piece was not meant to be a travel guide, but a look at the experience
of going to Brazil. It is a troubled country, stemming mainly from the
rich politicians' lack of ethics. America has its screwed up and
scattered interests, but there is at least a functioning infrastructure
of rules. It is hard to get action from the police to stop excess
noise. It will be up to the community members to make a movement
towards noise free life.
Brazil is geographically isolated from the world. Try getting around without a plane and you will see it is its own planet. Without rules and enforcement, it is up to the people to lead the way towards reform. I know of a retired friend from Texas living in Ecuador. He and his wife are in a retired community of American ex-patriots. The community there is very nice and peaceful. A good sign of improvement in Brazil would be for ex-patriots to start setting up camp there. Make that awful graffiti go away and I bet you see that start happening.
By: Glenn Mondshine (revised 2-3-16)
Before you decide to go to Brazil, get familiar with exactly what you are getting into. Your decision is a powerful one because it will send you far, far away, and you cannot get back to the states quickly. I spent 26 days in Pacajus, Brazil, which is near the city of Fortaleza in the state of Ceara. My girlfriend has relatives there so we had a house to stay in.
The travel part of the trip is one of the harder elements. It is possible to miss an airplane if you are not careful. Sometimes you will have to change planes in another city and they don't give you much time. American Airlines had cancelled my flight on departure day so I stayed at the airport for nine hours waiting for the next trip to Sao Paulo. I never heard them announce my group to board the plane and and almost missed it. Do not trust airline workers to accomplish your agenda. You have to look out for yourself.
There are a lot of hazards in Brazil that we don't have in Texas. In the small cities you walk everywhere unless you are going across town. Be alert when you move around the city. You have to keep cash and electronics hidden as much as possible. Crossing the street is hard to get used to because cars will not stop for you. It took me several weeks to forget what I do in Texas and learn what to watch for before stepping into the street. There are lots of motorcycles in the streets and the riders seem pretty good because they get so much practice. The hospitals may not be able to patch you up if you decide to ride one. They are just not willing to treat you right if they can avoid it. I saw two injured riders at the hospital get ignored. The more effective emergency rooms are probably in Fortaleza.
A quiet, zen-like state this place is not. There are cars with speakers stacked on them that drive through the city making noise like a loud concert. They do not spare the residential streets either. Locals blast their overpowered systems from their front porches all day if they think it's a good idea. This noise would never be tolerated in Texas. There seems to be problems getting people to protest and make changes. Noise can come in the form of loud motorcycles and cars too. I saw a lot of modified pipes on the scooters and Honda 125's.
The Brazilian house is not built the same as the average Texas one. The walls are made of a red brick that seems abundant in supply. The roofs have a different red clay tile that keeps out the rain but lets the air in. The houses have windows but not glass. They are openings with wood doors on hinges to serve as ventilation. You can escape the heat by avoiding the sun and finding shade. The houses have open areas with red tile roofs to block the sun. Hammock hooks are standard design in the houses and rooms so you can always use one of them to relax in the shade.
The utilities include electricity, gas, water and plumbing. Do not expect to take hot showers. The water can be cold if you are not used to it. Prepare to practice water conservation because sometimes you won't have it from the pipes. In this case you use reserve cans in the bathrooms until the elevated tank refills.
All of my cooking was taken care of by relatives, saving me from having to go out and buy prepared food. You can go buy fully cooked chickens at some of the nearby shops. They will also have sides of rice and beans. At our house the hosts were generous with large lunches and dinners. You will never go hungry here unless you are a vegetarian. There are not a lot of vegetables served here, but if you looked for them and worked at it you might get by. The coffee is mild and sweet with low caffeine level. In the house was adding sugar to the brew (her mother) but I got her to back it off. It was still not harsh. Stay away from pizzas because I got very sick from the cheese on one. My girlfriend took me to this hospital where I was able to get a saline bag in my arm, blood test, and prescription. As mentioned earlier, others ones with significant injuries, were largely neglected.
One day we shopped for a cotton blanket and a pillow for sleep at night. The hammock is an option if the bed isn't too good. Beware of sleep because earlier I mentioned there is a noise problem. Expect loud music on weekends and religious music in your bedroom whether you choose to go to church or not. An electric fan will also be worth it if one is not already provided.
On the Fortaleza area beaches you will find a much better scene than
that of the Gulf Coast. The sand is cleaner. Instead of brown and
gray, you get yellow and white. It does not burn your feet so readily
and will leave a more accurate yet volatile footprint. You will also
find a bigger wave and steeper beach. You can get away with wearing a
bikini if you are male, even if you are out of shape. In Texas you
would silently offend but here you have free reign. If you go to a more
crowded beach on a weekend there will be lots of Braziledas showing
off.
Despite all this, the Fortaleza beaches are a shadow of their former
glory. There is a long paved pier made from granite rocks with a wood
railing that needs paint. It would be a big project to re-paint it.
That was the idea in the first place, to have a grand pier. Everywhere
you find a wall, it will probably has graffiti. It is usually black
marks that look more like scribble than anything else. There is
probably a correlation between the amount of graffiti and mood of the
residents. More graffiti means less prosperity. Last time I came to
Fortaleza, the graffiti was not quite as bad. In Pacajus the graffiti
is less pronounced but the trash problem is big. Local governments
don’t use the taxes properly or steal the funds.I don't get the sense that things are getting better even after a world cup blew through a year ago. In fact the addition to the airport was still under construction on our way out. With the value of the $Real being down against dollars, I see a struggling economy as the reasons for the graffiti and trash.
The language is what is holding things together here, as there is lots of communication going on. Those living here will have the task of becoming involved in their public affairs if it is to improve. We have the same sort of problem in America which is apathy towards civic affairs. We have our opinions but rarely do we take any action.
We were able to travel to the mountains, yet the trip was bumpy and a little bit scary. The problem is the big trucks coming at you on a two-lane highway. There are bumps and holes that drivers try to avoid and the yellow line gets crossed a lot. In the mountain towns it is quiet and desolate between locales. We drove for thirty minutes on a dirt road with nothing but the road and brush before a town appeared. It looked like the only road and it delivers all the water and resources.
The fruits found here are a nice treat because it will be new to you. The cashew fruit or caju, which is out of season, is one of my favorites and there is nothing like it in Texas. I found some half-size bananas called banana prata, or silver bananas, which were better than the boring ones you get here. A strange green fruit called atemoia is soft and white on the inside. It is very sweet like a vanilla shake. You will find cold green coconuts served on most beaches with a straw for the water inside. Imagine the canned coconut water here, without all the sugar and pulp.
There are a surprisingly small number of soccer fields here. Besides indoor, the ones I saw were mostly dirt or sand with an occasional set of metal goal posts. The guys like to play barefoot on the sand.
I was able to handle being without TV, cars, and retail because I was writing and painting. There is a lot of time to use and I bring art supplies to work on acrylic and water color paintings. I just set up two chairs in the shaded courtyard and get to it. The paint dries real fast because of the dry heat. Its good to have that but I add mixes to slow the drying when needed. Being able to turn inward and be independent for stretches of time allowed me to thrive. Bring books and a little LED light to read at night. Anything to keep you productive. Play chess, do puzzles.
This
piece was not meant to be a travel guide, but a look at the experience
of going to Brazil. It is a troubled country, stemming mainly from the
rich politicians' lack of ethics. America has its screwed up and
scattered interests, but there is at least a functioning infrastructure
of rules. It is hard to get action from the police to stop excess
noise. It will be up to the community members to make a movement
towards noise free life.Brazil is geographically isolated from the world. Try getting around without a plane and you will see it is its own planet. Without rules and enforcement, it is up to the people to lead the way towards reform. I know of a retired friend from Texas living in Ecuador. He and his wife are in a retired community of American ex-patriots. The community there is very nice and peaceful. A good sign of improvement in Brazil would be for ex-patriots to start setting up camp there. Make that awful graffiti go away and I bet you see that start happening.
Friday, March 04, 2011
Small plane propeller
An airplane propeller spins at about 2,300 rpm during takeoff. That means in one second the prop spins 38 times around. When the engine is idling it is spinning about 13 times in one second.
It is amazing that a piston engine can turn a shaft that fast.
It is amazing that a piston engine can turn a shaft that fast.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Best Episodes of Star Trek - Ever!
Top episodes of Star Trek series:
The Man Trap episode 6
The Galileo Seven 14
The Squire of Gothos 18
The Devil in the Dark 26
Metamorphisis 31
Who Mourns for Adonais? 33
Amok Time 34
The Doomsday Machine 35
I, Mudd 41
The trouble with Tribbles 42
Bread and Circuses 43
The Enterprise Incident 59
Whom God's Destroy 71
All Our Yesterdays 78
Honorable Mention:
Balance of Terror 9
Arena 19
A Private Little War 45
Assignment Earth 55
For The World is Hollow And I Have Touched the Sky 65
The episode numbers do not necessarily reflect the first airing date.
My information is not confirmed.
My criteria is based on:
1. good acting and performances, high drama, conflict between characters.
2. Mind-expanding themes
3. Redemption of characters that went evil but came back to good at the last minute
(Episodes - 43, 71)
4. Stories that help create and expand the Star Trek universe and develop characters.
The Man Trap episode 6
The Galileo Seven 14
The Squire of Gothos 18
The Devil in the Dark 26
Metamorphisis 31
Who Mourns for Adonais? 33
Amok Time 34
The Doomsday Machine 35
I, Mudd 41
The trouble with Tribbles 42
Bread and Circuses 43
The Enterprise Incident 59
Whom God's Destroy 71
All Our Yesterdays 78
Honorable Mention:
Balance of Terror 9
Arena 19
A Private Little War 45
Assignment Earth 55
For The World is Hollow And I Have Touched the Sky 65
The episode numbers do not necessarily reflect the first airing date.
My information is not confirmed.
My criteria is based on:
1. good acting and performances, high drama, conflict between characters.
2. Mind-expanding themes
3. Redemption of characters that went evil but came back to good at the last minute
(Episodes - 43, 71)
4. Stories that help create and expand the Star Trek universe and develop characters.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Here It is Xmas
Am not thinking about Christmas except for the family get together. Its been an incredible but painful year for me. My work at the engineering firm went into long hours from the end of July all up to now. Yes I made some money but it was hard on my life and I lost a lot of sleep. I started playing indoor soccer last spring and upgraded to a full field team and league. So I am getting better at it and have been keeping in good shape as a result.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The computer de-evolution and random thoughts
I like newspapers for getting my news but I rarely use them. I don't like seeing newspapers close down due to internet news. This brings me to the question of how do you know if technological advances are really improvements? My guess is that if it brings people together instead of isolating them, it is good. Computers by their nature have one person per monitor and that tends to isolate people. So not everything about computers are good. We haven't totally seen the result in society yet.
I see the waste and arrogance of Americans catching up with them. There are so many new cars for sale that we don't have enough people to buy them. Why do the car manufacturers keep rolling new ones out of the factory? Why don't they make toasters? I could use one that doesn't burn my waffles.
I hear on the radio that people feel sublime happiness when they become debt-free. I am debt free and don't have this happy feeling because its what I'm used to. I don't know what its like to spend money that I don't possess. I've never known how to buy a bunch of expensive furniture and TV's and be relaxed with the fact that its borrowed.
I see the waste and arrogance of Americans catching up with them. There are so many new cars for sale that we don't have enough people to buy them. Why do the car manufacturers keep rolling new ones out of the factory? Why don't they make toasters? I could use one that doesn't burn my waffles.
I hear on the radio that people feel sublime happiness when they become debt-free. I am debt free and don't have this happy feeling because its what I'm used to. I don't know what its like to spend money that I don't possess. I've never known how to buy a bunch of expensive furniture and TV's and be relaxed with the fact that its borrowed.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
DIgital Photography is Annoying
Easy come is easy go with digital photography. You don't have to own as many skills to take digital photos as you would need with film. In a popular trade magazine I read an opinion from a working photographer who criticized the ones who were still using film. He told them to get over it and start using digital.
Why is digital better? It is easier to deal with and you can do special effects.
Well I was at a rehearsal performance of an opera and the press photographer took 500 or more photos of two singers for 40 minutes. The camera makes noise every time it takes, and its over the orchestra and the singers that I'm hearing this. Since film costs money, I don't think they would take many shots. With digital, its easy come and go and when you are infecting a musical performance you are a parasite. This trying to record something and suck it into your camera at the expense of the purity of the event itself is why I have turned my back on photography. It is a trade I have little respect for. I can understand why celebrities hate paparazzi.
Why is digital better? It is easier to deal with and you can do special effects.
Well I was at a rehearsal performance of an opera and the press photographer took 500 or more photos of two singers for 40 minutes. The camera makes noise every time it takes, and its over the orchestra and the singers that I'm hearing this. Since film costs money, I don't think they would take many shots. With digital, its easy come and go and when you are infecting a musical performance you are a parasite. This trying to record something and suck it into your camera at the expense of the purity of the event itself is why I have turned my back on photography. It is a trade I have little respect for. I can understand why celebrities hate paparazzi.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
I have Re-inserted myself
I was able to get back into the blog which for the longest time I had a faulty password or user name. This illustrates a point about computers. They are so hard to get into they can block the owner out too. I have a bank account where I can pay bills online and I sometimes avoid using it because my password is so difficult to type much less remember, that I just use a stamp and mail it. JJhuio87JJlo, something like that. I have an Apple computer which allows you to store all your passwords on a program called key chain. And you have to have a password to open the keys.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Things That Ring True
A hate crime is no different than a crime-crime.
When a convicted criminal gets 26 consecutive life sentences, it is the same as one life sentence.
The nutrition information on a bottle of water is worthless.
For every second you watch a movie at the theater, the projector is emitting 24 blank frames.
If you're driving with hazard lights on, you are making yourself a hazard.
More wrecks are caused by cars going below the speed limit than above.
If the age of the universe was 1 year, the human race would have been in existence for 12 seconds.
If the distance was compressed to 6 feet between the Sun and Pluto, the nearest star would be over 3 miles away.
The higher the wattage of a radio station, the lower the quality of the music. The stations that have low wattage and don't come in well have the best music.
On TV, more commercials of shorter length shown often are better than lengthy commercial strings placed less often.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
I wrote a song, ...Sure you did.
A lot of musicians with albums out are always talking about how they wrote this or that song. What they really mean to say is they worked up a song with some other players and recorded it. They probably didn't write any notes on paper. A song is written when it is on a piece of paper, and can be handed to a musician or group of musicians, and played, few questions asked.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Moviemaking Process
I rented Blade III and watched the extra CD that came with it and found out some interesting things about film production. The Panavision cameras that most movies are made with cannot be purchased and are rented. They cost $300,000 a piece so if you break one you better have insurance on it. In the Blade movie Jessica Biel is a vampire hunter who used a bow and arrow. In one shot, she's shooting an arrow right at the camera. They had the camera protected except for a hole for the lens, and wouldn't you know it her arrow went through the hole and destroyed the camera!
Directors can see every take on a video playback screen thats in unison with the camera lens. So the modern filmmaker can see his shot before the film gets processed. How easy they've made it! They have camera movement devices that can fly arpound in the air and twist on multiple axis with clean precision. Any movement you can think of, the technology is there for you. Of course plan on spending a few million dollars.
Moviemaking like most other things in the world has become so high-tech that its easy to get lost in the process and forget about plot. I think thats a problem with a lot of films today.
Directors can see every take on a video playback screen thats in unison with the camera lens. So the modern filmmaker can see his shot before the film gets processed. How easy they've made it! They have camera movement devices that can fly arpound in the air and twist on multiple axis with clean precision. Any movement you can think of, the technology is there for you. Of course plan on spending a few million dollars.
Moviemaking like most other things in the world has become so high-tech that its easy to get lost in the process and forget about plot. I think thats a problem with a lot of films today.
Wheels
Have you ever looked around when driving, and seen all the wheels? Everywhere you look there's wheels spinning on cars, trucks, buses, and shopping carts. I think we take the wheel for granted, but depend on them heavily. Without them nothing would move in our world.
Some author wrote about the ten most important inventions of mankind and the wheel wasn't one of them. I was surprised at first, but now think that it wasn't really an invention but something that just is. It can't be expressed mathematically so it must have an element of mystery to it. I don't understand how the wheel works in theory, but grasp some of it from watching them move.
Some author wrote about the ten most important inventions of mankind and the wheel wasn't one of them. I was surprised at first, but now think that it wasn't really an invention but something that just is. It can't be expressed mathematically so it must have an element of mystery to it. I don't understand how the wheel works in theory, but grasp some of it from watching them move.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)