By Ron on June 7, 2010
Last year we planted an ornamental onion and two peonies in a raised planter smack in the middle of our ferns. The onion bloomed last year, but the peonies did not. This year, reverse that by two-thirds. The onion is gone, and one of the two peonies sent up around 8 flowers. Also added to Flickr photostream is this panorama of Central Park that I took from the roof garden at the Met. I used the Panorama app on my iPhone, and the phone literally became warm while it was processing this one, but it did a fantastic job. Click for BIG full-sized version. This was all the Panorama app – I did no post-processing.
Posted in photography
By Ron on June 6, 2010
Signs of life on the blog. I’m starting with a full remodel. From scratch, as they say. I’m learning some things along the way that will help professionally at this point. I’ve also installed a linkchecker that reports many hundreds of broken links, so I’ve some work to do there as well.
I need to get more posts online asap. I’m sick of seeing Sarah Palin’s face.
Posted in blogosphere
By Ron on January 13, 2010
So Bill O’Reilly says Sarah Palin now has a platform from which she can immediately neutralize 60 Minutes. And for 60 Minutes and all those other biased journalists: you are on notice. The gig is up. I was almost expecting a wink there, Sarah.
Posted in politics
By Ron on January 4, 2010
Brad Graham was an inspiration to me, as I’m sure he was to many bloggers who’ve been around for the long haul. He’s been on my bookmarks list forever, even though he hasn’t written regularly on his blog in a few years (I know the feeling). It’s a real shock to learn of Brad’s death that was reported today. His Facebook page, which he last updated New Year’s Eve, is now an outpouring of love, remembrances, and the grief of his friends.
Just a few days ago, I retweeted one his Twitter posts. It was just a quick yet clever observation that showed his abundant wit: “iSlate = is late.” It’s pretty damn funny if you’re a Mac fanboy (as Brad was), and I thought it was another of those “perfect Brad” tweets. Unfortunately, it was also one of his last.
For many years, Brad’s blog was always THE FIRST STOP on April Fools Days when you fired up your web browser, and he never failed to deliver a temporary re-branding that left the reader in stitches. We won’t get to break bread with Brad ever again, but going forward I’ll have a nip and a toast every April 1st to remember TheBrad.
Posted in blogosphere, obituaries
By Ron on January 3, 2010
Last July I traveled back to my parents’ place with Marlin as part of a long weekend where we visited friends in State College for the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and then continued on to Clarion County where my dad’s family (Yeany) was having a family reunion. It’s been quite a few years since I attended a family reunion — it’s not a quick drive from Boston to central PA. But with the death of my grandfather last year (who was the last of 8 children in his family), I wanted to make better effort at remaining in touch with some of the extended family members.
We took a few side trips during the family reunion — a tour of my cousin’s boarding facilities for her kennel business, a tractor ride around the farm’s perimeter (photos here and here), and a visit to the cemetery. In this one small cemetery on a hill in village called Shannondale, I can visit the graves of my grandfather, great-grandfather, great(x3) grandfather, and great(x4) grandfather — whose original and replacement gravestones are pictured here.
I’m not sure about the grave location for great (x2) grandfather … I need to dig out my family tree and give dad or grandma a call to figure that one out.
Posted in featured, friends-family | Tagged family, photos
By Ron on January 2, 2010
Through the entirety of fall 2009, one thing filled a lot of my spare time: waiting for a new car. After owning several vehicles I bought “off the lot” I was finally in a position to order something I wanted and wait for it to be built. In this case, it was quite a long wait — almost 10 weeks. I ordered it while the BMW factory was on it’s month-long August vacation, and it would be built in Germany, necessitating a very long shipping process. It’s a BMW 335d — the “d” stands for diesel. After nearly 2 months in this car, I could not be happier — and I wonder why diesel vehicles are not catching on more quickly in the US. This car is a “green” car in every sense of the word. Ultra-low emissions. High efficiency (I’ve been getting 31 to 38 mpg). And it sure is nice passing Priuses (sp?) at 75 mph knowing I’m getting better mileage than them, and doing it in a vehicle that could be doing 120 in a matter of seconds after I stomp on the accelerator.
And the color — green as well. Tasman green, to be exact, which is not one of BMW’s most popular, but I love it. Here are some pics I took the week after getting it back in early November. I originally posted these in an online BMW forum where I spent hours upon hours obsessing with the other fanboys (and a few girls), where the brand’s aficionados are very passionate (and helpful and fun). I detailed the car and picked a nice location for some late afternoon shots, which really brings out the best in the Tasman green. Unfortunately, without a garage it will be a few more months until it’s this clean again.
Posted in automobiles | Tagged automobiles, BMW, photos
By Ron on January 1, 2010
I’ve been fortunate for the past two decades to get most of intersession as paid time off — one of the perks of working in higher education. I’ve often used part of that time off to do a redesign project with my blog.
This year, it’s not just a redesign, but a total reboot. New blog address at ronyeany.com/blog. Twitter and Flickr and Tumblr and Facebook and All That Social Networking Stuff accounts all now use the “ronyeany” name. Links for all those things are in the right column. Call it a personal brand reboot, if you will. I’ve brought along the old blog archives, but not the name — I’m not sure what, if anything, I’ll do with that for now.
Posted in blogosphere, my life | Tagged blogging, social media
