Tuesday, December 26, 2017

POTD: Santa Rests

From 2017 12 01 Galveston

God Rest You Merry, Santa Claus. Today's photo-of-the-day is from a curb along the Strand in Galveston, Texas. Although this photo was taken in early December, it seems appropriate for the day after Christmas. After a busy day delivering presents, Santa deserves a vacation somewhere it's warm, right? Maybe even give him a beer.

Monday, December 25, 2017

POTD: Merry Christmas from the Strand

From 2017 12 01 Galveston

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Saengerfest Park on the Strand in Galveston. Good health is the best Christmas present of all.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Sunday, December 24, 2017

POTD: Merry Christmas from Galveston Beach

From 2017 12 01 Galveston

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the beach in Galveston, Texas. I picked up a small seashell for "L" to add to the souvenirs she keeps in her jacket pocket. It joins another tiny shell from Hermosa Beach in Los Angeles and a bead that "L" was given in Mumbai along the jetty by the Gateway of India. An old man approached "L" and held out his hand offering something. She naturally opened her own hand to receive what he offered after which he motioned for a donation. For a few rupees, "L" ended up with a souvenir tucked away forever in the pocket of her jacket. Her jacket spends most of the year put away in her closet at home, but when the weather turns cold and she puts it on, the forgotten surprises she finds in the pockets are pleasant memories of places worlds away.

Another photo after the jump.

Friday, December 22, 2017

Review: How the Mind Works

How the Mind Works
Amazon
From How the Mind Works, by Steven Pinker:
Open quote 

The complex structure of the mind is the subject of this book. Its key idea can be captured in a sentence: The mind is a system of organs of computation, designed by natural selection to solve the kinds of problems our ancestors faced in their foraging way of life, in particular, understanding and outmaneuvering objects, animals, plants, and other people."

That's the gist of this 20-year-old best-selling work of popular science. It's what attracted me. After the jump, whether it succeeded.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

POTD: Little Boxes in Galveston

From 2017 12 01 Galveston

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Seawall Boulevard in Galveston, Texas. I'd name the condominium complex, but they all look just the same.

Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes all the same
There's a pink one and a green one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same

The song is from 1963. It must have made quite an impression on my 12-year-old mind, for it comes to mind automatically anytime I'm presented with a scene like this.