1 WTC

On our way back to the subway from our lunch in Chinatown, I looked south along one of the avenues, and was surprised to catch a glimpse of the new One World Trade Center.  It had just been declared the tallest building in the United States, because they said that the antenna on top was, in fact, a permanent structure.  I took this picture because I loved the contrast of the bulk of the dark buildings, compared to the relative elegance of One World Trade.  The thing is, however, that this is a stunning structure sweeping up into the sky, and my photo shows it dwarfed by the foreground buildings.

A block or so later I saw this view, and we can see the building  much better and it soars over every other building in the photo.  It represents 1 WTC more realistically.  However, I think that the first photo is far more interesting.  Perhaps because of the contrast in size, and the contrast in color.  But it doesn't represent the tallest building accurately.  I need to go down there and photograph looking straight up at it.

The Other Choice

When we had the snow showers the other day, I quickly photographed the Japanese maple as seen through the snowflakes, and posted that.  An hour or so later I got in the car to go to the store, and saw this single leaf on the windshield, along with some of the leftover snow.  It was hard to pick which picture to post, so I picked the more subtle one.  But I liked this as well, and here it is.

Seeing Differently

Two days after I did my Project ASTRO presentation to three middle school classes, my friend John was doing his second presentation to a class at a school an hour away.  He was doing a demonstration of free astronomy software that shows the sky both day and night.  I wanted to go see two things - how he taught the class, and I also wanted to learn how to use the software.  I took the "normal" shots of the class, of course, and then while watching the presentation with the software, saw this.  Hard to say when I noticed this, but the second that the arm went out, I realized I had something good. 

It's Snowing!

When I woke up this morning it was snowing!  I was not completely surprised because there was one forecast that talked of snow showers in the morning.  But still, it is probably the earliest snow that I can ever recall.  It was really beautiful, especially when seeing the large white flakes against the backgrounds of the trees which are still in color.  It was a beautiful sight, and fortunately, after turning the side yard white, the snow stopped.  

My Poor Sad Jack-O-Lantern

Life has come to an end for our poor sad jack-o-lantern.  He didn't last long even though I carved him on Halloween Eve.  Not sure why it had such a short life, because the temperatures were not that cold - if it freezes, then pumpkins don't last long at all.  I kept the Jack-O-Lantern lit for a number of nights after Halloween, and it was a surprise to see one morning that he had collapsed.  Of course, the thing that crossed my mind was that one day I may look like this!

Amy at Work

Hey!  Look who is in New York!  Amy flew to the East coast to have meetings with a bunch of her editors in Manhattan over several days, and in between times, get to visit her friends (and her parents!)  So we took the train to the city today, and went to a restaurant in Chinatown.  Only thing is, work would not leave her alone!  Ah, the joys of having a cell phone, so a person could be reached at all times! We had a great lunch and it was so nice to hang out with her for a couple of hours.

The Nibbler

The smokestacks that stand alone, are now coming down.  I wondered how they would do that, because there is not enough room around them to use explosives to topple them.  I had a chance to talk to one of the workmen, and he said that a "nibbler" would come in, and be lifted by a crane to the top of the smokestacks.  The nibbler has hydraulically operated jaws, and it is placed on the top of the masonry and it just chews its way down.  Every time a bunch of bricks fall all the way down, a cloud of dust could be seen.  It is amazing how much is gone now.  I will have to post before and after photographs.