You... yes, you. Join flickr.

I'm on a quest to get people to join flickr. Which... I'm just going to go ahead and say it... may be the coolest website on the whole www. So, here are my reasons why:

1. It's an easy way to share all your pictures with everyone.
2. It's also an easy way to share pictures with just a select few. You can create permissions and feel very powerful.
3. You can tag all your pictures which makes it easy to find that picture (and any other like it) very quickly.
4. It's free although you can purchase a pro account for some special added powers.
5. It's a community. I can comment on your pics, you can comment on mine, complete strangers can comment on other complete strangers.
6. You can draw little boxes on the pictures and add funny notes. Like, you can draw a box around someone's hair and say... hey, that's some stupid-looking hair.
7. When you log in, you get to see any new pictures your friends have added.
8. You can view pictures other places than your computer. I can view them on my iPhone and on my TV (via AppleTV) for instance. Of course, you'd have to have those things.
9. It's a great backup in case your house burns down and stuff.
10. And, for you fellow bloggers, it's easy to create a blog from any picture WITHIN flickr. That's right, you don't even have to leave the site.

There's other things too, but I have the uncontrollable urge to stop at 10. So, join flickr, won't you? If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try and help. As they say, flickr really is more fun when others join in.

If you want to see my flickr pages, see http://www.flickr.com/brad_holt and http://www.flickr.com/asherok

As if you care Lasik update

If anyone is considering Lasik and wanting to know how things are going with mine at 30 days, here you are: All things are great! I forget I had it, which I'd say is a good thing. I was a little concerned the first week. My far-away vision was good but I was having problems focusing on text a few feet away. It didn't really kick in that that had improved until today. I was at work at the front desk and a customer had a sample board about eight feet away. It had color swatches on it and under them, the color name in about 12 pt. text. I was reading them from the front desk and he said... "no way can you read that." And, I was like... oh, wow... I can! Which I don't think I could have done with contacts. So, yes, all praise to the lasik surgery. I go for my check-up in a few days. Barring any bad news there, I'd say go for it. (If you'd like to know how the actual surgery went, just click the Lasik label tag underneath this post.)

I am still unsure of when I will stop reaching for my glasses in the morning, though.

DC Vacation Update: Day 4

At the White House!
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Our final full day started with the White House. We went through the visitors center before the tour. I was pretty excited about going inside the White House. It just seemed sureal that one could do that, in this day anyway. What did I think? Well.... small, small, small! I couldn't believe how small the few rooms we got to see where. The blue, red and green rooms were a little startling. They're called those names for a reason. The State Dining Room was very understated though and quite elegant. We didn't get to see the East Room where the painting of George Washington hangs (the only thing saved from the WH before the British burned it) as some event was going on there. That was a little disappointing. At the end of the tour we got to go out the front door (!) and down the drive where we took a few pictures, knowing this is as close as we'll ever be to the WH again.
Quite tired from the WH tour, we blew off the Capital tour and had a long lunch and rest instead. We did an abbreviated tour of the Natural History Museum, mainly to see the dinosaurs, which were just amazing. Which ends our last full day here.
I must say... it was fun but I'm ready to head back home. It's too crowded, too loud and too fast-paced for this Okie!

DC Photos on Flickr

DC Vacation Update: Day 3

MonumentsNightTour_07Oct2008_ 045
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Yesterday (Tuesday) we started the day by touring the Library of Congress Jefferson Building. We started not to go and just sleep in. You know... library... congress... sounds like a snore-fest waiting to happen anyway. But it was a very beautiful and interesting building. It's one of those that makes you think... they just don't build them like this any more. The building itself, and not necessarily anything in it is the attraction. The ceiling mosaics were amazing. Everything had a story behind it. While we were there we also got to see an original rough draft of the Declaration of Indepedence in Jefferson's handwriting with his notes-- marking this out, adding that, etc. It was pretty faded but still amazing to see.
Our second stop was the National Mall. We stopped briefly at the Smithsonian Castle and then it was on to the Air & Space Museum. We got to see many of the famous air and space craft we've all heard about.... Spirit of St. Louis, the Wright Brother's Plane, the Apollo 11 Spacecraft, the list goes on and on.
After a lot of walking, we went back to the hotel to rest for an hour. We ended up sleeping for four.
We just barely made it to Union Station to catch a twilight tour of the monuments. We stopped at the Jefferson, FDR, Korean, Vietnam, Lincoln and WW II memorials and monuments. We missed the bus after the Lincoln Memorial and had to hoof it to the WW II to try and catch up. It was pretty dark... a little scary. But we made it. After a late-night dinner at McDonalds in Union Station, we ended our latest day thus far... midnight.

DC Photos on Flickr

DC Vacation Update: Day 2

PhiladelphiaPA_06Oct2008_ 004
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Today we took a bus to Philadephia, PA. This was an experience. We took what is called a "China Bus," which is a pretty inexpensive way to get there. We had to go to China Town, which was both weird and a little scary. And I should have seen this coming, half the people on the bus were Chinese. While I don't have a problem with this, I just hate not understanding what a person is saying. And, when it is happening all around you... it can cause some anxiety. I was wishing I had brought my headphones. Of course, there were the mangled-english signs which are always entertaining ("Not response for belonging" for example). The driver apparently could not speak English. I asked when the bus was leaving and he replied with an abrupt "Yes." When we got to Philadelphia, he kept yelling "Philadelphia off! New York stay on!" over and over. Okay... Philadelphia (or at least the part we started in) was a little scary. The people were lound, annoying and rude. That part wasn't enjoyable. But when we made it to "old town" things improved. It was very interesting seeing the Liberty Bell and touring Independence Hall, where the Constitution was approved. Benjamin Franklin's neighborhood was also interesting to see. It's amazing to think how old these buildings are (at least for the US) and all the history that had happened there. Tomorrow is the Smithsonian Museums and downtown. All this time and we have yet to see the White House!
DC Photos on Flickr

DC Vacation Update: Day 1

MtVernon_05Oct2008_ 005
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Sunday was basically all about George Washington, with the exception of a morning trip to Arlington National Cemetery. While, of course, not a "fun" trip, it was very interesting to see the final resting places of people like JFK. I thought the Memorial Amphitheater building was amazing (more on Flickr). The afternoon we spent at Mt. Vernon, George and Martha Washington's estate. The area was very interesting and had a lot to look at. We toured the mansion as well as the many outbuildings and Washington's tomb. So, why else was the day about Washington except for Mt. Vernon? Okay, here we go: Our hotel is called One Washington Circle Hotel. We crossed Washington Circle to get to the metro. There was a statue of Washington on a horse in the circle. We went to Mt. Vernon. And, on our way back... we had dinner at... wait for it... George Washington University Hospital. Yes, we went into a hospital for the sole purpose of eating. It was the only thing open at the end of our day on the way back to the hotel. Hey, it wasn't that bad!


DC Photos on Flickr

I'm off to DC!

Tomorrow morning I leave for DC! I've been wanting to go for about 10 years now, so I hope it's not a big fat letdown! I'm sure it won't be. It's going to be a major state-fest, too. Oklahoma to Georgia to Maryland to DC (not really a state, I know) to Virginia to Pennsylvania and back. On Sunday, we're going to Arlington Cemetery and Mt. Vernon- George Washington's estate. Monday, we're going to Philadelphia to see Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Benjamin Franklin's Post Office and a dozen other buildings. Tuesday is the Library of Congress and Museums. Wednesday we get to go INTO the White House (which I'm pretty excited about because it's much harder to get into than it used to be), tour the Capital and visit the monuments. And Thursday we come back home. Depending on my level of tiredness, I may post the days photos in the evening on Flickr, so check it out and you can keep track of what we're doing (like you really care that much!)

Flickr Link