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Morning ritual


Morning ritual
Originally uploaded by Aldon
I wake up early to the sounds of birds, singing and racing by our tent. I hike to the bathroom and then start the coffee. Fiona goes out and picks blueberries. It looks like it will be another great day.
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Lightning hits Transformer in Harwinton

Sunday afternoon, I drove up to a graduation party for Avery Doninger, the young blogger who was disciplined for her criticism of the school administration at Lewis Mills High School in Burlington, CT. On the drive up, my daughter and I saw lightning hit a transformer, and we captured various parts of this trip with pictures, videos and audio messages from my cellphone.

Leaving from Woodbridge, it was a sunny, pleasant day. We drove up Route 8. After passing Waterbury, we saw large storm clouds gathering in the west. I was struck by how picturesque they were, so I took two photographs.



The Coming Storm, originally uploaded by Aldon.


The Coming Storm, originally uploaded by Aldon.

I also recorded this message on Utterz:



I noted the ominous feeling of the coming storm, without knowing what I was really about to encounter.

As we approached the Harwinton exit, the rain started coming down, hard. After I left the highway, I found an opportunity to put the cellphone on the dashboard and get a brief video of driving through the rain. By then, the rain had slowed down a little, but it was still substantial.

We were driving along Route 4, almost in Burlington when I started seeing lightning. I wondered if I could find a good way to set up the cellphone to capture some of the lightning. All of a sudden, in my rear view mirror, I saw lightning strike a telephone pole. I pulled into the next parking lot and prepared to take another video with my cellphone. Just as I started taking my video, the transformer exploded and the power lines came crashing down, almost hitting the car we were in.

I called 911 to report the explosion and the small fire the downed power lines had started. Then I drove down the road across the street from the downed power lines. I hopped out of the car and took this picture of the smoldering grass and the downed lines.



Downed Powerlines, originally uploaded by Aldon.

Soon the emergency crews showed up.



Downed Powerlines, originally uploaded by Aldon.

I recorded a quick commentary:



I also posted a quick update via Twitterfone. Twitterfone transcribed the voice and sent it on to Twitter which in turn sent it to Facebook and FriendFeed. At this point, I continued on to the party.

It was a good party, but we had to leave early for Fiona’s Blog Talk Radio show. Needless to say, we talked a bit about the party and the transformer explosion on the show.

On the way home, I posted one final comment via Utterz:




Mobile post sent by ahynes1 using Utterzreply-count Replies.  mp3

Inch by Inch - Fiona End of School Concert


I recorded the concert in small segments on the digital camera so I could upload them quickly. I had thought of combining them into one longer segment, but they are good the way they are. So, you can look whichever segments you are most interested in.

The kids walked in and took their places to 'Greatest Love Of All' by Whitney Houston.

I believe that children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be

Their first song was Zip De Do Dah followed by Inch by Inch(an old favorite of mine, which is why I show it as the first clip).

This was followed by Take me out to the ball game and Arabella Miller which was interrupted by applause. (This is the second part.)

They then sang Supercalafragalisticexpialadotious,
Skidder Mirink, Grand Ole Flag, I'm a little teapot, Memories, Time Together.

They departed to Pomp And Circumstance.

Fiona Pumping Water at Horse Camp


Multimedia message

Originally uploaded by Aldon

Fiona pumping water for the horses at horse camp

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The Swimming Hole


Multimedia message

Originally uploaded by Aldon


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