Potomac Fever

Scared Pheasant and Other Critters , originally uploaded by johnnyVA . Doc Foust gave me this lovely gift of one of his folk art pieces, a kind of 3-dimensional picture. Besides the pheasant, it includes beavers, bears and deer. I'm off to Denver today to celebrate a friend's 60th birthday.

Today I managed to create a Flickr photo "badge" in the sidebar of this blog. In it you can see all my public photos, including some recently uploaded of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Check it out! -->

The Bohemian Bagel where I am typing this is a great Internet cafe in the center of Prague. Cheap eats and good coffee while you blog. Arrived in the Czech capital yesterday, from Nuremburg where we got off the boat which had just cruised through the Rhein-Main canal that connects the Danube and the Rhein (?). A bus took us from Nuremburg to Prague, about 4 hours. Prague is mobbed with tourists at its most popular sights, and pick-pocketing is Big Business. But the sights are fantastic, original constuctions some as old as 600 years, like the Charles Bridge. The creator of the 500-year old still-working Astrological Clock on a big old tower had his eyes blinded by the good city fathers who didn't want any other city to benefit from his services. Must move on, will have to provide more notes at a later date when I get home

Estimados amigos y queridos, The Red Bull Air Race apparently continues today. We saw more aerial acrobatics this morning on the way to this internet cafe here in Budapest, Hungary. Yesterday we saw the contest performed over (just barely) the Danube river that runs through the center of Budapest. The river separates the old towns of Buda and Pest. The contestants, all flying single-seat small airplanes with very bright markings, flew straight up, straight down, through balloon markers floating on the river, under the bridge, and you get the idea. The weather has been sunny and hot, which might be uncomfortable at the outdoor tables along the river as people eat, drink, and watch the folk dancers on the stage, but is no problem at night as the street festival continues to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Hungary's founding. The celebretory air contrasted sharply with a visit the same day to the Terror House Museum. There were documented the horrors of the Nazi and Soviet occ...

Sky Meadow , originally uploaded by johnnyVA . Sky Meadow State Park, in northern Virginia.

Salt , originally uploaded by johnnyVA . Salt is added to this spicy cajun brew at the annual Adams Morgan Day street festival in Washington, DC.

Tai Shan Up A Tree , originally uploaded by johnnyVA . Tai Shan spent most of his time in April up in this tree, at the National Zoo in Washington, DC.

Pumpkin Patch , originally uploaded by johnnyVA . The pumpkin patch at Sky Meadow State Park, Virginia, near Washington, DC.

Nothing says Java programmer like stiff, shiny black dress shoes. Just completed my first day at the JavaOne conference in San Francisco. Trying to make a good first-day impression with the shoes, slacks and dress shirt, when 99.9 percent of particpants are in jeans, t-shirst and sneakers. Not just particpants... presenters in same uniform. The conference is very well managed, and with about 15,000 participants, it has to be. Lots of guiders and helpers to keep the mob flowing along. And many of the guiders and helpers are probably the same age as the grandparents of most of the attendees. The day begins at 8:30am, and continues with meeting up to 11:00pm. Gory details at JavaOne .

Welcome to Potomac Fever, where I will periodically offer thoughts on life in the Washington, DC, USA, metro area. Spring is looking good! Warm today, 82F, but cool raining spell coming this weekend. Today started out with a pain in the back, one of those immobilizing pains like someone stabbing you in the back. Will see the doc.