Misc. Pictures to go with the ramblings - more at the links above
Back again for yet another year are the Controllable Halloween Decorations.
You can not only view the 10,000 lights and inflatables via three webcams, but you can control them - i.e. inflate/deflate the giant Frankenstein, Pumpkins, Grim Reaper, Skull, Headless Horseman, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Homer Simpson - D'OH! ;-)
The website is totally free (and totally fun) but also raises awareness and funds for charity via optional/voluntary donations - over $75,000 for the Center for Celiac Research. I've supported this world-class research organization for almost a decade and even though I just recently found out this summer that the original Celiac Diagnosis of my kids was a false positive (nutshell summary is medical science is "hard" so not always 100% correct), I'm still helping them raise awareness and supporting research for an eventual cure.
Speaking of kids, people ask how they are doing (great) ... so here's a few pictures of 'em playing baseball through the years ... and an awesome hike to the Harding Icefield in Alaska.
On a more serious note, I live in Boulder, Colorado which was in the news a lot last month due to the massive flooding. I was very fortunate only to get a little water in my basement ... but as you probably saw, it was really bad for many others. I put together a picture overlay showing normal/flood state using Google Maps versus Satellite footage - this is about a mile North from my house ... holy-moley!
So enjoy turning the Halloween display on & off ... and this is only the warmup for Christmas ... HO-HO-HO! ;-)
Lots of holiday fun from both me and the Most Interesting Man in the World ;-)
alek
Despite turning 50, I'm still a little kid doing the Controllable Christmas Lights for Celiac Disease
As mentioned on the subject line, I made it to the big 5-0 this year ... YIKES! ;-)
Click here to see a few pictures of the "old man" ... but I'm still a little kid at heart (albeit one who has had Cataract Surgery), and once again, I've setup the Controllable Christmas Lights for Celiac Disease.
Three live webcams and X10 technology allows web surfers to not only view the live action, but also *control* 20,000+ lights ... plus inflate/deflate the giant 15' Santa Balloon, Santa on Skis, in a Helicopter, and flying a Plane ... along with Elmo, Frosty Family, SpongeBob SquarePants, and the Homer Simpson Santa - D'OH!
The website is totally free (and totally fun) but also raises awareness and funds for charity via optional/voluntary donations - over $80,000 for the Center for Celiac Research. Along those lines, I've entered a $5,000 Christmas Lights contest and anything I win will be donated to charity - thanks in advance for your support
Last year, Internet surfers from 149 countries stopped by - Hulk says "kids really enjoy turning everything on & off" as the media reported "Clark Griswold move over" ... so surf on by, tell your friends, blog/facebook/tweet about it, and spread the word.
Merry Christmas and HO-HO-HO!
alek