Please take note of the top four search terms on Google today … December 31st. Looks like there’s some Christmas gift gloom here … Seems that a lot of those Microsoft Zune mp3 players purchased as Christmas gifts aren’t working out so well. Just another reason to not purchase Microsoft products.

One of my favorite shots of Jenny!

Take notice here … the image has been cropped a bit too tight. Oh, the woes of lack of attention! Granted, only 0.5% of the population would ever notice, but I did.

I ran through Grand Central for the first time in months and headed the wrong way for the Shuttle. So, I cut across and went under the interior overpass. Looking up I see a huge tree made of television monitors with a variety of holiday themed illustrations looping. Quite nice !

Jenny loves to decorate for all holidays and seasons. Being that NYC apartment living doesn’t lend itself to large amounts of disposable space, the majority of our decorations are in Pennsylvania in storage.

So, what to do when you pick up a tree for Christmas? Well a quick look at our recyclying bin under the sink revealed plenty. Pictured above is a photo of the star on our tree. Originally, this was the lid of a disposable aluminum oven dish a friend brought by filled with cupcakes. No more cupcakes. Now see star … A grease pencil, the “toolbox” scissors, and a straight edge for bending. Viola!

Always thinking … And here’s she just about to crack a smile.  I’m sure a quick-witted comment came along right after this shot was snapped. Neither Mom nor Dad were really all that keen on the portrait session. They were both great sports though!

Shotgun + Winchester + Flashlight + Zip Ties = Armadillo Repellent

Yeah, that’s right. Design isn’t always pretty. Many times function trumps form. Apparently, armadillos are primarily nocturnal. And according to my father, one armadillo can ruin a good yard costing him time, sweat and money. From the photo above, one can easily tell he had his fill with that nonsense.

Oh, and that’s a leather glove over the barrel of the shotgun. Just to make sure the dirt dobbers don’t try to make a home because that could get real messy!

We recently returned from a week-long southern tour of the great USA … Visiting family as it were. And last year when we completed a similar tour, I had the wonderful opportunity of sitting and walking with Wilton, pictured above. A man who speaks in southern sayings. And side-splitting sayings at that. On our next southern tour, I’m going to have to reserve some time for another excursion with Wilton.

moving forest from michael schoner on Vimeo.

NL Architects has created an amazing installation in Amsterdam called The Moving Forest. It consists of 100 trees planted in 100 shopping carts located in a busy urban area, which deliberately blocks pedestrians pathways. Amazing !!