My little giraffe

Oh, she really got the hang of trick-or-treating this year. Three blocks in our candy-rich neighborhood netted her about five pounds of treats.

On the grid

Shopping at our local SuperTarget again. I didn't notice until I looked at this picture how oppressive the giant grid of fluorescent ceiling panels is.

Toddler, at rest

Back home again. The morning routine has Ellen join us in bed to watch Sesame Street. (She was put out when we'd watch it without her.) She's happy to see her daddy (and vice versa).

Hammers and saws

Construction is omnipresent in this part of D.C. This is just one of the dozen or so buildings in various states of creation or remodeling on my three-block walk to work from the Metro.

... or are you just happy to see me?

After three days working in the Waterfront district of D.C., I finally saw some water. Here are the boat slips with a view of the Washington Monument.

Don't drive; use plasma screens instead

The National Geographic Society's M Street facade has a giant marquee blaring out a message thanking me for walking (and thus saving energy, or the planet, or something). The NGS also has floor to ceiling plasma screens showing off their latest specials and an announcer's voice broadcast onto the mostly empty street. I'll have to walk a LOT to counteract that energy waste.

Logan, start your run

I like the run-down '70s futurism of Washington's Metro system. The big concrete cylinders are where we're supposed to live when nuclear war drives us underground. Who wants to be a Morlock?

The Crusher

Stomping on some leaves on a nice fall day.

Needs an onion dome

The Museum of Russian Art, in a beautifully restored church. This is just a half-mile from my home, but I have never visited until today.

U-Turn to avoid Newark

Another fly-in trip where I didn't get to capture anything particularly local or interesting. There's downtown Newark. Enjoy.

Dinner date

Interviewing at a college in New Jersey, I was fortunate enough to have Sue & Joe join me for dinner. Best part of the interview.

Minnow? Guppy?

I can't remember if they called us beginning swimmers minnows or guppies, way back in the '60s.

Yom Kippur

Our high holiday services are held in a Unitarian church that used to be a Jewish synagogue. (Note the stars on the benches.)

During the rest of the year, we're at our synagogue, which used to be a ... wait for it ... Unitarian church.

Our nation's capital

When I knew I was going to D.C. for a job interview, I figured I'd snap the Jefferson Memorial or some other iconic structure for my photoblog. However, I managed to spend two days in D.C. without seeing any of the expected marble edifices. I could have taken lots of pictures of the grim '70s sci-fi Metro subway stations. All those concrete cylinders need to be complete is Logan starting his run.

Here's a tranquil little city park, near the college where I interviewed. Although this neighborhood is called the Waterfront, all I saw was some decayed urban renewal housing stock and a whole lot of cranes ushering in the next wave of urban renewal -- upscale condos.

The park was nice, though. The perfectly circular pond even had ducks.

=

Ever wonder where those little 'equal sign' bumper stickers come from? The HQ of the Human Rights Campaign is right across the street from my D.C. hotel. When I picked up "HRC" on my laptop's wi-fi, I thought Hillary Rodham Clinton had an office nearby.

Trickling

The top of Minnehaha Falls. Normally, there should be a steady stream of water or even a torrent. We've had such a dry summer that only a few rivulets are pathetically dripping over the falls.