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Years ago I discovered a personal meaning for the word “adventure”. I was telling a friend my plans for taking a solo, cross-country trip to New Mexico. He asked why and I told him I was “looking for adventure”.  His reply was,  ”Really? You know adventure begins when things don’t go as planned, right?”. Sure enough, I found my adventure and realized the truth in my friends words.

While on my way through Oklahoma I encountered the first of what would be many “adventures” on this trip. My car broke down in Stroud, Oklahoma and I ended up spending several unplanned nights at the Skyliner Motel. This, being  a spring trip, coincided with Oklahoma’s tornado season and several powerful thunderstorms developed. One night I felt trapped by the rain but  decided to make the best of the situation and get out my camera.  A few weeks later, after returning home, I found this image on the last frame of the last roll from that night:

Skyliner Motel

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What 3 things do Polar Bears and Trillium flowers have in common?

Give already? The obvious one is they’re both white, but what about the other two?

Click image to view the Trilliums 2010 Gallery

Polar Bears and Trilliums are also both vulnerable and just trying to survive. I know, kind of the same thing, but really different if you think about it.
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I wanted to “ring in the new year” by sharing a special collection of images with everyone. However, I sorely underestimated my own procrastination and now, January has nearly passed us with February hot on its trail.

So, rather than allowing myself to push the project off into next month (and the next and so on), I decided I would apply myself and finish the darn project. As a result, I’m pleased to say, it is complete. The 2010 Screensaver Collection is ready and available for download!

Choosing the Images

In selecting the images for this project, I wanted them to be colorful, peaceful, and not too busy. In short, good for display on a computer desktop or screensaver.

Most of the selected images stand on their own apart from the collection. The few that are a little more abstract may serve as good starting points for further collections. We’ll see. Time will tell.

Downloading the Collection

Since widescreen monitors are becoming more common, the collection is available in two sizes, normal and Widescreen.  Choose the size that matches your monitor the closest.

Both downloads are high resolution images for use on your personal computer’s desktop and screensaver. Please respect the copyrights on these images and do not copy them for other uses.

INSTRUCTIONS: Click one of the links below. Your browser will prompt you to save an executable file to your hard drive. The best place to save the file is in your pictures folder. When the download finishes, click on the downloaded file to unpack the images – you will be prompted for where to unpack the images. Click on “Extract” and the images will automatically be placed in a subfolder called “2010 Screensaver Collection”.  Once the images are unpacked on your hard drive, tell your computer where to find them for your desktop background and screensaver.

2010 Screensaver Collection (1280 x 1024)

2010 Screensaver Collection Widescreen (1920 x 1200)

(Update: 2/3/2010) The self-extracting files above will only work on the Windows platform. For those running other platforms or those who want to unzip the files manually, you can download the naked zip files here:

screensaver-collection-2010.zip
screensaver-collection-2010-widescreen.zip

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the images, especially after you’ve had a chance to view them all through a few times. Just throw me an elbow in the comments.

Enjoy! Ed.

This story highlights the strategic importance of Mali’s stability.  The country has vast areas of remote desert that could be used in efforts to radicalize and train muslims for jihad. With this monetary aid and ongoing training, hopefully these areas can be patrolled, and al-Qaeda efforts disrupted:

US arms Mali to battle al-Qaeda

Some 37 Land Cruisers were handed over to the Malians

The US is preparing to give Mali’s army millions of dollars worth of military hardware to help them fight al-Qaeda’s North African branch.

Trucks, powerful communication devices and clothing are among $5m (£3m) of equipment being handed over.

Mali is already being helped to fight the Islamists by Algeria and Libya.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb emerged in 2007 from an Algerian Islamist group and has since claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks in the region.

The US ambassador to Mali told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme there was growing concern over the actions of the group.

“We applaud the fact that the government of Mali has taken a firm stance and wants to be as effective as possible in combating that problem,” Gillian Milovanovic said.

The military equipment is intended to ensure that the country can protect its own borders, she said.

Read more via BBC NEWS | Africa | US arms Mali to battle al-Qaeda.

Ed.

click to view ndomo gallery

One of the first things we did upon arriving in Segou is visit a place called “ndomo” where various natural techniques are used to dye and stylize cotton cloth.  Traditional and innovative natural techniques use mud, leaves, vegetables and minerals to provide color and pattern on cotton cloth.  Although ndomo seeks to document and preserve these techniques, their primary mission is to use these activities to provide direction and socialization to disadvantaged young men.  read more »