Windmill Blog

Spending last weekend in Texas with family at my cousin's wedding makes a quiet weekend at home seem seem very appealing. Let me be the millionth person to say -- 'Everything is big in Texas.' It was greener than I'd imagined and I did partake in a Texas style BBQ and that was a memorable event. Hearing my family moan about the fact that I live 3000 miles away but I never understood why while standing right in front of them --this is how they choose to spend their time rather than just being there with me.
It was Scrumpy's birthday on Saturday and we took her to the dog park to celebrate! It was quite the event. Simmy and I did quite a bit of cleaning this morning and I'm hoping to get some riding in at the waterfront if weather permits. Other than that -- OSCON is this week and I am planning a trip to the coast to see the ocean.

I found William Kamkwamba's windmill blog probably one of the most inspiring this year. He launched his blog in Jun 2007 - two weeks after discovering the internet and he has developed into quite the phenomenon. His story is compelling in that he is a high school, student in Malawi, Africa in a rural area and he is trying to build a windmill and he suceeded in doing so and has developed a renewable energy source from makeshift parts. He has quite the following around the globe and people and companies have started sponsoring his secondary education and community initiatives. Cheers to you William and keep hitting those books and you will change the world.

William Kamkwamba's Malawi Windmill Blog

Nicolaes Maes

I had chance to see the Rembrandt exhibit at the Portland Art Museum on Saturday afternoon. I missed it in San Francisco in April and was pleased to know it will be here all summer. I've always been fascinated with the Dutch masters -- specifically Vermeer and I've spent more time at the Rijksmuseum than I'd care to admit admiring them.

The exhibit was titled 'Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art' and it was composed primarily of works by Rembrandt and his contemporaries. Amsterdam was the most influential city in the world at the time and a crossroads for culture and trade -- It must have been a great space and time for an artist to be inspired. I discovered a new artist ( new to me) named Niclaes Maes and it was exciting getting acquainted with his work at the exhibit. He was a student of Rembrandt and the similarities in style are striking. This one is called 'A Girl at the Window' and was painted by Maes in 1654. Something distracting seems to be capturing the woman's imagination in this moment and then it hit me that the same thing was happening to to me as I peered at the canvas before me; I wonder if there is a 350 year old thought experiment being delivered by the artist here. Next time I'm in the Rjksmuseum --I will need to research Maes some more.