eric135

Phoenix Art Museum: Central Avenue & McDowell Road, Phoenix AZ USA

I took a trip to the Phoenix Art Museum today. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and I got there a few minutes before it opened, and had the whole place to myself for about 10 minutes.  I didn't take very many pictures, just spent a couple of hours looking around and enjoying the art.

  One of the exhibits that I found amusing was the one on the jumpsuit. The picture on the brochure was of Michael Phelps wearing the futuristic suits they used in the Olympics, but I didn't see that one. Oddly, I walked in on a woman who happened to be wearing a jumpsuit-type outfit (all one color sort of thing) and I thought for a moment she was a part of the exhibit.

Up on the second floor of the Katz Wing, there was a small room off to the side that was surrounded by huge plate-glass windows from floor to ceiling. These are some shots from that room looking out onto the city of Phoenix. Click to embiggen.

  Some statues from either India or Indonesia.

 Five beautiful dolls depicting Samurai armor.

 A few pictures of the Dorrance Sculpture Garden.

 Perusing the gift shop, I found these really cool stone tablets. They are covered with some substance. When you get them wet, the crystals change from opaque to transparent allowing the color of the rock base to come through. You are provided a brush and water. You can "paint" to your heart's content, enjoy it for a few minutes, and then start all over again with a clean slate. In the picture above, that slate started off all white, then I painted some shapes, and this is the result after about 5 minutes of evaporation. By the time I left the store, the art had completely disappeared.

 After spending about 2 hours in the museum, I had planned to use the new Light Rail and ride it from the stop directly across the street from the Museum, down to ASU/Mill Ave. When I got on heading South, the trains were completely packed and I didn't even have a good place to hold on. So after one stop, I got off, crossed the platform, and boarded a train the other way (the second picture above). Hardly anyone on. The trains were very nice -- smooth, fast, quiet. My concern is that they are on the same level as the street, so there are trains traveling next to cars along the center median. I can already tell there are going to be problems at traffic lights. I'm planning on another attempt some time after all the excitement has died down. They look like they could be really great.

Cotman Watercolor Field Set Plus by Winsor & Newton; The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook; Winsor Newton Easel

 

Cotman Watercolor Field Set Plus by Winsor & Newton

 

The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook, by Gordon MacKenzie

  

This year has a bit of a watercolor theme going. The last thing I do before going to bed is to paint, which I believe has made it a lot easier for me to fall asleep now that I'm not thinking about all the things I could have done wrong at werk.

I've made some experimental dabs with my new field set. It opens up to reveal lots of mixing trays, 12 tubs, a water bottle, two deep wash wells and a little brush. When I ever do go out to paint something en plein aire, all I'll need is this, a block of paper, and my No. 3 round brush and I'm all set.

The book is on every list of "required reading" for watercolor artists. I've read a few of the chapters and have already learned a few things.

The easel is really nice considering my previous setup (I was painting on a folding dinner tray table). I feel like I've gone from a piece of floating driftwood to the Queen Elizabeth II. The nice thing is that it can completely fold up (sort of like a camera tripod) and comes with a carrying case. I also like the fact that it will easily go from absolute vertical to absolute horizontal -- a must for watercolor.

I've been off my regular pattern for the Christmas holiday, but can hardly wait to get painting again with all of my new stuff!

iPod Classic

 

Apple iPod Classic 120GB

I wonder if I'll ever fill 120GB of space? I had been doing pretty well with my iPod Mini, but watching videos, TV shows and even movies on roomie's video iPod was totally sweet. Plus the battery life is a lot better. I also gave Genius a try (a program that somehow enables the iPod to pick songs "similar to" one of your selections). It was uncanny how similar the songs were, with no glaring mismatches. The quality of the sound playback is also excellent.

Last summer, I downloaded Star Trek: Insurrection from iTunes, but could only view it on my laptop. I watched it on my new iPod and it was great, with all of the special effects and the orchestral soundtrack.

Now if I can just get over my fear of dropping it...

Garmin Nuvi 350 GPS

 

Garmin Nuvi 350

I dread driving. Part of it is that I get lost very easily (I assume I get this from my father, but lately HE's been better with directions than I've been, and on my most recent trip home, I made a wrong turn back from the grocery store).

Thus the Garmin.

I've had it for only a couple of days and I'm already really happy with it.

• It is really small and portable, so I can carry it around. Not that I do much random walking, but I like the fact that I can play with it in the comfort of my home, unlike built in units that have to be played with in the car.
• It came with a USB cable for software updates and hard disk use (MP3's, pictures). The unit came with a free update but I hear later updates are expensive ($70?).
• Satellite pickup is excellent. The worst case was about 15 sec, but usually it acquires a signal in just 1-2 seconds.
• It has really good data input. I can usually get an address entered in less than a minute.
• There are lots of pre-loaded business names/addresses, and lots of local presets (hospitals, restaurants, parks/recreation, stores).
• The Nuvi does give verbal commands, but unlike everything I've read, mine does not speak the actual street names. However, the verbal prompts are excellent, and if I need to know the street name it is printed in large characters on the top of the screen. [Update: I had to set the text from the default female voice to "English - Jill TTS". Apparently only the voices marked "TTS" can speak the street name. English Jill doesn't speak as fluently and naturally as the default voice but getting the street names spoken aloud is a real plus. ]
• It has a mode where you can "virtually" drive to the destination. The bad part is that it only displays in real time, but you can hit the turn-by-turn button and work through all of the turns in the trip.
• The lower right corner gives you the number of miles/feet to the next turn. For whatever reason, knowing how far it is to the next turn is a big source of concern for me.
• As I come up to a turn, if I'm not sure of the verbal prompt, the visual display is clearly marked and color coded. But I'm getting better with more use. I now know that, when the unit says to "Turn Here", not to slam on the brakes to make the random driveway that happens to be there. I know to wait the 200 ft to the next real intersection.
• The voice prompts are easily audible even when the radio is on fairly loud.
• I like the windshield mount better than built in units (where you have to look down). I doubt I really need to watch the screen and could go totally with the prompts, but it's reassuring to just turn my eyes slightly and get the info without having to take my eyes off the road.
• Battery life is supposedly up to 8 hours, but it also came with a car cable. As I'm writing this, I'm "virtually" going to Flagstaff AZ, a 2.5 hour "drive", and hopefully the fully charged battery will get me there.
• I took it out on a test drive yesterday. The first location was about 7 miles away and I already knew where it was. It worked great but oddly put me in a strip mall across the street from my destination. So I passed it, and it then told me to do an immediate U-turn and then put me where I wanted to go, on the proper side of the street. Weird but at least it got me there. The next place I picked was somewhere I didn't already know, but knew it was near the historic area of Scottsdale, where the streets are really screwey. It got me there without any problems, and then got me back home in a faster route than I would have taken on my own.

So what do I need a GPS for, since I never leave home and always get my roomie to drive?

• I'm hoping it will free up my roomie from the whole "Driving Miss Daisy" lifestyle.
• I want to visit some local parks and do some painting en plein aire.

• I want to visit some of the local art museums. Some are downtown and I hate driving there because I get lost so easily.

• Who knows what the economic future is. I might have to eventually work Agency nursing and work at multiple hospitals.

And besides, I just love gadgets!

A belated Merry Chrsitmas!

A belated Merry Christmas!

I almost had it off, too. The census was down at the hospital, and I was gleefully looking forward to getting the night off (I was first on the list to be canceled since I have not had a Christmas Eve off in more than 8 years).

Alas, the other charge nurse, who is relatively new, decided she "really wasn't comfortable being charge for both units" even though the combined census was less than the max census on her floor.

Although I was not pleased, the night went uneventfully. Neither code cart got cracked.

Christmas morning, my room mate picked me up from work, and when I got home, we once again were greeted by our DVD of the Yule Log, with hokey Christmas Carols being sung by a choir who probably got most of their work doing disney movies. We've upgraded to the new BluRay version, but it just isn't as pretty, and we have gotten quite attached to the old DVD even though it skips as times. So sometimes it's "Uh Uh Oh Oh Oh Huh Ho Huh Holy lee lee lee Ni Ni Night" that sort of thing.

But we like it.

Then the retail orgy that is truly Christmas began.

There's no way I can list all of the stuff we got for Christmas. It would just be too embarassing considering how others might be under more unfortunate circumstances this year. But we think of it as being our own little Economic Stimulus Package. I feel we have now safely rescued Best Buy, Target, Amazon and ATT from certain financial ruin. God Bless That.

I did have Christmas Day night off. I stayed up until about 1pm playing with my new toys (which I'll write separate posts about), and slept until about 6pm. We had a friend over for dinner, and enjoyed a baked glazed ham (the spiral cut kind), smashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, rolls, and apple pie for dessert. Roomie completely outdid himself with two Holiday meals this year.

During dinner, we watched Mama Mia and The Dark Knight. A stark contrast, but both were excellent.

More later...

Not exactly Christmas Trees

For whatever reason, I find trees to be a difficult challenge. I have trouble with the structures of the leaves, how they should all look in a group, and also how to fit in the tree trunk and branches. Most of my trees have unbelievably smooth bark, with no indication of texture

On a complete experimental lark, I decided to try scraping the tree trunk colors in, using an old fillet knife. I dip it in the pigment, then holding it so the serrations would be scraping againt the paper, I would drag the pigment along the paper. The pigment goes on unevenly, and even more so because the knife is serated. With practice, I was able to produce much more realistic trees, and I even gave them a few branches with some leaves.

Well, we're getting ready for another night of hospital work. There is a stone's throw's chance I will be cancelled but I doubt it. In years past, Christmas could swing either way. I've had a few that were really horrible. On many nights, there was a strange silence and peace that overcomes everyone.

Then tomorrow morning, we get home and immediately start ripping presents open. It takes us the remainder of the day to settle down. Then we eat our 12pound Turkey with all the trimmings.

Realism

I've been painting more from photography these past couple of days, trying to improve my realism.

I actually ventured outside the apartment yesterday. I was taking the trash down to the compactor, and decided I would come hope from a different direction.When I got close to the front of my buiding, I took a photo with my cell phone camera:

Obviously, realism has been a challenge...

A watercolor painting of the summer house that my family has been renting every summer; Nags Head North Carolina USA.

I have to go back to work tonight, after a couple of nights off. My first task is to put out the next schedule (a process which always costs me a few points in the Popularity Polls).

I spent my last day off watching documentaries. I just finished one called The Horses of Proud Spirit on PBS. It's the story of a husband and wife who work full time as paramedics who also run a ranch that rescues abused/neglected/forgotten horses. She's published a book about the unfortunate lives of the horses (and donkeys and mules) that they have rescued. It's on Create/World.

I did need tissues.

While searching, I stumbled upon a similar rescue project, the Free Spirit Equine Rescue Shelter. Some very sad stories there too.

A watercolor representation of a trip we took to the Phoenix Zoo a few years ago.

I've been trying to spend about an hour or so right before I go to sleep painting. I've been partial to realistic paintings, which is a challenge since I never really learned how to draw.

It's one of those time that I really regret not taking at least one fine arts course in college. I did take piano, but I wish I had taken at least a drawing class, and some sort of color art. Unfortunately, everything was science or math or computers.

I'm hoping to take a class this Spring at the Scottsdale Artists' School. They offer a few classes for beginners, and hopefully they really do mean that, and I won't find myself in a class of people that have already polished skills.

It'll be nice doing something other than nursing for a change.

Three Days Three Codes

Gods what a week.

Three code blues in three days. I haven't been through THAT in a while. My previous personal record still stands (three codes in one 12-hour shift.)

All three survived to the ICU on ventilators.

One has since left the ICU and is back on our unit.

One is still intubated but is now a DNR.

One is extubated but still in ICU.

There were also two patients that didn't code but came pretty damn close. One went into flash pulmonary edema after getting 2 units of blood a bit too quickly. The other had a syncopal episode and lost his pulse and stopped breathing but we got him back after just a few minutes of Rapid Response.

After that, I am certainly ready for some serious boredom on my days off.