Missing Camera

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Last Week I was on a Business Trip to Washington DC. On Friday, I grab a cab from downtown to Dulles International Airport, and along the way my Fuji e900 camera fell out of my laptop bag. The bag was next to me in the Taxi.

I didn't notice the camera missing until I got into the terminal, and the cab was well down the road with my camera in the back seat. ($250 camera that my girlfriend gave me as a Christmas gift.)

All I have left is a receipt which has the driver signature, nothing else. No Taxi Cab info or name of the Taxi cab. I'll scan the receipt in later tonight to see if someone can help.

My advice to anyone getting into a cab is to write down the driver and cab information while you are ridding in the cab. Obviously double check your bags before leaving the cab.

Winning Every Day

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Assorted Quotes/Notes from Lou Holtz's book Winning Every Day:

Our team wasn't merely ready to play, we were ready to win.

We won that game the moment our group of young men focused on what we had instead of what we lacked. That's the only perspective you can take in hard times. Remember that adversity presents us with numerous possibilities for success, if we are just willing to see them.

Winner and losers aren't born; they are the products of how they think.

But compensation does not guarantee performance. You must possess something inside of yourself the eschews mediocrity while embracing greatness. You must welcome adversity as a test of your resolve.

All this demonstrates that things have a way of working themselves out if we just remain positive.

We are not going to win because you have a new head coach, any more than you are going to fix a flat tire by changing the driver. We will win the minute all of us get rid of excuses as to why we can''t win and stop wallowing in self-pity

My players seemed to have forgotten that whenever you point your finger at someone, three fingers point back at you.

The inspirational verse, "I am only one, but I am one; I can't do everything, but I can do something; what I can do, I ought to do, and by the grace of God, I will do,"

The great jazz musician Miles Davis once said, "Don't be afraid of failure. There is no such thing."

You just have to remember: Don't let what you don't have keep you from using what you do have.

Epcot

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Today we visited the Future World and World Showcase at Epcot.

If you plan on attending the "IllumiNations: Reflection of Earth" fireworks show, you should know that the area in front of the Showcase Plaza is a pretty good viewing area. About 10 minutes prior to the show, they open up the area and have people "walk" to their spots and sit and watch the show.

This park also escorts early morning visitors to their first ride, with most people going to the Mission:Space ride.

This is the only park where you can get free soda. Coke-cola has a booth that allows you to taste various coke products around the world. This is at the Innoventions West, the igloo entrance is to the right of the water fountains. This is closed at least an hour before the IllumiNations show.

San Francisco Photos

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Last night I scanned 20 San Francisco photos from my collection. In 1998, I spent several weekends around the city and took lots of photos. Tonight I'll add the collection to the photo gallery.

Some other categories that will be coming soon include:

• Cross Country 1996
• Boston Massachusetts
• Cape Cod

Yellowstone National Park

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Today I posted some of my photos that I took on my trip to Yellowstone National Park last month. Currently there are only 9 photos but I have 19 additional photos that should be available soon.

Most of the photos focus on some of the landmarks of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

I would recommend including it as part of a cross country tour, probably would work well after seeing the Bad Lands and Mount Rushmore.

Yellowstone National Park

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This past week I was at Yellowstone National Park. This was my first visit to the park, and had a pretty good time. I'll post my notes on the trip later today.

Tip: Bring a pair of binoculars or a camera with a long lens if you plan to visit Yellowstone. Many animals are too far from the road, such as the Wolves.

World War 2 Memorial

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This past weekend was the official opening of the World War 2 memorial. However, the memorial has been open for at least a month, so it wasn't a grand opening.

I was in Washington DC when the memorial opened to the public for the first time and took some photos.

I also have some photo from my Washington DC trip in 1995, before the memorial was even built, I'll put those up when I find them.

World War 2 Memorial

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The World War 2 Memorial in Washington DC will open today for the general public. The official ceremony will be on Memorial Day weekend, but the organizers wanted to open it up as quickly as possible to let the veterans see the memorial.

This morning I walked around the memorial with the gates still up. You can see pretty much the whole memorial except the gold stars which represents the price of freedom.

The World War 2 Memorial is full of controversy since its the only war memorial in the middle of the Washington Mall, and some veterans don't think it a good memorial.

Hotel Harrington

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If you are visiting Washington DC in a couple of weeks for the Cherry Blossom festival, you might want to consider staying at the Hotel Harrington.

This is a nice quiet hotel that is near just about everything in Washington DC. For less than $100 a night you are only a couple of blocks from the White House and the Smithsonian.

I personally like the elevator that you have to take to the 7th - 14th floors. Its an old elevator that goes pretty slow.

911 Memorial in Arlington

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A lot of people do not know that there is a September 11th memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. The memorial is for those that died as a result of the terrorist attack at the Pentagon. Several people that died are buried near the memorial.

The memorial is in a shape of a pentagon with the names of all those that died in the plane and in the building. There is a special marker next to the name to indicate if they were on the plane.

The memorial is far away from other popular sites at Arlington, which include: President J.F. Kennedy gravesite and the tomb of the unknown.