here we have a typical happy little suburban town, but there is some real tragedies afoot, a sadness that permeates the streets, that's advertised in the various missing animal signs that are taped on light posts and telephone poles. unlike children, who get their photos on milk cartons and police investigators on the case, when a pet goes missing, there is actually very little help to find it. there are the animal shelters, but that's the last resort and if your animal isn't there, then there's nowhere else to turn to. in these particular desperate times, finding a lost animal has taken a page from the old wild west of putting up wanted posters to track down fugitives. just like in those posters, a lot of times there are rewards for a pet's return.

just reading these flyers, they're so sad. these are real pets gone missing, these are real people who love their animals and would do anything to get them back. answers to spot. answers to fluffy.

the price we pay for loving our pets too much.

dogs aren't allowed in cemeteries. it's disrespectful i suppose, cause i'd probably roll over in my coffin if i knew a dog was doing his business over my grave. but i was just wondering, if somehow a dog did wander into a graveyard, what would that be like for the dog? a dog has a super sense of smell, so when it goes to a graveyard, does it get scared? scared because it can smell all the decomposing bodies buried 6 feet under? or does it get excited? excited because there are all these bones buried underground?

after work i rode the motorcycle to claypit pond besides belmont high school to take some photos. i did some filter work using the circular polarizer and the infrared. conditions were perfect for both. the polarizer is perfect for bodies of water, and the sky had such a variety of different clouds that an infrared can easily pick out. when i have more time, i'll put up some 640x480 samples in my photopoint album.

for lunch i snuck away to dtx with two goals in mind (i'm so mission oriented): to buy take the cannoli by sarah vowell and to get a chacarero sandwich. when i arrived in dtx it was amazing to see it totally packed with people. funny, i don't remember there was this many people working the dtx area! maybe it was the warm weather, bringing everybody out of their caves. it would've made some great photo taking moments, but i wasn't in the mood and i was under a time constraint to hurry back to the office. i went to borders bookstore to get my book. for some reason take the cannoli seems to be a local bestseller because i've been to the wordsworth and borders by the mall and neither of those places had the book. i knew at the very least the dtx borders would have it because i saw something like 8 copies last weekend. i go into the bookstore and it's a very strategic strike, i know exactly where the book is and i make a beeline to where i saw it last. oh that's weird, i can't seem to find a copy of the book! mild panic sets in. i came all this way and you go to be kidding me you're sold out? i'm scanning the shelves and relief quickly sets in as i locate two copies of take the cannoli. i grab one ($12), tuck it underneath my arm, and make a reverse beeline to the checkout counter. oh check out that counter! there's a purchase line 40-50 patrons deep! i sigh and mumble something under my breath and get in line like a good little customer. in hindsight, i should've just hid the book underneath my t-shirt and quietly slipped out the door. oh yeah, shoplifting, i'm a bad man! (i'm joking of course, i don't even litter, let alone steal!) surprisingly, the line went by pretty quickly. would you like to be on our e-mail mailing list? says the checkout girl. no i reply. would you like a bag? she says. no i reply again. she hands me my change and receipt, i give her my award winning smile and leave the store.

chacarero! also known as the chicken shack in our select circle of former coworking friends. i get there and the line is 20-30 deep. i sigh, i mumble, i get in line like a good little customer. notice a pattern here? the line isn't as efficient as borders, but eventually it's my turn to order. large beef ($5.50) i say to the man behind the counter, his face a familiar sight from when i use to work by dtx and came to the chicken shack at least once a week.

after getting my sandwich i went back to the office. mission accomplished! and no casualties, which is a good thing.