If you’re like most Tucsonans, you live in a house that does a lousy job of keeping the winter’s cold outside. Which means that you’re left with the uncomfortable choice between living in an icebox or dealing with heating bills that rival your mortgage payment. Almost all houses inside the Tucson city limits were built…
One of the most memorable features of a southeastern Pennsylvania winter is that it’s highly variable. You can be deep in snow and shivering in sub-freezing temperatures, and then the weather warms up to the point where the hats and jackets are unnecessary. Such was my recent trip to the Land of Winter Variability. Not…
Today was a big day for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She’s made remarkable progress since suffering a gunshot wound to the head during a January 8 assassination attempt. Recent reports have noted that Giffords is able to stand with assistance and use an iPad. This morning, she was discharged from University Medical Center. Giffords was then…
My recent trip to southeastern Pennsylvania featured no-problem air travel and foul weather that didn’t materialize until after I was on the ground. What the weather forecasters billed as a blizzard turned out to be underwhelming. We didn’t even get half a foot of snow. After the weather cleared, it was time to go exploring….
This past Saturday morning, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords hosted a “Congress on Your Corner” event in the La Toscana Village shopping center at the corner of Ina and Oracle Roads. As has been widely reported, a 22-year-old man opened fire on Giffords and others. Six people died, and 13 were wounded, including Congresswoman Giffords. Yesterday, President…
Eastern Pennsylvania’s Christmas weekend blizzard came in with a vengeance. The bitterly cold winds and driving snow got my attention in a hurry. I had to go outside and investigate. First lesson: Avoid looking north into the wind, because it bites. Hard… This was a lesson that our family’s super-smart border collie mix took to…
I just got back from visiting family in eastern Pennsylvania. Arrived there just ahead of a blizzard that was racing up from the South. The following photos show the calm before the storm. The approaching blizzard wasn’t about to affect the behavior of these affectionate trees… But the decorated for Christmas sled would soon get…
One of the great joys of bike-tography is catching cyclists in motion. And when you’re shooting a bicycle race, that motion can turn into a blur. Which raises one of the great photographic questions: Should you freeze the action or embrace the blur? In this shot of El Tour de Tucson 2010 finishers, I chose…
This past weekend marked the return of a Tucson tradition, the 4th Avenue Winter Street Fair. The cloudless skies and warm temperatures brought thousands of people out to enjoy more than 400 arts and crafts booths, 35 food vendors, two performance stages, a bevy of street musicians, and unlimited opportunities for people-watching. On Sunday, I…
This past Saturday was a bike-tography extravaganza for Yours Truly. The 28th annual El Tour de Tucson drew me and my camera to the Downtown finish line for some photographic fun. First, the anticipation. The top finishers hadn’t arrived yet. But Tucson’s tifosi were waiting for them… The 109-mile race was won by Eric Marcotte,…
America’s second largest bicycle swap meet happened in Tucson this past Saturday. The fall 2010 edition of our two-wheeled buying, selling and trading extravaganza drew thousands of cyclo-philes to Fourth Avenue. And the bike swap had something for everyone. So, you say you need some new sneakers for your favorite mountain bike? Gotcha covered… Or…
This past Sunday, the annual All Souls Procession wound its way through Downtown Tucson. This event is meant to help participants remember the departed, and attendance is well into the five figures. Like any large Tucson event, there’s a substantial police presence. Here’s part of the law enforcement contingent that gathered at 4th Avenue and…
2017 update: This publication is being revised. I’ve just published the Freelancer’s Guide to Finding Clients. It isn’t filled with pie-in-the-sky theoretical stuff. Instead, this Guide is based on techniques that freelancers are actually using. Like cold calling. While it’s true that cold calling has a bad reputation – and the Guide explains why that…
This past weekend was Homecoming at the University of Michigan. For its alumni, the university pulled out all the stops. Take, for example, the College of Engineering. My father’s an alum, and I attended the college’s events with him. The pre-game party included a Michigan Marching Band concert… An a capella version of "Hail to…
I just got back from a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Being a northern city with only so many snow-free months, Ann Arbor has a “go flat-out while you can” approach to road construction. This year, there’s been quite a bit of road work in and around Ann Arbor. Meaning that you’ll be seeing a…
While outsiders think that Arizona is nothing but dry, barren desert, we residents know better. This state has a surprising amount of biodiversity. Take, for example, our riparian areas. Here’s an impressive stand of cottonwoods growing near the banks of the Hassayampa River, which doesn’t flow during dry seasons like the one we’re having now…….
Tucson Meet Yourself is an annual celebration of the Arizona-Sonoran region’s cultural diversity. Over the course of three days, you can chow down on food from all over the world, try your hand at various folk arts, visit historical exhibits, and learn new dance steps. And then there’s the music. You name the culture and…
The heat of the summer months is starting to abate, which means that late afternoons and evenings can be enjoyed outdoors. This past Saturday, thousands of Tucsonans did just that. They converged on the heart of the city for 2nd Saturdays Downtown. This event combines street performances, arts and crafts tables, and business specials. The…
April 2015 update: This site was redesigned by the university. The University of Arizona Department of Nutritional Sciences website has a new look. It’s based on an oft-heard bit of dietary advice: “Eat Your Colors.” The site’s seven sub-navigation bars reflect the colors of healthful foods: The default sub-navigation adopts a pink Persimmon theme. It points…
April 2015 update: This website is no longer online. Dr. Randy Burd is on the faculties of the University of Arizona, Holy Family University, and Thomas Jefferson University. His research focuses on the effectiveness of radiation therapy in cancer treatment, while minimizing the effects of radiation on normal tissue. I just designed a laboratory website…
A severe thunderstorm dumped almost an inch of rain here yesterday. To be quite honest, I didn’t think this storm would do much of anything. Oh, yes, it started out with a lot of wind, which brought the term “blowhard” to my mind. And then the wind picked up. I started to wonder if my…