Maggie 2 Arch Complete

Early this morning, in the cover of darkness, the contractor raised and fitted the final center piece of the arch on the Margaret McDermott Bridge that crosses the Trinity River on the eastbound IH30 side. Now, work can begin at the transition bases on the other side of the bridge. There, the second arch will transition out of the bedrock skyward into the air along the westbound lanes of traffic.

Unlike Maggie 1, the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, also designed by Santiago Calatrava, famed Spanish Architect, the arch was placed by crane. Although it was a much shorter arch, but taller, the Maggie 2 center piece was raised much like an elevator to the top were it was bolted and welded into place.

 It was a bit after one o'clock this afternoon when I finished up my texture shoot and made my way down to the bridge, When I got out of the car, a local news anchor, was walking back to his car. I ask him when the arch was in place-- yesterday or this morning? He said that the work was done during the night beginning after midnight.  At 5 o'clock this evening, the news media had time-lapse of the raising. It seems that the local mainstream media all got heads-up on the event and the freelancers got nothing. And what we did get was after-the-fact.

 It is an insult to the freelancers who promote  the city as much and often-times more than the mainstream media, especially on events like this and  others likened to the move of  the Big Boy Union Pacific engine and all the cars and engines that were at Fair Park before the move to Frisco. But, that is the way the world works and Karma eventually will balance out those slaps in the face.

Former Mayor Tom Leppert,  knew how to promote the city using freelancers and he was a CEO of a major construction company.  Having said that, here are a couple of shots from this afternoons trip.

The eastbound arch is completed this morning.

A view of the east bound arch from the west side, where work will now begin on that arch.

The westside transition bases have been poured and cured for months, even before the floods in May.

Salute to Visitors Captured

The Fire Department at Dallas/Ft.Worth International Airport, on their way back to the station on the west side of the airport, passed by the outdoor observatory and viewing area at Founder's Plaza. As they did, they saluted  visitors with a blast from the water canon.

Thank! for protecting lives and property at DFW.

And before someone is quick to judge them as playing around......the dense smoke is at the training facility just beyond the fire station and they were out working to keep their training up to scale. 

A Beautiful Way To Start Any Day

Here is a great start to a great morning! Just over a month to go before the beginning of fall.

The outline of the low cloud deck to the east

The power of the sun burns through the deck

The reward of the morning

Spotted Shipment

This is a massive D9R Cat. It is a massive piece of equipment when you need to do some heavy work. It was spotted along with two others today as it passed through Dallas today.  If you would like to see the military version of this monster you can see it on Wikipedia . Yes, the military has an armored version.  Since I was a kid, I have always liked Heavy Industry Equipment. The bigger, the better! Trains, Planes, big CATs and the heavy Mining dump trucks with tires as big as a house.

CATs D9R

There were three on three flatbeds with the big blades and rakes loaded in front and in back.

 

Google Notification on European Union Requirements

Trying to get the scoop on what is required to post on blog and website to comply with the European Unions new rules. 

Hope. There is always hope!

This cartoon is from the creator, Kathryn W. who will begin teaching where she learned to draw as a cartoonist. Congratulations to Kathryn on the new job,

Hang On To Your Hat

Each July, and when saying that I mean the entire month, instead of taking physical inventory of property, I take personal inventory. This involves mental inventory, financial inventory, religious inventory, professional inventory, marketing strategies inventory, health inventory. This year a new inventory was added to the annual check-up. Days left inventory. The reason why that was added is because now, there seems to be a more sense of urgency to accomplish a couple of things than ever before. But, to keep better tabs on my progress, having them in the annual personal inventory matters very much. Having said  that, it was the main reason why there were only two post for the entire month of July.

Out of this years inventory came a more refined focus of photography. It does take a creative mind to shoot urban photography, but not in the creative sense  that there are Oohs and Aah from the graphic arts context, but a more subtle,"that's nice, I like that" kind of response. Actually, a more accurate meaning of perspective  in the first place is what I mean. A true point of view without all the white noise. A focus more on the heart of the image than on the image itself. When you go to a museum you look at a painting for several minutes, even several hours, for some. The focus isn't always on the subject matter but rather the matter of the subject.

For example: I have a copy of a Claude Monet painting that I look at almost daily and sometimes several times the morning before I go out on a shoot. The Monet is Regates A Argenteuil. Since I am a sailboat freak anyway, especially the type that just ran the Chicago Yacht Club's 107th Race to Mackinac 2015. For those that might be unfamiliar, it is not only the longest freshwater race in the world at 289.4 nautical miles,but the oldest fresh water race. And for those that don't have sea legs, well, that is a mere 333 miles of open water from 300 W Belmont  for 300 plus boats to have-at-it from Chicago to the Straights of Mackinac.

In the Monet, the sails, the choppy water, the Frenchman setting high on a stool above his lady in the little skiff, the sky of uncertainty, the roof tops along the shoreline make you think.  Monet painted the image in 1867.  Boating had become fashionable c.1830. To me, the thinking point is of the high fashion of the day. In a little skiff on rough choppy waters with threatening sky and boats at full sail so close to shoreline, it tells me that high fashion fads really don't mean much in life when life is tallied up, but at the moment, it may seem that they mean everything. And I keep that in mind as I go out the door. In short, when not one, not two, not even three, but four people tried to ruin a successful career that was rising shy of it peak, and in the mist, a great tragedy strikes, you learn how to be the most humble person on the planet. When I look at that painting and then go out into this mad world of today, and its even moreso today than forty years ago, my humbleness frames the images that I shoot. It molds me as to what is important in life and what foolish beliefs I had been indoctrinated  into believing that in a career climb team work was for the good of the company and all the idiot ideals that went with that foolish and deceptive falsehood, especially that famous office saying,"take one for the team".

So, July being that PIM that it is, I really don't get much done beyond the inventory itself. It works out usually because the heat here in Texas during July and August is the worst time of the year. And, especially if you like to be in- side of the suns angle of 10 to 2. Here, its about 10 until it sets!

Notice that I left the comment open for you to think about this one.