The primary problem with 21st century power possibilities is how to store the energy during off-cycle periods. Batteries have come a long way since the lead-acid one found in most cars but still need a leap forward to fully accomplish renewable energy needs. This just might be that leap. So far the new battery component has made it through three months of continuous charging and discharging without losing its ability to hold a charge, says Mya Le Thai, the doctoral candidate behind the innovation — that’s 200,000 cycles. (By comparison, iPhone batteries fade to about 80 percent of their original … Continue reading New Super Battery? — Fast Track It…

At one time these buildings were the standard for gas stations. Some of have been re-purposed but many, like the one here recently photographed in Vincennes Indiana will soon disappear.. Continue reading Old Time Gas Stations…

One of my recently discovered passions is to document the facades of small town America before they crumble into the dust of history.  This one was found on the main street of New Harmony Indiana on a trip there this week.  I have always been fascinated about facades but this discovery will cause me to start collecting them from my archives and adding more on my frequent road trips around the Midwest. Continue reading Facades

   I discovered something very basic about me recently. I am obsessed with reflection, doors, windows and other such things.  I now have a photo portfolio that exceeds 18,000 pictures and many of them are of this genre.  As above, I love to take my photo editing tools and create something that wasn’t quite there. The picture above was taken in Ottawa Canada about 5 years ago. Continue reading Reflections, Doors, Windows & More

The Folks over at RoadTrip Nation always get me to thinking. They are primarily focused on helping young people discover their passions in life and then encouraging them to pursue an education to make that passion a paying job. I wished they had been around when I was searching for my passion. It was almost 20 years into my career before I discovered “what I was interested in”.  One of the items on list in the quote below is how I discovered my passion.. The problem is that people tend to think that the answer to, “What are you interested … Continue reading 4 Easy Ways to Find your passion..

I certainly enjoyed my recent trip to Disney World, especially the Star Wars elements. Today May 4 being Star Wars day I thought it appropriate to give you a picture of a major exhibit there. May the fourth be with you….   :)  :) Continue reading Star Wars..

I will readily admit that I am a Star Wars addict. I have DVDs of all the movies and have watched them several times. I just got the latest movie “The Force Awakens” a few weeks ago just after returning from my bucket list trip to Disney World. I watched it last week and was not disappointed. It is nice to see that a new generation of actors is now replacing the original crew. I hope the movies continue to come. I just got the picture below from the Discovery Channel wanting me to buy some Star Wars stuff.  I … Continue reading Star Wars…

One of my favorite type day trips are to rendezvous around the Midwest. This one was in Bridgeton Indiana about a week ago. Some day I just may join them in reliving days of our country’s past Continue reading Rendezvous…

One of the things that impressed me the most about my recent trip to Disney World were the flower beds. They were huge and beautiful. These were found below the Monorail system in Epcot. Continue reading Disney World — Flowers

I am going into my seventeenth year living in my small town in southwestern Indiana.  It is a town of about 2,000 people and a county of 20,000.  It is in the bottom 20% of the State in that regard. I certainly enjoy small town life.  I have been here long enough that most people at least know that I am the  old”deaf” guy. We aren’t quite “Mayberry” as portrayed to the right but we are probably about as white and as few in number. :) Our small daily newspaper, yeah we still have one, doesn’t have much of a … Continue reading My Small Town And Crime…

Rules are generally meant to keep us all acting in a certain way. That in and of itself is stifling to many of us. I have to admit that I am generally a rule averse person. I just don’t like someone telling me  “DO THIS”, “DON’T DO THAT”. Constantly trying to look at life from a different angle means that I am often breaking rules, at least the stupid ones. There are too many rules that are in place simply to preserve the status quo. These rules are often called “tradition”. They are just the way we have done things … Continue reading Let’s Face It… Rules Are Stifling… But…

I never get tired of taking photos looking off our front porch. Especially with the crab apple tree in full bloom and the horses grazing across the street. Thank you Lord for giving me another Spring season to enjoy this view….     Continue reading In Search Of Beauty.

I have always liked to grow things and have had a veggie garden most of my life.  This one from 1993 was perhaps my best. My garden this year is six tomato plants, a couple of zucchini plants, and the usual asparagus patch. Its meager but at least better than last year’s potted tomatoes on the deck… Continue reading I’m Dreaming Of.. Gardening…

On our way to Disney World this month we stopped by the Nashville store of the guys from the TV show “American Pickers”. It was in interesting place  but much smaller than I imagined.  I didn’t notice until I got home and saw the last picture on a larger sceen that all six people sitting on the benches had their cell phone in their hand.  Even these surroundings couldn’t entice them to put them down for long.  :) Continue reading American Pickers…

  The nightly fireworks on the lake in Epcot at Disney World  are the best I have ever seen. As usual when they do something they do it right. It is hard to capture it all in pictures but you kind of get the idea from this one. Continue reading Fireworks…

The biggest part of racism is what you learn in the home especially when there is nothing to counterbalance it. I heard these words on a recent PBS Newshour and they immediately went to my notepad for future thought. When we are young children we know very little about the world outside our immediate home. We think of our parents as almost godly. They can do no wrong. By the time we are teenagers many turn 180 degrees in that belief but often the damage is already done. I admit that I grew up, like most of us, in a … Continue reading The Biggest Part of Racism…

I don’t have time for people who want things that I don’t want. I recently heard the words above during a TV show and they stuck to me. I admit that I am a very focused person. Once I get something in my mind I pay almost total attention to it. That makes me appear to sometimes be insensitive to others around me. It gets me in trouble sometimes, no, actually many times. After thirty years of marriage my wife has come to understand this in me and usually gives me room when I am in such a focused mode. … Continue reading I Don’t Have Time…

      One of my many hobbies is to take a picture and then try to find a hidden story within the frame.  The picture from which this was taken is of a small southern Indiana town street. Looking at this pic it might have just as well been captured decades ago. Continue reading Tells Its Own Story…

I have to say that Disney World does it right. They go out of their way to insure that everyone has a good time. One of those unique experiences was the McCaws at Animal Kingdom. A dozen birds seem to land on command so these smiling young ladies can tell us about them and of course so we can take pictures. Then a few minutes later they all take flight only to return a few hours later for more guests. Continue reading Blue McCaws

It seems I have been hearing a lot of background talk about the cable news anchors. Many seem to be troubled by all the young females who are now figureheads in that media. I don’t have a poll to prove it but I hear most of these comments coming from women.  They just seem to be the most disgusted. Maybe its because too many guys just like watching the eye-candy instead of trying to listen to a knowledgeable source. I personally have never been that very impressed with any of the talking heads of news, even the network variety. The … Continue reading The Most Important People in Cable News…

My name is RJ I am an independent-thinking, pretty creative guy who is deaf and has had some unique views and challenges in life. They say that adversity builds character; if that’s true, I must have a lot of character! I am passionate about many things in my life. Writing, sharing my life’s experiences, and particularly blogging are included on the list. I blog about what gets me up in the morning and what excites me. Like all of us, I am a person who is composed of all my life experiences, and that is what I am about here at … Continue reading About Me…