I’ve kept a low profile this weekend. I grabbed lunch early yesterday at my favorite Cuban place in Hoboken and then hit the local Barnes and Noble to pick up Harry Potter 7. Yes, I’m one of those people. And to avoid having some dolt spoil it for me, since then I’ve been holed up in the condo or up on the deck, reading, and avoiding the internet and television. Yesterday evening about dusk I I heard from a party going on a few houses away “Did you hear about the new Harry Potter…?” I promptly ran inside and plugged my ears. Then this morning, while watching the news for a few moments, I slammed off the TV’s power when what was probably a piece on Harry Reid started, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I’m a little more than half-finished.

In other news, I finally caved and bought my graduation gift to myself last week: a Canon Rebel XTI (aka the 400D) DSLR camera. It’s my first SLR, and there’s a serious learning curve. With the help of some lenses that a friend lent me (thanks, Alex!) I’ve been puttering around a bit, but I have no idea what I’m doing. I have the above required shot of the skyline from our deck above. Also, a most unusual shot of a Boeing B-17* that flew over yesterday morning. No idea where she was from or what she was doing over Manhattan, but she was a very cool sight and the sound of those four radial engines reminded me how I need to get to an air show sometime in the next year or two. I was able to shoot the photo at max zoom and crop down what you see. Not very clear, but clearer than I could have got with my other cameras, and proof that I wasn’t imagining things.

That’s all I have. My seclusion continues. Good thing I don’t currently have a job to drag me out tomorrow!

(*for those who do not know, the B-17 Flying Fortress is a WWII U.S. bomber, and therefore quite rare. I’ve seen this one in the airspace around Manhattan a few times before, so she must be based out of Long Island or Connecticut)