Nice To Be Here

Nice To Be Here, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Who cares what we pay for rent here in California when we live by the Ocean..

Balanced Rock, One More Time

Balanced Rock, One More Time, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

"The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man." -- Unknown

Best viewed large.

My other images from Moab are here.

Paul and Kris Anne

Paul and Kris Anne, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Some of you asked who we are currently staying with. This is Paul and Kris Anne Gustavson, a couple we are staying with during May, and who we stayed with last summer during my internship. You may remember picture of Silicon Valley from their backyard, and one of these days I'll post a picture of their 10,000 sq. feet home at the top of one of the hills in the Valley. Well, it really is a resort, but they call it home.

Kris Anne is a cousin to my wife's mom, and they quickly welcomed us like their own children when we first met them a year ago. They are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, and it's always good to have family in a new place for us.

Paul successfully runs his own consulting practice, and his clients include such names as Cherokee Indian Nation, Wells Fargo, NASA, Xerox etc while Kris Anne helps him with his business and other projects he's involved with, including consulting with BYU's football head coach Bronco Mendenhall and AD Tom Holmoe.

They recently announced that they will be serving a 2-year mission to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where they will both help the Church with various organizational and strategic issues. Their mission started today, and I took a picture of them.

Where Bay Fog Ends

Where Bay Fog Ends, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Very foggy day in San Francisco today, but a clear day in San Jose. I was standing right on the border line.

Our New Ride

Our New Ride, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

My Honda Prelude is not suitable for riding with the baby we'll soon be welcoming into our family, and my wife's Dodge Stratus might not make it through the Sierras, so it's time for us to upgrade our ride. Say hello to a new Makarov family member, 07 Toyota Camry.

I must say that there is a bit of a difference in the quality of driving experience between Stratus 98 and Camry 07..

Click here to see the rest of the set.

Stolen, Again

Stolen, Again, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Thanks to Tiny Alice I found my Dead Horse Point photo on a web-site where I did not authorize it. Notice how they even put their logo on it, and the number of views it has.

What a shame that people steal photos this shamelessly and so easily.

One More Shot of Silicon Valley

One More Shot of Silicon Valley, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

"I believe that Silicon Valley is truly a place of excellence and the impact of this tiny community on the world is completely disproportionate to its size. " -- Jeff Skoll, first employee of eBay.

In case you're wondering, the shot is looking north, and eBay, Cisco, Adobe, Yahoo, Google, Sun, Intel, Apple and PwC (where I work) are all contributing to my picture somewhere towards the horizon line to the right.

California Way To Enjoy An Afternoon

California Way To Enjoy An Afternoon, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

After spending a fun evening with our friends Ryan and Melissa, and their friends Matt and Ashley, Becca had no choice but to take a nice nap outside.. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

All Part Of Democracy

All Part Of Democracy, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Why would someone waste the days of their lives protesting like this in front of the White House is beyond me.

Bay Area Sun

Bay Area Sun, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

I was just going to come home after work and watch Jazz eliminate Warriors out of the NBA playoffs, but the drama that unfolded outside was more entertaining than the first few minutes of the game.

Bay Area is getting covered in fog at nights, and tonight will be no exception. You may already see the fog in the upper side of the image. However, sadly, it is the pollution in the atmosphere that creates something of this nature. Living in the mountains of Utah I've never seen anything like this.

Lone Tree

Lone Tree, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

"It is loneliness that makes the loudest noise. This is true of men as of [trees]." - Eric Hoffer

Please see the large version.

Golden Gate Bridge

Golden Gate Bridge, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

As seen from the Baker Beach.

Nothing Can Stop The Light

Nothing Can Stop The Light, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter." -- Ansel Adams

This was certainly the case today as I was driving past vista points on I-280 just at a perfect time of the day.

Please see it large.

Utah Lake, One More Time

Utah Lake, One More Time, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Elegance Of Nature

Elegance Of Nature, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change." -- Buddha

The Lights Of The Silicon Valley

The Lights Of The Silicon Valley, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

This is one Valley where people work an average of 60 hours a week and lights never go out as engineers of all kinds develop technologies so folks like us could enjoy Flickr, Photoshop, Mac, Pentium and zillion of other products that are now essential parts of our lives.

The lights you see in the skies belong to the helicopter and a plane.

#19 - The Greatest Playmaker Since Lemeux

#19 - The Greatest Playmaker Since Lemeux, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Say all you want about his last two most recent games for the Sharks, but Joe Thornton is still the greatest playmaker and passer there is in hockey right now. He is also my favorite Canadian hockey player of all time. One smart heck of a player.

I really feel sorry for all Bruins fans for one mess of a trade.

Evgeny Nabokov Makes The Save

Evgeny Nabokov, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

He had another great performance, but you can't win without scoring goals, so the Sharks are now out of the Stanley Cup, and their season is over while Detroit Red Wings are moving on. It was the offense, and veterans in particular, that was completely useless tonight.

My first live Stanley Cup game will be the last one for a while.

Farewell, Beautiful Utah

Farewell, Beautiful Utah, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

So sweetly she bade me adieu,
I thought that she bade me return.
~William Shenstone

Tomorrow I'll at last officially move out of Utah. I'm happy that the local nature showed me this last night.

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

I've seen the inside of the Lincoln Memorial on TV and on photos hundreds of times, so none of it was new. But it was the exterior of the memorial that caught my attention, which was just as impressive.

The White House

The White House, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

“The White House: I don't know whether it's the finest public housing in America or the crown jewel of the prison system” -- Bill Clinton

I've seen palaces of Russian tsars and the Buckingham Palace. The White House looks so unbelievably small in comparison.

Library of Congress

Library of Congress, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

One amazing day in Nation's Capital today.. I've never been, so all the architecture and history was all new to me, and very impressive. More photos to come, of course.

Please see it large.

Potomac River

Potomac River, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

And Potomac flowed calmly, scarce heaving her breast,
With her low-lying billows all bright in the west,
For a charm as from God lulled the waters to rest
Of the fair rolling river.
- Paul Hamilton Hayne, Beyond the Potomac