There have been plenty of times where I am driving down a street or freeway and I see something amazing. Rarely do I carry my Canon xsi at my side while in my car, but my phone is always within an arms reach. Now I’m not knocking the Droid’s camera, but the iPhone’s operating system is snappier than Android making it easier to bust out for a quick picture. But this post isn’t about android vs iPhone.

The picture above is the original shot from the phone (the yellow tint is from the windshield). There are three disc shaped clouds (one is behind the palm tree) which, if I remember the cloud lecture from 6th grade science correctly, are stationary lens-shaped clouds that form at high altitudes, normally aligned perpendicular to the wind direction. But I’m not a cloud scientist so don’t take my word for it.

Speaking of iPhone’s… my favorite app so far is Instagram. It is sort of like a love child of Flickr and twitter. If you have an iPhone follow me on Instagram. Here’s the filtered shot using the original image (see below).

A couple of weeks ago I went to see my cousin’s daughter perform with her ballet class at the Riverside County Fair. After her performance, I photographed my nieces and nephew enjoying the best rides the Date Festival (and Michael Jackson) had to offer. Below is a condensed slide show of my favorite images from that day. For the full set click here and for the 2009 set click here.

My favorite way to cook steak is simple just sprinkle salt and pepper, maybe a little olive oil, and throw on a grill for 3 minutes on each side. That is all.

Couscous is a great alternative to a rice or mashed potato side dish. I usually buy the big container at Ralph’s, but the couscous pictured below is from a box with seasoning packets. Either way it only takes about 5 minutes to make. Add fresh mushrooms, asparagus, and grape tomatoes sauteed in olive oil to the couscous or as a second side dish in order to complete the meal.

This set was taken right before sunset at a friend’s nursery in the Coachella Valley.

Later that day I headed over to Cody’s place because Wane was going to tattoo Cody. It ended up not happening that day for whatever reason.

Taken on the last day of the 2009 Riverside County Date Festival in Indio. It had been a good 4 years since I had been to the Date Festival.

Pictures taken in San Diego at the shop where Wane is currently apprenticing, Full Circle Tattoo. Check out more from that day towards the end of the slideshow.

The story:
On a Saturday Mark, Wane, and I wanted to catch the much-anticipated “Watchmen” at the Imax in Ontario. After being greatly disappointed, we made plans to go the next day down to San Diego with Wane to see him tattoo in person for the first time.

Wane’s first appointment was Fernando, the owner of a video store. Mark and I watched as Wane shaded in the tattoo he had previously done on Fernando’s thigh. By the look on his face it was apparent that getting a tattoo on your thigh was not a pleasant experience.

Wane finished up and told us that his next appointment was going to be more than an hour late.  Wane and Mark both decided it was time for Mark to get tattooed. In the past Mark had mentioned wanting to get a tattoo from Wane, but I don’t think it was his intention to get it that day. Without hesitation he took the spot and begun getting his first tattoo.

Check out:

Full Circle Tattoo

Wane’s Twitter and Myspace