On our way back from Arizona last May, we stopped in Twenty Nine Palms so we could spend a couple of days visiting Joshua Tree National Park.

On the last day going through the park, I snapped a 3D picture pair of images of the Cholla Garden. This anaglyph image is the result. There are hundreds of cholla growing at this particular location. Click on the 3D image to enlarge.

You will need your free 3D glasses to view the anaglyph but just in case you don’t have your pair yet, I uploaded a 2D version here.

One of the limitations of my Garmin Nüvi 205W GPS is its inability to select a custom route. Unlike Google Maps™ and other popular on-line map resources, the Garmin only allows one waypoint to be programmed in addition to the destination.

When we leave the LA area to go to the new house (something we have been and will be doing a lot), I like to take a different route than the GPS decides. The GPS always wants to send me to Banning via state route 60 through Riverside which is an inferior route to joining up with I-10 via I-15. There is less traffic and construction that way, plus 60 takes us over the winding road east of Moreno Valley.

I searched for some information on setting a custom route on my GPS and found a blog that had tons of information: Tricks, Tips, Work Arounds, Hints, Secrets and Ideas for Garmin GPS. I spent quite a lot of time looking through the many articles there and found out a whole lot I didn’t already know about my GPS.

I eventually stumbled on a tip that solved 70 percent of my problem. I programmed a precision waypoint on the ramp from northbound I-15 to eastbound I-10. I say 70 percent because it still wants to take me up to I-105 and east. Fortunately, It will recalculate the route as I drive where I want to go and once we’re east of I-605 it shows the preferred route. Even though the hints and tips website didn’t solve my exact problem 100 percent, it showed me how to get more out of the GPS.

I discovered another very interesting gadget in the Flash® component toolkit. It’s a countdown timer that is pretty easy to use. I made this little Christmas timer in about ten minutes, including publishing it to the web.

I’ve got all my Christmas shopping done (thanks to on-line shopping). How about you?

I recently upgraded to the latest version of the Flash™ authoring tool that I use. There are lots of new features in the latest release, several of which I used for the slideshow seen here.

The tool lets me break up the images into whimsical shapes and then the effects browser allows me to preview the transition effect before choosing it. This is the result:

The images were made in November at the site of the new house in Arizona.

I have been playing with some new software the past few days. It’s a package for authoring Flash™ animations. I made our Thanksgiving e-card using the tool. I discovered a spiral object in the auto shapes component list. After playing with it for a while, I managed to get this animated spiral effect. It doesn’t do anything but it was fun to play with the new software.

Earlier this week while we were out to our new house to deliver some electrical fixtures, I snapped a picture pair to merge into a 3D anaglyph image.

The subject is the little downhill wash that runs through our property from the hill above. The wash runs down and then below the pad where our house stands.

Verna has been putting Critter Crunch up in the wash which has successfully attracted many quail to the area. We were at the property this morning and there were several quail there quacking and having a feast.

You will need red/cyan 3D glasses to view the image - click to enlarge. If you don’t have your pair yet, you can see the 2D version here.

On our last trip to Arizona, we took some time out to go to the Pedestrian overpass across the Hassayampa River near Downtown Wickenburg. I posted a panorama of the view from the bridge a couple of days ago.

As you enter the walkway (which used to be part of US Highway 60), you pass this bronze sculpture of a horse rearing up on its hind legs. I paused to take a pair of images to merge into the 3D version seen here. Click on the image to enlarge.

Of course, if you don’t have your 3D glasses, you can see the 2D image here.