The Calm Between Storms

Last week, two Nor'easters slammed into the Maine coast, bringing 90 mph winds and 20-foot waves. The harsh weather uprooted 100 year-old trees and flooded much of the coastal area. Twelve hours separated the two storms and on Friday afternoon a group of close friends and I went to the coast to watch the waves crash in.

The crashing of the waves a half mile away blocked out the thudding of the car doors as we eagerly hopped out of the car and set off for the beach.

Cauldron.

Our Danners in action.

A pink haze floated around the beach like patchouli oil at a jam band festival in Vermont, making the thunder of the waves feel distant and nonthreatening.

There is something both endearing and dangerous about big storms. Nick dodging spray.

For hours we wandered around the abandoned park, captivated by the constant thundering of waves and the bright colors diffused by the humid air.

Spencer's Danners Mountain Light II boots, APC New Standards jeans, Seil Marschall backpack, and a Blistex wear mark.

I don't know if it's Hell or Heaven, but I am drawn to it none the less.

Spencer snapping an instant with his Polaroid 210 Land Camera.

White foam covered the beach, offering insight into the ferocity of the past storm and an idea of what the coming storm would offer.

As we left the beach, dark clouds covered the sun's light and a wind picked up. The imminence of the sideways rain falling from the heather-gray clouds off the Atlantic gave us purpose in the mile walk back to the car. As we headed home in the comfort of our car, jellybean sized raindrops started obscuring the windshield as the last rays of direct sunlight cut through the trees on the rural highway.

Here are some more links,
The Calm Between Storms (Picasa),
The Ocean (ART).

Blackberry Storm Pricing

As an avid Blackberry user, I follow the next generation Blackberrys (The Bold, The Storm, and Javelin) very closely. On Halloween, Fortune Magazine reported Vodafone's very cheap pricing for the Verizon bound Storm. Engadget went on to extrapolate that the Storm may be priced at 99 USD. This conjecture on the Storm pricing comes shortly after another rumor about Apple dropping the price of the 3g Iphone to 100 dollars sometime in 2009. Will both happen? I doubt it, but expect to see Verizon to price the Storm well bellow the $199 Iphone in the $100 to $150 range. This is a new approach for Verizon. Historically they rely on the strength of their network to sell potential costumers not attractive hardware. In 2005, Verizon passed on the opportunity to have exclusive rights to the Iphone because they weren't willing to pay the heavy subsidies and monthly allowances demanded by Apple. I am sure Verizon has been kicking themselves for missing out on the opportunity to sell the Iphone and are willing to take some chances in the form of heavy subsidies to have a sexy, well priced phone this holiday seasons. It will be interesting to see how this plays out...

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