Snow Drive: A Photo Journal

True to the meteorologists predictions, late this morning it began snowing. I went out at lunch and it was barely starting to stick to the ground. But by the time I got off work at 4:00 there was already enough snow to cover my car. I had my camera with me so I decided to document my drive home. I present the highlights for you here. Please enjoy the photos, click on them to enlarge.

About to face it: Looking out door to leave work.

Looking past KDOL sign to 4th and Topeka.

Side of my building from the parking lot.

My car, pouting, covered in snow.

View out of car on way home.

And I made it, parking next to my snow pile.

Reports of Snow

The Weather Channel says it -6 degrees out, my thermometer appears to say -4.  This is the morning the bad car batteries out there drop out of the race.  According to the National Weather Service there is snow on the ground in 49 of the 50 states.  Which one has no snow?  Florida!  And yes, Hawaii has snow, on the Mauna Kea volcano.  With a summit at close to 13,800 feet, snow is common on it and it's neighbor, Mauna Loa.  Meanwhile, it's a winter wonderland pretty much everywhere.  Dress warm!

Europe 2003

I've been looking at the photos I took in Europe in 2003 and decided to throw a few of them up here to share.  Lyndy and I flew to Amsterdam, Holland in March 2003.  We spent a week driving about in a rental car (actually more like a van).  We drove a total of 900 miles in Holland, Germany, and France.  Here are some sample photos.  Please click to enlarge:

Yes, there really are windmills in Holland.  Lots of them.

Darren Danger at a sidewalk table in Haarlem, Holland

Every other street in Amsterdam is actually a canal.

One of the huge plazas in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam

Road sign in Holland.

Darren Danger in Amsterdam.

A bus stop sign in Germany.

Heidelberg, Germany.  Note castle ruins on hill.

Another view in Heidelberg.

Road sign in Germany.

A castle we toured in eastern France.

View from tower of castle looking straight down.

Sign in France near German border.

Narrow street in Strasbourg, France.

Half timber buildings in Strasbourg.

Darren Danger representing the Chiefs in France.

Back in Action!

Darren Danger's computer has been fixed!  You will eventually see it on CNN, but I'm announcing that my computer is repaired and I hope to get the new year started right by getting more articles up.

Technical Difficulties

Darren Danger's computer has a bad video card and has been sent off by Best Buy to who knows where so it can be repaired.  Please stay tuned.

Holiday Season 2010

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that your New Years will be even better!

The Columbian Building

With an address of 112-114 W 6th St., the Columbian Building is a fine Victorian-era office building in downtown Topeka.  Designed by Seymour Davis in the Romanesque-Prairie architectural style, it was built in 1888 and opened in 1889 as the United States Savings Bank.  Projected to cost $50,000 to build, the final total ended up closer to $75,000.  It's original name was the William C. Knox Building.  Mr. Knox was the founder of the U.S. Savings Bank.  Unfortunately, the bank closed in less than five years during a depression in the early 1890's. 

Since then, many owners and tenants have come and gone.  From 1902-1907 the U.S. Weather Bureau had it's offices on the top floor.   One of the most colorful moments in the building's history occurred in 1901.  At that time the Anti-Saloon League, the leading Prohibition organization in the United States, had an office in the building.  Carrie Nation, Anti-Saloon League member and famous for taking her hatchet and vandalizing bars in the name of temperance, attempted to visit her attorney in the Columbian building.  An angry mob followed her there.  They eventually forced their way into the building and began searching for her.  She was led down a back way into a basement boiler room, and eventually out the back door to safety and freedom.

The building wasn't called the Columbian Building until 1920.  The former Columbian Bank in Topeka was started in this building before relocating to 8th and Kansas.  A fire in 1937 did major damage to the top two floors.  Renovations in the late 1970's and early 2000's have kept the building looking nice.  It has been on the National Historic Register since 1977.