blog.geigel.com

A customer of mine, Babin Building Solutions, is participating in the 2009 Cleveland Home & Flower Show and just for fun I went to the website to take a look.

What caught my eye — almost immediately — was the fact that the image used for the “General Information” menu item was of Ireland’s Powerscourt Garden.  Most people wouldn’t notice this, but I did.  I was there just 2 years ago, and the unique layout of the garden/walkway set against the unforgettable mountainscape is not something you fail to recognize.

This lead me to question whether it was appropriate for the Home & Flower Show to utilize this image, and more to the point legally, if they’re even authorized to use it.  Did the person who built this website take that picture?  Did the person who built this website acquire the picture from a stock photography suite?  Did they steal it from Powerscourt’s website or another source?  Does Powerscourt need to authorize the use of pictures taken of its property if they’re to be used commercially?  And, of perhaps less import, does it hinder the advancement of the Home & Flower Show’s mission, which is presumably to advocate the gardens built and maintained here in Ohio.  Surely an image of some magnificent garden locally would be better than using an image of gardens thousands of miles away in a country that has no real connection to Ohio.

Of course the benefit of the doubt has to play a role here as it always does.  Chances are that the Home & Flower Show does have the right to use the image.  Chances are they were simply interested in making their menu look cool by using a picture of a really cool garden.  Chances are no one in Ohio (save for me) will even notice this and comment on it.

But, I couldn’t let it go without giving Powerscourt the props it rightly deserves.  It’s an amazing place with perfect architectural landscaping, pristinely manicured lawns, hundreds of species of flora and a number of fountains/ponds that stop you in your tracks.  I’d like to see a garden like that in Ohio… if it exists.

It’s been nearly a year and a half in the making, but my friends and I finally got our Pi tattoos.  Chris Armenio, John Belter, Sean Teller and I went to Smokin’ Tattooz last night (11/29) in Kent and all got inked — some of us for the first time.  Noticeably wussing out and NOT getting a tattoo (even though she promised she would) was half-Asian Sarah Scroggy who nonetheless provided event planning services, and moral/emotional support.  

The tattoo appears slightly to the left of the center of my wrist, and along my watch band (so it can be hidden when it needs to be).  The entire tattoo fits within a 1 inch square.  The image on the bottom shows off 3.14 – 3 fingers up, wring finger down (point), pinky finger up for 1and the entire count of up fingers being 4.

Other important attendees during this historic event include: Mike Pavis, Lou Colorito, Katherine Dunn, Matt Coleman, Jeff Zimmerman, Caitin Ganley and Jeff Burk.  All of whom looked on as the rest of us endured.  Honestly, the needle wasn’t painful at all, and I was expecting much worse.

Why get Pi as a tattoo?  I can’t answer for anyone else, but for me I’ve wanted it for a long time.  There is beauty in mathematics, and Pi is an important number (ratio) used in calculations that define our world.  It’s infinite, never repeats itself, powerful in its simplicity and unique.  Pi is God’s number.

Additionally, the Greek letter Pi resembles neolithic Irish dolmens – or altars.  Dolmens pepper Ireland, and my dad and I saw a lot on our first visit there.  So in that way, my Pi tattoo will help remind me of those fun times.

Some of the dolmens my dad and I saw on our first Ireland trip.  Notice how similar dolmens are to the Greek letter Pi?