My new toy!

Yes indeed some days you get what you are looking for, and this week I have gotten me a brand new toy, a new camera!! A new camera for me and this is a great big step up from the little point and shoots that I have been using. If you look at this picture you might guess that it takes some pretty nice pics, and you would be quite right! It is a Canon Rebel T1i, 15.1 Megapixel. Since I didn't have a whole lot of money to throw at this, I searched for a while to find the best price I could, and then I saved my pennies for a few months until I could afford the nut it took to make the purchase. I hope that I will be able to sell a few pictures to help me pay for this thing!

I was so tight on the money that I didn't even have the spare to buy the kit with a lens, I had to buy the body only version. Fortunately, and with some planning I happened to buy a camera of the same make that my Father already owns, and he has given me 2 of his old lenses that he no longer uses. ( He spent the money on some high-end lenses, so I can have the hand-me-downs!) One is the original that he got with his own Rebel XSi, an 18-55mm zoom, and the other a 55-250mm zoom. They are both great optics, but they have a drawback that pops wanted to overcome, they didn't have enough apeture to shoot clear indoor, sports, action shots. While I may want to do that occasionally, I am much more about outdoor nature shots. Yes, I do lots of parties and performances, but they are either well lit, or I have no problem lighting them with a flash, so it's plenty cool to use the higher apeture settings for me. Plus I have learned how to incorporate the blurred movement of certain things into my style.

It has been many years since I have had the luxury of a true SLR camera at my utter disposal, and I am feeling my oats with it. I have already taken over 175 pictures and I haven't even had it for 48 hours yet! Of course, they are not all good by any means, but I am improving quickly as I get used to the feel and the features of the camera. I really dig the auto focus, but it takes a little tweaking for a picky pixel hound like me to get it seeing what I want it to see. Fortunately that's one of the big advantages of this particular brand, I can set the focal points where I want them and the camera will heel to my becon call. One of the things that I have missed so much in recent years with the myriad subjects surrounding me, is the ability to get such a great adjustment in the depth of field in my pictures. Since the glass on point and shoot cameras is set up to be pretty much idiot-proof ( nothing ever is, because there are always better idiots waiting in the wings!) it is designed with a very limited depth of field capability, even with an adjustable aperature, it only closes down to f8, and that is still a gaping maw compared to the the f22, 25, 0r 28 that I can get with the SLR glass. Now I can have some fun with depth!

Not only that, but because I enjoy the nature shots so much, sometime it will allow me to get in close and personal with certain skittish critters. Like this little guy! He was hiding in the watergarden and I nearly stepped on him before I realized that he had himself stashed in such a tight spot. But I was able to get a bead on him for a few frames before he decided to dash away. I sure hope he got his dinner first! While I am not a fanatic conservationist or anything like that, there are tons of subjects that I love to get pics of, from the frogs and dragonflies, to the deer and game birds that spend so much time within my visual range. If I am lucky I may be able to get some pictures of some crazy birds this year. Maybe a turkey or a pheasant, and if I'm real lucky maybe I get me a partridge ( pear tree optional!)

So far I am pretty happy with what I can do, and I am looking forward to really pushing the limits of what this camera can accomplish, and as I learn all of it's little quirks and intricacies, I will be able to refine my own style of picture taking. I am not the most creative person in the world, but I do know what I like and what draws my attention. I really want to get back into getting people like I have in the past. I have been compared to paparazzi on more than one occasion, because I manage to get pictures of people and things that people don't even notice. Partly because I so often have a camera that it becomes an expectation and people lose their natural inhibitions to being caught on film, and partly because I have this habit of shooting so much around me that it is inevitable that eventually I get a few good pictures!

I wish I had a real crystal ball to look in and see what it is that I need to do to find that moment when I meet my dream, but since I don't, I will continue to play with the things that draw me in. Oh yeah, one more thing, this particular camera also does video, in FULL HD!! so cool! I have only just tried this feature for a few seconds to make sure that it worked, but as soon as I have my high capacity SD cards, I will give it a try for real! Looking forward to having some fun with that also!

Why are we so scared?

I recently read an article ( and when I say "recently" I mean in the last few months!) that broke down "freedom" by state. Using various legislative and social guideposts, the authors of the sited study, evaluated and graded the freedoms in each state. The conclusions were interesting to say the least, because what they found was that, in general, the states with the highest tax loads per capita had the least amount of personal freedom, and the states with the lowest tax loads had the most "perceived" freedom. Why, you may ask do I put the word "perceived" in quotes? Well, it is because, based on the study, most freedom is about perception,( ask your kids how free they feel when they are stuck in school) but when quantitatively measured, freedom has no meaning.

If a person has a job, and can feed their family and live a life that makes them happy, what freedom are they missing? If this person lives in country that is ruled by a military dictator, or by a democratically elected president makes no difference. If a different person has a job they can't stand, and makes barely enough money to live, and lives on the edge of financial ruin, never finding happiness in their entire life, are they ever truly free? Again, it makes no difference what system they live under.

Taxes that seem to go ever upward, with ever deepening cuts in the services offered, gives a feeling of the loss of freedom. When you can keep more of your wages, you feel like you have more freedom. When you are doing something that you enjoy, more than you're doing something that you don't, you feel free. Ask yourself, do you take a vacation to do stuff you hate? Of course not! Unless you're married and you take a vacation to catch up on the "Honey do.." list, then maybe you are doing stuff you don't like on vacation. See, you don't feel free then, do you?

In America, we spend so much of our time trying to meet our payments that we have lost view of what life is really about. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, were the golden trio described in our Declaration of Independence, but today we give them up for Work, Struggle and the pursuit of the next cool thing. Anybody who has lived a few years can tell you that the continuing struggle for money and belongings has sidetracked us from the real things in life, family, learning and living.

Living is one thing that the rest of the world seems to have on us. Especially the European countries. The European model has capitalism, with liberal amounts of socialism sprinkled in to make life livable for the masses, and not just for the lucky few. Health care is only one place where they have us beat. We have truly lost some greatness in our educational arenas, and our research capabilities too. Thanks very much to the odd religious nutcases who seem to get power, even when they are a minority. Long discussion for a different time.

Just as much, I pursue the dollars and the stuff. I have no time or money to do the things that I really want to do, so I compensate by getting stuff instead of going and seeing like I want to! Occasionally I have the luck and the time to get out of my small realm and see the broader world, and I always love those times. But they are far fewer that I would like, so in the middle times I amuse myself with what I think I want when I can't have what I really want. It is my freedom of choice and I use it rather unwisely!

On a lighter note.....55# gone. I have hit a plateau, but it might have to do with the hole in my back. Small surgical thing that needs to finish healing so I can get back into some more vigorous exercise. Sounds funny to say, but I miss it!

Random thoughts put is no order

So it has occurred to me that our President could get more accomplished if he actually DID something rather than get on TV and talk about what he WANTS to do. I can't remember any President who has been on TV more than Mr. Obama. He is on in the middle of the day, he disrupts the afternoon soaps, or he gets some prime-time spots to screw up the TV viewing schedule. It has gotten to the point where the networks are actually deciding NOT to air his addresses live, because there have been so many of them! When the network news is no longer taking you seriously, it's time to rethink your approach.

If government run healthcare is good enough for our veterans and our elderly (well maybe not elderly, but them what's old enough for Medicare) why is it "socialism" to offer it to the general population? I don't understand how "Socialized Medicine" is good enough for our military personal, but not all of us.

Why is it ok to try to change the constitution to elect Arnold Schwarzeneggar president? President Obama was born in Hawaii which is a State and was a State when he was born there. It has been proven time and again, too bad there wasn't a video of the birth, but then in this day and age it is likely that even that would be called into question. Just because his dad was Kenyan, his mother was still American. He was born in Hawaii in 1961, Hawaii became a State in 1959, soooo.... He is a natural born American Citizen. Just like so many of the children born to the Cuban Exiles, or the Italian, Polish, Russian or whatever, immigrants, by being born inside the borders of the United States of America, he is a citizen. So bite it "birthers!"

How do you believe in a talking snake, but not evolution? How do you swallow that an omnipotent/omnicient being created all the universe in 6 days, but not that some lightening in the primordial ooze sparked life? Why does "God" support your team and not the opposing team? What is the difference between God, Odin, Zeus, Allah, and Whoever you choose to worship? Do not all religions essentially teach the same things? why is one better than another? They all have their problems and their good points. Take all the good stuff and discard all the bad and you don't need a church, temple, or mosque. It's time for religious institutions to pay taxes or to put ALL of their money into the charities that they profess to support.

Vote against the incumbent, even if it means writing in "None of the above". The Democrats control the White House, The Senate and Congress, yet they can't pass legislation. The Republicans will get something done, even if it is wrong. Why is that? Too bad that the people who are supposed to be smart, haven't got the brains to get something accomplished!

Crazy shit rolling around in my head. Tired of the crap, I just want to see people agree for a few days, and get something done that actually benefits the people of America rather than the people who are elected to represent us. In other "free" countries the Government is afraid of the people, but in our country the people are afraid of the Government. Why is that?

thoughts and holes

So I went to the Doctor today about this bump on my back, and it turns out that I had a little thing called an infected subacious cyst. Sound delicious doesn't it? Yeah, so anyway, since I was there and he was a surgeon, I decided to let him take it out. He got in and cleaned out the infection, and now since it needs to heal from the inside first, I have a hole in my back packed with gauze. Fun wow! The real fun will be getting the packing changed, I'm sure that without the anesthetic it will be quite a joy to feel. Oh well, better for me in the long run.

Last night I met someone who I would consider to be a minor semi-celebrity. Have you ever met someone and knew, without even a seconds hesitation that you are with someone who will someday be truly famous? In the first 5 minutes, I was impressed with this person. I'm not easily impressed, and most people who have the drive to pursue this type of life, are generally self centered and pretty much a walking ego. The lady that I met last night was not. She was gracious, and friendly, and she was just as happy to listen to our stories as we were to listen to hers. When she listened to you, she looked at you, and her eyes would see into you and sort the bullshit from the truth, with the precision of a laser scalpel. In the first 5 minutes I knew why she had her job, and in the first half-hour I knew that she was gonna be way bigger than our little city. By the time the evening was done, I was sure that she was gonna be one of the biggest. She will be one of those people who will surpass all of the expectations. I don't know if I would say bigger than Oprah, because let's face it, that's a just not likely for anyone anymore, but she will at least be as big as Ellen, or maybe Leno. She is a girl with drive and balls, backed by intelligence, wit and amazing beauty. If she doesn't become a household name I will be surprised, and some day I will turn on the TV and she will be there doing something, and I will chuckle and say that I had dinner once with Lilly Hisenaj, back when she was just in the middle of her career path, before she was a household name.

Someday you all will know who I mean. I'm sure of it!

Where is my summer?!?!

" Hot town
summer in the city,
Back of my neck
gettin dirty and gritty..."

Love that song, but it seems like this year it sure hasn't been true so far! This is mid-July, and I am comfortable wearing jeans and long sleeve shirts. That is completely wrong. I should be sweltering in hot, sticky weather, waiting for the end of the work day so I can jump in the swimming pool and enjoy a refreshing dip. I have been in the pool exactly once! and that was to work on cleaning it. In fact I haven't even been too worried about getting it completely cleaned yet, because I'm shivering in the morning and just happy to be warm in the afternoon.

I know that it's related to the global warming, and the truth is that in our temperate climate the loss of hot summers is one of the things that will happen, meanwhile the equatorial regions will be sweltering and probably in drought. It's all related people. I remember back in the early 90's when we had some doozy winter weeks and Time Magazine had a cover that showed Niagara Falls ice bridge, and the headline was something about a new ice age. It's all related. The warming melts the ice at the poles, which in turn slows the ocean currents, because the temperature gradient isn't as high, so the warm weather stay in the warm regions, and the cold weather stays in the cold regions. Eventually the cold builds up and the heat builds up and neither the twain shall meet. Yep The ice age is brought on by global warming. See? It's all related!

Oh well, I just want to be hot and sweaty and looking forward to a swim!! I can't do it this week, because now it's gonna RAIN!! (Plus it's still too cold!)

Barbecue season...

50 pounds less of me there now is!

And the fact that I have managed to keep to my changes even in the middle of barbecue season makes me very happy, because next to Christmas this is the hardest time of the year for me to keep from gorging on everything in sight. Between working outdoors and playing outdoors, I'm hungry to start with, but throw in the constant scent of barbecue in the air from all over the neighborhood, and I should be binging left and right! Plus the added incentive of being too hot and tired to really want to cook anything good, but with a taste for junk in my brain.... I want to dive head first into a Chinese buffet! Who knows, maybe that will be my splurge this weekend, it is either that or maybe I will get a pair of them bacon burritos from Taco Bell! They sure look good on the commercials. Taco Bell is the one place that seems to rarely disappoint me between the commercial and the reality. Unlike Applebee's which always disappoints me. Everything looks great and tasty, and I get there and it seems like warm cardboard. Yet I still try the place now and then just hoping to find something good. LOL I guess that fits the definition of insanity. But it's food, what can I do? As I have said before, it is the one thing that I am nearly powerless over. That is changing though, and I am happy about it! Maybe someday I will have the willpower to never set foot in those places again, but for now, I am getting by on smaller and much more distant doses.

I guess I will go make a broccoli and jalapeno omelet.

life on Mars...

When I was a kid, I asked my dad one time what was the difference between a weed and a garden plant, and his succinct answer was this, " A weed is any plant growing where I don't want it." So by his definition, a beautiful rose bush growing uninvited in a field of cucumbers, is a weed.

As every gardener knows, weeds are the bane of our existence, there is no plant more resilient than the humble garden weed. Be it a dandelion, or a sunflower, if it is growing where you don't want it, it's gonna be persistent and nearly impossible to get rid of. Yet try to get the things that you want to grow to take hold in the same fashion and you will have better luck trying to stuff a wet noodle in a stray cats ass. I have seen sunflowers growing wild, and I can say that some of the wild ones are better by far than half of the cultivated ones I have seen. Yet, try as I might, when I want sunflowers to grow wild I can barely get three or four to make an effort.

If you have ever owned a bird feeder, you know just how easy sunflowers will grow, all they need is moisture and some sunny days and they are sprouting away left and right. You can mow them down all summer long, yet they keep trying. The birds and squirrels will drag those damn seeds everywhere, and they will try to grow. Yet if you plant 20 in a row, you get 6. What the hell? !

Sunflowers are just an example, but it is the weeds that I am concerned with today. I have weeds that are so hardy that they stand up to everything I throw at them. I have hit them with high-end weed killer, I have burned them, tilled them, hoed them and weed preventer-ed them yet they come back again and again. I get more than my daily exercise pulling weeds, and hoeing and cultivating the garden, trying to keep it looking fairly presentable. I get one area cleaned up, move on to the next and 2 days later the original has the pale green haze of weeds showing again! They grow in the dry season, they grow in the wet season, and they grow past the frost and before the thaw! If NASA wants to see if Mars can support life, I will give them a couple shovels of dirt from my garden and they can plop it onto Mars and watch it go! I bet them weeds will even grow on Mars!

You want to find out if there is life on Mars, give them some good old New York weeds to deal with and we may actually end up with our first interplanetary war. The Martians will be pissed, beause they will never be rid of them weeds once they get a foot hold. But the kicker of the whole damn thing is this, some of the blooms on the weeds, are prettier than the flowers I have planted. So I may use some reverse psychology on the weeds and try to grow a few rows of them for the blooms! You think they will actually grow?