What has that snow done to my car?
Mar
08
Apparently, it’s mutated it into some sort of abominable snow wagon.
I could go outside and get a better shot, but I’m not going to. Looks like I “picked” a good weekend to be off work.
Shareware for the Color Blind
Jun
29
As I’ve mentioned here before, I am colorblind, and as I said then, it’s not really something I like to bring up.
I’m mentioning it now because I’ve found an awesome shareware utility that is absolutely indispensable. I don’t know how Ive gotten along without it! Years ago I found eyedropper, a handy utility that lives in your system tray, ready to tell you the color value of any pixel on your screen in RGB or Hex. Handy for matching colors and such, but less so for actually identifying colors.
Now I’ve found What Color, a tiny little utility that tells you the color not only in RGB and Hex, but also in plain english. For me “166,204,227″ is much less helpful than “LightBlue”. Optionally, it can also display the color’s position on a color-wheel; also quite helpful.
‘What Color’ will be a permanent resident of my system tray. If you, or someone you know, has some level of color blindness it’s worth a look.
‘What Color’ earns a resounding:
Exotic Birds, Part II
Jun
14
Today on my way back from the bike shop I passed a deer; a young doe, standing just off the side of the road (on my side). I turned around and rode back, positioning myself for a photo while she warily watched me. As I fumbled for the camera, I noticed her looking more tense, just then her little fawn appeared from the bushes and nursed for a moment. Now having become much more concerned with my presence, mom began leading her little one away from me. I grabbed a quick picture before riding on, leaving them to their business.
Click for a digitally zoomed ‘Bigfootesque’ view
A bit closer to home, very near where I drew inspiration from the elderly gentleman on his bike the other day, I spot what appears to be a motorized wheelchair coming down the road toward me. As we draw closer, I realize that it is, in fact, a man in a motorized wheelchair, and perched on his shoulder is a great big parrot!
As we pass I say “howdy”, he nods, and the parrot squawks. As I ride away, I can hear the parrot squawking for quite some time, I’m pretty sure he was talking about me, but it’s hard to say. I do wish I had stopped and asked them if they’d mind me taking their picture. Oh well… maybe next time.
Go for a bike ride, or a walk out in the country. There truly is no telling what you might see.
New Camera
Jun
08
You may recall that some time ago, I was bemoaning the fact that I needed a smaller digital camera to take along on rides and such. I’ve got a Nikon Coolpix 5400 which I love, but it’s just too big to fit comfortably in a jersey pocket.
Well, a couple of weeks ago, I decided enough was enough and started shopping for a smaller digicam. I wanted something that was small, ran on AA batteries, had a high ISO for low-light shooting, was a capable macro shooter and wouldn’t break the bank.
I found all of that in the Nikon Coolpix L12, which I got about a week ago from Amazon
What a great little camera! It slips easily into a jersey pocket, produces fantastic images, has point and shoot simplicity but yet still offers a fair amount of creative control. The Nikon Coolpix L12 earns:
Another Perfect Day, Another Perfect Ride
Jun
06
If a picture is worth a thousand words, that’ll save me a lot of typing. I’ll just add this:
Is it any wonder this is one of my favorite spots to take a snack break?
Because zefrank Told Me To
Sep
19
Caldonia’s arch nemesis, Sir Scares a Cat, dons a cunning disguise in an attempt to gain her confidence.
Unconvinced, she watches from a safe distance, ready to seek refuge under the bed at a moment’s notice.
And yes, I dressed up my vacuum and took its picture because zefrank told me to. So what?
Old Fashioned Days
Sep
17
So, this weekend was Xenia’s annual “Old Fashioned Days” festival (not to be confused with “Old Timers Days”, which is different; or with “Grumpy Old Bastard Days”, which I made up).
Every year the highlight of the festivities (for me, anyway) is the Balloon Glow. Well that and watching the illegally parked cars get towed away.
The best part is that all of this fun takes place literally a stone’s throw away from the homestead.
I Need a Smaller Camera
Aug
17
As I was getting ready to head out for a bike ride yesterday, I thought about bringing my digital camera, but decided not to, primarily because it doesn’t fit very comfortably into a jersey pocket, plus I was getting a late start and figured I wouldn’t really have time to take pictures, anyway.
Once I got out into the countryside I noted that the birds seemed especially active. First it was groups of Barn Swallows swooping down, time and again to catch bugs, then the Goldfinches were out en masse to flaunt their brilliant summer plumage.
Then as I rounded the sharp left-hand curve riding west on Stewart, there they were. Two fawns, contentedly munching grass in the field to my right, just beyond the split rail fence. They didn’t seem particularly concerned with my presence, so I stopped to watch them for a bit, expecting their mother to come rushing out to escort them to safety at any moment. A few minutes passed, their mother was still nowhere to be seen, and the youngsters’ grazing was actually bringing them closer to me, so I decided to ride a bit further around the curve to give them some space then went back to watching them. A few more minutes passed, a few cars drove by, and the two little deer continued to eat, despite my admonishment that they were supposed to be afraid of me and really should be running away.
Today I went for a ride again; same exact course, same time of day, same weather. The only difference was that today I decided to shoe-horn my camera into my pocket; well, that and the fact that were only a very few run-of-the-mill type birds to be seen, and, of course, no deer.
I did see the same lady walking by the park who just scowled at me yesterday when I said “Howdy” to her. Today I didn’t say anything. She scowled. Maybe I should have taken her picture.
The King is dead: long live the King!
May
14
I think when I get home I may just sit and hold my old, (ca. 1984) faithful, Nikon and weep quietly.
Digital is awesome, no film to lug around (or fill the freezer with), instant preview, faster time to print, no image degradation over time. But I feel the same sense of melancholy and loss that I did when I realized my beloved LP’s had become obsolete and that CD’s had officially taken over (although I am still stubbornly hanging on to my records and turntable). When film does officially become relegated to history’s proverbial dust bin, I’ll miss it… the smell of a freshly opened film canister, the tactile joy of being able to open and load a roll in the dark, just by touch, the smell of darkroom chemicals, the rush of anticipation when picking up prints at the lab…
Of course, now I’ve got to get busy getting drawer upon drawer full of negatives and slides scanned and stored; which will then become the wonderful game of keeping up with / transferring to the new “standard”. (anybody remember 5 1/4″ floppies?)
Oh well, progress marches on… we either fall in step or get left behind.
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