Friday Focaccia
Do you have an adorable pet? Do you think others would think so to? Enter a photo of you pet in the Bissel MVP (Most Valuable Pet) Pet Photo Contest. The winning pet’s picture will be put on the new Bissell Pet Hair Eraser vacuum , and donation of $10,000 will be made to the charity of the winner’s (well winner’s owner) choice. Plus the top vote getter each week will win one of the Pet Hair Eraser vacuums, and the top 5 vote getters (getters?) will move into the finalist group. Grab your camera, snap a picture of your pet and send it in. (Contest ends 04/30/08)
Why I hate people from Alaska – You remember Sen. Stevens (R-Alaska), of “The Internet is a series of tubes” fame? Well, he is at it again, along with apparently equally dimwitted Senator Bill Nelson (D-Florida) and Senator Olympia Snow (R-Washington), who have introduced a bill to outlaw the already illegal practice of phishing. Sounds a bit like yet another Bridge to Nowhere. Of course I can’t but wonder, if it doesn’t pass if Stevens will throw another one of his hissy fits and threaten to quit the Senate. Of course, I can always dream.
Your rights trampled in the name of profits – It seems Monsanto is on a tear again, pushing for lawmakers to get rid of your right to select milk not tainted with synthetic growth hormones. Whether or not you believe or care about the rBST/rBGH controvery or not, you should care about your rights, as this is not the only product that is being targeted by large companies to get labeling stripped to keep the consumer in the dark. Contact your representatives, and tell them, you have a right to know.
Emeril going green – Emeril is coming to the Discovery Channel with a new eco-friendly food show. The show reportedly will be set in Whole Foods Markets and will feature organic, free range and natural foods.
And how about now? – Yes, I know I can understand if you are tired of me mentioning TheMeatrix, and Sustainable Table, and other food “activist” type things, because how could farms possibly be as bad as it is show in that little animated movie… right? Well what about this video? That is not fiction! That is not “a demonstration” or even a theoretical re-enactment. No cute little animation here. This is the actual goings on that lead to the single largest recall of beef (to date) in the United States. [Via Sustainable Table Blog]
So worth it
Now, admittedly, I already like looking at “the stars” and there is no doubt that I would have taken the time to see the lunar eclipse last week. But since LatteGirl would already be asleep when the full eclipse took place, I promised to break out my new camera and take some photographs.
In all fairness, it is a promise I never should have made. While I like taking pictures, I am by no means a “photographer.” Add to that, I have had precious little time to learn and play with all the new capabilities that the new camera has, and it was a recipe for disaster. But this was of course, the last total lunar eclipse until 2010, so I figured I would give it a shot (so to speak).
Now the week before (actually only several days before) we had some unseasonably warm weather. But of course this particular evening was not so kind, and of course, I found myself out of firewood for the chimenea. So, I brewed a pot of coffee, bundled up, set up the tripod and had at it.
With no real “second chances” to do this again, I fired off about 100 shots, at various depths of field, and shutter speeds and ISOs until I found what I thought was the best balance. From there, I would take each picture from that level, and then again with both up and down two steps from there. (Thank goodness, an eclipse is not a fast moving event). In the end, I came up with about 20 shots that I am satisfied with (10 of which have already been uploaded into flickr, such as the one in the right hand corner). I was wishing at the time, that I had made a greater investment for a real SLR and lenses, but truth be told, until I master the basics a bit more, it probably would have been a waste. A camera is only as good as the person working it, and I still have some learning to do.
With about an 80% “failure” rate, I was seriously wondering why they hell I went through all of that. Until the next day. As I was sorting through the pictures, and using Gimp to clean them up a bit (BTW, image processing, another area I have a LOT to learn.) LatteGirl came over and spotted the pictures. She was thrilled. She loved them all (even the less that great shots), and spent the better part of 10 minutes hugging me and thanking me for all the “great” pictures of the eclipse. She even begged me to print out of couple so she could show them off at school. Suddenly, I forgot how cold it was standing out there for several hours, or how little sleep I wound up getting before heading off to work the next day, or how disappointed I was with having so few decent shots to show for the effort. Suddenly, it was all so worth it.
I would really like to know
What is it going to take to stop people from packing a supermarket the day before a snowstorm, and shopping like they are going to be homebound until spring? Does everybody just happen to need bread and milk the day before a storm?
Look if you happen to live in one of those places where the “corner store” is “follow this road five miles, make a left where old man Fogarty’s barn used to be, and head down the mountain,” well then maybe you have some justification. Or, of course if you are say advanced in years, where the thought walking on snow and/or ice instills visions of broken hips and nursing homes, well maybe you should prepare to be inside a bit longer. I even understand everybody running to Blockbuster, because of the potential of kids at home for a snow day, and needed something to keep them occupied.
Other than that, honestly people, what are you thinking? That the horse drawn carriage isn’t going to be able to get Bessie’s milk to the market? That old Mrs. Pumpernickel won’t be able to find enough fire wood to bake some bread? Just why is it that this insane habit continues today?
Can you ear me now?
I consider myself a tech junkie, but even so the world of music somewhat eludes me. Between myself and TheWife, we have gone through untold numbers of earbuds and such for her iPod. For me, I have stuck with the earbuds that came with my Zune since I acquired it, and was satisfied with them. However, our Basset Hound, which apparently thinks he is part goat, decided they were a midnight snack, and ate them. Literally ate the buds right off of the wire.
So, now I am in search of new earbuds. (Since I generally stuff this in my coat pocket, I would rather not go with full headphones.) But am having a heck of a time deciding what to get. I don’t want to go too cheap and get some lousy sounding, or poorly fitting buds. But am not an audiophile enough to want (or even be able to discern the quality difference) to spend a hundred dollars (or more) on a new set.
So I am curious, for those of you that use third party or aftermarket earbuds… what do you use? Are you happy with them?
Eye in the Sky
If you are out and about over the next couple of evenings, and if the skies are clear in your area, you just may want to look up and see what you are missing. Over the next couple of days, the Spy Satellite that is in a decaying orbit, will make several passes over the U.S. To see when and where you can see it where you live, go to Heavens-Above.com, enter your Lat. and Long. (you can do it by selecting a map, but make sure you do it, it doesn’t quite make it clear that you need to follow this step. But if you don’t, you will not get the correct views for your area). Of course, the current plan is for the Satellite to be shot down on Wednesday, so your time may be limited.
Also, tomorrow (Feb 20th), will be the final Lunar Eclipse until December 21, 2010. It should be fully visible according to Space.com for virtually all of the US (Alaska, Hawaii, and Western Oregon may miss various amounts of the beginning), and Western Europe (although western Europe would have to rise early Thursday morning to see it). More details can be found at the Luna Eclipse information page on Space.com.
You don’t need a telescope or any special equipment to see these events. As a matter of fact, since the satellite is in such low orbit, it will probably move across the horizon too fast to really enjoy (or get a good lock on) through the telescope (though it would certainly be fun with the Lunar Eclipse).
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