Deliberate Exploitation of Eloquence

Slowing time: seeing past the beliveable

2010-08-15T01:50:00.000-07:00

In my usual browsing the many fascinating site available on the web, I was drawn to the concept of fast frame rate capture of events. We often say that we will believe things when we see them, however how often to we really see everything that happens around us. To illustrate this point let me share with you a few videos I found online that demonstrate this point.

The first is a rather fun video of a flamethrower vs. a fire extinguisher... and No, no one is getting BBQ'd but its fun nonetheless.

The next is of lightning. I have seen real cool long exposures of lightning that freeze the event and capture the burst in all its glory. This clip shows lightning that was filmed at 9000 frames a second slowed down to a normal frame rate. And even at this speed many of the flashes appear to happen in real time which to the lay person equate to be a very fast flash.

The third and last video to share is of a bouncing water drop. Yes, water really does bounce, but you can only see it if you slow time down like these folks have done.

So there you go. The world is a place so much more intricate than what we can just see. So the next time you are tempted to say that you will believe it when you see it, just remember that there is so much more happening that you are just not capable of seeing and thus it might be better to just believe... or at least try to figure out if technology will give you a boost in seeing the unbelievable.

Being productive

2010-08-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

It is an interesting concept how certain things are easier to accomplish. Why is it that you can be very productive at any given moment doing some things and not others? Today has been such a day, at least so far. Edited and uploaded images to the respective sites, caught up with e-mails and other messages, in general sitting in front of the computer and "working" on things that yesterday I did not have the motivation for. However on the same note what I did yesterday I don't have the motivation to accomplish today.

A quick search online directed me to a couple interesting sites that seem to, at least in theory give an explanation for the motivation or lack thereof that we feel at any give time. The first and often more commonly accessed source of Wikipedia had a long page that I am sure many contributed to and gives quite an overarching view of the theories out there. The second site was a more refined article with a number of theories and brief descriptions of what they meant. Although this is designed for the introduction of the subject of psychology to students and therefore refined to accomplish that task.

None-the-less the lesson to be learned is that being productive and sometimes even unproductive has its place. As one might note if they take the time to read the second article to the end, as Maslow puts it, when we become so productive and motivated that we reach self actualization, a state that normally no one reaches even though they come close; if we reach it we cease to live. The argument is, what more is there to live for if all is known and everything is already felt. And while I am very tempted to take this to a theological realm and continue to ask the question of then why does the concept of God prevail as one who is omni everything? Wont God cease to exist if there is nothing more to gain? I am not feeling motivated enough or particularly productive to answer that. Maybe you will and can. Great, I guess your level of productivity is greater than mine and you are closer to reaching self actualization... just remember that if you do I'll just live longer than you.

Another day on the coast

2010-08-02T12:54:00.001-07:00

In a reverse of style the weather gods decided to start off the day with sun and then bring in the clouds and wind. Overall however the mild weather is nice to be in. I wish I could say the same for the fishing this morning. It could be that I have yet to get dialed in to the location and how to best fish here but a few bull-head sculpin does not a good morning of fishing make. On a more positive note, lunch was yummy and filling. Sloppy joes and a crunchy dill pickel. Maybe the afternoon will bring more luck in the fishing department, but either way its sure to be an adventure.

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morning on the Oregon coast.

2010-08-01T08:43:00.001-07:00

morning came like a retreating ghost, leaving behind a wet overcast dew-soaked landscape. this however was not going to dampen our spirits as we cooked up a breakfast of pancakes and syrup. the sky is starting to get brighter and bluer as the sun burns off the mist and low clouds. there is more activity around us as well as neighbours start to rouse up and start campfire's, kids start to find toys that were left out to the dark last night, the rabbits that seem to be wild but camp mascots come around looking for handout. just another morning on the coast.

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Catching up with technology

2010-07-31T08:51:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I got around to posting here, not because I have lost the gift of gab... if I had it to start... more so that I have been taking this rollercoaster of a ride called life. Now armed with a new toy and finally fully intergrating myself into the 21st century I am going to try to be more diligent about keeping things upto date.

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The first post of the new year

2010-01-06T03:37:00.000-08:00

Its 3:40 in the morning and in a little more than a handful of hours I will once again be sitting in a classroom trying to look interested in a subject that takes a half hour to be delivered and two minuets to go out of my head. I am not sure if it is the subject or myself that makes the melding of the two like trying to mix water and oil but so far my mind does not seem to want to incorporate these ideas and concepts within its self.

I have however spent some time crawling the web for inspiration. The following links have caught my attention and held them quite firmly. The first, the blank snowman, I find to be a good way to kill time and at the same time revert to a simpler time when a box of crayons and a line drawn picture held the imagination and the minds fascination with color combinations.

The second caught my attention on a more intellectual level. In our day and age when media is such a prominent and driving force in our lives, the messages that are being put forth have a strong impact on many people including our selves. However we cannot always pass the buck to others and be absolved of the duty to be conscientious of actions and words. This clip very humorously demonstrates and in-fact challenges each of us to be purposeful in words and actions.

Busy busy busy.

2009-09-30T01:18:00.001-07:00

Fall is in the air and with it the start of another session of classes. This last week however has been quite a busy one. In the past 7 days alone I have managed to rack up about 80+ hours of work between a couple jobs. Which might explain why I seem to be developing a slight cold. Immune system is getting one heck of a beating.

But life is still good. Hey its got to be when we let a clown go into space ;-) But don't let the advances in technology fool you. Floor mats are revolting, not satisfied with getting trampled on they have now taken to putting the pedal to the metal with some sad results.

In other interesting notes a new Wave of ideas are rolling off the production line. Leading the way Googles own Wave interface. For 'hunt and peckers' like me the end might be looming where I might have to finally learn how to use my pinkie to type. Imagine having a conversation in real time over a text based platform. People who can type the fastest are going to loath us slow pokes and it might seem like a shouting match except its just a type faster match and he or she who types the fastest get to do all the talking.

As I have blathered on about in the past, have we really got to the point where we are looking for new ways to actually avoid making contact with other humans. With e-mails and texting and online chatting soon we will all be shut up in our own perfect boxes and have minimal if any contact with each other. I am not saying that this technology is bad or that it will be the down fall of the human race. Not at all. More so a warning that we might want to take a minuet and see if all this hard work is getting us any benefit other than more time in which we have more tasks that we need to do.

Sometimes we just need to slow down and smell the roses. While I cant say I know everything about living a slow life... hey I just worked 80+ hours remember... an interesting site I found seems to advocate a slower pace of life. Maybe this is the inspiration or push you might need to get a little less hectic... will see... maybe I'll read a bit more of what they have to say on the matter.

From a custom table to Ray guns... when the creative juices flow

2009-09-05T01:51:00.000-07:00

Spent most of the day in Tri Cities trying to decide or more accurately trying to find a suitable work/computer table to finish the process of setting up my living room. And although many shops were visited not one yielded results. So I guess I am going to be building my own over the next couple days. I drew it out on paper and I think that it is going to be quite nice. At least I like what is on the paper and it is somewhat customized to my needs which is a huge leg up from what I could expect to get had I gone with a prefabbed design.

In other news I came across some real cool Youtube videos that kept the creative juices flowing. The first was for a simple electric motor. A rather cool device, and as the name states simple... almost too simple. Next I was drawn to a more elaborate version of this same concept. Neat huh! Well I could not stop there... I was hooked... line and sinker.

Then there was the Magnetic Gun... had to see that. Which led me to a Gatling Potato gun... And there was the Ray Gun...

And thats my cue to get to bed because its 2:15 am and I need to get up early tomorrow...

And the results are...

2009-08-20T02:05:00.000-07:00

It was a cool dark night in the city of College Place. A new moon gave an opportunity for the faintest of stars to shine through the veil of night. The air still held the heat of the day, a warm dry taste. And I come back from a walk with several good images to edit and upload.

The strong orange glow from the sodium vapor street lights gave the images a very dated look. However it was fun, shooting at ISO 3200 with my 50mm f/1.2 lens. All hand held.

Impulse...

2009-08-19T23:28:00.000-07:00

For the last couple hours I have been catching up on the blogs I follow, looking at images that have been posted and the like. I guess in a word I have been inspired to be impulsive. Well the last straw that broke this camels back was Diana asking me if I want to go for a walk. Its 2330 at night... but sure... as long as I get to bring out the camera. Lets see what images I can make. Be back in an hour or so....

Wally World...

2009-08-19T01:54:00.000-07:00

Being back in the land of the sweet onion seems to have put me into a bit of a time warp. It seems that the spirit of the place keeps things from moving very fast. Its like living in a vat of molasses. While sweet as all get, you never seem to get very far.

I cant say that I have been completely unproductive. But on the other hand I must confess to not being the most productive. If good intentions were pennies I'd be the richest man alive. But I guess I am just going to have to bite the bullet and be more productive. On the plus side of the matter I have made contact with several old friends. And maybe made a few new ones as well. So the wading continues and sooner or later I will reach the edge of this sticky mess and be able to move at a faster pace.

Words written, words said, words heard and words read.

2009-07-19T23:35:00.000-07:00

It is sometimes very interesting the power of words. It has the ability to build up and break down, it can leave you feeling like your mind just opened up a new city complex with added parking and at other times you are lost in a jungle of unknown things closing in on you sapping the very glimmer of that known space you hold on to. Words, nothing but little squiggles on paper or in this digital age on the screen. How is it that these almost insignificant parts of our very existence can have such a great impact on us?

Words like Love, Hate, Loneliness, Passion have such strong emotional ties with the human race that sometimes the very words themselves become unable to describe. Take the word "Love". What does this really mean? We say that we love someone from the 'bottom of our hearts', but all you are going to find there is blood and guts.

What is love anyway? There are actions that we associate with love. But are the actions what the word describes? We say its a feeling. A way of describing how a person feels toward someone or something. But then what is this "feeling"that we are describing? Are we just using one word to replace the other.

What is a 'feeling'? To quote the wikipedia article on this "Feeling is the nominalization of "to feel" ". How does a word encapsulate what a feeling is? We often use words to describe feelings that in the first place we cannot themselves describe. Words are often seen as symbols that carry a message. When you understand the meaning you are rewarded with a bit of information that may or may not both lead you to the retrieval of the information stored in the next set of squiggly symbols and sometimes to a message that is greater than the sum of all the parts.

Words such funny things. They say so much but at the same time so little. A word in context can convey information and out of context simply be another squiggle or sound that passes along with time like water under a bridge.

Just another day

2009-07-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

Finally got my printer set up and have most of my gear stored away. I have been looking through some of the images I made over the past couple weeks and I think there are a few that have potential. And now that I have things setup I should be doing a bit more printing than what I have been doing.

Its amazing sometimes how time flies. Its july already and the summer is rolling on its way. Sometimes I feel like I get much accomplished and at other times it amazes me how little gets done even though I am staying busy. I have been wanting to sit out in the sun and read a book for the past couple days but so far have not found the time for it.

But not all time is spent in work. I spent the evening driving the boat and tending it while several of my colleagues went diving this afternoon. Not the most difficult of tasks and I always enjoy time spent on the water. Well, the evening draws on and I still need to finish reading and preparing for tomorrow. A few more hours till I get to rest my head.

Summer escapades

2009-07-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I last published anything and now that I have some time I feel compelled to do so. Summer on the coast, being out here has been a opportunity to relax and also spend time in refection of things scientific and philosophical.

Over the last week or so I have had the opportunity to experience some of the best that the Washington coast has to offer. Warm sunny days, clear cool nights, days filled with exploration and discovery. Looking out over the Puget sound the sight and sounds of waves crashing on the beach while in the background songs of sparrows echo over the sounds of the wind whistling in the pines do give a feeling a relaxation and solitude.

I also have been quite privileged to visit some extraordinary places. Yesterday my class went out to Protection Island. This is a National Wildlife Refuge which however is closed to the general public. I had the opportunity to go on the island and take part in an annual census counting the nest sites for the Glaucous winged gull. It was quite the interesting experience walking among the colony counting the nest sites. I was able to see a number of nests with eggs, a few with chicks already hatched and a few with the eggs just in the process of hatching.

And while there were many upsides to this event there was the downside as well. Gulls tend to fly above you as you walk through the colony and as they do sometimes you become the recipient of white or greenish grey - depending on the gulls diet - substances that in the warm sun does dry relatively fast. However the experience as a whole was more valuable and fun that this distraction did not mar the overall enjoyment.

Once again this afternoon I am expecting to head out on a boat to do some additional counting as part of the class. Not a bad way to spend the summer.

Aggrandizing automobile acquisition...

2009-06-17T23:42:00.000-07:00

I have been on the look for a Jeep Grand Cherokee for the last couple days. Not that this was a spur of the moment decision to own one but one that I have had for quite some time. Several years ago I was bitten with the Jeep bug and since then and after the loss of my last Jeep I have been always keeping one eye at each one that passed me.

Well having spent the last week doing much reading online about the pro's and con's of each model, year, and other relevant information in addition to spending countless hours looking at the ads online I located a 2000 JGC Laredo. Well I contacted the seller who lived about a two hour drive away and after some juggling of schedules figured out a time to meet.

This morning, after kidnapping a friend who I shanghaied into helping me in return for dinner at Olive Garden we did the two hour trek. During the course of the drive up we had a couple rescheduling events of the location... not a big deal since we were going in that general direction anyway. And after a disappointing discovery that on a day that was sunny and hot Mc Donald's was out of ice-cream we met the bungling seller. He was a nice enough guy, things were not all roses and bunny rabbits for him, but he rolled with the punches.

Common sense dictates that if you post your vehicle as being for sale then certain protocol is followed when you meet a prospective buyer. To put this in a more readable format let us list the following...

1. Give the vehicle a wash - yes we know that that is not the general state of things that speed down the highway squashing the unsuspecting bug but at least spray the outside off.

2a. Take your crap out of the back seat and trunk - So you like to go fishing... cool so do I... but I am not here to meet you to go fishing.

2b. Have you heard of a marvelous invention called a vacuum... yeah....

3. Bring the paperwork with you - generally if someone says that they are coming to buy something they don't want to have to follow you back to your house and then stand around for another half an hour till you clean your car....

4. Have your papers in order - it is quite acceptable in this day and age to be a co-owner of things that may need a second person to sign off on... but get the other person to sign off on something you are going to sell so that we don't have to track them down where they work and disrupt their day so that we can get a signature that could have been easily taken care of over the dinner table the night before.

5. Once the transaction is finalized and its time to hand over the keys don't do the Oops-by-the-way-I-lost-the-spare-so-here-is-some-money-back-to-take-care-of-it. Thats just ghetto!

All in all quite a interesting afternoon. But I cant complain. I did get my Jeep. I spent less that the average price which is nice because this might herald the acquisition of a new camera lens... fingers crossed...

5 AM Tuesday Morning

2009-06-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

You have been studying all night. Looking out the window you see the first pink and yellow streaks of the dawning day. The birds are starting to call out in melodious notes. In the distance you hear the crow of a rooster, an unusual sound in suburbia but only very slightly. Its 5 AM, you have an exam in about 7 hours.

This morning as I contemplated the events that were unfolding before me I was left with a single choice. A choice so clear that to not choose it would be unthinkable. What do you do at 5 am once the studying is done. You go fishing. Yes that soothing pastime where your mind and body connect with nature as your sprit is lifted like the rising sun.

I cant say that I had any luck in the catching department but I did spend a good hour chatting with Sam. A retired gentleman who was also at the lake casting a line. Sam was an interesting chap. A Native American from the montana area who has been living in this area for the last couple decades. He has had an interesting life. Battling the corporate giants for his rights. The proud bearer of multiple scars from operations undergone for various injuries. At times pleading, then cursing and even encouraging the fish to take his offered morsels so that he might reel them in and have them for lunch.

Its now 7:45 AM on a tuesday morning. The exam is still a few more hours away. What should I do next...

The running of the...

2009-05-17T03:12:00.000-07:00

One of the most famous of all runs is The Running of the Bulls. This event which takes place in several countries, Spain being the most famous of the lot, has spawned off many similar and varied events and sometimes sub cultures. And even though the Walla Walla Valley may not be the center of the Universe it too has its own "run" that is more than a passing fad.

On Saturday the 16th of May, under blue skies and warming weather the 12th annual running of the ducks also known as the Ducky Derby took place. Organized by the Exchange Club of Walla Walla this event raises funds to promote a safe and secure environment for children of the area.

This event was well attended and with over $20,000 in prizes to be won, it was a nail biter. The ducks, 16000 strong took to the water like they were made for it. Overcoming the swirling rapids of Mill Creek, still swelled from the high water coming down from the snow packs high up in the Blue Mountains, the ducks bravely sallied forth. Along the way there were more obstacles; rocks, reeds and twigs, reached out from the banks to snag the unsuspecting ducks. It was a perilous affair.

And yet the winning duck, the brave warrior, unencumbered by the thought of 15,999 others chasing close on its tail, navigated the pools, eddies and tumbling water to arrive triumphantly at the finish tube.

As I was looking back at this event I was compelled to muse on other runners. As mentioned earlier the Bulls may be famous, however when it come to Just Plain Wacky... well, events like The Running of the Santa's, The Running of the Brides and even The Running of the Nudes take the cake. Well you be the judge... and next time go running your self. Who knows it might become a fad in your neighborhood.

Midnight madness

2009-05-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

It has become almost a tradition, if one is able to create a tradition in just one month. Thursday nights at the movies. May it would seem is the month for the grand releases. Starting off with the movie Wolverine, Star-trek, Angels and Demons among others to come the movie industry seems to be getting all the pieces right.

Last night was somewhat of an exception. Not in the fact that I did not attend, but in the fact that not many other people did. It may be that in this time of economic hardship viewers have to choose between watching a movie or putting bread on the table. In any case opening night, midnight showing of Angels and Demons found me with prime seating and no jostling in lines.

Well that just leave another 6 more days before the next one comes out which from the previews is going to be an epic continuation of the saga. Too bad the governator could not make a comeback.

An inspiring outlet for creativity

2009-05-11T00:43:00.001-07:00

Have you had an awesome idea, a flash of understanding, a creative "ah ha" moment when the cosmic objects align and the perfect idea materializes out of the random firings of your neurons? What do you do with it? Write it down on paper? Tell it to your best friend? Or do you go out and just do it? This evening I came across a group of individuals who after having an idea went out and made it happen. If you are a fan of the LOTR then this is good news for you.

With the culmination of the trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, fans all around the world could hardly wait for more epic productions. The next movie scheduled to be produced and currently being worked on is The Hobbit ( Sometime in 2012) which tells of the prequel to the trilogy. However in this world there are some very astute individuals, one of them being Chris Bouchard. An up and coming film maker Chris noticed that when reading the appendices in J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy that there was another story between the stories that had gone untold. As a fan he took on this challenge to bring to light this chapter in the great saga and to raise the bar of independent films at the same time. Impossible you say, well judge for your self.

With permission from the Tolkien estate to produce the story Chris, along with a host of other talented individuals from around the world donated time effort and many other things too numerous to account for and produced the "The Hunt for Gollum". As a fan of the LOTR trilogy, this has been one of the best, if not THE best fan made film that has transcended mere copying to bring to the audience another chapter in the quality that the cinematic productions had. Yet all this was accomplished with a budget of 3000 pounds which is under 4500 US dollars. If you have not yet seen it this is one movie that must be seen.

And the best part of it all its online and free. Thats right, welcome to the digital revolution. A little inspiration, some elbow grease and good will from many individuals and fans like us can enjoy these creative works.

Dawn to dusk, a narrative

2009-05-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

Color, molded into spherical skins with a single odd shaped tetrahedron thrown in for variety. The cold crisp air of the Walla Walla valley, the blue sky of the late spring and a slight breeze for interest kicked of this mornings balloon launch. As it has been for the past 34 years this year once the balloons took to the morning sky laying claim to the 35th annual Balloon Festival.

Over the three days balloonist will be launching their crafts sometimes a couple times each day to float gently over the farms, fields and people who look up in awe. To think of ballooning as a form of flying is like to think of floating down a river in a inner tube boating. Yet flying it is.

The blue sky this morning was made more spectacular with the bright colors and patterns of the balloons. And as the day wore on other aspects of the festival each in turn caught the eyes and ears of all those who attended. A classic car show, horse races, and the ever popular booths with both trinkets and food that made ones mouth water and stomach growl even if you had just finished eating lunch.

The evening concluded with the Night Glow. Balloonist tethered the balloons to the grounds and as the sky took on the shade of a rich deep blue color the glow from the flame lit up the balloons. In addition to the balloons the sky was also lit by the flashing of fireworks. Rockets screamed into the air blossoming into petals of glowing embers that rained back to earth. As the night grew darker and the starts peaked out so did the moon, bright and fully illumination to show the way home to all the weary people who had spent the day frolicking in the sun and enjoying the festivities.

TGIF and Balloons

2009-05-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

Its another friday, glorious, sun shining, blue sky friday. And not just any friday mind you. This is the friday that heralds the start of the Walla Walla Balloon Festival. With the next three days of balloons, booths and general funness... this weekend is shaping up to be good.

However this also brings up a notoriously naughty and deviously dichotomous question; should I use the weekend to rest, sleep and in general enjoy the pleasures of a comfy couch or even a blanket in the sun, with a good book or get out, be active, do as many fun things as possible? Or maybe the answer is a happy median between the two. A little bit 'o this, a little bit 'o that and spread the love around.

In any case, for right now it seems like the best choice is to get out and enjoy the sun... and maybe have an adventure.... hey nowhere does it say that adventures only happen in books. Besides unless you get out and have an adventure there will not be anything to write about in books anyway... so maybe get out there and have an adventure. It might be even better than some one else's wildest imagination.

Eradicating Naivety

2009-05-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

The fear of the unknown and even the fear of the barely familiar seems to be quite the cause for concern for many people. It seems to me that in this day and age of the information superhighway that runs multiple lanes we seem to be quite timid about doing the work to discover what others who came before us spent days, hours and weeks pouring over dusty old books. Reading clippings in newspapers and listing to the latest news on radios and TV used to be the only way a person could become informed of the world around them. Now with the internet being so much a part of ones life information is but a few clicks away. How then is it still possible that the world still has people who are naive. Looking up the definition of it on the online Webster dictionary I am give the following descriptor. "deficient in worldly wisdom or informed judgment".

When anything you want to know from Aardvarks to Zoot suits are readily available why the naivety? I think that there is a growing trend to stay in our comfort zone. This seems to be reenforced with kids today when we tell them to not talk to strangers, be safe, don't climb that tree, don't wander too far from home, in-fact don't leave home at all. All these restrictions to protect them when they are still in grade school and then college rolls around and its a "thanks for playing, now move out and find your own way". To muddle this even more while I enjoy the ability to learn about the world around me via the mode of the internet even that is getting to the point were children need to be guarded from it.

So where does this leave us? The only way I see how we can influence future as well as current generations to be more curious is to create environments that are safe in which they are able to explore and learn without fear. Train the young that stranger danger does not mean avoid all people that you don't know or people that are different. This just promotes ethnic and racial walls. I cant say what may be best for everyone as that is a choice that each person may need to make for them selves, however I think that we as a society should no longer be naive. Lets be aware of what is going on around us so that we can be better citizens of it and influence it to a higher plain.

Risk... world domination or people domination

2009-04-28T01:21:00.000-07:00

Playing the game of Risk may give you the feeling of power as you crush your enemies with the simple flick of the wrist and the turn of the dice, yet underlying the apparent game lies a another more sinister game. If you are like the masses who play the game to win then skip to another pretty location and enjoy the bliss-full happiness that winning gives you. However if you like intrigue and mystery, mind-games and back-room deals read on....

When playing the game of Risk the game is often decided from the get go with the initial set of card or countries you receive. If you get a good hand the countries you get will be both easily defensible and also give you a unique vantage in pressing an attack. The true game is not necessarily to win but to figure out who has that magic hand and to facilitate the play so that the winner is who you chose it to be. And if you have the art of wheeling and dealing down you can convince those which may be friends to attack each other, good strategies to be abandoned for short term goals that are detrimental in the end and overall control more that just your own pieces. To quote a charactor from the TV show How I Met Your Mother, as the Legen- - wait for it - -dary Barney Stinson would say... Dance Puppets Dance!

Ah the smell of fear.....

11 Lbs.

2009-04-25T01:59:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the tri-cities area. I had the oppotunity to meet up with a friend from the wet side of the state as she was visiting friends and family over in the area. Bowling was fun and I have found that a 11 Lb ball is the ideal tool for me. 4 strikes in a row cant be wrong... its just too bad that I found this bowling ball on the 4th frame of the last game. Oh well at least I know what to look for next time.

The weekend is here and as I am contemplating on what I would like to do this weekend I am also trying to think of the things that I should be doing... like cleaning up the mess in my living room... but that can wait. Its the weekend and its going to be sunny. Cant let something like this go by without taking full advantage of it.

Life is too short to let days like this go by unused...

Poisoned water; a PBS special

2009-04-24T01:07:00.001-07:00

Over the last two days, I have in spurts and when I have time between other activities, been watching the PBS special "Poisoned Waters". This documentary just came out over the last couple days. This documentary while almost two hours long takes a hard look at the quality of two bodies of water, the Chesapeake bay and the Puget Sound, that bracket this country.

Poisoned water shows the condition of the two bodies of water and if one were to read between the lines has a very powerful message for those of us living within the Pacific Northwest region. If we were to take the Chesapeake bay as a view of the sound as seen through a crystal ball 50 years into the future it is quite a dismal view. In its current state the bay is dying at a rapid pace due to the urban sprawl that is taking place in its watershed. Here in the Northwest we have not got to the stage where we are so over populated however looking at cities such as Seattle and Issaquah as we become more of an attraction and as the quality of life for those currently living their gets better, more and more people are going to want to get in on the action. What then and how will it affect the sound?

I cant say how the next several years will play out for these two bodies of water nor does this film attempt to do so which gives each one of us a role to play in it. Now as actors in this documentary what will we do to write the next phase, the next chapter or the next scene that future generations will be looking at? What will their reaction to our actions be? Will they say, "wow, thats the year, the month, the day when things were turned around and it started to get better". Will there be a holiday dedicated to us as the day when we took a stand to make our corner of the world be the tip of the spear in the movement to bring about a healthy world? Well I guess its time we do something about it.

Varieties of Apples

2009-04-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

Last night I took part in an interesting experiment. With 10 dollars as a basic budget we visited the local Walmart, Safeway and SuperOne grocery stores in search of apples. We were able to procure 11 different varieties and coming home cut each of them up and had a side by side tasting experience. Now for those of you who like me had had an apple in the past and ate it for the sake of getting some nutrition and maybe enjoying the crispness, this is and was an interesting eye opener.

Each variety of apple has a unique taste and texture. For those of you familiar with the concept this may not be such an earth shattering revelation. However even though I had expected some difference in perhaps taste and or texture the exercise its self was an eye opening experience. In some it was a subtle fluffiness in the texture. Others had a bolder crispness to them. Several had hints of other fruit flavors that seem to be infused and intermingles with the basic apple taste.

With the weather turning warm and the coming growing season I am looking forward to exploring other local flavors and deluging my taste-buds with a stream of culinary delights both cooked and fresh.

And as a side note I must also make note of the accompaniments to the apple experience which was a nice chilled glass of mango lemonade and a 40 oz stake that was cooked for 38 minuets. thats right 2.5 lb. of prime cow. its a good thing I had all those apples to balance me out.

A restful weekend

2009-04-06T03:50:00.000-07:00

Its hard to imagine that the weekend has come and gone already. I cant confess to having much productive work done during this time but I can claim getting plenty of rest. I also had the pleasure of having people over on a couple occasions for meals. As a self proclaimed foodist I must confess that this is one aspect of my personal life that I find to be very satisfying. Food while at times consumed for the mere sake of obtaining nourishment can also be a remarkable journey that one can take in which sights, smells and taste are but a never-ending series of detours that results in a happy self.

One of my personal ideologies is that food is the only aspect of a culture that can be experienced by someone outside that given culture and truly feel included. Unlike sights and sounds the mere act of which tends to reenforce the barrier of the two cultures, food transcends that and takes one to an equal playing field. This got me thinking further on this topic this weekend. What is it that in my construct of this idea of food and culture being tied together does the sense of taste take a role that is more important that that os any of the other senses? I feel that the answer is as simple as the thought process is long. With any of the other senses we can only get a memory that can be take away from the experience. This is not the case with food. Our bodies take in the nutrients which then become part of out very being.

There is the saying that you are what you eat. As someone who enjoys trying new foods then you become more than just a person who can be stereotyped into one box or another. The more you are open to trying new foods the more you expand on who you are. Another saying that has become more and more common during the last several decades is that the world is growing smaller because the barriers of distance and communication are being broken all the time. In such a expanding world we have the opportunity to experience other cultures in the form of the different foods that are available. However I also see a black cloud on the horizon that one must keep a watch for. As with the melding of cultures we must also be vigilant to keep too much of a mix from diluting what are individual and unique cultures. Food once again plays a roll in this as an indicator.

Driving down the road one would often times pass an ornate, ethnically oriental looking building that has the tag line, Chinese and american dishes. Why is it that we feel that we need to enter an establishment that is distinctly culturally oriented to serving dishes that are different from our own and expect to be served what is traditionally part of our own culture is a mystery. But then again sometimes you just need to make a buck and the food you serve is just another utilitarian aspect that will bring home the bacon to pay for the roof.

1/10th done.

2009-04-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

It seems amazing how fast this quarter is progressing. It feels like it just started and its already a tenth done. It is possible that this is because I have not had any major assignments due so far but I guess that will come with time.

On the other hand spring seems to be taking a while coming. For a few weeks It seemed that the grip of winter was over and that spring was in the air, not so. Old man winter seems to have reached from the icy past and has laid his grip so tight that spring is strangling. But it cant last too long. Sooner or later like the few flowers and buds that have broken through the grip spring too shall spring forth and bring about warm days and sunshine.

Its the weekend and at least I can look forward to some time off to go explore the surrounding hill sides and gage for my self the process of the break out.

Recovery

2009-03-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

The last couple days back from vacation have been very interesting. With the yearbook going to press tomorrow these couple days are crunch time. I finally got some sleep last night after about 40 hours of being awake. Sleep was definitely good but on the other hand I am quite pleased with my self for being able to stay awake for that long, and not be cranky. In fact I felt like quite the motivator.

Outside the wind in picking up. I can hear the rose bush scrape against the kitchen window. There is also a metallic tapping sound that comes from the range hood as the rain guard is knocked about. A falling barometer may not predict ideal spring weather for this neck of the woods but with the sun straining to peak out from behind the curtain of clouds it still gives hope of the changing seasons and the though of spring being just round the corner.

Well the week awaits and I must go face it.

Back in the Northwest

2009-03-30T02:18:00.000-07:00

Well after a week in the warmness that is Florida I am back in the Pacific Northwest. The final leg of my journey was very interesting as I looked out through the window of the train and watched the mighty Columbia River roll by and the green grass along its sides I felt a sense of coming home that was surreal. Even with the warm tropical weather just behind me yet still fresh on my mind I was drawn to the wet, overcast grey. Something that I have learned to love here is the liquid quality the light takes. The evenings are also long as the twilight lingers in the sky as if to hold on to the last remnants of the day unwilling to succumb to the night.

But back I am. I do miss the ability to walk with slippers on the sand and as the wind blows and fingers of cold breeze find their way down my jacket I find my self thinking of the warm days that are just behind me. But is it Spring, and with it I look forward to longer days, warmer weather and general happiness...

The drive back

2009-03-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Well the day is closing. Going out on the glass bottom boat was different than what I had expected. Maybe it was due to the excessive amount of plankton in the water as the crew suggested or due to the wind that has been blowing from the east for the last several days churning up the bottom, however the visibility was on the poor side. I also think that I have been spoiled since being in Pohnpei I has 100 plus feet of clear visibility. But it was fun nonetheless.

On a more successful note I also made it a point to have some key lime pie that was made with key limes from the keys.... Mmmm Mmmm good.

Well the drive back to the main land was also good. Saw a pair of key deer, a guy reeling in a bone fish, several new birds. All in all a good drive. Well time to roll in. Just a few more hours left down here so I think I am going to wake up early and do some birding before the flight back home.

Key West.....

2009-03-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I got on here and blurted my brains out. Much has happened. Well since I am sure to not remember everything let me start going backwards. Right now I am sitting in a hotel room in Key West. Looking out the window the sun is shining and the weather forecast is predicting it to be in the 70's yum... I've been in florida for the last couple days and had the opportunity to visit the everglades and walk down south beach in Miami.

Last quarter was a blast. I got to teach my first college class as the main teacher... which might explain the lack of time to spend drooling brain. Well maybe I was also being a bit lazy... I guess this trip and being down in the Keys is a good way to finish off my lazy phase.

I had not been photographing much over the last few months. One because I have been quite occupied with work and school and two its been a little on the cold side which is not my cup of tea. But I guess its another day and adventure awaits, so maybe I will have a longer and more detailed description of the day tonight... till then... enjoy what sun you may have and if the clouds come by then remember the sun and let the thought of it keep your heart warm till the real deal can cover you with golden goodness.

What's been going on...

2009-02-06T02:41:00.000-08:00

Its been a few days since I have had the time to post here. This is not because I have not had anything to post, more so because I have been very busy this week that I have not had the time to post. And while one might say... it only takes but a few minuets to put something up I must confess that the posting of blogs has become an activity that requires time to think and relax.

Well having the disclaimer out there... over the past several days I have been quite active at the college in both personal projects as well as those related to classes. One activity, the photo shoot of last weekend, has to a small extent extended into the week worming its way into my time with minor clamor for attention. I have been able to edit a couple images and fine tune them and have posted them on my Deviant Art site.

In addition to this I would also like to share with you a web-casted presentation that is of interest to me and possibly might catch your attention as well. This presentation which deals with the topic of Environmental Stewardship from a Christian perspective.

Igniting the creative spark

2009-01-28T01:19:00.000-08:00

During the past several days, nay weeks since I was last here pouring out my thoughts I have had the opportunity to view some remarkable works of art and creativity. Some of the projects are available for your viewing pleasure on the internet.

The first such site which I discovered not more than a few hours ago is a flash site dedicated to the painter Jackson Pollock who was born on this day many years ago. This site of his name is an interactive application that allows one to create art imitating the use of gravity and the viscous nature of paint in a very un-messy yet still creative digital medium.

The other links that I would like to share with you are found on the Youtube site and include a fascinating song compilation of street musicians performing the same song.

And the last link of the night is another Youtube video of painting with light and stop-motion photography/video creativeness.

Hope you enjoy as I did and find your creative spark ignited.

Weekend

2009-01-17T13:49:00.000-08:00

Its a good thing that we have weekends to break up the monotony and stress of the week. I have to confess however that sometimes the weekend is as or more busy that the week its self however on the whole its a different kind of busy and thats good.

The weather here in the valley has been its usual grey overcast and has gone back to being cold. Makes me long for the warm days of summer even more and look forward to the spring when the sun will be out on a more consistent frequency. Till then think warm thoughts....

Inspired by cut grass.

2009-01-12T22:02:00.000-08:00

This afternoon as I stood outside enjoying the balmy weather that the Chinook wind was bringing the valley and enjoying a moment of conversation with a colleague I was regaled with the sound of a gasoline lawn mower. As I looked towards the sound I saw a gentleman in the distance mowing a patch of grass no larger than my living room. This grass which had withstood the crushing grip of a couple feet of snow, locked in its icy cocoon without the light of day was freed from this only to be cut down as it raised its blades to the bright and warming sun that was shining today.

I was recently listening to a talk by Michael Pollan on the Ted Talks site. While his talk had a distinctive Darwinistic twist to which I cant say I give much credence to I was nevertheless fascinated by his overall idea that we humans though we think of our selves as the king of the hill, top dog in the pound and such similar titles we may indeed be just being led along by the lowly grass, corn... other more intelligent ones.

Among other things though this brief encounter of sound and sight took me down memory lane it also inspired me to go out and spend some time further exploring my environment through the eye of the camera and see what other interesting encounters I might find.

How things are shaping up...

2009-01-06T07:10:00.000-08:00

Well so far 2009 seems to going well. After some trepidation my first class went without any problems and I am actually enjoying the challenge of teaching an entire class on my own. Now with that under my belt it is the long run, the pacing of myself to continue passing on what I have gathered over the past several years to people eager to learn.

On a completely different topic I had a funny event happen to myself that gave me pause. Not having my own class schedule on hand I had the opportunity to sit through a class introduction with the nagging feeling that I was in the wrong place... well I guess my gut is a pretty good indicator because I was in fact in the wrong place. It happens to be that the class I was supposed to be enrolled in was actually the next hour. However is was in the same room and taught by the same teacher. When he saw me in the class and was going over the class roster he called my name thinking that I just had not finished my registration and was attending the class till I got my paperwork in and I having heard my name during the roll call told my self that the feeling my gut was telling me that I was in the wrong place must be just first day of school jitters... after all my name was called in the roll call.

It all goes to show that sometimes it pays to double check however it is also good to be able to sit back and enjoy ones own goofs... Lucky for me I had not missed any other class that I was supposed to be in because that hour happened to be the one hour that I had all day without a class or work scheduled... I guess I needed to hear a syllabus read to me and the feel of being part of a class.

The last entry for the year

2008-12-31T02:55:00.000-08:00

Well its been a good year. Much has transpired and many memories made. But now its time to say good bye to the old and welcome the new year. To all of you out there here's wishing you the very best in the upcoming year and may it bring all the things you need.

More late night ramblings...

2008-12-29T03:25:00.000-08:00

Well with the advent of the rain and the melting of the snow that for the past couple days had me holed up in my house gone it was a day to venture forth and once again see the world. I must say it was good to once again step out the door and smell the air though it still held a faint hint of the crispness the snow brought. The fields not encumbered by the mantle of snow was once again showing its rich soil in furrows and ridges.

As I sit now back in my house, listening to the falling drops of water outside my window and contemplating my bed being as the hour is quite late... or early if you consider that this is the morn of the new day, my thought goes out what other aspects of this year came and went. To each of you out there this year has undoubtedly brought firsts, lasts and events in between. Having passed the winter solstice and the days getting longer as we hurtle on through time and space towards another long summer day what other new firsts, lasts and events in between will we encounter.

I once contemplated the usefulness of being able to see into the future. What fun, I could figure out what the daily jackpot numbers were going to be and be as rich as a pig with a field full of mud. I could know when danger was coming and save millions.... and I could also see into the far distance and read my own obituary and live every moment with the knowledge that I would die at a very set time and place and there would not be anything I could do to stop it. Because if the thought is that I could know the winning numbers to the lottery and that thought and knowledge did not change the course of events then why should I be able to change the time of such things as that which is bad and harmful.

But I cannot see the future and in a way it is for the best I guess. Looking back though with the well known 20/20 vision that we all posses we can see the actions that we have taken over the course of the past year and I wonder how many I would have made had I known the outcome of them? How many such decisions are yet to come I cant say but what will I do with them in the future. But the drip, drip, dripping of the rain is slowing and so should I. Off to bed, rest relax and rejuvenate to face another day. And besides I got a few more days of 2008 to enjoy before it is but another memory to store in my collection of memories and I should make the most of it while I still can.

Finally something to post

2008-12-22T23:03:00.000-08:00

Well I guess I have been somewhat lax in posting... and so here I am again. Yesterday with was sunday I had the opportunity to go out and do some shooting. Being as it is cold this was a bit of a stretch for me as I have mentioned in past posts I like it not so frigid. Anyway shoot I did and on my walk I noticed that in the black and white world of snow and everything else there still seemed to be subtle shades of color peaking though. I was captured by the shades of brown leaves which in contrast to the rest of the scene which was blanketed in white almost had a red or rust colored look to it. Well having worked with the images of the trees I decided that by them selves they did not adequately tell the entire story so I turned them into a triptych, Enjoy.

Finishing Finals and getting ready for more white stuff

2008-12-17T13:55:00.000-08:00

After spending the last several weeks getting ready for finals and looking back over notes and handout it is finally over. To some extent it can be called anticlimactic just because once you hand it in and walk out well thats it. There is no real feeling of elation other than knowing that the quarter is officially over.

On a unrelated but equally interesting note, because you know things are hopping in this end of the world... More Snow! I like snow... the white has a clean and fresh look and it makes the mountains look so pretty... but that does not mean it makes everything pretty. The sidewalks are festooned with patches of ice that make walking on it somewhat of an exercise in balance and agility... and humility if you have the great fortune of allowing your feet to get the best of you and tell your body to go one way while they go another... feet can be tricky like that... Specially when its so cold that the messages between your feet and your brain freeze up. Anyway the forecast is for more snow. Well I am sure children all over Walla Walla are looking forward to it as the snow we have to this point gave them a snow day today and I am sure if the weather gets bad they might be expecting another tomorrow... and then its vacation starting on the weekend so who thinks they are going to want to come in on friday anyway... I guess with it being a snow day today everyone is just going to hit the holiday mood early and kiss the next two days goodbye as far as getting any work done.

This thought brings me to wonder about all the poor adults as it would seem who are wishing they were kids and got a snow day too. Isn't being an adult great? You get to do all the cool adult things like pay bills, worry about the economy, go to work in snow, hail, rain and all manner of crazy weather. And I am sure your boss is always looking over your shoulder just to make sure your not goofing off.

Happy holidays.... No really... enjoy it... it could be worse... you could have an itch in the middle of your back from all the layers you are wearing because its so cold... Oops you have that too... Oh well I guess you are going to have to find a nice long ruler or stick or something and wont that be sooo good when you get that itch... see things are looking up already.

More snow and more pictures

2008-12-14T22:03:00.000-08:00

Being as the white stuff keeps falling it is an occasion for staying indoors and working on my pictures. And being that the last shoot gave me something to work with this seems like the perfect opportunity.

First snow of the season

2008-12-14T02:23:00.000-08:00

Well the white stuff keeps falling and falling. The first big storm of the season... well at least thats what the meteorologist are saying... is bringing a dumping of snow. Within the last several hours at least 2 or three inches have fallen and it doesn't seem to be stopping. I have not decided if this is something good or bad yet. On the one hand it makes for some very interesting photography and on the other its cold.

I cant say I am not accustom to the cold having experienced at least 10 winters now, but on the whole I think I like the warmer weather as far as something to live in. It just might have something to do with my being born and raised on an island 7 degrees north of the equator. But winter is officially here and with it the snow. Well at least the option of building snowmen is there... and maybe an igloo as well....

More pictures and Joe

2008-12-11T23:15:00.000-08:00

I have been working on processing a few more images from tuesdays impromptu photo-shoot. Today as I was working on these images I had one of those rare (for me;-) "ah Ha" moments that helped me to understand why the images look the way they do. I have been wanting to experiment with this look and have not quite understood why the images looked this way even though I knew the process of how to get them to look this way. But today for some strange reason things aligned and in my head there appeared a pictorial representation of the zone system and how the tones of these images stretched and squished that scale to look like what they do.... anyway it makes sense in my head even though it comes out as crazy babbling sounds when I try to explain it.

But understanding is the first step... which reminds me of an old cartoon saying.

If anyone remembers the cartoon G.I. Joe, soon to come out as a movie which is not to be confused with Joe the Plumber... but anyway, at the end of all the episodes one of the "Joe's" would advise a kid who was doing something "wrong" who would naturally see the light and the phrase "... and knowing is half the battle." would be uttered. Well what no one seems to get is that they just had a half an hour or 20 minuets of violent action with bullets flying and buildings exploding everywhere as the good guys battled the bad guys.... and the rest of the story is that knowing may be half the battle but the other half is bloody violence and mayham... Hmmm.... I am sure thats not it.... or is it? You tell me?

Beating the dead week blues by getting spontaneous

2008-12-10T20:49:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to do some shooting for some time using some lighting equipment. Being as the end of the quarter has been drawing near and all the other commitments piling on it has had to be on the back burner. Last night almost in a spur of the moment... well I actually thought about it two mights ago... but none the less I drug out the soft box, grabbed my camera and was off to do some shooting.

Last night we had a very cool concert by Aaron Roche, setting up the soft box at first outside on the grass and later moving it into one of the side rooms of the village hall I literally snagged people as they walked by and had a mini photo-shoot. For those of you who stopped by a huge thank you and we should do it again because you are beautiful people!!!

I have also been intrigued with a very specific style of portraits and the images attached are my experimentation and exploration of this style. Out of the shoot I think these three images best suited the style. Enjoy, and next time you see a goofy looking dude with a crazy setup looking for volunteers... well come on by and say hello.

Parade

2008-12-07T00:29:00.000-08:00

This evening Walla Walla celebrated its parade of lights. About 60 cars, truck, bicycles and other forms of colorfully lit floats paraded down main street and others in a loop that gave everyone present a eyeful of the brightly lit contraptions. The mood was one of merriment yet at the same time there was a sense of people doing their own thing.

I am not sure if it is just the season that is bringing me to notice this but as I have mentioned in a previous post I am noticing the facade that society calls community. I recently re-watched the movie WALL•E and this may also have something to do with this tangent I seem to be on. But as in the movie everyone is so connected with everything that they don't even know each other or that they had a pool.

Anyway back to the parade and the lights. Maybe we need more of these events so that people once again start coming out and mingling and maybe we will start to get back the sprit of the community back.

Caroling to Hunting Men

2008-12-05T23:28:00.000-08:00

This has been quite the eventful evening. It started with the festive activity of caroling. Being the season to bring good cheer to others via the singing of songs on the door step, a group of Walla Walla University students went from door to door singing the songs of the season. While this was a most enjoyable activity I wonder why it does not happen more often. It seems that as a society we are becoming more and more separated and isolated, shunning communal activities that once brought us together.

The recent story in the news about the "Black Friday" tragedy in New York in a sense is a typical example of where this leads society. To be so driven to acquire materiel objects that we as a species would step on someone else with no remorse or concern is sad. On the same token were the people gathered there viewing others present as fellow shoppers who like them were enjoying the seasonal low prices and reveling in each others company waiting for the doors to open for a morning of shopping? I think not, more like trying to elbow their way to the front of the line, what your pregnant well an elbow in the kidney will get you out of my way and give me an edge. We are getting so distant from each other that we have forgotten how to interact, behave even.

But not all is doom and gloom. Several students have organized a game of Man Hunt. The object of this game is to complete a route of several locations and get back to the starting location within a given time period. Now you may say... piece of cake... or, what thats just like a foot race... well the catch is that there are several others who drive around in cars that if they spot you will pick you up and deposit you back at the starting point where you can hang out till the next game or in the case of the last game till everyone gets back.

Its a fast paced game and knowing where to hide and which fence to jump if the need arose makes the chilly air more bearable and the people one meets helps to bring that sense of community and camaraderie. It is often seen that in times of stress or need such as a war or in our own recent history of 9/11 or the hurricanes, people came together to support each other. Well being as such events have more negative aspects than positive aspects, games such as this are a much more exciting and rewarding way to build that sense of community.

Playing with Pigs

2008-12-05T00:07:00.000-08:00

Today was the last Biology lab of the quarter. While I am both happy and sad to see the quarter almost over the last lab being what it is was also a time for some fun. We have been studying the anatomy of a fetal pig for the last couple weeks and with the project coming to a close it was an opportune moment do do a little exploring and do some casual dissection. Liz, Chelsea and Brandon who I share a table with were quite voracious in the scalping and exploring of the remnants of our beloved specimens.

Fishing the Yak... again

2008-12-05T00:03:00.000-08:00

Well on the way back from Seattle, determined to get in some time on the water I stopped along the Yakima river to wet a line. The evening was quite productive with the trout being quite willing to take a fly. Being as it is starting to get colder these fish seem eager to stock up on what little insects they may happen by before the icy grip of winter takes hold.

Thanksgiving in Seattle

2008-12-04T23:46:00.000-08:00

Well its been a while since I have had the time to update this and much has transpired since. Going back and retrieving memories in a chronological fashion what comes to mind first is the trip to Seattle. Having the couple days of break from tests, homework and other misc. studies it was good to get out an visit with friends. During this visit I decided to play with the idea of creating some images with my point and shoot which I have got into the habit of carrying with me. I have been looking into the concept of the decisive moment that Henri Cartier-Bresson so eloquently often spoke and more correctly captures in photographs. Well only being a student of the subject and my no means a master of the technique and also because I have a perverted nature that forces me to create "homework" assignments for myself even when I am on holiday... Well I played with the idea. The technique of zooming through the exposure was something I had seen and tried in the past and when the off chance of that synapse crossed with another in my brain I spent most of that evening sitting in the passenger seat of my buddies car as we drove on errands snapping away and reveling in the interesting images that I got.

The trip was fun and I think that I will have to keep this style in mind and feel more free to experiment and capture other decisive moments of my own life as I go through them.

Hiking to the sun

2008-11-27T13:03:00.000-08:00

The gloom of fog shrouding the valley with its cold and clammy fingers prodding and poking into bodies as they hurried down paths leading to errands and places. Being a sun loving tropical kind of person I was missing seeing the big shiny orb in the sky and to some extent was starting to go though withdrawal... I needed a fix... and as far as I knew, short of driving to Tollgate the other place I could access the sun would be up Blacksnake ridge. Convincing a buddy of mine to go on a hike I headed out for the sun. The fog was thick going up the steep and narrow road and often we could not see for more than 20 feet in front of the car. But we made it to where the car could not go any further without damage to the underside and hiked from there.

As we climbed though the cold of the mist still hung around us we were greeted by the scent of pine and fir needles wafting through the air. This sweet smell drove us on with renewed energy to reach higher up the ridge.

And sun, the faint rays poking holes through the mist was our reward. Enjoying the sun for about 20 minuets when it started to drop below the tree line we sighed a satisfied sigh and began the trudge back to the depths of the gloom and back home. But sun we had if only for a moment and that small glimmer recharged us for a while.

Frost and fishing

2008-11-24T02:00:00.000-08:00

Another weekend has come and gone, and with each passing day the air gets colder as the march of winter comes close. Determined to get a few more days of fishing in before I must hang up my waders for the winter I set out to once again ply the waters of the Walla Walla river and discover what bounties of aquatic delights awaited me.

Arriving at the parking lot to the area I spent a few minuets chatting with some of the locals who had bagged themselves a couple birds. We chatted about our fortune of having such an ideal accessible area so close to where we lived and the fortune it provided through the seasons.

A few minuets later donning my gear I sally forth into the thicket that encompasses the river. I have on previous occasions traveled down stream so today I decided to explore upstream. During the last couple weeks heavy rains, well heavy for this end of the state, caused a rise in the river level and with it caused the bed of the river to be scoured in some places and the substrate to be deposited in others. But as this was relatively new area to me while I could see the effect of the rushing water the holes and lies of the trout were yet to be explored.

I did not find the monster that broke me off when I was last here but my day was not a complete bust. One thing that I enjoy about the trout in these small streams are that they fight like they have something to prove and that no lure is a match for them. It may also be the case that being a smaller stream they need to be more opportunistic in their diet and feed on whatever may come their way.

After catching and releasing a couple my eye was drawn to the frosty leaves along the high water mark. Though clumped together, cottonwood and aspen leaves formed a intricate pattern with the crystals of ice heralding the end of Fall and the near arrival of winter.

Sitting at home feeling mellow

2008-11-21T21:30:00.000-08:00

The weekend is here and for the most part well looked forward to. Its been a busy week and while there are many things that got accomplished there are a number that didn't. I guess this is true of all weeks. But, now the weekend is here. Do I stay active all weekend working on projects, exploring interesting places, catching up on all the fun things that I had to put off during the week or is this the weekend for relaxing, sleeping and the general veg-out?

At this point though I am leaning more to the side of the latter I feel the need to be doing the former. For the last hour I have been reading the general blogs and sites that I try to follow and there have been a couple things that have caught my eye.

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wa/nwis/uv/?site_no=14018500&PARAmeter_cd=00060,00065

Looking at the most recent results the Walla Walla river might be in good shape tomorrow... Low and clear, however the wether report points it out to be a windy day with sunday being similar with less wind... I might have to put it off for a day or so.

On the blog Canon Rumors the latest post talks about Canon holding off coming up with a new body till late 2009 while Nikon is planing on a body to be shown in a couple weeks or so... I don't know if I really believe that Canon will sit that long. While I believe the turn the economy has taken makes it harder for new equipment to be sold as everyone is penny-pinching, will the camera giant be allowed to be shown up for too long without coming back with a one up of their own.

Looking back at the recent scuffle with video on a still body, Nikon was first to market, but Canon one-upped them with more impressive features. At the same time Canon did this to the mid range cameras which means it is either going to one-up them selves with even more features in the flagship model or not have this feature in the flagship model and really concentrate on making it a studio/ high image quality camera. Also with the latest breakthrough (now a couple weeks old) in reducing the space between the micro-lenses and developments of new forms of substrate such as black silicone the future looks interesting. Going back to the post that got me thinking about this, in the winter/spring (March) the photographic industry will be converging on Vegas for PMA 09, an ideal location me thinks for a one upping...

Well we are going to have to be patient about it... but being as I am in a vegetative mood... I guess I can wait.

Just the words

2008-11-17T23:10:00.000-08:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words... well I guess that would be true if I had the chance to get the picture. Since I had about an hour and a half of free time this morning between classes and work I decided to be productive and go fishing...

I headed down to the Walla Walla and spent about half an hour walking along the bank when I spotted a splash and the back of a monster trout. Quickly switching flies to one that I though would entice it I cast up stream and tried to get a natural as possible drift to the fish. Being a novice it took more times than I wish to confess to but in the end I was rewarded with a slash and a grab and the game was on. At first the fish was not fighting too hard as the river at that point was not very deep nor wide so it did not have much room to run and I was able to bring it towards me quite quickly. That was my first mistake.

Being that this was a beautiful steely that was glowing with color and if I had to guess several pounds... it was about 18 or 20 inches easy and definitely thicker than my shoe to which it got about 3 feet away from... well I guess my shoe was not to its liking and my 3wt, which was the second mistake, was not the beefiest rod... it did a flip, splash, slip and was off down stream, reel screaming for a couple seconds before the line managed to wrap its self around a snag and with a twang give back the fish its freedom. Man I was so close.... Next time I need to take the 6wt and someone else to carry the camera. That way I can just show you the picture and not have to worry about the thousand words, which in retrospect would not have done that picture justice anyway had I got it.

A day and today...

2008-11-13T01:20:00.000-08:00

Well it is officially thursday which means a day and today till the weekend. Its been a busy week as all weeks around here tend to be. The weather has been on the wet side with gusts of wind bringing rain one moment and blowing it away the next. As it is the end of fall the rain is hastening the dropping of leaves creating giant piles which are tempting to go jumping in except for the fact that the whole pile is like a sponge soaking up the rain and would make for a wet landing. Not quite the idyllic situation.

I hope the weather starts to get dryer as the forecast is predicting. It might be a good weekend to go dunk a fly with the hopes of pulling it back out of the water with a fish attached to it. But a day and today to get through till then.

Back at home

2008-11-09T21:15:00.000-08:00

Well the adventure over I am back at home. It was not exactly what I had planned but not all things happen as we expect. Anyway I did get to go fishing today and saw the sun so overall it was a good day. As an added bonus I got to see Dalls Sheep in the Yakima canyon. Pictures from this weekend.

Off on another adventure...

2008-11-08T20:10:00.001-08:00

Well I am out the door and looking forward to another adventure. I will be going fishing in the morning with a fellow fly fisherman that I met online via a fly fishing forum so it will be a great opportunity to met someone new as well.

Went on a lovely walk this afternoon with some friends and it was cloudy and cold, but the kind that makes you want to be out and just enjoy the mist as it faintly swirls around you. When a warm jacket is like a long hug. And the colors of the fall though past its prime still lingers in the limbs and on the ground covering the trail in a golden carpet.

But, I must move on. More later...

Energy from the sun and other clean energy

2008-11-07T00:04:00.000-08:00

As a graduate with a degree in Environmental Science I am always interested in seeing what new technological advances are made that would create clean energy. While browsing though the articles I came across a couple that caught my attention.

Sun + Water = Fuel

This article in the MIT tech review caught my attention as the concept of plants capturing energy from the sun to perform such feats as to grow for hundreds of feet or like varieties of bamboo a foot per day where you can almost watch it grow... How can such a humble organism with its fragile proteins and enzymes do what keeps scientist scratching their heads. Well looks like we have finally caught up. This discovery combined with another recent discovery for black silicone might bring about a new revolution in clean energy. Interesting times.

On another note, Walla Walla is surrounded by hills where wind farms are common. I have on occasion had the opportunity to go close to these giants and watch as the sometimes 50 ft blades swing round with a commanding swish. Another new discovery that may make this form of energy more efficient is right now being tested up in Canada at a wind farm.

Laser Sensors for Wind turbines

Maybe one day soon all these new devises will go into production and we can gain the benefits.

Lugging the camera

2008-11-06T01:36:00.000-08:00

I have made it a habit this week to carry my camera around with me as I go about my day. While this has allowed me to use those free minuets to capture interesting compositions of fall and the colors around me it also serves to remind me to pay attention to the details. In a previous post I made mention of a dream lens. A 28 - 135 mm f/2.8 with internal focusing.

Image stabilization would be a nice touch too; however, one can't expect everything. I have been walking around with the Canon 100 mm f/2.8 lens. While this is a very nice lens that is fast as well as sharp I cant but daydream of the possibilities of the perfect lens that would have this and more. Sharpness, large aperture, zoom and most important an affordable price tag. I'll post some images from this week later when I have time to edit the stack down. But for now I think I will continue to carry the equipment I have and continue to look at the world and notice the details.

A blustery day in the Valley

2008-11-04T23:21:00.000-08:00

Election day and as the presidential race has been called all the pundits and commentators are on the air gloating about having called the results or defending their statements. In the valley it was a cold windy day and I must give props to anyone who braved it to vote. Way to make you voice heard regardless if your candidate won or not.

I on the other hand decided to be proactive as well but regarding lugging my camera and using those otherwise wasted moments to and from places to make some images. I think I will be doing that more often.

Objects

2008-11-04T00:18:00.000-08:00

Over the past several weeks I have noticed that I am shooting less primarily due the my busy schedule. Today was no different but for the fact that I happened to have my camera on me and when the opportunity of two spare minuets showed its self I was quite happy to go trigger happy. I cant say that all or even many of the images that I took are worth or deserving a second glance but one did stand out as a favorite.

I guess on the whole it pays to have the camera with me and I think I will be doing it more.

Fun Weekend

2008-11-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to visit a friend up in Pullman this weekend and had a blast over there. She had invited several of her friends over, and being the night of halloween, came in dress and disguise.

Pirate, Witch and Jester among others rounded up the more traditional costumes but we also had the unique and the voluptuous and the nitrogen fixing bacteria that came attached to quite a nice legume. The night wore on with conversation, laughter and puppets that terrorized.

More pictures of the night.

Dunes and dust

2008-10-28T01:26:00.000-07:00

A few more images that I was able to work on from the Juniper Dunes shoot. The almost sunset like atmospheric conditions were courtesy of the ATV's that were zooming about.

Juniper Dunes with Matt

2008-10-26T01:30:00.000-07:00

I spent the afternoon with a old friend hiking in the Juniper Dunes wilderness. Both Matt and myself had unwittingly decided that this would be a place to explore so when I met up with him and the topic of where we should go came up it didn't take much time to decide.

The Juniper Dunes area is ringed by privately owned farmland and access is very limited. However I had read online prior to meeting up with Matt that there was an easement agreement that the landowners had agreed to so that the public could access this area. Heading out we followed the directions and came to the area. Parking the car in the area designated for such we decided to hike in. After we had walked in about 200 meters up to the top of the first rise we were overtaken by a gentleman who was taking his brand new ATV for a spin. He offered to give us a ride in and being as we could increase our time in the area this way we accepted.

The ride in brought back memories for both Matt and I, who had spent a year on the island of Pohnpei many years ago. Riding in the back of the ATV with our legs dangling off the back and holding on to the side made for some fun times. Our travel benefactor mentioned an area that few other ATV's traveled so that we would have a more peaceful stay and agreed to give us a ride out to it. As we had turned off the main path the trail got more rugged and this gave us the need to hold on for dear life. The worst/best/you gotta be crazy for doing this, instance came when the ATV was gunned down a 40 degree back to pick up speed and then proceeded to climb up the other side which was even steeper.

One must remember that we were sitting in the back of an open bed with the tailgate down and being as this was only a ATV our legs from the knees down were sticking straight out of the back. Well when that puppy hit the uphill slope and the driver gunned the engine to get it to the top a couple things happened all at once. The first bump gave both Matt and I some air... our butts were probably a good two or three inches off the bed of the ATV. Having gunned the ATV it picked up speed and decided to go up the hill. Well this would all have been good except for the fact that since our butts were not in contact with the vehicle was in danger of getting left behind. For a fraction of a second both Matt and I went into survival mode scrambling to grab on to each other and also anything else solid we could get a grip on to keep each other attached to the now speeding ATV as it finished its climb out of the gully.

After dropping us off at a spot not far from this spot we bid our new friends goodbye and proceeded to hike about enjoying being both alive and still in one piece. I must say that this is a area that I plan on going back to real soon as I only had about three hours in the area and could see that to fully appreciate the possibilities I would have to spend much more time here.

Dream Lens

2008-10-25T23:53:00.000-07:00

I have been giving this topic some though over the past few weeks, and to some extent this might just be my own fantasy but if I was to have any say in the design of a set of lenses I would have a very specific set. Right now I have a Sigma 17-35mm, 50-500mm and a Canon 100mm (macro) as the standard set in my camera bag. However what I find is that for many of my shooting situations the ideal focal lengths don't quite cut it with what I have hence the thought put into this subject.

If I could design my own line of lenses I would have 4. Some of which already exists. Going from wide to tele; I would love to have a Canon 16-35 mm f/2.8, The second would be a 24-135mm 2.8 IS, the third, the 100-400 mm canon lens that exists but that I cant afford right now along with the Sigma 300-800 mm lens. The last two are more for specific situations such as wildlife, birding, sporting events.

The closest lens that comes to the second exists as the 24-135 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. While I love the range on this lens the variable aperture could be made better by going to a fixed f/2.8. There was also some wobble in the front end of the lens that I used due to the design dictated that the front element extend and therefore was on a separate tube.

When I talk to many of my friends who are also gear-heads to some extent many if not all consider to Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS the de-facto lens to have. I think that even they would agree that if the 24-135 f/2.8 IS existed the four lens lineup I wish for would be the most versatile.

But for now all I can do is play with what I have and look forward to the day when I can have the dream lineup.

Timeline

2008-10-22T01:26:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is important that each of us look to the future and decide where we want to be. Its is also important to look back and see where we came from. Ten years ago I would have been hard pressed to guess and or predict that where I am now would be where I wanted to be. Furthermore when I look to the future and say here is where I want to be in ten years that may not be a realistic summation of where I will be.

There is a saying "Shoot for the moon, and if you miss you will end up in the stars". While this lofty goal is both admirable and insightful it by no means makes it valid to the here and now. Can I say I am among the stars now because I missed the moon of my prediction ten years ago? What if my goal now is and always will be the same as that I had in the past...? Am I supposed to do a "U" turn and go for it.

As far as I can tell humans have not developed a method for traveling through time. Well it is possible that someone may have discovered how to move forward in time at a rate faster than the rest of us and my one of these days appear to us miraculously at the same age as when he or she left the past but what good is that going to do them. OK so the didn't have hi-def TV and microwave ovens back then but really is the world that much of a better place? Hopefully they bought some stocks that didn't crash in the last couple weeks and they are rich or else they are sure to not be able to buy gas for their time machine. But I digress.

So what's up with setting a goal for what one wants to be. We ask little kids what they want to be when they grow up. What a horrible thought. Well kid, what profession would you like to be in so that you can work too many hours a day to pay for things you want to have but cant afford in the first place.

There is the idea that we should get a job that we like doing and not one that we have to do. True, but, some ones got to wash the dishes and clean the cobwebs... and after all this you could be hit by a bus in the morning as you cross the street and its all over. The latin saying "carpe diem" says that we ought to seize the day. Live for today, or as a recruiter for the army might tell you "Be all you can be". But what does that mean. Am I being less than I could right now. Maybe I could be learning to juggle with my feet while my fingers tackle the keys on the computer. Am I more than I was?

Goals and timelines only point out what could happen. Who you are right now is all you can be right now. Maybe in the next minuet you will grow a second head and be more than you were the minuet before but till then you are always all you can be. Then you can once again be that child and say I want to be a grownup when I grow-up, but for now I am a child who on the whole has less of the worries of the world on my shoulders. Timelines and goals... someday I am going to look back and say, ten years ago I was wondering what the deal was with timelines, now I understand. Well maybe I will by then or I might still be wondering that, in any case I hope I outlive the timeline.

Weekend on the coast

2008-10-20T23:25:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I had the opportunity to spend some time on the Oregon coast. The initial excuse was to take pictures of the surfers on the surf trip but it turned out to be more of a photo exploration for my self.

New Technology going "Huh?"....

2008-10-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

While browsing through the piles of information jumping from link to link, I came across an article in the online New York times that caught my attention. I new type of silicone coating that may have wide influence and impact on many different areas of science and industry.

Times article link.

What most intrigued me about this piece not so much the effect it may have on the photographic industry with a more sensitive sensor or one that can detect IR radiation to a new level which would make my new found interest in IR photography go to a new level..... but what got me it the statement, "In science, the most exciting expression isn’t ‘Eureka!’ It’s ‘Huh?’” said Michael Hawley. And I guess this is true for most areas that we are newly delving into. The chance of a "Eureka" only comes after someone goes "Huh?" and then despite the "Huh?" decides to keep going and figure it out. So I guess going "Huh?" is not a bad way to start off...

More trees

2008-10-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

This past weekend while out shooting I seems to have stumbled on to a series to photograph. Trees in infrared. I think by the end of the month or so I will make some prints and present it to a gallery in town. I don't think anyone else in the area will have something similar and I might be able to carve out a nitch market.

Color and you

2008-10-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

As a photographer and more importantly as someone who looks out on the world and appreciates the colors of the world I have been curious about how we perceive color. During my wonderings on the world wide web I have come across several interesting sites that helps to give you an understanding of the connections that goes on between your eye and brain...

To test your ability to distinguish hues....

Understanding the combinations of colors....

More Games....

And one cannot forget the Apple site,

A video on perception....

More to come as I find them...

700 Billion

2008-10-03T14:17:00.000-07:00

So they passes a bill to give Wall St. a big chunk of change... in case you like numbers and pictures check out these two sites that puts things into perspective.

A little perspective...

And more perspective in relative terms...

Hmm... Poor college student looking for someone with too much money... anyone... anyone...

Thoughts on the first day of class.

2008-09-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

Well so far the quarter seems to be going well. I must say that the one class I have had so far is going well... We received very important information such as the syllabus and discovered some of the pet peeves, likes and dislikes of the instructor.

His presentation while not lacking in information also had an underlying pull of humor which tends to help one stay awake. You don't want to be the one kid that is suddenly brought back to the realm of consciousness by the low rumblings of laughter and be the last one to laugh because you were sleeping through the punch line. People might mistake that for you just being slow and "not getting" the said punch line and then you have to ask someone to repeat the joke and its never the same when you have to tell it a second time and then nobody is laughing anyway so its kinda awkward if you laugh and then they figure that you "must" be the slow one at which point the joke is on you....

So its a good thing to have humor in the agenda so you don't slip off to take twenty blinks.

Back in Class...

2008-09-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

In about 40 minuets I will be sitting in a class back in the grind. The start of another quarter. And with it, homework, projects, papers and all such that students love, hate and try not to think of too much.

Catching up on the pictures...

2008-09-28T17:10:00.000-07:00

Finally made my self sit down, edit and color-correct my images from the last couple days... weeks... but its done. I am really enjoying the effects I am getting from the IR converted camera.

The weekend is here

2008-09-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

After a interesting week filled with meeting new people and getting ready for the grind which will be classes there is the reprieve of the weekend to give one last breath of freedom. I am also looking forward to the weekend as I hope to get out and do some shooting with my modified camera and being as it is forecasted to be a sunny day I am expecting to get some good shots.

I just realized that the brand new 1 gig memory chip that I bought and installed not 3 weeks ago is dead!! What's up with that. Not Cool!!!! sometimes technology can be frustrating.

William Tell Overture & Honda

2008-09-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

About 5 or 6 summers ago during a road trip to Alaska I made a note to others in the van that the wash-board effect on the road could be harnessed to make music. Driving over the very tightly paced bumps normally produce a very monotone note, yet a note it is none the less. This morning I heard that Honda took idea to heart... all on their own... and have produced a stretch of road that "play's" the william tell overture.

Cool... too bad its short. Now for my next idea that it would be cool if it can be done. Multiple musical patterns. If by overlaying the patterns so that at specific speeds it "speaks" out a message... like "Hey fool, slow your butt down" at speeds over 80 mph and some cool song at a normal speed... anyone, anyone... big company trying to get their brand become popular via a jingle?

Wi Fi

2008-09-20T05:02:00.000-07:00

Well I am sitting in another airport, this time in Cincinnati OH. I guess as a person living in the United States we often take things for granted just because of the consumeristic society we live in. Sitting here in the airport I am able to get online by purchasing a 24 hour pass via a localized service provider. Yet my first thought was why was this service not offered free of charge.

The saying goes there is no free lunch, a true statement as at the end of the day someone paid for it in some form or fashion. So why have we got so used to expecting the free lunch? What is it that prompts us to create this artificial sense of endowment?

As Mark Twain put it... "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first."

Gunpowder River

2008-09-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

I took the afternoon today to drive up to the Gunpowder river in northern Maryland. This river is one of the states prime fly fishing destinations and even with the overcast and cool temperatures today still had a small hatch that came up and gave rise to some fun fishing.

I was able to bring to hand several fish, the majority of them being in the 9 to 11 inch range with one that was a good 14 or so inches. The brown trout is a beautiful fish both in the fact that they put up a spirited fight and also by virtu of their appearance. I also had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman by the name of Chad who was also there to wet a line.

Just before arriving at the river I made a pit stop at a local fly shop - Backwater Angler. The gentleman there was very helpful both with the directions to the river and where to go once I got there and also helped me pick out a fly pattern which I found to be quite effective on the water. Just looking around the shop he seemed well stocked on the essentials with a few goodies as well.

One bit of advice that was passed to me and that I also noticed at the river is, don't fish near the bridge. During the 4 odd hours I was at the river I met several people who were fishing that section and coming up empty. I am sure the fish there can be caught... in fact they were jumping around looking quite inviting. But for that same reason they are probably targeted quite often and having seen a fly or two are very selective.

When you go to the river there are two options. Go up river or down. Regardless of which way your feet take you the trail is located on the side that keeps the river on your right although going up river and having waded across I located a trail on the opposite bank that is there as well although I don't know where the head to it is as it gets close to the parking lot.

All in all a fine location and one that I will definitely be going back to the next time I am back on the east coast. And ow to get back to packing and probably catch a few Z's before my flight back to the west coast and Good Ol' Wally World.

Vacation

2008-09-18T23:13:00.000-07:00

Well after almost two weeks of vacation I finally took a day to myself and went fishing. I drove up to the Patuxent River just south of Damascus MD. Since this was the first time I had fished this stretch of water I was not sure what to expect. I had done some looking up online for details of what to expect but being as this is a catch and release area and also a fly fishing only area the number of reports were on the slim side... or maybe I just didn't find the right place to get the info. In anycase armed with my trusty 3wt I went off to figure it out.

The first place I parked was the parking spot where the river flows under Rt. 97 - Georgia Ave. There is ample parking, how ever after about 100 yards of river the one has to cross over to the other side to keep from going into some privet land. And I do envy the people that get to live there because it is a nice piece of property and right next to the river... well who could ask for more.

I walked, waded and battle the rose bushes that grew in abundance along the side of the river for about 2 miles. This stretch of water did not yield much action though I was about to hook and bring to hand a number of small sunfish and also several whitefish or overgrown minnow-esk looking fish.

Having spent about three hours in this spot and not wanting to head back I drove up and around to the next spot that the river was crossed by a road, which was about a 10 minuet drive to the upstream location. Having just battled rose vines for the last couple hours I was quite content when, arriving at this spot I noticed that the bridge was over a somewhat decent hole and I was also quite content to play around here.

I started casting to some of the smaller sunfish that where in this section and was bringing them to hand with not too much of a fuss. As I was taking a break and just watching the water trying to read it I noticed a long lean shadow cast by a trout. I cast out to it and after a couple tries were able to get the drift just right that the fly came right up to its nose and it was happy to oblige by chomping down on it.

I brought to hand a nice heathy looking brown trout that was about 11 inches long. Having got my trout for the day I set him back in the water knowing that he was going to be there the next time I wanted to get me a trout.

All in all a good day... Next time I might have to explore another section of the river up that way and maybe say hello to the rest of the trout clan.

The camera's are back

2008-09-16T21:36:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple weeks I had been deprived of and separated from both my camera bodies. Today the second of the two came back and I am looking forward to playing with them again. Of the two camera's the 5D has been my primary tool the last couple years with the 10D somewhat relegated to the shelf. But no more. Having undergone a serious change of heart or guts in this case... not me the camera... the 10D is back on the front line.

While the 5D went in for a routine checkup... well not exactly routine... I might have got is a bit too wet trying to shoot the lightning storm in the rain and it just may have had some problems turning on... but none the less it went in the people at Canon did their thing and its back turning back on and good to go. The 10D on the other-hand went to a entirely different location where they took it apart and replaced the filter that is in front of the sensor with a very special piece of glass. The company is called LifePixel and the camera not exclusively shoots infrared. Cool!

In the past when I have played with this medium is was with film that needed to be loaded in the dark, then you had to have a tripod and lock focus and screw on a filter and long story short... wait there was no short story it was a long story every-time and for the most part other than the couple rolls I shot as part of the extended photography curriculum that was the last of it.

Today I went out and shot hand held as if it was just another camera switching the iso as needed, looking through the viewfinder and not having an opaque piece of glass blocking the view and getting instant gratification knowing that I got the shot. Well not that I did any shooting worth keeping... it was mostly the grass to figure out how to set the correct white balance and shots of plants in the garden to see what they look like.

But now armed with both these camera bodies I am back in the game and looking forward to more creative shooting...

On time delivery...

2008-09-15T22:36:00.000-07:00

I received an automated call this afternoon from UPS who incidentally will be delivering a package to me tomorrow. Other than the fact that I knew this information already and the call was automated the one fact that bugged me the most was the call stated that the package will be delivered between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm and at this time a more specific time could not be stated.

OK, first off... are you serious about the time frame? Why don't they just say "hey, we will be coming over tomorrow and will call you when we do know a more definite time". As it happens I will be at the house to pick it up and will not have to contend with additional information that will be left by the delivery person who no doubt will have some hole-in-the-wall location on the other side of town that I will have to drive to during very specific hours to pick it up.

In a society that claims to value time and convenience it is interesting when one takes a closer look to notice how much of a facade this is. We claim to love convenience yet will go out of our way to make things inconvenient.

Talk about living in a crazy world....

Sitting in the Airport

2008-09-06T01:24:00.000-07:00

Its very quiet yet at the same time there is a mired of noises. From the TV in the news stand blaring political commentary, the security guards piping up occasionally with a comment, a short burst of laughter that petters out, the hum of the ventilation system or the tinkle of glass as a vendor rearranges the shot-glasses that have the label of the city proudly printed on the side.

It is very easy to tune these noises out and think of this place as quiet but when one takes the time to listen and identify each one there are so many that it is virtually a symphony of sound.

And there in top of it all the unmistakable voice that reminds passengers that their luggage may be viewed as suspicious if for any reason they are not physically hovering over it as if they were a flock of chicks guarded by the mother hen. Not leaving them out of eyesight lest a security hawk pounce on it and open it up to inspect its guts.

Packing

2008-09-05T04:50:00.000-07:00

Well I am off on another adventure... Going to be taking the bus to Portland and a flight back east so its going to be a couple long days on the road. Trying to decide what to pack... do I plan on having more time and the means to make taking the fly rod worth it? I am planing on taking the camera gear in the hopes that my bodies will meet me there after their visit to the factory. How much stuff do I want to lug.

I suppose I could go ultra light and see how that goes... but then I am sure to encounter the situation of regretting not having some piece of equipment that I could have used... or I can take the stuff and lug it through the various transitions... I am not a fan of current modes of transportation because its so limiting... but on the other hand not traveling is so limiting!

Well enough time procrastinating... back to packing.

Expenses and more

2008-08-28T22:57:00.000-07:00

Well at this point both my cameras are in the shop getting the once over. I am not sure if they are going to be back by the time I head east... I am keeping my fingers crossed about that. However it is good to know that at least they are getting fixed and I will have them back in 7 to 10 days... at least thats what the website says.

I was planning on going to the demolition derby this evening... well the original plan was to go to it to shoot the derby however since the cameras are in the shop I was thinking well I might go as a general observer/participant and mingle with the crowd. Not have to worry about lugging around 20 lbs of camera equipment. Maybe get a hotdog... and then I found out that the tickets were all sold out so I did the next best thing which was to go over to the local lake and listen to the nomination speech of Obama on the radio.

I have been reading up and also watching youtube videos of pro photographers and have come to the realization that I need to be more active with my own photographic path. Not that I see myself becoming a pro but in the sense that many of the things I see them doing I feel I could in my own way duplicate and this will also get me out of this rut of inactivity that I seemed to have fallen into. I think for starters I need to finish the pulse jet project this week. I have been slow getting it finished just because of the crazy sleep pattern that I have been having... which also means that I should try to go to sleep early tonight so that I can get up earlier than I have been.

So I guess the start of that process is to put down the computer for a start.

Jet engine

2008-08-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

I am in the midst of putting together a pulse jet engine. So far it has been a interesting project and I am also the proud owner of some welding equipment... one can say it fuels my pyro side. The main combustion chamber is built out of the bottom of a small fire extinguisher that was salvaged from the scrap yard.

On the topic of the scrap yard, well that is a very cool place with all kinds of neat things. The old adage says, one mans trash is a another mans treasure and when its in a place that lets you browse around makes it almost like a supermarket for treasure. Its definitely not going to be the last time I will find my self over there.

On a completely different thought, for some reason I get the feeling that electronics seem to be on the fritz. Today for most of the day at least the cellphone network was either down or something was going on because I could not get a call through... not even to customer service. Even some webpages that I have been frequenting have been acting up.

But the jet engine is coming along and it gives me something to do.

Addiction.... to reading

2008-08-23T18:43:00.000-07:00

Yup so the rumors are true... I got hooked on Mob War.... So sad. But what attracts me is that there are so many people who have been playing this for weeks if not months and are not using their head?

Why play a half assed game. Is not the object to this game to be the best... This is not Sim City where you all get along and build mansions in the clouds. The name of the game is Mob War.... when did people stop reading? If the name has the word "War" in it it has to involve some type of conflict that results in a winner and a looser... you can't have a war where the result is a tie... even the Vietnamese police action where the US pulled out the troops and called it a draw was not a draw... when people die someone won. Now it may have not been the win that the politicians wanted and calling it a draw does not come close to making it such... but I digress.

Ok So we established that there is a winner and a looser. The first word in the name is "Mob". What you may ask is a mob? That is a excellent question. Can three people be a mob? Not a chance... thats not even a crowd unless two of the people are wanting to make out and then three is a crowd. A mob is only as good as the number of people in it. if you have a mob of 5 people go up against a mob of 500, even if you give the 5 automatic guns and give the others crow bars the bigger mob is going to be the last ones standing... they may not all be standing but the chances are they might be a mob of 5 that is left alive vs. the mob that started with 5 and ended dead.

So the morel of the story is "READ". If you are going to play a game named Mob War then first get a mob then go to war.... end of story... anything else fagadaboutit.

Olympics...

2008-08-21T23:19:00.000-07:00

Watching the games... Mens Beach Volleyball is going well with an interesting game... track was somewhat disappointing for the US team... Very sloppy baton passing in the relays. Its been a full day but with just a couple hours of sleep I am hoping a good nights rest is going to put my sleep schedule back on track.

Americans just got the lead for the first time at 18 but the Brazilians are staying point for point... thrilling game.

Up Early....

2008-08-21T08:01:00.000-07:00

Well I am up and the day is about to get thrown into fast gear, got an interview in half an hour and a meeting at 10:30 and its going to be a long day considering I got about 2 hours of sleep... but it was a good day yesterday because I got some things done that needed to be done and I might be getting my 10D converted to an IR camera in the next week or so... more to come about that later.

Lightning and Hay

2008-08-18T21:54:00.000-07:00

It was one of those days when the conditions are just right to form a thunderstorm. Going out with just a vague idea of where I want to be and hoping that fate would let things fall into place I set out into the storm. I have missed the creative energy of going out and looking for images that inspire and makes one realize how cool the world really is.

Well after two hours of standing in the rain with the wind gusting to about 10 to 15 mph at times and the rain pelting down I think I might have got the shot I wanted. Lightning is something that is a waiting game. You aim the camera in the general direction that it is flashing and try to configure it to the longest possible exposure which will give you the best results and then trip the shutter and wait. Sometimes you get a shot but often you see really cool flashes all around you, just not in the direction you happened to have the camera pointing. And there is not point in trying to anticipate it too much because its over in a flash.

But patience pays off sometimes and I got this shot.

Finally online

2008-08-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

After over a month of going to the computer lab in school or sitting in my car using the free account in the parking lot I finally have an internet connection at my place. Its a good deal as the cable company screwed up somehow and I seem to have free TV as well... I just need a TV to be able to use this.

Life in general is going well although I must say there have been some new and interesting twists as is usually the case. But I guess it keeps me on my toes or something of that sort and thats good for me. I have been a but lazy about taking pictures although I have been taking my camera along for the ride almost everywhere I go but I think I might have to do some shooting this afternoon so that I don't forget which button to press.

Its also a bit annoying when I have to wait for other people to come back from vacation to get stuff done. But hopefully that will all fall into place by the end of the week.

Well I better go get the chicken ready to marinade... BBQ time....

Camping and homework

2008-07-28T00:21:00.001-07:00

One I like the other I guess I have to tolerate. As for the camping... well it was not much but I did get to get out this weekend and spend time in the great outdoors. Went up to the Tucannon river saturday and met up with a couple people I knew. Fished a bit that evening and got one rainbow out of the stocked lakes that I kept and also caught several out of the river which after a quick oogle of the colors went promptly back into the water.

This morning I woke up at the crack of dawn and did a bit more fishing, mostly in the river and I must say either these fish dont get hit too often or they love flies. I think I caught and released about 25 or so with most in the 8-9 in range and a couple topping 11. Next time I should bring my camera along to get some shots of the fish because they are beautiful creatures.

And now back to doing homework... or maybe I'll put if off for one more night....

A job offer

2008-07-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Well looks like my hunt for a job is going well... actually its more of my job hunting me.... I got an invitation to a job that was actually what I have been wanting to do anyway and if I get it and I dont see myself not getting it, it will be the 5th job in a row that I have been offered without me having to do apply for and then wait. And looking back I don't really think I have not really got what I have applied to. So something must be working... Good thing I have the man upstairs watching my back... kinda proves at lest to me about the before you ask I will answer bit.

On a different note I need to start some GOYA projects. (Get Off Your Ass) I almost when and shot some landscapes and then things got in the way... I think I need to set some deadlines for my self so that I cant keep procrastinating... although Procrastinators are the leaders of tomorrow. I also think I am ready to start submitting my work for review by a more critical audience. I think for now I am going to do one competition or review a month. I think I will be able to handle that. I picked up a couple photo magazines yesterday so that i can see if there is a topic I like. At least that will get me shooting again and I need to get more critical feedback than Ooo nice colors.

One more down

2008-07-15T16:48:00.001-07:00

Finished another class... its been a busy couple weeks and taking the time to relax has been a challenge but a priority that has been kept... at-least for the most part. I cant decide if I want to head out to Seattle this weekend. On one hand there is the salmon bake... and seeing old friends... then there is the issue of gas... plus other expenses. Papers to write... can't procrastinate forever... well at least not without consequence... choices...

Lost my head... well part of it anyway

2008-07-02T00:25:00.000-07:00

So after much deliberation and thought I lost part of my head. Well at least the top part which I was in the process of loosing anyway so I figured I didn't have anything to loose anyway... in a matter of speaking. I guess tomorrow will be the new dawn of the cue ball routine.

Just thinking back, over the past several years I have had some unique things going on... From being just a average style to long and unruly, brads, Bells on the ends of the brads (this was a personal favorite... because it drove my teaches nuts when I would shake my head instead of raising my hand and still got their attention), Bleached blond, Bleached a second time to get it even lighter and then dying it fire-engine red... (another good one), pink hair... when it faded out... Purple hair... yeah N&P week, green hair when that faded, business cut to look decent for parent presentations and the big wigs... and now ala cue ball.

The human head is such a versatile thing. And this is just the outside... imagine the possibilities... imagine this head hitting the pillow because its way to late to be up.

Procrastinators: Leaders of Tomorrow...

2008-06-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it takes a lot to get the ball rolling. After weeks of intense work I have swung my pendulum of activity almost to the other extreme with taking things easy. On one hand there is the knowledge that I know I am going to have to scramble to get things finished.

On a separate note I am reconnecting with some long lost friends which after 15 years is quite amazing. Some were just passing acquaintances while others were genuine friends of my youth. In either case it is good to find those roots.

Things are going... well

2008-06-25T22:55:00.000-07:00

Well I think at this point I have somewhat got things in hand with school and all the randomness that comes with it. I even get to sneak in a nap now, something that I had not done for the past year or two. I am a little concerned with a couple of my classes. For the most part it seems that the classes that teach you to be a teacher seem somewhat loose and based on here is what you need to know but when you actually get into the class room you are going to do the learning and what gets covered here in class actually takes so much longer to learn and so much less time to do once you have learned it. Very random!

I also have a presentation to make in my class tomorrow. Being on an accelerated schedule things happen fast... on top of that I kinda ginny-pigged myself to be the first to present which means I better get my butt over and finish the project so that it is polished and sets the bar or at least tries to. Its a bit intimidating when many if not most of the others in that class are veteran teachers and here's me a young buck showing them tools to use in the classroom.

But I think I have some unique experience to draw from and a few aces up my sleeve.

Classes and stuff

2008-06-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

Well so far so good. I seem to have all my classes but one lined up and I am sure this too will come around when the time is right. I must say that online classes are not for me. I was supposed to take two this summer and dropped both of them today. It is very absurd in my opinion to take a wellness for living class online. "well what did you today that was active and also contributed to your mental well being? Well I sat in front of a computer for two hours and types furiously trying to think of some witty thing to say to the others in the virtual world of this class. I think my heart rate might have gone up by two beats in an hour".

Humbug I say. By the time someone else in the "class gets around to replying to a comment or query I have forgotten what the heck we were talking about in the first place and have to spend another hour reading all the old posts just to keep straight who said what or who had what opinion. Online classes unless done in real time are a farce.

Moving on and speaking of moving I need to do that one of these days. I still am living out of a suitcase with all my stuff in storage and need to get that to my place... now that I have one. Actually I think sometime this weekend I need to scrounge up a bed... I have not decided if i want to make this a loft as I do have 10 ft ceilings or a hammock which I miss having. I also need to get a couch or pillows or something and create a semblance of a living room... In reality the only room that I am somewhat equipped to equip is the kitchen...

I think I'll get a truck or something tomorrow and do some moving.

Fishing the Tucannon

2008-06-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

Went fishing today looking for some new fishing spots and being as it was an very nice day I could not let it go to waste. I drove up to the Tucannon river north of Walla Walla and found some real nice spots.

Started my fishing over at Rainbow Lake. There were about 10 or so other people fishing the lake so I spent the first 10 minuets or so walking around to see how everyone was fairing. Most of them were drowning worms with a few using power bait or other scented dough bait. In the time I spent walking around I did not see a single person hook a fish. I had read that this was supposed to be a good hole and was a bit suppressed. Well I got out my 3wt and strung up a elk hair caddis and took a trail that put me on the spit of land that ran out into the middle of the lake. I am not sure what I was doing right but I was able to pull out about 15 or so squaw fish and a couple bow's. Most of it was sight fishing and being as this was stocked fish it did not seem too hard.

Well running on a high from that I explored several of the other lakes along the river that had also been stocked. The one thing that caught my attention was the number of fish that had what looked like either scars or fungus growing on them. I am not sure how contagious this might be or if it is harmful to humans... there were a number of others fishing these lakes as well and I am sure many of them were catching the fish for the campfire. Which sounds mighty good right now... but anyway I caught several more bow's and it got to be more fun when they did not hook them selves and just grabbed the fly than when they did as most of them were in the 9 to 11 inch range and it was more hassle getting them off the hook and back in the water.

Well I kept fishing more so that I have an excuse to walk along the river and it is quite a beautiful river. Right now with the extended rain and snow we got this winter and spring the river is running much higher than usual however just having moved from the west side of the state where all the rivers I am used to fishing are in general much larger it did not seem as if this was running that high... its all relative I guess. Well the last fish of the day was a treat. It was not the biggest or anything fancy, just another rainbow trout about 9 inches long but I didn't actually hook it. Well at least the hook was not in the fish, rather I hooked what was the end of another hook that had a pre-tied leader that the fish had gut hooked its self with.

Hours to go...

2008-06-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

Packing... and procrastinating packing... counting down to the last few hours of Camp. Its been a good ride but I am ready to move on. Sometimes I think of all the things I still need to do or have wanted to accomplish and then have to remind myself that its someone else's baby. Whoever comes in next needs to have a vision of their own and hopefully will put as much energy or even more it to camp.

So the plan for today is to get everything into the truck by about 4 pm and take off by 6 pm or so... I think I am going to swing by Sarah's and drop some stuff in the car. That way once I get back I will have some stuff for the trip back. Anyway, thats the plan.

Count-downs and paperwork

2008-06-09T19:30:00.000-07:00

On the home stretch, catch up on things left undone, pack, move, go nuts. Dork dance... its OK but I would rather be doing something else, I am sure i will have fun nonetheless... it happens you get around kids and regardless of what you are doing it tend to be a bit more fun, even watching grass grow, although I wouldn't mind doing that right now. Specially if it is warm and sunny, which it is not.

What's up with this weather? Its June for crying out loud! We had a couple days of nice weather which teased us and gave a false impression of nice weather to come and then it rained... and rained... and its raining some more.

But it will only last for another week or so, then over to the dry side. It has been a bit wet on the dry side too so its going to be interesting to see how that affects the summer and the plants that one can find there... I wonder how the fishing will be... hopefully I will have more time than I do now to figure out the answer to this question. Only time will tell. Tick Tock Tick Tock only 6 days to go.