I finally moved up to a full DSLR camera. This is my new Canon T1i. This is the 18-55mm lens. I also have a 55-250mm lens. So far I’m liking it a lot, but the weather hasn’t been cooperative. I took a shot of a very cold prairie on the way home as well as the methane burn off near a landfill I pass. Both were taken hand held. Can’t wait to try out some really long exposures using a tripod.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Photoshop – I should be designing Christmas ornaments.

Patriots – Doing well so far. Monday night is their chance to finally hold the lead in their division. Or be firmly in second place.

Catbirds – Not exactly what I was hoping for when I put this feeder up.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Thesis Paper – Finally done. Just need to defend now, which should be a piece of cake.

Burn After Reading – I’ve been looking forward to watching it tonight, but it was so bad I finally turned it off. I understand the story is about the dark sides of life taken to the level of absurdity, but I don’t find humor in watching people going through painful episodes (which means, I suppose, that I don’t “get” dark humor even though I recognize it when I see it). And while I don’t mind profanity when the situation calls for it, I do mind when it becomes an overused “prop” in a movie. I stopped snickering at profanity before reaching adolescence. Now I just find it annoying when it comes up multiple times in every sentence. Call this one Burn Before Watching.

Patriots – They showed up against Pittsburgh. Maybe they really are a team to watch this year. Still tied with the pesky Jets, though.

Winter Sunsets – They can be pretty spectacular here.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Chicken 65 – The name is a mystery but this South Indian appetizer is awesome.

Political Ads – One more week of them to suffer through. What a waste of time and money.

Wally – Willie’s brother joined the party this week. Getting a bit crowded in the house.

Photoshop – When you can take a simple picture of flowers and turn it into something like this, the possibilities become endless.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Texas Rangers – Did I say it would take a miracle? Well, miracles happen. They sent the Yankmees packin’ and they did it at home in Arlington. I’m glad the fans there got to enjoy it. Looked like a great party.

Dosas – My new favorite Indian meal. Very tasty indeed.

Bozo drivers – I’ve seen way more than my share this week. How people can drive in such a clueless state of mind and survive is a mystery.

Willie – We rescued a little male kitten from starving this week. Now he’s quite happy and lots of fun to watch.

Filter Forge Freepacks – Very cool freeware for creating image variations through outstanding filters. This is a modern picture of Rothenburg, Germany made to look like it was taken in the 1930’s.

Ups and Downs of the Week

Red Sox – They’re clearly thinking about the off-season and not playing their best. But the rookies they’re fielding are doing well. And Coco Crisp, now playing for the A’s, is just as incredible in center field as he was with the Red Sox. I wish they had him back.

Photoshop CS5 – At the risk of boring everyone, I thought I’d show what more can be done with Photoshop CS5. The first pic is Amelia Island Plantation in Florida. Just a normal pic on a partly cloudy day. The second is what you can do with a decent sky image like the one I used before, combined with Photoshop’s HDR Toning feature. Pretty dramatic difference.

Formula One – It’s Monza weekend.

Ups and Downs of the Week

Red Sox – Ok, the season is just about over. Barring a complete collapse by the Yankmees and the Rays, the Sox won’t be playing October baseball. But they’ve done well considering the appalling number of injuries to their starting players. The folks brought in to fill the gaps have done well for the most part. And in any other division, the Sox would be in the hunt. Hats off to them.

Photoshop CS5 – This is really getting to be fun. Here we have a couple of pics that have nice skies. The first is Amelia Island, FL at sunrise. The second is Cadillac Lake, MI. Then we have a dull gray day in Roth, Germany. By merging the skies with the dull pic of Roth, we can have a nice sunset in Roth or a sunny day. Good fun. And goodbye to bad pictures.

Weather – Very cool days and nights this weekend. And no humidity. Again, I love this time of year.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Red Sox – They’ve been coming on lately and the return of Mike Lowell, one of the classiest players to ever grace the field, could not have come at a better time. In his first at bat after returning from rehab, he hit the first pitch into the Monster seats at Fenway. He’s made some great plays at 1st base, too. With Youkilis out for the season now, the Red Sox front office has no choice but to play Lowell at 1st for most games. The Sox will be better for it. Tonight they beat the Yankees in their own park. A very good Friday night.

Photoshop CS5 – “Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, oh yeah.” Ok, this isn’t perfect, but it took less than 3 minutes. Think what you could do if you really devoted some time to it.

Weather – Man, it’s been a brutal summer. We had a decent day today and tomorrow is supposed to be ok, but starting Sunday and all the way through next week we’re expecting temps in the mid- to upper-90s with killer humidity. Bring on autumn, already.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Red Sox Management – Enough with the AAA guys and trying to reclaim has-beens. Get some real pitching, please.

Cadillac, MI – We’ve been here several times before, but this is my first visit in the summer. The town is totally different. All decked out with flowers and very much alive with festivals and folks walking around and lots going on at the lake. The weather has been perfect, too.