2 Tb drives are cheap now

Very cheap. Went to Harvey Norman to get another WD external hard drive. Since the advent of Windows 8, 3 Tb and USB3 drives are the sought after items, so the 2tb drives USB 2 drives are dropping in price. Since one of my external drives is 500gb, I felt it was good time to replace it, as it's almost full. Shifting things from it as I type this out. When all has been moved from the old drive, I will format it, and then use it to make a new system image back up.

Decided to collate photos a bit more. Been making subdirectories (ie Birds\Parrots, Birds\Honey Eaters, Birds\Waterbirds etc) to make searching and filing a bit easier.

Sort of productive day

Stopped in at K-Mart and got a two items for the "Wishing Tree". Went pillaging, but not too much, as I have a pteradon due to come in on Monday. What I did notice, though, is I'm not as over this cold as I thought I was. Just a few hours out and about, and it wiped me out.

Still have next to no appetite. Just having one small meal at the end of the day.

Managed to get all the Giftmuss presents wrapped and labeled.

So, I've tucked myself into bed, comfy pillows, laptop set up on 'bed tray' and disc 2 of Downton Abbey. (Oooo Miss O'Brien is such a bitch!)

The World didn't come to an end

No one flung off the surface of the planet, no earth shattering kaboom, not even a spilled salt shaker. Just the celestial cycle starting over again after it's path being well charted by the Mayans.

But I do have one helluva nasty cold. Been fighting with sore throat, fever, and exhaustion. Exhaustion is mostly because I can't sleep. I tried to rest yesterday after getting up at 4am, but when Loki heard me get up and he was all purr purr headbump, meow. Found myself falling asleep sitting up and figured that was a good time to go lay down.

No sooner did I start dozing off the phone rings. It was Wing. *sigh* At least he was apologetic for waking me up. You would think that after 12 years marriage, he would remember "She's sick, she will be resting"

Forced myself to stay up late enough so I wouldn't wake up at 3am... didn't help. I woke up shortly after 3 am, still feeling like crap.

Dear Mr Huckabee;

I don't often address politicians directly, but in this instance, I felt it was necessary.

20 beautiful babies, and 6 dedicated teachers were slaughtered in an Elementary school. What was your reaction/comment? "We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we've systematically removed God from our schools." As if that wasn't bad enough, when you were asked "Well, what about shootings in churches? Prayer and God's in those." you immediately jumped tracks and blamed birth control.

Mr Huckabee, you are one of the lowest of the low. You are a religious hypocrite, and a media whore. You don't give one hoot in hell about those innocent children and brave teachers, you just want to score some sort of face time on television, with those inane talking heads of Fox.

You should be ashamed of yourself, in the same amount I am sickened by you. You claim to be an upstanding Christian, but your words and actions show you're anything but a Christian.

Again, you should be ashamed of yourself for your cruel, self-promoting self-serving statements, but you won't be. You are filled with pride and self righteousness, which if I recall are supposed to be 'sinful'. So, I say to you, Mr Huckabee, fuck off and die.

The New Tamron 24 - 70 vs Canon 24 - 70 MkI

I have already tested the Canon Mki vs the MkII . Now it was time to compare the MkI with the New Tamron 24 - 70.

Both these image sections were cropped from an image taken at f/2.8, ISO 400, 1/200 sec exposure, auto focus, taken at the same spot and same distance, under fluro lighting, no flash. No editing or adjustments were made. The results were remarkable.


The Canon 24 - 70: The very middle of the image is as sharp and clear as one would like it... but what shocked me was how much blur there was. The smaller lettering blend into each other




Tamron 24-70: Sharper overall, more detail. The lettering that was very soft and illegible in the Canon MkI images, are clear enough to read. Mild purple fringing (easily corrected in camera raw) but all in all a better image.




If you're trying to decide whether to upgrade your Canon 24-70 L Series MkI with the Tamron 24-70, you won't be disappointed.

Next test I want to try, is the Tamron 24-70 vs Canon 24-79 MkII, to see if it's worth shelling out an extra $1200

Oh reeeallly?

After being told by Adobe Forum 'techs', those who say they are expert with Adobe Photoshop/Bridge, that there was something wrong with my computer. That was their pat answer. That the problem was something wrong with my computer, or something I was doing wrong.

Schadenfreude: that is what I felt when I found hundreds of others having the same problem with Adobe CS6 Bridge being glacially slow. Computers with more memory than mine, same amount, Mac, PC, all having the same problem. I had a double dose of Schadenfreude when I saw one of the very people who said it was something wrong with me and mine having the same problem!

Please, someone get them a thesaurus!

Now, I'm not a professional writer and I do have a habit of repeating certain words, especially at the start of sentences. However, when professional writers, or speakers for that matter, keep reusing..no overusing phrases and terms, not only does it show lack of imagination, but laziness.

1: "Gate" - tacking the word 'gate' at the end of every scandal, real or imagined. The name of the hotel was Watergate. That doesn't mean every f**king scandal needs to have the word gate. Find another, for shits sake, there are plenty out there.

2: "So-Called" - majorly misused when "self called" or "self styled" would be the appropriate term.

3: "Tropes" - during a discussion panel with two prominent authors, the word "Trope" was used 37 times in one hour. The irony of the overuse of this word is not lost on me.

These three are my biggest bugbears. And this list is subject to additions and changes without notice.

That went very well

It was Wing 's Mumble-ty Mumble-ty birthday yesterday. He tried to let it sneak by, but I announced to family and friends that it was, and it resulted in a flood of birthday wishes.

After he went to work, Alan and I wrapped his present, and I prepared ingredients to make a lime/coconut cheese cake. Picked limes off the tree, grated the lime peel, squeezed the limes and proceeded to use my birthday present, Sunbeam Stand Mixer, and got busy making this:





I had jokingly asked him what did he want for dinner. "Satay chicken of SahTAY chicken?". He said "Surprise me!". Far be it from me not to 'obey', I called a local Chinese restaurant and ordered some home delivered take out.

Wng came home, and found the dining room table all decked out with a luscious meal, a gift, and we indulged him for the evening. :) All in all, it was a great night.

Why aren't our cats naked?

Yesterday I vacuumed, and filled the bagless container. Emptied it, took out the filter, cleaned that one and set it up to dry. Put another filter in, and vacuumed again today. I swear, I had even more cat fur in it! I swear I could knit them sweaters from the fur pulled out of the carpets and rugs.

Why aren't they naked?

I* figured out the copy/paste problem with Windows 8

After getting the constant "It must be something you're doing wrong" or "Must be something wrong with your hardware", "You must have incompatible software" or suggestions of doing a 'clean install'.

The process of making note of everything that is installed, having to deactivate software, and do a 'clean install' wasn't an option, as the time it would take would make restoring the Windows 7 system image a better option.

But, what I did was this:

Uninstalled all the Windows 8 Updates. Copy/Paste/Move files worked. Uninstalled CFiShellToys. Rebooted. Copy/Paste worked.

Then I reinstalled Win8 updates, no more than 3 at a time. Sometimes just 1 if it was a large one. With every Windows Start up, I copied/moved a test file. When it succeeded, I would install another update. Repeat.

I then re-installed CFiShellToys, restarted. Copy/Paste/Move worked.

All I can figure is one or more of the Windows 8 updates screwed something up, or was corrupt. I'm a bit smug about the fact that it wasn't something I was don't incorrectly, or the fault of already installed software.

Modern Snake oil sellers

Just saw an advert for yet another "Make you younger" beauty product/potion. The language is ambivalent at best. "With immediate perceived results!", and then it pans out and shows a girl who might be 12 or 14 years old, followed by voice over "Younger looking skin"

What? fetal?

Funny reply on Twitter

I posted that I was >.< this close to restoring the Windows 7 full back up I made 15 mins before upgrading to Windows 8. I got reply "Don't do it! :-S I've found I like 8 much better than 7 once you get used to it. Happy to talk offline about your copy issue."

I could get used to having only one leg. Doesn't mean I want just one leg. Will take him up on his offer to help with Copy/Paste problem.

You know you've watched too much "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" or "Angel" when...

I got into the habit of using the old desktop/monitor set up as mirror, but the 'mirror' is on the other desk now. So, I was squinting at the monitor, wondering why I couldn't see reflection, and the first thing that came to mind was "I've suddenly become a vampire?"

Never let it be said that Loki misses opportunities

Loki takes full advantage of the new desk set up.





He still likes yogurt.

Don't know why it didn't dawn on me earlier to do this

Actually, it did cross my mind a few times, but not long enough for me to have actually give it more than a passing thought.

I moved the all in on desktop over to where the external monitor was, and put the monitor on the desk. Since video playback is watched on the right, and the desktop is faster to play, and has better playback, it's a better placement. Also, the monitor is non-glare, which makes doing photo editing a lot easier on the eyes. And since the monitor isn't a touchscreen, no more Loki jumping onto the desk and tapping screen with his body or tail, messing things up.

Bonus: with the things shifted.. turns out there's more open desk space.

I think it's just about done.

There were a few hiccups setting up Windows 8. I got some assistance from on a "get me the hell past that gawd awful tiled start screen" program actually worked. It was on the list, but I had a ways to get there. Got that set up. Having a tiled start screen works great if your computer is a touch screen machine, but is a right useless pain in the ass if you don't.

Downloading Driver Updates: The downloads were fine, but what was annoying is there is an order in which certain ones have to be installed.

I have to say this: it does load faster than it did with Windows 7. Don't get me wrong, Windows 7 is great. Have it on my big desktop and won't be upgrading it under the auspices of "If it ain't broken, don't fix it!" I upgraded the laptop because the $15 upgrade price.

All programs I had running on Win7 run fine on Win8. I do get these little nags pop up when I use one my programs the first time, rather than one of the Win8 native programs. There is a big stink about Win8 not having DVD playing software, but if you see the majority of the notebooks that have Win8 pre-installed don't have DVD/Blu Ray drives. There are some good freebies for playing DVDs (I like TheKMPlayer. Been using it ever since CinePlayer was no longer usable due to OS upgrade) and also, my laptop already had PowerDVD installed. What I find funny is I still get the nag screen about not having a player when I insert a DVD. I also have TotalMedia Player that I use as TV receiver (annoyance factor 5: the stations scanned while using Win7 no longer 'configured', have to go through the whole mess again).

Windows Media Center isn't included, but for a short time will be free. After Jan 31st 2013, it will be a whopping $10. Still, making people pay for something that has been a freely available as a download is a bit of a cash grab.

Another thing: if you have a program that's hanging, and you use Task Manager to end process, guess what? It actually ends it without having to reboot the system.

Customization: Now that was a bit trickier. I had gotten used to how to set permissions, and how to dive into the Win7 Registry and what to look for and change, but some of the architecture has been changed. It's so similar but just enough different that it's confusing. Luckily, someone has already done the hard yards and have posted on Windows8 forum.

Is it better than Win7? That depends on your definition. Personally, faster start up, easier shutting down of hanging programs are good, but Win 7 has it's pluses over Win8. So, if Win 7 works for you, keep it. If you're obsessed by the latest and maybe greatest, go for it, but be prepared for at least 2 full days of frustration.

Reason #1 to restore Win 7 revised

After some more research, and a helping hand from Daniel Jones by way of a link, I tracked down the beta version of Windows 8 compatible AMD driver.

This was a big issue for me, if I can't use photo editing tools, and you use your laptop as a portable photo lab, having a problem with OpenGL and graphics driver is a bad thing.

Reason #1 to restore Win 7

I knew there were to be drivers to be updated and was fully prepared for that. What I wasn't prepared for is this:

Went to the AMD site to get updated Win8 driver for my laptop. Got error that my laptop was incompatible, and to go to computer manufacturer site to download driver from them.

Ok, off I go. I go all through the typing in Make, model, and scroll through the drivers. The only driver they have listed there is for Intel, not AMD. Whohuhwha..?

Without the right graphics driver, most of my Photoshop tools don't work because I can't use the graphics processor!

I have emailed Sony.... but seriously, I'm so glad I made a full system back up yesterday, because if this issue isn't rectified soon, VERY soon, I will be restoring my to yesterdays system image.

That was mostly painless

I made a full system back up of my Sony Vaio laptop. When that was complete, I got my very low priced Windows 8 upgrade. It's installed easy enough, but I have to say the new desktop... it made my eyes want to cross. And why is it when Microsoft has something good, they get rid of it in the next incarnation of Windows? Right now, the boarders around program windows are right out of Win3x.

Stability seems to be ok, but it seems to take longer to load than Win7 did.

I find it funny that I get a new OS, and I move heaven and earth (or registry settings) to not make it look like it's 'new and improved' version. Yes, I am a creature of habit, and prefer to have a specific layout.

Now, if I can get the Aero/Glass theme back again, I'll be happy.

I have a friend in the US

She is somewhat of a loner, and life hasn't been all that kind to her. I spotted her wish list on Amazon dot Com. I'm very tempted to make Giftmuss a good one for her.

She'll get mad, or think I want something from her (which I don't). I just want her to have something to smile about for a change.

In an age where tech support ...

Is pretty much some person, or program, searching for a term or two, then giving you an answer that has nothing to do with what you asked about (ie Seagate concerning their new larger drives) it was refreshing to actually have tech support do their job.

I have Norton Ghost 15. Every time I tried to run a back up the past day or so, it would fail. No matter what I tried, it failed. So, today, I logged into Norton Live Chat. After asking my permission, I allowed him to remotely log in, and run Norton. I cleared out old jobs at his request, and then he set up some options in Norton, and told me to start a back up.

Lo and behold, it worked. Back up in progress. Gonna take several hours, but that's the price of larger hard drives.

The sucky thing is that Ghost and Windows 7 back up are limited to 2tb drives only. You can use 3tbs for data storage, but not to make system images. Since many major computer stores are having big sales on 2tb drives due to the advent of Windows 8, might be a good time to go get a few to replace the 1tb drives.

Having to go around my @$$hole to get to my elbow

That was something my grandmother used to say when you had to do something convoluted to get a small job done.

The makers of OnOne photoshop plugins have decided in their (dare I say) wisdom to stop supporting some of their PS plugins that works great. But how they stopped supporting it is the reason for the subject line.

Plugin worked great with CS5 Extended, but 32 and 64bit. First it was PhotoTune 3, then it was included in PhotoSuite 5x. When they decided to update to PhotoSuite 6x, it was no longer included. That was ok because if you had it installed from 5x it would still function. Then PhotoShop CS6 came out. OnOne chose to discontinue PhotoTune and PhotoTools for 64bit(big big mistake there), and replaced it with something that wasn't anywhere near as good as the two tools they got rid of. Still worked/installed on the 32 bit.

Well, this just would not do, but all I have on my laptop of CS6E. What I had to do, was install CS5E 64bit on my computer, just to install PhotoTune and PhotoTools for CS5E 64 bit, then copy the files over to the OnOne plug in directory in CS6E 64 bit. Lo and behold OnOne tools working.

This will work for anyone, but just make sure you copy the 64bit to 64 bit. I've done it on 3 computers, all working. Wing can attest to that! (PhotoTune 3 is one plugin for photo editing portraits he relies on)

Ok, what dipwit decided this was a good thing?

I want to get the memory on desktop boosted from 8gb to 16gb. On advice from Acer Rep, I decided to get an external hard drive, specifically for using to make a system image. So not to be caught short, I got a Seagate 3tb drive.

Arrived, was unpacked and set up, setup.exe run, all suitably set up. So, I started running Windows 7 back up. Appeared to be working, then failed. Thinking that maybe I had something running that was screwing it up, I shut everything down, and just had the back up running. It failed again. Tried using Norton Ghost with it, and same problem.

So, I did a websearch, and found out why it kept failing. Seagate, in their infinite wisdom, decided to cripple the drive in some odd way to prevent it from being used to make a full disc image. I would really like to know what moron, what dipwit, decided this was a good thing.. and then give him/her/them a good beating with a NERF® bat, because unlike Western Digital, they didn't bother providing software for the problem of how back up software handles large drives.

So, here I am, copying all my photos from the small external, over to the big one first. Only going to take 18 hours (plus or minus). Then I will move the small stuff so I can format the drive, and then use that one for the full system back up.

All because some daffy bastard thought that making sure a large external hard drive could NOT be used for creating a back up.

Feeling much better today

Still a bit on the lame side, but nowhere near as lame as I was yesterday.

Reason why: 3.5 hrs standing, not stop, in a cool/cold wind at a photo shoot. Got some great images, but standing in one spot, not moving really racks up my back.

I think the smartest thing I did last night when making dinner was make enough to have it again tonight.

Have to make this post

It's been a long wait for this date.

10-11-12

Hope it's a great one for everybody!

To all of those with their idiotic disaster predictions

Set your WayBack machine to November 2008. Senator Barack Obama was elected president. Suddenly we heard chants of redistribution of the wealth, will take our guns, will force sharia law, convert the US to Islam, and a bunch of even crazier prognostications.

Guess what? None of them happened. Wealth Distribution? The wealthy have gotten wealthier in the past 4 years. Guns? Not one gun has been taken from anyone. Sharia law? Seeing as it's against constitutional law, didn't happen, and neither was the the country converted.

A looming depression was prevented, and a recession was overcome. Was jobs lost? Yes. Recovery is happening, and even Mr Romney said it would 10 to 12 years to recover, but you all whine that President Obama didn't get it done in 4 years.

The man who orchestrated a devastating attack on the US was found, and is now dead. Something Mr Romney said wasn't worth moving heaven and earth to do.

The latest whacko predictions are the US is going to be invaded by Russia or China. Hogwash. If company CEOs have pissy fits because President Obama was re-elected and fires employees because of it, put the blame where it belongs.. on the shoulders of the CEOs.

It's time for you to put on your big boy/big girl pants, and grow the f&&k up and stop pouting that the two faced, swinging more than a weather vane in a hurricane, Etch-A-Sketch Mr Romney was soundly defeated, as were many Tea-Party politicians were.

Nuff said.

Insanity - Doing same thing over and over expecting different result.

The GOP has been running candidates that keep doing the same song and dance; coddle the wealthy, go after the middle class, the poor, senior citizens and women to make up for lost tax revenues. Their behavior is the definition of insanity. This time around, it was even worse with the blatant lies of the Romney campaign, the constant changing of stance on issues, sometimes within hours of pleging something. Telling women that getting impregnated by rape God's will, or just another form of conception.

Voting for President Obama wasn't voting to rely on the government. Taxes and government is what we deal with to have roads, running water, bridges, cities, education, military, electricity, fire and police departments, and a slew of other services. No one likes paying taxes, but if the tax burden is rightfully shared, it's not so onerous.

Social Security, Medicare aren't 'entitlements', as that connotates a hand out. No, they are earned benefits. Veteran's benefits are earned, not entitlements. And we are a nation that takes care of those in need, as in the survivors of Hurricane Sandy. F.E.M.A. isn't a hand out, or an entitlement, it's something our tax dollars pay for, that will even aid those who speak out against 'government entitlements'. A good education is something every child is entitled to get, paid for by our tax dollars, unless you're aiming for a generation of undereducated slave workers.

It's time for some people to realize that there is a bigger issue and world beyond what they can see out their window, and stop being so insular. Either that, or the next time you have a house fire, don't call the fire department, as that's a government funded by tax dollars aka 'socialist' organization. See how that works out for you.

Obama 2012 - 274 Electoral College votes

The party of Anti-Science, Anti-Intellectualism, Anti-intellect, sexism has been defeated. Also, much relief that the Koch Brothers and the other billionaires funding Mr Romney's campaign were shown that the Oval Office is NOT up for sale, nor is a Venture Capitalist presidential material.

The wisdom of the young

"Mom, no matter the election results you'll be glad. If President is re-elected, you'll be glad. If Romney is elected, you'll be glad you're living in Australia." Alan Joseph Pavlak (my son) 2012

Oh good, I won't have to replace so many after all.

Brought Ziggy outside to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine (she likes going out there but doesn't like the harness. But then she squalls just as much when we take it off. Silly moggie).

While I was out there, I decided to inspect the non working solar lawn lights. A whole bunch of them aren't working, so I brought out a screw driver, and my swiss army knife. I took some of them apart to inspect them. It seems that the one group have rechargeable coin batteries. No good, as the batteries would cost more to replace than the solar lights! Those shall be broken down for recycling. The others, their batteries were just old, and I think I was able to salvage 3 (maybe only 2, will have to wait for battery to charge up) out of the 4 of another group.

I will make a tally of how many come on tonight, and then decide on how many and which will be replaced.

Election Tampering up to date

So far, the GOP has been attempting to move heaven and earth to make sure their candidate sits in the oval office. They know that he can't win by fair means, and are doing all they can to make sure he get there by foul means.

So far, the GOP has (in no particular order):

Changed/restricted or gotten rid of early voting in districts that would favor democratic ticket. (One Republican politician bragged that they changed the PA voter laws so Romney would win the state.)

Engaged in voter intimidation. (GOP and TeaNuts harassing voters at the polls, making all sorts of demands, and just interfering)

Putting up signs saying show photo ID, and in itty bitty almost unreadable text "Voluntary not mandatory", but when people walk away not having the ID, not bothering to tell them, again, in areas that would favor Democratic candidates.

Voter suppression via illegal voter purges, or flat out lying to voters (example, telling voters in Wisconsin that if you've been convicted of a felony, you can't vote. Yes, you can if you've served your sentence, you are fee to vote)

Voter Fraud - Republican worker who works for company with strong ties back to Romney/Karl Rove was busted throwing away filled out voter registration cards. Another one was fraudulent voter registration forms submitted in Florida by a firm the Republican Party hired.

This is just some of the shenanigans the GOP is up to. Let's be real, if the Democratic party did any of these, the GOP would be exploding.

But what gets me about all of this is the blind eye the republican supporters seem to have. If this shit was done TO GOP supporters they would be screaming blue bloody murder! That's called "Hypocrisy". Learn the word, all those who are ignoring what the GOP and it's supporters are doing, because the word hypocrite is readily applied to you.

I don't like it when software manufacturers lie

Too often, makers of certain programs will flat out lie in order for you to buy their latest and often not so greatest.

Case in point: OnOne PhotoSuite5 with PhotoTune 3 would be upgraded to v6, but would not have PhotoTune. Ok, fine. Then we were told that PhotoTune wasn't compatible with CS6. Those of us who had it were told "This will no longer work with CS6 so you will have to upgrade!" OnOne also has on their website that PhotoEssentials 4 will not work with Photoshop Elements 11, so you have to get PhotoSuite 7.

Well, just for shits and giggles, I went through the laborious process of installing OnOne PS5, then the upgrade to 5.5, then 6 (hey, it was the way it had to be done, no short cuts) to CS6 (it automatically finds all compatible Photoshop versions). Tried it out, and and PhotoTunes didn't work. I went on an internet search, using the exact error message.

Imagine my surprise when I found out the only reason it didn't work was because it didn't install a critical file needed to launch the tools library. What do to, what to do. I copied the critical file from PhotoShop CS5 into the Photoshop CS6 directory, and three guesses what happened (and the first two guesses don't count). Worked perfectly.

Same thing with PhotoEseentials with PS Elements 11. I installed it, noticed there was one error with one file, so copied it from the PSE 10 directory, and now it works.

So, for shame OnOne for deliberately sabotaging your software in an effort to make people buy your latest.

And it only took 6 years

6+ years and two surgeries on me, and my attempting but failing to maintain the front and back yards, Wing has finally agreed to get a gardener to come out, clear out the weeds, and then maintain it once a month.

I guess my need to wear splints because of carpal tunnel on top of my back not being able to handle too much lifting, and the nausea/wanting to vomit when I stayed bent over (to pull weeds, pick up lemons that fell off the tree etc) finally got through. He won't help because (and he admitted this) doesn't like to get his hands dirty, but agrees it's not fair that it be left to me to keep up the weeding, the mulching, the cleaning/clearing etc.

You know you're well known by the AusPost

The wrist splint order from Amazon arrived today. Blessed carpal tunnel relief for both the left and right hand. But when the young man who is the regular delivery guy saw me, he asked "Photo shoot weekend?"

Me "Yes, how did you know."

Him "You look exhausted and sore."

Well, yeah. hehehehe

Pinnacles Photoshoot

Spent Saturday and Sunday at The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park

Part of the photos shoot were at the sand dunes.



Then we waited until full dark, and headed to the Pinnacles to do long exposures. Star Trails, FX using light poi, and hand held flash.



Then after getting to bed after 1am, we got up at 4 to get pre-dawn and sunrise photos at the Pinnacles.







There are many more but not going to flood the page. :)

A bit of denial on the part of CNN

According to CNN:

Poll: Edge goes to Obama: It was close, but Obama won the night with an aggressive performance and a couple of zingers.


The Quick Poll on the same page, just under this 'headline'



This is their definition of close? Or just truth challenged?

The one statement that spotlights why Romney is NOT Presidential material.

Mr Romney stated that the US Navy has the fewest ships it's ever had since 1916. Below is President Obama's rebuttal.

"I think Governor Romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works," President Obama said. "You mentioned the navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military's changed," he said.

"We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines," he continued. "So the question is not a game of Battleship where we're counting ships. It's: 'What are our capabilities?'" - President Barak Obama Oct 22, 2012

I have Carpal Tunnel

It's annoying, but easily dealt with via a wrist splint, ice, and ibuprofen. What is annoying is getting the proper wrist splint. I tried a 'thermoskin', but the velcro abraded my arm, and the material made me itch.

I did find a great one, Futuro Deluxe splint. It's comfortable, gives me full flex of my fingers and thumbs. But I need a 2nd one for when it needs to be cleaned/washed. Every pharmacy I went to no longer had the this one. I picked up a different one from same maker because the pharmacist said it could be that the one I wanted has been discontinued. I tried it for a week, but it doesn't give the same support.

So, I hopped onto the net. I checked their website, and the product hasn't been discontinued. Decided to shop online. Again, I was aghast at the price disparity. Here, in Australia: one splint costs $60 + shipping. I ordered two from Amazon. Their cost, including shipping: $45. If I had gotten one, it would have been $26. I'm willing to wait two weeks to save over 50%. Who wouldn't be?

I hate waiting for a delivery

I know it's coming. I checked the tracking and it's 'at the Perth Courier', and has been since 8am this morning. But I have things that need to be done, so Alan manned the waiting room (living room) while I got some errands done.

Hopped on my bike, first stop, Kardinya shops. Got new battery for my pendant watch, and repaired the broken chain. Then went into store and picked up a few needed items. Went to the pharmacy to see if I could wrangle up another wrist splint that didn't have the velcro digging into my arm. No joy. So got back on the bike, and headed to the South Street Pharmacy. The only one that was empty in the display was the one I was looking for. I discussed it with the pharmacist and she said that there's a good chance the reason I can't find the one I've been looking for for the past 2 weeks is that it was discontinued. So, I got it's replacement. Supposedly it's 'breathable'. What I want it for is when one splint is all sweaty from bike trip or other reason, I can take it off, put on another and wash it.

Came home to a slightly worried Alan. Because I decided to head to South Street Pharmacy, I was out longer than he expected. You have to remember, he has anxiety issues concerning bike riding. So, I've promised him that the next time I head to one place, and decide to go somewhere else, I will send him text message so there will be no panic involved. :)

Wow.. just two weeks.

On Sept 29th, I brought my 5DMkIII to Camera Electronic to be sent off to Canon Repair because of severe battery draining. Now, it couldn't be sent off until October 2nd. Wing called me today to tell me that Camera Electronic called and said my camera was back from Canon Repair. I don't know what the results are, but all I know is that batteries, when left in the camera for a week, would be totally drained. Here's hoping it's been seen to.

Yesterday, I tried to update the maps on my portable GPS. Downloaded the correct update file, and proceeded to installation. Started the GPS, and when I selected "Navigation", it would kick out a "Fatal Error". I tried downloading the update again, same fatal error. Tried with a different SD card. No joy. I posted on the GPS' brand forum, and faced the usual condescension. There are times, I'm tempted to create male personas on tech support forums, as it seems they can't get it through their heads that Female ≠ clueless! I ended up emailing the company, and after their totally ignoring the info in the email (I included model number, serial number, even included photo of the error message on the screen) I was asked what the model was... twice. But I got another email with a link to download the full program. Turns out that the update on their server was corrupt, and I was doing everything right. So, now my GPS is not only working, but updated also.

Made it this year!

I got all 5 of my entries in the CanonEOS Photo5

Here they are:

Open Brief - Wind



Portraiture - Spaghetti



Strong Color - Tissue Paper



Scale - Little People



Black and White - Fishing Wire




It was a challenge. Some of the items gave me fits trying to figure out what to do. One of them was especially difficult, because every time I tried to work with it, Ziggy would come out and try to play with it... the tissue paper. She was all "Ooooo MINE?" and shredded the pieces that World of EOS sent, sending me out to get some more. But overall, it really stretched my imagination.

Hey CNN? Have you become FAUX Noise?

CNN had a poll, asking viewers/visitors who won the VeePee Debate. CNN headlined that "Viewers say Ryan won at 48%, Biden at 44% (+/-5%)

Oh really? Quick Poll, taken on from their home page, screen capped several times, but with the same results.

According to CNNs own 'Quick Poll" V.P. Biden won



It's bad enough then FAUX News, a known GOP supporter, pulls this bull$hit all the time, but CNN was supposed to be above board. Note past tense.. was.

Got it done before it got too hot

Went for a bike ride today. Wasn't a very long one, not compared to what I typically do, but I decided to go the road more uphill. Felt good, but having to ride in a strong constant headwind is tiring. had my Helmetcam on and running.

I have three "Spaghetti" candidates for Canon Photo5. In one day I will tally the comments and upload the one that was chosen and/or commented on the most.

Don't feel quite right

Last night, I started having pain in my joints, my left arm especially. Woke up up at 1am, and I couldn't get back to sleep. Ended up taking some Mersyndol, and after 30 minutes, the pain was lessened enough for me to fall asleep. Next thing I'm being pestered by Loki around 8am. I guess he wasn't used to his human sleeping in so late. He even pulled the hair comb I had my hair bound up in to sleep in.

Got up, arm and other joints still sore, and I was still queasy, signally I was still dehydrated. Been drinking more than usual water, and the aches are easing.

Bets I had a bit of heat stroke yesterday?

Went to the Perth Royal Show

The heat almost got the better of me. Normally I like hot weather, but you typically have a gradual warm up, but no, not this time. Went from "OmigodINeedSweater" to "OmigodImsweating!". Wing said my face was sunburned when we were there, although I was wearing a wide brimmed hat keeping my face shaded. But I looked at my hands and they were fine. I started feeling nauseous and dizzy, even though I was drinking plenty of water. it was time to go.

Came home, and took off extremely soggy clothing and got into a tepid shower. 5 minute scrub/rinse with just cool water, and I felt 100% better. Looked at my face, and the 'sunburn' was gone. Wing is such a darling... he made a wonderful refreshing drink with freshly squeezed blood oranges, mixed with lemonade soda, and a splash of cloudy apple juice. Also quite a lot of ice! So nice.

Still, I feel as if I disappointed him by not being able to stay longer. *sigh*

Yay! Only took a week

Got through both Wing 's and my photos of the wedding. The biggest problem I had was keeping them in order. Turns out that Wing didn't have the time or date set right on either of the cameras he was using. Imagine how much fun I had going through and fixing that. Want the photos to tell a story, and also want it to be easier for the person making the photobook to put them in sequence.

I also impressed with with my "Mad Editing Skillz!". I don't mean "Photoshopping' as in smoothing skin, making men more muscular or thinner, or that, but seamless edits. One of the children at the wedding (as well as a few others) had hay fever and her nose kept running. So, I had to umm tidy that one up. Also, for some odd reason, Wing took the practice shot of an archway (with me in it describing to people how to stand to face Wing) perfectly, but when it came to the family portrait shots in there, he kept lopping off the top of the arch. Well, all the family portrait shots are in a nice arch. There were other things.

So, then I sat back and loaded them up as a slide show. I cast a very critical eye on them. Wow... impressive. Wing did question a few of my choices concerning his photos, until he saw that the ones that he thought were ok were blurry, or had a very unflattering look on one or more of the peoples faces.

Total count: 156 photos.

Note to self, ask Bob for some of his photos for the bride and groom. :)

Hopefully, it will be back in 4 weeks

A few months ago, I updated the firmware on my Canon 5DMkIII. Before the update, battery life was great. After the update, if I put a fully charged battery in the camera, and then put it in my gear back, when I went back to use it a week later, the battery was flat/dead. I found this odd, seeing as my 7D has been in the same gear bag for a month, with the batteries charged to full, and after a month, they were still at full strength.

I've charged the batteries, and left them out of the camera for a week, and they remain at full strength. Leave them in the camera, and they drain. Tried a brand new battery, same thing. I did find out there was a new firmware updated, so I flashed my camera's firmware to the new version, in hopes the problem had been rectified. No joy. *sigh*

So, I took my preciousssss to Camera Electronic, to have it shipped to Canon repair. Hoping I get a 4 week turn around, instead of the 6 week.

While I was at Camera Electronic, I got a video camera to use while riding my bike. I got it for two reasons. One, to give friends a 'tour' of my bike rides, and to record any problems I might have. Twice in as many months, when I've been out riding, I've had problems with dogs not on their leashes, or just now under their owner's control. I've been bitten, forced off a bike path, and the owners of said dogs just think it's cute. Now, I know there are bike riders out there who are rude, but I follow biking rules, stay on designated cycle lanes, and still almost get pasted by cars. So, I will have a video camera either on my bike helmet, or on handlebars.

The Babylon 5 Universe shrinks a little more

Fans of J. Michael Straczynski

I regret that I must convey the sad news that Michael O'Hare passed away today. He suffered a heart attack on Sunday and was in a coma until his passing this afternoon. This is a terrible loss for all B5 fans and everyone involved with the show wishes to convey their condolences to the O'Hare family. He was an amazing man..

Lime Trees aren't supposed to have freckles!

Did the weekly round of weeding and feeding all my potted plants. I got to my lime tree and was greeted with the fact that ants have set it up to their local aphid farm. Uh, no. Broke out the organic pesticide, sprayed the tree, including the trunk of it. Then fed the tree some really smelly plant food.

The pruning back of the fig tree worked a treat! The new branches are growing up not just out. Also, new branches on the pruned back ones.

The Star Jasmine has bud showing, so it got a good feed.

Last summer, even though I kept them in the shade and as moist as possible, the potted orchids didn't fare too well. I thought I had lost them all, but am please to say that some of the bulbs I thought were all dead are sprouting new blades. Still, one pot of them has nothing growing out of half of them. I'll probably transplant the survivors in a new pot. Also, if (maybe when) it gets that hot for that many consecutive day again, I will bring them indoors.

I survived my first Aussie Wedding shoot

It was one of the happiest wedding ceremonies in a church I have seen in ages. Very upbeat, no doom and gloom passages, but those with love and light. Wing was rather unsure of himself, although many have told him he could do this, but with my 'permission', we had Bob Litchfield (one helluva master photographer, and a good friend. My deepest thanks for all your support and advice. Muchly appreciated) ride shotgun. A bit of pre-game light tests, and we were ready to rock and roll.

Derek and Alexander were smiling so large, if it had been any wider, it would have met on the backs of their heads! Margaret was stunning. I know most people say that about brides, but she was just stunning. Julia was a beautiful bridesmaid and Anabelle.. seriously, she had to be cute, adorable and she was. Got many excellent photos in the church. I was complimented on my "Ninja Skills" of getting close in photos, but not being obtrusive.

Between Wing, Bob, and myself, I think we captured the moment, and moments, wonderfully.

No rest for the wicked, and we were off to the reception. Wing and I worked the room, getting photos of the beautifully decked out tables, the lovely flower arrangements, and then the guest seated at the tables. I managed to get some pretty good 'crowd reactions' from some of the speeches (Sorry, Alexander, that one of you is a keeper), and the wedding cake.

We kind of crawled into the house close to midnight, exhausted, but happy.

Now, the hard work begins.. in the process of transferring all the photos to the hard drive, to starts going through them. :)

More EF 24-70 MkI vs EF 24-70 MkII

Next test was seeing the difference between the two lenses using flash. Both images were taken with the 5DmkIII, ISO 50, f/4.0 1/320 a second.
The MkI does a good job, no doubt, but when compared to the MkII... The differences are clearly visible.


Softening of some of the details. Visible definition loss in the texture of the twine and fabric. The surface of the bells have lost some of their texture. There also appears to be color bleeding in the red areas into the yellow.



MkII - noticeable differences are the sharpness in the reflection in the lower of the two red rimmed mirrors. Also, the metal bells in this image are sharper. And the colors are more accurate, without blurring/bleeding.



There's no doubt that the MkII is a big improvement over the MkI. The improvements are clear when images are viewed side by side.

Canon EF 24-70 MkI vs Canon EF 24-70 MkII

I set up some items with bright colors and other items with textures. Some of the textures were obvious, others subtle. Made sure camera settings and where I was standing was the same for both series of test shots. I also took a photo of a grevillea shrub with both of the lenses, which to me was the decider.

EF 24-70 MkI


EF 24-70 MkII



The new lens, being 82mm vs 77mm means more light gathering is possible. Because of this, I did notice that the photos taken with the MkII were brighter, colors truer the subject and because of that sharper in detail, I also noticed that there was more differentiation in the shades of green on the images taken with the MkII. What struck me most was not only was the MkII visibly sharper, was the amount of chromatic aberration on the Original 24-70 vs the MkII

As you can see, the MkI 24-70.. this image selection is blurry, and has red/green chromatic aberrations.




MkII Not only is the image selection sharp and has zero aberrations.




Range of colors: Both of the original photographs had their levels adjusted the same amounts. What I noticed was the different shades of pink and the details in the MKii that was missing in the MkI.


MKl 24-70 - by comparison, the colors are flat. There is no shortage of chromatic aberrations.



MKii - More shades of pink, and the green grass isn't speckled with chromatic aberrations




The MkII is one helluva jump in Canon glass. It outperformed it's predecessor, hands down. Now, the only question is this: Is is significantly better than the new Tamron 82mm 24-70 to justify the higher cost?

Stay tuned! I will be hiring the Tamron to find out!

Gray hair and age are mutually exclusive

Getting early gray (silver actually) is a family trait. I spotted my first one at 15, and it was noticeable by others at age 17. My youngest son had his visible gray hair at age 11. Now anyone who knows what causes gray hair, it's just the amount of pigment at the base of the hair follicle. It doesn't all run out at the same time, which is why gray hair seems to 'creep' in strand by strand.

My gray hair is the little bit of hair that falls in front of my ears, and about ten strands on the right side of my forehead. Been there for years and years.

When I was in my late teens and in my 20, it was cool to have those silvery locks. In my 30s, it was still 'ok'. When I hit my 40s, not so much. it's not fair but if I was a a 40+ yr old man with gray locks, it would be called distinguished. But gray hair on a woman, we just get called 'old'.

So, I've taken to camouflaging the gray. I use something, an herbal mix that when applied, and left on for a while, changes the grays to 'highlights'. The bonus is it makes my scalp feel good, too.

I'm sure that in a time not too far in the future, before my head starts looking like nothing but 'highlights', I'm just going to let it go gray. But not just yet. :)

Veterinary Round up, 2012

It was that time of the year again, when all three Purr Kids had to get their check ups, and vaccinations. Keito saw me move the pet carriers and tried to hide. I kept telling Wing and Alan that he was in our closet, but no one listened to me until I shifted half of it out, and showed them where he was. Was a fight to get the boys, Keito and Loki, into the carriers.




Then, it was Loki with his LET ME OUT LET ME OUT yowling, and we were off to the vet.

All three awaiting their DOOOOM!



Ziggy doesn't seem too bothered. Maybe her recent trip to the vet prepared her for it?



Vet checks out the leg/foot she licked bald. Inflamation gone, fur growing back nicely. Weighs in at 3.5kgs



Onto Loki. For a cat who wanted out of his carrier, it was amusing to watch him steadfastly REFUSING to budge, even with the top of the carrier removed.



Nope, still not moving.. but he did growl.



He had to be taken out to be weighed (8.5kgs) And in a reversal of home, he couldn't wait to get back INTO the carrier!



Keito, the Mellow Man as usual, sits on the scale after his exam. 6.5kgs.



Glaring at the door because he can hear the dogs in the other room.




So, all are well, Keito, Ziggy, and Loki at their optimal weight. All vaccinated until next year

Well, that's good

Just came back from 3 month dental check up. Gums are much improved. Because of my teeth not being straight, there are issues with a few of them, cleaning issues, but overall things are looking good. Surprisingly the cleaning was near painless, would say just uncomfortable in a few spots, but overall easy to deal.

On the way to the dentist office, I was riding my bike and was coming up behind a man with a smallish dog on a leash. I rang my bell repeatedly, and the man coming towards me from the other direction heard me, but the man walking the dog didn't. The dog charged at man coming towards the dog walker, and I rang my bell again.

Getting no response, I started to get off my bike to walk it around him. But his furry jaw muscle saw me, charged at me and grabbed my left foot and bit hard. Luckily the teeth didn't go through the shoe. Just felt as if my foot had been squeezed in a vise.

I said a few umm naughty words and kept riding, as I did have an appointment. Didn't call ranger, as I would have been charged for the dental appointment if I had waited to file a report.

I don't why Wing would be so surprised

Before the "Great Disc Collapse", I was very much into astronomy. I would spray AeroGuard (bug repellent) on my legs and arms, then muscle my telescope with filters/tools, a small table and a laptop computer outside, and just study the stars, planets, comets, nebulae etc etc. I was just getting adept using the DSI when I landed in the ER due to disc collapse.

Well, although I am up and about, I can't get the telescope outside anymore. The motorized EQ5 mount is just too heavy for me to maneuver out the door. :(

So, I've been looking at telescope brocures. I've spotted two contenders. A Sky-Watcher 8 or 10inch Dobsonian, or a 6in Celectron Nextstar. They each have plus and minuses/.

The Dobs :
The Good: Easier to use, can be trundled around around as it's on a wheeled dolly. It's tall, so almost no stooping over to use the viewfinder.
The Bad: not too good for astrophotography, as long exposures mean with rotation of the earth, the 'scope can't track it. Yes, I know you can get a very expensive motorized dolly, but that negates the easy of use.

The Schmidt-Cassegrain:
The Good: Smaller barrel, easy dismantling, light weight construction, computerized tracking, so long exposures for stacking images will work. Can view deep space with more clarity
The Bad: more expensive, moving parts mean chances of breakdown, batteries needed.

I will be selling the telescope I can't use due to the weight of it. There's nothing wrong with it, other than it's too heavy for me since the back surgery. Barely used EQ5 Mount, all eyepieces. Would prefer to sell it locally, as shipping costs would be outrageous due to the weight!



Taken at just about every angle. It's in great condition, the mount is almost brand new. I used it about 4 times. 5inch objective, 900mm long.
















Might even throw in the Webcam I converted to be a CCD camera. :)

It's an interesting feeling

It's a really cool feeling to come across your own commercial photographic work.

Feeling a bit 'fragile' today

Might have to do with both the weather and the nice long walk through Perth Zoo yesterday. Jean did notice I was limping a bit but I didn't let it stop me from enjoying the day. So, all snugged up in freshly made up bed, under warm blankets. Have a DVD at the ready.

Ziggy is doing much better now. Doesn't seem to be compulsively licking her foot bald. Today, with Wing helping, Ziggy was 'supervising' us making the bed. That means with every different layer of sheet/blanket, we had to pick her up and put her on top of it. She was purring and seemed to be enjoying herself. Maybe Wing not waiting until she is yowling for his attention is working. :) She has always been a high maintenance cat, and she doesn't like to be ignored.

It's a toss up on which is stupider

Paul Ryan for saying Obama broke a promise to keep a GM plant open. Or the tea-bagger drones applauding him that refuse to remember that it was closed long before Obama took office.

GOP presidential campaign is a bucket load of false, seasoned with racist rhetoric, and garnished with flat out lies... AND they ostracize any honest republican who dares to call them out on their lies, or refuses to back up those lies.

Talk about art imitating life

Watched latest episode of "The Newsroom". I think I like this show as it rings true, and nails home some very valid issues.

Why has the states that have passed or in the process of trying to have passed, "Voter ID Laws" are all states where certain segments of the population won't vote Republican, and these ID laws prevent those segments from voting been allowed to get away with this? Republican drafted bills, republican passed, Republican Governor approved. Why isn't this being addressed even more vocally, louder, more often.

Why is the Tea-Publicans being allowed to buy this election by such underhanded, Un-American, methods.

Great weather for outdoor chores

So, today I weeded out my potted veggie/herb plants. Fed all of them, including the lime tree, fig tree, lillipilly and rosemary shrubs. I trimmed some branches of the fig tree, so it will grow upward, rather than out.

Weeded out all the gumtree seedlings sprouting in my potted lime tree. Then I noticed that the ants have set up aphids all over the blossoms/new fruit as if it was a frigging supermarket. Break out the organic bug spray and gloves. Much squishing where I could, spraying where I would end up tearing the blossoms off. After all the weeding, trimming, spraying, they all got a good watering (extra plant food for my rosemary, as it seems a bit scraggly)

Got a second wrist splint because the one I've been steadily using needs to be washed, and it takes a day or two for it to dry. I really don't want to have any setbacks on the improvement of carpal tunnel. Unfortunately, I couldn't find another one exactly like it. This one fits differently. It's taking some getting used to. Feels awkward, but I'm sure I'll get accustomed to it in due time.

You are forever among the stars now :( RIP

Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, dies at age 82.

(CNN) -- Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, has died, his family said Saturday. He was 82.

"We are heartbroken to share the news that Neil Armstrong has passed away following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures," Armstrong's family said in a statement.

Armstrong underwent heart surgery this month.

I will always remember as a child staying awake to watch you take those first steps onto the lunar surface.

RIP, Mission Commander Armstrong, you are now and forever among the stars. Thank you for inspiring humanity to look beyond what they could only see from their window.

Just when I was thinking about tossing them

Ziggy has decided to revisit and use the Cubby Cubes.



At least with her curled up in it, we know she isn't licking any spots on her leg until they're bald. :)

Oops, i went and did it this time

I think I annoyed my stepfather when I called bullshit on his "Obama making free speech a felony". He just sent me an email "Paul, Rachel and the kids are having the time of their lives in Hawaii."

That's his none to subtle way of saying "Paul told me he hasn't called you."

Wasted effort on his part as I wasn't expecting Paul to actually call me.

My step father keeps forwarding me emails whose source of information is FAUX NOISE. This time, it was some folderol about the Obama administration making free speech a felony. Of course FAUX said don't bother to check SNOPES or any other fact finding groups.

My step father keeps forwarding me emails whose source of information is FAUX NOISE. This time, it was some folderol about the Obama administration making free speech a felony. Of course FAUX said don't bother to check SNOPES or any other fact finding groups.

Why did FAUX say don't look it up? Because not only was it bullshit, but it also earned the "It's a lie" level of PANTS ON FIRE.

Next time he sends me another one of these Obama is a socialist emails, I'm going to tell him he had better stop taking his Navy Pension, then, because the Navy (all military, actually) is a socialist organization, and that he's sucking money from a socialist fund.

Now that the antiseptic wipes have been used, and wounds treated...

We gave Ziggy a bath, to clean the fur on the irritated leg. Unfortunately, Wing is a bit too tenderhearted when it came to hold her ( I showed him how to grip her front feet so she could get no leverage or scratch, but he didn't do it. She tagged him on the right side of his face, missing his eye, but snagging his lip. Cleaned, treated and all good.). I managed to clamp my arm over her, keeping her pinned to my side while leaving her back legs in the warm water to be laved with gentle soap, Ziggy squalling and complaining for all she was worth.

Plucked her out of the water and thrust her at Wing. He was ready, and wrapped her up in my terry cloth robe. I gave her a brisk rub down. During that, she managed to YOINK herself out of the cone. She got away by getting under the bed.


While she was under there, I attended to Wing's and my wounds.

I broke out what I had been holding in reserve; a pristine piece of plastic wrap for her to slobber over. She came out from under the bed and proceeded to get up on the wardrobe. We got the step ladder out, got her down, patted and petted, and put the cone back on. Hated do that to her again, but the last thing we need to do is have her lick that area raw again. She has sort of forgiven us. She is not hiding under the bed, has come to sit in this room with me and is enjoying a bit of a nosh.

Yes, I know my posts have been Ziggy-centric

But when you have a pet that is stuck in a cone (she still looks like a furry nautilus when walking backward) you kind of have to be a bit more umm in attendance. Shortly before 5am, I feel itty bitty feet walking up the back of my leg. Those steps ended on my butt, where she decided was a nice soft warm spot to sleep.

Her healing leg is itchy as all get out. Poor thing sticks her leg out and licks the inside of the cone. We take mercy on her, and gently clean the area was a warm wet cloth, and give it a big of a soft not abrasive rub. It seems to help.

So, small 4.5kg (not quite 10lb) kitty got me up before 5am.

Poor little muffin

Ziggy is still in the "CONE OF SHAME". But I have to say her back leg is looking much better. It's no longer red and inflamed. It's 'skin' colored with signs of healing aka flaky dry. And now it's obviously itchy as all get out. Wing and I noticed her trying lick it through the cone. So, we took mercy on her, and gently rubbed the area, and also washed it with warm water. She seemed much relieved.

In a few days, we should see fur starting to grow back, and when the happens, we will remove the cone. If she starts it up again, back comes the cone. That and a small bottle of rescue remedy to chill her out.

She's back in the Cone of Shame again

Now instead of rubbing chin raw, she has licked her back leg until she made a bald spot again. Instead of fighting with her to get some foul tasting topical ointment on it, which we have to catch and manhandle her to get done, it's the cone.

We've taken her to a vet, and there is no skin problem, or parasites. It's become a habit with her, and by using the cone/collar, we will try to break the habit.

Gardening done for today

Took my brand new weed trimmer and assaulted the overgrown weeds. Two battery recharges, three rounds and one blade change. Solar lawn lights are visible now and finally getting recharged. My hands and lower arms are sore from the vibrations of the trimmer, but a good friend suggested I get foam lined gloves to help mitigate it.

Ziggy managed to get the side door open, and snuck outside. I get up, look and spot the door opened about 3 inches. first thing that ran through my mind was "Oh $hit." I go outside, look to the left and there she is, standing in the middle of the potted lemongrass. I scooped her up (of course she squalled) and brought her inside.

I sat down, and watched her. She jumped off the sofa and headed to the side door. So, I got up quietly and watched her. She grabbed the lock peg on the bottom of the door, and pulled. Be damned if the door didn't start opening. I shooed her off, and checked the door. We have to make sure the door is fully seated in the door frame from now on, and we are planning to get her a belled collar with a name tag. It's not that we aren't being careful, it's that she is just that intelligent and sneaky. :)

That went well

About 2 months ago, on my way back from the dentist office, my bike and I took a fall due to uneven pavement (undermined from the torrential rains we had had for almost a week).

Today, the weather was nice, warm, and clear so I got my bike out, dusted it off, checked the tires and chain, grabbed my bike helmet and went for a ride. I didn't go far or for too long, just a few meandering laps of the neighborhood. Was I nervous about it? Oh hell yes. And that little idiot who decided to turn in front of me while he was driving his little ramped up 4 cylinder car didn't make things any less nerve-wracking.

I was able to work the hand brakes, and shift gears, so this is good. Was worried that the carpal tunnel would make it difficult or too painful to squeeze the calipers, but no problem. So, this means I can get back on my bike riding regimen. Yay!

It's not only the plans of mice and men that don't work out

Because of being on short rations of down time the past few weeks, I set out to get to sleep early last night. Got ready for bed early, warm jammies, nice dark room, relaxing atmosphere. Snugged up under the warm blankets.

Not two minutes after I was comfortable, my left leg was twitching with pins and needles from the hip to toes. I tried shifting in hopes that it was pressure related. No such luck. So I get up and walk around a bit until it abates. Back into bed, only to have it start up again. I had one twitchy leg, and one very annoyed by the twitching leg annoyed cat.

I know the twitching/pins and needles is actually a 'good' sign that the once damaged nerves are growing back, but why does it have to start when I'm trying to go to sleep?

It is helping

Been wearing a wrist splint for about a week to help with carpal tunnel. It's helping. I'm not having the numbness in my thumb and two fingers, and the feeling of having my palm skewered is muchly diminished. But the splint does make doing some things a bit awkward as it prevents the wrist from flexing.

Ziggy no longer wears the CONE OF SHAME. The spot on her chin has healed and is in no danger of ripping it open when she scratches. And like the last time she was in the cone, she is a bit more mellow and needy. Sure beats her snooty diva-ish behavior. :)

Seems to be set up now

Finished setting up my Sony Vaio. It's stripped down version (software-wise) of my desktop. I can use it as portable photo preview/editing machine, and to use it for travel. I did shut off the back lit keyboard, though. I know in dim situations it will come in handy, but don't need it on all the time.

There is an art exhibition at the PopUp Gallery in Subiaco, and yours truly has some of her photos on exhibit there.

Been a long week for me. Prepping for photo shoot, 6+ hr photo shoot, then processing the images. I was hoping to get 100 processed images, but I forgot to factor in that I would be making panoramas of 7 to 10 images, thereby cutting back the full amount of photos. Would like to go back to the school and get some more photos of the staff and volunteers. Will see about arranging that.

Well, Night all... not to be mistaken with Nytol.

The Joys of Setting up a computer

Yes, saying in a sarcastic tone of voice.

With my Acer laptop constantly overheating and shutting down it was inevitable that it would end up getting replaced. What my biggest issue is now is reinstalling software that has limited activations. I have emailed support to two of them, getting iffy results so far.

I emailed support for Nik Software. It's not like I planned for one Acer Desktop to be replaced by a new model, thereby making my disc image totally useless. Also, it's not like I planned to have the laptop have self destructive overheating problems. I got rather lackluster response from them, so I called the local (Australia) number. He rather liked my comment about if I was trying to rip em off I sure as hell wouldn't be giving them my real name, phone number ect etc. He said he will look into it right away.

Moving on:

OnOne software: I have 4 of their products. I provided them with the order numbers, my email address, all the pertinent information.
Photo Suite 6.1
PhotoTools 2.6
Photo Essentials 4
PhotoTune 3.07

They reset activation for ONE of them. *headdesk*

Yet another unwanted fashion acessory

I've been having problems with my hands. Started with my left hand, numbness/tingling in the thumb, index finger and middle finger accompanied with pain. I would notice it first thing in the morning, but it seemed if I gave my hand a brisk shaking, it would go away, so thought nothing of it. Then it started to happen during the day. So, I started babying that hand, and using my right hand more often for things.

My left hand did get better... then I started having the same problems with my right hand. Thumb, index and middle finger tingling, and pain. I used to have this issue when I was in the US.. Ye Olde Carpal Tunnel's ugly head has risen up again.

Sporting a wrist splint on my right hand/wrist now. I could feel the relief almost instantly, as it keeps me from overflexing my wrist, thereby keeping pressure off the medial nerve. People with hypothyroidism are more prone to carpal tunnel, so not overly surprised it happened again.

Just annoyed that I have to wear it over sleeve of shirt because the straps have Velcro from beginning to end, so abrades on the skin where the splint doesn't overlap. Butwith luck, should only need it for a few weeks and then after that only when I'm sleeping to prevent bending the wrist under the pillow.

R.I.P. Sally

Sally Ride, first American woman in space, dies

(CNN) -- Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space, died Monday after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer, her company said. She was 61.

Ride, Sally Ride.. R.I.P.  You inspired two generations of women/girls and showed the world that the skies are NOT the limit.

Sorry, Ziggy.. I'm just a silly human

Ziggy has been stress licking her back foot again. I think it's because of the pecking order 'argument' between her and Loki. He hasn't hurt her or anything, but she definitely knows she's 3rd in line.

This morning, she was pawing at what I thought was her cat toy on the sofa. I obliged and played. She would chase it around, then go away. I put said toy back on the sofa. She kept jumping back on the sofa, and pawing again. Then this silly human noticed she was actually pawing at the harness and leash. I picked it up, and she jumped down to the floor, but didn't run away.

I walked to the side door, and said "You want outside?" like I do with Loki and Keito. She walked up to the door. I slowly bent over and clipped on the harness. She complained about it, but when I opened the door, she trotted out, announcing to the world that QUEEN ZIGGY WAS IN ..err OUT OF THE HOUSE! She proceeded wander around, sampling young grass shoots for about 15 minutes

She is now all curled up on top of the cat tower, looking rather relaxed. :)

Done and dusted

Took a large bag of clothes to The Red Cross in Willagee. I'm sure it will all be put to good use. I also picked up a small square cut vase that can hold more than one flower.

So, part one of the Scaled down "Bonfire of the Vanities" has been finished. Now, I have to get Wing to do his closet. I'm quite sure there are many items that could be tossed and not missed. He does tend to hang onto things until they're threadbare, although he has been good at tossing out somethings, mostly if there are body parts poking or falling out. *chuckle*

Finally finished with that

Spent the week, yes the week, cleaning out two closets. It's not just sorting through clothes, tossing out old tatty stuff, bagging to be donated items, but it's the laundry. Things get musty smelling just from not being moved around. My legs are sore as all get out from doing deep knee bends over and over.

So now, I have another bag half filled with "to be thrown away" , and one over filled bag of "to be donated" items. Next, Wing is going to have to do the same thing on his side of the closet. I'm not going to, because I don't want to end up tossing something out that he wanted to keep.

So, I decided to start my Babylon 5 marathon. One particular episode, "Mind War", really chaps my ass. Not the episode itself, as it's well written and acted. What chaps my ass is this: If Jason Ironheart was such powerful Psi-entity, he should have not only discovered Talia Winter's sublimated Psi Corp created personality, he should have discovered it and expunged it. I know it's silly, but it's a huge plot fuck up, in my opinion.

Well, that's one down

Have been doing a scaled down "Bonfire of the Vanities", but without the fire. Cleared out one corner of the bedroom, throwing away lots of things. Then, I delved into the standing wardrobe. Anything I haven't worn in a year or more, and is in great condition (no rips, no stains etc) have been bagged up to deliver to either Good Sammies ro St Vinnies. I want to deliver them during business hours, as there have been greedy charity bin divers stealing donations and then selling them at their "Op Shops". Have one large plastic garbage bag filled with things to be trashed, and one with things to be donated.

I still have one more closet to get but by comparison, it's small job. I am tired though, and back is more than a bit sore. Probably from having to vacuum over and over from dust and lint that came out of the wardrobe and clothing. This was long overdue, and glad it's more than half done.

Aw crap, I have to go cook dinner now. (slump)

Actor Ernest Borgnine dead at 95

A fixture in Hollywood, and icon of my childhood has left. Although I'm saddened by his passing, 95 is a good long run. R.I.P., Mr Borgnine, and thank you for all the laughs, tears, and drama through your acting career. You were a class act, and have left a legacy by means of your films and TV shows.

It's a work around but it does work

Adobe Bridge for CS6.. to say it runs slow would be an understatement. Everytime you launch it and open any folder, even if it's one you just got through working in, it takes an inordinate amount of time, as if all the images are newly imported and need to be indexed. Each and every time. I have posted about it on the Adobe Forums, and of course the guys there insisted it was something I was doing wrong. That is until others started posting about the same problem.

The work around is this: Launch CS5 bridge first. Then launch CS6. And even when I open a CR2 file for my Canon, the most updated Adobe Camera Raw opens. A bit convoluted, but it does work.

Must set up a script in yLaunch.

The reasons I want to keep him

Wing knows I'm a bit.. lamed from volunteering at SupaNova 2012. I know I'm not supposed to stand for hours on end, but ... that is what ended up happening. Was fun, not as good a con as I had hope, but ok. Too many new rules and regs for con goers, or just different. I got asked about it a lot, but hey.. I was just a willing con-slave.

My new bagless cyclonic 'sucky things' aka vacuum cleaners arrived. A Dyson hand held for small jobs, and a stand up one I just got from Catch of the Day. I used it on the runner in the front entry way, and the kitchen. Egads, the amount of crud .. I could have made a "Crud Puppy". heh.

Wing is sweetly cooking dinner. I did do the dishes and vacuumed, albeit rather stiltedly and slow. I'm sure I'll recover.. just a matter of how fast. :)

I like FireFox as my main browser

I have for years. But for the past two 'updates' to 12 and 13 have really sucked! When my browser/computer grinds to almost a halt, and I start task manager and see that FF is using 2.6 gb (no, not a typo) of memory, and there is only one page open, that is one helluva memory leak!

I do have Chrome on my computer, but there are certain tools I have in FF that just aren't there in Chrome, so switching to just Chrome isn't an option. So, I downloaded earlier versions, and have 'down graded'. So are, no humongous memory leak. Yes, I know there were issues with previous versions, and all the FF support people go on and on about the problems with earlier versions, but the issues with the current version makes downgrading the right option .

Big H.T. to Alan

With must assistance from Alan, we got the pool emptied and hosed out, two ground covers cleaned, one hanging on the clothes like, the other already folded up and tucked away into the shed.

Owen, the tree lopper can, for the nifty sum of $858 remove the very large, yet dead, tree, and clear out the dead shubbery. And as a bonus, he will remove the Black Nightshade plant, too.

Right now, I feel cold and damp. Lots of outdoor cleaning/clearing done though.

Maybe I needed to 'splain it a bit clearer?

Just got back in from sweeping up a bunch of muddy rotting leaves. They had previously been fermenting and clogging the gutters. I asked Alan if he could clear them. I should have been a bit clearer and said "Clear them into the bucket and empty it elsewere".

He cleaned out all the gutters, but dropped the mess on the walkway and front yard area. I just swept and shoveled the soggy mess into my wheelbarrow and trundled it off to the front yard to perform mulch/fertilizer duty. Hosed off the walkway, as trying to sweep it clean just smeared mud around. Also hosed off the shovel, broom and wheelbarrow, and put them back where I found them (not like the hand truck aka fridge trolley and ladder that was left in the middle of the shed.) *sigh* THAT sort of BS is why the house is a mess.

Also waiting for the tree lopper/removalist to get here for an estimate. Fun fun. :p

Overall, very disappointing

I had high hopes for Photoshop CS6E. It does have a few new things that are good. Content aware move/delete is good. The 3D tools are good.

But.. I don't know what bright spark decided to get rid of the 10x10 pixel Bridge Icon to 'save room', but whoever did that should be fired. Browse in mini bridge? Uhh no, I don't use minibridge as it takes up 1/4 of the workspace. Most of my tried and true plugins that worked flawlessly in CS5E either didn't work, weren't recognised or would crash. The plugin creators worked fast, and updated them to work with CS6... most of the time.

Let's move on to Adobe Bridge: to say it's slow is understatement. Even if you close it on a certain folder, restart bridge so it opens in that folder again, it treats the images as if they were newly imported, "Building Criteria", rebuilding the thumbnails.... each and every %#$$$^# time. Were their code monkeys actually MONKEYS??!! I have tried ever tweak and adjustment listed on the Adobe Forums to no avail. I posted about it on the Adobe Forums, and hope that more than Corporate Shills or brown nosers trying to snipe at people can answer it with something that works! CS5 E Bridge loads noticeably faster, so I know it's not the computer.

My suggestion: if your camera RAW file is supported by CS5 and under, don't bother with this. To me, CS6 should have been released as a patch or update for CS5 with Adobe Camera Raw support for newer cameras.

That's a first in a long long time

Rode my bike to dental exam/cleaning appointment. Hygienist very pleased with the progress. Go back for check up in 3 months.

On the way home.. let's just say I met with a slight accident. Part of a sidewalk/bike path I take to get back home had been undermined, and the soil on the left side of it had dropped about 2 inches (6 or 7 cms). This wasn't visible, and when I came up to it, I felt the jolt of the bike dropping down like off a curb, applied disc and drum brake, and put my left foot out to re-acquire balance. That's when the soil erosion came into play. I was overbalanced, felt the bike falling. Was almost at a standstill, so I let go, tried to clear it and not let the bike crash too hard to the ground. I took a bit of a tumble, landing on left hip, leg and hand. I think I was more surprised than hurt. This is the first time in decades that I have had a tumble from a bike.

Anyhow, I got back on.Rrode away with nothing more than a foot sized patch of damp soil on my left leg, a bit of dirt on the brake handle, and I managed to scoop some of the dirt into my carry basket.

Who said going to the dentist can't be exciting?

It's a sad day in the SciFi world

It's the end of an era. Arthur C. Clark, Isaac Asimov... and now Ray Bradbury.



R.I.P Rad Bradbury

Author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles

Ray Bradbury — author of The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked this Way Comes, and many more literary classics — died this morning in Los Angeles, at the age of 91.

Venus Transit - 2012

I knew when the transit was supposed to occur, so I was set up and ready to go. There was about a 15 second break/thinness in the clouds, and I took 6 photos.

I really didn't think I had gotten anything.

Oh me of little faith.




This is cropped down and the itty bitty dot that is Venus is a bit difficult to discern, but it's on the bottom left curve of the sun.

Also, the reason the photo is bluish in color, is stack of filters to prevent my retina from being burned out. That's why I thought I hadn't gotten anything, the images on the screen looked like a bright spot on a dark background, with no details. Should have known to check on the big screens first.

As much as Adobe Customer service sucks, CS6 has some good things

Now, I've liked how CS5 handled making/stitching panoramas. They weren't always perfect, but for the most part, very good, and any bobbles could be fixed.

Just for giggles, I decided to open 6 photos in CS6 that weren't taken to be a panorama. They were of the same area, but some a bit higher or lower, and not in a smooth left to right order.

Imagine my surprise when CS6 made an excellent panorama. There was just one itty bitty spot I had to apply the clone brush to fix, but that was it. And this was from using 6 photos that weren't meant to be a panorama! I can only imagine when it will do when I do take photographs that are to be made into panoramas.

Well, it's that time of the year again

And I know it is because if my legs getting itchy rash again. Wattle trees are in bloom in neighbors yard, so my clothes are getting coated with pollen when I hang them outdoors.

Time to start putting them on a indoor drying rack, or using the dryer. Oh yeah, no more fresh from clothesline sheets for a while either. (insert mope here)

Very productive day

Got up early-ish to meet up with Bob Litchfield to meet him at Saint George's College. Some friends of Wing and I are getting married in September and would like us to take photographs of the wedding. We all went there to scope out the area, and pick where the best place would be for taking good and great photos of the wedding party. Was a day well spent, and we went away with lots of info.

Afterward, I called 'D' and asked him about the wedding party, if we could get permission from the priest to photograph the wedding inside the church, and photograph the wedding party on the grounds afterward, so we don't have to take them hither and yon, as their day will be stressful enough! Also asked important info, like what color dress the bride will be wearing, what the colors the bridal party will be sporting too. Got it all. :) And, there is going to be a rehearsal, so we can give the photography a 'dry run'. 'M' was almost in tears when she heard what we were doing to make sure their day will be THEIR day.

And they wonder why Support Staff get a bad rap?

I use Corel PaintShopPro along with other stuff, because I have yet to find ONE program that does it all for me. So, I have been having problem with it opening RAW files from my Mini Canon and my Big Gun Canon (pun intended) aka the G1X and the 5DMkIII

I told them at the outset what cameras, and they kept having me tweak this, reset that, uninstall this, reinstall that, so after weeks of jumping through all these hoops, they say "Oh! Our bad! Your cameras aren't supported yet."

That's what you get because they scan to find a term, copy and paste from their FAQ (even though I had told them I read it, and had already done everything listed) instead of READING THE $#@*&@%$ SUPPORT REQUEST!

The great escape..

While we were out grocery shopping, Ziggy snuck out (I've said over and over to be careful closing the side door since replacing the rollers/track wheels. It can bounce back open if closed too hard. Even 1cm is enough for Loki to shove it the rest of the way open).

Luckily, she snuck over to Un-son, Robin house, slinked into their lounge room, and hid in a corner. Jean called us, we came right home, grabbed the pet carrier, a piece of bubble wrap to tempt or pacify her, and coaxed her out. He scooped her up, put her in pet carrier, funnily enough, she didn't fight like she usually does when put in one).

Now here she is, all curled up on the sofa, with a sheet of bubble wrap next to her on her comfy blankie, none the worse for wear.