JUST SAY NO!

Please read the following link. It is really scary what the big guys want to do to us on the internet as we know it.

blog.reddit -- what's new on reddit: A technical examination of SOPA and PROTECT IP

blog.reddit -- what's new on reddit: A technical examination of SOPA and PROTECT IP:

'via Blog this'

It's Halfway through January!

It's been a month from my last post, give or take a day. Work has been slow and as of the first of January I embarked on a new project. It seems 'all the rage' these days to do a 365 Project (366 on leap year). That would be take a photo a day for the year.
I have my doubts as to my ability to follow through, but so far I am doing well enough. You can't be overly creative every day. I think the point is to get out and try to find something new to shoot and "expand your horizon" so to speak. I actually sat on my deck yesterday for quite a while waiting for the "perfect" bird shot. I have a Cinnamom Camphor tree in my back yard loaded with berries. Here in central California we have yet to see a winter and the Robins are confused and think it's spring. Well, not just the Robins. The bulbs do too. I have tulips and narcissus coming up. The narcissus are already in bloom but that's not so strange... this seems to be their time. But the Robins! Tons of them flying through the sky stealing all the berries they can find.

My mom in front of the house. See how big that window is?

It reminded me of the year when I was a kid and the blackbirds were in abundance one "off" winter. The Pyracantha's had berries galore on them outside my folk's big picture window. I mean big... like 6' big... One window! can you imagine... anyway, they evidently get 'drunk' on these type of berries. It was like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. They started bombing the window with their little bodies not recognizing the window in their stupor, while we sat in horror and watched them crash into it and fall to the ground - some not minding the landing but the initial impact being the fatal blow. I remember myself and my two sisters crying and hiding behind the couch and my mom, bless her heart, one of the most nurturing people I have ever known, watching in shock. We actually had to go out and clean the remnants off the glass and the little bird corpses off the ground. I will never forget that episode in my life.
Ok, so it was not that bad and the Robins did not seem to need a sobriety test yesterday, but how fun to watch them dive into the foliage and peck out the black berries gulping them down in one shot. They would get a little spooked when I clicked the shutter but the thought of "one more berry" kept them anchored to the limbs.
With that said, in my quest to '366' my year, I managed to hang in there and finally got this one shot. I got a few more, they are posted further down, but this one... nice. You really need to click on it and it will open larger in a new window. Unfortunately, my lens is not quite long enough to get a close up, but the sun shining through this guy's beak is a kick. Totally unplanned and absolutely cool. Check it out and see for yourself. This indeed, fulfills the title of the blog because sometime the magic really does work! (I did not Photoshop this other than to crop and brighten the leaves in the tree)

Here are a couple of more shots I have used some magic on and made into "paint-ography" from yesterday:

It has been quite an adventure so far on this project. I have photographed motorcycle events, my grandkids, my back yard, the local marina and some of it's wildlife, and even got to spend the day with my girls and their kids at the Ardenwood Farm taking photos of the Monarch Butterfly migration. Many of these things I probably would have missed. I guess it's been a good New Year's resolution upon which to embark. I have labeled my photo album "366 - for as long as I can" ... not especially positive but definitely realistic. I will try to update here more often and now I will have lots of fresh shots to include. 

I leave you with a few choice items from my album.

Monarch migration at Ardenwood Farms, Fremont, CA 01/11/2012

One of my absolutely favorite shots. My kids 10/11/12

John Muir House - His office 01/02/2012

At least you know you will get to see some different stuff as long as I can acquiesce to my resolution. Hang in there... who knows what's next? I surely don't! Happy Trails, my friends.

Yeah, yeah.... I Have Been Bad About This....

The world of Google Plus or G+ has invaded my computer time much like the first moments in MySpace as a social network. For those of you who are not familiar with this social media, it appears to me, despite a valiant attempt to become a replacement for Facebook, a complimentary associate. I use Facebook for family and friends as I have always done. My photography foray on Facebook was a brilliant flop. I think I have 27 wonderfully responsive "fans" of which I am afraid I neglect terribly. Or maybe that is why they like me... I don't bother them with daily photos - who knows.

I do know that as of now I am a part of 1357 people in my circles full of fellow photographers from all over the world. That is just since August. As much as it is the same, it is different than Facebook and I don't think I am going to get into it here now. I just wanted you to know - if you care, that is - why I have been remiss at posting recently. I am having great fun filling the pages of G+ with photos from each theme for the day. Themes like Manly Monday, Froggy Friday, Caturday, Paint it Saturday and so on. Like I said, it's fun and I get to brainstorm, learn, share and just plain have fun with others doing photography in a multitude of applications and levels. I think this is a first and you undoubtedly will see a 60 Minutes story on the news as soon as the media catches wind.  If you are into photography or any kind of art, technology, science or even something like bee-keeping this new media is an incredible resource to tap into international levels. Any time you want to know about my experience, just ask... I will not bore you all here today with all this. I want to talk about CHRISTMAS!

Santa at Sun Valley Mall with oil filters in Photoshop. Or maybe I painted it... notice I did not miss the "Diamonds" in the background ... (hint, hint Santa Baby... ooooh)

I am ready ... heart and soul. I wanted to rant about the commercialization and all the stupid ads on TV saying , Buy, Buy, Buy.... but I just don't know. I have my "buying" done and wrapped and the tree is all sparlky, and the lights outside are all ..... "Christmasey" and stuff and the music on the radio is all "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" and "I'll be Home for Christmas" and well, that old Hot Buttered Rum is warm and rummy. What the Heck! I'm going to don my Santa Hat and jump in with both feet here and just say, Merry Christmas everyone! Here's some photos I did for my Christmas Card that never got sent out. Maybe next year I won't be down with a stupid cold the week before the holiday and I will get the chance to do "it all" myself.

The cover. Bokeh lights done in oil. This is actually my Christmas tree for this year also played with in Oil in Photoshop.

This was to be the inside of the card... kind of a "2011 - The Year in Review"

So, here's to a prosperous, healthy, environmentally and mentally sound 2012! Merry Christmas my friends. And if you celebrate in other ways, I wish you Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, and "your choice greeting here"  or as my dear sweet Grandma used to say, sit down and pass the ravioli. Buon Natale, pisans!

Thankful for the Silly Stuff

I am thankful for many things in my life. I have a husband who loves me most of the time, two adult children who have started families of their own which has brought me two more adult kids to love and four wonderful, energetic, engaging, creative, funny, incredibly loving children to be a grandparent to, a warm home, many accouterments of a comfortable lifestyle including motorcycles and my camera and a good life to live and look forward to.

I have lost my parents but have a wonderful, strong and caring step-mom who is one of the most courageous women I know and sisters who have brought yet more family to love and admire for their accomplishments and great nephews too cute for words.
 Friends who are family and their families that have made it more of an extended family of friends.

But... and here's the rub.... there are some things that I appreciate often due to a lack of it or the lack of "functionality" of it that I am thankful for....

So here we go:
(Those that know me will understand more how thankful I can be for these things)

• Indoor plumbing
• An oven that works
• A drain that actually drains
• Paint on my house! (that's a big one)
• New house numbers
• A car that runs
• Some time to myself
• Work
• Walking on two legs 
• My new computer
• Photoshop 
• A day without the television on
• My eyesight - even though my eyes are getting old
• My big blanket on my bed - how I love the weight and warmth of it!
• Going into the laundry room to do laundry (not the laundromat down the street)
• A day shooting photos of just about anything
• My external hard drive (backing up my photos and keeping them safe)
• The time my sister and I spent scanning the pictures from when we were kids
• A morning without hearing the stupid beep beep beep of my alarm clock
• My garden shed
• The strange twist of fate that has decided I can actually have a green thumb
• The boys of summer (SF Giants)
• Sunshine on my face
• Cookies
• My pampered spa treatments from my daughter
• Wrinkle reducer
• Acid Re-flux medicine
• The birds that sing (from Kim)
• Getting better after a bad case of the Flu (from Sonya)
• And yes, Sonya... I was thinking that same thing this morning... - My HOT shower and all the joy it brings

And so the list begins. Your comments would be nice if you can think of anything else. Remember this is for that kind of stuff that you really don't think about but actually would have a tough time living without. I plan on finishing out this year's blog by posting still more photos from the year 2011. A photo countdown so to speak. Keep checking for when you make the blog. My eyesight might be a tad failing but my memory for photographs is hanging in there. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. Keep yer stick on the ice.

Turkey Day Approacheth

Working hard this week to put the garbage behind and thinking of all the things I am thankful for. Maybe I will have to make a list! It has to make me feel better, right? Right.... More to come.

Disregard and Disrespect - A Rant on the Construction Industry

I just want to go to work and make a living. I don't want to be socially connected with the people I work with. I don't need their friendship or kinship, just a basic human respect that all sentient beings should be granted on this planet. Granted, that respect, in my mind, should be earned. Either by action or by reputation. I have been working in the construction trucking industry for over 25 years. I go to work, do a good job - the best I can - and deliver a service that is (I am told by my customers) top notch. I do not cry and whine about minor infractions to the laws of common sense. I make a fuss or comment when the condition of the job is creating a detrimental or dangerous situation for me or my equipment. I expect that common sense should prevail and the condition be corrected to some level of satisfaction taking into consideration the layout of the project. Some things can't be fixed. I know this. But then, some things are easily fixed with a little time (of which many contractors don't wish to invest) and effort.
Case in point, my day yesterday. Background: many of you know that I was stupid enough to trip on a combination of items in the dark last week and twist my ankle. The doctor said it was a strain, put it in a boot and said when I could walk on it, go back to work. Now sympathy is not something with which I am familiar. My dad always told us kids if we wanted it, to look it up in the dictionary (sorry 'bout this language folks but it's a direct quote) "between shit and syphilis" ... That's my life. My husband is not far from my dad on this issue.
Back to the story... I go to work - light duty - stay in the truck. The hardest thing I have to do is get in the truck. I can handle that. But getting out and walking on a job site of muddy clumpy dirt is somewhat beyond my capabilities and comfort level. I can do it, but it hurts. Ok... so, stay in the truck.
The job is a pipeline project adjacent to the waste water treatment plant (that's poop plant) in San Leandro. I am on time, ready to start at the location. The haul road upon which we are required to get to the excavator is extremely rough. Not because it has to be, but because the contractor does not feel it important enough to fix it. I proceed as slowly as possible to the loading area. I am watching the operator holding the bucket of the excavator higher than necessary and dropping large buckets of bay mud (thick, clay type clumps) into the truck in front of me. The truck has to have everything inside the cab, including the driver, bouncing around like a ping pong ball when the material hits his bed. I am instantly on alert as to what this job will mean to my equipment, my ailing ankle, my sanity to this day. As he pushes the mud into the truck that he has partially spilled to it's sideboards I see air under the right side rear tires. More alarm bells go off in my head.
My turn, as I approach the operator I give him the "slow down, easy on the truck" sign with my hands. In my uninjured state, I would have gotten out and had a conversation with the operator. That wasn't going to happen and may have been the biggest mistake of the day. Creating a dialog with the contractor on a job like this is paramount to making it through the day. Despite how the conversation results, at least you have started the string with "don't damage my truck" and are in a defensive pose.
The "operator" laughed at me and shook his head... not a nod (yes) but a shake sideways (no friggin way) and I was immediately aware of the sucky possibilities of this day.
The first load was executed by another operator as the guy laughing at me was only sitting in for him. No problem. Off to dump.. the returning road is rough and getting rougher. I am coping but it still had the hackles up on the back of my neck.
Fast forward, seven loads later... I am watching the truck in front of me almost tipped to the side sitting on uneven loading area getting this bay mud loaded to the top of his cab. As he backs up to drive out, I again see air under one side of his truck. At this point I had a non-verbal conversation with another operator in a loader just hanging around watching and occasionally putting rock into the ditch over the pipe they were laying. I pleaded with him to fill in the hole which made the loading site uneven and he again, laughed. I am so glad they had comic relief in my attending their cluster****,,,,
I had at this point decided I did not have to stay and take the abuse on both my equipment - which had as of now, 2 broken side boards and a bent cover to my roll tarp from the excavator and the bay mud - and told them I was signing out. Unfortunately for me, it was not in the cards. Both my broker and the contractor threatened me with back charges if I left before another truck could take my place. Again, much to the merriment of the crew... I stayed on for the day. As the day progressed, I trudged through the mishandled project.
The end finally came. I was sitting away from the group of men working near the excavator. One of them walked over to the back of my truck, got my attention, and gave me the "sign out" signal. Then he walked away. I had gotten out at one point earlier in the day to move some debris from the front of my truck and everyone was watching me. They could not have missed the big black boot on my foot and the fact that my gait had a definite limp. I sat there waiting for someone to come over to sign my tag.... no one.
This is where the biggest perversity of the day began. I had to get out with my paperwork, walk around my truck to the trench where the operator and 4 of the employees of the contractor stood. Seemingly looking at the hole, and sniggering as I approached. "Suck it up" I told myself. I asked more politely than I felt, who signed the tag. The operator told me the guy with the black hard hat. He was in front of me not 10 feet away. This man said he would not sign my tag and that the boss had to do it. "Where is he?" "Up there next to the pickup" .... This "boss" would not look up from the papers he was looking at and would not respond to my request to come down to sign my tag.
If ANY of these men had missed that I had an injury previously, it was obvious now. They were looking at me holding back laughter. I had to climb a 2' berm from the muddy cut in which I was standing to get over to the "boss." He signed my tag, I made a disparaging remark - I am LIVID at this point - tore off his copy and turned to climb back down into the mud to return to my truck. On the way down the berm, I caught my stupid boot (the one the doctor put my injured ankle into) and just caught myself from landing face first into the track of the excavator. I can't be certain, as I was at this point shaking, mad, hurting and crying inside but I think the laughter was baleful as I hitched myself back up and limped back to my truck.
Note to self:
If you think the job's going to suck the minute you get there, find an excuse (ie: air leak, flat tire, my period just started) to get the HELL OUT!
Note to RGW: I am filing a formal complaint against your workers. Bite me!