This is why I love the Nikon D50, it focuses so quickly, shoots quickly and gives great pictures with little effort.
The camera snobs may turn their noses up at this little jewel because it is the bottom of the Nikon dSLR range, but I count results.
This camera is a classic.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
surf runner
Friday, July 14, 2006
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Coast Guard helo flying under the fog
Flying about 50 feet off the deck to get under the 1000 feet of absolutely dense fog.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Well-travelled Mini
Starting from Georgia to Texas to Minnesota to New York to Nova Scotia to British Columbia to Alaska to California......
The dirt and grime is well earned.
That car had the characteristic blown exhaust sound of being on the road for days at a time. My cars had that sound. :)
Monday, July 10, 2006
Who says there are no sharks in San Francisco?
Tons of sharks in San Francisco bay, including the occasional Great White.
Via Sun
scroll down past white space
(Click here to post your own answers for this meme.)
scroll down past white space
| ✓ I miss somebody right now. (I miss a lot of people.) | ✓ I don't watch much TV these days. (Technically, i dont WATCH a lot of TV, but its usually on 24/7 as background noise. I dont have cableanymore, otherwise I would be watchiing the History Channel alla the time.) | ✓ I own lots of books. (I used to own more, but when I realized that books weigh a lot, i got rid of them all. Now, I try to keeep the books I keep to a minimum.. but i now have a ton of photography magazines for reference.) | ✓ I wear glasses or contact lenses. | ✓ I love to play video games. (Eh, not really - but when im bored, I pull up Total Annihilation, SimCity or Quake II.) | × I've tried marijuana. |
| ✓ I've watched porn movies. (Duh. Still, for me - they get old quickly. I need the real thing.) | × I have been the psycho-ex in a past relationship. | ✓ I believe honesty is usually the best policy. | |||
| ✓ I curse sometimes. | ✓ I have changed a lot mentally over the last year. | ✓ I carry my knife/razor everywhere with me. (in New York, carrying around a knife blade longer than 3 inches is illegal and so are switch blades, but screwdrivers are not. And as a tech, I could explain away hhaving a phillips head craftsman in my pocket, specially as i could demonstrate it was magnetized. They took my screwdriver out of my luggage on my last trip to NY, so I now carry my monopod.) | |||
| ✓ I have broken someone's bones. (Someone ran into me running for a volleyball.) | × I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal. | × I hate the rain. | |||
| ✓ I'm paranoid at times. (A trusting soul Im not.) | ✓ I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free. (Just liposuction, really.) | ✓ I need/want money right now. (ehh..) | |||
| × I love sushi. (I can appreciate it, bit I dont go nuts over it.. and bad sushi is horrible.) | × I talk really, really fast. | × I have fresh breath in the morning. (HAHAHAHA. No.) | |||
| × I have long hair. | × I have lost money in Las Vegas. (I need to go.) | ✓ I have at least one sibling. | |||
| ✓ I was born in a country outside of the U.S. (Jamaica.) | × I have worn fake hair/fingernails/eyelashes in the past. | × I couldn't survive without Caller I.D. | |||
| × I like the way that I look. (If i could have my 20 year old, 179 lb body back..) | × I have lied to a good friend in the last 6 months. (Lying is usually a waste of time. And I personally feel that lying means you think the person you are lying to is stupid, and you dont respect them. The truth always comes out. Always.) | × I am usually pessimistic. (Nah, not anymore. But i do prepare for the worst, hope for the best. Specially with people. Im rarely disappointed.) | |||
| ✓ I have a lot of mood swings. | ✓ I think prostitution should be legalized. | × I slept with a roommate. (Dont do roommates anymore.) | |||
| × I have a hidden talent. | × I'm always hyper no matter how much sugar I have. | ✓ I have a lot of friends. (Im amazed at the amount of people i know.) | |||
| × I have pecked someone of the same sex. | × I enjoy talking on the phone. (Nope. Can do without it. I only have one for the internet access.) | × I practically live in sweatpants or PJ pants. (I live in black jeans.) | |||
| × I love to shop and/or window shop. | × I'm obsessed with my Xanga or Livejournal. | × I'm completely embarrassed to be seen with my mother. (Love my Ma.) | |||
| × I have a mobile phone. (Nope. Was a relief when I lost the last one. I only use prepaid ones and primarily for when I travel.) | × I have passed out drunk in the past 6 months. | ✓ I've rejected someone before. | |||
| × I currently like/love someone. | × I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life. (I do.) | ✓ I want to have children in the future. | |||
| ✓ I have changed a diaper before. | × I've called the cops on a friend before. (I dont have friends like that.) | × I'm not allergic to anything. (Allergic to roach spray.) | |||
| ✓ I have a lot to learn. (The older I get the more I dont know. Thats the fun of life.) | ✓ I am shy around the opposite sex. (well, I am shy around people I'd like to sleep with.) | ✓ I'm online 24/7, even as an away message. | |||
| ✓ I have at least 5 away messages saved. | ✓ I have tried alcohol or drugs before. (Alcohol, no drugs.) | × I have made a move on a friend's significant other or crush in the past. (That's dishonorable.) | |||
| × I own the "South Park" movie. | × I have avoided assignments at work/school to be on Xanga or Livejournal. | ✓ I enjoy some country music. (Sure.) | |||
| ✓ I would die for my best friends. (There are a few.) | ✓ I'm obsessive, and often a perfectionist. | × I have used my sexuality to advance my career. | |||
| × I think Halloween is awesome because you get free candy. (Cant get enthusiastic about Halloween.) | × I have dated a close friend's ex. | ✓ I am happy at this moment. | |||
| × I'm obsessed with guys. | ✓ Democrat. (Really, Im more libertarian in attitude, because im cynical about the political proceess.) | × Republican. | |||
| × I don't even know what I am. | × I am punk rockish. | × I go for older guys/girls, not younger. (I date too many young women. far too many.) | |||
| × I study for tests most of the time. | × I tie my shoelaces differently from anyone I've ever met. | ✓ I can work on a car. | |||
| × I love my job(s). | ✓ I am comfortable with who I am right now. | × I have more than just my ears pierced. | |||
| × I walk barefoot wherever I can. | × I have jumped off a bridge. | ✓ I love sea turtles. (Who doesnt?) | |||
| × I spend ridiculous amounts of money on makeup. | ✓ I plan on achieving a major goal/dream. | × I am proficient on a musical instrument. | |||
| ✓ I hate office jobs. | × I went to college out of state. | × I am adopted. | |||
| × I am a pyro. | × I have thrown up from crying too much. | ✓ I have been intentionally hurt by people that I loved. | |||
| × I fall for the worst people. | × I adore bright colours. | × I usually like covers better than originals. | |||
| ✓ I hate chain theme restaurants like Applebees and TGIFridays. (I prefer hole in the walls.) | × I can pick up things with my toes. | × I can't whistle. | |||
| × I have ridden/owned a horse. | × I still have every journal I've ever written in. | × I talk in my sleep. | |||
| × I've often thought that I was born in the wrong century. | ✓ I try to forget things by drowning them out with loads of distractions. | × I wear a toe ring. | |||
| × I have a tattoo. | × I can't stand at LEAST one person that I work with. | ✓ I am a caffeine junkie. (Now, Im on decaf as my tolerance for caffiene is very very low. I used to do 10 cups a day, including 3 or 4 Starbux triple shots a day. Yup, i was a serious fend.) | |||
| × I am completely tree-huggy spiritual, and I'm not ashamed at all. (Ehh, not even.) | × If I knew I would get away with it, I would commit at least one murder. | × I will collect anything, and the more nonsensical, the better. (Dont own more than you can carry is my motto.) | |||
| × I enjoy a nice glass of wine with dinner. | ✓ I'm an artist. (Even i dont believe it, but hey.) | ✓ I am ambidextrous. (Although I write left handed, I do everything else with my right, including writing if i have to.) | |||
| × I sleep with so many stuffed animals, I can hardly fit on my bed. | × If it weren't for having to see other people naked, I'd live in a nudist colony. | × I have terrible teeth. | |||
| × I hate my toes. | ✓ I did this meme even though I wasn't tagged by the person who took it before me. | × I have more friends on the internet than in real life. | |||
| ✓ I have lived in either three different states or countries. | × I am extremely flexible. | ✓ I love hugs more than kisses. | |||
| ✓ I want to own my own business. | × I smoke. | ✓ I spend way too much time on the computer than on anything else. | |||
| ✓ Nobody has ever said I'm normal. | × Sad movies, games, and the like can cause a trickle of tears every now and then. | × I am proficient in the use of many types of firearms and combat weapons. | |||
| × I like the way women look in stylized men's suits. | × I don't like it when people are unpleased or seem unpleased with me. | ✓ I have been described as a dreamer or likely to have my head up in the clouds. | |||
| ✓ I have played strip poker with someone else before. | × I have had emotional problems for which I have sought professional help. | ✓ I believe in ghosts and the paranormal. | |||
| × I can't stand being alone. (Nah, I likke being alone. I dont like being lonely, thats al.) | ✓ I have at least one obsession at any given time. | × I weigh myself, pee/poo, and then weigh myself again. (Hahaha. No.) | |||
| × I consistently spend way too much money on obsessions-of-the-moment. | ✓ I'm a judgmental asshole. | × I'm a HUGE drama-queen. | |||
| × I have travelled on more than one continent. | × I sometimes wish my father would just disappear. | × I need people to tell me I'm good at something in order to feel that I am. | |||
| ✓ I am a Libertarian. (Not officially tho. I blame PJ O'Rourke. :)) | × I can speak more than one language. | ✓ I can fall asleep even if the whole room is as noisy as it can be. | |||
| ✓ I would rather read than watch TV. | ✓ I like reading fact more than fiction. | ✓ I have pulled an all-nighter on an assignment I was given a month to do. | |||
| ✓ I have no piercings. | ✓ I have spent the night in a train station or other public place. | × I have been so upset over my physical gender that I cried. | |||
| × I once spent Christmas completely alone because there was a miscommunication on which parent was supposed to have me that night. | × There have been times when I have wondered "Why was I born?" and may/may not have cried over it. | × I like most animals better than most people. | |||
| × I own a collection of retro games consoles. | ✓ The thought of physical exercise makes me shiver. | × I have hit someone with a dead fish. | |||
| ✓ I am compulsively honest. | × I was born with a congenital birth defect that has never been repaired. | × I have danced topless in front of dozens of complete strangers. | |||
| × I have gone from wishing I was a girl to revelling in being a boy to feeling like a girl again in the span of five minutes, and not cared a whit for my actual sex. | × I am unashamedly bisexual, and have different motivations for my desires for different genders. | ✓ I sometimes won't sleep a whole night or eat a whole day because I forget to. | |||
| × I find it impossible to get to sleep without some kind of music on. | × I dislike milk. | × I obsessively wash my hands. | |||
| × I always carry something significant around with me. | × Sometimes I'd rather wear a wig in day-to-day life than use my own hair. | ✓ I've pushed myself to become more self-aware and thereby more aware of others. | |||
| × Even though I live on my own I still cry sometimes because I miss my mother. | × I hand wrote all the HTML tags in this document. | ✓ I've liked something which a majority of people claimed was either bad or weird. | |||
| × I have been clinically dead for a brief period of time. | × Instead of feeling sympathy/empathy with people and their problems, I simply become annoyed. | ✓ I participate/have participated in auto drag races and won. | |||
| × I do not 'get' most comedy acts. | ✓ I don't think strippers are money-greedy or slutty for dancing. | ✓ I don't like to chew gum. | |||
| ✓ I am obsessed with history/historical things and can't wait for someone to build a time machine so I can be the first to use it. | × I can never remember for the life of me where I parked the car. | × I had the TEEN ANGST thing going for at least 2-3 years. | |||
| ✓ I wish people would be more empathic and honest with each other. | × I play Dungeons and Dragons weekly. | × I love to sing. | |||
| × I want to live in my mother's basement when I grow up. | ✓ I have a custom-built computer. (I used to build al my computers until I switched to the laptop life, ,but even now my computer is assembled from parts. Only the battery, keyboard and memory is originally what I started with.) | ✓ I want to create a certain someone's babies, even though there's a 0% possiblity of ever achieving it. | |||
| × I would be in a relationship with one of my pets if they were human. | ✓ I've gone skinny-dipping. | × I've performed in three plays. | |||
| ✓ I enjoy burritos. | × I'm Irish and loving it. | ✓ I have a thing for redheads. | |||
| × I am a twin! | ✓ Most of the times, I'd rather do something intellectual instead of doing something generically 'fun'. | × Once I set out to finish something, I always stay at it until it is completed before I move on to something else. | |||
| × I wish there were a way to erase past mistakes. (Nah, no regrets - good or bad.) | × I sleep more than 12 hours a day. | ✓ I wish I could be prouder of what I've accomplished, but it's never enough. | |||
| ✓ I need more time to myself. | × I wish I was more open-minded. | × I hope that I go really prematurely grey. (Hah. Been there sincee 10 years old.) | |||
| ✓ I download songs from the internet. | × I've just reenacted chapter 58 of Death Note with my best friend. | × I say random things to freak people out. | |||
| × I'm still a little mad about the ending of Death Note. | × I love playing Truth or Dare. | × I love listening to slow music, but I hate singing to it. | |||
| × Music helps me remember that I am not alone. | ✓ Playing my favorite sport makes me temporarily forget my problems. | ✓ I think this survey is particularly long. | |||
| × I prefer my LJ friends to my real-life ones. | × I can only hate someone that I love. | ✓ I've ordered an extra two shots of espresso to an Americano at Starbucks. (Even if its only decaf now. :)) |
(Click here to post your own answers for this meme.)
Plane over Frisco
Even from the air, San Francisco is a tourist attraction, so on departure or landing, planes will take a slow loitering turn over San Francisco to give passengers a view.
Hunting spider
I didnt even notice it, until it suddenly moved as i peered down an old gopher hole.
Until I got here, I didnt realize California is awash with spiders. They are EVERYWHERE, and the one to fear in this state is the brown recluse. My lip swelled up when one bit me as I slept.
Jeebus.
Time may be precious, but dont rush it
Today's horrorscope:
Although my bills arent massive, im watching my savings dwindle and worry about not being able to do the things I want to do. It's taking effort to remind myself Im not in dire straits and all things are possible. But I do blow a buck on lotto every so often, with the hope of a payoff to carry me forward, but i dont plan my life around 1-in-14 million chances.
(Heh, ok, fine - I still have the dreams of retiring on the lotto and daily concern myself on what would i do with that kinda cash.)
To snap myself out of it, I remind myself that Ive set my life up to survive on minimal resources and the only thing that is truly finite is time.
Yep, this is as about as perfect as it gets i guess, so let me worry about the things that i can control, which includes my attitude and effort.
Now, thats what i need to hear.
Today's horrorscope:
It is the age-old question: Is it better to control your desires or is it better to indulge them? Only you can decide but before you do think back to similar situations in the past when you went to one extreme or the other. There's nothing wrong with pushing yourself, but be sure you maintain a balance between what you have and what you want to have. Your eyes are becoming bigger than your wallet, and if you push things too far, you may get a nasty surprise in the form of an unexpected bill or emergency payment. Watch your spending and challenge yourself to tighten your budget. Time spent adjusting and reducing your material desires will prove profitable.
Although my bills arent massive, im watching my savings dwindle and worry about not being able to do the things I want to do. It's taking effort to remind myself Im not in dire straits and all things are possible. But I do blow a buck on lotto every so often, with the hope of a payoff to carry me forward, but i dont plan my life around 1-in-14 million chances.
(Heh, ok, fine - I still have the dreams of retiring on the lotto and daily concern myself on what would i do with that kinda cash.)
To snap myself out of it, I remind myself that Ive set my life up to survive on minimal resources and the only thing that is truly finite is time.
If you're really feeling the pressure today, it's time to readjust. Check in with yourself and realize that you're only one person, doing the best you can. You can't hit a home run every single time you're up at bat -- and the good news is that no one expects you to! The pressure you're feeling is mostly self-imposed, so don't fear that you're going to let anyone down (you're not). Just give this day as much energy as you can. Focus on what you need to do, and leave it at that.
There is no point in waiting for a perfect situation to arise because you could wait forever. Take your pleasures where you find them today and don't feel guilty that not everyone is having such an easy time of it as you. Life moves in cycles and it just happens to be your turn to be on the sunny side of the street.
Yep, this is as about as perfect as it gets i guess, so let me worry about the things that i can control, which includes my attitude and effort.
You're in perfect harmony with your ambitions right now, so get ready to tackle your loftiest goals. Your old dreams may not be big enough, so set your sights on something even more magnificent.
Now, thats what i need to hear.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Open letter to the person who has been calling my phone and keeps hanging up:
Dont. Stop. Cease.
All it does is piss me off, and then I wont answer the bloody thing.
This inconveniences the folk who i do keep the phone around for - family and close friends who I have given the number so they wont worry. I hardly use the telephone otherwise, for even though Im the verbose sort - I dont regard a telephone as an essential extension of myself.
Because I dont use the phone, I dont even keep an answering machine on it. If I am home, I endeavor to answer it. Unless someone keeps calling and hanging up.
So, please stop.
Dont. Stop. Cease.
All it does is piss me off, and then I wont answer the bloody thing.
This inconveniences the folk who i do keep the phone around for - family and close friends who I have given the number so they wont worry. I hardly use the telephone otherwise, for even though Im the verbose sort - I dont regard a telephone as an essential extension of myself.
Because I dont use the phone, I dont even keep an answering machine on it. If I am home, I endeavor to answer it. Unless someone keeps calling and hanging up.
So, please stop.
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