How I got a burn on my arm and had to set the oven to clean

The other day I was putting a frozen pizza in the oven, my arm hit the inside of the 450F door. I yelled and flinched, dropping the pizza. The pizza ends up sticking straight up in the crack between door and oven. Toppings everywhere. Remember, the oven's hot, so those toppings start sizzling right away. I gave up on pizza for dinner and started something else to eat, as the oven now is out of commission. Hubby ended up nuking the pizza Stromboli style and ate that. Apparently the oven hadn't been cleaned in a while, because those fumes were noxious! All the windows were open and my eyes were still watering! House stank for two days afterward. All because I couldn't handle a little burning sensation. Click for full post and comments

Summertime VI: Lightning bug roundup

Here's a compendium of my attempts at photographing the lightning bugs in my back yard.

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A Lesson in Depth of Field

This a purely amateur post on the subject.

Depth of field means how much of the picture (foreground through background) is on focus. (what does "in focus mean"? It when the rays of light from an object converge on one point, the "focal point".) This is determined by the aperture setting on the lens. It doesn't make sense (at first), but looking though a big hole (large aperture, small f number on the lens) means a short depth of field. Only things within an inch or so (in the case of my lens) of the focal point will be in focus. Looking through a small hole (small aperture, big f number on the lens) means a long depth of field. Things many feet away from the focal point will be in focus. This is because there is an inverse relationship between the size of the aperture (D for diameter) and focal length (f). The f number is written as f/D.

The following two pictures are taken with the same settings except f stop. The first picture was at f/5.6. Only a few raindrops are really in focus, everything else is slightly out of focus. More importantly, look at the background between the two pictures.

This one was at f/18. Notice how the whole flower is in focus, and the change in the background.

The cartoon below is showing the pathway of light (pink) from an object outside somewhere to the film (or sensor in a digital camera). The aperture is allowing certain amounts of light through, but in this simplistic explaination also bending the light by certain amounts. The larger aperture (small f number) bends the light a lot to get the object in focus on the film (a known focal length and doesn't change). Because it bends the light so much (the sharp X shape it makes at the point where the film is) just a small change in your position when taking the picture will bring the object in and out of focus.
But when the aperture is small (large f number) the light is only bent a little (shallow X shape at the point where the film is). Now the range of focal lengths is big, so you can move around a lot and your object is still in focus. Also meaning things in front of and behind your main object will be in focus.

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Your day could have been worse

This happened while we were at our regular Thursday function at the local bar. Thing is, I had been saying all week how I wanted to sit outside this time. Good thing (for me, anyway) all the tables were filled up. Thankfully, no one was hurt. The area isn't really that big, only maybe 5 or 6 tables fit there, and the car would have hit maybe one table. I heard the bang of stuff getting knocked over, but people must have been able to react in time to get out of the way. The guy driving was taken away in handcuffs.

If it had been a woman driving, I would have labeled this under blonde moments.

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Summertime V

Had a rain storm earlier today, so I hunted raindrops while I was cleaning up the aftermath of a strong gust of wind.  Click for full post and comments

Discus are here!

Finally!

I swear he's smiling. I got them a few days ago, they are 2.5-3 inches big. They are just starting to not be totally afraid of me, and they love frozen blood worms. I have not yet tried to get them to notice floating food, so I make the frozen cubes sink with lead weights (I know, I'm bad). I want to eventually get some flake food into their diet, but so far it's just some fast sinking pellets, slow-sinking Tetra color bits, and frozen blood worms of two varieties (one plain and the other with brine shrimp and other creatures). I have a boat load of flying foxes in the tank, and so far they don't seem to bother the discus too much. They are a little wild, and I will move some or most or all out if I have to.

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My Holiday Weekend

Friday we threw a pretty good BBQ. Here's the spread, before the meats and sides and everything everyone else brought. We ended up coming out ahead in the beer department. I obviously didn't carry my weight!

And it was my birthday, along with our country's, so I made a flag shortcake. (SaraLee did the actualy cake part)

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Summertime IV

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A visit to Philly (or, hippie hunting season is ON, baby!)

I spent a few hours in Philadelphia today, the day after Independence Day. I was expecting huge crowds but it was pretty low key. Perhaps the fact it was approximately 1E6% humidity. There was a long line for Liberty Bell, so I didn't go see that, and I didn't do any tours. Just strolled, took a couple pictures, took it easy. Until I noticed a rally. Then I was obsessed with hunting hippies. Good thing I brought the telephoto. 

That's the whole rally. Count them. Use your toes, if you must.

You could hear the instigator a long way off, his speaker was really loud. My first picture of Independence Hall (above) had a conspicuous layer pink, American flags, peace symbols, and signs. I went to investigate more closely. 

Alas, the American flags were not Patriot Guard Riders, or some such anti-antiwar protester. They were the ones with the peace symbol in the blue field. I didn't catch a picture because they started lining up for their "parade" just as I came up. The front of this guy's shirt says "arrest Bush."

Through this series you'll see the same people over again, because there was only like 20 people there. Seriously. 30 tops.

Here they are starting their lineup. The yellow signs are preprinted by AnswerCoalition.org. Isn't that funded by Soros and the Communist party? Note the bell (the greenish object on the very right edge). This will come into play in a minute.

The orange shirt is not a World Can't Wait shirt, just a local sports club.

The old men are all wearing (or maybe I'm remembering the same man over and over again) Vets for Peace shirts. The Arrest Bush guy haz bukkit. This comes into play in a minute also.

The lady in the center's sign says "Abolish Nuclear Weapons" so we're dealing with basic peace-loving hippies here, not the crazed, militant sort you find in CA or Seattle.

Code Pink made an appearance. With two (2) people. Srsly. Two. Awesome.
So then they marched off, chanting (just the instigator on the mic) and banging bukkits. 

Here they are coming around Independence Hall from behind. So they have come from the front, up one side, around the back, and now down the other side toward their starting point.

Be vewy, vewy quiet. I'm huntin' hippies!

Note the horse and the two people calming it. Remember what I said about bukkits (and the banging thereof)? and the bell? Oh yeah, and the guy on the loud mic? Get a load of the that punk ass bitch in the left center looking STRAIGHT at horsie while he's banging bukkit. 

Yeah, the older carriage driver up ahead was yelling at them to stop the nonsense around the horsies. They finally did, sadly no hippies got trampled. So that meant there was a moment of blessed silence. Desperate to be chanting something, anything, up goes a cry of "animal liberation!" (srsly, not making it up. I laughed out loud. Those horsies are treated better than most people treat themselves). They passed by, I got bored, and look some flower pictures.

Met up with them a THIRD time at their final formation place just further down from Independence Hall, so now they are right across from Liberty Bell, closer to the visitor center.

This guys shirt says "peace please" in english and, presumably, arabic.
This is just towards the end of the "rally". The main instigator has been talking at this point (in this spot alone) for upwards of 30minutes. Notice everyone sitting and looking bored. That's the sign of successful protesting! yee haw!

So all-in-all, not impressed with their turnout, but I was impressed by the fact that every peace symbol I saw was correct, not a Mercedes advertisement. Did I mention my camera strap is rainbow? They prolly thought I was fer 'em! Yay war! Yay Haliburton!

Now a palette-cleanser. Two nice flower pictures. Yay hippie-dippie flowery fluff.

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Summertime III

I am still trying to get lightning bug pictures, but I'm starting to think it's impossible. I want to capture all the trees sparkling, but it's just not bright enough to pick up. It would work if they were stationary lights that go on and off, because the light would just add to itself as the photo exposes. But they move, so it's just tiny flashes everywhere. I got a remote and some kick ass lenses for early birthday presents. The remote allows be to get into bulb mode, so now I can get longer than 30sec exposures. It's awesome!

But I still only seem to be able to pick up any stray guy that flies right through the field of view.

Totally unrelated to summer time, here's a fish picture. He's in the future (getting closer every day!) Discus tank.

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Summertime II

These tiger lilies are all over the damn place here. I still like them, even though I think they are plotting to take over the world.

Taken on the D80, standard 18-55mm lens; f11; 1/125 sec; no manipulation. (Bottom one is just a crop of the top, original. No zoom.)

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Summertime I

There was a dragonfly buzzing around while I was trimming a tree today, so I went for the camera of course. He was very cooperative and stayed put while I fiddle with settings. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I got a Nikon D80 for Christmas. It's awesome! So here's my buddy, the dragonfly (one of only a couple bugs I won't kill on sight):

All these are cropped from the originals, but there is no zoom done. I've got the biggest and highest size and resolution set on the camera, so you end up with gigantic pictures. This next one has such freaky colors because I did manual aperture and shutter, and it came out over exposed, so I tried to fix it.

This one has some sharpen done to it, but only one dose, I think. This was with auto settings, so I didn't have to change anything with brightness/contrast.

All pictures: Nikon D80, 18-55mm lens

top: f5.6; 1/100 sec; crop, slight brightness/contrast, sharpen

middle: f5.6; 1/50 sec; crop, -0.5 eV, brightness/contrast, auto level, auto color, sharpen

bottom: f5.6; 1/125 sec; crop, slight brightness/contrast, sharpen

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Animal update

So, the chameleon died a few months ago. While we were in Fiji, actually. The guy taking care of the animals feels pretty bad still, but I know it wasn't his fault. You see, it was a female, and females lay eggs even when they aren't fertilized. So, of course she died because she was egg bound. I KNEW that was going to happen.

And of course you can't just have an empty cage laying around, so I decided it was time to venture into the exotics. And by exotic I mean lizards than any fool can manage to not kill. My local pet store does lizards and fish, and they had a batch of Bearded Dragons and also a Uromastyx. These were the two I had decided on from the reading I had done, and didn't really know which I would get. I decided on the Beardie because they were babies. And they had a male, because I don't want a female lizard ever again, unless I want to make babies. So I was going to give this guy a cool Dragon name, but he is now know as Fat Boy.

Because he's fat. (he's stuck in this picture, and I ran for the camera instead of first helping him out)

And he's a real clown. Here he is in his favorite position, watching the fish that are right next to him (something to keep him occupied).

Whatchulookinat, bitch. Gimme food.

He is currently 16 inches long, which is within maybe 6ish inches of his final adult length, and is about 5 months old. These guys eat greens and live food like worms of all types and crickets. I finally broke down and ordered 1000 worms because I got tired of going to the pet store every other day. He eats Dandelion greens the best, which is good cuz that's free! But I do get him to eat other greens lie kale and chard. And yes, I buy that especially for him. I only like lettuces and spinach, and he can't have spinach. He's supposed to eventually eat less live stuff and go for the greens more, but so far no such luck.

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Fiji 2008

I went to the most awesome place at the end of February: Fiji! Specifically Shangri La's Fijian Resort, on its own island on the south side of the main island (Viti Levu?). It's on what's called the coral coast, so the waves break 100-200 yards off the beach, making a lagoon that is easy for snorkelling. I had never snorkelled before, but all you really have to do when the water is three feet deep is float. It was so rad I don't have words. So there are lots of pictures instead:

First a few of some of the property:

On the one Saturday we were there there were two (or more) weddings going on. It looked like the chapel was being set up for a wedding, but we saw one ceremony on the lawn by the rooms. So maybe it was on the lawn because the chapel was booked. Anyway, one bride I saw had on a real gown, like the kind you don't want to get dirty. Who does that for a freakin wedding in Fiji? That's dumb. The other party looked a little more beach-themed.

Kava is a native drink that they say "one makes your tongue numb, two takes it away, three puts you to sleep". I only had one, and my tongue went numb. Apparently it's a mild narcotic.

I took lots of sunset pictures, and it was finally when we were getting on buses for the airport did it get real colorful with pink and other colors.

The place is beautifully landscaped, and when you walk around the island you see some of their facilities: green/hothouses growing areas, etc. The place it pretty much self contained in all ways except electricity. That I think comes from the main isalnd, but water and sewer are all taken care of on site.

Spent lots of time on the beach. The snorkelling pictures are all film, so they need to be scanned.

You can pay for excursions off the property, like zip line through the jungle, or visit a village for lunch and kava ceremony, or a dinner or all day cruise. We didn't do any of those, but our group was treated to a fire walking ceremony (followed by dinner and more fire-themed entertainment, of course)on the resort property.

From "Beach Bar and Grill":

From the cabana at Takali Bar:

The next two are when we drove to the capitol, Suva. Sometimes the road is near the water, other parts it is in the mountains.

Sunset on the beach:

It was an awesome trip. I plan on going again, to this resort, again. We spent a week there, and that seemed about the right amount of time. There's really not much to do, so you'll get bored if there too long.

Bula Fiji!

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