Thursday, April 25, 2013

CHEAP FUN




I know.  What is fun and what is cheap???
And, like yourself, what is fun to me now would not
 have been forty years ago.


It happens that one of the things that is fun for me 
"today" is playing with cameras.  (That does not make
 me a photographer.)

For some time I have been wanting to get an old, 
cheap, low megapixel camera to play with.


So eBay, here I come.
I was able to find a suitable camera for $9.99.  
That's right, just under $10.00.  It came with the 
memory card, two batteries and a wall charger.  
All I had to do was put one of the batteries in the 
camera and start shooting.  Praise God for that.



Then the expenses begin to mount up.  From eBay
 I bought a  cheap tripod.  Yes,  .99 cents.  That 
included shipping.  So now I am at $10.98 for my 
photographic gear.  Not quite so cheap now.


All of these images on this post were taken with it,
 my cheapest, lowest megapixel camera.  Just two 
megapixels. I am not quite sure what that proves.
But I enjoyed doing it.


Oh yes!
The tripod.  That is image number one.
A mini tripod is what I wanted.  And boy is it mini.
It will not even support the camera.

So let's just call it a novelty.
But the camera suits me well for an old man's toy.



Thursday, April 18, 2013

Thursday, April 11, 2013

ALL ABOUT CATS



ALL ABOUT CATS

The best I know, I have never owned a cat.
Cats were designed to live in barns and chase 
mice. And being as I have never had a barn, 
there was no need of a cat.


However,
my wife is not aware of the intended place of 
cats in the scheme of things.  So she brought a
 cat(s) into the house, many, many, many years
 ago.  Hence my knowledge of cats comes from 
far too many years of observation at too close a
range, with several cats.


So, I thought I would share with you the main 
driving forces that cats demonstrate.  You may
 call them attributes if you want. But I would choose 
another description.  These are the things that
the books will not tell you about, but are the very
 essence of a cat's life.



1.

Cats will get in your way.  That is their way of life.
 Cats will go out of their way to get into your way.
If they can they will trip you when you come through
the door.  When they hear you stirring around, they
will come and sit in the doorway on purpose.
If that does not trip you, they will run ahead of you,
 the direction they think you are going to go,
just to make you stumble on them.

Cats will hang around your feet in an effort to keep
you from putting on your shoes.  Cats will get in a
chair ahead of you just so you cannot sit down.
Cats will get into any box or suitcase you
are trying to load - just to be in the way.

CATS WILL GET IN YOUR WAY.






2.

If a cat cannot get in your way their second trick is to 
catch you at the table eating, or just having a cup 
of coffee and a cookie.  Then instead of going out 
into the hallway, or another room, come and
 PUKE in front of you.  Yes, puke as in vomit, 
throw up or regurgitate .

If they cannot puke in front of you when you are 
eating, they will hunt up their litter box and do their 
stuff in the box, while you are trying to eat, just to 
enhance your appetite.  (Or perhaps diet.)

CATS WILL PUKE WHILE YOU ARE EATING.



3.

"What the cat hair?"
That is an expression I have not hear in years.
Even then, I am not sure what it meant.

But if you have a cat, 
you can be sure that there will be cat hair 
EVERYWHERE.
Under the chairs.  On the chairs.  On the table.  On
 the counter.  In every room the cat has access to.
Even your lap - until you train it to stay off.

CATS WILL SHED EVERYWHERE.




4.

Cats scratch.

See that picture above.
It was an expensive couch, sofa, divan.
One of those neat ones that had a bed hidden in it.

Now it is on the trash pile, as you can see,
because cats scratch.
Cats scratch everything.  Even you.

CATS WILL SCRATCH UP EVERYTHING.




See those white feet?

That cat's name is (was) socks because of those 
white feet.  That would be the name on the birth 
certificate, if cats are actually born and have
 birth a certificate.
(Maybe they just happen.)

But very shortly,
the cat's name was changed to "HELLION".
a name which sticks to it to this day.

Now if these cat characteristics appeal to you,
by all means rush down to the animal shelter and
 get a cat.  In fact, get several.  Pass them out to 
your friends too.




Thursday, April 4, 2013

PLAYING WITH INFRARED




Image above taken at the Buffalo river with the camera
in it's normal mode.

Image below taken at the same spot with the camera
in infrared mode.