Group Captain Mandrake

Street Songs

2012-01-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

My local radio station has a noon time show called Barrel of Monkeys. Typically, the show picks the next song based upon the last letter of the previous one. Or, some variety thereof. Today's show had a "street" theme. That is, the name of the song had to have the word street in it. Tricky. My SO and I really had to work hard to think what songs we knew that had that word in it. I came up with a list and then I checked it on iTunes (which I admit isn't the definitive word on the subject). I thought that I would list the ones that I remembered.

I think the first street song that I remembered was Street Fighting Man by the Rolling Stones. I know that I first heard it on their Hot Rocks album (1972). I remember that album got a huge amount of play, especially on our turntable. I especially liked the song, The Midnight Rambler. The next song that I recalled, probably from the radio was Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty. iTunes says it's from the City to City album released in 1978. Yikes. That means I probably first heard it on an AM station, probably WABC in NY. Chronologically speaking, I think the next song I heard was probably Martha & the Vandellas' song Dancing In The Streets. According to my research, they released it in 1964. I may have heard it then, but more likely it was from a later cover. There have been some amazing covers of that song since then by The Mama's & the Papas and David Bowie & Mick Jagger.

I next remembered The Doors Love Street which was released in 1968 on the Waiting For The Sun album. My middle brother was a big fan of the Grateful Dead. I remember that he collected cassette concert tapes. The song was Shakedown Street and was first performed at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado in 1978. Bruce Springsteen was my youngest brother's favorite artists. I remember he owned a copy of the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. album. It seems like Bruce had the most songs with the word street in them. Though, I only remembered two of them: Out In The Street and The E Street Shuffle. There are a few others that I found when I searched iTunes, like Incident on 57th Street, One Way Street, and Wrong Side of the Street and so on.

Finally, since my SO really likes Billy Joel, he had the song 52nd Street contained in the album of the same name and Big Man On Mulberry Street from The Bridge. Sting had the song Moon Over Bourbon Street from the The Dream Of The Blue Turtles album (1985). Finally, in my search I came across The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) by Simon & Garfunkel from way back when.

So after checking out the iTunes store, I wanted to see what I actually had in my iTunes library. Wow, I completely spaced on some important songs: Like U2 on The Joshua Tree album Where The Streets Have No Name. How could I possibly forget Takin' It To The Streets by The Doobie Brothers? Green Flower Street by Donald Fagen. Oh, and the amazing song by Bruce, The Streets Of Philadelphia.

I guess this is an opportunity to create a street playlist. Should I include the synonym road?

High-Key Black & White

2011-12-04T16:18:00.001-07:00

There is a small meadow near where I live that I frequently pass when I go for a short walk. The meadow has a red sandstone formation and three trees within it. From the path that winds its way through the open space, there is another, much larger rock formation behind the smaller one. For the past number of years I have been passing those elements and thought that there is a picture there. I've taken photos at every time of the day, at every season, and from many different points of view. Recently I was reviewing some older photos with the idea of making a holiday card when I came across a photo of this meadow that I had taken during a snow storm earlier in the year. I thought to myself, I wonder if this would look good as a high-key black and white image.

Typically, when one goes out to make a high-key image, one intentionally overexposes. In fact, I am usually surprised by how many stops is needed to make something a good high-key photo. For the image in this case, I let the camera choose the exposure. However, the snow on the ground, rocks, trees, and overcast sky helped turn it into a fairly low contrast picture. The picture above is nearly straight out of the camera, a Canon S90, shooting in RAW format. (Only the lens distortion has been corrected.) I started this adventure by doing some minor adjustments in Lightroom 3. I wasn't planning on doing much, since my plan was to use Photoshop CS5 and Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro 2 to produce the high-key effect.

As I mentioned before, I made some corrections for lens distortion and I think I tweaked the clarity. (Some of what I did in PS could have easily been done in LR.) I began by touching up some of the things I didn't want in the final print. For example, I used the cool content-aware feature of the spot healing brush to remove the invasive mallow plants. (Wouldn't it be very cool if you could do that in real life?) I also got rid of some of the darker clumps of grass. (It's also cool that you can do this non-destructively.)

Then I added a levels adjustment layer and shifted the white point to the left to lighten the whole image. I wanted white skies and snow instead of gray. I also shifted the midpoint slider to the left to lighten the mid-tones. This further reduced the contrast of the image. Merging the layers I then opened Silver Efex Pro 2. There are so many cool presets that you can use as a starting point for your work. Two high key effect presets come with the application and I used one of them to work from as a starting point.

Once you've selected a preset, you can tweak the control sliders in order to help define the high key effect. I wanted the trees to be slightly darker than the background. I was able to use the control point technology on each of the trees to create a little separation from the sandstone rock formation behind it. This also had the side-effect of darkening the grasses under the trees, which further added to the appearance of depth. The final effect that I applied was a white vignette which helped to direct the eye (and the added benefit to remove a distracting house). Once that was completed I added another cleanup layer and removed some of the darker discolorations (and holes) in the sandstone.

Just as a side note, I always forget that I can utilize the Nik products as a smart filter. This allows you to go back and tweak your settings. Or, note them so that you can go back a step, and recreate a particular setup. You could also use a preset.

Although I was happy with the result, I wanted to try out a high-key tool that I read about in Harold Davis' book, "Creative Black & White." He adds a new, empty layer onto the top of the layer stack and fills it with white. Then, add a black layer mask, remember black conceals, white reveals. Using a brush with a very low opacity, paint over the areas that you wanted to add white to. Here I used this layer to ensure that my skies were white and that most of the grass poking out of the snow in the foreground could be removed. And there you have it.

I've created a couple of versions trying out some different ideas, but this one is growing on me. Recently, I was watching a Kelby Training video called, "Crush the Composition," and one of the many things that were talked about, was the idea that sometimes a scene just catches your photographic eye. In his video he had several instances where he said to himself that there was a picture at this particular location. He would wander around looking at the scene from different directions and points of view. I find that sometimes my photographic eye will see a picture. Many times I will come back to that photo, like in this case, several months (years?) later, and see the picture that my eye had seen then. Weird huh?

Deflated Penguin

2011-12-01T11:15:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been 4 weeks to the day that I was RIFed. It's been a pretty busy four weeks searching the web, sending out resumes, and dusting off old contacts. I've gotten a couple of nibbles, but nothing concrete yet. One potential employer was just bought out by another. Nice. (Who says that there isn't money out there.) One would want me to go to Southern California, probably San Diego. The other might be to Phoenix. I've also applied to jobs in Portland, which wouldn't be that bad, I suppose. It's like a damp version of Colorado.

I'm not as much on the adrenalin high anymore, which is probably a good thing. I've been running around probably a little too much. Since this is an opportunity to change careers, I should probably be a bit more careful than jumping at the first offer. Of course that will be pretty hard since most of our selves are caught up in the idea of employment. So, when are we supposed to be living in the future of Star Trek? (Where's my flying car dammit.)

I did promise myself that I would make more blog entries. Clearly that didn't happen. I did take more pictures and I should be taking more.

The good thing to come out of this is that I don't mind going to work in the morning.

The Penguin Has Left The Building

2011-11-05T13:24:00.004-06:00

This past Thursday I was scheduled to attend a meeting around 12:30 PM on site in Fort Collins. Normally, I dislike having meetings during the lunch hour, but since this was with someone I really wanted to talk to, I accepted. Thursday arrived and I left for work at the usual time. It was cold, maybe 13°F (-4.5°), but clear. The drive most mostly uneventful except when I got North of 120th on I-25. We starting getting fog. Normally the fog is restricted to low lying areas near some of the river and streams that cross I-25. Not this morning. As a approached work the fog got worse and became a sort of freezing fog. It was a 'I'm glad that I just changed my windshield wipers, defogger, and window washer fluid' sort of fog. A peer through the bottom of the windshield and follow the tail-lights of the driver in front of you, who is doing the same thing, type of fog. Not the worst thing I've driven through, but it should have been an indicator of what was going to happen today. So when I got to Fort Collins as the sun rose, I felt that I deserved to treat myself to some sort of sugary thing at Pannera. This I did.

The morning was the usual nonsense tracking down bugs and data. My boss, who usually doesn't call me (he's in another state), did so asking something rather simple and unimportant. What do you call the person that works in the cube next to you, your cube-mate? My cube-mate says that another engineer says that there are layoffs going on here. Interesting, I thought, but it didn't occur to me that my meeting wasn't going to be a normal one. That is, until, one of the neighboring engineers was escorted out of the building. 'Oh dear', I thought. Another engineer came into my cube to chat near the time that my meeting was supposed to occur. That was when the guy I was supposed to meet came to my cube to bring me to the meeting room. I guess at that point I realized where this was going. This was my first layoff. I've worked at a company where layoffs were a common occurrence, but it never came close to my unit/department. (Thank goodness for the Cold War.) I was at a company where I knew a layoff was coming, but I resigned with another job in hand before it occurred.

We went together into the meeting room where a gal from HR was waiting for us. My boss was on a speaker phone. (Ain't technology wonderful?) The spiel was well rehearsed and almost pleasant. I'm sure that's what was intended. (I didn't notice it, but in the room next door was the office security dude, whom I knew fairly well.) I smiled and was very accepting of the situation. In fact, my calmness surprised even me. I asked a couple of pertinent questions and signed the papers after reading them. In this day and age (and economy) I guess the severance package was rather good. Everyone was such a good sport. As we left the room, accompanied by the security guy, I was allowed to log out of my computer and collect my small amount of stuff. This consisted of one grocery store bag and my penguin. I suppose a few sentences are in order about my penguin. Actually, it's not mine, it was my SOs that she had in her office in Southern California. I had borrowed it for my job in Colorado Springs where it sat in my cube. (And posed for pictures in the snow outside our building.) When I accepted a job in Fort Collins, it followed me. There it resided on top of a filing cabinet in my cube where all could see. It's been a fixture there for a few months short of 5 years.

As I left my cube, some of the engineers I had worked with came up and shook my hand. (Others asked if I was on LinkedIn.) On my way out of the office I did speak with a layoff counselor that the company had brought in. They help you to re-write resumes and cover letters and such. (I wonder if they understand social media?) So, I definitely signed up for that. So, with bag and penguin in hand, I walked out of the building into the bright and warm sunshine. The mountains were sparklingly clear in the distance. It was all rather surreal. The drive was uneventful as well.

When I got home I got onto the computer and started emailing my friends and contacts to let them know about the layoff. (I wonder, is it proper to send out announcements immediately about a recent layoff or is there a preferred waiting period?) I felt like I was running on a wave of adrenalin. I was focused like a laser beam (I can use that term correctly since I am a physicist). I found that I felt them same way on Friday. First thing in the morning (way too early) I was back on the computer sending emails, searching web sites, and sending resumes to folks. People were replying to me making suggestions and forwarding information to others. My network isn't huge, but they are a bunch of nice folks. By the end of the day, I was feeling a little shaky, as one is wont to when running on nervous energy.

So, I've had some time to think about my current situation. In some ways, I'm sorry to say, that the layoff was a good thing. First, it was a kick in my complacency (which I suppose will really hurt when the unreality wears off). Next, in some ways, when you actually hate to go into work even when you work from home, it's time to go.

You're Not Mario Andretti

2011-10-26T18:01:00.000-06:00

Let's face it, neither you nor I are Mario Andretti. This is a given. Not to put words in his mouth, but I suspect that given a choice, Mario wouldn't drive on America's highways. The race track is far safer. When you are a race car driver you are racing with professionals, with professionally maintained cars, and the track is likewise maintained. One can not say the same of the highways that we drive every day.

So, before I head out tomorrow on my usual commute, I wanted to get a couple of things off my chest. This is a note for those of you (you know who you are) that drive like you are a professional racing car driver:

YOU ARE NOT.

Let me spell it out for you. No racing car driver would tailgate on the highway while driving 75+ miles per hour (mph). (Of course, you're not doing the speed limit are you?) You don't have the reaction times that a pro has. By this I mean the time it will take you to react to the driver ahead of you. Math doesn't lie (unlike statistics), so let's work through a few numbers. Ready? In searching the net, I've seen reaction times vary, but how about we say 1 second for you to recognize that something is wrong and you need to brake. One second for you to realize that there is a problem that requires you to brake and for your foot to go from the accelerator to the brake pedal. In that one second at 75 mph (120 kph) you would have traveled 100 feet (33.5 m). If we assume an average car length of 13 feet (4m), that's over 7 car lengths that you've traveled before your foot even touches the brake pedal!

So, now you can begin to slow down or stop. According to an article by Edmunds, at 60 mph the time from foot onto the brake to a full stop can take around 4.6 seconds (and that's from perception to reaction time) with a resulting total of 270 feet in distance traveled. That's twenty car lengths! That doesn't take into consideration, the weather, road, and your tires. You do properly maintain your brakes and tires, right? Of course, these numbers go up as you travel faster. Considerably.

Let me put a scenario to you. Suppose a contractor is driving on the road ahead of you. His load isn't as secured as we would like and a piece of lumber falls out of the truck. Further suppose that it's a 4x4 piece of wood. You are busy tailgating an SUV being driven by a distracted business person yakking on the phone and not really paying close attention to the road. She doesn't see the block of wood in front of her and with the ground clearance that her truck has, well she can drive right over it. (We won't even go into the situation of what might happen if she hit it with one of her wheels.) Anyway, you can't see it cause you're driving to close to react. (To be honest, you might not even be able to stop completely if you were following the 'three second rule.' Though you would certainly not be going as fast.) If you were driving an SUV you might straddle it. Lucky you. Suppose you don't have an SUV? Suppose you hit it with a wheel? What might happen?

With a bit of luck you might just damage some of the underparts of your car. Though, there is the possibility you may ride up on the block and go out of control. Not really cool at 75 mph. Or, let's say that the road, tires, and brakes are good. You are really concentrating on the road and slam on your brakes...and...get rear-ended by the slob who is tail-gating you. Nice.

It would be nice if your own stupidity only effected you. Physics and life don't work that way.

Pictures Lie

2011-07-09T18:04:00.000-06:00

I recently attended a symposium yesterday given by the Pikes Peak Library District. The title of the event was 'Film & Photography on the Front Range." The first speaker, Mike Olsen, spoke about an assignment that he gave to some of his students. For this assignment, each student was given three envelopes. The envelopes were numbered one through three and the students were instructed that they would open an envelope when told and then write an essay on what was written on the paper inside of it.

The students were told to open the first envelope. The paper in the envelope said, "what is your earliest memory?" One student wrote about her father returning from Desert Storm. She wrote about the excitement, parties, and good times that they had.

The assignment in envelope two was, "Prove it." The same student reported that the festivities were recorded on video and photographs taken at the event.

The third assignment was, "Why did we give you this assignment?" The student returned to the instructor somewhat confused. He asked her what confused her about the final assignment? She said the pictures from the earlier assignment showed this wonderful time that we had when my father returned from overseas, but two weeks later, my parents got divorced. "Pictures lie," she said sadly. To that the instructor replied that she should enter for the final assignment just those two words, "Pictures lie."

Of course, I am paraphrasing the speaker. If you are interested, the symposium was live streamed (ya gotta love technology) and I'm sure that the finished results will be posted on their web site.

Vonnegut

2011-06-30T20:48:00.000-06:00

After a particular bad day at work; and these days there are certainly a lot of them. I felt like running away. In fact, I did. Well almost. I jumped into the truck and sped off down the road. Of course, no sooner than the garage door closed my boss tried to call me on my cell. Thank goodness for cellular dead spots. Unfortunately, he was quite persistent and tried my home phone. My SO left a message on my cell (why again do we have these things). I suppose it was fortunate that I did listen to the message and returned home. I turned my computer back on and called my boss. I suppose it was a good thing that I did because the problem I was freaking out about was not nearly as difficult as I anticipated. Still, code with bad comments, no documentation, what else am I supposed to do?

Early the next morning I was cleaning off some piles of papers in my "office" and came across something I printed out in 2009. It was a blog post from the A.V. Club entitled "15 Things Kurt Vonnegut Said Better Than Anyone Else Ever Has Or Will." I vaguely remembered reading it on-line and then printing it out for reference. Considering how I was feeling, it felt like the first item was written for me: "I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.'" I had forgotten what it was like to be happy. Oh sure, you can say, you get happy now and then. Yes, but I forgotten to notice. And the person most important to me in my life, had noticed it too. That's bad. Very bad.

That sort of stuff is hard for me. I'm normally a very quiet and self-involved individual. I don't have too many friends and the one's I do have tend to be physically far away. You wouldn't think that this wouldn't require constant attention, but for me it does. There are times that I wrap myself in my melancholy, and perhaps that is my creative muse, but it can feed back on itself.

Can You Imaging Life Without A Public Library?

2010-11-29T23:01:00.000-07:00

Last night I attended a public meeting about the future of our county public library. Sometime ago we received, via snail-mail, an announcement of the meeting (one of a series) at our local branch. Unfortunately the day of the week was misprinted, but somehow we managed to figure out that it was last night. Even though we had to brave morning snowfall, early darkness (thank you daylight savings time), and cold, we made it. In fact we arrived early so that we could wander among the stacks of books.

The meeting room was nice and bright, lined with chairs and mostly empty. There were almost more library staff members than the public. We were invited to sign-in and receive name badges. The meeting started with a audio/visual presentation of the future of the library. I won't bore you with details, but suffice it to say, books aren't going away any time soon. This was followed by a slide presentation by the director of the library on the current state of the library. With charts and graphs that would have pleased Ross Perot, he described the budget shortfall and what was being done to address it. At the conclusion of his presentation, he took questions from the audience. There was one last presentation for the evening, more of an announcement. It was a description of a fund raising campaign to be held shortly.

On the way home, my wife and I discussed the meeting. We were very disappointed to see so few of our fellow citizens attending. Of course, part of the problem could have been that the announcement has the incorrect day of the week. We figured it out, didn't we? One of the library staff mentioned that they had taken two surveys: one scientific and the other not. The former was performed by a research company and out of thousands of surveys sent out they got something like a 20% response rate. And that's considered good? Probably from some weird statistical analysis it is. When the results were tabulated they were similar to their non-scientific poll. Of course one cannot draw any conclusions from the similarity of the results.

So, as we headed home, we wondered do people care about libraries. What would life be without a public library? If I wander through the library on a typical day, who do I see there? Since my closest library branch is near a high school, I see many students on the computers, reading magazines and doing homework. In the stacks I see mostly older people (oh please say it ain't so). There are also many, many Mom's pulling their children around picking up books. People out of work are using the computers to write resumes, search, and apply for jobs. Homeless people use the library as a safe place to rest, read, or watch videos. Whenever I am there the library is always busy. Still, what does a community get from a library?

I remember my mother telling me that she read the entire library in the small hometown where she grew up. That might be a slight exaggeration, but I doubt it. I remember that books were a central part of my life when I was growing up. (I type this in my office surrounded by books.) For me (and my Mom), the library was a place where I could explore new ideas and authors.

I pursued it further and checked for some articles that you might find interesting:

Freakonomics: If Public Libraries Didn’t Exist, Could You Start One Today?
Circulating Libraries and Video Rental Stores (PDF)

I'm sure that there are more, but I tend to agree with the points brought up by the NY Times article, that Public Libraries

Train young people to become readers, and
Expose people to authors that they normally wouldn't read.

I would extend that to exposure to new ideas. (Oh the horror, people thinking for themselves.)

A Brief Encounter

2010-10-08T21:33:00.000-06:00

Everyone dreads going to the Dentist even animals. I suspect that it's one of those good evolutionary lizard brain sort of things that we have retained. (Of course, there are those of you that have perfect teeth. We won't even talk about Fluoridation.) I had an appointment this morning to get four old fillings replaced with more modern materials and so I gritted my teeth (sorry) and entered the office.

When I entered the office the receptionist was sitting next to an older gentlemen. I smiled politely to her and him and said hello. Not wanting to disturb them, I picked up a magazine and sat in a chair a little ways from them. I overheard her mention something about his hat and then her phone rang. As she left, I glanced over toward him and he was also looking over my way, he clearly wanted to chat. So, I put my magazine down and moved over to sit next to him. He was wearing a baseball style cap with the words, "World War II Veteran" and a few campaign ribbons over the bill. His features are fading from my memory, but I recall that his face was worn, but he still had a quick smile and a sparkle in his eyes. He asked me if I had seen the World War Two memorial in D.C? I replied that I hadn't and he handed me a souvenir book with glossy photographs of the new memorial. He started to talk about Honor Flight Network an organization that arranges free tours for WWII and terminally veterans to the various memorials around the capital. I thought that I had recently read something about this. He went on to tell me that it was such a wonderful trip, that this group had taken care of everything. He didn't have to pay a penny. They flew him out, fed him, transported this group of 37 (I think he said) vets to Arlington National Cemetery, The Tomb of the Unknowns, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and, of course, the World War II Memorial (among others). He laughed about not being able to pick up any souvenirs for his wife since they were so busy and tired. After all, he was 90 years old.

The excitement of the trip was still around him. He said that the group will keep doing this until the last WWII vet is alive and then move onto Korea veterans. It made me think of my Uncle, whom I just saw this past weekend. He's also 90+ years old and served in North Africa during the war. My grandfather, gone for quite some time, served in the Great War and the Second World War. My Dad: Korea.

I was called into the Doctor's office far too soon. So, I stood up and shook his hand and thanked him. We must never forget their service or sacrifice.

A Photographer's Fish Tale

2010-08-27T21:44:00.000-06:00

This occurred to me two days ago and I thought that I would relate my "photographer's fish tale" to you.

I woke early to an overcast morning and decided not to go on my usual morning ride. (Thunder and lightening and all that.) Anyway, I decided to grab my point-and-shoot camera and head out for a walk around the Valley. I took some pictures of the sun as it peaked out from under the cloud cover. As I continued in my loop, I took some shots of some very creepy 'cat-in-the-hat' doll that someone had attached to a sign-post. The obligatory snapshots of a doe with her two daughters were also taken. (I have way too many pictures of deer. They are certainly pests if you have a garden.) Anyway, as I headed to a trail, a woman on a horse rode past me. We said hello, and I resumed walking while looking at the trail in front of me. (Although I have always tended to look down, it's not a bad way to avoid rattlesnakes.)

Glancing up occasionally, I saw her ride up into the rolling hills above the trail. At the crest of the hill she turned off the trail I was on and headed downhill on another. For a moment she was silhouetted against the darkened sky and then was gone below the brow of the hill. Then I thought to myself, 'wow, that would have made a great picture.' The picture that got away. It could have been really cool.

I guess I wasn't thinking like a photographer.

Back-off man, I'm a Scientist

2010-08-21T09:59:00.000-06:00

While writing a entry for another blog, I started to write the following, but I thought it would be better here.

I remember a science class, a long time ago, where the high school teacher called us all scientists when we were in the class. I thought that was the neatest thing. Here I was a teenager and a scientist too. I was a scientist because that's what I was doing: being a scientist. When I was in college, the physics department would address correspondence to us as if I were a physicist. Well, I was.

I don't exactly know why it was important...but it was.

These days I work as a code monkey. However, when anyone asks, I tell them I'm a physicist.

I don't exactly know why it's important...but it is.

My Cat Is Smarter Than

2010-07-29T09:35:00.003-06:00

It's sort of like the bumper stickers that you see on cars and vans during your commute: "My child is an honor student at fill-in-the-blank" and "My golden retriever is smarter than your honor student." Well, my cat is scary smart. Sometimes. Sometimes a little too smart for me and apparently starved for attention. For example, typical cat owner behavior: hide around a corner and make a scratching sound. We hope that this will prove interesting for the cat who will then amuse us by pouncing. Recently, when I am out of sight of the cat, he will start scratching the wall or a corner until I come looking. Usually when I discover him he's sitting looking at me with that look on his face. You know: butter wouldn't melt on my tongue. (Uh huh.)

At first I didn't realize what he was doing. That was, until I saw him do it, when he thought I wasn't looking.

Um, that's not mine?
-- Puss In Boots (voice of Antonio Banderas) in "Shrek 2" (2004).

Reaching up into corners, he would lightly scratch the wall with his claws and then wait for a reaction. When we would look,

What in the world can that be?
-- Vizzini (Wallace Shawn) in "The Princess Bride" (1987).

He would either do the nonchalant thing or pounce. Ok, that's clever, he's mimicking our behavior. Ha, ha. Uh, that's not all. Oh? He has this toy. It's a rather ugly looking fabric gnome attached to a plastic stick by a string. The not-too-difficult-for-a-human-to-do is that we hold one end and dangle it in front of the feline in question. I'll be the first to admit that he does like playing with it. He will perform for us, all sorts of fantastic gymnastics, while attempting to possess the toy.

Some time ago, we discovered that the toy would appear in some of his favorite places. The cat seemed to feel that the toy sometimes needed to eat (we'd find it in his bowl) or have a scratch on his scratching post. If we humans forgot to bring the toy up to our bedroom at night the cat, with a big sigh, would head back downstairs and bring it up. "Tink, tink, tink," was the sound the toy would make as the gnome's head hit each stair on its way up. The cat would issue a muffled meow to scolding us for forgetting. When he reached his objective (assuming that the toy didn't get stuck on the way) he would use his paw to remove it from his mouth. (Blecch.) (My spell checker tells me that 'Blecch' is not a word. Mad magazine would beg to differ.)

The situation would be reversed in the morning. The morning could not properly begin until the toy was present with a majority of humans. If I do say so, I found that behavior very cute, but a little confusing. Is the toy a surrogate friend or was he telling us: "get me a friend?" Ah, humans, so very slow.

Sometimes on the way to bed, I would carry the toy up the stairs for him. (Nice of me.) Since it was nice to know where the cat was (sitting on the kitchen counter) or to make sure that he wasn't locked in a closet or room, I would call to him. He doesn't listen to me, unless he wants to. So, to achieve my nefarious ends, I would drag the toy's stick across the vertical supports of the handrail. Apparently this sound is nearly irresistible and would summon the cat upstairs.

We've been doing this for some time, but lately there has been an interesting development. Early one morning a few days ago, I awoke after hearing a repeating thunking noises with an occasional "tink." I hoped it was the cat and his toy. This sound continued until I heard the toy hit the floor downstairs. Having satisfied myself that it was the cat, I think I dozed off. I slowly woke again when I heard the toy returning up the stairs, "tink, tink, tink." When he reached the hallway, the cat managed to rub the stick against the railing, "thunk, thunk, thunk." In my sleepy haze I realized that the cat was attempting to get us to wake up and come down stairs and play. Even at that hour, I think I found it rather amusing.

Of Mice And Men (With Apologies To John Steinbeck)

2010-01-13T22:09:00.002-07:00

Last night our cat caught a mouse. This was his second that we know about. (Well, strictly speaking, I only found the rear quarter of his previous catch.) My SO heard some strange noises and went downstairs to investigate. She screamed (or yelled loudly) when she discovered it was a mouse. I came running and gallantly saved her from the dangerous mouse. The cat recognizing the alpha male in the house gladly relinquished his catch. With a McGeyver-esque use of a Tupperware bowl and a newspaper, the mouse was captured. I'm not entirely sure who was the more stunned. Once the dangerous mouse was secured it was humanely returned to the wild (e.g. the street in front of the neighbor's house), free to pursue another evenings mischief.

It had been a rough day indeed. My mother called while I was on a conference call (isn't the mute button wonderful) and I told her that I would call her back. When I did, some 45 minutes later, we chatted about family and other non-essential things. That's when things got a little weird. She lost track of our conversation, not an unusual occurance, but when she couldn't remember things that I told her moments before (like the date) I was getting a bit concerned. It's hard to diagnose problems across the country. I managed to get a hold of my father how was having lunch. Apparently it was noisey in the restaurant and I couldn't quite make myself understood. Eventually, the "Go Home" imperative was understood. I kept switching phones with my SO since I didn't want to leave her. Thank goodness all was well in the end.

The moral of the story: Getting old is a bitch and back up your disk (both mental and physical).

Pilgramage To Los Alamos

2010-01-05T22:27:00.002-07:00

It is so written, that each physicist should, in time, visit the birthplace of the atomic bomb. Why Los Alamos? One could argue that the first controlled, sustained chain reaction was initiated under the bleachers at the University of Chicago. Or even before that, in the fall of 1938, the concept of spitting the atom was proposed by Lise Meitner. Or maybe far longer than that, one could point to a natural nuclear reactor formed perhaps 2 billion years ago!

Again, why Los Alamos? Never in the history of mankind (or womankind) has their been a gathering together of physicists and engineers for a single purpose: to develop a weapon. I won't go into the history behind the Manhattan Project or Los Alamos, you can find most of that on the web; nor will I delve into the ethics or morality of weapons save to say that I think that physicists lost their innocence at Trinity.

For quite a few years, I've drifted away from my roots as an experimental physicist. Even though I work in the semiconductor industry, which is solid-state physics, I've gotten away from the first principles. I currently work in software, not even modeling or simulation. So, when the opportunity came to assist in some soft error rate (SER) experiments to be performed in the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) I jumped at the chance.

So, late last year a few of us from work drove down to New Mexico. I had hoped to stop along the way to take some photographs, but a late start foiled that aspiration. We did manage to stop in Santa Fe to have a nice dinner at La Fonda. (Santa Fe is such a wonderful place.) Eventually we made it to the Mesa and found our lodging. I'd been through Los Alamos on a previous trip to New Mexico, but I didn't get to explore as much as I did on this trip. The following morning we checked into the laboratory to take exams and get our credentials. We met our host in the visitor's center and he took us out to where our experiment would be run.

Our port on the beam line was in a small building on the outskirts of the Mesa the lab resides upon. Unfortunately, the beam was fully scheduled and the current users were planning to use all of their time. So, we had a free afternoon and evening. The Principal Investigator (PI) thought that this would be a good time to explore the galleries and museums of Santa Fe and have another good dinner. I thought that this was an excellent idea. Even though the day was lightly overcast and a little chilly, Santa Fe is always a wonderful place to be. With our little group I didn't feel like I could wander off and take pictures, so we stayed together a visited many of the galleries. I did manage to take a few pictures (which I hope to attach). We dined that evening at The Shed, which I recommend highly.

Early the next morning we were shown the safety procedures of the facility and began the setup of our experiment. Much of the lab equipment was old (NIM crates, EG&G Ortec) and brought back many memories of my time at school. After setting up the experiment and running a few tests, we divided our group into three shifts: day, evening, and graveyard. I selected the graveyard shift which was to be from 1 am to 8:30am. Our experiments consisted of a group of boards connected by Ethernet to a laptop computer. Vastly simple compared to the previous beam users from another well known semiconductor company. So, my evening activities consisted of setting parameters determined by the PI and hitting the run button. Each experiment ran for 30 minutes to an hour. We would set two alarms to remind us when an experiment finished and to begin another: an egg timer and a computer alarm. The computer alarm was set to sound like police sirens. So, if that wasn't enough to rouse me, the egg timer certainly would.

I think the most curious thing about that late a shift was how quiet it was. The beam runs 24/7 and so occasionally there would be requests over the PA for techs or announcements that the beam was down (or up). While runs were in progress I would write emails to friends or step outside to breath in the fresh air and look at the stars. Oh, the stars. It's been so long since I've seen the Milky Way. On the southeast side of the Mesa, where the entrance to the building faced, I watched the morning moonrise followed by the sunrise. I found that by sleeping from 6 pm to 12:30 am prepared me for my shift. When I returned to the hotel room at 9 am, I napped until lunch time, which seemed to work well enough. During our free time we did manage to tour the Bradbury Science and Historical Museums. Our host also took us on a tour of the proton accelerator which was very cool.

Even though the majority of my work was just pushing buttons on a GUI, it was as though I was breathing the atmosphere of physics. It's a little hard to explain. I'm an experimental physicist, which means that my bread and butter is hardware: electronics, cables, vacuum systems, cryogenics, superconductors, and so on. Just being in the presence of this sort of stuff and other physicists made me feel like I was back in the fold. I could almost feel my professors from school looking over my shoulder. When I was working the late shift, I almost expected my boss to call me to ask if we had any liquid Helium left and to tell us a few more ideas for experiments he had.

We finished our work early Thursday morning, packed up the equipment that we could, and left behind the neutron activated parts behind. The day was sunny and warm as we departed the Mesa. I started this journey a little nervous and returned with a better feeling of my own direction.

My Attempt At Homage To Edward Curtis

2009-11-10T18:36:00.003-07:00

I admit it, I did have to look up the word homage to make sure that I was using it correctly. I finally managed to find a Edward Curtis goldtone which I was able to sample using the method described by Paul Butzi. Of course, I am depending on the image that I located being an accurate representation of his orotype. Assuming that was the case, I opened the Curtis image in Photoshop and using the sample tool I made a series of samples at several K values. I tried this twice using two different sample sizes in order to see what the differences would be. Here is a table of samples using an 11x11 pixel average:

K	20	40	60	80
R	156	120	86	44
G	84	53	31	9
B	21	4	2	1

I had thought about taking more samples, but Photoshop CS3 only allows you to set four points at a time using the sample tool. Next, I created a new PS3 document (using the defaults) and then drew a grayscale gradient. Using the eye dropper tool, I placed color samples that matched K values of 20, 40, 60, and 80%. (Press the Shift key before clicking in order to add a sample point.) Add a curves adjustment layer. Adjust the Red, Green, and Blue color curves so that we get the desired R, G, and B values at the sampled K values on the gradient. For example, select the Red channel curve, then using the color sampler tool, click on the sample point corresponding to the K = 20% value. A corresponding point will appear on the Red curve. (If you press the Command key before clicking on the sample point, a point will be added to the curve. I understand that this is different in PS4.) Nudge the selected point on the curve using the mouse or arrow keys until the RGB value in the sample is the same as you measured. Look at the input/output boxes for more information. If there are big changes, you may need to repeat this on the RGB channel, according to Paul Butzi's web site. For this example, it seemed reasonably good. Add points and adjust the curve for each K value point. Repeat the process for the remaining curves. Then save the curve.

Now that we've done this first attempt at generating a curve (or transfer function) for the orotype, I wanted to find a picture to apply it. There are some very nice red sandstone Fountain/Lyon geological formations in some of the Jefferson County Open Space parks that I have frequently taken pictures of that would do quite nicely. The picture had already been adjusted in Lightroom and so there wasn't much to be done in Photoshop other than adding an adjustment layer to test the effect. When I added a curves adjustment layer and loaded the first version of my orotype curve preset I notices that it was a little too much of a red cast (perhaps a bit too orange). So, I went back to the how the original Curtis goldtones were produced.

Applying a blend mode of darken took the image where I thought it needed to be. The opacity was adjusted to govern the degree of effect. The result is what you see below.

In Honor Of Edward Curtis, originally uploaded by gcmandrake.

This was only a first attempt to see if the effect would grow on me. Obviously it's not the same as the wonderful orotones created by Edward Curtis, but the warmth of the image is quite nice, almost golden.

As an aside, I did try out the gold presets that are available in Lightroom and the Nik Software Silver Efex software. I'm sure that both could be tweaked to create results like this, but this method appealed to the scientist in me. If there is interest, I will post the curve, somewhere.

Edward Curtis

2009-09-12T18:15:00.010-06:00

I have two wonderful coffee table books of Edward Curtis photographs, "Edward S. Curtis: Visions of the First Americans" and Sites & Structures: The Architectual Photographs of Edward S. Curtis." I'm sure that I have several other books that contain reproductions of his work. Missing from those books is my favorite photograph which he took in 1904 of Navajo riders at Canyon de Chelly.

(This image is linked from the Library of Congress which is an amazing source.) What especially impressed me were his goldtone or orotype images. So, I wondered, how did he do it and more importantly, could it be reproduced?

So, armed with the power of Google, I spent a little over 2 hours (yeah, sure) searching and reading about Edward Curtis and the orotype. I thought that I would share some of the links that I found interesting. I started out looking through the Edward Curtis images stored on the Library of Congress web site and found an entire page devoted to him. I also found a related link at Northwestern University. A short description of Curtis and his work can also be found at www.edwardcurtis.com.

I had thought that this technique had died with it's creator, but apparently there are a few people still practicing variations of this art. Specifically, Curtis' technique involved placing a suspension of gold particles in banana oil sandwiched behind the glass positive (a print of the negative). Newer techniques either use a variant of this or gold leaf applied directly to the back of the positive glass plate. In my searches, I came across photographer Barabra Smith and her Auratones. She produces some amazing images with her technique. I also came across the photography of LA-based photographer Matthew Betcher at the Channel Four Contemporary Art Gallery web site. That web page has some good graphics concerning the orotype flow and some of his images in his series of the LA River. (I can't seem to locate a web site for Matthew Betcher, which is kind of a bummer, though I think he may be on Facebook.)

I'm pretty handy, but in my mind, I was thinking of Photoshop, and would it be a good effect to use on some of my B&W images. Would it be an effect that would only work on a print or would a screen image benefit from it's application? I have some photographs that were taken in Moab Utah several years ago that might benefit from such an effect. (It might also be an excellent excuse to head back out there and shoot some more photos.) How could it be done? I've read many articles by Photoshop experts that see some effect and attempt to reproduce it in that tool. I'm certainly no expert and I would spend a lot of time attempting, by eye. (Although, if an expert would like to attempt it, I certainly wouldn't stand in their way.) I'm a scientist, so I tend to favor a more analytical approach. I remembered an article on toning (thank goodness for Delicious) by Paul Butzi that describes a method of transferring a curves adjustment layer from a scan of the original. Since curves are just a transfer function it made a lot of sense. So, now I just need to find a book or image on the net with an adequate orototype.

Slightly Impaired

2009-07-02T09:51:00.002-06:00

A little over a week ago, I dislocated my shoulder during a mountain bike ride. I was riding on a trail that I've traversed a quite a number of before, heading downhill on the rough fire road. Afterward, at the emergency room the nurses and doctor asked me if I had lost consciousness? No, I replied, I remember the crash quite vividly. My front wheel slipped out from under me and I went down. I believe that my elbow impacted the hard, rocky soil first driving my shoulder out of it's socket. I'm fairly sure that was followed by my hip and leg. What I do remember was my face moving swiftly to meet the rocks. I can still recall the taste of the dirt and blood on my lips. Most crashes, I've found, involve pain, blood and a lot of curse words. The latter not because of a lack of more sophisticated ways of expressing oneself, but somehow it seems to be the right thing to do at the moment.

So, after a few moments of impolite expression, I picked myself up, dusted the dirt from my shorts and rinsed the blood from my face. It was at this point that I noticed that my left arm was not responding to requests for assistance. Turning my head I noticed that my shoulder was unplugged. This led to a new round of curses, fortunately shorter than the first outburst. This was followed by a sigh and then a careful removal of my Camelback to extract my phone. (Of course I took special care not to get blood or dirt on the phone.) Fortunately, my SO is on speed dial. It went something like this:

Hello, honey.
Hi.
I fell off my bike.
Oh?
I need you to come and pick me up.
Okay.
Can you bring a change of clothes?
Sure.
Oh, and close the windows and doors when you leave.
Okay?

Packing everything away, I picked up my undamaged bike. For about a microsecond I actually thought about riding down the rest of the hill. I know, stupid to even think about something as dumb as that. Fortunately, it was only an errant thought and I began to walk the half mile to the road. On my way down, two cyclists stopped to ask me if I was okay and if I needed any help. I'm sure that my face scared them off, but they were kind enough to stop.

The folks at the emergency room sedated me and reset my shoulder. (Why on earth would I want to be awake during this procedure? Though I suppose that it was nice of them to give me the option.) My cut lip was glued together and stones removed from my road rash. Thank you very much Swedish.

I managed to get a very early appointment with an orthopedist who, after examining some new X-Rays, pronounced that he was happy with the position of the bones. Good deal. He says, 'We'll have you back on your mountain bike in no time at all.'

Film and Digital

2009-03-18T17:47:00.001-06:00

I was thinking of the differences between digital and film. Originally, I was thinking of the terms analog and digital, but aren't we just counting photons in either case? Film uses a chemical reaction to light and digital detects through a collection of charge on a capacitor. Both are effectively quantized. Film typically has a bit more dynamic range than digital, but that's just a case of materials. So what is bothering me about the differences (or similarities)?

Digital allows instant gratification, right? That is, I can possibly re-shoot a poor photo by reviewing my capture. On the film-side of instant, there was Polaroid. Large format photographers frequently used Polaroid backs to preview their work. You don't have that option with regular film though: It sits and waits with much potential until it's developed, a mystery until the images are revealed. So, exposure bracketing and re-composing had to suffice, subject to the limits of cost, time, and lighting. (On the other hand, some shots were left to chance. And for some pictures, even the out of focus prints still had great impact and worth.)

Up to the focal plane itself, the light sensitive sensor: film or semiconductor, they are analogous. When the picture is taken, the information is stored on the detection media itself and then, in a digital device moved to storage. Light activates the silver embedded in the emulsion of the film, electrons and logic move the information from the digital sensor to memory.

In both flows we now have now have an image. A film user might wait for a couple of rolls to accumulate and then bring them to the drugstore for processing. So too can the digital photographer bring their memory card to the very same druggist for printing. As an additional convenience, the digital camera manufacturers have even provided a plug for connection to your own printer should you not want to make the journey to the corner store.

Now, for those of us that call ourselves amateurs, i.e. those that don't derive our livelihood from photography, and perhaps those who do; we will do our own post-processing. For film this involves developing the film and printing the pictures onto paper. I'm leaving out the details on purpose. With digital, we do a similar dance, we, as Adobe Lightroom suggests, 'Develop' the images and 'Print' the pictures onto paper. This, however, is the digital age. I no longer need to print my pictures. I can leave them to the ephemeral media and view them on a computer screen. I could compare, then, digital to slides. Indeed, I can share my slides with my friends using a projector.

We're narrowing the difference between digital and film, what is the difference? You process both. You print, or not both. Yet, unless the print/film is made digital or placed in a public space, its audience is limited. This is the appeal of digital: With a click of my mouse I can upload my pictures to a service like Flickr and expose my work to an even larger audience. If I wish, I can get a near instant critique and if I am lucky, someone interested in purchasing an image.

I admit that I really do like working in a darkroom and seeing the image emerge from a blank sheet of photo paper. I think it appeals to the scientist in me. Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom are beginning to grow on me though. I still have the urge to take out my Father's Yashica-Mat, load a roll of 120 film, and then dust off my developing tanks, chemicals, trays, and enlarger...

Journey To Fort Morgan

2009-03-01T11:02:00.010-07:00

Even before I finished my previous blog entry I wanted to document my adventure to Fort Morgan yesterday. I sincerely meant to write some notes in the notebook that I carry with my camera gear, but I didn't. I also meant to take more pictures while I was exploring the town, but I didn't. I guess I should call this a scouting expedition.

There were many reasons that I was drawn to Fort Morgan: the photographs of the plains by the photographers of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and more recently by Peter Brown, Andy Marquez, and others; and the stage adaptation by Eric Schmiedl of Kent Haruf's book, "Plainsong." Since I've recently taken to looking a museums with a different eye, I'd heard very good things about the Fort Mogan Museum.

The morning was clear and crisp and I managed to dither away most of it. I had in my mind an adventure or expedition of sorts and for the reasons noted above, I decided to head northwest. So, I packed a ham and cheese sandwich, a bottle of Diet Pepsi, and an apple, filled up the car, and headed out onto the open road.

I interrupted my journey for a quick stop at a Toyota dealership. I needed to purchase some new windshield wipers. (For some odd reason, car designers are all about weird sized wipers. Go figure?) When I pulled in, I was not met by the usual deluge of car sales folks. I did overhear two buyers discussing their new cars with their respective salesmen, but it did seem a little too quiet. I half expected a tumble weed to blow by like in the old Westerns. So, with the blades in hand, I jumped back in the truck and headed back onto the highway. (Luck favors the prepared, either that or I could be sure that it wouldn't snow.)

Much of my planned route parallels my normal commute to Fort Collins, so I needed to remember not to go into autopilot mode. I followed Interstate-70 to I-76, which was renamed from 80S for the state centennial in 1976. (See, I did learn something at the museum.) I somehow managed to not turn off onto I-25 and continued past the industrial areas where the smelters were once located. The horizon began to open up as I accelerated to 70 MPH. I began to pass farms, cows, windmills, old cottonwood trees, and oil pumps.

When people refer to Colorado they always think of the mountains. There's nothing out the in plains visitors would say. (I'm not sure that the Great American Desert was applied to this region in particular.) I suspect that the early western settlers crossing the plains upon seeing the mountains on the horizon would wonder when they would get to Denver. (Or more likely, 'OMG, we've got to go over those!') As I headed further east I thought about the song 'Horse With No Name," by America. (I'm sure that I thought the same when crossing the Mojave in California.) Lochbiue, Hudson, Roy, Keenesburg, Tampa, Roggen, and finally I stopped at the rest stop in Wiggins for lunch. I suspect that it was because I wanted to stop somewhere else along the way. BTW, its a nice rest stop and I highly recommend it.

Finally, I made it to Fort Morgan. The sky over the plains was crystal clear as I headed south on Main Street. (After all, what is a town, or city for that matter, without a Main Street.) The streets were wide, clean, and very quiet for an early Saturday afternoon. As I entered the center of town I saw my destination on the east side of the street: the Fort Morgan Museum and Library. As I exited my truck, I could hear a light breeze.

The building is divided between the museum and library. My mission today was the museum first, followed by a walk around the town. I have confirmed the reports on the museum. The exhibits begin like a Michner novel (although not from atoms forming) beginning with the local geology and ending with Glenn Miller. The displays were all very well done. It was a delightful way to spend the afternoon. A second or third visit would not be out of line. The person (librarian?) who greeted me told me that there was an exhibit in the basement which I sadly didn't get a chance to see. Perhaps next time.

I began to walk along the quiet streets. I wondered to myself, is this typical for such a nice day? I passed some cool store fronts and industrial buildings. I took a few pictures in passing, but kept on walking. It was getting late, so I headed back to my wheels and headed back north. I was about to get on the highway when I saw up ahead an old industrial building. It was the Fort Morgan Power Plant built in 1930. It was situated next to a park where I pulled off the road. There was a nice pond in the park, absolutely filled with geese.

I drive back wasn't nearly as exciting as it was to Fort Morgan. I suspect it's because the prairie gives way to the industrial, highways, and cars. Hopefully I can do this again before long.

I can't believe how long it took me to complete this post. I think I would have done better if I had some good pictures to post. Ah, so it goes.

Coyotes, Foxes, and Eagles, Oh my!

2009-02-27T09:02:00.008-07:00

Actually, the title really doesn't work too well, and the Wizard of Oz is probably a little too overused, but my intent was honest. This week has been quite busy with wildlife, hence the title.

On a drive south from Fort Collins I had a great view of a bald eagle stooping at some food in a open field beside the road. Well, as good a peek as you can get when driving at 70+ MPH. I really did want to stop and pull out the camera.
This morning while having my tea, I looked out the window to see a fox hunting for breakfast in our backyard. He (or she) managed to catch and eat a (yummy) Vole. Camera absent again.
Still later this morning, while on the way to Starbucks for a blueberry muffin, I saw two very healthy coyotes crossing a field toward a suburban neighborhood.

Wildlife in our backyard is typical. We're close enough to the foothills that our back hillside is a thoroughfare for animals, both domestic and foreign. So obviously our cat is not (and will not be) an outdoor cat. Our previous cat understood this and really didn't want to go outside. (Could it have been the bits of rabbit or deer left over from a pack of coyotes or the resident mountain lion that gave him the hint?) This new one isn't quite as clear on the concept, yet, but perhaps he'll make a good leash cat if he insists on seeing the great outdoors. (Does one stop calling a new pet new after one year?)

In my neighborhood, most everyone understands this, but still you see the signs on the lampposts for the missing dogs and cats. Sadly I suspect that quite a few of them have become meals for predators that are higher on the food chain. So, I've watched the recent news reports concerning the attacks on pets and humans by coyotes with a bit of alarm. As is typical with the news media an event, such as these attacks, that makes for a sensational reporting gets the public excited. Even when the statistics (don't even get me started on statistics and public understanding thereof) show that the likelihood of such an encounter is exceedingly small we still tend to overreact. (Say it ain't so!) Shaking my head, I know that this is just human nature: we're terrible at math. (Don't let me wander down that path.) Still, there does seem to be a small voice of reason out there.

Just when the wolves, eagles, and other animals are starting to come back; I hope we don't slide back into irresponsible wildlife management. Again.

Road Music

2009-02-18T21:04:00.006-07:00

It seems like I've always been on the road, so to speak. Unfortunately, not quite like the classic, "On The Road," by Jack Kerouac. Mostly, its been mundane trips to and from work, customers, or meetings. Although, there have been some memorable drives across this wonderful country. Throughout it all, there was the radio. No talk programs for this driver. No sir. Start the car and turn up the music: AM, FM, cassettes, CD, and satellite radio. Made the trip somewhat less tedious or in some cases, when the music matched the journey and countryside: cathartic.

I don't recall all of the stations or DJ's in the various places that I've been, but I do remember the songs. Music connects me to my life. Not a continuum, but a series of points or instances connected together. Listening to a tune allows me to reinforce those engrams in my brain. Certain albums and songs get played way too often. Lately I've been listening to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, "Saving Grace," on the Highway Companion album far too often. Right now I'm listening to the Eagles "On The Border" album. (I still have that vinyl album in the basement.)

So, every once in a while, I look through my notes that I've scribbled on scraps of paper or in notebooks and collect songs that I want to listen to, buy, or think might work well in an iTunes playlist. Hence the title of this blog entry: Road Music. You try an pick the one or two Eagles songs that should go in this list, its not easy. For the record I choose two: Already Gone and Take It Easy. I was going to pick Ol' 55, but I prefer the Tom Waits version. Yep, that version will work well while driving I-25. Who else should be there that's currently not: The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, or Webb Wilder? Ah, all the wonderful choices to make.

Music listened to while writing this post: Eagles 'On The Border,' The Rolling Stones, "Can't You Hear Me Knocking," Tom Waits, "Ol' 55," and, of course, the live version of Tom Petty's "Saving Grace."

Two eggs over easy...

2009-01-18T10:54:00.006-07:00

I've had the title for this blog entry in my mind for a couple of days and I really didn't want to write this entry until, at least, I had eaten them. A few days ago I did so.

The title is what my Dad would order at the local diner when I was growing up. I remember that it went something like this: "two eggs over easy, toast, and a side of hash browns," or something similar. (And, of course, a cup of tea, milk, & sugar.)

As an aside, its rather creepy how many hits you get when you Google 'eggs over easy.' That, and how many people felt the need to blog, video, and otherwise produce recipes on the subject. On the other hand, I didn't know that it was frequently abbreviated EOE. See, you do learn something every day whether you like it or not. Some folks like sunny side up and others scrambled. In fact, my Dad, when he would cook for himself, make scrambled eggs with tomato. Of course, this was before eggs were considered bad for you and then were restored to their former breakfast position.

So, where was I going with this? Oh yes. There's comfort in remembering the Saturday or Sunday mornings eating breakfast with my father while listening to Jonathan Schwartz playing Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett on WNEW-FM. I think I'll go and call my Dad.

Of course, I could be remembering this incorrectly, but who cares. In searching the web for some information about these topics I came across an interesting web site: wnew.com. I'm currently listening to a YouTube post of "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" at Eric Clapton's Guitar Festival in 2007, which is amazingly good.

There are a few movies over at YouTube about a film called "Airplay," which is about WNEW-FM.

Writing In The New Year

2009-01-07T17:39:00.005-07:00

I've started posts at least three or four times in the last few weeks/months and I haven't managed to finish them. I do have something to say (and share), but there has been a major disconnect from putting fingers to keyboard to blog. I do carry a notebook with me in my camera bag and frequently take notes or write down some thoughts; far more often than I do with this blog. I have a notebooks for work and for my photo and Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom work.

So what is the problem? One legitimate excuse is that I spend far more time in front of a computer in my current employ than ever before. (In fact, one of my unfinished posts was to complain about the digital workflow.) A second, less valid excuse (in some ways) is that writing in a notebook or on scraps of paper has a more charm and perhaps a little more mystique. However, if you want to share your thoughts in this day and age, a notebook won't really cut it.

So, I've made myself a number of goals for this year. (Note that I wrote goal and not resolution. I understand that the terminology is more appropriate and indeed it feels like it too.) Some of these I want to put up here:

Write an entry to this blog at least once per week.
Take many more pictures.
Build a new portfolio.
Get at least one of my pictures published.
Write a new resume.

Of course, there are a couple of more, but we'll see where we go on those. So, here's to the new year.

Licorice

2008-10-29T14:08:00.002-06:00

Ok, I admit it: I'm having black licorice and a diet Pepsi for lunch today. I had inconvenient conference calls and errands to run, so lunch wasn't possible. Or so I told myself; but I lie to myself, don't you? That got me thinking about licorice. I like both red and black, but if I had a choice I would have to say that I prefer good black licorice. You know, the kind that sticks to your teeth (that I'm sure our dentists hate)? I remember my Dad coming home from trips and would bring home the leftovers of a Pep O Mint Lifesaver or, if I was really lucky a box of Callard & Bowser Licorice or Butterscotch Toffee. What a wonderful treat. Its a pity that they aren't made anymore. Don't even get me started about Cadbury Flakes.

The Sadness of Men

2008-10-26T11:47:00.005-06:00

Whenever I am at the local library I always pause by the shelf containing the collections of different photographers and if I find a photograph that catches my eye I'll check out their coffee table book for some inspiration. Recently I checked out "The Sadness of Men: Photographs of Philip Perkis." As with many of these collections some images make you scratch your head. Others, you come back to again and again. With some photographers I've either checked out their books several times or purchased them for my own collection. However, what I found most interesting about this book was an interview conducted by a former student of Perkis, John Levine. In the discussion, Perkis talks about the negative and the print, and I quote:

Edward Weston felt a sadness about printing, because the negatives were so much more beautiful. You're reducing the amount of information from the negative to the print. You're deciding what aspect of the information you're going to present, by lightness, darkness, contrast, what end of the spectrum you're going to emphasize. Printing is making the memory public.

In this day and age of digital photography, one could say that this is still true with the image captured by the camera is different from the one displayed on the computer, web page, or printed paper, that the process of information reduction is the same. Is it though? Digitally speaking, the image (or should I be calling it image data) is not immutable, once it's removed from the camera. Actually, the image can and is changed by the processor in the camera for example when the image is converted to JPEG and stored on the memory chip. Or, if you are dealing with RAW image data, then it has to be converted into a format that the editing program can understand. Through Photoshop I can add or subtract from the image in the computer. Yet again we are altering the image, changing the information contained in it. One could say that information is also changed when film is processed chemically. The loss of silver in the emulsion changing the entropy of the captured image? Another thought occurs to me: the image sensor in a digital camera mimics the color vision of the human eye using what is called a Bayer pattern. Whereas a camera using a silver halide emulsion-based film captures more information than is available to our eyes.

I've worked with both film and digital. It does seem, sometimes, that digital photography does take a bit more work post capture than film, but in the end, I think it's the original capture that matters most and I agree with Weston and Perkis: there is a loss going from capture to print.

Just another thought before I close this post: the bookplate of this book indicates that Philip Perkis is a Professor Emeritus at Pratt Institute and is the author of "Teaching Photography, Notes Assembled." After looking at the pictures and reading the interview inspired me to think about applying to teach a course in photography at one of the local darkrooms. Wouldn't my old high school photography teacher be proud?

How Long?

2008-10-12T14:46:00.002-06:00

I was sitting in a fast food joint (where I get most of my nutrition, don't you know) and I heard a song that I hadn't heard in a long time: "How Long." For those of you that don't remember, it was a hit song by Ace back in 1974. The song was written and sung by Paul Carrack who went on to groups such as Squeeze and Mike + The Mechanics. So, when I got home I fired up my computer and checked to see if iTunes had a copy of this hit song. Guess what? They only have it as a part of a soundtrack to the movie Invincible. Although the other songs aren't bad, I'd rather buy some other tracks from Ace. I also checked to see what Ace CD's were available from someone like Amazon. You could buy used and a remastered import CD for more than $52! Dude, this is wrong. Isn't this what digital music was supposed to be all about? Although I did think, for a moment or two, about buying that CD. At least I can hear it on the radio and watch some videos on YouTube.

One of my favorite songs by Mike + The Mechanics, "Silent Running."

And, this one, "All I Need Is A Miracle."

Suzanne Vega

2008-09-24T10:37:00.003-06:00

I just finished an essay (or would you call it a blog entry) by Suzanne Vega in the opinion section of The New York Times about her song, "Tom's Diner." (With the power of iTunes, I'm listening to it as I write this.) She writes about the evolution of that song, which is very interesting. For some reason, the image of her notes, makes me appreciate the song even more. (Perhaps this tells you something about me?) I think I was first exposed to her music though the song, "Left of Center." Which I gather from my reading was not a hit, at least not on the charts. I think I purchased the that first song electronically and followed it by buying her Retrospective album. (Do we call them albums anymore?) Obviously, I need some more of her music.

My musical listening, besides being rather eclectic, occurs in sort of a vacuum. That was a turn of phrase that occurred to me when I started this, and I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking at that point. Perhaps it means that there is no telling what I will like.

Avast! It's Talk Like A Pirate Day

2008-09-19T08:53:00.003-06:00

Arrrr mateys!!! It be "International Talk Like A Pirate Day!" I remember putting up posters for this event at my previous company. People at my current employer don't seem to be interested in talking like a pirate, but since I am working from home, the point is probably mute. So, I can trade pirate Twitters and mumble to myself while working at the computer. For more amusement you can find out your pirate name by taking a short, but weird quiz. I thought it would have been cute if Babel Fish had an English to Pirate converter, but no. I could always get dressed up as a pirate...but that would be weird, wouldn't it?

The Day After Labor Day

2008-09-02T08:25:00.006-06:00

This morning a DJ mentioned the significance of the day after Labor Day: for many it's the end of summer. In my youth, summertime for me was endless days of playing at the beach, riding my bicycle, reading, and playing ball in the street. Even though my summers aren't free anymore, I still feel like something is ending today. As I get older I find that I sometimes feel like I didn't take advantage of summer. That I didn't hike or ride enough. I actually made it to the beach, once, this summer and it was great.

Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes?

2008-08-30T16:35:00.004-06:00

This was a post I was going to write yesterday, but for some reason or another I put it off. Anyway, back to the subject: snakes. About this time of year, the late afternoon becomes cool enough for snakes to be active along the trails that I ride my mountain bike on. Colorado happens to be very lucky in that it only has one poisonous snake...hmmm, just to be sure I better Google that. Oh, it turns out that we have two poisonous snakes: the Western Rattler and the Massassauga, which also happens to be a rattler as well. Either way, it's somewhat disconcerting to come upon a snake crossing the trail while riding. (Especially if you run them over.) Snake identification from the saddle of a bicycle can be rather difficult. At other times, the sound of the rattle does tend to focus your attention (and raise your heart rate).

The Egg Cream

2008-08-05T10:19:00.005-06:00

According to the recipe on the bottle of Fox's u-bet Original Chocolate Flavor Syrup (now doesn't that sound appetizing):

In A Tall Glass Pour 1/2 Inch Of u-bet, 3/4 Inch Of Whole Milk, Add Carbonated Water & Mix Briskly.

I remember at the corner soda fountain (why is it that they are always on a corner) when I was growing up in New York that the gentlemen, wearing an apron, behind the counter would hold the glass under a spigot with a pump. I can't remember the exact amount, but say it was three or more pumps of chocolate syrup spurting into the bottom of the glass. Next, he would pour some ice cold milk from a sweaty bottle to precisely the right height. Finally, a blast of seltzer followed by a vigorous mixing with a long spoon. Rising white foam would spill over the lip of the glass as it was placed in front of you. A flex-straw completes the effect. Mmmmm, refreshing.

This morning the New York Times Jennifer 8. Lee posted an article titled, "Can the Egg Cream Make a Comeback?" She feels that the venerable egg cream may have 'gone the way of stickball (say it isn't so), soda fountains, and other elements of lost New York.' Jennifer writes about the history and possible origin of the drink. There is also a mention of a NY Magazine piece written by Daniel Bell, a retired professor of sociology, wherein he says that his Uncle Hymie invented it. Doesn't everyone have an Uncle Hymie?

The Fox u-bet web site even has a tab for the egg cream, although the recipe differs from that of their bottle. Perhaps it's due to the type/size of the glass its prepared in? I remember being served in a narrow base Coca Cola glass.

In fact, I think I have a bottle of Fox's in our pantry... Maybe I should think about exposing people to the wonders of a refreshing egg cream...

Memory Cards & My Mom

2008-07-18T17:00:00.009-06:00

This is probably a nightmare that everyone encounters at some point: unintentionally deleting or formatting your digital camera's memory card. My typical blunder is not formatting my cards after downloading (and verifying and backing up) them. So, I end up adding photos to that card, but I digress. My mom recently called me up (I'm the official IT guy for my parents) and told me that she had accidentally deleted pictures from her camera. Pictures that she wanted and had not transferred to her computer. "Could they be recovered," she asked? Being the dutiful son that I am I said, "of course. Take it out of your camera (off, of course) and send it to me and I will see what I can do." Knowing what I know about storage and computers I had been meaning to do some research about the applications available to do this type of recovery on memory cards.

I remembered searching various photoblogs that I frequent to see what they were using. Digital Photography School probably had the most entries related to my quest. I also searched CNET because sometimes they have some interesting solutions (and free software) to help. Rather than bore you, here are some of the best links that I found in my not-too-exhaustive search:

Digital Photography School: 13 Tips for Using and Caring for Memory Cards
Digital Photography School:How to Recover Lost Images
CNET: Digital photography horrors: And then there were none (of your photos on the card)

Then comes the various software options: free/shareware, commercial, and services. CNET has quite a few options that were recommended by some of the blogs and you can find those here. Some of the sites listed above had commercial products available:

PhotoRescue
CardRecovery
Flash File Recovery
Zero Assumption Digital Image Recovery

and so on. I tried several of the better rated freeware programs from CNET and had varying success. For example, the Art Plus Digital Photo Recovery (v 3.1) was able to recover 10 images from the 32 MB SD card. (By the way, this is one of the original cards provided with the Canon camera, hence it's small size.) Eight of the pictures were complete, two partials. This may not have been an issue with the recovery program. The ZAR recovery program, which was quite a bit more sophisticated than the other freeware programs, was able to recover 18 photos. Two partials (as before) and one which was probably usable.

Lastly I used the CardRecovery application. This tool allows you to review the photos, but not actually recover them, until you pay for it. A very nice selling point. It also recovered 18 photos from the card. The preview indicated that it was able to recover the same photos that the ZAR tool was. Of course, my mother was uncertain as to how many pictures were on the card before it was erased. (Or could she have meant formatted?) If we assume that 18 photos were on the card, then the ZAR and CardRecovery programs were both successful.

So, what would I recommend? With this limited subset of programs that I used: it would depend. For myself, a complicated interface is not too much of a hinderance. The ZAR tool is not something that I think I would recommend for my parents. The CardRecovery application was fairly straightforward to use and cheap at, I think, $30. I also note on their web site that it's recommended by Nikon. Both of these programs are for the Windows OS. I tested them on XP Pro. If anyone has a version for Macintosh, I would like to hear about it.

Another note: Many of the memory cards actually come with recovery software. I often read about the SanDisk software on photoblogs.

BSG - Revelations - Spoiler

2008-06-14T06:33:00.003-06:00

If you follow Battlestar Galactica and you haven't seen the mid-season finale, you may not want to read any further.

Ok, you've been warned. As the camera panned showing the colonists standing on "Earth," who didn't expect to see Taylor (Charlton Heston) kneeling by a broken Statue of Liberty? "You Maniacs! You blew it up!" Or a later thought, Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) from "The Matrix," saying "Welcome to the real world." Sadly, this is probably the only way the writers could have represented Earth. They could have done what the original series had done, brought the colonists to the 20/21st century Earth. Or, to the delight of Star Trek fans, to the 24th.

For some reason I decided to have a look at the SciFi channel forum entry for the Revelations episode. At the time of viewing there were over 19 pages of entries and growing! Watchers had deduced that the final images were of the remains of Ellis Island and or the Brooklyn
Bridge. A large stone cross and a car laying on it's side were also discovered.

The cross was very interesting. The Cylon's are a monotheistic culture while the "human" colonists are polytheistic, like the Greeks or Romans of the past. I saw bbs entries refering to Boltar as a Jesus-like figure. What does it all mean? I guess we'll have to wait until next year and watch Doctor Who and Stargate Atlantis to tide us over until then.

Living & Working Spaces

2008-06-12T13:35:00.008-06:00

I am very fortunate to be able to work several days a week from home. It's not that the commute is L.A. bad, it's just quite long. (Of course, the drivers are as poor as anywhere else that I've lived.) Unfortunately IM, Twitter, and e-mail do not make up for missed human interaction. On the other hand, when I'm at work I don't really interact that much with my cube neighbors. So, that leaves me staring either at the walls of my "office" at home or my cube. So, it was with that view that I came across this is an amazing apartment in a New York Times article today. I wonder if, after you discovered all of the secrets, would you be bored of it?

Commenting Code

2008-06-03T15:00:00.007-06:00

This blog post is probably a little more esoteric than others that I have made. It's about a topic which has irked me for more than 2o years! So, if I have lived with it for so long, why write about it now? Mostly it's just a chance to vent.

For the last year or so I've been pretending to be a programmer. I'm not a classically trained programmer, but in the course of my career I have had experience in programming in many different languages and working on and managing software/hardware projects. That said, what changed? A little history:

In a previous age I had a boss who programmed in Pascal (remember Turbo Pascal) and he rarely, if ever, commented his code. If I remember correctly we were doing mostly numerical analysis and some graphical programming. I was annoyed that I had to take time out to figure out what he had done (or intended to do) and a few comments would certainly have made life easier. Since at the time we weren't bound to a particular language I started working in a language that he didn't know: C. I hoped that my change and request that he start commenting his code would be heeded. Alas, it did not. So, as soon as he learned C (courtesy of a class that I taught) I found that my course of action had failed. So, I changed languages again, this time to C++. Well, he never did learn C++, but he did manage to slightly improve his commenting.

At that same company in Southern California I had another colleague that did quite a bit of hacking in FORTH. His code was especially interesting because of the comments. Besides the usual information as to what his code was doing, he would also include quotes, recipes, and stories that he would write in late night programming sessions. I have a dot matrix printout of some of his code saved in a notebook.

These days I am either fixing bugs or adapting code. This usually involves trying to understand other programmer's code. Frequently that code has been touched by several other coders, thus making it even harder to fathom. In a recent Google search I found viewpoints that ranged the entire spectrum: from don't to you must. I'm sure there is a happy medium, but I certainly would appreciate comments. I certainly don't view not commenting code as job security. Sorry about that, rant off.

Steampunk

2008-05-08T08:49:00.004-06:00

You know that something has finally caught the attention of the mainstream media when it's in the New York Times. I just read the article, "Steampunk Moves Between Two Worlds." I've been following this, well, the NYT calls it a sub-culture, for a number of years. (Following is probably too strong a word, let's say observing.) I find it an interesting intersection of, the article quotes, "technology and romance." I agree.

Check out some of the links in the article. I've also seen quite a few links in Wired magazine. There is also great store in Denver, called Packrat Antiques, which has some amazing old scientific and engineering instruments. It's on South Broadway if you're ever in the neighborhood.

Thoughtful Animals

2008-04-05T09:19:00.003-06:00

I'm seriously behind in my reading, probably more than a year. This is especially true in the area of periodicals. Of course, my scattered reading style doesn't help matters much. So, this morning when I saw the cover of the March issue of National Geographic with the cute Border Collie on the cover, I couldn't resist. It's a great article and follow-up video by the photographer. I have to admit that I am a bigger fan of Newfoundlands though.

Thoughts On Chai Tea

2008-04-03T18:27:00.005-06:00

As everyone knows there is a cult of coffee and tea, hence the existence of a Starbucks on every corner and then some. My SO loves her Chai tea: "no water, no fat, Chai." So, in a moment of waiting for an application to complete, I perused the net for more information about making Chai tea. I shouldn't be surprised that there are whole web sites, such as Chai!, devoted to this tea. So, I wondered, how do you make it without water? I did what one normally does in this day and age: I Googled it. One site, Starbucks Gossip, had a page devoted to my inquiry. Apparently the "no water" issue is divisive among Chai tea drinkers. Who would have thought?

Vaccines II

2008-04-01T14:52:00.003-06:00

I came across a blog entry at Instapundit which reminded me of a New York Times Op-Ed piece that I read yesterday titled, "Inoculated Against The Facts." The author is chief of the infectious disease division of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He reports that, in a special vaccines claims court on the 6th of March, a decision was made that contradicts the statement,

Health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and at the American Academy of Pediatrics have steadfastly assured the public that vaccines do not cause autism.

He responds, WTF? The court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, "elevating a hypothesis above epidemiological evidence."

After reading a few more articles I wanted to edit this post a little: What I object to is decisions based upon hearsay and not evidence: peer reviewed and debated evidence.

Heroes

2008-03-19T09:31:00.003-06:00

I think everyone at one time or another thinks, talks, or writes about their heroes. The thought occurred to be when I heard a Bruce Springsteen song, "Candy's Room," on the radio. The first two lines of the song are:

In Candy's room there are pictures of her heroes on the wall
but to get to Candy's room you gotta walk the darkness of Candy's hall

Putting other interpretations of that song aside, I wondered who are my heroes? They are certainly not on the walls of my room at least, not my home office. I have prints of a Brandenburg Gray Wolf, a Talbot dolphin, and a map. Are they in the books on my bookshelves? In all probability, for me I think, they would be there. Could it be Richard Feynman, Albert Einstein, John Bardeen, Issac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, H.G. Wells, or Jules Verne?

I had meant for this post to appear a few days ago and then I read an obituary for Arthur C. Clarke in The New York Times. I think the first book that I read of his was "Glide Path." I seem to recall it sitting on one of my parents book shelves (right next to "Failsafe"). The short story I remember most, even if it wasn't one of his favorites, was "Rescue Party." I even copied a short passage into one of my notebooks which I still have to this day:

"That is the greatest fleet of which there has ever been a record. Each of those points of light represents a ship larger than our own. Of course, they are very primitive—what you see on the screen are the jets of their rockets. Yes, they dared to use rockets to bridge interstellar space! You realize what that means. It would take them centuries to reach the nearest star. The whole race must have embarked on this journey in the hope that its descendants would complete it, generations later.

"To measure the extent of their accomplishment, think of the ages it took us to conquer space, and the longer ages still before we attempted to reach the stars. Even if we were threatened with annihilation, could we have done so much in so short a time? Remember, this is the youngest civilization in the Universe. Four hundred thousand years ago it did not even exist. What will it be a million years from now?"

Reading that story made me want to become a scientist, and reading it again, still does. Perhaps I should have pictures of my heroes on my walls (or cube).

Wheat Will Win The War

2008-03-10T20:06:00.004-06:00

Last week I finished Timothy Egan's book, "The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story Of Those Who Survived The Great American Dust Bowl." Overall, reviewers indicated that it was one of the better popular books written about the Great Plains and the Dust Bowl. I agree. When I first finished the book I wondered why people didn't realize what the plains were, just a thin living skin over sand. Of course, we know that now. In reality, the knowledge was not available, not to the average farmer. As one reviewer on the book's page on Amazon noted, Egan is being a little hard on the farmer. At that time there were no soil conservation districts, no county agents, or farm bulletins. What there was was a hope to succeed.

Egan mentions a documentary (read that as propaganda film) produced by the Resettlement Agency during Roosevelt's presidency, "The Plow That Broke The Plains." I managed to find a copy of the film on the Internet Archive web site. Watching the film while understanding the context is fascinating.

Politicians And Science

2008-03-04T12:44:00.004-07:00

This is a topic that has been beaten to death by pundits everywhere and I won't add to the discussion. Unfortunately no one seems to remember the scientific method that one (hopefully) learns in school. I think I'm reasonably safe in assuming that it's actually not in politicians best interest to understand science. For example, in my usual scan of the newspapers and blogs, my eye came upon an item in The New York Times The Opinionator column entitled, "Immune to the Facts." Which was linked to a blog entry "McCain and Thimerosol" by Matthew Yglesias at The Atlantic. That linked to a blog called Political Punch on the ABC News web site which had a little more information. It talks about Senator John McCain speaking about autism and vaccines (and I quote from the NYT column):

...there’s strong evidence’ that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that was once in many childhood vaccines, is responsible for the increased diagnoses of autism in the U.S...

It just gives me a headache when they say things like this, just for effect.

I just realized, after reading another post at Instapundit, that I had forgotten to publish this.

Battlestar Galactica

2008-02-29T18:25:00.004-07:00

Actually, I'm referring to the original series. I came across a link that brought me to the NBC web site which hosts some of the old episodes and, I admit it, I watched the first episode. I remember watching this show when I was at school. A bunch of us would get together after dinner and watch the show. (If I remember correctly, it was on Sunday nights when it originally premiered.) I guess it was a substitute for Star Trek. My only complaint, besides the acting, were the commercials. I have no problem with them running commercials, but please don't repeat the same two awful commercials over and over again. When I watched the re-run of this episode they had Will Farrell pushing Old Spice deodorant in his "Semi-Pro" persona. Ick. I can reasonably guarantee that I won't buy Old Spice deodorant or watch his movie.

Cell Phones Are Everywhere

2008-02-18T13:41:00.005-07:00

While sitting in a downtown restaurant on 3rd Avenue, my father noted that many of the customers were on their cell phones. He wondered, "what did we do before cell phones?" What did we do indeed? In fact, on my return from a walk to the Strand, I saw a couple pushing their child in a stroller. Both mom and pop were talking on their cell phones. I'm not exactly sure what made that interesting, but it might have made a good photograph.

A Milestone In Instant Photography

2008-02-14T08:55:00.004-07:00

An article on CNN's web site indicates that Polaroid has decided to stop making instant film. The company has indicated that it will make enough of the file to last consumers until 2009 and hopes that someone will step forward to license the technology. I see from Polaroid's web site that they are concentrating on the digital arena as are all of the other camera makers that survive. I recall taking scope photos using a Polaroid during my school years and well into my career. I have many notebooks with photographs of curve traces pasted into them. (I'm sure that they are all falling off due to the aging tape.) I have some of my favorite micrographs of my chips on Polaroids scattered about my office. Thank you Dr. Edwin Land for being an amazing scientist and inventor.

I read a biography of Dr. Land some time ago that I thought was very interesting. He was intimately involved with the design of the cameras for the U2 program, Corona, and KeyHole satellites. In case anyone is interested, there was an excellent article in Physics Today about the Corona satellite program by a former CEO of Hughes Aircraft Albert Bud Wheelon:

Wheelon, Albert D. ("Bud") "Corona: The First Reconnaissance Satellites." Physics Today, Feb. 1997, 24-30.

In Support Of Melancholy

2008-02-13T14:40:00.004-07:00

I think the thing that most appeals to me be about the web is the randomness. As I peruse my favorite web sites and blogs, you never know what you might come across. My mind often makes strange connections which show up in my reading, music, or conversations (or even my photographs). So when I came across this particular link, which was reported on the Yahoo home page, it was definitely serendipity. The link was to an NPR book review entitled, "Arguing the Upside of Being Down". Eric G. Wilson, the author of "Against Happiness" tells us that we should embrace our inner melancholy. Since I haven't read the book, I can't say if his argument holds any water (or even if it's well written). However, I think I can partially identify where his thesis comes from. There are times when you don't want to be cheered up and you want to wallow (if thats the correct term) in unhappiness. (Notice that I am attempting to avoid the word depression. Why that is, I'm not sure.)

I know that my melancholy (I like that word) does influence everything that I do, especially my creative side. It makes me who I am. I admit that I do attempt to hide it from most people, who I think would not understand where I am coming from.

Meditation on the Beatles

2008-02-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

Can anyone from my generation say that The Beatles didn't have an influence on them? I guess they could, if they grew up without music. However, in my house I was raised with Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, show tunes, and others, including or especially The Beatles. This morning while listening to the Beatles Fab Foursome on Sirius, the DJ Dennis Elsas mentioned an article in the New York Times by Allan Kozinn, "Meditation on the Man Who Saved the Beatles." The article is about their experiences with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who recently passed away. What came of that experience bad or good was an amazing body of music.

Robert Capa's Lost Negatives

2008-01-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

I just came across an article in the New York Times, "The Capa Cache." Apparently, a cache of negatives of Robert Capa's was discovered in Mexico. He had thought them lost during the war. The article says that negatives from the Spanish Civil War from Capa, Gerda Taro, and maybe David Seymour were found in the three cardboard cases. I hope that they will have a show at the International Center of Photography soon.

Kindle, My Impressions

2008-01-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

I've been going through quite a number of books since my last post. Some new, and re-reading some old favorites. Let's see, I read "Stand On Zanzibar" by John Brunner, "Watchman" by Ian Ranken, and "People of the Book" by Geraldine Brooks. The last book was excellent and it's been suggested that I read her previous book, "March." I also re-read "Watchers" by Dean Koontz and the first book of Orson Scott Card's The Homecoming Saga, "The Memory of Earth."

This morning I had the opportunity to read the book that I had purchased on the Kindle, "Cauldron," by Jack McDevitt. I've spent a lot of today reading from the Kindle in several stretches (minutes to hours). This book didn't get the best reviews on Amazon, but I like it so far. It's an easy read and well written. So here are my impressions of the Kindle:

You never lose your page.
The text is easy on your eyes no matter what the lighting is like (indirect sunlight or halogen lamp).
It's light enough so you can read it one handed without getting tired.
Contained within it's folder, it's definitely right-handed, which is isn't a problem for me.
The limited amount of text on the screen makes for a lot of paging.
As noted before, there isn't a good feeling for where you are in a chapter.
There is a tendency to page back to ensure continuity.

My assessment at this point is that it is a good electronic book reader. It does exactly what it was designed to do. The wireless purchase and downloading of books, newspapers, and magazines is very clever. (I haven't tried the newspaper/magazines yet. I'm waiting for The Economist to come out in Kindle format before I decide.) There are certain books and authors whom I will still purchase in paper format. However, assuming that I am allowed to use the Kindle again, I will definitely purchase additional books.

Kindle, Second Hand Impressions

2008-01-13T18:10:00.000-07:00

After all, this was a gift and it does plug-in. So, I was hands off for a couple of weeks. So as a follow up, I asked the giftee what she thought. So far, she's read at least two books, mostly while in bed. Overall, she really likes the Kindle but did note some issues:

At the text size that she is using, about 1/4 of a page is displayed on the screen. This adds a bit of discontinuity when reading. Occasionally it forced her to go back a page to remember what the connection was. Shrinking the font size might be an option, but having a larger screen would be better.
Unlike a book, it's not easy to see how many pages there are until the end of a chapter. You can see by thumbing ahead, but you can potentially lose your place (unless you add a bookmark).
She also said that it was hard to peek ahead. By this she meant that it was difficult to quickly look at different parts of the book. She likes to do this, especially with history books.

Other than my first experience with handling the Kindle, I can't verify any of these points though I think I can understand them. Paragraph continuity could be interesting as you page along. I recall reading a PDF version of an electronic book a few years ago on a PDA, 'Red Alert'¹, and noting the same issue. Second, I do like to know if it's worthwhile starting a new chapter when it's bedtime or I have something else that I need to do. Finally, it's the difference between a real and electronic book. Some books were meant to be held, paper and all.

Since she's out of town, I purchased a SF book to read on the Kindle. So this evening I'll get a chance to read, Jack McDevitt's "Cauldron". I probably should have read the reviews before purchasing it, but it did look interesting in the bookstore.

¹ I think that I recall purchasing 'Red Alert' by Peter Bryant from Amazon as a PDF book, but now, I only see it as a Kindle book. I guess that makes sense.

Populuxe

2008-01-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

I was recently reading some interesting period books and only now had gotten the time to write about what I had read. "Populuxe" by Thomas Hine focuses on popular culture from 1954 to 1964. This was the decade of the mass market and consumption. I recall designs from this era in magazines and books that I read as a youth. I came across two very interesting quotes from the book. The first concerns advertisement:

Advertisers have determined that the mass market is a myth, and in appealing to a large number of more specialized markets they have compromised the country's sense of social cohesiveness.

What does that mean in todays terms? I can't say that I've read enough about advertising, although I do have a couple of titles on my reading list, to fully understand what he means. We know that advertising, with the all pervasiveness of information, is now targeted. That is based upon what you have perused, searched, or purchased targeted advertisements are presented to you. In his text he talks about the Ford Mustang aimed at the mass market (and wildly successful he adds) as the last of an error. Social cohesiveness has many different meanings to me. So, I did what any non-social scientist (gee, that works on so many levels) would do: I Googled it. I came across an interesting link to a paper (pdf) submitted to the American Journal of Sociology entitled, "Social Cohesion and Embeddedness: A hierarchical conception of social groups" by James Moody and Douglas R. White. In the abstract, they say:

We define cohesiveness as the minimum number of actors who, if removed from a group, would disconnect the group.

To me that says, that we're talking about social networks. So, if I may extrapolate, does Hine mean that the lack of a large number of us lusting after a particular product hurts our social cohesiveness? That all we shared was a common desire for acquisition? Later he says,

The American way of life has shattered into a bewildering array of "lifestyles," which offer greater freedom but not the security that one is doing the normal thing.

What is normal has been bandied about since the 60's. (Just try and Google that and see what you get.) It's also probably funded a good many psychologists and therapists.

Selenium Toning In Photoshop CS3

2007-12-31T17:10:00.000-07:00

Many, many years ago when I did a lot a darkroom work I remember learning about and attempting some Sepia and Selenium toning on my prints. Of course, now that we're in the digital age, toning is something that you do in Adobe Photoshop (or related applications). I'm not exactly sure why I recently became fixated on this topic: I must have come across an old photo that I took long ago or perhaps it was an Ansel Adams Selenium toned photograph that I came across in an old book. In either case, I have been searching the web and Photoshop books for information about toning. Specifically I am interested in Selenium and Cyano. I did come across one book that had a very good section about toning: "Advanced Digital Black & White Photography" by John Beardsworth and a couple of web sites: Paul Butzi Photography, the Adobe Community web site, and something from ePaperPress.

Of course there were many other such web sites, but these three had decent directions on how to tone using Photoshop. Paul Butzi's had a section entitled "Toning Digital Prints" which had several ways to perform different tones, one of them included using curves. Patti Anderson's post on the Adobe Community web site includes several gradients. It was for a much earlier version of Photoshop (7.x), but it does seem to work. The last web site that I found interesting was from Tom Nieman's ePaperPress web site. It requires a little more navigation, but the whole section on Black and White is worthwhile clicking through. By the way, some of these sites use older versions of Photoshop, but you can get the general idea.

So, using the information I gleaned from these web sites and the book mentioned above I made my first attempt at Selenium toning using Photoshop which is shown below. I used an image that I had taken in Silver Plume of the Georgetown Loop Railroad engine. The picture on the left is done using a curves adjustment layer while the other is via a gradient adjustment layer.

Did I succeed? To paraphrase an instructor of mine from the Denver Darkroom, I too remain skeptical. Both of the images print nicely, but my printing is still in the primitive stages. I will continue to work this out.

The Raspberries

2007-12-25T11:55:00.000-07:00

The reason I came across The Raspberries this morning was because I was trying to consolidate some small pieces of paper on my computer desk. I had written myself a note when I heard one of their hit songs, "Go All The Way" from way back in 1972 when I heard them on Sirius satellite radio on the "Totally 70s" channel. One of the best things about satellite radio is that with all of the stations there are so many old songs (that bring back memories) that you get to hear. I remember hearing them when I was growing up, I never realized their influence on other musicians until I just read about them.

A story that I recall from the year 1977 was when I was driving some friends somewhere. The Alan O'Day song "Undercover Angel" came onto the AM radio. At about the same time, some girls, they were girls back then, in the back seat were talking about two piece bathing suits. One of the young ladies commented on how she had to purchase a larger top. I, being a little slow, thought, "gee you can buy them in different sizes?" Funny what you remember.

A Christmas Carol

2007-12-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

I'm watching one of the best versions of 'A Christmas Carol' It is the 1984 made for TV version with George C. Scott. It was pointed out to me that his voice (and acting) was wonderful in this performance. It is indeed.

Linsky

2007-12-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

My parents recently purchased a Apple Macintosh Macbook Pro. My dad had gotten fed up with using a Windows PC and all the art students that he teaches suggested that he should be using a Mac. I certainly wouldn't disagree with him, especially since using iPhoto will make it very easy for them to connect their camera. Anyway, I get a call from him about connecting it to the internet. He tells me that he has a blue cable that he can connect to the back of the Linsky. "Linsky" I thought? Huh? He went on about wireless and other stuff. A few seconds later it hit me...Linksys. He meant Linksys. Very funny. My mom called today and used the same Linsky term. "Yes, you need to turn on the Linsky first before turning on the computer," I told her. Very cute.

Kindle, First Impressions

2007-12-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

The nice UPS gal (who must be very tired by this time of day) brought us the Amazon Kindle that I had purchased a few weeks ago. I had been looking at eBooks as a potential gift and had originally settled on the Sony Digital Book Reader. About that time Amazon announced their Kindle eBook reader. It looked pretty cool on their web site and it used the same E-Ink® that Sony does on theirs. The reviews (also on the Amazon site) were mixed. I agreed with many of the reviewers: the industrial design (i.e. packaging) is pretty poor and it was expensive. (I wonder what it would have looked like if Apple had designed it? Pretty cool I bet.) On the upside, the number of books, magazines, and newspapers that Amazon carried was significantly larger than the Sony. Finally the unique feature was the wireless delivery system using Sprints EVDO which was very clever. Finally, one of the last reviews that I read on Gizmodo convinced me that this was a useful tool was by a reviewer that tested this product in bed.

A Capella

2007-12-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

I don't normally watch the CBS Early Show except, perhaps, for the headlines. However, this past Friday they announced the finalists for "The Early Show" Boyz II Men A Capella Quest. The first one, Overboard, sung a great version of the Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine." Another, Hookslide, sung "Vehicle" by the "Ides of March." The winner, which was announced on Monday, was Mosaic singing the "Sly and the Family Stone" hit, "Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself Again." This video is on their web site, but I came across it first on YouTube.

Jones Beach

2007-12-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

You might ask me, "what convoluted thought process brought you to the subject of this post?" I'm glad that you asked. (Of course, you might not be when you are finished reading this.) Since I have been doing a lot of photography lately, my thoughts turned to a photography teacher that I had in high school: Joseph Szabo. So, with the help of a Google search I came across a show that he had earlier this year in a California gallery. Links also led to his web site. While in a bookstore a few years ago I happened across his book, "Teenage". In that book and on his web site he took photos at Jones Beach. (Oh, so that's how you got to the beach. Yup. Not nearly as convoluted as some of my usual connective gymnastics.)

With my family, I spent entire summers at Jones Beach. What better way to spend the sultry days of summer by swimming in the ocean, walking along the beach, eating egg salad sandwiches (with sand in them), and playing in the dunes. I wish I had more pictures of that time and place. Mr. Szabo had some interesting photos of that time at the beach. There is a lot of history that I have yet to read about Robert Moses.

It's been snowing all day and I wish it were summer and I was at the beach. Of course, its winter and Jones Beach is nearly 3000 km away. Ugh.

Starved For Entertainment?

2007-12-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

This morning I watched some of the The Early Show. The lead story was about the mid-west ice storms and the havoc it was creating. One of the later stories was about puppy mills. Who likes to see our favorite animals (cats too) locked in small cages in horrible conditions, right? Then came a story about the latest Barney cam film, "Holiday in the National Parks." Huh? Why wasn't I informed about this? Where have I been to miss this latest use of the internet? OK folks. I realize that the first dog and dogess are cute, but really, since the tv writers are on strike, are we that starved for entertainment? For goodness sake, read a book, watch some porn (after all isn't that what the internet is for), or go outside (horrors) and go for a walk.

You're Not Close Enough

2007-09-09T16:39:00.000-06:00

On this cool and slightly overcast Colorado day, I just finished Robert Capa's memoir, Slightly Out Of Focus. I've read a lot about the Second World War, just not from the perspective of a photojournalist. I've seen his photographs before, I just never knew much about the man (and now I know a little). He was one of the original founders of Magnum Photos with Henri Cartier-Bresson (another of my favorite photographers). An excellent quote that I found attributed to Capa is, "If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough." Very appropriate. With me reviving my interest in photography it was a good book to read. A number of months ago I went to a Cartier-Bresson exhibition at the International Center of Photography in New York City. That would certainly be a cool place to study.

On The QT

2007-08-24T10:28:00.000-06:00

I was trading e-mails with a colleague when I happened to use the term ‘on the QT’ in our correspondence. Other than being a software package and an abbreviation for a measure of liquid volume, the quart, it also is a rather obscure term meaning:

stealthily; secretly: to meet someone on the q.t.

I don’t recall when I started using this term, but it was a long time ago, so I wondered what the origins of this were. Thanks to the power of the web to lay such trivial knowledge at one’s finger tips, I found this link:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-ont2.htm

This site tracks the origin back as far as a vaudeville song of 1879. The more recent use that I recall was in an excellent 1997 movie staring Kevin Spacey, Russell, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, and David Strathairn: L.A. Confidential. In that movie, Danny DeVito as Sid Hudgens, is heard to say, several times:

“Remember dear readers, you heard it here first, off the record, on the QT, and very Hush-Hush.”

Sugary Goodness

2007-08-09T14:18:00.000-06:00

Gee wiz, has it been that long since I last posted to this blog? I hadn't meant to leave it so long, but then again, I am a very poor correspondent.

The title of this entry is Sugary Goodness and requires a little bit of a story: My commute situation has changed along with my job. I now drive North instead of South. The drive now takes me past the Johnson's Corner Restaurant & Bakery (nee truck stop) twice a day. As you see in the photo, they are home to the 'World Famous Cinnamon Roll.' I think I've stopped there once in the ten or so years that I've lived in Colorado. So, why did I stop there today? Well, in the last few weeks/months I've been invited to join several photo groups on Flickr. One of these groups concentrates on old motel signs and another just old signage. Since the truck stop has both, I planned to stop and take some photos. So I did. Unfortunately, I was hungry and stopped into the restaurant and ordered a cinnamon roll. I did manage to take a few photos, but nothing that I would rave about.

When I got to work I managed to find a fork. Mmmmm, very good. So much for my caloric intake for the day.

A Perfect Fall Day

2006-09-30T21:59:00.000-06:00

Today was a "perfect" Fall day in Colorado. A friend of mine was in town and with another friend we decided to go 4-wheeling up in Empire. We started a little late, but the trails were not crowded at all. The mountain air was warm and clear.

It was great to be outside today after such a long week. It's supposed to be very nice tomorrow as well. Ah, just another day in paradise.

Sunrise & BASIC

2006-09-15T22:04:00.000-06:00

I managed to leave the house this morning in time to take a photo of the sunrise. I'm afraid that the reduced photo size doesn't seem to represent the vibrant colors. There are some things that I really like about the Canon PowerShot SD 20. The macro mode is spectacular. I have some amazing pictures of bugs, rocks, and flowers. In bright sunlight the pictures are sharp and the colors are excellent. However, in lower light situations the focusing capability seems limited. Of course, I have not played with all of the settings in the camera. Unfortunately, the settings are only accessible from the menu. It makes me miss my Nikon SLR.
I took this photo over the hood of my truck. Again, it doesn't look as good as the original. The hood almost looks liquid.

I came across an interesting article in Salon reported by Slashdot by David Brin, Why Johnny Can't Code. Brin writes about the frustration he encountered when searching for a simple way to enable his son to be able to program in BASIC. He finds that there is no easy way to enter and run a program. I have found from personal experience that more and more youth are unaware of the underpinnings of the technology they use.

Winter Women

2006-09-15T16:17:00.000-06:00

I was on my way to Colorado Springs this morning listening to The Doors, The Soft Parade. They came to an interesting lyric (of course, most of The Doors lyrics are interesting):

...
His wife gets home
Catacombs
Nursery bones
Winter women
Growing stones
Carrying babies
To the river
...

I'm never quite sure why things catch my notice, just a strange association. If you Google the phrase you get some interesting connections: a movie, some music, and probably a few romance novels.

By the way, I passed a truck from Gilder on the way down here. I'm not sure if that's how it's spelled. I'll check the book when I get home.

9/11

2006-09-10T18:18:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is the 5th anniversary of 9/11. I know this, not because of my calendar math skills, but from the media. I promised myself that I would not watch, read, or listen to anything about it. I'm not sure why I made that promise, which I probably couldn't keep. In fact, I didn't. I woke up as usual and went downstairs to read. When I looked up at the clock it was slightly past 8 a.m., time for Sunday Morning. Slowly, reluctantly, giving into my, say curiosity, I switched on the set, knowing perfectly well that Charles Osgood would be presenting several segments on 9/11. And I watched. I watched it all, even though I promised myself.

As I watched my eyes became moist, a tear ran down the side of my face, quickly wiped away by my sleeve. New York was (and is) my home. My family lives and works there. Very good friends work in the Pentagon and are airmen and soldiers. Of course, my thoughts turn to that day. I remember my feelings, of course. Of course, I was worried for my friends and family. Of course, I felt sorrow for those who were hurt or perished. But, what I really felt that day was anger. Not hate. Because hate is too specific. I felt ANGER.

Anger at those who did this. Anger at those who instigated this. Anger at those who support it. I also felt helplessness. Helplessness because I couldn't stop it.

I wrote the above a few minutes after the end of the morning program on some scraps of paper. Not wanting to dwell too long on this subject, I quickly folded up the paper and put them in my pocket. Even now, as I re-read what I have written I feel the fringes of the anger in my body, my very soul if you will. I can feel the flush rising even as I push it back down. I will try to hide from tomorrows replay of the events of 9/11, but I will never forget.

GoG

2006-09-09T07:22:00.000-06:00

I should have written a post yesterday, but I was too busy during the day and too tired last night. I did manage to get out for a walk at lunch time. I managed to catch a time when it wasn't too rainy and after a quick lunch I drove down to Garden of the Gods. I sometimes remember to take my camera with me. And sometimes I remember to take pictures. Uploading them to Flickr with the kFlickr tool on Kubuntu is fairly easy. (Although I do need to remember to set the tags and descriptions prior to uploading the photos.) So, obviously no ride yesterday, and it's looking very similar today.

A Marine In Uniform

2006-09-08T08:11:00.000-06:00

I forgot to write about this last night. Last night, on my way home, I decided to take the long way: I-25 to C-470. As I reached the interchange there was an accident on the side of the road. It was cloudy and getting dark with a very light bit of rain. Several automobiles and police vehicles were on the shoulder with their lights flashing. Standing with the police offices was a Marine Staff or Gunnery Sergeant in his dress blues. He was standing next to several police officers sort of in a parade rest position. The situation was visually surreal. As I drove slowly past I thought, "Man, Marines always look good in their dress blues, anywhere." I'm not recruiting for the Marines, and actually I should push my old service, the USAF. Our dress blues weren't as nice.

Lunchtime Ride

2006-09-07T21:09:00.000-06:00

A lunchtime ride makes the rest of the day go fast. Is that something like a Spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down? A few of us from work rode down to Red Rock Canyon which has some very nice loops. The new bike handles very nicely over the technical sections and suprisingly very well behaved on the uphills. I didn't even need to lock-out the rear shock. However, the weight of the bike makes for going up a serious workout. Of course, I forgot the camera on this ride. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we'll take a longer lunch and ride Section 16. I need to remember to have the bike shop cut down the handlebars a little. They are roughly 17.78 cm longer than my old ones. Yikes. I need to watch out tomorrow for trees.

I came across an interesting news article about the Turing machines used to decrypt the German Enigma codes. It appears that a group of Bletchley Park Veteran codebreakers re-built a machine which were ordered destroyed by Churchill at the end of WWII. I wonder why he gave such an order?

Ah That New Bike Smell

2006-09-03T21:57:00.000-06:00

Two posts in one day, wow. I finally managed to get out the door and take the new bike for a ride. There are a couple of local trails that are fairly easy. Some nice up & down, and a couple of minor technical sections. Of course, there are always a bit of run off erosion in which to catch your wheel if you are not carefull. The bike is certainly heavier than I am used to, the Santa Cruz Blur LT is around 13 kilograms versus about 10 for my hardtail Klein, but it behaved well during climbs. On one part of the trail there are a set of "stairs" which I have never been able to traverse down. I managed to screw up my courage and descend with very little difficulty. The bike bounced a bit, but I suspect that a few adjustments will fix that. All in all it was very nice to be riding again.

The techniques for riding on a full suspension bike are slightly different than that of a hard tail. I seem to remember an article that I read in Mountain Bike Action magazine on that subject...wish it were on-line.

A New Bike

2006-09-03T08:49:00.000-06:00

Well, I finally did it. I broke down and bought a new bike. Actually, I didn't really have a choice. My old bike, after 11+ years of loyal service broke down. The front suspension actually wore out. It's so old that there are no rebuild kits in existence, except those lying in some sight unseen corner of an old bike shop. I took Friday off from work and went down to the bike shop and test rode numerous bikes and sizes. I picked out a neat colored frame and they assembled it yesterday. Unfortunately, up until this morning the weather has been a little inclement. The bike is a different style from my old bike, so there will be a learning curve. On the other hand, the ride is very, I'm not sure if this is the correct word: plush. The bicycle magazines use that word a lot, but for old guys, like me, it will be a little easier on my body. Actually, I haven't been riding for over a week and I found that I really miss it. I am getting periodic bouts of buyers remorse, but I am sure that will pass as I speed over the trails. More reports to follow.

I'm still not sure what I expect from this blog. It has been frequently on my mind and my thinking is that I will use it as a writing instrument. I just saw that the Blogger beta site is open. I think I read about it some time ago in /. I was hoping that one could switch back and forth between the old and the new, but it looks like I would have to create a new blog. I suppose it makes it sense though.

A Dark and Disturbing Future

2006-08-08T14:44:00.000-06:00

I recently finished an excellent book by General Sir Rupert Smith, "The Utility of Force" (Allen Lane - a Penguin imprint - London, 2005, which can be purchased through Amazon.co.uk. I was very impressed with his observations on "war amongst the people" as the future of warfare. Similarly, I was fascinated by an article by Bruce Sterling on Wired.com, "Barbarians at Gate 8". Bruce writes about a briefing given by British Rear Admiral Chris Parry at the Royal United Service Institute. Parry talks about a dark future where the terrorists are winning. Read the article. There are several other articles around the web. I would like to get a copy of that briefing.

No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe

2006-08-03T12:18:00.000-06:00

Or the modern version of it, "No man is an island, entire of itself." It's been a long time since I've read John Donne, probably since high school. It seems that partial quote from his "Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions - XVII" written in 1624 still has a lot to tell us. Just read the news. So what brings up such a downer of an entry here? As usual, I am way behind on my reading of books, magazines, and journals. So, I usually shlep around an old magazine to read when I have some free time or at lunchtime. Today's reading was a book review in the December, 2005 issue of Scientific American. I came across an interesting article by Henry Gee reviewing "Us And Them: Understanding Your Tribal Mind," by David Berreby. He begins his piece by invoking Donne and leads us to the 7 July 05 suicide bombing in London. Berreby notes that the bombers were not technically one of Them, but as Margaret Thatcher had defined, One of Us, that is British. I suppose I need to read this book (among the many others piled on my shelves).

Hot Town, Summer In The City

2006-07-30T22:02:00.000-06:00

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

-- Summer in the City by The Lovin' Spoonful
(John Sebastian - Mark Sebastian - Steve Boone)

So it's best to get out of the city, right? The expected weather for this weekend was supposed to be very hot, so I planed a trip up to Bill Moore Lake today. I figured that being at 3,505.2 meters (11.5k ft) would be significantly cooler than being down in Denver. I didn't take any pictures of the lake during this trip, but I did take a very nice closeup of a Columbine. Very nice. It's why I live in Colorado.

A Dark Cloud Hovers Over Colorado Springs

2006-07-11T14:39:00.000-06:00

There's a dark cloud hovering over my office in Colorado Springs. Occasionally I hear a rumble from the window behind me and when I turn I am presented with several lightening strikes on the nearby hills. I took a walk around the building (with this new job, I tend to sit more than I would like) and took some photos. I need to find a way to connect my digital camera to this laptop (which is running RH Linux).

Rainy Day In Colorado - 2

2006-07-09T17:21:00.000-06:00

Wow, a second rainy day in Colorado! What will become of us? Other than rock and mudslides. Went to the Denver Zoo with a friend and her daughter this morning. The Zoo served breakfast to members and their guests in a tent (which was a good thing considering the rain). We spent the next couple of hours wandering around visiting the animals, which were suprisingly active.

Rainy Day In Colorado

2006-07-08T22:04:00.000-06:00

I still don't know what to make of this blog. Do I really want to say something to the world? Do I have something interesting to contribute? Do the other, who knows how many other blogs are out there, have anything interesting to say? Is there a purpose to life, the universe, and everything?

Speaking of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, quite a few years ago grandmother had just come out of surgery and was semiconscious. As my mother waited in her hospital room my grandmother started mumbling. She kept repeating the number 42. Later my mother called me on the phone and asked me if there was any significance to the number 42. I asked her why. She told me the story. I thought about it for only a second, and told her about the Douglas Adams book and about 'Life, the Universe, and Everything.' I laughed and said that she should have asked my grandmother what the question was.

Anyway, it's late and I for some reason or another I thought I should write something. Oh, check out Google Notebook. I've loaded it, but haven't used it yet. It sounds very useful for me. A report when I've played with it a little.

L.A. Story

2006-06-29T09:37:00.000-06:00

I've been in Camarillo most of this week. Checking out of the hotel this morning and walking out to the rental car, I was reminded of the movie starring Steve Martin, L.A. Story. There are some nice hills and lots of agriculture in Camarillo. Sprinklers sprinkling. And that familiar California morning (if not all day) summer haze reminded me of the film. There are some parts of that Steve Martin file which capture, for me, the quintessential Los Angeles experience. It's been nearly 10 years since I lived in the 'Southland' and on the drive up from LAX I wondered, 'did I really live here?'

I'll have to see if I remember how to attach a photo to this blog again. Although, I will have to do it from home since I'm currently using a laptop running RedHat Linux, and it's not exactly setup correctly.

Pleasant Saturday Morning

2006-06-17T11:28:00.000-06:00

I don't sleep very well, in general, and so when a pleasant morning comes around that I don't have to rush to the gym or work, it's very nice. I was up early, like usual, and made myself a spot of tea and continued reading "Wedding of the Waters," by Peter Bernstein about the making of the Erie Canal. (Maybe I can figure out where the links and stuff went to so I can put in a link to Amazon. I haven't written HTML in some time and don't relish the thought of reading up on it. I wonder if it's the Safari browser hiding it. I should download Firefox anyway.) After the spate of hot weather here, it's a rather cool 81 degrees. Of course, I should be outside instead of playing on the computer, but I'm not. I really have nothing to say (or rather write) so I shouldn't be wasting time on this blog. (Of course, when I do have something to write, I'm usually not inclined to make a note of it.)

So...here I sit in front of my keyboard and screen. Listening to Fleetwood Mac and thinking about lunch. Ah, a nice quiet, late Spring Saturday morning.

Return to the Old Haunts

2006-04-25T15:15:00.000-06:00

So, here I am in Southern California where I spent (on the order of 10 years) of my working life. Here it is, some 9 or 10 years since then. (Actually, to be painfully honest, I was here a couple of weeks ago for a week, but since I'm not exactly faithful to this blog...We'll let that go.) Anyway, I flew into LAX yesterday. I can't complain too much about the airport. It seems to be frozen in time rather than JFK which has been in a state of continual reconstruction for more than 40 years. The weather was nice and I decided to go to one of my old lunch-time haunts: Pachangas. Still in the same place, same decor, and same very dangerous parking lot. And, perhaps much more impressive, the food was just as good. The salsa there is the best. Perhaps its the California tomatoes or just the combination of ingredients. I'm really not a fan of avocado (now, why does that seem like sacrelidge), but their burrito Padrino is the best. The store was an easy walk from my place of work and I never tired of their food (even if I ate the same thing everytime). As far as I can tell, they have no web site.

I took a short drive around Redondo and Manhattan Beach to see what had changed, after all, I was, strictly speaking, on company time. Except for signage and a lot more condos, it looked the same. So, heading over to Hawthorne Blvd, I headed up the 405 to work.

Minetta Creek

2005-11-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

Minetta Street, located in Greenwich Village, was a originally a path that followed Minetta Creek, which now flows beneath it. Growing up in NY, I knew that many of the original features of Manhattan Island are now covered by the city that grew up over the past centuries. So how did I manage to come across this tid-bit-o-knowledge? Well, I remember when the Internet was young (play tinny music in the background) and Mosaic first came out there was a site that was something like 'Cool Site of the Day.' Which was pretty cool, because it was so new and people were exploring the new media. Anyway, back to the present day, the company I work for likes us to use Firefox because of it's resistance to spyware. It has a great extension called StumbleUpon. It picks (at random?) a new site to look at. This time it came across a site called Ars Subterranea which is a site devoted to The Society for Creative Preservation, with the tagline, "We like to play inside ruins." One of their projects was called "The Riddle of the Buried Stream," which sounded interesting. I won't go into the details, but one thing lead to another, so using Google, I came across a few other interesting web sites.

One site was about someone who, between 2002 and 2004 walked every street in Manhattan. It was called New York City Walk. He had an entry for Minetta Street. The street looks vaguely familar, but who knows, it's been a long time.

Blast From The Past

2005-11-15T13:11:00.000-07:00

I've been a subscriber to Sirius Satellite Radio for quite a few months now. I got the hardware as a gift during one of the past holiday seasons (which was very nice), but I dawdled on purchasing a subscription for quite a while. Since then I have gotten used to not having commercials and I find myself, when listening to normal terrestrial radio, looking for the name of the artist and song. (As as aside, I have noticed that even though their playlists are large, they do repeat some of the more popular songs. However, this is mitigated by the sheer number of channels.) What was I getting to, oh yes, I have been listening to the Totally 70s channel quite a lot. (Doesn't that date me?) Anyway, I noticed that their 'channel identification' jingle was the same as another station that I grew up with: WABC Music Radio. Today I came across a web site, memorial if you will, to that station. Cousin Brucie...doesn't that bring back memories. When I was growing up my parents let me drive a green (or was it sage) Buick station wagon which only had an AM radio. I remember that was the only station I would listen to when driving errands for my mother. In fact, I remember that I was able to receive it on a trip all the way up to Maine on US 1.

Getting better all the time...

2004-12-19T15:56:00.000-07:00

I was going through old NYT Book Reviews and came across an interesting review of the book, the Cult of Personality' by Annie Murphy Paul in the 10 Oct 04 issue by Sally Satel. The review is interesting, but so are the reviews on Amazon (more on that later). I was growing up during the period when some of the tests mentioned were administered in our schools. Of course, we never got to see those assessments. I wonder what decisions were made based upon them? In fact, some of my bosses at work were so enthusiastic about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator that they arranged for our office to take them together. I don't like tests and I like tests that tell me what nitch I fit in worse. Worse than that, I dislike tests like those as a substitute for getting to know someone. I wonder if my manager thinks that now that he knows my three letter code (or whatever it was) makes him better able to deal with me? Foolish person. I guess one could argue that it might give him ideas on how to work with me. Not likely. When I received the results, after we discussed them (oy vey), I promptly deposited them in a pile on the floor of my office. (Maybe they will turn to coal some day.)

I read some of the Amazon reviews of 'The Cult of Personality,' and most appeared pretty positive, except one. This one was written by a graduate student in psychology and he brings up an interesting question: with what qualifications does the author Paul and reviewer Satel write with? How does one know when you read a book/review (non-peer reviewed) of the qualifications of the person that wrote it? You could read the jacket of the book, the authors web page, or search other works, etc. The reviewer brings up some interesting questions about the author (and reviewer's) understanding of the subject. (It doesn't look, and again I may be wrong, like the reviewer read the actual book.) He may be right, I haven't explored this subject, but it's a point that is certainly important to keep in mind when you read this book. Does this mean, that only students of psychology (in a fairly narrow area) are competent to speak on that subject? I would certainly hope not. The Amazon reviewer brought up an interesting issue that opens a huge bag of worms as far as the lay public is concerned: whatever is on the web, newspaper, insert favorite form of media here, is the truth (or final word) on a particular subject. This is a danger that I see mentioned in many of my professional journals.

This is an interesting topic that I will touch upon again, I think.

2004-12-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

Grp-Cpt Mandrake, RAF

Sick Day II

2004-12-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

My colds don't usually last more than a day or two of the real miserable period. I have gotten a bit of reading to done and started catching up on some of the movies that I missed from the theatre. Yesterday, I saw Will Smith in I, Robot. Not a bad flick for a 'death and destruction' movie, but if you were expecting something remotely (except for Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics) resembling the book, you would be disappointed. I wonder if they will ever try to do something with Asimov's Foundation Trilogy. While Googleing around I came across an interesting fan site, here. I need to find my old paperbacks in the basement and re-read them sometime.

In between blowing my nose, I've been reading more of Master of the Senate, as I mentioned before. I came across an interesting quotation that came up during the chapter on the Leland Olds confirmations hearings that seems to apply really well to current events:

"No one in government service is safe unless he played an intellectual Caspar Milquetoast from the moment he left his teens." -- Max Lerner

Of course, when you search for Max Lerner on the web, you come up with a wealth of information. Bad news, now more things to read up on.

Sick Day

2004-12-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

I hate being sick. What's more, I hate being stuck indoors. I know, I know, it's a time to catch up on my reading, which I am so far behind. Besides watching old re-runs of Star Trek, I've been reading the Robert A. Caro biography of Lyndon Johnson, "Master of the Senate." It goes very well with all of the reading that I've done on the war in Viet Nam. The first couple of chapters have a extraordinary overview of the Senate and how the founding fathers "armored" it against the majority. The series has been very interesting.

Colds that sneak up on you

2004-12-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

I sort of knew that my lack of focus couldn't just be a beautiful, sunny afternoon (and a desire not to be at work), could it? A cold snuck up on me. I wonder if I caught it on the airplane?

Flying is a great time to catch up on reading the periodicals that pile up during the year. I managed to finish the January issue of Scientific American. The cover article is about Quantum Cryptography. They spoke about two (if I remember correctly) companies that had commercial products using quantum principals for secure communications: MagicQ Technologies and ID Quantique. Fascinating.

Yet another sunny day in paradise (unless you're driving in TREX)

2004-12-16T14:58:00.000-07:00

Yet another sunny day in Colorado. My office in the Denver Tech Center (DTC) has a spectacular view of the front range mountains, so it's hard to concentrate on work when the sky is so clear. So, I will attempt to update this blog. I managed to post my first entry and some notes that I made when I was in NYC, but I still haven't come to a conclusion of what I want this to be.

I am a scientist by training, specifically a physicist, so my view of the world tends to be colored by that fact:

Romantic question: "Honey, why is the sky blue?"
Me: "Rayleigh scattering."

Of course, that's mostly just tongue planted firmly in cheek (or is it).

New York State Of Mind

2004-12-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry to take the name of a Billy Joel song for the title of this entry. I've been thinking a lot of about what I want blog to be. So, I tried writing this entry using a PDA, which proved to be a bigger challenge than I thought.

I'm laying on a sofa bed in a room in my parents apartment in Manhattan. The day is gray and I'm trying to type this using a plug-in keyboard for my iPAQ, which is proving difficult. (My Blackberry was easier to use, a slightly bigger keyboard and I had much more practice.) I flew in from Colorado yesterday into a rainy LaGuardia airport and took a taxi into the city. It was an interesting feeling driving through the rain on streets that I had been on so many times before. Was it coming home? (It would be nice to add pictures to this, I think the rain is nicer here than in Denver.)
My parents apartment is not really home, per se, I grew up in a small town on Long Island. My parents worked in NYC when I was young.

I took a walk this morning with my Dad to get some bagels. Is there anything more New York than fresh bagels? (Perhaps pizza? Don't get me started on that subject.) Anyway, he's feeling and better since his surgery. Maybe a little slower, but he's looking good. Bagels, cream cheese, & lox for lunch, yum. After lunch my Mom & I took a walk to pick up some stuff for tomorrow's party.

Greetings and Salutations

2004-12-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at blogging. I been reading other blogs from time to time and I wondered if I had something to say (I mean write) that others might be interested in, so I created this. It will take me a little while to figure out how to work this, so please be patient.