Thursday, March 19, 2009

The State Of The Union

It sucks. Lots of things are happening that shouldn't. People are turning a blind eye to them. Those that don't turn a blind eye and speak about it are branded. Opposing viewpoints to those in power are not wanted. Free speech is going fast, and being attacked by those who claim to support it the most.

At work one day, Rush Limbaugh was being discussed. I only overheard part of the conversation - the part where one Liberal Obama (i.e. "anybody but a Republican") supporter said "Someone ought to shoot him." What???? If someone disagrees with you, you want him dead? I'm sorry, but I wouldn't wish that on anybody - not even Liberals, and I stated so. You see, I really do believe in free speech. This is too often the solution they use, if they can't convert or silence the opposition. Interesting to note is that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by a Liberal. John Kennedy was assassinated by an ultra-Liberal. Gerald Ford was the victim of an assassination attempt by a Liberal. Ronald Reagan was shot by a Liberal. There is a pattern here. Which philosophy is really championing free speech, tolerance of others, etc? Liberal or Conservative?

Bailouts are flying out the door, hand over fist. Somehow, I can't understand why the same logic is being used to solve a problem that caused it. Isn't one definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? Irresponsible loans were made by the same irresponsible people that are getting irresponsible loans now. They were pressured into making those irresponsible loans by the same people who are making irresponsible loans to those who made the irresponsible loans in the first place. Insanity.

Currency is being printed to magically have more money to give those irresponsible corporations. There is nothing to back it up. What now? Buy up all the gold you can so you'll have something of value? I'm not so sure. You see, with an Executive Order, our President can outlaw private ownership of gold coins, etc. Don't think it can happen? Sooner or later, they'll have to back up all that currency with something.

Connecticut has recently tried to take financial control of the Catholic Church. That is scary in itself. I understand it has failed, but what comes next?

Missouri Highway Patrol has some "training" material that profiles members of "The Modern Militia Movement". It is supposed to teach their officers how to better recognize militia members. “All this is an educational thing,” Hotz said of the report. “Troopers have been shot by members of groups, so it’s our job to let law enforcement officers know what the trends are in the modern militia movement.” Hmmmm. I haven't heard of all these trooper shootings by militia members. Have you? Ok, let's assume there have been, but the media won't tell us about it. Want to know who are likely militia members? Among other things, it's people who
  • have Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, or Bob Barr stickers on their vehicle.
  • support third party political groups (i.e. if you are a Libertarian)
  • display "militia symbols" such as the "Don't Tread On Me" flag.
  • talk about "conspiracy theory" issues like the Canada-to-Mexico mega-highway.
How many of us can be considered suspect under these guidelines? (If everybody is suspect according to their guidelines, it's kind of ridiculous to have guidelines isn't it?) Is free will and free speech no longer acceptable? How will this be put into practice? In order to prevent the alleged shootings, information must be collected on all of us to see if we could potentially be a suspect person. These are things to think about. It appears that differing with those in power will increasingly make you an enemy of "The State". This attitude/concept has no place in America, folks. (I can hardly wait until the White House gets hold of this.)

Militias have been demonized, yet people forget that they are the last line of defense of our country, our home. Yes, there are some nutcase fringe morons in every group. Do not judge the whole group on them. The Militia is The People - you and I.

I saw a couple of bumper stickers on a car yesterday. One on the left said "Keep Abortion Legal". One on the right said "War Is Not The Answer". They were the only two bumper stickers on that car. It struck me as being a little illogical. It's ok to kill babies, but not those who want to kill adults? Let's kill 'em before they grow up? Kill 'em now so we won't have to kill them later? Give me a break. No, don't use my money to pay for abortions. No, war is not always the answer. Unfortunately, it is sometimes necessary.

We need to get our priorities straightened out before it's too late. Pointing fingers at each other doesn't help at all. My Mother always told us, "Two wrongs don't make a right." Errors in the past are not a reason to err now.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Red-Tailed Hawk

Since I began getting serious about my photography, I've made goals for myself. One of them was/is to get good shots of various raptors in the wild. One particularly I want to get is the Red-Tailed Hawk. I've always had a fascination for raptors, and a strong desire to photograph them. I don't know why - maybe because they are such a challenge. They are beautiful, proud, and graceful birds. The Bald Eagle is one of them.

Until now, I've only been able to get good shots of raptors while on their handler's gloved hand. Today I was lucky enough (when Shelley and I were out looking for photo-ops) to complete a step of my goal. She spotted two hawks having an aerial pissin' match. We stopped in hopes of getting some shots. When we did, one of the hawks went after a jack rabbit, heading straight for us. I had my camera on him when he went into a dive and went for the kill. At that time, my camera lost its focus lock. (Murphy struck again! GRRRRRR!) I missed the attempt. The rabbit got away. When the hawk broke off the attack, he was pretty close to us, and took a sharp left (to our right) crossing in front of us. By then I had regained my focus lock and was shooting again. Below are a couple of the shots I got. I am satisfied with these two, but my thirst for capturing raptors on "film" is not satisfied. It may never be.


Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Flower Child

Here is our little boy. He used to be a little psycho, but he's a real people person now.

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Sunday, March 08, 2009

White-Crowned Sparrow

While grilling today, I saw a different-looking sparrow - quite different from the house sparrow we're so accustomed to seeing. I got a few shots later in the day.


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American Kestrel

I stepped outside this morning to get some bird shots. I got more than I bargained for, 'cause I expected maybe a lucky blue jay shot or some house finches. What I got was neither.

When I first saw this guy he was flying from this antenna, and making a round trip right back to it. He is a smallish bird, about the size of a robin, but didn't fly like one. Also a little different was his white underside he displayed when he was on the wing - kind of like a turtle dove. I have a "thing" for raptors, and it struck me that it could be a small owl or hawk. It was really too far away for me to tell. This is what caught my attention - an American Kestrel, one of the hawk family. It's the first I've captured on "film" in the wild. (These are 100% crops.)


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Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Preparations

Tonight I am preparing for somewhat of a milestone in my life. I'm making sure I have all I need to accomplish it - fully charged batteries, cleaned-up and ready CF cards, etc.

I've been a photographer "wanna-be" for a while now, and have been taking it seriously for about 4 or 5 years. I've graduated from a film SLR and a digital point-and-shooter, to a digital SLR that I've had for a little over a year now. A few days ago, I delivered some photos I shot at a ground breaking to the head of Marketing and Communications where I work as a maintenance mechanic. That same day, I got a call from her with a job - a paying job! Tomorrow after work, I will be shooting a reception for a well-known celebrity. It's just one shoot, but "ya gotta start somewhere!"

It's kind of hard to believe, but it's what I had hoped for - to be able to make some extra money with my photography to augment my retirement - when I get to that point. This may be the first step towards that goal. I hope it all goes well, and that my client is well satisfied.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Day Trippin'

Yesterday we got a wild hair and decided to take a day trip to Lubbock. We loaded up the car with our camera stuff, Steve, and some cokes, then hit the road. Our first stop was the American Wind Power Center, where we took a good supply of photos. Here are some I got.





This is one of the first wind generators, cca. 1930's. It was used to charge 6v storage batteries to power radios.


This is a modern-day wind generator, of course. This one is used to power the Wind Power Center.

After the Wind Power Center, we went over to the Science Spectrum where the OMNI theater is. They were coincidentally having a deal relating to severe weather awareness week, and there were several booths with storm spotting/chasing info. There was also a film showing about severe weather in the OMNI. It was pretty cool! Never saw one like that before.

After all that, we went to Fuddruckers for something to eat and cooled our heels at Barnes and Noble where we each made a purchase. Steve pointed me to some bird ID books, and I found a really good one that was put out in 2007 - much more current han the Audubon Society book I already had.

Had a great time! (....and as I type this, a hawk flew over fairly low and quiet. Never had a chance to get a shot.)

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Star Gazing

We did some star/comet gazing last night. The Lulin Comet was visible just above and to the right of Saturn. Unfortunately, there was no tail showing (must have been pointing away from us). Tried to get some shots anyhow, but I couldn't keep from getting a little jitter at 300mm. I did, however, get a shot of the big dipper.

You'll have to click on it to see it full size.
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Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Powered Parachutes

Powered parachutes were flying near town recently.


These guys have way too much fun.
Tangled?


A friend of the family puts his machine up.
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Sunday, February 08, 2009

Dell and Rain

I got my new Dell yesterday, and have been getting it set up and configured the way I want it. I pretty much got through with it a little while ago, but not before I had a few problems (that I might have created). I had to restore once and had to have tech support straighten out an error I was getting. It seems the the Canon Digital EOS Utility I tried to install wouldn't work on a 64-bit Vista system. Does good on XP 64-bit, but not Vista. Canon doesn't even have the drivers I need yet. So, for now I'll have to go back to the USB card reader. The card reader in my Dell is only for the smaller cards like the SD's. Nothing there for CF cards. The only thing I really have to try and set up is the interface for hooking up to vehicles. I sure hope it will work with this new system.

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We are in the midst of some good rain. Been a long time since we've had anything. One squall line went through a few minutes ago, and looks like we might have another one coming in a little bit. It sure is a welcome sight and smell! :)

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