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Archive for March, 2009

You have to just be amused by weather like this. Last weekend, as you see by my pictures, the freezing rain turned to sleet and then to snow which caused us to be out of work on Monday. This weekend was 65 degree weather, followed by 75 and then 80. Frostbite one weekend turns into sunburn for the next.

You couldn’t get me off my bike this weekend. Like a kid who’s learned to ride his bike for the first I was racing through neighborhoods, riding to the grocery store and generally trying to find a sidewalk so I could keep going. The weather was a complete 180 from where it was last weekend and like the first day of summer vacation I was trying to do everything I could outside. I easily went 30 miles on Saturday alone and followed it up with another 10 on Sunday just for fun and because I spent most of the afternoon at a dog show. Well, not quite a dog show with filly Poodles and long haired dogs whose names I can’t even spell let alone pronounce, but an agility training show. But there were dogs there. Lots of them. I think Donna has great aspirations that Addie will leap through the tires, sail over the jumping gates and serpentine through the slalom like some great champion. I have my doubts.

But there were plenty of Australian Sheppards and they were just giddy to get out there and run through the course. After watching so many of them get out there and go through the course with speed and precision, you can’t help but feel inspired to at least give Addie a chance at jumping over something. I was also amused by the little dogs, the Toy Fox Terriers, Jack Russells, Corgies and all the others I know by sight but not by name.

Some were great at going through the course at a blistering pace, hitting their marks exactly when needed, while others seemed to be a touch lost as to why they were out there. Sniffing the seesaw seemed a much better thing to do than running across it. And once at the top of the A frame, the view is rather good so there’s no rush to come back down. I give them full credit for even getting a dog up there.

It was a great time to sit outside and watch the well behaved dogs as they actually come when called, sit when asked, stay instead of wandering off in some aimless direction and do more than climb on the back of the couch. Donna and I now have great aspirations for what we can teach our dogs – and by we I mean her. My primary function will be to sit off to the site and note training has taken place.

I think Addie actually has a fair shot, she does listen pretty well (to Donna anyway, I just get a confused look), Ping may be too set in her ways as the temperamental Queen Bee to start listening to other people and Ellie just doesn’t care. Unless there is bacon at the end of that tunnel, she’s not getting up.

This looks like one hell of a toy to play around with. I can already see those super sexy, blurred car images in my mind. At $90 it seems like a pretty good deal and from the sound of the construction it’s not like you’re going to need to replace them every couple of weeks. I’m not sure it’s in the budget right now, but I really think this could be a lot of fun.

The Fat Gecko suction cup mount allows users to secure cameras to motorcycles, cars, trucks, airplanes, or any other smooth surface. The blend of rugged design and ease of use makes Delkin’s Fat Gecko camera mount optimal for use in all motorsports, from drifting to motocross. Fat Gecko’s suction cups are so strong they can hold a three pound camera and the double knuckle design and 2″ extension tube allow for 360° tilt, 360° turn & 360° rotation for all the best filming angles in any activity.

Fat Gecko Camera Mount – Delkin Devices

The idea of snow in these parts is almost laughable. At most it snows about once a year if it even happens that often. But last night the stars aligned and the skies opened up and dumped 3-4 inches of snow on us. I have to say, I was flabbergasted. The two days of rain started to turn to sleet and then that sleet quickly turned into big flakes of snow. By 8 o’clock the ground was turning white. Not too long after that it really started to pile up. Within an hour or two all the schools were closed and businesses were announcing closings for the next day.

I went outside and grabbed a few pictures of the snow coming down. When it does snow here it’s particularly scenic. We get big fluffy flakes that cover the ground quickly. But just as quickly as the snow shows up, it melts and disappears. The kids get a day off school so they can go sledding, and usually we all get a day off from work as well. We get the big thick blanket, but we don’t have to wait months for it all to go away.

When it does melt, those plants that are in the shadows get some great icicles. They get drenched with the runoff and encased in thick ice. The snow is almost all completely gone now and all you can hear outside is water streaming down the gutters and dripping from the roof. Everything will be open tomorrow so it’s a fun little snowstorm that gives you plenty to look at but doesn’t cause any of the normal chaos.

Addie went crazy in the snow. She thinks that’s just about the neatest stuff there is. She wanted to sniff it, lick it, eat it and run through it. Even though she is lacking her full winter coat it didn’t bother her one bit. My humble snowman was even on the menu as she kept trying to pounce on it and break it into bite sized pieces.

Sledding with Addie is an adventure as well since she wants to chase you down the moment you get started. The other dogs wanted no part of this cold weather. You can see our little Chihuahua all bundled up in a blanket (and she’s still looking for a warm spot) while the Japanese Chin wouldn’t even come off the porch. She has a big, thick winter coat, but she had no intention of letting her delicate little feet get cold and wet. She slept on the back of the couch all day and has snubbed all efforts to get her to go outside. Playing in the snow is for other dogs, you know, commoners.

Although it really wasn’t that cold it seemed to cause some havoc with my camera batteries. My first few dozen pictures all went fine but then the shutter seemed to keep getting stuck. The battery gauge showed the camera to be fully charged, but it just wasn’t working right. I did swap out the batteries and everything went back to normal. I’ll have to see if the batteries are wearing out or if the cold caused an odd reading. I’ve taken tens of thousands of pictures with that camera so far, but I’m not really ready or willing to upgrade just yet. Let’s just hope it was a battery glitch.

I took these pictures with the Sigma 18-200mm lens and I have to say it worked quite well. Even though there were somewhat dark skies there was plenty of light to get 1/2000 sec shutter speeds if I wanted it. I miss the HSM of my other Sigma lens and in a couple of cases the contrast was enough to cause the lens to get confused about what I was focusing on and go into "hunt" mode. Most of the time it was pretty good, but it was noticeable in a few cases.

Overall I’m happy with the way lens handled. I got pictures of Parker sledding, Addie jumping in the snow and pictures of the icicles, all from the same lens. I did move in too close a couple of times and the shutter wouldn’t trigger. It’s no big deal, just too close for the focusing distance.

For some of the icicle shots I was able to get 1/640 sec or higher so I could get a soft background. Although they aren’t macro shots, it’s nice to be able to zoom in from several feet away and not get splashed by all the runoff. I was originally planning to use the 105mm f/2.8 but figured I would give this a shot because of the zoom range. It worked out nicely and gave me a lot more to room to work with. I really haven’t had the chance to use this lens as much as I’ve wanted to since I bought it, but so far I think it’s a really good lens and I’m certain there’s more opportunities coming to use it.

It was a soggy weekend, but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. It’s a perfect excuse to stay inside and watch TV or a movie and considering I have streaming media from Amazon and Netflix, even I can’t get out to the store I have plenty of things to choose from.