Just Chillin with the Greats

I am just about finished unpacking and getting everything settled in here at the house.  I thought I would just chill this evening and enjoy this DVD which Santa Claus brought me for Christmas.  I have been saving this gift for just this occasion.

Happy Birthday David Gilmour!

Another Travel Day

Sent from my Samsung smartphone on AT&T

Yay!!!

Well, I finally got all of my stuff moved from my apartment in Baltimore to my house in NC.  The last 2 weeks has been a blur and this week has been HELL.  I say Hell because there is nothing that I hate more in life than moving.  I rented a 26 foot U-Haul on monday then loaded and drove down on Monday night.  The last 3 days has been unpacking and trying to find room for everything (fitting 2 rooms of apartment stuff into an already full house).  Things are starting to mellow for me.  I will still be driving up to Baltimore to squeeze in 3 more weekends of work then it will be nothing but me and the NC homestead.  I look forward to taking photos again as this has been the longest stretch of no photos in decades. 

Where is the Tooth Fairy?

This is me a few days ago after having a broken molar extracted.  The oral surgeon said "it was a difficult extraction" and I believe him considering the pain and swelling I have been having.  The whole experience was surreal.  I was knocked out for the extraction which is not weird.  The weird part was that I have NO memories of the couple of hours after I came to.  I was told I had a conversation with the doctor then I rode in the car for two hours to Raleigh, NC, chatting the whole time.  I have no recollection of any of this.  I was given Versed, Propofol and Fentanyl by IV and the Propofol must be what did it.  It is not called 'Milk of Amnesia' for nothing.  The nurses there might have taken advantage of me and I wouldn't remember it.

It's finally coming down to the wire here.  It's one week until I load up the moving van and move my apartment belongings down to my NC home.  I have been anticipating this for months and I am ready to get it over with.

New Car

We just got my stepson his first car today.  It is a 1999 Ford F150 4X4 and fits his rural lifestyle to a T.  It was only $4100.00 which fit me to a T.

Red Right Returning

Red, right, returning for boaters means that when returning from sea you place the red bouy to your right, green to your left, to be in the channel.  Things are winding down for me as I'm getting ready to return to my NC home.  The physical move will be on Monday, February 27th so I am in a mad rush to get some things settled at the house and things packed and ready to go in my Baltimore apartment.   The stress of all this turmoil has really been affecting my photography lately but things will soon pick up when I get the move behind me.  I have lots of projects once I get moved so I am excited about getting started (solar panel system, garden, water catchment, chickens, etc).  I intend to get a semi-self sufficient homestead going so it should be fun.

Where is Winter?

This picture was taken one year ago.  This year it has been in the 50's, 60's and even 70's every day here in Baltimore.  Weird. 

Wabash

I sure wish I had this in my back yard.  It would make a great office, den or guest house.

The Corruption of America

Read it.  It is neither pro-Democrat nor pro-Republican.  It goes beyond the simple black or white of party politics.

www.stansberryresearch.com/pub/reports/201112PSI_issue.html

When it Rains, it Pours

This was my drive on I-95 in NC yesterday.  When it rains it pours in NC.

I Love This

This is something I have been wanting to do for a couple of years as I think it is so cool.  This couple of Canadian Kids just sent a styrofoam cooler with 3 still cameras and a video camera to the edge of space using a weather balloon and cellphone as a tracking device.  The results were great.  I think I am going to try something similar once I get settled in down here.  I love seeing kids doing something like this rather than sitting in the house playing video games.  Just think, they have more of a Space Program going than NASA does now!   Here is a link to their story and a video (story and video)

My Phobia

Well, I have really let my 2 blog fans (hi Dad, hi Sis) down this week with the lack of posts.  I have been at the house in NC in a frenzy of activity trying to fix things, clean things and make room for my move back next month.  My photographic Zen state has been elusive as a result.  I just finished putting down laminate flooring in part of the house and will be refinishing old hardwood floors in the rest of the house.  To make matters much worse this week I broke a molar and was told by the dentist today that I have to have it removed.  The only thing I fear in this life is the dentist and now I have to go to an oral surgeon when I come back in 2 weeks to get an 'extraction'.  It will be a first for me so I can hardly wait.  In the meantime I have a bottle of antibiotics and a bottle of pain killers to hold me over.  Back to Baltimore in the morning.

Cold and Blustery

It's a cold and blustery day here in Baltimore.  Tomorrow I drive down to the warm tropics of NC.

First Snow in Downtown Baltimore

Sent from my Samsung smartphone on AT&T

Night Vision

Well, this was a surprise.  I just finished comparing a Bushnell Generation 1 night vision scope ($199.00) with a toy Spy Gear night vision scope ($34.00) and, in my opinion, the Spy Gear is much better.  They use different technologies with the Bushnell using an image intensifier tube and the Spy Gear using a CMOS sensor (think cheap digital camera with the infrared filter removed). 

Given the same amount of IR illumination the 'toy' blew away the Bushnell and showed much more sensitivity to IR light.  The Spy Gear had a brighter and clearer image although pixelated due to the low resolution (probably 640 x 480).  The only pluses for the Bushnell are the rugged body and the 2.5x magnification (which you may or may not want).  Also, in very low light with no IR illumination, the Bushnell gives a better image.  With any IR illumination at all, even very low levels, the Spy Gear shines.  They both use AA batteries with the Bushnell using 2 and the Spy Gear using 4.  I did find that the Bushnell would not power up with NiMH batteries, only with Alkalines.

I am shocked in a good way.  Nice to know that I can pay $30 to get better performance than a $200 scope which is specifically made for night vision.  Spy Gear has another similar scope that is not as fancy looking but is only $11.00 on Amazon.  I am going to get one to see if it has the same electronics as their $35.00 model.  The only way to get better performance than both the Spy Gear or Bushnell Gen 1 scopes would be to go to a Generation 2 ($1000) or Generation 3 ($3000) night vision scope.  I have seen online where people have taken the toy scope and have removed the sensor and electronics which are tiny and have put them in real small enclosures.  The toy enclosure is only for show to look cool.  I am going to try this next and will even try to attach a sensor to a rifle scope to see how that works.  Easy to play with the cost being so low.

Spy Gear on the left, Bushnell on the right.

This is from the Bushnell














This is from the Spy Gear

Honesty

I drove 100 miles each way to check out this truck that my stepson found online.  He just got his drivers license and we are looking for his first vehicle and being a country boy, a truck is his only interest.  When I drove down to this little used car dealership in Virginia and asked to see the truck the salesman's first words were "you don't want that piece of shit".  He proceeded to show me the extensive rusting in the rear of the truck.  In places there were 3 inch holes all the way through the frame.  He was right.  I didn't want that piece of shit.  My whole drive back to Baltimore I just kept shaking my head and saying "An honest used car salesman?  What is this world coming to?"

Fins

This guy, or gal, was giving me the eye at the Baltimore Aquarium.

Belly

This is my personal Belly Dancer.  She dances for me every night after dinner.  When I was raised by Bedouin in the Arabian Desert we would have 10 or 20 Belly Dancers entertaining us every night.  Oh, those were the days.

Airport Fun

I'm just sitting here at the Raleigh Durham Airport waiting on my flight to Baltimore.  My photography has been real lame lately due to my life being so busy living in 2 cities, fixing a flooded house and getting ready to move.  I'm also very busy working on getting my home to be somewhat self-sufficient with all that entails.  I am one of many Americans who are getting nervous about things and who feel like the economy could eventually crash.  The huge amount of government debt that is accumulating is unsustainable.  Oh well, I just plan on being as prepared as possible.


Sent from my Samsung smartphone on AT&T

Emergency Solar Power

The beginnings of an emergency solar backup system.  This one will consist of two solar panels, one charge controller, one 110ah 12 Volt AGM battery, a Trimetric system monitor and a 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter.  I will be expanding it to 4 panels and 4 batteries in the near future.  It will run some lights, fans and electronics for longer periods plus high draw items like a microwave or power tools for real short periods.  This will be in addition to a gas generator which will mainly be used to quickly charge the solar battery bank if needed.

On the Road Again

I will be back on the road again in the morning as I head back down to NC for the week.  As usual, I can hardly wait to get out of Baltimore but the weeks are counting down.

Those Straws are Trouble

That is Danielle on the left.  I think she has had too much to drink as she is desperately chasing that straw around in pursuit of some more.  When I am that intoxicated I just dispense with the straw and gulp it down:o)

Angry Birds

Just a little Angry Birds while I'm waiting.

Raw

Just a few oysters from Faidley's today. 

The Eve of a New Year

Here it is, New Year's Eve and I don't have a picture to post (I take that back, I just took one)  I am in Baltimore, getting ready to head to work for the night.  While I am dealing with patients I will be glancing at the TV to see the rest of humanity celebrating the changing of the years.  Oh well.  This past year has been a challenging one with many ups and downs but the coming year brings promises of exciting new changes.  I can hardly wait.   I wish everyone out there a Happy New Year!

R.I.P.

One of three pygmy hamsters given to my stepdaughter at Christmas.  He just suddenly squeaked and dropped over dead.  This was just before his burial in the back yard.   'We barely new ye but ye seemed to be a good lass'

Zzzzzz.....

Spent a couple of hours sitting at the Department of Motor Vehicles waiting on my stepson to get his license.  I think we were about 100th in line.  This picture is as boring as I felt at the time.

Mmm, BBQ

I always enjoy my stop at Smithfield's Barbeque for some of the best pork BBQ around.  I would have taken a picture of the food but by the time I thought about taking a picture I had already gulped it down. Oh well.

Dogs Like Christmas Too!

Merry Christmas!

Santa brought me this DVD for Christmas.  I can't believe how good Santa's taste in music is.  Crosby and Nash are two of my all time favorites!

Back in Baltimore

I'm back in Baltimore and will be here until the 26th.  Duty calls:o(

Better Late Than Never

Real late getting a Christmas tree this year.

Night Crawlers

I caught these two guys crawling around under my house!  (Kevin, on the right, is 6 1/2 feet tall now and he used to be the smallest kid for his age)

It'll Tickle Yore Innards!

I found this old Mountain Dew soda bottle under the 

   house yesterday and thought it was great.  Research online 

 shows it to be from 1962 which was when the house was built.

Crawling

My stepson and I spent ALL day pulling out old air ducts in the crawl space under the house and then replacing each of the 12 runs with new.  I saved about 1500.00 by doing it myself although there were times today when I questioned my decision.  It was HARD work.  That is the old still hanging in the photo.



(taken with Samsung Galaxy S2 phone)

Busy Busy

I've been real busy down in NC today.  Lots of new power goodies to replace the flooded ones.  Here is a generator, chain saw, power washer and leaf blower all prepped, started and confirmed to be OK.  Also picked up many boxes of laminate flooring that I am getting ready to install in the house.

Obama

They are not afraid to express their anti Obama sentiments down here in rural NC.  O=One B=Big A=Ass M=Mistake A=America for my Democrat friends out there :o)  You probably wouldn't live long driving this truck around back in Baltimore.

Cazbar

My four dates at the Cazbar this evening!  That is Trisha, Danielle, Brittany and Ray.  We are all moving to Utah and they are going to be 4 of my 5 wives.





(Canon S90 - shot at 6mm (about 28mm equiv.), ISO 500, f2 at 1/60s with flash on low power)

Trifecta

Liquor, cigarettes and checks cashed.  What more could you want in life?

Dessert

I think I will pass on the bean pies today but a slice of strawberry cheesecake sure sounds good.

Trickle-up Poverty

This is a great bumper sticker.

Occupy

Not much going on at Occupy Baltimore today.

Foggy

It was real foggy this morning.





(Olympus E-PL2 with 25/1.4 lens - shot at ISO 250, f1.6)

Renovations

I'm almost done with my renovations.  All I need to do is to knock a hole in the floor for my new outdoor toilet and I will be finished.



(Olympus E-PL2 with Pana/Leica 25/1.4 lens - shot at ISO 250, f2.5 at 1/320s, from a moving car)

Cotton Pickin

Looks like snow but it's just cotton.

Gasoline

Just filling up the Jeep with gas.  Gasoline was $3.13 a gallon today which is lower than I can remember it being in quite a while.