Is that a cat killer??

 

I once read that cats put everything into one of three categories:

* Cat Toys

* Do Cats Eat It?

* Does It Eat Cats?

That seems about right.  This afternoon, Joan put a plant cover over one of her hanging plants in the courtyard.  Murphy was very concerned about this new addition (you can tell by his posture)...

That is not an unusual camera angle - the furry boy is leaning.  And, the thing causing all that cat angst...

It doesn't look particularly threatening to me, but I am not seeing it through his eyes.  In fact, the leafy pattern on that cover looks pretty friendly.  From my non-cat perspective.

All the comforts...

 

Of home.  Yes, I'm talking about the Roadtrek.  Joan had an appointment today, I offered to drive her.  She anticipated it would take at least an hour; we took the van, and I settled in to wait for her.

"Hmm, I guess I'll turn on the TV.  Check out my favorite sites on my computer."  The Visible service on my phone gives me unlimited hot spot, so one click to get my computer online; anywhere we have a data signal.  Which is almost everywhere.

It made the wait quite comfortable.

MLK Day...

 

A day of remembrance and a hope for equality.  Or, for most folks: another Monday off.

Arizona was the last state in the Union to accept MLK Day as a holiday... and that was after the NFL pulled the Superbowl from them that particular year, depriving the state of around $200M into the state economy.  Money talks.

For discussion sake: we are all created equal - we come into this world with nothing.  What you do with yourself sets you apart from others.  That document that founded this country doesn't say we are all equal, it says with have the right to: "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  It doesn't guarantee you happiness; you have to make your own.  It doesn't say that your income will be equal to anyone else's - it says you can get out there and make your way.  We aren't all granted equal intelligence, either.  That's life.  Same with determination and willingness to work.  That said, you shouldn't be disadvantaged because of your race, color, beliefs.

We've all heard: "That's not fair!"  Especially if someone gets an advantage and you don't.  Life isn't fair.  It would be good if there were no advantages or disadvantages, but that isn't realistic.  But, you get to go out there and pursue that "happiness" thing.  

Get an education.  Learn a trade.  Find someone to go through life with who makes you happy... and who you can make happy.  Yeah, that isn't always equal, either.

Pursue.

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike...

 

If you said, "Queen, 1978," you get 15 bonus points.  No, I haven't been riding my bicycle lately... it is too chilly to ride in the mornings, and I have other stuff going on by the time it warms up enough for this displaced island boy.

That said, Joan talked to me about getting an exercise bike.  She looked around online and decided to check out Offer Up.  There was one on there for about half the price of a new one.  She made an offer on it, and didn't hear back.  She looked out in a wider radius... and found a nicer model at an even better price.  We took the van the 44 miles, knowing it would fit in the van.

The lady selling it wanted it to go away - she and her fiance are "merging" households, this exercise bike is his, and they don't really have the space for it.  The price was very good.  We plugged it in to make sure it works, paid her, loaded it into the van (it looks new), and headed home.  Joan was happy; I got to drive the van, so I was happy.  We stopped for lunch at Texas Roadhouse.  Win/Win.

When we got home, there were packages from Amazon waiting for us.  After unloading the bike and putting it where Joan wants it on the patio, she opened packages.  One of the things in those packages was elastic straps with clamps - that is one of the last things Joan wanted for the van bedding.  We put those on, and...

Now, I just want to go sleep in there.  :-)

While Joan set up and did a test ride on her bike (all good), I took some video clips over to Dan to try them out on his Adobe Premier Pro video software.  He showed me his work flow for making videos for the school district and let me play with some of my files... this software is a lot more comprehensive than the Apple iMovie software that I have been using.  I plan to upgrade my video software to go along with the new cameras... decisions, decisions.

It was very nice of him to spend time with me on his day off (doing what he would be doing at work).  It was interesting for me to see what can be done.  And this software has a similar "feel" to it as Photoshop, with which I am very familiar.  Photoshop for still photos, Premier Pro for video, both owned by Adobe.

Cat Yoga...

 

"Oh, is that like 'goat yoga,' where people do the moves with a baby goat on their back, except with a cat, 'cause that would be really cute?" you ask.

No.  Just no.  I would not try any kind of move with Murphy on my back, for concern about a trip to the ER with severe back lacerations.

I'm talking about Murphy doing his own form of yoga...

You may have heard of the "downward dog" position?  I call this one: upward cat.  But, if you rotate the image 90º counterclockwise, it will look like downward dog.

How many of you turned your phone, iPad, or laptop sideways to see if that is factual?  This blog is an institution for truth and honesty.  I only report what I see... unless it is stuff that I make up... 'cause there is always that kinda stuff going on in my head.  You should see what I don't post here.

Digression aside, here's more Murphy content: Murphy backlit...

I hope I haven't overhyped the Murphy content, while trying to make this all look cinematic.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out one of yesterday's posts.  And, try to keep up.

Here is Murphy playing in his tunnel...

The furry boy does have fun with his tunnel.  He can launch sneak-attacks on me from there.  I have thought about playing Whack-a-Mole with him in there, but I don't think his Momma would be too happy about that.

Murph did surprise me yesterday... with a head butt.  Not on my head, but on my upper arm while I was sitting in my living room chair.  I do miss the head butts I used to get daily from Rufus, but this is a start.  He may have been giving me a heads-up that it was getting close to mealtime, but I'm going with: he likes me.  

Test Fit...

 

We did a "test fit" of the Beddy's bedding in the Roadtrek today.  Joan is still working on cutting a quilt to fit that will be a bed cover when we're using the beds as our couches.  Here's a look:

The bed on the right with the Beddy's, the left bed is the tan leather...

 I was originally not in favor of covering that pretty leather, but this makes more sense on how we will use it.  In the photo above, the bolsters (backrests) are out.  Odds are pretty good those will stay out; again, the bolsters look great, but take up a LOT of room when you move them to make that area into twin beds.

Covering the passenger side bed with a mattress pad Joan cut to fit...

The Beddy's put in on both sides...

Adding some pillows...

The bedding has sheets top and bottom that unzip to take out for washing.  The ends of the beds (at the far end in the photo) raise up to make a recliner of sorts (that's a Roadtrek feature).  Some people use these fans for day-tripping, so the seating is more essential than the fact that they make into beds.

Next step: trying a quilt on the left side...

The quilt will be the bed cover so we don't grub up the bedding while sitting back there.  There will be another one on the right side when Joan is done with it.  I think the quilt is a good compliment in color and style.  We picked out the colors/patterns on the bedding and quilt to match the tan on the walls, gray flooring and cabinets, and the white countertop.

Without the leather bolsters in there, we need to have something to make it comfortable for sitting.  We tried a couple things that are made for sitting up in bed, but they weren't comfortable.  Joan suggested that we use pillows so we can add, subtract, and move them around as needed... that worked out to be comfortable and looks good.  We have shams that match the quilt and the Beddy's.  They will go behind our backs as necessary when sitting, then moved to the head of the bed for sleeping.

Joan is deciding how to shape and stitch the quilt so it won't move around when we're driving.  That's in the works currently...

Overhyped...

 

If you look through YouTube videos much (I do), you will see that word: overhyped.  A lot.  As in: "Is this the most overhyped camera this season?" or "Is Tail of the Dragon the most overhyped motorcycle road?" or "Is this video camera Overhyped or is it Truly the Best?" or "Is the Emerald X20 the most overhyped carbon fiber guitar?"

You could say that the word Overhyped is... overhyped.  ;-)

I have been watching a lot of DJI Pocket 3 videos on YouTube... this camera may be overhyped, because there seem to be more people using this camera than any other recent cameras, based on the seemingly endless numbers of videos either using or featuring this camera.

Whew!  It's good to learn about the features, but when it comes to determining exposure or color balance, I have a bit of experience in that area... from back in the day when everything on our studio cameras was full manual.  Including the focus.

It has been interesting learning another new camera.  I don't think the features and use have been overhyped.

 

Oh, I just saw another video pop up: "Cut through the hype - a 6 month review of the DJI Pocket 3."  ;-)

One other over-used word: cinematic... "How can I shoot more cinematic video?" or "Use this technique to make your videos look more cinematic" or how about: "Is the word cinematic overhyped?"  Yeah, that last one is mine.