Reminiscing...

 

If you said, "Little River Band, 1978," you get 20 bonus points.

When Joan and I were much younger, we could make a "date" out of any reason.  There was many a time that we went to the car wash at the Red Onion, a car wash and fast food place back in our home town.  It would cost 25¢ to wash the car, then we'd work together to wipe it down.  On Saturday and Sunday, you'd see all kinds of nice cars there.  And once we were done with the car, we'd walk over to the drive in and get some seasoned French fries.

I know what you're thinking: "Cheap lunch, and you'd have your girlfriend help you wipe down the car?  What a guy!"  Hey, we were together... and many of our dates revolved around the car or motorcycle. 

Today, Joan and I had lunch out.  When we came back to the Equinox, Joan saw that a bird had shat upon the front fender.  "Eww - we should go wash this."  We were close to the car wash and we have a monthly subscription for unlimited washes.  So, except for lunch, that was significantly more than an order of seasoned French fries from back in the day, this would be another inexpensive date.

This car wash is all automated, and when you come out of it, they have 3 rows of parking places where you get slightly damp towels to wipe down the interior and any spots that the automatic drier missed, and good vacuum hoses on either side of the car to spruce up the floor mats.  And, it was all in our pre-paid subscription, so it feels like "free."

That's Joan wiping down inside the rear liftgate.  And, yes, she's smiling.  Probably because it seems like "a date."  Probably.  When we were done, I suggested we swing by storage and bring the van home.  We may want to take a drive tomorrow... kinda like a date.  ;-)

I enjoy driving... cars, boats, airplanes, motorcycles... and campervans.  Well, this particular van.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.  Maybe we'll have a driving date?  Ohhh... that makes my reminiscing go another direction, but our daughter reads this blog from time to time, so I'll just leave it at that.

Happy New Year!

Traveling Lite...

 

I got together with Mark and Ron today, to work on some music.  Sometimes you play music, other times you work on it.  Mark had laid down several more music tracks on his latest song, and we worked on that, as well as some other songs.  It was a productive day.

A fun part for me: I traveled lite, taking a scoot to get there.  Expecting heavy traffic, I took Joan's Xmax; it has a higher top speed than my Burgman.  And, I can take the HOV lane.  It was 62º and sunny on my ride there.  I wore my high-viz jacket with a liner, and needed it.  All I had to take was a mic, an XLR cable, my iPad, and a clip to hold the iPad to a mic stand (it all fit in a backpack stowed under the seat of the Xmax) - Mark provided me with a guitar and amp, Ron brought an extra mic stand.

Traffic was steady on the way there, but I didn't get slowed down.  In fact, traffic in the HOV lane was moving at 75 mph and occasionally higher... I feel it is important to stay with the flow of traffic.  The Xmax has enough power to run at those speeds and have more in reserve in case you need to accelerate out of a traffic situation.  When possible, I like to ride our bikes in the HOV lane if I have to be on the freeways.

I keep my head on a swivel, use the mirrors, and watch carefully ahead to stay on top of any developing situations.  No issues.  It was close to 4:30 when I left Mark's place.  The going home commuting traffic was thicker, but easy to get around once I got onto the Loop 101 (where traffic generally runs faster than the Interstate).  The only issue on the way home: at 75mph, I could see something flopping around on the front end of the car in the next lane.  I decided I didn't want to be anywhere around that when that piece came loose.  I cracked the throttle open and got ahead of him.  The front end of the car was crunched up pretty good, and could picture that flapping piece catching me in the face-shield at 75 mph.

Again, the traffic was moving my whole way home.  Traffic going the other direction (west on I-10) was bumper to bumper and barely moving for miles.  Glad I don't have a daily commute in that mess.

Looking south where the Loop 101 meets up with I-10...

That's an old file photo - the traffic these days is a LOT heavier.

Cuppa Joe...

 

I am not a coffee drinker.  I tried it some in college, but never really acquired a taste for it.  One of us in this household needs her morning jolt... and you could probably tell by the "her" in that sentence that it isn't Murphy.

That's why, when the wiz-bang Keurig we had died the day after Christmas, it was very important to replace it.  For clarification, I thought it was "wiz-bang": it would put in the right amount of water (had a reservoir on the side), even had a button on it you pressed when making hot chocolate (my morning jolt).

Joan researched it, then ordered a newer version wiz-bang from Keurig - through Amazon, so it arrived on Friday.  One day of making French press coffee was enough for her (it's messy); I, on the other hand, went next door with my Emerald mug and a Keurig cup of Swiss Miss.

Newer and fancier.  Fits better under the kitchen cabinets.  It has a reservoir, like the one it replaced, but has more buttons on it.  Instead of arrows to move up or down in how many ounces you want, it has images of different cup sizes... without telling you the size.  I had to guess the first couple times I used it.  It also has a button for iced coffee, which seems to be the same coffee, but you put it in a glass full of ice.  Probably; I don't drink iced coffee, either.  Makes the coffee faster and quieter.

Joan seems happy with it, and that is what counts.  Murphy doesn't particularly care: he gets fed before the coffee gets made.

Reminds me of a song: You don't know what you got 'till it's gone... they paved paradise and put up a coffee maker.  Or something like that.

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Nice Buns!

Again, not referring to me.  Joan made some fresh hogie buns for meatball sandwiches tonight...

The meatballs were tasty - the rolls outstanding!  If you are thinking "Why is there space on that baking pan?"  Thanks for asking - two of those rolls went to Steph and Dan for their own meatball sandwiches.  Yummy all around!

The Sweetest...

 

Me?  Well, sure, a lot of people think so, but that's not what I'm talking about here.  Have you heard when a baby is the sweetest?  Yeah, when he or she is asleep... that little angelic face... not screaming or crying... or crapping or puking.

We don't have a baby in the family.  Well, not a human baby.  But, we have a sweet, furry boy kitty...

 Murphy is pretty darn sweet when he's sleeping.  He just got that cushioned pad he's sleeping on today.  Right in front of that is another pad just like it, but in blue and gray (it goes with the colors in the living room).  The tan and white one he's sleeping on will go in the van.  He likes these pads.  'Cause he's sweet.  When he's sleeping.  ;-)

Right On Target...

 

Or: the family that shoots together, stays together... or, something like that.

Stephanie and I went to Shooter's World today for some shooting practice.  Steph has a good eye and control.  Shooter's World has a nice indoor range; we've done this several times in the past, the last time was Father's Day this year.  No special occasion for this outing, just some more Dad/Daughter time together.

There is a check-in process at the facility, where you have to sign off that you know and will follow all their safety procedures.  Leave your ID with them, pay for the time, and you can go into the the range.  We gear up with hearing and eye protection, get out the guns, and get ready for some target shooting...

 We started out going for the bullseye (red dot, center chest), then Steph went for the next ring up, while I went for the head.  Looks like the sights are aligned well, and we each had good control.  Not a brag, just stating what the target shows...

Steph wanted to make it clear that state she went for the center, then the 9, 8 and 7 rings above that.  She hits what she aims for.

We had a good outing, worthwhile refresher, and a nice time together.

Steph tacked the target up on her garage wall... where you can see it from the street when the garage door is open.  Nothing subtle about that.

Nothing says "Happy Holidays" like going through some ammo.  ;-)  

Merry Christmas!

 

Out for a Christmas day ride on the Burgman.  Sunshine, clear blue sky, 68º.  There are some advantages to living in the desert...

 

I got back in time for Christmas dinner.  Joan bought the prime rib, Steph cooked it.  And, it was mighty fine...

More "family game night" tonight!

I was on the verge of getting skunked for any game wins... and then on the last game, I slid under the radar with a win!  One in a row!  A good time was had by all.

Well, that was fun...

 

No, Christmas isn't over - we'll be doing family stuff this evening and tomorrow.  I'm talking about the Advent Calendars that the 3 of us have enjoyed over the last 24 days.  It was a first for all of us.  Joan's coffee calendar was a bit hit; Murphy has had a lot of fun with each new toy; and Joan made sure I had something fun with each calendar opening.  I do believe this will be a family tradition in the future.

Murphy has come to appreciate each new toy unveiling; he gets excited when Joan brings the calendars into the living room each morning.

Speaking of Murph, and we frequently are, he has enjoyed several outings on this beautiful Christmas Eve Day.  It is 76º as of 3:30 this afternoon.  Nice!  On one of the outings, I brought the Sony camera with the 85mm lens on it.  This boy is not a poser like Rufus, Izzy, and Molly were - you have to be fast to catch him looking... and this camera lets me be fast.

Here are a few views as we walked around the courtyard...

 He is behind a bench on this shot - easy to get with the articulating screen on the camera...

I really enjoy the shallow depth of field on this lens when using it wide open - his face and eyes are sharp while everything else falls off.

He hopped up on a deck box, and I got these...

Cute boy, good camera.  Merry Christmas!

The Little Drummer Boy...

 

No, not the one from the song.  Today, Mark and I were working on the latest song he wrote.  He was using EZ-Drummer, software for laying down a drum track.  By using this high-tech stuff, we were able to knock out a good track in just 3 1/2 hours.  I did mention to him that I could have done that in 3 takes on e-drums.  Probably.  ;-)

 

It was good to be making music with my buddy.  (photos courtesy of Cindy)

Around the house today, final preparations were being made for our family Christmas stuff.  Steph showed me what one of the prizes will be for family game night...

Those are scratch-offs.  I've never done a scratch off... maybe I'll be the one to win that on Christmas Game Night!

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A touching Facebook Memory this morning, from one year ago today...

 

One year today with Murphy being adopted into our family.  A year... my how time flies.

Shopping with my girl...

 

You and Joan?  Yabut, Joan is my woman; Steph is my girl.  Well, Steph is a grown woman, but she'll always be my girl.  A morning out... and what better place for shopping than (dramatic pause)... Bass Pro Shop!

No, I didn't need a bass - that's bass with a "short a" as compared to bass (as in: base, but talking about the 4-string low-voice guitar.  English is a weird language.

And to top it off, some fine dining.  And nothing says "fine dining" to me like chili cheese dogs from Der Wienerschnitzel.

What a day!

 

Mics... Camera... Action...

 

Out in the courtyard this afternoon on a lovely December day, testing the DJI Mic 2 wireless adapter with the Sony a6700...

This will allow us to use two DJI mics with the new camera - wirelessly.  Ain't technology great!  Yes, the video portion of this was shot under a patio umbrella on a bright December day; my main purpose was to test out the wireless mic adapter... and it works as advertised.  Now, if can figure out a way to use both mics with the DJI Action 4 camera, I will be ready for some van videos.

 

Lights... Camera... Action...

 

So, I was wrong.  Misinformed, actually.  It wasn't a "Christmas light display" that we went to see, but rather a HUGE light display that happened to be at Christmas time.  This was a scheduled outing for the Guide Dogs For The Blind (puppy raisers) group that Steph and Dan belong to, and they invited us to come along.

This venue has been set up on the grounds of the spring training baseball stadium in Glendale.  I had no idea how massive it would be.  For those interested in learning more about it, look up the Tianyu Lights Festival (October 25th through January 5th)... when you see how massive this display is, it is understandable why it would be set up for this amount of time.

On with the show...

We were there early, so we got a good preview (saw about 1/3 of it) before the Guide Dog group met up.  They have regular outings like this to socialize the dogs.  Crowds, music, LOTS of lights, people walking everywhere, kids screaming, a wide gravel walkway, a concrete walkway... yeah, it's a lot for these dogs to deal with.

I was expecting Christmas lights, this has an Asian feel to it and is hard to explain, so I'll post a few of the many (hundreds?) of images I shot with the new camera:

Getting there...

 The entrance...

The walk is over a mile, loaded with lights every step of the way; sensory overload...

And, since this camera can do video, a few short clips...

A good test of the new camera and an interesting night out.

Why am I not doing this more often??

 

No, it's not going to be "one of those posts."

This morning, after it warmed up a bit, I have the van a thorough wash.  I actually like using that foam sprayer that Joan got me: wet the van, spray on the soap foam, hit it with a long-handled soft-bristle brush, rinse, dry.  That's not the thing that the title refers to.

When I was younger, I could wash a 40' diesel pusher in a couple hours.  As I matured (some would say that hasn't happened, yet), it took me about the same amount of time to wash the Aspect (Winnebago).  And now, it is taking me about the same time to wash the van.  The conveyances get smaller, but the work takes the same amount of time.  I do have to use a ladder to clean the solar panels on top of the van.

It always looks pretty after getting washed; makes me smile.

After finishing up the van, I decided that I would answer the call of the scooter that kept shouting my name as I came and went from the garage.  It has been a while since I've been out on the Burgman... about 3 years if I am remembering correctly.  Yes, I am kidding - it has been less than a year since I got it.

No photos or video (Not even the new camera??).  Out for a burger, then on to some twisty riding.  It felt really good.  I will say that I may have exceeded the speed limit by a mile per hour or two.  But while coming down the mountain, a young guy on a 2-stroke scooter went by me the other direction, going at least twice the speed limit (my estimate, but the boy was flying).  The engine was screaming and the air was fragrant with the smell of a 2-stroke.

Less than 30 seconds behind that guy, was a Park Ranger truck with lights flashing.  That is not going to be a pleasant Christmas surprise for the guy on the scoot.  As twisty as the road is, I would imagine the guy on the scoot didn't know the Ranger back there... but he was about to find out real soon.

I enjoy getting out on one of the bikes first thing in the morning, but it is too chilly for that this time of year.  Early afternoon was just right today, with the high for the day peaking around 81º.

This evening, we're going to take in a Christmas light event in another part of the Valley.  It is supposed to be a walk of a mile or so.  Yes, I'll be bringing my new camera for that.

'Tis the season!

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More photos of Murphy this morning, using the new camera.  The boy is getting more comfortable with posing...

A couple images with backlighting to see how the camera handles the contrast and exposure...

Good detail in the highlights and shadows.

That's not a full moon...

 

No, it is not.  The moon on Thursday night is: Waning Gibbous.  "Cool," you say, "What is waning gibbous?"

Ask, and you shall receive.  An answer, that is...

A waning gibbous moon is a phase of the moon that occurs between the full and last quarter moon. During this phase, the moon appears:

• Less than full
• More than half-lighted
• Oval-to-round in shape
• Rising later at night than a full moon
• Glowing red when it's near the horizon

The term "waning" means the moon is shrinking, while "gibbous" refers to its shape. The moon's phases are determined by the amount of illumination the sun shines on it. 

 

The waning gibbous phase lasts about 7.38 days and occurs once a month. It's best viewed late at night through early morning.

 

All that said, this is what the moon looked like at 10:10...

 

 The moon had just come up at the eastern horizon.  It looked cool with the palm tree branches going through it; a yellow-red color (no doubt "helped" by the less than great air quality right now); partially lit; and a slight oval shape to it.

This was shot with the excellent 85mm Sony lens.  That's a significantly shorter focal length than the 300mm lens I had been using on the Nikon I traded.  But, the detail provided by that Sony lens does allow me to enlarge it more.  It'll have to do, for now.

 

 

Out in the van for some test video...

 

Joan got me a clip that will hold a phone - she was thinking I could use it to get video while clipped to a guitar.  It will also work great holding an action camera while clipped to a sun visor in the van.  We had planned to get the van out for some exercise today, so I brought along the new Sony a6700 and the DJI Action 4... I wanted to try editing them together in one clip.

The audio will be better when I get a wireless adapter to connect the DJI Mic 2 wireless mics to the new Sony.  Today I shot just using the internal mics in each of the cameras.  Ideally, it would be nice to use two mics with the DJI Action 4 camera, since that will be the one looking back at us... and not have to do the extra work to sync up audio from two cameras (which is what I did today).

This video is not about anything (hmm - sounds like a Seinfeld episode), other than a test of the equipment.  The two mics work good with my iPhone, but the field of view from that isn't wide enough to get the two front seat occupants in the van in the frame.  So, an action camera is a good option.

Here's the video...

 This will not be for "public viewing," (it is "unlisted") other than here on the blog, since there is no pretty scenery, fun roads, or any kind of event... just us, out in the van, messing with cameras.

A While in the Making...

 

Well, I didn't make it, but we did buy it.  Yes, the camera.  I had contacted KEH, a camera store in Atlanta that buys and sells used equipment, regarding buying some old Hasselblad equipment that we have hauled around for years, with no purpose.  It's a great camera - it's what we used in the studio before switching to digital, so it has been sitting unused for at least 23 years.

KEH gave me a price on the gear, which seemed fair, considering the limited demand.  Then, when we checked on getting this camera at a local camera shop (and those are hard to find anymore), we found out that KEH was going to be in their store this week, to buy used equipment.  Bottom line: if the price was the same, it would save me having to package this stuff up to ship it (they pay for the shipping on transactions over $300).

Today was our day to go there.  We dug out some other camera gear to see what they would give us for that, as well.  It turned out to be a bit of a wait, as the people from KEH were having trouble getting on-line in the camera store (they were set up in a room in back).  When it was our turn, we put the gear down on the table and were told to "sit over there"... I'm guessing they didn't want people "explaining" what the camera gear was all about.  With the other gear (a film Nikon, a DSLR Nikon, some lenses, and a small Lumix (ZS 100).

All totaled, it was nearly equal to the price of the camera I was buying.  Yes, I am happy with that trade!  The camera: a Sony a6700...

It came from the local camera store, not KEH, but we got an additional 10% on our trade by selecting "store credit."  What's not to like about that?!

When we first went into the camera shop, the lady I had been dealing with on the Sony said, "Good to see you again.  We have your camera and lens set aside - is this the Hasselblad equipment you're trading?"

There were 3 other young ladies behind the counter, and some "OOOing and AHHHing" when they heard "Hasselblad."  I pulled the 500CM out of the case and let them get hands on it.  They were in awe of the camera and the fact that we made our living with these years ago.

Now, I need to get out and shoot some photos and video with this new camera!

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Testing the new A6700: it was after sunset when I got out to shoot some test shots.  I left the ISO on auto, which out of the box keeps it at 800; I'll be setting it higher than that in some more testing, but I wanted to see how the camera would be right out of the box.

Test shots of Murphy, Joan, Steph, and Rubina (the black lab) in low light.  When Rubina is in play mode, she is a blur to your eyes... and with the show shutter speed, that's how she looked.  I'll start the tests with a portrait of Murphy, sitting still...

A back-lit shot of one of Joan's cactus plants...

Steph and Rubina...

Rubina at rest...

Rubina whizzing all around Murphy, and Murph standing his ground...

I'm impressed with how the camera handles the low light situation.  The 16mm to 50mm zoom lens has a variable f/stop, the 85mm lens (with that first shot of Murphy) is tack sharp with nice bokeh (softening of the background through a shallow depth of field).

I need to do some studying so I can just shoot without too much thinking; build some muscle memory for where the switches and dials are located.  I'll get the opportunity to get some daylight images and video tomorrow.