Tehachapi Loop

Video of the Tehachapi Loop. In Tehachapi. This is from four years ago. Kids are bigger now.

I remember visiting when I was a kid. My family climbed a hill to get a better view, but in the process crossed a fence with a "no trespassing" sign. I didn't enjoy watching the train because I was so sure we would be arrested.

We'll be out that way again soon. Contemplating a stop. Might be fun to see a train going uphill instead of down this time. And I think the hills will be greener. Better for pictures.

Sightings

Sightings of these things that haunt the backyard expected to become more frequent, now that school's out for the summer....

Some smiles

(did they bite off the corner of the image?)

Smiles and tears get kind of mixed up in the living of life in the present tense.

Tears because not everything is okay, smiles because some things are.

RAWrrrr!

I tried shooting in RAW today. I told the camera to save each image in both RAW and JPG so I could compare.

1. the JPG image (the camera processes the raw image data itself):

2. The RAW image, no changes made with the conversion software (adobe camera raw):
3. The RAW image, with a couple of little adjustments made using the conversion software:
Conclusions from this little experiment (after walking outside to take another look at these flowers--what do they really look like, anyway?):

1. My camera doesn't process purple very well on it's own

2. I have A LOT to learn about processing images

3. If I'm going to shoot in RAW, I need a new and more spacious memory card (arriving Friday from Amazon), and then I'll need another more spacious hard drive, and another, and another...and I need to learn to delete bad pictures.

I also figured out what the different metering and auto-focus settings are on my camera, and how to use the auto-bracketing setting. Probably should have done that sooner, as this stuff would have come in handy many times, but before a big photo-op vacation is good.

Last night, after the family "football" game in the backyard, I also played with long exposures and kids that move. Maybe I'll post those next, as long as no one is afraid of ghosts.

Rain of the Death Glasses

Adventurer Two is on an illustration tear. She originally texted me a photo of this. It was very small on my "stupidphone" and I couldn't make out the object in the lower right corner. Turns out it's a corpse. A warning to us all. Living by faith results in seeing in living color. Living by sight results in blindness and death by spectacle. Insightful.

(note to self: you often get this backwards. Faith. Not sight. Keep it straight. It's somewhat important...and the first few steps from A to Z are b and c (you keep forgetting that too))

Family Portrait of the future

Adventurer Two has been working on this. I like how my head has turned into a camera, and Danjo seems so happy, and nearly bald (or sporting a pretty funky hairstyle, and how we match.

Researching our trip to Yosemite...

"There are no guardrails to protect you from the 2,000 foot (600 meter) dropoff at Panorama Point, so don't venture here alone with political rivals or unreliable henchmen."

Hmm...

No worries about political rivals, but my henchmen are another matter...can they be trusted?

Here today, gone tomorrow

Daylilies.

There's the one from yesterday on the right,

and all the blossoms of today,

and the ones waiting for tomorrow.

They really are "here today and tomorrow thrown into the fire"

(well, except that WE don't actually burn OUR dead ones)

I love these flowers when they bloom.

So beautiful.

New and different every day, literally.

That's how God clothes the grass of the field...

so no worries.

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."~Matthew 6:28-34

Pinewood Derby Day

Young Adventurer and Danjo's hard work over the last couple of weeks---designing, carving a block of wood, polishing little plastic wheels, painting, graphiting, running to the post office to use the "official" scale--it all culminated today at the Pinewood Derby. Young Adventurer designed a beast of a car-simple, sophisticated, powerful lines, with a cheerful smile-the WHALE. At the first official weigh in, it was .03 oz over, after modifications, it was within the limit by the same .03 oz, which is pretty good when weight is so important. Don't want to be running the skinny car here!

I told him to look ready to fight and this is what I got.

Just imagine a youthful, carefree Moby Dick.

Each car got one heat in each lane and their times were added. The top 12 of 25 advanced to the semifinals. The pink car on the right ended up winning the champion's trophy. The blue car on the left is a Wii remote.

Young Adventurer didn't win any heats in the first round, but he advanced to the semifinals in 8th place. Quite respectable!

In the semifinals he won one of his heats.

(I snapped this just before the finish--his face broke out in a huge grin immediately after. :-D )

That race was also Whale's fastest, finishing in just under 3 seconds.

Young Adventurer found the experience somewhat trying, for a perfectionist. Understandable.

I think whales are cool,

and so did a couple of random kids chanting,

"Go Whale! Go Whale!"

during one of the heats.

You don't have to win to be cool.

Making all those trips to borrow the post office scale with Dad is more valuable than a trophy.

When you look at the whole picture, the pinewood derby experience can't be measured by a trophy or a speed in MPH, but Young Adventurer had a headache and no trophy, and needs some time to develop perspective.

Public Service Post

Internet medical advice is sketchy, dear friends. When you are stung by a scorpion, it's best to skip the google search and just call poison control. The poison control people are very nice and helpful and specific and detail oriented and friendly. Google provides an abundance of conflicting and inaccurate information, and takes longer.

Intense pain lasting 6-24 hours, numbness and tingling of the limbs and face and tongue and throat as if the dentist went a little nuts with the novacaine, weird twitchy stuff, difficulty speaking (becuth thuh thung ith numm), crazy vision, all lasting 2-5 days (or up to 10 days if the initial symptoms are more widespread)---all normal (in spite of the fact that many websites recommend rushing to the emergency room if they occur). DON'T use ice--just makes the pain worse. Taking pain medication generally doesn't help. Basically you just have to suffer till it goes away. Death is extremely rare (you only think you're going to die), destruction of a good night's sleep for yourself and your loved ones is more common.

Oh yeah.

[also, when the poison control people call back, I think I'll ask them if medical marijuana would help with the pain--if so, I plan to make my fortune selling scorpions-retire early-buy a villa in the south of France, you know...]

Oh.

Many Many Trains!

Today is National Train Day (invented by Amtrak (seriously), possibly in the hopes of capitalizing on rampant consumerism in the same way that Hallmark capitalized on Valentine's Day).

We celebrated by visiting the local train museum because they had all their volunteers there at once, and were also not charging admission.

There were more train cars than we expected, and so there are more photographs than expected.

Something with a crane. Liked the colors, didn't get the name.

Young Adventurer and friend blowing the whistle on a steam engine. They also blew the horn on a diesel engine. Loud and long. Too loud, too long.

This is the car that carried a couple of presidents (Taft and Wilson).

This one used as the set for "Terror Train"

Young Adventurer and friend trying to break into a locked door.

Docent lecture (quite effective) describing the horrors of electrocution followed.

This one is smiling. :-)

;-) Tee hee!

Indiana Jones moment--dash across the coupling, or proceed down the stairs as directed?

Yahoo!!

Young Adventurer commented on the symmetry of this arrangement.

Someone left a camera on the bunk. Maybe too late to claim it, could be tough to buy film for that one anyway.

Steam engine has very big brakes!!

The End.

Today's oddities

"Grinch Weed"

"Havanese Dog Cactus"

"Spy"ke

"Blooming Swordsman"

"You shall not pass!"

(Names have been changed for no particular reason)

We Approve of This Disapproving Rabbit

http://www.disapprovingrabbits.com/2011/05/robbie.html

Online Voting Opportunity

No, I haven't suddenly gotten more technologically advanced on this little blog. I just thought you might like to participate in this delightful little competition, put together by the Smithsonian...

Who Had the Best Civil War Facial Hair?

It's Adelbert Ames all the way for me.