Today I started updating my profile photo with the one taken by my wife this morning. She used the Nokia Lumia Icon, which is a fantastic shooter. I edited and square-cropped (because that’s the profile […]
Category: Living
‘Friends Forever’ is More than a Cliché
I can’t express how much we enjoyed hosting Richard Abendroth, Andreas Hochmuth, and Jake Mas. The young men, all in their earlier twenties, motorcycled across the country, from Maryland to California. They left here yesterday heading up the coast, with an eventual destination of Seattle before traveling back East.
These are fine young men, whose comradery and energy inspire me. Jake’s description of the three huddled together under the rocks at La Jolla Cove watching the sun set over the Pacific for the first time was evocative. “Friends forever” is more than a cliché. It is a living vital force as demonstrated by the travelers’ familiarity and trust.
Caught Between a Rock and a Cat Tree
Today, I bought Neko a cat tree—found on Craigslist—from a woman who makes them in her home. “I’m trying to get off welfare”, she told me. I paid $60, and I felt guilty for her giving such a good deal. I didn’t negotiate for better price.
I love enterprising people. Don’t you?
Uglydolls and Micmac Basket
This is our Uglydoll family. My wife keeps them in a traditional Micmac basket, which the folks back home in Aroostook County use for the potato harvest.
The Mi’kmaq tribe is native to and mostly lives in the Maritime provinces of Canada. We bought the basket, which has sentimental value because of my younger days as a potato picker, from the Aroostook band of Micmacs in 1996. White as I am, one of ancestors is Micmac.
My Life is a Blur
For anyone wondering why my online writing volume is way done, I can explain. My vision is in a state of crisis. The decline occurred slowly until I could no longer ignore it. With different health insurance situation, I would have acted sooner to fix the problem. But when finances are tight and health-care expenses high, you make sacrifices—even where you don’t want to.
I have macular edema in both eyes, which is swelling of the retina, or fluid leaking into it. The ailment affects the central vision area, causing visual distortion. The first signs manifested in my right eye in 2011. A retina specialist recommended laser surgery to repair scarring left by capillaries that had leaked and healed. But we were uninsured then, as now, and the cost was prohibitive for the family budget. I could see well enough, and cancelled treatment.
HTC One M8 is a Worthy Phone Camera
I snapped this cat around sunset under overcast skies using HTC One M8. Both renditions are cropped. The left is otherwise untouched. To the right, I applied the phone’s UFocus feature. The One uses a duo-lens system to capture photo and additional depth information. I applied depth-of-field centerpoint to the cat’s face, which blurs rest of the image. I cropped afterwards. UFocus can also change the focal point, even after shooting.
Quite a few reviewers ding The One for having only a 4-megapixel camera. I shake my head and laugh. Look back a few years when 4MP was state of the art, and the same reviewers raved. Here’s the problem I see: Relativity. Making relative assumptions about A to B. Not long ago people praised 4MP for printing large photos, close-cropping, etc.—cited criticisms today. Now that there is 8MP and greater, 4MP is looked down upon.
Maidentrip is Marvelous
Yesterday I rented, and, with my wife and father-in-law, watched “Maidentrip“, an amazing and immersive documentary. I look in dismay at the film’s domestic showing, just $63,151 proceeds in theaters according to BoxOffice. The film […]
Get 'Comic-Con Heroes For Free Today
To celebrate San Diego Comic-Con tickets going on sale today, I offer my ebook Comic-Con Heroes: The Fans Who Make the Greatest Show on Earth free to the first 100 takers. Please go to Smashwords […]
Neko says…
Everyday is Caturday.
Yum!
Subliminal sidewalk message spotted between my apartment and the local convenience store. Suddenly I crave…
Future Seen
The difference taking care of an elderly relative versus a child? In one you see your mortality, and in the other your vitality. Joe Wilcox
Ugly Tin Foil Hats
For reasons I won’t even guess, hashtag #tinfoilhatselfies trends today on several social networks. It’s a mystery, because the signals are blocked. Our Uglydoll family are mob sluts. They rush to participate in every trend […]