2009 November | Some Blogging Guy

Archive for November, 2009

Arcadia Photographs

November 28th, 2009 by Howard | 4 Comments | Filed in Main, Photography

As is almost our tradition, the wife and I embarked out on Black Friday, the craziest shopping day of the year, to the quiet streets of Arcadia Florida, located about 60 miles from No-where Florida. This is a beautiful small town on Route 70 that has some of the nicest collections of Antique shops in Florida. Not to mention some very old homes and buildings and terrific photo opps.

The wife spent Black Friday in some of these shops, while I spent some time outside taking photographs of the reflections in the store windows.

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I did some Black Friday shopping myself. Found this Delco wood radio for a good price. It still works too. However, when I turned it on, let the tubes warm up, then tuned in some channels – it only brought in 2009 music. Too bad it didn’t come with the 1940 music and radio shows!

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This store below was not open, which is probably good since I obviously had at least two cameras with me. The story from one of the other merchants on the street is that someone came into his store once, photographed something of value, then photo-shopped the item, making it appear to be hanging on the wall of his home. He then took the print to the police indicating that this item was his, and had been stolen from his house recently. Thus, this very rigid policy about cameras in his store. I can’t say that I blame him.

The part about confiscating your camera and selling it though, I don’t think would actually hold water. First, he would have to physically take the camera away from the shopper/photographer, and then how he would retain it long enough to actually sell it I don’t know.

Certainly the establishment is his property, and he is legally able to ban cameras from the premises. It isn’t public property.

But I think this may be a difficult policy to enforce. Arcadia is a picturesque town, and many photographers professional and amateur combine antique shopping with photography. Arcadia is the perfect place to do this.

So…how was your Black Friday?

SCG

Sunday Critter Picks

November 22nd, 2009 by Howard | No Comments | Filed in Photography

After doing a little yard maintenance I spent some time in our back yard, which my wife has turned into a beautiful butterfly garden. As evidence, this fella below.

I discovered this one below on the plastic front porch chair, This is a really interesting caterpillar. Actually, it produces a moth, not a butterfly, but still, look at this guy! It looks faked doesn’t it?

In fact, those two huge eyes are fake! They are not eyes but markings designed to ward off adversaries. The moustache looking thing on front is actually where the real eyes reside.

This is a side view. Kink of look like some sort of cute weird insect
puppy dog, doesn’t it?

Hope your Sunday was as well.

SCG

Travel Photos

November 22nd, 2009 by Howard | No Comments | Filed in Photography

I had to travel on business last week, and acquired some photographs from my window seat on US Air. This is over South Carolina.

This is another US Air flight coming home, flying a mile or so off the coast of Florida.

This is along the beach in South Carolina after sunset.

And of course, a Seagull that thought I might be
inclined to share some food with him.

Speaking of travel, I must say that the tediousness and lack of comfort involved in high speed aerial travel these days is reaching the point where I am prone to discard it whenever possible.

It starts with the trip to the airport, whereupon one must endure traffic and tolls and wind one’s way among the spaghetti-like designed roads onto the airport complex. After locating parking then you must lug your bags behind you as you wander through the parking garage seeking the appropriate terminal. Then the fun begins, as to pass through “Security” one must practically strip to bare skin, and get into a cattle line with other cattle pushing you from behind while bored inept TSA agents stare at you, hoping that you’ve left your keys in your pocket or your belt on, so they have an excuse to break up their monotony.

Laptop must go in a separate tray, your toothbrush and prescriptions in a plastic bag in a different tray, your shoes must come off, your jacket, belt, keys, wallet and dignity placed in trays and pushed through X-ray machines, while some government goon pulls aside some one’s 97 year old grandmother to strip search her while refusing to even blink at the 22 year old Muslim men who sail passed “Security” with ease.

This is helping how????

The sense of being treated as cattle continues right onto the aircraft, where you are squeezed into a tiny seat with your elbows touching those of your neighbors while your nose is mere inches from the back of the seat in front of you.

I’m paying what for this???

US Air charges for your bags and will gladly sell you a pillow for your head or a blanket. That is, in-between trying to coax you into applying for their credit card or some other junk.

US Air also allows you to pay extra for ‘Choice” seats. These are like aisle or window seats with extra room. I paid extra for a window seat, and got one without a window. Just a plastic wall.

Hmmm…maybe greyhound is a better deal…..

SCG

I Prefer the Southwest Scramble

November 19th, 2009 by Howard | 2 Comments | Filed in Main

Traveling this week on business. USAIR instead of Southwest.The seats are more comfortable, but the service sucks. As does the boarding. If you’ve traveled on Southwest before you know they have an unusual boarding policy. No assigned seats. You get assigned a boarding group, A, B or C and you storm the plane and pick your own seat, while elbowing that little old lady out of your way and stepping on that screaming kid. But hey, you made it to your favorite window or aisle seat!

The rest of the world allows you assigned seats.I’ve complained about Southwest before, but after flying USAIR, I’m all for the Southwest Scramble. With Southwest, everyone is angling for a seat. Thus, there is a rush onto the plane and a rush to stake your claim to your seat by placing your butt in it. That means you jam your overhead bag where ever it will fit quickly.

To cheer you on, the Southwest flight attendants are screaming at you over the speaker explaining that the flight is sold out so grab a seat! Or, “The seats in the back of the plane arrive at Denver the same time as the other seats!”

So, you have the scramble for seats and the flight attendants yelling at you to get your butt down and I think on occasion they will use low powered tasers to get your asses moving faster.

Bottom line? With Southwest you are boarded, luggage stowed and the plane is rolling away from the gate exactly on time, even if one or two of you are still wandering looking for that last aisle seat.

USAIR and others? Damn, it takes three to four times longer to board! There isn’t a rush, because everyone has their assigned seat. So, you get people boarding leisurely. And seeking the very best spot for their overhead bag. The Flight Attendants on my USAIR flight just stood leaning against the seats bored. No screaming, no tasers, nothing. And many passengers arrived at the last minute, again, knowing they already had their seat.

It must have taken four times as long to board this flight!!!

But we did manage to leave almost on time, and we got about 200 yards away from the gate when we were informed that we had a 45 minute wait due to “Traffic” at Charlotte. I feared the worst, and was already surfing on my IPhone to www.flyersrights.org. I expected the Fight Attendants to come down the aisle to offer us water or something. They vanished, like bugs when you turn the lights on. Not once did any of them come down the aisle.

Thankfully, the delay on the runway wasn’t that long and they did make up the time. So, no harm, no foul.

I didn’t get out of my training workshops until late, so on the beach at Myrtle Beach, SC the light was gone. However, that didn’t stop me from trying to get some shots.