Up 2 date...

The Leica M8 is in the house and I have been making sure I get my money's worth in what spare time I have. What a different paradigm having a CCD sensor behind the lens instead of film. The possibilities are endless and yet one must learn to stop and smell the roses now and again. Film does make one work differently that is for sure and I need to approach digital in a similar fashion if I am going to succeed in making viable images. And one more thing, Adobe Lightroom 3 beta 2 has shown itself to be the best thing since sliced bread as well. To hell with Flash guys, Lightroom rocks! Examples to follow...

It does infrared pretty well...

ISO 2500 can yield decent results, contrary to popular opinion and processing skills

To someone I know but never met

Rest in peace Jim Marshall, I shall be toasting you tonight with some John Powers me thinks...

Done deal

It's taking over, and it's really all over except for the scanning. I've shot dozens of rolls of film that may never see the light of day. Some recently, some from the past. I wished I had the fortitude that others seem to possess to soup, make a contact sheet and then print this stuff. I just don't anymore, it's not so much the work but the time it takes to accomplish all the various tasks. If I did for a day job or I was an artist or even god forbid an actual photographer it would make more sense. And even if I don't print the stuff, scanning is an arduous task that I don't look forward to (thank you Nikonscan...) let alone provide disk space for it all.

So I am planning on selling off my Leica M6 body and returning to an all digital realm. I'll still have some film cameras one a toy (Holga) and the other very retro (old Leica) to fulfill any filmic desires I may still have buried deep within me. I should probably shoot those rolls of infrared film first though...

Film, I raise my glass to you and your friends who still have it in their heart to romance the emulsion, cheers!



------------
Postscript:
En route from Deutscheland today is an M8 to nuzzle up to all the M-mount lenses in the house and to help defray the cost the M6 must go next month along with some other things. It'll be worth it all in all. I still have a great film camera (even though it's pretty old school), so if the need arises I have an option.

Good God!

Has it been that long? I guess so, almost like ah er umm anyway so here's another one of those posts to keep the damn thing alive, to breath some life into it's flagging, wheezing corpse. For one thing it is a new year, so I should toast that I suppose.

So to the new year (2 months in...) and to new endeavors! There's the photo exhibit I'm working on, and the Unknowns gigs in June back in Georgia. Hmmmm what else? Stay tuned I guess.

Something/Nothing

I know I had something to say either last night or this morning, I know I did. I am sure that I did, but where did those thoughts go, and what did they contain/say? I wished I knew, I really do they felt so profound and resonant.

I think it was last night as I was parking the car or maybe late in the evening as I was scanning or retouching photos. It was groundbreaking, awe inspiring, left of center and right of far out. I know for sure it was all this and more, best thing since sliced bread, better than Ezra, the whole enchilada...

But all for naught, it's now been forgotten it seems. Oh well, so it goes...

Good night and good luck.

And in the end....

Much like myself I know some twentysomethings that try to do more than is physically possible for one person to do no matter what their abilities. Currently I am attempting to scan any number of rolls of film all the while I am juggling a family, a full time job including OT (which I have on a regular basis) and some things on the back burner oh and then I like to ride my bike. I frankly can't see how it's done without going slightly insane. I have so many rolls and I am hating Nikon right now for their poorly designed and maintained software.

So why do we do this to ourselves?

Are we afraid of something? Death, extinction, demise? What is it? I ask because I haven't yet determined what that unquantifiable element is as yet. If you possess a clue, please for god's sake pass it on to me!

It's been awhile since my last post, but like a certain person I feel no one reads this anyway, although she posts on a regular frequency and I applaud her for her commitment and tenacity regardless but I feel I reach next to no one, but she has more than a few followers and me thinks she gets some readership beyond the friendly nod. Oh well so it goes and now I must sleep so I can wake and start the work week extra bloody early.

Cheers...

popeye

The teeter totter mindset

>>The past few weeks my mind has been clouded by doubt, low self esteem and anxiety when concerning anything related to the arts and photography. Fear and loathing in Lost Wages. I am not a commercial, pro or freelance anything except human soldering station, so when it comes to photography my mind goes awry with worry about the who, why, what and how (the where is the easy part).

Recently after looking at a Yahoo group that concerns itself with DIY black and white imaging I began to feel a little more at ease with my self and loosened the grip I had on my psyche with regards to photography.

Will I succeed? That remains to be seen, but I need to plant my feet on the ground and start moving with confidence.<<

Well this was how I felt a week or so ago when I started this post, but now after looking through some old stuff the old again and trying to sort some things self doubt crops up again. Too much anxiety about things overall. Organization is beyond me, I falter just thinking about it but it's what needs to be done if I ever want to do anything besides collect butterflies. And then there's having a plan, harumpf I come up with these all the time only to find out they were premature in concept and short on follow through. I wished I could just push the whole thing off a cliff or crush it under a 10 ton truck.

MJ - aiding and abetting the downfall

Now that the dude is buried (more or less) let's throw off the sequined glove shall we?


I really feel this whole Michael Jackson thing is a farce and the MSM has blood on their hands along with his family, his hangers on, the industry and most of all MJ himself. OK so enough already with the kudos and memorials and teary eyed remembrances from friends, industry people and misguided fans.

He among other things molested children, and add to that he got them drunk in order to have his way. It is a documented and undisputed fact.

I'm going to let him slide on the drugs and the material excess, as Elvis was not immune to those nor plenty of others before them both. But now concerning the pedophilia, that's a whole other matter. Funny thing is, is that the MSM and society VILIFY anyone resembling a molester, sexual predator or pervert. Period. And from all accounts he was all of these. So why does he get a pass? Or rather how...?

Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, that's how, I perceive. They put up the instant karma shield from retribution and malicious intent around the legacy that is "The King Of Pop" simply by putting themselves to work for the estate and giving the air of victim legitimacy they are so pro at, plus add to that the MSM seeing a golden opportunity to cash in and of course not wanting to bite the gloved hand that will be feeding them for some time, they decide to keep mum on the whole sordid mess concerning little boys, 'Jesus juice' and masturbation.

Now granted there can always be some gray area in terms of intent, consent etc that confuses things to some degree, but we're not talking about the average schlub or situation here, but someone who is almost godlike in his star status taking advantage of impressionable young boys by using that status to have his way with them. And then pays millions in lawyer's fees to achieve a settlement and in the process casts the shadow of pimps and small time hustlers over the parents of the boys to disguise his reprobate and highly manipulative nature.

Creep.

And so you paid them off, essentially got off scot free and went on to build up debt like the US of A and then make a comeback only to die before the opening show. Now you're a prince of peace, an angel, a dove heading toward heaven a, a, a freakin' con man of staggering proportions. And everyone around you was eager to please the King of Pop, to any extreme it seems.

Yes, you were extremely talented and willing to put your all into whatever you took on and it showed almost beyond compare. But you were also beset by demons that nothing you did could slough off no matter how hard you tried and frankly in the end it was your undoing because I don't think you put the same effort in ridding yourself of them as you did in creating/recreating yourself and spending money you didn't have. They killed you man, they had control of you and they flatlined your ass into the ER and you let them. Paid them in fact. You let them Michael, you alone, plain and simple.

And now I'm supposed to feel sorry for you? No, sorry man I'll have to leave that to those who had a vested interest in your love and affection and could see past your faults. Meanwhile let me try and get back some of that lost time I have from ingesting and digesting all that is MJ.

Today's pic of the day

A shot from the beach head at La Jolla, south of the cove. Rode from home to Pacific Beach, then up to La Jolla and over to Miramar and then back home via Kearney Villa Road. All in all a nice day with a 34 mile workout.

Observation for the day: Wealthy areas have as bad of roads or worse than the lesser areas... La Jolla, I'm talkin' to you!

A year's worth of cycling...

So it's been a year since I started riding as a consistent habit, granted at times it hasn't been very consistent. But let's see what I've achieved in the last year...

>I could hardly make it up Clairemont Mesa Bl, in either direction. Now it's nothing (provided
I'm warmed up...).

>I rode up Torrey Pines once on the Kona SS and thought I was going to kill myself doing so,
now I do it regularly on the LeMond. It still kicks my butt somewhat, but I'm huffing and
puffing less and gaining perseverance.

>I used to think that 15 mph and a 80 or 90 rpm cadence were impressive. OK I'm still not the
fastest thing on 2 wheels, but I can crank out 100 rpms and 25 mph for a bit without much
effort.

>10 miles was a major undertaking, but after I inadvertently rode a metric century (67 miles)
because I rode 15 plus miles to and from the 26 mile sponsored ride, 10 miles is nothing.

>I still haven't cracked 40 mph, but then I'm not in any hurry so 37 is the top measured speed so
far and I can average 30-33 down Torrey Pines without cinching up my butt too much.

>I have improved my pedal stroke, now I can feel a more consistent, smooth circular motion
when I keep focused on my job.

>I can fix a lot of the parts on the bike (except threaded head sets...) and feel comfortable tearing
into anything on it, tho I've yet to work on the derailleurs.

> My blood pressure is normal and my weight is down, I can also slip into a size 29!

Well that about sums it up on accomplishments over the past year. Now to the next year:

> I had planned on trying a full century (100 miles) this past year and several nice rides came
and went because of lack of planning and decent training for the ride. So I plan on doing one
this year, if not a full 100 miler, than a 67 metric on a moderately difficult course.

> Another bike, or maybe make over the LeMond with new paint and some new bars and stem. I
might even spring for a new chain...

> Keep on working on my pedaling to get smooth and powerful, not so much for racing or such,
but for endurance and efficiency.

So to the next 12 months! Cheers!

Hello World

Yup another one of those "Been awhile, I'm still alive as if you out there in the internets really even cared to ask.." posts.

Too much going on to find time to blog, and then there's Facebook that massive time stealer and all that that entails. I still ride the bike, still shoot photos and I still have a day job. I did move across the street and then immediately went on a vacation, just in case anyone wants to know... Oh yeah I still have a family as well and a car payment...

Power up!

Well it hasn't been a year since I bought the iPhone (used mind you...) but the battery seems to be needing a replacement. The amount that I use the device in a given day hasn't changed radically but the battery amount left at the end of the day has.

So do I send it off for a replacement and a small fortune (OK about 75-100 dollars) and leave the work to someone else? Or do I just pay some pittance for the parts (and a useful tool) and do this all myself?

Why hell folks that's a rhetorical question! Naturally I do it my damn self!

I can operate a soldering iron and I've taken apart many a small electronic device so what am I waiting for? The parts of course, I just ordered them...

Opps I did it again...

Well I've gone and done it again.... I've bought another camera and am getting back into the swing of photography. What I really wish is that this time I'd take it seriously enough to go somewhere with it, I feel I'm trying this time but as Yoda wisely said once "there is no try, only do". So do I must.

Oh wait I forgot to mention I'm talking film here... I have a digital camera, but I wanted to shoot film and delve into the 'process' again as much as possible.

I've owned plenty of cameras in the past, oh the tales my wallet and credit cards could tell, but I want to look past all that previous excess and foolish endeavoring and get to the point of the matter.

My main objective is that I have an opportunity that I want to not so much 'exploit' but to take advantage of as a jumping off point for a furtherance of my passion. Wish me luck and send me flowers or better yet rolls of film and bottles of developer...

Protectin' yer noggin...

I have wrecked twice since I've begun riding regularly. Once in the midst of a sponsored bike ride with dozens of riders bearing down on my body (thankfully none hit me), I was OK save for some rash and a sprained right ring finger. I finished out the ride, although a bit slower than when I had started out. My helmet seemed to be fine, just a small dent where my head had contacted the asphalt (I was going about 15 or so mph), I wore it like a medal along with the road rash.

My more recent crash was about a month ago and I took 2 and a half weeks off from riding, mostly because of rain and some thigh pain, then it became some reluctance or rather lack of interest on my part. I've resolved all of these and am riding regularly again. What I didn't do after the last crash was to inspect my helmet thoroughly and today after reading through a helmet thread in Bikeforums, I decided I should do just that.

Boy was I surprised, I found a section of foam near the strap had cracked completely through. There was only one thing to do, replace it. So I did just that and I rode down to the Performance store down in Sorrento valley and dropped 53 bucks on a new one during my lunch hour (then put in a good climbing workout). Granted I was taking a chance by having the broken one on my head to begin with, but something is always better than nothing and something new is certainly better than something that is broken.

But the bottom line is that in both incidences I was glad to have had on a helmet, as my head solidly hit the pavement on both occasions and during the second crash my head slid along the railroad track crossing for a few feet. And for a very nominal investment one can significantly protect one's head and the contents within. I have had debates with a certain people person about the merits of wearing one regardless of if it messes one's hair or not... Caaaitlin!

Back in the saddle...

Like all the kids say/text these days... OMG!

After 2+weeks of very little riding on a real or stationary bike, I like an idiot jumped in head first and rode a bit too hard to start. It wasn't long and I thought I was going to have a heart attack! I was out of breath and my heart was pumping hard, hard enough to cause discomfort. I slowed down to catch my breath and all but it wouldn't be long and then I'd find myself in the same spot again.

I'm going at it again tomorrow but I plan on taking it real easy. I'm glad I didn't plan on commuting tomorrow, I'd probably kill myself!

This just in...

The bicycle finally enters the 21st century... and the robot overlords are nearing their goal!

The amount of carbon fiber, titanium and aluminum alloys out there and in a bike these days along with some of the cylocomps, HRM and GPS units attached are now complete with predictable and hopefully useful electronic shifting. Robobike has arrived!

Granted this is state of the art stuff and costs a bloody fortune, so the results are likely to trickle down to the common man in 3-5 years if I were to venture a guess. The trade off will be energy packs to recharge and eventually replace vs. cables to lube, adjust and replace. My only concern would be how much a shifter would cost to replace after a crash (and why am I wondering this...?)

We'll see if the gents riding with the Shimano gruppo can keep up with the Lance! Which BTW one can see here to San Diego this coming weekend up in north county. It'd be neat to see, but the crowds should be thick with bike nerds me thinks...

(Thank for the tip Ann)

Hmmm...

Scratch that post below...

I rode all of 1.2 miles to Starbucks and back yesterday. The little man wanted his usual Saturday constitutional, which proved aggravating due to his attitude. I couldn't find the interest to ride anywhere, that and I left my bike shorts at work, not that I need them to ride, but it makes for a convenient excuse!

And now as I write the wife has left for the day so I'm at home puttering about listening to the little man banter with his friend about Star Wars, legos and all that a 7 year old will conjure up. Maybe I'll try my hand at wheel truing... I noticed after the tumble the front wheel has a bit of a wobble in it... Maybe...

Fallen and can't get up

So it's been almost 2 weeks since I rode last, what will tomorrow bring? No rain I hope, I feel I should ride but in a way my passion has dropped off, other things crowd/cloud my mind to distraction. I'm not sure if my crash didn't cause me to lose some of my gusto, but me thinks it did. It doesn't help that my thigh still hurts, tho it doesn't seem to affect pedaling when I'm spinning at the gym. So I'll see how tomorrow goes and take a long tour of the neighborhood if conditions are decent.

Damn rain, damn pain

I actually like the rain and we need it, but I haven't ridden in a week. I'm not getting cagey yet probably just starting to gain some weight and lose muscle tone, tomorrow I'll know on the former as everyone in m group has been weighing in on Mondays as part of a group weight loss plan. Granted I have little to concern myself with here... 

On the latter point, muscles begin to atrophy after 72 hrs, so all that bitchin' tone you bagged over the weekend will be probably be lost by Thursday or Friday as I am told. And I've fallen behind on my daily rides so all that work I put in over the past 6 months is starting to go to pot.

Rain is forecast for Monday, so I may try the gym again at work. There's only one functional stationary bike so I'll need to go early and nab it before the lunchtime hoards make an appearance.

Ah well, so it goes...

My commute... in pictures..

More or less, I ran into a problem midway...

So it's a 13+ mile trek to work from home and 15+ back the way I go and I do it once in awhile when I have the time. It's an hour each way regardless of conditions, mine or nature's. I do it because I can, it add's to my fitness and I ejoy (usually...) the challenge. Another fellow biker and Elantra owner Doohickie blogged this concept already and I found it a neat idea and wanted to give it a go, so go I did when the time presented itself to me.

The following is a visual representation of my commute, and although I was stopping or slowing to take pics, I managed to keep up my speed and complete the first leg in roughly the same time I would normally. So here it goes...

First things first:

Step 1: Prep your gear and kit the night before...
Step 2: Wake up. Early.
Step 3: Once suited up and ready, HTFU and get out there and ride no matter what it
feels like outside temperature wise. For some it may be in the minus temps, but here in So Cal we might see 25º and my last ride in I did.
Step 4: Switch on your lights, fore and aft.

So to begin I hop on, fumble in the darkness with my clipless pedals and I take a left up my street -



I follow it around and come to the little street the dumps out onto Tierrasanta Bl, across from which lies the fueling station -





From here I roll east bound (and down) on Tierrasanta Bl, but instead of taking it across I-15 and thru that big wide canyon that has no bike lane and one major squeeze-play interchange, I turn right onto Santo and drop down onto Clairemont Mesa Bl and take a left there instead-

Not sure if you can see the other side of Tierrasanta Bl. -

First of the canyons, this one on Clairemont Mesa Bl is short and sweet with lots of expansion bumps in the asphalt -


The first of the freeway interchanges is up next and so is the first hill of any import (just beyond). It used to take all that I could muster to get up this thing, it's now relatively easy -



Clairemont Mesa Bl is roughly 5 miles of mixed commercial/residential depending on where you are along the way.

First up is all commercial.

Now anyone who has ever been to the 99 Ranch Market can attest to this: If you ever had any, and I mean any bias, prejudice or ill will toward Asian drivers, but did your best to hold back, toss aside or otherwise disregard those thoughts, this place will challenge them all over and quite possibly win. 'Bumper cars' was how one person described the parking lot, cars are backed up out into the street waiting to get in here...



Second freeway interchange and one reason I take a different way back-


The third interchange is coming up next. I had a school bus give me right of way when I was crossing the freeway on ramp one dark morning, rather nice I thought...



After this it becomes mostly residential with plenty of on street parking. Plenty... so lots of car doors, and another reason I like to take a different route at quitin' time -



This continues unabated until one turns right on Genesee and then preps themselves for a joy ride. But first more parked cars... Then a nice 4-6% grade to the bottom where one can find yet another freeway on ramp and off ramp as well as nice trails in Marion Bear park for mountain biking or gay trysting... ( so a hetero co-worker tells me...):

Tipping point -



Nice place to hit 40+ mph, I like to keep it around 25 or 30 to keep the disaster potential from reaching epic proportions at 5am-



And back up again, get to shifting onto the large cogs.... The first of the Lartigue photos...



You crest at Governor and then head down the next hill repeat -



WooHoo! Oh yeah watch those manhole covers...!



Recently a military jet crashed a quarter mile east of this school...



And back up to UTC and the Golden triangle, the property may be golden alright but the streets are paved with shit-



Just a taste...



You take Genesee up to East Point drive and you see La Jolla Country Day on the left, an expensive school for the well to do around San Diego. Take a left here -



Turn right at the end and this takes you into USCD territory. I found this ancient relic that I had been told about, so I checked it out. It had been protected inside with plexiglass...






Cool old graffiti from WWII... in pencil no less-



Going past the Pruess School and into UCSD...



Where you'll pass by some interesting architecture-




And I stop if I'm driving a car, otherwise I passively ignore these to suit my needs (sorry guys...)




One more small hill-



At the top of that hill you take a left and go past the athletic fields and the gym and onto the corner of North Torrey Pines Rd and Genesee, where you'll take a right to the light then take a left at John Jay Hopkins Dr. All the while making sure traffic is favorable...



I usually take the first right at John Jay Hopkins Court, but since the next one is more interesting blog wise (hell if you made it thus far...) as it is General Atomics Court and the site of the big bronze turd. So everyone I know describes as such, people who don't work in the area but have seen it say the same thing. Turns out a neighbor works for The Scripps Institute and knows about the statue. He said it is supposed to be a wave. A wave... Hmmm looks like a turd. Not one of modern art's better moments...





So it was at this point I turned around and traveled back the way I had came, through UCSD and up to Eastgate Mall by La Jolla Country Day. Instead of taking a right at Genesee, I head straight on Eastgate Mall through the 'Golden Triangle' with the paved with shit roads which makes it's way across the 805 and right into Miramar Road.

The air base is here, it was once the Top Gun training facility when the Navy had it. It's been military land since before anyone reading this was born or their parents. Now it's in the hands of the Marines due to BRAC.






At Miramar I take a left and head down it and it's wonderful asphalt atrocities-



Ok, so all is fine and I'm rolling along at a decent clip. I've been down this road before more than a few times. But up ahead, there's a sign just before the railroad tracks telling bicyclists to "Dismount and walk across tracks".. walk across, ha! More like crash!







And that's where the riding ended. I had to call in for SAG support as my leg was in too much pain for me to HTFU and carry on. I walked across the road to a Winchell's for some band aids. A guy in a Steeler's jersey offered me some Purel to clean my hands with, after which I sat down and sorted myself out a bit. Later I drove myself to the ER for a look see because the leg pain was enough to generate caution and concern. Nothing was damaged other than pride, some bike parts and my thigh muscles on the right side. Oh well so it goes...

I had shot more stuff in the car as we took the route home that I would have taken, but I think the moral of this story is thus:

Always be ready for the worst, prepare yourself for the crash. Carry a cell phone or change, having a small first aid kit maybe a good idea if you're far from services of any kind and above all watch yourself on those damn rubber tiled railroad track crossings...