Not quite two years ago, I took a couple of online courses from the new program/organization/school/site Coursera, which were quite interesting. The idea of open-access college-level courses is tricky while it reduces the costs of education and makes it accessible to loads more people, the ability to accurately test
Category: Frustrations
Missing, presumed protein
So, I commented not long ago about the almond tree we transplanted, which had been getting savaged by deer at the old place – they would come by every few weeks and strip half the leaves from it, returning when it had recovered. Here at the new house, it had escaped such attentions. For a while.
The Girlfriend opened the front door early one morning to come face-to-face with a young buck standing
Maybe later
Despite the abruptly warm temperatures today following two snowstorms, there’s still a bit of snow cover around, and a full moon out there. We don’t get conditions like that very often, and I had planned on taking a short hike out to someplace scenic to do some long-exposure night shots. I waited
Listen to that voice
For some unknown reason, I have a desire to capture sunrise on Tycho, the prominent rayed crater on the moon. Since it’s unlikely I’ll be able to afford a trip there anytime soon, I’ve been pursuing this remotely, but what it means is capturing a particular phase of the moon at just the right time. Shown above, we have the moon from yesterday evening and tonight,
Clueless
I have a project I’m working on that requires a little airbrush work – nothing serious or fancy, but I’ve found that a little cup would work better than a complete siphon bottle at times. I don’t have the little cup, so I started looking online for it.
Courtesy of the arts & crafts & stupid dried decorative shit store called simply, ‘Michaels’ (because
Now I’m irritated
At 12:06 am this morning, I find out that yesterday was National Grouch Day, a holiday I could actually get into, and I missed it. I even had a student and thus was on better behavior than normal, so I was extra cheated.
I just checked there is no National Spider Photographer Day, and no National Godless Heathen Day, so this was my one chance to shine, and I missed it. Someone can
Frustrations, part 12
As several separate thunderstorm cells moved through tonight, I was watching the inordinate amount of electrical activity lighting up the sky like a disco strobe, and figured I should be doing something about it. I haven’t pursued much lightning photography in my current location because it’s remarkably difficult to find a good setting. This area of central NC is loaded with trees, and
Frustrations, part 11
The dog fennel plants that provided so many photo subjects last year, visible in the wide image for my last ‘Frustrations’ post, are now taller than I am, and routinely examined for interesting subjects. This evening I noticed some suspicious dewdrops, suspicious because they were
Just more arthropods
We’ve been seeing some steamy weather lately, high heat preceding wicked thunderstorms, and I was dumb enough to go down to the river in the former looking for subjects. Between bad sinus reactions and sweating buckets, without finding much of anything to shoot, I elected not to stay long. But I did bring back an eyed click beetle (Alaus oculatus) to get some more
Frustrations, part 10
We’ve had a couple of bluebird nest boxes in the yard for the past two years, attracting occupants each spring, and of course this means I’m attempting to get some decent images. What I’m most after are the newly emerged fledglings, the young whippersnappers just leaving the nest, but while waiting I try for feeding shots as well.
The folks are a tad shy about me looming over their