GOVERNMENT GIVES ME A FEW EXTRA DOLLARS FOR TURNING 65 & THE INSURANCE COMPANY TAKES IT AWAY!!!!

Didn't have any photos for this post so I had to dig to- day's pictures out of my trash bin where I had thrown them one day last week when I realized they were all out of focus.  At one time I left my cameras on 'auto-focus' all the time but over the course of the summer I have mainly been using manual focus.  There is a small switch on the lens that lets me alternate between manual & auto-focus.  I thought I was on auto-focus when I took the pics but it was set for manual & I failed to notice that.  I was hurrying to get the shots before the lighting changed.  Careless on my part.  But, at least there are some nice color contrasts & you do get the idea a storm was passing over despite the focusing problem.  Maybe think of them as paintings & not sharp imaged photos.

My internal sleep mode button malfunctioned last night causing me to remain in a conscious state for 5 of the 7 hours I was in a horizontal position, the result of which will cause me a very irritable Friday.  I will have to remain on my leash confined to barracks for fear I may bite someone.  Lack of sleep does that to me so I have learned to not attempt any mechanical things or computer fixes on days like this.  In fact it is not even wise to attempt to tie my shoes!!

Our nice weather day yesterday turned to rain last night as I see a big storm front on the computer weather map marching eastward across the States.  The up side of that means it will be easier for me to stay inside out of the cold wet weather to-day.  Might be a good time to spend a few hours with my coloring book.

 RICK had a good tip in his blog this morning about using your keyboard's PrtScn button on the top row of keys to the right.  It will save a webshot of whatever you have on your screen & now it will save it right into Picasa.  I knew about the PrtScn function but hadn't realized it would work with Picasa so when I read Rick's blog I right away set about pecking on my PrtScn button like a manic woodpecker at a dead grub convention.  Of course, because of my lack of sleep last night it would not work for me.  Around about this time Kelly came into the living room to see what all the grumbling, complaining, & pecking was all about.  I blustered about the PrtScn thingy & she immediately headed for the desk top computer in the sun room & came back minutes later with the solution.  Picasa 3 has to be open & running on the task bar first before attempting to capture a screen shot.  I tried it & it worked perfect.  This method of solving things I call the old G & F solution.  I do the Grumbling & Kelly does the Fixing.  Works every time:))I'm sure getting dinged for medical coverage this trip.  Because of turning 65 & the fact I was briefly HOSPITALIZED in Colorado with a kidney stone on November 2nd of 07 the insurance company has of course tacked on an extra $500 to my policy which puts my 6 month medical coverage to over $1100.00.  Kelly's is slightly over $500.  I can certainly understand now how a lot of Canadian RV folks cannot afford to travel south anymore especially if they have have any medical issues.  Had we waited until after Nov 2nd to leave it would have been much cheaper because my 2 year 'medically free' time would have been up.  We had totally forgot about that 2 year period but our departure date is a must before November 2nd.  Should be cheaper next year & my next built in insurance increase will occur at age 70.  Kelly said if she didn't need me to dump the black water tank it would have been cheaper to just leave me & the dogs at home!!  Oh dear, I had better not lose my black tank dumping skills or it could be back to some mighty long hard cold Canadian winters again for AL:(( GROANER'S CORNER:((  A doctor examined a woman, took the husband aside, and said, 'I don't like the looks of your wife at all.' 
'Me neither doc,' said the husband. 'But she's a great cook and really good with the kids.'

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS  http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

YAAAAAAY....STELLA IS HOME SAFE & SOUND:))

THIS LITTLE GOLDFINCH WAS HAVING A VERY VIGOROUS BATH THIS AFTERNOON (click to enlarge....Goldfinch is facing left)

Received a phone call this afternoon from Stella's owner to say Stella (the missing Burmese Mountain dog) had just been returned home by a lady who had been keeping her for the past couple of weeks. Don't know all the details but she was apparently well looked after & is now happy to be home. Yaaaaaaay Stella:))

ADDED A TOUCH OF YELLOW TO THE BIRD BATH ON RIGHT TO GIVE IT A BIT OF COLOR

Loaded up the 2 big furry guys this morning & we took the big wheels for a drive up to Goderich & back. Sure was nice to be back in the rigs driver's seat even if it was just for a short time. The Sons of The Pioneers boomed out of the speakers all the way there & back. Max & Checkers were all excited thinking we were off to see their pals, Gleason, Pearce, & Corky, at the Arizona ranch. Had to tell them, sorry guys, not yet.....but soon:))

THE GOLDFINCH AT TOP LEFT IS ON FINAL APPROACH TO THE BIRDBATH AS A LITTLE BLACK CAP CHICKADEE WATCHES FROM THE WATER'S EDGE I WAS TOO SLOW ON THE TRIGGER & ONLY CAUGHT HALF OF THIS BLUE JAY LEAVING THE BIRD BATH:((

Had trouble with our external hard drive yesterday so took it along this morning to the computer place in Goderich to have it checked out. All our travel photos are stored on that external hard drive & I didn't want to take any chances on losing them. I also have most of the photos on DVD's as well but that hard drive is the working copy so to speak. MAX & CHECKERS WERE READY TO RUMBLE THIS MORNING. MAX IS MAD AT ME FOR NOT GETTING HIS BEST SIDE!!
THE BISBEE KIDS ON THE DASH ARE WATCHING THE ROAD AS WE HEAD HOME

With the positive response to last night's blog about Picasa 3 I've decided to throw a few more photo examples in to-night's blog.

I ADDED SOME PICASA 3 SOFT FOCUSING TO THIS PHOTO TO GIVE IT A MYSTIC FEELING. I ALSO USED "GLOW" UNDER THE EFFECTS HEADING TO GIVE THE WATER SOME SPARKLE

(when I look at this photo now I realize I should have cropped a bit more off on the left side to rid that overexposed rock...I will do that to the original later but it just gives you an idea of what you can do.

Kelly comes home Friday so that will mean some real food again. I can cook stuff OK if I have too but I think my main problem is that I'm just to darn lazy to go through all the motions so I just eat stuff like cereal, porridge, & Oktoberfest sausage, etc. Whatever is easy to throw to-gether in a few minutes. Swampin down a tin of salmon is always pretty easy too. I've never been a big food person but I sure do eat enough of the darn stuff sometimes!! But never seconds. I just eat what's in front of me & then quickly remove myself from the area, ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF CROPPING THE SURROUNDING BACKGROUND OUT TO FEATURE THE FLOWER. AN EXAMPLE OF ADDING TEXT TO A PHOTO

Was doing a little reading up on Microsoft's new operating system due to launch on October 25th of this year. It's called Windows 7 & sounds good so far. I like the fact that it isn't a power hog like XP & especially Vista.

THESE TWO HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER PHOTOS DEMONSTRATE THE POWER OF THE "I'M FEELING LUCKY" BUTTON. ONE CLICK OF THE BUTTON BRIGHTENED UP THE PHOTO & I COULD HAVE FURTHER LIGHTENED IT BY USING THE "FILL LIGHT" FEATURE FOUND UNDER BASIC FIXES

Not much else new to-day so maybe I'll just throw the cameras in the van & go see if I can track me down a sunset................:))

COLOR HIGHLIGHTING THE FLOWERS IN "FOCAL BLACK & WHITE"

-Hummingbird feeder & single flower photo were taken with a Nikon D40 & 700mm telescope lens.

-The two RV photos this morning were done with my Canon A720 as was the motorcycle pics yesterday.

-The flowers & pond shots were taken from inside our sunroom through a glass window using a Nikon D50 & 200mm zoom lens.

-The birdbath photos were taken from inside the sunroom as well using the D50 & zoom lens at 200mm

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Life is like a roll of toilet paper.....the closer you get to the end the faster it goes.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

I AGREE WITH RICK.....TWO THUMBS UP FOR PICASA 3:))

THIS PHOTO WAS MADE A WEE BIT BETTER WITH PICASA 3

Spent a couple pleasurable hours on the motorcycle this morning cruising around the local countryside enjoying a mighty fine southwestern Ontario morning. Took a few photos from the bike which I will use to show some things you can do with a certain photo program. That yellow bandana tied to the handlebars is my WSI. (wind speed indicator) When that bandana is ramrod straight out pointing back that tells me I'm approaching 750 MPH & it's time to shift into third gear:)) THIS IS THE SAME PHOTO WITH NOTHING DONE TO IT. NOT A GREAT EXAMPLE OF DIFFERENCE BUT THERE ARE SUBTLE CHANGES IN COLOR & SHARPNESS...COMPARE THE INDICATOR BUTTONS & SPEEDOMETER....GRASS IS GREENER & RED BUTTON ON HANDLEBAR STANDS OUT MORE.

Noticed on RICK'S blog this afternoon he was talking about Google's excellent digital photo program Picasa 3. I have been using this program for the past 3 to 5 years now & would recommend it to anyone out there looking for an easy to use free photo program. I see many photos on blogs that are good but could be made a lot better if folks would just take that extra few minutes to work on them a little bit in the Picasa program. Rick explains & gives examples in his blog how to start off with the. "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. That alone can make quite a difference in a photo. "FOCAL BLACK & WHITE"....NOTICE THE YELLOW BANDANA IN THE OTHERWISE B&W PHOTO

Here is basically how I handle a photo in Picasa 3. I get the photo up on the screen & then under Basic Fixes hit that "Lucky" button Rick talks about. I then decide if the picture looks better & it usually does. I then sometimes click the "Auto Color" button next to see if it will adjust the color the way I want. Then I go to Effects & click on "Saturation" & see if I like the way it punches out the colors more vibrantly or not. Then I'll slip up to the "Sharpen" button & stretch the slider bar to sharpen the picture a bit. Then I might go to Tuning & add some "Contrast" to the picture to darken it down a bit maybe or I might use the "Color Temperature" to warm up a sunset. You can also lighten your photo if it's too dark by using the "Fill Light" slider bar under Basic Fixes. Also under Basic Fixes you will find the word, "Crop" & this is where you can really make or break your photo. I do a lot of cropping in my photos & it all has to do with composition. If you don't get the composition right when you take the picture then you have a second chance to re-do the shot in the Picasa photo program by cropping it the way you want. I ADDED "SATURATION" TO MAKE THE YELLOW BANDANA COLOR STAND OUT

There are a bunch of other creative buttons for working on your photos & the best way to learn is just to get a photo up on the Picasa screen & start pressing buttons to see what happens. Everything can be undone very easily so you are not going to ruin your photos. Try the Sepia button for an old time look or turn your color to black & white. Soft focus is very creative & you have slider bars to adjust your softness. I use my "Straighten" button a lot because I have a tendency to get my horizon's crooked. That button alone has saved many a photo for me. Try Focal B&W for another really neat effect. I HAVE TOTALLY EXAGGERATED THE SKY TO SHOW HOW EFFECTS CAN BE ADDED IN "GRADUATED TINT."

AN EXAMPLE OF "CROPPING"

And don't worry.......if you don't like what you create, just undo the changes you made & take the photo back to the way it was. Only takes a few seconds. "SEPIA TONE" GIVES PHOTOS THAT OLD TIME LOOK

I have a professional Photoshop program in our laptop but have never used it simply because I've never been able to understand it. Maybe if I understood it I would still come back to Picasa 3......who knows. You can download the free PICASA 3 here. From there it's just a few more easy steps to download Picasa's sister program, PICASA WEB ALBUMS. ""SOFT FOCUS" LETS YOU PLACE THE SOFTNESS WHERE YOU WANT IT. THIS IS NICE FOR PORTRAITS.

Like I said earlier........I see a lot of OK photos in blogs that could be made better if folks just took the time to make them better with a simple easy to use photo program called Picasa 3. And like Rick..........no, I do not work for Picasa or have anything to gain by recommending it, except.............your photos are going to look a whole lot nicer & that is going to make YOU feel a whole lot better........:)))))) BLACK & WHITE

P.S. And I used the "Straighten" button on all these motorcycle photos to get my horizons level!!

GROANER'S CORNER:)) Why is it called Alcoholics Anonymous when the first thing you do is stand up and say, '*My name is Bob, and I am an alcoholic'?

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.