The McBride Graduate Camp-Out

The Joe McBride sponsored camp-out begins tomorrow, er, today, in less than 7 hours. I just returned home from another arduous day and night at studio and there is still packing and preparation to do.

I heard today that I will not need my hairdryer as the places we are staying at "only have pit toilets." The last CA State Park I stayed at had flushing toilets, many outlets, and really nice showers in these cute log cabin houses. A peek at the web link reveals this place also provides free wireless signals these days. So much for getting away from the office...

I am looking forward to seeing Sea Ranch and Mendocino. Both are places I've wanted to visit since I arrived in Berkeley 4 years ago.

I will come back with about 36 watercolors of this journey (12 paintings per day x 3 days = 36). I will scan some of them later down the road and post them here. But probably not for a few weeks.

It could have been a sure win

I just saw this article in The Oregonian. It looks like the competition my stepdad was facing in the mayor's race was flimsy at best. He should have stayed in the race and used this candidate's gaffe to his advantage in the small town Beaverton Valley Times.

This guy Doyle looks like some villianous character from central casting....

There goes another $300

This week my new camera finally arrived in the mail. The thing is really nice, I love the upgrade from the S230.

Sadly, after discussing the screen problem that prompted my recent purchase with a classmate, I learned that the defect has been recognized by Canon and you can get a replacement camera or repair, REGARDLESS of warranty status.

Oh, dear.

I suppose I can bestow the replacement, once I get it, on a deserving soul. Or just have two cameras.

Hibernation

This blog has lately suffered from lack of entries, and outlook for future entries also looks dreary. Check back in a couple of weeks. Much is happening, deadlines are being (barely) met, and my public speaking practice increased by 65 minutes this week. I'll try to be more specific at a later date.

Until then, happy computing.

Free publicity

This postcard is being delivered to various parties in Sausalito. I was surprised that it features one of the images I produced for my boards.

Too bad I won't be able to practice my presentation until the day before. I am swamped to the gills.

Cancion de la noche

We've Been Had, The Walkmen

A favorite for 3 years now. I can still listen to it with fresh ears. But that goes for pretty much any Walkmen song, come to think about it.

There is MUCH work to be done this week. I am going to be lucky to take off for even a few hours for the next 8-16 days.

Cancion del dia

Thirsty and Miserable, The Dirty Projectors

Canon SD 800 IS

I've had to purchase a new camera! This is about my third or fourth big purchase this month, not including my tax bill.

My old Canon Digital Elph, the S230, that I received as a gift in 2003-2004, has decided to die on me. It's been giving me photos like these:



This one below has a purple hot spot. When the photos aren't fuzzy they end up purple and disfigured like this one.



I found one, here below, which is more typical than atypical.



I didn't even include the worst of them....usually the viewfinder is all fuzzy and wavy, and the pictures you take look like that. It is terrible.

Anyway, I figure the old one has gotten tons of intense use the last few years. I am buying another Canon, but this one has some expanded features. It has a 28mm-105mm focal length, so I can finally get some wide angle shots. You really need those extra 7mm when you are taking photos of landscapes as much as I do. It's still a very basic Canon point and shoot, but I don't need one that has anymore features than I already had. Plus, I have a tendency to lose things so I don't want to set myself up for disaster.