Photo 365 - Day 141 (Pin Bird)

Day 141 (November 20th, 2010)
Title: Pin Bird

Ah, yet another strange ornament to show off!  Today's ornament is just odd.  Its a very old (at least 20 years, perhaps even older!), hand-made bird.  Its made from little glass beads and sewing pins (I believe they are stuck into a pin-cushion of some sort).  It has no feet, so I'm guessing is supposed to be some sort of hummingbird (yes, I know hummingbirds have feet, but they are usually portrayed without them).  Course, it also has no wings, so I'm not sure what's really going on.  Either way, its my oldest and yet most loved ornament.

Enjoy!

Photo 365 - Day 140 (Squawkmas)

Day 140 (November 19th, 2010)
Title: Squawkmas


For day 2 of sharing some of our Christmas decor, we have Squawkmas, our Christmas Parrot.  He's a small hand-painted parrot that we got back in 2001.  You'll start to notice that we really like animal ornaments (another bird tomorrow!)  We try to get at least 1-2 small ornaments each year, and we usually like strange animals (see yesterday's fish!). 


Enjoy! 

Photo 365 - Day 139 (Kissy Fish)

Day 139 (November 18th, 2010)
Title: Kissy Fish


This week I'm doing another "theme" week (not a Name That Thing - these photos will be easy to guess), mostly because its just the season for it.  This week, I'm showing off some of the Christmas Tree ornaments that we have.  Now, we have your standard "blinky lights", glass bulbs, and strange metal star like most folks, but we also have a few... unique items that I hope you'll enjoy! 


This first one is named: Kissy Fish.  It was a gift that I received many years ago and seriously thought about giving away as a "white elephant" gift.  But after looking at it and laughing every time we saw it, we just knew we had to keep it. 


Enjoy!

Photo 365 - Day 138 (Switch 115)

Day 138 (November 17th, 2010)
Title: Switch 115

Well, Name That Thing 2 has finally come to a close and I just want to thank everyone for their input and guesses.  I hope you all enjoyed the photos.  I have a few "alternate versions" of a few of the photos that I'll be posting later this week that also came out pretty well.

Yesterday's photo was quite tricky to get.  I recently upgraded a PC and removed an old, frozen hard drive from it.  I was thinking: "Hey, I wonder what it looks like inside?"  Something that I didn't think about was how hard it would be to get into that darn drive!  Lets just say they aren't meant to be opened (because any small dust particle touching the plates will destroy a hard drive).  I tried screwdrivers, pliers, small arms fire, and finally my trusty Dremel cutting tool got the job done (had to use three cutting discs!  Lets just say tempered steel is unfriendly).  In the photo, you are seeing one of the hard drive plates (or "Platters" on which data is read and recorded) and one of the data read-write heads (the long metal arm).  Depending on the size and type of drive you have, you could have 3, 4, or more plates and reading heads.  Basically its just a super-high-tech record player.  

Today's photo is another computer-related photo, but this one would have been waaay to tricky to get.  It's the little switch near the plug on the back of your computer (the power supply) that changes the voltage from 115 volts to 230 watts.  I remember, in the old days, that these switches were much bigger and easier to accidentally flip basically insta-killing your computer if you plugged it in incorrectly.  Ah, those were the days. [Click] [Plug] [ZAP] [Poof].  "Sir, you're going to need a new computer..."

Enjoy

Photo 365 - Day 137 (Geek #6)

Day 137 (November 16th, 2010)
Title: Geek #6

Well, we have finally come to the end of Name That Thing 2: Geek Week, and I don't know about you, but I had a great time!  Had a lot of fun guesses and emails about this series of photos and I can tell you now, that Name That Thing 3 will be coming soon!  I've been asked: "Where do you want me to guess?" and you can do so any of the following ways:

If you are on Facebook (and are my friend) you can comment on my daily update
If you see the photo here on the Blog, you can comment on it here (comments are open for everyone)
If you see the photo on my Flickr feed, you are welcome to comment on them
If you see the photo from my Twitter feed you are welcome to send me a message via Tweet
And, lastly, if you want you are also welcome to email any comments (or guesses). 

So, there are many ways you can guess or comment on any of the photos you see (not just the Name That Thing series, but any photo!). 

Yesterday's photo was (as I warned), tricky.  No one, not even my Techno-geek friends got it right - although a few got close.  We also had someone on Twitter get really close as well, so bonus points for all of you!  Yesterday's photo was of a: Jumper!  Also known as a "computer circuit bypass".  Basically, its just an old switch, which is rarely used on computers today.  In essence, it was used to complete a simple circuit on either a motherboard, daughter-board (such as separate video card, or modem), or drives (hard drive or CD-Rom).  Without getting too technical (I know, too late), in the "old days", and we are talking about a millennium in computer-years (12-15 years) you had to tell the computer what everything was by using these little jumpers (technically, the jumper is the little white thing and it is basically a small piece of metal that completes an electrical circuit of the two leads/polls that is covers). 

Imagine you had two sets of polls, if you had the jumper over the first set that would mean "1", if you had the jumper over the second set it would mean "2" and if you didn't have the jumper over either of them, that make the computer insane and go all "Stephen King" and try and attack people by taking over blenders and Vroomba's while yelling at them in Norwegian.  So, you can see that jumpers are important.  Now, everything is automated by software, so generally blenders are safe now.  If you ever pop open your computer, you still might see one or two jumpers, and for DEAR God, just leave them be!  I'm just saying. 

Now for our last photo for the Name That Thing 2 series.  This is probably a Geek Level 2-3 shot, but it was really fun to get.  Lets just say power tools were needed but I think you will enjoy it! 

Let the guessing begin! 

 

Note: Its not normally red, that was just the color of the background I used in my light-box.  

Photo 365 - Day 136 (Geek #5)

Day 136 (November 15th, 2010)
Title: Geek #5


Well, we are nearly to the end of the Name That Thing 2 adventure, and I have to say its been a lot of fun!  Yesterday's photo certainly confused a few folks, but at the same time I think a lot more people got it right than I was expecting!  I blame those darn Intel commercials!  Yesterday's photo was of: CPU (Microprocessor) Chip! (AMD CPU in this case).  The following answers were also deemed correct: "Computer's Brain!" and "Master Control Program Chip" (bonus Tron reference points were awarded!). 


Congrats on all the correct guesses!


Today's picture is just mean.  Its a Geek Level 5 photo, but the good news is its not the last of the photos - I have one more tomorrow that's really neat and not too hard to get!  But today's is tricky.  Its also a bit abstract, so that makes it a bit more difficult.  But, I like the photo, so it gets a chance to trick you all!  And if there was ever a shot that had a "Alien Probe"-esq look to it...


Enjoy! 

Photo 365 - Day 135 (Geek #4)

Day 135 (November 14th, 2010)
Title: Geek #4


Here we are already at Day 4 of Name That Thing 2!  Yesterday's photo got a lot of responses, but I guess the Geek Level is getting harder, because only one person got the answer dead-on.  There were a few folks who guessed in the 'ballpark', but weren't quite right.  Some of the more interesting answers include:


Alien Probe (of course)
Adapter (vague, and somewhat right, but still only worth 1/2 points)
Play-Doh Machine (amusing, but not really computer related)
Double set of extra eyes for WALL-E (not quite right, but 4 points for imagination!) 
Saddest Harmonica in the World (no.  just no)

The correct answer for yesterday's Name That Thing 2, was: 4-Pin Molex Power Cable!  This is the cable that connects your power supply to all of the "things" in your computer - Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Fans, etc. 

Today's photo is rated Geek Level 4!  I know it's scary and intimidating, but give it your best shot! 

Enjoy! (and its not an Alien Probe!... maybe)

Photo 365 - Day 134 (Geek #3)

Day 134 (November 13th, 2010)
Title: Geek #3

We have reached the half-way point for Name That Thing 2!  We've had a lot of guesses this time around, and many of them have been correct!  Heck, some people even did research to get the right answer - Bravo!  So, without further ado, here is the answer for yesterday's photo:  It was... an Alien Probe!  No, just kidding, it was a Monitor Plug! (Or, as someone diligently found out: "15-pin d-sub/ VGA connector)

Now we move to Geek Level 3 for the next photo.  You have to be a bit more techno-savvy to get this one I think.  I hope you like it!

(ps: again, not an Alien Probe)

Photo 365 - Day 133 (Geek #2)

Day 133 (November 12th, 2010)
Title: Geek #2

Welcome to Day 2 of Name That Thing 2!  First, the important information; the answer to yesterdays photo!  Yesterday's photo was... wait for it... a PS2 Plug!  (Also acceptable answers: Mouse and/or Keyboard Plug).  I'm proud to say, nearly everyone got that one (although: "Alien Probing Device" was certainly an interesting answer).  For today, we are going to make it a little harder and dial it up to Geek Level 2!

Here is today's photo!  And I'll even give you a clue!  It's not a probing device (alien or otherwise).  Good luck!

Photo 365 - Day 132 (Geek #1)

Day 132 (November 11th, 2010)
Title: Geek #1


You've all be patiently waiting, but the wait is finally over!  Its time for Name That Thing 2!  This whole week I'll be showing macro pictures of things based on a single subject, and you get to try and name them!  For Name That Thing 2, the subject is going to be: Computers (aka "Geek Week"). 


I'm starting this Name That Thing with a "Geek Level 1" photo, that I think most folks should be able to get.  If you can't, its okay, you'll have more chances tomorrow! 


Enjoy!

Photo 365 - Day 131 (Thankfulness)

Day 131 (November 10th, 2010)
Title: Thankfulness


Its that time of the year again, the time we remember what to be thankful for.  I'm not a big politico, but I decided to do a quick list of things to be thankful for and one of them is for where I live.  I'm not going crazy about "US is better than everywhere!" or "Bow down to our Capitalism Might!", but its a more 'general' feeling of thankfulness.  I'm thankful that I live in a place that has cool techie toys, abundance of food (even if most of it is crazy-unhealthy), a general access to a wealth of information and truly wide variety of people that I get to be friends with.  I'm also thankful for all of my family, both close and far.  I hope everyone has something to be thankful for this year, and remember, even if you don't think you have anything to be thankful for always remember this one thing:  And the most important thing that I'm thankful for, is that I'm not a turkey. 


(Note: to any turkeys reading this... sorry.  Please take this "Apologetic Stick of Rosemary-Infused Butter".  If you'd like to rub it all over, I'm sure you'd feel better.) 


Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving to all of us non-turkeys! 

Photo 365 - Day 130 (Glass Web)

Day 130 (November 9th, 2010)
Title: Glass Web

This is my own "comment" of yesterday's post (Shattered).  While I was generally upset about seeing the vandalism that was done to the Mint building, when I saw the photos I realized they looked really interesting and cool.  I know I can totally hear certain folks (you know who you are!) saying: "See!  Sometimes beauty can come from random destruction and violence!".  Yeah well, that might be true and I'm sure many works of art came from some sort of conflict (be it an external effect like the vandalism I saw, or an internal one, such as a moral or ethical conflict), but regardless I'm still not happy about it! (/4yearold_IdontCareAttitude=on) 

I do aknoledge that the 'ends' resulted in an artisistic work for me (and I'm sure many others) to see and enjoy, but I think the 'means' that got us there was seriously misguided. 

Oh well... Silver lining and all that I suppose. 

Enjoy.

Photo 365 - Day 129 (Shattered)

Day 129 (November 9th, 2010)
Title: Shattered

We were walking around the City this weekend (during the crazy-nut storm that hit!  Lightning and thunder in San Fran is rare) and we walked past the old mint building (near 5th street) and what I saw really made me sad.  Many of the windows were smashed or otherwise damaged.  These windows are shatter proof, but they are also heavily barred so even if you could bust out the glass you could never get by the bars.  I just couldn't see the point on why someone would want to damage a building that has nothing in it of value (well, perhaps if you think 2 ton safe doors are valuable... Ok, I do, but most people don't!), nor would breaking the window even grant you access.  I know sometimes vandels feel they have a message they are trying to get across (such as spray-painting - which I'm not condoning - can be amazing art and really have a strong and emotional message), but pointless destruction annoys me to no end. 

Photo 365 - Day 128 (Coffeetastic)

Day 128 (November 8th, 2010)
Title: Coffeetastic

What better way to start a Sunday than with a coffee.  And not just a 'Bucks, or a Peets, but we are talking about Verve (Santa Cruz's ninja-esq coffee oasis of goodness)!  The most coffeetastic of all coffiness.  I have no idea how the coffee ninja's do that little "milk art" thing on top, but I'm always impressed by it.  Supposedly they actually have a competition for it!  And they have fans in Verve!, that look like propellers.   So, while you're sitting there, drinking you 4th quad-espresso and you decide to look up, it looks like you are being strafed by P-51 mustangs!  So, as the barista tells you: "Sir, you are not being attacked, please get out from under the table.  You are scaring the other customers." you know you are not alone!!  And they have nifty wooden signs too.  With words on them.  That I can't read because my eyes are moving too fast.  I'm thinking that perhaps, just perhaps, I should cut down a bit on the beans myself.  Oooooh!  Look, I can see the wings on a hummingbird flapping!  They are quick, quick, quick!    

Enjoy!

Photo 365 - Day 127 (Circus Mirror)

Day 127 (November 7th, 2010)
Title: Circus Mirror

When I look at this picture, I'm reminded of strange, dark tales, like Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury) and The Thief of Always (Clive Barker).  Sinister events that occur with children and the act of growing up and what might be even worse than getting older.  I've always enjoyed stories where the "monster" is more ethereal and you have to use your imagination to create what the evil really is.  As descriptive as great authors can be, I think ones own personal imagination can be even more frightening and scary. 

Enjoy!

Photo 365 - Day 126 (Hi Noon)

Day 126 (November 6th, 2010)
Title: Hi Noon

I love that San Francisco has a lot of clock-towers that still work (and have bells that chime) so you know when to get out there and get some grub! Lunch in the City is one of those crazy localized social rituals that is scary to watch but fun to be a part of.  First of all, you have to start the ritual at least two hours before lunch.  That's when one person sends a email/text to 3-4 people asking the "innocent" question of: "What do you guys want to do for lunch?"  Upon receiving this message, the receivers all groan because they know they are about to join the "Lunch In The City" ritual.  Immediately after receiving the communication, one of the receivers sends out a "I don't care, but not pizza [or any other specific cuisine]!" at the exact time that another receiver send "I'm feeling like pizza!" And the fun is just starting!

Moments later: "I don't mind pizza I guess, as long as its veggie only, without cheese and gluten free."


"Uhm, maybe something other than pizza.  How about Mexican?"


"Oh, I had Mexican last week.  Remember the re-fried beans?"


"NO MEXICAN!"


"Chinese?"


"Too much MSG!"


"Not at Mr. Lees!"


"On 5th?  That's too far!"


"No, that's not Mr. Lees, that Mr. Lu's"


"How about 'Lou's Italian'?"


"I thought we said no pizza?"


"They have lots of non-pizza things there!"


"At Mr. Lees? Its Chinese! They do have noodles!"


"Oh, I forgot that I brought soup today, sorry!"


"So, how about Pizza then?"




Ahh... good times.


Enjoy

Photo 365 - Day 125 (Bored)

Day 125 (November 5th, 2010)
Title: Bored

Now, normally I don't go out of my way to get many candid people shots, just because I prefer folks to know that I'm taking a picture of them.  But, as with all things there are exceptions to rules!  We were in the Ferry Building in San Francisco browsing for tasty treats when I saw this family hanging out in the food court area.  There was the wife talking on her cell phone, the dad clearly wishing he was home watching some sort of sporting event, and of course the son.  That look on the kid's face has to be one of the most "I'm bored out of my MIND!" looks that I've ever seen!  I was actually waiting for the kid to fall asleep on the dad's head. 

I'm sure when I was a kid I had a similar look when I was ready to go home (or at least get back to my legos), but I hope I didn't look quite as bored as that!  I feel so bad for him that I thought of giving him one of my chocolates... Then of course I remembered they were Recchiuti chocolates, so that just wasn't going to happen.

Enjoy!

Photo 365 - Day 124 (Self Portrait ala Bush)

Day 124 (November 4th, 2010)
Title: Self Portrait ala Bush

Sometimes no matter how hard you try and setup a shot, how much planning you put into a project, or dedicating hours to a task, you just don't get what you want.  That's how it is with pictures sometimes.  I was planning out a night-time shoot where I wanted to get pictures of the stars and night sky (uber-long exposure at f/32), but no matter what I did I just couldn't seem to get it right.  I tried all kinds of different combination's of setting on the camera and still, nothing but either black or random blurry splotches.  So, after about 2 hours of trying, I decided that it just wasn't going to happen tonight and I'd pack everything up.  After putting all the cables, tripod, timers, notebooks, memory cards and other miscellaneous junk away and I though: Hey, I have this large lamp out (I had a large light out so I could see everything while I was working - and YES I turned it off before shooting!) and there was a neat shrub/bush thing next to where I was.  I thought I'd just take a quick shot of it before leaving (I was darn well going to get SOMETHING out of this experience).  After the test picture, I noticed my shadow fell across the shrub in a cool way.

Two shots later, I got this nifty self-portrait.

Enjoy!

Photo 365 - Day 123 (Spring Roll Therapy)

Day 123 (November 3rd, 2010)
Title: Spring Roll Therapy

In a story completely not at all related to the photo, I recently attended a Photographic Lighting class and I've got to say, wow.  At the end of it, I felt like one of my favorite Far Side cartoons (its a classroom with one student who has his hand up, with the teacher looking at him and the student says: "Excuse me sir, my brain is full, can I go home now?")  It was a crazy-lot of information and concepts that I feel is going to help with my photos.  And, more importantly, I now know when to use a snoot.

As for this picture, earlier in the week we had a bit of drama, and at the time we decided that the best therapy to be had was "Chinese Food Therapy"!  "You don't need doctor!  You need Mongolian Beef!"

Heck, it was cheaper than Kaiser and we had lunch the next day too!

Enjoy!

Photo 365 - Day 122 (Berkeley Biker)

Day 122 (November 2nd, 2010)
Title: Berkeley Biker

Ah, Berkeley!  The land of psycho-bikers who have no concept of traffic laws or that there is a possibility of other things being on the street - like cars, or other bikers, or people, or newspaper machines...  Now, working in San Francisco, you get use to the large volume of bikers and generally they aren't bad (except on Critical Mass days when they make me late to catch my bus home!).  Now, in the City many bikers actually follow the rules of the road (and yes, there are actual laws for riding bikes!), such as stopping at a stop light, following the flow of traffic, hand-signals when turning and the like.  There are always a few that believe they are pedestrians (which, if you are riding the bike, you are NOT), and do things like ride on the sidewalk and whatnot. 

Now Berkeley, even though its just across the bay, is a completely different can o' worms!  Bikers in Berkeley believe they have a protective "I am invincible as long as I ride my bike like a total jerk" field on.  I've seen a biker ride from one corner of the street across to the other corner ("kiddie-corner"), RIGHT THROUGH traffic - and the biker got mad at the drivers for honking at him!  Oh well... At least this biker was "nice" enough to wait for the light to turn yellow.

Enjoy