Post a bad thing that happened in your life today

[Allan Bell]

Got locked out of car. TWICE!

 

Allan

 

[Michael Ventura]

7 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

Got locked out of car. TWICE!

 

Allan

 

 

I hope she will reconsider and let you stay in the car this time 😆

[Allan Bell]

32 minutes ago, Michael Ventura said:

 

I hope she will reconsider and let you stay in the car this time 😆

 

🤪

Allan

 

[Betty LaRue]

3 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

 

I hope she will reconsider and let you stay in the car this time 😆

Witty, Michael! 😁

[Rebecca Ore]

Not bad, not good, sort of sideways.  My helper wants to learn photography and get a camera of his own.  I traded some medical help for a camera several years ago, and suggested that he see if the woman would be willing to sell it cheap.  I have two Sony a7 bodies and one a6000 body, and he knows it.   Problem with used bodies here is that they're often stolen.  Getting a Canon or Nikon camera would make getting lenses easier, but he's dependent on two old ladies living for another three years until he finishes his GED equivalent.  He's supporting two dogs and a cat, a wife who crochets for pay (we hope) and his adorable daughter, and may has a guy on the side.   It's complicated.   He's used a sewing machine I gave him to sew matching party dresses for his wife and daughter.

 

Couple of earlier Sony cameras before the a6000 might work but I'm not sure he can afford even those.  I could let him borrow one of the a7 cameras with adapted lenses but I have two for security.  Another person I gave a Panasonic GF1 to said he'd dropped it into the ocean off a boat, and his employers bought him a Canon APS-C and a very nice prosumer telephoto zoom as a replacement (this was a trade for taking me birding and fish collecting).

 

Mheh.  The weird a3000 that I gave away has a decent zoom lens on it and shoots APSC at 20 MP, but the woman who has it now (maybe) has been my helper's ex-employer, twice. 

 

I see some NEX Sony's for $209 to a bit more than that.  Some basic DSLRs seem to be cheap used from B&H, too.  One Digital Rebel is $80 used without a lens.   But for my helper, these prices are rather too high for him.   And I can't afford to upgrade my a6000 which is my street camera.

 

 

[Bryan]

4 hours ago, Rebecca Ore said:

Not bad, not good, sort of sideways.  My helper wants to learn photography and get a camera of his own.  I traded some medical help for a camera several years ago, and suggested that he see if the woman would be willing to sell it cheap.  I have two Sony a7 bodies and one a6000 body, and he knows it.   Problem with used bodies here is that they're often stolen.  Getting a Canon or Nikon camera would make getting lenses easier, but he's dependent on two old ladies living for another three years until he finishes his GED equivalent.  He's supporting two dogs and a cat, a wife who crochets for pay (we hope) and his adorable daughter, and may has a guy on the side.   It's complicated.   He's used a sewing machine I gave him to sew matching party dresses for his wife and daughter.

 

We're in the process of disposing of a sewing machine, one once owned by my wife's aunt who, like her mother,  was a seamstress. It's a good machine, a New Home designed in the USA but made in Japan. It comes with a set of cams to do clever things with and is mounted in a standalone cabinet. It's one of two machines that we possess. My wife made our children's clothes when they were young and still uses her other machine today, last employed to make Covid face masks. However there is no-one in our family who wants the New Home, so it's up for sale at a fraction of the price of a camera. I suspect that we'll end up giving it away locally. A much more useful piece of kit than a camera and far better built !

[Rebecca Ore]

10 hours ago, Bryan said:

 However there is no-one in our family who wants the New Home, so it's up for sale at a fraction of the price of a camera. I suspect that we'll end up giving it away locally. A much more useful piece of kit than a camera and far better built !

 

My first zoom on my new portfolio (23 photos up) was on a detail of a Leica IIIf which was already in its forties or fifties when I owned it and was taking pictures with an even older Leica Summitar lens that I had work done on when I lived in the US.  Sigh.  I had at least one of its photos in my old portfolio.  Those old Leicas were beautiful and very well built.   Shutters did need to be replaced from time to time.  Mine had had that work done a few years before I bought it. 

 

Just talked to my helper and while he would like one of my cameras (I suspect), the course will be on lighting and composition and he can use something less professional. 

 

He has a good eye, and when I've been between selecting one or the other of two similar photos or editings, I ask him.

 

I've got a good lighting set up and if he can get it downstairs and set up in the living room with the white tile ceiling, he will have some nice toys to play with.  He can use the a6000 and the radio controller here in my house.  He's already had his first course.  It's meeting twice a week for two hours a session if I heard him correctly.  I'll look for a Spanish language translation of Light: Science and Magic (he's also studying English and had a score of 100% in that). 

 

I get squeamish about teaching photography to people who can't afford basic gear.  The teachers sometimes get grant money to teach photography to street kids which makes the whole thing even more problematic.   If the classes provided cameras (as they do at the better private schools) that would be different, but the private school kids also have families that can buy them better cameras  if the kid gets really interested in photography.

 

My brother had a housemate at one time in Charlotte who was a Hispanic freelance photographer who had never formally studied.   He kept showing his portfolios when they asked for resumes.   The kid got work in Charlotte enough to support him and build his portfolio even more before moving to Miami to work as a fashion photographer.  My brother said that he saw his former roommate's photography in magazines from time to time.

 

So, I can let my helper play with the artificial lights and the a6000 here, and he can get a used digital point and shoot for the in class work.   He's had two phones stolen in the past, so I would be nervous about him walking around with the a6000 without me and the dog.

 

 

[gvallee]

Australia recorded its hottest day ever (equal record) with 50.7C in the Pilbara two days ago. Luckily, I was there a few months ago.

[sb photos]

8 hours ago, gvallee said:

Australia recorded its hottest day ever (equal record) with 50.7C in the Pilbara two days ago. Luckily, I was there a few months ago.

 

I would find 50.7C unbearable. Makes one wonder what that could rise to with climate change, rather worrying.

[gvallee]

14 minutes ago, sb photos said:

 

I would find 50.7C unbearable. Makes one wonder what that could rise to with climate change, rather worrying.

 

Quite frankly, it is unbearable. You can't breathe. You just try to cool down by any means. Swimming, aircon, shower, cool drinks.

My ideal temperature is like today, 33C. Very pleasant except for the flies.

[Allan Bell]

8 hours ago, gvallee said:

 

Quite frankly, it is unbearable. You can't breathe. You just try to cool down by any means. Swimming, aircon, shower, cool drinks.

My ideal temperature is like today, 33C. Very pleasant except for the flies.

 

Are the flies of any use like in the food chain?  If not a few hundred crop sprayers and lots of fly spray should soon eradicate them.😉

 

Allan

 

[Ed Rooney]

9 hours ago, gvallee said:

 

Quite frankly, it is unbearable. You can't breathe. You just try to cool down by any means. Swimming, aircon, shower, cool drinks.

My ideal temperature is like today, 33C. Very pleasant except for the flies.

 

Good grief, that's about 124 degrees F! I hope to never experience that. In Seville, it hit 100 the day before I arrived and again the. day after I left. In Vietnam, it was in the 90s with swamp-like humidity. Mosquitoes? Down in the U-Minh Forest, that was their major export. 

[gvallee]

3 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Good grief, that's about 124 degrees F! I hope to never experience that. In Seville, it hit 100 the day before I arrived and again the. day after I left. In Vietnam, it was in the 90s with swamp-like humidity. Mosquitoes? Down in the U-Minh Forest, that was their major export. 

 

I experienced worse in your country: 52C (125.6F) in Death Valley. It was horrendous but at least, it wasn't humid. 

[gvallee]

Our farm sitting is not going too well. As revenge for having been deserted by their owners, the dogs killed a chook and brought it to us. Got the message... They will also only eat if I handfeed them. And as I said, one is a cross Mastiff/Great Dane. They are very affectionate with us though. 

 

Alpacas and cows OK so far. 

More dreaded EGGS!

[Bryan]

7 hours ago, gvallee said:

Our farm sitting is not going too well. As revenge for having been deserted by their owners, the dogs killed a chook and brought it to us. Got the message... They will also only eat if I handfeed them. And as I said, one is a cross Mastiff/Great Dane. They are very affectionate with us though. 

 

Alpacas and cows OK so far. 

More dreaded EGGS!

Great experience for you !  In contrast  here the weather is miserable and cold. Meanwhile our garden is being devastated by the builders putting up an extension, fortunately they've not breached the house wall as yet, but worse to come. We got out for a walk yesterday, but, under grey skies,  very few people about. Roll on the Spring. The most interesting thing to happen was the failure of one of the knobs controlling the hob on our gas cooker, I've attempted a repair, but also sourced a replacement. Life goes on....

Edited January 16, 2022 by Bryan

[gvallee]

17 minutes ago, Bryan said:

Great experience for you !  In contrast  here the weather is miserable and cold. Meanwhile our garden is being devastated by the builders putting up an extension, fortunately they've not breached the house wall as yet, but worse to come. We got out for a walk yesterday, but, under grey skies,  very few people about. Roll on the Spring. The most interesting thing to happen was the failure of one of the knobs controlling the hob on our gas cooker, I've attempted a repair, but also sourced a replacement. Life goes on....

 

It certainly is a new experience! We just took the 4x4 ute (a driving experience in its own right with its old fashioned 4WD system and clunky noises everywhere) to the dam and threw in nets to catch yabbies. We took the smaller dog with us but the big one wouldn't come. I tried to lift her up onto the seat but no joy so she stayed behind.

 

Meanwhile, 8 new eggs today. Not EGGstatic!! 

[Bryan]

58 minutes ago, gvallee said:

 

Meanwhile, 8 new eggs today. Not EGGstatic!! 

 

Can you not make and freeze eggy items, e.g. quiche, flan,  Spanish tortilla, Yorkshire puddings etc for later consumption during egg  shortage ? 😉

 

I'm currently in dispute with the domestic authorities re choice of light fittings for extension. Me minimalist recessed, she spotlights. Might have to call upon heirs for arbitration.

 

Raining at the moment 😟

Edited January 16, 2022 by Bryan

[gvallee]

25 minutes ago, Bryan said:

 

Can you not make and freeze eggy items, e.g. quiche, flan,  Spanish tortilla, Yorkshire puddings etc for later consumption during egg  shortage ? 😉

 

I'm currently in dispute with the domestic authorities re choice of light fittings for extension. Me minimalist recessed, she spotlights. Might have to call upon heirs for arbitration.

 

Raining at the moment 😟

 

I haven't got an oven in our motorhome, only a grill, and limited freezer space. I much prefer freezing all sorts of meat and use the eggs fresh. As our farm sit is only 10 days, I guess I will leave quite a few egg boxes with the owners. They chose to have so many chooks that they don't know how many they have. Plus there are two new broods of countless little chicks. Their problem. 

[Ed Rooney]

 

Those dogs killed something and brought it to you as a gift? Maybe those dogs are cats?

 

Not raining today in Merseyside, but it's dark as night. I took some chips up to Castle Street yesterday to feed the pigeons and gulls. I always give the gulls a lecture about going out and getting a fish. They're a quarrelsome bunch, not into community and sharing. 

 

Edwardo

 

 

[meanderingemu]

On 15/01/2022 at 03:05, gvallee said:

 

Quite frankly, it is unbearable. You can't breathe. You just try to cool down by any means. Swimming, aircon, shower, cool drinks.

My ideal temperature is like today, 33C. Very pleasant except for the flies.

 

opposite end of the spectrum.  

 

 

 

I actually can stand the -26C real feel, with a bunch of layers.  But the Wind Warning that creates it is what gets to me.  Yesterday which was similar was viable until you had to go against the wind and then got it would go straight through in the face, 

[gvallee]

21 minutes ago, meanderingemu said:

 

opposite end of the spectrum.  

 

 

 

I actually can stand the -26C real feel, with a bunch of layers.  But the Wind Warning that creates it is what gets to me.  Yesterday which was similar was viable until you had to go against the wind and then got it would go straight through in the face, 

 

No thank you. I would be sick for sure. 

The beauty with us Grey Nomads is that we can follow the sun all year round in Oz. 

The forecast for this week where I am is between 33C and 37C. Perfect. I will investigate the swimming pool tomorrow.

I feel for you guys. Sending you some sunshine. 

[meanderingemu]

2 minutes ago, gvallee said:

 

No thank you. I would be sick for sure. 

The beauty with us Grey Nomads is that we can follow the sun all year round in Oz. 

The forecast for this week where I am is between 33C and 37C. Perfect. I will investigate the swimming pool tomorrow.

I feel for you guys. Sending you some sunshine. 

 

i had avoided winter for 6 years, but now not really an option.   I actually was surprised last year that it wasn't that bad, for someone raised with it.  What gets to me more is the daylight issue, but days are slowly getting longer, 7:30am and it's already decent light out there, and the sun will set after 5pm tonight...  

[Bryan]

I've just read that last year the the UK road traffic "fatality rate has risen by five per cent - the first significant rise in 40 years.", and this at a time when there has been a partial lockdown and fewer people travelling. 

 

Maybe it's due to reduced policing, or possibly it's becoming more socially acceptable to break the speed limits, use phones when driving, drive aggressively, or just become less considerate and careful.

 

I confess that I've done a few driving related stupid things over the years and got away with it, but now, older and I hope, wiser, I'm a good deal more careful, and generally obey the speed limits etc.  Of course one result is that I often have impatient people driving dangerously close behind. 

 

A very worrying trend.  All the more reason to take to the train !

[spacecadet]

1 hour ago, Bryan said:

UK road traffic "fatality rate has risen by five per cent -

That's odd because the government figures show a very small reduction on 2020 and a reduction of 22% from the 2017-19 average.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-in-great-britain-provisional-estimates-year-ending-june-2021/reported-road-casualties-in-great-britain-provisional-estimates-year-ending-june-2021

 

Perhaps it would be helpful to include sources when making this sort of comment, particularly when drawing conclusions.

Edited January 17, 2022 by spacecadet

[Dave Richards]

2 hours ago, Bryan said:

I've just read that last year the the UK road traffic "fatality rate has risen by five per cent - the first significant rise in 40 years.", and this at a time when there has been a partial lockdown and fewer people travelling. 

 

Maybe it's due to reduced policing, or possibly it's becoming more socially acceptable to break the speed limits, use phones when driving, drive aggressively, or just become less considerate and careful.

 

I confess that I've done a few driving related stupid things over the years and got away with it, but now, older and I hope, wiser, I'm a good deal more careful, and generally obey the speed limits etc.  Of course one result is that I often have impatient people driving dangerously close behind. 

 

A very worrying trend.  All the more reason to take to the train !

There is a 20 mph speed limit at a school in our town centre. Had an idiot two feet off my tail flashing his headlights and blasting his horn. He decided to pass me and in doing so went the wrong side of a traffic island and keep left bollard. I followed him and he was doing the same thing to another car in front. I followed further and he twigged I was doing so and he then started ducking down side roads in an attempt to shake me off. I could tell he was getting rattled. He eventually ran down a cul-de-sac.

I left him to it. Since then I have decided to get front and rear dash cams fitted. The next b*****d that does something like that may find themselves having a difficult conversation with a policeman.