Archive for June, 2009

The Perfect Shot

June 29th, 2009, posted in Photography, That's Life

So I am always trying to improve my photography…right? But one subject that always eludes me is the “Bug Shot”. I see all these great macro shots others take of flies and bees and such, and I can never get close to them. Part of my problem is that I’m impatient…another part of the problem is that my macro lens is only a 60 mm which means I have to get really close to get a decent shot.

Well, of course, when you get really close to a bug….it usually flies away. See my problem here?

So on Friday I noticed a fly in the window and thought “Here’s my perfect opportunity!”. I snuck up on it and caught it in a jar. I then popped it into the refrigerator to chill it and induce a torpor state so that I would be able to actually get close to it./ When really cold, it wouldn’t move much and I’d have a few moments to snap happily away before it warmed up.

Sounded good in theory.

After about 30 minutes I sent and got my fly. I shook it out onto a small rock and shone a bright light on it. I got the camera raised and started to focus, but it moved, so I turned the rock and focused again, and it moved! Then it warmed up enough to lazily fly across the room…and right into the waiting maw of Loki, our brilliant (not) little hunter.

My cat ate my photographic subject!!! And to think I felt sorry for it when I put it into the fridge….

So, my “Fly-day Friday” became a No-Fly-Friday” or a No FlyDay!

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Love Affair with the Mac

June 22nd, 2009, posted in Mac Stuff, Technology

I bought the first Mac 10 months ago…the laptop 7 months ago. The love affair has not ended. My Toshiba laptop has becomes Kirk’s machine (for the most part, although from time to time I still need it for odd things…like…ohhhh, taxes…)

Last night the Toshiba (and I might add that this is a very high end, very expensive Toshiba laptop) was sitting on the table and I spun it around to do a quick internet check for something… or at least as quick as you can do on a PC.

I opened it, ….. and waited….. and waited….finally I got annoyed and hard booted it…and it came up with some big update…. which of course bogs the computer down completely and makes it unusable while doing its thing (VISTA!!!).

Eventually I gave up and just went and got the Macbook….. oh yeah, I miss Windows…. terribly… snicker, snicker….

Can you say “SO glad I made the switch to Mac” ?????

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Four Month Anniversary!

June 21st, 2009, posted in Random Musings

WOW! Where’d that go! Four months since we were married? Actually, the real question would be….”where did 23+ years go!!!??”

It was a quiet day…I mean really, who celebrates 4 months. Not us. I just noticed the date on the calendar, and it’s Summer Solstice, and we were at Eagle Harbour Yacht Club (where we got married) the other day… just a random bunch of observances really.

We thought we might go test drive a few vehicles today. And then we didn’t. So we went up the road and hung out at the Capilano Suspension Bridge with the cameras and took some photos. We probably should have gone test drive some vehicles, since we need something new so badly. Our newest vehicle is 20 years old….and that is the “reliable” one. We lost the use of one permanently the other week, frame just rotted away and it would cost more to fix than the car is worth…and that was supposed to be the car that was going to replace the older one. So much for that theory. So now we have two vehicles that are rotting away to nothing and becoming lighter by the day. We have nothing that either one of us feels safe driving on the highway…hmm… this will make getting to the Okanagan for a family wedding challenging…I smell a rental in the air…..

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Fly it With Pride!

June 16th, 2009, posted in Random Musings

Happy Canada Day!!!!Funny thing. While away in Greece recently, we spent a great deal of time identifying flags from other countries and from regions within countries (mostly the UK). In 5 weeks away, other than our own two Canadian flags, we only saw two others, both in Syvota Mourto. One was at a restaurant owned by a woman from Montreal, the other was one of about 50 flying on a small water taxi (but it was near the top!).

So now that we are back home, I’m not sure if I am just seeing them because I missed them so badly, or if there really are more around. But it does seem like there are more… It could be just a function of Canada Day being right around the corner, but I actually hope that more people are taking pride in the Canadian flag and choosing to fly it. While we were away in Greece, we found that our flag drew many people and started many conversations, all of them positive.

And that’s something to be proud of, I think.

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Search and Rescue

June 15th, 2009, posted in That's Life

I’m appalled at a current lawsuit that is making headlines. Back in February a French Canadian couple skied Kicking Horse Mountain in Golden, BC. Kicking Horse is a challenging mountain, and they showed an extreme lack of intelligence in that they chose to ski out of bounds. They got lost…the husband stamped SOS in the snow…no one saw the markings for some time, and it took four days to locate them. This isn’t a little local hill in Vancouver, this is a big mountain with loads of wilderness surrounding it. Sadly, the woman froze top death.

Now, the husband has launched a lawsuit against the mountain, the RCMP, and most disturbingly, against the volunteer Search and Rescue crew.

The various BC Search and Rescue groups in BC are to be commended for their dedication to public safety and I am often amazed at the idiocy that some people show when they enter the woods. In Vancouver, every year, many people go for a walk in the woods, ski out of bounds etc, and think that because they are within easy reach of the city….should anything happen, it will be easy to get out…or someone will find them easily. Often they are ill prepared to deal with the conditions they will face. What they fail to consider is the cost associated with their foolish behaviour. That cost is not merely monetary, it is also personal. There is extreme risk to Search and Rescue crews attempting to locate lost skiers and hikers.

Local Vancouver mountains are finally cracking down on skiers who head out of bounds and these individuals, if caught, are banned from the hills. I have always thought that it should go further….there should be a cost associated with such rescues a responsibility by those who are lost to compensate somehow. The danger I suppose in that is that people might fail to use that cell phone to make an emergency call if they thought they would be liable for costs.

The North Shore Search and Rescue group trains diligently under difficult conditions to ensure they are ready for any challenges. Many times they recover bodies and not lives. They are to be commended for their efforts. They are volunteers, they dedicate their efforts to the protection of others and receive no compensation for risking their own lives to save others.

And now some idiot thinks he has the right to sue them and BC Search and Rescue groups are suspending their operations while they seek legal advice on third party liability insurance.

This couple went out of bounds, and rather than take personal responsibility, he now tries to sue those who “voluntarily” help people and have no legal obligation to do so… and as a result, others may suffer because voluntary assistance has now become risky in a new way.

This seems monumentally wrong!

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