This Old Blog

two seniors say hello It's Thanksgiving week. I'm taking a few days of personal time before Thanksgiving Day because I'll be flying on business to Japan on Thursday. My wife and I are running around trying to get as much done as possible before I leave her alone with the two Labs and the three cats. She'll have our two daughters to come and visit as well as all her friends and our neighbors, but still, I worry. And because I worry I plan accordingly. One trip was to our vet with Max and Lucy. Max needed his ears checked, and Lucy needed to have a minor operation checked to see if she was healing well. Both little guys came away with flying colors. Max in particular is happy because his ears are in great shape. Max is a Lab, and Labs are Hounds, and a Hound's ears are very important to them. you don't smell like a puppy... While we were in the waiting room for out turn with the vet, many little characters, large and small, came over to pay their res...

All taken with the E-M5 and the M.Zuiko 14-42mm II kit zoom. The E-M5's quick focus, touch screen, and very quiet operation allowed me to get close enough to the animals for the captures. That, and the high ISO performance of the sensor (Ruby at the top and Lucy at the bottom are ISO 3200). The E-M5 is, without a doubt, the best Olympus digital camera I've ever owned, 4:3rds or µ4:3rds. And the consumer zooms I've used, specifically the 14-42mm and 40-150mm, have done excellent yeoman work, especially on the E-M5 body. This is the digital camera that Olympus has always been capable of producing (see the OM-1), and the digital camera they should have produced before they did. I sincerely hope Olympus produces more cameras like the E-M5, but more importantly, I hope Olympus survives to produce more like the E-M5.

It's too easy to be overwhelmed by what's wrong with the world and fail to notice what's right. One of the right things we do is to rescue an animal and give it a better home. When I was out today I came across the Orange County Animal Services mobile kennel. If you've spent any time reading my blog you know what a sucker I am for four-footed creatures such as cats (3) and dogs (2 Labs). I have an affinity for four-footed creatures far stronger than for any camera or lens. I felt compelled to step inside. Sure enough I found a little two-month-old brindle male pit bull named Lightning. Before you flinch over "pit bull", keep in mind that their negative reputations are due to how they're mistreated and raised by humans. I now know of many pit bulls that are as docile and loving as my Labs. When I look into a little guy's face like Lightning's I have to wonder who would be a cruel enough bastard to mistreat such an animal. The only concern I woul...

That little critter might look like Lucy, but it's not. My daughter's boyfriend decided he wanted a cat, so they went to a local animal shelter in Tallahassee to see what they had. Tallahassee shelters have a humane will-not-destroy rule about animals. They'll keep them until they find a home for them, however long it takes. The shelter fixed this little girl kitten, but they used super glue on the outer incision. That seems to be a commonly accepted procedure, but the incision didn't stay shut with this little one, who opened it back up while cleaning herself. So they took her to a vet, who surgically stapled it back shut. Then, to make sure it healed as quickly as possible they bought the collar and put it on her. They haven't decided on a final name for the kitten, but the one they're both leaning towards is Rocket, because of the way she goes flying around inside. The collar doesn't seem to slow her down. So now my very extended family is involved...

"Profiles" Olympus E-3 with Zuiko Digital 50-200mm 1/320s, f/5, ISO 100, 123mm Today was a glorious day in Orlando. The weather was picture perfect. And so my wife and I gathered the little Labs in the Prius and drove out to the Dr. P. Phillips Community Park , just off of south Apopka/Vineland Road. The community park is a nice, well-kept community park with a trail, baseball diamond, picnic areas, and an enclosed dog park. When we got there it was a little after 1pm, and the dog park section already had about a dozen dogs in attendance. Both of ours were eager (some might say desperate) to run in and meet-and-greet everyone. There were several other yellow Labs in there as well. Ruby immediately went over and hung out with the other Labs. Max went over and hung out with the guys, which included a pit mix and several other large breeds I couldn't identify. Everybody mostly behaved, except towards the end, when I had to wade in and separate Max and two other dogs...

Orlando Diary It's been two years since Lucy (a.k.a. Gertrude) walked through our front door and settled into the place. Since then Lucy has grown quite comfortable sharing a house with three adult humans (sometimes swelling to four), two Labs, and two other cats. She has, in particular, grown fond of me, a situation that based on my past experiences with cats I thought would never ever happen. But then here she is. She who must be obeyed. Lucy has all sorts of spots around the house where she likes to hang out, during various times, and depending on her whims. One habit she's developed is coming up to me in the evening and stretching out on my chest as I'm sitting and watching TV or just reading. She looks up at me with those big eyes of hers until my hand, almost of its own accord, drops down on her head and gives her rubs. Then she purrs like a little motor and snuggles down further until I get up and head to bed. Lucy sleeping on my overstuffed chair. She kn...

Lucy might be all of just eight pounds sopping wet, but Lucy is not one to be pushed about, at least not easily. She's a proud little thing who takes her many responsibilities quite seriously, such as guarding our house, 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. She woke me at 2:30am with a constant meowing in the middle of the house. I was sleeping in my La-Z-Boy recliner in the TV room because I'd been snoring pretty badly earlier in the evening and was keeping the wife awake. I'd finally fallen asleep and was deep in slumber when I started to dream about Lucy. I dreamed she was calling to me. The calling was very persistent, so persistent that I woke up to hear her meowing. For a minute I thought it might have been one of my daughter's cats, but it became clear it was coming from where Lucy normally sleeps. I got up, grabbed the flashlight, and went stumbling into the front of the house. At first I saw Lucy sitting in the middle of the floor with her hackles up. As I sw...