This Old Blog

The Florida Gingersnaps are a reaction to the loss of my Lucy (whose photo still adorns the header of my blog) and Max back in June 2015 combined with coming across John Scalzi's Ohio Scamperbeasts on his blog Whatever. John Scalzi had also lost two pets, both cats, and his new kittens, named Sugar and Spice, were replacements. A reasonable one-to-one replacement I might add. But why Gingersnaps? Because they're both gingers, and because gingersnaps were my daughter's favorite cookies back when they were little little characters themselves. When I first lost Lucy (the cat) I never intended to replace her with any other animal, especially not another cat. And that's the way it stayed until October, when my oldest daughter's newest cat (which she'd rescued) delivered a litter of five kittens; three female calicos and two ginger males. Mom, going by the name of Sunshine, is an all-ginger female. It's funny how genetics works, and how the two males cam...

The Florida Gingersnaps, Greebo and Ponder, have not only managed to survive their transplant from Gainesville to Orlando, but are thriving, having put on at least a pound since coming to live at Casa Beebe. I've kept them in a single large bedroom with their own three-level cat tree, plenty of soft towels, toys, food and fresh water. I spend as much time with them as possible, sleeping with them every night. Or, I spend the night in the same room with them. The sleeping part is optional. At night they love to go zooming around the room, using me as a trampoline as they bounce from the floor to the bed, onto me, to the bedside table, the dresser, then over to the cat tree, then down to the floor and under the furniture, then back up onto the bed. When they get tired they snuggle up next to me to get their second and third wind, then start it all up again. Starting this weekend we begin to introduce the Gingersnaps to the rest of the four-footed household. I have a ver...

Twenty-four hours after the Gingersnaps officially arrived, they're both coming out together. Greebo in particular is no longer moving around the room underneath the furniture. When I went to bed last night both he (looking) and Ponder (sound asleep) were up, together, cuddled together in a corner of the bed. For the curious that's Lucy's old blanket in the background... When I finally, carefully, sacked out then Greebo went to sleep as well. It would have been a sound sleep except that sometime around 3am I was awakened to small scampering feet across the top of the blankets and me. Then at 5am Ponder started his burrowing under the blankets trick again while Geebo stayed on top to pounce him, in their version of the bed mice game.

Ponder discovers a pillow The first night has passed and the two have managed to survive, in spite of what their tiny hearts might have thought when first arriving. Greebo, the larger of the two, has been in hiding the entire time so far. Ponder has spent the time zipping in and out of hiding spots, checking things out, and learning just how comfortable pillows are for resting your head. During the night I felt the tiny body of Ponder hitting the bed as he leaped up on the side, and then climbed to the top to run around on top of me. At least once he play-attacked my fingers. He might be small but his claws are still quite sharp. When I got up in the morning the bowl of cat kitten food was fairly well depleted. It's been refilled and fresh water put in the big dish on the floor. I'm assuming that both Greebo and Ponder are feeding and drinking. I have seen Greebo under the furniture peeking out at me when I went looking for him. I'm leaving him alone while he conti...

Greebo Ogg Ponder Stibbons The kittens have arrived. Their visage is a bit formal in these photos, having just entered their new forever house and being gently deposited onto their cat tree. I can tell them apart because Greebo is the darker of the two while Ponder is the smaller. I can also tell them apart by their distinctive behaviors; Greebo wants to hide while Ponder walks right up to me, nuzzles playfully into my side, and purrs like a motorboat. Ponder's behavior is just like Lucy's. Greebo is shy, so I'm going to give him his space while he and I get to know one another a bit better. Both are as sweet and gentle as any two cats I've ever known.

anthropomorphization: noun: attributing human characteristics to something that is nonhuman (like an animal, such as a cat). We pet owners are a funny breed (non pun intended). We ascribe all sorts of human qualities to our animals. And how can we not, when we see them doing something not just human, but so very child-like? Lulu likes to sleep on the arm of the stuffed chair, with one paw stretched out and around the bottom. Kind of like a kid with a pillow. What makes this one particularly special is that the light came from the Christmas tree lights. Lulu has an affinity for that tree, more than the other two cats.

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...

Playing in an open box... Oh dear, I've been spotted! I want to be alone... So I'm sitting at my computer, when I start to notice a racket in back. I ignore it for a while until I hear a load "thump!", as if something had been dropped on the floor, followed by a lot of loud rattling. I turn around and see Lucy in the box just having a grand old time, rolling around and rattling that box a good one. I grab the GX1 and snap a few shots before she notices me and the camera, then leaps out and back into her chair (which used to be my chair before she decided it was her chair). Just like caring for Katie my black Lab taught me about dogs, caring for Lucy is teaching me about cats. She finds me fascinating, as I do her. And she expresses great affection and love toward me without coaxing. I try to return the affection and love, but she is a cat, and she takes a bat at me on occasion, although I think that's just her being playful. She always has her claws...

Lucy and my Samsung The blogging cat Food and thoughts Alone with themselves Panasonic GX1 with 20mm f/1.7 at f/1.8. Post processed in LR 5.2 and Silver Efex Pro 2.

I look damn silly in this costume... Yeah, Ruby, you look damn silly in that costume... We had a large number of Trick-or-Treaters come by the house this past Halloween. It started early (just barely past sundown) with two little kids, probably first graders. Parents stood on the sidewalk watching, laughing when Ruby came out in her costume to greet the kids. And the kids, even ones afraid of dogs, were immediately put at ease with Ruby's costume. As the night grew progressively late the age of the treaters grew progressively older until the last, a group of polite ninth graders, showed up around 8:30pm. I gave them the rest of my dwindling candy supplies, then turned off the outside lights and called it an evening. Every single kid was nice and well behaved. I had my E-M5 set up for the evening with the flash that comes with the camera, but the only subjects I used it on were Ruby and Lucy. I had the Panasonic 25mm mounted on it and opened up. As this is the first ti...

We (meaning the human family) have a new cat. Her name is Loki and she lives with my oldest daughter in Gainesville. I don't know how old Loki is, but I peg her age at around a year. She's an all black cat with a touch of white on her brisket. She's an extremely shy little creature, especially around humans she has no familiarity with, such as myself. Everything taken with the Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic Leica 25mm at f/1.8. Heavy flaring due to shooting directly into the sun coming in the window (Loki felt safer in that spot, so you go where the cat is). I also set the E-M5 to the gentle sepia (#9) art filter and took everything straight out of the camera, except for resizing. If you're wondering why she's named Loki, everybody thought she was a he before the vet told them different.

Lucy the guard cat is on the lookout for Ted Cruz. If you thought the passage of a continuing resolution to fund the government and temporarily raise the debt ceiling at the very last minute meant that idiots like Texas' Ted Cruz (a.k.a. Senator Shutdown) meant would go away, then you're sadly mistaken. If anything, the Retardican party, driven by its Tea Party radical elements, and led by Senator Shutdown, continues to do everything in its powers to subvert real democracy by using the tools of democracy against it. Just this past week, Senator Shutdown put on his Senator Obstacle cap and blocked the nomination of Thomas Wheeler as FCC chairman. Senator Obstacle's excuse was he wanted to question "Mr. Wheeler’s views on whether the FCC has the authority or intent to implement the requirements of the failed Congressional DISCLOSE Act." Yes, Senator Moron wants to know if the FCC will implement the requirements of a law that failed to pass in July 2012, a cam...

More phrivolous phun with photography. I named Lucy after Lucy van Pelt (from Peanuts, because of her attitude) and Lucy (in the Sky with Diamonds). The Olympus Key Line filter gives me a little psychedelica mixed with a cartoon-like line drawing effect. Perfect for Lucy and mixing metaphors this late morning. I've been asked to "explain myself" as to why I took this photo. So here goes... People take themselves too seriously with photography. Whether it's putting down the cell phone photographer with their Instagram app or screaming that the only way to make Good Photography is with Expensive Full Frame gear, there are too many amateurs taking themselves too seriously and spending way too much money. I like to explore, to goof around. You learn more that way. I liked all the warm reds and pinks that popped out of the photo with the use of the Key Line art filter. Especially Lucy's pink nose. The red behind her head and the light orange from where the su...

eggssssss... Time for a bit of silliness. Lulu on the edge of the kitchen table, stalking me as I was fixing breakfast. Little character will just about kill for scrambled eggs. So I grabbed the E-M5 for a quick one. Camera held down at her level and taken with the LCD flipped up. Touch-to-expose. Panasonic 25mm wide open. Post processed in Silver Efex Pro 2, using its Tri-X film effect.

excited It's tough being a visiting parent. You want to treat your children like small children instead of adult children, to reach out and protect them still. The hardest part is acting with restraint. You offer praise without being asked, and carefully nuanced advice when asked and only when asked. It's a different form of parenting. It goes to underscore that you never stop being a parent. Your parenting continues in small and surprising ways as long as you live and breath. This is by no means everyone. This is a small fraction. And it's extending, slowly, as my daughters build their lives. The things I have, especially my cameras, are far more important as instruments to capture moments of what is really important to me than as things to own unto themselves. wary annoyed I have begun to shift (or perhaps the word is "pivot") in my photographic technique. Here's a surprising personal revelation. I find I don't quite like the added expo...

iso 400 iso 6400 iso 12,800 Lucy has her little nightly schedules. When it's time for all of us to go to bed she follows me into the bedroom and then hops up next to me for her nightly rubs. Last night I put the GX1 on the night stand next to the bed, so that when she jumped up and settled down I was able to grab a few experimental ISO photos. I took these because of a comment I read about how good the GX1's low light performance was supposed to be, and I wanted to see for myself. I seldom push this camera into high ISO territory, preferring to use the camera at or near base ISO. So I grabbed a number of shots of Lucy at varying ISOs all the way up to the GX1's maximum of 12,800. Light was the bedside light, an equivalent 75watt output Phillips LED. Top photo was set at ISO 400 by the camera. The other two ISOs were explicitly chosen by me. From a practical perspective ISO 6400 reminds me a lot of old Tri-X at ASA 400. The ISO 12,800 reminds me of when I wo...

It's been raining on and off all day today, starting around 11am. Several thunder showers have passed over the house, but nothing that would drive the animals to take cover. Just a lot of rain varying from light showers to the occasional, if short, downpour. So I've been playing with the GX1 today with the 20mm and learning a bit more about Lightroom. Nothing specific to LR5, just general skills. I continue to be impressed with the output from the GX1. It, combined with the 1.7/20mm, make for a very nice combination. Ruby's photo is SOOC, cropped and resized by LR5. I discovered that changing saturation in the menus is not actually changing saturation (although I really wish I could). It changes the tint, from dark sepia at -2 to neutral to dark blue at +2. I have saturation at -1, or light sepia tint. I love the monochrome images that come out of this camera. Maybe I could do better in post with LR5 and Nik Software. Sometimes I think the light areas could be a litt...

I went ahead and purchased the Lightroom 5 upgrade last week when it finally hit the store shelves. I could have gotten a copy earlier than last Friday, but I'm old fashioned in that I want physical media if I can get it. I'm not happy about getting just a digital download, especially if it costs any amount of money. The LR 5 upgrade cost $79, whether I purchased it direct from Adobe and downloaded it or purchased the physical boxed copy from B&H Photography (which I did). I'm trying to decide if the upgrade was worth it with regards to new features, so I've been experimenting with what are some of the advertised features, such as the radial filter. I used the radial filter to darken the background around Lucy's head to better separate her head from the background. The center of the filter is slightly to the left, almost to her right tear duct. I then darkened the shadows around Lucy's head as well as desaturated the background. I kept the color the came...

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 took me forever to finally get this camera. I wanted one all the way back to when it was announced for pre-order in January of last year. Then one thing after another started to get in the way. First my pre-order funds went to something more practical. Then other camera makers started to release interesting cameras. Then the core of my 4:3rds systems was stolen and replaced with insurance money. Then Fotokina showed up overseas in Germany, and I decided to wait for that to finish to see what else the camera manufacturers were going to release. Of all the cameras that came out last year the two that caught my eye were the Nikon D800 and D600. I knew I could never really be comfortable sinking money into the D800, but the D600 looked like it might actually be something I could purchase. But no. Then Sony came out with their α99 to compliment their α77, an APS-C camera I was also contemplating. Finally, on the last day of the year, I placed an order for the E-M5, an extra battery, ...