Linkage

The annual Nikon Small World photomicrography winners have been announced for 2014 and they are spectacular.  A screen-shot from the web site:

Go, look, and be amazed.  Or not, you soul-less person, you.

Another of Those Amazing Time-Lapse Thingies

This one with a celestial bent... which is most-excellent in 1080p full-screen mode.

)

From the Tube o' You comments to the vid:

Visit my web site at http://www.dakotalapse.com
I shot Huelux from April-November 2013 in South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah. The weather in 2013 made it difficult for me to get some of the shots I wanted. There were many times I planned to shoot the Milky Way or Aurora, and the clouds would roll in. But that also allowed me to get more night storm timelapse than I have any other year. I was in Utah for 6 nights, it was clear only one night, it was also 95F at midnight that night. So I couldn't shoot as high of an ISO as I wanted because of noise, but I still pulled off a few good shots in Zion Canyon.The weather was much the same while I was in Wyoming, it was cloudy 2/3 of the nights I was there. But I did get some of my best Milky Way shots of the year in Wyoming, see 1:45-2:05 in the video. The clouds did make for some good sunrise and sunset shots.

There's much, much more at The Tube o' You... go and read.

H/t: Cassandra.

Amazing

I love macro photography and NatGeo sent along a link to some astounding examples of that sort of work in a weekly e-mail I receive from them.  A couple of examples:

Click to embiggen... REALLY embiggen

All of the images are of bees and they are truly astounding in their clarity and composition.  Macro photography isn't easy, especially when you're shooting living subjects.  Here's how they did it, in part:

Four years ago, Gutierrez came up with a system that consisted of a camera fitted with a macro lens, a mount with a slider, and digital software suitable for stitching pictures together.

Taking images at the level of magnification needed for bees or mosquitoes meant that there was absolutely no depth of field, says Droege. Only portions of an insect would be in focus at any one time.

So if researchers or Army personnel wanted a picture of an insect that was completely in focus, they would have to take several pictures—each one focused at different points—of the specimen and combine the photographs for one in-focus image.

The entire article is here.  You should go look.

In other news... we stayed abed waaay too long this morning, rolling out at 1130 hrs.  Which meant we missed the first two periods of the Wings - Caps game, which was one of the best I've seen the Wings play this year even if they did lose on a power play goal in OT.  Oh, well.  We got the loser point, anyhoo.

And now it's on to answer the overnight mail while I finish off the remainder of the morning coffee.  It's a lazy Sunday.

P-Shop

From one of our usual sources...

I have no ideer about how many photos o' sunsets I've taken in my life but I'm certain they number in the hundreds, if not more.  There have been times when folks have asked me if one of my sunset pics was absolutely original or if it had been P-Shopped.  I hardly ever modify a pic but there are times when I will... like the stuff that comes out of the mePhone.  But if I DO massage a photo I'll always mention that I have done so.  We're weird like that.

Here's one such unmodified sunset from back in 2010...

We DO have great skies here on The High Plains o' New Mexico.

In other news... I think we'll break the seal on the furnace today.  It's but 39 degrees outside and the indoor temp is hovering around 67 degrees, which isn't bad.  But we're gonna dip down into the high 20s or the low, low 30s tonight after a high of only 48.  Yup... time to turn on the heat.

Almost Mohammed Redux

Moon:  I have you at my five o'clock... you need to close and come around hard left.
Evening Star:  Not in this millennium, Bud.  What ya see is what ya get.

Ah, well.  Close enough for gub'mint work, eh?

Tonight's pic was taken with the mePhone, last night's was taken with the Big Camera.  I'm kinda sorta amazed at how well the mePhone camera does things.

Almost Mohammed

The view during ADWH this evening...

Close, but no Karbala.

Earlier This Evening

Wherein we discover the shortcomings of the mePhone camera... in tryin' to take pictures of tonight's brilliant sunset.  Note:

Unmodified, straight outta the mePhone.

Modified... closer to reality as I saw it.

Modified, and waaay over-exposed on the white.

Captioned as appropriate.  The mePhone takes great general-purpose shots but when it comes to creative stuff... like sunsets... I really should break out the Big Camera, which does really good work when it comes to sunsets.  Like this:

There are times when I miss Beautiful La Hacienda Trailer Park.  I had better vistas there, believe it or don't.

It Came From the Twitterverse

Well, they came from the Twitterverse... to be grammatically correct... a couple o' pics that caught my eye.  First:  "Hey!  I know!  We'll get married at the arena!"

h/t to John Buccigross

And so they did.  There's no word about what happened after the puck was dropped.  But, Hey!  Hockey as a metaphor for marriage?  Perfect.

This is just beautiful...

h/t to Earth Pics

I can't imagine a place any MORE different than where I live.  This village in Norway is exquisitely verdant, sits on the water, has mountains in its backyard, and looks pretty cool, temp wise.  Compare:

h/t to me

Well, we're pretty cool, too.  Sometimes.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack: Skies

All eyes on the skies today, which have been rather dramatic.  Like so...

Looking due north

Looking due west

Looking southeast

It would only follow that we'd do a little bit o' Floyd...



We get more than enough o' those crystal-clear, brilliant, and somewhat unforgiving blue skies in this part o' the world.  The sort o' days that we've been experiencing these last couple o' few are rare indeed, and we're drinkin' them in like a parched man at an oasis.  We've had a lot o' rain this week and our humidity has soared as a result but even in spite o' that it's oh-so-good, Gentle Reader... oh, yes... it IS.

My Favorite Kinda Clouds

Took a break during the second intermission of the game to step outside and was rewarded with these views:

Those are embryonic mammatus clouds.  They're not fully formed, like these (see the images at the foot of the article).  But, Hell... close enough for me.  We had a helluva good t-storm earlier this evening and these clouds are the result of same.

Now it's back to the game... Let's Go Broons!

A Flora Update

I showed all y'all some of the strange Spring growth we have here on The High Plains o' New Mexico a while back and figgered I owe ya an update now that the shoots have blossomed.  So...

Before blooming, April 21st.

New and old shoots.

Blossom close-up.

I think these Red Yucca things are quite pretty.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack, In Which We Recycle a Meme

So here's the meme... about clouds, past and present:

Clouds, as seen in the late and oh-so-lamented Green Hornet's paint and in The Tart's paint.  We prolly could have done better by The Tart, had we moved her out from under the carport and in to full sun... but we're lazy, yanno?

So.  The music?  Predictable:

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all.

[...]

I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all 

Yeah, I've looked at clouds from both sides now.  Other things, too, but it's the clouds that bring us the greatest joy.

Me Too

I notice some of my blog-buds who live in more temperate, not to mention verdant, climes are posting or have posted photos of local Spring color... ranging from bulbs (e.g., daffodils, crocuses, etc.), to wisteria, to redbud trees, and other unknown-to-me yet colorful flowers... all of which are quite beautiful.  We don't have quite that much variety here on the High Plains o' New Mexico, but we do have SOME harbingers o' Spring, which also includes some weirdness.  Witness these spiky lil things:

Makes me wanna shout "ALIENS!"

I have NO ideer what these spiky plants are called but they certainly are strange.  Those purplish shoots will eventually grow out to a height of about five and a half feet with delicate lil flowers that eventually turn into seed pods.  Like this:

Last year's seed pods, gone to seed.

Well, there ya have it.  "Local Spring color," such as it is.

A Different Sorta Hockey Post

The Beloved Wings play their home opener tomorrow night, what with opening on the road because... in part... of the Detroit Auto Show.  And there's this, about that:



That's a time lapse of JLA being turned back into a hockey rink from auto show venue, courtesy of The Detroit News... and hockey blogger Greg Wyshynski.  I loves me some time-lapse photography, especially when it has something to do with other loves o' mine.

I'm Beginning To Take This Personally

So... I mentioned in these pages that I'd never had one single trick or treater in the nearly nine years I spent in Beautiful La Hacienda Trailer Park and that I was expecting better this year.  Guess what?  Not one single trick or treater.  I now have about a six month supply of small Kit Kat bars on hand... but at least I was smart enough to buy candy that **I** like.  Do ya think it was all that "get off my lawn!" stuff I've posted?

―:☺:―

Last night wasn't a total loss; we did have a nice sunset:

Note that my new westerly view isn't as nice as it was in BLHTP.  But I have a classic view of the ENMU water tower.  It's lit up at night, too.

Update, 0940 hrs:  This is why I'm beginning to take it personally: The Things You Don’t Always See.

Tonight's ADWH Soundtrack

Moonrise over 17th Street

Bob Mould:

I took this song off a mix tape that I made long ago in the way-back.  The tune is by Bob Mould, who achieved minor fame as the guitarist in Hüsker Dü, a band I never really got in to.  But I did buy Mr. Mould's 1989 solo album, from which this tune is taken.  If he had done more songs like this I might have bought more of his stuff... this tune is sort of an anomaly, albeit a very good one.  It fit my mood this evening.

As for the pic... I was about a half-hour too late to get a gorgeous full moon on the rise but this is pretty good, if I do say so.  I really need a longer lens to capture things like this in all their glory, no?

The Rain and Cain Falls Mainly In Yer Brain

First, Michael Ramirez from the Usual Source:

I'm giving Herman Cain a closer look... me and thousands of other conservatives.  I see that Mr. Cain is tied for second place in the latest poll concerning the GOP nomination derby, behind front-runner Romney and tied with my guv'nor.  I was rather surprised when I read about that yesterday.  

All that said, Daniel Henninger has a good piece on Mr. Cain in the September 29th WSJ, which is still available to non-subscribers.  A couple o' excerpts:

Does a résumé like Herman Cain's add up to an American presidency? I used to think not. But after watching the American Idol system we've fallen into for discovering a president—with opinion polls, tongue slips and media caprice deciding front-runners and even presidents—I'm rewriting my presidential-selection software.

[...]

Put it this way: The GOP nominee is running against the incumbent president. Unlike the incumbent, Herman Cain has at least twice identified the causes of a large failing enterprise, designed goals, achieved them, and by all accounts inspired the people he was supposed to lead. Not least, Mr. Cain's life experience suggests that, unlike the incumbent, he will adjust his ideas to reality. 

Herman Cain is a credible candidate. Whether he deserves to be president is something voters will decide. But he deserves a serious look. 

Mr. Henninger recaps Mr. Cain's career in his piece; it's worth the read if you want to know more about Mr. Cain. 

For the record:  I'm still undecided.

―:☺:―

I awoke to the sound of thunder this morning and thought "Hey!  Mebbe there's rain with all this noise!"  And, lo!  I opened the blinds and gazed out on (a) gentle rain that had obviously been falling for quite some time and (b) Lake 17th Street.  I've mentioned before that P-Ville has piss-poor drainage like most towns in the American West and even provided cheesy video of our drainage "system," including the infamous (in local circles) 18th Street.  Well, 17th Street is apparently a major tributary to River 18... note:

I'm thinkin' there's at least two inches of running water right outside my door.  Who knew I was getting a lake-front rental?

Update, 1050 hrs:  Just to show ya how much water was flowing in the pic above, here we are a couple o' hours later:

Lake 17th Street, indeed.

Just a Few Pics

I promised a few pics of the premises after the carport assemblers and dirt-movers finished up outside of the Inmóvil Casa de Pennington... and here they are:

TGH reposing in the shade and goin' topless, free from fear o' birdshit

Some of the flora visible here; anyone know what those spiky thangs are?

I just noticed this today... there's a downside to living in the end unit.  Middle-unit tenants have twice the verandah space as I do, but I can live with that.  My porch seats four comfortably; I know this from experience.

Speakin' o' the middle unit... I met my next door neighbor earlier today.  Her name is Franka and she's an Italian divorcee from Venice.  We exchanged brief life stories in the space of about 15 minutes and hers is pretty sad, without goin' into any detail.  Suffice it to say she's stranded in the USA as a result of her divorce and a child custody ruling that won't let her go back home with her daughter.  Too sad.  She seems like a very nice lady and she has one of those KILLER accents that tend to make men swoon, present company included.

I told SN1 I'd post updated pictures of the interior, featuring the new additions to the furnishings.  So...

The new bar stools at the kitchen counter, which does double-duty as my makeshift office

This pic mainly serves to illustrate the new rug... and my cleaned-up-just-for-this-photo coffee table

Life is pretty damned good at the moment.  One interesting fall-out from this new life... although it may or may NOT be related... is I've been on a more-or-less normal sleeping schedule of late.  Granddaughters Felicity, Monique, Lis' main squeeze Diego and I went over to The Big(ger) City™ last evening for dinner.  We had a few drinks in the Inmóvil Casa after dinner (Diego and I managing to destroy a third of a bottle o' single malt in the process) and I went to bed shortly after they left at 2230 hrs, well-fed and well-oiled.  I woke up at 0630 this morning, paid the bills, ran over to Clovis and out to the base, and was home with all errands completed before noon.  Imagine that.

More Thievery Just Stuff (edited)

There used to be an animated gif here but I took it down...mainly coz it didn't work and apparently was hosing the blog's response.  My apologies.

In other news... Yucca Telecom showed up right on time this morning and installed their premise equipment in the apartment.  Now I have to wait for the outside plant guys to tunnel-bore a tube from my place to the fiber backbone, about a half-block away.  It's pretty cool the way technology changes things... back in my day the outside plant guys would have used a trencher to dig a ditch for the conduit, pull the fiber, and then back-fill the whole mess.  These days?  Ya just use a small tunnel boring machine.

Well, check my last.  I just wandered down to the end o' the block to get a picture of that cool boring machine at work and saw this:

It turns out there are way too many buried utility runs in poorly marked places to use the boring machine.  So Yucca is gonna do it the old-fashioned way... by digging, trenching, and a LOT of hand-work.  I may not have my fiber connection by the end of today, after all.  So like this Ol' Boy I know sez... "It's always sumthin'!"

Update, Part II:  So... our fiber connection went live at 1600 hrs.  Those Yucca guys are good!

Back To Our Roots

I considered an alternate title for this post, i.e., "Wherein Our Shirt Matches Our Beer."  Because...

That would be a New Belgium 1554, both on my shirt and in the glass.  Who said men aren't fashion-coordinated?

―:☺:―

In other news... we stopped by the future Casa de Pennington while we were out and about today and had a brief conversation with one of the guys working on my unit, which went sumthin' like this...

Me:  "Ya think you'll be done by Thursday?  Coz I'm told I can pick up my keys on Friday."

Workin' Guy: (Looks at me incredulously, laughs)  "Hell, they're not layin' the carpet until Thursday!" 

That was just the first exchange in what turned out to be a lengthy conversation, the upshot of which is my unit will NOT be completed by Friday.  So... the first order o' bid'niz when I got home was to ring up the furniture company and have my delivery rescheduled for Wednesday.  I have my fingers crossed that everything will be kosher by then; I'm in a whole lotta trouble if it ain't.  Well, it won't be the end o' the world... it'll just be a major pain in the nether regions.