test blog to

see if the time stamp works ok. 

flickr and getty?

Sounds like a weird combination. I do agree that Flickr has some absolutely outstanding work. There are some professional photogs that sell their work there and some incredible work by hobbyists.

How this works out should be very interesting.

unused karate chops

My karate chops aren’t what they used to be. I clipped a crystal in the yard, knocking part off and breaking my toe.

crime sites

Under ordinary circumstances crime sites are not for children.

Being a child of the 50’s though my parents would have been one of this group of parents who might have thought it necessary to allow me to see this. Certainly not every single one or hung out waiting for one to happen.

The message of life choices, would have been cemented with the visual example of those who made the wrong ones.

Children are different and some might be adversely affected by the scene. Parents themselves know their children and if they think that viewing something like this would help them make life choices later on in life they are probably right.

oh and

Swamp coolers.  They are a love hate relationship for many and on days like this is slides more over into the hate area.  Or at least high dislike.  The pads start smelling if you have the water pump turned off.  Most do as the humidity is around 100% anyway.  They stink.  I use good old lysol spray a couple of times a day.  When the roofs dry off you can use a fungal spray that they have at most home improvement stores.  Many of the newer shingles for some reason contribute to a high mold growth.

wal-mart buys locally / what a mess

Monsoon season is here.  Very wetly.  It rained most of the afternoon yesterday. 

UTEP hosted the Bhutanese last night for a educational ceremony.  I was a little surprised that the only picture that the times published was one that was very similar to the Aztec or Maya deer dance.  It shows how similar all areas are. 

This whole week has been something of a dustup.  Absolutely horrifyingly my checking account is $111.25 overdrawn.  No facetousness it really is.  Those damn bank fees, you know.  I have had numerous problems this week on the computers – I had photos to upload here and for some reason the uploader is not working well.  I tacked this on to this post as I was having problems posting it

 

Link: Live Better Index.

 

Locally grown. I thought this was interesting. Before I say anything about it I want to say that I also love Whole Foods and the global variety that is available in their stores. Again, not all crops grow in all areas and it is a fallacy to believe that all people need for sustenance can be produced in all areas locally. I am very, very environmentally conscious but I am not a member of the green party.

Wal-Mart is buying more produce locally. I noticed this in one of their new neighborhood stores a couple of months ago. There was a great selection of local cheeses from Mexico (both from Mexican producers and also Mennonites). There also was the usual selection from within the US. I wonder if they are going to impose the same restrictions and rules that they imposed on their other sellers.

I also read recently where large growers based here (who used to use migrant labor) is in the process of moving some of their production facilities to Mexico where workers can live in their own communities and get paid close to the same wages.

pixel goop

What a picture week. I have completely redone my print catalog and replaced photos with the missing pixel with fixed versions. The final version is a little different (little more streamlined) from the one that was up but it is up. I am still looking at several other galleries so it might change again later in the month.

mayor poobahs poobah bottled water

Link: Mayors urge stop to bottled water use – El Paso Times.

It was nice to read that at least some acknowledge that there are time and places that providing bottled water is good.

Filtered water is great.  Pur and other brands have filters that attach to the kitchen faucet and can be turned on and off and let you know when the filter needs to be replaced.  The list of things that are filtered from the water is enough to convince me.  Target, Wal-Mart and K-Mart regularly have them on sale.  Plastic or metal water bottles can be filled up from them to take with you.

the missing pixels

I had blogged either here or on 10,000 smiles about sometimes editing a picture by the pixel.  I did not do it often and it was bothersome and time consuming.

I seem to be experiencing a little pixel glitching.  In the middle of most of the photos that I am uploading there is a little group of missing pixels.  It is about 10 pixels square – white in the middle of a black outline. 

In these days of hardware for cameras I don’t know if it is in the camera or one of the programs that I use to finish my photos.  It is not in all photos, seems to not always be in the same place, and some programs remove it without using the clone stamp but others don’t.  It just started about a week ago.  It is visible to the eye at 100% and screechy at 200%.

I will settle for excellence rather than perfection.  Somehow the image of people who continually chase perfection brings to mind names like Howard Hughes. 

The bottom picture is at 200 magnification.

not an option

 This is the bus stop across the street from Sun Harvest.  Every time I leave the store to catch the bus home I am reminded that I am without the things I am without by my choice.

The sign reminds me that if I had chosen to I could have probably already earned a new car, couch, bed frame and a few other niceties.  Selling myself is not an option.  My photography – yes – but not my body.