• Cityscapes/Urban,  Humor,  lifestyles

    Valve Job

    December 5, 2018
    No, this is not my valve
    No, this is not my valve

    Today they will pop the hood and do the valve job. At pre-op last week I learned that this morning I will have a tube down my nose, a tube down my throat, and a catheter inserted. Sounds like fun, huh!

    Today I am grateful for life, what I’ve accomplished and all I still dream of accomplishing, my family and friends, and each new lease on life. Hopefully this surgery with offer me another lease. If so, then I believe my task will be to use the coming years to the fullest, whatever that may be.

    The new aortic valve will look different than the one pictured above and definitely be much smaller. The valves are usually made of pig or cow, somehow. The doctors have chosen to use one made from a cow which has an expected lifetime of 15-20 years, about 5 more than a pig.

     I have really not had much worry but every once in awhile a feeling of fear arises then subsides. The surgery does not bother me as much as the recovery. Probably not going to be posting much for a while but will get back on line as soon as I’m able. Thanks for being a part of my life! 

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  • architecture,  Cityscapes/Urban,  Documentary/Street,  doors,  Humor,  window

    Hippies Use Backdoor

    September 29, 2018
    Hippies
    Hippies

    I walk by this home on a regular basis, see the sign, smile and but have always hesitated to take a photo. This morning was different. In fact I took two images. The home is across the street from campus and from the looks and location I assume it’s residents are college students. There was a time when I would have followed the sign. 🙂

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  • coffee shops,  Humor,  lifestyles,  rants,  writing/reading

    … like, all the time.

    March 28, 2018
    Coffee and Conversation
    Coffee and Conversation

    I visited a coffee shop yesterday, one I don’t frequent often for a couple of reasons: their prices are high and they are on the other side of town. Their seating area is quite small so it’s easy to like hear other peoples conversations. I mean like this couple seemed to be like just getting acquainted like maybe a first encounter. Like they were trying their best to express like who they were, or like who they wanted to be. But, I was like interested in their table and the story it told. So, I asked if I could like take the above photo. Like they said, yes. It was like an interesting conversation to hear. I hear similar conversations like this all the time.

    Like I needed to look up this constantly abuse word. It seems the habitual use of the word “like” has become an epidemic. They even have a name for it: “Like Epidemic.” There are multiple articles on line about how to stop using the word. Hope I don’t start talking this way like all the time now.

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  • Documentary/Street,  Food,  Humor

    Free Hersheys

    December 1, 2017
    Hersheys Candy
    Hersheys Candy

    As I walked up to get on the bus I noticed these Hershey candy bars laid out on the rock bench. Were they free? No one was around. I’m well aware that placing chocolate out in the open is a temptation for many people, myself included! But this scene was even more tempting because it was not just a single candy bar but motherload of eight. Now being a compulsive Hersheys candy bar thief I quickly checked around for any eyewitnesses. Seeing no one around I reached for one, knowing very well I was about to take two or more.
    However, something stopped me from taking them. The instant I touched them I began to laugh at the situation. What stopped me and caused me to laugh was discovering they were cleverly “glued” to the rock bench. I took this image then looked to see if I was secretly being watched and quickly got on the bus. I’m still laughing at myself.

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  • Humor,  Self-portraits

    Words of Wisdom

    January 11, 2015

    Oh, that's whats' wrong.
    Oh, that’s whats’ wrong.

    Every once in a while a bad day will raise it’s silly head. Nothing seems to go right. The brain is just not running on all cylinders, randomly sputtering unintelligible words, drawing strange looks from your favorite barista. I’ll give and example. All of a sudden you face a situation where you press the shutter button on your camera and nothing happens. You make a gasp for air as if your life is about to end. Your pulse rate and blood pressure just rocketed. You look at the camera turning it around to see whats wrong and it fires. You let our a sigh of relief as you realized it was on the self-timer mode.  A photographer error. Well, I’m here to help with my words of wisdom. There are a couple of things we need to look at on those bad days.

    First, check your socks. We are now able to buy socks that are made for right and left feet. They put these little “R’s” and “L’s” on them to help. It is a known fact the day could be off kilter if those socks are on the incorrect feet. You may also notice is a slight limp, unable to keep your balance or walk in a straight line. Check it out. Second, is your shorts. Nothing can mess up the day more than having your shorts inside out. Let me tell you it happens to the best of us. A primary symptom with this is the inability to sit comfortably for any period of time. Or you could have them on backwards. You will have the same symptom with this situation. You may encounter an embarrassing time if standing in front of a public urinal. Now, if you have them both on backwards and inside out you might as well just go back to bed and start all over. Hope this helps the next time you have a bad day.

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  • animals,  Humor,  natural areas

    Put it on the list

    December 9, 2014
    Whitetail Buck
    Whitetail Buck

    If you look closely you will see a nice whitetail buck staring directly at you. I came upon him while he was bedded down in the trees just to the left. All I had with me was my Fujifilm X-E1 and the 18-55mm lens. It’s not the lens for reaching out to capture wildlife images. Off to the right side was his harem of 4 does. There was a time when I thought a harem was what I needed but once reality set in, those fantasies are long gone. 🙂

    Even though I’m quite happy with this camera and lens, this image reignited a wish to have more focal length than the 55mm. What I want is an image stabilized 12-400mm zoom with a variable aperture of f1.2 to f2.8 and only weight 12 ounces. I’d even settle for a cheaper, and lighter, version at a fixed f4.0. So, I’m putting it on my Christmas list, right below the new underwear. Always need new underwear. So, I guess I still have fantasies, they’ve just shifted a bit.

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