29-MAR-2010
Day 88 - Reading Material
(818/365)
I find myself in a quandry, I finished up my current read and don't have another new book to read. I'd been thinking about re-reading Zen, there are only a few books that I have re-read over the years. OK, actually only two: "The Stand" and "Cryptonomicon". I've read The Stand about 4 or 5 times and Cryptonomicon twice. I have conveniently placed Zen on top of the side panel that has just been recently mounted on the bike. The last time this panel was on the bike, it was silver.
28-MAR-2010
Day 87 - Fresh Air
(817/365)
Even though today's bike work was spent in the basement painting and applying clear coat, I was able to push the bike (it can be called a bike now) outside for a photo. If all goes as planned, I will have it on the road next weekend. This is very possible.
27-MAR-2010
Day 86 - Raised Lettering
(816/365)
This is probably my biggest disappointment with my bike painting project. After trying for about a 1/2 hour last week to mask off the raised lettering on the side cowls (I only tried one side), I gave up and removed the lettering instead. This is the lettering I removed today, the one I removed last week is all ripped apart. I could actually apply this lettering again after paint, it stayed together. I'm not going to though. The lettering is sitting on a prepped side panel, gone is the mirror shine at least until I finish the clear coat on top of the red. The side panels are the only panels that I am applying a plastic filler/primer. I have to fix up some spots from removing the lettering as well as cover an area on the left panel where the paint has flaked away to bare plastic. There's no way that my new paint would adhere to the bare plastic.
Oh yeah I'm using my crappy old 420EX, the vignetting you see here is NOT from Lightroom, it is all "underpowered bounce flash" natural.
26-MAR-2010
Day 85 - End of the week
(815/365)
I'd wanted to come home early today to spend a little time with the fam. Of course something happened at work and I didn't leave until 9PM. This morning on the way into work, I decided to go straight in because I'd be leaving at a reasonable hour and would find a shot then. I should have known better. Anyway, my wife is wearing PJ's that are appropriate for this weekend. This morning we had snow and tonight the temps are to drop to about 12F. Welcome to spring in New England!
25-MAR-2010
Day 84 - Preserver
(814/365)
While I'd wanted my "Nautical Stuff" photo to be today's PaD, I like this one better. It makes this the second time that I've used the bottom of this bridge as a PaD, I believe the first time was a few years back. I've used the bridge itself as a subject quite a few times. I am on the Kittery Maine side of the bridge. This is the lower deck, an old railroad bridge. This is not an optical illusion, there is a gap in the rail, the large portion in the background is a section that actually slides out of the way to allow smaller boats to traverse the bridge without having to wait for (or require) the bridge to raise/lower. I've only ever seen this section closed, a few years back when I was able to get a pretty decent photo of the rails. Now there is a fence blocking the way.
24-MAR-2010
Day 83 - Linked
(813/365)
This shot here may have cost me some $$. While setting up for the shot, I accidently dropped my trusty 580EX-2 on the floor, rendering it a very fancy paperweight. I actually had to pull out the 420EX, blow the dust off it, add some batteries, and give it a whirl. For a bounce shot, you can't tell the difference, though I had to push the flash up quite a bit to get the exposure correct. I've finished filling out the Canon Service Request. It will go into the mail tomorrow. Fingers crossed, I really love that flash!
23-MAR-2010
Day 82 - Webdav Evening
(812/365)
So I am thinking all day that I really need a reference Webdav server implementation, something that I can try to connect to from a Windows machine. Turns out good 'ole OSX comes with built in support as both a client and server. I stumbled on an article (
Linky ) that shows how to enable it via apache, then I tried to connect via my XP image running in a Fusion session (this is so cool). It took a while to get right, but it worked. Well, sort of. It did work, but the Windows integration didn't work like I expected or wanted.
That is my 15.4" MacBook Pro on the right there. I run an external Dell 22" monitor. I am eager to see what Apple has in store for the MacBook Pro refresh. I'm ready for a Quad Core.
22-MAR-2010
Day 81 - Function
(811/365)
I was looking in my washer this evening to make sure there were no lost socks. The light was hitting the basket just right and I got this really odd idea that this could be today's PaD photo. It definately qualifies as an abstract.
21-MAR-2010
Day 80 - Sunset Pano
(810/365)
I'm not sure what my fascination is with Panos lately. This was a quick hand-held pano I snapped just before I went in to watch my daughter's Fencing class. I thought I had about 15 minutes of watching her, I'd planned on getting some decent shots today. When I walked into the facility, she was walking out, they let out early. Good thing I got this pano, otherwise I'd be scrambling for a PaD photo today.
20-MAR-2010
Day 79 - Banjos
(809/365)
I took a quick photo of these guys earlier today before they were mounted so I could post a question out on Stromtrooper.com. Turns out I didn't need to wait for the answer, I was able to get them mounted. These are my new Galfer individual front brake lines. The one on the camera left goes to the right caliper, the one on the right goes to the left caliper.
My oldest actually helped with some of my bike work today. The temperature was incredible, it was in the 70's, she looked bored so I asked her to come help me with my bike. Imagine my surprise when she came out and actually helped. I put her to work gathering tools and teaching her some of the motorcycle maintenance items, though the work I am doing right now is way beyond normal preventative maintenance. She wants to get a bike next year when she turns 16. She will need to learn how to maintain it first though.
19-MAR-2010
Day 78 - Damn Beavers Pano
(808/365)
I find myself with another Pano this week. Oddly enough, this is "Flood Induced" as well. I travel that road you can see in the background (right) every day (when I am driving a 4 wheel vehicle). for as long as I can remember, this area I am taking a photo of, has been a pond. The water came up to the bark line on those trees in the pond to the right, behind that well head. The reason for the pond was the beaver dam on the left hand side of the photo. With the record-breaking 9.09 inches of rain last weekend, the pond overflowed and the back side (tough to see in this photo, but the end of the dam in the background) broke away with the power of the water. Soon after the rains stopped, I noticed that this pond had drained to this level we see here. That was on Tuesday, I've been wanting to stop ever since. I never expected to walk this far into the woods for this photo though, I'd expected something by the roadside. I tried walking the far bank, but it is basically swamp muck, I would have sunk away completely. As it was, when I got back to my car, I was picking ticks off me. Ticks already, see that white stuff in the photo on the right? That is snow. Ticks I tell you! Ticks!!
18-MAR-2010
Day 77 - Sometimes I Feel Like This
(807/365)
I didn't get to work on the bike, but I did so much yesterday that I feel pretty good about the frame progress. Actually, I lied, when I got home from work a little while ago, I removed the masking tape from the two frame stickers that I decided to preserve (one was the VIN, the other was a list of Torque specs). My daughter is pinging me right now to go watch The X-Files.
