The Cranky Greek

Ready or Not, Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T14:15:00.001-06:00

The tree is decorated. The shopping is done. This is as close to a Christmas card as I will get this year.
Now, on to the gift wrapping.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.
GS

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School Play - The Hunchback

2011-12-02T11:16:00.001-06:00

Last night I attended my Granddaughter's school play. It was fun watching a bunch of middle school kids do their version of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. For a few more photos, click here.

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Police at the Graveyard

2011-10-30T15:30:00.002-05:00

This is my grandson hamming it up in front of my neighbor's front yard. I'm not sure which one enjoys halloween more.

gs

Music at the Farmer's Market

2011-10-15T17:42:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago several of us went on a photowalk around the downtown Omaha area. This young lady was among several musicians playing at the farmer's market.

A few more photos from the day are located here.

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Street Repairs at Sunrise

2011-09-19T14:42:00.001-05:00

These guys work in the shadow of the downtown buildings. The morning
Sun starts to shine between the buildings in the background.

-gs-

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Roof Garden

2011-09-14T20:37:00.001-05:00

This tree started growing a few years ago. It probably started as a
seed dropped by a bird. I wonder what the roots are doing to the
roof. -GS-

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After the Storm Revisited - The New Tree

2011-08-13T16:37:00.002-05:00

It took a few weeks, but a new tree has replaced the tree that had been uprooted in the recent storm. The new tree is a bit over 10 feet tall but looks like it could have been one very small branch from the previous tree. Of course, the old tree was planted over 25 years ago. It will be a while before the new tree provides any shade.
In addition to replacing the tree, the landscapers installed a new brick edge around the rock beds.
GS

See the full gallery on Posterous

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After the Storm

2011-06-23T19:32:00.001-05:00

This is what the tree looked like the day after the storm. Later that evening a tree service removed it. Here is a link to a few more photos. http://www.georgesphotos.net/Weather/2011-June-Storm-Damage/17698493_F2R9Kk

-GS-

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Front yard tree blew over a few minutes ago.

2011-06-20T20:33:00.001-05:00

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Sand in the City

2011-06-06T10:57:00.001-05:00

Here's one of the completed sculptures from the 2011 Sand in the City event. More photos at www.GeorgesPhotos.net

-GS-

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Sand in the City 2011

2011-06-04T07:59:00.002-05:00

Friday was "build day" for the teams competing in the annual Sand in
the City competition. This annual event is a fund raiser for the
Nebraska Children's Home Society. The finished sand sculptures are on
display this weekend (June 4 and 5) at the corner of 10th and Capitol.
I'll post photos later, but until then you can look at these photos
from last year. Sand in the City 2010

-GS-

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Power Drive Finals

2011-05-09T08:09:00.001-05:00

The Nebraska State Final Power Drive event was held Saturday at Werner Park. The weather was perfect. Congrats to all the participants. More photos at www.GeorgesPhotos.net.

-GS-

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Tiny World of Flowers

2011-05-01T13:29:00.001-05:00

Grocery store display of flowers. I'm not sure the Tiny World iPhone app is intended to be used this close, but it makes a nice effect.

-GS-

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Flowers and Tornado Watches!!

2011-04-10T14:21:00.001-05:00

My neighbor's tree is in bloom and there was a tornado watch last night. Add the sound of lawn mowers and you have all the signs to confirm the arrival of Spring in Nebraska.

-GS-

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Omaha Camera Club Meeting

2011-04-06T08:04:00.001-05:00

OCC met to reveal the entries in the last photo competition of the 2010-11 season. For more info go to www.OmahaCameraClub.net.

-GS-

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Today's View... Now with more feet!

2011-03-31T11:29:00.001-05:00

Per popular request.... -GS-

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Today's View.

2011-03-31T11:17:00.001-05:00

They're doing a little work on the building brickwork today. -GS-

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Spring is Here!

2011-03-25T09:16:00.001-05:00

Springtime in Nebraska, that is. I was planning on activating the sprinkler system and doing a little lawn work this weekend. Guess I'll need to reschedule.

-GS-

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Spring Is On The Way!

2011-02-16T08:35:00.001-06:00

No, the flowers aren't in bloom yet. But the recent good weather has everyone in the mood for Spring. It shouldn't be long now. -gs-

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Peru at CSM - January 25, 2011

2011-01-30T15:15:00.002-06:00

A friend's daughter plays college basketball. Her team was in town to
play a local team, so I had a chance to shoot a game from the floor.

I haven't shot a basketball game since I was in high school. Cameras
have changed a lot since then, and it seems like the game moves a lot
faster. (Maybe I'm just moving slower.)

School gyms are dark, but this one seemed darker than average. The
whole game was shot at an ISO higher than I would have liked and a
shutter speed that was slower than I would have liked. Even so, the
shots were slightly underexposed and had more than a bit of noise.
ACR and Photoshop helped a bit.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. Here are a few shots
from the game.

Here's a link to a short video generated with Animoto.

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Footprints on the Roof.

2011-01-14T09:11:00.001-06:00

It doesn't take much snow to make building maintenance a lot more difficult. The 18 degree temp made it the warmest morning all week. -GS-

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Happy New Year!

2010-12-29T14:56:00.001-06:00

A display in a local grocery store. I don't think there was enough room to spell out "drive safely.". -GS-

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Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T11:04:00.001-06:00

And a Happy New Year to all! -GS-

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First Snow!

2010-11-13T08:57:00.001-06:00

And so, Winter starts. I guess we can't complain. Autumn was great and lasted longer than normal. I'll be looking forward to a short Winter. -GS-

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In Print!

2010-11-11T08:31:00.001-06:00

My son, Eric, had a story printed in the most recent issue of Fine Lines. First time in print! -GS-

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First Camera

2010-10-25T08:19:00.001-05:00

Well, first adjustable camera. My real first camera was a Kodak Hawkeye box camera like most kids that grew up in that era.

When I was in the 8th grade, my dad Gave me his old Argus C3. It was about as basic as they come, not much more than a light tight box with an adjustable shutter and aperture. No meter. In between each shot you had to wind the film and cock the shutter. Still affectionately referred to as "the brick" by those who recognize it.

This one no longer works. The controls are frozen in place by lubricant that hardened years ago. Too bad. It might have been fun to run a roll of film through it.

It was basic, but it was everything a kid needed to learn about photography. Thanks Dad.

-GS-

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Who's In Your Trunk?

2010-10-14T07:55:00.001-05:00

Yeah, Halloween is just around the corner.

-GS-

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Sunrise in the Urban Valley

2010-10-13T10:04:00.001-05:00

Mid-morning downtown. Sunrise comes to 16th street a little later in the morning.

-GS-

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10-10-10

2010-10-10T10:22:00.001-05:00

It's hard to believe it was snowing a year ago. What a beautiful day. -GS-

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First Day of Autumn

2010-09-22T08:20:00.001-05:00

Well, OK, this is an old photo. It's raining today and the leaves are still green. It won't be long before they look like this.

-gs-

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Just So We Know Who's Boss

2010-09-01T07:52:00.001-05:00

Snapped as the light changed with Camera+, blocked out the plate with Photogene. Posted w/PicPosterous. -GS-

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Remember When We Were Complaining...

2010-08-23T08:15:00.001-05:00

(8597 KB)
Watch on posterous

...about being cold? GS

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Bus... With Penthouse?

2010-07-31T07:19:00.001-05:00

Snapped this downtown. A new twist on the double-decker bus. GS

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On the Way to Work...

2010-07-16T08:20:00.001-05:00

Great looking sky this morning. Snapped this while sitting at a stoplight. -GS-

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Reflection of a Shadow

2010-05-23T14:26:00.001-05:00

Sometimes you just get lucky. The Sun was streaming through the window at just the right angle. I just happened to be there at the right time. -gs-

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2010 Lineworker's Rodeo

2010-03-28T19:08:00.004-05:00

OPPD hosted the 2010 lineworker's rodeo this year. About 40 teams from all over the country competed in several events that tested their
skills. After an early start that included Spring rain, the competition completed under a blanket of clouds. Levi Carter park near Carter Lake was a great location for the event. Here's the link to more photos: Rodeo Photos

-gs-

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It's Just Not As Sharp These Days!

2010-02-11T06:58:00.001-06:00

Simple Story. I slipped on an icy sidewalk. The camera bag broke my fall. This poor lens sacrificed itself to protect me from harm. -GS-

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Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T09:18:00.001-06:00

And more snow is on the way. -GS-

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No 'Burgers Tonight!

2009-12-09T09:00:00.001-06:00

Anything that needs to be flipped today will have to be flipped with a shovel. I'll need to dig out the grill before I can flip anything. -GS-

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Now, It's Time for Christmas!

2009-11-29T10:50:00.001-06:00

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time to get the Christmas decorations out of the box and on display. -GS-

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Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T11:25:00.002-06:00

The Turkey is just starting to look good. Now, back into the oven to finish cooking. -GS-

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Amazon Kindle: iPhone and PC versions

2009-11-21T09:39:00.004-06:00

No I didn’t buy an Amazon Kindle.

A few weeks ago, as an experiment, I downloaded the free iPhone app with a couple of sample book chapters. Contrary to my expectations, the reading experience was quite pleasant.

Text size, color and background color are selectable. Couple this with the adjustable brightness of the iPhone screen and I actually find reading on the iPhone easier on my eyes than reading printed text.

The highlighting and notes features actually work quite well. As a bonus, any notes, highlighted passages and bookmarks are summarized and indexed on the first page of each book. Touching any of these notations takes you directly to the highlighted page. This is a big advantage over a paper book.

The iPhone version of the Kindle reader has become something I use
daily, so I decided to give the PC version a try. Again, it’s free, so there is little risk.

Installation was quick and uneventful and it only took a couple of minutes to download my small library. A quick experiment proved the Amazon Whispersync to be quick and accurate. All of my books, highlights and notes were copied just fine. Each book opened to the most recent passage that I had read on my iPhone.

As a simple reader, the PC version works fine. I was disappointed to
find that, although existing highlights and notes synced and were readable, the PC version does not allow the addition of new notations. Amazon’s Futures page says this feature is coming soon.

Another disappointment for both products is the lack of search. This seems like such a basic function I wonder how the product was released without it. Again, Amazon says this will be coming soon.

Overall, I’m very happy with the iPhone reader and not so satisfied with the PC version. I’m much more satisfied with the e-book experience than I had expected. Going forward, I see this being the preferred method of purchasing several types of books. At this point, especially with the e-book reader market being so fragmented, I don’t have a reason to buy a dedicated physical device.

-GS-

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Driving to Work On a Foggy Day.

2009-11-20T09:08:00.001-06:00

Visibility was poor this morning. Traffic is lighter early on Friday mornings, otherwise, the drive might have taken much longer. -GS-

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New Public Spot?

2009-11-18T13:01:00.001-06:00

Looks like there will be a new public gathering spot downtown. -GS-

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Downtown Sunrise

2009-11-17T09:07:00.001-06:00

The shadows of buildings make interesting patterns when the Sun is low in the sky. -GS-

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Rainy Morning, Standard Time

2009-11-13T07:45:00.001-06:00

It's bad enough when you have to stand in the rain, waiting for your ride to work. When the time shifts you have to do it in the dark. -GS-

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Abstract

2009-11-12T20:29:00.001-06:00

Nothing special, just an interesting shadow. -GS-

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Shadow and Reflection

2009-11-09T11:09:00.001-06:00

Snapped while waiting for an elevator. -GS-

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Sunrise

2009-11-06T08:31:00.001-06:00

I walked into my workplace through a different door this morning. Sunlight streaming through a window caught my attention and this was the view. Sometimes a small change in your normal routine can result in a very pleasant reward.

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Hanging On

2009-11-03T21:27:00.001-06:00

The last few leaves cling to their branch. Winter is on the way. -gs-

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Signs of the Season

2009-10-10T10:55:00.001-05:00

This was taken last Saturday, before the snow. It's a bit more like what we expect to see at this time of year. gs

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Peony at Sunrise - Close Up

2009-05-25T14:51:00.005-05:00

I don't often take photos of flowers. Most likely, this one caught my attention due to the angle of the light. It was a couple of hours after sunrise and the Sun was still relatively low in the sky.

-GS-

Driving Home on a Rainy Day

2009-05-17T16:00:00.003-05:00

Late in the day, not much light. Everyone just wants to get home.

-gs-

Wicked Comes to the Orpheum Theatre

2009-05-06T21:11:00.004-05:00

Just happened to notice the truck parked in front of the theater. The driver must have just pulled into town. Normally, they park in the back. -gs-

Sunrise

2009-02-13T18:13:00.004-06:00

It's been snowing most of the day and I thought I'd reach back into the photo library to find something a little more colorful.

I often see the Sun rise on the way to work, but this day was so stunning I was motivated to pull over into a side street and capture a photo.

-gs-

Government Flowers

2008-09-02T14:04:00.004-05:00

There has been a small park with a nice walking trail near my home for over twenty-five years. This was a long, narrow area in the electric transmission right-of-way. The area was always well kept, mowed and often used as a practice field for soccer teams and the like.

Recently the nearby street was widened to accommodate increased traffic. As the park was improved (made narrower) it was discovered that it drained into a wetland area. Several new regulations governed the improvements. For instance, it can no longer be mowed.

So rather than let it go to weeds, it was sown with wildflower seeds. I have to admit, it looks very nice, though it can no longer be used for anything else. During the construction the walking trail was widened and improved. It's now very nice.

Click here to see a few more photos taken while on a walk around the area.

-GS-

My New Printer Is an Alien

2008-07-27T12:56:00.004-05:00

After several years of excellent service, the main printer I use for large photos bit the dust.

I can’t say the event was totally unexpected. The printer had been moody for the last several weeks. Each startup required a bit of fussing for proper paper alignment and head cleanings were required more frequently. Finally, late Thursday, it died completely.

On Friday morning a call to the service center verified the cost of repair would be more than half the cost of a replacement. Spending that much money on an electronic device of that age is, at best, questionable.

Seven years of almost flawless service is a pretty good reason to stick with the same brand. Seven years is also enough time for the manufacture to go through several generations of upgrades and at least one ink reformulation. So, where six ink tanks were enough to do the job in 2002, it now takes ten.

Unboxing and installation were quick and uneventful. A trip to the manufacturer’s web site was necessary to update the drivers and utility software.

The biggest, most time-consuming problem was silly. The old printer’s power connector was on the left end of the case and the USB connector on the right. The new printer’s connections were reversed. You wouldn’t think that should be a big deal, but the printers are just over two feet wide. About 30 minutes of re-cabling was required to make the old cords reach the new connectors.

A couple of hours and several test prints later I’m back in the printing business with significantly improved print quality.

By they way, each of the ten ink tanks has a nice bright red light to let you know when it’s properly installed. Too bad they didn’t make the head cover translucent so you could see those red lights scanning back and forth. They could have called this model the Cylon.

-gs-

Omaha Railroad Days 2008

2008-07-19T19:49:00.004-05:00

Omaha's two day celebration of it's railroad heritage was expanded this year.

Lauritzen Gardens and the Durham Museum were joined by three museums across the bridge in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Union Pacific Museum, the General Dodge House and the Rails West museum joined the Omaha attractions to repeat last year's very popular family event.

Click here to see more photos.

-gs

Happy Fourth of July!

2008-07-04T18:31:00.007-05:00

It's time for the annual celebration of the birth of the U.S.A.

You don't have to go too far to see a parade or a big commercial fireworks display this time of year.

In many areas you can buy the smaller, less powerful fireworks at roadside stands like those at the other end of this link. Locally, the proceeds from these sales go to charities, and other non-profit groups.

The photos linked here were taken a couple of years ago, but today's festivities promise to be just as exciting.

Have fun and safe holiday!

-gs-

Street Construction - Summer 2008

2008-06-21T18:56:00.004-05:00

It's Summer and the street construction crews have come out of hibernation. It seems like most of the major roads are under construction.

The traffic slowdowns can be annoying, but they also give you time to enjoy the beautiful Summer skies.

See more photos Caught on the Street at GeorgesPhotos.net.

-gs-

Giant Olympic Swimmer at Mutual of Omaha

2008-06-08T12:56:00.005-05:00

Mutual of Omaha installed this 14-story banner to promote the 2008 Olympic Swim Trials and the four-day Swimvitational event. According to a story in the Omaha World-Herald, the banner is 245 feet high and 60 feet wide. So – how many megapixels do you need to make a print that big?

The Olympic trials will be in the 5-year-old, 17,000 seat, Qwest Center Omaha. The Mutual of Omaha Swimvitational is both a shakedown event for the trials and a qualifier and warm-up event for the swimmers.

Sorry about all the clutter in the foreground of the photo. Mutual of Omaha is located on one of the busiest streets in town. I pulled over for a quick shot through the car window.

Here are more photos Caught on the Street.

-gs-

Fast Food Goes to the Dogs

2008-05-15T20:45:00.002-05:00

I'd heard that fast food was going to the dogs, but I thought it was just an expression.

Do you suppose he can drive and eat his burger at the same time?

Go here to see more photos Caught On The Street.

-gs-

Animoto - The End of the Slide Show

2008-04-28T21:59:00.020-05:00

You don't create slide shows with Animoto. Animoto creates short videos from your images. Check out these two short samples created from the same set of images before you read on.

The process is as simple as it can be. Upload your photos to Animoto's web site. Pick from their music or upload your own. Push the button and Animoto's servers generate a video presentation that fits the selected music.

If you want a lot of control you will be disappointed. You can designate a few photos to be given more emphasis. Other than that, Animoto's algorithms make all of the decisions. If you don't like the results you can push the button and generate new results.

Check out the details at Animoto.

Thanks go to Amber and Leo on the Net at Nite podcast for this tip.

-gs-

Spring 2008

2008-04-17T20:22:00.004-05:00

What better way to welcome Spring than to pay mother nature a visit. In this case I visited the drive through version. No reason to leave the climate controlled comfort of the car just to commune with nature.

The Wildlife Safari is a great family attraction located a few highway minutes south of Omaha, Nebraska. It's run by the same people that handle the world class Henry Doorly zoo.

The standards are just as high at the safari park, but the atmosphere is quite different. Where the zoo is obviously a man-made construction designed to look natural, the safari park is a natural area modified to accommodate the slow moving autos.

Here are a few photos from my visit on the park's opening weekend. Not pictured are the aviary or the valley that is home to bears and wolves.

You can can see other photos of the Henry Doorly Zoo and older photos of the Safari park here.

-gs-

Railroad Days - 2007

2007-07-22T15:20:00.000-05:00

The Durham Western Heritage Museum, Lauritzen Gardens and the Union Pacific Railroad Museum joined together for Railroad Days - 2007. A single ten dollar admission fee granted the entire family admission to all three locations for the entire weekend. Buses carried patrons from site to site.

A few locomotives were on display at the Western Heritage museum. Photos of these and the permanent railroad displays are here.

The new garden railroad was open to the public for the first time at Lauritzen Gardens. The large locomotives at Kenefick Park were available as usual. Here are photos a few photos.

I didn't make it to the UP museum during Railroad days. That will have to wait for another time.

-gs-

Invasion of the Fireworks Monsters

2007-07-21T17:37:00.000-05:00

Every year, just before the Fourth of July, the suburbs of Omaha are invaded by giant monsters.

Fireworks, banned in Omaha, are legal in the suburbs. Stands like these sprout up overnight. Each location sells fireworks to raise funds for a different charity.

I've always appreciated the irony of selling fireworks to support the volunteer fire department.

For more random street scenes, click here.

Neighborhood Street Repair

2007-07-21T17:06:00.000-05:00

After 25 years, many of the neighboorhood streets were in need of repair.

Large sections of the street were removed and replaced.

The construction made it difficult to get around the neighborhood for a few days. A little exploring was necessary, every evening, to find a new route home.

For a few more photos, click here.

-gs-

Downtown Clouds

2007-07-21T16:32:00.000-05:00

Late one afternoon in June these clouds suddenly appeared in the sky.

No storm followed. Just the clouds.

Click here for more photos and larger images.

-gs-

Aquila Court Wrap-up

2007-07-21T16:11:00.000-05:00

Just one more photo to wrap up the Aquila Court face lift.

This shot was taken a couple of days after the work on the front of the building was complete.

Quite a bit of furniture was delivered that morning.

Click here for more photos of the construction work.

-gs-

Coal Train Leaves the Tracks

2007-07-05T14:34:00.000-05:00

The Fourth of July was exciting for the crew of this train.

Several hoppers of coal jumped the tracks and dumped their contents on the embankment.

More photos here.

-gs-

What are the Odds?

2007-05-28T11:10:00.000-05:00

What are the odds of driving over a 3/8" bolt and having it puncture your brand new tire dead center?

The tire only lost a little air and was repaired the next morning. I wouldn't have immediately noticed it. The low tire pressure indicator on the dashboard brought it to my attention.

For you photographers, I took this shot with the camera held inside the wheel well, set in macro mode and soft flash.

-gs-

Shadow Lake Construction

2007-05-13T16:37:00.000-05:00

Construction on the Shadow Lake Shopping Center is nearing completion.

Crews are using lifts like the one in the foreground to put the finishing touches on several buildings.

You can see four lifts in this photo. There are about in dozen in use around the construction site.

Quite a bit of work remains to be completed in the two weeks before the Grand Opening on Memorial Day Weekend.

-gs-

Road Closed

2007-04-22T15:09:00.000-05:00

By the looks of those tire tracks, there are quite a few folks that don't need a completely paved road.

The photo was taken on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The next day, it raned buckets. That should slow down the traffic.

Click here for more "street" photos.

-gs-

Spring Arrives at the Duck Pond

2007-04-21T23:25:00.000-05:00

After a false start followed by a freeze, it looks like Spring has decided to stay for a while.

Many of the trees had started to bud when the late freeze hit. I was glad to see these survived. The flowers add a splash of color to the area around the duck pond.

If you'd like to see a few more photos from the duck pond, click here.

-gs-

The Blizzard of 2007

2007-03-01T22:25:00.000-06:00

They say this is the worst blizzard in ten years.

By the time it was over there was over a foot of snow on the ground and the winds had peaked at over 50 miles per hour.

This guy was doing his best to stay dry while waiting for a bus. I'm guessing he got to his destination, but the bus service was cancelled mid-morning. Maybe he got a ride home from a friend.

Winter wasn't over. More snow was predicted to follow the next day.

You'll find more storm photos here.

-gs-

The One That Got Away...

2007-02-11T14:08:00.000-06:00

This is one of those shots that might have been great.

It was just after sunrise, the morning after a light snow. When I looked down at the street from my office window I saw tire tracks leading in and out of the empty parking spots. It only took a minute to retrieve the camera from my coat pocket. In that short time the Cox truck rolled into the forward spot.

Winter's not over. I'll be watching.

-gs-

Misadventures in Sensor Cleaning

2007-02-07T21:50:00.000-06:00

Several weeks ago I bought a sensor cleaning kit from Green Clean USA. The kit sat on the shelf until a few days ago when the sensor on the Pentax istD got so dirty that I had to do something. The spots in the photo are each little pieces of dirt on the sensor.

The Green Clean Process has three steps. First, any loose dust is removed with a sterile vacuum pickup powered by a can of compressed air. This is followed by a swipe of a wet wipe, then a swipe with a dry wipe.

I'm not sure the vac did much to clean the sensor, but it did a pretty good job on the dust that had worked it's way between the prism and the focusing screen. Most of the dust on the sensor wasn't loose. It seemed firmly stuck to the surface. The Green Clean folks start with this step so that dry particles don't scratch the sensor in the subsequent cleaning steps.

A couple of swipes with the wet and dry wipes removed the crud. I'm not endorsing the Green Clean system. It worked well enough, but it's a bit expensive. After buying the kit, I stumbled across this site with information on several different cleaning methods. Read the information and make your own choice.

If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, most camera stores will clean your sensor for a reasonable fee.

gs

Snow on New Year's Eve

2007-01-02T15:22:00.000-06:00

We received the first snow of the season on New Year's Eve. There wasn't a lot, but it was combined with freezing rain and wind. Travel was possible, but difficult.

I don't know the story behind the fellow on the bicycle. The temperature was about 20 degrees and the winds were still quite high. Definitely not Bicycle weather.

Click here to see a few more snapshots.

Pentax K10D - early results

2006-12-08T19:19:00.000-06:00

Pentax has released a pair of Single Lens Reflex cameras with an upgraded version of the Shake Reduction feature introduced in their point & shoot line of cameras.

The K10D, a full-featured, weather sealed, 10MP, SLR hit the stores in the USA just before Thanksgiving. You'll find examples and discussion in all of the regular places.

The shot included here was hand-held at 1/8th second. Normally, I'd not be able to take a steady shot at any speed less than 1/30th second. This is a very significant improvement.

Unlike it's competitors, Canon and Nikon, Pentax chose to build the SR feature into the body. This makes it immediately useful with most any lens compatible with the K-mount.

The K10D has been an instant hit. The initial deliveries were sold out within a couple of days.

Here's a gallery of sample shots from the K10D.

-gs-

Always Prepare the Surface Before Painting

2006-11-23T18:29:00.000-06:00

The secret to a good paint job is good preparation of the surface. At least, that's what they always tell us.

Evidently the pros take a few shortcuts. The fellow that painted the lines on the street must not have noticed the dead pigeon.

-gs-

The Pentax A10 in Florida

2006-11-12T17:17:00.000-06:00

I had to spend a few days in Florida last week. The weather was generally nice, but cool and windy. One unusual evening brought severe storms and a tornado.

A conference occupied most of my time, but I managed to get a few shots with the Pentax A10. The more I use this little camera the more I like it. It's a great pocket camera.

I was particularly happy with the shake reduction and low light performance. Those features helped me take photos like this one taken in a reception held in an aircraft museum. Flash would have been useless. The place is a huge old hangar. Not much light to work with.

Click here to view the gallery. Nothing artistic here, just travel snapshots, but that is this camera's place in life.

-gs-

Football

2006-10-07T18:33:00.000-05:00

My Grandson Alex is playing football in the local recreational league. The weather for the first game was great so there was a pretty good turnout.

Here are a few photos from the game.

-gs-

Woodman Tower 9-11 Memorial

2006-10-06T20:56:00.000-05:00

During the week of September 11, 2006 the owners of the Woodman Tower in Omaha, Nebraska created a memorial to those lost in the destruction of the World Trade Center.

Flags were displayed on the East and West Faces of the building and spotlights projected twin beams into the sky.

The display ended mid-week when high winds tore the West facing flag. The remaining flag was quickly removed to avoid further damage.

Here are a few photos taken early in the week.

-gs-

Lighter-Than-Air Balloon Fair

2006-09-08T22:03:00.000-05:00

At the end of August I was able to attend the Lighter-Than-Air Balloon Fair at the Iowa Western Community College campus. The Nebraska Balloon Club and several others put on a great show.

This was a great event. I spent about three hours and filled several memory cards.

Here are photos of the launch and the later "balloon glow".

-gs-

Nostalgic SD Card Cases

2006-08-24T21:46:00.000-05:00

A recent discussion of carrying cases for memory cards prompted me to fill what may be a niche market. I may have a limited number of nostalgic SD card carrying cases available for sale.

Most are the frosted variety with a plain black cap. Some caps have labels printed with the names of famous makers of the great films we remember from our youth. A limited number are available in "pro" black. An extremely limited number may be available in metal with screw on lids.
These carrying cases hold approximately six to eight SD cards. (I'm guessing I could get $5 or $10 bucks apiece on e-bay.)

-gs-