Tag Archives: fun

Jacky Donahue

Posted on by
Reply

I have never before felt the need to stand up and speak after someone’s death. For Jacky I find that I do.  I’m sure I won’t be alone in that feeling and you’re going to find dozens of stories about her and the impact she made in so many lives.

I met Jacky on the first day of workshops for Scarborough Faire in 1989.  She did two things that weekend which would have long-lasting impacts on my life.  The first was that she took a nerdy guy in a white lab coat and, for a reason only she will ever know, chose me as part of her group that year. The second thing was that at one point during the weekend she grabbed a girl named Susan, pushed her toward me and said “This is Michael. Corrupt him.”

Prior to that time I’d had very little interest in dance, being much more interested in computer programming and other less athletic pursuits unless they involved lasers, flashing lights and chasing people in dark mazes.

I had great fun learning from Jacky and performing with her.  Playing at Pyramus and Thisbe (or Pyramid and Frisbee as some of us liked to call it), talking, walking from event to event, dancing hither and yon (even in the Holly Oven) at dinner at Golden Corral and after with the group in the pool and hot tub at the Econo Lodge.

She had a big warm heart that opened easily and was fiercely protective of those she cared about.  There’s this small red statue that some of you may remember…

Dance is now a core part of my life.  I spend hours learning new dances, teaching, calling dances, playing roadie at events and so on.  I might not be doing any of that if it weren’t for Jacky pulling me in and taking me on the first few steps along that road.

My corruption was successful.  I’d say I’m fairly irredeemable at this point.

That girl Susan that I mentioned?  We married each other.

It took a few months for her to catch me but once she did I was hogtied for life and I couldn’t be happier about it.  She’s the best thing that ever happened to me and while she says she saw me that first day and thought I was cute, if Jacky hadn’t pushed us together, our lives might have taken very different paths.  I’m glad they didn’t.

Thank you Jacky.  My world is definitely a better place because you were in it.

Gimp Gnowledge

Posted on by
1

I’ve been having all sorts of fun (and frustration) learning how to do more complicated image editing and thought I’d share my latest.

On the wonderful snow days of Dec 25 & 26, 2012 (oh how they will be fondly remembered) I took the following photo.

Pleasing to the eye it is.

Based on learning to use masks in Gimp which I’ve been using to enhance my bracketed sky shots and a few single frames I decided to apply the glernin to an “older” picture.

Thence, the following:

Hey, wait a minute.  Looking at the latter picture by itself I liked the changes.  Even toggling the mask layer on and off I really felt the new version was much better.

Seeing them side by side like this I’m not so sure.  The rose pops out more in the first version and remains as the focus of the picture.  In the latter more can be seen but that takes focus away from the rose.

What do you think?

Rebel or Powershot?

Posted on by
1

My brother recently accused me of having too much fun with my new camera.  It’s a used Rebel and I have been having quite a lot of fun with it.  His comment got me thinking.  Is the Rebel really that much better than the Powershot for my purposes or is it just that it’s a new toy?

To try to answer that question I started a list of containing the features that I like and dislike about each camera.  The cameras are the Canon Powershot SX120 and the Canon Rebel XS.

Continue reading →

Redshirts in Lexington

Posted on by
Reply

When I saw that John Scalzi was going to be giving a talk to promote Redshirts at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington on the same day that we would be flying in, I decided I had to go.

If he (or pretty much any other writer) had been coming to Dallas, I probably wouldn’t have bestirred myself to attend (just lazy that way).  Since we would already be up and about, I made plans to go while Susan and her mother went off to a yarn store.

I made an audio recording of the event though it’s probably not worth posting due to the air conditioner that kept switching on and off.  Things are understandable but you’ll have more fun listening if you go to a talk on your own.

It was a good evening.  He’s a good speaker, told some funny stories and at the end I got my copy of Redshirts and The Rough Guide to the Universe signed and was able to give him a proper “Oh shit, I’m being stalked” kind of fright when I mentioned that I’d flown in from Dallas just for the talk.

Fireflies in Kentucky

Posted on by
Reply

Had a fun time at the McKee farm last weekend with relatives and our hosts Dottie and Frank.  As the sun went down the fireflies started to come out.  I set up my camera to take some regular pictures and captured this firefly comet going past.  Pretty little lights going past near the ‘creek’ and around the barn and garage.

Better living through chemistry (not) …

Posted on by
Reply

or “Look what I found in Dad’s garage!”Chlordane front label 02

If you live long enough, especially in recent decades, the world moves out from under your feet and a new one slips into place. My grandmother knew how to make fried chicken, starting by catching a hen in the back yard and wringing its neck. Mother played with little droplets of mercury brought home by Grandaddy the chemist. Did you know you can turn a gold ring silver by putting mercury on it? Cool! The color lasts until the mercury rubs off, on your skin of course. I remember adding freon to a ’74 Mustang by hooking up hoses and setting the can in a pan of hot water out in the driveway where the gas could fly away to widen the nearest hole in the ozone layer. What? It was fun to feel how cold the can got.

Nowadays folks buy boxes of ladybugs to eat aphids in their gardens, rather than seasoning the leaves with Sevin Dust. Maybe you, dear reader, wouldn’t dream of using chemicals in your yard, but recent generations were happy to use the little gem below — the best thing ever for killing termites. Take a gander at this bottle of sure-fire pest control.

vcm_s_kf_repr_355x480Chlordane by Green Light

Directions for Use [excerpts]
Regular Mixture: 8 ounces per 25 gallons of water or 1 tablespoon per 1½ gallons of water.

LAWN PESTS: For ants, sod webworms, fall armyworms, crickets, mole crickets, tarantulas, scorpions, fleas, chiggers, wood ticks, sow bugs, spray regular mixture at the rate of 1 gallon per 100 square feet. Do not water lawn for several days afterwards.

SARCOPTIC MANGE MITES and LICE ON DOGS: Wet animal thoroughly with regular mixture. Do not spray dog if suckling young, nor on cats.

WARNING: Do not use on humans or cats. Contact with skin can cause toxic symptoms. Avoid breathing spray mist and skin contact. In case of spillage on skin, wash immediately with soap and water. Avoid contamination of feed and foodstuffs. Harmful if swallowed. Keep out of reach of children. [etc, etc..]

Here’s the good bit…

This product will kill fish and wildlife. Birds feeding on treated areas may be harmed. Keep out of lakes, ponds, and streams. This product is toxic to bees and should not be applied when bees are actively visiting the area.

So it kills bugs but – oopsie – it also kills wildlife? It’s OK to apply it all over the dog, but don’t get it on the cat? Is the warning not to water the lawn for several days supposed to “keep out of lakes, ponds, and streams”?

As startling as these statements printed on the label are, the effects we now know about are downright chilling. “Documented health problems can include child cancers, neuroblastoma, leukemia, chronic infections, bronchitis, asthma, sinusitis, infertility, neurological disorders, aggression and depression.” Holy crap!

Uh, now I have a nearly full bottle of this on my desk. Which I’m afraid to touch. At least it’s no longer in the hands of someone who might see it as “just the thing” for that recurring termite problem.