missing the point

Last Saturday on Twitter.

A well known photographer posted a comment which got a lot of responses. This is what Twitter is for. But what followed is not what anyone who calls themself a professional and a human being should do. You can read about it here on Mitzs' blog.

Today, the Scott Bourne posted his rebuttal. He talked about the original topic, devaluing your services as a photographer. His post makes a lot of sense. Except that no one was really upset about the original comment. Yes, some believe differently but in the end most agree to disagree.

Mr. Bourne then goes on to say that he has received physical threats because of the comment. What? First of all, I don't think any of what he did calls for physical violence. He was rude and offensive and there are ways to censure him without the need to attack him physically. And most importantly, I do not think people are responding tithe original comment but the direct messages he has been sending to people. Messages calling people an idiot for disagreeing with him. Messages suggesting people cut costs on medicines for their kds rather than hire a cheap photographer.

To be honest, I have only seen the DMs posted on Mitzs' blog but have read of others on Twitter. Some of these messages sound rather odd coming from a professional in the business for decades. And I hope that Mr. Bourne will address this. I think he needs to apologize for his behavior.

Even if Mr Bourne does not believe he has done anything wrong, he should realize he has upset a lot of people. He should be the professional and try to make things right.

23 january

I got out of the house today. Alone!

We had a meet-up at the St. Petersburg Fine Arts Museum. There was a special show, Legends in Photography. It was OK. Seems like a long drive for so few photos, about 50. And I didn't realize there was a cost involved. We did get a group rate but it was still $12 to get into the museum.



The museum is not very large. They do not allow photography. Frank and I took photos anyway. We were both more interested in the architecture of the building that the photographs.



We had lunch at Grayl's Hotel. Seemed pricey but then it is right on the main drag. I had a 7" personal pizza for $9.95. It was good but not that good.



I really want to go back to St. Pete to shoot. I have only been a few times and only once wandered around. That was almost 2 years ago with Bonnie.



Didn't accomplish anything once I got home. OK, not really true. I did feed the boys and Bonnie called after dinner so I worked on her photos for about 90 minutes while we talked.



So sleepy.

22 january

Why am I not sleeping? No caffiene late. What is going on? I haven't had insomnia this bad in years.



It rained a lot last night and this morning. There were lots of brief, heavy showers. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to walk this morning. When I started out, it was still drizzling a bit.



I worked on processing photos. I downloaded the free trial for Photomatix. It works pretty well. I just don't have the money right now.



Speaking of money, the dryer repairman came back today. He couldn't fix it and says it is the gas valve which is another $200 and almost another week. We went back and forth about repairing or replacing. Even we decide not to repair, we still have to pay for the labor which is $129. The repair is going to be over $400. But then I looked at new dryers and it seems like the better ones, not high end, start at about $700. Yes, that is retail costs. But add in tax and delivery to a discounted unit and you are back to about the original retail cost.



We decided on repair even though the dryer is about 8 years old. I am glad since I don't like that we casually toss aside worn and broken for new. My dad still talks about the Hamilton dryer we got when I was born and he maintained it for over 25 years! Things aren't made like that anymore. Dryers don't need to be fancy. A few temperature settings and a timer is all they really need.



The repairman left at 12:30. I was hungry and fixed lunch. Now I am really sleepy. I should make a card or two...



I got one card made. Then Bonnie called...



I did get some of her photos edited. It's strange to edit so many similar shots. I tend to weed more of myphotos down so I don't get too bored.



Tomorrow is a meet-up at the museum. Then we are going to lunch at the historic hotel. Their menu is on the web site. I am not impressed. There isn't much variety for those kinds of prices.



Weird week with eating. Ate "too much" on Tuesday by 109 calories. Wasn't hungry on Wednesday an was under by about 900 calories. Ate OK Thursday but was so hungry! Today not as hungry and under by 700 calories. Good grief! I am like a toddler with such varying degrees of appetite. I guess it's best to look at the week as a whole.

Also. PMS.

21 january

I walked again and could feel my body rebelling half way through. I haven't been sleeping well. I haven't been walking enough.




I took the granola to Starbuck's but Barista Carrie was not it. She works tomorrow, but early. So I left it for her. I didn't stay, it was crowded.




I went to Michael's. They were coating the parking lot. It stunk.

This Michael's has really gotten icky. It's crowded bit there doesn't seem to be much new stuff. I did find a paper pad which on sale. Just an 8x8 one since all I do is cards.




I went to the old Learning Express only to find it gone along with the Publix next door. Apparently Publix is enlarging. That Publix is old and small and desperate for an update.




I headed back up Bruce B Downs. Joann's was on the way so I stopped. I wanted to check if they sold the photo tape I love. They do so I know where I can use my coupons.

I looked around and found some stamps on clearance. I also found some Heidi Grace stuff on clearance. (But why is the Cloud 9 stuff, which is older than the HG stuff NOT going on clearance?) I had gotten the paper the last time I was in so I got some embellishments. $.97 each was too good to pass up.

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I decided to try the newer Learning Express. Today the sign read 50% off everything. I asked about the gift certificate and they would accept it. They have a 90 day expiration date. And although this was dated October 27, there was no year on it. I didn't let them know it was probably from 2005 or earlier. I got 2 more gifts and spent $.13!




I have been looking for lined stationery. I stopped in the card shop but all they have are note cards or shopping lists. I went to Barnes & Noble. I didn't find any there but did find a notebook with perforated sheets. I went to pay with a gift card I found last week. It was from last year but had $35 on it. Yay!




The parts came in for the dryer. That will be nice to have it fixed.

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My ankle is really aching today. Is it the walking or the change in weather?

20 january

I have a morning routine. And it's just been changed. Not by me but by the fail whale.

I could play ISO Words or blog.

Tough decision.

Speaking of routines. I need to get back into my routine after the boys leave for school which means walking. And processing photos. And eating better.

Yesterday after the meet-up, I went to Panera. It was just past 11 so I hoped it wouldn't be crowded. This Panera is near USF so lunch crowd is not contained to 11:30 to 1:30. I found a spot in the tiny parking lot and went in. They have created an outdoor smoking area inside the entry. Weird. Glad no one was smoking.



I ordered You Pick Two: creamy tomato soup with asiago cheese crutons and macaroni & cheese. Oh my! I love the soup. I have never been a crouton fan butlove how they get soft in the soup. The mac & cheese is new since I have been there. It is SO GOOD! I could have eaten lots but am glad I got the smaller portion. As it was, that half-filled ramekin cost me 490 calories!

Stephanie called just as I shoved in the last of the bread served with the soup. When she lived in Japan, we used to IM a lot as she was up late when I was getting up early. Then she moved back to the states and we rarely talk. She is supposed to call me this morning while I am walking.



Andy decided this fall he only likes shorts and trousers with strings. This is a problem since most of his trousers have elastic waist with a decorative plastic buckle. We haven't had many cold days so he got by with shorts. He does have one pair of jeans that are too big but he will wear them and he likes his track pants. I did find a couple of pairs of trousers at Lands' End with draw string waist but they are thin and meant for summer. (I am not a fan of kids wearing sweats to school.)

It's been cold. And Andy came out of his bedroom looking for clean trousers because he doesn't think ahead and ran out. I got angry and told him he would HAVE to wear another pair of trousers. He came out with a pair of new trousers not worn before. And they are too small. Nice. I pulled out his dirty pair of jeans and let him wear those.

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I walked today! It felt good until 3/4 through and I could feel my ankle starting to ache. Arthritis is a bitch. Moving make you hurt. But not moving, after time, makes it worse.

Stephanie called. Talking makes the walk fly by. I probably look insane talking to myself. I use the iPhone earbuds so there is no Bluetooth thing stinking out of ear.



Stephanie mentioned that Bonnie is doing ShutterCal. I told Bonnie about ShutterCal but didn't know that she signed up. Her husband did too. I checked it out and signed up. Many people from Lifetime Moments are there. I uploaded a pic for all 20 days this month. (I am OCD that way.) I will probably use the same pic I use for The Daily Shoot. It would be cool if Best Camera added a setting to upload for there. Bit seeing as how long it took for them to integrate with Flickr, I won't hold my breath.

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I scheduled time to make cards and process photos. I should be working right now but I spent too much time on the computer this morning. I was filtering more email and uploading to ShutterCal that I ate lunch very late.

OK, enough procrastination for now.

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Eeks! (No, Apple, I did not mystype eels.)

I just realized I haven't been on Twitter all day. It was down this morning and I didn't have the time later.

I finally made some maple nut granola for Barista Carrie. She is vegan and could not eat any of the cookies I made loaded with butter and eggs. The granola recipe I have is vegan.

I made a card for Bonnie & Nick. Yes, it's 10 days late. It also took a long time. Probably because I was playing in Photoshop with fonts and word layers.

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One problem I have with digital to-do lists is that I ignore non critical items. Then they mock me and laugh as I fail to complete even half of my list.

This morning I was reading Zen Habits and Leo talked about starting over. In fact, I like the quote at the beginning so much I used it on Bonnie's card. Leo said to let go of the past and just concentrate on today.

So I looked at my list of 18 items and decided on 9 I really wanted and needed to get done. And as of 7 pm, I have cleared off 8 of the items.

Baby steps.

17 january

I didn't get much done today.

Church takes up such a chunk of time. And my most productive time, late morning.

Dad tried to help out with the laundry but with the dryer not working yet, I could only dry half of what he washed at one time. And it was towels so they always take longer. At least the repair man got rid of the noisy rattle. It was a hanger. Oops.

I did make a couple of cards thinking I had to get them done to mail tomorrow. Then I remembered the holiday and realized they will be even later. Crud.

Weather has gotten warmer. I had to turn on the ceiling fans. And change into a short sleeved shirt! It is supposed to get cooler again tomorrow so maybe we can keep the a/c off for a few more days.

Bonnie is looking for an iPhone calendar app. She wants a full featured app with or without syncing to the computer. For years she has gone without anything digital and now wants the moon and the stars.

I got new batteries for the cordless phones. Now I can talk to Bonnie for hours using only one phone. Yep, we tested it out for four hours today. Which explains why I didn't get much done.

tazo full leaf teas, boo!

Starbucks has improved its Tazo Teas. They are now full-leaf.

Instead of getting 20 bags for $4.95, you now get 15 bags for $6.95. That is $.25 center per serving versus $.46 per serving. That's 84% increase!

Frankly, I don't see any improvement in taste. If anything, I think I like it less. Furthermore, I couldn't care less about the fancy tins the teas now come in. It's one more thing I need to recycle. No, I didn't recycle the cardboard boxes (shame on me) but they folded up and created little waste.

Once I can no longer find the older Tazo tea bags, I won't be buying anymore Tazo teas. The huge increase in price does not justify minimal taste improvements.

16 january

Domestic diva! Again?

It started out that way. Last night I soaked a pound of beans. This morning I put them in the slow cooker along with shallot, garlic, carrots, celery, peppers and corn. Then added broth and McCormack's white bean whili mix. No chicken. I am trying eat more vegetarian.

Then I started the computer maintenance. I ran Cocktail and started backing up the hard drives. I realized I didn't make brownies for Dana so I made a batch.



While they were baking I found that my photos did not back up. Huh? Oh crud! Not enough room. Time to look for an external hard drive asap! Amazon didn't have anything in stock that I wanted. I ended up going to OWC and paying $9.99 for second day air.

I would really love to get a Drobo for back up. An maybe I will start to look at saving some money so I can purchase one in the next few months. All these external hard drives and getting to be annoying and cluttering.

(Wordpress for iPhone has a major bug in it. Or maybe it's me. I tried to update an existng local draft. It did not save. Annoyed that I spent 15 minutes and lost it.)



The boys had haircuts today. I used Andy's left-over hair for my daily shoot. Dana thinks I am weird but she loved the brownies so it all works out.



Learning Express is having $40 off everything! I asked of they were closing but they said they were just trying to generate business. The boys got some valentine's card kits and I got a birthday gift for MG. I didn't use cash since the items are really gifts. I have budgeted money for gifts so I'll dock that envelope later. Cash will be for my non-budgeted expenses.



We went to Barnes @ Noble. I grabbed 2 magazines. I really need to get subscriptions to save some money. Then I went looking at cookbooks. I have been wanting Martha Stewart's Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone's Favorite Treat. I was wondering if there were any muffin recipes. There aren't so that book will stay on the wishlist. I did find another muffin book, The Ultimate Muffin Book: More Than 600 Recipes for Sweet and Savory Muffins. It had no photos. I don't need the photos but they help. I finally got to see The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl. I don't really cook much but it's more than a cook book. It's Ree's photos and blog posts too. Though the print quality is not photo book quality, I do really want it.

15 january

I stayed home Wednesday. I was quite domesticated. At least I didn't do any housework. I'd might have to have myself committed.

It was still too cold to walk. I spent the time going through pictures. I have lots that need labelling and editing. Bonnie is sending me photos to edit so I best get caught up on my own.

I finally called for dryer repair service. They are coming out on Friday.

I made muffins for dad. I found a recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip at All Recipes. The recipe also called for pecans. I was going to skip that part but found a bag in the freezer. I tend not to read the recipe all the way through before I start. I was only to put have the pecans in the batter and half on top. Oops, it all went into the batter. Frankly, I think it is better because half would seem like not enough nuts.

Once the muffins were baking, I started some soup in the crock pot. I started with some chicken breasts, added a shallot, some garlic, celery, carrots & potatoes. Then I added chicken broth, salt & pepper. Dad did not like the twigs rosemary so I added some parsley and thyme. Before it was done, I shredded the chicken and added a cup of heavy cream. It was OK. I think it was kind of bland. I am still not comfortable with spices. Also, the creamy did not thicken the soup any. I guess I need to learn how to add flour to thicken the broth.

Before the soup was done, I make spritz cookies using the cookie press that Bonnie gave me last year. It started off OK. But the cookies are fragile and a bit boring without decorative sugars. (Figures that I had just thrown away all of the decorating sugars and sprinkles taking up space in my cabinet.) I had egg whites left over so I used a basting brush then added either sanding sugar or table sugar. I even tried cinnamon on one batch. I think the sanding sugar tasted the best. It would have been even better with double the sugar. But in the end, the cookies just don't seem worth the effort. But I also got rid of some nagging guilt by finally using the cookie press.

12 january

Having a bit of a problem getting back on the wagon. Let's see where I can pass the blame.

1. the boys had a LONG break and didn't go back until yesterday.

2. It's been too cold to walk. I never thought I would say that but it's true. Walking in temps below 40 without the proper gear is not very smart.

3. yesterday was my birthday. Also the second Monday which means momthly photowalk and Brews & Views.

Whenever the boys have been home a while, the first day, or more, end up being errand days and treat myself to lunch days. I should acknowledge this and lower my expectations.

Yesterday, was nonexception. Even with my dad here, I feel guilt leaving the boys to run errands if they can wait. A bunch of little stuff piled up and had to be done yesterday. I did take out some broccoli soup buy Tijuana Flats Veggie Burrito sounded so good. And it was.

When I got home, I made a card for Justin and managed to eat not one but two carrot cupcakes and an apple before I had to leave for the photowalk. With the shorter days, it starts early.

So basically the only walking I did was from the car to the shops and back again. The photwalk may have covered a mile or so but it was slow and full or stops to shoot another picture.

Brews & Views was held at Tampa Bay Brewing Company. I had never gone. It was nice and no crowded. The cold temps were keeping lots of people home. I tried One Night Stand Pale Ale and found it bitter but I drank it. I later ordered a wheat beer and enjoyed that much more but I had to leave before I could finish it.

We had an interesting group. Ross brought a stroller to carry his gear. Ross is a character. I hope I will see more of the same people at the next photowalk. I actually prefer a small group so I can talk to everyone.

We got dinner. I ordered a veggie burger. It was good! I had red wine spilled on me. I was a bit concerned since at the time, I only owned one pair of jeans and would need them in the morning. But when I got home, my order from Lands' End had arrived.

I had to leave early to get home for Ryan's bedtime. I missed it by 3 minutes. He wasn't really upset but he would talk to me either. Guilt.

I have a boatload of photos to process. Someday.