New Blog

Cora suggested I make a new blog to devote to the hundreds of photos I expect to take with my new camera to show them off.  I like that idea.  I don't know if they'll be of the highest quality at first while I work into the new camera system.  I've never owned a Nikon until now.  I have been happy with the Canon Elph, but the Nikon just feels so cozy in my hands!  I had a Pentax P3N years ago (Still do, but it eats film and that's expensive to feed)  I figure disk space is cheaper in the long run.  An extra hard drive eventually will also help with that.

So, sorry for digressing.  I plan on using the new blog for photography talk, even though I am a comparative amateur to most.  I DOOOO love to talk.  I think that being a teacher is a good fit for that...but I digress, yet again.

The purpose for this post is to petition you all for names.  I like the name George for my new Nikon, Cora, however, thinks it needs to be something else...why name an inanimate object???  It's fun.  That's it.  Also, instead of spouting off a bunch of photography terms like, "let's take my new Nikon dSLR D-90 with the 18-105mm DX VR lens down to the dock to snap photos of fishing vessels." I might say, "Let's take George down and shoot some ships."  Rolls off the tongue better, don't you think?  Or I could say Fred, but that might confuse matters, since we know a Fred...though, I'm not sure if he would mind me calling a camera Fred, too.  He might become un-amused if we named a new Chihuahua Fred instead...never mind, I digress.  So, I was thinking of using the name of the camera in this new blog, so I need a name!

I think it ought to be unique.  It should be short, that way I am not saying, "Let's take Emmanuel Benjamin Lothar Lewis down to the dock."  You know, something catchy.  Not too cutesy, though.  Nothing like "Puffy" or "Princess."  I don't want my camera looking for sunscreen or sunglasses.  Something fun, yet not overly stuffy.  I don't want to take Reginald down to the dock; that just sounds boring.  I think a Reginald would want to discuss tide schedules instead of take some pictures.  A Spike might want to start a fight and a Joey would just flirt with girls, probably saying in a New Jersey accent, "How you doin'?"  That would just get me in trouble with the mrs.

Cora and I brought up the potential for naming lenses, too. So, then it might be George Joe, or John Robert...you know...

So, I think you get the picture...err, you will get the pictures when I get the soon-to-be-named camera and get the blog up and running.

We had a great day yesterday.  The heat was high, but not oppressive.  It was a good heat, the kind you don't mind being in the shade with.  I finished the sign.  I think it is ready to go...as soon as I wipe off some bird poop.  (Note to self: do not lure birds to yard with bird feeders if you are not willing to get a little bird poop on yard items...)  I think it looks good.  I will have to take a picture and show you all.  It's a little different from the original, since I am a poor planner, still, it looks good.

Well, Big Brother began Thursday night.  Yes, I am still watching reality TV...I guess I am weak.  It's on again tonight.

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

Plane Crazy Tails

I like airplanes, but I don't fly. Of course, I would love to fly, I simply have not had the time, ambition, nor the money to obtain a pilot's license. Hell, I named this blog "Plane Truth," intimating that there might be some planes on it coupled with small amounts of non-fiction. Seems I have managed the non-fiction quite well, since anyone who has wandered onto this blog has had to come to the conclusion that I live a MOST BORING existence. Yeah, sorry about this mad whirlwind carnival ride I call a life...I know, "stop, let me get off and puke, it is such a crazy life!"

So, back to airplanes. I don't post as much about airplanes as I thought I would. I thought this might be an informative blog about airplanes and it has ended up being more personal. That leads me to the subject of this post. I don't post much about airplanes. I post more about my daily life than anything and so Plane Truth is a misnomer. So, here it is: Should I change the name of my blog? I figure a natural break is coming up with the New Year. If I am going to change the name I feel January 1, 2009 is probably the best time to do it.

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Which leads to another question. What should the name be? Take a look at my posts. Think about a clever name...clever is good, and so is originality. I was thinking something like "Charmingly Hopeless," or "Hopelessly Charming." But, then, "Gorgeous and Handsome" comes to mind, or "Brilliantly Brainy." Perhaps, "Hopeless Wise-Ass." I don't know why the word hopeless keps coming up. Maybe "Big-Head Jim," or "Extremely Huge Ego," or "Another Broken Keyboard." Actually, I kinda like that last one. I don't know if there will be a prize for the winner...probably a small gift certificate or something, assuming I don't choose my own. Or maybe I will leave it up to a vote...hmmm, decisions, decisions.

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Oh, and I really like "Earth Bound Misfit," but it's taken...dang it.

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I was wandering through my photos, something I often do, since the view from my chair is often Gypsy's butt, and I saw a few I thought I might share. Here is photo we took this last weekend that I did not post. I like it, mostly becuse Cora is so pretty.

And when I was going to school in Chico, California, I sometimes found myself at the airport. They have a place called Aero Union there. Those guys take old military and transport planes and make them into fire bombers. Airplanes capable of delivering large amounts of fire retardant to forrest fires all over the country, though California's seem to always make the news most...in fact, has there ever been a forrest fire on the East Coast? If so, I have never seen one publicized...weird. Now, I am going to have to pay attention.

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Anyway, I digress. I took several photos of their work there...of course, not nearly enough. Here is one that I like. It is of two ex-P-3 Orion Navy Patrol Planes. In the center is an old P-2V, the P-3's predecessor. The old P2V was a pretty nifty airplane and shortly after it became operational they were making over-flights of the Soviet Union...something not often noted in history texts, since such missions were top secret until the past decade or so. Both were built by Lockheed. In fact the P-3 continues to serve, and I believe they continue to build newer examples. This is the type of plane that was held in China after a Cinese fighter collided with it during its electronic snooping mission.

The P2V still retains radial engines...think of your car engine, but with the cylinders surrounding the crankshaft in a circle. The P-3s have Turboprops, which re miniature jet engines that spin the propellors...more power and thrust than the older engines.

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Well, I suppose tht is some Plane Truth tonight...hmmm, maybe I oughta keep it...still, give me your opinion!

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If you are wondering about the periods in space, stupid blogger kept taking the spaces out from between my paragraphs.

Bad Names and Memorable Dates

I had a good day. The kids seemed to enjoy my antics. I enjoyed the kids, though one of the kinder classes had a LARGE number go to timeout. I hate doing it, prefering to work with them, but there are things to be done, and if they hinder the learning(imagine the headlines: Kinder Learning Hindered?!)...well, I am not legally allowed to carry a taser.

So, let's talk about names. There are just some names that should not be given. Here's one that should never re-enter the lexicon: Adolf. I think it was pretty much ruined by its most famous wearer. How about Stalin? Mao? We don't see alot of kids named Satan, or even Lucifer, despite the legend that he was the most beautiful angel in heaven. Lee Harvey is not a popular combination anymore. Nor is Jack Ruby a popular name. How about John Wilkes? What about Bambi? Hannah Montanna is now not necessarily a good idea..what if she goes out of popularity once she hits puberty? What about Maxwell Klinger? Walter O'Reilly? Sherman? There are many names that probably should NOT be used to name your spawn. What about James Earl Ray? What if you had a German child named Jerry? What about James Tiberius? Or Jean Luc? Pavel Checkov? William thomas Riker? Alex P. Keaton? Oh, the pains of naming a child! What if we decided to name our little girl Hildegard Unice? Her initials would be HUH? Or our son Hubert Albert? HAH! So, Kim, do you have any ideas?

Well, I found another blog you might like. She is a bit funny. The blog name, Blissfully Caffeinated, is way too descriptive! She is funny, just disregard today's September 11 blog, which is not exactly hilarious.

Well, I suppose I would be an ass not to mention it, but given the number of people remembering this day, maybe I am a little redundant. Don't get me wrong, I like dates... especially fresh California ones(And Kim says Bacon wrapped Dates are the bomb)...but also the calendar type. What really sticks in my mind is the fact that I came home for lunch and found it on the TV. I had known about some airplane crashing into a high rise, but not the extent of it. I almost did not go back to work that morning. It was trully memorable and horrible. I also remember the skies being contrail free for week. The Discovery magazine later noted temperatures in the continental US rose because of the lack of cooling contrails in that week. Leave it to scientists to find a bright side! Well, I suppose we each have our tales to tell. I suspect it is similar to such things as the day Mount St. Helens blew and the day Kennedy was shot. Go fig.