Xmas Day 3

You can not take surfing pictures with a macro lens.
You can not take surfing pictures with a macro lens.
This girl was really good
This girl was really good – you take pictures with what you got. 
Hey, it is a macro lens.
Hey, it is a macro lens. Let’s go look at a wave.

Xmas Day 3 – so where is the green and red? The decorations? The presents? Well, lounging under a tree with the macro lens taking pictures of surfers – for me that is an Xmas present.

Speaking of Xmas presents – time to spring into serious origami mode.

Little wrinkle with the trip. I was thinking that I was going to AMERICAN samoa. According to the CDC I am going to american SAMOA. As a result I should already have some shots that I haven’t had. And, here I am in far distant Kona – trying to figure out how to make it happen. If I can’t – I am not going to worry. After all, I am currently at ground zero for dengue fever here in Kona. We also have rat lung and ciguatera for openers. And this is AMERICA. I’ll take my chances with typhoid in American Samoa. But, I might pass on raw fish and salads. And the whole buffet scene.

Xmas day 2

The hotel across the street has a tree.
The hotel across the street has a tree.

Making a small test. If I find WiFi how will I get my pictures uploaded.

The Google phone took this picture and is doing WordPress.

Back at the computer – the WordPress app doesn’t tweak image size. But, if I have wifi or cell coverage – I should be able to update the old lane blog.

We Americans are shooting each other again. I have no idea how we will get out of this mess. Somehow, I don’t think this is what the Founding Fathers had in mind with the 2nd Amendment. The founding mothers are not amused.

Had dinner with Canadian friends last night. They wanted to know if “President Trump” was a possibility. I told them that I hope not – but if it does happen they had better start building a bigass fence fast, because a lot of us were going to be seeking political asylum.

the same image with my normal post process
the same image with my normal post processing

 

Xmas Day 1

Our Village tree - across the street from "the triangle" where you buy drugs.
Our Village tree – across the street from “the triangle” where you buy drugs.

Pago Pago – but wait – there is more. Not only do they have bigass bats with a three foot wingspan. They also have a monster terrestrial crab. It is the largest land-living arthropod on the planet with a weight of up to nine pounds. It can grow to up to three feet in length from leg to leg.

What next? Think I’d best round up a 3 ounce container of bug spray. I just bet they have huge mosquitoes. Speaking of which, we are up to 117 cases of dengue fever.

Next Stop – Pago Pago

Where the hell is Pago Pago?
Where the hell is Pago Pago?

Taking a little vacation to Pago Pago in late December. Got my tickets and my lodgings reserved. About 7,000 people visit American Samoa annually. That averages out to about 20 per day. And, I don’t know if it includes people that come in by cruise ship. 18 cruise ships stopped by in 2015. The 7,000 most like is a count of non-cruisers.

American Samoa’s land area is about as big as Washington DC.  It has the highest rate of enlistment in the US military of any state or territory and a Samoan male is 56 times more likely to play in the NFL than an American non-Samoan. The main “industry” is tuna canning.  I am pretty sure that exciting downtown Pago Pago smells like cat food.

And, internet is almost non-existent. But, there is a McDonald’s. And enormous bats.

Leaving Kailua-Kona mid-day December 21 and returning Dec 29 at about 8AM.

Note to Carlton: I am sure it is safer in Pago Pago than it is in Kona. Both places have dengue fever. And, I am not renting a car. So, don’t worry about me. The water is drinkable. The biggest danger will be being squashed on the plane getting to Samoa. Think about the middle seat on a plane full of Samoans. Because it sure isn’t going to be tourists on the plane.

Lazy Day

kamani - Calophyllum inophyllum
kamani – Calophyllum inophyllum

That image is not photographic excellence. It is a research project. Yes, it is a true kamani tree. Not native to Hawai’i – but rather a canoe plant. Brought to Hawai’i voyaging Polynesians. Those big fat nuts are not eaten and are, in fact, poisonous. But, they can be used as candles. The wood was used for all manner of things – from food bowls to canoes.

Thinking about my Xmas vacation. American Samoa is the leading contender at the moment. It is near by – well – just one time zone earlier. Nonstop a couple of times a week from Honolulu. It is way way off the tourist track. It might be raining the whole time. And, I think it smells bad. So, why not go? I have been to Samoa. But never American Samoa. Going to where “the weather suits my clothes” seems slightly smarter than going to Fairbanks Alaska – current temperature 4 degrees. Pago Pago – current temperature 81 degrees. Kona is 80.

Those of you who wonder what I am doing about food:

Breakfast – oatmeal, banana, granola bar and grapes.

Lunch – Chicken, cheese, avocado sandwich and yogurt

Snack – apple and cheese

Dinner – something involving spinach and eggs because that is what I have. And, a nice cold Stella Artois.

Jack Rabbits

"my" xmas tree
“my” xmas tree

Decked the lobby tree this afternoon. Kicked a Windows 10 machine around for a friend this morning. He got “Critical Error – your start menu has stopped working…” message. I got it going again by restarting the machine in safe mode. More research indicated that Microsoft is clueless about how to effect (or is it affect) a long term fix. Restarting in safe mode applied 32 updates. I am just hoping one of those updates had some secret sauce that fixes that bug.

As for me, I am getting a serious case of “jackrabbits in boots”. Before – the Paris attacks I was toying with the idea of going to Paris for Xmas. The downside being Paris is a long way away. But, after the attacks – going to Paris seem like a good thing to do. But Paris is a long way away.

Also toying with going to American Samoa. It is about 8 hours away and has some killer snorkel sites. And, I have the correct clothes for American Samoa.

Or Tokyo. I absolutely love Japan for no apparent reason. Like Paris, I’d need to do some clothing thrift shopping for Japan.

How about Brisbane? Take the train up to Airlie Beach and the Great Barrier Reef. I have the right clothes and gear for that.

Or head up to Fairbanks Alaska and hope for Northern Lights? (My first stop in Alaska would have to be the Goodwill store!)

please don't eat the oranges
please don’t eat the oranges

Since my hotel is “home”. I have no problem taking a trip. I am not on vacation. I am in my winter quarters.

 

Chores 2Day

crown flower - sorry doreen - I told you it was a jade flower.
crown flower – Calotropis gigantea

Went for an early morning walk with the camera and took a bunch of shots with my macro lens.

This is the Crown Flower – Sorry Doreen – I told you it was a Jade Flower – Hope you got your crown flower lei home safely. It is a GIANT member of the milkweed family and our local butterflies love it. So did Queen Liliuokalani.

Then I did chores. Grocery shopping, laundry, general tidy up around the room. Hard to believe that 25% of my Hawai’i time is over.

So, I made a little movie (with the real camera – and the plastic wide lens) on this morning’s walk. This is in case I need a little “ocean” when I am back in the asylum.

 

Thanksgiving…

Green Anole - (Anolis carolinensis)
Green Anole – (Anolis carolinensis)

Click on any of today’s images for bigger versions. I took the macro lens out for a nice photo shoot this morning. Even tried movies. Movies were not pretty. Maybe I’ll RTFM.

This time last year is wasn’t two months into my widow woman act. Yes, this year is better. I am starting to figure out how to live my own life. Carlton left me well prepared, emotionally and financially to carry on. And, that is what I am most grateful for today.

And, I am grateful everyday that we had no “issues” outstanding. No apologies that need to be made. No promised made that were not kept. No loose ends. We didn’t get the chance to say goodbye. We didn’t need to say anything. It had all been said.

2015 – having Thanksgiving Dinner with friends this evening. A few more images from this morning’s “macro walk”

Yellow hibiscus - our state flower
Yellow hibiscus – our state flower
'a'ama crabs - a tasty excuse to drink beer.
‘a’ama crabs – a tasty excuse to drink beer.
Java finch
Java finch

the macro lens

tiare - Gardenia taitensis
tiare – Gardenia taitensis

The new macro lens made the trip to Kona. I bought it in the middle of all of last summer’s moving and downsizing angst – retail therapy you know. But, I am not really 100% comfortable with it. So, I’ll make a point of using it – for macro shots and for anything else that works.

Cloudy and damp here today. But no worries.

Oldest granddaughter’s birthday today. Grandmotherhood helps tie you to the universe. For Sam – a little advice. Choose your life partner very very carefully. Travel often. Be honest in all activities. Don’t worry too much. Always remember – no one is promised tomorrow – not even the young.

OldPro review of GoPro

GroPro Sunrise
GoPro Sunrise

Grateful for the opportunity to play with the GoPro.

Well, I think I am about done with the GoPro. I have learned a lot about it. And, about various video editors. Note: I did not try Final Cut Pro. I don’t need full Photoshop and I don’t need Final Cut Pro. iMovie 10.1 with a little help from Lightroom does everything I would ever need.

So, am I going to get a GoPro. I can afford one. No, I am not going to get a GoPro. I can understand why the price of GoPro stock has cratered. The GoPro is mostly a toy. A toy that doesn’t really belong in an old woman’s toy box.

The Good. It is really small. And, I really like small. And, it is very low maintenance. It seems to just need a little shower after a trip in the ocean. Even in the underwater case, it is still small. It doesn’t need to be loaded into the housing in air conditioned spaces. And, I haven’t had any issues with fogging. You can charge it with your iPhone plug. As long as wifi is off – battery life is OK. And, I dropped it from waist high to asphalt with no noticeable problem.

Video image quality is good, even great. It has 3 buttons.

The Not So Good. No stabilization. Still image quality isn’t as good as my Google Phone. There is the whole no viewfinder at all thing. It is truly a ‘Point and Pray” device.  And, with my elderly eyes – even with my glasses – I can not see all the tiny words on the LED. I was never able to get it to link up to either my android phone or iPad.

Bottom line. It was fun to play with. But, if I need a “rugged” or “snorkel” camera – I would be better served by a little ruggedized PS camera from Panasonic or Olympus. It would be bigger – but image quality, versatility, and functionality would be better and the package would be cheaper. If I just need small – my phone works fine. And, if I really want to do good work underwater – I’d best get a housing for my Olympus. And, the housing would cost more than the camera body. And, a fine fussy underwater setup really doesn’t fit into my simpler lifestyle.

So, I think I am about 45 years too old to appreciate the GoPro. And this is one of today’s GoPro efforts. About as good as it is going to get, I think. (It is less than 2 minutes.)

Watch it in full screen.

Another day sacrificed to the GoPro

My what big teeth you have granny.
My what big teeth you have granny.

These “fresh” shark jaws were at my farm market this week end. No price. Guess you had to negotiate.

Today, I swam out in search of the akule bait school. Akule are big eyed scad. While I was swimming with the akule, I thought about those shark jaws. Didn’t see anything that had better teeth than I do. The ocean was too murky for good movie making. But that didn’t stop me.

Guess what – I discovered that my beloved Lightroom will do minor corrections to video. Who knew? Try to open a movie in the “Develop” module and Lightroom says “nope – you can not process videos in this module”. Well, it turns out – you can do many corrections in the “Library” module.

The video is 2 minutes long. About 2 minutes too long. But hey, I spent most of the afternoon playing with this.

Now, about men. In Alaska, the single ladies said “The odds are good, but the goods are odd.” In the interest of research – I have been checking out a couple of age appropriate single men who are staying in my hotel. I have known one of them for years. His wife died about 3 years ago. He is fit. Too fit. He is looking for someone to run marathons with him. Oh, and when he isn’t running – he is nonstop talking. The other guy is full figured. He is looking for a nurse/cook/mommy. Fortunately, I am settling into the widow life very nicely, thank you. If I were looking for a man – I’d be looking for a very best friend. Someone I wanted to spend time with. A low maintenance guy with his own interests and lodgings. Someone who wasn’t looking for a maid, caregiver or training partner. And, no, I will not go the cougar route.

Note to Carlton: You are still the one for me.

GoPro vs OldPro, continued

Morning at Kahalu'u
Morning at Kahalu’u
White yellowtang
White yellowtang

Went snorkeling at 7AM. As soon as the parking lot was opened. I tried very hard to be a serious photographer with the GoPro. I was rewarded with this white yellowtang. I knew they existed, but I have never seen one.

Note to Carlton: This would make you laugh. Billy and I were coming out of the water at low tide after an hour of snorkeling. I thought I was making a rather graceful exit. You know it is tricky. As soon as I stood up – I heard applause. I was embarrassed. I thought I had done a good job. I sure didn’t deserve ridicule. Fortunately, I remembered – it is Sunday. They have AA in the beach shelter. Sure enough someone was reading “…. a fellowship of men and women…” Nobody was paying any attention to me – well except for Billy. He always makes sure I make it out OK.

I spent the rest of the day making a video from today’s clips. Here is a mini version.

I had plenty of time to work on origami while the videos were “processing”. BTW – I still like still photography better.