By a nose…

Back from the Mohs Nose Job
Back from the Mohs Nose Job

Whew! Carlton still has a nose. He has to take very good care of his nose for a month to ensure the skin transplant sticks. The patch on the side of his head is the source of the skin for the transplant. It should be all better in a week.

We are happy that he has 98% of his nose left. We are also hoping that he doesn’t get a head cold until the transplant “takes”.

Now, did the spell chek get fixed, magically? Nope – still busted.

Farewell to Noses

Carlton Asks "The Mac Has a Camera???"
Carlton Asks “The Mac Has a Camera???”

The other day Mr C found out that the Airness has a camera. Wonders never cease. And, while we are at it – Say goodbye to Carlton’s nose. Tomorrow he is having a Mohs job on his nose. Hopefully he will escape with most of his nose. But, there are no guarantees.

The bandage on his head is left over from last month’s Mohs job.

Screen Shot 2013-07-10 at 5.47.58 PMI wonder why spell check seems to have stopped working in my WordPress? The button is still there. I can still click it. But it is happy with everything – even duhhhh. duhhh is underlined – but clicking on it does zip.

Lights On!

Monumental Scaffolding
Monumental Scaffolding

Last night they turned the lights on… and the Monument looks great.

I took the ZS15 out on the porch and snapped this. Handheld with a huge wind… I’ll put the L1 on the tripod and take better shots soon.

 

Summer Seasonal Affective Disorder…

Can you have SAD in the summer?
Can you have SAD in the summer?

I need a little Kona – VOG and all. Our little pool up on the roof is a very poor substitute for the Pacific Ocean.

Sorry, no report on the liposuction coupons. The deal is over.

Oh, I just found out that the Washington Monument will be lighted at about 8PM this evening. And, they will light it up at dusk until the scaffolding comes down next spring. Photos soon.

 

Saturday Afternoon.

A little more fireworks.
A little more fireworks. This is a big image. Click on it.

In case you care – 2 more folks purchased the liposuction coupons that amused me yesterday.

Another thing that is sort of scary – the Arlington Rec Department is offering “Belly Dancing for Seniors” this summer. Only $25 with your Senior Citizen ID Card.

 

I have been wondering …

On line coupon for plastic surgery.
On line coupon for plastic surgery.

I have been wondering, who on earth are the 6 people who purchased an online coupon for liposuction? HELLO PEOPLE-Liposuction ain’t like having your heating ducts cleaned or your carpets steamed!

And, you can give an online liposuction deal to someone as a gift. Bet that will go over big. “Happy Birthday, go have your beer belly sucked out.” Yeah, right.

July 4th

Waiting for Fireworks
Waiting for Fireworks – click to enlarge.

Sometimes I worry about my quirky old Panasonic L1 camera. With its lenses it costs as much as a car. But, it is heavy. So, mostly it lives in the camera box. When I die, “they” will give it to Goodwill. Maybe someone will discover it at the Goodwill and buy it for $10 and realize they have a gem of a vintage digicam.

I put the L1 on the tripod and will let it take the 2013 fireworks.

4 Jul 2013
4 Jul 2013

Still Damp and Humid and Not Pool Weather

The Everywhere Cone Flower
The Everywhere Cone Flower

People who came to DC for July 4th can not be too happy with the weather. But, when you travel, you take the weather that you get. Hopefully the Fireworks will go off as scheduled and then all will be forgiven.

Thank you American Taxpayers. You, via Medicare, paid $22,300 for Carlton’s daily visits to Out Patient Infusion during May. He went for two weeks in April as well. So, one has to assume that you will be paying another $11,150 for that service as well. I thank you again.

LR 5.0

I tried the perspective adjustment tool on this iPhone photo that Sue took of me one day last month. I think it did a fine job.

I have become very crabby with the US lately. Becoming an expat is looking better and better. But, no surprise, not not so many countries have the welcome mat out for a couple of old people.

Before
Before
After
After

Lightroom 5.0

The original
The original – I want to rush in there and see if they have a cat that needs a good home. Of course, Mr C would have kittens! And, where would Mr Cat stay in winter? 
The automagic aspect adjustments
The automagic perspective adjustment

Since I did not get expensive FIOS and am staying with snail internet – I treated myself to Lightroom 5. No, of course I didn’t NEED an upgrade. I WANTED an upgrade. (How did I get the software considering my connection? Simple, I used a computer in the lobby that has FIOS kick-ass speed. But for some reason the “house” WiFi is also snail speed. Not sure why that is.

One of LR 5’s major new features is the perspective adjustment tool. It does a pretty good job on something that is easy to fix. I doubt it will do such a fine job on things that are more difficult. I’ll test that tomorrow.

But, the main reason I wanted LR 5 is “Smart Preview” meaning I can edit photos that are in my collection – but are stored on drives that are not plugged into the Airness.

I am also going to treat myself to a new underwater camera. Mine drowned last winter.

Consider the lilies …

Yard Lily
Yard Lily

While walking home today, I stopped several times to “consider the lilies of the field” or in this case the neighborhood yards. They smell great. Outdoors. Indoors they are rather too much.

After much dawdling, I arrived home. What to cook in a flash for lunch? Something nukable? Nope, nothing to nuke in the freezer. Only some rather weary looking frozen solid tilapia from Trader Joe. The fridge yielded some yellow squash. Heat up oven, pop the frozen fish in a iron skillet. Cover with Old Bay Seasoning. Slice up the squash and and onion. Put them on top of the fish. All a little more Old Bay, drizzle on some olive oil. In the oven it goes. Cook until done. Put some lettuce on plates. The fish and then veggies go one top of the lettuce. Toss a handful of blueberries on top of the veggies. Balsamic vinegar and a little more olive oil and in about 30 minutes you have a good enough lunch. Without nuking anything.