Ray In Gleeson, AZ Blog

Where the @#$@$@ have you been?

2011-09-19T19:05:00.001-07:00

Ray's Corner Soapbox-- Opening The Soapbox

I know it's about time for me to get off my duff and blog some. This has not been a great year as I have had some health issues. Let's just say the hospitals are really happy in a financial way.

This year has been very slow for me taking pictures. But I do have some I can share here in the blog(next posting). I will get to them probably tomorrow.

We live in the greatest country on earth and yet our government has to borrow money just to go to McD's for a hamburger. How do you explain to the kid behind the counter that "NO! I don't want fries with that because Congress didn't give me enough money". Maybe it had something to do with all the golf games or the steak/chanpagne dinners or loaning money to failing "green" companies with no regard as to how much money is left in the account. When Congress had their own bank, there were several bounced checks and these were the people we trusted with OUR money.

"Yes, we give you entitlements. You can have all the mustard and catsup you want". In reality, these are not entitlements because part of what you pay for a burger covers the cost of the "entitlements".

Let's "cut the cheese" and get to the real odor source. We, the old farts of this country, and for the old retired military guys, have PAID for our retirement. We were recruited with the promise of a pension after 20 years minimum service time. (All we had to do was sell our soles to the government) Yes, military retirement is an entitlement. The military men and women did not have to pay a cost-share amount to cover retirement. What we did was work our butts off (and I'll give you the Navy version) a minimum of 12 hour days, seven days a week while deployed at sea. We would occasionally pull into a foreign port and have a chance to relax for a few days. Were we paid overtime? NO. What we basically used was the military rule: "Due to lack of morale, this weekend is canceled. Commence Monday on Saturday morning." While we were at our home station we were on-call 7 days a week (meaning our work day quite often went beyond the 8 hr work day). We were also sent out on "mini-cruises" (usually 6 to 8 weeks) to train pilots and practice weapon runs on a target towed behind the carrier. Our families took the brunt of our deployments. As soon as we would leave the dishwasher, car or any high cost appliance would go belly-up. Or the kids would get sick or worse...the wife would get sick. The normal way of life for the military man was to bite the tongue, grin and bear it because you ain't going home.

Social Security: The Entitlement
There is plenty of talk from all politicians to this "entitlement". Even calling it a Ponzi Scheme. But....we are the victim, not the one that got all the money. Well, excuse me but I have paid into Social Security all my working life. Social Security funds were suppose to be in a "chest" to keep them safe. Enter politicians that figure how to raid the reserve for SS. Not enough funds??? Start a campaign for the congressional districts to pay back all the pork barrel items they received because their representative help rape the SS funds. An entitlement? Hell, no we paid for it. One additional item about SS, when FDR devised it, all the first recipients were given a gift because they NEVER paid one penny into SS.

Medicare: The Entitlement
Again, we paid a tax toward coverage of Medicare. Now that I am retired, I have to pay an additional $100/month to Medicare for medical coverage. While that may not be the most expensive medical insurance around, the money paid into the system should classify Medicare as a paid insurance premium. Boy, we really need to replace a bunch of politicians with people that understand the difference between an entitlement and a consumer paid insurance.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox and call it quits for now. Pictures to come later. I have to download a bunch into the computer (this is a new laptop) and then manipulate them so they look perfect. Hmmm....is that an entitlement or a benefit??

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!!

P.S. I've updated this a slight amount. Last night the computer said it could not find Live Writer and gave me an error when I tried to post. Guess I'll have to "add" a couple of things to see if Win7 64 bit is "agreeing" with Blogger. Thanks to the followers for your comments as it keeps me fired up......and if you each would send me a few thousand dollars, I'd really be happy.

Ray's Corner Soapbox -- Tumbleweed Photo Group (TPG)

2011-02-28T01:30:00.000-07:00

Our photography group meets in Elfrida, AZ and has taken an official name to use at events away from the home site. The group is now officially known as the Tumbleweed Photography Group (TPG). We have our own blog and will have sample pictures from personal and group shoots, information about Windows XP, Vista, and 7 (choose one) generally related to photography. Also we will include information about our photography group showings, local Art/Photography shows and Arts & Crafts where we will be offering photographs for sale.

In the past I have covered such technical subjects as:
1) Why is a mouse called a mouse?
2) I am getting a battery light on my camera when transferring pictures. Is this ok?
3) My dog ate my User Handbook for my camera. I gave him a laxative to get the pages back out (ugh) a little faster. Is there any way to scan the pages that I recovered? (Not on my scanner.....)
4) What are all these cables I got with my camera. Do I really need these?
And the classic.....
5) I have a blue dress that I love to wear. When my husband tries to print the picture, the dress is green and the skin tones are red. I decided to dye the dress green but how do I get John's face a different color??

(Answers: #1 Because they didn't call it a dog. #2 NO. Always ensure you have good batteries or a dc power source or you will lose pictures. #3 No further explanation. #4 Yes and No. Cameras normally come with USB cables to upload to the computer, audio/video cables so you can hook the camera directly into a TV to view the photos or video. No refers to most photographic printers have ports for camera memory cards and you can use the manufacturer's software to upload pictures. #5 This is cause by being in the wrong spot so the light is changing the colors. Let me explain, I know you have seen a rainbow. If you stand under the wrong color, it will cause the picture to change colors due to the Zynikky rays of the rainbow mixing with the outbound color rays it comes in contact with. This causes what is known as the Buuke Ultrasound Laser Links (otherwise know as BULL) bands to interfere with the electronics of cameras within 5 miles of the site. Also there is no pot of gold under the rainbow. Oh, all right. My wife says that was too technical. To simplify, check your ink cartridge or buy a better quality of photo paper.)

My expertise in Computers and Windows are put to the test weekly. Yesterday's blog was about the properties of photographs using Windows 7. If any photography fan (you don't have to be a member of our group) has a general question about digital photography, please send your question, date of birth, model/type of modem used, a blank check made out to cash, a sample picture of your fishing boat and 5 Wheaties Boxtops to ray1al65@gmail.com. The group and I are in desperate need of something to make us laugh.....and we may write a book if we get enough questions.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox–President’s Day

2011-02-22T00:33:00.002-07:00

Today we celebrated President’s Day giving credit to the elected Presidents of the United States. Originally today was George Washington’s birthday but not wanting to give an additional time off for each president, it was agreed by the Congress of the US to honor all presidents on George Washington’s birthday.
So, I have a question: Who are the following men?
John Hanson, Elias Boudinot, Thomas Mifflin, Richard Henry Lee, Nathan Gorman, Arthur St. Clair, and Cyrus Griffin
Answer: I know you will love this. They are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Presidents of the United States. Prior to the Constitution of the US, the country’s government was formed by the Articles of Confederation (which only allowed the President to serve a one-year term….what a concept). The Articles of Confederation didn’t work well as states were given too much power. Hence, the leaders of the new country’s government banged heads together and came up with…The Constitution of the US. George Washington was the first president sworn in under the Constitution.
So, there you have it folks, no pictures, no jokes. Just pure fact and part of our history.
That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!!!

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Memorial Day

2010-05-29T12:29:00.001-07:00

A few citizens of this country have voiced opinions about Memorial Day and the participation by the military. They are quick to point out that we have Veteran’s Day in November so why should we have two federal holidays for military?

First of all, Memorial Day is not just the military but a day to reflect on the citizens that came before us making this country great. People like my father who did not serve in the military. He wanted to join in World War II even though he was at the upper limits of the age the military would accept. The military refused to allow him to join. He was working for a defense contractor (Raytheon) installing a top secret electronic system on PT boats and Destroyers. The mere mention of the system in public would subject him to years in prison. We still use that electronic system and not just on military vessels. It is called RADAR.

I never knew about what he did during WWII until I became a RADAR technician in the US Navy working on avionics. (Electronics for aircraft…)

Back to the subject I started with. Memorial Day is a celebration of someone who is no longer with us. This happens all too much considering Iraq and Afghanistan War with our boys taking the major roles of the war. Veteran’s Day is for veterans, like myself, that have served their country and are still here to talk about it.

You’ll probably hear speeches this weekend from politicians (folks that stay on the top floor of the ivory tower)stating the men in our national cemeteries have made the supreme sacrifice for their country. Yes, they did sacrifice but the ones that made the supreme sacrifice are the wives, children and other family members of these soldiers. The soldier is at rest, the family is now solely in the hands of the military widows and their offspring. To my fallen comrades and their families, I salute you not only this weekend, but always and always.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Photo Group Blog is Posted

2010-05-27T22:52:00.001-07:00

Please check our photo group’s blog (that I am maintaining) for the latest post:

http://ourphotographygroup.blogspot.com

Let me know your thoughts and suggested improvements.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Something New

2010-05-26T20:49:00.001-07:00

I have thought long and hard….well, maybe not so long and hard as I don’t want to kill off too many brain cells. I started a second blog for our local photo group and am hoping the members will put some of their work in that blog. We started going out the last Monday of each month for photo shoots and last Monday went to Camp Naco located in Naco, AZ. Yes, I know NEXT Monday is the last Monday of the month but it is Memorial Day.

The new blog is located at:

http://ourphotographygroup.blogspot.com

The members of our group have come a long way since we started it almost a year ago. We even have Al of the Bayfield Bunch as an honorable member and he really enlightened a lot of us about LOOKING at what is around us and not just looking through the lens.

So, again…take a look often at the photography group page as we will be adding pictures often. We are a bunch of amateurs but we do have a professional photographer that said he will try to make some of our shoots. Knowledge is golden….well, may silvery…..ok, copper will do.

Welcome to Rick for being the 12th follower and to Ben S. for being the lucky 13th follower.

That’s my story and I’m stickin to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – What is a Kazoot-Kazoot???

2010-05-15T10:17:00.001-07:00

We don’t get too many guests out here in the wilderness but these colorful critters did pay us a visit (and return often) to munch some of our offerings.

Someone played a cruel joke on these poor critters. Here in the mountain valley we have Cardinals, House Finch, various Hummingbirds, Dove, Quail, Roadrunners, etc. But what are these birds called??? Pyrrhuloxia.

So I believe it is my duty to give these beautiful, Cardinal look-alike feathery friends a decent name that everyone can remember plus everyone can spell it. We shall call them the Kazoot-kazoot. There, easy to remember and spell.

I believe we should start calling the scientific community “antispellingidiotsorfools” for coming with such a name for one of God’s creatures. Another look at one of our Kazoot-kazoots practicing crash landing techniques at the food trough. Don’t worry folks, he pulled it off and landed safely.

We did have another very beautiful visitor to our feeders. It is a rare site and my picture is slightly out of focus (oh no….the Photo Group will throw me out!!!) but this is the chance you take using a 300mm lens without a tripod.

This beauty is the Western Tanager. It is rare for them to come in our little valley (5300’ elevation). We have several species of birds that pass through in the spring and stay a very short time in the fall. I don’t know how the new Arizona Immigration law will affect these guys because they do cross the border just south of here.

That’s my story (for now) and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Not a Good Day in Gleesonville

2010-05-04T00:56:00.001-07:00

This is to my friends and family that monitor this blog. I do have another blog entry in the works concerning Saturday’s show. I cannot do any more at this time because I am beat…..down to zero energy. Those that know me know that I suffer from Diabetes, Neuropothy and extremely low blood cell count. Today I woke shivering with chills and my temp spiked a 99.9 degree temp but I did not go to the hospital….yet. This is usually a sign that I have an infection somewhere but this time I can’t find the source. If I hit the magic 3 digit temp, then I’ll go but I know I will be there for up to a week or more. To my sons back east, just thought you might like to know seeing as you rarely call but I know Shannon reads the blog page occasionally.

Again, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Busy Weekend

2010-05-04T00:26:00.002-07:00

Jean and I had a busy weekend starting Friday at our Camera Group’s first show. The show was held in one of Elfrida’s Community Garden hothouses and was the seasonal opening for the garden, the Elfrida Photo Group first show and the displaying of paintings/drawings from the Art Class. We have had some wacky weather lately (as a matter of fact, Tombstone had a couple quick snow showers on Friday.). The hothouse was NOT hot as the name may imply and we had consistent winds in the 25--30 mph range with gusts up to 50 mph. The plastic of the hothouse did hold back most of the winds but there were times I could just imagine all our photos headed to the ground.
Overall the event was a success and several items were sold by the photographer or artist. (They had a choice of selling or just displaying their work.)

Two of the visitors were Jerry and Suzy authors of the blog site Our Life on Wheels (http://jerrysuzylifeonwheels.blogspot.com/). This was the first time we had a chance to meet these fine folks.

I know I usually make some off-color comments but the show was indeed a lot of fun. So.....

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – A Song and Dance for our Photo Group

2010-04-07T22:18:00.001-07:00

We, the Elfrida Photography Group and the Sembrando Salud Art Classes are having a Photography and Art Show in the community garden on the 30th of April from 3:00pm to 6:00pm. This is also the opening of the Community Garden/Farmer’s Market which is one reason we will be in the garden. Take a look at this quick video to see what Sembrando Salud is about:

The Sembrando Salud has a grant to fund various classes for the citizens of Cochise County of which the Photo Group is one of these projects. If you happen to be in or near our area on the 30th of April, please stop by and give us your thoughts on our work.

The main purpose of this posting is to prepare the group members (hmmm….should I call them groupies??) in selecting and printing their pictures. I will start with number one (#1) because it didn’t make sense to me to start with number six.

#1 Take the picture. Hey, sounds simple, doesn’t it? Our members have discovered over the past few months that taking a picture is an art form in itself. It is suggested that the fellers do not take pictures of nekkid womans, especially your wiffy. They tend to get rather testy either way. So it is safer to take pictures of general subjects like birds, pets, scenery, still life, birds, animals (other than human), kids (usually younger than 2-3 years old), dogs, birds and etc. Upload these pictures from your camera into your computer. Place these pictures in your Master Folder (see disillusion below)

#2 Rename and Change the file extension for the picture. I know most of you have seen me jump up and down on the tables or stand in a corner crying but the doctor has given me a bunch of pills to help with that now. Jean also has a special jacket for me to wear if I get chilly (that’s what she told me). What is the number one rule of taking electronic pictures??? Guess. That’s right, we don’t have physical negatives so…backup, backup, backup. Upload them suckers out of your camera to a MASTER file (see disillusion below). What you wish to label your picture is up to you. I will give you an example in just a minute….puts your hands down, please!!! All right, I’ll do it now. Give the picture a name so you will be able to relocate it. It helps if you don’t name your cat “DOG” or your dog “CAT”. (How am I doing, Al??) Next picture….someone hit the switch on the projector.

This disillusionment (more pills, please) shows the basic flow (ya, right) of taking a picture and getting ready to print it. What is the difference between the 1st two boxes? The “Working Folder” is your second backup of the picture. Open the “working” copy in Photoshop Elements, Paint-Dot-Net, or GIMP and IMMEDIATELY (Did I say do it right away??? YES I DID!!!) and do a “Save As… “ command changing the name (optional) and extension (not optional). You have two basic extensions to use: TIF and PNG. Do you notice I did not say JPG ??? Save this file into the 2nd folder under the Master Folder called (strangely enough) “TIF or PNG”. This the copy of the picture that you will actually work your magic on.

#3 Open your choice of photo manipulation software and open the TIF or PNG file. Crop it, change it, reverse it, turn it upside down, make it B&W, Posterize it, change it to water paint. Just make sure you SAVE it back into the TIF/PNG Folder (renaming it will give you yet another copy of this photo). PLEASE PAY ATTENTION…ya, I know. You’re so broke you can’t pay attention (old joke). I did not mention Picasa. After you are through with all your editing and feel you a need to use the options in Picasa, then use it BUT ONLY USE IT ONCE. Why?? Picasa will only save in JPG. One of our members asked me to make a 8X10” print of his selected pictures but the file is so small it MAY only be able to print in 5X7” or 4X6”. BEWARE THE COMPRESSION BUG!!! No, that is not a virus or worm on your computer but a fact of life for JPG files. Each time you save the file in JPG, it compresses the photo more which gives you a smaller and smaller (compact) file. The smaller the file, the less detail your photo will have. The less detail, the worse your larger prints will look. ‘NUFF SAID FER NOW.’

OK, I’ll get off the soapbox. Just remember, big file….good; small file….bad.

That’s my story and I’m stickin to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox -- Go Big or Stay Out of the Game

2010-03-26T23:30:00.001-07:00

Ya, I did it. Went BIG. Too big. I mean it’s almost like owning a one room house and your mother-in-law moves in…..well, almost. We (Jean will deny it!) decided to get a wide carriage photo printer and it was delivered today. It’s not big, it’s HUGE. I don’t have the smallest computer desk but it won’t fit on there. So tomorrow, with saw in hand, I’ll be modifying my computer desk for the printer.

I went back to HP because we’ve always had great reproduction and NO PAPER JAMS. Our main printer has been the Epson Artisan 800 All-in-One printer/scanner/fax/copier. Good photo reproduction but the thicker photo papers jam easily so you have to feed one at a time.

The new photo printer is a B8550 (13X19 inch prints) and is 22.75”X15.5”X7”. I don’t worry about the top clearance as this is a dedicated photo printer and has no scanner or copier functions and the paper feed is front load. So if I don’t return to blogging after a couple of days you can assume the board I cut was a load-bearing wall and the desk collapsed into a pile of sawdust.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Who Am I??

2010-03-23T22:50:00.001-07:00

One of our photo group members came up with an idea….a picture of yourself. Not just the person, but a picture that tells a story of the person. Here below is what I came up with. AND YES, I DID MODIFY. GLORIFY, APPEND, CHANGE, FOLD, SPINDLE AND MUTILATE THE PICTURE!!! So if you are insulted about being artistic, please stick your head in a bucket of water.

This displays some of the various interests that I have, both present and past. Metal detector, fishing pole, 35mm camera, wood/metal working tools, picture frames, and NASCAR. The Navy flag represents the service I was in for 23 years and the US flag was the ship’s flag for the USS Nimitz (CV-68) which was presented to me on my retirement. The picture must be my twin holding a small-mouth bass. I would never have had MY picture taken with such a small fish.

********************************************************************************

Jean and I live in Gleeson which is a ghost town in SE Arizona. Some people laugh at the thought of a ghost town but it really is haunted. For example, the following suddenly appeared one day beside the road.

As usual the people here believe someone like me may be responsible for such a heinous sign. It seems all the tourist have left Gleeson, checking out of our local hotel (The Scorpion and Rattler Motel 9) and leaving rubber on the pavement……hmmm. We have dirt roads so that couldn’t be true.

My blog of last November had a paragraph about a barber shop I visited. To quote:

I went into a barber shop in Sierra Vista that had 50 choppers parked outside. As I walked inside, everyone pointed to the barber chair so I sat down. Out came the barber, 350 pounds of muscle and fat, leather tee shirt and a “I hate computer geeks” tattoo. He walked up to me and in a loud, humiliating voice asked, “What do you want?” Not to be humiliated I looked him square in the eye and said, “I’m a Blogger.” Got the best haircut ever, became a member of the Mohawk tribe with five pounds of motorcycle grease to hold the hair in place.

Unquote.

Well, I needed another haircut after my Mohawk grew back out so I revisited the same barber shop. The name of the barber shop is” We Hate Rice Burners and Other Funny Looking Cycles Bike Club, Pool Room, Bar and Barbershop”. The barber was watching me as I slid into the chair and he said, “Ain’t you that dadburn Blogger?” “Yes, I am….and proud to own a Toyota FJ Cruiser, too.” His eyes had a strange look as if you could see the fires from Hell burning inside. He put his clippers away and got the straight razor. I was done before the hen crows in the morning. This time he gave me a really nice trim.

Boy, do we live in a great part of the country or what???

That’s my story and I’m stickin to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Weather??? And Pictures

2010-02-20T17:26:00.002-07:00

Well today started off with dreadful weather….WIND!! We don’t mind the rain, or heat or cold…but the worst of the bunch is simply wind. First a couple of pictures from 10 minutes ago:

What was simply wind with light rain mist turned into something solid. AND the wind is still blowing.

Working on some of my pictures from our Timbucktoo photo shoot, I accidently hit a setting with my mouse. But I liked the results, so I didn’t correct it. The “yellow” building at the end is disappearing from my original so it will only leave the old store.

I add these so Al of the Bayfield Bunch can put on his SE AZ glasses to see the beauty in old, falling apart, burnt, antique buildings. Al says in Canada they have to get rid of the old stuff that falls out of repair or falling down. (Don’t slow down, Al and above all, don’t trip!!!) This was a beautiful, old ranch until a few years ago when some illegals set it on fire.

These were taken around an old farmhouse that was completely destroyed. This is what I would guess was a ranch hand's house….kind of an all-in-one bungalow. The water tank was next to the windmill and would have been filled by the pump attached to the windmill. (Wind? In this valley???)
A revisit of Bisbee is something we always do. There is more and more that capture our eye when we drive on the open, wide roads of Bisbee. (Actually the roads were originally mule trails and you didn’t dare own a fat mule in those days.)

The lunch box was in one of the shop windows. I remember that one. I had a Hopalong Cassidy one. The cute doggie is waiting his master who is in a little “hole-in-the-wall” breakfast restaurant. There are several old advertisements on buildings, just wish someone would repaint them back to their original glory.
Ok, so…..
That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Thank you to my two newest followers:

Sam & Donna Weibel
and
Kenny and Angela's Adventure

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Living in a Ghost Town

2010-02-17T02:52:00.001-07:00

Many new tourists come each year to southeast Arizona and have to check out the local ghost towns. Gleeson, the town Jean and I live in, is officially a ghost town having lost the Post Office sometime in 1949. The surrounding mountains are pock-marked with several mines, some were gold, some silver but the biggest mineral here is simply copper.

I guess some of the miners were disappointed because gold and silver were valuable items used in jewelry and coins but what was the poor copper used for? Yes, electrical wiring and tubing but when you think of copper you think of pennies first. Not much romance in saying “I’m a copper miner. I am a penny expert.”

Today most of the copper mines have gone silent after digging out the majority of the copper, gold and silver they could find in the mountains. When the price of copper hit dirt bottom after WW2, it spelled the end of Gleeson. (Note: A mining company has bought the rights and is researching the feasibility of reopening mining operations.)

We also have Courtland and Pearce, AZ. The majority of Courtland is gone leaving only a few adobe walls and foundations where a bustling little town once covered the mountain. The old jail is still standing with a lot of damage but a tribute to some architect that knew how to make them strong. The Gleeson jail was almost identical to the Courtland jail and has recently been purchased by a local resident. It is now a museum open on the first Saturdays of the month.

Some people don’t believe in ghosts but they do exist. During one of our local camera group outings I spotted a ghost in the old Timbucktoo restaurant and captured it on film…ah, on memory card. Look at this photo and you can see his hideous form looking out the window at me.

So all I have to say to those skeptical people out there that don’t believe in ghosts, is let the chips fall where they may. Or to put it another way….

The picture is from me, the cow pie was from last night’s hamburger.

The group did another photo shoot in the field. This ranch house was only around 15 feet across and was in a octagonal (8 sided) shape. One of the reasons I used B&W on this picture was because the floor actually had green shag carpeting. Now that is really old!! I’ll include other pictures taken on the photo shoot as I process them. (OK, YA I’M GOING TO ENHANCE THEM!!)

And as usual…

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – A Farewell To A Friend

2010-02-13T18:42:00.001-07:00

Most people that know me know that I am an amateur photographer and one of the major players in the Elfrida Photo Group. We started the group with around six members and have “roller-coasted” at times with members coming and going.

One of our members was Pat Collins. Pat could be described as a “Senior Citizen” but you may get the wrath of Pat saying that. Even with a bad hip, but still having the ability and wits to operate a motor vehicle, she was a “God-send” to our group.

We lost Gladys “Pat” Collins last Thursday after she recently had undergone a hip replacement at a hospital is Los Angeles followed by a stroke and then dehydration while recovering in a nursing home. Pat’s daughter, Patsy, brought her mother back to our Sulphur Springs Valley with plans on staying with her mother. Unfortunately, Pat had other plans and left us here on earth to carry on with life. Our deepest and most sincere prayers go to Patsy for the loss of her mother. Patsy has said she is considering remaining here and we look forward to having her visit or become a member of our group.

At one of our group meetings we were discussing portrait photography and Pat was my subject. The first picture of the left is how Pat would always appear….under control and not too big of a smile. My dad’s old family album was like that, subjects assuming the correct pose which was not to smile. The one thing I love about my Canon 40D is the rapid fire flash. After the first flash I just kept going causing her to start laughing.

She finally relaxed and made the famous “rabbit” pose.

The last picture on the right is her saying, “You didn’t really take that picture, did you?”

Pat was one classy lady that fought back the pain and tears to struggle through Chair Yoga and finally through the photography group where we occasionally took trips into the field. She attended the first meeting of our group, the first Yoga class offered by the Community Center and the first meeting of an exercise class. No one would ever hold her back. And so for Pat, we send our “Namaste”.

--Namaste means --

I honor the place in you where spirit lives.

I honor the place in you, which is of love, of truth, of light and of peace.

When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are one.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Snowy Saturday

2010-01-23T23:11:00.001-07:00

Waking up this morning we had the pleasant surprise of a fluffy, white ground and bush coverage. A step outside without wearing a coat was even more of a surprise. One could freeze their (censored) off. So I told Jean what a photo-op this is. I think the hard part for her was leaving those warm and snuggly blankets to come outside in the cold weather.

We took some pictures of the area and went out into the center of the metropolitan city of Gleeson. I have always wondered why the county hasn’t put in a traffic light at the main intersection of the city. I’m sure the cattle, coyotes, rattlesnakes and jack rabbits would appreciate it. I may have to put on my “investigative hat” and dig into this injustice.

Notice the pink Flamingos playing in the snow (lol).

(Pictures in Gleeson, AZ. )

We stopped at the KW’s Red Roof Diner & Kitty Emporium where we received good conversation, hot coffee, a furry critter to pet and a brunch special. The Emporium is by reservation only and they are booked at least 18 months ahead. Also the Emporium has an unlisted telephone number so the only way to make reservations is by smoke signals. Make sure you ask them what the daily special is and don’t catch your blanket on fire.

I have not been writing blogs daily due to computer problems that took out my motherboard. I believe this problem was related to the hard drive problem I had in December. Well, I now have a new motherboard and case which has 4 fans (with blue LEDs in them) with adjustable fan speeds so I can ensure the processor and other components are kept cool. Putting in my old components (cpu, video card, processor, drives and memory) was a simple task but for some reason the Gigabit NIC (Ethernet Card) part of the motherboard wouldn’t recognize the DSL modem. I had to call in the experts and one of the tekkies at VTC helped me through the various minute details, the several adjustments, the reprogramming of the Frietistrand Valve and finally removal of the two dead rats. Also included were an oil change and 100,000 mile tune-up. Needless to say, the computer runs great now.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Kaput or Kaputer

2010-01-17T23:21:00.002-07:00

Hey everyone, I’m still walking amongst the living. Somewhere. Inside this box full of wires, small fans, little red and green lights, and circuit boards. Yes, I’m still working on this infernal machine that thinks it is getting the better of me. But I surprised it with my 20 pound training device.

It takes me an average of five attempts to get this THING to boot up and when it does boot both the external and internal hard drives are running all the time….no flashing light, but on solid. So I went to the tool shed and got the training tool out to make fine adjustments to the computer. I figured just the threat would be enough. NO. It has a “mind” of it’s own, so to speak.

I’ve worked on computer hardware dating back to the “stone ages” of computers. (Worked on IBM Models 360/720 which were their top of the line mainframe computers. ) The main difference was our computers were mainly used for navigation and weapons delivery from an attack US Navy aircraft.

There weren’t any PC’s at that time. The “PC” referred to here does not stand for political correctness. (Political correctness came years later when instead of saying “Barbara Streisand” it was easier to say “BS” …. or was that the other way around?)

Anyway, the problem will be resolved in approximately a week because I am replacing the motherboard and case. A larger case plus more fans to keep the processor and board cooler. In the meantime I will just have to suffer with what I have or use Jean’s computer.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – I’m Still Here

2010-01-10T12:59:00.001-07:00

Some of you wonder what ever happened to ol’ Ray. Well, the soapbox needed a fresh coat of paint and it took a while to dry. And if you don’t believe that one then I’ll have to think of another. I am a good fisherman and can come up with some really good whoppers.

The real problem is the BIOS on my motherboard died. Funeral arrangements are pending as I used the paddles on it (plus put in a fresh BIOS battery) and have resuscitated BIOS a couple of times. I don’t know if it was the old hard drive failure that caused the BIOS problem or BIOS caused the old drive to fail. BIOS fails to recognize that it has two hard drives (lists NONE) and two CD/DVD RWs installed (only one recognized). Electronics is not considered a technical field but rather a magic one with guys dressed up like Marlin. My board must have some negative magical energy running loose causing havoc on my zero’s and one’s. Sometimes the threat of doing something is enough to make the electronic unit work correctly.

I believe I will have to reinvent the wheel sometime in the very near future to include a new motherboard and, most likely, a new case. I built Jean’s and my computer around the same time using micro-ATX board and case. Nice if you have to move it but then it is a desktop computer so how often do you really need to move it? Everything is too crammed in the micro box and heat is not good for electronics.

On the other news front, I called my younger brother in Maine recently to complain of the cold weather we are having. I told him temperatures were in the high 60’s during the day and complained that 70’s would be better. His reply is not printable without major corrections in the spelling and I’m not sure those words are contained in any dictionary. Sometimes I just have to remind him he does live in Maine.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – My Final Pix for 2009

2010-01-03T02:27:00.001-07:00

The day after Christmas, we had another snow storm, though much smaller than the first of the season, it was still dramatic enough to capture a few pictures.

The snow disappeared quickly as the air was warmer than the snow causing dramatic fog to hide the background trees and mountains.

Jean and I visited a fairly unknown Army post in Naco, AZ. It was known by two names: Camp Naco or Ft Newell. The post was established in 1915 to help fight the excursions of Pancho Villa (not to be mixed up with Bob Villa, he is a carpenter/tool person). The fights were won by the US Army but the war was won by Villa and he established several Mexican restaurants in North Carolina and Virginia (http://www.panchovillava.com/locations.htm). It was suspected that he held the controlling interest in the Taco Bell chain and was trying to spread it through Arizona. Anyway, the post has now been completely cutoff from the public by a barbed wire topped fence to protect what is left of the barracks and other buildings.

The barracks were usually setup in a 3 sided area with a mess hall (below) to feed the troops.

This last pictures captures what I assume is an administrative office. It is facing the open area between the barracks. Internet search for more information about the post turned up very little information. There are no signs or plaques to tell you about the camp.

So, as usual……

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – New Year’s Resolutions and Other Thoughts

2010-01-01T14:03:00.001-07:00

Happy New Year everyone!!! Hmmm, now that is a collective statement. Do I really mean to wish a Happy New Year to everyone?? I really, really don’t think so. Osama?? He could give us a happy year. My ex that used superglue on all my levis forever sealing my pockets closed and then glued the fly down. She finished the job by putting thumbtacks in my shoes. No, not her either. So Happy New Year to a selective group of you.

Resolutions:

My wife suggested I write about resolutions and I told her I didn’t need any because when your perfect in every way, who needs to change??? I may write some later….maybe when my arm is out of the sling (again).

Procrastinating. My wife says I have got to stop procrastinating. Hey, the “pro” means I am for it. We have a male cat that was crastinated a couple of years ago so he ain’t gonna give us no puppies. She was in favor of it then.
Lose weight. Ya, that’s always a good one. I’ll cut down to only 5 pizzas and 3 cases of beer a week. That should make someone happy. Besides, the wife believes in recycling and this resolution is recycled from last year. Maybe I’ll take action on it ……starting next week. Maybe. The last time I lost 5 pounds, I opened the closet and found it plus another 5. Dang pounds just seem to multiply faster than rabbits.
Put up a new mail box. Ya, right. Just another object to put junk mail into. The door fell off the box last week and hopefully now the junk mail and bills will get caught in the wind. The envelopes can then hide in the bushes until they turn to mulch….see? I do recycle.

I would have made more resolutions but I didn’t want to over burden the system. Now Ray’s Thought of the Day (or week or month or….you get the picture). My wife says I never get any thoughts (that count). Why do we call this new year Two Thousand Ten. Remember 1999 (nineteen-ninety-nine). Why did we suddenly go from teen numbers to thousands. What’s wrong with Twenty Ten?? Ya, I know it is the same but we changed format in mid-stream. Who decided this? Another mystery of life that will never be answered so to quote myself…….

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

(For submission on 12/31/2009)

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Gleeson Airport

2009-12-28T19:59:00.001-07:00

I have believed that by opening an airport in Gleeson we could attract more people to the area. We might be able to get rid of the “ghost town” title our little community carries.

And with an airport we should be able to attract new manufacturing business and federal money for support of the airport. So today we tested the new Gleeson air port and I have included a couple of pictures. Everything started great but before the birds could land, things deteriated quickly and there were many near-misses. So the airport has been “tabled” by the mayor and town council.

Tower: “Flight Leader, your group is looking good as you approach. Instruct other pilots to fall into straight line and line up on runway two-six-niner.”

Flt Ldr: “Roger, tower. We are approximately two miles from the runway and have visual at this time. Instructed second leg of flight to get in line for the landing.”

Tower: “Roger Flight Leader. Continue approach.”

Tower: “Flight Leader, radar shows your flight group has changed positions and some have changed direction. Advise to regain altitude and go around for second approach.”

Flt Ldr: “Roger, tower. A couple of our pilots have put their wings on backwards so it only appears they are not going in the right direction.”

Tower: “Flight Leader, your group is too wide. Go around and regroup correctly before start approach.”

Flt Ldr: “Negative tower. We are low on fuel and the grass looks tempting around the community swimming pool. We are on final approach now”

Sudden “honking noise heard”

Tower: Flight Leader, stop the approach.” (Silence….) “Flight Leader, do you copy?” (More silence…..)

Well, the test was a utter failure with feathers all over 2 1/2 acres of Gleeson. Federal Investigators are on the way and will stay in the Gleeson Motel 2 (The town couldn’t afford a Motel 6). There will be more news available as soon as they can figure out which bird was the flight leader. So for now, Gleeson shall remain a ghost town and it looks like more ghosts have made the town their home. And so that’s the way it was, December 28, 2009. Good night, Chet….good night, Dave.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Welcome to my newest followers: Motty, Mary Ann and William, and Tango.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Christmas Eve, A Poem For The Upper Class People That Understand I Am NOT Charles Dickens!!

2009-12-24T20:05:00.001-07:00

It's the night before Christmas and all through the house
things were very quiet except for my mouse.
My hard drive was clicking much louder than norm
and the air from the exhaust was extremely warm.

Then from the computer room there came such a clatter
that I knew immediately what was the matter.
With thoughts of getting the sledge hammer for my computer's despair
cuz' I knew it was beyond economical repair.

When suddenly an old, short, round person did appear
and told me he could fix it so I shouldn't fear.
He looked in his bag of goodies for a new hard drive I would hope
but only found a box of scratchy old rope

A hard drive, a hard drive I heard myself say and gave back the gift
so Santa looked again shaking the bag as if he would sift
through every box and toy looking for the right one to keep my computer alive
came out with a shiny, black hard drive.

“Thank you, Santa” I said as he left, his eyes had a big sparkle
and I was happy again until I opened the box and it said.....

MADE FOR MACINTOSH

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Hope everyone gets their wishes on this Christmas Day.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – SURPRISE!!

2009-12-24T13:18:00.001-07:00

The one thing about the weather here is that it is a guessing game and the weather forecasters pull their predictions from a hat. Being from New England, I enjoy a good snowstorm occasionally as long as I don’t have to shovel it.

Monday was my day at the doc’s office in Sierra Vista and yesterday was the FJ’s day at the dealer to fix a leaky air conditioning hose. Everyone needs to make sure their AC is working during the month of December. (LOL) Snow does give a fresh perspective to taking pictures by giving a sharp, clean look to everything.

The best thing is we didn’t see any accidents out there. When I lived in Tennessee after retiring from the Navy, this much snow would be a tragedy closing schools for a week at a time. (They are crazy drivers on ice and snow!!!)

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Manipulation Again???

2009-12-21T00:11:00.002-07:00

I received a feedback today about the old manipulation post I did sometime back. The post came from someone who is definitely NOT a blogger or a blogger within the group. I include the post:
Quote

“lori said...

photo manipulation is unethical if you work for a newspaper, newsletter, magazine, online news org, etc. It's unethical if you're altering content that should not be changed. National Geographic and Time Magazine front page photos should not be altered. Military pubs, though steep in propaganda, should not manipulate, either. As for personal photos, manipulate till your heart's content.

December 20, 2009 9:31 AM”

Unquote
Well, lori, I gave you the benefit of the doubt by posting your comment (Freedom of Speech isn’t always free). No where in my post did I indicate that a PROFESSIONAL photographer should manipulate photos. As a matter of fact, most of the magazines you mentioned require the submission to be in RAW format. Why?? The publisher may make adjustments to the picture for the best lighting and clarity of items covered within a shadow. (Usually referred to as the “bottom line” or money in the pocket.)

The reason I almost deleted this post message was the next to last line. I am retired military and do not know what publications she is referring to. The line is basically a political one, stated on personal thoughts and not on fact. The political nature of the statement is the reason I will no longer post any comment that can be taken as a political statement. There are plenty of smutty blogs in cyberspace she can use for politics.

The last thing about accepting a post is to ensure there is an email address with it. Lori’s was a “no-reply” email address so I could not ask her any questions or request she change her post. I include an email address….is it my “real” email address? It is not the one I have from my ISP but is from Google (Gmail). Anyone can get a Yahoo, MSN, AOL, etc FREE email account and still remain “anonymous”.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Should a woman who puts on lipstick, blush and eye shadow be called “manipulator”? What if I were to shave my beard off? Is that manipulation? LOL

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – The Big Crash

2009-12-19T09:23:00.002-07:00

Alas, it was bound to happen someday. The Crash!!! And it did come with a warning: “NO OPERATIONAL SOFTWARE DETECTED. DISK MAY BE DAMAGED OR DEFECTIVE.” There it was….staring me in the eyeballs waiting for the message to sink in. A little window on top of the monitor opens and out comes a small hand with a white flag waving back and forth. Then the loudspeaker sounds off with a repeated message “Hard Drive Crash”…….“Hard Drive Crash”…….Well, you get the picture.

What does a person do when he has all his photos backed up to a single hard drive??? Usually cry. Smash things, like monitors, cameras, etc. That is one reason I preach to our photo group three things:
1) Backup
2) Backup
3) Backup
No, I don’t keep my MASTER pictures on the boot drive (C: drive). I have an external USB drive that keeps my pictures (crossing fingers, knocking on wood, don’t step on the crack or it will break your mother’s back) safe. I also back up my photos to CD’s (technically DVD’s because they hold more data). So I was a little boy scout this time and read the warning signs, ensuring all documents, etc were removed from the annoying drive before the final scream, crash, clunk of the antique (10 years old) drive.

I know there are some that would read about hard drive crashes and say….”I’ll back up my pictures and data tomorrow”. Aw, come on, Annie….sing it. “Tomorrow, tomorrow, there’s always tomorrow….” Ya, that may be true in life that there will always be a tomorrow but not so in computer lingo.

Anyway, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. (Hmmmm…is there something burning somewhere??? Smells like burning wire insulation or power supply burn out.)

Ray’s Corner Soapbox -- Memories

2009-12-13T23:41:00.001-07:00

I let something slide this last week. It was my dad’s birthday…he would have been 100 years old. Guess that makes me an old fart when I really think about it. My dad was the 13th of 13 kids born back when life seemed to be more simple (at least how we see it). I asked him why he didn’t save a couple rolls of “S” pennies from the year he was born. If you are not a coin collector, those pennies are now worth a fortune….each. Of course, we have the advantage of hind-sight.

I really only knew my dad closely for 17 years because immediately after graduation from high school I was off to the Navy. I spent approximately 23 years traveling the world, as the advertisements would say. I did get home for a week or two occasionally on leave. We all knew our parents loved us but it was rarely stated in verbal form until I was home in 1973 prior to a Western Pacific cruise when my dad hugged me and told me that he loved me. It was kind of a foresight into the future for I received a Red Cross message a few months later stating he had a massive heart attack and passed away. Flying from half-way around the world gives you time to think and put things in perspective.

I have two other brothers…I’m the poor kid in the middle and one sister. She suffered relentless attacks from her brothers. My sister passed away in 1995 from leukemia. I temporarily moved back to Massachusetts from Tennessee to help my younger brother take care of mom from 2000 to 2005 when she passed away from cancer. My two brothers are both living in Maine now and I’m out west as all of us chose our own paths to follow. I’ve loved the west since I was stationed in California for over 14 years at Lemoore (near Fresno) and then China Lake Weapon Center near Death Valley.

Even though my brothers and I are apart, we are closer now than we ever have been.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Four Wheeling

2009-12-11T18:47:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we met some friends for lunch in Sunsites, AZ at a fairly new Mexican restaurant. After a good lunch, Jean and I stopped in Sunsites so she could shop for home-made soap while I just looked around the store. They are basically a candy store and they do have fudge with no-sugar added. Wow!! They seen me coming but I resisted the fudge and gave into the frozen yogurt.

Jean and I then headed for home using Ghost Town Trail. There is a mountain with an old mining road that I have wanted to check out for some time. The top looks like a great place for pictures of the valley floor and sunsets. The road leading up to the mountain is pretty rough but the Cruiser is made for off-road travel. While we didn’t make it to the top of the mountain because Jean was getting nervous about the drop, I did take a few pictures while over half way up the mountain.

I don’t see why she was getting nervous about the mountain trail because you can see it’s had a lot of serious usage.

Ended up having to backup around 500 feet with a very nervous person trying to direct me. (Ya could have put a Mack truck through here…..well, a small Mack truck.)

After we were back on flatland I heard a sigh of relief as I turned and headed in the direction of home.

Love that sign….lol. Okay, we survived to take pictures again another day.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Lights, Lights and More Lights

2009-12-08T23:07:00.002-07:00

Today was a busy day assisting friends in getting setup for high speed service. The problem they run into is that they are too far out of town for the cable/telephone guys to give them high speed (but these services will say it is coming). So today I helped them subscribe to a satellite service. They do not do any online gaming but rather a limited amount of surfing and use of emails.

So it sounds like the satellite service should fit their requirements at a reasonable price. Jean and I had to do some shopping in Douglas (AZ) and after we left Wally-world, headed to the lights of town. Yes, Douglas is one community that decided to put up their lights in this bad economy.

While they have limited the amount of lights, they have shown that the Grinch is not going to kill Santa off this year. Jean and I are going to do a little night driving around the area shortly and find some good light displays. It was suggested that I play Santa but after crawling out of the local bar someone said I should play Rudolf with the shiny, red nose. (That’s a joke, friends. I don’t seriously drive alcohol. Guzzle, not drink!!)

We got back to the house this evening to find our 3 foot Christmas trees (5 of them) that were set in the front yard missing. Hopefully they are still in the county somewhere and we did find one of them down the hill a couple hundred feet away. We used tent stakes to hold them down but the wind just ripped them out of the ground. Also our gas BBQ grill was missing but only a few feet away turned over. Will have to look at it in the daylight to determine what needs to be fixed. So I guess the hurricane is not over yet….

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray's Corner Soapbox -- SNOW??? HA, Never Happen!!

2009-12-07T23:51:00.006-07:00

Ya, I know it is dangerous to end a title like that but this time I know I am right. Following the “weather-guessers” around here on TV is like going to the Gypsy fortune teller with a glass ball. I think the weatherpersons here use gold fish bowls to try to tell the weather.

Well, the weather did give us a few interesting shots across Sulphur Springs Valley. And yes, it did look like snow clouds except the temperature was too high and the wind was 35-45 knots all afternoon. Even higher gusts are expected tonight.

Saddle Mountain

The dark clouds surrounded the higher tops of the Chiricahua Mountains but the other mountain chains were yet to capture the clouds.

Chiricahua Mountains

Weather reports in Tucson say the storm passed north of the city and way north of us. We may get a little rain by morning but sorry, no snow pictures will be coming forth tomorrow.

Evening Storm Clouds

We did have our weekly photo group meeting and I believe I managed to bore poor Al today. Hopefully next week will be a better picture day as I am going to suggest we travel to an abandoned business (Timbuck Too) and have everyone take pictures. This way we can download them on the library computers (if they have the two broken ones fixed) and compare how each photographer perceive the building.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – It Was A Dark and Stormy Night…

2009-12-07T23:03:00.002-07:00

Tried to write a murder mystery once. I couldn’t remember if Miss Plumb killed the butler in the pantry who had killed Mr. Hunter in the aquarium room who was the part-time butler. It was all perfectly clear to me.

Late afternoon last Saturday, the wife and I had just turned into our nice, smooth road leading to the house (smooth if you drive a M1 Tank). A wild critter suddenly ran out on the road and then took off running through the high grass and wash. It was a COATIMUNDI. I tried to find this mysterious creature on the Internet but I was misspelling the critter’s name. I was looking under wild cats of the desert.

Jean told me it is related to a racoon. Ha, I say! And then I muttered the two words that no man is ever suppose to let leave his lips when talking to their wife….”Your Wrong”!!

Of course, the critter is a type of racoon that immigrated from South America and are a fairly rare sight in our mountains (Dragoon Mountains). I felt that little pang….that sharp little nerve ending in the brain. I WAS WRONG!!! How could this be?? Mighty Casey has struck out—AGAIN!!

Picture from Internet (http://www.desertusa.com)

Well, I did discover something at that web page that was very useful and informative. There is a photography section discussing digital cameras, picture taking do’s and don’ts and etc. So at least it wasn’t a complete washout.

Stuck in the corner for the next week…..That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
(Post 1 of 2 – or making up for being lazy last night.)

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – RAW or Cooked?

2009-12-03T22:30:00.005-07:00

Most newer digital cameras include the operators selection of a picture quality. The lower the quality, the more pictures you can put on a memory card. Memory cards are actually cheap (compared to a few years ago) and the avid photographer usually has more than one. I have not worked many RAW picture files previously so now I think I will try a few. The RAW is described as a “lossless” file in that it performs no file compression when saved. For those with Canon SLRs and newer PowerShots there is a recent update to the Digital Photo Pro that comes with the camera to handle the RAW format pictures. RAW pictures are easier to manipulate and enlarge as they do not lose any data.

I started with this RAW picture, cropped, sharpened and modifying the exposure. Then I converted the RAW format to TIFF for my backup work and to JPEG for uploading to the blog. The subject is in the center of the picture….see him??

(These examples required a little more work than described because Live Writer only likes JPEG files.) All my work was done in RAW and TIFF formats and finally “shrunk” from very large files to something that would fit on the screen.
One advantage is bringing your target close up allowing larger prints with good picture definition. Over-enlarging smaller picture files will cause “digital noise” and loss of detail in the picture.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. Really.

P.S. Al, I did reinstall the Live Writer and it appears to have resolved the problems.

Ray's Corner Soapbox - USPS Mail

2009-12-02T20:02:00.003-07:00

Ever notice how our postal service tries to compete with the Internet email?? Junk mail. I can at least use the junk from the mail box to start the fire on a cold, winter night. This year (last October) I turned 65 which made me eligible for Medicare. So here comes the junk mail.

The “sneaky” ones make it look like there might be a check inside by what you see through the window envelope. I learned that one a long time ago.....buzzzrup, through the shredder it goes. And then in one of those stupid carbon envelopes they have to try to scare me by saying 600,000 seniors nationwide are being dis-enrolled by their advantage plans??? I don't have one of them anyway. Buzzzrup.

Next is the “Now is the time to make a decision about your Medicare".....buzzzrup. Didn't even open the envelope. Two retirement home advertisements...both being the same place. Wonder how much they waste in postage each year???? Buzzzrup,buzzzrup. Jewelery Store....Buzzzrup. Ya, I know I should look at that last one for a Christmas gift to my wife. But she has me...what else in life could be better? Salvation Army...sorry, I served in the Navy. Well, Jean and I do put a few bucks in the bell ringer's bucket each time. We don't have a lot but there are, especially this year, many families that have nothing.

Next one is a bill from a local hospital. Jean had to undergo physical therapy earlier this year, February to be exact, and they are now just getting around to billing me....and they want the copay NOW or else. Ha.....buzzzrup. (No, not really. I will pay them. I'll send them Loki the Stupid Wonder dog.) Next is a magazine put out by another local hospital. They tell you all the good points of utilizing their facilities for our health care. I had a diabetic ulcer that infected, big red line running up my leg, temperature of almost 103 degrees and a 4 hour wait in the ER waiting room, then NINE hours in the ER before they decided to give antibiotics and finally get me a room. Stayed there for a week that time. Again, what kind of expense does the hospital occur when they send out these magazines to local area residents?? Threw it to the trash....no buzzzzrup on that one, way too thick.

Finally, a notice from a company in Tucson that would come out and check my hot water heater and flush the sediment from the bottom. And they will give me a $50 rebate. Tucson is 125 miles from here and the service charge on the minor check would be more than the price of a new hot water heater. Buzzzrup.

If postage wasn't so expensive, I'd make up monthly family newsletters and mail it to each of them every month just so they could get some junk mail, too.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

PS....You can buzzzrup this post, too. Just email for instructions.

Ray's Corner Soapbox - Ooops!! What Happened??

2009-12-01T23:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, I was getting tired last night so I gave up....threw in the towel....quit...halted. Did I mention I gave up? Al's bug hit me. I was using Windows Live Writer for my text and then adding the pictures when it suddenly disappeared. Not Live Writer, but all the text and pictures. I had "saved" the draft prior to this but I be durned if I can recover it. I think I'll try using MS Word for all the text and pictures, then cut/paste into the blog and see how that works.

Tomorrow, hopefully, I should be back to normal. Normal? What is normal? Is hearing voices in the night normal? I don't ask myself any questions because I already know the answers. I may not always be right but I am never wrong.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Another Day in Paradise

2009-11-29T21:20:00.001-07:00

No, I am not referring to Paradise, AZ even though that would be a great trip tomorrow to get pictures of snow in the high country. Hey, I got 4-wheel drive and if I get stuck Jean will push us out.

I received an email from “Mr. History”, Stan, reminding me that I am heading into those “golden” years. Here is the gist of the message:

***********************************************************

We always bitch about the golden year not being all we heard about.....here is another way to look at our situation...Stan

Silver in the Hair,

Gold in the Teeth.

Stones in the Kidneys,

Sugar in the Blood.

Lead in the Feet, Iron in the Arteries.

And an inexhaustible supply of Natural Gas.

Who ever thought we'd accumulate so much wealth !!!

********************************************************

How true, how true. Today Jean kept on with her ruling that everyday we are to get down at least one box of Christmas decorations or lights and keep going until she says stop. Well, I got my one box down (contained one light bulb) and Jean wasn’t impressed. I simply reminded her that she didn’t say HOW MUCH but only ONE BOX. Needless to say I joined my soapbox in the corner for two hours.

The winds were gone today, replaced by the sound of rain on the tin roof of the porch. Also gone were the warm temperatures as it was getting colder and colder as the day progressed. The ranch is around 5300’ and when the weather guessers say snow 5000’ and above I begin to have dreams of our 4-wheeler busting through the mounds of snow working our way out to the road. Hey, I can dream, can’t I?? The most snow I’ve seen here is around 4 to 6 inches and you have to be quick because it melts fast.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – I’m a Blogger

2009-11-27T21:06:00.001-07:00

Today the wife and I went to the Heritage Days in Pearce, AZ. It was a good day for the celebration as we had lots of sun and warm temperatures. This ghost town only comes alive two days a year and this was the weekend. Arts and Craft vendors sell their wares at various booths. This year was a little different than previous years in that they could not close the “main” road through town. The result was there were fewer vendors than normal and hopefully by next year they will be able to use an area of county owned land for the celebration. If you visit Pearce for taking pictures, the Old Pearce Pottery and the Prickly Pear Emporium are open most weekends. You can find various gift items, pottery (duh), candles, jewelry, jellies, honey, salsa and goat milk soaps. (Plus many other items)

One of our local citizens.

Meet Stan Benjamin and his wife, Connie. Stan is “Mr. History” around the area always finding more and more interesting stories about this area of SE Arizona. Stan is a retired Tucson Police Officer and has written several books about local Sheriffs and Marshals from the 1800’s to present.

We also met up with Al and Kelly from “The Bayfield Bunch” at the celebration. This was the first time I met Kelly and she only proved what I read before….she is the best looking part of the Bunch. Al comes in somewhere after the dogs.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Bisbee Revisited

2009-11-27T10:50:00.001-07:00

I’m sure you noticed Al of The Bayfield Bunch likes to talk about Bisbee. Jean and I live here year round and there isn’t a more picturesque town in the area. Bisbee is a collection of old hippies, artists, painted cars, walls and a photographer’s haven. Contrasting colors splash the area making picture taking easy.

Here are some of my “earth day” pictures taken a couple of years ago pointing out the colorful people of the area. These were taken at the local farmer’s market.

Any resemblance to Al or myself is purely coincidental.

I refer to this one as maintaining your space.

….and he has a great mode of transportation.

The people of Bisbee are very friendly and informative which is one of the reasons we keep going back. We still haven’t seen everything yet.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Pardon Me

2009-11-27T10:23:00.004-07:00

Thanksgiving has now come and gone. I hope everyone had a wonderful day full of mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, squash, sweet potatoes, and all the pie you can hold.

I wanted to discuss the other guest that was invited to Thanksgiving and couldn’t refuse to come. Yes, I want to speak on behalf of the turkey. Now if the President pardoned the Thanksgiving Day turkey given to the White House. When did this tradition of granting a pardon to a turkey begin?? Come 'on, guess. George Washington??? Abe Lincoln?? No, it wasn't the pardon given to Richard Nixon, either.

It is amazing just how old this tradition is. This is a tradition that goes way back in history. All the way back to President George H. W. Bush in 1989. Yes, that was the first officially pardoned turkey in our history. So the Thanksgiving day turkey gets pardoned (actually two….they have another in the “wings”, so to speak in case anything happens to the first one.) yet another was on the table.

I can only say that I’m glad ol’ Tom had a decent life and dedicated himself to our enjoyment. Okay, now I’ve got to go get some more turkey…I’m hungry again. Turkey sandwiches today, turkey stew tomorrow. yum-yum

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
********************************************************

Origins

Each year since 1947, the National Turkey Federation and the Poultry and Egg National Board have given a turkey to the President of the United States at a White House ceremony. Since then, presidents have been more likely to eat the turkey rather than give it a reprieve. A notable exception occurred in 1963, when President Kennedy, referring to the turkey given to him, said, "Let's just keep him." It wasn't until the first Thanksgiving of President George H.W. Bush, in 1989, that a turkey was officially pardoned for the first time.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – To Tweet or Not to Tweet

2009-11-25T18:26:00.001-07:00

Is that really a question??? Shakespeare I ain’t. Okay, I’ll make this one short and tweet. I was reading an article in the CNET email I get each month. One of the CNET newsletter authors was hacked and even he, a computer expert, cannot figure out how. Check this link: http://www.smartplanet.com/technology/blog/thinking-tech/twitter-facebook-fertile-phishing-grounds/2050/

That is one reason I “killed” mine off. They just seem to lack security on their end. Just thought I’d point that out. I haven’t been feeling very well the last few nights. Just a cold that Jean and I pass back and forth to keep life on the mountain interesting. I have followed the other blogs, though. I have a few “Characters of Bisbee” to add to the mix. The farmer’s market usually opens in April around “earth” day and that brings out the hippies (or hippie-wannabe’s). I was in the service when the hippies took over San Francisco. It was so much fun to listen to their songs of peace while loading our aircraft with 1,000 pounders for the next bombing run.

Okay, I’ll include some pictures after a short intermission. The removal of duplicate pictures, the job I thought would just take a few hours, drags on. Only around 21,000 more to go. But I AM recovering some nice spare room on my external hard drive.

Hopefully my cold medication doesn’t kick in too fast and make me go spacey again. It’s like, all them colors, like…hey man!!! Looky at that bright light in the sky….wow. So that’s the moon??? Like wow.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – What’s Your Flavor??

2009-11-23T10:44:00.003-07:00

Sunday wasn’t a great day for pictures as the sky was just kind of blah. Pictures taken under these conditions would be a good candidate for manipulation. Jean and I headed for the Cochise Stronghold to look around for a few decent subjects. I think we both were getting cabin fever because we are sharing the same cold but mine was not as bad as hers.

Some of the pictures we took do have a chance to make it to the keeper files but most are again…blah. Which program or programs do you use for picture manipulation?

(1) The “standard” program of which all other programs are judged is Adobe’s Photoshop. I would love to own this program (around $800) and pay $150-$200 for upgrades and spend even more money on manuals or courses just to learn how to use the software…NOT!! I use three programs as some are better than others for certain functions. Price: $600-$800 No screen capture available.

(2) GIMP – Originally written for the Linux operating system, this software has the look and feel of a light version of Photoshop. When we started the Elfrida Photography Group, GIMP’s help files were mainly non-existent. Like Photoshop it has a learning curve, common for upper level software. BUT it has most of the plug-ins already installed into it and it is easy to add others. Price: FREE http://www.gimp.org/windows

(3) PaintDotNet – This program is quite similar to GIMP but does less “out of the box”. There are several plug-in updates available (FREE) that will increase the effects of the program. Version 3.5.1 has just been released and the owners of the program state that Version 4 will be a major update to the software. Price: Free http://getpaint.net/download

Note: All of the free programs have a “Donate” statement or button. If you find a program useful, you are encouraged to donate in any amount to the programmers.
There are other programs, such as, Picasa, Windows Live Photo Album, Photoshop Elements, etc that will be covered later. The screen capture pictures do take a lot of room on the blog.

Just my story and I'm stickin' to it!!!

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Is Photo Manipulation Cheating??

2009-11-22T08:44:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I mentioned that with manipulation I could look younger. First of all, there isn’t a right answer to the above question. This is strictly personal preference as to whether you change anything in your pictures. Manipulation has been done for many, many years….long before the digital camera except most of it took place in the dark room. Filters were added to the 35mm lens to give the desired effect, as example, a slight softening blur is used with close up portraits.

Here is a picture that I have manipulated to give different effects:

This is close to the original except the original was taken in landscape. You can see the electrical wires running through the picture. Wires and telephone poles are distractions as far as I’m concerned. So I use software to remove objectionable items and to crop the picture to make it more attractive.

Here the picture is cropped, electrical lines removed and a process called Poster Edge applied to the photo. It has a clean, older look which enhances the age of the building.

And again, this is the same picture but only the names have been changed to protect the…..oh ya, too many cop shows.

This is the same as the second picture only a black & white plus Sepia color has been added to the picture. This gives the picture an old-time feel. You see this at tourist traps where they have people dress up in old western outfits. (Sorry Tombstone, don’t take it personally.)

I tried putting an effect on the picture of Loki that was in an earlier blog but I couldn’t find one that was labeled “dog smartness.”

Just my story and I’m stickin’ to it!!

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – World Wide Web

2009-11-21T22:21:00.004-07:00

I am an Amateur Radio Operator. We are usually known as “Ham Radio Operators” (HRO) and hate to have people call us CB’ers because Hams are an exclusive club. Warm up the HF radio and talk to the world. You can tell a ham by the “antenna farm” around the house. You know, the wires that the wife is always trying to hang clothes on.

I should say I am a HRO but don’t have any equipment and haven’t been on the airways in the last 10 years. Why?? Because the computer has made the HRO a thing of the past. Ya, that’s me. I’m an antique at age 65. You want to talk to the world?? Use a computer. I’m another victim of modernization. Well, not really. Like a Marine, you have to learn to adapt, overcome if you wish to “survive” in the digital world. I have worked on IBM 360/720 mainframe computers (Even today’s toys are faster and have more memory) up through the computers my wife and I use. I have built computers for gamers and grandmothers (including my wife).

Today’s computers allow us to “modernize” the way we look and send our photos around the world in mere seconds. Example: Look at my picture in "About Me" and this “new” picture. Notice any subtle changes?? I messed with the photo and covered my nose scar from skin cancer operation. Deleted a few wrinkles.

Doing this slowly over time most people wouldn’t notice. I would be getting younger in front of your eyes. I did this in a hurry else I could have covered it completely and it takes a sharp eye to determine a picture has been changed. And there are morph programs where you can exaggerate items in pictures…..like the……hmm, my wife says I am treading water in the deep part of the lake and it is a long way to swim to shore. OK, the chest area of the female human species. That’s one way to grab some men’s attention. I wouldn’t know because I know which side my toast is buttered on.

The TV news says to stay at home on “black Friday” and shop the WWW for better sales than will be offered at the store. Ebay is another site that has changed some of our shopping habits. You can buy simple items right up through automobiles. My wife says she bought me off Ebay. Boy, did she waste money on that one. The postage was excessive. And I hated those stamping machines. Well, we really did meet using an online service. After several emails and phone conversations, we finally physically met each other for the first time in Bisbee for a chat and a cup of coffee. I can’t remember if the coffee was good or not. I just remember talking to her. That was 3 1/2 years ago and she still can’t get a refund on her postage. I came with no return address.

I haven’t missed Ham Radio….I have enjoyed the WWW, photography and meeting people like those that read these blogs. Some bloggers I’ll never meet but will be able to put them on a “friends” list. I have met Al from the Bayfield Bunch and he is a pleasure to talk to. But I am yet to meet his wife. I guess he doesn’t want me to ask her on which page of Ebay did she find grumpy, old men.

Ray’s Corner Soapbox – Duplicates

2009-11-20T11:23:00.002-07:00

I didn’t write a blog entry last night because I was busy. Busy, busy, busy like a skunk after Loki. He is a husky mix which has many layers of duplicate fur. He has more fur than most sheep have fleece.
This is all dealing with more, such as, I had more duplicate pictures on my backup hard drive than original pictures.
As one of the first members of the Elfrida Photo Group (Elfrida, AZ) I was called on for discussions. (I was the one that picked the short straw.) Our starting member count was low but the questions were fast and furious. We discussed items such as Aperture, what the f-stop represents and exposure….ah, I mean I discussed them. When I looked up from checking my notes, all I seen were blank faces and “THAT” look from my wife. All husbands understand what “THAT” look means. I had run off and left the posse behind again. Okay, so I do get a bit technical at times and I “assumed” everyone knew HOW to take pictures. Lesson #1 for instructors is to determine the starting knowledge level of your students. (I had a tour in the Navy instructing the troubleshooting and repair of complex digital equipment.) So I forgot step #1.
Taking a step back and asking for open discussion about our cameras or photography in general I received the question: “How do I get the pictures out of my camera? They’ve been in the camera for over a year.” So then I understood the need for a photo group. We are all here to learn and help each other without being critical.
The group has come a long way in a very short time with experienced members joining in but we do NOT ignore the novice photographer. All right, back to the original subject. I like to include photos on my blog from my many exploits. I kept finding the same picture in several folders. I remembered I did explain how to setup master photo files and working files to the group. Seems I didn’t follow my own advice. I have over 20,000 original pictures on my backup drive, and in some cases, 3 additional copies of the same exact picture. I may also have modified copies but these will have separate file names and file sizes. So most of my time yesterday evening was trying to eliminate and centralize my MASTERS. The job continues and should be accomplished later today.
If you are interested in finding and removal of duplicates files on your hard drive, may I suggest a program called “Duplicate Cleaner”. You can find this on http://www.download.com which is a CNET webpage. Best of all, the program is free, my favorite type of program. As with any program I may “suggest”, read the fine print AND I do not claim to be an expert about the programs. Use with common sense and caution.

From the Soapbox in the Corner –Graffiti Art

2009-11-18T22:22:00.004-07:00

Graffiti….Art or Vandalism
There are several ways to look at graffiti. In Tucson, as in many cities, you would be arrested, finger-printed and thrown in jail. Bisbee is an exception to this rule. The weekend artists take advantage of every flat surface to give you a varying perspective on American Art.
I read Al’s blog (The Bayfield Bunch) tonight and there was a referral link to Bisbee pictures at the bottom showing several pictures around Bisbee. Many of the places Jean and I have been to but I have never visited their library. Ah, yes…the BBC and the gooey burgers are literally world famous. Al and Kelly traveled up the Brewery Gulch where you see old houses with contrasting colors. Jean loves not only the wall paintings and house colors but the way people recycle old items. There is a house with a front fence made strictly from old bed headboards. Bisbee is definitely a “green” town and has the recycling spirit.

In Bisbee the road signs on the concrete walls reflect more than the standard “No Parking” or “Tow Away Zone”. To wit, I submit the following picture of a wall located on the famous Brewery Gulch. There isn’t any print, because obviously it is clear that the painter is saying “Do Not Water My Plants” or something close to that. Why can’t America just paint their signs on the walls like this. It is just a shame that dogs can’t read the signs, too.

And that’s the way I see it from the Soapbox tonight.

Ray’s Soapbox in the Corner – Dog Disease

2009-11-17T20:33:00.002-07:00

I decided to put my soapbox in the corner because it saves me steps. First of all, it is out of the way. Next, as long as I keep it upside down, the cats don’t use it as a litter box. And last, when my wife reads my posts and sends me to the corner, I don’t have far to go.
This is about our dog, Loki. He has an incurable disease and I really hate to talk about it but facts are facts. The disease could be fatal and worse it could be spread to other dogs or cats.
He doesn’t look as sick as he is. Matter of fact he could almost fool you into thinking he is a “normal” dog. There isn’t a known cure for him. The disease spreads fear to all around us. They keep their animals away so they do not catch the disease. We have six cats and one other dog, Lobo. Occasionally Lobo will exhibit some symptoms of the disease but it is normally temporary. One of the cats, Buddy, seems to have some of the disease’s horrible characteristics.
There are no known shots, pills, or surgery that can cure them. The disease is called….aww, you don’t really want me to tell you. So I will. It is called “STUPIDITY”. There I said it. Loki is stupid. He is more stupid than a pet rock. Last year he thought he was smarter than a skunk, not once, not twice but THREE times he thought he could outsmart the skunk. Lost all three times. So this year he has tried it once and failed. Last week he talked Lobo into it, telling him how easy it was. You could hear him say to Lobo, “It’s just a dumb cat….get him!” Bo tried to hide under our bed but it was obvious what he had done. And Loki smiled.
Buddy’s problem is his daddy. The daddy critter is a feral cat (all of our cats are now fixed) and living in the wild has taught him to be strong and cunning. There are lots of coyotes, bobcats, and even mountain lions here that love a critter sandwich making hard to survive in the wild. Anyway, Buddy thinks he can whip up on his daddy. Time after time we have put salve on the wounds and kept him in to regain his strength. So what can I say??? There is a stupid bug on the loose and our critters have caught it.
Just my opinion.

Hello to our Canadian Neighbors and Some of my History

2009-11-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

A high percentage of RV'ers that winter over in Arizona (Snowbirds) are our neighbors from Canada. Al (Bayfield Bunch) and I do have some things in common. He was in the Navy (Royal Canadian, I believe) and I was in the US Navy for 23 years. We love photography with busy contrasting clouds, sunrises, sunsets, critters, and other photographic targets. One thing I didn't mention to Al is my mother is originally from Moncton, NB and only became a citizen of the US after delivering four brats (I'm #3 of 4). I still have a few cousins (from mom's brother) that live in Canada, one somewhere in BC. Understand I haven't seen my cousins since I was around 10 years old and that was 15 years ago. (All right, who is the mathmatician out there!!!) So it was 55 years ago. Dang!! They're old, too.

I can remember the summer trips to Canada during dad's vacations and seeing Great Uncles and Aunts that have long since passed. Mom's brother worked for the railroad several years until an injury sidetracked him forcing him into retirement/disability. I didn't attend his funeral because I was off the coast of Viet Nam at the time on an aircraft carrier and word didn't get to me until it was too late. I did make it to my dad's a few months later after flying half way around the world. I still miss him.

Ray on the Soapbox Again - Swine Flu

2009-11-16T23:23:00.000-07:00

Where do these scientist come up with names??? Swine Flu?? We own a pot-bellied pig and I don't worry about catching flu from her. I don't hold her "hands" or kiss her. She doesn't wash her hooves very often either but she does upset the water bucket often. Miss Piggy, as she is called, is just a lovable little bundle of bacon that wants to live out her days here on the ranch. At one time she was able to wander the ranch free of worries and even came into the house through a doggie door. A problem followed that practice and ended her free reign forever. She learned how to open the refrigerator and you could hear a choir of angels as she said"...eureka, I have found the mother load!!!" So now she awaits my arrival each morning with a scoop of piggie chow and munches away while watching our two doggies eat their chow thinking of ways to lure them closer with their bowls.

Pictures of the day

2009-11-16T22:44:00.002-07:00

“Cross your fingers rock”…well, it almost looks like it. The formation is located in Dragoon in Texas Canyon area.

Ah, yes. Here it is in all it’s beauty. The 49’ers had trouble finding it but I found this gold nugget just sitting on the ground waiting for me. I am indeed rich, rich, I say. (Scoffing at the nay-sayers that tell me it’s just a rock. They want my gold.) Can’t wait until I get to the assay office.

(UPDATE: It is a rock. A purdy white one but just a rock!!)

This is the Lavender Pit Mine in Bisbee, AZ. The Bisbee Community Swimming Pool is at the bottom of the pit. Such beautiful, clear, light blue water….hey, I’m just reading this from the tourist brochures.

More of the rock formations around Texas Canyon in Dragoon. And kids, do not climb on the formations. These pictures were taken by a pro doing what pro’s always do….nothing. Stay away from the hard places or you may be between a rock and a hard pl…….forget it. Kids never listen.

Today's Pictures (11-16-09)

2009-11-16T01:23:00.004-07:00

Raining at Home (Taken from Tombstone)

Ring Cloud. (Mule Mtns, Bisbee) The appearance of rings was due to high winds during the evening hours. The winds strike the mountain and cause the clouds to form a circular pattern.

Moon Over Gleeson . The warm evening air magnifies the moon exaggerating it's size and closeness to the earth. The desert is a great place to see all the star constellations.

Sunset In Gleeson. The sun setting behind the Dragoon Mtns signals another day has passed yet leaves beauty in it path.

New Standards of Measurement or Ray is on the Soapbox Again

2009-11-15T23:22:00.005-07:00

The US gallon was 128 ounces. The normal way you used to buy ice cream at the store is by the "half-gallon" (64 ounces). I guess the dairy retailers decided that since the oil companies can put us under a squeeze, they could change the "half-gallon" to 56 ounces (or 1 and 3/4 quarts). They were hoping most consumers wouldn't notice the difference because the carton was just slightly smaller.

I only mention this because now the toilet paper companies have latched onto this as a great idea to wipe out the consumer's wallet. Yes, the conspiracy has gained power. Toilet paper is not as wide as it once was and the length of each sheet is shorter. We need to unite, stick our fingers in the air and tell the toilet paper companies to "smell this". Now to add further insult to the consumers the paper towels are now smaller. To combat any paper shortages, we need to recycle the toilet paper into other paper products. Save a roll of toilet paper, save a tree. HA!! They forget to tell us that the BIG trees are NOT used in toilet paper but renewable short-term growth trees grown for their high pulp content.

OK, I'll get off the soap box now and quit beechin!!! It's only money.

Ray

Sunday, Nov 15, 2009

2009-11-15T00:53:00.006-07:00

I am a little (?) late putting in my posts for today. It was a day with the grandkids and we are in the process of making wooden cars. They have their fancy Xbox at home but kids are still kids and like any type of toy. Hopefully we will finish them up in the morning with a quick paint job before they head back home to Bisbee.

Weather is definitely getting cooler as we wind down to the dog days of winter. Even so there are still warm days ahead which is one reason we get so many winter time friends coming from the north and north-east. Clear, cool nights are great for star gazing and whenever the meteorite showers come early enough we sometimes go out just to watch the shooting stars. The night sky can put on a good show at times.

Ray

Local Critters

2009-11-15T00:39:00.006-07:00

Butterflies are not too common a sight here on the desert. This one was captured on camera in Elfrida by the community center.

This little feller was seen on our bird feeders and I have not yet identified him. We get a lot of birds stopping over for a few days during their migration North or South. Nothing like a free meal, a bath and some rest for a day (but watch our for our feline critters!!)

What's for Lunch?

2009-11-15T00:33:00.005-07:00

Vultures are a common site during Spring to Fall here and this one didn't mind me stopping fairly close to him. But he was NOT going to share his meal with me.

Got Milk?

2009-11-15T00:30:00.004-07:00

Remember the "Got Milk?" commercials?? Well, this is one of our critters named appropriately "Milk". And yes, she does love milk.

2009-11-13T21:49:00.002-07:00

The cactus blossom during the monsoon if we have enough water. What is beautiful to see is impossible to handle...unless you love quills.

Here's looking at you, kid!!

More QCC Pictures

2009-11-13T18:18:00.006-07:00

This is New England in the fall. Picture taken in Sterling, Massachusetts.

The picture below was taken from one of the remnants of a residence in Gleeson, AZ. The town was thriving back in the 20's and 30's with a post office, hospital, post office and train station.

Gleeson, AZ

2009-11-12T20:26:00.006-07:00

Gleeson Wildfire 2009 (Pix 2)

2009-11-12T20:02:00.004-07:00

This was taken as the building collapsed in on itself, the flames in the foreground were from a LP tank on a 5th wheel trailer that was also destroyed. Notice the line of fire in the background traveling up the mountain. Fortunately for us, the wind kept the fire away from our house and all other residents. The building & trailer were the only property lost in the fire which was left to burning itself out to cleanup the dry fuel on the ground. The fire occurred May 29-30 of this year. Okay, more of our pictures to follow....

Ray

Gleeson Wildfire 2009 (Pix 1)

2009-11-12T19:54:00.004-07:00

Most of this area was visible from our front door step....but we still took our Toyota FJ and went across country to get a better vantage point. We watched (and took pictures) as this two story building first caught fire and then erupted into flames. Note the presence of thick black smoke. We found information by talking to our local fire department that the building was used as a storage by a rock company, mining rock for flagstone and the building had several cases of dynamite in it. Most of it "cooked" off (burning and giving off the smoke) with only a few small explosions.

Rain on the Mountain

2009-11-11T21:53:00.005-07:00

Rain on the mountain. This picture was taken in New Mexico during a Spring rain. We ran into a hole in the clouds giving us some sunshine except for the top of the mountain.

New Blog Update

2009-11-11T19:57:00.004-07:00

Yesterday I revamped my blog after finding a better layout and discovered how to use some of the features. I will resume adding pictures to display highlighting the local area and ghost towns with comments on each picture. May I suggest you visit us at http:www.joneal.vtchome.net if you are interested in purchasing a copy of any of the displayed pictures. We also print note cards from the pictures or we can do special orders.

Sorry for any lost comments from the old format and hope others will follow my blog.

Ray

2009-11-10T23:37:00.002-07:00

This small barn was originally part of the ranch on north High Lonesome Road in Gleeson, AZ. Three days after the picture, a wind/dust storm took the barn down.

2009-11-10T23:31:00.003-07:00

Ray_O
My wife and I travel around the area taking pictures of ghost towns, desert scenery, desert critters and anything that holds our interest. On this blog I will highlight some of our better pictures so you can see the beautiful SE Arizona desert.

First Blog

2009-11-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

My wife Jean and I started an Arts & Crafts business (really a hobby because we don't really make money) setting up a stand at local farmer's markets and Arts/Crafts shows. We specialize in photography, note cards, quilting, some sewn items and some wood craft items.

I will post some of our pictures in the blog and update pictures often.

Ray_O