Musings

Georgia’s capitol dome rises above a now-abandoned above-ground human hamster-tube/habitrail/hobbit-trail.

That’s the Georgia dome—the one covered in gold and not the one that hosts athletic events.

I always look at data in Wikipedia with a suspicious eye, so this may be in error, but the WikiPee “says” that by the end of 2009, humans had mined 165,000 tonnes* of gold. As of the end of June 2009, the IMF held 3217 tonnes or just under 2% of the estimated total.

Just to continue with scattered information: the WSJ is reporting that there’s a new iPad on the way that will have more, more, more (capabilities), and weigh less and be thinner—plus have at least one camera.

* A tonne is a thousand kilograms, or about 2200 pounds, which is about one long ton, commonly called a ton.

Posted at 6:31 PM | 1 Comment »

Seems to me that certain colors in certain light situations just are not captured accurately by our (digital) cameras.* The “little” one, the Lumix, has a hard time with deep blues and purples. It looks like the “big” one, the Canon, struggles with the reds, although it’s pretty close (this is natural sunlight).

* Could also be that I don’t know what settings to use, and that the camera sensor systems are tip-top.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Lighting by Ma Nature

JCB pointed out to me that this fountain over at the ABG* produces a double rainbow**….

While at the ABG, we found nice orchids, but stayed out of the main orchid house because it was FULL of people.

We found interesting blooms in the high-altitude room, more than we saw there several weeks ago….

We tasted chocolate nibs courtesty of a mobile educational cart, also in the orchid house….

Outside, we strolled the canopy walk, and enjoyed the sun on a bench in at the foot of the Cascades Garden.

We walked to the ABG the long way, via the Carter Center, then up the old rail right-of-way that is becoming the Beltline.

And it was a nice sunny day for all that!

* Atlanta Botanical Garden—and I now include their homepage link because it no longer is a festival of crappy moving images and audio. Or maybe that’s because I’ve blocked flash in Safari with the VERY helpful and useful and I love it: ClicktoFlash.

** Sorry, no audio with over-the-top oooohs and aaaahs….

Posted at 7:24 PM | Comments Off on Double rainbow

I admit it. I’m not ready for the holidays.

Yesterday at the BotGarden, we did pick up some bulbs for some winter flowers and scent—an amaryllis and some paperwhites (LOVE the smell of paperwhites!), but we’ve gotten little beyond that….

So…I’m going to post this, then go hang the wreath Bob sent us….

White Rabbit to Alice in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865): “Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s getting!”

Posted at 5:35 PM | 1 Comment »

On today’s walk, we took an unusual route—this is most likely on Sundays, when different buildings are closed, open, busy. We cut through the parking lot of Grady HS, and wound around buildings and by the revamped stadium. I found the colors and lines of the track around the football field, sandwiched between the stands, visually interesting.

Posted at 5:28 PM | Comments Off on Sunday reflection

I find the word “finial” a bit odd, strange, peculiar, and just a tad freaky. So, here’s my attempt to de-mystify the finial, by making it just plain strange. Of course, the decorative kerfs in this wooden example pretty much make it impossible to tell just what this is in this close-up.

Posted at 7:07 PM | Comments Off on Close-up offers clarity?

Okay, one more picture from yesterday’s outdoor lake-side wedding (too overcast and grey out—and, whoops!, now rainy—for a nice photo today): the bride’s after-dark-by-the-campfire-wear included these stunning over-the-knee stockings….

The stockings came from a Left Coast (more-or-less) store that sells only socks!

Enough hyphens for ya?

Posted at 1:55 PM | Comments Off on She’s a trip!

Once again, I only find the “hidden” insect when I look at the photo.

Anyway, one of our “long” peppers—they’re sweet. And this one is just about ready to pick!

Posted at 6:02 PM | Comments Off on Sharpen your eyes

Back before digital cameras I didn’t really know much about backlighting. The Guru has taught me to look for it….

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Detail of a leaf

The Guru got me to switch from cropping and “improving” my photos in Photoshop to doing the few operations I use right in iPhoto—since, after all, that’s where the photos (mostly) are sitting to begin with. I find there are pros and cons to each program for the three or four variables I like to tweak (other than cropping—which is mediocre in this specimen).

Anyway, this is a slightly enhanced landscape from our tour down Skyline Drive last month. I try to avoid making photos too sharp and “over-correcting” flaws; I’m afraid, however, that my eye is changing in response to all the over-tweaked photos I see near-daily, and it’s a bit too-too. A bit. Well, I’m not going to redo it today!

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on When the photo and my mind’s eye differ