recent photos

omelets from the Niskika, and whilst not lenticular, it is 3D. If you stare at it long enough, cross your eyes just a bit, and then refocus (like those Magic Eye things) you too can see it in 3D.


CB550 from the Konica


dolls from the Konica

MINEMINEMINE!

Well, I did it. I waited, and eventually found the right Anscoflex II. The auction just ended. $10.50, + $6.85 Priority Mail shipping. COMES WITH FLASH BULBS! And a case! and the instruction manual! I hope it is as good as it looks...

Candle lens flare

Candle lens flare,
originally uploaded by doctorhectic.

The only candlelight picture I managed, and a crummy little one at that. Also I added the Blogger/Google search thing up there at the top of the screen, but it doesn't seem to be functional. My searches all find nothing.

Power (outage) to the people!

It was bound to happen sooner or later. With our history of weather related blackouts here in NC, it was only a matter of time. Our hottest day of the year (so far) and around 8:30 PM, the power went out. Not just us, or just our block, but the entire downtown of Carrboro, and then some, from what I could surmise.

I went out to meet David, and thankfully the meeting spot was just over the grid in the corner of Carrboro that still had power. I would have pictures, but it would only be blurry emergency vehicle lights, and maybe some blurry pictures of the transformer that caught on fire. I did see fire, big fire, behind Cat's Cradle, and Val mentioned that there was a BOOM before the lights went out.

Just as I was composing some fantastic candle photos, the power came back on about 10:45 pm or so, not too shabby for a major outage. We'll have to see what news can be harvested tomorrow.

Oh yeah, congrats to NASA!

5 minutes later...

5 minutes later...,
originally uploaded by doctorhectic.

Ugh

Ugh,
originally uploaded by doctorhectic.

NEW (USED) CDs!

On Saturday we went out for drinks and dinner and more drinks with Stef and Brad and my good friend Jeff. Between drink courses, Val and I stopped at Schoolkids Records and bought some CDs. I purchased:

Salt 'n' Pepa : Very Necessary
Fine Young Cannibals : The Finest
Maritime : Glass Floor

I am sure you all can identify the first two artists, but Maritime features members of The Promise Ring as well as The Dismemberment Plan, and it's pretty good. Bear in mind, the first two CDs were $2.99 each, and the Maritime CD I bought because I liked the cover design, despite it's $3.99 price tag. Keeps me hip. Or something.

Also on a musical note, I've been listening to a lot of Robyn Hitchcock, with and without the Egyptians. I've seen him live several times, and he did an album last year with Yep Rock here in NC. If you can get through the nasal voice and the absurd lyrics, you might just find something you like.

On the optics front, I have joined a Konica users yahoo group, hoping to pick up tips and tricks from people, but mostly just wishing to share my love of great old cameras. I also belong to yahoo groups for café racers and IAR.

Hmmm. Doesn't look like I ever blogged this treat. Back in February of ought 3, I was at the local drugstore and the toy isle had this to offer:

In case you can't read all the GREAT things you can do, here's the list:

PAINT 'EM!
BUILD BUILDINGS, BOXES & MORE!
STACK 'EM!
REAL WOOD!
GLUE 'EM!

I'm not sure "REAL WOOD!" qualifies as a craft activity, but I bet it sells sticks!

I do love a good blast from the past.

Film, revisited.

The Konica works! Even sans battery/meter/apeture functionality, the test roll I got back this week looks good. I have high hopes for the second roll WITH full functionality.

The Dirkon is in the process of being lightproofed, via tape and black spray paint. I also need some better glue to hold it (and any subsequent Dirkons) together. I'm hoping for a nice sunny weekend in order to get some successful exposures.

Once I figure out an effective and economical way to scan my negatives, I'll be posting more film photos here.

Small Skully snag. After my completion of my second knit skull, I noticed how small the sleeves were gonna be once they get seamed shut. I'm gonna further modify (mine has stripes, my skull has teeth, etc.) the pattern so the sleeves are larger. All in all, tho', it looks pretty good.

And finally, the latest selections in the loanermobile are:

Unrest:BPM
Velvet Underground:Best Of
Pizzicato 5:
Murder City Devils:

Why Stu Why?

Stu sent me a link (this link) that occupied part of my workday, and much of my evening. The result? A paper pinhole camera.

This is just my prototype, and now I understand how it is supposed to go together, and where it needs to be lighttight and all. Looks good in yellow.

I am excited to assemble one that will be usable, but after doing one, it makes me think maybe I should just do this instead.

I'm off to read more Harry Potter before bed. Damn Harry Potter. Chapter 10...

BLUEBERRIES!

Val and I went blueberry pickin' this morning. Or mornin', maybe.

The blueberries are entirely a diy event, and the "checkout" is a weigh and pay honor system. $1 a pound for organic blueberries. The operation is run by the Human Kindness Foundation.

There are rows of bushes and you just use provided buckets or bring your own buckets, bags or boxes and pick away.

I was already pretty hot for mid-morning, and we had dressed for shubbery/hiking, just in case, so we called it quits after about 30 minutes of pickin'. That equalled 4 pounds of berries for $4. They're gonna get prepped, frozen, and et. That's right, I said et, as in "I et too much pizza yesterday", or "I et a biscuit for breakfast."

We'll definitely go back for more, maybe earlier in the day next time.

I see many muffins, pies and buckles (and this Buckles!) in our immediate future...

Dough slinging.

Dough slinging.,
originally uploaded by doctorhectic.

It was like watching breakdancing, rhythmic gymnastics, and, um, well, pizza making all at once. They were judged on their ability to sync with the music. This is why we don't have cable.

Pizza Challenge!

Pizza Challenge!,
originally uploaded by doctorhectic.

One does dough acrobatics, one makes a pizza...

NERDALERT!!!!

I don't know what you Muggles did last night, but some of us had very important things to do. Or maybe I shoulda said, HARRY important things to do.

New break room magazines!

New break room magazines!,
originally uploaded by doctorhectic.

Successful Farming & Personal Chef magazines. A refreshing break from all the ChessLife, TRAINS!, and AARP in Spanish magazines that I have already read.

Mobile CD Holder!

Mobile CD Holder!,
originally uploaded by doctorhectic.

Illegal? Possibly. Informative? Definitely. Easy to check track titles!

Loanermobile recent CD additions:
Lush - Lovelife
Foo Fighters - There Is Nothing Left To Lose
Sean Na Na - Dance Til Your Baby Is A Man
Hüsker Dü - Warehouse/Songs & Stories

...after my own heart...

Looking up old camera info, as I am want to do, I found this guy in Japan with, not only old (and some new digital) cameras listed and tested on his site, but one of his most common test photos is of his (or someone he knows) GODZILLA collection. My collection pales in comparison, but I don't think I ever want to devote more than one bookshelf to my collection either.

3CDs and one DJ

Loanermobile CDs recent additions

Beastie Boys:
Paul's Boutique
Check Your Head
Hello Nasty

I almost bought some "best of" CDs at Target this evening, but I resisted.

Almost purchased CDs
Best ofs:
Barry White
Johnny Cash
INXS

I already have most of the Cash I need, between CDs and vinyl.

Recently added to my iTunes:
kitty craft - cat skills

CDs I need to buy
stuff by Dressy Bessy

NEW! IMPROVED? BLOGLOOK!

A new era for DHWE. A new layout, a slightly modified blogger template. I decided I needed a change, and most of all, a side bar. Looks/works pretty good.

Seeing that it is mid-July, I am realizing that this year is half over and I have achieved few of my goals for this year. The moral? "Never Try™". No, but really, sometimes I feel like I have very little control over what I end up doing, achieving and accomplishing, and I'm not sure I'm unhappy with that most of the time. Sometimes I can't stand it, but taking the time to notice what is going right in the midst of wrong things seems to help. I'm a glass half empty guy, don't get me wrong, but appreciating the little things seems to help.

With that tirade out of the way, I'm also going to start listing my listening habits again here on the blog. I'd like to figure out a way to just add to the sidebar, but we'll see if that happens. So besides my omnipresent Radio K, here's the current playlist:

MiniDisc
A Tom Waits compendium

CD changer
Smiths - Louder Than Bombs
Doxies - Tinderbox Tragedy
Hüsker Dü - Flip Your Wig
Everything But The Girl - Walking Wounded
Franz Ferdinand - s/t

CD loanermobile (THANKS DAVID & ELLEN!)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Greatest Hits
Panjabi MC - Beware
Northern Roots, Vol. 1
Northern Roots, Vol. 2
Liz Phair - whitechocolatespaceegg

There are also 12(!) CDs in the changer unit of the loanermobile, all belonging to David & Ellen (henceforth known as Ellvid. Or maybe Davlen...no, let's stick with Ellvid.). I have been listening to some of them, but I'm not sure on album titles, so there's some...

PJ Harvey
Yo La Tengo
Kristen Hersh
Old 97s

and some other stuff I don't remember right now. It's pretty sweet, but it makes you consider getting a longer commute to work (HA! Not really) just to have enough music time.


I'm back to knitting my sweater that I started so very long ago. I have the front side done and I'm working up the back. I AM Mr. Cupcakes, afterall.

And finally, a self portrait in a light bulb.

Here's a better picture of the Konica. I did open it up and I found that the battery connections weren't corroded, just bent, and the plastic mountings had broken. I patched those up and put it all back together, and it seems to be working fine. I won't really know until I get some film back, but all signs are good so far, and it really is a fun little camera to use.

07-10-05_1100.jpg

07-10-05_1100.jpg,
originally uploaded by doctorhectic.

I decided the best part of the 4th was the Goody Goody Omelet House, but Val actually summed up our holiday beach weekend much better than I.

I worked at Southeastern yesterday, and I walked out with another orphan from the land of misfit cameras. This one is actually a highly regarded camera, but it was marked for quick sale due to the apeture being "stuck" wide open (f1.8). A little research has schooled me that the most common cause of this is a battery being left in the camera for a long time, which often corrodes not the battery or the battery chamber, but actually corrodes the contacts, solder, and wires for the battery chamber. After I finish this initial test roll of film, I'm gonna open 'er up and see what's inside.

I originally planned to just use it as a low-light indoor camera. It's a Konica Auto S3 rangefinder, so it has a great lens, and it's quiet for covert ops. It's also an all black metal case, which looks way cool. It was priced at $15. Less than the Nishika!

God Bless America.