A
Wonderful day at Winterthur
May
23RD, 2009
We
went to Winterthur Gardens and Mansion this Spring as part of the
Celebration of Life for Jay Powell. It was a beautiful day, and
the gardens were spectacular. The Azaleas were in full bloom, and
the grounds around the estate were beautiful. It was a wonderful
day, a fitting way to remember Jay, and a day I hope not to forget. View
all the images in the photo
gallery page.
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Pink
Azaleas in Bloom
at Winterthur
Photographed: 05-16-2009
Camera: Canon SD7000IS |
Azaleas
and the Mansion at Winterthur
Photographed: 05-16-2009
Camera: Canon SD7000IS |
The
Mansion at Winterthur
Photographed: 05-16-2009
Camera: Canon SD7000IS |
Tent
Ho!
May
23RD, 2009
Last
fall while backpacking in the Adirondacks we came across an abandoned
tent. I decided that if I was going to be hiking around with a
50 pound pack on my back that I wanted more of a reward for my
efforts, and not owning my own tent, decided to pack this one out
with me. I didn't know if it had all the pieces, and this May I
finally got it set up to check it out. Its pretty nice, a three
man tent, although I doubt you would really want to cram three
adults in there. But hey, free tent!
Doing
Our Part
May
22ND, 2009
Well
Tracy and I keep doing our part to jumpstart the economy, so here's
some photos of the new floor we had installed this week. Mouse
over each image for before and afters...
New
Walkway
May
3RD, 2009
This
April we finally got around to having a new front walkway installed
at our house. It came out really nice looking. Here are the before
and after photos.

Old Walkway with Paving Stones

New Brick Walkway

Walkway Design
For
those Army Enthusiasts
March
31ST, 2009
For
those of you that enjoyed my earlier IR photographs of tanks, here
are a few more I scared up from 2008.
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| Sherman
Tank from a Military museum in State College PA. |
Same Sherman
Tank in Infrared (with unfortunate lens flare). You can see
that there is no specific application of infrared paint. |
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| Static display
from East Millinocket Maine. |
Same tank
in the Infrared Spectrum. Three camouflage colors are clearly
visible. I thought the birch tree in the background showed
up quite nicely as well. |
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| This is
a Russian T-72 tank brought home to the US from Baghdad. It
is a static display at a nearby Reserve Facility. |
T-72 in
the infrared spectrum. Not sure if IR paint was not needed
for the desert environment? |
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| Pennsylvania
Military Museum in Infrared. The multi-colored campaign ribbons
that adorn the facade represent a great demonstration of how
what appears as colors, changes in the IR spectrum. |
Similar
photo from the IR perspective. Notice the colors are effectively
lost for the campaign ribbons. |
Well,
I hope you enjoyed these photos of how some military vehicles appear
in the IR spectrum.
Interesting
Infrared Effects
March
16TH, 2009
I
am always on the look out for interesting things to photograph
in infrared. Here are a couple interesting effects that I noticed
after taking a few photos this weekend. One was expected, the other
was a bit of a surprise. The color photos were taken with a Canon
Powershot SD850 IS, and the Infrared photos were taken with a Kodak
EasyShare V550 with the infrared blocking filter removed and a
new filter put in place to block visible light.
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| This is
a photograph of my new 2009 Toyota Camry. Notice that the windows
are not tinted. This photograph was taken in the
Finger Lakes region on a sunny day around 2pm. |
Notice in the near-visible infrared spectrum, the windows appear
tinted. I believe that the windows have a slight Infrared-Resistant
coating, or component to the glass. Perhaps to reduce glare. |
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| This is
a photograph of a camouflage tank outside the VFW north of
Naples, NY. Notice the camouflaged paint visible to the naked
eye. |
Notice in
the near-visible infrared spectrum, the tank still appears
camouflaged. The paint was made with special properties to
retain its concealment even in the infrared spectrum. Because
color as we see it exists in the visible spectrum, if this
tank were painted with standard brown and green paints it would
appear as one solid color in the infrared spectrum. |
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| The visible
spectrum tank converted to Black and White. Interesting how
the camouflage is now less noticeable. |
Black and
White tank inverted. |
I knew the tank would appear
as neat as it does from my knowledge of military history and a paper
I wrote long ago on camouflage
techniques, but the infrared glass on the car was a bit of a surprise.
I didn't expect it to appear as "visible" as it did.
Welcome
to the 'New Kid'
February
26TH, 2009
We've
had a new addition to our family of cameras here, my new Canon
Rebel 40D. It just came in the mail this week, and I am looking
forward to putting in some significant effort into learning how
to use it. I am really excited. It just dwarfs the other cameras
we own.

Yeah, its the Biiig One
This
won't be the end of the other cameras, no sir. I'll still have
my handheld Canon Powershot with me almost all the time. But man,
the 3" LCD on the SLR is almost as big as the whole pocket sized
powershot. Jeesh, this is gonna be fun!
Took
this photo of a titmouse outside the house today. Two of them were
hopping over to the feeder and back to the tree grabbing one seed
at a time. No it wasn't taken with the new camera, it was taken
with my trusty Canon G6. Its a canon family...

Tufted Titmouse
Hey, its not the best photo in the world, but its a
nice bird, that's for sure.
What
have I been Up To?
February
14TH, 2009
Well,
no updates for 2 months. What have I been up to? Well I will tell
you. I have been working to create two websites to store the content
from the Adena Springs Racing Venture 2 and 3 that we belong to.
I decided to create two separate dedicated sites for the information.
That way I can keep this site more dedicated to our own goings
on and happenings, and the new sites exclusive to horse racing.
The new sites are up and running and available via links in the
menu bar at right, as well as using the banners below.


What
else have we been up to? Well Tracy and I decided to do our part
for the economy by buying a new car. My first car, that I owned
for almost 12 years, finally wasn't worth the expense to keep it
running. A 1995 2 Door Camry with 183,600 miles on it. It was my
first car and I will always love it. But we have now moved on,
and purchased a new camry. Picture to come soon.

I'll always have
many fond memories of my first car...
Wise
Words...
December
6TH, 2008
I've
accumulated a rather large collection of odd fortunes from chinese
fortune cookies, so I thought I would share them with you. These
are real fortunes that I received in restaurants.
| Every truly great accomplishment is at first impossible |
Financial hardship in your life is coming to an end. Enjoy! |
| Keep on charging the enemy so long as there is life. |
Digital circuits are made from analog parts. |
| Someone from your past has returned to steal your heart. |
Be cautious while walking in darkness alone. |
| Fortune said a palm can say a lot, especially when it smacks
you. |
Your success will astonish everyone. |
| Someone will invite you to a Karaoke party. |
The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that extra. |
| A depression is when you lose yours. |
Depend on the predictability and steadiness of life to support
you! |
| Here we go. Low fat, whole wheat green tea. |
You'll accomplish more later if you have a little fun this
weekend. |
| It takes all sorts to make up the world. |
Keep your plans secret for now. |
| There is a good chance of a romantic encounter soon. |
There is a prospect of a thrilling time ahead for you. |
| If your cookie is in 3 pieces, the answer is no. (The cookie
WAS broken) |
You will inherit a large sum of money. |
| You love
Chinese food. |
Next
time, order the shrimp. |
| You love
sports, horses and gambling but not to excess. |
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And
there you have it, wise advice from the cookie sages...
Big
Disappointment at the Big A - Aqueduct Racetrack for
the Cigar Mile
November
29TH, 2008
I'd
been looking forward to going to Aqueduct for the Cigar Mile for
a few months. I was really
surprised to see Harlem Rocker as the morning line 15-1 long shot.
But I felt good because I knew there was money to be made. I met
some friends in NY for the day and saw a couple other HR fans there
too. The race was amazing, and we were ecstatic to see Harlem Rocker
win. Then the racing stewards took it away and place Harlem Rocker
second. What a fine animal Harlem Rocker is. View more images and
read about my trip to Aqueduct in the photo
gallery page.
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Harlem
Rocker in the Paddock
Photographed: 11-29-2008
Camera: Canon SD850IS |
Eibar
Coa on Harlem Rocker
Photographed: 11-29-2008
Camera: Canon SD850IS |
Harlem
Rocker Winning the Cigar Mile
Photographed: 11-29-2008
Camera: Canon SD850IS |