New Camera

 My old digital camera got to the failure point.  It seriously favored making everything very orange.  But I only use a camera for the Mark's Mews and Cavebear blogs.  And I reduce the pics to about 300 KB anyway.  That's because I keep them on my hard drive.

So I bought a really cheap one that does flash on or off and outside shots.  I have to laugh; even that cheap one will take 30MB pics and has a serious zoom lens.  But I don't need that.  I do like the promise of improved stabilization (I have shaky hands sometimes).

But the battery died and I needed a usb cord (instead of a separate charger).  I had plenty of those of various connections) laying around so I grabbed one that fit.  

The battery wouldn't charge!  I tried a wall outlet using the provided charger.  I tried direct charging from the laptop and the desktop.  No luck "battery low"...  And I was ticked off that the cable kept coming loose when I checked the camera.

Read the manual once, read the manual twice, read the manual 3 times!  They mentioned "the cable that came with the camera".  Well of course!  Wait, I was using one I had sitting around...  Well guess what?  I thought cables were designed so no cable could fit in the wrong port.  Yeah there is.  

I don't know the identification, but there is at least one that fits easily into a wrong port.  It is smaller but fits.  So it was a "duh" moment.  It kept coming loose because it wasn't the right one!  Searching around the loose cable box, I found the right one.  Charged up the battery in 3 hours.  

I am so stupid sometimes...

Now I can use it and learn to download pics to iPhotos.  The camera display suggests the pic are true to color.  I'll set the camera to the lowest resolution it allows (about 12MB I think) which is way more than I have any use for.  

I still have some pics on the old camera that I will process.  It does natural light outdoor pics well.  But I will retire it after that.  Assuming the new camera pics process well.  I like to adjust the "definition" high, adjust the light level up or down, and straighten and crop the pics.  

But maybe the pics on both blogs will start to look better.  I'll like that and so will you. 

General Stuff

I have some assorted items to catch up mentioning...

First, I have given up of the existing camera.  The color is shot.  It makes Lori and Ayla look a bit orange, it blotches the color of even a solid wall, and it starts at 0001 every day (even though I have it set to continuous).   

I have a smartphone, but I haven't learned how to navigate around in it , and I'm not likely to learn how soon).  So I bought a new camera.  Very simple inexpensive camera ("for kids and seniors").  Well I don't need much.  In fact, half my photo-processing effort is reducing the quality of the pictures...  The current one takes 3-5MB pics and I keep the processed ones to 200-300 KB for the blogs and forums.

Second, I have been having problems getting at my Feedly reading list for a month.  I keep getting a message that it can't load.  I tried to find the problem several times with no luck.  So please forgive my not visiting and leaving comments lately.

Today, I "fixed" it.  Which actually means I discovered I was the problem!  About a month ago, I eliminated cookies (on advice from my AV app) and added some extensions (on Safari's advice).  It caused problems and I don't know how to undo the extensions.

For whatever reason, cat blogoshere shows up like a Word page, but I discovered that if I click outside of the "page" I get the normal view.  I need to dig into the settings...  But it occurred to me yesterday that the Feedly "can't load" message looked a lot the same.  So I clicked outside the message and WOW, there was the normal Feedly view with the list of cat blogs!

Made me feel pretty stupid, but I'm glad I can get at Feedly again.  So I'll be visiting and commenting again soon.

Third, I got some confirmation that my regular Twisted Wine Cellars winery has closed.  They are offering (I saw on Go-Daddy) to sell their URL for $400,000!  That pretty much settles my question of whether they are closed.  

Which is a real shame.  I really liked it and it was inexpensive ($9.99 for a 1.5L bottle).  One site said "This Old Vine Zinfandel is medium-bodied with aromas of black cherry, red currant, blackberry bramble and a hint of spice. Concentrated ripe fruit, dark berry flavors and black pepper carry through to the palate while nicely balanced acidity and plush tannins lead to a lingering finish".  Not bad for an inexpensive wine, LOL.  

I'll be going to my local wine/deli/meat place to buy a dozen bottles of different zinfandels to see which I like best for the future.  Might try a few pinot grigios and merlots, too.  They were listed as "similar to zinfandel" at a site I found comparing varieties of wine.

I emailed a wine-blogger who invited questions (and didn't seem like a wine-snob) but I haven't gotten a reply yet.

I usually only have 2 small glasses with dinner, but I do look forward to it and I don't like most wines.  On occasions when I stay up all night, I do have more.  😃

Fourth, TV could get annoying soon.  Not so much because of the writers' strike, but because the future of 3 of my favorite shows's future is "iffy".  'Archer' is an animated spy-spoof and the next season has not yet been renewed.  'La Brea' is expected to return, but no season premier is scheduled.  'Ark' seem planned for a 2nd season, but no date is set.  I worry about 'La Brea' and 'Ark' because they seem to have an irregular and short season, so you never know what might happen.

My other favorite show (other than MSNBC and CNN news) is 'Real Time With Bill Maher'.  It is not news, but it is "topical" and he has some very unusual guests.  I have a fondness for intellectual sarcasm, and he is a master at that.  The writers' strike will affect his show.

The other channels I watch won't be affected (Science, History, National Geographic, Smithsonian).

Fifth, Superglue is dangerous stuff.  The adjustment buckles of 2 of my suspenders (braces to some of you) won't stay tight and the clips to the pant waist come loose sometimes.  I could buy new ones, but I have a repair-it mindset ("Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without").  Well, OK, I don't do the "do without" part, but my first instinct is "make it do".

So I decided to set the adjustment buckles in a correct place and then superglue them there.  If the elastic weakens and stretches after that, I'll give up on them (or more likely, find some other use for them) and get new ones.  So I set about supergluing the adjustment buckles.

That's when superglue becomes evil!  The first time you open one of those tiny tubes, it works fine.  Afterwards, it is always a problem to get more out.  Sure, there is a tiny pin that is supposed to keep the outlet open.  It doesn't.  

So I was squeezing the tube to apply the superglue to the buckles and nothing came out.  I cut the tip shorter, and it came out in a blob.  Which was OK because I spread the blob on the suspenders with a toothpick.

I didn't realize I had gotten some on a fingertip and then touched my thumb to the finger.  Don't worry, I acted quickly and apply some mineral oil to the spot.  They separated with a bit of pulling.  A slight shell remains but it will flake off in a day or 2.  This isn't my 1st experience with superglue on skin, LOL! 

The next part of the suspender renovation is to add thin rubber pads to the past clasps.  Some of my pants have a belt holder strip (that gives thickness) at the right place; some don't.  So I plan to use rubber cement to attach thin patches of that rubbery shelving mesh inside both sides of the clasps.  It will grip better.

That's enough for one day...  Thank you for reading this far!

The Veggie Garden

Yeah, the Spring crops failed.  I was a slacker about watering.  Paid too little attention.  It SEEMED it was raining enough, but seedlings are so demanding.  And I was distracted by other concerns at critical times. 

So I focussed on the Mid-Summer plantings for Fall crops for once.  I normally don't, but when it is July and the veggie beds are mostly barren, why not?

The wide shot...

The first corn...

And a 2nd on the left

Cukes look healthy...

Flat Italian pole beans are growing up the trellis.  I actually have 2 trellisses of them.  You can't have too many beans!

This is a volunteer daisy.  I'm leaving it because it attracts good bugs.

The tomatoes are growing an inch a day in the warmth and sun.  I might get fruits in early September.  And for 2 more months after.  It stays warm here alost 2 weeks longer than when I moved here 34 years ago.

Leeks.  Good with cream of potato soup. I don't bother to grow potatoes anymore since my favorites (Yukon Gold) are in the grocery stores these days and taste the same.  Some crops are worth growing because they taste better fresh.  Potatoes are not one of them.

Yellow squash seedlings.  I'll select the best one and pull the other 2.  I have another close to there for cross-pollination.

One framed bed is currently dedicated to transplants.  This Knockout Rose has no smell but lovely flowers.  The insects don't bother it at all (because no smell, I assume).  I will take cuttings from it to multiply.

And I have discovered something odd about my camera.  It just won't focus well on solid red flowers.  I tried these on macro, normal and at a distance enlarged.  It all comes out the same bit fuzzy.  Same with the Maltese Cross flower - solid red and I can't get a sharp pic.