Last night, I had a minor bout of boredom around 11:30pm. Not enough time to get a decent start on a book before bedtime, so I decided to do some linksurfing off of the 40 or so blogs I regularly read. I found myself a few new-to-me blogs, as if I need more blogs to regularly read, and then wound up over at Chip Willis' not-so-new-to-me photoblog -- a mix of personal BS and fashion photography (as a rule I hate fashion -- what Oscar Wilde called a form of ugliness so horrible that it has to be changed every six months -- and its attendant photographers, but Chip's OK, more artist than industry hack).

Anyway, while there, I found what I will describe as the best art e-zine that I have ever stumbled across: IdeaFixa. It's Brazilian, with an english translation (not that there's much text, at least not in the english version), fairly new, and contains some excellent art from various 2D visual genres.

I've been trying to find something to post. With the exception of a few shots posted over at dA (most of which I've already posted here), I've only got three rolls worth ofWalmart scans on my hard drive (I have many more on disk, but what with having a film scanner on order -- for almost a bleedin month now! -- I didn't see much point in loading those into the HD, or, for that matter, getting CDs with the last four rolls I had developed).

Anyway, I shot this in my front yard, on 23 June this year. f5.6 for 1/1000 of a second, 400ASA Kodak C-41 B&W, with my Nikon 28-80mm G series set for 28mm

Dog Tired

It's been a long day. Left here for the Greenwood job at 7:15am, got home for supper at 6:45pm.

Another long day tomorrow.

This is Dusty, taken some time this summer, f-something-er-other (probably 5.6, maybe 8).

Picture, Work, and More Patriarchical Idiocy

Well, I'm glad last week's over, of course this week there's a lot of work for Wednesday through Friday or Saturday, depending on how things go.

This is a very small park behind Grand Forks City Hall (about five trees, some shrubs/flowers and two pic-nic tables. I don't think they could do anything else with that particular wedge of land) shot back around 945pm on 11 July of this year. f16 for 60 seconds, on ASA400 Kodak C-41 Process B&W.

*I still haven't heard back about my film scanner yet. I'm hoping to have the damn thing by the end of the month, or early next.

*Found this (Pregnancy as the punishment for being single) over at Pandagon, linking here (Den of the Biting Beaver). Seems that Plan B isn't available Over The Counter in the US until New Year's, and Biting Beaver has effectively been turned down for EC because she isn't married and wasn't raped. To quote the Pandagon article:

...the question about marriage is really a way for the doctor to gauge whether the proper owner of the uterus--—he who poked and owned it--has been told what the ninny that'’s merely managing his uterus is doing with it. On a more abstract level, this shows really how marriage confers status on women--—the married woman can invoke her man'’s authority and rights in these circumstances. She may not have a right to Plan B, but her husband has a right to it that he can pass on to her. The wedding ring is like having a hall pass in the the patriarchy (emphasis mine).

Snow... or Not

I'm running out of fingers.

Yesterday, I ripped the cuticles of both of my index fingers, while repackaging a badly damage furnace to return to the manufacturer -- U'll be pleased to know that the box which contained said furnace was in perfect shape.

And then today, I cut the outside tip of my right hand ring finger. I hate sheet metal.

Anyway, I shot this in Okanagan Falls, on the turn-off to the provincial campground, back in mid-January of this year. Probably f16 -- but I can't be bothered to check my notes right now -- and (badly) contrast masked (if I were doing it today, I'd try for a bit more subtly and tonal variation in the rock face).

*oh, and I've decided on a policy of never deleting any post. Visibly editing if warranted, but not deleting. It's too much like historical revisionism for my taste*

David Suzuki News August 25, 2006: Environment minister delivers death sentence to owls

David Suzuki News August 25, 2006: Environment minister delivers death sentence to owls: "One may be the loneliest number, but 17 is rapidly becoming one of the saddest. That's how many Northern Spotted Owls are left in Canada, and a recent decision by the federal environment minister all but guarantees that they will be the last of their kind in our country."

Fuck.

Pretty much sounds like it's time for an open season on the neocon feds, as if it wasn't time for one before.

I hate being a pacifist, it's so fucking inconvenient at times.

I was in to Penticton on Friday, my film scanner wasn't in yet. I didn't really expect that it would be.

I got one roll developed (didn't get a CD, what's the point with a scanner on order), there were at least half-a-dozen shots I can work with (eventually).

There is still a lot of work to do on those two furnace installs, and one of the furnaces was damaged in shipping -- two bad dents caused by some forklift operator in too big of a hurry. It seems that we've been having a lot of that type of problem (not surprising since speed has become so equated with efficiency, never mind if the product is unusable as a result). Still, we should be able to get both jobs finished this week.

And then, the beginning of next week, we're working at one of the churches in Greenwood.

Greenwood's a bit of an odd place, tiny, but because of the way the highway winds it has five different street names within the town.

Heating & Cold

We got a good start on one of the furnace installs today. Sure it was only a five hour day, but we'd have to return anyway because we don't have all the pieces we need to complete the job (even in the best cases the ducting has to be modified/added to because the new furnaces are usually shorter than the one being replaced -- the ducting adaptations could be built on-site if we had a metal brake, which we don't).

I think the most difficult thing about installing a new furnace, is probably removing the old one. Not only are the damn things heavier than their replacements, but they usually have to be dragged up a set of stairs. Lift the heavy thing, lower the light thing -- FUN!

*This is another shot of the Kettle River, here in GF, taken the same day as the previous one, back in February. I haven't been back out to this spot since then, but it's the opposite direction of town from where I am. Maybe I'll head out that way this Octobre.

Work and a "Midnight Breeze"

I should be busy as a one legged beaver at a but kicking contest next week. We have two furnaces and one or two air-conditioners to install. So blogging might be slow next week.
Besides that, things are a bit crazy here in GF, there's some annual baseball tournament going on this weekend. I don't know exactly when it ends, I'm just glad that it doesn't interest me, or I'd probably waste lots of film on it.

I shot this last summer in Penticton (f8, 30 seconds) near the Law Courts and City Hall. Man that was a wild night, let's just say I feeling 'inspired' when I shot this ;)