Feels a little apocalyptic

Past few weeks, whatever is happening in the world, the sunsets have been wild. 

Burst of reds, oranges, purples.. colors so vivid and odd, it really feels like a scene in one of the "end of the world" movies. The type where the undead will come creeping out of a corner if you're not careful because you thought you checked every inch of that abandoned town you've been hiding in. 

But we aren't there... yet. It's still too Hollywood science fiction. 

What we have is something completely different and it's just as weird. 

I think part of the reason the orange is showing up more, is due to the Saharan Dust coming our way. It's lingering a bit longer this summer and won't stop until the end of the month. So they say. It's also why we haven't had an influx of tropical storms turned hurricanes. The sand is prohibiting the Atlantic from doing it's churning and delivering us a big case of "oh damn, get the shutters up". 

The photos and video I'm posting were taken on an iPhone 11. No edits on the photos except my name. There are two with different fonts. Those I put my name on via the photos app in my phone and sent them to friends. The video was edited in Pinnacle Studio, and all I did for that was add my name and stock music (which came with the program). 

When I sent the photos to my friends, Shawn had said that one of them "looks like it could be a postcard, calendar, or something tourists would buy up" and that overall, they are "really cool picture[s]". 

That's why I'm going to do a little housekeeping and say "like what you see? Show some support. I am using a site called Ko-Fi, if you want to drop something there [aka "Buy me a coffee"]. Comments here are welcome as well". It's not easy generating stuff on a weekly or monthly basis and I keep saying I'm working bettering my photo skills. I'm trying to get enough work done where I can swiftly and easily do so much more. Everyone likes my photos and videos, but I know they need work. That's why Ko-Fi and comments are helpful if you're looking at my blog and potentially saving a picture or two (I know it happens. I'm not that naïve). Hence, drop a dime, drop a line. Be nice. 

Anyway, without further ado, the proof or it didn't happen:

Overall, the pictures and video also prove that there is a difference between being able to auto focus in a phone and being able to know your digital camera (or film camera) well enough to focus and manipulate the images before processing. During the film days, there were more blurry photos than still photos in my books and with digital, it may be easier to delete the image, but there's still trial and error. Look at my moon pictures from yesterday. The difference between holding a lightweight machine the length of a brick (but the heft of a small pack of crayons) can take a better image than holding a camera with a heavy lens, and have some shaking going on. Even if you use a tripod, you're probably better using a wired remote to shutter the lens, or you might not get the photo you're looking for. I should have used a tripod yesterday, but I didn't. I used a phone last night. It's literally night and day, even though it was not totally night nor totally day when they were both taken. Just happened to be 14 hours apart. 

I don't know. I'm probably talking nonsense. It's still a valuable lesson and it's a learning experience and experiment. Things happen. 

Much like I was texting Cat and she was telling me about her daughter wanting to go into photography as a job, but "due to AI, photography is dying", so the girl will probably pick a more favorable employment opportunity. I told Cat that her daughter should still check it out - there's still random types of work to do. It's not the best, but she could do the "school picture day" pictures with some sort of roaming portrait studio. If she can get some sort of low level apprenticeship or internship with a local photo studio, she can still learn a lot and gain valuable skills. As long as the drug stores are printing photos on the big plotters, there's a need for photographers. 

I worked for two different photo studios and one of them actually went to Costco for bulk printing. I learned a lot from both companies - talking with the graphic designer and printing tech at the first one, taught me how to use the newer versions of Photoshop and how to use industrial printing machines. I was able to do a lot more corrections and manipulations with speaking with them and watching them, than I was doing on GIMP. I knew enough that each keystroke translated and transferred easily to the Adobe product, but I still was a novice. I still am a novice; I admit that. I also got to know more about processing photos. What it takes to edit the image for proper sizing and printing on big chemical machines like the Fuji photo printer lab contraption we were using. I had dark room experience from college, but this is a whole different ballgame. The other studio I worked at, made me aware that you really need to type out your business materials in a Word document or have someone else read the information before you embed it on a photo in Photoshop. We were printing flyers (business information) that were so misspelled and misaligned, it was a real embarrassment. Yet no one checked for errors because it was one of those in house promotions and there was a need for foot traffic. I learned more of what not to do in a business from this one shop, than anything else, quite honestly. I know that sounds mean and rude, but I learned a lot about how to run a company and what stuck with me was how things were being done from a business standpoint instead of a client standpoint. Flash in the pan easy and quick to get a body in, versus take your time to make sure you get the right person in. If you're doing professional portraits (headshots), you need professional advertising. Don't have half your flyer read like a second grader wrote it. 

Yes, I have my faults. "Don't throw stones at glass houses". My blog is littered with problems and I know that. I also know I'm not an LLC or a proper business. This is something I do as a hobby - share reviews, pictures, opinions. I don't mind talking about things and I hope people read what I type and maybe change their own thought about the topic. I'm not looking to convert anyone. I'm just free writing until my mind says "enough". If it doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense. I tend to ramble and not check my work. Yet here I am, talking smack about a company who didn't check theirs either. I only worked there - I didn't have a major stake in the company, so their advertising was on them. I wasn't part of those meetings or that department; I stayed in a corner working on videos all day. 

It's not a bad thing and it's not a good thing. It was something I learned and can pass on to other people. Which is why I said to Cat her daughter should still think about doing photo stuff. If anything, she will learn some new ways to do everything and if she goes a different job route, so be it. At least she has gained more knowledge on something she likes to do. 

Isn't there some sort of adage where "knowledge is power"? We should be enabling our kids and our friends to seek out things they like to do and encourage them to work / collaborate with others to learn more about whatever it is. Just like I am slowly learning more about my own camera and I try to do things with it, even if the picture comes out horrible, I know what not to do the next time. 

Long story longer, I completely squirreled away from the original idea of this post. 

At any rate, stay glowing and keep your eyes peeled to the sky (and ground. Always look around you)...

Cheers

See Also

* Kind of feeling like "It's The End Of The World As We Know It" by REM (off their "Document" album - track 6 for reference)

So close, yet so far away

No, it's not about the Carole King song, but it's about the moon this morning. 

I had to be up early because I needed to go somewhere. It also happens to be trash day, so I took out extra trash to be picked up.

That's when I saw the moon. 

I really need to work on my picture taking better. I didn't have enough time to set up everything (tripod, camera) so I went back in the house and grabbed my Canon, popped in the battery and SD card, screwed on the 75-300 zoom lens and back outside I went. 

I put the camera on manual mode and played around with the settings a little bit. For giggles, I am adding some bad photos in this post, as a comparison reminder to myself on how I really should learn my camera more. Although, the "bad" photos came out a little weirdly okay (like the way one of the photos looks like I shot into the sun and it's flaring a bit). I know they're a little fuzzy in places and not as clear as they should be, but it's all in the experience and experimenting. I'm no professional by any means.

Part of the reason I need to work on the photos is due to the fact it was 6:25am, not 12 midnight. The sky wasn't as dark as the black background seems to be. It would have been nice to get the blue sky that was popping up as I stood outside with everything. 

The minor editing I did on these was a sharpening and my name in Photoshop. A few of them have been manipulated with auto tone, color and contrast. Another reason that I'm not using ace equipment. My HP laptop is not calibrated to edit photos the way it should be. Especially since the laptop is 12 years old and I'm trying not to kill it. I know I need an updated computer - this one is running Windows 8.1. I'm not good with change and updates on things. I get a little crazy. One day I will update everything. One day... maybe if I ever move....

There's nothing much else to say about what I did and did not do to the pictures. The main garbage bin got emptied around 8:30am and the recycle around 9:15. The city is sending out the pickers early now that it's summer because of the heat and humidity, as well as the random rain we've been getting.

Boy, has it been storming pretty good here. Not like it's been in Texas. That's really awful and it's sad that the flooding happened. The news keeps replaying the same information and you feel bad for everyone there. On top of it, my mom saw on her Facebook yesterday, that the Expressway in Massachusetts was completely closed off by 11am due to flooding. People were getting trapped on their commute and had to turn around because the staties were closing the roads. Comments were wild - main roads, some back roads... places were underwater. All from the storm that hit Texas and moved east and north east. We're getting massive thunder and lightning but haven't had the flooding rains yet. We don't need it, but it'll be inevitable. We're just hoping we don't get hit with a hurricane or two.

Put on your tin foil hat, kids. Randomly, my friend Cat texted me the other day and asked if  I had heard anything about the UFO sighting in Fort Myers from the day prior. I hadn't, but apparently there's some rumbling on whatever social media she follows, saying people are reporting strange (almost nightly) sightings in the air. I honestly haven't heard anything about it, and am not going to try to link anywhere or post to anything. I don't know where she finds the videos, as she didn't tell me how she came across it. I did try to search for it myself, but I came up almost empty handed. There was one video of someone saying they were watching a webcam from a place down on Fort Myers Beach, and they finally saw some lights flickering. The angle of the webcam was facing what used to be the pier and the person zoomed in to the dark sky to show a string of lights or windows or something. It is one of those things where the user stated they know the beach is visited frequently by outer worldly guests, but this was the first time in a long time that the ship was caught on camera. Again, I cannot validate any of this as I have not been following it. 

Had Cat not asked me about it, I wouldn't have tried to look in to it myself. I don't know how real it is, but I also am not saying it's truly faked. I'm not judging and I'm not going to attempt to sell anyone on the idea that there is something going on at the beach. Oddly, it would make sense if there was more going on than what we think, since the area is still trying to build back up from Ian's destruction, but I don't know to what extent this would happen. Maybe that's why things are taking their time to finish? There's some magic in the air prohibiting a rush? It's all part of the southern slowness of "why hurry"? I am not sure and I don't want to jump to any conclusion. I'll gladly share the news, but I'm not going to say exactly what's going on as sometimes you just don't know. Things can be manipulated, hacked, etc. Choose your own path with it and see where it goes. 

Therefore, I think I'm going to cut it here and go to the gym. It's early enough that if I do my ~2hr workout, I can be home in time to take a nap. I didn't sleep well last night and since I had to get up at 5:30 this morning, I'm going to either need a few more cups of coffee  or a major snooze if I expect to not pass out before supper tonight.

Until then, be safe, take care of yourselves and always look to the skies. You never know what you'll see. Listen for alarms as well... you don't want to end up being swept away in anything...

Cheers;

See also:

* Carole King, "So Far Away" off Tapestry (track 2 for reference)

* Amazon Prime Day 2025 ends tonight, July 11, 2025 (as of this posting, there's 16 hours, 50 minutes and change left). Did you buy anything?

Finished the bag...

... but not finished the drink.

Yet.

Finally finished the Teeccino Almond Amaretto Coffee Alternative. Made the last of it as a cold brew and it's been hanging out in the fridge. 

There was probably around 12 tablespoons of the mix left when  I poured it into the cold brew system container. I felt like if I did the same amount as previously done, I'd only be leaving less than a great amount for the next time. Plus, who leaves a little in the bag? Make it stronger by finishing it up.

Honestly, I don't think "make it stronger" really works for this lot. I mean, it's fairly decent with some Aldi brand of coconut creamer (brand is called "Barissimo"), but I wouldn't go out of my way to be like "dude, drop everything and make it just like thisssssss!!". It's good, with the coconut giving it a slightly different flavor profile, and it wasn't super duper strong. 

My mother actually took half a cup of it and added it to her Starbucks Blonde Roast Iced Coffee (with regular half and half). She decided, on a lark, that maybe the Teeccino would "jazz up the Starbucks a bit". She loves her Seattle java, but figured she'd try a little of the non-coffee coffee in what she had. She said it really boosted her drink and she would definitely do it again. 

Guess I shouldn't have made the rest of it and thrown out the empty bag? Or, does this mean we could potentially be buying it again (perhaps in another flavor)?? I don't know. But once we finish this completely, it's back to regular coffee as cold brew. I don't mind it, as long as it's something that doesn't end up tasting like it's been sitting in our cabinet for ten years and we finally decided to get rid of it.

Which has happened before. 

Although, you don't realize how good coffee is, until you're four days into a natural disaster scenario and you're drinking instant coffee from water boiled on a grill. The best part of waking Prior to Ian, the last time I think I had instant coffee was in college and didn't have access to my own coffee maker. So I ended up getting various brands of instant and sneaking down to the cafeteria at all hours, just to get some hot water and get my brew on. I had half and half in my room (dorm fridge), but just needed the juice to make it good. Then I got wise, bought an after market coffee maker and started heating my own H₂O in my room. I didn't have a microwave and I hate nuked coffee as it is. 

The coffee maker was interesting - I made friends quickly with that bit, I'm not going to lie. 

Although, making friends with the facilities guys is better because I got to have some really nice conversations with them and ended up bartering when I needed to. All because they wanted hot water themselves for tea and other incidentals (a couple of the men were from "the old country" - Greece, Hungary. Didn't help they were actually in their late 60s and early 70s at the time). It all worked out in the end and I wouldn't trade it for anything. 

You live, you learn. 

Boiling water in a pot on a grill is new too. Something I can take on another life adventure if I need to. 

Maybe all the reality shows I watch about going out into the wild and fending for yourself can help one of these days. Not that I want something drastic and bad to happen, but at least I know I can do something when needed. 

Right now I'm needed out in the living room to help my mother with something, so I'm going to cut it off here. 

Be safe, be well, go explore your surroundings. Have a banging cup of joe and don't over stimulate yourself.

Cheers

See also (aka limited exclusive):

* Amazon Prime day deals (July 8-11, 2025), the Teeccino Almond Amaretto Chicory Coffee Alternative - 11 Ounce - Ground Herbal Coffee That’s Prebiotic, Caffeine Free & Acid Free, Medium Roast is currently 20% off, making it $11.98 instead of $14.98

* Teeccino is not offering anything special, except they're on the "get 10 dollars off your first order" referral program. I get ten dollars, you get ten dollars (providing you buy something. Remember, it's $59 and over for free shipping).

* Amazon is not offering a Prime Day Deal on the particular Starbucks Blonde Roast this weekend, as the drink sells out of Whole Foods currently. Watch the price because it's $7.79 with a $13.95 delivery charge because it's part of the "Amazon Fresh Products" plan. It's cheaper to buy this in any supermarket, even when it's not on sale. You could buy three bottles for what you'd spend online. Unless this is something that is so much easier to get online because you're shopping for other stuff.. then go for it. #Nojudgement. There are other Prime Day Deals for coffee if you search for it.

* Not a Prime member? Click here. Monthly charge: $14.99, Yearly: $139, Prime for Young Adults: $7.49 a month. Prime Access: $6.99 a month. All after free trial. It's worth it - whatever option you choose. Solely based on better shipping opportunities, video streaming, music streaming, college kids have access to certain discounts, there's a lot you can do. Even though there's a number of people who have negative reviews about the service, it's beneficial to others. 

"Are you sure it's not a worm? LOL"

My mom and I were on the couch attempting to watch some television, but she's on the phone talking to a friend. All of a sudden, she looks outside and says "there's a snake on the wall. You're not going to believe it!". The friend asked how serious she was, and I went to take a look at it. I assured the person on the phone that "there's a pretty big racer snake hanging out in the rain". 

Yes, it was also pouring out, because it's summer and the afternoons bring thunder, lightning and water. 

I quickly grabbed my Canon T7i, 75-300mm zoom lens and took photos. 

Like the last round, I was facing a window screen and now the rain was hindering a quality photo as I was on full zoom. I didn't want to go completely outside because I want to keep my gear as dry as possible. 

I had sent my friend Cat a couple of the photos and she responded "that's the tiniest snake I've ever seen, Are you sure it's not a worm? LOL". I told her that it's indeed a racer snake; it's like the one I took last week. 

Yes, it looks tiny. But it also doesn't help that I was inside and shooting through a lanai screen. I tried to do minor editing but they're not as sharp as I'd like. So the snake looks fuzzy, which is why Cat laughed at it. 

I want to know how it fed and climbed up the wall. There's an obvious food bump in its stomach. It ate something small enough that whatever that roundness is, it's being digested. 

Gross. 

But damn. I'm seeing all sorts of crazy this week. 

This better not be a sign of things to come. Considering there's a tropic system in play right now that could cause some disruption over the weekend. They're watching it closely. However, seeing snakes isn't fun. I saw a plop plop iguana the other day. Animals are coming out of the woodwork and normally when that happens, it's not going to be a fun time had by all soon after. 

Fingers crossed I'm wrong...

Cheers;