Double Test

Double Test, originally uploaded by panodanno.

I picked up a new 47-year-old camera from Easy-bay this past week. It's a Yashica Minister D. It has a meter, but this is one Yashica that works fine w/o that. It's all mechanical.

This is my second Minister D. The first one was in a bit better condition than this one. But I'm hoping this one will clean up... and that the light meter will work (unlike my first one). I wanted to check for light leaks before fixing the rest. Looks okay there, so some cleaning and battery testing comes next.

So, the first test was to see if the camera was light tight... The second test was to develop the c-41 film using caffenol. Caffenol C-L to be exact. This was my first attempt at using caffenol, and since I have a freezer full of c41 film, I swung for the fences and started with that.

I mixed up the brew, sloshed it around for 45 seconds or so on the film, then took off for a run in the rain. 70 minutes later (workout complete) I dumped out the brew, stopped, fixed, washed, dried.

The negatives are a bit dense, so some bleach is on the horizon, but I'm happy w/ the first try.

Oh yeah, it rained cats and dogs today. This pic was the best I could do until late this afternoon. I didn't want the new-old camera to melt in the rain! :)

Waking Up to Ironman Training

Waking Up to Ironman Training, originally uploaded by panodanno.

12/26/09

I'm posting this using Flickr's email posting system. We'll see if it
works. I wrote this last night but couldn't get the email to post due to
poor cell coverage.

Good thing we have four more months… Today was rough. Even if this picture
of Lori hammering up the steepest, longest climb of the day doesn’t show
that.

Today Lori and I rode the Ironman St. George bike “loop” that she will have
to ride twice during her race in May. It was a beautiful, crisp day in the
low 40s when we started out from Snow Canyon. I think it made it up to the
high 40s, but it was still pretty cold for us.

And the course is a real challenge. The west side of the loop is a steady
climb with about three challenging (though short) climbs in it. The east
side is relatively flat or just flat-out downhill. We flew down that part
of the course. Even with full-length tights, long-sleeve jerseys,
wind-resistant hats, gloves, and shoe-covers, it was very cold on the fast
sections.

We only rode 50 miles, but it was enough. The scenery was super, and the
riding was fine. Lori was loving her bike, and Eddy was way into riding
with his new friend. And my knee worked out its issues (I adjusted my cleat
after the difficult pains of Christmas Eve). It was a lot of fun. Now we
are tire

Tonight we caught up our bodies w/ yummy steak at the Anasazi Steakhouse &
Gallery in St. George. It’s time for some sleep. Tomorrow we get to do
more Ironman training! Can’t wait. ;-)

352/365 Golden Gate Bridge

352/365 Golden Gate Bridge, originally uploaded by panodanno.

Another late night shot coming home from the airport. It was a rough week... Last trip of the year though!

181/365 - Don't sit on this fence.

181/365 - Don't sit on this fence., originally uploaded by panodanno.

Posting for fun from flicker here. www.mymountaintrail.com is still the place to be...

Today was my first shift as a Mt. Tamalpais lookout. No fires today and nice weather. It was a great way to start.

The view is to the ENE. This razor wire surrounds the lookout to keep people from trying to climb into the building when it is not occupied. Or, maybe it is to keep lookouts from trying to escape... Maybe both!

Blog Migration...

I am moving my blog to a new server. This is an experiment for the moment, but if I can get the new format cleaned up, I will probably stay with it. Here is the link: My Mountain Trail

If things don't work out, I'll just move back here. After all, I just figured out how to add a small border around my photos, which is a nice improvement. Anyway, see you on the new trail!

168/365 - Resilience

There is a seam of serpentine rock cutting through Mt. Tam. It usually results in sparse vegitation and rugged, (green) rocky terrain. This tree has taken on the challenge to survive here. So far, so good.

167/365 - Ah, the Tree!

167/365 - Ah, the Tree!, originally uploaded by panodanno.

Guess where I ended up while hiking on Mt. Tamalpais yesterday evening? It was quite windy, and I wanted to show the action. It's a bit hard to see at this size, but you may see some if you look close.

162/365 - Foggy Start

162/365 - Foggy in the Morning, originally uploaded by panodanno.

Here's Hal at about 5:45 a.m. last Thursday morning in Thomas, OK. Packing up for another day in the saddle...

The Pursuit of Happiness

Here is a link about the pursuit of happiness from the blog of Steve C., one of my shave-brush customers. It's worth taking a look at.

Cookie!

Cookie!, originally uploaded by panodanno.

166/365 - Cookie Sleeps (Finally! :-)

166/365 - Cookie Sleeps (Finally! :-), originally uploaded by panodanno.

165/365 - Another Dipsea in the Books

165/365 - Another Dipsea in the Books, originally uploaded by panodanno.

1:05:25 actual, and 1:01:25 adjusted. No injuries, though I am very sore now and tomorrow and Tuesday will be worse. I am now 47 in Dipsea years. One more year and I age up again. Can't wait!

A Better Day

A Better Day, originally uploaded by panodanno.

From Cordell. Dad felt much better after day 2, and is doing just as well now after Day 4.

157/365 - Taking One for the Team

20090606dcapshaw-81, originally uploaded by panodanno.

Mom and Amber drove us to the start of OKFree. 8 hours, round trip, of driving. Then they toughed out our big wind storm over night. I thought our tent would come down during the biggest gusts (>50 mph I think), But we, and our tent, survived.

Thanks Mom! We couldn't have gotten rolling w/o you! And now, we are counting on seeing you soon in KS!

156/365 - Our Adventure Begins

20090605dcapshaw-34, originally uploaded by panodanno.

This, not very clear picture, is the last 11 minutes of our flight in to Tulsa. Those are the most 11 of the 14 most dangerous minutes of a flight. Me, I had to take a picture of the city.

We made it safe and sound. Time to ride our bikes.

OKay to be Free

155/365, originally uploaded by panodanno.

Last week my client changed our timeline... on Thursday. That means this week was completely unfillable. When you work for yourself that means that you either get caught up in the office (which I did), or take some vacation (which I also did).

Where did I go on my vacation, you ask? Balconville. Well, actually, Yardville which is a hamlet just below Balconville. As a result, my house is much more fire safe than it was. I still need a couple of more days to get all of the way there. But at least I made some progress.

Before I do that though, I just need a bike ride I think.

154/365 - '69 Ford

154/365 - '69 Ford, originally uploaded by panodanno.

153/365 - Climbing Rose

153/365 - Climbing Rose, originally uploaded by panodanno.

This is one of our climbing roses. It is an amazing display to see in real life.

This photo is actually a double exposure. It's a bit confusing to look at I guess, but I was just experimenting with the effect.

Three days to OK. Four to be Free. OK.

151/365 - Lori

151/365 - Lori, originally uploaded by panodanno.

We rode our bikes through Muir Woods/Beach, Stiinson Beach, and up over Mt. Tamalpais today. It was cold for all except the first 5 minutes and last 15 minutes of the ride. Bolinas ridge was a solid wall of rushing fog.

Lori schooled me on the flats from Stinson to the Mt. Tam climb. I hung on for a while, but gave up for the last 1.5 miles. If she rides like that in OK, her responsibility is going to be to get us a good campsite. I'll be riding w/ the Phat Phorties group. :-)

I'm just glad she isn't seriously training for something right now!

Boy, I can't wait to get out of these temperate temperatures. 90/90 is going to be so awesome, and so OKFree!

Reaching for the Sun

Reaching for the Sun, originally uploaded by panodanno.

I visited the tree today. This is a picture from below the tree. The sun is trying to burn through the fog on the right, and the tree is reaching for the sun. They never quite met while I was there, but it was fun to see some of the action.

Of course I got soaked by the thick fog and wet grass. So from here, I drove up Middle Peak above the fog and soaked up some of that sun too. It was glorious!