July 2023

Camera.

Tonight I revived my old Go Pro Hero 3+ and 4. I wanted to see how they’d do during a storm passing through, so at the first indication of lightning tonight I set the Hero 4 up in the driveway on the tripod.

The shots were good, but not great. Here’s an example.

After playing around with the tripod and settings in Photomator, I decided to get my iPhone 13 Pro setup on the tripod and see how that did for the second round of storms that passed through.

I much prefer the shot from the iPhone 13 Pro and will probably stick with that in the future. When mounted on a tripod it does a brilliant job of accomplishing what I’m looking to accomplish.

And that’s beautiful shots of Mother Nature at her best.

22 July 2023 by Storm Chasing. 0

Beauty.

I watched this storm gather itself up, inch its way across the mountains, and make its way into the Tucson area. I admired the beauty of this effort for nearly 45 minutes until the rain finally let loose and chased me inside.

Watching and experience a storm is a life affirming experience for me. It makes me feel so alive and at the same time so part of this planetary experience. Mother Nature is a thing of utter beauty, and I’ve felt this energy around thunderstorms since I was a small kid in the bedroom of my folks’ 10×50 trailer (with 8×40 addition) when my sister was young enough to still be in a crib.

Mother Nature is awesome. It’s a privilege to witness her beauty up close.

21 July 2023 by Storm Chasing. 0

The Stupid.

Again, just a reminder, the movie “Idiocracy” is not a user’s guide or instruction manual.

20 July 2023 by Why. 0

Launch.

Last night, Jamie came running upstairs exclaiming “you gotta see this!”. He then talked about a huge shooting star and it was amazing. I walked out on his patio and saw this:

I immediately knew it was a rocket launch, apparently somewhere over California. Space X launched a Falcon 9 rocket last night from Vandenberg Space Force Base last night and living in Southern Arizona gave us the opportunity to witness the event. The rocket was carrying 15 Starlink satellites that will be used in the existing “mesh” network of satellites providing Internet connectivity to rural areas.

The Falcon 9 rocket is designed to return to Earth for reuse after a successful separation in orbit.

20 July 2023 by Geek 0

Truth.

It’s been quite a week at work! Oh, that’s right, it’s only Tuesday night. I’m writing this at 9:30 PM Mountain Standard Time. Guess who’s on a conference call.

18 July 2023 by Ponderings and Musings 0

Love!

Here you go. 99% of the guest stars ever on “The Love Boat” in a repetitive rendition of the well known theme song.

The things one finds on the Internet.

17 July 2023 by Ponderings and Musings 0

Knowledge.

While we were up at La Encantada shopping mall yesterday we had some lunch at a place called Italia North. A great place for a Sunday lunch, I enjoyed a soup and salad selection, along with a glass of Prosecco. I’ve been getting into Prosecco and Champagne lately.

One of trends of the 2020s is printing the caloric content of the food choices to be noticed by those perusing the menu. I suppose this is to encourage healthy eating, but if I’m having lunch at a swanky shopping center with a glass of champagne, I’m not sure I want all this knowledge.

Admittedly, seeing the calories listed next to each of the dishes inspired me to go with a soup and salad selection. That’s probably the intent; educate the consumer so they can make an informed choice.

On the other hand, sometimes I want to just enjoy some time out without counting calories in my head. Since this trend started I once considered a piece of cheesecake at the local Cheesecake Factory. Since the calories in a piece of cheesecake could support the hunger needs of a small African village, I decided against the experience and breathed in the fumes of a small piece of water cress I picked up at the local Safeway instead.

I now have a hankering for cheesecake. Don’t show me the details.

17 July 2023 by Ponderings and Musings 0

Apple Store.

We are at the Apple Store with our friend Marshall. He is trading in his iPhone 12 for and iPhone 14 Pro Max. I like the vibe of this store here in Tucson.

It’s been a long time since we did an in store selfie. Today we used a MacBook Air identical to my personal MacBook Air. It’s fun to do Apple Store selfies again.

There’s a “Today At Apple” basic training class going on at the next table. I enjoy the age range of the attendees. Good for them.

16 July 2023 by Apple. 0

About J.P.

Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.

Weird? Eccentric!

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