Yesterday TSAnnie threw down the gauntlet "A WOLF MOON! If you have a clear sky and good camera, get outside tonight and capture the Wolf Moon! Photos please!"
I love a challenge. I said to ToonMan we need to get a photo of the Wolf Moon. So he goes to Google to see when it is going to happen exactly .. and as if by magic Lee Goldberg the crack meteorologist on WABC here in NYC remarks on the moon, that tonite, right now, its at its brightest.
So we look at one another .. ToonMan says I will go up to the roof and see if we can see it
I reply - but you'll have to come back down to let me know .. maybe take my iPhone and call me?
Then I think by the time I show him how to use it the moon, if visible, will be gone .. but great minds think alike and he says call the landline now. Brilliant. I do. He takes the iPhone and goes to the elevator.
I start to bundle up in case he can see the moon ...
Third Floor .. Donna's bedroom .. Fifth Floor .. Carl's apartment .. ToonMan is giving me alerts as the elevator slowly climbs to the 6th floor.
I am walking up the stairs, he reports, opening the door .. Oh wow ... get your butt up here NOW! he says and so I finish dressing, grab the new camera and ring for the elevator.
I get to the roof and he's pointing .. you missed the best shot but if we wait a few minutes those clouds over there will move to the moon and you will have a fabulous shot.
The moon is magnificent, bright and BIG .. I decide while I am waiting on the clouds to fire off a few shots. But as soon as I focus on the moon I realize my 18-105mm lens ain't gonna cut it .. I am looking at a moon through the viewfinder but the LED screen after I snap shows me a little tiny circle of light in the midst of an inky dark sky.
ToonMan offers suggestions like lean against something to steady yourself and change the setting ... except its pitch fucking black out and there are no lights ... wait, the iPhone has a 'flashlight' app .. I turn it on .. I fumble, my fingers are ice cold, I try to figure out what setting to use, I should have brought up the manual!
The clouds move into place, the moon and clouds are exquisite .. I snap a few more and say I am freezing, this lens isn't strong enough, lets go inside. So we do.
Here are my 3 best shots ...
When I was in high school, I had a classmate and friend named Margie. She was funny, smart and talented. We lost touch after high school, I lived in the Bronx, she lived in Manhattan; back then that was a big difference .. the Bronx was considered GUD ..Geographically UnDesirable ..
Fast forward to the not long ago, we re-connected via Facebook. I learned Margie had married a handsome Ad man, moved to New Joisey and had two lovely daughters. One of whom is blogging ... she doesnt blog every day but when she does her posts are fun, her photos (and prose) are very enjoyable.
So .. go on check her out.. go visit MissMoll at Wandering and Pondering, you wont be disappointed.
After spending 4+ hours yesterday migrating data from one iMac to another the hard way, due to NOT having the proper FireWires, ToonMan remembered he needed something else from the old iMac which is scheduled to be flattened (an IT term for restoring to factory settings) when I get enough energy to do it OR in one weeks time whichever comes first.
I decided that rather than repeat the machinations of the previous migration, I would go get a Belkin 6'/1.6m 9-Pin to 6-Pin FireWire 800/400.
Apple has a store within walking distance so off I went. A very nice young woman welcomed me and asked how she could help. She had no idea the can of vent she was opening. I told her the horror story of the migration and how I could not believe that Apple did not make the need of this 'fast' connector known. Its not in the lovely welcome to your new iMac video nor is it mentioned anywhere in the purchase process.
She listened politely, then she told me that the info about the firewire was in the specifications section on the web page. I said well when you've owned an Apple for 20+ yrs. you don't check the specs. She nodded, adding, 'and its on the box'
I said ah well our's came in a cardboard shipping box cradled in plastic wrap and styrofoam. Oh, she said, you bought it online. Yes.
How old is the older iMac? she asked, because, she 'thought' it might have had both a 'fast' and a 'normal' firewire slot. It doesn't.
It wasn't on the 'wall' so she goes into the back and comes out with a friend .. they both tell me how sorry they are its sold out ... how if only I had been there an hour earlier.
The friend then backs away as I say: Okay, now go into the back and bring me one your techs use, I will leave you my wallet and my iPhone and I will be back in 2 hrs. She said all the wires are connected to projects. I say I am not a happy woman. She says I understand ... but Best Buy carries them ... and they have a store 3 blocks away!
Off I go. Best Buy is staffed with morons. No one offers to help you. I finally find someone. 'Firewires?' I ask. He points to a wall. I go over and look, he follows asking what connector do I need? I tell him. He insists my old iMac has both high and normal speed slots. After I dissuade him, he tells me the firewire I need is sold out. I turn and leave. I do not even say thank you. Which by the way, I do even when I am being sarcastic. I am not a nice person and these people brought out the absolute worst in me... and part of me enjoyed it. The other part is exhausted.
