Three years doing a photography degree and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.

Posted on October 15, 2008 by borysSNORC

It’s been years since I’ve done any serious photography. I guess I got focused on having the Small Child and the ongoing drama of desperately trying to have another Small Child. Then my Dad got sick and then I went to work in Customer Service for the Devil aka Goliath (for the record now I no longer work there… Telstra).

All that coupled with the fact that I have decent wet film equipment but my digital camera while functional was certainly not up to scratch compared to the Canon EOS1 and Canon EOS3 I previously owned. So I kinda lost interest in photography. I have recently suffered a loss in the camera department and had to make one of dem t’ings….. you know an insurance claim. So I’ve been back looking at equipment to replace it and have decided on the new Canon EOS 50D. Should funds have been more freely available for such things, I think I would have waited a bit for the new Canon EOS 5D Mark II but at some AUS$4k it seems a bit excessive you know… just a tad. (My Canon EOS1 was around $8k back in ’96 but I didn’t have the whole picket fence thing going on back then).

I’ve only just bought it home today and haven’t really had much of a chance to play with it but one thing that I am immediately impressed with is the 17-85mm F4-5.6 IS USM lens. I was mucking around with it last night for a bit and am absolulty gobsmacked that I could hand hold a one second shot of a dog (what moves!) under a single standard tungsten lightbulb and get a result that was nothing to write home about but under those conditions was incredible! I’ve always been pretty steady, but usually only reliably to about 1/6th or 1/8th of a second (while coughing in a church :P). So to say I’m already impressed with the Image Stabilizing lens is an understatement.

More about the camera of fabulousness as I find something to take photos of 🙂
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Now why can’t I get fabric in those patterns?

Posted on October 14, 2008 by borysSNORC

Mr K: What did you get up today?
Me: Ah… not a lot. I went out for a wander around the shops but that’s about it.
Mr K: Did you buy anything?
Me: Hmmm… soap.
Mr K: Is that all.
Me: Yeah… Just soap.

I blame it on Bluddy Mary. I went to visit her last year and she had this lovely soap in her bathroom. It was made by Mor and I think it was some Olive/Fig concoction and it was really nice on the skin. So today I saw some in the shops and though I’d buy myself some. It was then that I discovered the stuff is $19.95. Yes that is $19.95 for ONE bar of soap. Nevertheless I spent several minutes smelling soaps (some of which were so heavily scented they nearly bought tears to your eyes) and finally chose one that smelled of vanilla, jasmine and maybe a little citrus – called the ‘Belladonna’ flavour (though I’m not sure if soaps come in ‘flavours’… blah neither here nor there). But trust me to prefer the scent of the one with a name evocative of either a deadly poisonous plant or a well known hard core porn actress. (link potentially inappropriate for work depending on your place of work of course). So on what was maybe my second visit to a cosmetics counter at a department store this year… I bought me a bar of ridiculous expensive soap*.

As it happens I am one of those customers that the over coiffed, over perfumed and heavily made up chickies at the cosmetics counter throw up their hands in horror at. For when they ask me what products I use for my ‘skin care / beauty regime’ I usually offer a single word answer “Soap”. They look at you like you’re from another planet: “What no cleansers? No moisturisers? No toners? Facial scrubs? Anti-aging wrinkle cream? Rejuvenating this? Ceratin that? Oh my God do you know what you’re doing to your skin???”

Nope. I don’t really know and I don’t really care. On the rare past occasions when I have actually purchased some of that stuff I hardly ever use it! Maybe it’s because I’m a bit lazy in that department, but the big cosmetics companies never made a great deal of money out of me. In fact I doubt I’d spend $200 per annum on cosmetics (excluding nail polish of course). I tend to have a few tried and true products that I like and I don’t wear make up every day so they tend to last quite a while.

I guess I’m just not as much of a girlie girl as some.

*I’m not sure if I could actually hand over $20 cash for a bar of soap without having some sort of outraged internal coniption at the concept, but somehow using a giftcard I’ve had stashed in my wallet for several months made it ‘okay’.

We’re painting the roses red…

Posted on October 13, 2008 by borysSNORC

Some stuff and nonsense to start the week.

I was sure I was going to turn out to be Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. She’s a bit more style I would have thought….. "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"… 🙂

Which Disney Villain Are You?

PS – To the best of my knowledge I do NOT strike fear in those around me… rather I aim for just a subtle sort of intimidation thing really. Additionally I do not believe I am frightened by technology. Quite the opposite… she who dies with the most useless gadgets wins – stuff the fabric. Also, I don’t think I have an emotional relationship with guns developed enough to be either enamoured with them nor to have formed a specific aversion against them. For reasons it would be ill advised disclose…. I naturally prefer throwing knives 😉
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Ten little grams of gold…

Posted on October 12, 2008 by borysSNORC

The gentlemen stood expectantly in their grey silk pinstripe suits and stark white shoes (huh?) before the obligatory ivy archway. The groom nervously fidgeting with his cuff links

The bride turned up (good start) resplendent in a gorgeous strapless white gown with a sweetheart neckline, the bodice covered in exquisite lace (No lace. No Lace, Mrs Bennett! I beg you!) glittering in Austrian crystals (lucky guess). The bridesmaids wore pastel yellow (bold choice) and the ladies all carried bouquets of yellow and white roses. As exepected (and minutely planned) they all looked positively fabulous.

The requisite vow, sentiments,promises, rings and kisses were exchanged amid much rejoicing on the hills.

I love going to weddings. For someone who is not normally overly sentimental (Well I don’t think I am… others may disagree) I really do enjoy going to weddings. This morning I have been wondering what is it that makes them so appealing.

I’m not particularly fashion conscious, so it’s not fascination with the dresses and frippery. I’m not one usually moved by others getting all emotional. It’s not the getting dollied up, the gifts, the fancy dinner, wedding cakes, dancing or what not. So what is it?

I think what I like most about weddings is the massive get together with friends and family, where people are taking the opportunity to toast (and sometimes gleefully roast) their friends…. Parents take the opportunity to tell their kids they’re proud of how they’ve grown up which is something the older generations amongst us sometimes seem to find difficult. Our friends get an opportunity to express affection and gratitude towards one another (and not in a drunken "I luv you mate… No. I love you mate kinda way). And even though I have a largish extended family, I don’t think we’ve got many weddings left to go to.

Oh and one of the best things about weddings? We’re all together and for a change some other poor buggers are doing all the work!
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Droppin’ some ‘E’.

Posted on October 11, 2008 by borysSNORC

Some of these lists have been coming easily, others not so much. I think I’m finding the likes or dislikes easier depending on my mood at the time. This weeks positives were no problem but last week I think it was the opposite. Don’t quote me on that for my short term memory is shot to shit and I can’t be relied upon to truthfully relate what happened this morning let along last week :S

List of 10 Things I Like That Start With “E”….
1.   Email – Life before PCs… can’t hardly remember it.
2.   Eggplant/aubergine – the colour not the food.
3.   Elegant phrases – stumbling on something truly eloquent is all too rare.
4.   Ephesus – if you’ve been you’ll know what I mean.
5.   Eggs Benedict – one of life’s evil little pleasures.
6.   Etymology – www.etymonline.com
7.   Elizabeth Bennett – we’d all like to think we’re most like Lizzy
8.   Ebay – international garage sale minus the circus people.
9.   Eddie Izzard – thanks for all the jam and geography
10. Entertaining – throwing dinner parties and deliberately throwing together friends who I know will stimulate passionate conversations about their opposing views or who I know are diametric opposites their lifestyles or professions. Diversity makes us interesting. A great dinner party needs must have an exceptional Dinner Monkey… and they’re often altogether a bit thin on the ground unfortunately.

List of 10 Things I Hate or Dislike That Start With “E” List
1. Electrical cords – bane of our modern existence.

2. Euros – sucked all the fun out of the European Coke Economy.
4. Egos – mine is pretty solid, but some people… fark.
4. Electric Avenue; Eddy Grant – does that really need explaining?
5. Egg – grocery shopping egg check… depressing
6. Emos – save us the rhetoric and get it over with.
7. Extreme sports – for people who don’t appreciate their health
8. Elbow skin – most look like left over scrotum
9. Ear wax – yuk… cotton buds people! Please!
10. eEverything – ‘e’ has taken over the planet. eTax, eHugs, eCards, eBook, eWalk, eBrain, eAdvertiser… etc etc etc. Only closely rivalled by the ‘i’ of iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iTunes fame.