Friday, May 30, 2025

AI Photo Editing

The park removed the flower bed in front of my neighbor's park model which has a great view of the Superstition Mountains...


So... I thought it would be a good idea to spoof him with a AI generated image of his new view...

Click on image to enlarge

This technology is becoming scary good. You have to wonder if at some point digital photos will not be allowed in court due to the ability to manipulate them.

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Nice Weather

This Spring in southern Arizona has had some of the best weather I have experienced in the 14 years I have been visiting the area. Granted we could use some rain as it has been very dry, but the cooler temperatures and low humidity have made for some very pleasant days. And it looks like it may continue for a little longer...

The average high temperature in June is 104 F

In North Carolina where I grew up, it was generally a race between the temperature and humidity in the summer months to see which would get to 100 F first. That makes for some very unpleasant days. If you have never experienced high temperatures with low humidity like we have here, you might be surprised at what a difference it makes. In addition, you become somewhat acclimatized to the warmer weather to the point that I now think anything below 60 F is cold!

Friday, May 23, 2025

Life In The Fast Lane

Interesting information about our planet:
  • At the equator, the Earth's rotational speed is approximately 1,000 miles per hour
  • The Earth's orbital speed around the sun is about 67,000 miles per hour
  • Our Solar System is moving through space at a speed of around 448,000 miles per hour
  • The Milky Way galaxy is traveling through space at 1.34 million miles per hour
I am thinking of putting a safety belt on my recliner just in case we run into something.

Thursday, May 22, 2025

Tour de France Training

My neighbor, Glenn, has been training for the Tour de France this summer. Here's a video showing his progress to date...



At the rate he is improving, I may have to invest in one of those high speed cameras that tracks speeding bullets!

Monday, May 19, 2025

Trail Cams

When you do not want to miss any of the action...

Sunday, May 18, 2025

Bulldog Canyon West

Joel chauffeured Ralph and I up Bulldog Canyon West to the Bush Highway in his tricked out Jeep...

Click on photo to enlarge

The trail is rated 2.5 which means a high clearance vehicle with 4 wheel drive is highly recommended. It also requires an OHV permit which can be purchased online at https://www.recreation.gov/activitypass/AP22844

Entrance to the trail

Where we had lunch

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

First GoPro Video

Back in 2010 I purchased a GoPro camera which I mounted on my Gold Wing motorcycle. This is the first video I created from a ride around my neighborhood...


Monday, May 12, 2025

Self Portrait

While playing around with the photo settings on my phone, I took a self portrait. I was going for the hot, metro male look. Unfortunately, I got the dirty old man look...

Click on photo to enlarge

Thursday, May 08, 2025

Monster Lizard

Yesterday, I placed my trail cam out by the AC to begin videoing some of the critters that stop by for water. This is the first one I captured. Counting the tail, it is almost two feet long! Hopefully, it just eats bugs, not people.

Tuesday, May 06, 2025

Dihydrogen Monoxide

Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and kills uncounted thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide do not end there. Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage. Symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination, and possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body electrolyte imbalance. For those who have become dependent, DHMO withdrawal means certain death. 

Quantities of Dihydrogen Monoxide have been found in almost every stream, lake, and reservoir in America today. But the pollution is global, and the contaminant has even been found in Antarctic ice. In the midwest alone DHMO has caused millions of dollars of property damage. And yet our government has refused to ban it!

Dihydrogen Monoxide is the chemical name for water

Saturday, May 03, 2025

PCmover

The cooling fan in my main computer is failing. It is an All-In-One system that is difficult to open up for repairs. I called Best Buy and was told that it would be a minimum of $200 plus parts. Fortunately, I have a spare computer that was being used to mine cryptocurrency that I will use as a replacement. Having transferred data from an old computer to a new one several times in the past, I dreaded the conversion process, so I went online and discovered a highly rated program (PCmover) that would automate most of the work.

It did save me a lot of time by transferring photos, videos, documents and other miscellaneous files. However, it did not transfer everything and you wind up having to do some stuff manually. All in all, it was worth the price, but it is still a pain in the tush to get your new computer back to where you want it.