Really wide

At last my roll, list, combination is smaller by 80 parts of parts! Tomorrow I will go and download the list and verify they are truly gone. Its been at least four years I think trying to get this stuff gone. I have another list of less priority stuff to go soon.. some 60 or so then its clean up of 10 or 15 more items. I cant wait!

This is the good parts of my work... I really like it when things get done! ALso today I had a fun time watching a friend build another weird thing out of pieces and parts...Cool as all get out... Then more good news was had so all in all.. Oh yeah.. I got off on time too!!!... If it was Friday it would have been stunning... Not that tomorrow is going to get me down.. I am going in running.. get stuff done and see if it will be a regular time day.

Funny thing today or should I say, this morning. I had to go get more signatures on some docs and took the camera along just in case... but since I was driving myself I didn't get any pictures.. bummer there.... But I did drop my camera on the dusty floorboards.. yay,. cleaning time. I have two spots on my camera but it has to wait till I can let it go for a bit to get it really cleaned and Ill bet as soon as I do it will get some dust somewhere else.... Options.. not many.

What I was thinking about last night was that I needed more super wide wall paper for my work computers. I had some fun.. quick fun but fun.... I will post them x-large size but regular size.. ( look below so it will go far out on the blog ) but you will see what I was trying to do...


I put my little logo in a field of soft yellow.. it should be nice to look at.

Air Force on a soft grey.... Its also nice but I think my mail system will cover it.

I took the merge and said...lets just put some purple with it. Its okay... Needs to soften a bit.

Point of the mountain on grey. too bad that tree is there.. I will ahve to get that shot from in front of the tree.

Expansive Sandia... Should be very nice to look at.


Nice soft green and snark.

I plan on doing more. Its nice to have something up but I set my icons on my desktop dynamically so they shift and flow as I complete things... Its nice to be able to have something nice up but not hide my icons,

Here is my facebook banner for the day... I love Lindstrand USA as they made my balloon and have been so helpful... Funny thing is that the only problem I have had was my own fault ( burning 8 panels ) and they had those panels to me in days instead of weeks. Nope. Lindstrand makes a hell of a product. It feels like I have a pit crew right there if I ever need it... I doubt I will but its a heck of a good time when they are in town... I do gush and go on but they  deserve the praise. So yes...

Lindstrand... Look at the left side yellow.. see that.. that's diamond weave fabric. My whole balloon is diamond weave. Very strong, very beautiful and super long lasting.

My logo today is a play on my banner.. The Ultimate balloon builders

Going off to do some more wallpapers.. yay!

Purging

80 some-odd gone and 60 many more to go.. then just a tich more farther and its all done and cleaned up. Many Minutes of paperwork and automatic processes.Those  that you don't know about will make you more work.

When I know what I am supposed to do I love doing it. Yup! It was even looking like I could get off work on time today but about 20 minutes before I got stuck escorting until 4:30. ugh.. LOL.. It was worth it in the long run. I am hoping to maybe get a small break tomorrow and Friday.. well... if I don't.. and have to work, at least its work worth doing and not too bad to do at all........... LOLOLOL. I love this job.

I did get out to dump some stuff at the recyclers today ( as I was speaking about above ). I took the camera and shot a bunch of whatever shots.. my eye kept getting drawn to the bunches of signs.. and the people.. but we were moving too fast for me to get many of those people ones and almost too fast for signs. Here are my picks for today. I will dig into more of them later and see what neat stuff shows up. Another day of taking pictures!!


Central and and and....

 Route 66 is always fun to draw in on, especially when there are few cars ahead.

Baskets of Graffiti.

 Neat and on the Cowboys & Indians store.

A mana woman a man and a cart..waitin fer the bus.

 Snap shot across the truck and missing the rear view mirror.. The cart makes the picture.

Short n Sweet.

 Not the first time I have seen this... automobile.... but the first clear shot.

Edge of the Mountain.

 A different perspective of my favorite ridge-line. The strange things I love.

Stacks of Signs.

This is what I saw. its not really that bad..just the stretch of the lens and angle.

All in all 122 shots and something interesting in almost every one.... One very old street walker.. but I wont cause distress by posting that shot LOL. Many to go back and dig through. Yay me for getting out and taking pictures another day.I really really have to do Central at night again. There is more neon floating around. It also looks like they are shooting a movie at the De Anza motel.. they are working on it everywhere and have screens up too. Interesting.

My facebook banner for the day.. It brings memories of Fiesta and the massive amount of porta potties for the humongous amount of people. A little inside joke.

 Day 191... 191 days until Fiesta.. and here I sit..... hahahahahaha... hope there's TP!

Logo for the day. Route 66

Such a lodestone that crosses the city. Mm.. can almost smell the hot sun burned pavement and wisps of sage on the air....  I had a Golden Pride breakfast burritto today. The green chili just sat there warming my insides up for an hour.. smoky and heady spice.. mmmm. and BACON!!!!

Wide and far..or near.. I'm not your Father

Late day again today. Completion of our new air control system and paperwork that just sprang up in need to do before tomorrow. I could do both so I did. The drive home was full of "morons". 1. Lets drive in the fast land at 25 miles and hour in a car that obviously should not be on the road and think its all okay to cause accidents because we suck at thinking about cause and effect. 2. No blinker, wander everywhere and wonder when everyone around hits their horns causing you not to be able to listen to your cell phone call. 3. Blind corner motorcyclist. Yep! Hiding right there and guns it across the lanes thinking that hay.. I'm faster than that Mack truck which almost squished you.. and I am positive you would have blamed the driver if you got hit. I am at that "detest" stage for these people.

Love the city and State but the wack-burgers are taking all the fun out of it. Go home.. stay there... drown in your soup. Yes, they would dip their heads in soup bowls and forget to come up for air. Wa!

Almost done with some major equipment disposals.. almost there.. I can taste it... It is about the only thing I feel happy that is completing after four years of trying to get it gone for good. I did even scan about 500 pages of old documents into the computer.. on the off chance that it might come in handy in the future... From what I saw there were some very interesting things I may need to pull out later.

I went looking for some very wide wallpaper tonight when I got home and couldn't find any so I went and edited some shots for it. I have to span three monitors so I need something reallllllly wiiiiddddee.

If you are in need.. here you go...


Florals. ( love the pattern ).

LeakProof.

Tiny Leaf.

QuailTail.

Shard.

When I created the Upper Weston Burners I had this in mind too... Did this last night late. Had a good time with it. Each of the streets in the corners square off an area I used to prowl ( I did run most of the city ) and its just across the road from Victoria Park.. or as some people call it.. Vicky Park... sigh! I used to play there a lot too.. in and out of the ponds and bushes and across the grass and loping hills. A damn good childhood.

My facebook banner for the night is a black and white edit of Fiesta Park... should we call it Fees Park?? No. thanks..... So. yes.. targeting on my launch zone and 192 days to go. Wee fun.. Too tired to think about working on my pin design.. or am I.. dunno. too much concentration. Or not enough.

Logo for fb tonight is a mix of my balloon and the crest of Bath England. Why... Because I CAN!

If you can.. why not... 

Crops and Edits

Yeap.... It's a Monday.

What are you contributing? Nothing? Pick up a towel? Run a dishwasher? Pick up the trash your friends chuck about? Oh.. no.. sorry that's just too damn much... but you expect me to do it.... I refer to the bottom line / right side of my facebook banner today. Im done!

Its not just in a house.. its everywhere. Who was your personal servant yesterday? Yeah.. a better term.. butt buddy.. who was wiping it yesterday? I am done with it. I am not picking up after anyone again. Not if I can help it. Too little thank you or too much let him do it and I will just say thanks.. that will cover it. Yeah.. right.

Soapbox is getting a dent in the middle from all the standing on top of and banging the foot down.

Subject touched... Subject moved to the side.

Nothing and no time to take pictures of anything today. Late day minding people who do not know how to call ahead or schedule.. just drop in and expect you to deal with it... So a late day Monday.

Damn soapbox slid back out.

Minen truck with a bit of blue snow on it... something to rest the brain.

I was able to.. when I was also able to sit down and tend to myself, edit a few shots from this last Sundays flying. I wish I was able to be in two places at once.. I would have loved to get pictures of the Top Gun flyers as well as where I was. Yes I should be happy with the fun I had and I am but I do also want to do that too.. crazy huh. From lethargy to overrunning need to be everywhere.

A few below...


Edge of Light. Puff of Steam.

 A little too fuzzy but I didnt pull out the tripod.


N4KY close

 Dual turning vents up real close.

CrewServed!

 Nice on road landing.

SimplePleasures.

 Smooth, supple, tones.

Coyotes.

Multiple tracks in the damp sand.

I had a bit of wood I took a picture of but I cant find it for some reason. I will look harder .. later...

My facebook banner and logo for the day...

Day 193 and Up Yours Mate!

 I noticed a Bath Balloons logo out there and felt umbrage at it as they wouldn't let me join the local club a ways back.. so I created my own damn gang! Upper Weston / Combe Park Burners! Hah!

Upper Weston  is the area my Grandfathers house was in and Combe Park was the road it was on. We lived there for a while before we moved to Lower Weston when we returned to Bath. I have claims.. I option that claim! Wait till tomorrow or the day after for another.. Gonna make badge or somethin..

It looks like this in full.

and with a little weathering.

Logo... Pilots of the dawn.

I had the idea of the four of us Pilots all geared up looking off into the distance with our balloons in the background. Since I didn't have pictures of our Pilot guys with headgear and I didn't have the time to get the balloons and all I borrowed some aviators and melded it together and then modified the whole thing. It turned out pretty darned good for a speed edit.

I am now going to try and find something else to take my mind off my irritations.

Hope your irritations are of less derision and easier to put aside.

Oh.. and I didn't even talk about the loss of my Gimp tools and it took forever to get them back.

Up close and personal

For the third day I have been able to lever myself out of the house with camera in hand. Not too bad. Lets see if I can keep it up.

I decided last night to see if I could get out of the house in the morning and meet up with friends for some family ballooning. It worked out fine. I was up about 2 hours before and didn't even set an alarm. I hoped that if I wanted to go I would get up on time. Really way before time which turned out to be fine since I got to lay there and listen to my brain harass me about people that have gone missing in my life and general assaults about delays, paperwork and things out of my control. Love it when it does that. I know I am not alone of people with overactive brain scrambling bugs.. Sheesh.

Normal days ballooning is getting up, getting cleaned and dressed and piling into the truck and driving out ( with side trip for coffee ( as I have cut myself off of Starbucks coffee for my own good ) I stopped for a treat... of Starbucks coffee )... and waiting for everyone to show up. Then, once everyone has arrived, waiting for sunrise while getting equipment out and set up. There is a slight delay that happens.. and I will let Eric explain this... as he said this morning when he was asked why he had not set up yet... His words... paraphrased "Its the wait till the sun comes up so you can take cover thing".. or some such. It was very calm out but even waiting we had to adjust more East as the very tiniest breeze had changed as the sun broached the Sandia crest. So always duck and cover before dawn! So Eric was right....in a way..

I decided while standing there that I would get some more intimate shots of ballooning than the normal "its a balloon in the sky" shots, its a balloon standing there" shots.... I got those too but I did get very close also. Yep, I even had a few people pose.. which was fun....

I took 504 shots. Of those 504 there were 50 that I directly edited because they were what I wanted to capture today plus a few that were just the right thing at the right time.. and a shot that was so amazing I couldn't believe I was right in that exact spot I needed to be to see it. I will only insert the few that really stood out in this blog and when I have time to go through the others I will add them to my web site.


Waiting  and wondering.

 Standing around waiting for the balloon to show up.

That Intimate Touch.

 Just the softest touch on that squeeze trigger on Kubi burners. I love love oh love my Lindstrand squeeze burners... the machining on them is superb and a dream to caress.

Show me that burn.

A posed shot with the perfect burn and envelope in the background. Excellent!

Connections in the dawns light. 

One of the most important connections you can make. Lined up right and locked and secure.

Kkisses at apogee.

 Artistic licence of apogee...It sounds great.... I can and I will! The balloon is perfectly centered exactly above. Note the highest panel line on the edge of the envelope is exact all the way around. Yes.. I took about 12 pictures to get this shot.

Release the Propane!

 It seems to surge straight out and upward from the burner but in reality and with lurid grace it escapes and chases around the coils and whips to a fro fighting to be released.

Toys in the sandbox.

 At the right spot and the right moment and the right level on this huge rotating ball of surreality ( surreal reality ( yeah)). A little toy being played with and tossed about. Only holding on without being aware of the tenuousness of life.

Enveloping the vehicles.

The only time it is okay to have your envelope touch a vehicle.. be it a shadows touch, it is a touch. 

( Whistling )

Morning fire in the sky.

 Today's banner and a nice predawn shot of the Sandia ridge-line. A ripple of heat just before its felt.

Is there only one way?

Logo for facebook for the day. Ive gone the opposite way on a one way road. Its possible. Its doable. Its also possible to get hit head on but if you go slowly and have a goofy look on your face you normally can get away with it.

I am going to add some of these directly to facebook for friends plus add a few not seen here which are more personal... as I would never expose some things to the whole world. ( ";o) )

Enjoy your evening, day, morning....

PS I lost my lens cap somewhere before the chase only to find it right under my foot after the chase was over. Heh!

BLUE FLAME 443

If it was not for propane the ballooning situation would be somewhat different. If it was not for pressurized propane it would be real different. Nothing... but I am trying to remind myself I have three tanks that need to be filled. Hah! Really I was wondering what to do about all that. Propane. Research turns up the weirdest things. Not connected to it but by the thinnest reeds. Too much to learn, too much.

Got out today and went in search of a nice place to take pictures of the Sandias with a hat of clouds atop. Closest to center view was off Pdel.. or to you and me Paseo Del Norte just before you drop into the valley. Lots of buildup on the edges but unless you get up in the air you cant get a clear shot. The problem with being up in the air is the platform isn't too rigid. Hard to take a pano of the mountains when your rocking back and forth in a basket. I will try this next time I fly if I have time to set it up.

I did get a nice distant using the tripod. sadly the light was iffy and even with the tripod the atmosphere between me and the mountain was roiling. Still a huge 20,000 mpx shot. Too huge to see it all here but maybe I will upload it to my photo web site later.

There was a roadrunner watching me take pictures. He/She ( who can tell from that distance ) ( no I was not friendly enough to know ) sat on the top edge of a trash hiding wall and watched. When I tried to get closer it bounded away. Not scared as much as irritated that I had dared to approach its nice warm perch.

Look at that crest. It might also have been a CAP plane that was doing loops over us that made it run off also.. I dunno.

There were more good pictures of the city spread out and I used one for my facebook banner today. It is a direct West East shot of the balloon museum... well you can see the roof... nice and coppery. Ill post it below.

I was looking at some pictures from back in 2000 when cameras didn't have the ability to take great digital pics. Ok.. anything I could afford. I ran them through an enlarger and one turned out very nice and is now large enough to go 2 foot by 3 foot on the wall.

Its quite nicely painted looking from up close. Very stylish. I may have to print this just because.


Higher sampled shots from 2000 too. Each are neat for their location and position.

Fiesta field before it became a park..... No museum, no Gardunuo's on the green, barely any grass or roads.

See I did get out today.. I did take pictures and I did do something with them. I am hoping I can drag out of bed tomorrow and go help a friend and get some more pictures as well as enjoy the morning instead of just laying there. Granted last night it was two dogs in bed instead of one and that one extra was such a pain in the butt. Not again. Crated and out the door if it barks its head off again. I am not babysitting again. Ridiculous! I am exhausted enough that I fell asleep in my chair this afternoon.

I did do some research on laptops and the new surface tablet. No laptop looks worth the money and the surface looks like an iffy deal too unless you really need a new system. What I am interested in right now is Windows 10 which they say they are going to give away for free..even to pirated systems. I can understand the idea behind it. Give the "car" away for free and hit them for the accessories. Its workable. Plus they can get all those people using windows...trackable windows. Tell me they wont send an identifier to Microsoft for every system activation. .. right. Whatever.

Facebook banner for the day.. and logo....

I had a thought while stuck in line at Walmart waiting on a cashier and manager to figure out that they had two bad gift cards as they kept swiping and swiping them without avail. At last after the tenth time and 15 minutes of feeling my leg go painfully numb as my sciatic nerve said hi, the manager got a new card.. wow.. it worked! Oh.. that thought was... What if.... what if those delays were to save you from something happening to you... what if those delays are to clear your path.... I have no clue.. I was thinking through my pain at the time.... and there was an awful road closing wreck on Coors on the way home.... its just a thought.