But Is It Art, Part 2

After reading my post on the "experts" on Flikr, my brother sent me a link to this bit of genuis.

What Is Head On?

Head On, apply directly to the forehead!
Head On, apply directly to the forehead!
Head On, apply directly to the forehead!

Has anyone else seen this stupid commercial. You can usually catch it on Robin & Friends on CNN Headline News in the morning. The above line is all the ad says. There's no explanation of what it is and the website doesn't offer any enlightenment. It's almost a perfect marketing strategy. I am so curious I know I'll be finding it at Walmart just to see what it does. And of course they get a little free publicity on here. I'll check into it at Walmart but I won't buy it just because they've really annoyed the crap out of me.

But Is It Art

I'm trying to learn how to use my Nikon D70. I've had it for a year and I'm still using it in point and shoot mode. I love photography. I love looking at pictures, taking pictures and reading about taking pictures. I just wish I was better at taking photos. I thought I was doing okay until my brother turned me on to Flikr.com. It's a great photo site and community for sharing interests. I enjoy sharing motorcycle photos with people that have the same passion for bikes and travel as I have. There for awhile though, I started getting absorbed in the push to get my picture views up. I joined a couple of the "rate my photo" groups. My brother said it best when he noted that nothing sucks the fun out of something like having a know-it-all point out that your picture titled Sunset doesn't show the sun setting. Nevermind that it was taken at sunset. It took me about five minutes to quit all those groups and erase the comments. Life's been happier for the most part. There is however a recent thread in one of the discussion groups that got my ire up. In the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Photography group one fellow thought that there was a lot of potential but far too much garbage there. He was one of those people that has become so prevelant since the advent of the world wide web. You know the type. He just wants to have a rational discussion, it's just his humble opinion. This guy was a little more civil than most but still had that smug attitude that drives me crazy. I try to stay out of these "debates" but made the mistake of getting sucked into this one. I found myself defending some of the pictures this guy was criticizing. He of course took this to mean that my feelings were personally hurt. The bad part is the guy came in, stirred up grief and left, and it was all for naught. I don't even think he was a regular member of the group.

I don't want it to sound like I can't take constructive criticism, I've learned quite a bit and it's usually from the people that are polite. I've actually been reading the owner's manual for my camera today and experimented a little with settings other than the auto features. The instructions are a little similar to the shuttle owner's manual. I want to get some experience under my belt in preparation for our honeymoon to England next year. Even if I don't improve I'm sure my pictures from England will make Lisa and me happy. The problem right now is that I think I actually took better pictures with my cheap 5 year old Kodak DC290. I'm not sure why, maybe I'm depending on the camera to do it all now. The picture above is an example from the old Kodak. I really like this one. Hope I can get that good with my expensive new D-SLR.

Beautiful, Sweet Justice

I just saw a bit of good news from the Cato Institute.

News Release

June 19, 2006

Media Contact: (202) 789-5200

Supreme Court Rebuffs Senseless EPA Regulation
Supreme Court Sides with Cato Brief

WASHINGTON -- Today, the U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed an expansive reading of federal power by environmental regulators. In Rapanos v. United States, regulators claimed federal wetlands laws allow them to micromanage development of Michigan property through which a trickle of water drained, even though the land was high, dry, and land-locked. The landowner, John Rapanos, fought back, arguing that the federal Clean Water Act doesn't give regulators control over any land from which water might occasionally flow. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court agreed.

According to Tim Lynch and Mark Moller, authors of Cato's friend-of-the-court brief in support of Mr. Rapanos, the Court reached the right decision: "If the government can regulate any land from which water occasionally drains, no matter how speculative the effect of this drainage on navigable water, wetlands law gives it almost limitless jurisdiction over private property, except perhaps in the heart of the Mojave desert. In essence, the federal government's reading of the Clean Water Act would turn the EPA into a vast national zoning board.

"The English language says otherwise. The Clean Water Act gives the federal government the power to protect navigable water and regulate some land 'adjacent' to navigable water -- not control every rivulet of water that trickles through your lawn. What's remarkable about this case is not the outcome -- but the government's ability to argue its reading of federal law with a straight face."

This little article helped make my day.

Critical Shortage Of Causes Haunt Celebrities

Poor Daryl Hannah, Leonardo DeCaprio, Ed Harris and Charlie Sheen (?!?). It seems like we're going down hill in the cause department. From the big one, war, to immigration and on down the scale to Tom Cruise's bizarre grudge against pharmaceuticals, it's been a good year for watching Hollywood show it's ass. I remember laughing out loud when I heard Charlize Theron take an oath to not marry until gays and lesbians could marry. Daryl and her erstwhile friends are attempting to save a 14 acre garden in LA.. Or I should say were. It seems that someone realized that the leggy, blonde nut in the walnut tree was actually Daryl at which time she was promptly removed. On the surface it seems like a small, worthy cause I guess. 350 families grew food there, the owner decided to sell his land on which a werehouse would be built. No one wants to see 350 families go hungry. It turns out most of the people had already been successfully relocated. I hate to see 14 acres of pleasant green vegetation disappear but is it really worth living in a tree for 3 weeks? I guess it is for some people. Good for her.

"I felt an extreme sense of urgency. Not only did I have to climb up the tree, I had to pull up the rope behind me so they could not follow me," the actress told the Los Angeles Times by cell phone from her tree perch.

Has there ever been a funnier quote? Celebs, it's like two for the price of one with them. We get to enjoy their movies and be entertained by their real world exploits. There's nothing they can't do.

Since that whole issue is resolved maybe we can all go back to praying for a day when Charlize Theron can marry.

V-Twin Powered Car

If you've noticed which vehicles are creating a buzz in the aftermarket, you may have seen a proliferation of rocket-powered space-frame road cars that owe a fair amount of their design to unskinned Formula 1 racers.
That's probably because Formula racers get paid to know what works, and it would be great if someone could figure out how to get those cars on the street. Well, TwinTech has, only with a V-twin twist

The whole article is at Kit Car Magazine's website. The website listed for Twintech doesn't seem to work. It takes you to what is apparently a poorly designed Norwegian IT resources company.

As for the car it's an interesting design but being a sport bike fan I'm more partial to the Suzuki GSX-R Concept Car.