First Day of Retirement

Well, here we are at last -- the first day of the rest of my life after retirement. Funny thing, I don't feel any different. This morning I still had to take out the trash, wash the patio, and pick up my socks as usual. I suspect that it will take a great many days before my blissful freedom materializes. But for all those co-workers who together made my working days so interesting and so rewarding, I say many, many thanks. I certainly won't forget you nor allow you to completely disappear from my life. This may seem like the end, but it's only the beginning.

Tomorrow. . .

To commemorate tomorrow's special day, here's the lyrics from the musical, Annie. And just for fun, at right is my 1973 passport:

The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow
There'll be sun!

Just thinkin' about
Tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs,
And the sorrow
'Til there's none!

When I'm stuck a day
That's gray,
And lonely,
I just stick out my chin
And Grin,
And Say,
Oh!

The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
'Til tomorrow
Come what may
Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
I love ya Tomorrow!
You're always
A day
A way!
!

The day before the day before the day

Well, here we are on the day before the day before the final day. Tomorrow is the good-bye lunch. We already had the good-bye breakfast/lunch here in the technology building with all my long-time techie co-workers. The plane in the picture was signed by all the helpdesk and desktop folks to send me off. It certainly feels like momentus things are about to happen.

Towards better photograhy

Want to improve your photographs? At right is a photo by LatentE," a photograher I found on tabblo.com using a software package from Photomatix.com that really does a nice job of combining a series of photos into one truly great shot.

I have to say that I've never been a fan of manipulated photographs, however photograhers have always known that your eye sees much more detail than the camera can ever capture. With LatentE's technique your photo captures a greater range of light and dark that more closely portrays what your eye saw originally.

To do this you have to have a stable shooting platform, preferrably a weighted tripod, so your shots don't vary from each other. Then you find a perfect spot and expose a series of photos using the camera's automatic over/under exposure feature. Finally, you import the shots into photomatix and manipulate the melded image. For instructions on how it works and to see other great shots from LatentE, go here.