Five Acres with a View

October 8, 2006 - Click on image for higher resolution version.

Click on image for higher resolution version.

I thought about it for hours, but decided there is just no non-tacky way of stating that I updated my Amazon Wish List.

Camera: Paula asked me about my camera: I took the photo Small Rapids with my Kodak EasyShare DX7590. It has an optical 10x lens, and I am very fond of it. It works quite well with my operating system of choice: Ubuntu Linux.
Crazy Glue: I still get the occasional comment on I Hate Crazy Glue. Other people seem to hate it too, probably because they find my post while desperately searching for a way to get the stuff off their fingers.
Comment Spam: I noticed, in the ten minutes that it took to upgrade my weblog to Wordpress 2.0.1, one spam comment was attached while I was upgrading. (When upgrading WordPress, it is advised that you turn off all your plugins, and I use the plugin Spam Karma to prevent spam comments.) Fortunately Spam Karma worked after the upgrade, but I thought it was a sad commentary that I received spam comment in a ten minute window.

Yesterday, I took Jack’s monopod with me on my walk along Cottonwood Creek, in hopes that I would get some good shots with the zoom. This was the first time I had walked with the monopod, and I found it less cumbersome than I feared. I was impressed by how well the above shot turned out, considering my distance from the falls when I took it. Click on the photo for a higher resolution version suitable for a desktop background.

Fountains of Paradise

Originally uploaded by FireAcres.

Posted to flickr via grofract4d.

I’ve disabled trackbacks and pingbacks due to receiving truly vile spam. I learned about it via PhotoMatt and immediately checked comments and trackbacks, finding some stomach turning entries which I immediately deleted. Evidently, Spam Karma has been updated to deal with trackback spam, so I installed it on both my weblog and Jack’s weblog. The trackback spam was sufficiently upsetting that I will just leave it turned off for a while, until I see if the Spam Karma fix works for other people.

Just in time for another cold snap, our furnace quit working again yesterday morning. The furnace guys worked on it an hour or so yesterday, consulting extensively on the cell phone, and when they left it was working. They are testing something for the next week or so, to see what the underlying problem might be.

I had planned on making Hot and Sour Soup last night before the furnace quit working, and it really hit the spot since the house was still warming up. I used a recipe that the NeonNurse provided in response to my request. I had always been intimidated by traditional Hot and Sour Soup recipes, but hers uses ingredients from standard American style grocery stores. Jack and I both enjoyed the results. I did skip putting in the shrimp, and will use less vinegar next time.

I am glad we didn’t put the space heaters away, though we haven’t had to resort to them again. It was two degrees Fahrenheit when I woke up this morning.

Sunday, while my mother was at Mass, I walked along Cottonwood Creek again. I was hoping to photograph some elaborate ice flows, but it has been too warm to develop them. However, I did get some good glimpses of Pikes Peak in the background.

Jack came up this idea for my Christmas present and I agreed it was a good idea. (We usually check out non-trivial gifts with each other, since we would rather get something the other person really wants rather than a surprise. One year, I did manage to surprise Jack with a set of Calphalon pots and pans, but I had told him that I didn’t think they were a good idea when he said he wanted them.) I went to Office Max a few days ago and did some tests. Today, when I came home from the barn, my present was in the sitting room with a red table cloth draped over it. I immediately replaced the old wooden chair I have been using as a computer chair for years now.

I can’t believe how comfortable it is.