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This year's Eureka CA fireworks were done in the fog, which sucks if you want to see the fireworks, but cool if you like the visuals in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Anyway, Leica SL2-S at 12800 ISO with the Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.0, then denoised slightly in Topaz's Photo.ai. Here you go - pretty fog.

Finally got around to casing this (also posted in the What are you building thread. Needs a bit of wiring cleanup, and the transformer needs to get bolted down, but sounds great.

FInally got around to casing my DynaFET. I ordered the case from Modushop in November of 2021. I will probably clean up the wiring, particularly the output wiring. Also need to bolt the transformer down. I wish I would have done the lettering a bit smaller, but overall satisfied with how it turned out, and it sounds great, even though it is single-ended.

Not exactly cooking but there was heating involved. Reese's puff marshmallow treats.

Truth.

Certainly. You wouldn't want to reach around and be disappointed.

Night Beat Sam Cooke 1963 https://album.link/i/304822017 Example: Saturday Night Soul.

Thanks! I've been listening to her a lot lately. Love her rendition of Pictures...

^^ saw that yesterday and liked it. I then added her recent Chopin album on DG to my queue. There is always one more album to listen to.

Probably took a year to get the MQA just right. 👌 And agree it’s a great collection.

Marinating some chicken in yogurt as we speak (minimum 8 hours) -- not sure what for...oh, who am I kidding, I'm making my ghoulash again.

This is going to be a long walk, and kind of a gross one. In the second half of the 00s, as everyone was ditching film, a friend gave me a Canon EOS Rebel K2. It's a very consumer grade film SLR. I put a few rolls through it, but I've never been a committed film photographer. 35mm just isn't worth the cost and effort, and larger formats require one's own darkroom. In a slightly different universe, I would shoot medium format and ULF. I took about 10 years off from photography. The reasons were many, and not all good. I've begun to pick it up on 2023. Part of that process has involved me going through all my old kit. I've carefully cleaned off my IR-modied 5D (I still need to give its sensor one last cleaning) and many of my lenses. I also unearthed the old Rebel K2. Its batteries (it uses a pair of expensive and annoying CR2s) were long dead. I spent considerable time on Amazon, looking at rechargeable options. My interest was primarily in getting a battery for the Leica C3 I picked up a few days ago. The C3 uses a single CR123(A). There are a number of well reviewed options for rechargeables, buuut ...they're considered hazardous materials and can't be shipped to a PO box. This is a recurring problem with island life. I will solve the issue of the C3 one way or another (it's too cool to not use). Even if I just buy a package of lithium CR123s and deal with their annoyingly short lifespan, it will be worth it in the short term. The K2 presents a decidedly different problem. It's not a very good camera. It was never a very good one. I do have an army of glass I can attach to it, but I don't really want to do so. With that said, there is a roll of slide film in it that I started in 2011 that I have yet to finish. I'd not bother, but most of the exposures on it were taken while I was visiting MV in 2011. I have a text file on my Google Drive detailing the date, time, location and exposure settings of all of them. I really want to finish this roll, even if there's a strong chance that the shots are no good. Slide film does not keep forever. As part of of the process of getting re-acquainted with my camera gear, I've been going through the pile of camera bags and lens cases I have amassed. A number of them were stored in an upstairs closet on my mainland house and they're a bit ...stinky. I've been emptying them out and airing them out today. The Vineyard is a very breezy place, and it clears out most odors quickly. Inside one of the camera bags was my old K2. I picked it up and made a horrible discovery. It has a shitty "rubberized" grip, and whatever coating Canon saw fit to put on it 20+ years ago has turned into black goo. Handling it is an absolute nightmare. I dug up a bottle of iso alcohol and and old rag. I spent a good 20 minutes carefully cleaning off the disgusting grip. I am pleased to announce that I am victorious over The Black Goo. Mostly. I also found an unopened pair of CR2 batteries and after 3 tries I got the K2's battery compartment open. The K2 came to life and said "Yep, still got 3 exposures here, boss." I'm gonna hafta attach my 17-40L to it and finish it off. Then I'm tasked with finding an outfit that will develop, scan and return the film to me.

👍

The Bear second season finale for the third time.

Wild Creatures Neko Case 2023 https://album.link/i/1616250367 Example: Very enjoyable outing from Neko in 2023. Playing with different sounds and moods a bit more.

I call this dish Batchelor Stovetop Casserole. It's a dish my Father and I developed together when I was around 20, and we were roommates for the first time.