Lensbaby

Photgraphy used to be about precision...in lighting, in focus, in contrast, in composition. Enter the digital age. It started with Photoshop. But the learning curve was steep. It moved on to camera phones and a million apps that allow anyone, with a simple click of a button, to change the look drastically or artistically or whatever. 

Lensbaby is that and more. It's still about capturing images in the camera. It's tilt shift which allows the photographer to highlight details that matter most and gives an etheral depth to all the rest. It begins at the center for focus and begins the blur beyond that. The photographer chooses. It immerses you in serendipity. Practice is required but then all good things require that. These are some of my first effort. More to come. Which do you like best?

Mountain High

This is a view I never tire of. It just sucks my breath away. It is really beautiful any time of the day but is spectacular at sunset. It is north facing so it collects all the colors of the setting sun but allows them to migrate and change as the sun move to the west. I had fun interpreting this view in cloth.

Oh what a day!

The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

As the story goes...A reluctant centenarian decides it's not too late to start over . . .

After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he's still in good health, and in one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn't interested (and he'd like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash, some unpleasant criminals, a friendly hot-dog stand operator, and an elephant (not to mention a death by elephant).

It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: Not only has he witnessed some of the most important events of the twentieth century, but he has actually played a key role in them. Starting out in munitions as a boy, he somehow finds himself involved in many of the key explosions of the twentieth century and travels the world, sharing meals and more with everyone from Stalin, Churchill, and Truman to Mao, Franco, and de Gaulle. Quirky and utterly unique, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared has charmed readers across the world.

This book made me laugh out loud. At times it seemed like a story that I started and then paused and you picked up the next sequence only to pause again. Just when you think Allan is caught, some hilarious twist shows up and a new path is presented. Death by elephant was perhaps my all time favorite and then I read about how Allan and his friend who made up things in their war on double espionage.  A real treat for some light hearted reading. Give yourself a summer break.

Raise

A new and useful app showed up. It's called Raise.

This app allows you to buy and sell gift cards at discounted prices. So before you shop online or in stores, check out the Raise marketplace to find discounted gift cards for stores such as Starbucks, Target, The Home Depot, and Macy’s. You can search by brand, category or value, and easily add it to your shopping cart. No need to wait for the card to be shipped. Simply have it downloaded to your smart phone and you carry it with you. I'm told that you need to allow as much as 24 hours for the transaction to complete so plan ahead.

Uber New

You CAN teach an old dog HMMM! lady new tricks.
Last week it was Uber. Not uber new but uber Uber!

As in:

I might not have chosen this experience but the hotel gave us a pass to try it. Downloading the app was required. Setting up an account with credit card on file was also. After that, it was:

• very easy to use
• they are personal cars and were very clean
• the drivers were very polite
• the pick up was quicker
• and the ride was cheaper
• the ride is automatically billed to your credit card
• and a receipt is emailed on the spot
• they send you a picture of your driver so you won't get in any random car

Our first driver was on his lunch hour and earning some extra cash so he didn't mind a shorter drive. The drivers have an app on their smart phone that when they plug in their availability, maps their location. The closest car to the client is offered and if he accepts, comes to fetch you. If he declines, the next closest is pegged.The driver know where he needs to go and thus can respond based on the time he/she has available. 

There were three of us and I am not sure if I would go it alone.

But for this time, it was uber cool!