We all Need a Hero

At least I know I’d like one.  The GoPro Hero2 is an amazing HD camera that comes with a waterproof case and all kinds of mounts.  It would be an amazing camera for time lapse video captured from my deck!

Here is my first UStream broadcast from my phone:

Create and Sell Your Own Calendar Online

Like I did!

It’s no secret that I have a serious photography addiction.  With sunrises and sunsets as beautiful as they are around here it’s hard to resist.  The perils of living in a target rich environment I suppose.  As a result I have all these pictures.  What to do?

Over the last couple of years I have been playing around with Zazzle.com.  I have a little store there with some of my pictures on coffee mugs and mouse pads.  I’ve sold a few and it’s pretty neat to see some of the great scenes I capture around here on a mug.  My favorite is the “God Is Amazing” mug with a great shot of Pusch Peak after a storm.  The other is a mug that screams Valentine’s Day gift.  The, “Life is Better Shared” mug features two hummingbirds enjoying a sunrise lit breakfast together.  Aw.

I’ve had a couple of friends asking when I was going to have a calendar for sale.  Well today I finally went through my pictures and have published two calendars you can buy at my Zazzle store.  The Oro Valley 2012 Calendar and the HummingbirdFeederCam.com 2012 Calendar.  The cost is kinda high though.  Almost $21! and I only make $2 of that.  Calendars are half price today at Zazzle, so you might could grab one for $10.50 plus shipping.  I’ve sold a couple so far today!

Still, $21 is kinda high for a calendar.  I don’t care how much you like me :-)  So, I was looking around for a better solution and I found it.  A quick web search landed me at Lulu.com.  I remember my Mom telling me about it.  A site mainly dedicated to self publishing authors, but they also have a slick tool for creating calendars.  Here’s what I came up with.  My self published TonightsSunset.com 2012 Calendar:

Best part is I can offer it to you for $15.99 and I make almost $3. I call that a win win.  Order up a couple today and tell your friends.  2012 is only a week away!

Here is the HummingbirdFeederCam.com 2012 Calendar:

Something Fishy Going On Again

I love my fish tank.  It brings a calm and peace to my life as I peer into an alien environment created for creatures with gills and colorful scales.  I have a 55 gallon tank and when it’s fully stocked with guppies and neons and assorted tetras it can be better than HD TV.  In 3D even!

The story of the tank goes back to the days in Roswell and my job at KBIM TV.  The year was 1992.  I already had a 10 gallon tank (which was later the home for my Piranha, but that is another story) where my green snake lived.  (it was so cool)  I also had a little goldfish tank with a little goldfish in it.  I didn’t want a dog or a cat since I lived in an upstairs apartment.

I was minding my own business at work one day talking to our receptionist and she asked me if I wanted to buy her 55 gallon tank.  Stand, underground filters, gravel, the whole works for only $75.  What a steal and a deal!  I jumped at it and we agreed.  Her Dad even helped me carry it up the stairs to my apartment.  He even took the heavy end.  (and it was heavy)

I got it all set up and stocked it with fish and it was amazing.  It had (and still has) the best gravel I’ve seen in a fresh water tank.  My son was only 3 years old at the time and he loved it!  Amber did too, and so did I.  :-)

I had the tank for the remaining couple years I lived in Roswell.  I added a dog when I moved into a house.  Popcorn was our “Pet of the Week” one week that we featured on the air after the weather.   I said on TV that I would take her if no one else did, and I did, but again, that is another another story.

Back to the tank.  It traveled well when I moved to Lubbock, Texas and was a source of joy when I bought my first house a couple of years later.  I visited FAO Schwartz in NY, NY and bought some marbles that I added to the tank.  The fish even made the move (and two year stay) to Odessa, Texas after my nearly 10 years in Lubbock.  After Odessa I moved to Tucson and that is when I ran into a problem.  The tank got cracked during transport from Odessa to Tucson.  So, I went without fish for almost a year.  That is until my son came to visit.

Now in high school, one of the first things my son said to me was, “Where is your fish tank?”  I had always had the tank since he could remember and it was noticeably missing.  I missed it too, so I went down to the Wal-Mart and bought a new tank.  I still had all the set-up stuff and it was easy to set it up back up and stock it.  Just like old times!  All was calm and peaceful again in the Shaw household.

Then came my personal Great Depression last year into this one.  Not so much my mood, but my finances.  First one light burned out on the tank, then the other.  Some of the fish were dying (normal attrition) and the remaining were living in the dark except for the natural light coming in from the windows.  I couldn’t afford to replace the lights nor the fish.  This went on for nearly a year until last week.

Finally!  I caught up on my bills and I had some left over cash to replace the lights and stock the tank.  I especially love the guppies.  They are the most colorful and flamboyant of the fish and they breed like crazy.  The little baby guppies serve as live food for the rest of the fish, and the guppies that survive continue to supply even more guppies. It’s wonderful!  In Lubbock I had a pet store owner who used to buy guppies from me.

So there you have it.  Pets and apartment living don’t mix with me very well.  Except for the fish.  They don’t need to be walked and there is no cat box litter smell.  Only peace and love and a glimpse into an alien world full of color and life.  Sigh.

November 18, 2011 Linda Vista Loop Trail Sunset Time Lapse

Nice Sunset tonight.  Here’s a time lapse taken with my FlipUltra HD.

How Cold is it?

COLD

New record low of 18 this morning which is also tied for the second coldest ever for a February Tucson morning.  There's a chance we tied the all-time record February low of 17.  We won't find out for sure for a few hours.  If we didn't reach it, no worries.  We have an even better chance tomorrow morning!

This could be the coldest February chill in Tucson's history.  I go through all of that plus take a look at the cold, snow and freezing rain forecast for Texas in this morning's "Coffee and a Forecast"

Video streaming by Ustream

Here is a comprehensive look at the cold start originally posted on my TucsonWeather.us site.

Praying for Tucson

Saturday’s shooting in Tucson (technically Pima County) is heartbreaking.  How do you make sense out of what doesn’t make any sense?  All you can do is shed a tear and pray.  There has been a lot of both in Tucson and around the country since Saturday.  The prayers continue even as the victims start to heal and the families of those killed mourn.

Since the shooting occurred only a mile from my apartment, I did want to describe what happened in my little world on Saturday.  I received calls from family and friends because they know that I have been to some of Congresswoman Giffords’ events in the past and they wanted to know that I was OK.  This tragedy underscores once again how important our relationships are with those we love.  Another reminder to never take our friends and family for granted.

Saturday morning I went to my LD (Legislative District) meeting, LD26 at 9am.  It was there before the meeting started that someone mentioned that Gabrielle Giffords had an event planned at the Safeway at Ina and Oracle.  Our meeting went as planned.  At the very end a lady stood up in the back and said that there had been a shooting at Ina and Oracle and to stay away from the area.  She didn’t have any more information.  Immediately I thought, “I hope the Giffords event hasn’t started yet and I hope she wasn’t there.”  I had no idea what time her event was scheduled for, but naturally I was concerned.  Our meeting ended and some of us were visiting when one of our state representatives came in with the bad news.  He had been in contact with police and they had told him that Gabrielle Giffords was among those that had been shot, but he had no information on her condition or if the gunman had been caught.

Immediately some of us began to cry.  Many of us have met Gabrielle Giffords, and some knew her pretty well.  All of us were stunned.  Some of us huddled together for a prayer for Giffords, the others who had been shot and their friends and families.  Then I left for Pima County Republican Headquarters.

I had already planned to go there for the LD28 meeting scheduled for Noon.  Now I was headed there to see if there was anything I could do in my role 1st Vice Chair of the Pima County GOP.  We spent he next few hours making phone calls, answering phone calls, praying, crying at times, and watching the news unfold.  We were devastated when we heard that Giffords had died.  We were devastated to learn that a 9 year old girl had been killed.  We were relieved to learn that Giffords was alive!  More prayers for her recovery and for God to comfort those who lost family members.  Those prayers continue.

It was an emotionally draining day and weekend.  It’s an emotional start to the work week.

It is surreal to drive by Ina and Oracle and see the Walgreens that I frequent and the entire Safeway shopping center surrounded with yellow tape.  Police cars guard every entrance with their lights flashing, and satellite trucks are parked across the street.

All eyes are on Tucson and all hearts cry out to God for healing and comfort even as we try to understand the evil that was carried out through a very disturbed young man.  I have confidence that God will bring good out of this tragedy.  It is His nature.  I also know that He is close to the brokenhearted.   His Word says so.

AMAZING Oro Valley Sunrise

Nice way to start the day.  I think God really likes Arizona:

Sunset Time Lapse

I saw the high clouds late yesterday afternoon and knew it was going to be another one of those amazing Tucson Sunsets (patent pending) that we Tucsonans love so much.  So I grabbed my tripod, camera and FlipUltra HD and headed for Pima Canyon.  I hiked about a half mile up the trail, ducked behind some cacti and ocotillo, set up my tripod and started rolling.  Meanwhile, I hiked around with my “regular” camera and got a few dozen shots.  The best ones are here.

I sat on a rock drinking in God’s handiwork while the Flip did all the work. I love watching Him paint and repaint and repaint the sky.  As it got darker and darker the Moon seemed to get brighter behind me.  I followed my Moon shadow back to my car and coasted (almost) down the hill to edit the video.

Here it is.  45 minutes of sunset condensed into 3 minutes-ish with Selah’s, “Oh Draw Me Lord.”

Happy Pi Day!

It’s Pi Day, 3.14.  A friend of mine reminded me on Facebook, so I reminded everyone else.  It’s getting a few comments, like this one:

“e to the x dy, dx. e to the x, dx.. cosine, secant, tangent, sin, 3.14159!”

So, I thought I’d record it.

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Like I said, Happy Pi Day!

Coyote Crossing!

It’s all here on my Hummingbird Feeder Cam site.  Coyotes crossing the empty lot below the apartment in broad daylight! Meanwhile, a hummingbird flies up for some breakfast.

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