As Obama spikes the bin Laden ball both here and abroad, it’s important to give credit to those who truly deserve it: Our military and specifically Seal Team 6.
The truth is that getting bin Laden was the top counterterrorism objective for U.S. intelligence since well before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. This administration built on work painstakingly pursued for many years before Obama was elected — and without this work, Obama administration officials never would have been in a position to authorize the strike on Abbottabad, Pakistan, that resulted in bin Laden’s overdue death.
It Has Always Been The Soldier.
It is the soldier,
not the President who gives us democracy.
It is the soldier,
not the Congress who takes care of us.
It is the soldier,
not the Reporter who has given us Freedom of Press.
It is the soldier,
not the Poet who has given us Freedom of Speech.
It is the soldier,
not the campus Organizer who has given us the
Freedom to Demonstrate.
It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag;
who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
that allows the protester to burn the flag.
Absolutely love this Cracked article:5 Ways to Spot a B.S. Political Story in Under 10 Seconds. There is a language warning, but otherwise a very useful tool for those undiscerning individuals who still believe politicians and their lapdog, Media. Even if you consider yourself a jaded pro, it’s an eye opener – or at the very least will confirm your suspicions.
At least 90% of all political stories in the media are absolute bullshit, which is one of the reasons politics has lost its luster for me. Politics may be addicting, but today’s news stories are a cross between reality t.v. and soap operas, neither of which I like much. Both are scripted, emotional and desperate to please an audience too distracted by real life and Facebook to do their due diligence and are just watching the highlights for the thrills and something to talk about at work.
Sigh. I’ve become cynical.
The president has chosen his new slogan: Forward. Or Vorwärts!
Wow, I am so blown away by his lack of creativity. ‘Forward’ produces questions. Forward where? Maybe he should have stuck with ‘hope’ and ‘change’. At least people now know where that change is taking them. I guess they could hope it takes them in a better direction…
Just for fun… there are some talented photoshoppers out there…
Record rainfall, when rain is part of our daily life in the aptly named “rainy season”? No biggie… until the bastard roof started leaking.
Our roofer, a man as critically vital to my health and well-being as my gynecologist and hair stylist, is swamped, but promises to come by tomorrow. Can’t get on the roof when it’s raining this hard.
Daisy seems skeptical in every photo, doesn’t she?
And Badger is just the opposite.
I tried to learn how to use the Canon yesterday, going through documentation and instructional videos. Upon reaching the section pertaining to quality I went out and shot in RAW format.
Which was fine.
Until it came time to look at the RAW images I’d transferred over to my computer… Only a slight hiccup… My PC pretended to not know what they were, as did all my photo-editing programs.
Fast forward to 20 different downloaded codecs later… and Windows finally saw them. Turns out since they’re Canon, they’re different from a regular RAW; they’re ‘camera RAW’, CR2. Whatever. The quality was phenomenal, but my Adobe software turned up its nose at them. Turns out… and you’re going to love this… turns out Adobe only updates codecs for its latest version of software… so if I wanted to be able to import them into the program for editing, I’d have to upgrade. Well, my software is so old it could vote, so that means no upgrade; full price.
Not happening.
I did download a test version of Lightroom 4 and that’s how I was able to edit the two images above. It’s pretty cool in that it has all the codecs for all formats built in… along with filters for individual cameras and lenses. Lightroom will cease to function after 30 days, so I’ll enjoy it and then switch to JPG…. unless I come up with 150. Like Daisy, I’m skeptical.
Oh, the quality of the images themselves are awesome with RAW. Notice I didn’t claim the same for anything I can directly influence… although gingerly moving some of the settings and shooting in full sun didn’t blow everything out. For once.
I remember Tamitha Freemen. Harvey says: “She’s got beautiful puppies”.
"Lord, keep our servicemen and women safe, whether they serve at home or overseas. Hold them and their families in your loving hands and protect them as they protect us."
May 3, 2012
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