Disorderly Content

2012-10-09

Monday's Tweets

12:48 I just backed Thrilling Adventure Hour: The Graphic Novel... and Beyond! on @Kickstarter http://t.co/lOS1PqHw
14:24 RT @paulandstorm: [P] The @ThrillingAdv Kickstarter campaign is the worthiest of worthy things. http://t.co/dUGpNgtf [I'm already in!]
14:27 @AnneWheaton I've had several models confirm our shoot and then not show up. Never a word afterward either. Do I win?
15:32 Perfect for Halloween: Arthur Dent as The Doctor! http://t.co/ca4su5DE

2012-09-09

This is How Wars Get Started

This weekend I was in Reno for the Great Reno Balloon Race, a hot air balloon event I have enjoyed a few times before. This morning I had a rather disconcerting incident, which is why I'm blogging for the first time in a long time. No way I can describe what happened in a tweet.

Each day at the Balloon Race begins at 5 AM. That means arriving at the park and getting onto the field well in advance. This morning I was in place at 4:05 AM, with my tripod set up and my camera ready to go. Trust me when I say that I was pretty much alone at that hour. There was hardly anyone in sight yet.

The first event is called the glow show, where a few tethered balloons perform a light show to musical accompaniment. That's followed by the Dawn Patrol, a handful of balloons whose pilots are certified for night takeoffs. By this point the field was moderately populated, but not all that crowded. While the Dawn Patrol was doing their light show before taking off, I turn from another photographer with whom I am chatting to see a rather tall gentleman standing directly in front of my camera. And by directly in front I mean that; there was maybe a foot and change between him and the front of my lens.

I wait for him to move, or realize he's blocking me. When that doesn't work, I speak to him. And when that doesn't work I touch his arm and point out that he's in the way. That's when he tells me that he knows he's in the way. He intends to be in the way. He starts haranging me because I'm in the way of his children, who are lying on a blanket twenty or so feet behind me. We photographers with our tripods are keeping his kids from seeing the show.

Now let's ignore for a moment the reality that lying on the ground, you aren't going to get a good view of tethered balloons. Besides photographers, quite a few other people are also standing to get a good view. My first comment is that if he'd told me of the problem, I'd have been willing to move. He tells me that he can't be expected to tell ten photographers to move. I very quickly realize that he has no interest in solving the problem. No, he's pissed, and all he wants is to piss somebody else off.

(I will point out that it wasn't until later that I got his reference to ten photographers. He wasn't complaining about me personally, but me as one of the group of photographers. So why did he single me out? My guess is that I'm quite a bit shorter than the other photographers and therefore easier to intimidate and less able to tell him to fuck off without personal risk. So he's a bully and a coward, rather than merely an obnoxious asshole.)

Talking to him got me nowhere, and neither did my pointing out that I was already in place before he and his sleepy family arrived. His response to that: "Whoopdido for you." Classy and rational.

And of course now I'm pissed off. And grateful I don't carry a weapon, because in that moment I would happily have gone nuclear on his ass. Not proud of that, but I'm not proud of having to take his abuse either.

Saturday's Tweets

04:29 4:30 ayem and I'm standing in a field in Reno. Waiting. Waiting.
05:07 It begins. http://t.co/2AuTLIOQ
05:41 Dawn Patrol http://t.co/pi4nG1DY
06:12 And they're off! http://t.co/jMkJt8N8
07:17 Ready to fly. http://t.co/NGqqMGQ1
07:23 Watch them go! http://t.co/OJBavRsd
07:35 http://t.co/Oqal5YUF
08:21 Ballooning done for today. After breakfast I'm off to Pyramid Lake. Balloons again tomorrow before I head home.
13:05 One image from my big camera. http://t.co/cqQTFAiA
13:10 5:51 this morning. The Dawn Patrol in flight. http://t.co/uhA1gJn2
13:28 @NYPinTA @cabri If you liked that iPhone picture, here's one from the big camera. http://t.co/tREXipgQ
13:53 Mitt Romney now claims his plan for the auto industry was just like Obama's. But it ain't necessarily so. http://t.co/emmqqrX8
13:55 Oh, Apple, you know me so well... http://t.co/vilUmUWJ
14:10 @paulandstorm Here comes Yogi Boo Boo #HoneyBooBooReplacements
15:58 @joshtpm Why is that a problem? It's not like voters have any long term memory.

2012-08-09

Wednesday's Tweets

13:23 Alan Kay once said the right point of view is worth 20 IQ points. Just had a moment like that where I blew away my Engineering Director.
18:54 Good news: got my camera back. Bad news: Nikon fixed nothing, blamed my CF cards. This is bullshit, Nikon. I am *not* pleased.

2012-07-09

Sunday's Tweets

20:31 Found a great way to drain an iPad's battery: accidentally leave a game of Battleship in progress for 12 hours. Oopsy!

2012-06-09

Friday's Tweets

08:46 Noooo! @cartalk stopping new shows? I am sad, but grateful for all the years of laughs & info. http://t.co/zUyFM3LL

2012-05-09

Tuesday's Tweets

09:50 A beautiful sunny day. Perfect for getting my car serviced and walking home.
12:57 Love these podcasters: @decoder_ring @ThrillingAdv @reduced @paulandstorm @hellobuglers @macosken @chrismarquardt What are your favorites?
13:20 Black Repug Congresscritter quotes Confederate general in a speech. I can feel my brain snap shut. http://t.co/mZvmwpGc
15:27 They say the most creative people in Hollywood are in the Accounting Dept. Guess publishing isn't much different. http://t.co/K7b17tsq
15:42 @alwayscoffee You win? No, every guy who gets to see you in it, they win.
15:44 @alwayscoffee Really? Usually I make them laugh out loud!
17:35 This is great comment spam on my site: "amazing snap-shot! Did you change your shutter speed?"
18:53 North Carolina had the chance to shame California by doing the right thing. They blew it.

2012-04-09

Sunday's Tweets

08:45 @cbglacier Dunno about the other guys, but @mariancall puts on one hell of a show. Totally envious!
13:48 RT @alan_tudyk: Happy Easter y'all http://t.co/GXoahqcY [That's just wrong.]
21:58 Best email subject in a while: "Scam Compensation Alert, View Attachment For More Details And Better Understanding." What could go wrong?

2012-02-09

Wednesday's Tweets

09:17 @alwayscoffee @victoriadahl You two are so adorable when you're furious!
09:20 @alwayscoffee Just makes me appreciate you all the more. @VictoriaDahl
10:35 Getting even more excited about @JoCoCruiseCrazy, even if none of this stuff happens. http://t.co/kLpbTAnS
10:37 @reduced I'd vote for The Time Machine (the George Pal film) & A Connecticut Yankee (the novel) for pushing back on this chivalry nonsense.
12:28 It's the middle of winter, and I'm walking around outside in a short sleeved polo. Can't complain.
14:28 Sean Hannity engages his reality challenged thought process to claim Obama really didn't want Bin Laden dead. http://t.co/cAzoL49w
14:38 My idea for a bumper sticker: "Get behind Santorum. He'd be behind you." Too much?
19:00 Just watched the trailer for Karate Dog, two minutes of my life I'll never get back. Blame @gillianjacobs & @kenplume. http://t.co/1pVXKxMO
19:26 @gillianjacobs @kenplume I saw David Franklin and Gigi Edgley do Love Letters at a Farscape convention a couple of years ago.

2012-01-09

Sunday's Tweets

11:18 @paulandstorm Back to the Buffet (& sequels) #Fat80s
11:54 @daveweigel @pemalevy Newt talking to left wing groups isn't news. Newt actually listening to them? That's news.
12:59 Funny. Just recognized one of my stock photos in an ad for senior dating. Even funnier that the model's only 40. http://t.co/C29RH1nc
13:01 @laurakcurtis Just as well she doesn't follow me on Twitter, huh?
13:20 Life isn't like the movies. How is anyone surprised by this? http://t.co/etyChFRH
16:26 @VictoriaDahl @count_01 @MeganMulry I'm always surprised retouching photos. All these "flaws" I never see in person. Parts vs. the whole.
16:32 @VictoriaDahl Camera and studio lights are unforgiving. When I'm done retouching, my subject is as beautiful as she was in my viewfinder.
16:54 New tell all book makes Michelle Obama look -- what's that word? -- human, admirable even. Shocking, I know. http://t.co/qnANCWOf