a friday night film

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Field Lab Love

and no...this is not George.  81,83,41,0,B

ISS

The International Space Station making a pass over TFL on March 26th at 9:46 PM.  Shot with my Canon T3i facing NNW.  Two minute exposure @ f3.5 - ISO 800.  Canon EF-S 18 -55 mm kit lens (set at 18 mm).  High ISO noise reduction set to "strong".  Long exposure noise reduction "on".  RAW format image "developed" using Adobe Lightroom.  73,78,56,0,W

?

But why does it need a motor?

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a monday matinee...

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Prince Rupert's Drop

smarter every day

Psalm 111:2 The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.

this might just work...

Had to re-jig the mechanism that holds the hot plate level (as the dish tilts) with the bigger solar fryer today.  Once I got the new parts situated, I did a preliminary test while I wait on my extra mirrors to arrive next week.  Maxed out at 678° after sitting in the sun for an hour.  Pretty windy today which really sucks the heat off the gizmo.  I reckon on a calm day I will be able to top the 700° mark.  Note: with the smaller dish I was only able to get the hot plate up to 275°.  79,83,45,0,W

a friday night film

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came up short...

Glued down a lot of mirrors today...came up a little short.  Tune in tomorrow night for all the dirty details.  91,95,64,0,W

mail order

Two deliveries today.  The big dish and more Jiffypop.  I actually ordered the Jiffypop from Amazon Monday and got it today.  Had to take that drastic measure because I needed more for my cooking experiment and they were sold out in Study Butte (thanks to the "spring breakers").  Nice thing is, I didn't have to drive all the way to Alpine and it was only a couple of dollars more including delivery right to my door.  88,96,55,0,B

About that bright star...

So there sure is a lot of confusion up (and out) there.  The constellation Orion is easy to spot as it moves across the sky.  A few people asked me what that star was moving from left to right that appears at about the 32 second mark in the video.  Downloaded this app for my tablet computer to figure it out.  Turns out that was not a star afterall.  It was Jupiter - the largest planet in the solar system.  The other prominent star below it was Spica - which is part of the constellation Virgo.  Virgo is a little hard to sort out but the constellation Corvus (Latin for crow or raven) and it's relation to Spica is easy to spot.  A lot of people who didn't read the description also thought that was the sun coming up at the end.  It was the moon.  88,94,56,0,B

a monday matinee...

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reckon this...

Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

night sky

Just beginning exploring the night skies.  Bought Adobe Lightroom to help me out a bit.  Big learning curve figuring out new software to get the perfect star time lapse.  I forgot how starry it is out here.  86,90,52, .07",B

a friday night film

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bigger is better...

Fought with the revamped solar fryer for a couple of hours.  Figured out why I abandoned the project 7 years ago - just not enough surface area.  The goal all along has been to cook a batch of Jiffypop with it.  Let's face it - Jiffypop is a show in itself and cooking it with solar is a win-win.  Just not enough sun bouncing back to create enough heat to pop...the oil needs to be 450° for the magic to happen.  Cashed in some Chupa mug bucks on paypal for a dish with roughly double the surface area.  Also ordered another 200 one inch mirrors as it will take about 600 to cover the bigger dish.  That video will have to wait a week or two.  87,91,48,0,B

the cleansing...

Overdue supply run to Alpine (slight chance of rain coming up Saturday).  Took the first junk load out - the trash.  Recyclables will have to wait for the next trip.  As long as I was at it...decided a car wash would be a nice idea.  It has been over 5 years since I sprayed the truck down good.  Discovered you have to get the spray nozzle really close to remove dirt that old.  84,89,47,0,B

an old project...

Decided to revisit a very old project that was never really utilized to its' full potential.  Had to replace about 40 mirrors on the solar fryer.  Just so happened that I recently came across two mirror orders still in unopened boxes that I received about 7 years ago.  Gearing up for another TFL off grid cooking video coming soon.  83,87,40,0,B

a monday matinee...

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evil surmisings...

1 Timothy 6:4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,  5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.  6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.  7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

junk day

Spent a couple of hours sorting a junk pile for easy removal next week.  76,84,55,0,C

a friday night film

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Coming Attractions

I have recently been in contact with my Swedish filmmaker friend Jesper Wachtmeister.  He and Kenneth Svedlund came back to visit me when I was freshly injured and still in a wheelchair.  The film they did which included a look at TFL back in 2012 is well worth the $3.99 rental.  Jesper is graciously allowing me to use some desperately needed footage for an upcoming friday night film - it will be up on March 17th.  He has another project he is working on and the specifics are here for those that are inclined to share their story...  75,80,68,0,C
Presently I am working on a documentary with the title ”Reset”. 

It will be based on interviews with people who have chosen to change identity and start a new life.

I am primarily looking for people who have made a choice to do this – not people who were forced to change identity.

Today we have interviewed four persons who for different reasons have chosen to start over under a new or hidden identity.  Now I am looking for other people who would be willing to share their stories. 

Please contact me on jesper@solarisfilm.se if you are interested, or if you have suggestions of people - and I’ll be happy to send more information and clips about the project.

camera soup

Souped up the Canon T3i with a few extras for under 200 bucks.  Gearing up for some astophotography.  Seems I have been out here almost 10 years and haven't really taken advantage of our dark skies.  I hardly even take notice of starry nights any more.  I have been inspired by my friend TJ Avery.  FYI - he does photo workshops every year in the Big Bend.

Picked up a battery grip to add a little more juice to the rig.  (I remember when these where known as "auto winders" back in the days of film cameras.)  Of course I also needed some extra batteries with a charger.  To round it out I bought a relatively inexpensive fish-eye lens.

After a few tests I need to send my camera body off to Canon for a long overdue cleaning.  It has been subjected to a great deal of abuse over the years.  79,89,55,0,C

sunset season

Must be sunset season now...sure are getting a lot of good ones lately.  74,83,48,0,B

a monday matinee...

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be nice to beasts...

Ecclesiastes 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.  20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

into the wild...

George has been making new friends.  Got some really nice weather for the next week so he is going to be released tomorrow.  66,73,50,T,B

a friday night film

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look what the cat dragged in...

A neighbor on the ranch brought in a baby bunny that was captured but not killed by her cousin's cat.  I think this is just the place to rehabilitate him.  60,72,47,0,B

Where no man dares to go...

There are "things" I need to find in the "archives" that I have been thinking about for some time - and for future friday night films.  As long as I am at it, I might as well go through everything and sort'n'cull it all.  There is stuff in there that I haven't seen since I packed it up almost 10 years ago.  This will keep me busy for awhile...  79,76,53,0,B