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Tuesday Tidbits

1.  Rumors continue to swirl regarding a possible return trip up North, sans motorcycle, in the next couple of weeks.  One might very well ask, Why?  I was just there a couple months ago and left a day or two early because I had accomplished everything on my list (or almost everything).   The answer lies in a phone call.  

 Since I've been down here I have always said, to whomever would listen, that I am just 2 hours away.  Just call.  Well, my buddy Ed in Peoria called and wondered if I'd be back for Aledo's Antique Days Car show.  He recently bought a 62 Chevy Impala and it happens to be the same year make and model of the car he drove in high school.   He thought it might be pretty cool to join him for the event and maybe have a beer or two.  I agree.

 I checked Allegiant Air tickets and they were on sale.  Couple that with the godawful heat of this state this time of year, followed by an opportunity to relax in the best porch in Mercer County, see the best friends and family a guy could ask for, no obligations here for awhile, and you have a perfect "why not" scenario.  

 No obligations for my friends.  I took up too much of your time last trip.  But if I were to come back, maybe a night at Budde's, Jeff and Carol?  Maybe a roundtable chat at BFE Community Center, Tim, Carrie, Chris and Rick and Jen?  Maybe a trip in the country in my favorite Jeep, Mark and Holly?  Maybe an unbreaded tenderloin and a Bloody Mary in East G-Burg, Pat and Rose?  And of course, the Aledo Antique Days car show with my newest love, Miss Frump.

 2.  As you may or may not be aware, the morning of August 12th was the peak of the Perseid meteor shower for this year.  Tripod and camera in hand, I set off to capture a falling star at 4:45 am.  Alas, it would seem that the ambient light of the Tampa bay area hindered my ability to see much.  Even my camera wasn't much help in capturing mush either.  Out of a dozen or so shots, which I set for 30 second exposures, only two caught much of anything.   

Unedited Picture A

Edited Picture A (Meteor in upper right quadrant)





Unedited Picture B


     

Edited Picture B (Meteor in lower left quadrant)

So, what's the take-away?  I'm a lousy photographer, that's one aspect.  Ambient city light bleeds way too much light into the atmosphere to be able to do any good nighttime shooting.  And finally, 4:45 am is way too early when you got up at 3:00 the morning before, had everyone over for a cookout, had a fantasy football draft, and an episode of Breaking Bad before retiring.  I need a week up North just to get some rest. 

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