Monday, February 14, 2011

Over the moon

That's how I feel for having recently been honoured by 3 fellow bloggers who awarded me the





Thank you Darlene at My Life For A Year
                   Joseph at CarreraCaballo's
                  and Cat at The Whimsical Gardener

Now according to the 'rules' I need to reveal 7 things previously unknown about me - that's the tough part because you know I've been like an open book ...


  1. I try to avoid politics (here on my blog) but let me just say that I don't like how we're letting ourselves become ensnared ever more deeply into a nanny state
  2. I hate having those 'senior moments' where I temporarily set something down only to have it 'disappear' in an instant - I'm still searching for a pair of glasses I set down a week ago
  3. psst - promise not to tell ? ok. I like speed - the car type. Nothing really crazy mind you, just driving at the speed that's 'appropriate' for the road conditions e.g. not feeling limited by the posted 'guidelines' on an empty highway on a sunny day. I have a little Tiburon GT in the garage back home (you should see it corner !) and we just bought a Mustang GT convertible here (I would really love to have had the Shelby, but ...)
  4. I think I have developed patience, although I will admit to having a little less of this on the road with drivers who obviously got their licence out of the cereal box
  5. I'm an unabashed night owl; years ago I learned to operate on less than 6 hours of sleep (6 is nice though); hence sunrise shots are rare on my blog
  6. when I travel to places I find it hard to sit still - I like to explore wherever we go; a real punishment would be to force me to lie on a beach doing nothing for more than 15 minutes
  7. I rarely watch TV but love to read a variety of history books (recent ones: The Building of the Brooklyn Bridge, The California Goldrush of 1849; currently reading The History of Coffee; on deck - The Great Depression). I also just read this fascinating online book.
Ok, that was probably more than you bargained for. I'm also supposed to give this award to 15 (?) newly discovered (by me, I think) bloggers. But you already know that I'm not always that good at following 'rules' so I'm splitting this assignment into 2 parts. Part 1 I completed above and I promise to do part 2 this week.

(70-200mm  f11  1/250 sec  ISO200)


24 comments:

S. Etole said...

Congratulations! Those were fun insights.

Carolyn Ford said...

SO kool, Rick, and what a GREAT moon shot! Your insights are worded so creatively! We have irritating drivers here too, but, we always suspect they got their drivers' licenses at Disneyland...same kind of drivers, I'm sure! Congratulations!

darlin said...

LOL this is almost freaky, you're a male version of me... less the history that is! So now I can just copy and paste your words and use them on my blog to accept my awards! lol I'm going to change up the rules, no sending the award back to who sent it to you... lets turn this one up a notch and see what transpires next!

And seriously, who in their right mind would want anyone to do 60mph on an open highway with a Mustang... seriously! lol That is my dream car, I'm debating a Harley first or the Stang when I get working... I know that I'll work one day! ;-)

I LOVE the moon shot, now I have to back up and see which lens you used... the shot is amazing! Wow, k here's a question for you.... does the 70-200mm zoom closer than the 75-300mm or are you closer to the moon then I am? lol Nite Rick.

darlin said...

Oh, one other difference, I go to bed late but still try to get up before sunrise, not that it always works out that way but I try! lol Maybe a lot of us Canadians have more in common than we realize!

Dawn said...

Well those are interesting facts on you....
Love the exploring, but AFTER i lay on a beach for a few hours and absorb sun;)) (We ARE cold Canadians after all;))

Love the Moon Capture.

Romantik Seelchen said...

Rick but rather to the photos and reports to recognize the nature of something, I like this award is not, it is these which are attached to it,
Abert I congratulate you, of course, to
But the license here in Germany many get from the shooting gallery, international and here are the very high speeds, highway almost unlimited ....
“and thank you for the lovely children's song” Leipzig
viele Grüße Jasmin

Cat said...

Rich I'm glad you accepted the award as it was interesting to learn a bit about you. My boyfriend in high school had a 1970 Mustang and I still remember the feeling of that car...it was so strong and fast! Enjoy your Mustang!

becky said...

Congrats on your award. Guys & cars... remember James Dean & drive carefully!!! The history of coffee sounds interesting. I understand it is the number 2 import... just behind oil. Though I'm a very young 43, I can relate to the senior moments... though I could also call it ADD. :)
Jeepers, what kind of super spectacular lens do you have to capture all the detail in the moon?!

Unknown said...

Congrats, and about the sports cars enthusiasm, I am planning to get me a Porsche (Don't mind what year or Model) sooner than Later, I am a speed addict too :-D

Greetz,


Joseph

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on winning the award & beautiful moon shot!!! =)

joey said...

Thanks for sharing, Rick. You're a great guy and love your moon shot! (a night owl too ...)

magda said...

Congratulations on your deserved the prize, the moon amazing, just not run the car!
Greetings

Unknown said...

By the way, your moon photo is so clear, WOW :-)

Greetz,


Joseph

Katherine said...

A very deserved award Rick! Your blog, your photos & the accompanying words are always so welcoming. It's a lovely place to come visit & wonder!
It was nice learning a few more intimate details about you personally. Some of your answers don't surprise me though because as you said ... you are very open to your readers on your blog... which is another reason I love coming here. Plus you are also so supportive of all your fellow bloggers. Have a wonderful week Rick & Congrats again!

Rick said...

Thank you Susan !

Ha ha, thanks Carolyn - I like that - getting their license at Disneyland !

Oh Darlene - that's scary to think there could be someone else like me out there ! ;-) Btw - I'd go for the Stang (too many people getting hurt on motorcycles by dumb car drivers). As for the lens, I use a 2x extender on it so it's effectively a 400mm lens max'd out, plus I cropped this a bit to bring it a little closer. As for getting up earlier - I don't have to so I don't (but my wife always has me up by 08:30 !).

Rick said...

Thanks Dawn ! I think my ADD prevents me from staying more than 15 minutes lying on the beach - now I could throw a football or frisbee for a while ...

Danke Jasmin ! I've been on the autobahn in Germany but never as a driver (I'd love to do that in a Porsche !). And thank YOU for that song. Hertzliche Grüße !

Thank you Cat - the pleasure was mine. We're certainly enjoying the Mustang - especially since it's a convertible.

Rick said...

Thanks Becky - and I do consider myself a careful and observant driver - I just sometimes have to give in to the urge to 'fly' a little when the occasion calls for it ;-) Incredibly fascinating history behind coffee - it's dictated policy toward Latin America and other countries for decades (some of which you may not want to know !). As for the lens, it's one of the best Canon offers (with a price to match - I saved refereeing money for a year), plus I used a tripod, a remote shutter release, and a camera feature called 'mirror lockup' which minimizes/eliminates camera shake.

Ha ha, Joseph - glad to hear it. I look forward to some photos of the Porsche (are you starting to warm your wife up to it ?).

Rick said...

Thank you kindly, Tricia !

Thanks Joey !! Sleep is highly overrated, and my engine doesn't really start running till later in the day ;-) Welcome to the night owl club - I suspect there are a great number of us !

Thank you Magda ! I will of course be careful with the car, but you have to understand you can't 'baby' such a machine ;-)

Thank you Joseph (see response to Becky above). I shot it in late afternoon before it got too bright in the night sky.

Katherine - thank you for your very kind words. I feel I have made a lot of friends here in blogland. My only regret is that there simply aren't enough hours in the day to visit the blogs of all the great people I've met here. I hope the troubles in your land are easing and that the silver lining in it is that people are rallying behind a common cause and becoming closer as a community. I hope the rest of your week goes well !

Rick said...

To everyone who visited, and to those who left their kind words - thank you. I came here late tonight to post and to reply to your thoughtful comments. I hope to be able to visit each of you by week's end.

Unknown said...

Pssshhhht . . . Hehehehe . . . There are some brochures which are lying accidentally on her desk . . . LOL :-D

Greetz,


Joseph

PS: Darn, she reads our blogs actually, every now and then!!! . . . :-D

Rick said...

LOL Joseph - you are not only perceptive, but crafty too !

Here's hoping Inga missed a few comments ;-)

Unknown said...

Crossed Fingers :-D

Greetz,


Joseph

Julia said...

That is a great picture of the moon!

Rick said...

Thank you Julia !