Scattered Thoughts . . .

About a week ago, I wrote about the LCD screen on my newly converted infrared camera delaminating so badly that it was difficult to see anything on the screen.  I knew I needed to remove the top protective layer and replace it with a new LCD screen protector.  Finding one for this old camera was extremely difficult though. The screen protector that I purchased was a package of two protectors, thankfully.  The first try didn't go well...  not at all!  That first one was peeled off the LCD screen and tossed in the trash bin.  I had bubbles in it as well as dust.  It looked terrible so I pulled it off. When I attempted to apply that first screen protector for the first time, I instantly realized that these screen protectors are slightly too long.  Before I applied the second screen protector, I used an X-Acto knife to slice off one end of the second protector and then rounded the corners with scissors.  I think it was still too large though because this one is not sitting correctly ei

As usual, through the night, I remembered more things about yesterday's oncology appointment that I forgot to mention in my previous blog entry so I should add them here in another blog entry before I forget these points again.   When we were discussing the gene mutation that was found, my oncologist said something along the lines of "I don't think we need to do another bone marrow biopsy right now...  I think we can wait until next year's biopsy".   This comment leads me to believe that she was contemplating doing another bone marrow biopsy right away.  Uggg...  I would not have liked that option.  I'm still reeling and recovering from this biopsy performed last month.  It is still fresh enough in my mind to be a bit traumatic whenever I think about it.  In the end and on the positive side, she felt there is no pressing need to repeat the biopsy right away.   Then she continued this thought by referencing 'next year's biopsy' implying that these p

I had my post bone marrow biopsy follow-up appointment with my oncologist today.  We discussed the biopsy procedure, my lingering pain at the site of the biopsy, my lab results and my current condition in a Zoom TeleVisit (seen in photo, at right) which meant we didn't need to drive to the hospital.  The appointment was in our living room.   First we discussed how I have been feeling over the past few months.   My oncologist seemed to be a little surprised that I am still feeling quite lousy since my ambulance ride to the hospital in January and that I am still having great difficulty in doing just small things for a couple of hours.  In order for me to do something for just a couple of hours (ie, grocery shopping, dinner with the grandkids, Kenzie's figure skating, Lukey's hockey, etc) requires planning and closely managing energy.  In order to do any small thing, I need to get extra sleep beforehand and taking extra medications for a day leading up to when we want to do

T here is no doubt that I am liking my newly converted infrared camera.  Well, I'm liking the images it produces.  I have always liked this type of black and white photography for its deep shadows, bright foliage, beautiful tonal qualities and remarkable clarity.   Before actually having one of my cameras converted to infrared, I didn't realize how affordable it can be to convert a camera to record only in infrared wavelengths.  Considering the low cost and the beautiful monochrome images this creates, I am very happy with my decision to have one of my camera bodies converted to record only in infrared wavelengths. As much as I am happy with my decision to have one of my old camera bodies converted to infrared, I am now finding that the old camera I had converted to infrared seems to be having some age-related problems as well as some service-related problems neither of which makes me all too happy.   Because of the latest and curious problem that I recently noticed developing

I mentioned in a previous blog entry that I had a big dust spot or dirt spot on the sensor of my newly converted infrared camera.  I also mentioned that I didn't know if I could still clean this sensor the same way I clean all other types of camera sensors so I went  back to the website for the place that converted my camera to infrared to see if they address this question. It turns out that I can clean my infrared converted sensor the same way I clean the sensors in all my other cameras.  That was good news because I am already well-versed in doing that quickly and easily.   This morning, I removed the lens and placed my camera under my magnifying lamp on my desk.  I immediately saw that changing lenses outside in the windy environment the other day was an exceptionally bad idea.  I have never seen so much debris on a sensor!  I would definitely need to clean up this sensor. My first step in cleaning a sensor is blowing it with a bulb blower.  I hold the camera in the air with th

M y health is still quite lousy so I have been laying low and looking for things to do that require little energy and that take up little time.  I've been laying low since mid-January so this is getting kind of old.  I'm still not sure if this poor health is simply a "new normal" for me or if I am experiencing an extra long term recovery that is taking far more time than usual.  Or, if perhaps my health has worsened significantly...  or a new secondary illness...  or a newly ineffective medication...  I'll discuss all of this with my oncologist next week.  In the meantime, I am still struggling each day to do the smallest of things before sleeping away most of the day. I've been extremely and overwhelmingly fatigued.  Even on those rare occasions when I feel "okay" for a short time, I am quickly so exhausted that I must lay down.  I'm also still struggling with significant difficulties breathing a few times each week.  Then throw in the usual gas

B ack in February, both Lukey and Kenzie had sports events on the same weekend.  Lukey had to travel to Saratoga, New York for a hockey tournament while Kenzie had her annual end-of-season figure skating show here in Barre, Vermont.  This particular holiday weekend was fast becoming a logistical nightmare and this logistical nightmare was developing at the last minute after months of planning. We were told about Lukey's February hockey tournament way back in October.  Literally the moment we were told about this tournament, Sheila and I started discussing making reservations at our favorite inn in Saratoga.  We like Saratoga so we were making plans within mere moments of Lukey telling us about the tournament.   We knew the hotels in Saratoga would book very quickly and we were correct.  In the few short hours that we were discussing and planning this long weekend trip, our favorite inn was filling up quickly so we knew we had to book the weekend immediately.  Actually, within just

Y esterday, while I was writing about my infrared converted camera, I realized that perhaps I should shoot some images for a comparison between visible light in color, visible light in monochrome and infrared in monochrome.     This morning I shot a photo of our backyard in color in visible light followed by a monochrome image in visible light with one camera body and then moved the lens over to my camera body that now only shoots in infrared and shot a monochrome infrared photo.  To keep things as controlled as possible, I used the same lens with the aperture set at f5.6 for both cameras.   The wavelengths of light that the infrared camera captures are in a relatively narrow band of light so I needed to slow the shutter speed down a bit for the infrared image so I could capture a bit more light.  Conversely, since visible light is a much broader band of light for our human eyes, I needed to use a faster shutter speed to cut back on the available light.  Although the infrared camera ne

I had previously written about sending one of my old camera bodies in for service.  I sent it to the west coast to have the sensor converted from seeing and capturing images in visible light to only seeing and imaging in infrared light.   There are different levels of infrared conversions that can be done but I chose to have this camera body converted to see only light wavelengths above 830nm which is deeper into the infrared wavelengths.  These wavelengths make for very interesting, very crisp black and white images with a clarity you simply cannot attain in visible light.  Some things render the same in infrared light but many things a quite different with a very noticeable increase in clarity. Naturally, I couldn't wait for my old camera to arrive on my doorstep.  It arrived last night about two weeks earlier than I had expected, but still, it seemed like an eternity to me.  I think it spent more time traveling from and to the east coast during shipping than it did at the faci