A little inheritance from my Grandma

To quote a certain Austrian actor, "It's not a tumor!"

It's just a little cyst that isn't going to turn into anything nasty. However it has grown to the size that makes it painful to wear a bicycle helmet and from recent experience I know I will never ride without one.

So the bump has to go.

I've procrastinated long enough. I arranged with my doctor to speak with a specialist and he took one look and said, "It's nothing." and I said, "But I need to have it removed." and he went "Ka-ching!" Or at least that was the sound I thought I heard.

I have to pay a hospital booking fee which is slightly more than the cost of the 15 minute procedure. In all its going to cost around $500 to get this stupid bump off my head.

Stupid expensive bump.

I'm... NOT... William Shatner!

Last night we got together to have dinner to celebrate a birthday. Mine, in fact. It was a casual little get together, the kind I like, and the food was good, the company was good, and it was good times all around. I got to show off my new 18MP camera and Glenn and I took pictures and videos.

Then I dragged out my iPhone and showed Glenn the nifty things I could do with its lame little 1MP camera and the apps I downloaded for it.

Trying to look cool we struck a pose:


Too cool to be cool
© 2010 Brent Garnett

Yikes! I had no idea I could look that much like William Shatner. Ugh!

How I learned to see - Part Two

Something else I learned while discovering photography was capturing images of important people in my life felt really good. I didn't know it at the time but some of these images would take on a greater significance.

Friends were my first target and who better than my very best friend, Bruce K. Truth be told, he didn't seem too fond of having his picture taken.


Memories from Grade 6
© 1975 Brent Garnett

Living in a small town and being too young to drive meant we lived on our bicycles.


Friends with Bikes
© 1975 Brent Garnett

I would love to know exactly how MANY miles we put on our bicycles. My first "serious" bicycle was a silver Sears Free Spirit ten speed.


Freedom on Wheels
© 1975 Brent Garnett

We graduated from grade six and moved on, leaving behind childish things, learning the ropes in the savage jungle that is high school. Bruce and I were separated into different alphabetized home rooms and we rarely met during on school days. It was an adjustment for all of us in this new environment.

Shortly into his high school career, for reasons that remain unknown to me to this day, Bruce K. ended his own life.


Memories of Bruce K.
© 1976 Brent Garnett

I still miss him.

How I learned to see

A long time ago in a small dusty town far far away, a young lad came upon a camera. Not just any camera mind you, it was a teeny tiny plastic camera which used 110 film for teeny tiny negatives.

Feeling almost like James Bond with his most modern micro camera, this young lad set out to record important things, capture moments in time to preserve them for posterity, and better mankind by making it stare deeply into its own eyes.

Yes, he was going to take pictures of girls.

For with his camera in hand this young lad had discovered something magical. Girls that had never looked his way before would now stop, pose, and most precious of all, smile at him.


Memories from Grade 6
© 1975 Brent Garnett

To be continued...

I'm just sayin...

I was conversing with a friend of mine who shares a passion for photography and Spring flowers. We both find delight in walking through the woods and discovering Spring's first splash of color or I should say sprinkle as most of these flowers are teeny tiny.

The first impression you typically get is "Aren't they pretty!" However, I like to get closer and examine the almost magical levels of complexity that hide beneath that pretty surface.

Take this little fellow I spotted this past weekend.

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
© 2010 Brent Garnett

Yes, it's pretty but taking a closer look you can see just what an engineering marvel this thing really is. It's a finely crafted reproduction machine.


Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
© 2010 Brent Garnett

If we follow the premise that systems become more complex over time and flowers are just a small microcosm to observe this in, what were the first flowers like? Brute-like styles that clubbed primitive insects with pollen clubs so they fell against the large, sticky stigma pollen receivers?

Now the game is all about subtlety. Luring in the pollinators with bright colors, sweet scents, and soft textures, all for the promise of their delicious nectar.

Sounds like some night clubs... I've heard of, someone mentioned... sometime, a long time ago.

Hey! Look at the time! I've got to get to work. Bye!

Dealing with intangibles

I was driving the boy to school today and as we watched all the people driving by on their way to work we got on the topic of occupations from days gone by and current day.

I was saying to him that once upon a very long time ago people had to do things like hunt and gather and these were tangible achievements that could be physically measured. If Gorn killed the bear his family ate and possibly got some new clothes. If Gorn didn't kill the bear, they didn't. If the bear killed Gorn, well... then they were in some serious trouble.

Today, a person can work at producing nothing tangible at all and this earns them credit which they can use to feed, clothe, and house their family. At one point my wife worked for a company that licensed music and I work for a company that licenses the use of images. Music and Images. Can't get much more intangible than that.

Who knows how much more abstract we will get from the hunting and gathering model. Or, as some say, how soon this unsustainable complexity will collapse and bring us all back to the harsh realities of hunting and gathering.

I've never liked bears.

To sleep, perchance to dream... chemically induced nightmares

Yesterday we went for a little walk in the woods. By little I of course mean 14 km over rolling hills and rocky escarpment at a brisk pace. As this was the most exercise I've had since my accident last November, I was feeling every step of the way by our return.

So, what to do when feeling like you've been worked over with pool cues? Take a pill of course! And I just happened to have some of the strong stuff from those early days. I took one and an hour later I was feeling pretty good. Really good in fact.

Then came a night of really awful dreams.

I woke up exhausted and I could still feel the drug dulling my brain and sapping my will. Nasty stuff. Then came a headache which grew and grew and didn't care that I had to get stuff done at work. Three hours later I was back home.

I slept off the last of the after effects and the headache subsided with quiet time in a dark room.

The remaining pills have since met their demise in the porcelain doom. That kind of relief is just not worth the price.

Welcome

The start of something big. The first step on a long journey. A swift kick in the ass to get moving.

Gotta start somewhere and it may as well be here.

Hopefully there will be some entertainment along the way, some deep thoughts, and perhaps a little something for the eyes to enjoy.

Won't you join me?


On the Road to St Pierre d'Albigny, France
© 2009 Brent Garnett