Can't believe it is October already. Before you know it, the big holidays will be upon us. That is going to be a true test of my diet--to see how well I make it through the holiday meals. My plan is to go ahead and do the usual things, but just keep my portion sizes down (we already tend to use low fat ingredients wherever possible). So far in the first month I have lost nearly ten pounds. I know a lot of that is low-hanging fruit, and that further loss will be harder to come by, but I see it as a start. Just last week I got hooked up to an EKG, and earlier in September I had my first ever ultrasound to check for stones. I also asked them to let me know if they saw any form of symbiotic, alien life-forms in there. The female lab technician never emitted a scream and ran from the room, so I guess I'm clean. (Though I am a bit disappointed to lose that as an excuse for not getting my chores done.)

Things have really picked up for me work-wise. I am now juggling two projects for Mahalo Digital, and those tend to be pretty labor intensive, so I'm going to have my hands full for the rest of the month. They tend to pay pretty well, so this should be a big help to the finances...eventually (they have the longest pay period of any of my clients. Net-90. Which means, I have to think about this as a Christmas bonus, and still come up with cash to live on in the short-term.)

Last week's lunar eclipse certainly did not disappoint. We had some low clouds, so I missed some planned photo opportunities, but once it did rise above the clouds it was quite spectacular.

Then last night we were treated to a different kind of show in the night sky--an amazing lightning display to the east of us. I walked outside around 2am and watched for a while. In this part of California, lightning is fairly rare--about one good storm per year. I know a lot of folks back east or in the midwest are more accustomed to it, but for me it is a rare treat. (And of course, I know the folks on the east coast are getting walloped, so that's not going to be fun for anyone. Stay safe out there!)

Speaking of photography, I have recently been interested in using the old TLR camera to try some night photography, and in particular--to capture some urban scenes. People hanging out in front of bars and such. However, my shyness and aversion to getting mugged makes me uncomfortable with setting up a tripod on the sidewalk, taking light meter readings, and taking the time exposures. So I've been experimenting with a wooden platform that I made for my passenger seats (works in the front AND the back seats), and parking the car in such a way that I can take the time exposures out the window. Then when I get my settings right, I just roll the window down, shoot, and then drive away--without ever having to leave the safety of the car! I have been hearing about so many muggings involving camera gear (especially in San Francisco) even during the daytime...I guess this is my attempt to adapt.

In a way, it saddens me to think I have to take such measures. But I guess that is just the reality of the world these days. I think you have to be a little bit paranoid when you are in public. Just enough so that you never lose awareness of your surroundings. So many kids tend to zone-out when they are texting or listening to music. Makes them easy targets for thieves. And worse--as we saw at the Umpqua college in Oregon.

Well, I've got a busy day ahead, and part of that is going to be getting ready for the broadcast tonight. I do hope I will have time to try some test broadcasts. I'm getting pretty tired of all the technical glitches, so hopefully I can test to see if all my software is up to date. So until then...