Verna and Bob's Weblog

Nerdliness

Solar Imaging Experiments

sol.jpgVerna and I are planning an excursion to Northern Arizona in late May to observe the Annular Solar Eclipse on May 20, 2012. We already have reservations to stay in Page, AZ, which is along the centerline of the eclipse path.

Image: The solar disk taken today with my Canon SX110IS camera. Click on the image to enlarge.

I bought several pairs of cardboard eclipse shades for us to be able to safely watch the event. Today, I taped one of the shades to my little camera and took a couple of photos of the solar disk. I took this image while holding the camera in my hands. I expect that image quality will improve by using a tripod. I will be experimenting with both cameras over the next few weeks to ensure that we get some good images when the time comes.

March 19, 2012 by Nerdliness Retirement

Planetary Conjunction

conjunction.jpg

Planets Jupiter and Venus are currently gathered in the western sky as they do from time to time. This evening, I went out with the new camera on a tripod and played around with some of the settings and modes to get this image of the conjunction in the twilight. I took this image using the AV or “aperture priority” mode on the camera. You can see the two brightest objects are Jupiter (left) and Venus. Our neighbor’s illuminated flagpole is visible near the bottom of the frame. Click on the image to enlarge.

March 10, 2012 by Nerdliness Photography

Merry Christmas

May you all have a joyous Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

This animated Christmas card is based on a famous painting “The Virgin with Angels” by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, oil on canvas, completed around 1900. The original painting is in a museum in Paris, France. The complete image can be seen here.

I can’t take credit for the animation since this appeared as an example of animating methods in a tutorial on the SWiSH website. SWiSH is the program I use for some of the flash seen on our websites. I modified the script in the scrolling text for our custom Christmas greeting.

December 24, 2011 by Holidays Nerdliness

Cactus Flowers in 3D

cactus-flowers.pngVerna posted a photo of a flower that bloomed on our new cactus. When we planted the cactus, it had three flower buds on it.

Image: 3D Cactus Flowers. Click to enlarge.

Last night, the remaining two flowers opened up. This morning, I took a pair of photos this morning, hoping to make a 3D image of the flowers. This is the result.

Of course, you will need 3D glasses to view the red/cyan anaglyph. If you don’t have a pair of 3D glasses, you can view the 2D version here.

April 20, 2011 by Bob's 3D Stuff Home & Garden Nerdliness

Verna’s 3D Arizona House

vernas-3d-house.pngVerna took a pair of pictures of the newly cleaned-up palo verde in front of the house yesterday before the landscape crew started placing the river rocks. They cleaned up the slopes in front of the house and trimmed the tree before Verna took a pair of photos which coincidentally lined up to allow me to compose this 3D anaglyph picture. Click on the image to enlarge.

Of course, to properly view the anaglyph, you will need your free pair of 3D glasses. If you don’t have 3D glasses, you can view the 2D image here.

March 5, 2011 by Arizona Bob's 3D Stuff Nerdliness Photography

One Piece at a Time

hl-2230.jpgSince we’re going to need a printer for our new home in Arizona and still need one when we’re in California, we bought a new laser printer. It’s a Brother model HL-2230 which is a later model, but similar to the printer we already have at the old place.

I got the printer hooked up and operational this afternoon. Verna snapped this photo (click to enlarge) of the printer cranking out it’s first test page. It’s good to have a printer again. We have been doing without for a month or so. We might not have much furniture in Camp Casandro* but we have a working laser printer, by God.

We are adding one or two things at a time. Yesterday, our bed frame finally came in. We assembled it and (finally) didn’t have to sleep in a mattress and box spring on the floor.

* Our Arizona home is near Casandro Wash and Casandro Dam.

February 2, 2011 by Arizona Nerdliness Retirement

Avalon 1998

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