LTS

I think the key behind any discussion on wearing masks should come with a description of the environments you expect people to wear them. I don't wear a mask, but I am spending most of time out in the woods these days where I might encounter 5-10 other people the entire couple of hours I am out there. The two times I've worn it were because I had to enter a store and the store required it. I choose to avoid it by avoiding people and enclosed spaces. I, personally, have not become comfortable with wearing a mask, yet. Thankfully I am able to avoid most situations where it would be 100% required. There is a deeper question at play here as well. For those that are opining that others wear masks, are you intending for them to be worn until there is a vaccine? What if there is never a vaccine? I'm curious to hear those thoughts as well. I'd ask that of those who don't want to wear masks but I think that reasoning is more self-evident as that was the social norm prior to all of this. Airborne viral risks, pollution, and other contaminants existed prior to this and most everyone felt comfortable not wearing a mask. Let's dig deeper into why everyone feels a certain way. Deeper than the seatbelt argument, which I find intriguing for two reasons. First, seatbelts are a law, so it's not the perfect analogy. But second, I used to be wholeheartedly against seat belts, at least so much as it being a law. I certainly felt it was a personal choice, if you don't want to be ejected from a car when you are in an accident, wear it. It's proven to save lives. But if you want to live dangerously, so be it. Seat belts don't cause accidents, so it's not putting others at risk. But then one day someone said to me, what if your car is hit by something and because you are wearing your seat belt you remain in your seat and are able to regain control of your car before it hits something/someone else. That won me over... after years of conversation someone made a point that changed my mind. I think deeper and better understandings can be had with regards to the wearing of masks. It will be tough because the subject is new, it's emotional, and people are already highly irritated and stressed over the situation. It just means we have to work harder to understand each other more.

I mean CNN spoke out about Texas and the jump in cases after reopening. But talk about politicizing the news... This morning I read this piece - https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/05/19/the_covid_spike_in_reopened_texas_cnn_gets_it_wrong_143239.html (despite the website, it's not a political post) I thought it was a nice breakdown of the data and how news outlets just go for the headline and not the truth. It would be nice to see them all be more impartial and simply report the information for people. It might actually encourage people, in general, to spend more time thinking on things and less time just repeating headlines.

Very true.. It happens even at that young age. I mean around here it's less often simply because we live in Rochester/Buffalo and there are plenty of legitimate development options with professional ties, but that doesn't exist everywhere.

Actually came across a Wimberley Monopod Gimbal head that looks kind of promising. I have a decent ball head now, but man the weight of the camera is tough. It's nice to be able to let go of it once in a while like you could with a tripod and gimbal head. Yeah.. stability is critical. When I do hockey games (I'm not using a 200-600 lens) but I was using my DJI Ronin S.. I just sat there pushing the controller stick left or right to pan along with the game and watched it on the LCD. Super smooth...

Not always. Many parents don't have a clue about what their kid is learning or doing, especially at those levels and those leading up to it. They pay bill to have their 12 year old skate 3 times a day and take online classes. They hand over development of their child to the people who mold them and they continue to do so through juniors, etc. Parents are more afraid to speak up than the player. Hell I see this in AA hockey where these kids are going to end up good beer league players and the parents won't speak up against organizations and their policies. Parent cuts are a real thing and parents who rock the boat often see their kids no longer on the team. This article disgusts me in just how silent people are willing to be when they see things like this happen. I don't give a damn about Peters, etc. They are racists and racists will always exist. They will be empowered by those who are unwilling to take a stand against their behavior when it happens. I just looked at the roster and you can't tell who was with the team at the time definitively, but guys who played a ton of games probably were. I see Cal O'Reilly (mentioned before). I also see Mike Weber.

Considered... there are a couple of issues I am considering with a monopod. I've used them in the past and the one I have won't work for this lens. They are outstanding for landscape and similar photography where the subject matter doesn't move much. My concern with a monopod and birds or things that move a lot is that you have to keep one hand on the monopod as a point of stabilization. So you have one hand for the camera and that's a big lens to be moving around using just the camera to steer it. For smaller lenses I definitely think monopod. And the other aspect of this is.. I will be shooting video, so having a monopod doesn't totally eliminate the shake or give me a total level of control. Currently I plan on getting a gimbal head for my tripod. I'm big enough to be able to haul it around okay right now I think. My monopod will still work for my smaller lenses, but it can't hold the weight of the 200-600. I have motorized gimbal (DJI Ronin-S). It could actually work with the 200-600, but that's not something you bring around on the trail with you and I use that exclusively for other video work where I can control the camera movements from a game controller or I am walking around shooting video and I need to overcome the walking motions, etc.

I almost fear to wade into this.. but.. Is the conversation about: whether there was probable cause for a search OR whether the probable cause was ignored and the search occurred because he is black? It might be a bit of both. I'm honestly asking. I see debates over whether the search was justified, but I don't think that, in and of itself, would be tied to a racist act unless the follow up to that is the assumption that there was no probable cause but the search was conducted anyway.

Pretty sure the established formula is (compete/toughness) * number of remaining teeth.

Thanks. The Prairie Warbler was centered as a request from the boss. I prefer to include a bit more scenery, but since she let me get the lens, her opinions do come into play heavily. ? Tweaked some focus settings and the image stabilization settings this morning and then took a shot in my backyard today. It was definitively crisper which is nice. I haven't contorted down the file size yet however. Also ran into a newly fledged Eastern Screech Owl last night while walking down our road last night. Ugly little bugger... in the cute kind of way.

There is something about the movie that works.

A two way contract that was an agreed upon move so that Victor signs a new contract for slightly less than he would have demanded. Why would it be anything more than that? ?

I bet you don't even add water. You are a rebel. ?

Bought a new lens (200-600 f5.8-6.3) for the camera last week... since going out in natur e is still allowed. It's peak bird migration season. Snapped a few keepers. Loving it, although now I need to update the tripod head because handshooting with this lens gets tiring... quick.

It's only a problem if you offend a good portion of your fan base when committing the crime. ROR hit a Tim Horton's.. that's not a good look. ?

It means exposed. Perhaps the virus takes hold, perhaps not. Perhaps they have severe symptoms, perhaps not. These are the unknowns that will persist forever. As I have mentioned, unless a vaccine is 100% effective, the risk will always be there. Much like influenza, with its highly varied strains, the "vaccine" is a best effort and so if you are at high risk to influenza you get the shot, but really, you are hoping for the best because a strain not in the "vaccine" could still infect you. That's right. And be it in the locker room or at Sizzler, they are going to get exposed to the virus eventually. This WILL happen. Even cloth masks won't prevent that. Even staying six feet apart won't prevent it. It may reduce the chance of exposure, but it's not prevention. Prevention would be staying completely isolated and sanitizing every external variable that you come in contact with, groceries, packages, the neighbor's cat.

I was going to try it.. then I read up on things like IMpossible Whoppers and other similar items..granted these are fast food and I did not break down the beyond burger but... https://www.healthline.com/health-news/is-buger-kings-impossible-whopper-healthy#Made-from-plants,-but-not-a-health-food Basically.. it's more "ethical" but not even remotely healthy.

What people need to realize is that they are going to be exposed to this and maybe they already have. How their body responds is the mystery. The one thing that is certain, you will be exposed. The virus is not a 100% death sentence. It's dangerous, there's no doubt. There are many people who are at more risk to it, no doubt. But, at the moment I believe the death rate on the virus is still quite low. That does not mean it's not important, but it also means it's not the end of the world.

https://www.rochesterfirst.com/news/state-news/new-york-releases-list-of-specific-businesses-that-can-reopen-in-phase-one/ That should sort through it for you.

It's these reports that just keep me coming back to the fact that we are learning different and new things each day. I'm not anyone has a firm grasp on all of it. I'm not sure that we can say with any certainty that one course is better than another. We can certainly hypothesize that limiting contact is effective but to what end? Are those who are highly susceptible to the virus going to be impacted regardless of when they get it and those who are not going to get through it? Hard to say. Obviously having a true vaccine would be exceedingly awesome, but we don't know if we'll get one and every time there are "new symptoms" it makes me wonder if they aren't variations of the virus where a vaccine that was created for what we saw 1 month ago would no longer be effective against what is seen in these patients. Bottom line? It's a boatload of uncertainty. Regardless of how anyone feels about social measures.. news like this will always be welcome! Such great news.

Hung out near Lake Ontario yesterday. Shot a quick video. Yeah.. that sucked.

Wife made enchiladas... I had no idea she was making anything but I guess my daughter asked for it. We usually only make them after I have run the chicken through the smoker... Sadly the cork on my Extra Anejo had dried out.. guess I left it hanging around a bit too long (Casa Noble Single Barrel). I mean, it was the most expensive alcohol I have ever purchased and I didn't want to just.. chug it. ? So.. anyway.. the stuff went bad.. and also had bits of cork floating in it. Sigh.

I like Cookie Monster singing... never heard that either. I also tend to step away as soon as that guttural lyric crap comes into play. It's never really appealed to me. If their songs never employed that I would probably listen to them... but I just can't keep it on with that style of singing in it.

I did, but my wife got sick of cleaning up vomit and told me to stop.

Even if there is a vaccine, regardless of its efficacy, it will be an eternity before it is rolled out. The manufacturing logistics, distribution, priority ranking for who gets vaccinated and when... Reading an article this morning on how various parts of the US are handling the "wearing of masks" concept... it's about to get real ugly.

Sadly it's an indicator of overall society. It's why "we" are who "we" are those pages depict perfect examples of why the US operates as it does and continues to get worse. That level of laziness and lack of desire to assist continues to seep deeper and deeper into the fabric of our society. The statement assumes that everyone is on FB and part of the page no less. "You mean everyone isn't just like me?" Derp. I'd be happy to just walk down the street and place it on the doorstep and say.. hey, they messed up, here's your package.