Santa brought my nephew Colby a little digital video camera. Colby loves it, because the screen flips around and he can watch himself on camera. Shortly after this shot, he took the camera and spent the next few minutes saying random things into the camera, watching how his mouth moved and his face reacted. It was just great.
I like the genuine joy on his face here as he sees himself in the viewfinder.
Lucky for us, Santa came this year! As an added bonus, he didn't leave coal for anybody. This was Maddy's first Christmas, which means she ate a lot of wrapping paper and didn't really have any idea what was going on around her. But she did dress up for an alternate shot and left a plate of cookies for the big guy. From this aftermath picture, we can conclude: |
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Christmas - it's the most expensive time of the year!
I actually had a nice shot for expensive taken last weekend - a 180 degree panorama of north Michigan Ave near Saks and Tiffany's. Alas, I couldn't get it stitched into any satisfactory way with the amount of time I had.
So, instead, I present this pretty picture of my Mom's tree in Newfoundland. There's nothing inherently expensive about this, but it sure was expensive getting here to take it. I've flown business class from Chicago to Europe for less money than coach to St. John's, NL. That ain't right.
Merry Christmas, all!
Okay, I can't compete with the gerber baby, so I'll just go with my passion. Well, one of my passions, anyway. So... let's talk beer.
Beer has bubbles, typically as a result of the fermentation process. Yeast eats the sugars present in the wort, and produce two byproducts as a result: alcohol and carbon dioxide. Many beers typically add more CO2 after fermentation as part of the packaging process, because we have become accustomed to fizzy beer. However, not all beers have this type of carbonation.
Guinness Draught doesn't. Instead, it gets its bubbles from good old nitrogen. One of the properties of the nitrogen bubbles is that they're smaller and more plentiful. It's an attempt to simulate the creamy texture of a real cask conditioned stout. A beer that's been pulled up by a beer engine from a non-pressurized cask is going to come up with a foamy head and not much carbonation in the body. The cans use a nitrogen widget, but when you've got a keg system like this, you need a tank of Nitrogen (technically 75% N, 25% CO2). Each produces the same result.
It's a nice effect, and creates a nice mouth feel for the beer. It also creates this hypnotic bubbly effect after the pour, often called the Guinness cascade effect. Studies have been done as to why the bubbles seem to rush down the sides of the glass. It's because they *are* rushing down the side of the glass, while the center of the beer has a hidden column of bubbles rising to the surface.
There. Science!
Now, pardon me, I have to finish drinking the two subjects who volunteered for my photo shoot. (Remember, folks, a pint of Guinness is only 125 calories. And it's good for your heart.
Had a little trouble this week. Been a busy week. Had the flu. Had a storm. Worked on “the basement project”. By the time Ryan's cat and the Gerber baby were posted, I still did not have a picture.
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I had to make a trip to Walgreens for various sundries. “Bazooka Joe” was on that list. OK. I have not blown a bubble in a while. I usually chew sugar free gum. I had some problems. The entire photo shot is more interesting than the two “acceptable” bubbles I formed. If you knew I had four pieces of Bazooka in my mouth, you would not call this one acceptable.
I pulled Gerber Baby out of storage for this shot again, mostly to make sure I'd get the most votes. I'm somewhat disappointed in this particular picture - I was hoping to get a frame filled with bubbles - but it has the best "happy expression" of the batch. Maddy learned about bubbles at the local library childrens' story time and was quite pleased to learn that they can exist in our house too.
I was hoping for a snow picture for "Peace", but nature did not cooperate. So, I bring you a rare contemplative and peaceful moment in our kitties' lives.
Well, that's a lie. Their entire existence is pretty much being lazy and peaceful, but this rare bit is because Sprite and Pixel are curled up together. Some time ago, Sprite decided he was afraid of Pixel and started to run away from her. Yes, that's right. Our 15 point cat is afraid of our 5 pound cat.
However, since the kittens came along, I think Sprite is more willing to hang out with Pixel than he had been of late. So here, admire the two old kitties, chillin' in the bedroom, enjoying a peaceful truce. You'll not the absence of the young kitties, because it's pretty much impossible to get a kitten to sit still for a long exposure shot like this. And a picture of two blurs doesn't quite seem peaceful to me.
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