It is one day before the U.S. Memorial Holiday Weekend starts. All of those Otterz Mob critters that hang round my Studio have been really quiet for the past week or so. Earlier today I went to cut my hair, and the electric clippers is missing. This afternoon Herself and I went grocery shopping, and this is some of what we saw:

Key Lime Pie By Jello
This is the last one on the shelf... two days before US Memorial Day Weekend.


Now, this isn't lime jello, and it seems a bit out of line for Otterz Mob. Except...

Two Fer Price
The Temptations Key Lime Pie, at this price in a local grocery store... two days before US Memorial Day Weekend


And as for Real Jello
Again, the last one on the shelf... two days before US Memorial Day Weekend. Mind you, the generic store brand, there was more of that. Just not the Real Jello.


Ah. Yes. Buddha-con Weekend. Of course. And this year, even ofuroyama (see icon) is not to be seen.

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For those as knows.

And for others, yes, Houdini & I know where our towels are.

In other news, right thumb may not look like it yet is so far healing nicely. Employee Health at Hospital told me (not unexpected) that I can not do any direct patient care because with open wound can not do a proper hand-wash between patients. So I'm on enforced time off, there not being much non-patient care things to do that can't be done by others.

This led to a few more fairly light chore/projects getting worked on here on the Ranch, and a goodly chunk of exploring Picasa capabilities. The 'fun' things explored include the facial recognition and making Albums. An important feature identified is the ability to block images from being uploaded to the Web.

That latter item is important to me for two reasons, Picasa makes it extremely easy to upload (at least to Google/Picasa on-line) and there are rather a few people who've worked with me as models that prefer to maintain their anonymity. As in, not concerned about their photos being on-line yet not wanting their faces to show. No matter how careful one is about it during the session, some face still makes it into some photos. Sometimes by design, sometimes not. Again, these people don't mind this happening primarily because they trust me to honour the request. So being able to control image upload, that's a plus.

The facial recognition is amusing and educational. I've known facial recognition software is available and that there are a lot of uses for it. This is my first direct experience. Some of the intriguing aspects are that it will find faces in photographs or on televisions within a photo. Thus, someone could be 'in' a photo without actually being there.

Name suggestions come along once there are names available. This is both predictable and sometimes hilarious. I expected to encounter familial resemblance issues (and not just identical twins). Photos of myself, brother, and father occasionally come up with a close but not quite name suggestion. However, other similarities appear to come into play as well which at least to me leads to some chuckles.

I've got a big collection of photographs, not only my own. A good portion are images given to me by fellow artists/photographers. Another good portion are in my 'study book' category, downloaded over time, dating back to Usenet days. Some of the suggestions there (Is this Doozer? Is this Herself? Is this Anna Nomouse?) are ... curious.

When Picasa stopped scanning this collection for faces, the program told me it found over 50,000 recognisable faces. This includes multiple images of the same person. This does not include Border Collie Bros, Kittehs of the Apocalypse, or Otterz Mob. Only humans. A lot of them, I'm neither needing nor wanting to apply names. Fortunately, it is possible to 'Ignore' faces. Over the past few days, I've found several ways to view and classify, and whittled (carved!) that 50,000 down to a shade over 7,000 un-designated faces.

Additionally, I've started adding Albums. Picasa doesn't make photos, and it does provide the ability to directly manage files/folders on your storage (Danger Danger Will Robinson!) which makes it possible to delete images. Albums, however, are totally within Picasa, do not duplicate images, simply list them as belonging to the particular albums. Additionally, to more than one album. So, the People albums created when faces in images are listed ('Me', 'Herself', 'Anna Nomouse') are just that.

May serve. We'll see. There are some other options out there I may yet explore, primarily because those options will also offer other and more robust capabilities than Picasa does. Still, for free software, pretty intriguing and potentially useful.

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Ow, Ow Again, And Other Choice Words

Yesterday I gave myself a bit of an evulsion injury to my right thumb while re-seating t-bar posts for Ms. Truffles Piggie. Actually debated at the time if I should simply go over to Williston. No stitching this down, though, too ragged on the edge. Cleaned out more or less immediately, finished setting posts, then to house and cleaned out more thoroughly. Dressed wound, dealt with birds and Bros, then re-dressed and off to pick up Herself from Market. Re-dressed again after unloading truck.

She's thinking this morning we need to get our tetanus boosters done. I am thinking so too.

Meanwhile, Picasa

I've been working with Picasa as mentioned before to learn can this serve my cataloging needs. Some interesting features, and some cataloging started. Thought I'd mentioned here how many copies of faces the facial recognition feature found (not individual people, individually recognisable faces which includes many pictures of some individuals). Probably did that on-line but I'm recalling upwards of 50,000 faces recognised. Sorting through them, either to put them into an album by name or to 'Ignore' the person I'm down to 23 – 24,000 plus/minus. Some interesting things:

1. Once names are added, Picasa will begin to suggest names for faces. Sometimes they are even the correct names. The more names in, the more suggestions made.
2. Some of the incorrect suggestions are often personally amusing.
3. It is possible to tell Picasa to ignore a face. Unfortunately, Picasa doesn't seem to put together that if there is a duplicate file in another folder, ignoring that face is still pertinent. I've got a large collection of images, going back to Usenet days.
4. Along with that, Picasa is able to recognise faces in thumb-nail size images in 'index file' composites ne. proof sheet type images. Even more faces, as perhaps not all those indexed images were collected...
5. For the few models with whom I've worked that requested anonymity and no face display, this is actually an interesting tool to reveal where there are images with too much recognition.

Also, downloaded GIMP. I know there is at least one person on my lists here that's used GIMP. Refresh my memory so I can tag you for info, eh?

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1. Holding pen refurbished, smaller, with shade shelter and water for both sides of drive road.
2. Kids rounded up, sold and transported.
3. Half of Old Hog Pen panels taken down. Old Hog Pen cleaned out slightly, scraps of treewood stacked to burn. Next old pen over panels removed. Single panel ready to excavate.
4. Fence patched & wrapped on drive road side of Horse Paddock, divided pen. The rest of that fence is... needing work and the inside fence to simply come down and go away.
5. Gate at west end of new Buck Pen mounted, and functional. Keeps the Bros in when they go that way to avoid goats while starting rounds.
6. Hospital Pen refurbished using panels from old extension of holding pen and another two to replace hog panels we were using.
7. Hog panels stacked closer to current hog pens. (To be used in near future when selected hogs change their professions...)
8. Prints matted and mounted to increase Studio 318 booth inventory. Increased knowledge and skills on cutting mats. Increased understanding of needs for matting work station.
9. Zucchini Festival show accomplished.
10. Bird cage for fledgling dirtyardbirds completed, fledglings moved in, second round of biddies moved into their old holding cage, new Millifleuer biddies brought home from Caprihaven.
11. Avian Prison high wire wrapped and mounted. Water cans for additional bigger chicken tillers and Prison acquired and put into service.
12. Water hardware acquired, some put into service.
13. Major Dump Run.

Pretty durn busy, was I.

For the 24 years we've been living here, I take our un-recycled or un-recycleable refuse to the dump. Today, while doing that, fellow from the truck that pulled in next to me asked if I was from Chiefland. No, not from Chiefland, yet we determined that the Ranch is inside the territory he and his partner cover as garbage haulers. Handed me a flyer for their services. Hat's off to entrepeneurship. However, at $65 a Quarter for weekly pickup, when it costs me usually $14 per run and usually every other month (so, one per two Quarters and two per two Quarters) I am also going to pass.

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Today is janetmiles's Day!

Hippie Trippie Birdbaths.

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Friday headed out shortly after making the previous entry, including the stand in the car. The trip is approximately (plus/minus less than a mile) 70 miles round trip. Setup took very little time for me, as the pavilion is easy. Up and staked down before D showed up. Helped him set up their brand new pavilion. Then home.

Saturday morning up at 05:00, out and packing up by 05:20, on the road by 06:10 which isn't bad considering Herself hadn't yet done her jewelry packing. She was busy baking. Loaded up her two entries for the Cook a Zucch contest as well, and made it to site in good time to off-load and set up before opening. Bit of help for a couple things on D & B's pavilion, with two banners up for Caprihaven Goats and Kuma's Playpen Ranch. Both the ladies came later because they took care of the respective family farm/ranch establishments. Gotta feed those goats, eh.

Summary of the rest of the day: this event does pull a big local crowd. We'd heard around 4000 attendees as their estimate, and I'll go with that. Saw a lot of familiar faces in the crowd. KP Ranch and Caprihaven Goats did a really good business, with the first round of assorted savory zucchini breads Herself sent along being quite nearly sold out before she arrived near noon. And, sold out of the remainder before the end of the day, plus a big portion of the two styles of cookies she made (oatmeal zucchini chocolate chip, and zucchini chocolate chip) as well as the Zucchini Brownie Bites. Less of those sold, though.

Also, Herself and B entered items into the Cook a Zucch contest, as mentioned. B entered into candies with a dish made with zucchini and goats milk. Herself entered larger loaves of two of her savory zucchini breads, Zucchini Bread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Bacon Bits and Goats Cheese and Zucchini Bread with Red Crushed Bell Peppers and Goats Cheese. Both ladies received Third Place ribbons in their categories. Herself received ribbons for each bread, because the folks running the contest decided the Bacon Bits loaf is an Appetizer while the Bell Peppers a bread.

Studio 318 made booth fee with the sale of one print of Dryad Dreams, and a matched set beaded necklace and earrings. That's our exciting news.

Enjoyed the event for all that, and there are plans already for next year. Along with the two sales, did get to visit with a lot of people, helped one not really a photographer with a problem with the camera he was using. I say not really because he told me he works with a local radio station that covers the event and they'd sent him around with this camera to take some publicity photos. Camera stopped taking pictures, built-in flash wouldn't pop up. Not that familiar with a Canon Rebel, but I told him to turn it off (He says, I already tried that) and pop the battery out and back in.

He did, and it worked.

Houdini is now telling me that after a week of Stays Home Days he is quite upset that I went away All Day yesterday, and is staying right next to me, no matter where I go. Today I need to send myself, or otherwise update the inventory file, and catch up with some other book keeping. In between doing laundry, probably.

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Today is starcat_jewel day!

May there be chocolate!

Moon Day

Sold some kids on Monday. Specifically 13 doelings from our herd, and 1 buckling at 4 months from B's herd. The refurbished holding pen worked OK, though still a bit big and we wound up trapping the doelings in the corner opposite the gate. On the other hand, as small as they are this worked OK to snag and hand-carry them into his trailer. Also, we both are convinced we counted at least 14 doelings in there when we moved them on Sunday; however, small as some may have been one could have slipped between a gap in panels. The buckling loaded up without much fuss at all; people there, two doelings already in the trailer, he'd just been in a trailer, he may have seen other goats getting into trailers. No worries, no matter what. So he only came to stay with us for 2-3 days max.

Ranch chores and a run into Williston to Sparr for ranch related equipment before that. I got a second hose to put out by the buck pen so we can stop driving over the other hose, plus a wye to help with that. Plus a light chain to be the latch on the west end buckling pen gate, and a couple clips to hold the gate on the holding pen (now not immediately needed but will free up the lighter clips there). And a roll of 2x4 wire fabric to be the tops and bottoms of Dirty Yardbird Tillers, since we've got chicks hatching both here and at Beth's, and other birds that need containment to keep the Garden safe. Herself didn't go to Tioga Market yesterday for the combination of working on cages and then the kid roundup. She also gave me $100 back from the kid sales to cover the tiller supplies purchases. I've tucked that into Studio money. Shameless of me, I know. Vicarious as well. It really needs to be deposited into the Ranch checking account. Later.

Got started on the matting and mounting in the afternoon, after Ranch chores and interrupted by the Roundup. I figured Monday to be primarily setup and organisation day and this proved to be mostly true. Big table set up, by the window, mat cutter laid out on it. Counted up all the prints on hand needing mounts and mats, measured to help determine mat size. Three prints of my work with small white margins top and bottom worked nicely in a pre-cut double-mat, so those are now mounted and matted though not sleeved yet. Working on the matting will give me indications what I need to help with this process.

Then another run to Williston for very light groceries (wound up at Winn Dixie though initially planned on Hitchcock's) and pizza for dinner.

Sun Day

On Sunday I fired up Picasa (Google's 'free' image organisation/editing/uploading software) as I'm checking it out to see how well it suits my needs for organisation. One of the features is that Picasa will scan through the designated photograph library and apply facial recognition algorithms to 'suggest' names. The package prefers to go to on-line contact lists, but will take manual entry. I opted for the latter.

In the library I apparently am able to claim something along the order of 50-60 thousand recognisable faces. Recognisable is a relative term on two counts. There are some blurry pics in there (either the primary subjects themselves, or in the background) which make it hard for me to identify who they are, and faces in sculptures as well. George and teh Boys, my Bro-in-Law's reference for Mount Rushmore, for example provided George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and there are some other sculptures in my library as well as people wearing masks.

Once the names are listed, while continuing to work Picasa will then provide a batch of suggestions: Is this George Washington? Sometimes yes, sometimes no, and the latter are occasionally humourous.

One thing I will be extremely cautious about is the batch upload feature. Since there are more than a few people who've modeled for me that wish to retain anonymity, or who commissioned me for private works (that are still within my library, as part of my portfolio since I retain the right to use those private works in reference display for other private commissions), there are photographs I do not want uploaded.

In short, the jury is still out on Picasa as an image file management tool.

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Today is the unofficial first day of a week off from Hospital. It is unofficial because after all I am usually off on Saturn Day anyway. What I've done on my day off is get up at the usual Oh Dark Hunnert, load Forrest Nissan Pickup with gear and goods, transport Herself to Haile Village Centre Farmers & Craft Market. There we did the usual setup, and I returned to the Ranch to feed Horses, Goats, and Hogs in that order. Along with some exercise for the Bros.

Followed this with back to the Market to help strike the setup and re-load the gear and remaining goods, then transport Herself home again, home again jiggidy jig jig. Park Forrest, unload the gear and remaining goods, and into House to escape from the heat for a bit. Now, here is where we diverge a wee bit from a normal day off.

Napped. Short one, yes, and apparently well done.

Up again, and the first round of laundry into the wash machine for long soaking. These are the over-blanket (a light one) and the quilt which has been on the bed, and needing the soaking because Houdini decided we are once again into Inside Dog Season. That's why the over-blanket, as it helps keep the quilt from getting very dirty. Border Collies seem to attract sand, somehow. Even with regular brushings and such.

Bit of on-line research planning on some equipment purchases, postponed for a variety of reasons and now getting to be a good time for it. More on that later. Just now, it's time to walk back to the North Wing, aka Studio 318 and the Laundry Room to kick the washer back into agitation mode, after which it will sit and continue soaking those bed covers.

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