ready for Christmas?

www.ubushirts.com

you've got this

You've got this!

She will make it through another day, 'cause She's got this...

...and so do you.

Like the mug? 11 and 15 ounces. Order with the QR code below.
 

paying too little

Below is a quote that has stuck with me for years. I have found it true, over and over again. It is rare to get a bargain. A real bargain. When you get something of value for very little. Normally a "great deal" turns into something else as you have to buy upgrades or repairs to get the thing you purchased at a great price to work as it should have to begin with.

Here is the quote...

 

There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person's lawful prey.

It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little.

When you pay too much, you lose a little money — that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.

The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot — it can't be done.

If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.

— The Common Law of Business Balance, traditionally attributed to John Ruskin.

no beans

This is the same tree, one week apart. 

In the top picture, it had just rained the night before. The sun came out, and there was a lot of fog and clouds still in the air.

In the second picture, the beans have been picked from the field. It appears to be a little earlier in the day, but the sun comes up earlier each day so that can play a part.

It is interesting to take pictures of the some scene and see how it changes over time. In this case a lot changed in a week.

 

dustin lynch

I was the house photographer last week for the Dustin Lynch concert at the Blue Gate Performing Arts Center in Shipshewana, Indiana.

Here are a few of the images from that night.

To see more go to the concert gallery at...

https://davidarment.photos

 

tshirts

 

https://ubushirts.com

I'm working on a tshirt shop. I suppose as it evolves it will have other things, mugs and bags and such.

But the main thing will be wearables. Tshirts mainly.

Here is the first page (above). It only has a few products that came out of my pea sized brain.

go have a look around.

what dreams may come

 

She went to sleep with her eyeglasses on, perhaps to see her dreams?

that's not leadership... i have no idea what that is

 

How does it make any sense to be giving a vaccine to the public at the same time you are opening a clinic that treats them from the injuries received from that same vaccine? Either the vaccine is okay or it causes harm. Which is it? Find a path and take it.

You can't tell us it is okay take it and at the same time tell us it is harmful.

I like JFK Jr. Overall I think he is doing a good job.

It appears to me that we have two governments. We seem to have the Trump administration and "his people" - JFK Jr. - being one - and a bunch of others in the background that made and continue to make decisions.

Nikkor 200-500 for sale

 Nikon Nikkor 200-500

A wonderful lens. If you have seen my concert photography it was likely done with this lens.

Somehow over the years I acquired two of these. So I need to let go of one.

Let's go shoot! We will see what this thing can do.

https://imaging.nikon.com/imaging/lineup/lens/f-mount/zoom/telephotozoom/af-s_200-500mmf_56e_ed_vr/index.html

$850

David Arment

260-290-2513

darment@pm.me

Nikon Nikkor 80-400, for sale

 Nikon Nikkor 80-400 for sale

AF-VR 80-400mm 1:4.5-5.6D

I wore the back rubber skids off that turn the telephoto "in and out". They can be purchased and replaced.

$300

David Arment

260-290-2513

darment@pm.me

Nikon D800 E, for Sale

Predecessor to the D850. 

The D800E takes sharper pictures than its sister camera, the D800, because of a change in the internal filters. (see more below).

It takes good pictures. I tried it today. Let's go shoot and you can see what you think.

Camera only with strap

$300

 The D800E uses a modified optical low-pass filter (OLPF) that cancels the filter's normal anti-aliasing effect. This allows the sensor to capture finer detail and can produce slightly sharper images than the standard D800 under suitable conditions.

Effective resolution

36.3 MP

Sensor format

FX / Full frame

Sensor	35.9 × 24.0 mm CMOS
Maximum image size	7,360 × 4,912 pixels
Lens mount	Nikon F mount
Native ISO	100–6,400
Extended ISO	50–25,600 equivalent
Autofocus	51 points, including 15 cross-type sensors
Continuous shooting	Up to 4 fps in FX mode
Shutter speeds	30 seconds to 1/8,000 second, plus Bulb
Rear LCD	3.2 inches, approximately 921,000 dots
Memory cards	One CompactFlash and one SD slot
Video	Full HD 1080p
Processor	EXPEED 3
Weight	Approximately 900 g (body with battery and card)

David Arment

260-290-2513

darment@pm.me

Nikkor Lens 24-70 2.8

Nikkor lens with hood and front and rear caps.

$500

$400 if you buy it with the D850 also for sale.

David Arment

260-290-2513

darment@pm.me

 

Nikon D850 for Sale

Nikon D850 45.7 MP Digital SLR, Full Frame (FX) body. (see specs below)

With one card (the camera takes two). It has slots for an SD card and a XQD card. The XQD card will go with the camera.

There are no scratches or other blemishes on the camera. There is wear on the edges where the black paint has come off. It looks great.

Serial number 3015351. Made in Thailand

I'm also selling two lenses that would go along great with this camera.

Let's go shoot it and see what you think! 

I never used the strap. I have an aftermarket strap that I used.

Feature	Specification
Effective resolution	45.7 megapixels; 35.9 × 23.9 mm FX-format BSI CMOS sensor
Maximum FX image size	8,256 × 5,504 pixels (approx. 45.4 MP recorded image)
Optical low-pass filter	No optical low-pass (anti-aliasing) filter; designed for high detail and sharpness
Image formats	NEF (RAW, 12- or 14-bit), JPEG, TIFF; RAW + JPEG capture
ISO sensitivity	ISO 64–25,600 native range; expandable to ISO 32 equivalent and ISO 102,400 equivalent
Image processing	EXPEED 5 processor
Autofocus, exposure and shooting
Feature Specification
Autofocus system	153 focus points, including 99 cross-type sensors; 55 points selectable
Autofocus sensitivity	Approximately −4 to +20 EV (ISO 100, 20°C)
Continuous shooting	Up to 7 frames per second; up to 9 fps with optional MB-D18 grip and compatible EN-EL18-series battery
Shutter speeds	1/8000 sec to 30 sec, plus Bulb and Time
Flash sync	1/250 sec; Auto FP high-speed sync supported
Exposure modes	Program, Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority, Manual, and other scene/automatic options
Viewfinder	Optical pentaprism; approx. 0.75× magnification; approx. 100% FX coverage
Storage, video and display
Feature Specification
Memory card slots	One XQD card slot and one SD slot (SD, SDHC, SDXC; UHS-II supported)
Video recording	4K UHD (3,840 × 2,160) at 24p, 25p, or 30p; Full HD up to 60p
Rear monitor	3.2-inch tilting touchscreen LCD
Live View	Photo and movie Live View; silent electronic-shutter photography available in supported Live View modes
Connectivity Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth via SnapBridge; USB and HDMI connections
Body, power and compatibility
Feature	Specification
Lens mount	Nikon F mount; compatible with many AF, AF-S, AF-P and manual-focus F-mount lenses, with compatibility restrictions for some lenses
Battery	EN-EL15-series rechargeable lithium-ion battery (exact supported variant depends on configuration/firmware)
Approx. dimensions	146 × 124 × 78.5 mm (5.8 × 4.9 × 3.1 in.)
Approx. weight	915 g (32.3 oz.) body only, with battery and memory card
Introduced	2017

David Arment

260-290-2513

darment@pm.me

gateway to heaven

 

pam sends me to the grocery store and strange things happen

pam sends me to the grocery store and strange things happen

Pam has spotted a trend. I guess it is a trend, or maybe it is (or they are) an usual occurrence. Or maybe it is (or they are) a series of unusual occurrences.

Or maybe it doesn't matter.

When she sends me to the store; on those particular days they are giving away free stuff. On the days she goes by herself to the store there is no free stuff.

I had not noticed.

Now that is pointed out to me, I see it. But really beforehand (or maybe afterhand) I had not noticed.

She thinks it is odd, but I think it is just fine and everything is a-okay. Okie dokie artichokie. 

When she needs bread or milk, or more recently coffee... on those days they are giving away free things. Last time she sent me they had a special which was, that with the purchase of any sized bag of coffee you received two bags of chocolate covered donuts. I ate some on the way home. However they tasted even better with coffee, so whomever devised this "give away" knew what they were doing.

This is of course a promotion to inspire customer loyalty.

Sometimes when I go to the store for bread they are giving away my favorite ice cream… Vanilla Bean, if, you buy a loaf of bread, which just so happens what I was there to buy in the first place. And, coincidentally, it often happens at exactly the same time we are out of vanilla bean ice cream at home.

It's a miracle.

Sometimes they “switch it up” and offer a free gallon of ice cream with the purchase of another dairy product. And luckily, a few times when I’ve been sent to buy milk that promotion is running. 

But they never seem to be running those specials when Pam and I go or when Pam goes by herself. 

So that is very strange.

Like supernatural. 

Otherworldly. 

An oddity.

Through the looking glass (no, I have no idea what that means).

Hebrews 12:15b

 

horses and equine phototraphy

Pictured is a filly one of my Amish friends is putting up for sale.

This is the filly's mom. She is also going to be sold.

I enjoyed taking horse pictures today. I'd like to do more. 

I've been working for several days on pictures of older adults from our community, so it was a nice break to go outside and be with dogs and horses. Nothing wrong with the people in our community... it was just nice to get outside.

 

my warranty will have or may have expired

In a previous post I talked about verbs. Some languages have "richer verbs" than we do in English. I told you that I studied a language in college that they said had been murdered. Homicide.

No wait, they just said it was a "dead language".

Anyway they had verbs that would not quit. They had like a root word onto which they stuck various endings.

Today I received a letter saying the warranty on my motorcycle, RV, truck, van and / or boat may be soon or has already expired. 

...maybe already or will soon expire...

I am sure these folks wish they had verbs like some of the dead Latin languages so they could say...

Your warranty has expired.

Your warranty will soon expire.

Your warranty is in the process of expiring.

Your warranty is in the process of expire, will expire and will always be expired.

Your warranty has always been expiring and is now or will soon be expired.

... and there are other permutations which should come to but won't because I'm tired and in the process of expiring and will soon expire and will likely continue to expire.

The big problem with this letter is that I don't own a car.

I don't own a boat.

I don't own a van.

I don't own a motorcycle.

What I / we do own is a couple of trucks and an RV trailer.

So it would appear that maybe they really don't know what their letter is about. It is like the shotgun fired in the dark at a noise. You hope you hit something... but you likely won't

You can see a lot by observing - Yogi Bera

The key to science is observation.

I had a high school friend who once said to me, "All the trees moving make the winds blow." I thought he was a genius. Later in life I was re-reading the short story "The Ransom of Red Chief" and in there I read this same phrase. It wasn't from a high school friend; it was from O’Henry. 

I had a high school teacher who was also the basketball coach. Everybody thought him a wonderful basketball coach and nobody really thought of him much as a science teacher; but I always appreciated him as a science teacher more than a basketball coach, especially later in life as I became involved with scientists in my work and recalled what he taught us about observation.

Our science teacher once brought to class a yellow slightly opaque liquid in a beaker, he held it up for everyone to see. He looked at it and said “Looks like urine." 

Then he put his nose over the container and said, “smells like urine”.

Finally he dipped a finger into the liquid and said, “tastes like urine”.

He passed the beaker around for us to see, smell and... and... taste.

When it got to me I didn't stop to look at it. I didn't even think about tasting it. I just continued passing it. 

When the container got back to his desk, he said, "What did you observe?" One of the smarter people in the class said, "You dipped one finger in but you licked a different finger." Apparently that observant person was correct.

On another occasion after giving us an exam, he passed back the exam papers and asked, "What did anybody observe about the exam?" It turns out that the answers to the exam were arranged in reverse alphabetical order. If you figured that out you got an A because you realized that all you had to do was arrange the letters correctly. If you didn't observe that then you probably didn't get an A. You got some other grade. I was one of the ones that got “some other grade”. 

As I mentioned above I worked in a job with lots of scientists. They invented products. Those products were manufactured and shipped by our company to differnet industries. Some of the industries that received our products had scientists in their laboratories with whom we communicated on how to use our products. In some other circumstances our products were shipped to people who used them in a factory setting and the people involved were rarely scientists or even had education past high school. 

In the industry that had both educated scientists in the lab and applications people in the factory, what became apparent over time was the power of seeing an outcome from an event or series of events was more a function of the “common sense” of the person and had less to do with their education.

It was always refreshing to deal with someone who drew the correct conclusions from observing a problem on a production line. A misdiagnosis of the problem meant that a solution was not at hand. It sometimes took a lot of patience to help someone understand that the problem was X when they were convinced it was Y. 

No matter how many changes they made to get the production to turn out correctly it wasn't going to work unless or until they understood X and Y.

We had an entire department of “tech service” people who were very experienced and did a great job helping customers who had “issues”. All of them had great observational skills honed by years of seeing the same problems “over and over again”.

In recent years I’ve heard people say, “I follow the science”. It is hard to argue with that

Everyone should follow the science.

But let’s replay the story of the science teacher and the beaker of “urine”. What would have happen had he said “trust me”… “this looks like urine and it smells like urine; so go ahead and have a taste. It will be fine. I am a scientist. You can trust me”.

Would you have tasted?

Yet when faced with being told to take a vaccination a great many people suspended their own powers of observation.

I almost did the same...

In my case I was ill and went to the doctor. I assumed I had Covid 19. The doctor said no you have a mild lung infection. So I was given antibiotics and went home and get well. 

BUT there were cheerleaders at the clinic. There was a visiting doctor and some interns. They were all “pushing” the Covid 19 vaccination. They were all very excited about this new vaccine. It was amazing and a little weird. 

One of the nurses who I knew pretty well was not a cheerleader for the vaccine. She communicated this by avoiding my question about “should I get this shot?”

But I got caught up in the hype and I said “go ahead and give me the vaccine”. 

“We don’t give it here and we wouldn’t give it to you if we could because you are ill”, was their response.

“Where do you get this vaccine?”

“You go down to the County Health Department”.

What?

So this was very strange. All my shots came in that office but now, for this one, I had to go to the county health office… wherever that is / was? My dealings with our county had never resulted in me being too impressed. They were all nice people who seemed content. Good enough was always “good enough”. Someday was always soon enough. 

So I observed a change in the system that delivered vaccines. And I needed to figure out why that had changed.

Should I trust my health bureaucratic folks who maybe were not doctors or nurses. Why were they giving the shots now and not my doctor?

I went home and started to study and to form my own opinions based upon research and these observations.

It wasn’t that I didn’t “trust the science”. But I wanted my own observations to also be involved in the decision.

Trust the science is fine, but don’t abandon your own powers of observation. You are the primary person responsible for your health.

...and...

All the trees moving do not make the wind blow.