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January 6, 2014

JANUARY THAW STROLL

... technically, i believe, in maine it's still two weeks too early for this to be considered a true "january thaw" ... then again, from -21°f and snow two days ago to +58°f and heavy rain this afternoon, and with single-digit temperatures predicted for the morning, well, perhaps is true that global warming is affecting this region's climate calendar ... after an afternoon of coffee and conversation with john and roger, i went out for a brief wanderabout around the block ...

... as i left the apartment i was thinking to myself how i would like to replace one of my nikon d200s with a d7100 ... don't get me wrong, the d200 is a wonderful machine, but its sensor is almost three-generations old and many aspects of its performance are less than those of current smart-phone cameras ... the d200's relatively low megapixel rating limits the sharpness of the images i produce, and its low-light and dynamic range capabilities are not in the same class as the newer nikons ...

... {sigh} ...

... so, as i said, i went for a little stroll around town with my "ancient" camera ... drizzling, no sun, very low light, conditions in which i most obviously needed to submit to adorama an order for a new (refurbished) nikon d7100 ...

... first stop was across the street from my apartment ... wide-open lens, one without any image stabilization, hand-held at 1/10th second ... interesting, despite the billions of dollars spent on the little robot that is cruising across the surface of mars, at this moment in technology there is no combination of computer/machine that could autonomously negotiate these sidewalks ... "walking on ice," that's a seriously human thing ... cool ...

... i paused for the red ...

... then around the corner thought of stopping, if only to find out if maybe i have some sort of serious identity problem of which i'm unawares ...

... but a brief visit to say hello to my main street girls reminded me that the only problem i could have would be if i actually believed a visit with a hairdresser could make "less into more" ...

... at the community market melissa greeted me warmly, which, i suppose, is as good a reason as any it's a community market ... on the way out this little carrot called to me, "please, oh please, good sir, take me home for your stew" ...

... in the adjoining bin his friend wasn't so friendly, "ugh, it's not easy being a turnip, we just don't seem to get the respect we deserve" ... {at least, i think they're turnips ... fortunately, if i'm wrong i've a most-knowledgable-in-these-things sister-in-law who'll gently correct me} ...

... a nice girl tried to entice me into entering the big chain jewelry store, but, still worried about the whole "metro" thing, i ignored her ...

... at the local jewelry store next door all the fancy rings had been taken in, i supposed so as to not entice some casual thief into breaking the window for a quick heist ... the simple gold band remained, however ... i wondered why ...

... across the street, one of my favorite benches emerged from the snowbank within which it has been hiding for over a week ... i like to sit here and watch the cars go by, in nicer weather, that is ...

... amy and her husband are now the owner/operators of "the framemakers" ... the store's little entrance alcove is a favorite rendezvous spot for late-night tavern patrons ...

... what do you think ... ??? ... my thought is, as pretty much been the case since had an olympus rd and "needed" a nikkormat ftn, since i had a nikkormat ftn and "needed" a nikon fm, since i had nikon fm and "needed" a nikon f3, since i had an olympus c-2000 and ...

... well, you get my point ... and, you're absolutely correct, while i would clearly like a new camera, i don't need one ... truth be admitted to, i'm not sure i've yet done complete justice to this one ...