f/5.6

Are You Egging Me On?!

November 17, 2015 — 27 Comments

egg

F/5.6, 1/60, ISO 200.

Day 321 / 365

How do you make an egg roll?

You push it!

Interesting Fact: The dried egg industry developed in the 19th century, before the rise of the frozen egg industry.[9] In 1878, a company in St. Louis, Missouri started to transform egg yolk and white into a light-brown, meal-like substance by using a drying process.[9] The production of dried eggs significantly expanded during World War II, for use by the United States Armed Forces and its allies. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_(food)#History )

It’s Electrifying!

November 4, 2015 — 23 Comments

power supply board

F/5.6, 1/60, ISO 200.

Day 308 / 365

Experiencing problems with his computer, an incognizant user called technical support for assistance …

Technician: Good morning. How may I help you?

Customer: There’s smoke coming from my computer’s power supply.

Technician: Sounds like you need a new power supply.

Customer: No, I don’t! I just need to change the startup files.

Technician: Sir, what you described is a faulty power supply. It needs to be replaced.

Customer: No way! Someone told me that I just have to change the system startup files to fix the problem! All I need is for you to tell me the right command.

For the next several minutes, despite the technician’s efforts to explain the problem and its solution, the customer adamantly insisted that he was right. So, in frustration, the technician responded …

Technician: I’m sorry. Normally we don’t tell our customers this, but there is an undocumented DOS command that will fix the problem.

Customer: Aha! I knew it!

Technician: Add the line ‘LOAD NOSMOKE.COM’ at the end of the CONFIG.SYS file and everything should work fine. Let me know how it goes.

A few minutes later, the technician received a call back from the customer …

Customer: It didn’t work. The power supply is still smoking.

Technician: What version of DOS are you using?

Customer: MS-DOS 6.22.

Technician: Well, that’s your problem. That version of DOS doesn’t include NOSMOKE. You’ll need to contact Microsoft and ask them for a patch. Let me know how it all works out.

An hour passed and the technician received another call from the customer …

Customer: I need a new power supply.

Technician: Really? How did you reach that conclusion?

Customer: Well, I called Microsoft and told the technician what you said, and he started asking me questions about the make of the power supply.

Technician: I see. What did he tell you?

Customer: He said my power supply isn’t compatible with NOSMOKE!

Interesting Fact: 1910 An inductive discharge ignition system invented by Charles F. Kettering and his company (Delco) goes into production for Cadillac. This is a mechanically-switched version of a flyback boost converter with an autotransformer (the ignition coil). Variations of this ignition system are in all non-diesel internal combustion engines. 1926 “Electrical Condensors” by Coursey[1] mentions high frequency welding[2] and furnaces.[1] 1936 Car radios used electromechanical vibrators to transform the 6 V battery supply to a suitable B+ voltage for the vacuum tubes.[3] 1959 Transistor oscillation and rectifying converter power supply system U.S. Patent 3,040,271 is filed.[4] 1970 High-Efficiency Power Supply produced from about 1970 to 1995.[5][6][7][8] 1972 HP-35, Hewlett-Packard’s first pocket calculator, is introduced with transistor switching power supply for light-emitting diodes, clocks, timing, ROM, and registers.[9] 1977 Apple II is designed with a switching mode power supply. “Rod Holt was brought in as product engineer and there were several flaws in Apple II that were never publicized. One thing Holt has to his credit is that he created the switching power supply that allowed us to do a very lightweight computer“.[10] 1980 The HP8662A 10 kHz – 1.28 GHz synthesized signal generator went with a switched power supply. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched-mode_power_supply#History )

Is This Spooning Or Forking?

November 2, 2015 — 22 Comments

utensils

F/ 5.6, 1/60, ISO 160.

Day 306 / 365

What did the plate say to the spoon and fork?

“Dinner’s on me!”

Interesting Fact: The word fork comes from the Latin furca, meaning “pitchfork“. Some of the earliest known uses of forks with food occurred in Ancient Egypt, where large forks were used as cooking utensils.[1] Bone forks had been found in the burial site of the Bronze Age Qijia culture (2400–1900 BC) as well as later Chinese dynasties’ tombs.[2] The Ancient Greeks used the fork as a serving utensil.[3] The Greek name for fork is still used in some European languages, for instance in the Venetian, Greek, and Albanian languages. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork )

Excuse Me?! I Hear Everything That You Saying! 

October 24, 2015 — 10 Comments

Boston Terrier

F/ 5.6, 1/60, ISO 200.

Boston Terrier

Day 297 / 365

What does this dog and my phone have in common?

They both have collar I.D.

Interesting Fact: The Boston terrier breed originated around 1870, when Robert C. Hooper of Boston, purchased a dog, Judge from Edward Burnett known later as Hooper’s Judge, who was of a Bull and Terrier type lineage. Hooper’s Judge is either directly related to the original Bull and Terrier breeds of the 19th and early 20th centuries, or Judge is the result of modern English Bulldogs being crossed into terriers created in the 1860s for show purposes, like the White English Terrier. The American Kennel Club cites Hooper’s Judge as the ancestor of almost all true modern Boston Terriers. ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Terrier )

Come On, Ride The Train, It’s The Choo Choo Train

October 22, 2015 — 8 Comments

train tracks

F/5.6, 1/20, ISO 500.

Day 295 / 365

Why is the railroad angry?

Because people are always crossing it!

Interesting Fact: The streets of New York were very crowded in the late 1800s. Inventor Alfred Ely Beach wanted to build a train underground. The government said no. So, he built it in secret, digging out of the rented basement of an apartment store. His subway opened in 1870. ( http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-trains/ )

10-up !!!

October 20, 2015 — 19 Comments

mushrooms

F/5.6, 1/60, ISO 100.

Day 293 /365

What would a mushroom car say?

Shroom shroom!

Interesting Fact: Modern studies suggest mushrooms can be useful for antibacterial, anti-inflammatories and antioxidants. While also helping to reduce blood pressure, moderate blood sugar, reduce cholesterol, enhance the immune system, reduce stress and help in fighting many types of cancer.  ( http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/food/mushrooms.html )

Having A Lathe Can Really Turn Things Around…

October 10, 2015 — 2 Comments

lathe

F/ 5.6, 1/250, ISO320.

Day 283 / 365

My friend applied for a job at a engineering firm to work on a lathe.

They turned him down!

Interesting Fact: In 1887, R. K. LeBlond founded the R. K. LeBlond Machine Tool Company to manufacture metal cutting lathes.[1] As a result of a joint venture with Makino Milling Machine, LeBlond Makino Machine Tool Company was formed in 1981. In 1996, LeBlond Makino Machine Tool Company changed its name to Makino. Then in 1997, LeBlond Lathe Parts was founded to focus on the service and support of all LeBlond lathe equipment manufactured since 1887. In 1998, after acquiring the W. F. & John Barnes Company, the company’s name was changed to LeBlond Ltd to reflect a broader business purpose. LeBlond continued its acquisition strategy by acquiring the Standard Modern lathe service parts business in 1999. The Johnson Press and Deka Drill service parts businesses were acquired from South Bend Lathe in 2001 and the South Bend Lathe and Dynablast parts businesses in March, 2002. LeBlond’s product support team had collectively 160 years of service with LeBlond Machine Tool Company, LeBlond Makino and Makino. ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._K._LeBlond_Machine_Tool_Company )

Happy International Coffee Day!

September 29, 2015 — 18 Comments

coffee 1

F/ 5.6, 1/60, ISO 200.

Day 272 / 365

A guy walks into a coffee shop and asks the waitress: “How much is the coffee?”
“Coffee is four dollars the waitress says”.
“How much is a refill?” the man asks.
“Free, “says the waitress.
“Then I’ll take a refill!” the man responds.

Interesting Fact: Coffee is the second most traded commodity on earth. According to the Global Exchange, there are approximately 25 million farmers in over 50 countries involved in producing coffee. The number one commodity? Oil. ( http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/a30303/facts-about-coffee/ )

Brotherly Love

September 26, 2015 — 10 Comments

brotherly love

F/5.6, 1/60, ISO 400.

Day 269 / 365

What did the beach say to the wave?…

“Long tide, no sea.”

Interesting Fact: Most beaches are found on the coast, where wave action, currents, tides and seawater rises continuously rework and shape the sediment. As a result, beaches are usually regarded as dynamic, natural phenomenon.  ( http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/beaches.html )

 

There Are Always Flowers For Those Who Want To See Them

September 21, 2015 — 6 Comments

campanula

F/ 5.6, 1/60, ISO 500.

Campanula

Day 264 / 365

Why couldn’t the flower ride its bike?

It lost its petals.

Interesting Fact: Campanula /kæmˈpæn.juːlə/[4] is one of several genera in the family Campanulaceae with the common name bellflower. It takes both its common and its scientific name from its bell-shaped flowers—campanula is Latin for “little bell”. The genus includes over 500 species and several subspecies, distributed across the temperate and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest diversity in the Mediterranean region east to the Caucasus.[5] The range also extends into mountains in tropical regions of Asia and Africa. The species include annual, biennial and perennial plants, and vary in habit from dwarf arctic and alpine species under 5 cm high, to large temperate grassland and woodland species growing to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) tall. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campanula )