This week's weather here in Plainfield (NJ) was almost picture perfect for the first time since May. We had comfortable daytime highs, cool evenings, and not a one tremendous downpour. It reminded me of the weather in San Diego, but without the early morning fog. Low humidity and clear skies. I love it!
I started taking both of my halfway decent digital cameras with me (I also have a $15 one, but that one doesn't count) as I did my days. My Canon PowerShot A560 is technically a better camera -- 7.1 megapixels, a better zoom and all. But my first digital camera, my Pentax Optio 33L, with its lowly 3.2 megapixels, does much better macro shots and has cool filters the Canon doesn't. It was the Pentax which got me hooked on photography.
On the home front, I don't have much news. I worked, I did my Big Brother blog posts for here and TV Squad, I slept, I ate ... and then I did it all over again. On Tuesday in the early evening, I went to yet another meeting at City Hall regarding my landlord. While my building's elevator is fixed, there are other issues still outstanding. One thing I complained about was the main fire alarm for the building -- many of the sensors have been dismantled and I said it wasn't operating.
Okay, try to make a liar out me, eh? The day after I complained, there I was peacefully watching television when the building fire alarm sounded. And it went on and on. I called the landlord's number, got the answering service. Of course, I had checked for fire first! Finally, after nearly an hour of the loud alarm, I called the non-emergency number for the fire department. No, they didn't have a signal coming from our building. They sent their trucks over and the firemen turned off the alarm. The next night, the alarm sounded again at 12:30 AM. Again, the fire department didn't get the signal.
I stand by my statement that it doesn't work. The way it's supposed to work is an alarm going into the fire department. There are about 40 apartments in the building. If, heaven forbid, there's ever a real fire, we need the fire department response. Just because it makes a lot of noise now here in the building does not mean it's functioning properly. By the way, there was a faulty sensor head or something like that causing the alarm to sound -- no fire.
Enough of that. Onto the week in photos (clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window) --
Sitting in illustrator mode
I took this shot with the illustrator mode of the Pentax. Now, my Canon can't do this kind of shot. It was taken out the train window in Dunellen, NJ.
Uh-oh -- bigger and meaner
The fairly innocent carpenter bees on the flowers were replaced by bigger, nastier, and more evil-looking blacker carpenter bees. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe the initial ones I photographed were bumblebees. They seemed really small, though. These new bees are a good inch long. And, they're not thrilled with the paparazzi.
It's a sweater vest!
The new bees look like they're wearing fuzzy sweater vests with a big black circle on the back.
Signs, signs, everywhere a sign
And the sign said everybody welcome, come in, kneel down and pray
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all,
I didn't have a penny to pay, so I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own little sign
I said thank you Lord for thinking about me, I'm alive and doing fine
-- "Signs" by The Five Man Electrical Band
The Friends Meeting House sign, Plainfield, NJ
Is it John, Paul, Ringo, or George?
All I know is that it's a beatle ... er, beetle. It was teeny and an iridescent blue in the sunlight. I took this shot with the Pentax -- the Canon would have blurred it. The beetle was only about an eighth of an inch long. Bridgewater, NJ.
I see dead people
While school started Wednesday in Plainfield, most of the other schools around the area aren't starting until after Labor Day. This lad slept each morning on the train this week. He wasn't dressed for school, nor did he seem to be going off to work. I don't know where he got on or where he got off. He could be a cipher. NJ Transit, Raritan Valley Line.
That rocks!
Er, those rocks. Just some landscaping rocks. But I like them. Bridgewater, NJ.
Plainfield YMCA in sepia
I took this shot from the Plainfield City Hall steps in the early evening on Tuesday.
More powerful than a speeding locomotive
Okay, it wasn't speeding. This is my train as it pulls into the NJ Transit Plainfield Train Station. I'm faced with too many decisions each trip as we're getting almost all double-deckers these days. On the single level train, I usually grabbed the same seat each trip. Now I have to decide upstairs, downstairs, main level ... ack!
Oh no, you din't!
Yes, Pete. I did. This is my dear train buddy Pete. He hasn't been taking the train lately since they dropped his station to the ... well, wherever dead train stations go. He only lives a few blocks away from me, but I haven't seen him in a while. It was like a reunion as he and I were both stuck at the station with a canceled train on Friday.
Roofus Weather
The weather this week is the kind which brings out a certain roof cat. North Street, Plainfield, NJ.
The Latina Jesus Ladies
I told you about them before. This is the Hispanic contingent of the Jesus Ladies of Downtown Plainfield. Armed with their Watchtowers, they're a bit like a street gang roaming about looking for converts.
Roofus finally faces the camera
I get few front-on shots of Roofus the cat. But, here's one! North Street, Plainfield, NJ
A steeple and an almost full moon
Now, I took this with the Canon. I should have stuck to the Pentax. It was taken early evening from the steps of Plainfield City Hall -- the Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church steeple with the moon lighting the way. My goal with the shot is obvious. Alas, it didn't come out as good as I wanted. I blame the Canon.
