Maggie 2 Update

It's been a while since this photographer was actually on site at the Maggie 2. One, it's been two wet and two, nothing exciting was taking place after the first, or south, arch was in place. While there has been some street photography from the Continental bridge park, keeping an eye on the Maggie 2 was also happening. As in any major construction project, things do not happen by logic. They happen as a result of logic. Upon closer examination of some old shots, it was clear that the cables had not been hung or were in the initial stages of being hung on the south arch. Logical; necessary, but non-glamorous for the camera's eye.

It now appears that some of the basic prep work is now happening on the north arch and things are beginning to get exciting once again as the second arch takes shape and changes the skyline once again. One must also remember that the work on the Maggie 2 will be much different than on the Maggie 1 in as much as the design is fundamentally different (Maggie 1 is a cable stayed bridge) and the Maggie 2 will have features of a suspension bridge. There is a big difference in the two structural designs. Needless-to-say, there is at least another years work on the bridge give or take a month or two--or three! But, also remembering the good point is going to be a pedestrian and bike section on the Maggie 2 that is not allowed on the Maggie 1.

So, here are a few 'at distant' shots of the Maggie 2 (Margaret McDermott Bridge).

Maggie 2 with the north transition piece in place

The next pieces are in position to be lifted and rest on the blue towers until  cabled.

The cables on the south arch running from top to bottom under the arch to the bridge decking.

Three Footers Are For The Pros

Big Wheels

36-inches of unicycle wheel

Nice and Clear and Happy has Returned to the camera.

Several weeks ago this blog pointed out that somehow (and it is still unknown how it happened) my focus just vaporized. Some days the focus was pretty good, some days it really did not exist at all. Re read of the manual did not seem to offer up any thing that worked. The bottom line was still like a clock ticking away toward a deadline and nothing seemed to work. With the spring shooting season growing more expansive with each 70-degree day, my sense of urgency was also growing.

Then, on Monday, while still shooting and uploading images before they were deleted my Nikon software would no longer take the Olympus images that had been shot. So, on to customer service at Olympus where the problem was explained and that my focus had been distorted for several weeks. The CSR suggested that my camera be upgraded with new software downloads. At that point it was worth trying anything. So the last two days, my shooting was done from the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. It seems that shooting the cable stays against a blue sky are a perfect focus target to adjust settings. Yesterday, there seemed to be some difference but there was still a problem. Last night, the evening was spent adjusting settings which could be fine tuned today. Lo and Behold!! The images were back to normal and it does now appear to be totally a software change made to the Nikon software that had been totally messing up the Olympus adjustments. After the new upgrade on  the Nikon and then the upgrade on the Olympus software, the problem was eliminated. Sometimes, it just takes a little adjustment from top to bottom, front to back, inside and out to tune-up equipment. My thoughts are just thankful that the problem has now been corrected and my old cameras that is always at my side can continue to travel with me.

Here are some  big wheels that were in focus today!

Albert! They Have Proved Your Wave Theory! Congratulations!

Twitter is abuzz! I have seen more tweets with God mentioned in one day than I have ever seen on Twitter! But, the most interesting tweet eclipsed the news conference announcing the discovery of Gravitational Waves 100 years after Albert Einstein  said that they existed. It is an article on The Onion about God saying he was in a pretty bad place when he created the universe.

You can read about black holes online because of Einstein & Maxwell. Happy anniversary! https://t.co/ZNTVvTObAx pic.twitter.com/TX186pgtcU

— Slate (@Slate) November 28, 2015

God admits he was in pretty bad place while creating.  An article published by The Onion. An excellent article, to be sure.

Albert! You Have Always Been My Hero!

Deep In The Trinity Forest

It has been over a year since my last trip out to the new trail head of the AT&T Trail that makes a trip through the heart of the Great Trinity Forest; that makes a trip throught the heart of the Trinity River Audubon Center; that is next to the New Trinity Forest Golf Course. The trail was dry, although it has been recently cleared of mud and  debris from flooding. The trail is in the lowlands of the more than 8,000 acres of the Great Trinity Forest along the Trinity River as it flows south toward the Gulf of Mexico. It is virtually undisturbed because it  is in lowlands and a hardwood forest.Perfect for a massive forest to explore, canoe, raft as the river flows through the thousands of acres.

The first thing that was noticed after leaving my car in the trail head parking lot, along the entry of the Trinity River Audubon Center, was the putting green grass on the Number 5 green of the new golf course where the Byron Nelson is to move in 2018. Last year, it was sculptured out from dirt but no putting green grass was growing anywhere near the green itself. Also noted was the No 5 flag pin in the greens cup.

From there on , it was my first trip deep into the forest itself. Frankly, when about a mile in, the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up. It was a bit scary as no location markers were yet installed. The trail is winding, curvey and very eerie. Neither can it be imagined of me walking that trail after dark or before first light as is permitted. If so, packing more equipment and taking someone with me would be in order.  Becoming very aware of my surroundings quickly and seeing some questionable wildlife at a distance might have or could have been a threat. But, that is what nature trials are designed to be by design.

The trail will connect soon to the White Rock Trail and when fully complete will be the most awesome ride or hike trail bar none! It took about 45-minutes to  walk the first four miles, which when reversed is another four miles and another 45-minutes. This is the time of year to go before the mosquito population arrives.

Deep into the Great Trinity Forest

The Number 5 Green and Pin is the southern most point of the course with the Great Trinity behind going along the Trinity River south, still.

This is near the trail head with the No 5 pin off to the right. You can see the cement trail that makes it's wal for 8 miles. There is another shorter trail that branches off to another trailhead and parking lot that is 3.5  miles and not yet connected in a loop.

 

Downy On Wing, But This One Is a Woodpecker

Village names in the United Kingdom are unusual to us but to a Brit, it makes logical sense. Not perfect, but logical sense. My friends, Pauline and Tim, Mo-T, and Madeleine have tried to explain some of the meanings of the villages with interesting names.While Pauline and Tim and Mo-T live in the Cotswold's, Tim was from South Hampton and Madeline lived in Poweys, Wales.

 Most of the time it is a river (e.g., Stratford-upon-Avon) or an area that is known by the locals for something made or found in the region. Neville maintained a flat in London for years and when the semester or later-on, quarters  ended in May, he would go back across the pond for the summer. He traveled and would write during the summers. He was very versed in such things about the Brits way of life and would share it freely.  Of all my college professors, Neville was one you just could not get enough.  If it wasn't his writings, it was how he became so interested in American Jazz, or how to select a quality brandy. His list of friends in Parliament or with the Crown was well documented, but it was his way of explaining things that captivated me about him. To this day, I think about a lecture or his accent of certain words.  His Christmas Cards came yearly, usually of paintings that hung in one of his uncle's or family homes. I think about them, too. Sadly, they were lost in a divorce years ago and remembering the art work is now lost today.

Friday, while sitting at a picnic table, my thoughts were on why one of the boat clubs do not project out the restoration of the 'in-place' Marine  Flag Pole standing a few feet from me. Most people do not even know that there is a Marine Flag Pole at  White Rock. One time in the past, that question was put to a couple of  Corinth Boat Club members. Both of the members were totally unaware that it even existed.  With the sailing clubs present and the rowing clubs gaining momentum, it is a cause to imagine why one of the clubs are not being the keeper of such a key marine feature already standing idle in ghostly fashion on East Lawther.

The Marine Flag Pole as it stands currently.

One of the two Downy Woodpeckers. The other one was higher up in a adjacent tree.

Gazing at the pole, there was a lot of pecking going on above my head. Looking up, it didn't take long to see not one, but two, Downy Woodpeckers busy at work pecking on branches and limbs. After about sixty shots, it was on to Dryfuss Club to shoot the dried reed beds. The reeds are ready for picking and if you have ever driven 17A between Charleston, South Carolina and Myrtle Beach, you have seen the fantastic roadside sheds were women weave some of the best baskets ever made. The reeds at White Rock are the same type of reeds found along the inter coastal waterways before they mix with the marsh tidal floods of salt water.  So, it's not Downy on Wing in England, nor is it part of the coastal Grand Strand, but the little downy woodpecker deserve a look.

The State of the Macaroni

Creative ideals come from the strangest places. Ever since macaroni in the shape of the state of  Texas was found, the uniqueness of it started the creative thought process. What can be done with this stuff? It has been in a zip-lock bag in my camera bag for over a week now. When at last the opportunity came around were it would be a good day to shoot, it didn't totally turn out that way. It seems what when the macaroni was set up on the felt sheet, and the camera was placed to focus in on the shot, a gust of wind would hit the felt and upset the design. It became frustrating. Even more frustrating is the fact that one of my basic tenets is never do work twice. Do it right the first time and never work twice on the same project. Well, it wasn't in the cards that day. Finally, on day two, the wind died down and a second problem developed. It seems that the macaroni is not the best material to place on felt and there were no tweezers in my bag to set the pieces in the planned layout. Finally, it was more work than the outcome would bring. Cut your losses and move on. Yet, being more stong willed than that, working with the stuff finally made a rather crude take but it was enough to get the point across and to use the ideal in yet another project that would benefit more. So, with two samples after the edits, the fun that was had was worth more than any monetary reward had it all come out the way planned. But, that just proves than money isn't everything by any means and the reward was even more rewarding from a creative process.

356-1F270521 The State of the Macaroni

A sketch artist was having the same creative process. 

Wind Turbine Tree

From the Solar Impulse 2 guys Andrè and Bertrand on Twitter this morning. Instantly, it makes sense. You can go to Vine.co or to the Solar Impulse2 site and continue to view the solar tree. We have withdrawn the tree after a week because of the bandwith being used and the Vine counter continueing to run.Not all our visitors shut off the item when done viewing.