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I've been thinking about upgrading our existing camera for a while now. It's an Olympus C-2020Z and it's a great little camera. We've had it for a long time and have taken countless pictures with it. Peg and I both love the camera and we knew it would take a really special camera to fill its shoes. What I really want is a DSLR, but I don't want to completely give up the whole point-and-shoot convenience either. I know... apples and oranges. So I've decided if I must have an apple and an orange, then I would buy an apple and an orange. I know different cameras were meant to serve different purposes and I'm okay with that.

So while I am still undecided about which DSLR camera I really want, I decided to focus on replacing our beloved Olympus. First off... I will say I am not necessarily brand loyal (though I do love that old Olympus). In this "point-and-shoot" camera, there are features that we really liked and wanted to keep. For one, the Olympus used AA sized batteries and we liked the convenience of using either rechargeable batteries or in a pinch, regular alkaline batteries. We also really rather liked the pictures that the Olympus produced, so whatever camera we chose to replace it, would have to be at least as good. After so many years of advancements in digital photography, one would think this shouldn't be too tall an order. There are also some areas on which we wanted some improvement. The first of which were in the areas of optical zoom and resolution. The C-2020Z afforded us with 3x and 2.1 megapixels. That was really something back in 2000, but six years later? One final thing that I personally wanted, was an LCD that could be adjusted to see at different angles. It's nice to be able to take pictures from different heights and angles and still be able to see the LCD.

So I'm sitting there browsing through dealnews.com and I notice this sale for a Canon PowerShot S2 IS. Through Jan 12th, you can pick one up at Dell.com for $399.00. Sweeeeeeeet! We picked one up and can't wait to start using it. It takes AAs, just like our old Olympus. It has an optical zoom of 12x and more than twice the resolution at 5 megapixels. It even has the swivel LCD that I wanted. One thing that it does NOT have that I will miss very dearly from our beloved Olympus is a wireless (infrared) remote control. Why not every camera comes with this is beyond me. It's such a useful feature, but one I guess we will have to live without... at least with this camera. There are other improvements as well, ie: the movie feature. It's a new chapter indeed.

Check out the comparison below...

Title:	Olympus C-2020Z vs Canon PowerShot S2 IS
Description:	Out with the old and in with the new!

The jury's still out on my DSLR selection. I'm taking a hard look at the Nikon D200, though Shelby (my brother-in-law, and huge fan of Canon cameras) is encouraging me to wait until Feb/Mar when it is expected that Canon will release their answer to Nikon's D200, with their own EOS 30D. Should I wait?

By the way... if you ever want to see lots of very thorough camera reviews, you may find them at Digital Photography Review. It's obvious that Phil Askey, (Editor, Webmaster & Author of DPR) puts a lot of time, thought, and effort into his site. Another site I have really come to enjoy is KenRockwell.com. Lotsa good, practical information there and some good reviews too. Ken's making it hard to not consider the D200.

One last link before I call it a night. I mentioned my brother-in-law and his affinity for Canon. He's also a professional photographer in NYC. If any of you could use one for whatever reason, please look him up. Check out Shelby Chan Photography. I might be biased, but he's really very good.

Hope yours was warm, happy, and safe.

May yours be warm, safe, and happy.

Pimpin' Santa

Originally uploaded by e_ticket.

Yes it's time for a little last minute Christmas shopping at the Fashion Show Mall here in Las Vegas. Who, but who could resist jolly old Saint Nick and his band of merry Barbie Elves? I never knew Santa was quite the stud. Yowsa! Forget about his list. I wanna see his little black book!

"While visions of Sugar Plumbs danced in his head."

Originally uploaded by e_ticket.

Now this guy right here reeeeally knows how to shop. While the wife is off doing her thing, it's "find the nearest waiting area" and then it's "lights out". We men cannot be bothered with such things as shopping bags and pushy sales people.

More Slide Rock pics.

Originally uploaded by e_ticket.

Just got back from a trip to Arizona with Peggy, My sister Nancy and her friend and former college roommate, Janet. It was just a quick weekend thing to check out some stuff we hadn't seen before. On the way out we stopped in Flagstaff & Sedona. There was this place called Slide Rock State Park which I'd come to find out is a very popular attraction in the warmer months. Arizona has some really pretty areas to see. We'll have to go back for more of it sometime.

More Grand Canyon pics.

Originally uploaded by e_ticket.

After seeing Slide Rock, we took off for the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. I'd seen it before... in pictures & movies. But nothing can prepare you for the enormity of this canyon. It's just huge. There are certain points along the rim where you can walk up, take your pictures, and be somewhat protected by a handrail, but by and large, you are not coddled by any sort of idiot protection. If you get too close, slip, and fall... they will be scraping your dumb ass up off the bottom of the canyon. Vacation over. All in all, is is quite a spectacular sight. I would someday like to return and visit the North Rim and perhaps even go down to the bottom where the Colorado River is.

Fear the Kitty

Originally uploaded by e_ticket.

Halloween came and went this year and it seems the more years go by, the less it is the way you remembered when you were young. I got home from work maybe around 6:30p. That is plenty dark here around this time of year. But there didn't seem to be that many kids. My wife told me that many had already been there and that it seemed to be winding down. What? At 6:30? Perhaps it was because it was on a Monday. I remember when I was younger, I used to hate it when the day after Halloween night was a school day. Priorities man. C'mon. Be sure to check out the other pics.

I don't really feel like posting much today. In fact, I don't really feel like doing much of anything today. It's been four years and it seems not much has changed. Every year on 9/11, I wake up and usually don't even realize that it's 9/11, until I see the calendar. Then it's like... "Oh. It's 9/11 again." I hit the internet and see if there are any links I hadn't seen yet... any news I hadn't heard yet. I think I've seen practically everything there is to see on the Internet regarding 9/11. And of all the horrific pictures that have crossed my line of sight & cursed my sense of peace, perhaps the ones that disturbed me the most are the ones created by our youth... particularly the ones displayed here on the left.

While the pentagon was repaired almost immediately, the former World Trade Center is still but a hole in the ground... a hole in the sky... still, to this day, and perhaps forevermore... a hole in my heart.

One of my fondest memories of NYC is when Peg and I walked from Chinatown to the Brooklyn Bridge. Peg really likes that bridge. Completed in 1883, it spans 6516 feet across the East River, and at the time of its completion, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. The main span alone is nearly 1600 feet long. I hope we are fortunate to have this great bridge for at least another 122 years. From there, we gazed upon the majestic beauty of the World Trade Center. It was a magnificent structure. The way it pierced the horizon was really something. The other buildings seemed nearly inconsequential in its presence. We walked maybe half way across the bridge and turned back toward Manhattan. We decided to head toward the World Trade Center. When we got there, words failed me. Words like big... tall... huge... all inadequate. It was so tall, that on a clear day, you really could see the curvature of the Earth. It was so tall, that if you looked around you may have been able to look DOWN upon a passing helicopter.

We took the South Tower Elevators to the 107th floor observation area, where we gazed back down to where we were before. The Brooklyn Bridge looks so much smaller from way up there. The observaton deck on the top of the World Trade Center offered an even more spectacular view. Peg and I watched the sun go down, from what I will always know, as the Top of the World. It seemed like the perfect day. But that was then.

There was some other stuff I was gonna post today, but I just don't have the heart or desire. It's too sad to dwell on this. Peggy's a Brooklynite. So what are the odds that she knew someone that worked in the World Trade Center? Perhaps pretty good, but... she did not know anybody who worked there. One would think that the odds of knowing someone who died there, would be even less. But life is funny that way and sometimes things don't work out the way you'd expect. As is turns out, she did know someone who worked at Carr Futures. As a NYMEX floor broker, he was not usually at the World Trade Center. He and 12 other Carr Futures brokers, were on the 92nd floor of Tower One on Sept. 11 for a breakfast meeting. Of all days... why that day? God bless you, Elkin. We miss you.

auron_08-27-05

Originally uploaded by azure68.

Auron's been sick for the last couple of days. We were not sure what to make of it. There were no real visible signs other than some minor bloating. The biggest difference was behavioral. Bettas aren't particularly animated, but they do SWIM. That's what fish do, right? Well Auron stopped swimming. He moved from time to time. But not like before, and certainly not like his normal behavior. We removed him from his 5 gal home and put him in a little 2 gal fishpital. We kept it filled half way, so if he wanted to swim to the top, he didn't have to swim so far. He looked to be lethargic, and uncomfortable. At times his breathing seemed to be labored and he'd lie down in a comfortable bed of leaves. For those who've never owned a fish, they eat, sleep, breathe, rest and play like any other pet. You know when something's wrong and you feel awful for them when you think they are suffering. Well Auron's not suffering any longer. He passed away early this morning. He will be missed by me and Peggy, and by all his brothers and his sister. Swim free little buddy.

First, it was Sunday. No work. A day of rest, and yes... I vegged for much of it. Today was also my sister's birthday. Peg and I got her a ceiling fan, because we live in well... Las Vegas. It's fuggin' HOT here lately. We (the fam) all went out to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. Had that 40 shrimp special for $12.95. That's good eats right there.

Came home and watched Office Space again, while Peggy went shopping with the girls. It's only one of the funniest movies of all time. Peggy came home with another fish today (another betta).

Cute lil fella, huh? We named him Sora, after the main character in the Kingdom Hearts video game. All of her bettas (6 in all) are named after either anime or video game characters.