Thursday, October 18, 2012

Oh, Oh, the rain has arrived in full force

a day off from work and it decides to rain


and a lot of rain forecast for later in the day.   I had big plans for these vacation days.  A month ago I checked the long range forecast and it was supposed to be sunny and cool.  Then after I booked my time off the weather GODs decided to rain instead.  I was frantically getting Nu2Me ready for her first trip to Vancouver Island.  I installed the combo rack/top case bracket, bought a GIVI Blade 47L top case, order the RAM mounts for my GoProHD and GPS , but it was not to be


instead I decided to have a healthy breakfast at the local Golden Arches, I decided to go out instead of making breakfast at home and then I went over to EMS for a much needed Oil / Filter change.  Since I was staying in town, at least for today, I also booked an appointment to service my commuter car as it needed a full checkup, LOF, antifreeze & brake check.   The antifeeze is nearly 6 years old and I thought it should be change.  Also the front brakes were approx 30% pad life left when it was serviced in the Spring.  Good news, my antifreeze is good for 10 years, and my brakes still have 20% life left so I can defer this until "next time".  Oh, also tire rotation, but soon I will be installing my 4 snow tires for the Winter


It was a relaxing day not doing much of anything.  Before I left in the morning I dug out my air compressor and checked the tires on both of my bikes, Nu2Me and my 'Strom. They were both down a couple of pounds, nothing serious but it is better to be at the correct pressures.

I came home and fiddled around for a few hours until I decided to go for a ride, even though the rain was coming down harder than before. 





I decided to ride around a neighbourhood with tree-lined streets to show you some Autumn colours.  We don't have a lot of colour here being in the centre of the city and most of our trees are evergreen and during the Winter they just look dull and greyish.  You have to be careful not to slip on the fallen leaves.   I am having a minor problem with Picasa.  I am trying to learn how it works and I thought I had it figured out BUT it doesn't always work the way it is supposed to


For this post I decided to transfer the full resolution photos, straight out of the camera into a directory on my External Hard Drive.   Then I opened Picasa and because it only looks at the laptop drive, I have to go to another menu and "Add new Folder to Picasa".   Then  I  *star the ones I wish to use and then I "sync to web".   I sit back and let my laptop do the work and a few minutes later the circle has stopped turning.   The full resolutions photos have all been reduced to 2048 and added to my Picasa Web Album

Now I have a problem.  The first two photos (above) posted correctly.  I was able to use a pop up menu:  small, med, large, Xtra large, left centre right, etc.  BUT then when I added the next two photos  (#3 and #4), I could not get the pop up menu.  It would not display no matter what I did.  I tried to click on the photo and all I got was the "move" cursor so I deleted both of the several time and tried it again.  There was NO way that I could make them Extra Large, the posted in the size above, as displayed so I just added text on the side.   It is so frustrating why it doesn give me the pop up menu so I can select the size and placement options



I've got the same problem with this one, I cannot make it display larger than what it is.  Why is it I get the pop up menu sometimes and not other times ?

That's what happens when you give control to a program and you don't know what it is doing behind the scenes.

I don't think I have this problem with Photobucket, but I have to resize my photos first before I upload.

I have tried Flickr and when you select the HTML code you are given size options.  I'm still trying to decide what my future workflow will be and which services I should select.   It is my plan to try different methods for the next few posts and see what works.


I think I'm getting frustrated with the Picasa interface again.  It has automated features which don't work correctly.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.   This next photo was uploaded to Photobucket, I sized it before upload which is the same size I have always used.  I don't mind doing the resizing manually as I have always done it this way, and the photos always display the way I want.  There are no surprises . . .


Photobucket

You know that we are doing a construction project in our back yard.  It is now the rainy season and we have probably had 6 " of rain since last weekend.   Our yard is a mud bog right now and tonight is garbage night.  They have just delivered a new pile of dirt so they can fill in the drainage ditch.  The ground is very soft and waterlogged.   I do not have boots long enough as when you take a step your foot goes about a foot down into the ground, so I had to resort to the only shoes I know that can handle this task. 

23 comments:

  1. I like that last muddy photos Bob. So you.

    Can you upload your photos to blogger directly without loading them to a Picasa album first? That is what I do. When I click on the picture icon I choose the "choose files" icon at the top of the pop up rather than one from the list on the left such as 'upload from Picasa album'. It always lets me choose a size, but sometimes when I am trying to put wording beside it, it doesn't line up - that is usually the only issue if at all.

    Hope it gets easier for you

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    1. Trobairitz:

      I have always wanted to walk around in a field of mud. I must say that it feels great to feel that mushy mud between your toes. I am going to do it again after the next rain.

      I just tried your method for the next post, which is standing by to be published. It works very well and you can also choose size and position for all of my photos., but I would rather "select" one at a time to minimize formating problems. I just have to resize them first before uploading

      Delete
  2. The rain has arrived down here too. I haven't been on the bike for a couple of weeks. Sorry to hear it messed up your vacation plans. I hate it when that happens! It's so pretty with all the leaves on the streets. I know they're a hazard, but I love the pretty scenery they create.

    I'm glad you found a solution to your blog preservation. I think the end product will be nicer. I use flickr html. I can't remember which size I use, and I use a different size on my photography blog. I find Flickr easier to edit/control than any other ones Iv'e tried. I have a free Picasa account, but found it frustrating to use.

    Be aware that a Picasa free account has limits on blogger which I ran up against about a year ago. I worked around it once, but I think I am now truly maxed out on Picasa.

    As much as I work on the computer I find the technical stuff very frustrating. I'm now trying to learn how to import an excel file into outlook. You'd think it would be easy, but I was about ready to take a hammer to the computer tonight!

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    1. Kari:

      I really appreciated all your help with my backup fiasco. Thank you again for taking the time . . .

      I have tried the Flickr HTML, yes it's easy but you have to click on each photo first to get the second screen. In some respects Photobucket is much easier as the HTML code is below each photo so no having to change screens.

      You can't see in my photos but it was raining fairly hard at the time I was taking my images. You have to be careful with the wet leaves on the ground.

      The problem you have with Picasa is that you uploaded sizes larger than 2,048. on the long side and it counts towards your 1 gig limit. Photos smaller than 2,048 do not count and thus you get unlimited hosting at that size.

      I took 2 vacation days and if you count the weekend that gave me 4 days to ride somewhere. Since it is below freezing in the interior, and snow forecast for Whistler I decided to plan a trip to Vancouver island on my Nu2Me BMW, but with heavy rainfall I decided not to torture myself. We have had nearly 6" of rain since last weekend and another 2" forecast for tonight. Yesterday I rode in the rain to check out my riding gear and my old JR jacket leaks in the elbows.

      Delete
  3. Bugger me. if I had ad many problems as you find I'd have given up. my iPad is way too easy. And the blogdy app is getting easier every day with big pictures.

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  4. The phone is hard to use though. every d should be an s.

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    1. Mr Conchscooter:

      I really don't know how you can do this so easily. I know you take lots of photos but I still can't get the formatting right all the time. I don't want small thumbnails, I want them to be a bit larger but the blogger interface won't let. It works fine for the first 2 photos, then it doesn't work anymore

      Delete
  5. Bob - Had the reverse problem here yesterday. Weather forecast was for cool and rainy and so made a lot of plans to do yard work. Just got into it and the sun came out and the temperatures rose to a balmy 21C, but by then I was committed. Bummer! And today it IS raining.

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    1. Canajun:

      We have the same problem with weather forecasts here too. Most times during the summer they say sunny and warm, but then when tomorrow rolls around it may be raining outside. At least you got your yard work done. I mean, how can you have a relaxing ride knowing in the back of your mind you still had outside work to do ?

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  6. Bob, We've had a lot of rain here too. This weekend promises to be a nice one. I think I'll try and get out for a ride and some pictures. Be careful riding on the city streets full of wet leaves.

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    1. Erik:

      We have now entered our rainy season. Mostly rain from now on until May or June, whenever it decides to stop. I know what you mean about leaves, being wet and soggy it is like riding on ice. You take care there too

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  7. It has bee very rainy here as well. Though temperatures transformed the rain into its more solid form. We have about 8" on the ground right now and it won't soak in the ground or run down storm drains until April.

    The only trip the bike has made is to the back of the garage. Time to get out the other two wheeler.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Richard:

      Rain is so depressing, especially when it lasts for months. We are now into our rainy season. Wow, snow already . . . I'm glad we live down here in the Banana belt.

      If you had a sidecar your bike would be in the front of your garage

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  8. There we go, the good ole wet coast is back with a vengeance. Wasn't it dreadful yesterday? It didn't stop even for a bit, and all was grey. Not looking forward to that I have to admit. Riding in good weather is already a challenge with all the stupid cagers around, add a little rain and you have mayhem.

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    1. Sonja:

      It was bound to happen eventually. I could hear the sounds of the rain bouncing around and I was glad to be inside. We have the next half year of this before the good weather comes back. Riding in the rain I worry more about having to do a sudden maneuver. Smooth and slow is better

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  9. Bob

    Reference your nice new Intro background picture - You need some of this miracle cleaning solution for your exhaust headers:

    http://www.nippynormans.com/products/tools-and-servicing/item/stainless-steel-cleaning-solution-250-ml-wun-3024570

    Quite by chance I found that "W5 Bird Shit removal spray" bought from ALDI ( a cheap and cheerful German supermarket )performed the same trick.

    Yours cheerfully from Europe, N

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nikos:

      I never thought about cleaning them, I mean they are going to heat up and discolour again, won't they ?

      I'll have to look around and see what I can find locally, thank you for your suggestions

      Delete
  10. Bob - Mud is good. It was beautiful here today (of course I was working) the rain is heading in tomorrow.
    I thought I had the same problem on Picasa then I realized the menu was just popping up in a different spot (look up Bob, look up, that is of course if it isn't at the bottom where it usually is, it depends on where you are in the screen.)

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    1. Karen:

      The mud was great, but no mud today. They brought in more dirt and levelled my yard and it stopped raining so the ground is drier.

      I tried to find that sizing menu. I looked everywhere, maybe it fell on the floor. When you highlight the photo the drag bars show up on the corners, and the underline icon changes shades, but that's it. No menu to be found

      Delete
  11. Sorry to hear that the rain is back. Yesterday we had a little ride out, post up soon, and when we finally got in around 9:30 it had cooled off to 70F. I'm just sayin'. It's supposed to 84F today and up to 91F tomorrow (but thunderstorms).
    We will probably ride out today to another small town in the area.

    Hope it dries up a little for the weekend.

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    1. Chris:

      You are so lucky to have a winter hideaway somewhere warmer than here. Enjoy your time there while you can and don't rush back. The Rain will still be here when you return

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  12. Sorry about the rain, but the mud looks FUN!!

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    1. Pam:

      The Mud was great. Squishy between your toes. Not the same as sand which is gritty. The rain created lots of mud puddles, but they are gone now. It's something that you "just have to" do . . .

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