Miata Photos

Windows 7

This post is coming to you from a fresh install of Windows 7 Beta Build 7000. I tried in vain along with millions of other geeks to download a copy from the Microsoft web site on Friday, but it didn’t happen because the biggest software company in the world wasn’t prepared for the onslaught.

Like anything on the internet there is always more than one way to skin a cat. I used bittorrent to snag a copy of the ISO that has been floating out there for a week or two already. I didn’t know how long this beta version would stay viable without an activation key, those too were supposed to be available on Friday too (at least 2.5 million anyway), but they were just as unavailable as the OS was. The interweb saved the day there too, someone left a comment on a LifeHacker thread that listed some of the keys that people had managed to get. I plugged the first one in and activated this copy. It is supposed to be good until August of this year. Probably by that time I will be needing a new PC and will get a legal copy with it instead of having to buy it out right.

Update: Just found out that Microsoft has decided that they screwed up and to make amends they have extended the availability of the Beta until January 24th and will not cap the activation keys at 2.5 million — Go Get It. You still have to have, or sign up for, a Windows Live ID (or an MSN Hotmail, MSN Messenger, or Passport account?)

I may go ahead and download a version from Microsoft too, just to be safe.

Started down, went up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 98

Bereft of Words

I had an idea earlier today on something to blog about, but it got lonely, so it left.

Bereft

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 462

Post Offices Everywhere

OctoberI had uploaded last weekend’s Post Office photos to Flickr! and the old gallery, so tonight I uploaded them to the new gallery too. The Flickr! and old galleries have some captioning, 9 of 23 photos, and the Flickr! ones have been geotagged so that they show on my map. Unfortunately the 200-photo limit on the free ride takes away a lot of the map’s impact because as I fill in one spot of the state, another clears out…

It is also almost October, and that means Halloween. Time to break out the decorations, including the Vampire teeth for the Emperor.

Started down, went up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 421

Rain Delay

Both the FRS/Braves game and this blog are in a rain delay….

Rain Delay

Started up, went down, back up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 209

Lina Rosio

Lina RosioWhen I was making The Emperor’s New Screensaver #2, I wanted to find out what Lina Rosio meant so I could use it for the title, so I Googled it.

The first 4 hits were places selling the poster where I learned it was by someone named Choppy and I guessed he was French. Tried plugging in Lina Rosio in a translation tool, French to English, with no luck, came back as lina rosio. Hmmm, sounds Spanish. A Spanish to English try netted the same results. Trying Portuguese, I found out Lina means linen, but nothing for Rosio. Lina is a Chinese name that means beautiful woman. I googled for rosio and that lead me to the Urban Dictionary. Lina – Nice beautiful young woman and Rosio – A girl that is funny, cool, sexy, and everything else. She also can be a firecracker if you get in her face to long. Somehow I think this poster predates the UD, maybe it’s definitions have been influenced by this poster? Or by the Chinese? Giving up, I just titled the image Lina Rosio.

Back to Google, my Miata gallery with the image was at #9. At number 5 was a fellow’s Flickr page of the same poster but in a different town in SC. His photo came from Walhalla about 60 miles northwest of Abbeville where mine was taken. Right after my number nine return was the Flickr RSS feed of someone named Genipher who has an image of the same poster and hers was taken in Abbeville too.

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 4

Calendar Car

Finished up the images for my 2007 Emperor Calendar. It is titled Must Have Been Those 400 Acid Trips I Took because I have taken some of my photos of the Miata and ran them through a few different Paint Shop Pro filters to give them that slightly twisted look. See the Miata – 2007 Calendar gallery on the side bar a preview.

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/06: 488

2007 Miata Calendar

Old NewspaperFor the past couple of years I’ve made up a nifty wall calendar using images of the Emperor I have taken over the previous year. You can see the images I have used by clicking on the appropriate link under Photos in the sidebar.

This year I haven’t been taking that many photos of the car, so I don’t think I’ll have 12 that will be calendar worthy. I do have about half enough, but even then, that is stretching the suitability envelope. While monkeying around with some of the possibles I hit upon a strategy that might work for 2007 – photoshopped images. This way I can go back and maybe use some outtakes from earlier photoshoots. I can possibly turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse. Well, I’ll be the judge of that…

Started up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/06: 465