Tag Archives: Fuji X-T1

A Recalibration of Compromises

Big Meadows area of Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Kirk Tuck recently used this phrase in regards to making choices between camera options, specifically about different lenses.  The full quote follows:

The “science” of optical design can not have changed a tremendous amount in four or five years so you have to understand that the “new versus old” shift is largely a recalibration of compromises. Buy the new one and watch your left biceps atrophy. Buy the old one and suffer the dreaded effects of manual portage. Suffer the ruinous added weight of the original for the extra 1% of quality in the corners or choose the lightweight version and forever wonder how much optical magic they had to remove to get the lens corpulence under control.

It occurred to me, however, that the concept applies in a much broader context, especially in recent months.

Every decision we make requires some effort to balance the options, to compromise.  Do I want the camera with the big sensor that is huge, heavy and requires a large suitcase to cart around, or am I better off with the compact camera with a smaller sensor, small but excellent lenses and “good enough” image quality?  We want to travel – we love to fly but not not any time soon.  We have spent a lot of time on cruise ships but won’t for a while.  Our trip to the beach worked out really well – just like living at home but with better scenery. 😉

We love to eat our but have limited our restaurant outings.  We’ve gotten even better at preparing simple but delicious meals at home – much to the delight of the bathroom scale!

Kathy and I are currently in the process of planning a road trip to the Pacific Northwest.  The places we’re planning to visit are the places where we’re less likely to encounter big crowds.  As crazy as it sounds, we’ll probably drive within a few miles of Yellowstone or Glacier National Parks, but have no intention of stopping.  First, crowds are not our thing.  We probably would be doing pretty much the same thing even without all the Coronacrisis hoopla.  But second is that we don’t want to have to deal with the logistics of large crowds.  Third is that when we do go to those parks we want to be able to spend several days or even a couple of weeks there.  That isn’t the plan for this time.

Our recent drive to Ohio and Wisconsin taught us that we can eat, sleep, pee and get gas just about anywhere.  Sometimes it requires a little compromise on location or timing, but it can get done.  Ultimately, once we solve that basic equation we can go just about anywhere!

People ask us why we don’t buy an RV.  For some people it’s the perfect solution.  For us, we like knowing that when we get to the motel, tired after or driving or exploring all day, we don’t need to spend another hour setting up camp.  I can have cocktails made within minutes after arrival!  And the next morning, we grab a cup of coffee, drop the keys at the front desk and get on our way again.  Neither option is right or wrong, just different ways to calibrate the compromises.

None of our choices are either/or or yes/no.  We need to consider what we can do instead  We have to look at the options and recalibrate our compromises.  Our priorities, if you will.  It can be hard, particularly for those of us who don’t care for change.  But the effort is worth it, because there are still plenty of things to do once we have worked out the details.

Big Meadows area of Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Phase 2: Day 14 – Life In Color

No waiting for curbside pickup this early!
“There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.”  Incorrectly attributed to many sources, origin uncertain.  I like it anyway.  Sort of like the one about the journey being the destination.

The quote is on a card that I received yesterday with a shipment of coffee beans.  Freedom Fresh Roasts is a small batch coffee roaster operated by a long-time friend and former restaurant manager.  I’ve had his coffee in restaurants but he just recently started selling online.  I haven’t had the beans yet but will report as soon as I’ve tried them.  I have a feeling they’ll be yummy! 🙂

Phase 2: Day 13 – Life In Color

Delivery of building supplies to the new storage center under construction

The summertime heat and humidity have finally arrived.  It’s typical here in the south, but we do the “thermometer dance” in the spring between heat and A/C, then BAM! it’s summer.  We’ve been taking our walks early.  Well, early for Kathy. 😉  That gives us a chance to get home before our shoes start melting into the pavement!

The Big Brown Truck is bringing me a special package today.  I’ll write about it tomorrow. 🙂

Phase 2: Day 12 – Life In Color

Hanging basket in the neighborhood

It was nice to get out yesterday and do something besides buy groceries.  I’m still getting used to the breeze on my neck and around my ears from my haircut, but it feels good!

We drove through uptown Charlotte on our way home yesterday, and it was interesting to see the number of cars parked along the street, even though there weren’t many people around.  There was a lot of construction going on, as there always is there.  It’s probably good to get it done at a time when they won’t muck up traffic, although they will still manage to muck up traffic even when people start returning to the office.  Assuming they ever do!

Word is that Trumpty Dumpty has decided that he’s going to take his toys and go to someone else’s sandbox to have his lovefest.  I don’t care one way or the other, but I know that a lot of businesses are/were hoping to gain back some of their lost revenue from all the convention goers.

One good thing about having the convention wherever they have it is that locking all those goofballs up in one place for a week may insure that a lot of them aren’t around to vote in November.  That’s cruel I know, but when ego replaces good sense you get what you get.

Phase 2 Day 11 – Life In Color

Flowers in the neighborhood

“One of the difficulties of being alive today is that everything is absurd but fewer and fewer things are funny.” Alexandra Petri in“Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why”

We’re getting our hair cut today!  I know it may seem selfish to some to be so excited about something so trivial, but it’s a big friggin’ deal to us!  I’m proud to have a full head of hair at almost 62 years old, but this rag mop is getting out of hand!

Just another small step toward normalcy.  We’re happy for every little thing these days.

Phase 2: Day 8 – Life In Color

We Got Ladders

One of the things I’ve been impressed with during this corona-crisis is the resilience of people and what they have done during this time.  No, most of us haven’t learned to speak Italian or Spanish, but many people have found interesting things to do.  Some of my neighbors are rediscovering old hobbies or dusting off cookbooks and getting reacquainted with their kitchens.  Monte was writing the other day about replacing the coffee shop routine with visits to the countryside in the early morning or late evening.  Earl and Cedric have been revisiting old photographs – sometimes finding lost photos filed in the wrong folder! – and reworking them to make new art.

Of course there are downsides, but I try to not dwell on those.

Phase 2: Day 7 – Life In Color

Life In Color – Flowers in the Neighborhood

We learned yesterday that our libraries will reopen on June 1, albeit with very limited services including only allowing one person at a time in the building.  That’s OK with me, as right now I just want to return two physical books that I’ve had since February.  All of my other reading has been on my Kindle.  It will be nice to get the books off our living room table!

Phase 2 Day 6 – Life in Color

Life In Color: Pool Shadows

Kathy & I haven’t been frequent pool-goers in any of the neighborhoods we’ve lived.  But this year we had decided we were going to use the one in our current neighborhood more.  Of course it has not yet reopened for the season so we walk past it every day.  Some kind of hoopla between the HOA board, the pool company and attorneys.  But it gives some of the neighbors something new to talk about! 😉

This week Kathy & I pulled the plug on our October cruise and cleared the travel slate completely.  We’re planning a trip to the beach, thinking that renting and living in a condo down there for a week will give us a similar insulation from others to living at home while providing a change of scenery.  We need a change of scenery.

We’re hoping that things loosen up a bit across the country in June and July and are hoping to bag a few more states.  Unfortunately the ones we still need are in the far corners of the country.  But fortunately most of the states are wide-open spaces, so as long as we can get gas, get food and sleep, we might be able to put together a nice drive without a lot of people-ing.