Various, Sundry, Snowy and Gnarly

Above is the Gnarly, as promised. It's gnarled tree branches covered with snow. Oh, so it's a bit of the Snowy, too! Yesterday's snow stayed throughout the night and into tonight. It doesn't look like it's going to go away anytime soon as we're in for about four more inches tonight.Great timing -- it will be snowing through tomorrow's morning rush hour. Sigh. The worst should be on Long Island and 'down the shore.' Now, don't ask me why they say it like that. It's New Jersey. I can't explain it. But it's 'down the shore' nonetheless. Me? Um. I'm up the inland, I guess. ;-) I'm about ten miles inland from Staten Island, about fifteen miles from Newark.

There. Gnarly and Snowy covered. Check. Onto Various and Sundry...

Charles (Cinisoul) asked how I edit photos such as the turkey in my previous entry -- where part of the photo is in color, the rest is black and white. I use an editing program which allows me to work with layers. My programs I do it with are cheap or free -- PhotoStudio5 which came with my Canon scanner or Gimp. The latter is free software. PhotoShop and others, any which will allow you to work with layers, can do the trick. To strip my method to the basics:

• I copy the photo (in full color) and create a new layer (so I basically have two full color identical shots)
• Then, on the first layer, I de-saturate the entire photo, thus turning it to black and white.
• I choose the freehand select tool and cut out the outline of the part I want to be in color. Depending on how intricate the item is, this can be done in one fell swoop or bit by bit.
• Once it's outlined (selected) or by section, I just cut. That will bring up the color from the second layer.
• When I'm satisfied with the image, I save. That will merge the two images into one. And there... you have a turkey in color in front of a black and white store.

Different programs will work a bit differently, but that's the basic idea.

More Various -- I added a little Bloglet thingee on my sidebar. If you enter your e-mail address there and sign up, you will receive an e-mail note each night that I make an entry here. I believe it's the full text, but I doubt photos will show. It's not instant with each entry like AOL Alerts, but it is once and day and you'll see what I'm rambling on about. Please subscribe! :-)

A Tad of Sundry -- Grr, New Jersey's second within the past few years bear hunt started today. Sigh. Why can't they just leave the bears be? For the most part, black bears really don't hurt folks. Of course, they shouldn't roam around urban areas, but I feel in suburbs and rural areas (yes, NJ has rural areas - it is the Garden State, after all)... just leave them be. Don't feed them; secure your trash. You shouldn't be letting your pets roam anyway. I spent some of my youth in areas of upstate NY where black bears were sort of commonplace. No one got ate by 'em. You use common sense and don't mess with them, but they generally do no harm. If they're in your trash, you can make noise from a distance and they'll usually run. If they're up in a tree, after you say "cool, it's a bear" -- you leave 'em be. They'll find their way down and be on their way. No need to call the SWAT team. There aren't many where I live, but when bears wander into a city area like this, yes... they must be moved away. Here they bearnap 'em, tag 'em, tattoo them and pull a tooth (to determine age, I think). Then they release them in wooded areas of the state.

Under both Various and Sundry categories -- In NYC, the MTA says they'll now be dolling out fines for rules which have always been rules. You can't jump the turnstile when your MetroCard refuses to work. Okay. You can't put your feet on the seats. Good one, though I recall my first remembered encounter with that back when I was in college and cops were on all the trains (circa '72 or '73). A cop actually would hit feet on seats with his baton! You only put your feet up once, for sure! You can't carry open beverages. Well, that one may bother some, but I've had coffee spilled on me. Good one. No rollerskates, standing on skateboards or straddling of bike. Okay. Oh... no packages on empty seats! Phew -- only when seats are full. Phew. No panhandling, etc. About the only rule in effect that I haven't heard fines for is the No Spitting rule. Hey! I want a fine for Spitting on the subways! Fix that.

Back to the Snowy -- I just peeked out the window. A light snow is falling. Oh, my... it's a freakin' winter wonderland. /sarcasm