Copyright 2009-2014 by Holly K. Austin unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
PLEASE DO NOT COPY OR USE ANY IMAGES FROM THIS SITE WITHOUT PERMISSION!
If you would like to use an image for some purpose, please contact me via the comments feature.

Siri, I love you.

>> Wednesday, September 26, 2012

I just got upgraded to a new iPhone 5.  I've had a Blackberry for years, so this is my first iPhone.  Yes, yes, I know, I jumped on the bandwagon, it's too damn cliche to have bought the iPhone 5 right when it came out, it probably tells you about my political leanings that I bought an iPhone and not some other kind of smart phone, yadda yadda.  But I love it. 

And I am having WAY TOO MUCH fun talking to Siri. 

For non-Mac folks, Siri is an automated personal assistant who comes loaded on new iPhones.  She will type text messages or emails for you, look things up on the Internet or in your calendar, schedule appointments and reminders, give you directions, remind you to let the dog out, and pick up your dry cleaning for you.  Well, no, I lie, she won't do the last one, but she WILL remind you to pick it up if you ask her to.  And give you directions there.

Siri is more than just an assistant, however.  She has personality.

I realize for many of you this isn't something new - if you have an iPhone you may have had conversations like these with your Siri.  And, there are lots of web sites documenting funny exchanges with Siri.  I, however, am enamored.  Here are my favorite Siri exchanges so far.

me: "Siri, I'm tired."
Siri: "I'm a little sleepy myself, Holly."
 
me: "Siri, what are you wearing?"
Siri: "In the cloud, no one knows what you're wearing."
 
me: "Siri, what's the best phone?"
Siri: "You're kidding, right?"
 
me:  "I love you Siri."
Siri: "You are the wind beneath my wings."
 
me:  "Beam me up."
Siri: "Sorry. Scotty has left the building."
 
me: "How much wood could a wood chuck chuck?"
Siri: "Just because it could doesn't mean that it would."
 
me:  "Siri, what is your favorite color?"
Siri: "My favorite color is... well, it's sort of greenish, but with more dimensions."
 
me: "Siri, talk dirty to me."
Siri: "Humus. Compost. Pumice. Silt. Gravel."

me: "Siri, what's your favorite sport?"
Siri: "If I had to pick I'd say synchronized swimming."
 
me: "Siri, do you like me?"
Siri: "I'm not just your friend, I'm your BFF."
 
me: "Siri, will you marry me?"
Siri: "Sorry, Holly, I'm not the marrying type."
 
me: "Siri, where do I hide a body?"
Siri: "What kind of place are you looking for? 
         swamps
         mortuaries
         dumps
         metal foundries
         funeral services
         mines
         reservoirs
         cremation services."
 
me: "Siri, what is the meaning of life?"
Siri: "42"
me: "No, really, Siri, what is the meaning of life?"
Siri: "I Kant answer that. Ha Ha."
 
me: "Siri, do I exist?"
Siri: "This might answer your question:
         Cogito...
         ...ergo sum.  (I think, therefore I am.)"

me: "Siri, what's your favorite movie?"
Siri: "I don't really have a favorite.  But I hear that '2001: A Space Odyssey' got some good reviews."
 
Sooo, if you're looking for me in the near future?  I'll be chatting with Siri, my new BFF.
 
 
 

Read more...

Mid September in the Country

>> Sunday, September 16, 2012



Today was so lovely, with the light shifting between bright sun and dark clouds, that I decided to risk a frustrating photography day.  My greatest photography frustration is always trying to shoot good photos on days when the light is moody and shifting.  I don't manage to keep up well, and get a whole lot of crummy shots.  Today was no exception.  Thank god there's no cost to take and dispose of bad digital photos.


I spent the day driving around with a friend to random spots that I thought might be photogenic, from an area where I used to get lost riding my bike (somewhere in the neighborhood of Pennelville) to a pretty spot in Baldwinsville where I've been wanting to catch the cormorants in the evening light.

I did get a few shots I like in the course of the day, but they certainly were at the expense of some frustration.  I also paid for today's photos with a couple of bee stings on my scalp.  This is my shot of the bee tree I found.  As my friend was saying, "look out!  bees!" I was moving in closer for a photo.


But just as I was clicking the shutter the first honey bee got tangled in my hair and stung my scalp.  There are no further bee tree shots, as I was running toward my car trying to get the rest of the bees untangled from my hair.  Note to self: bees do not like getting tangled in long hair, and getting stung repeatedly on the scalp HURTS.  I'm amazed I didn't fling my camera as I tried to get the bees out of my hair, but I guess my instinct to protect my camera is greater than my instincts for self preservation.  Good to know!


I'm frustrated, too, though, because my camera is misbehaving.  Despite my devoted efforts to protect my baby at all costs, I am lacking the kind of clarity in my photos that I had when I first got this camera and lens combination.  I guess it's due for some servicing - I have never had it cleaned and it seems like that might be the place to start.  Heaven forbid it's something worse!



I do love this time of year, when things start to turn all red and gold.  Being a devoted summer lover, though, this time of year brings a great deal of sadness.  How long it will be before everything is all bright green again!


I tried to set aside my sense of impending gloom about the end of summer, and instead found myself reflecting about just how very much of a Country Girl I am.  I grew up in suburbia, really, but always spent a lot of time camping and hiking.  Now I live in a country village.  And while I passionately love, say, Manhattan and all its vibrating energy and concrete, my heart and soul are always in the boondocks.  I would shrivel and die without open space, and cows and barns, and big sunsets and stars and trees.  Thank goodness I have them in abundance in Central New York!

A marble we found on the roadside.

When I lived in Liverpool I used to ride my bike north and get lost.  This road used to plague me.  It's a pretty spot that runs through a swamp, but it was like a recurring nightmare.  I would ride and ride and ride... and find it over and over again even though I thought for SURE I was taking different turns each time.  It's nicer when I find it in a car.



I inexplicably love this farm.  Have for years.







Finally, I dropped my friend off and came home though Baldwinsville as the sun was sinking on the horizon.  I'd been wanting to photograph the cormorants on the dam for ages, but found some other lovely images while I was shooting them.  I adore evening light, and all its drama.  Hope you enjoy my country excursion as much as I did.






Read more...

Photo Contest Winner!

>> Friday, September 14, 2012

As you well know, I am an avid photographer.  I take my camera everywhere and love photographing things, preferably objects and details that people wouldn't typically notice.  And, I get a fair bit of praise from acquaintances for my photos.  But despite how much I adore taking photos, I don't typically win photo contests - no matter how big or small the competition.  However, perhaps my luck is changing - I have had my first ever photography contest win, with my photo of my husband and Basset hound Simon sharing a quiet moment camping in the Adirondacks.


Fellow Blogger Maggie held a photo contest on her blog "She Keeps Calm and Travels On", and my photo was chosen for Best Overall Picture.  See here for the winners.  I'm completely tickled. 

I have known Maggie since she was six, when she was my Favorite Ever Babysittee.  Maggie tracked me down on Facebook a few years ago, and it's been a delight to rediscover her.  She now works in college admissions, which I also did for a while when I first graduated from college.  It was a career I loved and often wish I'd pursued further, and I appreciate that I get to follow her travels through her blog.  Her blog makes me laugh, and reminds me to focus on important things in life. 

I have a confession to make, though.  I may have cheated just a little in selecting this photo to enter for her contest.  I know Maggie has a soft spot for dogs.  I figured my cute Simon just might worm his way into her affections in this photo.

Read more...

Labor Day Picnic

>> Monday, September 3, 2012

Spouse and I had a lovely Labor Day picnic with my Dad and his friend S at Gillie Lake.


Gillie Lake is one of those sweet little out of the way parks that's so close to home (less than a 15 minute drive) but yet I forget its very existence.  There's hardly ever anyone there, and it IS a beautiful spot for a picnic.  It's more of a large pond than a lake, really, but has swimming, big open lawns, picnic tables and a few picnic shelters, and a lovely old barn with agricultural exhibits in it.

And well, you know me and rusting farm equipment.  I can't help taking pictures of it.  It's some kind of compulsion!






In fact, taking photos is a compulsion.  Everywhere I go I see things I want to take pictures of, often the most ridiculously random things, like the thumb tacks in the picnic shelter below.  They were screaming "photograph me, and the way the light is making us glow!"  Ah well.  An artist's brain is never still.  Hope you enjoy them.








Read more...

  © Blogger templates Shiny by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP