AgentZ Posterous

Huntington Libraries Chinese Gardens

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:56:02 -0800

Had the opportunity to scope out the "new" Chinese Gardens at the HUntington yesterday afternoon. Here's some shots from that excursion.

AgentZ

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An Anecdotal Story About Why our "Hope" for Change is Crushed

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:29:24 -0700

Laws of Physics

From a senior level Chrysler person: Monday morning I
attended a breakfast meeting where the speaker/guest was
David E. Cole, Chairman of the Center for Automotive
Research (CAR), an Engineer with 40+ years automotive
experience, full Professor at the Univ. of Michigan.

You have all likely heard CAR quoted, or referred to in
the auto industry news lately. Mr. Cole told many stories of
the difficulty of working with the folks that the Obama
administration has sent to save the auto industry.

There have been many meetings where this very experienced
automotive expert has had to listen to a newcomer to the
industry; someone with zero manufacturing experience, zero
auto industry experience, zero business experience, zero
finance experience, zero engineering experience, and
apparently zero brains tell them how to run their business.

Mr. Cole's favorite story is as follows: There was a team
of Obama people speaking to Mr. Cole. They were explaining
to Mr. Cole that the auto companies needed to make a car
that was electric and liquid natural gas (LNG) with enough
combined fuel to go 500 miles, so we wouldn't "need" so many
gas stations (A whole other topic). They were quoting BTU's
of LNG and battery life they had looked up on some web site.

Mr. Cole explained that to do this you would need a trunk
FULL of batteries, and a LNG tank as big as a car to make
that happen. And that there were problems related to the
laws of physics that prevented them from...

The Obama person interrupted and said (and I am quoting
here),

"These laws of physics? Whose rules are those? We need to
change that (while others wrote down the name of the law so
they could look it up). We have the Congress, and the
administration. We can repeal that law, amend it, or use an
executive order to get rid of that problem. That's why we
are here, to fix these sort of issues."

My friends ... we are screwed.

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Is Arnold really growing 'nads?

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:15:26 -0700

So, is Arnold really growing 'nads? Here is his rejection letter for bill AB1176. He has become increasingly frustrated by the legislatures failing to take on the serious issues confronting the state. Note the first letter in each line of the two paragraphs that constitute the body of the letter. Coincidence? I think not. I left the URL to the Cal Gov site where this release appeared.

You decide!

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Facebook | My Photos - MISCELLANEOUS

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:39:43 -0700

via facebook.com

Added this to my online Photo Gallery in Gallery #4 @ Digital Images by JPL
http://www.agentz.com/digitalimagesbyjpl/Gallery1.shtml

Prints now available as well as Standoffs and Gallery Wraps

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Facebook | My Photos - MISCELLANEOUS

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:39:02 -0700

via facebook.com

Added this to my online Photo Gallery in Gallery #4 @ Digital Images by JPL
http://www.agentz.com/digitalimagesbyjpl/Gallery1.shtml

Prints now available as well as Standoffs and Gallery Wraps

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Great Article on "10 Way to Improve your Photography without Buying New Gear"!

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:55:00 -0700

An article by Scott Bourne that's well worth the 5 minute read.

http://photofocus.com/2009/10/12/10-ways-to-improve-your-photography-without-buying-gear/

Regards,
Jean-Pierre "PETE" LeClair
President, AgentZ
www.AgentZ.com

Photography by JPL
Flickr Photostream

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Facebook | My Photos - Where theres smoke...

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:41:00 -0700

via facebook.com

Did something I've been wanted to try for a while today. Set up a black background, lit a stick of incense (patchouli I think although it has no bearing on the images) and set up an old Vivitar 283 off to the side triggered by my on camera 580EXII. Only processing was done with NIK Define 2.0 (noise reduction) and several were processed with Nik Silvver Effects Pro. Color in #6 is from a gel filter on the flash.

Slide show also available at Flickr: Where There's Smoke...

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New Print Arrived

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:26:49 -0700

I ordered a 16x24 standoff print over the weekend of dusk at the Salton Sea. The standoff print is mounted on 1.5" gatorboard and the edge is wrapped in black. I was torn between this and a gallery wrap. Maybe the next one will be the gallery wrap. Here it is on the wall in the living room.

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Angels vs Rangers

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:11:03 -0700

via facebook.com

AgentZ undercover last night at Angels Stadium watching the Angels trounce the Texas rangers and becoming the 2009 AL West Division Champions.

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NSM (National Socialist Movement) Rally in Riverside CA

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:05:00 -0700

My son and I went to the NSM rally today to photograph the event as it unfolded. They were countered by numerous organizations that ran the gamut from M.E.C.H.A. and the Brown Berets to supporters of Israel, anarchists, and gay activists.

More images here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/agentz92505/sets/72157622336155659/show/

and here (Josh's):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshpl/sets/72157622459824228/show/

Regards,
Jean-Pierre "PETE" LeClair
President, AgentZ
www.AgentZ.com

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Mat 6:34 (NIV)

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Opus X

Wed, 27 May 2009 16:07:09 -0700

A very dear friend of mine sent me a very nice gift today!

A genuine Fuente Opus X cigar.

Now I just have to decide when and where to enjoy it...

AgentZ

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I'm Back!

Tue, 26 May 2009 19:32:00 -0700

Started back this morning as the Technical Sales Manager for Grinding for the Western U.S. Feels good to be back in the saddle!

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New Images are Up

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:28:17 -0700

I'm keeping busy with lots of projects. Going out shooting (pictures) when I can and learning Photoshop.

I've added new images to my Photo Prints website in Gallery 3. Added are:

Abandoned Bus
Albuquerque Window
Fuscia
Pomona Towing
Autumn Frost

See them at:

http://www.agentz.com/digitalimagesbyjpl/Gallery3.shtml

AgentZ

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Easter Cheesecake

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:54:11 -0700

As I mentioned in a previous Posterous blog my son Josh was down for the weekend. After our trip to Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Preserve we stopped at Sur La Table at Dos Lagos so I could buy him a Springform pan. For Easter dinner he made a New York style cheesecake and we collaborated on the topping. Its made with unsweetened dark cherries and instead of water we used Late Harvest Syrah (2007) from Wild Coyote Vineyards in Paso Robles. It can only be described as "decadent"!

Now I'm going to go eat it before it melts under the lights... AgentZ

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The Garden - One Month Later

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:18:00 -0700

It has been exactly one month (to the day) that we got our garden in. Since then I've bought steel posts and heavy gauge wire to start building a support structure for the plants. Everything so far is going well. The plants are all healthy and I've added a few more peppers to the mix, 2 more bells and a poblano (for making mole).

As you can see the tomatoes are quite heathy and have really taken off.

The peppers are also doing quite well. They are starting to blossom.

The cucumbers are growing like weeds and I've alrerady started training them up the trellis. And the tomatoes are all flowering. We have excellent bee activity this year so I'm hoping for some fruit to set soon on all the plants.

AgentZ

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What a great weekend

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:53:25 -0700

So, things started looking up on Thursday when we got confirmation that Josh was coming home for the weekend. One of the things that means for is me is, help in the kitchen for Easter dinner.

On Saturday, Josh and I went to the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve in Murrieta, Ca. We hiked and hiked and hiked through stands of California Live Oak, native grasses and wildflowers (or as Josh sees them, WEEDS) out to the "historic" adobes, to the vernal pools and along the overlook trail. Allegedly the "oldest" adobes in California. They are well maintained. Some sots from our trip:

from my set From Josh

Our sets are are available from the image link.

Sunday, we had a great dinner. I made ham with an orange spice glaze (juice & zest courtesy of the tree in the yard) and josh made a killer New York Style cheesecake for desert. He'll be making more, I made certain of that by buying him a springform pan at Sur La Table on the way back from our Santa Rosa trip (to make up for his feeling his life was threatened by the imaginary wild animals in the preserve (they were there, just that we didn't encounter them)).

Yesterday I hooked up with my cousin Bob and we went out to the Claremont HIlls Park (in Claremont CA, a public land trust) and then over to a few abandoned vehicles along Thompson Creek just outside the park. Here's a shot from those hikes. Image should link to the Flickr set.

AgentZ

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Happy Easter to all my Posterous Friends

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 13:35:00 -0700

Here, I have been able to combine a traditional Easter flower, the lily, with traditional Easter candy, chocolate.

This chocolate lily was shot in the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Preserve in Murrieta yesterday while on a photo walk with my son Josh.

Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Easter.

AgentZ

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What a deal!

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:02:21 -0700

Went to Micheals yesterday looking for some frames for some prints I just had made from our recent Death Valley adventure. While they had most of their frames at 40% - 50% off (select lines) I found a real bargain in the area with framed "art". I was able to pick up a 16x20 frame with an 11x14 mat, glass & backing for $12.

Mounted and hung the prints in the living room (there's a lot of wall space there).

The frame on the left is the $12 frame.

Prints are available at Photography by JPL

AgentZ

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Nice way to end the week

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:17:30 -0700

Did some light yard work the last two days. Deadheaded the flowers, sprayed for aphids, trimmed the grape vines a little (grape clusters are already forming) and weeded & watered the vegetable garden.

The veggies are doing great. The tomatoes love the recent warm weather and are growing like weeds. At this rate I'll probably have to stake them in another week or two. The cucumbers recovered from their transplant shock and are growing rapidly. Tendrils are already attaching to the arbor. And the peppers are taking off too. Some look like they are starting to set flowers, have to pick them off to let the plants get a little more established before I start letting set fruit.

This afternoon I started a big pot of homemade chili. Whilst it was simmering Sally whipped up a few pitchers of margaritas. I fired up the fire pit and a Romeo (cigar).

Watched the fire burn down as the shadows stretched across the hills on the far side of the valley.

What a nice way to end the week.

AgentZ

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What an awesome week!

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:29:00 -0700

After the WESTEC show Tuesday I headed up the coast and spent the next 2 days with my boys.

Wednesday morning before heading north up the coast from Paso we watched a video of Jason's first SLEET class (Student Law Enforcement Education and Training) that he is presenting at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. It was cool to watch him in action. Too bad the baterry died so we couldn't see more of the student's hands on part.

We headed up to Point Lobos State Reserve (just south of Carmel) and spent the day hiking and taking pictures. Here are a few too tease.

Us on Lace Lichen Trail:

The entrance to Cypress Cove:

The rest of the Point Lobos set is here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/agentz92505/sets/72157616258212707/

Thursday we got up and did a leisurely cruise around the back roads of Paso Robles east side and then headed off to the west side to explore. After a couple of short loops and turn arounds on back country roads we hit pay dirt on Santa Rosa Creek Road. It ended up taking up right into Cambria where we loaded up on munchies for the boys and then headed over to Moonstone Beach to take some pictures.

Heres a few to tease:

Start of Santa Rosa Creek Road:

Cambria and Mooonstone Beach:

The rest of the set is here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/agentz92505/sets/72157616355683066/

AgentZ

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