Book 'em, Dan-0

How did it get so late so early? Or so early so late?

I'd decided yesterday to go ahead and book a flight to London if I could find a place to stay near Brighton for the first two nights (cousin Shana's wedding being the day after I arrive). Thanks to a cheat sheet from the bride to be (complete with URLs) I found accommodations at about the fifth place I tried. They were actually my second choice, but didn't have a booking widget on their web site. However they did reply to email in minutes. As soon as my reservation was confirmed I booked the flight. The plan is to hang around England for three days after the wedding, then fly back. I'll probably spend some of that on the train, unless my cousins have other plans for me. I've never spent more than a weekend in the UK before.

Gems

The sapphire shoot went well. Whisman Park, a few blocks from the apartment and a place I have often ridden by and through on my bike treks, was perfect. I set up a sturdy folding table on the concrete between a couple of picnic tables under the sun, and after about 15 minutes of trying various lenses and close-up filters, I painted a small black dot with a Sharpie and pretty much just assembly lined it, putting a sapphire on the dot, lining it up in the viewfinder to get the best star, and then using the wireless remote to click the shutter. I've downloaded the photos to the PC and will use Photoshop to crop them as needed. The color balance looks good, and I don't think I'll need to do anything else to the images before posting on eBay the ones I want to sell. The whole shoot took about an hour and a half.

Not sure if I'll upload them to the web site or not.

( Photos of the setup behind the cut )

Had some home made chicken soup for late lunch, and will go see a show in Palo Alto tonight,  at my friend Meredith's Dragon Productions Theater, called The Art of Dining. I hope it isn't a potluck.