Olympus EPL-2 + 40-150mm kit lens.
I think a lot of my personal practice of churning through gear is a manifestation of my sadness and frustration, lately, at the way I used to do things is dissolving under the grind of a pandemic and also the worsening economic conditions of so many.
The pandemic has forced us to don on masks that cover faces (and smiles) while social distancing retards the process of finding and working with new talent. But more than that; there's been an emotional change in people that's minimizing their flexibility and proclivity to go outside their basic daily routines. It's a survival instinct of sorts. As people lose jobs they have to concentrate on getting new jobs or interim work to make ends meet. Even people who've kept their jobs are having to channel more and more of their free time into making new processes and responsibilities work in the new, online workplace. When you add in the responsibility for taking care of children throughout the day while trying to do everything else it's little wonder that most no longer have the bandwidth to be a willing participant in someone else's ego projects.
In Travis County, where I live infection rates of Covid-19 are still very high. It just feels wrong to ask friends or acquaintances to drop over and sit in a small studio for a while to be photographed. It also feels wrong to ask them to take off their faces masks for the process. If my rate of photographing people was falling off before then the pandemic of the last year pushed the number of fun portrait engagements off the edge of a very high cliff.
When we face this kind of extraordinary downtime from our projects I think I tend to get into neurotic patterns of over preparing for future opportunities. To translate a bit: If an S1R is a great, square format portrait camera would it be possible that an SL2 would be even better?
I know, intellectually and rationally, that there's no reason under the (dark and cold) sun for me to go out and spend more money on gear since it's equipment that will mostly lay fallow in a drawer somewhere, or get pressed into the role of glorified jewelry, for the present time. It would make much more sense for me to just park the funds somewhere and wait for the inevitable thaw that will come with vaccinations and other means. But, as an irrational human I'm sure the acquisition of different or better gear feels, on some evolutionary level, as though I'm engaged in preparing for the future.
The sun is out today and the temperatures are supposed to climb up to the 70's. That's 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The nice weather is most welcome. We're still boiling our drinking water but we were much luckier than people all over the state who've had countless pipes burst and no access to water at all.
I'm sure you've read somewhere in the national news that when the republicans in Texas de-regulated the power industry a decade or so back it brought into existence the choice for many of either staying with a traditional provider, such as the city of Austin, or opting by go with a private industry provider who would sell you energy at the actual wholesale cost. Many people who did not understand the arcane fine points of the contracts they were signing benefitted in the short term by paying less, overall, during the year than customers on traditional, city regulated plans. But during this last cold snap we also had a supply failure in the natural gas markets and natural gas is the bulk fuel of our power generation in Texas. As supplies dwindled to "next to nothing" status the cost per kilowatt soared. Spiked insanely. And now the hundreds of thousands (millions?) of customers who thought they'd signed up for a great bargain are starting to see monthly bills as high as $17,000 for a normal-sized single family residence. To be fair, most are "only" getting hit with MONTHLY bills in the $6,000 to $7,000 range.
Politicians are scrambling to cover their asses but the way the contracts were written it's going to be hard for many people to recover these outrageous amounts, some of which were set up on direct bill pay and are already sucked out of people's accounts. The legislators will posture, blame windmills (less than 18% of the overall power grid) and give their fellow Texans "Thoughts and Prayers" which I have come to understand means: "You're fucked and there's nothing I can or will do for you".
So, added to cold, thirsty and hungry, Texan can now also experience... bankruptcy. All as a result of a vicious, anti-government, bargain with the "devil." And to think that it only took a week to bring an entire state to its knees. Nothing like twenty solid years of bad, selfish governance to ruin a perfectly good state.
At some point one's subconscious tickles the brain with the realization that you have no control over any of this. There's nothing you can do to change the giant hellscape. You can only help your neighbors and take care of your family. And work to change a severely broken system by voting out the scoundrels.
Why were power providers so unprepared in Texas? They didn't have the money to pay for winterizing and to pay for adding more supply. Why didn't they have the money even though they are for profit enterprises? Well Texans are about to find out that bribes, kick backs and "campaign donations" are expensive, and after you've paid off all the sticky fingers there's very little left. If there is very little $$$ left do you think the CEOs of these power generation companies will waste it on "people?" Naw, it goes right into their pockets and the hell with everyone else.
And today, as the snow all melts away and the temperatures get back to normal, I think that my compulsion to buy gear is a source of comfort, and a delusional feeling that I can control at least one facet of my day-to-day existence. When the power goes out, the water runs dry, the temperatures drop, at least I will be able to curl up with my new camera and dream about better days ahead. Kinda sad.
For all of you living in real civilizations, in countries that would never allow people with 6th grade educations to be enticed into signing binding contracts with terms even college economics professors can't fully grasp, I have to say: I'm jealous. If the fact that people in Denmark are the happiest in the world is true then bring on Danish socialism as quick as you can. The only people who won't benefit will be the likes of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
We've allowed people to lie about basic economics in the U.S. for far too long. It's time to fix a lot bad laws. And it's far past time for a lot more transparency. This last year might be the catalyst we need to emerge not only stronger but happier.
Let those comments fly but remember, I'll be moderating stuff that's not true or viciously delivered.
37 comments:
The international view doesn't lie: the dollar is under a lot of pressure.
The energy cartels exploiting customers in the US: how appalling, it simply would not be allowed in the UK.
And, of course, there is modern day slavery, as you alluded too, methinks.
Good piece.
People I talk to are mad as hell, the ones who are not too busy trying to get their plumbing repaired, but no one expects anything to change.
Even the people making fun of Ted Cruz expect him to bounce back.
KT, good review of the situation. I know here in Ohio we are always getting come-on notices for some of the same things you are talking about. I have always elected to stay with the main providers who I know and trust. It is kind of scary that the direct billing can wipe out a checking account, not sure that is acceptable. I may check with our bank to see if we have a cap on that and if not go back to the old fashion method of getting a bill and writing a check. Stay warm Eric
Not sure the UK is that much better.
Your right wing coup failed.
Our right wing coup succeeded.
More experienced, better polished, more ruthless.
Same people paying for both.
When you think about it, the fundamentals of government are pretty simple: provide an infrastructure that works. That's the first thing. If that's done, almost everything else will follow. The economy will work, the taxes will be there to be collected, and so on. There are all kinds of other issues that government has to deal with, of course, but it's infrastructure that actually keeps people alive, and that's where Texas (in this case) fell on its ass. California, of course, let an entire city burn down with the loss of more than 80 lives, because nobody was insisting that infrastructure get taken care of first. New Orleans has essentially been underwater because of an infrastructure failure; the same happened in NYC, during Hurricane Sandy.
So it's not just Texas. I sometimes think that the true crisis of America these days is governmental incompetence. And by that, I don't mean members of the "deep state" not doing their jobs. I mean, the people who are elected to govern, who don't. End of rant.
I read this piece in the NYT which, if correct, gives hope they won’t get away with it this time:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/21/opinion/green-new-deal-texas-blackout.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
I read the NY Times article yesterday about the Texas residents who were burned buying their electricity via Griddy, and it reminded me why I rarely sign up for Autopay on any of my accounts. I also read this morning that some in the local GOP brain-trust believe that a portion the forthcoming federal disaster relief money should go towards paying those grossly inflated utility bills. I think it's safe to say there will be disagreement on that point.
One can only hope. I'm wishing for an enormous class action suit to hold the utility providers liable for outages that caused property damage and loss of human life. It's one thing to do extreme price gouging but it's a civil liability not to provide the product you are charging for. But just like the tobacco cases it'll be a wealth transfer from power generators to law firms. Nothing left over for the actual imperiled consumer.
If the crazy nut jobs on the right want to hold some sort of revolution I propose that it be against mindless deregulation. Gov. Abbott and Rick (demon boy) Perry are already gearing up to displace blame and try to toss good money after bad by entrenching the public opinion ever further into reliance on fossil fuels.
And, by the way, "Thank You!!!" to AOC and Beto O'Rourke for stepping in where GOP politicians fear to tread and providing $$$$ and time to help ordinary Texans.
If Ted Cruz was walking in a cross walk I'd sure have trouble distinquishing between the brake pedal and the gas pedal.....
What... you don't like CancunCruz & hie buddies running things?
Back to reality. Years of inaction on preparing for weather events we know will happen is to blame.
Trouble is that no one involved in failing to prepare will be hanged for the murderous results.
Wow. I had no idea that adjustable-rate energy had become a thing. This seems like a form of gambling where odds are that you'll almost always make modest "wins", but occasionally lose big.
I won't claim to follow your thinking on the Leica purchase, but if it helps you stay sane, I guess that's what matters. Me, I watch silly videos of capybaras basking in hot tubs, but that's just me.
Jeff in Colorado
Everything was great with the grid when the temperature was 115 in the shade.
well said
Thanks Jeff in CO, never would have thought if that search :) Serenity now!
Maybe (I hope) we're seeing the end days of the Reagan era thinking, that all government is bad, all regulation is evil, all taxes are theft. It has taken decades, but the consequences should now be apparent.
It occurred to me during the GWB administration, that it is not in the interest of the GOP for the government to act competently. Doing so would contradict their principal argument (see first paragraph). The more they screw up, the more the citizenry will reject any attempt to properly fund and manage things.
The recent DJT administration took that to its final level: hire/appoint people who oppose the very function they were put in charge of.
I hope this has been a wake-up call. Not expected, but at least one can hope.
I agree with the entire article.
KT says: "... equipment that will ... get pressed into the role of glorified jewelry."
I just bought a shiny new pocket knife that I don't have any particular use for except as pocket jewelry so I certainly understand the lure.
From the comments I'm reading above, I think that you and your readers would be interested in the two seasons of Michael Lewis's podcast titled Against the Rules. Each season has a major theme and the first season is precisely about the kind of mentality that leads to situations where people think it's ok to allow con men to take money from those less well prepared under the guise of caveat emptor and buyer beware. There are many countries all over the world that have resolved many of these issues.
Sad but true how second rate and corrupt our government and political parties have become.
And although hobbies aren't so important for many people right now I have to wonder when I look at todays photo -if someone who really knows what they are doing can get this kind of result from an ancient E-PL2 and a cheap kit lens why have I (and I'm sure many others) been wasting tons of time and money studying, buying and learning about new cameras instead of just just using and getting as good as I can with whatever camera I bought 10 years ago.
Considering the amped up partisan sentiments in the US and especially in TX I sure hope your home address is not easily found.
Bless you for saying what needs to be said.
Eric
I lived in Houston for 23 years, with a nice paying technical professional job, until Hurricane Harvey threw me into an awful brutal experience and rendered me homeless. I landed in Baltimore with a load of PTSD baggage. Not a whole lot better here. More poor and desperate people I try to help with grab bags of food to hand out from my front door and occasional cash I "lend" out. One friend needed 29 cents for enough fare to take a bus to a drywall job. I gave him extra for lunch and return fare. He lived hand to mouth every day and tried hard to work odd jobs. He survived winters with the generosity of neighbors and myself. Next door guys in a boarding house can't work due to the recent snow and ice storms, meaning no pay, and the stress in their voices is obvious.
We need a government that serves us all, not just for the top 10%.
You wrote, "The only people who won't benefit will be the likes of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk." Those two at least built companies that hire people and do something. The ones who really would not benefit are scumballs like your governors Greg Abbott and Rick Perry. How can Republicans continually elect vile pretenders like these guys, as well as DeSantis in Florida, Kemp in Georgia, Noem in SD, who have essentially promished to their constituents that their purpose in government is to not serve the people and trash institutions that were established to serve ALL the people? The race to the bottom, and we are speeding up.
In my late teens in the late sixties in the previous century, radio was the thing. And as a teenage punk with attitude growing up in Europe, the only worthy sources were off-shore pirate broadcasters and Radio Luxemburg - AM of course. Or the odd short or long wave station, when push came to shove.
RTL was “it”. For variation sometimes BFBS - British Forces Broadcasting System (in Germany), when weather permitted. It was before the early right wing wonkers, like Thatcher, came to power, so music was “contemporary” or as AFN (American Forces Network in Germany) from time to time termed the music taste: contemptible. The Beatles, or worse The Rolling Stones, The Kinks or, oh, boy, The Who were pure animals (I also was partial to The Animals ;-)
On the stupidly crazy propaganda front we had Voice Of America (VOA) competing with Radio Free Europe to deliver the most unbelievable right wing trash possible. Rush Limbaugh could probably be designated as a revolutionary communist in comparison, with their - ahem - insights. We used to listen, when we needed to lighten up with some hilarious real life satire. The Americans were regarded as bonkers. Not even radio Moscow delivered the same level of unbelievable crazy propaganda as VOA, and they were not in any way restricted by facts either.
Only one station could deliver a higher level of unintended true to life political satire, than VOA, and that was Albania’s Radio Tirana. They topped every crazy propagandist fantasy in their weekly (or was it monthly?) “course for revolutionaries”.
At least their producers had the excuse, that they knew nothing and were not allowed to know anything about the European part of the world outside their borders.
VOA were not under the same restrictions, but that proved to be no hindrance to the lyrical fantasies of the American dream and - sigh - freedoms, that not even the multimillionaires of the time would recognize. The American poor would have had no idea, where that land of plenty and honey could exist. Certainly not in the US at the time. Not even then. Especially not people of color.
Now... how come, that Murdoch’s Fox News springs to mind in these days and time. Maybe a thorough “clean up” needs to be more sweeping, than many of your citizens have been willing to admit.
It’s 8:30 in the morning and already I’ve learned three things:
There are people in Texas who see the political situation with clarity. Perhaps enough of the state’s voters can be motivated to do something about it.
I’d always assumed Voice Of America served a propaganda purpose but, never having heard it, assumed it was more like the BBC World Service. Little did I know that - even discounting for the commenter’s own bias - it was Rush Limbaugh on steroids. Anybody else have direct listener experience on that one?
Michael Lewis has a podcast? If it’s anything remotely like “The Big Short” (marvelous book, terrible movie) then I must break down and become a podcast listener.
Very glad to hear the VSL world headquarters came through it all relatively unscathed. All that prep work was worth it.
US Economic policy since Reagan can be summed up as:
"Cut taxes on the rich and everything else will work itself out"
'Voodoo Economics' as Bush I once called it, for those old enough to remember. Reagan, Bush II and Trump all enacted huge tax cuts that benefitted almost entirely the rich.
Funny thing about 21st century America is the very folks who would rather die than have any form of 'socialism' (don't tell them Social Security, Medicare and probably a few other things they benefit from are 'socialism') are the most disadvantaged by the last 4 decades of American politics. Politicians try to make people think they are dealing with economic issues, but in reality are just stoking social divisions to get away with all this stuff.
Also capitalism/socialism isn't some hard line in the sand. Every country in the world is actually a mix of these two things, it's just the ratio that changes, but politicians like to paint each other as as being on one side or the other of this imaginary line.
I'm the biggest capitalist you'll ever meet (business owner for 32 years), but I do have one demand from it that we have totally lost, and that is all should benefit from it to some degree. That has been totally undermined in the last 40 years. It's Ok for the rich to get richer, but not if the average person gets poorer in the process. Capitalism in the US is totally broken.
My apologies if I'm ranting a bit or ventured into illegal territory for the blog.
As I have said before, I am 100% with you on the political spectrum!
Regarding Elon Musk, your comment is objectively correct. The nuance is that, in my estimation, Elon represents the "best" of capitalism and fee enterprise Democracy. My reasoning is that he has demonstrated in words and deeds, from the beginning, a kind of enlightened self interest and a kind of "statesmanship" focused on the species rather than on a state. Too many public video examples to cite here. (Yes, he is still a flawed human, but so am I, and that is about all I have in common with him.)
Capitalism, just like Democracy and any other form of governance, depends upon the personal integrity and moral compass of the people involved.
Regarding camera gear; I find myself also taking some comfort from a new camera (coming soon) that I really don't need in an absolute sense. I just love this stuff. These bits of metal, plastic, silicon and glass are the embodiment of hundreds of years of development efforts by extremely clever humans. Every design choice and every material has a long history of sweat, tears and joy. (We can run that history all the way back to the formation of the elements following the Big Bang and stellar evolution - or the wave of God's hand if you believe in Her.)
This long ramble is just my way of responding to your post with a "Yes, indeed!"
Paul Wellstone (former Minnesota Senator who sadly died in a plane crash, along with his wife and daughter, during the 2002 campaign) once said that "We all do better when we all do better."
For me, that pretty much sums up how I try to see the world: healthcare, taxes, environmental concerns, job availability, etc, etc.
Having said that, I am a proud beneficiary of trickle down economics. When I graduated from high school my super-rich aunt and uncle got me a microwave as a gift. I used it for several years in my dorm room, then it passed to my brother when he started college, and then on to my sister. After that it sat in my parent's basement for probably 7-8 years until their microwave broke and it was pressed into emergency service, where it has fought on valiantly for the past 10+ years. Trickle down at its finest, so I guess all the tax cuts that my rich aunt and uncle have benefited from really have benefited my lower middle class family as well. Also, they put out a pretty nice spread (both ham and turkey!) at Thanksgiving, so you can't complain about that.
I am completely open to debate about "how" we can all do better, but not "why" we all have the right to do better. As best as I can tell, one political party in the US concerns itself with discovering the best "how." They might not come to the answer you like, or even the best answer, but they try. The other party is solely concerned with "why" people who don't look like them, or speak the same language as them, or worship like them, or love like them, deserve anything in this world. The answer they keep coming up with is that those other people don't deserve to do better.
But...but, we must "run the government like a business" we are told. And the best business is unregulated and unrestricted and unaccountable.
Horseshit.
Government ain't business. It's not there to make a profit, it's there to provide services to the public which the public pays for indirectly through taxes. There is no free ride unless you jump the turnstile.
Thumbs up! Hope you and my other friends in Austin and especially the poorer victims of Texas' failed government vote out the criminals.
Opposite your approach, as I watched my entire business of Photography For Money collapse, I instead 'went to ground'. Didn't touch anything, my creative urge and motivation murdered. I don't see it as giving up. Instead backing off, shuttering things and waiting like cats are so good at saving energy and waiting. We call it sleeping, but they are able to spring from a dead sleep onto prey that stumbles by. Probably could have had all those old shoots collated and all images color coded according to their future marketing potential by now. But for what marketplace? For what needs potential clients are going have down the road? Today I worked on organizing a journal I proudly call Business Stuff To Do. I think I've made great progress in thinking about doing business again.
And, the job of government is to deliver services and ensure the safety of the citizenry. Sometimes that costs money while showing no profit. Or actual,deep losses. Bullet trains (now China is building killer ones all over the place) lose money but grease economic activity. Run something like a business some will win and some will lose. I don't subscribe to The Hunger Games model of civilization.
The sixties, period after McCarthy, beginning with the Bay of Pigs debacle, including the Vietnam War, The Pentagon Papers and Daniel Ellsberg did not propel VOA to any semblance of excellence abroad - they were no NBC.
The opposite side had already lost any credibility with the invasion of Hungary and especially the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 68. I still remember the beautiful late august summer morning in High School, when the tanks crushed the Prague spring. Stunned silence all around when loudspeakers suddenly were turned on in the school yard between two lessons.
I was only mentally on the receiving end. The Czechs - and - Vietnamese were in the thick of oppression, the blood and gore.
By pure chance I celebrated New Year in Leipzig in 2006 in company with a couple from the former East Germany, roughly the same age as I. The husband had been on summer vacation by moped in Prague, the day the tanks came rolling, and neither he forgot, what happened that day in august 1968.
The gist of it all is, that neither side - ordinary mortals from West or East of the Iron Curtain - believed what the “Super Powers” propaganda outlets marketed ineptly as truth. They probably only prolonged the agony for all parties involved, whatever truth was later construed.
That New Year’s Eve was in many ways an epiphany felt by two old geezers of the new Europe to come. Not perfect, only far better than before. Two old geezers born on opposite sides of political idiocy clinging to MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) like mad.
Trump demonstrated in all clarity, that the US was no longer a reliable alley or partner. In some respects a new adversary. And I do not think, that any European - or World - politician has forgotten, that whatever Biden says or promises, after the next US election, worse may turn up.
As seen from the remaining 95+ percent of the world population.
Could it be regarded as sanity to base your armed forces - even partly - on weaponry from the US? If you buy Boeing civilian airliners, do you risk a coming president issuing an embargo on spare parts? With all trust gone, what is left? In the long run!
Trump really changed the world and killed any real trust in the US everywhere. It may have been naive by the Europeans or the rest of the world to rely on the US keeping promises, treaties, alliances and cooperations alive for the overall good.
Fact is, naïveté went out the window with any remaining trust. Trump be thanked?
That is a problem, you may ignore, but mending will take at least a generation. If at all possible. Or even wanted!
Never thought your' a Social-democrat.
Wellcome to Europe.
Walter
Walter, I'm certainly not a right wing "conservative." I actually think we should all pay taxes and help each other out. I'd rather benefit from trickle up than trickle down. By the time the trickle gets down to the people who are in need it seems to have always dried up...
Joseph Liberman made the best comment I've ever heard about trickle down economics. He likened it to saying that if you gave the cows on the farm more food that somehow the chickens will do better. He then remarked that more food for the cows just results in more Cow Poop.
Kirk, never thought your'e a conservative, specially not since your elections, reading your blog.
Europeans pay a lot of taxes for no obvious reasons up front.
It's a result of Social-Deamocratic minded goverments in the past.
What we get in turn are rather stable societies, universal healthcare, pension schemes and working plumbing.
So we are rather complacent, at the moment.
I live in Canada, in Québec, even. We're a bunch of socialist as far as many US citizens are concerned. And I'm sure there's a lot of crooked wheeling and dealing here too. But the idea that an infrastructure for a basic essential commodity such as electrical power be left in the hands of private industry is truly beyond me.
Average Winter temperatures are around -15 degrees C. So people would literally freeze to death if the power were turned off. In Québec, we nationalized electricity (Hydro-Québec) around 1960. Our electricity rates are fairly reasonable and whenever Hydro Québec tries to raise the rate for kW/h, they have to apply to the government regulators and there's always an outcry. Keeps thing fairly sane.
In Canada, we also have a national Health Care Plan. No one has to go bankrupt for medical care, everyone's covered.
Sure there's a lot of bureaucracy, sure the private sector might do things more efficiently, but would the outcome for the citizen/user be better? I'm not sure.
I'm shocked at what Kirk just wrote. I can feel his anger.
I'm glad Texas has emerged from this cold. I hope all Texans will have learned something and that they have the courage to make changes for the better.
What a beautiful woman - and a lovely portrait of her... speechless each time I see it. Fadya, right? Killer photo.
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