Thursday. Slept in an extra half hour or so. To breakfast and back without missing a beat, home now with the sky overcast and the day ahead. I ran prints yesterday of these two photographs. I like the prints less than I do those on the web, but at least I did start up the printer and confirmed it was still working. Maybe another print or two today? Some 17" x 24" prints similar to those I'd run for a show? Ho, ho?

Later. Sitting here accomplishing little or nothing, watching the market tank. I haven't had money in the market for a while as I'm one of those who follow economists like Paul Krugman over at the Times. When I studied economics the Great Depression was long enough in the past that the political fires had died down, so mostly it was a period of calm looking at what they'd done wrong and what they'd done right in the 30's rather than defending a particular set of political ideologies.

I'm much more into factual when it comes to economics than conservative or liberal, left or right. So reading Krugman has made sense over the last ten years compared to the idiots' gibberish we hear out of Washington. Or maybe I'm just too old to change and my thoughts are every bit as set as anyone else's, but I like to kid myself facts still hold some sway when they show me I'm off base.

Enough of this crap!

Indeed.

Maybe if I made a bigger print of that pigeon. Get that hangover looking head of his bigger, more visible. Good idea. Test how large a really small portion of an image will go while still retaining clarity. Get my mind on better things.

As opposed to politics and the market?

No, no. Better things than heading down the hill to have sushi (and sake) for lunch on this still overcast Thursday, a thought that's been scratching away in the background. You start in the early afternoon and things can get out of hand. Making prints might at worst waste a little paper. I have paper.

Later still. A nap, some news, some guitar, a walk down to the local convenience store for an ice cream cone. A slow day, nothing to report in the way of a walk or of photographs. The San Francisco Mime Troupe, however, is giving a free show down the way on the lake this evening at seven. I'll do that, it's a short walk, one I make often. Glad I remembered that. Things are looking up.

Evening. A walk over to see what the San Francisco Mime Troupe performance might look like, finding it beside the aviary building on the lake, a large group of people sitting on blankets out on the lawn waiting for the performance to start. I say a large group given the weather (a dark grey overcast and a little cold) and the lack of publicity that I at least was exposed to before the performance.

I was thinking the usual things - I should have brought a long lens - then thought I shouldn't be thinking such thoughts, just get out there and find some photos, what am I fretting about with all this rocket science equipment? There was a small band playing before the performance started so I walked about framing this and shooting that, not getting into people's faces.

When the curtain went up I moved in closer when one of the Mime Troupe back stage people walked up and said they didn't allow photographs unless I was press. OK, what the hell, so I left. If I'd wanted to stay I would have stayed, this is a public park after all and I wasn't using flash or anything to disturb the players or the audience, but I'd had my outing, gotten a couple of pictures and more knowledge about how (not) to shoot crowds.