Tag: waste

/ geoffand

Apartment Living – irresponsible dog owners

We are lucky to have found an apartment complex that welcomes our greyhounds. Especially after a brief survey of the houses (that rent for more than $1200 a month more) are mostly no pets, or cats only, this is quite a find. However, I wish that all the dog owners here would just clean up after their dogs.

Part of the problem I believe is that until recently, they had a 25# limit on dogs. That means that there are lots of small dogs. Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, Boston Terriers are common. These diminutive canines produce stools that are roughly the size of Tootsie Rolls, so their owners probably think that is “too small” to have to pick up. Sigh.

Alas, walking on any of the grassy areas is navigating a minefield of little poop-bombs.

Convenient receptacles for pet waste with baggies
Convenient receptacles for pet waste with baggies

It is not like there aren’t trash cans all over with “poopie” bag dispensers. I count 4 of them, all conveniently located near the large grassy areas.

Or, there are three parking lots with multiple trash dumpsters. Yes, that means you need to carry your own bags. We do. Having larger dogs (Greyhounds), we appreciate the heavier duty “Mutt Mitts“, as they are better suited for the larger stools.

Of course, the rules are clear that you must clean up after your animals. But that is about as effective as the “No Smoking” signs in the common areas.

Heavy sigh.

/ geoffand

Everytime I see a DSLR with a kit lens, the Baby Jesus cries

Been on the road lately, and spent a couple days taking in the sights in London. Central London, tourist heaven, so much to see, so much to do. As a bit of a photographer, I take notice of what gear I see people shooting with. I can’t help it, I am a geek.

And I am absolutely stunned how many people I see with decent DSLR cameras from Canon or Nikon with the standard “kit” lens.

Most DSLR’s, until you get to the pro-sumer or professional grade, come with a lens. That lets people use them immediately, and get some results. Universally these lenses are inexpensive, fairly low quality, and often built with plastic elements. Yes, you can take pictures with them, but they are without a doubt the weakest link in the package.

You are supposed to step up to better optics. The whole concept behind the DSLR is to allow you to switch lenses to match your style. Doing sports photography? a long telephoto is in order. Landscape photography? A wide angle zoom is in your future. Portraiture? A small telephoto lens with a wide aperture for rockin’ bokeh.

You don’t have to jump to the ‘L’series from Canon to get great pictures, but you can.

However a large number of people are schlepping around their DSLR with the gawdawful kit lens. If you are going to do that, you might as well be using a Canon G12.