The Mark of the Beast

Wearing baseball caps since my Little League days, has become an everyday thing for me. I even used baseball caps for business. I have a photo collage where the first pic was taken in 1996 during my second year working in the HIV/AIDS field. These days baseball caps are acceptable gear for casual, and also business attire. 

Have you noticed? Since the Orange Turd decided to enter politics, wearing a MAGA red baseball cap is the "mark of the beast". It is viewed as a symbol of divisiveness, or a "cult-like" and blind loyalty to their "really smart - a very stable genius" leader. 

Now I can't wear a red baseball cap in public (which happen to be my favorite baseball cap color), to prevent being mistaken of supporting the MAGA movement. The Phillies team uses a red baseball cap, and my favorite Yankees hats are also red. It has become politicized due to the popularity of the MAGA hats. To avoid confrontations during my daily commute, I stopped using my Yankees red hats as the MAGA red hats became popular. 

I just spent a couple of hours editing some of my earlier photos from past years, turning my red baseball caps into dark blue or black. What a conundrum.

Venezuela Es El Nuevo Campeon del Clasico Mundial de Beisbol

Venezuela vence a Estados Unidos 3-2 en el Clasico Mundial de Beisbol. 

Venezuela beat United States 3-2 at the World Baseball Classic.

Dominican Mangu

After confessing that I never tasted this particular breakfast dish before, I was challenged to order a dish of Mangu at my favorite Latin restaurant yesterday morning. After admitting to never having tried Mangu, I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. 

Ayer por la mañana en un restaurante de comida Latina que frecuento, acepte que nunca habia probado el desayuno de Mangu. El empleado del establecimiento me reto a probarlo y me sirvio un plato. Me sorprendio gratamente la experiencia. Todavia no puedo creer que es la primera vez en mi vida que he probado Mangu.

Let The Good Times Roll

Finally got the paperwork out of the way and renewed my motorcycle registration and insurance documents. I am officially ready for the riding season.

Not sure how other states handle their vehicle paperwork, but when it comes to vehicle and insurance renewal here in Pennsylvania, everything can be handled online. At the end of the transaction, you simply print your credentials, and you are done. 

I am looking forward to this year riding season. Let the good times roll !!!!

Amanecer en Mayaguez

Llevo un tiempo tratando de acostumbrarme a salir temprano en la mañana a tomar fotos. No voy a negar que mi preferencia es tomar fotos durante la puesta del sol en el horizonte. No hay nada mas deslumbrante que los colores de la puesta del sol, principalmente los rojos, naranjas y amarillos.

Dicen que al capturar amaneceres, las fotos pueden ser impactantes. Muchos fotografos dicen que el mejor momento del dia para tomar fotos es media hora antes o despues del amanecer o el atardecer.

El problema de la fotografia es que uno como fotografo tiene que estar preparado a que el tiempo coopere. En ocasiones he viajado a un lugar en especifico a tomar fotos y de repente llueve o ocurren otros percances.

Anoche hize esta foto imaginaria AI de un amanecer en la plaza de mi pueblo. Es la plaza donde se encuentra la catedral de la Iglesia y las oficinas del ayuntamiento del alcalde. Quizas esta foto creada en AI me inspire a salir mas temprano en la mañana a tomar fotos. Veremos a ver, solo el tiempo lo dira. 

Hope Springs Eternal

Yesterday I was reading about a young man who inherited a 1982 Kawasaki KZ 550 from his grandfather. The young man is in the process of restoring the bike to its former glory. 

Reading this, reminded me that life has an expiration date, and in a couple of weeks I am turning 70. Even though I still feel young and 1982 looks like just the other day, truth of the matter is that it was a long time ago. Heck, 1982 was 44 years ago and I was only 26 years old. 

Ideally, I would love if my grandnephews took care of my bikes and other collectibles when I am no longer around. These things have monetary value but most importantly, to me they also have a lot of sentimental value. Hope springs eternal. 

Maybe I am overthinking things too much. The way things are going in this chaotic unstable world, we could all die in a nuclear explosion tomorrow, so all my stuff will be vaporized with me. Hahaha.

A Nostalgic Reminder Of Great Times

It is being said that acknowledging the need for honesty with yourself is a courageous first step toward clarity and personal growth. For that reason, I have to be honest and confess that for reasons I won't get into it here, initially I wasn't open about using AI in photography, until now. 

First, let's go back 40 years. In 1986, a few months after graduating from MMI, I purchased a SuperFlow 110 flowbench. For my own selfish reasons and to save money in the process, my initial interest was to build my own Kawasaki drag racing cylinder head for a Kawasaki dragbike I was putting together at that time. The SuperFlow 110 flowbench was the best motorcycle tool to optimize performance I've ever owned. 

Unfortunately, taking selfie or casual photos was not a common trend back then. Throughout the years, I recall having maybe three images of my SuperFlow 110 flowbench. The selfie pic sitting next to the flowbench disappeared years ago during one of my many moves; only the two images shown here have endured the test of time. 

That is where AI comes in. For the past two weeks, I've been using AI to create motorcycle scenarios using old photos taken years ago during motorcycle events and gatherings I've attended. 

I made a decision last night, to try to recreate a SuperFlow 110 flowbench using one of the remaining flowbench old photos taken in my Brooklyn apartment. I gave AI a few prompts, and in less than 5 seconds the application created the amazing photo featured on this post. 

It even shows a Mitutoyo Micrometer, the Neway Valve Seat Cutters and a Mitutoyo Dial Indicator with a Magnetic Base Kit.  I know is not the real thing, but to me this AI caricature is better than nothing. It is also a nostalgic reminder of great times during the first part of my life as a motorcycle technician.