Why Pay A Monthly Subscription?

Last night I was reading a heated discussion on a photography forum (seven pages and hundreds of replies) about the pros and cons on why people pay for a subscription membership versus using a standalone photo program.

It is no secret that I edit/modify all photographs I take. In my opinion, it helps to bring my images to life. That is my preference and a different topic altogether.

Why are some people happy to spend money on a monthly subscription to edit the images they take? In the past it was simple, you paid for the standalone software once, and that was it. Nowadays, photography editing software is only available on a monthly subscription. You have to pay a monthly fee indefinitely.

I've been using Adobe Photoshop Elements since 2004, and currently have different versions of their standalone program just in case the time comes that my laptop has to be replaced. I am very happy with Photoshop so far, and the program is capable enough for my photography needs. It's unlikely I will ever go for any subscription monthly software.

Two Wheel Tuesdays

When I was shopping for my current motorcycle, a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14, that year model was color Persimmon Red. Red is my favorite color, but I had other plans.

I bought the bike and a few months later decided to change the fuel tank and all the side panels; and transformed my bike into a black model. This was my plan all along. The color change transformed the bike into a different animal.

While looking at some of my old pictures yesterday and talking to a friend about bikes, I realized that I've been riding motorcycles for a long time. This year marks my 50 years on a motorcycle. My friend asked how I plan to celebrate this milestone. Let me think about it and I'll get back to you, I said.

Feliz Cumpleaños!

Un 23 de septiembre de 1868 centenares de puertorriqueños de diversas clases sociales, tomaron por asalto el pueblo de Lares y proclamaron la República de Puerto Rico. Un dia como hoy nacio la proxima presidente de la Republica de Puerto Rico, mi sobrina. Felicidades!

No Soup For You

Back in 1997, as a first time Philadelphia visitor, I was shocked to see so many homeless people on the streets. As a former New York resident, I thought I've seen it all. A year later after I relocated to Philly, I then realized that the homeless population was out of control. But I digress.

If you are familiar or has watched the Seinfeld TV series, you probably know the infamous Seinfeld episode of the Soup Nazi. This was an establishment that served the best soup in all of Manhattan. A customer's failure to strictly obey the rules provokes the Soup Nazi to shout "no soup for you" and refuse service. It is a hilarious episode, and Seinfeld is one of my favorite comedies of all time.

I love soup but the sodium content is off the charts. When you eat out, you are at the mercy of the restaurants, and as a rule they add too much salt in their food.

Last night I visited my favorite local Latin restaurant. My mouth was watering thinking about ordering chicken with rice and beans. While I was being served, a homeless person walked in and told the server he wanted a soup.

I could hear them arguing at the counter; the homeless person was .50 cents short to pay for the 1.50 cents soup. No soup for you if you can't pay, said the server. To stop the back and forth bickering, I told the server that I will pay for the soup. 

At that moment, in a fit of rage, the homeless guy grabs the soup, threw the hot soup at the server and calmly walked out the door.

Celebrity Breakups

What is people's obsession with a celebrity's life and their relationships? Could it be because they want to live the life of their beloved celebrity?

Everywhere I look these days is all about Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck divorce rumors. I personally believe the media has been gossiping on a daily basis about their on-again, off-again relationship because it is a way to increase traffic to their website. More clicks/traffic means more revenue.

In the next few days I expect to see lots of headlines about Donald Trump Jr and Kimberly Guilfoyle breaking off their engagement now that there are rumors of him dating another woman.

I don't remember seeing that many headlines when I called off my engagement to Kim Kardashian.😀

Two Wheel Tuesdays - Tales From The Garage

One of the highlights of my last trip to Puerto Rico, was to introduce my grandnephews to motorcycles for the first time.

It was great to see them enjoying themselves at the motorcycle garage, getting their hands dirty playing with tools. Both of them already have their own set of plastic screwdrivers and hammers, but nothing compares to holding in your hand real tools. The look of joy on their faces when they tried to start one of the scooters, and ride it inside the garage was priceless.

I'll never forget the first time my father taught me how to work in a small AM transistor pocket radio at his radio and TV repair shop. I was about 9-years old. Those are memories I will cherish forever. I sure hope my grandnephews first visit to the motorcycle shop was as memorable as mine was at my father's radio/tv repair shop.

Never Judge A Book By Its Cover

The federal prosecutor now in charge of investigating the man suspected of trying to assassinate Trump is an immigrant to the United States, from Haiti.

Markenzy Lapointe is a U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. From what I've read so far from Markenzy Lapointe, he came to this country when he was 16 years old with his mother, impoverished.

He graduated from Miami Edison High School in 1987, and then attended Miami Dade College. After graduating from college Lapointe then joined the Marines and served in the first Iraq war in 1990. Graduated from Law School, and served in the US attorney's office before joining a Miami law firm.

Donald Trump numerous times have said this about immigrants specifically from Haiti: "they are poisoning the blood of our country". In my opinion, in this case, Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspected wannabe domestic terrorist, is the man with the poisoned blood in our country. 

It is ironic that while Trump disparages anyone from Haiti, a person from that nation is in charge of investigating the person suspected of his assassination attempt.

Social Media Detox

I've decided to minimize my online presence in social media. I began by deleting my 14 year old Twitter account earlier last month. Today, my Instagram was temporarily disabled.

It is logical that my FB photography page should be removed next. FB pages aren't easy to manage as they were five years ago. And since I am not into it to sell my images, only to share my stuff, I don't see the point of keeping the page.

Instagram and FB pages are becoming a headache; too many trolls, fake accounts promoting stuff and scamming people. Keyboard warriors roam the internet to fight and argue over everything. They are empowered by the anonymity of the internet to deceive, manipulate and vilify others. Allowing them to say things they might not say face to face.

So to regain my sanity, I am deleting a big chunk of my social media footprint. I am signing off from those accounts for good, and taking a temporary social media detox.

Two Wheel Tuesdays - Washington Crossing State Park

One of the most historic locations in our area is the Washington Crossing State Park. George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River on December 25, 1776 allowed his army to strike the Hessian mercenaries at Trenton, NJ. It secured the Continental Army's first major military victory of the war during the American Revolution. 

The Washington Crossing Park is one of my favorite places to visit, because for many years it hosted a motorcycle vintage event called Gathering of the Nortons. It was held in April at Washington's Crossing State Park, just north of Trenton NJ on the PA side of the river. 

Once a year thousands of vintage motorcycle enthusiasts gathered to celebrate all things motorcycle. All bikes were welcome, but especially the Brits - Nortons, Triumphs, Tritons, Royal Enfields, BSAs, Vincents, etc. Good food, good people and if you're interested in old iron, it was an amazing event. Only rule was that you had to ride it in, no trailering.

It is a beautiful park, lots of open space to spend a pleasant day in nature to relieve stress; where people bring their families to relax and forget about life's problems. 

Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places

I finished reading a report in Yahoo News about a female reporter from The Telegraph doing a story about looking for love in Spain in a Spanish supermarket.

The story transported me back in time 35 years ago, to something that happened a year after my divorce, when I ventured into responding to a Brooklyn personal newspaper ad. Back then you met people the old fashioned way, or placed/responded to newspaper personal ads.

To put it in perspective, in 1989 I was 33 years old and one of the first contacts I had from the newspaper personal add was with a woman in her early 30's. It was weird because it felt like a one-sided conversation where I was being interrogated by this woman. She kept asking too many questions, one after the other. I vividly remember her asking me how many children I had, after I shared that I've been married twice.

After I replied that I didn't have children, her tone of voice changed and sounded accusatory. She kept accusing me of lying. The third time she asked, I could sense she was serious; she did not believe that a twice divorced man didn't have children. She abruptly hung up on me. That was my first and last attempt into newspaper personal ads. 

A Labor Day BBQ Story

My neighbor and I rescued a gas grill from curbside in a neighborhood near ours. We replaced a few parts and that thing made for a pretty good gasser.

We took to joining our two families together for Sunday night chicken. We'd each cook side dishes and we'd do BBQ chicken on the gas grill we recovered. We did this for about nine months without paying attention to the grease build up.

We were in the middle of a cook and the entire gas grill caught on fire. We had nine feet flames, we had sideways flames, flames were going in every direction. I thought my house was going to catch on fire; I thought the rubber hose on the propane was going to catch on fire; I thought the propane tank was going to explode.

I'm still not sure how we got that grease fire out to this day. Needless to say, we didn't get chicken that Sunday night. 😄