• Tag Archives Contest

  • Yes! I am still doing very well here!

    Posted on by DebC Comment

    Originally posted to GadgetGypsy.Xanga.com on November 16, 2008 at 22:08. Originally posted here on May 24, 2009 at 21:52 with an updated train of thought and altered phrasing. Now Updated again with some new information…

    😀

    In November 2008, I experienced a ‘wild hair’ and decided to learn some Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) Web Design for a Weblog! Now. If you know me … you KNOW that I HATE programming even though I can usually puzzle it out; but some how I have taken new interest in Web Design since I started my first Blog on Xanga and after seeing what was possible from viewing AND reading the posts at Darkerview.com!

    However, I WILL NOT refer to CSS as ‘programming’ any more than I will EVER give in to the construct that Pluto is no longer classified as a planet!!!! Since, for me, CSS is not as abstract and confusing as the programming (in ‘C’ language) that I had to take for my Management Information Systems / Operations Management (MIS/OM) Bachelors of Science (BS) degree at The University of Arizona (UA) with all the ‘for’ and ‘if; then’ statements that usually ended up in a nasty looping mess every time I first wrote a program!?!?!? It took me waaaay tooooo long to get it fixed, and I was usually disappointed in how little I had accomplished with all those lines of code :-O

    So: I asked Andy, my husband and my best friend, to teach me the basics on setting up and configuring my own blog with my own domain where I have more extensive room for creativity! I continue to request help when I get stuck (it is nice to have such a knowledgeable, interactive reference so handy). Thus, my new Blog of my own domain was ‘born’: GadgetGypsy.com! Andy is an excellent tutor; but please don’t tell him that I said so … His job at Keck Observatories keeps his head in the clouds enough without the compliments going to his head as well ;-D

    For those of you who have been asking: The name ‘GadgetGypsy’ came from my college days that started in Air Force Technical Training. I like the new, intriguing electronic gadgets that come available on the market; and I obtain them for the ‘learning’ opportunity that they provide as well as the fascination that they instill as I figure out their capabilities and functions. Through experience of buying too early, I have also learned to exhibit patience (VERY hard for me to do); and wait a generation or two before I buy-in. I still forget myself on occasion and the hard lesson is once again driven home when I ‘impulse’ buy a new technology that still needs to be debugged! Although painful and sometimes pricey, the lessons are still good and valuable experience!

    You are invited to drop by here to check it out often! But be warned; I am, and will be, learning the intricacies of CSS for quite a while as I get GadgetGypsy.com configured to my liking. Please don’t let the constant changes (or occasional changes as I approach my ideal) turn you off or scare you away; OR keep you from providing me valid, constructive and valuable feedback and comments!

    I like the community at Xanga still; and the Photo Contest at iliveinmycamera is, to me, a ‘not-to-be-missed’ blogger-tunity if you have the time to take and post the weekly photo assignments! So, I will still keep GadgetGypsy.Xanga.com open and active. I will not be using it as much as I was; and other than the occasional posting here and there, about or to, the Photo Contest or something related to my Xanga friends, or regarding a new post to check out at GadgetyGypsy.com, I will be putting my Picts, Vid Clips, and main posts on GadgetGypsy.com.

    See you over here (GadgetGypsy.com) AND over there (GadgetGypsy.Xanga.com)! They are both (or at least GadgetGypsy.com still is) RSS feed capable so you can subscribe to it/them through your RSS Reader. (Update; 12/27/2015: the unofficial Photo Contest was no longer running when last I was there; but another may have opened up)

    Aloha and Happy Blogging! –GG


    📂This entry was posted in Hawai'i Must Share 📎and tagged

  • It was after the deadline for the photo contest entry

    Posted on by DebC Comment

    at ‘iliveinmycamera‘ … THEN I realized that this picture taken in time for the contest…

    MoKuaiKaua Church in Kona, Hawaii on the Big Island. Established 1820.
    MoKuaiKaua Church in Kona, Hawaii on the Big Island. Established 1820.

    of a Church in Kona off of Ali”i Drive is Victorian!

    Well, enjoy it here in any case 🙂 Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter Sunday 2009!

    (Transferred from my GadgetGypsy.Xanga.com blog with a few changes. Originally posted on May 14, 2008 at 7:54pm)


    📂This entry was posted in Hawai'i Must Share Show-N-Tell 📎and tagged

  • The rescue and release of an unexpected hitchhiker…

    Posted on by DebC 2 Comments

    For those with concerns of what became of our…errrr…Cliff’s unexpected hitchhiker, here’s the rest of the saga:

    Cliff Livermore's newly refinished 24" dob in heavy use after a successful Gecko eviction & assembly completion.
    Cliff Livermore’s newly refinished 24″ dob in heavy use after a successful Gecko eviction & assembly completion.

    Background Information: On March 27, Cliff Livermore brought his 24″ newly refinished Dobsonian telescope to the VIS at 9200 feet to use while participating in the 2009 Messier Marathon. (Refer to the postings on A Darker View, Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station (the VIS) and my blog right here, Gadget Gypsy, for more in depth details of the whole 2009 Messier Marathon event at the VIS). Cliff is one of several of us who brought our telescopes for this marathon; but his was the only one that got so much attention and not solely because of the unexpected hitchhiker. You might understand why after examining the photo.

    An unexpected hitchhiker [Mourning Gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris)] on the 24" Primary of Cliff's newly refinished telescope.
    An unexpected hitchhiker [Mourning Gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris)] on the 24″ Primary of Cliff’s newly refinished telescope.

    During assembly of the 24″ Dob, the Primary mirror is near the beginning of the checklist in the order of assembly; and when that item on the checklist was reached, the mirror box was carried over and placed in a strategic position near the chosen site to make it easier to place on the “rocker box” for the telescope after the truss tubes and secondary cage assembly have been secured in place. The mirror cover was lifted off of the box and several bystanders erupted into laughter.

    Cliff had turned to pick up a necessary piece for assembly when he heard the laughter and visibly stiffened a bit. He turned quickly back to his “Primary Gecko” … ummm … I mean his Primary Mirror and joined the chorus of laughter while asking us and the hitchhiker not to move until pictures could be captured!

    “Yikes! I didn’t call for First Light!,” says a Mourning Gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris) on Cliff’s 24″ Primary.
    “Yikes! I didn’t call for First Light!,” says a Mourning Gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris) on Cliff’s 24″ Primary.

    There was a large Mourning Gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris) crouched on the very shiny mirror surface! After we had taken multiple pictures and had several viewers of the Mourning Gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris) on the Primary mirror, it decided to attempt a run for cover. I managed to coerce the cold, confused Gecko into a plastic jar that I thought I had taken up with me to put leftover pecans in after I had opened the new bag :-O I put the jar in a warm spot in the VIS to keep it from getting too cold (or frozen as the temperatures dipped below 32 degrees F) and then took it back to Waikoloa with us.

    Saturday morning, March 28: Before we headed down the mountain, however, we had breakfast at HP and talked story of the events and happenings of the long, cold and fascinating night. During this time, the Gecko was safely (al beit, a bit cold…no…make that VERY cold) in our vehicle awaiting the journey back to warmer habitat. The Gecko got cold enough that it went deep into a state of torpor and appeared to have been taxidermied with all four legs in the air – EEEEW! Although I knew of this state of ‘temporary hybernation’, I had never seen any living being actually in the state of torpor before. It worried me because I hadn’t considered what torpor would actually look like. Breathing slows soooo far that it could easily be mistaken for dead.

    Mourning Gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris) awaiting fate.
    Mourning Gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris) awaiting fate.

    Continue reading → Post ID 635


    📂This entry was posted in Astronomy Hawai'i Volunteering 📎and tagged

  • A Feat in Feet Photos :-D

    Posted on by DebC Comment

    The ”Feet” photo was a fun photo to play with. We went to our favorite beach on a relatively ”flat water” day…by the time I got the picture I was after and had a good swim, the waves were breaking high on the sand and soaking a lot of the beach…

    A gentle 'flat to knee' height Surge Morphing to Surf at Beach '69 while we had fun!
    A gentle ‘flat to knee’ height Surge Morphing to Surf at Beach ’69 while we had fun!

    Water has a mind of its own and so I took many, many pictures in the attempt…
    Nope...(but recovering was fun!)
    Nope…(but recovering was fun!)

    Still Nope...
    Still Nope…

    Nope, but getting closer...
    Nope, but getting closer…

    Got It!"...That''s the one!...
    Got It!”…That”s the one!…

    Continue reading → Post ID 635


    📂This entry was posted in Hawai'i Show-N-Tell 📎and tagged

  • OK…Call me slow; but I will eventually get there…

    Posted on by DebC Comment

    Besides…why should I ‘rush’ to my grave?

    First; the not so slow part is that this week’s photo contest is ‘Feet’ at iliveinmycamera and there are oodles of them to gander at.  So many that we may even be looking at another week that is split into two weeks thus giving us a chance to vote twice on the same ‘subject’   So don’t miss your opportunity to vote for your favorite ‘feet’!  I entered my attempt, too!

    Second (and the ‘me slow’ part); On May 8, 2008, AngelAware Tagged me and I missed the rules because I did not visit her site in time and then I didn’t read through her site far enough to see what I was supposed to do     …But now I know what I am to do…

    The Rules for the ‘Three Random Things…’ Tag Game:
    1. Post 3 random things about yourself,
    2. Link to the person who tagged you in your post,
    3. Tag at least five other Bloggers,
    4. Let those Bloggers know that you have tagged them by commenting on their blog with an invitation to participate.

    So here it goes : 

    Three random things about myself that is not already known by Xanganauts;

    1. I LOVE taking pictures!!!!  OK…many of you may have guessed this if you have been visiting my site; but what you may not know is that I got my start in my Photography addiction when I was stationed by the Air Force in England for two years.  I bought my first Film SLR Camera right after I got there and proceeded to take rolls and rolls of Photos…Now, I have my Digital SLR and I take twice as many photos as I used to…but I still get about the same number that are really worthy of sharing
    2. My husband grew up in Portland, Oregon and I grew up in La Grande, Oregon (mind you these towns are all of 5 hours apart); and we met in England while we were both stationed there.  He is the one that spurred my addiction to Photography!  I always knew I would meet my soul mate overseas – I just didn’t know he would have grown up so close to me
    3. MMMMM…  …OH…AND, I got the name Gadget Gypsy because I roam through all the newest Gadgets (computer and electronics) as I can obtain them by honest methods – meaning when I have saved enough from my pay check to purchase them or they have been put on some outstanding sale 

    AngelAware was the Xanganaut that tagged me and I feel privileged to have been included in the game now that I have caught a clue

    As far as tagging five other Bloggers, I only have two true friends on Xanga, so far and one of them is responsible for my playing this game (and I am thrilled to have been thought of)! So, since I am unclear as to whether we can tag the ones who tag us or not, and if I ever get enough friends gathered here, I will finish parts 4 & 5 of this ‘tagging’ in the future…Stay Tuned for this and I hope MUCH more!

    Angel; I hope you are subscribed and reading!

    Mahalo nui loa!
    —  GG


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