tdierikx

Cuteness overload!!! T.

... and this couldn't have been done PRIOR to the dog being adopted from the RSPCA and going through months of specialised training? Seriously, they had a dog that was showing great promise as a working dog, and based only upon what it looked like, it had to be destroyed? Beggars belief! T.

Technically I don't sell my photos... I donate them to the parks I visit... and I have annual passes for each of those parks with receipts of purchase. All other perks I get can be put down to being a regular visitor and forming friendships with staff, etc... yes? I'm not an "official" photographer for any of them, just more of an avid fan... *grin* As for the shoulder, it's coming along nicely, but I had a bit of a worry with a rather nasty pain about mid-humerus yesterday afternoon, so took myself down to the hospital for an x-ray just in case there might have been a crack or whatnot... x-rays showed no breaks, so doctor reckons it's a torn triceps muscle or triceps tendon and says not to do the movements that hurt it... no shit sherlock! X-rays showed that my physio has done a ripper job of putting my shoulder back into place, and that it should be just fine in a couple of weeks or so. The muscle/tendon problem... a bit longer than that... *sigh* Nothing is stopping me visiting Symbio and Featherdale again this weekend... lol! T.

Knowing you and Takoda... those words are completely the best fit ever Rach... T.

Note they used physical traits to condemn this dog... not behavioural traits... *sigh* T.

So the dog was performing well with it's training... and they killed it because it looked like a particular "type" of dog? The world has gone mad... *sigh* T.

The babies get to grow up and then if there are too many for the area they have at Symbio, they go to other zoos/sanctuaries. All are raised pretty tame, so they haven't been hard to place to date... *grin* T.

The emus have eggs right now too perse... can't wait to see how many hatch. Baby emus are the cutest! T.

Canon based furums... http://photography-on-the.net/forum/ They have some good pinned threads... like this one... http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=414088 T.

OK... this is what I was greeted by when I arrived at the tiger exhibit first thing in the morning... pre falling over... my babies vying for some attention by being stunningly gorgeous! Jalur was first... 28-06-2014-symbio 011 by tdierikx, on Flickr Then Cinta wasn't going to be outdone by her brother in the "I pose cute" stakes... 28-06-2014-symbio 017 by tdierikx, on Flickr Then Jalur decided to be even more gorgeous, if a little close to the fence for my liking... grrr! 28-06-2014-symbio 064 by tdierikx, on Flickr There are no photos of them rubbing up against the fence and chuffing with me... I was too busy returning the loves and chuffing back, OK? ... and here is what I had to pat prior to falling over... photo taken about 5 mins post fall... I think the lens is working just fine, yes? 28-06-2014-symbio 110 by tdierikx, on Flickr The kids put on a show during lunch... 28-06-2014-symbio 339 by tdierikx, on Flickr ... and Kato showed that there's life in the old boy yet! 28-06-2014-symbio 448 by tdierikx, on Flickr 28-06-2014-symbio 482 by tdierikx, on Flickr I can fully attest to the durability of the Canon white lenses now, OK? T.

The tape on my shoulder has come loose - getting it re-strapped this arvo... and a few other interesting pains coming from deep inside the arm further down have decided to show themselves - do you think I may have cracked something in there? I'll see what the physio says about them after some prodding... still able to use the arm just fine, it just hurts a bit when I make certain movements. T.

My dad used to like to refer to our mongrel farm dog as a "Labrador"... just because his mum looked like one didn't make poor old Goose one though... pure mongrel he was... lol! I refer to Pickles as a "camp dog" - basically because she IS a camp dog... born in an Aboriginal camp in the middle of the Northern Territory. People then still persist in asking what "breed" she is... and the general reply is "pick one, it's probably in there somewhere"... picking only 2 "breeds" to mix for her microchip was fun... NOT! I think we put ACDxWhippet - as that's what she actually most resembles. T.

Hopefully should have some photos happening this evening... have sorted them and deleted the crap ones - now just have to pick my faves to share... T.

I think that the fact that I have chronic nerve pain stemming from my spinal lesion issue might have made me a bit more robust when it comes to other pains? After I fell over, I spent another 5 hours wandering around Symbio carrying my camera and back pack... then spent all of Sunday doing the same at Featherdale... then 2 days at work doing all the normal things there before I decided to see someone about the fact that it wasn't feeling any better... lol! Feels so much better this morning now it's back in the right place and taped up for extra stability... feels more like a deep bruise now and has a bit more range of movement before the pulled tendons tell me to take it easy... *grin* On the upside, going through the photos taken after the fall onto the lens, they actually look better than when I had the filter on... that extra piece of glass is a great saviour when you fall, but it does affect the far end focusing somewhat, especially if you are shooting through angled glass as well as the filter. T.

I met a young couple who had adopted a staffy cross from the pound the other day - they said he was 40kgs... I'd say closer to 20kgs actually... lol! He was a sweetie who gave aweome kisses though, so I didn't really care that his owners wanted to talk up his size... lol! T.

Oh, and I called my insurance company this morning and added specified cover for the camera and lens - also adjusted replacement value on the house from unlimited to a figure I could build a comfortable replacement house for, and they actually owe me money now... coolies! T.

Well - shoulder was bugging me still, so I took myself off to the physio... partial dislocation and a couple of very upset tendons is the cause apparently. Shoulder has been realigned and taped, and feels somewhat better than before... lol! My physio reckons I have the highest pain threshold she's ever seen... apparently I should have been screaming in pain for the past couple of days... errr! I knew it felt "wrong", but who woulda thunk it was dislocated? She put me in front of the mirror and told me to look at how "out" it was even! (It did look pretty ugly actually) Well - now it's back where it should be and should start feeling much better soon... lol! T.

I supposedly have wooden floors, but at the moment you'd think it was wall-to-wall carpeted... my dogs shed all year round... grrr! T.

Harper can't wait to get into her crate of an evening... she has warm snugglies in there! Sometimes it's hard to get her to come out of a morning also... T.

I had a rotti boy who was 47 kilos... and that's a heck of a lot of dog! He was actually lean at that weight. Some rotti owners like to exaggerate the weight of their dogs for some reason though... my boy was plenty huge at 47 kgs... and at 43kgs he looked too thin... One of the guys at work says his rotti is 65kgs - and it's now 7 and has arthritis. He's looking into stem cell treatment to help the arthritis, so I helpfully suggested that trimming the dog down in weight will help a lot also... *grin* (his dog is FAT - I've seen photos) T.

I'm a firm believer in punishment fitting the crime when it comes to animal cruelty cases... just sayin'... T.

Well - seeing as I can't afford the cost of a service on the lens, let alone a repair job... I'm just going to suck it up and live with the slightly sticky zoom movement and small scratches on the front element. Add to that the absolutely shitful after sales service from Canon... I live a 30 min drive from their repair shop, yet they insist on me shipping the thing to them, then waiting 2 weeks for them to produce a quote for any work that needs doing... and then they can't give any idea of timeframe to actually repair the thing (I asked how long after approval of quote would they start the work - answer was "depends how many other things there are to fix in front of yours"... WTF?). Does any bloody manufacturer actually deal face to face with people any more? I'll get another filter as soon as I can afford one... *sigh* Meantime, I'll have to be extra careful where I put my feet, so I don't fall over again. I'll also call the insurance company and see about specified extras cover on my home and contents insurance - that way at least if I fall on the lens again and really break it, I'll have some cash to replace it with. T.

I have extras cover on my home and contents that covers up to $1000 on unspecified items CC... might have to look at specifying the $3000+ all the camera equipment is actually worth, yes? Anyways, rang Digital Camera Warehouse this morning, and they said I have to deal directly with Canon as it's not a warranty case... grrr! Rang Canon, and they don't have anywhere I can physically take the thing to be looked at - have to ship it to them (a Sydney address no less) then wait 2 weeks for them to even come up with a quote for any repairs... but they did finally tell me that the minimum cost would be upwards of $300 for just a service... aarrgghh! I'm in half a mind to just leave as is and cope with the slightly sticky far end zoom movement. T.

I have a history of the right bicep tendon getting trapped... and my physio is a goddess who "pops" it back for me on a pretty regular basis. This is feeling more like it's been overstretched/jarred - the arm in question was holding the camera at the time of injury, so the bicep was contracted when I hit the elbow on the hard ground. It seems to be getting a little bit better so far. Yesterday was better than the first day, and today is a little better than yesterday. If it's still stiff tomorrow, I'll have my physio look into it. Last night I slept on that side and it didn't hurt enough to switch over to the other side like it had the night before. I'm a bit miffed that the bruise that was threatening on the elbow hasn't come out though... it looks much happier than the other day. T.

Went to Featherdale today and used the lens... yep - still seems to be focusing just fine and taking nice photos for me... Still sticky for the finer zoom adjustments though... *sigh*... amazing what you can get used to in a short period of time though... lol! Feeling a bit stiff this evening across the shoulders and upper back, but nothing seriously hurting enough to think about seeing my physio for. The bicep and tendon running up to the shoulder are not overly happy with me making any movement except those needed to take photos... funny that! Ummm - getting a photo of my elbow is gonna be tricky. It's in a spot that I can't actually see, and I have a nice bandaid on it to stop it leaking blood - it's right on the point of the elbow, and whenever I move it opens and closes. Might have to wait until it's healed up a bit more before I start trying to work out how to get a photo of it. T.