Shaine Mata Blog

I have not yet had Google+ Communities roll out on my account. Given my experience with Google+, I know it will happen sometime today; they are pretty good at rolling out updates. What I've read so far about the features of Communities, has been helpful; but, the posts don't answer all my questions. Here are the questions: Will Google+ Pages be able to join Communities? I have a couple pages that are very topical; they would benefit from being in Communities regarding those topics.  Will people in your Communities count towards your Circles?  Will the Google+ mobile app have access to communities? How do my photos work with Communities? Some photos, I want to share; but, I don't want them cluttering up my albums.  Will I be able to boot people out? Where do recorded Hangouts go? Will we be able to record Hangouts?

I found these decorations outside an antique shop in town that I discovered when riding around town on my bike. Riding around town in a search grid can provide great photo opportunities and even give you a good sense of your town's history. I've only discovered some neighborhoods around town. Some of the newer ones have nicer homes; but, not much character is worth photographing. It seems that homes used to be an expression of the owner, which has been lost since modern standardization began. The art of having a garden seems to be largely lost too. Too many homes strive to have a good lawn, period. But then, that's what makes finds like this garden such a treat.

There are a lot of places around town that are great photo subjects for black and white. I especially love the older buildings and neglected areas. I think capturing them in black and white evokes some sort of nostalgic feel, even though these places are "contemporary". The old County Commissioner's office in Mission, Texas. The office moved to a newer building out of town some years back. The old building remains vacant.  An old Head Start central kitchen. The county Head Start schools do not have kitchens, they have their food delivered. Hidalgo County Head Start has since then centralized their kitchen.  Bench outside the old County Commissioner's building. It offers seating to visitors who no longer come.  Railroad switch.  Painted-on handicap parking sign on the wall.  Stone angel in a church garden.  Old gas pump near the ruins of a burned down building. 

Getting the right light can be a work of love. I was up and out early in the day to attempt to get the best lighting on these cacti on morning after dropping off my daughter at school. The toughest thing about getting sunrise or sunset light on your subject is that the lighting doesn't last too long. By the time I started to get the hang of shooting, the lighting changed. I've been meaning to go back and reshoot these cacti; but, haven't had a chance. With winter coming on, mornings are later and evenings are earlier. Maybe in the spring.

You would think that after a few days my opinion of the Samsung Chromebook would diminish a bit. I think, if I had unrealistic expectations, that it would. However, knowing that the $249 laptop is essentially a dedicated browser, I have had a few surprises and one disappointment that comes to mind. Let's get the disappointment out of the way. The Bluetooth on my Chromebook sucks. It has difficulty detecting devices; and when it does detect them, it can't connect. It's quite possible that the trouble connecting the Chromebook via Bluetooth is limited to this particular machine. I'm disappointed; but, I'm not so disappointed that I'll get on the phone with Samsung about it. In addition, it seems to shut down sometimes, when I simply close the lid to put it to sleep. The only way I know is when I open it up again and see the white boot up screen.  I suspect that it crashes. However, it's not too big a deal; it boots fast enough that it's not as agg...

I discovered some cool things that may possibly be in the works for the Chromebook over at the Samsung website. Tonight I was going through the Chromebook Central forums to see if anybody has the same Bluetooth problem I have on the Samsung Chromebook. I didn't see any references; but, I did learn that the power adapter is a pain in the butt to find, should you ever lose it. Samsung has a habit of using non-standard connectors for their devices, especially when first released. So, I went over to the Samsung USA website to see if you can just order the power adapter directly. Theoretically, you can; but, it's not available. Same thing in the Google Play store, listed but unavailable. In any case, while browsing through the product page for the Chromebook, I saw a third Chrome device we haven't seen on the market. It looks like an all-in-one desktop Chrome device with its own LCD screen. In the image above, it's the device in the middle. It looks like a swe...

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re a tech geek looking for justification to blow $250 on a new toy, the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook. I can’t tell you that it’s a must buy, or that you should buy something else. So far it meets my needs; I am satisfied. Before going into why I got the Chromebook, let me tell you that what you have heard about it is true. It has a 16 GB hard drive. You can expand storage with an SD card. It’s small and lightweight. It has enough horsepower to run; but, it will chug a bit on steep hills. Battery life is pretty good. It’s silent. No fans or drive noise.   It’s a good computer for $250; it’s not a great computer. My initial reaction was not good. The ads say there’s nothing to set up when you buy a Chromebook. Well, it took about 20 minutes to set up and download updates before I could log in. It also hung up a couple times. Since then, it’s been pretty smooth. As for how I justified to myself why I needed it, here goes. Why I Got...

One morning I arrived a little early at the local chamber of commerce. It was still not open. It just so happened that the morning golden hour was in all its glory. All the plants were beautifully illuminated, even the weeds.  Of course, I used a flash to fill the dark side of the plants. I love how some vegetation just glows at sunrise and sunset. 

I took several shots of this vine as it reaches over from a nearby fence and grabs hold of the coax cable on the house. It is a very thin vine, making it difficult to auto focus. One of the problems with shooting vines with a shallow depth of field is that they meander in and out of focus.  This photo was the only one that I found pleasing enough to post. The camera's display is not that great at showing how good such a little vine photographed. So, now I know that it's best to close down the aperture a bit so that more of the vine stays in focus. 

It's not your typical bridge that is lined with trees on both sides and affords  you an unhindered view of the expressway below. 

I took this photo for the vanishing point; but, the words "Mayoreo" and "Menudeo" always bring back memories of my childhood when my grandmother would take me shopping to downtown McAllen. This was the only place I would see the words at storefronts.

This post is pretty self-explanatory. McAllen Public Works employees were out patching potholes early one morning. That's it. 

These are photos of the return trip from the San Antonio bus depot to the McAllen bus depot.  It's a 4-hour drive that I've taken many times; but, lately, I'd rather take the bus than drive it myself. You can read a book, take a nap, do some web browsing, or just zone out. Let somebody else take the wheel.  Although, if there were a McAllen to San Antonio train, I'd rather ride that. 

Bricks used to have the name of the factory stamped into the clay before they were baked in the kiln. There are people who look for old buildings that are being torn down so that they can collect some of the bricks. Surprisingly, they even write books about the bricks they have found and where they originated.  What is most fascinating about these brick historians, is that they find information about the brick companies, the owners, and what other projects their bricks built. So, it's not entirely the bricks themselves that are fascinating, it's all the peripheral history that they entail. 

This door that is off its hinges rests diagonally across the door frame. I wondered why the door would just be left like that. Surely it would be a security problem.  It turns out that the door is an entrance to a room; but, it's not a big room, more like a closet. Thus, the lack of urgency in fixing the door.  This is an alley-facing wall. 

I took this photo in an alley. What caught my attention was the insane fire escape ladder; but, as I took the photo, I realized that it looked like a face. It wasn't until I was processing and converting to monochrome that I realized that there was a big scar on the face. 

This photo of tables and chairs, besides being about a repeating pattern, has an additional significance to me.  I used to work at a restaurant that used this same model of tables and chairs. The tables are solid, though top heavy; but, the chairs have a tendency to buckle under very heavy people. If you're up over 200 pounds, you do not want to scoot backward or forward. You should lift it and place it where you will sit, and then gingerly sit down.  Rather than slide across the floor under the guidance of a heavy person, the leading leg will tend to catch on something and then bend. Anybody that heavy will not hit the floor gracefully. It's quite a scene. 

A shop owner should not have to put this sign up. 

I had the need to park at a garage in downtown McAllen a couple weeks back. I've always meant to go up to the top to photograph whatever I see from there; but, I never made the time.  Well, this time would be no different. However, I did take advantage of being there to shoot some photos of what I was able to see. There are two types of photos you get, looking down at rooftops or off to the horizon, and lots of lines.  Shooting pics of rows of parked cars isn't really all that appealing to me, visually. However, there are pipes, fixtures, signs, paint, and all manner of objects in a parking garage that catch your attention. I got one photo of the stairwell. In retrospect, the stairs may be visually rich for photographing; and, I imagine they also make for a good, well-lit location to photograph a model.  Perhaps not all parking garages have the same appeal; I've seen some that just aren't attractive at all. But, if you're lucky, you might have a nice on...

My father-in-law has a green thumb and he lives in an area with moist soil. Through most of the year there is something blooming in his yard. Except for the occasional winter frost, there is always something in season.  When it comes to taking photos, it's fun to go visit my in-laws just for the variety of vegetation. On his small property, he has a lemon tree, a lime tree, orange tree, mandarin orange tree, pecan tree, peach tree, oak tree, and some variety of banana tree. I think his grapefruit tree died. And, then there are a bunch of other plants I couldn't identify.  On occasion, he'll plant peppers, onions, and other produce. In addition, he'll plant flowers and other plants for my mother-in-law. It is interesting that such a small plot of land can be so fertile.  Pecans Key lime from very close.