Marigold flower unopened

Marigold flower unopened, originally uploaded by Otto Phokus.

It's amazing what pictures people like, you can't even guess it right, you just have to put up your best, and a lot of variety, and see what takes off. I happen to like this one, the bokah, blur, and colors of this picture; and someone else marked it as a favorite too.

Favorite things discontinued - And some New Things

I was going to order another vacuum coffee maker this weekend, either the 5 cup model, or another 10 cup model, but Bodem-Santos has discontinued the electric vacuum coffee maker. The stove top model won't work for me. The electric model has a timer, and is nicely compact, works great. It is even a form of entertainment watching the coffee brew through the clear plastic. The steam produced by the heated water in the bottom pushes the heated water up into the top where it mixes with the coffee grounds and boils, then when the heat is off, it all comes back down into the bottom again, ready to drink. Hot! 196 degrees at least. That is just one of the 3 or 4 items in the last month that I tried to get that is now discontinued. I am on a roll here.
I am going out car shopping tomorrow. My little 4 wheel drive is now in it 9th year, and I think it needs to be driven less for it to last me a few more years. I was hoping to wait about 2 more years to get another car, but tomorrow might be the day.
Another Suzuki for me. Either the SX4 Sport ( good financing till 9/30) or the SX4 Crossover.
The picutures here are of a pine cone in the drive way, looks sort of interesting/abstract maybe, and the wasp on the yellow flower is one of my favorites.

Lensbaby came out with some new SLR Lenses today;

"THREE LENSES,INFINITE POSSIBILITIES
No two eyes are exactly the same – especially when they belong to an artist who sees for a living. Given these infinite possibilities, Lensbaby offers three distinctly different lens bodies for different types of shooters. Each lens gets you to the same place: a Sweet Spot of sharp focus surrounded by graduated blur. But each one gets you there in a way that reflects your individual personality and shooting style. Are you fast and loose? Smooth and precise? Methodical and step-by-step? Your first decision is: which Lensbaby has your name on it?"

I think the Lensbaby Composer has my name on it....

Smiling Yellow Jacket

Another picture from my album on Photrade. I will have to figure out how to make thumb nails of previous pictures, and I want to add a few more gadgets to the blog, but for now I have to get ready for my real day job!