My Konica T3

that is not going to get the job done…

I recently brought out my old Konica Autoreflex T3 to see if it was still in good working condition. It was passed down to me from my Father and I remember that he used it a lot with great results. I found all of the original manuals for it and as well as all the accessories, including 35mm, 50mm and 135mm lenses. So I decided to take it down to the local camera shop to replace the battery in it and pick up a roll of film for testing purposes. I soon discovered, after replacing the battery that there was an issue with the built in exposure meter. It just wasn’t working, which is ok if you have a hand held meter and know how to use it. Well, I do have one but really don’t know what I’m doing with it. So, I went ahead and loaded up some 200 in it and started to take some shots with it. More problems! There is something wrong with the film advance or the shutter getting hung up. It will take a complete shot and then when I advance the film, it seems like the shutter is stuck and I have to bump the camera to get it to release. So, one good shoot and then a wasted shot. I’m pretty sure that when I pickup the prints they won’t be pretty.

So, with all that said, I have decided to scrap the idea of having it worked on and will probably buy a new digital to replace it. I just don’t know what to buy. I have looked at several that are 8 megapixel or higher and they seem to priced between 300.00 and 500.00 but I just don’t know which way to go. If any of you have a suggestion, please let me know. Any input would be appreciated.

All for now…

KJ

Sweet Onion Festival 2008

downtown Walla Walla, WA

Headed to the Sweet Onion Festival last night and had a great time. I picked up M after work and went downtown to watch the show. The Coyote Kings went on stage around 6:30 and sounded great as always. Just thought I’d better make a quick post so you can see the pics. Had a really good time. There were a lot of people, some I hadn’t seen in years. The elusive Caddy even stopped by for a quick peek. Left from the venue around 11:00 after listening to Lloyd Jones Struggle play for a while. Went up to the P&E for a few drinks and ended up at the Barn Disease before heading home around 1:00 this morning. Good times.

Woke up this morning and took Momsie on a store run as my cousin Cathy is coming into town and will be staying for a few days. She actually just showed up a little while ago. Always nice to see her and I think we might go out to dinner tonight. She is about the last of my family that I really know, so it’s good that she keeps in touch with us. I’ll try to get a pic of her for you all to see.

And that’s about all I have for now…

KJ

A little foggy

perhaps it was the wine…

I went to Sapolil Cellars last night to watch Mush and The Coyote Kings play. As always, they sounded awesome. I never get tired of hearing them play. They started around 7:30 and ran ’til 10:30 or so. I sampled some more of the 2004 Syrah. Well, actually a couple of bottles. lol Hey, I shared! It’s really good. Mush and I left around 11:00 and ran into Becca and Dom who were actually coming to see us, so we headed up to the P&E for a couple of drinks as it was B’s birthday. I switched to water at that point and we hung there for an hour or so before hitting the Taco Hell. Yes, Taco Hell. So damn good but hurts so bad. We drove our little bag of horror home and ate it right in the driveway before going in to pass out.

It was about 1:30 by that time and the alarm clock went off way too early. Mush got to sleep in but I had to drag my ass out of bed and go to work. The first couple hours of the day were foggy to say the least but I managed to pull though as always.

Tonight I’ll be downtown at the Sweet Onion Festival for round two of Mush and The Coyote Kings. They will be playing at 6:30 tonight. I think I’ll pass on the wine though.

All for now…

KJ

The Awkening

and the Monza is back…

Yesterday, I decided to go ahead and fire up my ‘75 Monza again. It’s been sitting in my driveway just begging to be played with, or sold. So, I gave in and slapped a new battery in it, gave it some fresh fuel and fired it up. Ahhhhh, that sound! It just sat there at a low idle, loping as always and shaking the windows in the house, as well as the neighbors. lol I gave it 15 minutes of warm up and eased it down to the service station for more fuel and air in the tires. Took it back to the house and cleaned the engine compartment up a bit and made sure that it was still mechanically sound. All was well, it was ready to romp. Well, except for current tags.

I absolutely love to drive this car! It’s cocky as hell and rather obnoxious to drive around town with it’s loud exhaust, 4 speed and short gears. It’s very hard to keep my foot out of it, believe me, it wants to be stood on. Every time I want to sell it, I fall in love with it all over again. It’s just too damn fun.

So, it’s road-ready and needs a good detailing. I may sell it, I may not. But for now, I’m gonna put some tags on it and go from there. Just glad to have it back on the road.

KJ

Morning

it’s Monday again and too damn early…

Just thought I’d get you all caught up after a exciting weekend. I went to the Ritzville Blues Festival on Saturday with M and the Coyote Kings. I took massive pics of the event that you can see here. I had a fucking blast! There were lots of people, bands, food, drinks and the weather was hot. All in all, it was a great venue. Lots of fun for everyone.

I pretty much spent all of Sunday with M recuperating. Just lounged around the house and rested our bones. It’s Monday morning now and I have a few things to do so I’m making this short. Having a cup of coffee and I’m about to go borrow my brother-in-laws lawn mower as mine took a shit last week. I’d better get my ass in gear as it’s going to be a hot one today.

Take care

KJ

Twisted Tales: Installment 1

‘The Call’

One evening, back in 1990, I was sitting in my apartment watching Late Night with David Letterman when the phone rang.

Fido was a good friend of mine. I had known him for several years and considered him a close friend. He was one of those rough-and-tough guys that could kick the shit out of just about anyone. I don’t think I could have taken him on my best day. He had come home from the bar and was totally trashed, really depressed, and decided to call me. He always seemed to confide in me for some reason. Maybe because I would just listen, or maybe because I would give an honest opinion about things; I’m not sure. None the less, he made the call that evening and I was there.

He started carrying on about how his ex-girlfriend was being a total bitch to him at the bar and how he hated his life. The dude was wasted, so at first I didn’t really take him too seriously. Besides, I’d heard all of this before over the years. He just basically hated life and all that was going on in it at that particular moment. He wanted me to come over and hang out but I didn’t really want to at 1:30 in the morning. He only lived about 2 blocks from me and I could easily walk over and let him rant, but I thought that he would just vent on me and then pass out.

As the call continued, I started to get a weird vibe. You know the one: the “I’m gonna off myself” vibe. He didn’t come right out and say it but I could tell where he was going with all of the ranting. I can read between the lines pretty well and I’d heard this type of talk from him in the past. I never took it too seriously though, so I figured that this was nothing to really worry about.

However, the vibe was there and it was much stronger than ever before.

I told him that I really didn’t want to get up and walk over there, and that he’d probably feel much better in the morning once the booze had worn off. He pissed and moaned a little more and finally hung up, mumbling something under his breath about how good a friend I was.

I sat back, lit a smoke and exhaled. My mind began to race. Was this really a cry for help? Was he really thinking about suicide? Was he serious? Read the rest of this entry »