If you want to share photos and manage your photos from #Google+ circles, then #Picasa might still be for you. The new system opens possibilities, especially when communicating with groups. If I were to use it for anything in the future it will be to communicate with my circles and specific interest groups; however, I will only store the photos needed rather than all of my galleries. For the remainder of my photos, I have switched to Flicker, and am building a private gallery on my website for future use. #Bye-bye #Picasa. For my use, #Flicker has more options for control and Web distribution than #Google+, not to mention a professional option.

Like the majority of those upset over the changes to Picasa on Googlesystem.blogspot, I too am very disappointed. Had I known such drastic changes were intended I could have made other choices. I made a fatal assumption believing Google would continue to improve Picasa as a photo management tool. As in all free services however, one must consider changes from a perspective of “how the company will benefit,” as opposed to “how the change will help the customer.” And change is always a possiblility, especially with Google. This leads one to wonder about the future of cloud computing and file management. How will other companies conduct business on the internet? If Google’s conduct is any measure, I caution everyone to remember, especially with “free” services, you get what you pay for. Caveat emptor!

Aside from Flicker, other photo-managing software is available from #StudioLine and #Pictmio for PC users, while Mac aficionados may achieve similar results with #iPhoto, #Aperture, & #Lightroom, or with freeware from #Photonator and similar programs. If you want to store your photos online, most of the software programs listed here will allow uploads to your Website in the form of Web-compatible albums. If you don’t have a Website, I believe free web-hosting services and development tools are available from providers like “www.000webhost.com,” and GeoCities (I am not affiliated with any of the companies or products mentioned). There are many more sites offering free hosting, although the advertised storage and bandwidth for free accounts is limited. I noticed www.000webhost.com boasts 1.5 GB of free disk space, enough for several thousand 500K image files. If you’re storing your entire photo collection of original files online you may need considerably more disk space.

Read the post thread for yourself at Google System Blogspot. Comments and information about popular online photo-management systems would be appreciated.

* TFL (TriCare for Life) is a Medicare Supplement Plan that retired service-members receive as part of their retirement benefits. When planning for retirement one must at least factor-in the costs of medical care, return on your 401k accounts or other passive or investment income, along with ones retirement stipend. Contrary to some popular views, the military retirement stipend is, in the majority of cases, not enough by itself on which to subsist.

Fueled by hors d’oeuvres with added octane from Jan’s pomegranate martinis the festive event began rolling about 5 p.m., as guests arrived with their specialty dishes and gag-gift contributions for Desert Song’s version of the White Elephant Gift Exchange. A great time was had by all and judging by the gift selection, or lack thereof, next year’s party could produce the re-emergence of a heretofore historic Gnome-type visitor–I’m just sayin’. For you insiders, this may give pause for reflection regarding your selection of your next gift. But, by this time next year most will have forgotten about this warning, and it will be FUN as usual at the Markus hacienda. You won’t want to miss the pictures of the event either, taken by none other than yours truly.

Help get the word out! This needs to be a topic of conversation for the general public. While Big Oil can spend Big$$$$ on advertising, i.e., Athabasca Oil Sands (Shell), little information reaches the average consumer on issues which have the potential for an equal impact; I’m talking jobs at the same time. Think about it! Every individual home in the country can generate some renewable power, and for an initial investment of less than one-dollar per watt, everyone can be working together–silently–to reduce the need for fossil-fuel-generated power. Can you imagine each and every individuals’ home or apartment connected and contributing to the power grid. Just like the Internet–the country would become much more energy interdependent. We could drastically reduce our collective demand on public utilities; our carbon footprint notwithstanding. It’s already late, but I see a need for R&D in the areas of energy storage and an improved infrastructure for energy distribution and managment. Let me know what you think.

Happy Holidays – Bob Hanshaw Photography

We arrived at the Balloon Classic around 5:30 p.m., while mother nature was displaying an amazing array of fire-red colors while the Sun began to drop below horizon. Turning left after the I-10 exit to the Wild Horse Pass Casino, we could see the lanes ahead were blocked, leaving left-turn only as our next move. After about 15 minutes, we realized we were in a cache of cars going absolutely…NOWHERE. With no other immediate options available, we tried our best to take pictures from the vehicle, which–in the end–turned out to be quite gratifying, despite our ultimate disappointment with the overall event management (from a spectator’s point of view). Another 15 minutes passes when we spot a gentleman walking the road between the two lanes of traffic bound for the parking lot. When asked if he knew what the hold-up was, he said “…it’s going to be another 45 minutes or more before you’ll get to the parking lot: we were already late for the opening of the evening program.

Another 15 minutes and 100 yards down the road we gained access to a turnout leading back from where we started. We turned around, but instead of leaving the facility, we drove to the casino’s four-story parking lot about a half-mile away. On the top floor of the parking lot we discovered a nice view of the Balloon field and the site for the evening’s planned fireworks. While it didn’t cost the advertised $10 per-head cover at the main venue, we got a bird’s-eye view of the evening glow, illuminated sky divers (with American Flag-type parachutes), and a glimpse of the fireworks. You can see the photos (or lack thereof) on my Picasa Album.

The firework display lasted almost 15 minutes. The “Evening Glow” was seemingly disorganized with only four balloons glowing for the majority of the time, and two joining much later in the evening. Several attempts by the announcer to “count down” so that all balloons would simultaneously “Glow” failed, so I, along with other displaced spectators, felt the Arizona Balloon Classic was, although a start, a failed attempt to gain anything close to parity with New Mexico’s annual event. Although disappointed, we remain optimistic regarding the future. Surely, there is talent available here in the Phoenix area capable of planning and executing an event worthy of the title “Arizona Balloon Classic.”