Technical Difficulties
So yesterday afternoon, just as I was snatching my second-to-last skull, I go to push the button to take a picture, and I hear a very loud, "POP!"
Not a good sound.
I tried to take another photo, but - nothing. The camera snapped a picture, but no flash, um, flashed. The shapecam has a regular Canon Speedlite 550 EX flash (for you photography folks), and this is attached to the particular apparatus that holds the grid pattern I've shown most of you at some point in time. When I take a picture, this flash projects this grid on to the skull I'm photographing. I had a feeling the bulb in the flash broke, so I removed it and looked inside, and, sure enough, bulb gone boom.
I was wondering when something was going to break on this trip, and I was kind of surprised that nothing had gone wrong yet, to tell you the truth. We tried to see if the bulb could be replaced here in Turin, but it has to be done by a specialized Canon replacer person (or something like that ;) A new flash would have cost over 500 Euros, so - no to that, too. Now, if I had listened to Dan in the first place, as he so rightly pointed out to me yesterday, and brought an extra flash with me, this wouldn't pose a problem. But I didn't. I will always listen to Daniel in the future. (You see that, Dan? I've put it in writing. On the web! For all to see!)
But all is not lost :) A replacement is being shipped (again, thanks to Dan & Ben) to my hotel in Burgos (my next stop), and it will hopefully arrive in time for me to start working again next week. Even if it arrives a day or two after I was originally scheduled to start, it'll be ok. There'll still be time. Phew. (But keep some fingers crossed for me anyways, ok?)
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Actually, keep your fingers crossed that I make it to Burgos in time. I just spent the last couple hours in the Torino train station, going back & forth from different information offices & ticket booths. It's going to take me over 24 hrs to get to Burgos from here. I need to make reservations for two of the four (hopefully just four) trains I need to take, but they could only give me a reservation here for one of them. Great. So now I'm going to have less than 1 hr, once I reach Nice tomorrow, to change trains and get a reservation for the night train I need to catch to Spain. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but there were huge line ups every single time I was in the Nice train station last week. Fantastic. Cross whatever you can, please.
posted by Jodi @ 5:39 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh nooooooooooooo. Sometimes I hear things go "pop" or "snap" while I am running. Hopefully the Shape-Cam heals quicker than my IT band.
Good luck with your 24-hour traveling odyssey.
Ah, your excellent adventure is taking a hairy turn for the moment...don't worry, all will be well. Sounds like you have a couple of guardian angels in Beckman watching over you. I also predict that the train stuff will work itself out, but not befor you get good and freaked out. Bound to happen sooner or later I guess! But don't worry Jer! Since I'm right on the east coast, I'm sending positive vibes right across the Atlantic and they should be reaching you...now! :)
Jer
martin, you can uncross now, and jer, your vibes arrived! Thanks, guys. After over 32 hours of train travel, I've made it to Burgos :) After worrying about having enough time to catch my train in Nice, I got the smart idea of just taking an earlier train and arriving in Nice earlier. Yeah, that's right, bow down to my brilliance. Me so smrt.
The flash has also arrived, but it's tied up in Spanish customs. I arrived to late to call, so hopefully all will be settled tomorrow. Actually, El Negro, could you just keep a few things crossed just in case? Gracias.
A, it was a long way to go. And for just one fossil. But it was all worth it once I saw my hotel room. Happy happy happy. Well, tired, smelling like train, and hungry. But happy.
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