Author: David Mathre

I am a scientist by training (Eckerd College, BSc; Caltech, Ph.D.). I worked for 27 years as a Chemist in the Pharmaceutical Industry developing processes to manufacture medicines for human and animal health. I now spend my time as a photographer and world traveler. My interests include the natural world, wildlife, landscapes, sky, and seascapes, travel, and astrophotography. I look for unique ways of viewing the world and presenting my images. I have traveled to over 55 countries in six continents, often on Semester at Sea voyages. While at home in New Jersey, I spend time on home renovation and expansion of a wildflower garden/meadow.

Friday (06-September-2013) — New Jersey

Late Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly on Late Summer Yellow Wildflowers (Bearded Beggarticks?). Near the Pond at Sourland Mountain Preserve in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec).

Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly on Late Summer Yellow Wildflowers (Bearded Beggarticks?). Near the Pond at Sourland Mountain Preserve in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly on Late Summer Yellow Wildflowers (Bearded Beggarticks?). Near the Pond at Sourland Mountain Preserve in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)

Seven-Years Ago (05-September-2006) — Washington

Gone to See America 2006 Driving Tour. Day 11:  Lake Chelan, Washington.

Female Mallard Duck on Lake Chelan in Washington from rear deck of the Lady of the Lake Ferry. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec). I took this image with my first DSLR while driving across the country back in 2006. I really like the catch light in the eye, and the ripples and reflections. This image is one of the reasons that I decided to spend more time with photography.

Female Mallard Duck on Lake Chelan. Image taken with a Nikon D200 and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec). (David J. Mathre)
Female Mallard Duck on Lake Chelan. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec). (David J. Mathre)

Wednesday (04-September-2013) — New Jersey

Late Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Kermit the Bullfrog in a Pond at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera + FT1 + 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec). [FOV Equivalent to ~ 810 mm on a 35 mm image sensor]

Kermit the Bullfrog in a Pond at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 + FT1 + 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec). [FOV Equivalent to ~ 810 mm on a 35 mm image sensor] (David J Mathre)
Kermit the Bullfrog in a Pond at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 + FT1 + 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec). [FOV Equivalent to ~ 810 mm on a 35 mm image sensor] (David J Mathre)

Four-Years Ago (04-September-2009) — Alaska

Gone to See North America Road Trip. Day 14: Anchorage, Alaska.

Silhouette of a Tug and Ship at dusk in the Anchorage Harbor. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 18-200 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/11, 1/50 sec).

Silhouette of a Tug and Ship at Dusk in the Anchorage Harbor. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 18-200 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/11, 1/50 sec). Nikonians ANPAT-9 (David J. Mathre)
Silhouette of a Tug and Ship at Dusk in the Anchorage Harbor. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 18-200 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/11, 1/50 sec). Nikonians ANPAT-9 (David J. Mathre)

Friday (30-August-2013) — New Jersey

Technology: Computers and Cars

After staying the at the Princeton Marriott Residence Inn, I went home and found the power had been restored. Checked the refrigerator, and everything seemed to be OK. Did take some time to reboot the computers and storage disk arrays. While waiting, I dropped off my car for regular service before a trip out west. I also wanted them to check out why my radio and GPS were only working intermittently. When I got home the computers were all running – but did need to run several hours of checking to make sure that the last backups were good. Later in the afternoon I got a call from the Land Rover service department. The problem with the radio and GPS center console was the Bluetooth transmitter (needed for hands free phone). It will only cost $1K to replace. A Bluetooth transmitter that costs $1K??? And if I don’t get it fixed the center console (radio, CD, GPS) don’t work. ARRG!!!

So back to the networking issue with my W700ds computer. I waited until one of the backups was repeated (took overnight). I loaded the PC recovery CD that came with the HP MediaServer (MS Home Server) into the computer, and rebooted. During the reboot, needed to hit the ThinkVantage (blue) button so I could configure the BIOS to boot from the CD/DVD drive. The computer then booted to the CD recovery disk. Unfortunately, it did not recognize the network to the HP MediaServer, and asked for a driver for the network to be loaded via a USB port. I went online with another computer and downloaded the network driver for the computer (both the 64 bit and 32 bit versions) from the Lenovo site and put them onto a USB drive. Moved the USB drive to the computer, but it still didn’t work. If all else fails, read the help. It told me that when the HP MediaServer makes a computer backup that it also copies the drivers that will be needed to restore the computer. All I needed to do was copy that folder onto a USB drive. Since the only computer that I currently have configured to work with the HP MediaServer is the one in question – I needed to reboot and remotely connect to the HP MediaServer. This time when I rebooted, my wireless network started working again. I still want to go through the recover/restore process just to confirm to myself that it does work (and that I have everything I need including the drivers on a USB drive).

The Land Rover folks called back and said that there were still problems with the new Bluetooth transmitter. Possibly a loose connection or shorted wire that they need to track down. So I keep the loaner vehicle over the Labor Day weekend. Too bad that I am not a bit further north as there may be some good aurora displays this weekend.