Digital Camera Care
After spending money on a quality digital camera, it is important to take the time to maintain it properly. Your camera will last much longer if you take preventative measures to keep it in the best condition.
The most important, and delicate, component of your digital camera is the camera lens. This serves as your window to the world, and once scratched it will require professional intervention to fix. For this reason, it is imperative that you protect the lens. First of all, when you are not taking photos your lens cap should always be on to keep the lens clean. Do not touch the lens directly with your finger. The oils left behind by your skin will be difficult to remove, making the view blurry at best. If your lens should get dusty or dirty, use a cleaner and cloth made specifically for cleaning camera lenses.
The body of your camera should also be kept clean and free of debris. Keep the camera in a case or pouch when not in use. If it should get dirty, wipe it down with a soft dry cloth. If you camera has an LCD panel, it is acceptable to breath lightly on it to add slight bit of moisture before wiping it down with a soft cloth.
Digital cameras should be kept dry. Most cameras are not waterproof, and should not be in situations where they could be submerged in liquid or even splashed. If your camera should get wet, it is a good idea to turn it off, remove the battery, and remove the memory card. Leave the camera out to air dry for one to two days. At that time if the camera is not functioning properly you will need to contact a professional repair company or the manufacturer for advice.
In general, your camera will do best if stored in mild, dry conditions. Extreme temperatures can be damaging so try not to leave your camera in your car or any super sunny locations. Another good idea is to save the silica gel packets that come with many purchases to prevent moisture damage, and place them in the drawer or container where your camera is stored. If you plan to store your camera for a long period of time without use, you should first remove the battery from the camera. This precaution will prevent damage in case the battery should leak.
Finally, if you are planning to take photos in a location where you believe there will be a higher risk of damage from water or soil or other conditions purchase a disposable camera and leave your digital at home. Better safe than sorry
Even the Gods Laugh: How Humor Becomes Transformational
Most of our lives have become caught up in the dizzying stress, anxiety and self-created drama of the fast paced, twenty-first century. It was slower back in the 14th Century; I miss those days. Just the story of being a member of the human race can make you terminally depressed and confused. It may be inevitable that everyone on Earth is challenged by negativity in life; but it is far from inevitable that we have to keep the soap opera going. Besides breathing, humor and laughter are the simplest and most natural paths to joy and when embraced a powerful transformation takes place. With intention, this change leads to healing and freedom in unexpected ways. Here are some pointers:
Stage One: Questioning Your Beliefs
I define humor as “a break with consensus reality” or, what you think is happening, isn't. Each of us has a belief system that has been imposed on us right from birth and those beliefs either affirm or deny our power. You can bet that consensus reality (parents, TV, radio, news, politicians, etc) is not about to affirm that we are Infinite Love in form. We are constantly reminded that we're victims, helpless worms of the dust and in dire need of Viagra. We're not, not even close!
Stage Two: Healing
Scientists and doctors have documented research that humor and laughter are beneficial for the body. Norman Cousins, while ill with a severe connective tissue disease, was the first to write a bestseller about the healing power of humor. He was able to document how watching Candid Camera and the Marx Brothers allowed him to significantly decrease his physical pain with laughter. It was later discovered that laughter also massages the organs, builds the immune system with beneficial hormones, releases mood-elevating endorphins and lowers blood pressure. What a wonderful and legal way to get high! Just laugh. See the absurdity of what we all take seriously, especially what YOU personally take seriously. Just how important is it? Since we all die, (more or less), put it in perspective. Somebody famous said, "There is not one shred of evidence that life is serious" and I seriously agree with that. What good does it do to feel bad, depressed or guilty? You don't have to, you've been taught to. There is nothing we have to learn. THERE IS A LOT WE HAVE TO UNLEARN.
Stage Three: Uncovering Who You Really Are
This three dimensional world is only part of who we are. At our core we are infinite love. Once we shift out of every day reality to see our own magnificence and experience the joy of living in the present moment that laughter initiates, we can release the beliefs, which keep us from living spontaneously. According to professor of psychiatry William Fry, M.D., at Stanford University Medical School, the average child in kindergarten laughs 300 times a day while adults only laugh approximately 17 times each day. (Are we crabby, or what!) This is why children have more imagination and heal faster than adults. Children live free until taught shame and guilt; reclaiming your childlike energy is the key to transformation.
Let yourself giggle as an expression of your own freedom or better yet, double over with laughter. Ah, but I can hear you saying: what about all the awful stuff that happens? What I'm talking about is a MAJOR SHIFT in your thinking. Imagine for one moment, that millions of people on the planet believed laughter is the best medicine and all at once we started to laugh. Go ahead......start now...giggle, chuckle, gafaw right now. Laughter is contagious and others will catch it and begin laughing too; then another and another. Can you feel what that would be like? Can you feel the potential, the release, the love and joy that would envelope the entire planet? Anything is possible, anything. “Even the gods love jokes,” said Plato. That is because the Cosmic Cookie knows the importance and power of laughter. Nature invented it for a reason. Humor and laughter are sacred, they are the Universal keys to the unexpected joy of release and the inspiration of new perspectives. Once you have unlocked this door your life will never be the same. To experience more humor as a gift from Spirit please visit
