Folks PLEASE NOTE: Given the rash of photos that have been appropriated from Flickr, I have changed all of my photos to explicit copyright - none of my photos, in whole or in part, can be reproduced, downloaded, or otherwise used without my express written permission. If you see a photo you like, and you want to use it for any reason at all, please e-mail me and we'll see if we can work it out - I'm pretty flexible. Sorry to do this, but I just want to protect my work.

Additionally, any creative writing associated with my photos, unless otherwise noted, is my own work and is copyrighted as well.

Please, if you should make me a contact, DON'T be offended if I don't do so in return right away. I have less contacts than most here, but it is a large enough number that I have trouble keeping up with everyone's photos. So bear with me please. :-P

03/19/2007 - I really HATE to put this up front in my profile but it is SO IMPORTANT that I plan on leaving this here. I hope you'll actually READ it.

It is a glorious feeling, to share. From the time we are old enough to understand the spoken word, we are taught that we should share. Share our toys, share our food, share our time. Share ourselves. But it is also equally important that we keep ourselves safe as we share.

This fact has been brought to the forefront for me recently. Before you start asking me what happened, let me be clear that it was not a situation which happened TO ME. But I am aware of it, and that is all that I needed.

As many of you know, I tend to keep any photos of my kids private. I just think it's the prudent thing to do, given the climate on the internet today. It's ok to share, but be careful of how much you share - and with whom. I'm not saying that anyone who doesn't do this is "not smart" - we are each responsible for our own decisions, and I have no clue what anyone else's motivations are for the things they do.

But I became aware of some questionable behavior recently; in the back of my mind, I knew it was probably there all the time, but I didn't actually SEE it. Now I have. Someone has been commenting on pics of kids, usually in the pre-teen age group but sometimes toddlers. Comments that on the surface probably seemed innocuous when taken at face value. But the TOTALITY of the comments, and the larger picture if you will of all of the pictures where these comments occurred, caused me some alarm. A basic check on the web turned up some information that made me shudder. Literally.

Now, this person did nothing illegal that I am aware of. I cannot be sure that anything they did violated the Flickr TOS. So, there is apparently not a lot I can do about it. Except BE AWARE OF IT, and take whatever steps I can to safeguard myself.

So I want to give all of you a word of caution that applies to more than just your activities here on Flickr - PAY ATTENTION.

Pay attention to the pictures you have of your kids, particularly the number of views they are getting. Ask yourself "WHY would a picture of my son in his wading pool generate 600 views in a week?".

Protect yourself and your photos. If you don't allow viewers to see all sizes, it should raise a red flag when someone says that the picture of your daughter would be swell if they could see it in large size - WHY would the size make ANY difference to a casual viewer?

As a friend of mine stated most eloquently (so I'll borrow this from her with thanks ;-D):

Be careful what kind of information you give out. Not just in your profile, but in your pictures as well. Location, schedules, teams and the like are things you should be careful about putting up online. Anyone can research that information and get more information on you and your kids then you might potentially like.

Consider making the photos of your kids private, either friends & family or just family. Flickr discourages this kind of thing, because heck this is a site for SHARING your photos. But you have NO IDEA who is on the other end of that innocent avatar. Or how close they may actually be to you, physically.

Lastly, when someone requests that you make them a contact, try CHECKING THEM OUT FIRST. Look at their profiles, their photos, the groups they belong to (this isn't PROOF that they are ok, but it is a basic first step). Check them out on the internet if you can. Do as much as you possibly can to get information, check with contacts you know and trust to see if THEY know this person at all. This isn't a guarantee that they are ok either - I've worked in I/T for "a very long time" and I can't tell you how easy it is to make yourself appear presentable when you're not.

But at least you are doing everything you can. As a professional car thief once said on a program I saw on tv, you can't STOP a determined individual from stealing your car, but you can make it SO DIFFICULT that they'd rather move on to easier pickings. The SAME THING APPLIES TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION AND YOUR KIDS. Don't be the "easier pickings".

We should be happy to share ourselves and our lives - but we should also BE CAREFUL. Today, not being careful can have dire consequences.

Thanks for listening, and please pass this on to all of your friends.

02/22/2007 - A great big THANK YOU to a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous, for giving me a pro account. That was a very kind and generous thing to do, and I appreciate it greatly!

My old camera was a Panasonic DMC-LC20 with a Leica lens. My new camera is a Nikon D40X.

For the curious, BOCTAOE is a Scott Adams construction which stands for "But Of Course There Are Obvious Exceptions", a phrase that I think nicely sums up life.

Thanks to all of you who come and see my photos and leave comments. I am always pleased to have guests, and to hear what you think. If you see something in one of my photos that you think could be done better, by all means leave me a comment. If I have time (and skill enough ;-D) I'll try it out.

Bill S..