Back left: Chris, Rena, Tambri, Cassie
Front Left: Chris' daughter Samantha, me, Nannette
"Tied together by stuff too difficult to explain to someone new"
Friday, October 12, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
RAM & Rawhide
Good morning! I woke up this morning to find my computer won't boot up. Good buddy Don is going to help me troubleshoot that when I get back from Jazzercise. One of the first things he said was, "there was a Windows update yesterday that messed up a bunch of computers."
Yippee.
Of course, mine won't even boot up to let me back out of the update. Might be a RAM chip. My computer loves to eat RAM. Much like the puppy loves to eat rawhide strips. The computer takes its' time, though. About a year per chip. Bear can eat a rawhide strip in 3 minutes flat.
I'm starting to have some serious doubts about jumping into this 365 group on Flickr. This is the challenge to do self-portraits every day for 365 days. I'm up to day 5 and running out of ideas. Actually, I can get ideas, but they are rather uninspiring when you I look at what the others are doing. If I gut this out, the project should really boost my creativity. And Photoshop skills. Last night I took a photo of myself sitting on our patio in my shorts and tank reading about Thanksgiving dinner in Fine Cooking magazine. After I finally shot one that didn't make my neck look like I was 80 years old, I loaded it up and found a stick coming out of my head! Well, not actually coming out, but the vine behind me looked made it look like that. So I loaded it up into Photoshop and figured out how to used the clone stamp to erase it out of there. It worked great! I think I'll go back to a cemetery photo I shot this summer and try erasing some power lines from it.
So. Today will be computer repair day. And maybe cleaning bathrooms day. And I'll work on my camera. I can't give you any photos right now, I'm on the guy's computer and the filter blocks images from Flickr.
Have a good day!
Yippee.
Of course, mine won't even boot up to let me back out of the update. Might be a RAM chip. My computer loves to eat RAM. Much like the puppy loves to eat rawhide strips. The computer takes its' time, though. About a year per chip. Bear can eat a rawhide strip in 3 minutes flat.
I'm starting to have some serious doubts about jumping into this 365 group on Flickr. This is the challenge to do self-portraits every day for 365 days. I'm up to day 5 and running out of ideas. Actually, I can get ideas, but they are rather uninspiring when you I look at what the others are doing. If I gut this out, the project should really boost my creativity. And Photoshop skills. Last night I took a photo of myself sitting on our patio in my shorts and tank reading about Thanksgiving dinner in Fine Cooking magazine. After I finally shot one that didn't make my neck look like I was 80 years old, I loaded it up and found a stick coming out of my head! Well, not actually coming out, but the vine behind me looked made it look like that. So I loaded it up into Photoshop and figured out how to used the clone stamp to erase it out of there. It worked great! I think I'll go back to a cemetery photo I shot this summer and try erasing some power lines from it.
So. Today will be computer repair day. And maybe cleaning bathrooms day. And I'll work on my camera. I can't give you any photos right now, I'm on the guy's computer and the filter blocks images from Flickr.
Have a good day!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
I Won't Say I'm Getting Old. I Hate It When People Say That
Monday night I went to dinner and didn't get carded when I ordered my drink. Not unusual, but I did feel sort of odd when the waitress carded Brooke and Kitt.
Today I went to AT&T Wireless to see about getting a new phone for Nate. I didn't get the phone, but I did buy a Bluetooth headset for my phone. I'm having shoulder trouble from talking on the phone (just holding it...not clamping it between my shoulder and ear) and I'm having trouble hearing on my phone. After I completed the transaction, I said to the fellow, "Will I be able to hear better with this thing?"
"Oh yes, ma'am!" he said. "Are you having trouble hearing with your phone?"
"Yes. Many callers sound muffled or garbled," I explained. "Can the tone be adjusted?"
"Let me look at it," he said. He took the phone from me and pushed a couple of buttons. Then he called a number with a recording and handed it back to me. "Is this better?" he asked.
I picked it up and listened to it. "Yes! That's much better!"
"I adjusted the volume," he explained. "You had it on 3. I bumped it up to 5."
(!)
Then I went to Office Depot and tried to slide my card through a spot on the card reader where another box was attached. "Oh, no problem ma'am," the checker said. "Just slide it through that slot. It confuses a lot of people."
So. I went home and took a nap. That's what old people do.
Today I went to AT&T Wireless to see about getting a new phone for Nate. I didn't get the phone, but I did buy a Bluetooth headset for my phone. I'm having shoulder trouble from talking on the phone (just holding it...not clamping it between my shoulder and ear) and I'm having trouble hearing on my phone. After I completed the transaction, I said to the fellow, "Will I be able to hear better with this thing?"
"Oh yes, ma'am!" he said. "Are you having trouble hearing with your phone?"
"Yes. Many callers sound muffled or garbled," I explained. "Can the tone be adjusted?"
"Let me look at it," he said. He took the phone from me and pushed a couple of buttons. Then he called a number with a recording and handed it back to me. "Is this better?" he asked.
I picked it up and listened to it. "Yes! That's much better!"
"I adjusted the volume," he explained. "You had it on 3. I bumped it up to 5."
(!)
Then I went to Office Depot and tried to slide my card through a spot on the card reader where another box was attached. "Oh, no problem ma'am," the checker said. "Just slide it through that slot. It confuses a lot of people."
So. I went home and took a nap. That's what old people do.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Komen Race 2007
Here's our own Gang of Four, just before the start of Komen Charlotte. We brought our own survivor with us. That's Nannette on the left. 4 years cancer-free! Good on ye, girlfriend.
That's Cassie next to Nannette, then me, then Rena. I'm wearing a tag that says I'm walking in honor of my friend Pam Gonnella.
But there were really quite a few people that I thought of that day:
My Grandmother, Pearl E. White, who passed away from breast cancer in 1986.
Pam Gonnella, who is still suffering from the ramifications of her mastectomy and reconstruction.
Linda McCorkle, who just in the last few weeks stopped taking the toxic drug Remedex, which is sometimes given to hopefully stop the recurrence of breast cancer.
Leslie Hoffman, who is also a survivor.
Edith Buss, who does not have breast cancer, but instead has mantle cell lymphoma.
Elaine Lidke, currently battling this disease.
Kathy Paulson, who had breast cancer metastasize to her bones and still has survived. I don't recall how long ago it was, but I'm certain it was a least 10 years. The medical community has come a long way in this battle.
Marcy Valenty, who was just diagnosed last year.
Obviously, my dear friend Nannette. It was a privilege to walk along beside her.
As my friend Dave Dougherty says, we kicked some cancer booty Saturday!
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the race. I gathered $610 in contributions this year!
That's Cassie next to Nannette, then me, then Rena. I'm wearing a tag that says I'm walking in honor of my friend Pam Gonnella.
But there were really quite a few people that I thought of that day:
My Grandmother, Pearl E. White, who passed away from breast cancer in 1986.
Pam Gonnella, who is still suffering from the ramifications of her mastectomy and reconstruction.
Linda McCorkle, who just in the last few weeks stopped taking the toxic drug Remedex, which is sometimes given to hopefully stop the recurrence of breast cancer.
Leslie Hoffman, who is also a survivor.
Edith Buss, who does not have breast cancer, but instead has mantle cell lymphoma.
Elaine Lidke, currently battling this disease.
Kathy Paulson, who had breast cancer metastasize to her bones and still has survived. I don't recall how long ago it was, but I'm certain it was a least 10 years. The medical community has come a long way in this battle.
Marcy Valenty, who was just diagnosed last year.
Obviously, my dear friend Nannette. It was a privilege to walk along beside her.
As my friend Dave Dougherty says, we kicked some cancer booty Saturday!
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the race. I gathered $610 in contributions this year!
Monday, October 08, 2007
1of365
Yesterday I started a project called 365. The idea is that the photographer takes a self-portrait every day for a year. You're supposed to learn a lot about self-portrait photography that way, and I imagine it's going to do a lot for my knowledge of exposure, focus, etc.
I'm not going to post them all on here. This is the first one. But if you want to see them as I go along, you can click on the link to my Flickr account on the right and find the group marked "365."
I'm not going to post them all on here. This is the first one. But if you want to see them as I go along, you can click on the link to my Flickr account on the right and find the group marked "365."
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Another Teenager Among Us
Here's Taylor, about to climb for the first time. He and Mensa Boy went yesterday for his 13th Birthday!
He liked it! Right after they did several climbs, he told MB he enjoyed it but probably wouldn't do it again. But later he told me he probably would. I think he got really tired. MB enjoyed it a lot and would like to do it a lot. I think we'll check out some other places in the area, too.
He liked it! Right after they did several climbs, he told MB he enjoyed it but probably wouldn't do it again. But later he told me he probably would. I think he got really tired. MB enjoyed it a lot and would like to do it a lot. I think we'll check out some other places in the area, too.
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