It was a pleasant day today - glad I get to spend most of it out and about. Started off my day by fixing a printer at work. The lights were flashing with the message "call for factory repair" - not good. I searched a good bit and finally found a copy of the service manual online. That did the trick. I was able to diagnose and fix the problem easily at that point. I've still got the skillz to pay da' billz. :D
Went over to a friend's photo studio over in Madison. Nice setup! HUGE studio with garage door access to photograph cars or other large objects. I also got an interesting lesson on how large-format cameras are used. Very cool stuff.
While I was over there, I stopped over at Edo's to see my old friends there and have some sushi. Ahh... that was nice. On the way back to the office, I realized I was supposed to do a photo shoot for a local politician sometime before Wednesday. Hopped on the phone and set all that up then drove over to the photo locations to scout them out. Looks like I can handle it without needing the studio lights. I hope so at least.
Had band practice tonight. It's usually on Thursdays but some scheduling issues came up and it got moved. One of the other drummers that was supposed to play also had a snafu so I'll be playing this week instead. No worries - it was an easy set. Looking forward to the get-together at Jack's on Saturday night. I think just about everyone that plays an instrument (among our friends) will be there for a jam session. Maybe we'll have some pictures, we'll see.
After practice, Kev and I went enjoyed some good eatin at Dead Lobster. Woot!
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Monday, September 26, 2005
Wardrobe malfunction.
My usual routine in the morning is to get up, turn the TV on for news, make and eat breakfast, brush teeth, shower, put on "work" clothes then head out. I got all the way to the clothes stage and did not have any socks to go with the pants I had picked out. You see, I typically wear business casual attire nowdays. And that's only when I plan on seeing clients. Other days I'm fine in jeans. Anyway, I've got several pairs of slacks that aren't true khakis but are have more of a golden tan color to them. I only have one pair of socks that match that color - and they were in the laundry basket. Re-wearing the socks was out of the question without laundering them. That's just nasty. Swapped out the pants for a dark navy pair. I've got socks to go with blue for days. After work, I made a stop at TJ Maxx and got 9 pairs of socks that will go with the pants now. I'm happy.
So much for my sock saga.
Oh - in other fun news, one of my termite people called. They found termites in 3 stations around the perimeter of my house. I think I have 25 stations in all. I've got that Sentricon system going on so now they've changed the substance in the affected stations to bait and installed extra stations right around them to eliminate the colony. I should probably say something to my neighbor on the driveway side because the termites were coming from his direction.
That does it for my bug saga.
My plan was to get my hedge trimmer out tonight and get work done with that. My sock shopping adventure changed that plan as it was getting dark when I finally arrived home. Hedge trimmer in the dark = jacked up hedges and possibly a cut power cord. I'll put that off till later in the week when it's supposed to get getting cooler anyway... highs by the end of the week are in the mid 70's. With the weather changing, I have to be extra careful to try and not get sick because traditionally, I get some kind of sickness on the season change. Being sick sucks. Especially when you have to take care of yourself. Luckily, my sister lives here in town and helps me out sometimes. She's ran to the store for me for stuff and for medicines.
I'm off to bed.
So much for my sock saga.
Oh - in other fun news, one of my termite people called. They found termites in 3 stations around the perimeter of my house. I think I have 25 stations in all. I've got that Sentricon system going on so now they've changed the substance in the affected stations to bait and installed extra stations right around them to eliminate the colony. I should probably say something to my neighbor on the driveway side because the termites were coming from his direction.
That does it for my bug saga.
My plan was to get my hedge trimmer out tonight and get work done with that. My sock shopping adventure changed that plan as it was getting dark when I finally arrived home. Hedge trimmer in the dark = jacked up hedges and possibly a cut power cord. I'll put that off till later in the week when it's supposed to get getting cooler anyway... highs by the end of the week are in the mid 70's. With the weather changing, I have to be extra careful to try and not get sick because traditionally, I get some kind of sickness on the season change. Being sick sucks. Especially when you have to take care of yourself. Luckily, my sister lives here in town and helps me out sometimes. She's ran to the store for me for stuff and for medicines.
I'm off to bed.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Soggy.
The Remnants of Rita are in the valley and she's making her presence known with some heavy rain. We need it though coz' it's been pretty dry around here the past few weeks. This will also help with that aphid problem I mentioned a couple of posts back - knock 'em out of the trees and keep them from getting that honeydew crap all over everything.
Last Friday night I headed over to Big Spring Jam. Through work I get a pass for the whole weekend and access to the hospitality tent for food and a place to kick back. Despite the heavy traffic, I was able to get a good parking place in a public lot. Made my way over to the stage where Theory of a Deadman was playing and met up with some friends. When they got done, I moved over to the middle of the crowd and scrunched up with some more friends of mine along with a bunch of teeny-boppers to catch the Alterbridge show. I'm glad I had seen them before at the Roxy over in Atlanta and at the VonBraun center in town because the sound where I was standing sucked. I had my earplugs with me so that made it better but despite that, I had a good time anyway.
Saturday morning I had committed to take photos of a friend's family that's a missionary. Called and woke Kyle up because I needed him for lighting help. Got through the first shoot then was on to the next with Wendy. She needed some new shots for her theatrical stuff. Ended up shooting over at the Old State Bank. It was a good backdrop for the kinds of shots we were doing.
I spent the remainder of the day on domestic stuff. I wanted to go back to Big Spring Jam to check out The Black Crows but I was tired and didn't feel like driving to Huntsville and back.
The music at church was good today. I was off duty this week so I got to enjoy things from off the stage for a change. I did bring in my sound meter and MD recorder though. I had been meaning to check on some sound levels for awhile and had time to get my stuff together and "git 'er done" today. On the high end, we hit around 110db a few times in the middle of the room. In the back, there was about a 9db decrease. Took some notes for reference that might help us in the future.
Made a trip to Home Depot after lunch. I was still looking at gas grills. While there, I went ahead and picked up a strong electric hedge trimmer so I could whip the holly bushes around my front porch and around the side of the house into shape. Those things are a BITCH to trim with hand clippers. I also got some dryer ductwork. There's a pretty sharp bend in the existing ductwork that if I get straightened out, I think my dryer will work significantly faster. We'll see.
Oooo.... congrats to Fernando Alonso of Renault for clinching the 2005 F1 World Champion title in todays Brazilian Grand Prix. Exciting race to watch. Speaking of F1, I got my refund check from Michelin for the mess at this year's US Grand Prix. I also found out that I get 2 extra tickets for next year's race! I've already renewed my tickets for next year AND gotten my hotel reservations - I'll have 4 tickets total. Might be able to bring along some F1 newbies!
On another note, I've been eating with a group of people on Thursdays at a local Mexican restaurant. It's just different folks - friends and clients. Remember back last fall when I had a problem with my heating system? The guy that owns the service company that worked on my heating unit is a lunch buddy now. So, if any of of you local folks need good people to call for HVAC service, I've got someone to recommend to you.
Last Friday night I headed over to Big Spring Jam. Through work I get a pass for the whole weekend and access to the hospitality tent for food and a place to kick back. Despite the heavy traffic, I was able to get a good parking place in a public lot. Made my way over to the stage where Theory of a Deadman was playing and met up with some friends. When they got done, I moved over to the middle of the crowd and scrunched up with some more friends of mine along with a bunch of teeny-boppers to catch the Alterbridge show. I'm glad I had seen them before at the Roxy over in Atlanta and at the VonBraun center in town because the sound where I was standing sucked. I had my earplugs with me so that made it better but despite that, I had a good time anyway.
Saturday morning I had committed to take photos of a friend's family that's a missionary. Called and woke Kyle up because I needed him for lighting help. Got through the first shoot then was on to the next with Wendy. She needed some new shots for her theatrical stuff. Ended up shooting over at the Old State Bank. It was a good backdrop for the kinds of shots we were doing.
I spent the remainder of the day on domestic stuff. I wanted to go back to Big Spring Jam to check out The Black Crows but I was tired and didn't feel like driving to Huntsville and back.
The music at church was good today. I was off duty this week so I got to enjoy things from off the stage for a change. I did bring in my sound meter and MD recorder though. I had been meaning to check on some sound levels for awhile and had time to get my stuff together and "git 'er done" today. On the high end, we hit around 110db a few times in the middle of the room. In the back, there was about a 9db decrease. Took some notes for reference that might help us in the future.
Made a trip to Home Depot after lunch. I was still looking at gas grills. While there, I went ahead and picked up a strong electric hedge trimmer so I could whip the holly bushes around my front porch and around the side of the house into shape. Those things are a BITCH to trim with hand clippers. I also got some dryer ductwork. There's a pretty sharp bend in the existing ductwork that if I get straightened out, I think my dryer will work significantly faster. We'll see.
Oooo.... congrats to Fernando Alonso of Renault for clinching the 2005 F1 World Champion title in todays Brazilian Grand Prix. Exciting race to watch. Speaking of F1, I got my refund check from Michelin for the mess at this year's US Grand Prix. I also found out that I get 2 extra tickets for next year's race! I've already renewed my tickets for next year AND gotten my hotel reservations - I'll have 4 tickets total. Might be able to bring along some F1 newbies!
On another note, I've been eating with a group of people on Thursdays at a local Mexican restaurant. It's just different folks - friends and clients. Remember back last fall when I had a problem with my heating system? The guy that owns the service company that worked on my heating unit is a lunch buddy now. So, if any of of you local folks need good people to call for HVAC service, I've got someone to recommend to you.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Hot n' nasty.
That would be how I would describe the photo shoot yesterday at the rubber mill. One thing that is a nice benefit of my job is that I'm exposed to plenty of different industries and processes that you don't normally just run across. Rubber manufacturing for example. You can't stay clean in that environment. Natural rubber is kind of taupe in color. A product called carbon black is added to it to give it the characteristic black color we're used to seeing. I saw how raw materials are mixed and processed to yield products with different properties. I also saw how compounds were formulated and how they are tested in the lab. Very interesting learning experience.
On the photography side of things, a lot of powerful lighting was needed to light up machinery up to 3 stories tall. From the preliminary samples I looked at, we've got some good shots. That's a relief. It was hard work getting those.
On the photography side of things, a lot of powerful lighting was needed to light up machinery up to 3 stories tall. From the preliminary samples I looked at, we've got some good shots. That's a relief. It was hard work getting those.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Dilated.
I went to the eye doctor yesterday for my annual checkup. Without contacts or glasses, my vision is pretty crappy - like about a -6.5 in each eye. Corrected though, I'm very close to 20/20 so it's all good. Everything checked out fine, but as usual, the Dr. dilated my pupils to take a good look around the insides of my eyes. If you've never had that done before, it's a bit bizarre. Look in the mirror once everything has taken effect and your pupil takes up most of the colored part of your eye. It's weird to see. Well, with that going on, your eye can't regulate the amount of light coming in so you're EXTREMELY light-sensitive. Not to mention that your close up vision is completely hosed.
Nice way to spend the evening I assure you.
Nice way to spend the evening I assure you.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
My car WAS clean yesterday.
It was spotless. I was putting some of my drum stuff in the trunk when I noticed I had all these light brown blotches on the paint. I thought it was tree sap at first. No... it's aphid crap. Yes, aphids. Apparently there are aphids in the tree above my driveway. They eat and then secreet this sugary substance that then splatters on things below. As Yoda would say - "Pissed, I am". Time to look into a carport or something I guess.
Music at church went well today. That's always good.
Tonight, ran over to Wal-Mart becaue I needed to get dog food and water. Kelsey seems to like their "Ol' Roy" brand so I brave the whole Wal-Mart experience for her. Why is it that my local Wal-Mart seems so much worse than others? The one in Madison is LOTS better. Again, I can't wait till we get our Target built over here.
Music at church went well today. That's always good.
Tonight, ran over to Wal-Mart becaue I needed to get dog food and water. Kelsey seems to like their "Ol' Roy" brand so I brave the whole Wal-Mart experience for her. Why is it that my local Wal-Mart seems so much worse than others? The one in Madison is LOTS better. Again, I can't wait till we get our Target built over here.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Saturday... in the park...
Well, not really. :D
I've had quite a busy week with something going on pretty much every night. Thursday I started off the day at the office then went to Huntsville to visit some clients. While there, I had lunch over at Mama Fu's - a chinese fast food joint. I was pleasantly suprised at how good the shrimp terriyaki bowl I had was. The bad thing is that they're on University drive right in the middle of all that road construction making getting in and out of the parking lot a hassle. Also, some friends of mine started up a franchise of Batteries Plus in the same center as Mama Fu's. They stock and repair/recondition just about any type of battery you can think of. I've got this big UPS at home that supplies power to my main computer. It's an APC Smart UPS 1400. They built a replacement battery for me while I was there. It was a bit pricey. To get the replacment from APC would have cost $125 plus shipping. I was able to get this other battery for $116 including tax so I probably saved about $20.
My next destination was Florence, over in the north west corner of the state. Stopped by the office on my way by then continued to the client. After that was done, it was back to Decatur in time to wrap things up at the office and head to band practice. That made for a long day.
Friday was the start of Riverfest. Our band played in it last year. Went over there for lunch and met up with some friends from the convention and visitors bureau. Had fun talking about old times with Sharon. She and I unsed to run around together about 12+ years ago when we worked at the mall. Great memories.
After work, I went to Cafe 113 to help Lesa with some photos she was going to use the studio lights for. Got her set up and going before I took off for Humphrey's in Huntsville. I was meeting my buddy Ben and his wife (and in-laws) for dinner. Back when I was at Intergraph, Ben was my primary contact at NetSolve - the partner we used for network management. He and I spent several hours on dozens of conference calls regarding client networks. He also saved my butt plenty of times when networks went haywire. I had been to NetSolve in Austin, TX before but never met Ben in person until last night. We all had a great time. Dinner was delicious. Had a big hunk of meat, mashed potatos and green beans. When we were done there, we walked over to the Kaffe Klatch for some after dinner drinks. I had been there before but there's a "different" kind of crowd there. Came on home after that.
Been Mr. Domestic today - washed the car, worked on the shrubs up front, ironed clothes... yee ha fun stuff. Time for dinner now then I'll probably work on some of my photos from last weekend.
I've had quite a busy week with something going on pretty much every night. Thursday I started off the day at the office then went to Huntsville to visit some clients. While there, I had lunch over at Mama Fu's - a chinese fast food joint. I was pleasantly suprised at how good the shrimp terriyaki bowl I had was. The bad thing is that they're on University drive right in the middle of all that road construction making getting in and out of the parking lot a hassle. Also, some friends of mine started up a franchise of Batteries Plus in the same center as Mama Fu's. They stock and repair/recondition just about any type of battery you can think of. I've got this big UPS at home that supplies power to my main computer. It's an APC Smart UPS 1400. They built a replacement battery for me while I was there. It was a bit pricey. To get the replacment from APC would have cost $125 plus shipping. I was able to get this other battery for $116 including tax so I probably saved about $20.
My next destination was Florence, over in the north west corner of the state. Stopped by the office on my way by then continued to the client. After that was done, it was back to Decatur in time to wrap things up at the office and head to band practice. That made for a long day.
Friday was the start of Riverfest. Our band played in it last year. Went over there for lunch and met up with some friends from the convention and visitors bureau. Had fun talking about old times with Sharon. She and I unsed to run around together about 12+ years ago when we worked at the mall. Great memories.
After work, I went to Cafe 113 to help Lesa with some photos she was going to use the studio lights for. Got her set up and going before I took off for Humphrey's in Huntsville. I was meeting my buddy Ben and his wife (and in-laws) for dinner. Back when I was at Intergraph, Ben was my primary contact at NetSolve - the partner we used for network management. He and I spent several hours on dozens of conference calls regarding client networks. He also saved my butt plenty of times when networks went haywire. I had been to NetSolve in Austin, TX before but never met Ben in person until last night. We all had a great time. Dinner was delicious. Had a big hunk of meat, mashed potatos and green beans. When we were done there, we walked over to the Kaffe Klatch for some after dinner drinks. I had been there before but there's a "different" kind of crowd there. Came on home after that.
Been Mr. Domestic today - washed the car, worked on the shrubs up front, ironed clothes... yee ha fun stuff. Time for dinner now then I'll probably work on some of my photos from last weekend.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Grrr.
First off, Blogger ate my post from last night. I definitely wasn't too happy about that at all. (EDIT: GEEZ! Now it's back. I don't know what the heck happened)
I spent a large part of yesterday and today doing product photography at work. I have to use the studio lights which takes some planning to get right. The product I was shooting is packed in white plastic containers which presented the challenge of minimizing reflections off of them into the camera. The was a tall dispplay I was shooting, close to 6ft high. I ended up using softboxes pointed up at the ceiling and 2 people holding up flags to block the part of the light that was causing the reflections. Anyway, I was pleased when I finally got that done.
Last night I headed over to Cameron's place to see how he's improved the performance of his tesla coil since I last saw it several weeks ago. Kyle was interested in seeing it so I picked he and his video camera up on the way. Cameron's got his coil working great! He's getting some 10' to 12' arcs jumping off it now. Kyle was able to get SOME VIDEO that you can check out. Be sure to turn up your sound too.
Tonight, I hung out with a photographer friend of mine and looked at some of his work. Lots of fantastic nature panoramas. I can learn a lot from him. One of his prints is hanging in my living room.
I spent a large part of yesterday and today doing product photography at work. I have to use the studio lights which takes some planning to get right. The product I was shooting is packed in white plastic containers which presented the challenge of minimizing reflections off of them into the camera. The was a tall dispplay I was shooting, close to 6ft high. I ended up using softboxes pointed up at the ceiling and 2 people holding up flags to block the part of the light that was causing the reflections. Anyway, I was pleased when I finally got that done.
Last night I headed over to Cameron's place to see how he's improved the performance of his tesla coil since I last saw it several weeks ago. Kyle was interested in seeing it so I picked he and his video camera up on the way. Cameron's got his coil working great! He's getting some 10' to 12' arcs jumping off it now. Kyle was able to get SOME VIDEO that you can check out. Be sure to turn up your sound too.
Tonight, I hung out with a photographer friend of mine and looked at some of his work. Lots of fantastic nature panoramas. I can learn a lot from him. One of his prints is hanging in my living room.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Start of the week.
Whew! Was busy at work most of the day working on a product photo shoot. Not nearly as fun or exciting as a photographing people but you learn a lot which is never a bad thing.
Had lunch with Jason over at the Bank Street Deli then walked around old Decatur a bit checking out some of the shops. This is the same area where the art auction was held last Saturday.
After work, I did some laundry at home then headed over to Cameron's house with Kyle to see how his tesla coil was working after he's had a few weeks to fine tune it. WOW. It's throwing out 10-12' arcs of lightning now. Kyle had a video camera with him and recorded the event. Hopefully, he'll have that posted somewhere and you can see it. It's pretty cool.
Had lunch with Jason over at the Bank Street Deli then walked around old Decatur a bit checking out some of the shops. This is the same area where the art auction was held last Saturday.
After work, I did some laundry at home then headed over to Cameron's house with Kyle to see how his tesla coil was working after he's had a few weeks to fine tune it. WOW. It's throwing out 10-12' arcs of lightning now. Kyle had a video camera with him and recorded the event. Hopefully, he'll have that posted somewhere and you can see it. It's pretty cool.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
The weekend just BLEW by!
I barely had a chance to enjoy it.
My Saturday started with me watching qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix race. I was all pumped up about that as Fernando Alonso might be able to wrap up the championship this weekend.
Grabbed some breakfast and went to pick up Dani for a photo shoot... no answer at her door. To make a long story short, ended up making other plans. Lesa was going to help out with the shoot and she was all ready to go. Since I had all my photo gear with me, I picked Lesa up determined to find something to take shots of. We made it over to nearby Mooresville - a historic town not too far from here. Nothing too extravagant, but some very nice rustic buildings. There was an old church there and a quaint post office which I photographed. We also stopped at a restaurant there that was closed but had some great ambiance. The owner saw us and opened up so we could come inside and shoot in there also. Her name was Dee. She was very gracious and told us a lot about the history of the town and of her restaurant. They are about to celebrate the restaurant's 100th anniversary! Wow.
Later on that day, Kyle and I headed to a benefit art auction being held where Tracy had been working on that mural downtown (I blogged about it a few months ago). Saw plenty of people I knew there. After that was over and I had grabbed some dinner, we went over to the Brick for some pool and also to benefit the same thing as the art auction. PLENTY of people I knew were there. I ended up talking with Maria and Lisa a good bit. Maria had some SERIOUS cleavage going on. Had lots of fun with that.
Sunday morning came early. I watched part of the Belgian race then taped the remainder (no TiVo yet... waaaahhh!). Got to church a few minutes late as the rest of the band was waiting on me. I brought along more stuff than I usually do since I was going to be playing for a lot longer than normal. In addition to my snare drum, stick bag and cymbals, I brought my throne (I gotta be comfy you know) and my double-pedals. Everything went well from a musical standpoint. During the second service, I dropped a stick during the first song, but I was able to grab another one to prevent a train wreck (I have spares nearby for just such an event).
Ate a quick lunch then FINALLY got with Dani for her photo session. Lesa, who did have a location for me to use AND was going to assist me couldn't make it. I was kinda irritated at that point because I really didn't feel like doing the shoot today and would have rather been taking a nap. I also had some kind of pulled muscle in my neck making me uncomfotable already anyway. I finally decided to go through with it - Kyle was available to help and Mooresville was to be the location.
The shoot went well but it was freakin' hot! Got some good shots that I think will turn out nicely.
Time for bed. Gotta work tomorrow.
My Saturday started with me watching qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix race. I was all pumped up about that as Fernando Alonso might be able to wrap up the championship this weekend.
Grabbed some breakfast and went to pick up Dani for a photo shoot... no answer at her door. To make a long story short, ended up making other plans. Lesa was going to help out with the shoot and she was all ready to go. Since I had all my photo gear with me, I picked Lesa up determined to find something to take shots of. We made it over to nearby Mooresville - a historic town not too far from here. Nothing too extravagant, but some very nice rustic buildings. There was an old church there and a quaint post office which I photographed. We also stopped at a restaurant there that was closed but had some great ambiance. The owner saw us and opened up so we could come inside and shoot in there also. Her name was Dee. She was very gracious and told us a lot about the history of the town and of her restaurant. They are about to celebrate the restaurant's 100th anniversary! Wow.
Later on that day, Kyle and I headed to a benefit art auction being held where Tracy had been working on that mural downtown (I blogged about it a few months ago). Saw plenty of people I knew there. After that was over and I had grabbed some dinner, we went over to the Brick for some pool and also to benefit the same thing as the art auction. PLENTY of people I knew were there. I ended up talking with Maria and Lisa a good bit. Maria had some SERIOUS cleavage going on. Had lots of fun with that.
Sunday morning came early. I watched part of the Belgian race then taped the remainder (no TiVo yet... waaaahhh!). Got to church a few minutes late as the rest of the band was waiting on me. I brought along more stuff than I usually do since I was going to be playing for a lot longer than normal. In addition to my snare drum, stick bag and cymbals, I brought my throne (I gotta be comfy you know) and my double-pedals. Everything went well from a musical standpoint. During the second service, I dropped a stick during the first song, but I was able to grab another one to prevent a train wreck (I have spares nearby for just such an event).
Ate a quick lunch then FINALLY got with Dani for her photo session. Lesa, who did have a location for me to use AND was going to assist me couldn't make it. I was kinda irritated at that point because I really didn't feel like doing the shoot today and would have rather been taking a nap. I also had some kind of pulled muscle in my neck making me uncomfotable already anyway. I finally decided to go through with it - Kyle was available to help and Mooresville was to be the location.
The shoot went well but it was freakin' hot! Got some good shots that I think will turn out nicely.
Time for bed. Gotta work tomorrow.
Friday, September 09, 2005
Sporadic update.
This week's been a pretty eventful one for me so far. Work's been going well which is always nice. Band practice was last night. That wasn't so hot. My in-ear mix was goofed up and the drums sounded like poo. We all muddled through but I think we all agreed that things were very "off" last night. After work today, I stopped by to tune the drums. They are MUCH improved now. I'm happy.
Used up the batteries in two iPod's today. We're using ours for the overhead music and the phone on-hold music instead of a CD carousle that's been locking up on us. When the iPod mini ran out of juice, I swapped in my iPod. It didn't have much of a charge on it so it quit after a few hours. The mini should have a charging base by Monday so that'll fix that problem.
Lesa and I had lunch today over at Bank St. Deli. Full house in there. I ran into Sarah from the Princess there with her friends. When we were through, we scouted out a place for the photoshoot tomorrow. Got a cool spot I think will work out.
Used up the batteries in two iPod's today. We're using ours for the overhead music and the phone on-hold music instead of a CD carousle that's been locking up on us. When the iPod mini ran out of juice, I swapped in my iPod. It didn't have much of a charge on it so it quit after a few hours. The mini should have a charging base by Monday so that'll fix that problem.
Lesa and I had lunch today over at Bank St. Deli. Full house in there. I ran into Sarah from the Princess there with her friends. When we were through, we scouted out a place for the photoshoot tomorrow. Got a cool spot I think will work out.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Early times.
It's been awhile since I've left the house in the morning when it was still dark. I really didn't have too much trouble waking up. Loaded up the car with all my photography gear and also a video camera. Packed a cooler with water and Mt. Dew also. On the way up, I did get a little groggy so I cranked up some tunes on my iPod - I cued up a Bobby Brown CD that Bone loaned me and was jammin' to that old school stuff. That woke me up.
Got to Franklin right at 7. Called and found out that the first cement truck got pushed back 2 hours... WTF?!?! I could have slept till a decent hour. Made a pit stop at McDonalds for more breakfast before going to the construction site. Finally, everything came together and things started happening. Lot's of hardware running when things were going - cement truck, cement pump, air compressor...
Spraying cement is a tough job. You got one guy running the pump and talking with the cement truck dude making sure the contents of the truck feed properly. This guy also has a wireless remote control to start and stop the pump (very cool btw). Then, you've got 2 hoses - one from the air compressor and one from the cement pump that end in a nozzle with flow controls on it. This nozzle and pair of hoses weighs about 90 lbs. by itself WITHOUT concrete flowing through it. So, ya got this one dude working the nozzle and the other guys move the hoses around as the nozzle dude works. Interesting stuff. Got all the shots I could before taking a break for lunch.
For lunch, I made it over to Famous Dave's for some chicken tenders. Good eatin. Then I went over to this outdoor shop to find a hat I had been looking for. Luckily they had what I wanted. (Eric - its Blue Ridge Mtn. Sports, thought you might be interested) While I was out, I got a call from the construction site that they were done for the day. There were some other shots I needed but the crew didn't get to it today. I am not planning on going back tomorrow. I'll make what I have work.
On the way home, I ran into some mutant bugs. I swear, when these things hit, they splattered like a water balloon. Bug guts everywhere. I even got one that hit right in front of my drivers door handle!?!?
Oh, speaking of car stuff - when%
Got to Franklin right at 7. Called and found out that the first cement truck got pushed back 2 hours... WTF?!?! I could have slept till a decent hour. Made a pit stop at McDonalds for more breakfast before going to the construction site. Finally, everything came together and things started happening. Lot's of hardware running when things were going - cement truck, cement pump, air compressor...
Spraying cement is a tough job. You got one guy running the pump and talking with the cement truck dude making sure the contents of the truck feed properly. This guy also has a wireless remote control to start and stop the pump (very cool btw). Then, you've got 2 hoses - one from the air compressor and one from the cement pump that end in a nozzle with flow controls on it. This nozzle and pair of hoses weighs about 90 lbs. by itself WITHOUT concrete flowing through it. So, ya got this one dude working the nozzle and the other guys move the hoses around as the nozzle dude works. Interesting stuff. Got all the shots I could before taking a break for lunch.
For lunch, I made it over to Famous Dave's for some chicken tenders. Good eatin. Then I went over to this outdoor shop to find a hat I had been looking for. Luckily they had what I wanted. (Eric - its Blue Ridge Mtn. Sports, thought you might be interested) While I was out, I got a call from the construction site that they were done for the day. There were some other shots I needed but the crew didn't get to it today. I am not planning on going back tomorrow. I'll make what I have work.
On the way home, I ran into some mutant bugs. I swear, when these things hit, they splattered like a water balloon. Bug guts everywhere. I even got one that hit right in front of my drivers door handle!?!?
Oh, speaking of car stuff - when%
Yeah, I'm up.
Looks like the photo shoot in Nashville is finally happening. Got up a little before 4 AM this morning and am getting ready to head out. Gotta be there around 6:30. Yikes!
Monday, September 05, 2005
Are ya bored and wanna look at stuff?
I added a link to one of my photo galleries (there on the right) awhile back but never really drew attention to it. I'm behind the camera a good bit whenever I get the chance. Check it out!
Click HERE to go take a peek!
Click HERE to go take a peek!
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Beautimus weather
I must say, the weather we've had the past few days has been a pleasant change. It still gets a little hot in the afternoon but the mornings and evenings are pretty nice! The humidity being low really helps too.
Got up this morning to watch the Italian Grand Prix as I had planned. The McLaren of Juan Pablo won followed by the 2 Renaults. Michael Schumacher is out of contention to retain his title and unless something goes horribly wrong, Renault's Fernando Alonso should win it this year. It was an exciting race - everyone actually made it to the end without blowing up or crashing out.
Ran sound today at church. I also brought along my isolation headphones so you could hear the sound without the room's influence. Wow. The room sux. Music was good albeit some tempo issues - Jack had a nice solo in the last song he did a great job on. His LesPaul has a warm tone to it.
Watched Maria Sharapova do her thing today, putting out Mizrah handily in less than an hour. That girl can play some tennis! I think she plays again tomorrow. I have to be sure and tune in. Later in the evening, I watched the NASCAR race in California. Congrats to Kyle Busch, the youngest NEXTEL Cup winner at 20 years old! That's gotta be exciting for that kid. I still hate the goofy drama in NASCAR though... caution flags coming out bunching up the cars any time someone gets too far ahead or for a ball of duct tape on the pavement. Oh, and I do NOT like the new paint scheme on the #20 Home Depot car. In the post race comments, several racers were very unhappy with the performance of their cars. Many had problems with getting the cars adjusted to handle with any sort of confidence. Oh well.
Got up this morning to watch the Italian Grand Prix as I had planned. The McLaren of Juan Pablo won followed by the 2 Renaults. Michael Schumacher is out of contention to retain his title and unless something goes horribly wrong, Renault's Fernando Alonso should win it this year. It was an exciting race - everyone actually made it to the end without blowing up or crashing out.
Ran sound today at church. I also brought along my isolation headphones so you could hear the sound without the room's influence. Wow. The room sux. Music was good albeit some tempo issues - Jack had a nice solo in the last song he did a great job on. His LesPaul has a warm tone to it.
Watched Maria Sharapova do her thing today, putting out Mizrah handily in less than an hour. That girl can play some tennis! I think she plays again tomorrow. I have to be sure and tune in. Later in the evening, I watched the NASCAR race in California. Congrats to Kyle Busch, the youngest NEXTEL Cup winner at 20 years old! That's gotta be exciting for that kid. I still hate the goofy drama in NASCAR though... caution flags coming out bunching up the cars any time someone gets too far ahead or for a ball of duct tape on the pavement. Oh, and I do NOT like the new paint scheme on the #20 Home Depot car. In the post race comments, several racers were very unhappy with the performance of their cars. Many had problems with getting the cars adjusted to handle with any sort of confidence. Oh well.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Ahhh... a 3-day weekend
Wrapped up a good week at the office. Thursday evening, Lesa joined me at an event over at Point Mallard hosted by my buddy Jeremy's organization. Great food! I also saw several old friends there and spent time getting caught up a little with them. When that finished, we headed over to Applebee's for drinks. Belinda was working the bar so the drinks were GOOD. The band showed up while we were there (I'm not drumming this week)- Kevin, Eric and Jack & Co. Anyway, Belinda showed me some pictures from a friends bachelorette party and wedding with many folks I knew doing some pratty racy things. Funny stuff especially with the penis cake and penis straws. Martha Stewart would be proud.
Last night was the first time in a LONG time I ate over at Ruby Tuesday. Tonya was there working and she chatted with us. My food was very good - coconut shrimp. Mmmm... Later we went over to The Brick for some pool and to listen to the sounds of Toy Shop. Their drummer had a really nice maple Ayotte kit. You don't see many of those around. He was happy to let me come check it out and take a close look at it. Oooo! They have a Galaga machine over there! I wasted no time and set the high score on that baby!!! That's by far my favorite video game.
Today was domestic day for me. Washed my car in the morning then spent some time in the back yard pruning crepe myrtles and rose bushes. I think I'm going to get rid of the roses. They are only nice to look at for a very brief time and are pretty much an eyesore the rest. My crepe myrtles are outta hand though. I filled up my yard trash bin and called it quits but there's plenty more to do. I'll probably work on those more on Monday.
Oh yeah, I got up this morning to watch qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. The McLaren-Mercedes cars are haulin' ass. My boy Fernando is gonna have a tough time keeping up in his Renault. The Honda's are looking good too. Should be a great race tomorrow.
Last night was the first time in a LONG time I ate over at Ruby Tuesday. Tonya was there working and she chatted with us. My food was very good - coconut shrimp. Mmmm... Later we went over to The Brick for some pool and to listen to the sounds of Toy Shop. Their drummer had a really nice maple Ayotte kit. You don't see many of those around. He was happy to let me come check it out and take a close look at it. Oooo! They have a Galaga machine over there! I wasted no time and set the high score on that baby!!! That's by far my favorite video game.
Today was domestic day for me. Washed my car in the morning then spent some time in the back yard pruning crepe myrtles and rose bushes. I think I'm going to get rid of the roses. They are only nice to look at for a very brief time and are pretty much an eyesore the rest. My crepe myrtles are outta hand though. I filled up my yard trash bin and called it quits but there's plenty more to do. I'll probably work on those more on Monday.
Oh yeah, I got up this morning to watch qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. The McLaren-Mercedes cars are haulin' ass. My boy Fernando is gonna have a tough time keeping up in his Renault. The Honda's are looking good too. Should be a great race tomorrow.
