A Shutter in Time

As Time Goes By...

2011-02-19T00:12:00.000-08:00

Raspberries

2011-02-19T00:11:00.000-08:00

George is always getting into trouble

2010-10-07T12:07:00.000-07:00

George often gets bored while sitting on my desk, and often gets himself into trouble.

For Lunch Today:

2010-09-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

Last week, I brought in my Foreman grill and cooked my lunch of chicken burgers. However, many of my coworkers were not so happy about the smell that was released into the lunch room. So this week, I decided to bring in my rice cooker, and have some fresh cooked rice and homemade kung-pao chicken for lunch today.

Kings among men.

2010-08-28T22:28:00.000-07:00

Shadow of the bench

2010-08-27T13:33:00.001-07:00

Are you ready for school?

2010-08-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

Do you think these kids are ready for school? What with the case of "Cup of Noddles" and the big box of Frosted Flakes in the back?

New present

2010-08-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

Look at the amazingly cute penguin flash drive my mother in law got me!

Settlers of the Afternoon

2010-08-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday, we got together with our friends to visit the Renaissance Fair here in the Seattle area. While the fair was enjoyable, it was a bit smaller than the previous year. Out of the few fairs that I have had the opportunity to visit, this one seems to be much more focused on merchants selling their arts and crafts which means that there is less to photograph due to my own feelings. I feel that it can be very rude to take pictures of others hard work or art with out actually buying anything, so I tend not to do it at fairs. Because of the smaller size of the event, we only ended up staying for about four hours. You know, enough time for Heather to eat a turkey leg, roasted corn, and other yummy treats. She sure does love those fair foods; something I have never quite understood. Anyway, after leaving we decided to go back to our friend's place for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We ended up playing a couple of games of Settlers of Catan followed up by watching Forrest Gump on Netflix. All and all, a wonderful end to a beautiful day.

Jealous?

2010-08-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

Jealous? I'm not quite sure that would be the word I would choose.

Mobile recording system

2010-08-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

Nick has been having this idea for awhile that he wants a system that he can carry on himself that will allow him to record everything that he does or that happens to him. At first, I thought it was just another one of his quick lasting, spur of the moment ideas that he would forget as fast as he thought of it. That was until today, when he walked in wearing this DIY recording system.

At first, he was looking at a small helmet cam that he could were or pin onto his shirt. This was quickly dropped due to the fact that it could only record up to 2 hours on its internal storage, and the battery issue/charging was a hurdle for him as well. Now, it looks like he is going to go with a web cam connected to a netbook that he will carry around in a backpack. I believe the headphones are just so that he can listen to music and to hold the web cam onto his head.

Now, since the first time I heard Nick talk about this idea, it has never really made sense to me. But as my friend, Jason, explained to me, he is doing this because wants to be able to accurately share his experiences with others. However, faced with the inability to actually pull memories from his head and place them into his audiences', he feels that this is the next best thing. Now, I have known several people with this same desire, but many of them have learned the art of journaling or creative/descriptive writing, or carrying a camera with them at all times. So I suppose that this might be the next step in that form of documenting our lives, and it is not like this is the first time we as a society have seen this done. There was Justin TV and several other very much like that.

I how ever still think the better approach is the writing or a still camera for several reasons. One reason being is that so much of our lives are very mundane and ordinary. If you think about your daily activities, what are you really doing? Sleeping, eating, watching TV, surfing the net, or walking/driving to a location. And only on the last one might, and very rarely, have something interesting happen to them. Which leads me to the second main reason I feel that writing or photography is the better way to document events. That is it requires the person to learn how to remember and later describe the event in detail, or how to look at the event and be able to tell the entire story in just a few images. Thus training yourself to better look at the world around you, and remembering the events. Because in the end, really only you probably care that much to remember and reminisce about what happens to you on a daily basis.

But these are just my opinions, I would love to hear what your take on his setup or his ideas might be.

Magic Bean

2010-08-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

So, appearently one of my coworkers thought it would be a interesting thing to plant a "Magic Bean" in my wandering Jew pot here at the office. This was all unknown to me until this morning when I came in to find a very tall bean stalk growing out of my pot.

So I told my office mate, Jason, about it, and he just says, "My gosh, he actually did it?". Turns out it was Nick that had planted the bean sometime while I was either on vacation, or gone for the day.

The interesting part of this is the fact that it has writing on the side of the bean. As you can see in the next two images, there are the words "I like you" and two hearts on each side of what I suspect was the sides of the beans. Although, I am not sure what Nick is trying to tell me by this gesture, or whether I really want to know.

I just wonder how long these engravings will last on the stalk.

Red Sunset over Bellevue

2010-08-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

Captured this shot while getting ready to watch the northern lights show last night. Sadly, the clouds were moving in so I was not able to see them, but I at least did not come back home empty handed.

Pushing the Sands

2010-08-02T17:48:00.000-07:00

Pastels

2010-07-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

On the dock

2010-07-29T23:26:00.000-07:00

Stone Pyramid

2010-07-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

Serenity

2010-06-30T11:39:00.000-07:00

Crunch!

2010-05-26T15:41:00.001-07:00

Crunch!, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Storm Clouds Over Seattle

2010-05-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

I took this image over lunch today. It is not often you see storms getting high enough in the atmosphere to start shearing at the top like this in the Seattle area. It sort of reminds me of the thunderheads that we would get back in Kansas.

Things are getting messy around here.

2010-04-29T10:56:00.001-07:00

Things are getting messy around here., originally uploaded by wizetux.

So, last week, the trash men in Seattle went on a 24 hour walk out. It just so happened that this was the day that our trash was suppose to be picked up. So for the entire last week, everyones trash has been sitting at the end of their driveways just pilling up, and this is the effect of only two weeks worth of trash for some people. I surely hope that they come to pick it up today, otherwise...things could get messy!

I have always had an interest in photography. Who Knew?!?!

2010-03-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

My mother sent me this picture a while back and I thought I would put it up here as a storage and to share with my friends.

This is a photo of me when I was 3 years old. I don't remember this incident, but my mother tells me that I am driving a boat by the name of The Patriot up the Miles River at St Michael's, Maryland on June 10, 1985. When I first looked at this image, I had to chuckle to myself because of the camera around my neck. I made the comment to my mother in a follow up email,

"I do find it ironic that in the photo there is a camera around my neck. :) Even at three I was taking photos."

My mother's response was that the camera was on old one of hers that she gave to me, but it had no film it. What with the cost of development and film back in the days, I can see why they did this, at least for when I was three. She continued to tell me that I would take that little old non-functioning camera with me everywhere we went, taking, what I probably thought were masterpieces with every click of the shutter.

Later, as I grew older, my parents did give both me and my brother, Michael, each our own Polaroid cameras. I vaguely remember that camera. Our mother attempted to get us to take photos, and put them in a scrap book so that we would be able to remember all of the great places that they took us. Sadly, all that I wanted to do was take the photos but not the scrap books, so many of these photos ended up in a drawer at my parents home. Now that I think about them, the next time I am home, I should probably pick them up, or at least go through and scan some of the ones that I want to keep for myself. Maybe, when I find the time, I will put them into a digital photo-book for her and my father. I wonder if they would like that after all of these years. But any how, that is for another day.

She tells me that I have always had a good eye for the camera, and that my photos were always much more creative and interesting than the ones that my brother would take. Both of my parents were very proud of the pictures that I took with that little Polaroid. However, as I grew older, I apparently began to feel that carrying a camera with me on all of our vacations and outings was not the coolest thing to do, so I started leaving it behind, and teased my father when he still cared his camera with him. When I think back on this as an adult who now goes no where with out his camera, it makes me a little sad to know that I did this and how much it had to hurt him.

Knowing all of this now, I feel that it had to be no surprise to my parents when I picked back up a camera during my college years. In fact, I actually started shooting with the same old camera my father used on all of these vacations. It seems fitting when I think about it. With out me even knowing it, I have continued on where my father had left off. Granted, now, I don't still shoot with that old trustee SLR, but have moved on to a digital one, I can appreciate and understand why my father continued to take the camera despite the teasing that he would receive. And I think, when I have my own kids, that I will also buy them a cheaper digital camera so that they can experience the joys that come from taking a photography, just as much as I have re-learned.

So, thank you, Mom and Dad, for my very first camera, and encouraging me to take pictures even though there was no film. It will be an experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Garage Shoot

2010-02-01T00:42:00.001-08:00

Garage Shoot, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Tonight, I went to the garage shot at the UW with some other Flickrites. I didn't really do any shooting of my own, but I did happen to snip this shot.

Foggy Mountain Side

2010-01-30T22:14:00.001-08:00

Foggy Mountain Side, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Lazer Trails

2010-01-30T11:48:00.001-08:00

Lazer Trails, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Adventures of Robbie: The Roswell Event

2010-01-17T14:17:00.001-08:00

The Roswell Event, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Recently, a top secret file was found in which it appears that Robbie was taken aboard an alien space craft and examined by Top Men. On questioning of the robot, Robbie does not remember such an event ever occuring.

Robby achieves self awareness {2/365}

2010-01-06T14:22:00.001-08:00

Robby achieves self awareness {2/365}, originally uploaded by wizetux.

The Wave

2009-12-30T12:04:00.001-08:00

The Wave, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Street lamp people

2009-12-28T11:31:00.001-08:00

Street lamp people, originally uploaded by wizetux.

For the love of the music, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Rare scene

2009-12-13T00:19:00.001-08:00

Rare scene , originally uploaded by wizetux.

Twin Falls, Washington -- Upper Falls.

2009-10-07T11:55:00.001-07:00

Twin Falls, Washington -- Upper Falls., originally uploaded by wizetux.

Waterfall and cave

2009-09-28T13:05:00.001-07:00

Waterfall and cave, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Roller Coaster Sunset

2009-09-22T15:36:00.001-07:00

Roller Coaster Sunset, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Growing apple seeds?

2009-09-04T16:54:00.001-07:00

Growing apple seeds?, originally uploaded by wizetux.

I have heard of finding worms in your apple, but never sprouting seeds! However, this is what I found in mine today when I went to go eat it for my afternoon snack.

I have never heard of this before. The apple did not taste old. Could it have been the fact that I put them into the fridge, or some other temperature change that caused them to start growing? Will have to do some research on it.

Fire Dancer

2009-08-14T13:32:00.001-07:00

Fire Dancer, originally uploaded by wizetux.

A friend of mine twirls around with a sparkler on the 4th of July.

Eagle Scout Project Revisited

2009-07-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

Some of you may or may not know that I am a Eagle Scout. I enjoyed my time in the Scouting program. The days camping and hiking through the woods (or grass lands of Kansas), the week long canoe trip that some of my fellow scouts and I took up to the boundary waters in Minnesota, and the knowledge that I learned while in the Scouts I still us today. I feel that even though it was not the coolest thing for me to do during my middle school and high school days, I am glad that my parents insisted on me continuing my adventures in the scouting program.

Now being an Eagle Scout is a very highly honored achievement for any Boy Scout since it is the highest rank that one can achieve while in the organization before having to move on into the Adventure Scouting program. In fact, it is often something that people put on a resume due because it demonstrates to an employer that they can plan, organize and finish a large project as well as being a good leader. The project must for a non-profit group, and the scout must create a proposal on what they want to do, create a plan on how they will go about finishing the project, and getting any materials that are needed donated to the cause. So every scout who plans on getting the rank of Eagle Scout must come up with a project, and most end up being like building a shelf for a non-profit, or fixing up a trail or park for the city. Mine however, was slightly different, and at first was hard to convince the board as a valid project. Yes, there is a board of leaders that must approve all of the projects before one can begin.

I did not want to do a project that everyone else had done when it came time for me to start thinking about what I was going to do. At first, I had trouble finding a idea, but my father soon came to my rescue. He work had a recreation area outside of town that was own and operated by the employees of the company that he work at. They were in need of some help with the landscaping, to be exact. They needed a wind break for the property as well as clearing out some evergreen trees that had been growing wild in some areas that they were not really desired in. So I decide to make my project the transplanting of these wild evergreen trees and creating the needed wind break out of them. I won't bore you with the details of the project, but it turned out well. In fact, my mother just sent me some photos of the trees and how they look now some 9 years after I finished the project. The interesting thing to note is the fact that this is the only Eagle Scout project that still exists out of all of the ones done around this time.

Is HDR ever a correct exposure

2009-07-14T14:42:00.000-07:00

The other day, I had a conversation with a person on twitter in response to a twitter message that was "HDR photography = I don't want to care about getting the best exposure for the scene". I had made the post because after having finished reading the book Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera I could not see a reason for most images that were done in HDR on flick to have been. The only reason I could come up with was because the photographer either was too lazy to determine, just didn't care, or didn't know how to achieve the desired exposure for the scene. This twitter user (we will call him Mr. X) responded to my original post with "or HDR = I want all areas of my scene to be properly exposed."

Now, I thought about this for a bit and wondered. Why would an artist want everything in the scene to be completely exposed? You lose so much contrast and pop of an image when you do this. There are no real dark area (negative space) and too much lit area (positive space) for a good photograph. To me, this tends to make the final image flat.

Mr. X continued to try and support the need for HDR by the standard "Well, sometimes you can not properly expose a scene in one shot." Now, what a minute. Your eye can not expose some scenes completely either, so why should a camera? The brain combines multiple exposure of a scene, yes. But really, the brain is no where near capable of doing what HDR is, so what is HDR attempting to do? Photography has always been the attempt to capture a moment as one remembers seeing it through their eyes. Is HDR achieving this results, or is technology attempting to create things that we didn't realize when we see the scene?

All in all, I guess the best way that I can describe how I feel about HDR is by putting it in the following way. To me, HDR is like taking a multiple choice bubble test in which you don't really know what the correct answer is, so instead of making a choice, you decide to fill in every bubble. Now, are you answering the question correctly or not. I mean you have filled in the answer that is correct, but you have also filled in the answers that are incorrect. The same is with HDR. Somewhere in the HDR you have correctly exposed the scene, but mixed with that correct exposure is several incorrect ones. What do you think is the correct answer: HDR or one exposure that best fits the scene?

Space Needle and the park

2009-06-01T12:09:00.001-07:00

Space Needle and the park, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Snoqualmie Falls

2009-05-20T00:09:00.001-07:00

Snoqualmie Falls, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Mt Si

2009-05-19T12:47:00.001-07:00

Mt Si, originally uploaded by wizetux.

So last weekend, Heather and I decided to get out of the house and take a drive up to the north part of the greater Seattle area. Mostly, because Heather wanted to eat at Port of Subs in Mill Creek. On our way back, we decided to head towards Fall City by way of Snoqualmie and stop off at the falls. Now, I have been wanting to go to the falls for almost the entire time that we have been out here, but we always had a reason for not getting out to them (even though they are only about 20 minutes away.) But seeing how Heather had gone to the falls while her friend Molly was out here and I was not able to go with them, she thought it would be a good thing to do. The Snoqualmie falls was very beautiful, and I have some really good shots of them that I still need to process, but on the way back, we past this meadow with a perfect view of Mt. Si. I just had to stop and get the shot. This is that shot.

I tried to incorporate several of the techniques that I have read about in many of the photography books and podcast that I have listen too since starting my photography journey. This time, I knew that just taking the shot of the mountain would make the image very flat and boring, so I decided to put the wooden posts into the foreground to give more depth to the image. I feel that the goal was achieved very well. However, having taken this shot, I do realize now that I need a much better wide angle lens with clearer glass, for the mountain came out fuzzy in the final image. Whether this has to do with the camera only being a 6.1 Megepixal sensor or the glass, I am not sure, but I will try the glass first, because I can always use the glass more than another camera body.

exercise in patterns #1

2009-03-22T19:58:00.001-07:00

exercise in patterns #1, originally uploaded by wizetux.

In an effort to better my photography, I have decided to go back and study some more of the fundementals of art, visual design, and composition. This is the first of the series that I will be putting together.

So today, Heather and I went to Half Price Books and I was able to pick up a book on the art of photography. It covers the elements of compositions, and the philosophy that can be seen in others photographic works. It should be a very interesting read, and looking forward to my journey in exploring basic elements of design/composition.

You said you would go for a ride with me.

2009-02-21T21:52:00.001-08:00

You said you would go for a ride with me., originally uploaded by wizetux.

A rework of a previous image. Did much more clean up of the water, and some other color treatments.

I reworked the image so that I could print it as a large format.

Reflections of a product

2009-02-16T12:15:00.001-08:00

Reflections of a product, originally uploaded by wizetux.

The projected reflection of the can onto a the table top.

I find it very interesting that the reflection of the white letters from the can actually show up as black on the table with a white halo. Not really sure why this is.

Oh, I wish I was an Oscar Mayer Wiener...

2009-01-30T12:37:00.001-08:00

Can you believe it? This is something I doubt that I would have ever seen in Kansas had I never left for the great Northwest area of Seattle, the Wienermobile. I was able to get a few quick shots of the vehicle before I had to get on my way, but I wish I could of done some more. The doors where open and so, I could have gotten shots from the inside.

But it is time like these that I wish that my job allowed me a bit more flexibility as to when I show up and do my work. Now don't get me wrong, I do have more freedom than most jobs in my current position. It is nothing like when I worked at Boeing and they required me to be at my desk at the stroke on 8, and if I wasn't I would not need to come in the next day. However, I don't think that my current employer would have like me to come in around 1 pm because I was shooting the Wienermobile. But it is the Wienermobile, when would I have this opportunity ever again?

Don't Say Goodbye Pano

2009-01-27T12:22:00.001-08:00

Don't Say Goodbye Pano, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Here is a new crop of my previous photo. I had a suggestion given to me about this photo on another photo forum about taking out the over blown sky.

How do you like it? Is it better or worse.

First Kansas Sunset of the Year

2009-01-01T20:56:00.000-08:00

First Kansas Sunset of the Year, originally uploaded by wizetux.

First sunset of the new year at Sarcoxie Lake near Bonner Springs, KS. Jan 1, 2009.

Christmas lights next door

2008-12-25T21:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas lights next door, originally uploaded by wizetux.

This is the Christmas display of the neighbors of Heather's parents place. I was out trying to teach George how to take photo's of the Christmas lights.

Pies, Pies, Pies!

2008-11-28T15:51:00.001-08:00

Pies, Pies, Pies!, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Could I create a cheap Waccom tablet?

2008-08-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

So today, as I was doing my normal browsing of the net, I came across a talk that was done at TED conference about how you can use a Wii remote as a cheap interactive white board. The idea is simple, the Wii remote has a IR camera in the tip that can track IR light sources. So if you hook up the Wii remote to your computer via BlueTooth and point it at the surface that your computer image is being displayed on, then with the use of a IR pen or LED, it will track where you use the pen. At the end of this YouTube video, the creator of this software, shows you that you can use this same idea with the LCD screen of your computer. In a sense, you have just created a $2000 tablet PC with a $40 dollar piece of equipment that you can purchase at any electronic gaming store. So now, with this $40 dollar "Wii tablet" you can then use this with your photo editing software, and you have your self a Wacom tablet. And if you don't like the idea of writing on your screen, what is to stop you from pointing the Wii remote on the surface of your desk or such. Nothing...the software will map out where on your surface each point is to your computer.

Now, the only downside from this approach is there would be no pressure sensitivity. With the Wacom tablets, since the pen is part of the tablet, it can sense how much pressure you are exerting on the table. This is done by a sensor in the tip of the pen. With the pressure sensitivity, the drawing software can change different settings based on this information making the lines thicker, decreasing opacity, or the amount of jitter applied to the brush. Now, myself, having only used a mouse to do most of my photo editing, I have never had the luxury of this feature, so I don't think I would miss it that much. Now, to see about getting a Wii remote and trying this idea out.

What a waste!

2008-08-07T10:48:00.001-07:00

So last week, Heather bought a bag of Mrs. Fields "Soft and chewy" cookies, and opened the bag to what she expected to be a, you guessed it, a bag of cookies. Instead she was grated with a bag of individually wrapped cookies. Why is this even needed? I mean the first bag was sealed. To me this just seems like a waste, and just something more to fill the land fills with. Do these cookie manufacturers expect us to buy their cookies and not eat them right away. Most people pick up these items off of the shelf at the grocery store on impulse or because they are craving them, which tends to mean that they are going to be gone in the first ten minutes when they get home, if they did not devour them in the car the moment they got out of the store (much like Heather does when she buys them.) So there really is no point in sealing them in their own, "Save for the next ten years", bag. Unless, they expect the stores to have them in stock for this long...

Untitled

2008-07-22T12:15:00.001-07:00

Untitled, originally uploaded by wizetux.

In the shadows of the Gods

2008-07-18T14:46:00.001-07:00

In the shadows of the Gods, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Memories of home.

2008-07-17T12:00:00.001-07:00

Memories of home., originally uploaded by wizetux.

The Emerald City

2008-07-16T13:28:00.001-07:00

Seattle_Mnt, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Seattle is oddly nicked name the "Emerald City". To me, this seams just ironic seeing that I moved here from Kansas, and would always here people ask me how Dorthy or Toto was... I guess I made it to see the Wizard.

Rare Occasion

2008-07-04T19:39:00.001-07:00

lightning 2, originally uploaded by wizetux.

A lightning storm is a rare occasion here in the North West, but tonight we had several good shows. I was able to catch a few of them before the storm moved out of range.

Seattle Ferry

2008-06-27T11:57:00.001-07:00

Seattle Ferry, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Batton Down the hatches

2008-06-25T18:40:00.001-07:00

Batton Down the hatches, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Telescope

2008-06-18T22:10:00.001-07:00

Telescope, originally uploaded by wizetux.

dsc_1826

2008-06-14T20:39:00.001-07:00

dsc_1826, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Update on Tornado Damage

2008-06-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally learned the extent of the damage to the storage unit back in Manhattan. It turned out that out of the entire storage park, only about 4 units were left fully intact, and one of those happened to be Heather's. So we will be sending a key to our friend Matt, and he will go take pictures of the things in the unit. Once we decide what we want to keep, he will ship the stuff to us, and give the rest to the Salvation Army.

Tornado hits Manhattan, KS.

2008-06-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

Last night, Wednesday 11, a tornado hit the SW side of Manhattan causing lots of damage to homes and property in the area. The tornado then jumped around while continuing its path NE through the city, hitting the campus of Kansas State University on the way. Some photos of the damage can be seen here. Heathers storage unit might have been hit, for it was right near a section of town that was hit hardest, but we will not know until later today or tomorrow as to the actual state. If it was, I am not really sure what we can do about it, seeing that we are 1800 miles away from there. I don't think there is much to be done, actually. Except to write it off as gone and continue on as we were. On the bright side, if it was damaged, that is at least one more bill that we won't have to pay for anymore.

family_sunset

2008-06-10T09:23:00.001-07:00

family_sunset, originally uploaded by wizetux.

dsc_3228

2008-06-09T23:16:00.001-07:00

dsc_3228, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Beach Combing

2008-06-09T21:33:00.001-07:00

Beach Combing, originally uploaded by wizetux.

So this weekend, Heather and I went to Ocean Shores for a few days of relaxation. We left on Saturday amidst rain and wind, and arrived at Oceans Shores that afternoon.

Quiet place...

2008-05-28T10:29:00.001-07:00

Quiet place..., originally uploaded by wizetux.

What have you got down there?

2008-05-27T12:53:00.001-07:00

What have you got down there?, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Woodland Park Zoo

2008-05-24T21:05:00.001-07:00

Mommy, can I pet the big kitty?, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Last weekend, I went to the Woodland Park Zoo down in Seattle with the Flickr meetup group. It was a very warm day for the Seattle area with temperatures near 95 degrees. It was a fun day, even though I spend most of it by myself. Heather was feeling ill from the cold that happened to have given her earlier that week, so I went on my own. We were suppose to meet up as a group, but due to traffic I ended up about 15 minutes late. It turned out that most of the group was late by either 30 minutes to an hour, but I didn't know until later that afternoon. So I started making my way around the zoo, and eventually ran into some of the group. It turned out that they had been around the loop in the opposite direction that I was, so I said hi and continued on my way. All in all, at the end of the day, I meet back up with the group at the pavilion and talked and shared photos that we each had gotten.

Ah monkey. Monkey wants my burger...

2008-05-24T15:42:00.001-07:00

Ah monkey. Monkey wants my burger, originally uploaded by wizetux.

I love you mommy

2008-05-24T15:40:00.001-07:00

giraffe-kiss, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Mushrooms

2008-05-02T14:05:00.001-07:00

Mushrooms, originally uploaded by wizetux.

Entrance

2008-05-02T11:06:00.001-07:00

A shot of the entrance to the UW garage where the Flickr group had a recent photo shot. You can see more images from the shoot here

Breaking Out

2008-04-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

Well, this year I decided to do a shot for Earth Day. I know, it is a bit late, but things have been busy and couldn't find the time to getting around to doing the shot. Anyway, I feel that the best thing that anyone, who is concerned about the environment or their electric bills, can do is to replace all of their old bulbs with newer CFLs like this one. They use much less energy than their incandescent counter parts, and last much longer. So even if you don't care about the rate of electricity or the environment, but just hate having to replace bulbs, CFLs are the way to go.

Untitled

2008-04-17T01:54:00.001-07:00

The life of a dog.

2008-04-17T01:49:00.000-07:00

Chaos

2008-04-11T02:32:00.000-07:00

The Forgotten Cup

2008-04-11T02:30:00.000-07:00

Video on Flickr

2008-04-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

When you think of home videos on the net, the first thing that most people think of will be Youtube, but now if you ask where to go to view photos from others you will think Flickr. Not true anymore. As of today, Flickr has now started offering it pro account holders to be able to post 90 second videos to their Flickr photo streams. That statement alone just seems wrong. It is a "photo" stream and only should have photos. Shame on you Flickr for ruining the wonderful world of artistic, family, and snap shots with the horrible crappy videos of someone getting hit in the balls with a football.

$4 is just too much for coffee.

2008-04-08T00:05:00.000-07:00

Just this weekend, Heather was making a comment on how much coffee cost at Starbucks. She has been in LA for the last week for training with the new job, and every morning she has been getting a Iced mocca from a local coffee store in the area for like 2.50 a cup, while SB wants almost 4 dollars for. Well, it looks like SB is finally starting to feel the pain of charging these prices for their coffee. Along with this and the fact that several fast food companies have started getting into the coffee business, SB has seen a decline in their traffic for the first time since the company's founding days. Due to this, they have started closing stores and firing employees. In an effort to bring Starbucks back "to its roots", the company has announced a new blend, "Pikes Place Roast", named after the original store, and to help with the announcement, they will be giving away a free cup of the new blend to customers at stores around the country between 9 - 9:30 am PST tomorrow (April 8, 2008).

I how ever think that this is just a last ditch effort from a company that just needs to learn that they have good coffee, but not good enough to charge 4 dollars for a glass. So until they realize this and lower their prices, they are going to lose customers to the fast food companies even though their coffee might not taste as good. Especially in this economy where things are costing more and people are making less.

Glad I don't work there any more.

2008-04-07T23:16:00.000-07:00

I am so glad that I am not working at Boeing any more. I knew that it was a bad move for Boeing to outsourcing their entire computer support system that was highly utilized by the engineers for the new Dreamliner. When I left, the group that was working on the Dreamliner were wanting 24/7 support for the systems that they utilized along with 20 min response times for any issues. That was a lot for full time employees, and I knew that it would never even be possible with the outsourcing that they were wanting to do. So, there is a part of me that wonders if this decision has anything to do with the announcement today from the Seattle business? As of today, Boeing announced that there would be a delay in the delivery of the Dreamliner by almost 6 months. What does this mean...well, more than likely, lay offs.

Obvious quote of the day

2008-04-03T23:58:00.000-07:00

"If you are an actor and you can't do your part. Then you are not good" -- Grant Wilson, TAPS, Ghost Hunters on SciFi.com

New Yahoo Protocol

2008-04-03T23:30:00.000-07:00

So, apparently, as a Wonderful April's fools day joke, Yahoo decided that April 2 was the best day to stop supporting protocol version 10. The protocol that I used as the base for the Yahoo event channel for the software at work. This wouldn't have been such a big deal had it not been that it was also the day that QA decided to test this feature of the software. This had been working since the beginning of the year, and they had just got around to testing it.

Thus, at 4:00 pm today, I started to work on upgrading the protocol to version 15 (the latest version for Yahoo!). And at 11:30 tonight, I finally finish debugging and determining what needed to be changed.

The Old Man of the Mountain

2008-04-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

Free ink cartridge refill from Walgreens

2008-04-02T22:45:00.001-07:00

Walgreen's had a coupon today for a free refill of either a black or color print cartridge. Get the coupon here: http://www.walgreens.com/dmi/freeink/default.html

This was a great thing for me, seeing that Heather's printer was out of black ink. The cartridge won't be done until Friday. This really isn't that much of a problem, since Heather is in L.A. until Friday night and I rarely use the printer. Nothing like getting 10 dollars (the cost of the refill).

Reaching for the Sky

2008-04-02T22:11:00.001-07:00

Interesting laws.

2008-03-31T01:22:00.000-07:00

I just learned that it is illegal to destroy your own property during the heat of an argument. It is considered domestic violence. I guess that I will no long be able to hit my pillow when I am frustrated at the computer. However, if you are drunk, you can burn, destroy or shot with a fire arm, any of the property that you own. I just find this ironically funny.

Heart of the Sun

2008-03-29T00:16:00.000-07:00

Hehehe

2008-03-26T18:23:00.001-07:00

iHop = an Apple pogo stick

What I wish they made

2008-03-26T14:38:00.000-07:00

For the past week, Heather and I have been going to the gym more. Well, more Heather than me at the moment. Each time we go, she and I both take a music player. I take my Archos Gmini 120 that I purchased back in 2004, and she uses her smart phone. Now, when I use my mp3 player, I put it in my pockets because I have caught the headphone cord to many times and dropped it on the phone, but Heather does not have the luxury of pockets. Every time that she has gone, she has done just this, and with her phone being around 300 dollars, I cringe every time it hits the floor. This is probably due more to the fact that I dropped her first phone on the carpet in our old places, and it cracked the screen. So to prevent us from having to have the phone repaired one of these times that we are not lucky, we ordered her a smaller, cheaper mp3 player for her. It was a SanDisk Sansa e280, a 8 GB storage device for around 75 dollars. Much cheaper than her phone, even with the insurance plan.

As we were looking around, I was thinking to myself that I listen to more Pandora.com lately than I do mp3s, because I can stream it at work and customize the station based on the mood that I am in that day. Also, with the Timbers having open Wi-Fi in the office/gym, I wish that I could buy a player that had a built in Wi-Fi so I could stream my Pandora station while I was at the gym. Unfortunately, the only devices that I know of with the flash player and the wi-fi are smart phones or the iPhone. Now, if the iPod touch could do this...that might be a reason for me to actually start thinking about owning an Apple product. Besides that, I wouldn't touch the Touch with a 10' USB cable.

I have also been thinking about getting a new player because the Archos is nice, but it is just a bit to big for what I am needing. Don't get me wrong, I have loved this player since I got it, but when you are lifting and doing exercise, a device the size of a laptop battery is not what I want in my pocket. If I was to go with a new player, I would really love to find a way to "time shift" Pandora, or record what is played (streamed) down to mp3 files that I could take it with me on the player. I guess until I can find a way to do this, I will just have to start looking at other ways to get my music.

It is always a good day when...

2008-03-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

You know that it is a good day when you get an email that start with the following, "Alan was correct when he speculated earlier that TreeView.TopNode may not be the right member to use"

I really feel that the work that I have done in the last week has started to earn me a bit more respect from my fellow coworkers. I have been wondering if they felt that I was knowledgeable program for a while, and I think this email just shows that they do listen to the opinions and suggestions that I give. Ian has started giving me more UI programming tasks since I have proved that I could do a well designed one last Wednesday, and help solve several of the issue that we were having in the filter Tree system. I will have to see where things go from here.

Heather's Shot

2008-03-19T20:49:00.001-07:00

Night out with new friends

2008-03-16T00:46:00.000-07:00

So tonight, Heather and I went out with some new friends. Their names are Alina and Joe, and Heather meet them, as she meets 90% of our friends, at work. She tends to meet most of our friends as they tour the complex that she is currently working at, and by the end of the tour they have a new home, and we have new friends. Now granted, it is against the complex's rules that she be friends with residents, so it is a good thing that starting yesterday, she only has a week left.

Well, seeing how both Alina and Joe shot pool, we went out to Side Lines in Factoria for a couple of quick games on the quarter tables. I am very surprised about how well I am still playing the game despite the fact that I have not picked up my cue in more than 2 years. Part of me really wants to try to find a good set of friends that play on a regular basis, or join a league. I miss the game so much.

A coder's mark

2008-03-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

Every programmer does it.

2008-03-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

I think that every programmer, who has been in the field for more than 3 years, spends 2/3 of their day playing games or surfing the web, and the other 1/3 of their day actually programming. Now you might be asking yourself, "Why?" Well, I feel it has to do with the fact that if we didn't we would burn out of minds in the first 3 months were are on the job. If I am really working on a project and focus on it for more than 4 - 5 hours, I start to develop a terrible headache. At that point, I am useless for the rest of the day as far as anything. It is like running your car engine's rpms in the red. For a short amount of time, it won't hurt the car at all, but the more time that it spends in that state, things start to break down. Either your car will start to overheat, break a bolt, or just blow up your engine depending on the amount of time and how hard you push it. The same goes for the mind of the programmer. To keep our brilliant ideas flowing from our brains, we have to find time to idle our brains which tends to be done with the internet or games.

For me, I find that my photography is the gear shift that I need. It is not uncommon for me to spend the first hour of my day catching up on the photography forums, looking around Flickr, or reading other photography blogs. The rest of the day is then a mixture of this and actual work. And it is not just me, either. I look around at the other programmers here in the office, and 6 out of 10 times, they are also either playing flash games, browsing forums, or just listening to music. We don't just do this because we can, but because we have to.

Spark of Creativity

2008-03-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

This weekend, Terence from the Seattle Flickr group held a macro class at the Redmond City Library. He had rented several macro lenses for people from LensRentals.com to work on both the Canon and Nikon bodies. Due to some issues with how the group sets up meetings, his class did not fill up until the last week, so when he went to rent the lenses, they were out of stock. However, the owner of LensRentals.com made a deal with him, in that he would order more lenses, and have them dropped shipped to Terence’s house. If a company is willing to do this for a customer, that is company that I would do more business with.

Anyway, one of the objects that were brought in was this spark plug. I though it would be a really interesting photo to have the spark plug with a black background, and then Photoshop'd the electric spark into the image. I told my idea to Terence, and he said that I would be able to do it with a flash. He let me use his PocketWizards and an off camera flash, told me how I should set up the camera to get the effect that I wanted, and taught me why it was going to have that effect. I think this is the best out of the series. Thanks Terence for the help and the knowledge that is probably going to jump start me into using off camera flash more in my photos.

All roads lead to Rome

2008-03-08T12:10:00.000-08:00