I did something tonight that made me quite sad...

When I got home from work (*MAD*house, thanks for asking) Pops asked me if I had any AA batteries...

Now, like most techies, I tend/try to have a supply of most types. C D (yes, D, I have a *good* maglite), but at this point in time, I was frustrated to find that I had none.

I know, right?

Anyhow, in a fit of robbing Peter to rob pay Paulness, I reasoned that I could happily share the batteries from my FM 2's motor drive, since I can't even remember the last time I shot film....

Needless to say, since none of them (eight) tested with a charge, and also given that two of them had started leaking, I decided that it was time to take all the batteries out of my film equipment.

All 3 of them (N70, 8008s, FM2) still have film in them, I just don't see myself using them....

R.I.P.

Buenos con queso,

T.

I'd begun to think I'd lost my marbles....

I'm happy to say, however, that I simply misplaced them:

And below, some close-ups:

Oh, and in one of those 'it's so random I have to comment on it' ways, my 1,111th post was on 11/11/11.

I know, right?

Buenos con queso,

T.

George Lucas has been making money off me since August of 1977

You see, that's when I first saw Star Wars.

In the theatre.

We didn't call it 'Episode 4,' and we didn't call it 'A New Hope,' we just called it Star Wars.

My sis and I were near the front of a line that must have had better than 150 people in it.

Also that summer, I bought the cards....blue borders, red borders...green, and then I think yellow (it may have been orange).

I had action figures, and I bought an X-wing model. I was mad for it all.

Then there was Empire. Saw that in the theatre too. And Jedi.

And all 3 of the 'new ones.'

And then, all 3 of the 'old ones' again, when they were re-released. I owned several different copies of each of the first 3 on VHS, and currently own all 6 on DVD.

I haven't bought them on Blu-Ray yet, but it's prolly just a matter of time.

May the Force be with you,

T.

Let's not dwell on it, shall we?

So many things have happened that I don't even know where to start.....

Lesse....Yes, we went to Dland.

I've bought not one, but two new PS3 games....

I've been playing a stupid amount of EQ.....

I've been working....

And working.....

Working....

All in all, I've been a busy little beaver.....

I guess what really brought me here today, after such a protracted absence is the fact that serendipity (serenity perhaps) gave me another 'must have' tattoo.....

This one will be Chinese text down the back of my left calf that reads thusly: 宇宙间没有任何力量可以阻止我

For those of you that don't read Chinese, that says 'No power in the 'verse can stop me.' Actually, it's closer to 'The Universe, there's no power can stop me.'

How can I be sure, you ask? Well, that's a good question. I had the phrase in mind for a tattoo anyhow, so I was familiar with it. I tried a couple online translators, and they all kind of gave the same thing, but I wanted to be sure.

I send an email to a Professor of Chinese, one John Chang by name, and gave him the phrase and some background about the quote.....He sent me the above, and the other translation I got online....

Anyhow, I'm on my way (maybe) soon to stop in a couple shops and get prices and the like.

I'll keep you posted.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Simon has joined his ancestors.....

I don't have all the details yet, but apparently Chinese neighbor guy has given up the ghost.  We haven't heard too much about it, but as I get more info, I'll share it with y'all.

I guess Anna is still doing fine, but who knows?  I've heard that old couples often go very close together, and they've been together ages from what I understand.

In other news, it's Friday, and boy do I need a weekend off!!  Work's been a festering boil of conflict, and I've been tempted to just walk the fuck out.

I've never done that before, but I'm reacing my limit these days....

Also, 16 days and counting.

I know I haven't really blogged much about it (or anything else for that matter) but Dland is on for the week of Sept 26th this year.  It's going to be a short trip, and only 4 of us are going (pops sis niece me), but my daughter's going to school in SoCal, so we'll get to see her too.

There's a chance that my friend Tammy might be able to join us on one of our days in the park, so I've got my fingers crossed for that.

It's been entirely too long since I've seen her....

Buenos con queso,

T.

No more mister nice guy.

Now, as you may know, I've been helping out the old couple that lives next door.

I don't call them old lightly.  He's 84, and she's 91.  There have been some medical problems, and both of them are now in-patients.

Anna took a fall and broke her ulna and radius at the wrist, and her hip.  I understand that she's had her surgeries, and is doing well, and recovering nicely.

Simon was having other troubles, and was admitted too.

I'm not sure the nature of all of his problems, so I can't elaborate.

Now, if any of you know me, you know that I didn't start helping Simon and Anna (two of the least chinese names ever) for any kind of reward.

I was simply being a nice guy, a good neighbor.

My good samaritanism did net me a couple things tho:

The first of which was a visit from a Health Department worker.  Seems Simon, among other things, was diagnosed with tuberculosis.

This visit prompted the second thing I received, a TB test at the abovementioned Health Department.

I'm happy to report that 20 bux (out of pocket btw) and two days of vacillation between worry and virulent anger, that I'm not infected, but I'm still kinda pissed.

All I was doing was trying to be a nice guy, and not only did it backfire on me, it cost me money.

It may make me seem a bit petty, but methinks my days of helping out may be coming to an end.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Remember, remember, the fifth of November, the gunpowder, treason, and plot.....

Given the title of this post, you'd prolly think that I'm watching V for Vendetta while I blog this, but you'd be wrong.....

I'm actually watching Episode 5 of Firefly, 'Safe.'

I don't know if any of you ever watched it, or the movie Serenity, and I know I've prolly talked about it before, but you really should give it a look....

But, I digress....

This is what I came here to share with you:

Hmmmmm

Buenos con queso,

T.

HOW hot did you say it was yesterday?

Now, this isn't actually from yesterday, it was more like a couple weeks ago, but's it's impressive, nonetheless...

I know I've talked about the weather here, and how crazy it is, and I've even talked about this area being a 'mountain desert.' but I don't know if I've shown you what the desert heat can do.

I mean, I've shown you snow, lightning, wildfires, but through it all, there's the heat.

This poor soul was left in my Technical Advisor's automobile.

I present for your viewing pleasure, Hot Pez: 

Poor Walleye.....or whatever the fuck his name is.....

Anyhow, as Paris would say, 'That's Hot."
Yes, I know that 'hot' shouldn't be capatialized, but I'll bet she thinks it does....

I'm just sayin'.

Buenos con queso,

T.



The most epic shopping list ever?

Quite possibly.

I know it's been forever since I've posted, but I've gotten really tired of explaining/making up excuses for  why I haven't been posting, so I'm not going to do it.

There have been some changes since last I posted (duh) which include, but are not limited to:  getting a car, organizing my room (somewhat), a new cash windfall, and some good Samaritan work.

The car, if you care, is a 1982 Toyota Celica.

It looks something like this, although, not quite as new: 

 The color scheme is even basically the same.

Pops found out that he's entitled to (and getting) around 500 bux a month from the clerks union (which he didnt think he qualified for), which is nice, and will help greatly with the day to day/month to month money woes that we all face....well, that pops and I face, anyhow.

Not sure that his money will help any of you, but.....

I'm not really going to touch on my room, as I'm sure none of you care if my room's a mess or not (except perhaps for you mom), so on to the good samaritanism....

I mentioned, however briefly, that we moved.  It was nothing major, just out of a condo to an apartment.  I mean, it is closer to work, and the rent is 50 bux cheaper, and we don't have to pay utilities (except for cable/inet/phone of course) but basically, just new digs.

Upon moving in, like all good Americans, we closed ourselves in, and did our level best not to get to know our neighbors.

Well, except for James, my long-time friend, and tech advisor (apt 49) and a High School buddy, Bruce (apt 63), both of whom actually live in the same complex.

So, flash forward a few months, and one day, we notice our next-door neighbor (right hand side), whom I've since learned is named Simon, on the ground, struggling to get back on his feet.

I'm not sure exactly what happened, but he fell, either getting into, or out of his car.

Now, mind you, up to this point, the only thing I knew about him was that he was old (ive since found out hes 84), and Chinese.  His wife Anna, is 90.  Well, as a result of his fall, and for how long, I'm not sure, but he was giving a 'no driving' prohibition.

Being the nice guy that I am, I offered.  I've taken him tothe doc's a couple times, and to the store a few times, and he's gotten to the point now where he trusts me.  He'll give me money, the keys to his car, and a list.

I mean, he still checks the receipts/change when I come back with his goods, but that's just a cultural thing.

Now, as you might imagine, his lists are all written in spidery old-man printing.  The other day, however, there was something else that caught my eye:

It's right there, at the top of the list.  See where he asks for Kikkoman soy sauce?  And then there's a Chinese character there?

If you look closely, you'll see that it's the same as the one above.

Now, say what you will, but I think that makes this the most epic shopping list ever!!

Buenos con queso,

T.

Why have a pause button if you're not going to use a pause button?

I don't think I've ever mentioned it on here, and really, why would I, but I'm Hell on wheels with a remote.
Ever since the first time I got my hands on one, in the dim dark past, I've been in love.

I remember the pre-remote days, as some of you may. The days when 'cable' meant that you had twelve channels from which to choose!! Can you imagine? Not just 2, 4, and 8, with that 'riot snow' on ever channel in between? Rabbit ears? Yeah, I remember those as well. The clunky, tough to turn dial? When I was the remote control?

Yeah, it's all there for me, so you may begin to understand my love affair with the remote.

A device that lets you change the channel without getting up? Or turn the t.v. volume up or down?

My GOD!! Are you freaking serious? Even with a minuscule 12 channels to choose from, this made things so much easier. Now, with the Oh, I don't know 1000 or so that the right price can bring into the house, it's almost a necessity.

Like most things, I like my remotes to have a myriad of buttons. There are a couple (mentioned previously) that get a lot of use, namely the 'last channel' and 'mute' buttons. I use those like they're going out of style, and the mute button almost gets worn out. Even if remotes only had channel up, channel down, volume + and -, and mute, I'd still be in love.

These days, however, they're much more advanced. I guess that I should mention that as I blog this (from my coffee table since you asked) there are four remotes within easy reach. they are, in order of proximity, tv, cd player, digital media player, and home theatre.

With the exception of the audio device (silver) these remotes share some basic buttons: The volume, of course, and channel buttons, of course, but also something I like to call the four-way:

This one (my home theatre remote) also has some added buttons, but it's the four-way that we're on. Used primarily for menu navigation, it's a wonder of convenience up, down, left, right....all moves are a variation on these 4 directions, even in 3 dimensional space. The middle button, or 'go button' as I like to call it, confirms choice.

There's another group of buttons that most, if not all, 'player' devices share. I don't have a bitchin' name for it, but it's the play/pause section:

This one, (also my home theatre) also has some other options. The main ones, play, pause, and the others are totally awesome. I use them with such regularity, that's it's a good thing that the buttons have the markings imprinted into them, because a mere paint job world wear off in no time.

Getting up to get a drink? Pause button. Miss a bit of dialog, or didn't see something clearly? Rewind. Suicide note, or boobies/other nudity? Pause again. Something that you really like? Awesome special effect (like the gravediggers head exploding in bones), or the 'human claymore' at the beginning of Swordfish, or again, boobies/other nudity? Frame advance, to see everything in it's explosive/bloody/sexy goodness.
I can't express my level of love for these handy little devices.

What about you? Do you love/use your remotes like I do?

Weigh in.

Buenos con queso,

T.

He would have been 45 today.....

I miss you, buddy.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Fuck you, Thursday. Fuuuuuccckkkkk Youuuuuuuu!!

Returning to it's roots, yesterday, Thursday handed me a royal screwing that almost sent me over the edge....

The first part of the day was unremarkable, but when I got to work?  Well, that's when things changed.

It started when I found out that our truck crew (which is usu 5-7 people) consisted of me and only 2 others.  One was in the truck, putting freight onto the line and me and the other guy had to take it off and put it onto pallets by department.

All 1600 pieces of it.

Which, as I noted above is at least a 4 person job, and even then it's a bit of a ball-buster.

Somewhere in the middle of it, one of the bosses came and pulled the other guy off the line to unload a different truck that arrived, leaving me to man the line alone.

It was fucking great!!

Only, you know, not.

Add in the realization at some point that I forgot to blog, and my first couple hours at work pissed me off soooooo much.

After getting break approximately 30 minutes late, I decided to post a quick blog from my phone to keep up with NaBloPoMo.

Only to find blogger down.

And on lunch?

Down.

The site was down long enough to ensure that I couldn't post.

There were other little work-things that kept adding up, and I can't cite them all here, but suffice it to say, when I clocked out last night, I was ready to spit fire....

I'd love to stay and chat more, but I have to get ready for work...

Buenos con queso,

T.

Douglas Adams died 10 years ago.

Strangely enough, May 11th, the day he died, was also his birthday.

I never met him, never knew him, but I miss, and prolly always will miss him.

Just in case you forgot, my realization that Thursdays are evil, and the inspiration for at least one (maybe more to come) of my tattoos are a direct result of my love for his fiction.....

So, with that in mind, I plead with you:

Buenos con queso,

T.

“Maybe it's other people's reactions to us that makes us who we are.”

So, here we are again.

Well, I know I'm here, but as for the rest of you, I'll just take it on faith that you're here.  Well, not here, but you get my drift.

Not much going on, but I thought I'd drop in and say 'Hi' anyhow.

I don't know if I've mentioned (and i dont want to check) but I've managed to get the weekends off.  Not that I was trying to, nor does it really make any difference to me what days off I have, but there you have it.

It does make it easier for the D&D, and that's nice, but otherwise, all it means is that there's nothing on tv to watch on my days off.

I liked when I had Mondays off, 'cause I could watch Castle, but I've found a way around that too, so I guess all is good.

Guess that's all for now.

Buenos con queso,

T.

I'll give you a definite maybe

What follows is a verbatim txt conversation that I just had:



                                                       No worries. What's for snacky? Cherry Cobbler?



peanut m&ms lol




                                                   ...obscure pun alert... You're such a goober...



I SO AM NOT! i dont generally like peanuts... how can i be a goober xD



                                                    Well....you're eating them *now* aren't you?



nooooo? -shifty eyes-



                                                    And aren't/weren't they called goober peas?



                                                    Aaaaanddd....since you *are* what you eat.....



goober peas? XD



                                                      Hey, I didn't make it up...google it



then im CHOCOLATE!



                                                      Well, and goobers.....



can i be a chocolate goober? xDDD

                                                   If it makes you feel better....hey, would you mind if I put this goober thing up on my blog?

go ahead :P

Silly, right?

Ok, so I guess a couple more photos....

My hands get pretty beat up at work:

One of exactly  43,252,003,274,489,856,000 permutations, which is approximately forty-three quintillion

My freaky, super bendy thumb:

And again:

And before you ask, yes, they bothdo that.....

And to end it out, a couple of my hair.  I like the angle on the second one, and that I look pretty tatted up.....

Ok, that's all for now.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Maybe we don't always know as much as we think we do.

I mean, I can remember when I thought this:

was a big rubber band.

And yes, when compared to the wimpy little newspaper rubberband that I knew at the time of my youth, I suppose it was.

Then, although I never got around to posting pics...(remember when i didn't have a digital cam), I saw rubberbands that put those to shame.  Now, this isn't the actual rubber band (i don't think) but they are 7 inches long.

Oh, and they sting like a bitch when they hit you, even from across the room.

I found something the other day, however, that puts all previous rubberbands to shame.....

I present to you the M.O.A.E.B*:

Or, to put it in a little more perspective:

I know, right?

Also, some more light painting:

I have more, and intend to make more, but that's all you get for now.

Oh, and Happy Mother's Day to all you mutha's out there.

Buenos con queso,

T.

*Mother Of All Elastic Bands

Maybe, baby, you will love me someday.....

Hello again.

I'm here, checking in, and letting you know that I'm....well, checking in, I guess.

I'm in kind of a rush tho, cause I have to play God tonight, and  I to get my 7331 stuffzes in order and hauled over to my buddy's house.

So, in lieu of an exciting, wonder-filled post, some photos:

The Sierra-Nevada Mountains:

 Spider:

 Choose your pimp hat:



And here's one of me, if you care.....

With that done, I shall now bid thee,

Buenos con queso,

T.

Okay, maybe it's just me, but.....

Is this one of the freakiest things you've ever heard of , or what:  Really?

I mean, it's prolly for realz the first step toward a full-body interactive suit (which might be cool), but, like most tech in it's infancy, it's just kinda spooky.....

In other news, photos:

This is the view down the hall to pop's room.  It was like a 10 second exposure at f32, and I was wielding a 3 led under-the-cabinet attaching light bar....

Kinda cool.

Gonna play with the levels a bit in the future and see what happens.

Guess I'm outtie.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Maybe it's better this way.....

Wow, a title that has nothing to do with the post it heads.

I've never done that before.

Nothing exciting, mind you, just a couple lines to fulfill my 'post every day' quota.

I really need to get to editing some pictures for uploading.  Perhaps I'll get on that tomorrow.

Or maybe tonight when I get home from work.

Which, considering I work until 1 am, actually is tomorrow.....

Anyhoozle, just thought I'd drop in and say 'Hi.'

Buenos con queso,

T.

May the 4th be with you...

So, here it is, the unofficial Star Wars day, and I find myself without a thing to wear....

Well, I suppose that's not literally true, but I surely don't have anything Warsish that I can wear to work.

I apologize if this all seems a bit disjointed, but I stayed up laaaaate last night....or, well, early this morning, I guess.  It wasn't just for fun, however.

Well, actually, I guess it was.  There's this friend I've made at work.....we'll call her S, and one day whil she was over here hanging out, I put on White Collar, and now, she, like Pops and I, is hooked.

We watched like 4 or 5 epi's last night, and the sun was coming up when she left.  That, coupled with my 'inability to sleep when the sun is up' super power means I'm running on about 5 hours of sleep, which isn't much, as I've been getting very little lately.....

As I'm typing this, Discovery is airing one of those 'the end of the world as we know it' docu's.

You know, 2012's right around the corner.  The whole 'magnetic field reversal' theory has been brought out, and they're talking about possible side effects:  earthquakes leading to tsunamis, and super volcanoes erupting.

They've just started talking about what would happen if the Yellowstone caldera were to erupt.

Short answer:  We're fucked.

Ok, enough of that.  I've gotten one request for a video, and really, that's enough, but I'd like to see another comment or two from some of you.....just to know you're still lurking about.

Look for the vid in a day or so....I mean, I have to get a script together....or maybe a blog to read....

Buenos con queso,

T.

Maybe this world is another planet's hell.

I mean, I don't really think/feel that, but it sounds good.

I don't really have anything planned to tell you today, so forgive me if this is a bit disjointed.

I've been playing with the new camera lately, so look forward to a post with some photos to come soon, but I still have to 'shop them, so we're not sharing yet.

I will say that I really like the new camera tho.  I haven't played with the video function much, but I'm sure I will.

Hey, there's an idea.....if you want to see a short video post, let me know.

I'm counting on y'all to give me some fucking comments, as I never seem to get those anymore....

Buenos con queso,

T.

The game was called on account of love....

Well, at least lust.

We were supposed to throw dice last night, you see.  We didn't play last week (easter dont ya know) and we were going to be a person short this week, but we were going to soldier on.

The problem arose from the host.  We always play at his house, and last night, his new S.O. was scheduled to stay the night....

With that supplying an early termination time, and with the unplanned late start, we decided that rather than rush, we'd just postpone.....

---

In other news, the theme for this month is:  Maybe..

Maybe I'll do something on maybe tomorrow....

Maybe....

Buenos con queso,

T/.

Maybe this isn't the best idea.....

It's nothing major, or bad, so don't worry, but I guess I'ma try the NaBloPoMo thing.

Hey, I can hear you laughing....that's not nice.....

Ok, so, yes....I've been very crappy at this lately....

Maybe now is the time to change.....

I also seem to have not posted about something that I thought I had...and a long time ago too.

I'm searching my previous posts, and if I discover that I haven't told you lot the story, then I will soon...

Ok, it's a lame beginning, but it's a beginning.

Buenos con queso,

T.

So, I've been doing better at this.....

Have you noticed?

It's not like I've really had any more to share or anything, or even that I've finally slowed my schedule down (it still sucks), so I'm not sure why I'm posting again.

Maybe I just decdided to get off my ass....

>looks at self sitting in chair<

Or maybe not.

Maybe I've got wonderful things to share.....

>looks at current post<

Or maybe not.

Maybe, I'm energized with a new zest for life.....

Yeah, prolly not that either.

Oh well, take what you can get.

Buenos con queso,

T.

So, if I know what a person was trying to say, does that make me smarter than them?

I mean, I've talked about the whole then v. than thing, so I'm not gonna drag all that back up, but I mean for real.

I was skimming along, and someone made reference to 'overhearing' a neighboring conversation as being 'ease dropping.'

Yeah, that's right, ease dropping.

I'm not sure how getting tense helps you hear better, but...

Also, this is pretty funny, if you're a fan of Castle, Firefly, or Nathan 'Just Like Million' Fillion.

Video

Also, after playing both Uncharted games, I can say unequivocally say that he would do this job much better than Marky Mark....

I'm just putin it out there...'.

Dont know that I've got much else....

Buenos con queso,

T.

Taste of the town...

So, I'm here to tell you about chocolate....

First, the Tabasco stuff?

Yeah, pretty amazing, and a surprisingly strong kick.  Most 'hot' things sold to the public are, at best, what I consider 'medium' heat.  With the exception of Pace picante sauce.  Their 'hot' salsa is pretty hot.

And I like that.

The Ghiraradelli dark stuff was awesome too.....  Very intense, very earthy.

Mmmmmmmmm.

The other stuff was just milk chocolate, good, but basically the same thing as any other chocolate.

Pretty boring today.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Happy Giant, Egg-Laying Christian Rabbit Day!! (again)

So, once again, a giant mammal has been and gone, and I'll I've got to prove it is a bag of candy....

Well, it's actually from my mom, and she dropped it off yesterday, but you get the idea.  I'm not sure why she still gets/makes me a basket/random container every year, but I love that she does.  It's one of the things I look forward to every year.

Much like socks for Christmas, another 'mom tradition.'

The swag from this year:

If you don't know, Ghirardelli is the best shit ever!!

Edible money, anyone?

Ah, there's the rabbit:

And, of course, something to get my geek on with:

I haven't tried any of the goodies yet (well except for a couple of coins) but I'll be sampling later today.

If the Tabasco and dark chocolate are good enough to warrant another post, I'll be back later to let you know.....otherwise, it'll prolly be tomorrow.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Sarah Connor's answering machine is gargantuan......

Due to my lack of posting lately, it may not be immediately apparent to y'all that I've been offline for a week or so.

If it wasn't for my iPhone, I'm sure I'd have lost my mind without internet, but the little trooper pulled me through.....

Now that I've got that out of the way, I want to tell you what I did last night.

According to the latest timeline/time travel/preventative measures, Judgement Day, as portrayed in the Terminator mythos occurs/occurred on April 21, 2011.

That was yesterday, in case you didn't know. In honor of this, I watched The Terminator. Whenever I watch an older movie, especially one with futuristic overtones, I have a tendency to notice tech stuff.

It prolly stems from the whole geek much/tech whore parts of my make up, but whatever the case, I saw something last night that really hit home:

See that monster box next to her phone? Yeah, that's her fucking answering machine

Kinda puts it all in perspective, doesn't it?

Buenos con queso,

T.

He jests at scars that never felt a wound.

Remember when I told you I was going to post pics from last week's game?

Yeah, well, I decided that they sucked (cause i used my phone) so I shot a better one tonight.

I'm not going to show you that one yet, though.

Not because I'm an asshole or anything, but I want to bring you up to speed first. I know I've told you that I'm builing props (didnt i) to make the game more interesting, but I don't think I've let you know that, as with many things in my life, I've gone a bit overboard.

I showed you the table, or at least the component parts, but I've also made walls and other things as well.

Our game continuted from last week, and as my intrepid adventurers worked their way through the dungeon, it looked something like this:

The dice represent the players (duh) and the number is the marching order. The walls you see are of my own making, and consist of cardboard, and magnets...

As the party made it's careful way along, I could (and did) slide the walls around to make corridors, rooms, and the like. The group met some enemies, did some battle, found some items....

Things were going along well, and then James had to leave. At that point, we convinced N and K to play along. N and K are both girls, just so you know, and K is the SO of one of the other players.

Both of these girls have said that they didn't want to play. We didn't let that stop us tho. I gave them some easy tasks, let them roll some dice....

Well, all I can say is that I now need to roll a couple more characters....

I'm pretty worn out, cause playing God is a lot of work, so I'll leave you now...

Buenos con queso,

T.

I almost posted yesterday...

No, really.

Almost.

I'm posting today, so I guess that counts for something. It's not like I have ton of witty things to say, or even anything interesting, but I'm trying to be better about this (since ive sucked so bad for so long).

I still haven't really taken the new camera out to play yet, but I hope to soon. Perhaps this weekend.

I may even shoot a short video, just for the novelty of it. I'm not sure it will have the highest production values, but....

Now that I have a new camera, I've decided to send my old one to my daughter, as my son already has a DSLR, and my daughter told me that I prolly 'wouldn't consider it a camera' when I asked what she was shooting with.

I had to order a lens for it, which arrived yesterday, so soon I'll box it up and ship it off to her. She's really excited to get it, and I have to say, it makes me feel good to be able to gift her with it.

I guess that's all for now.

Buenos con queso,

T.

The dice throwing started last night.....

Yes, that's right, I totally got my geek on last night.

I think I mentioned that I was going to start running a D & D game, but in case I didn't, I did.

If you know what I mean.

I have a pic or two, but as I took them with my phone (which died and is now charging) I don't have them to share at the mo. After it gets some juice, I'll email the photo to myself and then post it.

As if you care.

I'm sure none of you have ever thrown dice to see if you decapitated the orc, opened the chest, or triggered the trap.....

The game went well, and I have high hopes for the remainder of the adventure. My intrepid group has found the first level of the dungeon, and have found a couple pieces of the puzzle that is the underlying theme of the game.

Well, my game that is.

---

In other news, it looks like work might actually be coming through with my new day off schedule. I've gotten told for weeks now that I was going to have Saturday and Sunday off, but so far it hasn't really materialized. I did have this weekend off, and I think I have next one off, but I won't know for sure until I check at work today.

It would be nice to have weekends off, tho it doesn't mean as much as it did when you were a kid in school, and since Sunday Football looks like it may be in jeopardy (the only reason I really wanted sunday off) it'll prolly happen.

Ok, guess I'm through for now.

Buenos con queso,

T.

I'm getting tired of this shit.....

Ok, so as promised, here are shots from yesterday:



Well, last night, actually. Those are my footprints, in case you were wondering.

And this is what I got to walk to work in the day before yesterday:



And we're supposed to get snow for the next two days as well. I heard a rumor that it was Spring, but I've actually seen very little to indicate that I'm not being lied to.....

If any of you have any nice, sunny weather that you're not using, we could sure use some. If you ship it UPS Priority Overnight, or even Next Day Air, I'll gladly pay you the shipping.

As soon as I thaw out, that is.

Buenos con queso,

T.

This guy is off his fuckin' TREE!!

Two grand for a bug, and it doesn't have an engine?

I don't know what he's smokin', but I'll bet it isn't legal.

In case you're wondering I did get my new camera, and I can't believe how much I love it. There are a myriad of new features and all manner of foofoorah that I haven't really explored yet, but one thing that they did do, was a Godsend.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I like to take photos in the dark. Sometimes just in shadow, sometimes at night.....any chance I can get by moonlight....

Well, given the nature of that type of photography, it's tough to see the controls on your camera. I mean, am I in Program mode for a baseline exposure, or am I in Manual, adding light by the double?

I mean sure, you can carry a flashlight, or wear one of those dorky headlightbands (yes i do 2 in fact), but then there's something else to hold/juggle/keep track of...

This new baby tho?

Yeah, on the back screen (theyre calling it a monitor now) an animation of the mode dial (that looks exactly like the real one) lights up and rotates in real time, so you can always tell what mode you're in.

Now, I haven't really taken her out and put her through her paces, but I fully intend to very soon.

Ok, here's a non macro close up with my new cam. Just the stock lens, cropped for size but not dpi:

Batman

If it ever stops snowing (again this am have photos soon) I plan on going on a real walkabout for some wild art.

I guess that's about all I have to say for now....Oh, except for the fact that the game is coming along nicely.....

Buenos con queso,

T.

I've decided to start a paper and dice game....

Well, not like invent one, but you know, just run one.

For a number of reasons, I've decided to use the 1st edition AD & D ruleset. Well, as a guideline at least. I plan to simplify some things and just generally make it more fun to play.

It's been forever since I've run (or even played in) a paper and dice campaign, so I'm planning on doing some things to spice up the gameplay, in hopes of sparking interest, and providing a more interactive experience.

In that vein, I've been thinking about scale model props and such. While in this frame of mind, I was stripping motherboards for processors and heat sinks when I found something remarkable:


Now, to me, this looks very much like some ornate Edwardian era table leg. That it should be in a computer seems slightly incongruous (boy does thatword look wrong), and the function it performed was very unique.

It was holding a processor board to a very low tech heat sink:



See that thin, flimsy aluminium stuff? Yeah, that was folded and glued to the piece in the back, and the whole thing was held to the processor by 2 of the plastic 'legs' from the first picture. I figured since the legs were coming from the computer that I should try and see what other props I could fashion from computer parts.

So far, all I've really made is the table top:




In case you can't tell, that's the 'heat sink' flattened out and painted. I did make a border of wooden dowels cut to size, but mostly this table will be constructed from a computer heat sink.

Which is cool, right?

I have grand plans to make more props for the game, and I'll keep you posted on that (if any of you care) so you can see my unparalleled crafting skillz.

On a completely unrelated note, Michael and I had a scheduled a photo walk, but as the weather was snowy here, and I didn't want to get my gear wet, I opted for inside photos to his outside ones.

As usually happens when I'm shooting indoors, I started playing with macro.

We exchanged gps numbers, and as you can see, I really need to invest in a carry around notebook:



I haven't really played with all the images I made yesterday, but I do have a couple to share with you. The 3 I'm going to share all started with the same image, and then I did some tweaking with the levels. And before you ask, yes, I really can stack 3 dice like that. No glue, no tricks, just a steady hand.








Ok, that's all for now.

Expect a big update and prolly tons of photos when my new camera arrives.

Buenos con queso,

T.