Why are people so amazed when I tell them I’m working to lose weight during “the holidays”? Between the end of October and the middle of January, in America, there are two to four actual holidays, depending on your traditions. For some reason, people have come to believe that this is a ten week period of spending too much, being lazy, and eating terribly.
Starting Point: Visit every state
When you decide you’re going to work toward something, you should probably figure out what you have to start with. Think about what resources you have available and how far you actually have to go to reach that goal. The Starting Point posts will be about just that, taking stock.
Seven and I were discussing our upcoming trip to Idaho to visit my parents. She mentioned that it’ll be another place she’s never been before and so we started discussing the places we’ve visited. It reminded me that one of the goals on The List is to visit all 50 states. I’m not talking about just driving through or killing an airport layover on the way to somewhere else, I’m talking about making a point to have at least one destination within each state.
Filed under Starting Points, Travel
The Quest For Less (of me)
The morning of September 26, 2011, I stepped on a bathroom scale for the first time in longer than I care to remember. The number that showed up was a lot higher than I’d expected.
This isn’t going to be some melodrama about how I made a decision then and there to change my ways. That decision had been made quite some time ago. This day was my initial weigh in to see what I was starting with. I’d already figured out where I wanted to be and what I was going to do to get there. This morning, just over two months later, my morning weigh-in was 40lb less than it was when I started. It’s a pretty good start but there’s a long way to go.
Filed under Health and Physical, Planning and Productivity
What’s your excuse?
Just over a year ago, I wrote a short article for another site about making excuses. Now, it’s time to revise and expand on that article as the springboard from which I can launch this entire project.
Excuses. Much like opinions and assholes, everyone has them and, yes, they all stink.
Filed under Philosophy
Sweet, sweet rides…
Last weekend I was in Champaign-Urbana IL, visiting. It just so happened that the Urbana Sweet Corn Festival was going on at that time and, with that, a really bitchin’ classic car show.
I saw a lot of very cool cars and got a lot of very cool photos as well as the opportunity for a lot of artistic license and played around with multiple takes on several of the shots. To start this off, here’s a shot of what may be the coolest car I’ve ever seen, a 1935 Auburn Supercharged 851 named “Ruby”.
I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is but this car just spoke to me.
Filed under Photography
My first attempt at HDR
Rather than try to explain it, here’s Wikipedia’s description of HDR.
“…a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminance between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than current standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods. This wide dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight.”
Basically, take a bunch of exposures of the exact same scene with different levels OF exposure and layer them. It’s pretty easy to overdo but, when it’s done well, it’s almost impossible to tell. Here are my first attempts at HDR compositing.
Filed under Photography
90 years, 5 days
My paternal grandmother turned 90 on August 20. She’s outlived two husbands and all the rest of her siblings. She’s slowing down a little bit but still constantly moving. Kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids came from all over the country to descend on my uncle’s small town of Stowe, VT for a celebration.
While I was there, I took the opportunity to enjoy the Vermont scenery in addition to getting a well deserved 5 day vacation and a long overdue family reunion.
Sunset over Lake Bomoseen.
Filed under Photography
Gen Con 2011
Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve stopped by here, hasn’t it?
Right about a month ago, Gen Con 2011 hit Indianapolis and I went as a press rep for IndyMojo.com for the third year. As usual, it’s a great time and provides a window into a culture that everyone knows about but few really understand.
Wizards of the Coast’s Neverwinter booth, live monsters!
Filed under Photography
My first wedding…
I was asked back at the beginning of May to shoot a wedding for the guitarist in my former band. I did it because I hadn’t seen him in a while and had only met his fiancee once before, plus the whole deal was being held at a place in Broad Ripple called Chef JJ’s Back Yard that had a great reputation. It was a very nice venue and the food was excellent.
Shooting was fun and gave me a chance to try a lot of new things. I’m glad to have been a part of Keith and Minji’s wedding and that I didn’t screw things up too badly.
Filed under Photography
My first model
As I mentioned last time, I managed to convince a lovely young lady to model for my very first (mostly) serious shoot with an actual live human. I got a chance to use my big reflector and speedlight with umbrella.
She’d also never done anything like this before so, as some of the photos show, she’s a bit uncomfortable but loosened up and I think I got some good shots. As always, I’ve learned a few things I need to work on but I’m pretty happy with this as a first attempt.
Here are some of my favorites.
Filed under Photography