Expenses and more

Well at this point both my cameras are in the shop getting the once over. I am not sure if they are going to be back by the time I head east... I am keeping my fingers crossed about that. However it is good to know that at least they are getting fixed and I will have them back in 7 to 10 days... at least thats what the website says. 

I was planning on going to the demolition derby this evening... well the original plan was to go to it to shoot the derby however since the cameras are in the shop I was thinking well I might go as a general observer/participant and mingle with the crowd. Not have to worry about lugging around 20 lbs of camera equipment. Maybe get a hotdog... and then I found out that the tickets were all sold out so I did the next best thing which was to go over to the local lake and listen to the nomination speech of Obama on the radio. 

I have been reading up and also watching youtube videos of pro photographers and have come to the realization that I need to be more active with my own photographic path. Not that I see myself becoming a pro but in the sense that many of the things I see them doing I feel I could in my own way duplicate and this will also get me out of this rut of inactivity that I seemed to have fallen into. I think for starters I need to finish the pulse jet project this week. I have been slow getting it finished just because of the crazy sleep pattern that I have been having... which also means that I should try to go to sleep early tonight so that I can get up earlier than I have been. 

So I guess the start of that process is to put down the computer for a start.

Jet engine

I am in the midst of putting together a pulse jet engine. So far it has been a interesting project and I am also the proud owner of some welding equipment... one can say it fuels my pyro side. The main combustion chamber is built out of the bottom of a small fire extinguisher that was salvaged from the scrap yard. 

On the topic of the scrap yard, well that is a very cool place with all kinds of neat things. The old adage says, one mans trash is a another mans treasure and when its in a place that lets you browse around makes it almost like a supermarket for treasure. Its definitely not going to be the last time I will find my self over there. 

On a completely different thought, for some reason I get the feeling that electronics seem to be on the fritz. Today for most of the day at least the cellphone network was either down or something was going on because I could not get a call through... not even to customer service. Even some webpages that I have been frequenting have been acting up.

But the jet engine is coming along and it gives me something to do.

Addiction.... to reading

Yup so the rumors are true... I got hooked on Mob War.... So sad. But what attracts me is that there are so many people who have been playing this for weeks if not months and are not using their head? 

Why play a half assed game. Is not the object to this game to be the best... This is not Sim City where you all get along and build mansions in the clouds. The name of the game is Mob War.... when did people stop reading? If the name has the word "War" in it it has to involve some type of conflict that results in a winner and a looser... you can't have a war where the result is a tie... even the Vietnamese police action where the US pulled out the troops and called it a draw was not a draw... when people die someone won. Now it may have not been the win that the politicians wanted and calling it a draw does not come close to making it such... but I digress.

Ok So we established that there is a winner and a looser. The first word in the name is "Mob". What you may ask is a mob? That is a excellent question. Can three people be a mob? Not a chance... thats not even a crowd unless two of the people are wanting to make out and then three is a crowd. A mob is only as good as the number of people in it. if you have a mob of 5 people go up against a mob of 500, even if you give the 5 automatic guns and give the others crow bars the bigger mob is going to be the last ones standing... they may not all be standing but the chances are they might be a mob of 5 that is left alive vs. the mob that started with 5 and ended dead.

So the morel of the story is "READ". If you are going to play a game named Mob War then first get a mob then go to war.... end of story... anything else fagadaboutit.

Olympics...

Watching the games...  Mens Beach Volleyball is going well with an interesting game... track was somewhat disappointing for the US team... Very sloppy baton passing in the relays. Its been a full day but with just a couple hours of sleep I am hoping a good nights rest is going to put my sleep schedule back on track. 

Americans just got the lead for the first time at 18 but the Brazilians are staying point for point... thrilling game.

Up Early....

Well I am up and the day is about to get thrown into fast gear, got an interview in half an hour and a meeting at 10:30 and its going to be a long day considering I got about 2 hours of sleep... but it was a good day yesterday because I got some things done that needed to be done and I might be getting my 10D converted to an IR camera in the next week or so... more to come about that later.

Lightning and Hay

It was one of those days when the conditions are just right to form a thunderstorm. Going out with just a vague idea of where I want to be and hoping that fate would let things fall into place I set out into the storm. I have missed the creative energy of going out and looking for images that inspire and makes one realize how cool the world really is. 

Well after two hours of standing in the rain with the wind gusting to about 10 to 15 mph at times and the rain pelting down I think I might have got the shot I wanted. Lightning is something that is a waiting game. You aim the camera in the general direction that it is flashing and try to configure it to the longest possible exposure which will give you the best results and then trip the shutter and wait. Sometimes you get a shot but often you see really cool flashes all around you, just not in the direction you happened to have the camera pointing. And there is not point in trying to anticipate it too much because its over in a flash. 

But patience pays off sometimes and I got this shot.

Finally online

After over a month of going to the computer lab in school or sitting in my car using the free account in the parking lot I finally have an internet connection at my place. Its a good deal as the cable company screwed up somehow and I seem to have free TV as well... I just need a TV to be able to use this. 

Life in general is going well although I must say there have been some new and interesting twists as is usually the case. But I guess it keeps me on my toes or something of that sort and thats good for me. I have been a but lazy about taking pictures although I have been taking my camera along for the ride almost everywhere I go but I think I might have to do some shooting this afternoon so that I don't forget which button to press.

Its also a bit annoying when I have to wait for other people to come back from vacation to get stuff done. But hopefully that will all fall into place by the end of the week.

Well I better go get the chicken ready to marinade... BBQ time....