Update

Gee, it sure has been a long time since my last post. I know some peeps like to post every day, even if they don't have much to say, but I prefer to wait until something interesting happens or I have an idea about something - I don't post just to post. Having said that, it's time to post simply to post!

Last weekend I tried to view the Leonid meteor shower. "Tried" because an hour or so before the peak (10:45 PM CST Sat night), high clouds rolled in, blocking the view. Ooooh I was miffed! I brought my camera and DVDcam back inside and got on the computer instead. About 1:30 I went back out just for a quick view - and guess what? The clouds were gone. I checked the weather back on the computer and it turned out that the high clouds rolled through very quickly - if I"d gone back out a half hour later they would have been gone. Argh!! I missed the peak, but other reports say they Leonids weren't that spectacular this year (certainly not like a couple of years ago!)

I let Colby drive my car recently. We went out on the back roads - I wanted to get some fall pics and he had asked me about maybe getting some driving time in, so I caved and let him. Like I said, we stuck to the back roads so there was little if any traffic. We started by driving over the dam at Pat Mayse, then turned onto some roads I've never been on (nor had he). We turned left and right randomly, and after a while wound up in --- BONHAM!!! ---. Yep, we drove all the way to the next county on back roads and never even realized it. Oh well, it was a slightly interesting trip.

Speaking of trips, we have decided to change our destination for the Great 2007 Roadtrip. Instead of New York, we think Canada would be a cooler (ha) and a cheaper destination. Drive up I-35, see the sights, and so on. I wonder if you need a passport in these post 9/11 days - better check into that.

I bought the supplies to build an Alpha Radiation Visualizer - you take a cheap webcam, a smoke detector (to supply the small amount of americium, a radioactive element), mount the americium inside the webcam so the radiation bombards the sensor, then place the webcame inside a box with copper flashing to minimize outside electrical noise, then enjoy the cool sights - I'll be putting it together Thanksgiving with Kinsey's help.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, the Martins are coming over, which should make for interesting times. We aren't doing the church Thanksgiving meal like the past three years or so - this will be a normal Thanksgiving meal, with friends and family only. I believe I am in charge of the sweet potatoes and something else - maybe I'll be inspired to cook something wonderful, lol.

Psycho!!!

My sister recently blogged about a personality test she took some time ago. And one thing led to another and I found myself taking an online JUNG test - here are the results.

creative, smart, idealist, loner, attracted to sad things, disorganized, avoidant, can be overwhelmed by unpleasant feelings, prone to quitting, prone to feelings of loneliness, ambivalent of the rules, solitary, daydreams about people to maintain a sense of closeness, focus on fantasies, acts without planning, low self confidence, emotionally moody, can feel defective, prone to lateness, likes esoteric things, wounded at the core, feels shame, frequently losing things, prone to sadness, prone to dreaming about a rescuer, disorderly, observer, easily distracted, does not like crowds, can act without thinking, private, can feel uncomfortable around others, familiar with the darkside, hermit, more likely to support marijuana legalization, can sabotage self, likes the rain, sometimes can't control fearful thoughts, prone to crying, prone to regret, attracted to the counter culture, can be submissive, prone to feeling discouraged, frequently second guesses self, not punctual, not always prepared, can feel victimized, prone to confusion, prone to irresponsibility, can be pessimistic

What's amazing is just how close these descriptors are!! My favorite is highlighted in red - now I know why I always secretly rooted for Darth Vader (or Palpatine in the prequels!) and how disappointed I was in Return of the Jedi when Vader kills the Emperor - WUSS!! Ohh, sorry, anway, this is my weekly introspection report, signing off!

My Civic Duty Part Deux

Huzzah! I was not picked for jury duty! Huzzah! Huzzah!

My Civic Duty - Yay!!!

I have jury duty today. I've only been summoned twice before - once while I was in college (automatic exemption, yes!) and then another time two years ago, but my jury pool was dismissed for some reason, so I got a free day off, ha ha. I really hope today goes the same way - I know we should all serve because it's our civic duty but I just really have no desire to sit in a courtroom for hours on end - if I want to do that, I can sit in front of my computer and at least DO something. Perhaps this is just typical Gen X apathy, but I really really don't care about serving. Plus, I am sick and tired of the whole democratic process right now, what with the inundation of political ads on TV and radio - gaahhhh!! If I hear anything about Mark Homer of Kirby Hollingswoth one more time I will spew!!

And that's my rant for today. Thanks for your time ;)

Arkanas

Oh yeah, I totally forgot to post about my trip to Arkansas last weekend. Colby and I left Friday afternoon, made a quick stop at the Busy Bee in Hugo (the best cheeseburgers anywhere, period.) Mmm, makes me want to go get one now - it's only 20 minutes away or so. Anyway, we drove on US 70 from Hugo through Oklahoma. All I have to say about that leg of the trip is that Broken Bow smelled like poo - honestly, it did. I accused Colby of severe and egregious flatulence, then rolled down the window to air out the car - oops, the awful stench was on the outside!! Dad said there is a Tyson chicken plant somewhere around there, and that might have been the cause of the fowl odor. (waiting for laughs, the sound of crickets chirping quietly in the background.....)
So then we hit Arkansas - the sign welcoming you from Oklahoma to Arkansas looked like someone took posterboard (and not the cool colored kind, just boring white) and wrote "Welcome To Arkansas" with a sharpie. Not a good first impression, IMHO. But the drive was nice - even at night, it was scenic, kinda.
We made Hot Springs about 9 or 10, I forget, and found a hotel. We picked it because it had a cool mural on the side.



We left the next morning for the diamond mine. After a longer than expected drive there (due to missing the turn and driving waaaay past before realizing my mistake), we spent 4 or 5 hours digging dirt, sluicing it, and finding .... absolutely nothing. A few quartz crystals here and there. But it was fun - I got my watch tan line back!
We had a few hours to kill, so after visiting a historic Indian village (forgot the name but it sounded like Im Ho Tep, the Egyptian pharaoh or something) and having late lunch at Sonic (I let Colby pick, my mistake, and not the last one I'd make on this trip - read on!) we decided to do some scenic driving (and take pics!). After that, we find a decent looking motel, bed down for the night, and drive back through Mina (someone told me that route is VERY beautiful and photogenic) Sunday on the way home.

That's not what happened.

So, we decided to do a few hours of scenic driving or so Sat afternoon. Colby found a place called Poison Springs on our map - it was in green, which meant scenic! So we headed down hwy 371 - Colby was the navigator, since I was driving, and he said it was just after you cross I30 that we'd need to turn. Okay, no prob. He decides to take a nap, and I've got my tunes going, cruising down 371, on the open road.
About the time Colby woke up, I noticed a sign along the roadside saying "Welcome To Louisiana!". Oops. Seems I'd been listening a little too intently to my tunes and didn't notice when we crossed over the BIG GIANT INTERSTATE HIGHWAY THAT HAS LOTS OF SIGNS AND STUFF TO LET YOU KNOW ITS COMING. Oh well. We decided to scrap the plans for Mina and instead ventured forth towards Shreveport. All the casinos are lit up really beautifully at night - lots of flashing lights, the colors.
So we found a hotel which looked decent. Upon entering, I noticed A) No awful stench of any kind, and B) No bloodstains on the carpet or bed, so we were in good shape. The bathroom was another story.



The funniest part of this pic isn't the horrible looking tub - its the nicely folded towel and soap laid 'just so' on the tub that makes me laugh.
Sunday we headed out from Shreveport to Kilgore, TX. That's where Colby's dad Max lives (until he moves to College Station next month or so) - we had lunch with Max at a great little Mexican place, then left for home - and then the rain hit all the way back. So ended our trip. The next weekend trip (our last for 2006, most likely) will be for Natural Bridge Caverns near Austin or so. Plenty of photo-ops there, I think. Hopefully I won't miss the turn!

I am a PRO!!!!!

Finally, after so many long months of waiting, I have my first photo shoot - as a PAID PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER!!

(I'll wait a few seconds for those of you who are spewing Coke out your nose and laughing to calm down and clean yourself up. Go ahead, I'll wait.....)

Better? Okay, here's the scoop. My friend Darwin thinks I am a really good photographer (yeah, pulled a fast one on him). He was really impressed with my camera, probably more impressed than he is with my photography skills, but hey, I'll take what I can get. Anyhoo, he wants me to come to his church next Sunday and take pics of the choir, congregation (not during church, that would be inappropriate - see how awesome my photo taking skills are?), some group shots, and individual pics, then print them out and sell them to the church members as a fund raiser to buy some new sound equipment. I told him I would do it for cost of materials, so I'm not making money on this, but still, I'm getting PAID FOR TAKING PICS!!
This shoot will present some challenges for me - well, not challenges, but some different situations I've never photographed before. I have lots of pics of white people, and I have lots of experience touching up pics of them on the computer. Usually my only problem is having to correct for blownout highlights on the skin. Black people (Darwin goes to a predominately black church - around here, Sunday is the most segregated day of all, it seems) present a different situation - underexposure will be a problem, so I'll have to correct for that without letting the flash blow out everything else. Cool - shooting in new conditions can only enhance my skills as a PAID PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER!!

Arkansas, Again

...well, "again" usually implies that you've done it before, but not so in this case. I head out for Arkansas tomorrow (instead of last week), along with Colby, straight for the largest diamond ever to be found (I hope) at Crater of Diamonds park. Mostly I bet I'll find some cool rocks, but hey, that would be nice too. I REALLY hope to get some great landscape pics - my wideangle lens is already attached and ready!

He's Baaaack!

Roy strikes again. This time, he's not ranting about giving North Dakota to the Israelis, he ranting about...well, you figure it out for yourself.

(from the Paris News Website)

To the Editor:

Does praying for rain really, ever cause it to rain?

There are many prayers for certain things. Rain is a common object of prayer. Changes in the weather are prayed for when it appears to be needed. A church group prayed for rain and it started raining. Three days later they prayed for it to stop raining. There is the childish rhyme “Rain, rain, go away, come again another day.”

The more we know about the causes of weather, the less likely we are to expect to change it in order to save our hay crop, or have a fine day for our garden party. A prayer for rain will do no harm. It might even do some good. So lets all pray for rain and hope for the best.

Roy Bunch

Paris

I believe the editorial staff at the Paris News has an alarm that goes off when ol' Roy writes an editorial, making sure they include it in the paper, because other than the "Gosh, Isn't He So Stupid, It's Funny?"factor, there is no good reason to publish his editorials. So the staff must be printing them solely for the entertainment value, lol. Keep 'em coming, Ray!

This Jacket Has Pants!

Thursday afternoon Colby came by work in order for us to go to Bingo. We haven't been in months - got out of the habit after the Arizona trip. Anyway, he wanted to go to Goodwill to try and find some 70s looking clothing for the Paris homecoming - the theme being the 1970s. He found a brown jacket and pants combination that he liked, but he pants were too big, so Colby ditched the pants and got just the jacket and a weird brown-yellow shirt. The cashier silently rang it all up with no problem, until she noticed the tag on the jacket. Hitherto silent, she blurted out in a nasal yet stentorian voice, "This jacket has pants!". The next five minutes or so were spent convincing her that he only wanted the jacket - she was adamant that "This jacket has pants - I can't sell this jacket without the pants!" over and over, even though I (being the adult, lol) assured her that Colby only wanted the jacket. She finally consented, but reluctantly - and continued to remind us that "You know this jacket has pants - I'm not supposed to sell this jacket without the pants". Apparently, this rule has been drilled into the Goodwill employees minds - never sell a jacket without the pants!

BTW, we went to Bingo afterward, and Colby hit Blackout - winning $350 (he split it with some old Bingo lady behind us). This will completely pay for the diamond mining trip next week as well as part of the New York trip next summer. The nice thing is that Colby paid me back the cost of buying the cards, plus he split the winnings with me - since I took him to bingo, he said. No argument there, lol!

Arkansas Ho!

Next weekend, Colby and I are going to Diamond Crater in Arkansas (about 7 hours from here, according to Google Maps) to prospect for - you guessed it - diamonds! Actually, I just needed an excuse for a quick road trip with plenty of photo ops (scenery, wildlife, etc) and this seemed to fit the bill - plus the whole idea sounds interesting. At any rate, I'll be able to put into practice some of the new techniques I learned from the many books Mark gave me a couple of weeks ago on photography - some serious stuff, mind you. We'll see how it pans out. And if I can persuade Marion to let me borrow her laptop, I can blog and upload pics as I go. Or Maybe Dee will let me borrow Iris (her Mac) - ha ha, fat chance - don't worry Dee, I wouldn't let he go, either!