Thursday, March 22, 2007

R2 spotted in NY suburb...

While at lunch a friend of mine said something to the extent of "Oh snap! It's R2-D2!" We looked over to see the coolest mailbox ever created.






After returning to work I checked out the link on the box which only added to the suspense. Will there be a Star Wars Stamp? Will the mail now be delivered by Tie-Fighter? Will they have light saber letter openers? Only time will tell.

I was hoping to get these posted first but MCF informed me that Big Orange Michael beat me to the punch. He says "Seems the U.S. Postal Service has wrapped a little over 300 post office boxes with an R2-D2 cover to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the original Star Wars." However upon close inspection, the NY R2 seemed to be airbrushed and not a "skin" of some sort. His pictures are yet to come but I hope to see them soon.

An R2-D2 mailbox... the force is strong in this one.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

L.E.D.

These little bad boys are BRIGHT!

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

There's something fishy...

...about this picture.

MCF's Perilous! 2.IV

For those who don't know or remember, MCF's Perilous! is a quiz in reverse. He posts ten answers. You get one week to come up with the corresponding questions and post them on your blogs, leaving a link to your post in the comments below. Next week, He'll reveal the questions he was thinking of, along with everyone's scores.

Points carry over from one installment to the next, and after five rounds the person with the most points can redeem them for a “prize”. Every five rounds, the scores reset, and a new winner could potentially gain a piece of the Mysterious master prize. Here's our current scoring system:

1 pt=each question
2 pts=each question that matches MCF's
-1 pt=any sentences not in question form, or forgetting a question mark
15 pts=Bonus for the Best Question

Will you face the perils below and attain the maximum points possible? Here are the next 10 answers:

1. I'm going to use it to clear all 100 levels.
Q. What will MCF use his Solar Flare for in Gauntlet?

2. Because at my age, I don't think The Transformers: The Movie is a socially acceptable choice for that.
Q. When asked to right a review of the latest “Great Work of Fiction” that he has read... Why was MCF so embarrassed?

3. 617.
Q. Who the hell keeps calling me from Massachusetts?

4. September 11, 1984.
Q. Why Bush/Cheney 1984?

5. “The cowards never started./The weak died on the way./Only the strong arrived./They were Pioneers.”
Q. What could not me more clear About Schmidt?

6. Boxy.
Q. What kind of car is also known as the Mysteriously Cloaked Vehicle? Oh it’s there! Trust me.

7. Heroes and Law & Order: SVU
Q. What two shows was Hayden Panettiere in before doing a Neutrogena commercial?

8. They both went from fantasy heroes to science fiction characters.
Q. What transformation did MCF and Rey make after having one too many drinks at the nudie-bar?

9. Through a crowbar.
Q. Where did MCF have to walk to get to the nudie-bar?

10. B12
Q. Who is almost as cool as b13?

Monday, March 19, 2007

...I need somebody.



WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, SO MUCH YOUNGER THAN TODAY,
I NEVER NEEDED ANYBODY'S HELP IN ANY WAY.
BUT NOW THESE DAYS ARE GONE, I'M NOT SO SELF ASSURED,
NOW I FIND I'VE CHANGED MY MIND I'VE OPENED UP THE DOORS.
—John Lennon & Paul McCartney

Not really ;) I'm just in a Beatles sort of mood.

POTC: Worlds End

Trailer IS up!!! This is going to be GREAT!!!



And find an awesome pirate song and animation here.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Lazy day today...

Stayed in and played some video games, read the paper, and read the new Macworld. Boring day... back to my video game...




Saturday, March 17, 2007

It's St. Patrick's Day...

And we are not Irish. My wife and I are, as my father-in-law states, a crooked Italian and a money hungry Jew (There is NOTHING more powerful! MWAA-HA-HA-HA) Sorry... So why does she feel the need to make corned beef and cabbage for dinner? She wanted to pick up the corned beef that was on sale for 99¢ per pound. I insisted that if she wants to do this we do it right. So we spent a few more duckets and got the Boar's Head brand. And I made sure to have some beer on hand. I'll let you know how it turns out ;)

Oh, and top-o-the-mornin' to ya'! Have some cabbage.


UPDATE: Corned Beef boiled for 3 hours. Added in cabbage, carrots, onions, and turnips. Had some Dijon on the side and it was PERFECT!!! MAn I love my wife. :)

Friday, March 16, 2007

The storm has hit with a vengence...

My wife and I edited this to share with you all.

Mama and son love the snow!





BTW, thats her dominating him. I crack up when she does that to him.


And some pics to boot!






Having some difficulties with blogger...

I was one of the many that was having upload problems with images. I thought I had found a work-around bu uploading the images from a URL (with the link being my hard drive) only to later realise that only I saw the images :(

I will update the images from WIIF? #1 and More snow on the horizon tonight. Please check back.
In the meantime... Hat tip to MCF.

WIIF? #2

Congrats to MCF for FINALLY guessing the answer to WIIF? #1.

Here is the picture for week #2.


The fine print: On Fridays, obviously, I will post an image in hopes that visitors will leave a guess in the comment section. The following Friday (or when someone guesses correctly) I will post a NEW image along with a link to the previous weeks post... Which will have been updated with an additional shot so that you can see what it was that I originally photographed.

HOLY COW! RC from Strange Culture got this weeks in a flash. Be sure to come back next Friday for one that i think is in between these past two...difficulty wise.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

More snow on the horizon...

...and life goes on.


Be sure to check back tomorrow for another "WIIF?" as well as the answer to last weeks picture.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Groovy...

A big "whew!" when I found out hat the picture upload problem is not just my computer acting up. MCF ponted me to Blogger Status and today they confirmed the issue.

It says "Resolved" but I just tried and it didn't work when I tried to upload a file from my machine... But it did work when I uploaded from a linked file at myspace. Good enough for now.

Big thumbs up to Blogger!

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

From death comes life...

Pods open slowly.
Seeds spill to the earth below.
New growth come springtime.
—b13




Having upload issues on blogger tonight so a big THANK YOU to MCF for the picture upload.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Looking deep within me...

A self portrait of... um... myself...

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Seven of Devon...

I took Devon to the park today and thought I would shoot at a slower speed to get a better feeling of movement. A Border Collie in motion is a thing of beauty. Our dogs can also be seen at Tartan Bay. As you can see, all of our dogs are family, whether they live with us or not.

A video of her running agility can be found HERE.













Ok, I have one of her at rest...

Saturday, March 10, 2007

While out on a drive...

Had to run to a few stores today and during my travels we passed under a tressle. I saw a good opportunity for tonights picture. Be sure to click it for a larger, more detailed, view.


And don't forget to scroll down for WIIF #1...

Friday, March 09, 2007

WIIF #1

I had an idea for a recurring theme. At first I was going to call it “WTFF?” but thought it was too crass. So I settled on “WIIF?” for “What Is It Fridays?”

On Fridays, obviously, I will post an image in hopes that visitors will leave a guess in the comment section. The following Friday I will post a NEW image along with a link to the previous weeks post... Which will have been updated with an additional shot so that you can see what it was that I originally photographed.

We’ll start off easy... ;)

Remember to look at your surroundings a little differently ;)

Thursday, March 08, 2007

A milestone...

Driving home last night I realized that my odometer was about to reach a new mark.

I drive a 94 Celica and I love my car. It drives as if it is new and other than regular maintenance it has been a great little sports car. I bought it used with around 45K miles on it and it was a big deal to me when I reached 100K. Then 125K...150K...160K...Now I get excited every time I see a new set of zeros appear. I keep talking about getting a new car because:
1. I've been driving this car for 11 years.
2. I want something with a little more "oomph."
And...
3. I would like a convertible.

But I think I would have to keep this little cherry as well to see just how high I can get that odometer to read. Anyway, I noticed on the way home yesterday that I was approaching another level but made it home just short of the mark. So I went in to the house figuring I would snap some pics on the way to work.

Which brings us to the morning... I had a meeting at work that I needed to attend so I made it a point to get up early, shave, and leave some time to stop for the photos... and upon turning the key I realized that i had left the interior light on... all... night... long :( Luckily my neighbor was home and gave me a jump and I was on my way.

Luck was on my side and the meeting was delayed by a half hour. On the way to work though I snapped these two pics not far from my house.



And when I went to lunch with some friends I noticed what the mileage was when i pulled in to the parking lot at work... I couldn't resist.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

The snow stopped...

...but is still here. The temperatures dropped quickly and it is nippy out as you can see from this bush-eye-view.


Tomorrow, a milestone will be crossed...

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Picture of the day and 2 sigs for 2 friends...

On such a cold day in the east I found a warm bloom.


Dirtyblond from clan PMS asked for an original. What do you think of this one?


and Galactus asked for an update...

Perilous week III

MCF's Perilous! 2.III
Welcome to the halfway mark of five new editions of MCF's Perilous! Like our last edition, this too will have ten answers.

MCF's Perilous! is a quiz in reverse. You will have one week to come up with the corresponding questions and post them on your blogs, leaving a link to your post in the comments below. Next week, I'll reveal the questions I was thinking of, along with everyone's scores.

Points carry over from one installment to the next, and after five rounds the person with the most points can redeem them for a “prize”. Every five rounds, the scores reset, and a new winner could potentially gain a piece of the Mysterious master prize. Here's our current scoring system:

1 pt=each question
2 pts=each question that matches MCF's
-1 pt=any sentences not in question form, or forgetting a question mark
15 pts=Bonus for the Best Question

Will you face the perils below and attain the maximum points possible? Here are the next 10 answers:

1. That’s much too long.
When asked to measure an inchworm, what was said to MCF when he tried to use his index finger?

2. Using a nail and surprising simian-like agility.
How did MCF get his first unintentionl body piercing?

3. “Not the bang!”
When MCF tried to belt out some Ricky Martin at the kareoke bar what did the patronage yell?

4. A job.
What did they tell him to keep?

5. Forget anyone else is there.
Why, oh why did he try to sing that song?

6. Because he’s so dark and likes dirty laundry.
What are the two main reasons Rey's wife loves him so much?

7. Two wheels.
While driving to lunch behind b13's car what did MCF see b13 ride on to narrowly avoid a curb?

8. He might not.
When Harry asked if I would recover from the near miss what was MCF's response?

9. It’s the first gig of the season.
Why will MCF be busting out his horn this weekend?

10. At a student art exhibit in college.
Where will MCF be bustin' a move and getting on his groove?

Monday, March 05, 2007

It started to snow...

It started to snow today. It was a warning of the cold that is blowing in tonight. And the snow thay will fall on Wednesday.

These don't count...

I'll still put up a new photo tonight. But these are two new signatures I created.



Sunday, March 04, 2007

The captain will show the way...

Across the canal from the horror house I spotted this little fellow...
or did he spot me?

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Do you recognize?

Not more than a hop, skip, and a jump away from my town is a house that goes down in history. Some believe the house is haunted. Others believe the house, itself, is evil. It is the Amityville Horror house.

The trademark fan windows have since been removed by the newest owner and the front door was moved to the side of the house. If this was to detract the house from being recognized it may have failed... because it is the ONLY house on the block that looks this way.

A young man, Ronald DeFeo Jr., believed that voices told him to kill his family and he did so with a family shotgun. It was strange that the bodies were found were they were because it seemed that no one got up in the middle of the night as the multiple shotgun blasts rang out. Why didn't anyone get out of their beds after the first or second or third blast? His father supposedly had mob ties and was abusive to his children.

The house was sold to George Lutz and his wife. They lived in the house for 28 days and left saying the house was haunted and brokered a movie deal. A lot of info can be found here. Supposedly they lost a lot of money on the sale of the house which they paid $80,000 for in the mid 70's but think about how much they made with the movies.

Halloween brings its own problems and the local police force keeps a large presence in the area and on the block to deter vandals and onlookers. Haunted or not, it is a true landmark that is pretty much known by all.

Friday, March 02, 2007

View from a cube...

I've worked for my company for a little over eight years. I have no complaints. I recently was offered a window seat and eagerly accepted it. I get sun and a view and can draw the shades if it gets too bright. Todays picture is a view from my cube.
...Oh, and my sqeeky mascot :)

Thursday, March 01, 2007

A novel idea...

About seven or eight months ago I began visiting my friends blog and found a side of him I did not know about. On a daily basis I saw the world through his eyes thought to myself what better way to get some of my photos seen and show people my vision.

When I started posting I said up front that I would post occasionally... when I could. As time passed I found a small group of people that enjoyed my shots and my stories. I also found an outlet so that I can entertain others. I've learned some html, nod to MCF, and have started to list more and more blogs that I like to frequent. Many of them are quite entertaining.

I have decided to take a leap of faith and see if I can be a little more committed. I will be attempting to post more frequently. I will try to post an image a day and have begun to carry my camera around with me a bit more. If a day goes by where I can't find an entertaining, interesting, funny, beautiful, (insert adjective here), photo... I will at least try to post something to keep the blog fresh for visitors new and old.

And a new chapter begins. I took my camera today and nothing really caught my eye... until... On the way home from work I realized that I had forgotten to mail my bills. So I made a pit stop on the way home. While waiting at a red light I looked to the driver next to me and I see him pointing at something. I follow his finger and see this:


Sometimes you just have to love the town hooligans :) Let's see what tomorrow may bring.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

A few new animated sigs...

Ah, but from what I see in my comment window I have not explained what these are used for. I am an avid gamer and communicate to friends and teams in gaming forums. These are added to the end of comments as an identifier and just to show off a bit (gamer and team props). Hope that helped ;)











Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Couldn't pass this up...

Smart Test

Take the test and see how you do...

My results: