It is amazing what happens in a week. Last week, I was saying it is to damn cold to go outside. A week later, it is a bit warmer and thus time for shorts! What really surprised me was how quickly green came back to the trees in the backyard! I have also noticed that the dogwoods are just getting ready to fully sprout.
No more dreary days of winter, spring has sprung and I am ALL SO READY FOR IT! Good time to get the cameras all charged up and ready to take some springtime photos.
Deciding what to do for a new years resolution is hard. I am kind of mixed about starting something new just because it is a new year. Though, it is a good time to start a new set of goals since everyone else is doing it! This year, rather then setting new goals, 2013 is going to be the year of focus!
I love starting new projects. The problem is, I never seem to finish them. I always seem to get side tracked by little side projects. It’s time to set them aside and focus on the big picture. GETTING THINGS DONE. So my New Years Resolution is this… I am picking 5 things that I want to get done for each part of my life, personal and professional. So here it is…
Personal
Professional
While the lists may not be complete, these are things that I know I want to get done. Sure, small things will pop up and need to get done, that is fine. But the wasting of time with little projects that seem to eat hours up needs to stop. My time is valuable and an hour here and there just is not effective.
So here is to a New Year and to focusing on what matters. Wish me luck!
Some blog huh?! Last update was almost two months ago. Something has to give with the limited amount of time that we have in a day. In fact, I am kinda surprised I have time now to write!
Let me re-phrase that… time to write for PERSONAL use. A majority of my day is spent writing. Pounding away at the keyboard. You know those walking fingers from the yellow pages? That is how my fingers feel lately, like they have walked miles and miles across the keyboard. One of these days I’ll have to put a pedometer on them just ot see how far they have “walked”.
Some other things that are keeping me busy are the videos. SO MANY VIDEOS! Each trade show I go to, I seem to come back with more and more each time. It is a wonder that I turn in any of my assignments on time! Video is fun, but takes a whole different work flow. Just when I get one batch of videos out the door, I get 10 more hours of video to sift through and “produce”.
A sudden realization… I AM A FILM PRODUCER… and cameraman, lighting director, director of photography… Getting the picture, a one man film studio. Maybe Film studio is a bit more credit than I deserve. Let’s go back to the roots and just call me a blogger, or a multimedia blogger at best.
Time to put another pot of coffee on. It’s getting to working hours and deadline approaches.
Griffin and I went to opening day this year at Nats Park to watch the DC Nationals kick the crap out of the Cinncy Reds! We had a blast. We started off on the Metro and the on to the Game. We got there in plenty of time for the opening day festivities along with getting our FREE opening day hats! After the first inning, we took off for some Ben’s Chili Bowl action. The line was long, but SO worth the wait. We got back to our seats for the start of the third inning and watched the lack luster game. Not until the 5 inning did it start to get exciting. It just so happened that some one was getting a little bored too.
We stuck it out till the 7th inning stretch and then headed home. We took a bunch of photos through the day and had a great time. We capped it off with a stop at 7-11 for a much needed Slurpee! I think my favorite Griffin quote of the day had to be… “We need to kidnap Daddy one day and take him to a game…” followed by “We’ll just throw Gary, (Jonathan’s boss) in the river!”. Never a dull moment I tell you!
Here are all the photos from the day on my Flickr page. And yes, Teddy lost AGAIN… One of these days he’ll win.
I received a txt from my father this morning. He wanted to setup a blog for his Around The World Trip that he is taking this Spring. “Oh yeah, no problem!” After setting it up, I thought to myself… “Dear god, what have I done?!?” I am unleashing the beast of my fathers ramblings and food photos to the world in real time on his personal blog.
I want to apologize to everyone in advance. You will see WAY to many photos of plates of food from my fathers travels. I’m sorry! Though, some do look delicious, three quarters of his travel photos are of food. NOW, there is nothing wrong with that. Food is a passion of his and he enjoys it. Hell, I enjoy food, but not like him.
I say all of this but I am proud of him. He is taking yet another step into the digital age and keeping us up-to-date in real time with his blog. Rather then quick txt to close family during the trip and sending all of the photos at the end of the trip, he plans to keep us updated during the trip. I am pretty excited!
You can follow my fathers ramblings and Around the World Trip on his blog at www.neallang.com.
What a great idea! Love the use of old pallets. Its not like there is enough of them in the world! Check it out on Etsy.
Last week, my favorite camera manufacture announced a new DLSr, the Nikon D4. I know what is going to happen next. Renee will read this and think I am nuts. Yes, I want this camera. At $6k, it might be a WAY future investment. But it is a pretty sweet camera!
I won’t bother going over the details or what makes this camera so sweet. Anyone with an interest in photography will know why. Just know that it is a huge step forward in quality and gear. If you have any interest in the camera, check it out on Nikon’s website.
It’s not just an investment in the camera body it’s self, but the new lens as well. Being that the D80 is a DX sensors and the D4 is an FX sensor. So yeah… just a bit of investment overall!
After a nice little “break” for the holidays, I am back at it again. As this is my first post of the New Year, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! During December, I decided to light up the house, but not the traditional and tacky way with string lights. Instead I lite it up like a pro! ;) It was a simple setup with just two lights. An LED fixture to paint the house a color and then a leko projecting the snow flakes. It was kind of static, but still looked good. I have already thought about plans for next year. Think animation!
We went Christmas tree hunting this year with Griffin and Olivia. If they had their way, we would have been done 10 minutes into the hunt with every other tree “looking good”. But our fearless leader Renee was on the hunt for the perfect tree. Not only did it have to be a specific kind, but it had to have strong branches!
In the end, we found the perfect tree with soggy feet but spirits still high as that meant it was tractor time! Yes, the highlight was the tractor ride to take the tree back to the car and get it strapped to the top. I think there was a cup of hot apple cider thrown in there. Hell if I know, I was tasked with strapping the tree down.
After that, it was time to get home, trim the tree and get the lights on it, but not before pizza. Now the fun part begins, getting presents under the tree!
I know what you are thinking… what the hell happened to the iPad?! Nothing, I still love my iPad and my Dodocase. I recently got a Kindle Fire for development work and of course, a cool new tool! ;) One thing I like about the Kindle Fire is the size, it is a bit smaller at 7″ screen compared to the iPad. I certainly do a lot more work functions and day-to-day things on the iPad, it is nice to have the Kindle for reading and testing Droid apps out on.
Regardless… Dodocase just announced that they have a Dodo for the Kindle Fire, so of course, being a loyal customer and lover of all things Dodo, I had to pick one up! I don’t know what it is about Dodo, maybe it is the custom work, the old world book binding, the look and feel of a moleskin case… It’s probably all of those and more.
I cannot wait to get my next Dodo from the nest!!! Please hurry mother Dodo, I can’t contain myself!