Nikon D40
I have a D40 that I really like to screw around with. I've recently decided that one of my daily rituals has to be to look over cool photos and decide what I want to try and replicate. So to do that, I've found the amazing Flickr D40 pool. Check out the awesome shots!
It Came From Linksville
Shortly after Lehman Brothers collapsed last year, I started tracking on the economy and looking for great blogs and podcasts that offered the best and most insightful resources out there.
What all did I find? What's on my blog roll right now?
Paul Krugman http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/
Baseline Scenario http://baselinescenario.com/
Nouriel Roubini http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/
Cafe Hayek http://www.cafehayek.com/
In the Podcasts category
EconTalk (topical talks) http://www.econtalk.org/
And the ultimate in tracking on the current situations... NPR Planet Money http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/
What else is out there worth reading?
Tumble Down
One of my difficulties with posting here is that I seem to have SO MUCH MORE that I could post about but don't take the time to write the disertations generally demanded by the blog medium. So going forward I am going to utilize this space for both the former but a bit more of a tumblelog for stream of consciousness.
That was all just fair warning ... you can now return to ignoring this space.
Wait
A while ago I found myself struggling with God's timing. I was trying to be patient for God to put something into my life and I found it a wholly trying time. It's easy to say you want to be patient and wait for the good things in life to come along ... it's an entirely other matter to actually live like it.
While doing some of my filing last night I decided ran across a page that was given to me by a friend during those months (years?) of my life which went a long way to helping me fight through it. I hope that by reprinting the verse here, others may find it of some use.
Wait
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied,
I plead and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait."
"Wait? You say wait?" My indignant reply,
"Lord I need answers, I need to know why!
Is Your hand shortened? Or have You not heard?
By faith I have asked and am claiming Your word.
My future and all to which I can relate,
hangs in the balance and YOU tell me WAIT?
I'm needing a 'yes,' a go ahead sign,
or even a 'no' to which I resign.
And Lord I've been asking and this is my cry
I'm weary of asking I need a reply."
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
as my Master replied "once again you must wait."
I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
and grumbled to God "so I'm waiting ... for what?"
He seemed then to kneel and his eyes wept with mine,
and he tenderly said "I could give you a sign,
I could shake up the heavens, and darken the sun,
I could raise up the dead, cause the mountains to run.
All you seek I could give and pleased you would be,
You would have what you want, but you wouldn't have me.
You'd not know the depths of my love for each saint.
You'd not know the power I give to the faint.
You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair.
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in me,
When darkness and silence were all you could see.
You'd never experience the fullness of love,
As the peace as My spirit descends like a dove.
You'd know that I give and I save (for a start),
But you'd not know the depths of the beat of My heart;
The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The thing that's beyond getting just what you asked,
of an infinite God making what you have last.
You would never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that 'My grace is sufficient for thee.'
So be silent My child and in time you will see,
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know me.
Though answers sometimes seem so terribly late,
The most precious answer of all is still wait."
Gotta Swing!
There are a lot of things in this world that I'd never do just on my own. Thankfully, a whole bunch of those things suddenly become something you not only would do, but really want to, when it's not just you doing them.
One of those is dancing...
Last night we traipsed over to the Clarendon Ball Room in, shockingly, Clarendon, for the first week of an eight week crash course in swing dancing. Lindy Hop, Charleston, six count, eight count and the fundamental steps required for swing are in our near future. To suggest that it was a blast is a bit of an understatement. I never envisioned myself stepping on a dance floor, much less believing I could eventually become good enough at it to be part of a couple that got invited to every wedding just for the wow factor.
Can we get this good? Who knows! But it should be fun to try.
Blog Every Day Month?
Wat wat wat? I've been told it's 'Blog Every Day Month." I don't know which dark god of this internet this is in honor of or why this world needs more blog posts but ... whatever, right? Since I only manage, at best, 'blog every week year' I don't expect to see this going anywhere for me. In fact, let's just say there's no chance that I'll spit something out every day for the next 23 days.
Somehow Elizabeth and I have managed to get every single weekend in October booked with something. Her college friends in town, my folks in town immediately following, a trip down to Richmond, an apartment move and then a birthday weekend. It will be mid November before we get to breath and have any kind of peace or sanity.
A fan of This American Life, I normally find their work very good. A few times a year they outdo themselves however. This time, it's in response to the credit crisis going on. If you've been confused about why the markets are collapsing and the DJIA is sub 10k or if you just want to get a better grip on it all, I can highly suggest checking these two podcasts out.
The Giant Pool of Money http://thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=355
Another Frightening Show About the Economy http://thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=365
A Whole New World
Let's get some facts out here quickly
- Lest there be any doubt, I'm a dude and a bachelor. I've been both of those things for about 29 years now.
- That particular combination generally entails the following diet: PBJ, cheese and crackers, hot dogs, hamburgers, anything you can set on fire with a foreman grill, pizza, fast food.
- Elizabeth is a ridiculously good cook compared to most other women you are going to meet.
- I get lost with some regularity in her kitchen. In fairness, I get lost with regularity in my own kitchen and I have approximately .04% the quantity of gadgets in mine.
So I should have known so much better than to ask the following question a week ago: "So, do you want to go out or scrounge at my place"? This is, more or less, how the conversation went when we got home.
Me: So I have some drum sticks we can fry and canned stuff we can heat up and a bag of salad in the fridge
Elizabeth: That's great, where's your flour? This shouldn't be too difficult.
M: ... flour ... right ... uh
E: No flour? Well okay. You have some saltines we can make do with. Where's your spice rack?
M: Spice rack ... yeah ... I have salt and pepper?
E: Wooooooooow you are SUCH a boy
There are embarassing moments in your life and then there are moments like this where the reality of your guyness come crashing down on you. That we had a tasty lunch at all was a testament to her.
What came of it, however, was a plan to stock my shelves and drawers with something a bit more capable. I scoured the cook book and found five different recipes and the list of all ingredients to make any of those. With a giant list in hand I proceeded to the SFW empowered. I didn't know that grocery stores actually had so much stuff in them. I found items that I never even knew existed! The bill was a bit painful, but when you have practically nothing in your pantry some sacrifices must be made.
I got so excited I snapped a picture of my crowning achievement last night...
I'm totally looking forward to actually doing something interesting in my kitchen again.
Real Ultimate Power
Talk Like a Pirate Day is just around the corner. So let's get our Ninja spirit on.
Down in Fraggle Rock
I have nurtured a deep love for the work of the late Jim Henson for as long as I can remember. I grew up to Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, The Dark Crystal, Fraggle Rock and various other creations born from the dreams of Henson and Frank Oz (ILM to name just one). Perhaps no other single individual has had such an impact on the minds of so many children for so long...or at least mine.
Over the weekend, 'Elizabeth' and I went to the traveling Jim Henson's Fantastic World at the Smithsonian Institute Internal Gallery. It was small and tucked away in the most mind-bogglingly complex underground facility imaginable. It is also a mere three rooms. It was, however, a wonderful trip down memory lane. The restraint shown to keep from ducking down behind the puppet stage and play like a four year old was of biblical proportions.
As enjoyable all those characters we know are. Perhaps the most enjoyable is all the ones that didn't make it. All the original sketches, the storyboards and the ideas. Henson was a man that never let him self stop dreaming. He chose to never grow up and fought all his life to keep from it. The the world is so much richer for his determination. It is, truly, something to aspire to.
For your viewing pleasure now...
Mama said there’d be days like this
From the "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue" department
Let's do a quick recap of today's festivities.
My allergies went into overdrive past couple of days and I'm all out of Allegra. Wonderful! So it's on to benadryl to get me through the day. Now everything is just a bit slow and sleepy. Going to be slamming some much required Starbucks to make it over the hump.
I found out the meat and potatoes of what my company does is about 5% as effective as it was last week thanks to (probably) Verizon. So on top of being ready for nap time, I have the opportunity to sit on the phone for the next four hours chasing down who on earth I'm supposed to talk to on capital hill to fix it.
While pulling stuff out of my trunk this morning, I laid my nice Oakleys up on the back windshield. When I went to close it, my glasses had slid down the glass and CRUNCH! Frame is FUBAR now. I have to send them in for repair and wait two weeks to get them back.
Major work scheduled tomorrow and we're still missing some incredibly critical parts before we can go ahead with it. If we miss the window we'll have to push it back till after Labor Day most like. Not really the ideal solution in any way, shape or form.
At least on days like this there is something to look forward to when it's all over.