Party!

Grandpa's 80th birthday party was today. Fortunately, I was able to get off work early last night, so I got plenty of sleep. Unfortunately, I still wasn't able to get to bed until nearly 7:30 am, so I felt like crap until about 10:30 pm, which is when Steph is ready for bed. Third shift is a pain in my ass.

We got to the campgrounds around 4:00, and spent some time visiting with family. It's a rare occasion to have my sister Kathie, myself, and my brother David all in the same place, so it really was a special day. My family is so fractured and separated by such a great distance, that it seems like ages since I've seen them last. We had a great catered dinner, followed by music from Bob, Singer of Songs, and then we sat around the campfire for about an hour. It was a really great time, and I'm really going to miss going out there.

Sweetcorn

We don't get a lot of really great fresh produce in Illinois, but one thing we do have is sweetcorn. This is really my favorite time of year, as all the local farmers are getting ready to harvest and sell their annual crop. We have a guy here in Monroe Center that sells it every year, and it's probably some of the best corn I've ever had. He sells if four a couple bucks a dozen, but he usually gives you about 15 ears of corn. Steph and I usually go there a couple times a year.

Campgrounds, Perfection

Steph and I took a drive to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Alexander at the Blackhawk Valley Campgrounds tonight. My sister Kathie and nephew Noah are also there, but Noah was already in bed by the time we got there. My Grandpa's birthday is tomorrow, and he'll be 80 years old! They're having a big bash out there on Saturday night, and that should be a lot of fun. My grandparents have been going there for 43 years, and this is their last year, so going out there is a little bittersweet. I really love it out there, and I'm going to miss it.

We were talking amongst ourselves, when we began talking about my photography. My sister and Stephanie contend that I've become a bit of an elitist when it comes to my photographs, and I think in a lot of ways they're right. I'm very critical when it comes to my photography, and in some ways, that's really good. I've improved greatly over the last couple of years, and I've been very pleased with the majority of my stuff. However, I don't really take "snapshots" anymore. I'm so anal about taking "The Perfect Photograph", that I'm beginning to realize I may be missing out on some things. When I'm reluctant to shoot because of conditions, poor lighting, etc, it's very possible that I'm losing some really good stuff. It's also very difficult for me to be casual about shooting. I guess it's something I need to work on.

Favorite Shots #12: The God-Mobile

I don't really know what I can say about this car. Steph and I saw this thing one night in Rockford running errands, and I just had to snap a picture. I respect everyone's right to believe in whatever they want, but I think any Christian will agree that this is waaaaay over the top, and frankly, a little frightening.

I'm about 1/2 way through the newest Harry Potter book, and I'm really enjoying it. It's a very good book, and the series overall had been fantastic. I really appreciate how JK Rowling has evolved and matured as a writer, and how the story has reflected that with its tone and subject matter. The story has gradually gotten darker and more adult as it ha progressed, and I really like that. I hope the ending is fitting to such a great series.

Cell Phone Tech, Where We're Headed

With all the problems we've been having with our internet lately, and the subsequent loss of Vonage service caused by these outages, I've been thinking a lot about canceling Vonage and going strictly with cell phones. This would be saving us about $30 a month, and we'd be reachable anywhere, but it's really nice to have a land line at home we can rely on. With all the hype surrounding the iPhone, it's really made me think more about cell phone tech and the direction this market is heading. I think that this industry, more than any other, is fueled so much by competition and consumer choices. With the iPhone's breakthroughs in features and ease of use, it should be very interesting to see what the competition comes out with in the next few years. I've been reading about a new line of phones with integrated wifi, that when you enter an area with an open wireless internet connection, the phone will automatically switch from using the cell technology to a VOIP system, similar to Vonage. This is great, because if you're at home using the phone, you don't use any of your minutes from your plan, essentially giving you unlimited minutes. I saw a commercial today for T-Mobile advertising one of these phones, and when my contract is up with US Cellular, I'll surely be researching this technology.

Alternatives

Well, I’m once again writing this is word, frustrated beyond belief with my ISP. Before we left for California, it seemed like Mediacom finally solved their problems with the continuous outages we were suffering from. We had about 5 or 6 days with no problems. Sice we got back on Friday, there hasn’t been a day where we haven’t had some sort out outage. It’s getting to the point now where I am seriously considering other options. I was always really happy with Directv, and would have no issues switching back to them for television service, but our options out here are far more limited for internet service. I don’t even consider dial-up an option, DSL isn’t available here yet, and I really don’t know how good T6 Broadband is. All I know for sure about T6 is that the connections speeds are variable, and you actually have to pay more for the higher speeds. I’m really reluctant to part with my super-fast cable speeds, but I really don’t want to pay for something and get nothing in return. I think that I’ll probably give them a month to get their act together before I start taking steps toward another carrier.

Back to Reality

Well, the dream is over. It's time to wake up and head back to work. It was so nice and refreshing to have so much time off and to be able to spend it in such an amazing place. I felt so good yesterday and today, but the reality of going back to work and back to the grind is starting to take root. It doesn't help that I have to go in early tonight and work 10 hours either. Well, I guess I have to look at the bright side. It's only about 5 more months until I have another week off! Woo-hoo!