Finished Product

This is a shot of some (slightly bug-eaten) Day Lilies growing in our yard, and is a good representation of some of the beautiful stuff I had to take out on this newest project. Fortunately, I finished it today. I went into Rockford this afternoon, bought a truckload of mulch, and put it all down. What a difference a little mulch can make! It look much better than the overgrown mess that used to be there. Now we just need to replace those boarded-up windows the previous owners left us with.

I didn't get quite as much done today as I had hoped, but it was so damn hot today, and since asthma has been an issue for me lately, I didn't want to over do it. I guess I can leave the mowing for Friday. Tomorrow I'm going to (finally) see Spiderman 3 with my dad. I know, it sucks, but I want to see it anyway.

Here's a shot of the finished product:

Bricklayer

Today I've spent about an hour digging a trench and laying the border bricks in the area I've been working on. Today I was supposed to go get the mulch, but I'm not really keen on getting red dye all over our new recliner, so I'll put that off for tomorrow. It was no surprise that my measurements were a bit off, so I was short two bricks. It's no big deal, but it is a bit of an annoyance. When I go to get them tonight, I'll also be buying some of that black paper stuff that blocks the growth of weeds and grass in areas such as this. I'm looking forward to having this finished so I can relax on my vacation.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Under Pressure

Wow. Sometimes I really have no concept of time. I didn't get nearly as much done today as I thought I would. I decided to pressure wash the siding first. I got started around 1:45, and the next thing I knew, it was 5:00! It really took me far longer to do that then I ever planned on. So unfortunately, I didn't get time to start putting the bricks in. That means I'l have to get an early start tomorrow so I can get them all out of my truck. On Saturday, Steph and I bought a new recliner at Slumberland, and I have to pick it up tomorrow. The truck was overloaded enough with hundreds of pounds of bricks in it, there's no way I'm going to add more weight then drive it around some more. As to the pressure washing, you wouldn't believe how well that worked. The house needed it pretty badly, but I really had no idea how bad it was until I started taking the stuff off. The house was so bright that with the sun hitting it, you literally couldn't look at it directly. Yowza, that's white!

Supplies

Since I'm off all this week (huzzah!), I'll be doing some much needed work around the house. My first job will be to finish the job I started a couple weeks ago, by taking these bricks we bought tonight and putting up a small border around the newly planted bushes on the South side of the house. They were really far more affordable than I had anticipated. I actually thought we'd be spending twice what we did, so that was a nice surprise. We also picked up a pressure washer, as our siding is looking pretty dirty.

More eBay Madness

Every once and a while, I go through my collection of games and try to figure out which games I'll likely never play again. Those games are destined for the auction block, and often that money is used for new ones. Looking through my DS games tonight, I picked these eight to be listed on eBay. With the retail usually running about $30 to $35 on these things, I'm pretty happy with $20 to $25, and that's what I consistently get. Taking games I never play and getting back some money from them is pretty gratifying.

In case anyone's interested, here's a link to my 8 listings.

eBay Crazy

I love eBay as much as the next guy, but this is crazy. Steph and I sometimes pick up her Grandma Johnsons mail, since she doesn't get out too often. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but her Grandma is a major doll collector. I'm talking hundreds of dolls here. She just finished having her garage converted into a usable room so she has an accessible place to keep them all. Yes, she has that many. Anyway, I'm a little off track. When I went to the post office this morning to get her mail, she had all these packages waiting for her. Apparently her daughter Diana has been buying dolls on eBay and having them shipped directly to her. A nice gesture, but holy cow! How many dolls does one person need?!? I thought Steph's growing collection was bad. When they get everything set up in the "Doll Museum", I'll be sure to get some shots up here. If dolls creap you out as much as they do me, prepare to be horrified.

Popcaps

Ever since I went a little crazy on a great sale at Woodmans for Vault, I've been collecting these bottle caps. Each one has a 15 digit code under the cap that when entered on their website, gives you three points. I've drunk all the pop I bought, and another guy I work with, who also bought two cases, has been giving me his caps as well. Right now, I have 198 points, which is the equivalent of 66 bottles of pop. Unfortunately, after browsing the stuff you can get with these points, I'm starting to wonder if it's even worth it. Since then, I've just been kinda throwing the caps into this empty desk drawer.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I entered those codes visable before I posted this picture. No stealing!

Grados

When I started 3rd shift, I knew I'd have a lot of time on the weekends where the only thing I can really do is either watch tv, a movie, or play Xbox. I really enjoy great sound on two of the three things, but I can't very well have the stereo cranked while Stephanie is upstairs sleeping. I decided to get some headphones. The first set I bought were some wireless Sonys, but the results were less than spectacular. They were constantly full of static, and the sound was awful. After doing much more research, I decided to go with these beauties. They're called Grado SR60s, and man are they amazing. They are a little pricey, but you certainly get what you pay for. Movies and the Xbox sound great through them, and music is unreal. I recommend these to anyone looking for a great set of headphones.

Souvenir

Dad stopped by tonight with a nice little surprise. He bought me this autographed 2005 World Series Baseball signed by White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. I'm a really big White Sox fan, and the Sox wining the 2005 World Series is one of my fondest memories. Thanks Dad!

Oh! I forgot to mention that on Monday morning I found out that my request to move my vacation from October to next week has been approved! They were really reluctant to allow me to change it, and I never thought for a second that it would happen. It was a nice surprise, and now, instead of working 3 of the next 4 Saturdays, I only have to work 1. Very nice!

High Definition

About a week ago on eBay I bought a HD DVD player. HD DVD is just like DVD, only the video is High Definition quality. Microsoft, who is the maker of my current favorite game system, the Xbox 360, also makes the player that I bought. It connects to the Xbox, and provides HD DVD and DVD playback agt a very affordable price. The player in the stores runs about $200, but I got my player with three movies for a cool $150. This was a great deal considering the average HD DVD player is about $500. The movies are about $20 each, so really the $200 player only cost about $100. The movies that came with it are The Departed, Batman Begins, and King Kong. These are all pretty good movies, but the real reason I wanted this player is for the BBC documentary Planet Earth. It was shot entirely with HD cameras, and is supposed to be amazing. I just ordered it yesterday, and I'm really looking forward to watching it.

More Yardwork

Sunday afternoons seem to be the day to get my hands dirty lately. Since I'm often working 6 days a week, it's really difficult to find the time to do the little things around here that really need to be done. In the yard, I'm taking these things in bite-sized chunks, and that is helping quite a bit. Today, I finished planting our new landscaping by putting in the final tree while Steph put some flowers in our flower boxes. Moss Roses, which are my favorite, are sometimes really hard to find. We got lucky Saturday night, and Lowes has a few in stock. I also picked up some sticks out of the yard and cut the grass. It's really nice to have a nicely trimmed lawn, but it's oftem hard to find the time to keep it that way. All I really have left as far as the new bushes are concerned is putting in some trim bricks and putting down mulch.

Bluetooth

One of the things I really dig about my new MacBook Pro is the built-in Bluetooth. It allows me to do cool things like sync my cell phone to the computer so I can put photos and ring tones on it very easily, and it also gives me the ability to use wireless accessories like this Logitech mouse wirelessly without a USB dongle. Sure, it's a little thing, but it's the little things that count. By the way, this is what you get when it's 11:45 pm and I haven't shot a picture or even thought about what today's post will be....

Training the Eye

I decided to take a walk today to look for something to shoot. While I was walking, I started to think about how sometimes, when I look at something, I can just see the potential for a great photograph in my mind. What I mean to say is that I can see there's something there, but it doesn't necessarily mean I'll be able to photograph it. It can be really frustrating looking at something, knowing that there's an awesome shot there, and just barely missing it. When I took this shot, I could see there was something there, but I couldn't quite get it. It's like having a word or a name on the tip of your tongue and not being able to get it out. It can be maddening, but when you finally get that shot or remember that name, it's very gratifying. I'm pretty happy with this shot, but I know that this isn't what I was seeing. I could spend a lot of time here trying to get that shot.

May: In Review

Well, another month has come and gone. I'm five months into this little project, and the year is just flying by. This month I was able to go to a concert, play some cards with friends, and expound on the sale of my employer. I showed some of the unique features of our home and spent some quality time with the family. I really feel like this was a great month photographically, with some of my best shots being taken in the last four weeks. Bring on June!

Here's my favorites for the month:

Tulip Tree

We have quite a few trees on our lot, but we have one that is quite unique. It's called a Tulip Tree, or Liriodendron, and from what I understand, it's very rare to have one in this area. According to Wikipedia, these trees are common in Eastern North America, so finding one in the Midwest is pretty uncommon. The flower you see is all over the tree, but mostly in the higher branches. They bloom about this time every year, but like the tulips it's named after, they never last long. The first time we noticed the flowers was in our first spring living here. I was mowing the grass, and a low branch was really needing to be trimmed back. I pushed the mower towards the tree, reached up to move the branch aside, and found myself looking directly at one of these flowers. It was a pretty cool discovery.

Favorite Shots #8: Abandoned

I have a thing for old, abandoned buildings. I'm not sure exactly why, but I really enjoy shooting stuff like this, and around here, there's a lot of it. Many farmers have buildings on separate lots that are run down or out of use and there are countless factory buildings in downtown Rockford that are no longer occupied. Eventually I hope to shoot an entire series focusing on the abandoned factories in Rockford. Rockford used to be a manufacturing city, but now, since it's much cheaper to purchase imported garbage from other countries, that is no longer the case. Like countless other cities in this country, Rockford's jobs have slowly shifted from manufacturing to the service industry. It's very easy to say that many jobs are being created in the city right now, but when those jobs don't even pay $10 an hour, that's not helping anyone.

Landscaping: Before

We decided to take this horribly overgrown mess out and replace it with evergreen bushes. Considering my schedule, doing stuff like this is really difficult. Luckily, we had a three day weekend, so I was able to get up earlier today and do some work. I got everything dug out, got the area tilled, and planted a tree and 3 bushes. We're putting a tree in the front corner and the back corner, then three bushes in between. It wont look good now, but in the next couple years it should look great and serve to hide the ugly foundation.

Cookout at the Campgrounds

Steph and I spent most of the day at Blackhawk Valley Campgrounds with my family, cooking out and enjoying the beautiful weather. First, a little background. My grandparents have been going to Blackhawk Valley for about 35 years. They go out for about 4 days a week every week throughout the summer. When I think of camping, I think of a tent, sleeping bag, cooking over a fire, etc. This is nothing like that. My grandparents' camper is like a smaller, second home. Full size bed, air conditioning, full bath and shower. It's crazy. It's really a beautiful place they go to, nestled in the valley of the Rock River. It's surrounded by trees, and there's something about the smell off the place that I just love. I really can't explain it, but I really love it down there. This is their last year going "camping". I'm really going to miss going out there.

We got to the campgrounds around 3:30, and we ate around 5. They always have a ton of people to their lot on these holiday weekends, and today was no exception. There were probably about 30 people eating. My brother Dave and his girlfriend Chrissy were there, and they surprised us all by bringing their new pet, Charlie. Charlie is a pygmie goat, is about 8 weeks old, and is totally adorable. I spent most of the day petting him, and he loved it. After dinner, Uncle Bob and my cousin Rob played music at the shelter for everyone attending. We stayed for about an hour after they started, then headed home. It was a pretty great day!

View the rest of the shots HERE

Foundation

I know that a limestone foundation isn't exactly a selling point for a home, but it sure is cool to look at. I believe that this is the original foundation laid in the late 1800's, but I could be wrong. The front of the house is the original building we saw in the photograph, but the back of the house was added much later and has a traditional cinder block foundation. Eventually, the limestone will have to be replaced with something more solid, but I sure as heck don't plan on being here that long. With all the interesting features our home has, it can't overcome it's unfortunate location.

Writing on the Wall

Our home is over 100 years old. A couple of years ago, we found a article from the Rockford Register Star with a photograph showing our house and the main street of Monroe Center. The photograph was from the 1890's. Pretty stunning knowing our house was here 80 years before I was even born! Today's picture shows the door to our not-so-old garage. The owners of the house in the 40's through the 70's kept written records on the garage door of all the maintenance they did on their cars. This was another thing we found really quaint about the house when we moved in. It really gives you a sense of the history of the house and reminds us that it's been here for a long time.

The Tent Room

This quirky room on the Eastern peak of the house is what we like to call the Tent Room. Used mostly for storage and the cats' bathroom, this is actually considered the third bedroom of our home. I can't imagine having a room in there personally, but I'm sure a kid would love it due to its uniqueness. Steph's brother Dan gave the room it's nickname early after we bought the house. This is also the room where we had to have the window replaced, and as you can see, we haven't yet found the time to paint it.

The Nail Room

Our house has a lot of personality. There are rooms and things in our house that have very unique traits. I'm going to take the next few days to photograph and write about these things, so I can share some of the character our home has.

This is a shot of a corner of our side porch, and 3 of the 4 walls are very similar in appearance. When the previous owners re-sided the house, they didn't take into account that the porch walls are relatively thin, so every nail they put into the wall spiked through the other side. The first time we came into the porch, I was thinking it looked like some sort of medieval torture chamber. We've tried to soften the effect by hanging various things on the spikes, but no matter what we do, I think this room will always feel a bit dangerous.

Showtime

Steph and I just got home about 1/2 hour ago from the concert. We got there around 7, and Faded Embrace, her brother Dan's band, was supposed to go on at 7:30. Unfortunately, they made them go on early, so we only got to see them play about three songs. I was able to get a few shots, but didn't get nearly as many as I would have liked to get since the time was limited. Anyway, here's what I managed to get. Oh, and the fist-pumping mohawk guy is Dan, my brother-in-law. :)
To see the rest of the shots from the show, click HERE.

Faded Embrace / Static X

Tomorrow night, Steph and I are going to the Forest Hills Lodge to see a concert. The headliners, Static X, is not the band we're going to see. My brother in law Dan is the guitar player for the opening act, Faded Embrace. It's a pretty big deal for Dan to be opening for Static X. He's been a really big fan of theirs for a long time. I'm taking my camera and have volunteered to do some photography for them, so I'll probably post pictures from the show on Wednesday. If you get a second, hit the link above or to the right to check out Faded Embrace.

Cuddles

Poor Stephanie. Every time she uses the computer, whether it's upstairs at the desk, in the recliner, or on the couch, her cat Chloe climbs all over her. After she's finished, I always find Chloe hairs all over the keyboard. If she's using the mouse at the desk, Chloe will head-butt her hand, pushing the pointer all over the screen. It may be annoying for Steph, but it sure is damn cute.

Black

I've been wanting to buy a second controller for my Xbox 360 since I got the system. I don't have people over to play often, but it's nice to have that option. I've been putting it off for a while, and I glad I did. They've recently released a newer version of the system called "Elite", and the system is black. Now, to tie in with that release, they're providing us with black peripherals. The controller looks really good in black, and now I have two!

Drained

I've learned something about my camera. After uploading my pictures to my computer yesterday, I left the camera plugged in to the USB on my laptop. Picking up my camera today, the batteries were completely drained. I guess leaving the camera docked and communicating with the computer drains the batteries quicker than you can believe. Unfortunately, this forced me to use my crappy point and shoot, which gives me shots barely any better than my cell phone.

Well, I started taking antibiotics today for my bronchitis, and I was also prescribed an inhaler for the mild asthma that's made considerably worse from the bronchitis. I leaned a nasty truth today. Having piss-poor health insurance is not a good thing. Being considered "temporary" at Chrysler, we're given a bare bones insurance plan that doesn't cover dental, vision, or prescription drugs. The antibiotic and inhaler I got today came to a grand total of $85. Under the insurance from my previous employer, that would have cost me roughly $10. Ugh. I have to remember to not get sick in the future.

Wildlife

The previous resident of our home really had a green thumb. We have a diverse garden of perennials growing in various locations throughout our yard. Some of the flowers, like the one above, are really odd, but really beautiful. We also have lilies, tulips, hostas, and some other things I can't identify. It's really great to have some of these plants, but sometimes our yard can look a bit wild.

Favorite Shots #7 / Sick AGAIN

This is getting out of hand. I've been having tightness and discomfort in my chest when I breathe, so I decided to go to the doctor today. I was given a laundry list of things she thinks may be wrong with me, including bronchitis, asthma, and acid reflux. What a great day, huh? Add to that only getting 4 hours of sleep today, and as you can see, I had a pretty crappy day.

Since I'm feeling poorly, I decided to take the easy route today and post this shot I took a couple summers ago at my brother Justin's baseball game. I thought it was pretty good at the time, but it's interesting to go back and look at some of my old stuff and see how amateur it really is. All those shots I thought were terrific at the time seem pretty average now, and in fact some are pretty bad.

The Drawbacks of Digital

I love my digital camera. It's convenient, it's easy to use, and it makes this blog possible by giving me immediate access to digital copies of the pictures I shoot. There is one aspect of digital, however, that I really don't like. When I was shooting film, there was always a certain excitement to getting prints made. You have these 5 or 6 rolls of film, and you have generally no idea of what you're going to get. You may get a masterpiece, you may get a bunch of garbage, but regardless, when you open that envelope and look at those photos, it's always an exciting moment. With digital, the closest you get to that moment is uploading your shots to your computer and looking at them. It's just not the same. You don't get that tactile sensation of holding the prints in your hand. I really miss that at times. I can't remember the last time I had prints made.

For Sale Sold!

It was announced early this morning plant wide, and all over the news today that DaimlerBenz, the parent company to Chrysler, has sold 80% of the stock to a company called Cerberus Capital Management LP, effectively selling the company. It's been rumored for some time that this was coming, but frankly, being a contract year, I thought most of it was B.S. Guess not! I don't know what this means for me in the long term, but short term, it doesn't change a whole lot. I'll keep you posted on any major news.

Complete coverage of the Chrysler deal, from Detroit Free Press

Green Days

Every year in the spring, I really try to pay attention to the trees. It's always a refreshing thing to watch the new leaves sprout out, but sometimes, with life's rapid pace, I tend to miss it. I wake up one day to discover all the trees completely full of leaves, and I find myself trying to figure out when it happened. I have the same problem in the fall when the leaves are changing. I try to make a point to observe it, but oftentimes I miss out.

Quality Time

I got to spend some time with my brothers, my dad, and my sister Amanda tonight. My brothers are both home on leave, and we decided to go to dinner and see Spiderman 3. Dinner was great, but Dad wasn't feeling well, so he and Mandy went home, and my brothers and I decided to play some poker. It was fun, but I didn't do quite as well this week as I did last week. It was a good time and it was great to spend time with my brothers.

Favorite Shots #6: Infrared

Today was another of those days, so I decided to share this shot. Infrared photography is something I dabbled in while taking photography classes at RVC. Infrared photography is done with a special type of film and with a black filter over the lens. The filter only allows the infrared radiation to get to the film, so you get these very surreal images. Plant life really reflects infrared radiation, so everything you see in the images as white is reflceting a lot. Things like water, tree bark, and the sky that reflect little to no infrared, come out as black. Infrared prints really don't scan too well, so this doesn't really do the print much justice. I also have another awesome shot of Punkin sitting in the grass, but the scan is pretty bad.

Whine

My ISP sucks. Once again, my internet was out last night so I was unable to post. I had this idea of talking about different wines that I enjoy, and how working 3rd shift has severely limited the times I'm able to enjoy a glass of wine, but now that it's 7:30 in the morning the following day, all that has slipped my mind. Meh. Guess I'll have to save that for another day. In the mentime, here's a bottle that I enjoy. One of the few White Zinfandels I actually like, it has a crisp, sweet flavor without being overwhelmingly sweet. The sweetness isn't a sugary sweetness, but instead is fruity, which I really enjoy.

Third Shift Annoyance #7: Day Sleeper

I sleep with a fan on. I always have, and it's likely I always will. As a result, I'm a pretty light sleeper. The slightest odd noise, or even a change in modulation of the white noise the fan produces will wake me up. This creates an unfortunate situation for my day sleeping. In the winter it's not an issue because all the windows are closed. In the summer, however, even with the fan running, having windows open in the bedroom just isn't an option. The last couple days the temps have climbed into the 80's, and believe me, it's been hot in there. I can only imagine what it will be like in the dog days of August when we're nearing the 100° mark.

Noisy

This is Punk's favorite time of year. He finally gets to go outside after a long winter being shut up indoors. Unfortunately for us, he lets us know continuously that he should be outside. He sits by that door nearly every night howling to be let out. Then, if we don't get the hint, he'll often run into the living room and attempt to dig a massive hole in the middle of the carpet. Either that, or he'll begin chasing the other cats all over the house. Basically he tries to cause as much trouble as he can so we'll want to put him out. We love him, but he's a pain in the ass sometimes.

Unfinished Business

I have a problem. I have about 40 to 50 games for my various game systems, and of these games, I've finished about 15 of them. I know I'm not alone, if any of you are gamers like I am, I'm sure this is a common problem. I've moved the bulk of my games to a small shelf next to our entertainment center, and hopefully seeing all these titles sitting unfinished will motivate me to go back to some of them.

Warmer Days

With the warmer days here, I finally able to knock the dust off my favorite shoes and wear them again. I have about 4 different pairs of Chucks, and if you've ever worn them before, you'll know that wearing them in the winter is all but asking for frostbitten toes. No matter how thick you socks are, or how many pairs you're wearing, these thing will not keep your feet warm. It's too bad really, because next to flip-flops, these are the closest you can be to not wearing shoes. They're so comfortable and light weight that it feels like you're wearing nothing on your feet.

I found this awesome picture on Wikipedia, and thought I'd put it on here as well. This is just a sampling of the may different varieties of Chuck Taylors out there.

Poker Night Made Me Late!

It's all Cory's fault. He made me go play poker tonight, so I missed my deadline once again. It was worth it though, I left his house $80 ahead....

We played a tournament style Texas Hold 'Em game with 14 people attending. It was a good group of people, with everyone there just to have a good time. We started at around 7, and finished roughly at midnight with myself holding all the chips. I really have to rein in my competitive nature for most of the night and try to remember that most of these people are just trying to have a good time. It's difficult, but I manage. Overall I had a great time playing poker with good people, and that's all that really matters.