1/2000th of a second

A picture from vacation, doesn't need too much explaining. That's Adam, my brother-in-law, gracefully ending his ride on the tube. Really fast, and really slow shutter speeds are my favorite...they show things that you can't see with the naked eye.

Making life a game

I saw this TED talk not too long ago, and it inspired me to do something new; and realize the reason I enjoy something I've been doing for a long time. The picture below is of all the data I have on my finances since January 2007 (without the scale for obvious reasons...although you could scale it by the linear fit in the top right corner.........if there weren't multiple Y axes....haha, I win). Ever since then, at a minimum of once per week, I have recorded all credit card balances, bank statements, savings, loans...everything that has to do with me and money. Now I have this great spreadsheet with past data and future projections. I think only an engineer would get excited by having something this detailed containing so much data.

3.5 years of data...AWESOME!

As for something new, I have started making lists for getting things done (thanks to my new phone and apps). I want to do the thing on the list just so I can cross it off the list. For the same reason that I want to get Xbox achievements or PS3 trophies...I just want to cross it off the list! It's made me more productive and it gives me another reason to use my phone (which keeps getting awesomer (yes, Firefox spell check, I know that's not a word)).

Coffee grinder

 

That's right...whole bean!

I picked up a coffee grinder last weekend and it makes amazing coffee. The best pre-ground coffee is nothing compared to a cup of freshly ground. I was surprised how much better it is. For someone who cannot go a day without coffee, this grinder was one of the best $15 purchases I've made in a long time.

The Phone

I love the FedEx guy. My phone that required an indirect signature was signed by a non-existent person at a non-existent address...which allowed him to leave it for me Thursday.  You sir, are the man...thank you!

I was afraid that I over-hyped the phone to myself and that i would be disappointed when I got it. NOPE!! This thing is amazing. This is the kind of thing that you would see in Sci-Fi movies 6-8 years ago. I have all the information I could ever want at my fingertips all the time. I've just scratched the surface of what it will do....I'm so excited about it is because I can see the potential. The hardware is so powerful, it is waiting on software to catch up. Man, so much potential......it's hard to even imagine how it will be in 2 years when it's time for me to upgrade the phone again.

I literally could not be happier about the purchase. I love this phone; period. And I've only had it 2 days!!!!

I can't wait for the future! It's going to be awesome!

New phone!

Ok, well, not yet...but it has been shipped and will be here either Thursday or Friday. It will be here Thursday, but I won't be home to sign for it, so I don't know if the FedEx guy will leave it or not. Maybe I can go to the FedEx place after work and pick it up (like I do with UPS). Anyway, the new phone is a Droid X and it's going to be awesome.

"I shouldn't do this joke because it will ruin my cover, but I like the FedEx guy; 'cause he's a drug dealer and don't even know it!...And he's always on time." Mitch Hedberg

The drive

The drive to and from vacation was awesome. The way back was more fun. On the way back, I was moving for a total of 12 hours and 34 minutes and stopped for 18 minutes. I had to get gas 3 times, otherwise I think I could have made it without stopping. I tried to take pictures of the state signs as I crossed each border, but that didn't work out so well. I got a few of them...

This is North Carolina's sign; my aim wasn't too good with the camera.




Notice how crappy New Jersey looks. Are there people that actually want to live in Jersey?


What is in this FedEx truck? Scary...it was raining at that point in the drive too.

Something between me and you

Maybe this post will get deleted in a while, if people find this blog. Anyway, one of the things I love about the blog, is the fact that nobody knows I have it. That may sound strange, and it probably is, but I like writing knowing that everyone I know has no idea that I do this. Another awesome family vacation pic below.

I love photography

I started going through my mountain of pictures from family vacation. I can't believe I took some of the pictures...they are much better than I expected. Before I saw these pictures, I thought photography was fun; but I wasn't really excited about the pictures I'd taken. Now I love it, I love my pictures, and I love photography. Sample awesome pic below. More are going on my Picasa account hopefully by the end of this coming weekend.


"Why do Koala bears...they're so fucking cute...why do they have to be so far away from me. We need to ship a few over, and I will apprehend one, and hold him...alright...and pet him on the back of his head." Mitch Hedberg

That's another thing you will learn about me...I love Mitch Hedberg's comedy...he was the man.

Back to the grind

Back into work mode. I have a ton (literally, if a ton equaled 15.1 Gigabytes) from vacation. I was trying to decide on one to post here (others will be posted on my Picasa account). I decided on the obligatory whole family vacation photo (one of the only ones I'm in).