It's a sad day....Costco gives in...

Today is a sad day. Well, yesterday actually.

Costco has changed their return policy. Before yesterday, they allowed returns for anything except computers (which had a 6 month return window) forever.

As stated on their website, the policy is now as follows:

Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell, with a full refund. Exceptions: Televisions, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD / MP3 players and cellular phones must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund.

I talked to them yesterday. For purchases before 2/26/07 they'll still honor their old policy, as they should. But no more.

Travie put is perfectly when he said "it feels like a girlfriend of 6 years has walked out on me without a word."

While I rarely use this return policy, this is the only reason I shop at Costco. With BJ's and Sams Club much close, I might have to make a change. Without the forever giveback policy, why would I go to Costco to pay higher prices for the same gear I can get elsewhere?

So you know, you can return your membership at any time.

Sad...sad day.

(A lone trumpet plays taps...slowly.)

Book Tag, from Elise..

My Sister tagged me.

Rules of the Game:
1. Find the nearest book to you.
2. Name the book and author.
3. Turn to page 123.
4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page.
5. Copy out the next 3 sentences and post to your blog.
6. Tag three other people.

My Entry:

Enders Game, by Orson Scott Card (returned by a friend today, who was borrowing it)

And when Mother and Father had announced to them that they were leaving the city to move to North Carolina, of all places, Valentine knew that they never expected to see Ender again. They were leaving the place where he knew to find them. How would Ender find them here, among these trees, under this changeable and heavy sky?

I taggest The U2 Girls, Richard and Jordan (and/or Amber)

xOXxOooOxoxOXXx,
Mattie

Hooray for restored power and cable...

Three cheers for the power and cable guys who have restored power and cable to our house.

More on this later.

Help! We need money!

Did I get your attention? Good, because we need some help, though not the kind you might think.


We need help finding these. Read on for the full story.

A few years ago, McJackson started a coin collection. We started putting them in coin collecting folders. We still enjoy getting out the magnifying glasses and going through coin rolls from the bank. It makes for a good DJT. See the photo of his current collection below.




Most coins are fairly easy to find, but one coin in particular is proving to be very difficult! The Eisenhower dollar, minted between 1971 and 1978 are becoming less and less common, but they're still in circulation and still worth...you guessed it...$1

What can you do? The only way to "find" these things really, is to ask the teller at the bank. They banks usually only have them if someone brings them in. So many times I hear "Oh man, I had 10 of those yesterday, but someone bought them all." We've been lucky enough to find 1 so far. (See the lower left part of the picture...the largest coin there)

When you go to the bank, if you're not already looking for these coins yourself, would you mind asking for us? I'll gladly pay you for the coins and postage to send them to us. Ask for "Eisenhower Dollars". Sometimes you have to describe them as "The old bigger coins, sometimes referred to as silver dollars." It's an exciting day when we find one of these for our collection.

We also look for Susan B. Anthony dollars, but they're relatively easy to find. Most of our coin books are well stocked, and we're starting to look for old coins there...which is where the fun begins. :)

Thanks in advance for anyone that can help us find some of these.

RacketMaster...

Check this out. I'm planning "The Ultimate DJT" (which stands for Daddy Jackson Times). Monster Jam seems like a perfect event. So I went to buy 2 tickets to Monster Jam for my son and me. Ticketmaster is the only way to get the tickets without driving to the arena in Baltimore. The tickets are reasonably priced though. $20 for me, and $5 for the boy.

But wait! Don't forget about the following fees:

Convenience charge x 2, building facility and order processing. All together making my $25 cost $40! That's over 60% increase!

Three words: For...Get...It.


Just for the principle of the thing, I'll drive to Baltimore and get tickets at the Box Office. I still pay a $2 building facility fee there (give me a break), but at it's not $15.

Driving over everything... (Jacks 100 things)

With all the Hundreds-Of-Things flying around, I thought I'd write one for my 6 year old. However, he ironically came home from school the other day telling me that he needed to paste 100 things on a paper vest for school. We let him decide what he wanted to use, and he came up with 100 cars. Mostly Matchbox and HotWheels cars.

So, we had a good time watching him pick out his favorite 100, and then arranging them while I took the pictures. Looking at them up close is a special, almost sacred thing to me. I feel like I'm looking into my sons soul. I think this is how he sees them...down on the level of the carpet, with his eye 2 inches away from them while making the sounds. I can remember me doing the same thing as a child (and today actually, with him.)

Above you can see the collage of the cars that Picasa produced, which I think is neat. But below you'll see a few that are definately worth 1000 words. A few of them have had me laughing all day. If you skip the rest of these, check the yellow and red trucks. They are something.

My Man with "The Three Herbies."

Click on this one to see the large image. It says: "Griffin. Where Eagles Will Not Dare". How great is that? They will not DARE! Read this with a Monster Truck announcer voice.

Ok, the other hillarious one. Click this one too, to see the enlarged one. On the side it says "Power Panel. " On the Door it says "Ride Hard Race Fast' and near the wheel it says (are you ready) "Real Trucks Drive Over Everything". I can't take this one. I'm laughing right now. This should also be read with the announcer voice.

Given to McBlackson by my dear friend Eric while I was in School. It's been through doublehockeysticks.

Look at this one up close. It's the math police. Check yourself.

Another one that's seen better days. It's a bit rare to find these cars with opening parts these days. I brought this one back from England a few years ago.

Those are just a few. After seeing these like this, I think I'll photograph the rest of the cars and his favorite toys, and him with them. Who wouldn't love to see their old toys 20 years later. What a trip that would be.

I'm totally looking for more trucks with sayings on them tomorrow in his cars box.


#105: I have been to where the Eagles Will Not Dare, and I lived to tell about it.

Say the word, and be like me....

Some time ago, I was asked by a good friend to create an essential Beatles playlist. I thought about it for a few days and decided that the only way for me to do a fair job is to actually listen to each song. Below is the result.

I'm basing these on the US cd's, which are actually made from the British LP's. So, the included tracks may be different than those included on the American LP's.

Please pardon the images. I'm linking them straight from Amazon.com, so some have sales pitches on them.

Album: Please Please Me
- Twist and Shout

Album: With the Beatles
- It won't be long
- All my lovin

Album: A Hard Days Night
- If I fell
- And I love her
- Tell me why

Album: Beatles for sale
- Baby's in black
- Rock and Roll music
- I'll follow the sun
- Mr Moonlight

Album: Help!
- You've got to hide your love away
- Ticket to ride
- It's only love

Album: Rubber Soul
- In my life
- Norwegian Wood
- Girl

Album: Revolver
- Elenor Rigby
- I'm only sleeping
- She said, She said
- Good day Sunshine
- And your bird can sing

Album: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
- Fixing a hole
- Lovely Rita
- A Day in the Life

Album: Magical Mystery Tour
- I am the Walrus
- Your Mother Should Know
- Baby You're a Rich Man

Album: The Beatles (The White Album)
- Dear Prudence
- Oh bla di, Oh bla da
- While my guitar gently weeps
- Happiness is a warm gun
- Blackbird
- Rocky Racoon
- I will
- Julia
- Sexy Sadie
- Helter Skelter
- Cry baby cry


Album: Yellow Submarine
- All Together Now
- Hey Bulldog








Album: Abbey Road
- Come Together
- Something
- Because
- You Never Give me Your Money
- She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
- Her Majesty






Album: Let It Be
- Two Of Us
- Across The Universe
- I Me Mine
- I've Got A Feeling

Others:
These are some tracks that didn't appear on the albums above for one reason or another, but are still included in my favorites
- Lady Madonna
- Don't Let Me Down
- Free As a Bird

In addition, the new album entitled "Love" (2006) is fantastic. It's a cool mix of a lot of their songs. Not to mention all the Anthology and outtake Cd's etc. But those mostly don't belong in this list.

#104: I once had a girl, or should I say she once had me.

The following post takes place between 10:55 and 11:15 pm on Jan 31...

If you like 24, you'll like these Jokes. If you don't like 24, Jack Bauer probably knows, and your coordinates are being uploaded to his PDA at this very moment. Props to Tyler for passing along the jokes.

• Jack Bauer's favorite color is severe terror alert red. His second favorite color is violet, but just because it sounds like violent.
• When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer hates lemonade.
• The quickest way to a man's heart is through Jack Bauer's gun.
• You can lead a horse to water. Jack Bauer can make him drink.
• Jack Bauer's family threw him a surprise birthday party when he was a child. Once.
• If you wake up in the morning, it's because Jack Bauer spared your life.
• 1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight.
• If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Myers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.
• Upon hearing that he was played by Keifer Sutherland, Jack Bauer killed Sutherland. Jack Bauer gets played by no man.
• Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.
• Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin. Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.
• Jack Bauer played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.
• Jack Bauer doesn't miss. If he didn't hit you it's because he was shooting at another terrorist twelve miles away.
• Lets get one thing straight, the only reason you are conscious right now is because Jack Bauer does not feel like carrying you.
• Jack Bauer can get McDonald's breakfast after 10:30.
• Killing Jack Bauer doesn't make him dead. It just makes him angry.
• People with amnesia still remember Jack Bauer.
• Jack Bauer helped U2 find what they were looking for. (That one is for you Cami)
• Jack Bauer would have gotten the ring to Mordor in 24 hours.
• If you know something Jack Bauer doesn't, chances are you don't have any fingers left.
• If Jack and MacGyver were locked in a room together, Jack would make a bomb out of MacGyver and get out.

Three words: Watch your back.

I don't even know what they're singing about.....

So, I setup a slide show for KC's birthday party. I used some Hawaiian music for the soundtrack. One of the songs has wedged it's way into my soul forever. I love it...it takes me to a different state of mind, relaxing me. It's by "Hui Ohana" and is called "Sweet Lei Mokihana".

You can listen to it here.

It's part of this balanced weblog post.

#103. Once I engineered a slideshow for my Brother in law, and the music from it changed my life.

The Gully of Doooooomommm...

Edit: I went back this morning and took this picture. Hard to believe that this peaceful road would be the scene of so much chaos and carfusion. (end edit)

So, it's almost February and we finally have our first snow! We've been enjoying such warm weather here in Maryland lately. Actually, I haven't been enjoying it. It should be cold in the Winter where it's supposed to be cold. And no, I don't think so-called Global Warming has anything to do with it.

Anyway...so it's snowing cats and dogs today, and started to "stick" after a few hours. So, the melty part turned into ice, with snow on top. I had some home teaching to do, and against my better judgement, I went for it. My little rear-wheel-drive pickup truck did great in the show...if you like sliding all over and doing donuts, which I do.

I made it only a few miles from my house when I realized the trip was folly. I found myself at the top of a hill, on the far side of a small gully. I saw the road getting hilly, so I called the whole thing off. Now...how to get home.

I was at the top of the gully which was pretty steep, and pretty long, planning my attack. I realized a van had been sitting there for a while. I walked over and talked to the driver. Sure enough, she was STUCK! I pushed, and joked and put her at ease, and coached her on how to get out of the gully after she was back on the road. She made it out.

I tried, but got stuck at the bottom. While I was thinking of how in the world I'd get out, a few cars tried, but got about as far as I did. So, as they spun their tires, I jumped out and pushed! They slowly...slowly inched up the hill as I pushed.

This story is getting too long. I'll sum up.

More people came, and more people got stuck. Some ran into trees, and eventually everyone either gave up, or made it out. I was able to kind of rock my truck up and back until I was (again) on the far side of the gully. I got all the speed I could and went for it! I baaarely made it over the top of the other side. Phew!

The whole thing took about 45 minutes, and was actually quite enjoyable.

102: I helped several people out of a gully, and did some donuts in my truck, all in one night.

100 things...

My sister posted a weblog entry that contained "100 things" about herself. It's fun to read, and and I thought it would be a nice challenge for me to try it. If it sounds like bragging, it probably is. It's really just therapy for me. I feel like this like a pop-up video version of my life. It's pop-up mattio.

I'm not sure I even know 100 things about myself...so if you find any errors here please submit them to our fact-checking department, and they'll respond with in 1-2 business days.

So, here we go.

1. I've spent exactly 45 minutes in New York City.
   
2. I've been addicted to listening to books on tape/cd/ipod since I was a young teenager when my dad would bring them home from work. I listen to about 1 a week. I think my first book on tape was The Pelican Brief, by John Grisham.
   
3. I'm 6' tall exactly.
   
4. I put sea-salt in the water I drink.
5. I rarely call my son Jackson by the same name twice in a row. Substitutions include variations of Jackerson, Jackinson, McBlackson, Blackie, Dude, My Man, Your Majesty, Sir, Doogle, and anything ending in "ster".
   
6. I carry a man bag (a purse).
7. I have to talk myself into going to bed every night. I'd rather stay up.
8. I try to talk to at LEAST one of my siblings on the phone every week.
9. I talk to one my parents on the phone almost daily, and always look forward to it.
   
10. I don't watch any reality TV shows. Ever.
    
11. I have a "poison list" of so-caled "celebrities" that I will not tolerate. If they come on TV, I rub my hands over my ears and say "lalalalalala". I turn over magazines at the store. I leave stores. I close web browsers. All to avoid people on the list.
    
12. I love taking pictures. I feel proud when other people use my pictures.
13. I miss Kansas.
14. My wife knows all the girls I previously dated.
    
15. I was the first "Mr. Viking" at Pleasant Grove High School. But I was a band nerd who would not normally get nominated. We had to campaign a little to get people to vote to nominate me. In the end, it was me against a bunch of football players. The next year, a football player won. The school recognizes him as the first Mr. Viking.
    
16. I burned my hand pretty bad just now on some super hot water at work. I have ice on it and am typing with one hand.
17. Studying Computer Science at the UofU was the hardest thing I've ever done.
18. I click on those links on the internet that say "Click here to get (whatever) for free." and I get those things for free. So far: Ipod, and Digital SLR Camera.
19. My best friend was in a coma for 3 months.
20. I don't feel comfortable when my internet connection is down.
    
21. I can read, walk, and listen to music at the same time. I perfected it while in college, walking between classes, and to the parking lot.
    
22. I will never own a new car. It's a life-goal.
    
23. In High School, I was the only boy on the schools Winterguard.
    
24. I recently saw Rod Stewart at the Superfresh (the local supermarket.)
25. I feel lucky to be in touch and have good relationships with my brother and each of my five sisters.
    
26. I love camping in cold cold weather.
    
27. I polish and wax my car 2-4 times a year.
28. I never missed a day writing in my journal between the ages of 15 and 22. That includes over 1000 pages I wrote while on a 2 year LDS mission. I'm a huge nerd.
    
29. I adore the public library.
30. Once when I was a kid, I was riding my bicycle when the front tire came off. I crashed badly, but no stitches were necessary. I found the front tire about 1/2 mile down the street. (It was a long straight road.)
31. I was the band Drum Major in high school.
32. In 4th grade, a man came to our class, and disected a calf in our classroom. It was amazing.
    
33. My all-time favorite job was working for Peck Construction. Rack me.
    
34. I love buying cords and cables of any type.
35. I collect and use drawstring bags. Any size or type. They're the best.
36. My crew in College went by the name "Team Bitterness." We used it when we had team projects to do, and it stuck. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Travie and I were and are still on the same brain frequency and can often talk without talking. We call it 'cahoots'.
    
37. My favorite city in the world is Elkhart, Indiana. A blue collar town in Northern Indiana. A few miles from the University of Notre Dame.
38. I love to read. I mostly find myself reading Science Fiction. I read a lot of Orson Scott Card, but I also love Dick Frances and Raymond Chandler.
    
39. My favorite film genre is Film Noir, of which my favorite film is "The Big Sleep." (1946)
    
40. I cry in movies. A lot. This one always gets me, no matter what:

    How many bullets are left, Chino? Enough for you, and you? All of you. You all killed him! And my brother, and Riff. Not with bullets and guns - with hate. Well, I can kill too because now I have hate! How many can I kill, Chino? How many and still have one bullet left for me?

41. I put a modchip in my xbox, and use it for a media center. It was a graduation gift from my wife. I'm terrible at video games.
    
42. I also play racquetball.
43. I (still) have a hard time concentrating on things. I get distracted easily, and procrastinate too much.
    
44. I'll celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary this year.
    
45. I've only ever purchased one audio cassette. It was a gift for a girlfriend which I bought in Hollywood, CA. Harry Connick Jr's Blue Light, Red Light.
46. I marched in a Drum and Bugle Corps in 1994. The Maruaders. We went to the World Championships. I was awarded Rookie of the Year for my Corps. The next year, they folded. My wife also marched in a Drum Corps. The Santa Clara Vanguard.
    
47. Since I've been married, I've been to a Disney themepark 6 times.
    
48. I turn on and off my bedside lamp with "The Clapper."
49. I consider myself to be a loyal person. I have friends I'd do anything for.
50. I have an incredibly hard time hearing any type of criticism. I need to get over it.
    
51. I have an Eagle Scout award.
    
52. I once sprained my ankle badly at the top of a 10 mile mountain trail. I hopped the whole way down.
    
53. I try to make people feel good about themselves.
    
54. I have two footlocker trunks full of Beatles paraphernalia that I've collected over the years including over 60 posters, all of which used to hang in my bedroom at the same time.
    
55. I used to get in fights a lot in Junior High. I once was knocked unconscious during gym class. I suffered a mild concussion.
    
56. I can spin almost anything on my finger. Especially flat objects like books, plates, or small tables.
    
57. I have 200 firecrackers in the glove compartment of my truck.
58. I allegedly snore if I'm not sleeping on my side.
    
59. During one particularly bad month as a teen, I wrecked both my parents cars.
    
60. I used to skip school a lot in High School. Many time to go Skiing.
    
61. I enjoy talking to random people I meet. I had a 15 minute conversation with a guy from Nepal in Aldi the other day.
    
62. When I was young..maybe 10 or 12, I shot the window of a tractor out with my BB Gun. I ran to my house and watched as the construction workers came back from their lunch break. I was scared, but went and told them what I had done. They sent us a bill for $40, which my Dad paid, and I worked off.
    
63. My favorite candy is Necco's.
    
64. One of my fondest and most vivid childhood memories is of watching Star Trek (Kirk) with my dad, while eating dried bananas.
    
65. I think that Global Warming is a scam.
66. Nothing drive me crazy more than people parking their cars where there is no parking spot.
    
67. I met my wife at a Band Camp in Normal, Ill. She was 16, I was 17.
68. I tend not to worry about things I have no control over. I like to think that I can roll with the punches pretty well.
69. If I could eat cold cereal for every meal and stay healthy, I would.
    
70. I love stopping at road-side attractions. Worlds Largest anything is always worth stopping for. Always.
    
71. I tap my fingers as if I was playing a trumpet when I'm nervous.
    
72. My favorite Television Show is M*A*S*H. I'd like to have Hawkeye over for dinner.
    
73. I stumble on my words around people I'm intimidated by. I usually try for a mildly sarcastic joke, and it fails miserably.
    
74. I struggle with self esteem, but I can distract myself from it pretty easily by looking at the bright side of SOMEthing.
75. Once when I was a teenager, a friend of mine and I each told our moms we were staying the night at the others house. When we realized what we had done, and wanting to avoid the confrontation, we broke into (read: found the hidden key for) another friends house (they were on vacation) and spent the night there.
    
76. I make a mean Cinnamon roll.
    
77. I can't stand being startled or scared. Instead of being scared, I get instantly mad and defensive. I'm working on it.
78. When I drink a 8oz can of soda, I like to put it in the freezer for 40 minutes before drinking. After doing this, the soda ices up nicely.
    
79. I have a really hard time saying the word 'sausage'.
80. When we owned a house with a pool in Kansas, I did some research and found out how to replace almost all the store-bought chemicals with household ones. The main ingredients were bleach and baking soda. Doing this brought my pool chemicals bill down from about $50/month to about $5/month. That's what I call sticking it to the man.
81. My favorite way to write software is wearing a hoodie, big headphones on with the hood up. It puts me in the zone.
    
82. I was thoroughly disappointed with book the 13th of 'A series of unfortunate events'. I'm trying to recover from the let down. It may take years.
    
83. I love buying things at the Costcos. I wish they sold everything I ever needed to buy.
    
84. I am a Mormon boy.
85. I have an old computer in my house that runs this website, as well as 21 others.
    
86. I think that my wrists are to small, and often wear thick leather bracelets to help with that.
    
87. I took piano lessons for several years when I was young and can still play many songs and hymns. I was eavesdropping on the phone call between my mom and my piano teacher when they decided I should quit. I had to hide my excitement and pretend not to know when my mom delivered the news.
88. Speaking of piano, I once tape recorded my practicing for 20 minutes and played it back twice more to cover my 1 hour practice requirement.
    
89. I've seen my cars speedometer at 100mph.
90. Aside from a cracked collar bone that I sustained during birth, I've never broken any bones.
    
91. I liked the latest Star Wars movie.
92. I don't like it when people put food into my mouth for me.
    
93. I wish I could be a Scoutmaster for the rest of my life. I'm not a scoutmaster now.
94. I secretly like listening to country music, but only female artists. Male country singers give me the heebe jeebies.
    
95. I enjoy crappy sci-fi television.
96. I usually root for the underdog.
97. I don't agree with the death penalty, in any form, ever.
98. I think Spongebob Squarepants is hilarious.
99. I met a woman in the parking lot of the mall recently, and sold her a PlayStation3. It was sketchy.
    
100. I try to always park as far away from any other car as possible.
     
101. (Bonus). I think Chuck Norris jokes are also hilarious.
     

Man oh mango. That was intense.
xo, Mattie

Server downtime tonight...

Edit: Back up! The network re-do was a success. Huzzah.

My site (and everyone else's site hosted on it) will be down tonight for a good while. I'm re-doing the networking at home. No one panic. It'll be back up tomorrow at the latest.

The Christmases: A photo journography

Ladies and Gentlemen... In the center ring.... Presenting: The Christmases!!! In their Seasonal Journography....

The following are photos from our Christmas break from Life, the Universe and Everything. Presented in no particular order.


My roof is waaay up there. I hung some lights, to keep up with the Jonses. In my neighborhood, we're only allowed to use white colored lights. Boring. But that's the country-club mentality of the East for you. Rules, rules, rules.

Jackson, or Jacksons head rather. Watching some teev, waiting for Christmas to get here.


Dude, at this first Basketball game. His team is called "The Rockers."


My dudes and me at work. We got in on the PS3 craze. A bit silly, but we made a few bucks.


We saw family a lot. This is my sister and her man during a fun gingerbread house making party.



My other local sister, and her fam at the Temple. A fun night.


Kevins car asplode....


The Christmas card I sent to my scout boys.


We played with Magnetix at work.


The Temple looked great. The workers and volunteers there did an awesome jorb on the lights.


My sister and her man again. They were Joseph and Mary in this awesome live-action nativity scene at the Temple. We called it KCmatronics.


Me and my love at the temple. Isn't she pretty?


A nice shot of the temple at night.


The boy, celebrating the toyness of Christmas morning.


My Sister and her cute son. He calls me "Mattoo Matt."


My dude putting out the cookies, milk and pennies (his addition) for Santa. He's saying "Cheese" in the style of Wallace (from Wallace and Gromit).



His majesty, with the toys.



My little break-dancer, trying to do the worm. Wearing the Jammies grandma sent him. This is Christmas eve.



The cousins and their finished G-Bread housen.


It was a nice holiday. Of course, my dude got sick with Bronchitis (so what's new!?) This week he had surgery to have this adenoid removed which is supposed to help. With the break and the surgery, we've had a ton of time to hang out and play games and laugh. It's been a nice healing time, and a successful holiday! Huzzah!

I'm a cliche...

New Years is the worst.

I hate going to the Gym. But I hate get/being fat even more. So...here I go.

Wish me luck.

If I'm not back in 90 minutes, call the police.

What is wrong with people?

I swear. Sometimes, I'm afraid to leave my house, or even to get out of bed.

Check this out. This link is the home page for information on a class action lawsuit against Nintendo. They're saying that the remotes that come with the new Nintendo Wii video game consoles are defective. Why? Because they come with a wrist strap that sometimes breaks when you swing the controller to hard. To use their words: "the wrist strap broke and caused the remote to leave the user’s hand."

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, check out www.wiihaveaproblem.com.
It shows some of the results of the breaking wrist straps. Broken TV's, dislocated knees, bruised heads, and damaged furniture are just some of the things you find there.

This leads me to my original question. What is wrong with people?

In this age of entitlement in which we live, when anything (read: ANYthing) goes wrong in our lives, we place the blame on whoever has the most money. "What? You threw you video game controller across the room? No problem, we'll sue the manufacturer and make millions!"

"What? You broke into someones house, and cut yourself on the glass from their window? We'll sue the owners."

"What? You drove your car into a river and then couldn't get the door open, and you almost died? We'll sue the car manufacturer, the city who runs the river, and the water cycle."

Give me a break. This law firm is a step below an ambulance chaser and should be laughed at by any judge that hears their case. And their clients?! Anyone that is participating in this lawsuit should be banned from playing video games ever again.

Take responsibility for your own actions. They're YOUR actions. Yours alone.

/me throws hands up and storms out.

Why Lead Trumpets aren't invited Christmas Caroling

Anyone who knows me pretty well knows that I am into Drum Corps in almost any form.

I ran across this recording a few years ago, and enjoy it every Christmas season.

This is the reason that lead trumpets (or lead sopranos) aren't invited Christmas Caroling. If you've ever been in a Drum Corps or College Marching Band, or even a zealous High School band, you'll know why this is funny. I think it's funny on it's own merits though.

Have a listen.

Part 2:

An open letter to lead trumpets/sops:

Hey Guys:

We know you can play high. We've all heard your lip trills and note bends that you were "practicing". We know that your chops are second to none. We allll wish we could be just like you. (/me rolls eyes.)

We, your adoring fans, want you to remember just two things. 1) There is more to music than being the highest, fastest, loudest, most obnoxious. 2) If everyone is special, no one is special.

So look around...and save the pomp for your solo, where it can be truly appreciated. (No sarcasm this time...we DO appreciate your skills...just at the right time. )

Sincerely,
Second and Third Trumpets, and the rest of the planet.

Gingerbread Village

Today we had a little family get together and decorated gingerbread housen.

It was totally fun complete, and the houses looked really cool. The kids (and KaCerton) added some great designs.

Check them out, in all their glory:


From right to left:
12 Oaks, by Jackson and Mom.
The White House, by Emily and KC.
Tatooine, by Jefferson, Cami and Jake.


An architect (or canditect as we call them here), hard at work.



"You mean this is ALL edible!?"

Is another Christmas tradition born? Only time will tell...dun dun dunnnnn...

Pettebone Farm - V 2

Thanks to everyone who gave advise about my photos, on and off-line. I took it from a wider angle from the fence, lowered the ISO setting to get more color depth, and did some more post-processing. I had to wait a few days to get the weather right, but a few shoots later I came up with one that I thought was an improvement.



I'd like to get this picture right, so please...any comments or suggestions are welcome! I'll take them positive, negative, neutral, straight up, round about, rhyming or even in the style of Dr. Seuss.

More from this shoot here.

This picture is only worth about 20 words. Can you help?

So, I've been shooting with a new camera. A Canon Rebel XT. It's quite an upgrade from the Fuji S5000, which I loved. (I put about 15000 photos on the Fuji.)

I'm working on a shot of a local farm. I can't seem to capture the same sense of easy-going comfort that I get when I view it from the road. Below are my first two attempts.

I need feedback! Please give me any criticism you can about this photo. Anything, really. Tell me what you like and don't like about it's composition, the subjects, the lighting, the developing, etc. I thought it would be a good exercise for me to get a picture really right...and since it's close, I can go back often to re-shoot. You can see a color version of the picture here.

See my notes on the first two tries below.


I took this one at about 4:00pm in November. So, the shadows are long, and there isn't much contrast due to the sun. My wife suggested (and I agree) that I get it when the barn isn't so drab and one-colored.

More from this shoot can be found here.



This is the next day, about 1pm. More sunlight on everything makes for better shadows etc. But it loses some of the mystique it has in the first. Right?

More from this shoot can be found here. A slightly different angle, which I like, is here.

Any ideas anyone?