Author: Andy

Wedding photos

After three years of avoidance, we’ve (mostly Michelle) have started trying to put together a real album. We’re not the happiest with photos from our wedding, which I suppose is to be expected when the photographer shows up late, takes all the photos in the same spot, and misses important details like malfunctioning wardrobes. We were sharing these sentiments with family when we learned that the photographer actually indirectly asked for my father-in-law not to take pictures.

We were shocked to say the least, but then the anger set in. You mean we could have had more usable photos?!? But we don’t because the photographer not only did a crappy job, but she thwarted others from taking pictures.

The irony I guess is that both of our families put a pretty high interest on photography. Irony with paper-cut and lemon juice.

iGIS a.k.a. ArcCatalog

I’ve started GIS I this term and today’s lab introduced me to ArcCatalog, which is an awesome way to browse, preview and manage your spatial data. 3+ years ago we just haphazardly moved stuff between directories using Windows Explorer and often got stung. It was not an elegant way to handle data.

This is the equivalent of an iTunes for GIS data, but it’s not a free app. That’s fine though since it does way more than an iApp does. You can search based on name, file type, geographic region, and more. You can also search locally or on remote locations that you can connect to over the internet. I’m quite impressed and look forward to using it on something more than a simple exercise.

Rap Skits

I’m not sure who is propogating the myth, but skits on rap albums are not funny. In fact, I can count the number of entertaining skits on one hand. And that includes those that are just mildly entertaining the first time.

Take a lesson from indie labels. Stop recording 74 or 80 minute albums if you’ve only got 45 minutes worth of music. Hell, just release an EP. That’s cool in many circles. If you need an excuse, just say you love vinyl.

Culinary Contributions

My contributions to the culinary world include (and are pretty much limited to):

  • Smartground vegetarian Sloppy Joes
  • Stout and Sriracha Bratwurst
  • Ham flavored IPA
  • A few one-of-a-kind sandwiches (i.e. spaghetti, salsa, cheese and pepperoni wraps)
  • Artichoke, green chili and Jalapenos dip (I added the hot peppers, which I’ll count as a contribution in the loosest sense of the word)

Its painfully obvious that I’m a culinary dunce. Most of my work has been with sandwiches and leftovers.

Car Noises

I’ve become familiar with the noises that our cars make. They may think they suggest immediate attention, but they’re wrong. Today we finally dropped off the Altima at a shop in town to have them look at replacing the timing chain or chain tensioner that is making horrible screeching noises when we start up the car. There are several bulletins from Nissan about problems with the pair so hopefully this rather expensive service will fix the noise. Oddly enough, I’ve noticed the same noise from a slightly newer Altima on the next street over, and have heard it in the parking lot at work.

The same thing happened with the Yoda and the whistling that was created by the tiny holes in the muffler. Hopefully the repairs on the Altima will be as successful as those on Yoda and we’ll have a quiet car again.

Fisheye

Today Hilary and I walked around town taking pictures. She was trying out her new fisheye lens, which is a lot of fun. We walked from the south end of the waterfront to PSU then north up the park blocks and through town, then back down to the waterfront to old town. We wandered around chinatown then up to the north park blocks, up Broadway through the Pioneer Courthouse Square and finally back to the car. It was a monsterous walk and most of my photos suck.

I do not recommend riding around a parking garage while looking through a fisheye lens. I got sick on the downramp.

Five potential iTunes Purchases

I’ve spent nearly 2 hours trying to decide on what to get with the iTunes gift certificate I received for christmas. I’m having a hard time committing because most of the albums I really want aren’t actually on iTunes. I do take some pride in saying that, yes, but I’m kind of disappointed. Not much MFDoom/Mad Villain, nothing from The Duo, lots of partial albums and a surprising bulk of lame jazz. I’d like to buy recent music but so much of it just isn’t appealing to me. I keep flipping between allmusic and iTunes. I wish iTunes had tabbed browsing. The navigation don’t really let you explore without losing your tracks.

So here’s my current top five potential purchases.

  1. The Reverend Horton Heat – Revival or Lucky 7
  2. Redman – Muddy Waters
  3. Bob Dylan – Nashville Skyline Remastered
  4. Mos Def – The New Danger (despite the poor reviews)
  5. RJD2 – Since We Last Spoke

updated as opinion changes…

Bear in our trees

black bear in a tree
My parents got a christmas card from our childhood dentist that included this clipping from the Cody Enterprise. The picture was taken in the back yard of our old home in Cody. The trees in the picture were all planted by my family. The paved area the warden is standing on was our playground, but the new owners apparently wanted a basketball court instead.

Every so often a black bear or two would wonder into town and cause a small fuss, but it was mostly just entertaining. Sometimes we’d ride our bikes to see them when they had been treed, or poled, or whatever.