So How Was Your Thursday?

Mine was one of those crazy days where nothing ever stops. After busy morning at work I had to step out to make a visit to the Dr. for my eyes. Our family doctor is very good, but oh my goodness, I nearly had another birthday for the year while I was waiting. Finally I got to see the doc, got my renewal for my eyedrops and headed on my way.

Back at work, I sat down at my desk at 2pm for lunch and the moment I finished I had visitors and questions. So, off I went to problem solve but the best was yet to come. First, I found out the formulation we have been using for making some particles was wrong (my fault) then I find out that some very expensive equipment had gone for a walk (not my fault) and then I find out that some samples have gone missing for one of our clients (my fault).

Following this final discovery, I spent the last hour and a half of the day in the dumpster out the back of work rifling through trashbags, looking for the missing items. After the first pass through all that garbage, I didn't find what I was looking for, so guess what, I had to go through it all over again... While fishing, I recieved several sarcastic comments from passers by (which really weren't that funny anyway) but I did think to my self, I bet noone would even offer to help. And how I was wrong. Dear Ashley came up to me, asked what I was doing and then volunteered to help! So together we bonded over the trash and in the last bag in the dumpster, she found what we had been looking for! PHEW!

So how was your Thursday?

Playing House

Well, a few weekend's ago, Jenee was asked if she would babysit the Cravens for a few days while they went on a short trip. Of course I tagged along too. Three kids, 4 days, Jenee and Nate...

We...had...a...blast.

It was so much fun, we got to take them to soccer and dance, we went to Miss Linda's house and saw horses and big dogs and all of that, we went to a birthday party too, and the best thing was they had a bouncy castle there!



I think it gave me a really good insight for what it will be like when we have a family. It's full time, hard work, but its worth it! By the end of the day, Jenee and I found ourselves in bed exhausted only to see that it wasn't even 9pm! I have a new respect for all the mommies and daddies out there, thats for sure.

Embracing My Inner Minimalist

Well not only have I resisted spending my birthday gift card at Best Buy in the last 24 hours, but I have also embraced my inner minimalist by putting into action a carefully concieved plan of space saving and convenience (two of my favorite things). I have been thinking for a while now about what to do with my growing collection of photography journals and a while ago the solution came to mind.

I realized that I have at my disposal, a full, legal version of Adobe Acrobat Pro, a scanner with an auto feeder and a surgical scalpel. Put that all together and what do you get? Scanned magazines that are catagorised, searchable and functional, no longer take up shelf space, and won't degrade or get torn up. What more could I want?

I used my scalpel to carefully cut the pages out of the magazine and then scanned them. The trick of the process was to recombine the odd and even pages, since I could only scan one side at a time. I looked online for software, I played around but refused to sort 180+ pages by hand. In the end, the easiest possible solution turned out to be built into the very computer I am using. I used Apple's "Automater" and created a script which did the task for me. (Actually truth be told, A colleague at work made the script cause he's a genius).

So there you have it, now I have 3 years worth of two journals all on my computer, not taking up space, and the pages are off to the recycler! Love it! Chris you'd be so proud of me.

Posts Are Coming, I Promise.

I know its been a couple of weeks, and I have about 2-3 posts floating around in my head and all I need to do is steal a minute to edit a handful of pictures and then write the posts.

Bare with me, it will take a few more days. I have started a few personal projects that have been tugging on my mind as well as work and all that stuff.

(As I write this, I am thinking, is there anyone who is actually waiting with baited breathe for me to post? Somehow I doubt it...lol)

Its That Wonderful Time of Year...

... where the air dries out (to normal humidity) a gentle wind starts to blow and the pollen reeks havoc on the common folk. Thankfully my sinuses are not responding to the tremendous allergen levels, however its a different story for my throat.

I have the most annoying tickle, which therefore makes me cough, which therefore has made my throat sore and best of all has given my a husky, smooth sound. As a responsible husband, I have stopped talking in public places as I do not want to be responsible for making women other than my wife stumble.

As for Jenee, she just keeps marching on, which is totally unfair. I dont think she should be exempt from allergy season. What happened to being a team player? To sticking together? Just unfair!

We have been working hard during our free time to finish off a quilt that she has been working on for Skylar. I will post a picture soon, it looks really amazing so far!

Storage Problems

Most of you know, I really enjoy photography and I LOVE my camera that my wife gave me. I use it every other day. Well, while reading through my popular photography magazine this week I came across an article that was discussing good practice for keeping your digital files safe on a long term basis. Charged with enthusiasm, I have started looking through my library and figuring out how many DVD's I'll need to make a preliminary hard copy backup.

I have been taking digital photos since 2002, which at the time of writing makes it 7 years. Also, knowing I started with a Canon S45 point and shoot, guess when I got my new SLR?

2002 - 109 files - 0.07 GB
2003 - 949 files - 0.76 GB
2004 - 759 files - 0.86 GB
2005 - 2255 files - 2.2 GB
2006 - 5683 files - 11.2 GB
2007 - 15,608 files - 41.7 GB
2008 - 7528 files - 16.6 GB

Totals: 32,000 files and counting, 72.9 GB.

I hope I don't have any drive failures before I get that all backed up...