Oh my goodness. There is something called Crossfit and many of you know what it is because you do it, but for the benefit of those of you who don't, Crossfit is probably the most intensive fitness training I have ever experienced.
The concept is to keep your muscles in a state of confusion, the workout changes daily, and you work HARD. I used to bodybuild in my late teen's and early twenties and I know hard work, this is totally different and I have only done it once... Last time I ever listen to Jenee, I know I am going to be so sore tomorrow.
Friday, October 30, 2009
And This Is What I Bought With My Birthday Money
I bought myself a proper tripod! It's carbon fiber with magnesium crown, weighs next to nothing, is super rigid and can support about 3x more equipment than I own. I still need the 'head' which is on the way, it's on severe back-order at the moment... patience is a virtue. It doesn't look anything too special, but if you're in the know, you'll know what your looking at!
And after being made fun of, I feel I need to explain what the camoflage things are for. They serve a few purposes: 1) The break up the structure of the tripod if you are shooting wildlife, birds etc (which I occasionally do...), 2) the make it look cool n'stuff, and 3) the most important thing is they insulate your hands from extreme heat during the heat of the day, and extreme cold like in NM when its -10ºC. Call me a wuss if you want, I know you're jealous...
And after being made fun of, I feel I need to explain what the camoflage things are for. They serve a few purposes: 1) The break up the structure of the tripod if you are shooting wildlife, birds etc (which I occasionally do...), 2) the make it look cool n'stuff, and 3) the most important thing is they insulate your hands from extreme heat during the heat of the day, and extreme cold like in NM when its -10ºC. Call me a wuss if you want, I know you're jealous...
It Was My Birthday And Here Are The Pictures To Prove It
It was my birthday a few weeks ago and I forgot to post pictures so here they are. I had a great day. Of course I wanted to be boring (according to Sanguines anyway) but my wife found the perfect balance of fun for the day. She stole me away for lunch, my choice being the ever delicious Chipolte, and then about 2 hours late stole me away from work for a secret surprise, which was a massage! She took me to the day spa where she goes for her stuff so I almost felt uncomfortable, as it's mostly a ladies only facility, blokes don't really like getting their nails done, but I was made to feel very comfortable and in no time I was the lucky recipient of a very nice massage. It was so good I didn't feel like doing anything for a week, with out exaggeration.
In the evening, I chose to go to El Toro, a Mexican restaurant one town north of us. Rob and Sarah and Meredith came along too and it was a great evening. My dread is of course the public singing of "Happy Birthday, " so I didn't want to say anything to the restaurant staff, however it did come out from someone at the table, so later I was treated to a complimentary dessert (that we shared with everyone) but only after wearing a ridiculous sombrero and being sung to. Besides that, Jenee had bought 2 gourmet cupcakes and crammed them with 30 candles, so in the end I got my spectacle, hahahaha. All in all, it was a great day.
On the weekend we went to the beach to celebrate the cooler weather and found some new favorite places in our favorite beach! It was awesome. The best part was we had all the space we could want to fly our kites which was just so 'cleansing for the soul' to be out there with no phones, no people, no distractions.
In the evening, I chose to go to El Toro, a Mexican restaurant one town north of us. Rob and Sarah and Meredith came along too and it was a great evening. My dread is of course the public singing of "Happy Birthday, " so I didn't want to say anything to the restaurant staff, however it did come out from someone at the table, so later I was treated to a complimentary dessert (that we shared with everyone) but only after wearing a ridiculous sombrero and being sung to. Besides that, Jenee had bought 2 gourmet cupcakes and crammed them with 30 candles, so in the end I got my spectacle, hahahaha. All in all, it was a great day.
On the weekend we went to the beach to celebrate the cooler weather and found some new favorite places in our favorite beach! It was awesome. The best part was we had all the space we could want to fly our kites which was just so 'cleansing for the soul' to be out there with no phones, no people, no distractions.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
We'd Forgotten...
...what it feels like to be cold. I think the last time I felt cold was probably way back in April. Thanks to the change of the seasons, we've had 1 whole cool change. It was actually cold enough to wear a sweater/jumper, even if I still had shorts on.
All that's history now, it's hot and moderately humid again. So much for Autumn.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Meet Nick... Yes Nick....
Meet, Nick.. I mean Nate... Wait maybe it is Nick.... So we walk into Starbuck's aka "The Happiest Place in the Universe (Take that Disney)!!! Needless to say it has become quit a habit to visit there about once a day. Ok so maybe they know me by name/drink and the fact that they have to charge my card before they charge me for coffee because they know we have forgotten to do it and I want my discount. Well usually they ask your name and usually I let Nate tell them his because Jenee is just really confusing apparently... At least I thought Nate would be easier and I keep forgetting to use my Starbuck's name, Tonya (my cousin Majedah taught me about the Starbuck's name and you can see why,....). So Nate, in his best "say it clearly to these silly American's voice" pronounces his name, NaTTTe and we walk around the counter to the drink receiving area waiting patiently for our wonderful sips of pure happiness and joy, yes it does have more flavor than coffee just the way I like it, and just to check and see whose drink is whose, we happen to look at the cup. Low and behold, despite Nate's pronunciation, in big letters we see "Nick." Finding this a bit funny we laugh it off. Well the next day comes and the next trip for coffee and low and behold the EXACT same thing happens. Well being the scientists we/Nate is and i pretend to be, we decided a little reverse phycology is in order. The next day we walk in the to the buck's with our plan. We order our coffee and they ask for a name and Nate very clearly says, "NICK". We walk around the counter and wait, not thinking it possible, but we had to try it just to put our giggles (yes girly giggles) to rest, and you have got to be joking! Written clear as day on the side of our cups is N-A-T-E! Thinking this is just a fluke we try it again, at a DIFFERENT Starbuck's (yes it was the next day) just to prove that we are not crazy. We order, Nate clearly states his name as "Nick" and what happens, N-A-T-E!! We have yet to order a cup of coffee and them to write Nate when he says Nate or Nick when he says Nick. Not sure why that is. I think his Starbuck's name, since even 4 letter names are confusing, should be Tony. Tony and Tonya! Perfect. Course they will probably hear Peter and then we have to start all over again.....
Friday, October 9, 2009
Awesomeness!
Now not all of you reading this are into the whole Mac vs. PC arguement. Fewer still are probably aware of the Nikon vs. Canon war. This image came from NikonRumors.com. I laughed so hard I may have given startled Jenee a little. Meet the Nikon EOS-1...
Image credit belongs there.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Boy's Trip - San Diego, California
One more state down from 50. Last week I flew to California, where I met Joe and Cory for a boy's fishing trip that we organized with Linda's family. Linda and Joe met in San Diego and Linda's parents and siblings still live there. My first impression of San Diego was how the weather reminded me of Adelaide, when Adelaide isn't trying to kill you from heat waves. It was warm, sunny and dry.
We arranged to go on a 1/2 day charter leaving from the San Diego bay and all the boys from the family but one were able to make it. The attendance list was Joe, Cory, Bill (Grandpa), Stephen and David (Linda's Brothers), Donny and Elijah (Linda's Nephews) and of course me. The boat was very nice, the crew were helpful and best of all, the weather was fantastic as I mentioned above.
The captain took us to the famous kelp beds for our fishing after making a stop at the floating bait shop. The most amusing thing about the bait shop is that all of the bait is kept in underwater holds, and guarding this were a number (read hundreds) of seals, pelicans and cormorants (affectionately referred to as ducks), all waiting to help themselves to any spilled fish, or as one pelican demonstrated, just walk up to an open hold and help yourself.
The fishing was perhaps a little quieter than we had all hoped, but it was a lot of fun to all be out there together. Cory managed to catch 5 "ducks", Unlce David caught 4, and somewhere in there we each caught a couple of fish.
The entertainment was really about if you had caught a fish or a duck? Later in the day, the entertainment became can you get your baitfish to the bottom before the seal ate it. You read that correctly. At about 5pm, a fat seal joined us to be fed. I couldn't help but think how much I wished I had a spear gun or a stick of dynamite as I watched the seal playfully zig zag under the boat and bite the body off our fish, leaving the head at our lesure to exchange for a fresh fish. Stupid seal...
The rest of our trip was spend looking around San Diego, we saw a wild animal park where the animals must have been on vacation, plenty of spectacular countryside, downtown, the Aerospace Museum where I finally saw a real SR-71A. That was definitely a highlight for me, I have seen F-14's, 15's, 16's and 18's up close, but I had no idea how big the Blackbird really is, its engine looks as though is as long as an F-18! Stupid me didn't take any photo's of it either.
So the trip was fun, and while I was there, Jenee was in Texas living the life with her Mom and girlfriends so don't feel too sorry for her because she didn't come with me :-)
We arranged to go on a 1/2 day charter leaving from the San Diego bay and all the boys from the family but one were able to make it. The attendance list was Joe, Cory, Bill (Grandpa), Stephen and David (Linda's Brothers), Donny and Elijah (Linda's Nephews) and of course me. The boat was very nice, the crew were helpful and best of all, the weather was fantastic as I mentioned above.
The captain took us to the famous kelp beds for our fishing after making a stop at the floating bait shop. The most amusing thing about the bait shop is that all of the bait is kept in underwater holds, and guarding this were a number (read hundreds) of seals, pelicans and cormorants (affectionately referred to as ducks), all waiting to help themselves to any spilled fish, or as one pelican demonstrated, just walk up to an open hold and help yourself.
The fishing was perhaps a little quieter than we had all hoped, but it was a lot of fun to all be out there together. Cory managed to catch 5 "ducks", Unlce David caught 4, and somewhere in there we each caught a couple of fish.
The entertainment was really about if you had caught a fish or a duck? Later in the day, the entertainment became can you get your baitfish to the bottom before the seal ate it. You read that correctly. At about 5pm, a fat seal joined us to be fed. I couldn't help but think how much I wished I had a spear gun or a stick of dynamite as I watched the seal playfully zig zag under the boat and bite the body off our fish, leaving the head at our lesure to exchange for a fresh fish. Stupid seal...
The rest of our trip was spend looking around San Diego, we saw a wild animal park where the animals must have been on vacation, plenty of spectacular countryside, downtown, the Aerospace Museum where I finally saw a real SR-71A. That was definitely a highlight for me, I have seen F-14's, 15's, 16's and 18's up close, but I had no idea how big the Blackbird really is, its engine looks as though is as long as an F-18! Stupid me didn't take any photo's of it either.
So the trip was fun, and while I was there, Jenee was in Texas living the life with her Mom and girlfriends so don't feel too sorry for her because she didn't come with me :-)
Our Path to the Dark Side is Complete
Name the reference!
Well, a little dissatisfied with how much we were paying at Verizon for two mobile phones, we made the switch to AT&T and got iPhones. Apparently if Apple made a car, toilets or TV's, we'd probably buy that too, oh and b.t.w., the server mentioned below is an Apple Time Capsule. Jenee was very excited about having an iPhone, and in contrast, I was sitting on the fence. My thought train was, why do I need such a powerful phone? Why do I need apps? All I need is to make calls, and send the occasional text.
Well after the recent trip to San Diego, I have to say there is no doubt, the iPhone is cool, even though I'd like to think I could go back to having just a phone. Typically I take my laptop on trips, but with the iPhone I decided not to, and save some weight and space. It totally paid off, I could check my email anywhere I wanted, checked flight details, use it as a GPS to find a wild animal park in the sticks, find a good resturant on the go and then get the phone to guide me there on Google Maps, and all that was available in my pocket. Love it!
It may not be something everyone should have, but I have to admit, it's very nice to have email, internet access, iPod music and video, "GPS", maps, games and my contacts all in one place. I could write about this little thing for many more paragraphs, but that may be considered as overboard...
p.s. 10 points to you if you guessed Star Wars.
Well, a little dissatisfied with how much we were paying at Verizon for two mobile phones, we made the switch to AT&T and got iPhones. Apparently if Apple made a car, toilets or TV's, we'd probably buy that too, oh and b.t.w., the server mentioned below is an Apple Time Capsule. Jenee was very excited about having an iPhone, and in contrast, I was sitting on the fence. My thought train was, why do I need such a powerful phone? Why do I need apps? All I need is to make calls, and send the occasional text.
Well after the recent trip to San Diego, I have to say there is no doubt, the iPhone is cool, even though I'd like to think I could go back to having just a phone. Typically I take my laptop on trips, but with the iPhone I decided not to, and save some weight and space. It totally paid off, I could check my email anywhere I wanted, checked flight details, use it as a GPS to find a wild animal park in the sticks, find a good resturant on the go and then get the phone to guide me there on Google Maps, and all that was available in my pocket. Love it!
It may not be something everyone should have, but I have to admit, it's very nice to have email, internet access, iPod music and video, "GPS", maps, games and my contacts all in one place. I could write about this little thing for many more paragraphs, but that may be considered as overboard...
p.s. 10 points to you if you guessed Star Wars.
September the Busy Month With No Posts
So where in the world have all of September's posts been? I know, just one measly post is not enough to live on. To be honest, I don't really know. I have had the time, I guess I have not been thinking about it.Well, here is a post for October to get us started. Last month was project month. Jenee has been super busy working on the twins quilts and I am, or perhaps she is, proud to say, that she is in the final stages of putting the quilt together, and they should be done this weekend. I know we have said this before, but this time I mean it.
While Jenee has been quilting, I have been working on a few other projects. One is to refinish an armoire, which is nearly done at the time of writing, another was to make the shelves you see to the right, and the last was to pull my immigration stuff together.
I am slowly working at building a home network and the first integral part to this plan is that little white box on the shelves. It's essentially a wireless router with a built in hadr drive, i.e. a small server. The awesome part of this little device is now our computers will wirelessly back themselves up and we done ever have to worry about them crashing (yes I concede even Mac's can fail, though it's not happend to us...). Next step is to add some more networked storage i.e. larger server, so that we have true data redundancy and we'll also be able to stream data all over the house, like to a TV or computer. Pretty cool huh!
The important thing about the whole paragraph above is that I made the shelves from scraps I had lying around the place. There is a shelf for the TV (which weighs ~40 lbs or 20kg), the DVD player and the router, and I drilled 60 mm holes so that all the cables could be hidden from view. It's anchored to the wall with enough screws in studs to hold about 10x more than it needs to. Call it peace of mind.
Immigration documents are a pain, but I am glad to say I am nearly done, thanks to everyone who wrote us letters of support. We'll be submitting the package in the next few weeks.
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