Momentary Memories

So I'm feeling slightly nostalgic tonight, and seeing as how we haven't had a good ole' heart-to-heart in awhile, I thought it would be nice to chew the fat.

Tonight I went to this dinner party thing out in Brantly County. It was a Cane-Grinding Party. They make cane syrup out there and were making some and invited people over for breakfast food, with fresh cane syrup. Well, that stuff is very different from Aunt Jamima's I can tell you that much. Very bitter, sweet and thick. A lot like molasses. The food was great though. It got me to thinking. See, whenever I get the chance to be in an environment like that, I go crazy. It's like sunlight for Superman. It rejuvenates my soul. This place was a 1,000 acre plantation with old barns and sheds and lots of open land. It seems to always remind me of childhood.

Every year I was a kid, I looked forward to Christmas time, naturally. About 4 days or so before Christmas, my family and several others would get a big dump truck and fill it with hay. We'd all party at someone's house until dark, and then about 20 of us would pile into the back of this truck and we would ride around St. Simons Christmas caroling. I pity the soul who has never had the opportunity to go on a hayride. That smell of hay still brings back the strongest memories. I can remember clear as day my aunt's fighting over the words to such popular titles as "Deck the Halls" and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer". I still know every single word to "We Wish you a Merry Christmas" because we were always forced to end each house with another loud and out-of-tune rendition of the "closing song". The best part of the night came at the end however. Seeing as how we were in a dump truck, we discovered early on that with a slight push of the lever we could fancy a rather nice slide ending into a big pile of hay.

It's been several years now since I've been on a hayride. I vote we start the tradition back up. Who's with me? I have an idea where we can find a dump truck big enough. I got first dibs on the slide!

Last day of November

Is it just me or has the year flown by? This month too. I can't believe tomorrow is December. That's cool by me. I love December; the weather, the end of the year, Christmas.

So, I don't follow Stem-cell research at all, so I don't claim to know a lick about it. However, I was reading this article the other day about something very interesting. Have you ever heard of people saving the blood drawn from an umbilical cord when a child is born? Yeah, me neither. Here's the deal... Parents will save this blood, because it is rich in elastic stem-cells (something that is good when trying to duplicate the cells) in preparation of later needs in life. For instance, let's say when you are 35 you are diagnosed with a cancer and your bone marrow is deteriorating. Bone marrow transplants are very hard to do and harder to find someone with the same kind. If your parents saved that blood when you were born, doctors could go and "grow" more marrow for you. Pretty interesting huh? What about if you have a sibling that has a problem? When your born, your parents might save that blood in order to possible help your bro or sis in the future. It's pretty expensive though. A $10k set-up fee and about $100 a year. It may be expensive, but more than 100k people have done it in the US so far. However, saying all that, I still don't know where I stand on Stem-cell research... pretty interesting though. Just some food for though. Have a good day.

Turkey sandwiches for a week!

Possibly the best thing about Thanksgiving is having turkey sandwiches for weeks to come. It's funny, you know we can cook a turkey any day of the year, but no one seems to do that except on Thanksgiving and (some) on Christmas.

So, my Thanksgiving was good. The stomach bug disabled me from consuming mass quantities of tryptophane, so I made out OK. The Holiday Soiree we threw was a blast. I slow-cooked a Boston Butt and man was it tasty. I was very proud of what was coined, my smoky butt.

You know why I like Thanksgiving so much? It is a time in which people can look past their differences and past and come together. Unfortunately, I didn't get to experience that this Thanksgiving. It takes a certain level of maturity to participate in such acts. Oh well, my heart is always open.

So who wants to see pictures of the Holiday Soiree? Oh, I know you do. Come on, beg for it... OK, here they are! Enjoy! Happy Monday.

One day away, still not feeling right

Why oh why does my stomach ache? Is it all in my mind? I'm not as bad off as Kelly was, but things still aren't sitting right inside the ole' intestines. It better get better by tomorrow, because I'm eaten whether I keep it down or not. See, you always got to think about the two players in the eating game: your taste buds and your stomach. Your taste buds will always win, unless you are sick. You either have no desire to eat but are very hungry, or stuffed but still want more (at least, those are the extremes). The heavens align and harmonious chords chime when both are tuned-in just right to reach maximum eating capacity. Needless to say, if my stomach keeps up with this game it's playing, I will be playing favorites tomorrow to the taste buds!

The weather has now reached perfection. Bright blue sky and crisp cold air. You cannot really get any better than this. I'm off of work on Thursday and Friday, so man am I looking forward to the break. I will try to get something fun for you all to read. Hey, you know what? I might even post a photo album of pics from the Holiday Soiree we are hosting on Friday! How would you like that?! I don't know how it will turn out, but we might need a disclaimer for explicit content on the photo album... Good times all around! Have a Happy (early) Thanksgiving!

It's a sad day...

Poor ole Sam is dead. I really liked him. May he rest in peace... At least their are no "sons of sam." HA!

Which One?

Below are two photos I took last night as the front moved across the marsh on St. Simons. The rainbow appeared for about 6 minutes, and then was gone... I timed it right I guess. The horizontal photo is three different photos, combined. The vertical photo is a straight-up shot. Which one do you like better?

All weeks should be short weeks

Can I get an Amen?! Although, it really doesn't feel like a short week. You know how short weeks always feel better on Mondays, like you have something to look forward to. Now, I have plenty to look forward to, but for some reason I just can't get too excited yet. Maybe it's the weather that's dragging me down. It's rather gloomy outside, but at least it is cold. I hope it's not the beginning of the same sickness that my wife has (she even stayed home from work today). I doubt it is, I have a pretty good immune system.

OK, so what is your favorite Thanksgiving food? It's hard to beat fried turkey, but I must say I really like cranberry sauce. Call me crazy, but you just can't beat Ocean Spray's canned Cranberry sauce (with the lines in it from the can and all). Now, I am a big fan of sides. I usually start with the Oyster Dressing and fried turkey, and then build around that with assorted sides. Their are two types of eaters in the world. Those that let food touch, and those that do not. If these were federations, consider me the Charlton Heston of the Let Food Touch Federation. I even have a catchy slogan: "It touches in your tummy, so mix it up on your plate for all the more yummy."After laying the foundation for my Thanksgiving day plate masterpiece, I like to go all Picasso on it with an egg beater. Mix that up. The corn with the potatoes, the bread swimming in gravy, not to mention the turkey being smothered by mounds upon mounds of cottage cheese (OK, that was a Joke, who eats Cottage Cheese really?). So, anybody grossed out yet? Well, then you haven't even seen the dessert plate have you. That's one thing my family does right. Lot's of dessert. By the time I have acquired "samples" of each dessert, I have what would appear, to that of a Non-toucher, to be a rather large Indian burial mound upon my plate. Awww.... but I am Eatsmixedfood, son of Kicking Bird and Crying Wolf, I can eat all.

Happy Monday.

dry heaves are the worst

My wife had all these wonderful plans this weekend. She was going to go shopping for Christmas decorations for our house and begin planning our holiday soiree. Then the bug came. She got sick in the middle of the night Friday and stayed in bed all day Saturday. I wound up taking her to the clinic and they hooked her up to an IV. It took them FOUR times to find decent vein because she was so dehydrated. She's on medicine now, and seems to be doing a little bit better, but I imagine she is starving.

Of course in the time I've known her she has been sick before, but never like this. It really shakes you up. Seeing the person you love in so much pain, dry heaving and getting stuck with needle after needle in a vain attempt to find a vein (you like that one?!)... it really scared me. But what can I do really? I mean, pain and suffering are a part of life you know? I can attempt to prevent illness for my (future)family, but that only goes so far. You can't prevent the unexpectable and inevitable.

In other news, the Oyster Roast was fun. Kelly was knocked out on drugs, so I went... on her OK of course. I took a friend and we had a good time. We ate so much food, definitely giving a lot of those brown-nosers a run for their money on the oysters. I think in 15 minutes we cleared a bushel easy! Snagged several commemorative cups as well. All in all, a good haul. Happy Sunday to you.

Friday Foto, etc.

Self Portrait

Today's picture is a little on the creative side. I was photographing the sunset the other day and as I was turning around I saw my reflection in the window of my jeep. It took awhile to get all the detail in the shot and it was very hard to focus, but I think it came out rather cool. I'm open to comments on this one as well.

Man, I'm glad it's Friday. Who's with me? The following week has much in store, and I am really looking forward to it. Tonight, of course, is the release of the newest Harry Potter movie. Yes, I like HP. Am I as obsessed as "some" people I know? No. But the books are really good, and definitely not just for children. The fourth movie should be good. As I wrote earlier, Saturday is a big oyster roast that I get to go to. I am uber-excited about that one. Next week will be filled with holiday spirit, being Thanksgiving. Friends will be coming in to town and some people will leave town. Thanksgiving will be wonderful, although the absent of my family warrants a grade of less than perfect. They are going up to the cabin in the mountains to have Thanksgiving. To me, the Holiday season is at home. Never really liked spending the holidays away.

My buddy from Annapolis is coming into town. I always look forward to seeing him, and we always wind up getting into some sort of trouble. I seem to remember many occasions in which he is hurt, and I am dying with laughter. Ah yes, and after Thanksgiving.... the soiree. Kelly and I are throwing a Holiday Soiree. I'm pumped. See, according to tests during pre-marital counseling, I'm an extrovert. Go figure! That means I get pumped up when a lot is going on, among people, doing things. Kelly's not that way, holding true to the age old saying "opposites attract". Anyway, it should be a blast, needless to say, I'm excited. Oh, and did I mention it's cold outside? HA!

And.... to all you vegan-scrooge's out there... Christmas is here. The local radio station 103.3 has been playing non-stop Christmas music since Monday, so their. If TBS and Sunny 103.3 aren't good enough, well than what is?

A little more brains please

You probably need to be pretty smart to counterfeit money. Acquiring the special paper, ink, plates, etc. Not to mention how hard it would be to launder a large wad of cash like that (not that I have given this any thought). What happens when your printer breaks? Well, you do like the guys in Arizona did... you send it back. However, I recommend taking OUT the jammed counterfeit bills BEFORE sending it back. Idiots, gosh!

It really, never stops!

And just when you think it can't get any worse, introducing Pee & Poo. This furthers my theory that the only think good that comes from Sweden is their meatballs. Man, give me a toothpick and I'll go to town! I personally think 'Poo' looks like a meatball? Any takers?

So how is everybody doing today? I am feeling much more energized and pumped up then usual. Who wants to run around the block? So guess what? Tomorrow it is supposed to get colder out! Man, I am excited. My wife and are I going to the St. Simons Island Land Trust Annual Oyster Roast this weekend. It's going to be a blast, and I am pumped... did I mention free cocktails? Maybe they'll have 'poo' on toothpick (swedish meatballs)....

HA! Eat it Sony!

So has anybody heard what Sony did awhile back? I'll break it up into laymen's terms for ya. They sold CD's with a technology called XCP that basically installed itself (without asking) onto your computer if you tried to copy or download the CD. Once you buy the CD, I feel you own the rights to it. A lot of people out there buy CD's for collectibles, make copies to listen to, and archive the actual original. Sony got a lot of heat from this, rightfully so, and has backed down now. They are now offering anyone who purchased one of the estimated 2 million XCP CD's a regular CD in return for the other. That's gotta hurt Sony just a little. Serves them (and the RIAA) right for trying to mess with our music rights! Booyah!

Mixed nothings from the heart

I'm tired, slightly buzzed and worn out. It is said this is when I speak (or in this case, write) the best. The real reason for this blog? So that people may ultimately understand me the way I try to understand them. I grew up thinking I was differant because I cared more about others than I do myself. My ultimate happiness is derived from your happiness. I'm a caring person, but it has bit me in the ass a time or two, even from those dearest. Some would call me spineless, others, wonderful. I am who I am, and sometimes it hurts. I don't get mad. I can remember two or three times I've ever gotten really mad, and God save the soul of the next guy who pushes me over that line. I'm passive, but not unpassionate. My dog makes me laugh, and we have deep discussions on a regular basis.

I'm going through this phase in where I am trying to condition myself to be the person I want to be, not because I feel I need to, but because I want to. This is hard.

I want to be a photographer. I want to take photos for a living. Not for a Newspaper (tried that and hated it), maybe free-lance, but really art photography. You know how people say, "Find what you really want to do with your life and do it"? Well I have, but they seem to leave out the part in that story about how you get there.

Don't you hate that feeling that you always have something looming over your head? Like, you can never relax because there's something else you should be doing. The problem is, I often forget what that "something" is.

See, this is what the blog is for. A virtual mind-dump if you will, that I can empty my thoughts onto allowing all to read and critique my life. Why? Because I care for you all. Maybe, just maybe one person will learn something significant that will somehow change his/her life and make this all worth the while. Bonne notte.

Happy Monday (is that possible?)

How was everybody's weekend? Man, I couldn't have asked for a better one (well, I guess it could have been colder outside). I went for a little boat excursion on Saturday with some friends. Despite forgetting to fill the gas tank up and almost swamping the boat, it was rather fun. Wound up cooking lunch in Neptune park all ghetto style. What did I do Saturday night you ask? Sat on the floor in my living room and played Scrabble. Man, I love Scrabble. I almost won.

So what about Terrell Owens? Serves him right! These big sports hot-shots think they are untouchable, so they bitch about the rest of their team, and what does the team do? They bench him for the remainder of the season. He's lucky they don't sew some elastic to his big ears and make him the community jock-strap. It's much like the MLB teams when they striked several years back. You get paid to play sports... Stop yer bitchin'!!! Serves them right, MLB is never what it used to be. Of course, T. Owens now has Jessie Jackson on his side... ummm, let me guess Jessie... Is this just another way the man's trying to keep the brother down?

As much as that infuriates me, the nation's favorite atheist (said with barrel's of sarcasm) is at it again. My guess, and call me crazy, but this guy doesn't care a lick about what he's actually fighting for... He's just looking for a little fame. See what happens when you store your treasures else where? HA!

Friday Foto

Mercier Lake panorama
November 5, 2005
9 different images combined

Bourbon Street, Epworth, GA
November 5, 2005

Surprise! Today is Friday Foto and I thought, to get you into the fall mood (since xmas music doesn't work on half of you!) I would post a couple of the photos that I took last weekend in the north Georgia mountains. I'm rewarding you with two because you have been so good in the amount of comments that have been posted lately in regards to our debate on creationism v. evolutionism.

On to the photos... the first one is a merge of nine photos. Three pictures at three different exposures (to catch all the colors perfectly) at three different angles (left, middle, right) in order to create a panorama scene. Pretty neat huh? The second one was taken down the road to my cabin. After crappin' around in town for half the morning on Saturday, we all went back to the cabin, only for everyone to nap... except me. See, I have an unnatural energy source that I can't control, so I got in my Jeep and drove around all the mountains photographing. The best thing about having a GPS (yes, they are the greatest things EVER) is I didn't have to worry about where I was going. I just kept on driving... see a cool road over there, go down it. No worries in trying to keep course. It's very liberating. Kind of like going to work without underwear on..... So, when I was done, I just set the GPS to take me back to the cabin, and tada, I'm back!

So, I keep my fingers crossed, but I think it's cooling of here for the weekend (hopefully longer). We'll see. Ok, my favorite Christmas album, well I have two. The first one is definitely Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's Once Upon a Christmas. A close second is the Carpenter's Christmas album. I have three favorite Christmas movies, all though all of them are great. The first has to be A Smoky Mountain Christmas (yes the one with Dolly Parton). The second is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and the third is Elf. The best scene in National Lampoon's is definitely when Snots the dog makes his appearance. I laugh just thinking about it. Elf is the newest addition, and rightfully so. Will Ferrell cracks me up. Who's got a favorite? Have a great weekend!

Slow it down a little

So, I knew a question like the last post would work up some folk. Here's what I have to say about the whole thing. Obviously I believe in creation. I have a very conservative mind-frame when it comes to religion. However, saying that, I am open to ANY ones take on the matter. I consider myself a very open-minded person. I say this meaning, I will listen (and not argue) to anyone. Will they change my beliefs? Possibly, if their argument is good, but not by there words alone. What really bothers me are those who are as close minded as they come. They pass it off calling it 'passion'. "I'm sorry I fought with you on that matter, I'm just so passionate about abortion." No, that is not passion. I am a very passionate person. My heart is in the things I do, and I am libel to cry if it all goes to hell. A passionate person can be open-minded because of the nature of compassion. You are passionate about something because you feel a deep connection with it. You understand the relationship of one's heart to a subject. Therefore, you have the ability to be open-minded. It annoys me that people pass off there hotheadedness and closed-mindedness on any given subject because they are "just passionate". I'm passionate, yet I can completely understand why some of our previous commenters think they way they do. Do agree with them? Not by a long shot. However, I would listen to them until they were done talking about it. Why? Because being passionate about something, among other things, means understanding (or attempting to) all sides of the issue.

Will it ever stop?

Now there is a lipstick MP3 Player.... may God save us all. Now, if they made a chapstick MP3 player, I'd be sold.

So, here's a question... my boss just told me that evolution is the way. Creation is horse-shit. He said if creation was legit, then it would be perfect and we wouldn't have a tail-bone. Any takers on this discussion? My two-sense... It's a matter of faith, period. Science may provide a lot of interesting ideas and views, but when it comes down to it, if you are christian, it is faith. The end. I await many posts.

Slow goes it

Today is dragging... Anybody got anything they want to talk about? I wish the weather would cool off again. I hate that it is close to 80 outside. Has anybody ever had a Chai Latte? Man, they are amazing. I know, it sounds like something only hippie vegans would indulge in, but no... the are very tasty.

So, what's up with kids these days. When I was in High School I don't remember things like this happening often. I know HS students engage in sexual activities, they have been since Grease, but come on! In school, between classes? "Man, my sandwich is boring, let's go have sex." Yeah, I can almost hear it now. My wife teaches and she tells me weekly of students' comments regarding "it".

So, when should one start listening to Christmas music? Most say after Thanksgiving. Department stores and my wife start November 1st. I have to admit, I love Christmas music. It does the perfect job of putting me in the mood. That and cookies, fresh baked cookies. The best thing about Thanksgiving is fried turkey. Forget oven-roasted, grilled, micro-waved, etc. The only way to cook turkey is fry it. If you never have had it, email me and I'll email you back a sample. Seriously though, it is incredible.

Commandment 11: No Blogging

A Roman Catholic School in Newark, N.J. has ordered the students to stop blogging. A lot of the kids in the High School keep online journals, much like the one you are reading. The head of school has ordered a cease and desist on the blogs, quoting "protection" versus "censorship". Their claim is that they are trying to protect the students from cybercrimes. They further claim that this has been a rule in their institute for close to five years but they are just now enforcing it. Right, and they new that blogging was going to be a school-wide issue in 2000.

I personally think this is an outrage. A huge hit on freedom of speech. It is not the same case as the censorship of Milblogging (military blogging). A lot of soldiers in Iraq have set up blogs to record their dailey routines and to keep in touch with loved ones. Some have blogged pretty secret stuff and have been ordered to cease and desist for fear of dischargment. Understandable... war time equals keep-your-mouth-shut time.

Friday Foto

Fall on the Altamaha
Canon 10D, 28-135 EF USM IS
Shot bracketed with 1-stop intervals at ISO 100

I neglected you all last week for the Friday Foto, and so to make it up, I give you this little piece of candy. I have to admit, I really like this one. Last Friday I took a boat trip on the Altamaha River (which is around Darien, GA). I went with a group of friends. It was a bit cold, but we hung in there. We stopped to have lunch on Lewis Island (On Lewis Creek, which runs off of the Altamaha). I love Lewis Island... it's one of my favorite places on earth. Anyway, this tree must have just fallen, because all the leaves were still bright with color. No manipulation was done to this photo to brighten up colors. The technique I used is called HDR Generation. You simply take three photos of the exact same thing (needs a tripod). One is correctly exposed, one is under exposed, and one is over exposed. You then combine them and, after a little tweaking to get some things right, there you have it.

I'm leaving this afternoon and going up to my cabin in Blueridge, GA again. Man, I just can't get enough of that place. I heard that the leaves should be just right for some really good photos. If I get some good ones, and you all behave, maybe we'll have a little viewing via the blog. How would like that? Have a great weekend!

Guess who?

This is just disturbing... they can't be this old!

Man gets clued to toilet seat, no music

A Colorado man fell ransom to a prank when he sat on the can in a Denver Home Depot (serves him right for using public restrooms). Some hooligans spread glue all over the toilet seat, and there he sat for quite some time. His calls of distress to the Home Depot staff merely came off as hoaxes. They hold true to their motto, "You can do it, we can help." I guess they were just seeing him through, making sure he did his business.

Unfortunately the man was recovering from heart bypass surgery, and thought he was having a heart attack (must of had a big lunch). He is now suing Home Depot, not because of the glue, but because they waited nearly 30 minutes to respond to his cries. To tell you the truth, if their was an old man screaming from a stall, I would have waited at least 30 minutes... Come on! The store manager at the time was kicking himself, "We should have installed those musical toilet seats, then he would have no reason to cry... Hell, I'd sit in there on my break if we had those."

Did you ever stop and wonder the meaning of the word "toilet"? One would assume the root word is "toil"... think about it.

In other news, this is my 100th post! Chips and dip all around! Ohh, and maybe some yogurt covered raisins too, I love those things.

Redneck Dream

So a man in Arkansas killed a 5-point Buck in his home with his bare hands. What the deer was doing in his home is confusing to me. I bet the guy had a wet dream sitting there watching QVC when a 5-pointer ran across the living room. He broke the deer's neck and now has it chopped up in the freezer. No lie... only in Arkansas. He did all this with a Milwaukie's Best in his hand.

On another note, I had a good friend in college who was a janitor. One morning he told me to go look in the back of his truck. Laying there I saw a nice 7-point Buck. I said, "Donald, where'd you get that, it's not Deer season yet?" He replied that he got it just off the side of the road at the front of the campus. Someone hit it early that morning and it was still warm. A rare find in his mind. Man, who's up for some Bambi Burgers?

Sub $400 laptop

Wal-Mart has teamed up with HP and is introducing a laptop for $398. If you feel like standing in line for the whole day on Black Friday, feel free. See, I expect more out of my computer than they are offering, but hey, it's not a piece of junk. It's OK on speed, decent amount of space, and a 15" screen. Now that I think about it, it might be nice to have. I have a Mac and need a PC to run all my GPS gizmos. Christmas might come early this year.

Does anyone realize how big Wal-Mart is? They control the retail market, literally. Starting in 2006 they are going to stop carrying all VHS tapes, blanks and movies, to make shelf space for DVDs. This is huge. Mark my words, this will speed-up the demise of VHS as we know it.