So the other night (and also the night before that one, too) we went and took our cards+gifts over to a few of the neighbors around us. Everyone was very nice, but I feel kinda bad honestly...every year, I feel compelled to do/say something to the people who are around us, but I know by the looks on their faces that they were T-O-T-A-L-L-Y not expecting us to do anything for them, and likewise...well, anyway.
Doesn't bother me if none of them do the same in return, I just want to do something to say, "thanks for being our neighbor and not being a jerk when we don't cut our grass often enough." Anyway, I guess you could call our gift-giving selfish, since it makes me feel good and makes some of them feel guilty.
I mean, it's not really even that much...just a card and some candy/treats that Hilary made...stuff we HAD to get rid of anyway, lest my waistline expand too much.
So anyway, we got to one neighbor's house and the wife answered the door (technically, the two boys stared at us through the window for a few moments before mom showed up). As it turns out, her husband is in Kansas preparing to deploy for Iraq right after Christmas for a full 400 days. He'll be back a day or two before Christmas and stay a few days, but then he's gone for OVER A YEAR. Even worse, he already spent a year+ there before. When we moved into the neighborhood a few years ago, it was about a week or so before they had a big homecoming welcome for him coming back from Iraq the first time. A very circumstantial thing for me...I was checking the mail after work, and noticed these flags all over the yard and entrance, with yellow ribbons and all. Then, a few moments later, a car pulls into the driveway, guy gets out and family greets with hugs all around. It was one of those moments where you didn't have to ask a question...you knew IMMEDIATELY what you were witnessing. It was awesome to see that one moment, and feel like you suddenly knew someone better than a handshake introduction could have done.
So he's off again, and that's sad for him to have to do that again. I support the efforts of this war, and definitely the troops, but he's already put in his "time" as a reservist (my opinion) so it seems, hey, let him retire already. I just pray he stays alright, and the mom does okay with the extra load at home.
I can't believe Christmas is only a few days away!!!! It's sad when about 15 seconds after the end of Christmas the total emotion gets sucked out, the music stops and people seem to only remember what they got or didn't get (and even THAT memory is generally fleeting). How cliche to say so, but c'mon...let's try to let spirit of Christmas last a little longer than that.
My grandpa is famous in my family for heralding - if only jokingly - the end of Christmas Day with this quote: "well...another Christmas...shot to heck." He captures the sentiment of thousands and thousands of people with a single line, and we laugh every time.
I'm excited anyway, I love Christmas, and knowing that the end comes soon doesn't curtail my merriment.
Jing-a-ling, dude. Jing-a-ling.
12.21.2007
12.18.2007
It's a small, small world
I was at the accountant today for year-end stuff, and was talking with the accountant about Christmas plans when Your Favorite Town entered the conversation. As it turns out, his wife was part of the first graduating classes at my high school in the early 80's. After talking for a minute, she started talking about where she lived in town there and it was quite literally a couple doors down from Hilary's parents' place. What are the odds of that? I was referred to this accountant by a co-worker in Norcross, for an accountant in Tucker, I live in Dacula...and yet she grew up just down the street from where my wife grew up.
Crazy how you run into people like that sometimes. I picked up a job this year on referral from a friend of a previous contact - pretty far removed. As it turned out, I wasn't very far disconnected there either.
With all the millions of people out there, you'd think that unless you were trying to do so, you'd rarely run into people in this way, but I suppose there are just enough variables in the mix.
How is it that last week I was wearing shorts, and now I'm back to 7 shirts, 3 pairs of pants and 3 jackets just to walk out and get the paper?
Christmas shopping = almost done. I think there might be one more gift, but that's it.
Caleb's bedroom has a crib and a dresser in it now, and the painting is all done. Still plenty of work to do in there, though.
Christmas will be over in a week now, and it barely feels like I've gotten to enjoy it yet.
Crazy how you run into people like that sometimes. I picked up a job this year on referral from a friend of a previous contact - pretty far removed. As it turned out, I wasn't very far disconnected there either.
With all the millions of people out there, you'd think that unless you were trying to do so, you'd rarely run into people in this way, but I suppose there are just enough variables in the mix.
How is it that last week I was wearing shorts, and now I'm back to 7 shirts, 3 pairs of pants and 3 jackets just to walk out and get the paper?
Christmas shopping = almost done. I think there might be one more gift, but that's it.
Caleb's bedroom has a crib and a dresser in it now, and the painting is all done. Still plenty of work to do in there, though.
Christmas will be over in a week now, and it barely feels like I've gotten to enjoy it yet.
12.05.2007
Check the printer
I think it's probably a good idea to check the printer from time to time.
If you work in an office that has a printing room, or just a central printer that everyone sends their documents to be printed, I think it can make your day to just swing by there once in a while and see if there's anything interesting being printed.
It occurred to me to spend some time recently just nosing in and seeing what people are putting out in plain view. A visual survey returns these results:
If you work in an office that has a printing room, or just a central printer that everyone sends their documents to be printed, I think it can make your day to just swing by there once in a while and see if there's anything interesting being printed.
It occurred to me to spend some time recently just nosing in and seeing what people are putting out in plain view. A visual survey returns these results:
- personal e-mails (some of them very much so)
- bills/payment receipts (personal finance items...apparently there's a lot of credit card debt here)
- legal documents (sometimes you need to just call a lawyer)
- pictures (really though, most photos look like butt when printed on a B&W laser printer)
- pages and pages of gibberish and/or nothing (someone's got a virus)
- management e-mails about policy changes (heads up!)
- jokes and other e-mail forwards (some good, some old)
- directions (....to just about everywhere)
- talk-behind-the-back e-mails (and you're printing these out because....?)
- product reviews (cliff's notes: everything breaks about a day after the warranty expires - everything)
Totally random assortment, just a little bit of everything. Would bring a smile in the middle of any day.
Of course, if you really want to have a good time, you stick around and see who comes to get some of these things. Ruh-roh!
12.04.2007
Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead!
"Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead!" is apparently what you get if you translate the former Pepsi slogan "Come alive with Pepsi!" into Chinese. This was stated as part of a larger piece on the UK's Telegraph website. Here's a link (may not work after a few days/weeks/whatever):
http://tinyurl.com/27rele
I just laughed very hard when I saw that and couldn't resist sharing it.
http://tinyurl.com/27rele
I just laughed very hard when I saw that and couldn't resist sharing it.
12.03.2007
Fa-la-la-la.....ah,forget it.
In order to maintain the blogger status quo (that is, using a blog primarily to display negative emotional frustrations), I would like to take a moment of your life to talk about poor, poor pitiful....me.
We have a health insurance policy at the studio that is designed around an individual HSA (health savings account). There are monthly payments made into my individual account by the employer that can be used towards medical bills, prescriptions...pretty much any medical purpose large or small. My employer has failed - for over two months now - to make the required deposits. This was discovered some time ago, and brought to the attention of the appropriate managers. The grapevine has provided various explanations for this over the last few weeks, but today I got the real answer.
The boss didn't think anyone would notice.
What? Yes.
We're experiencing some financial issues right now, so one of the steps to "stop the bleeding" is to go ahead and cut benefits. Okay, I'm a big boy, let's talk about that, or let me know at least. It's like that movie Office Space...this one person figured "hey, the problem will just kind of solve itself here. Win-win!" Lame. I'm pissed. I was already upset that it was being forgotten, then to find that it was purposefully secretly withheld...totally l-a-m-e. Unprofessional.
Let's add to that, shall we? Employees at my company receive a little under a dozen paid days off each year, and that's it. No "personal" or "vacation" or "sick" time off, just paid days. Not a big deal, because we typically get a couple of weeks off at the end of the year for Christmas time. That time off has shrunk over the last couple of years, but it was still always a decent justification for the minimal paid time. Well, you probably already guessed where this is going....yes, that's going away. Initially they said "Christmas Day, that's it." Christmas Day is a Tuesday, and so I guess we come in for one day on Monday, but even that went crazy when they said "well, it'll probably only be a half day." Are you seriously telling everyone to come in on a Monday, work for 4 hours and then go home for a day? Seems it would be a little unproductive. All of this is not a big deal except 1) a lot of people already made their Christmas travel plans under the old rules and 2) they're already screwing us one way during Christmas this year, and this isn't a nice second hit to take. I usually use the extra time to do year-end wrap up stuff for TradeWind Productions...guess not this year. Ahhhhhhhhh.....it's just lame to start cutting benefits, WITHOUT prior notice, during Christmas of all times, and acting like it's no big deal.
I'm just about ready to move on...this company got a good chunk of my post-college life already, so maybe it's time to find a new challenge.
That's the end of that, so now I'll move on.
Hey, UGA is in the Sugar Bowl!!! Woooo!!! Seriously, if you told me after our 2nd loss to Tennessee (the first was South Carolina) that we'd be playing in a big New Year's Day bowl, I would have told your mama you were spreading lies. It's a nice end to a pretty good year of UGA football. Would the national championship game have been better? Of course. Could we have beaten Ohio State? I certainly think so. Does LSU deserve to be there playing in that game? Just as much as anyone with 2 losses, I suppose (Oklahoma and Virginia Tech chief among those, along with UGA). But I will side with Mark Richt here...if the voters in the polls weren't happy with UGA being next in line with their previous votes, why didn't they vote someone else ahead of them then? Obviously, Georgia was penalized for not playing in or winning their conference, and I'd agree that should be a component. However, the BCS rules committee has twice voted down a chance to make that a prerequisite, so.....how does UGA fall from 4 to 5 just because of that, not even considering a #2 spot that they would have "mathematically" been bumped to after this weekend?
Still, UGA made good in what was looking like a bad season at first, so kudos to all of the players and coaches. The lesson they learned is a valuable one....don't lose as many games, and people won't be second guessing you so much. Win your conference, and you can legitimately contend for that national championship game. Steve Spurrier is laughing his 6-loss butt off up in Columbia right now for beating UGA in September.
In other news....Christmas is fun, really fun. Especially the kitschy music on the radio stations around town. Decorations are pretty much complete here at the Jolly house, might just grab one more strand for the trees out front, but that's about it.
Getting the nursery ready, first step was cleaning and painting the walls. Next we'll be getting the furniture in from Babies R Us, and then we'll have some semblance of a nursery as we get the various wall hangings and such put up.
I'll be back soon...more posts would be the norm in a perfect world, eh?
We have a health insurance policy at the studio that is designed around an individual HSA (health savings account). There are monthly payments made into my individual account by the employer that can be used towards medical bills, prescriptions...pretty much any medical purpose large or small. My employer has failed - for over two months now - to make the required deposits. This was discovered some time ago, and brought to the attention of the appropriate managers. The grapevine has provided various explanations for this over the last few weeks, but today I got the real answer.
The boss didn't think anyone would notice.
What? Yes.
We're experiencing some financial issues right now, so one of the steps to "stop the bleeding" is to go ahead and cut benefits. Okay, I'm a big boy, let's talk about that, or let me know at least. It's like that movie Office Space...this one person figured "hey, the problem will just kind of solve itself here. Win-win!" Lame. I'm pissed. I was already upset that it was being forgotten, then to find that it was purposefully secretly withheld...totally l-a-m-e. Unprofessional.
Let's add to that, shall we? Employees at my company receive a little under a dozen paid days off each year, and that's it. No "personal" or "vacation" or "sick" time off, just paid days. Not a big deal, because we typically get a couple of weeks off at the end of the year for Christmas time. That time off has shrunk over the last couple of years, but it was still always a decent justification for the minimal paid time. Well, you probably already guessed where this is going....yes, that's going away. Initially they said "Christmas Day, that's it." Christmas Day is a Tuesday, and so I guess we come in for one day on Monday, but even that went crazy when they said "well, it'll probably only be a half day." Are you seriously telling everyone to come in on a Monday, work for 4 hours and then go home for a day? Seems it would be a little unproductive. All of this is not a big deal except 1) a lot of people already made their Christmas travel plans under the old rules and 2) they're already screwing us one way during Christmas this year, and this isn't a nice second hit to take. I usually use the extra time to do year-end wrap up stuff for TradeWind Productions...guess not this year. Ahhhhhhhhh.....it's just lame to start cutting benefits, WITHOUT prior notice, during Christmas of all times, and acting like it's no big deal.
I'm just about ready to move on...this company got a good chunk of my post-college life already, so maybe it's time to find a new challenge.
That's the end of that, so now I'll move on.
Hey, UGA is in the Sugar Bowl!!! Woooo!!! Seriously, if you told me after our 2nd loss to Tennessee (the first was South Carolina) that we'd be playing in a big New Year's Day bowl, I would have told your mama you were spreading lies. It's a nice end to a pretty good year of UGA football. Would the national championship game have been better? Of course. Could we have beaten Ohio State? I certainly think so. Does LSU deserve to be there playing in that game? Just as much as anyone with 2 losses, I suppose (Oklahoma and Virginia Tech chief among those, along with UGA). But I will side with Mark Richt here...if the voters in the polls weren't happy with UGA being next in line with their previous votes, why didn't they vote someone else ahead of them then? Obviously, Georgia was penalized for not playing in or winning their conference, and I'd agree that should be a component. However, the BCS rules committee has twice voted down a chance to make that a prerequisite, so.....how does UGA fall from 4 to 5 just because of that, not even considering a #2 spot that they would have "mathematically" been bumped to after this weekend?
Still, UGA made good in what was looking like a bad season at first, so kudos to all of the players and coaches. The lesson they learned is a valuable one....don't lose as many games, and people won't be second guessing you so much. Win your conference, and you can legitimately contend for that national championship game. Steve Spurrier is laughing his 6-loss butt off up in Columbia right now for beating UGA in September.
In other news....Christmas is fun, really fun. Especially the kitschy music on the radio stations around town. Decorations are pretty much complete here at the Jolly house, might just grab one more strand for the trees out front, but that's about it.
Getting the nursery ready, first step was cleaning and painting the walls. Next we'll be getting the furniture in from Babies R Us, and then we'll have some semblance of a nursery as we get the various wall hangings and such put up.
I'll be back soon...more posts would be the norm in a perfect world, eh?
11.12.2007
Steps to a Successful Birthday
Today's my birthday and hey, so far so good. It's looking to be a nice one, so I thought I'd share my plan-o-perfection with you all so you can perhaps follow in my footsteps and enjoy your own wonderful birthday the next time it occurs.
1) Kick off the birthday celebration at least a few days beforehand
Let me tell you...this is a whole lot more feasible when your birthday is a) a paid day off at your workplace, b) occurring on a Monday and c) starting with a MAJOR stomping of Auburn by the world's favorite football team, the Georgia Bulldogs. Seriously. If you saw that game, you know what I'm talking about. We're still savoring that win today. Awesome.
2) Enjoy a nice dinner at Bahama Breeze
Really, what birthday would be complete without it? We ate way too much, but it was good - even better, we have leftovers for today! If you go, try the house beer Aruba Red. Or try two. Or...well, whatever you can handle.
3) Meet with an accountant
Not really...but we're doing that anyway. Best time for the wifey and I to meet with the guy at the same time to go over year-end personal/business tax garbage. It's only an hour, and it's a freebie so that's good, too.
4) Blog about it
I'm doing it right now! Wheeeeeeeeee!!!
5) Decorate for Christmas
This is a tradition dating back to the Skapartment days at UGA. We always started going overboard with the Christmas decorations on the day of my birthday. It just kind of worked out that way, I guess, but now....well, it's kind of nice to make the deco last a little longer. I mean, it takes forever to get everything out and in place, might as well enjoy it longer (it's not like we have a whole lot of Thanksgiving decorations).
BONUS POINTS - sleeping in, NOT doing anything at all, watching movies, eating cookie cake and/or having a celebratory Krispy Kreme doughnut.
Did I mention how UGA managed to BLACKOUT Auburn? It was awesome, much better than the UGA-Auburn game on my birthday 2 years ago (we lost, doh). Coach Richt is the man. Those black jerseys looked way cool.
That's it for now, I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my day off.
1) Kick off the birthday celebration at least a few days beforehand
Let me tell you...this is a whole lot more feasible when your birthday is a) a paid day off at your workplace, b) occurring on a Monday and c) starting with a MAJOR stomping of Auburn by the world's favorite football team, the Georgia Bulldogs. Seriously. If you saw that game, you know what I'm talking about. We're still savoring that win today. Awesome.
2) Enjoy a nice dinner at Bahama Breeze
Really, what birthday would be complete without it? We ate way too much, but it was good - even better, we have leftovers for today! If you go, try the house beer Aruba Red. Or try two. Or...well, whatever you can handle.
3) Meet with an accountant
Not really...but we're doing that anyway. Best time for the wifey and I to meet with the guy at the same time to go over year-end personal/business tax garbage. It's only an hour, and it's a freebie so that's good, too.
4) Blog about it
I'm doing it right now! Wheeeeeeeeee!!!
5) Decorate for Christmas
This is a tradition dating back to the Skapartment days at UGA. We always started going overboard with the Christmas decorations on the day of my birthday. It just kind of worked out that way, I guess, but now....well, it's kind of nice to make the deco last a little longer. I mean, it takes forever to get everything out and in place, might as well enjoy it longer (it's not like we have a whole lot of Thanksgiving decorations).
BONUS POINTS - sleeping in, NOT doing anything at all, watching movies, eating cookie cake and/or having a celebratory Krispy Kreme doughnut.
Did I mention how UGA managed to BLACKOUT Auburn? It was awesome, much better than the UGA-Auburn game on my birthday 2 years ago (we lost, doh). Coach Richt is the man. Those black jerseys looked way cool.
That's it for now, I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my day off.
11.08.2007
"It's a little baby...."
So we went to the G-Doc the other day to do the checkup (so far I've gone with Hilary to all these prenatal appointments) and do the ultrasound. We got one once before, early on, just to be sure it was all there and okay, but this was the big one - the one where we find out (or don't find out, our choice) the sex/gender of the baby. We both figured that, boy or girl, we'd be equal parts excited and disappointed. So, if it's a boy that's good for GI Joe, but then all the My Little Pony toys are going in the trash. If it's a girl, then here comes Barbie, there goes Transformers. You get the idea...basically, there is something to look forward to on one side or the other.
The they put the Liquid That Must Be Spread Evenly across the belly and started rolling the soapbar all over to check things out, measure, account and so forth. The ultrasound technician confirms with us that we want to know the sex and then says, "ah....I know what it is." We say, "what is it?" His response, quite dramatic and slow, was, "it's....a....little....baby.............boy."
Of course it is, that's my boy!
So we were pretty excited, and glad to know after all. Makes the shopping/planning somewhat easier, and it's just fun to know. We've already named him (we actually agreed on this name for a boy years ago, probably while we were engaged I think). His name is going to be Caleb Jolly. We're deciding on the middle name right now.
Before you all ask me about it, yes, it was confirmed to be a boy (quite clearly, trust me) so we're good to go on that one.
So there you have it, more great news from baby land!
On a somewhat less exciting note, my dad fell off a ladder this past weekend and busted his heel on the fall (thankfully nothing else was injured/broken) and now he's going to be having surgery. Bed rest and medication are required for 8 weeks or so, and that puts him out until the end of the year. This is especially frustrating because he was out with all kinds of damage last year from the beginning of September until early into this year. So he's upset about it, but at least it's not as bad as it could be (he wasn't really all that high up anyway). That sucks even more because it cuts my dad out of the rest of the UGA games for this year - including the SEC championship if Georgia is fortunate enough to get into it after all. Life goes on though, and that's the good news.
Here are some pics from the ultrasound. He looks like one jolly little kid, eh?
The they put the Liquid That Must Be Spread Evenly across the belly and started rolling the soapbar all over to check things out, measure, account and so forth. The ultrasound technician confirms with us that we want to know the sex and then says, "ah....I know what it is." We say, "what is it?" His response, quite dramatic and slow, was, "it's....a....little....baby.............boy."
Of course it is, that's my boy!
So we were pretty excited, and glad to know after all. Makes the shopping/planning somewhat easier, and it's just fun to know. We've already named him (we actually agreed on this name for a boy years ago, probably while we were engaged I think). His name is going to be Caleb Jolly. We're deciding on the middle name right now.
Before you all ask me about it, yes, it was confirmed to be a boy (quite clearly, trust me) so we're good to go on that one.
So there you have it, more great news from baby land!
On a somewhat less exciting note, my dad fell off a ladder this past weekend and busted his heel on the fall (thankfully nothing else was injured/broken) and now he's going to be having surgery. Bed rest and medication are required for 8 weeks or so, and that puts him out until the end of the year. This is especially frustrating because he was out with all kinds of damage last year from the beginning of September until early into this year. So he's upset about it, but at least it's not as bad as it could be (he wasn't really all that high up anyway). That sucks even more because it cuts my dad out of the rest of the UGA games for this year - including the SEC championship if Georgia is fortunate enough to get into it after all. Life goes on though, and that's the good news.
Here are some pics from the ultrasound. He looks like one jolly little kid, eh?
11.02.2007
Shot in the Dark
So it turns out we'll probably wind up finding out the sex/gender of our baby after all. We were thinking about keeping ourselves in the dark until the little guy/gal came along, but I'd say it's a safe bet now that we'll just go ahead and find out. I've got a poll up where you can give your predictions (NOTE: if you're reading this on Facebook or an RSS, you'll want to visit http://christianjolly.blogspot.com to do the poll).
Wow, what a crazy college football season we're having here. Seriously, nobody is safe. "Traditional Powerhouse" means absolutely nothing this year, you know? The usual cupcakes are causing a real stir, and I think that's probably a good thing. My favorite conference (and your's as well, I'm sure) is looking like it will have 11 of the 12 teams in the conference as bowl eligible (6 wins or more) by the end of the year. That's unprecedented. Vanderbilt might make it to a bowl game for the first time in 25 years. Of course, bowl eligible doesn't mean that some bowl has to pick you (in fact, I bet there are lots of bowl organizers that would pass on the opportunity to have a best of the bottom kind of bowl). Overall though, yeah, it's a good thing. Keeps the good teams on their toes, makes even the seemingly meaningless games full of speculation and excitement. FUN!!
Who would have thought that after being beaten by South Carolina and walked all over by Tennessee that UGA could be 1) in first place in the SEC East division and 2) ranked in the top 10 in November? I'm very surprised. Of course, if Tennessee wins out their SEC schedule (3 more teams - Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Kentucky) and UGA drops even one more SEC game (2 left - Auburn and Kentucky) then it's a tie and Tennessee wins the division. Nonetheless, there is so much speculation out there and possibility that if things REALLY get screwed up down the stretch here, even Vanderbilt could win the division. Honestly....I think I'd rather see Vanderbilt or Kentucky win that out rather than see Florida, Tennessee or South Carolina in the championship game. It'd be different, and kind of interesting. Mainly, I just really don't like Florida or Tennessee, and though I have no real issue with South Carolina's teams over the years, I REALLY REALLY don't like Steve Spurrier.
I was at the UGA/FL game this past weekend and wow, it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E. This is the second time I've seen a Georgia team win out over Florida (in person). The last time in '04 was nice - in fact, very nice - but somehow it just didn't compare to the win this weekend. It had everything you want in a college football game...tricky plays, long-bomb passes, controversy, skin-of-your-teeth touchdowns and a LOT of noise. For the record, I think Mark Richt made the right call in getting the team to pull the celebration penalty. I believe him when he says he intended only for the 11 guys on the field to celebrate, but I still have no problem with the rest of the team joining them on the field. People say it was dangerous, that it could have incited punches and fights breaking out on the field. Look, I know it sucked for the Florida team to witness that, and I wouldn't have liked it as a Georgia fan if Florida had pulled that on us, but it was a legitimate strategy and seemed to work. It was by no means the first time a college team pulled a penalty to gain advantage (pass interference penalties of 15 yards on those looong pass plays are generally preferred rather than the yardage that would otherwise be gained, and all teams know that). If the Florida team decides to start swinging on our players for celebrating and taunting, that's their problem to deal with. Georgia was doing what worked best for Georgia and didn't cause anything but mental damage to the other team, so I say people quit saying what a hypocrite Mark Richt is and get over it.
We had quite a few kids to the house on Halloween, and not that many of the usual teenage+ crowd. You know, the ones that show up with a pillowcase and no costume, staring at you and getting angry when they see 1 or fewer candies dropped into their bag? It was a good group. Jingles would go absolutely bonkers every time the doorbell rang, as if by the 30th ring she wasn't expecting visitors. Nobody showed up until after 7pm or maybe even 7:15pm, and we started thinking "wow, we're gonna be eating a LOT of candy." Sure enough, though, when people started showing up it was all at once and pretty consistent until an hour or so later. It dropped off then and only a few kids showed up here an there until we shut the light off at 9pm (generally, anyone that shows up after 9pm falls into the previously mentioned group of non-costumed teenagers, and they can go buy their own candy).
Back to it...
Wow, what a crazy college football season we're having here. Seriously, nobody is safe. "Traditional Powerhouse" means absolutely nothing this year, you know? The usual cupcakes are causing a real stir, and I think that's probably a good thing. My favorite conference (and your's as well, I'm sure) is looking like it will have 11 of the 12 teams in the conference as bowl eligible (6 wins or more) by the end of the year. That's unprecedented. Vanderbilt might make it to a bowl game for the first time in 25 years. Of course, bowl eligible doesn't mean that some bowl has to pick you (in fact, I bet there are lots of bowl organizers that would pass on the opportunity to have a best of the bottom kind of bowl). Overall though, yeah, it's a good thing. Keeps the good teams on their toes, makes even the seemingly meaningless games full of speculation and excitement. FUN!!
Who would have thought that after being beaten by South Carolina and walked all over by Tennessee that UGA could be 1) in first place in the SEC East division and 2) ranked in the top 10 in November? I'm very surprised. Of course, if Tennessee wins out their SEC schedule (3 more teams - Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Kentucky) and UGA drops even one more SEC game (2 left - Auburn and Kentucky) then it's a tie and Tennessee wins the division. Nonetheless, there is so much speculation out there and possibility that if things REALLY get screwed up down the stretch here, even Vanderbilt could win the division. Honestly....I think I'd rather see Vanderbilt or Kentucky win that out rather than see Florida, Tennessee or South Carolina in the championship game. It'd be different, and kind of interesting. Mainly, I just really don't like Florida or Tennessee, and though I have no real issue with South Carolina's teams over the years, I REALLY REALLY don't like Steve Spurrier.
I was at the UGA/FL game this past weekend and wow, it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E. This is the second time I've seen a Georgia team win out over Florida (in person). The last time in '04 was nice - in fact, very nice - but somehow it just didn't compare to the win this weekend. It had everything you want in a college football game...tricky plays, long-bomb passes, controversy, skin-of-your-teeth touchdowns and a LOT of noise. For the record, I think Mark Richt made the right call in getting the team to pull the celebration penalty. I believe him when he says he intended only for the 11 guys on the field to celebrate, but I still have no problem with the rest of the team joining them on the field. People say it was dangerous, that it could have incited punches and fights breaking out on the field. Look, I know it sucked for the Florida team to witness that, and I wouldn't have liked it as a Georgia fan if Florida had pulled that on us, but it was a legitimate strategy and seemed to work. It was by no means the first time a college team pulled a penalty to gain advantage (pass interference penalties of 15 yards on those looong pass plays are generally preferred rather than the yardage that would otherwise be gained, and all teams know that). If the Florida team decides to start swinging on our players for celebrating and taunting, that's their problem to deal with. Georgia was doing what worked best for Georgia and didn't cause anything but mental damage to the other team, so I say people quit saying what a hypocrite Mark Richt is and get over it.
We had quite a few kids to the house on Halloween, and not that many of the usual teenage+ crowd. You know, the ones that show up with a pillowcase and no costume, staring at you and getting angry when they see 1 or fewer candies dropped into their bag? It was a good group. Jingles would go absolutely bonkers every time the doorbell rang, as if by the 30th ring she wasn't expecting visitors. Nobody showed up until after 7pm or maybe even 7:15pm, and we started thinking "wow, we're gonna be eating a LOT of candy." Sure enough, though, when people started showing up it was all at once and pretty consistent until an hour or so later. It dropped off then and only a few kids showed up here an there until we shut the light off at 9pm (generally, anyone that shows up after 9pm falls into the previously mentioned group of non-costumed teenagers, and they can go buy their own candy).
Back to it...
10.01.2007
Back to the beach! And...back to work...
Back from the beach trip, what a great time we had...very relaxing. However, first things first - a few lessons learned in the last week:
- Glass does break when banged against other glass
- T-shirt policy is more of a rule than it is a suggestion (who knew?)
- Biker Week is for bikers, not bicyclists (and there is a difference)
- Pirates are terrorists with boats and parrots - but they're fun!
- Further, you can sell ugly crap for good money when you call it a "Pirate ..." whatever, or if you put a pirate picture on it
- "Red tide" is not the same as "crimson tide," an neither one of them is what you think it would be (at least not what I think it would be)
- Tennis racket loses to rock. Scissors and paper not tested
- Acquire is a fun game
- Jellyfish kinda tickle when they're small.
- Breakin' out da rhymes on the beach by yourself at 10am is not cool. No, it is sad, and it's getting worse. Please see a doctor.
- Swimming pools cannot be too big, nor too empty
- Habit finds it's way into your life no matter how relaxed you're trying to be.
- If someone offers you a paper pirate hat with a kid's menu on the inside, you take it. Don't talk about it, just take it.
- Beer is good.
- Fred Munzenmaier can make a touchdown in a UGA game
9.20.2007
Enough is never enough
I should have put out my "UGA is going to win the SEC this year!" post a few weeks ago when it was still relevant. I guess I'm glad I didn't, now that the odds are lower.
It's still early though. I won't be going to another UGA game until GA/FL at the end of next month. The trip and the tailgate are always more fun than the game - at least for UGA fans - and this year doesn't look much better. Florida appears unstoppable, even though they haven't really played anyone yet (Tennessee doesn't count for much in my book since they hardly showed up for that game). But that's a month away and a lot can happen in between.
Speaking of in between, there's a lot going on for me personally in the next month. For starters, Hilary and I are taking a beach trip with Andy and Abby next week!! WOOOOOO!!! Been planning this one since earlier this year. We originally planned to go with them to Hawaii last year, but getting off of work for me didn't happen...too much going on at that point.
Of course, that hasn't really changed around here, but we're going this time anyway.
Gonna be a great time...no big plans or expectations, just hanging out at the beach, eating a lot of good food, hanging out with good friends and hopefully a whole bunch of sleeping, too. REEEEAALLY looking forward to it.
As of October 1st (roughly), TradeWind Productions will be re-organized as TradeWind Productions, LLC. Why? Liability. Operating as a sole proprietor for these last few years has kept me rather exposed. When you operate as yourself (instead of a corporation, LLC or LLP) then all of you personal assets and business assets are intertwined. The primary problem arising from something like that has to do with litigation. If someone sues me because they tripped over a video cable at an event, damages will be limited to the company. As a sole proprietor, my damages would have been limited to everything Hilary and I own...house, cars, savings....everything. So that's the main reasoning there. Also, I'll be able to organize and manage other areas of the business operations more easily, but that's too much detail for one blog post.
The company website overhaul project will also be completed soon as well. I'll post here when that happens so everyone can go check it out and let me know how awesome it is.
Next on the agenda is Oktoberfest! I think the camping trip to Helen is out for this year, what with members of the group being Full-O-Baby and such. However, that does allow for a couple more options on designated driver. Sorry Abby, that's just how it's going to be. Maybe they'll be serving O'Douls.
After that, I've got the aforementioned trip to Sea Island and the GA/FL game in Jacksonville. This might be the last year for this trip, which is too bad since it has been a nice get-together.
Baby Jolly is still growing. I forget what size it's supposed to be right now...we get another ultrasound one of these days, and I'll post the details here. Just like I posted the last one...oops. Maybe next post.
I need a vacation. Here it comes!
It's still early though. I won't be going to another UGA game until GA/FL at the end of next month. The trip and the tailgate are always more fun than the game - at least for UGA fans - and this year doesn't look much better. Florida appears unstoppable, even though they haven't really played anyone yet (Tennessee doesn't count for much in my book since they hardly showed up for that game). But that's a month away and a lot can happen in between.
Speaking of in between, there's a lot going on for me personally in the next month. For starters, Hilary and I are taking a beach trip with Andy and Abby next week!! WOOOOOO!!! Been planning this one since earlier this year. We originally planned to go with them to Hawaii last year, but getting off of work for me didn't happen...too much going on at that point.
Of course, that hasn't really changed around here, but we're going this time anyway.
Gonna be a great time...no big plans or expectations, just hanging out at the beach, eating a lot of good food, hanging out with good friends and hopefully a whole bunch of sleeping, too. REEEEAALLY looking forward to it.
As of October 1st (roughly), TradeWind Productions will be re-organized as TradeWind Productions, LLC. Why? Liability. Operating as a sole proprietor for these last few years has kept me rather exposed. When you operate as yourself (instead of a corporation, LLC or LLP) then all of you personal assets and business assets are intertwined. The primary problem arising from something like that has to do with litigation. If someone sues me because they tripped over a video cable at an event, damages will be limited to the company. As a sole proprietor, my damages would have been limited to everything Hilary and I own...house, cars, savings....everything. So that's the main reasoning there. Also, I'll be able to organize and manage other areas of the business operations more easily, but that's too much detail for one blog post.
The company website overhaul project will also be completed soon as well. I'll post here when that happens so everyone can go check it out and let me know how awesome it is.
Next on the agenda is Oktoberfest! I think the camping trip to Helen is out for this year, what with members of the group being Full-O-Baby and such. However, that does allow for a couple more options on designated driver. Sorry Abby, that's just how it's going to be. Maybe they'll be serving O'Douls.
After that, I've got the aforementioned trip to Sea Island and the GA/FL game in Jacksonville. This might be the last year for this trip, which is too bad since it has been a nice get-together.
Baby Jolly is still growing. I forget what size it's supposed to be right now...we get another ultrasound one of these days, and I'll post the details here. Just like I posted the last one...oops. Maybe next post.
I need a vacation. Here it comes!
8.06.2007
Groups, Friends, Applications - BRING IT ON!
This one goes out to the Facebook crowd (because I'm still too retarded to get real with my MySpace profile)...for the rest of the month, I'm accepting all friend requests, all group requests, applications, gifts, whatever.
I don't even know what half of this stuff is all about or who comes up with it all.
So if you sent me an invitation to join/add something in the past and I declined it, try again. There's no saying "no" this time. I'm going all in.
I don't even know what half of this stuff is all about or who comes up with it all.
So if you sent me an invitation to join/add something in the past and I declined it, try again. There's no saying "no" this time. I'm going all in.
7.25.2007
WHOA!!! A baby on the way!! (also see "Oh Baby!")
Well, big news folks. A few of you are already aware, the rest of you are probably shocked out of your minds...we're having a baby! Hilary is about 9 1/2 weeks along now (still not sure on the math, we'll find out for sure once we have the first ultrasound in a few more weeks).
The baby is due the last week of February. So there's a chance we'll have ourselves a leap baby (February 29th is within the range of possible dates for now...depending on the math).
I'm pretty psyched, though really not sure what's all in store just yet. Lots of doctor appointments, fixing up the house and baby room and all that jazz. There's a little bit of hesitance for the two of us right now, thinking about all the stuff to do. For now, though, the main thing is going to be just staying positive and keeping healthy. We're in the last part of that window where the likelihood of a miscarriage or other complication is still high(er), so we're just going day-to-day and hoping for a healthy kiddo.
I just hope the kid likes ska, 'cause otherwise he/she is gonna be quite disappointed.
So yeah...WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
The baby is due the last week of February. So there's a chance we'll have ourselves a leap baby (February 29th is within the range of possible dates for now...depending on the math).
I'm pretty psyched, though really not sure what's all in store just yet. Lots of doctor appointments, fixing up the house and baby room and all that jazz. There's a little bit of hesitance for the two of us right now, thinking about all the stuff to do. For now, though, the main thing is going to be just staying positive and keeping healthy. We're in the last part of that window where the likelihood of a miscarriage or other complication is still high(er), so we're just going day-to-day and hoping for a healthy kiddo.
I just hope the kid likes ska, 'cause otherwise he/she is gonna be quite disappointed.
So yeah...WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
7.19.2007
Restless Leg Syndrome
Heard this on the news this morning and laughed so loud the dog left the room:
"A new study now shows that restless leg syndrome is found in your genes." - Good Morning America
Okay, I know it's hard to get the joke when it's typed out like that instead of audibly received, but just say it out loud and you'll know what I mean.
Yep, that's where I usually keep my restless legs, right there in my jeans.
I'm a dork.
"A new study now shows that restless leg syndrome is found in your genes." - Good Morning America
Okay, I know it's hard to get the joke when it's typed out like that instead of audibly received, but just say it out loud and you'll know what I mean.
Yep, that's where I usually keep my restless legs, right there in my jeans.
I'm a dork.
7.10.2007
Joshua David Isaac
I met Josh during the summer after my high school graduation when I was helping out with the band camp for next year. He was an upcoming freshman and was pegged by the section leader as one of the people who needed help with some of the basics. He immediately impressed me as being a quick learner, and very glad to get whatever advice he could get. It was apparent that Josh's goal was to exceed expectations, not just be "good enough."
And that's really how Josh was all the time. As I got to know him better through Hilary's family (Hilary and I started dating about 6 months afterward, and her brother Blake was close friends with Josh), I found that in everything he did, he just wanted to do it the right way, the best that he could. This is a rare attitude, and one that everyone could see when they met Josh.
It is unfortunate for us all that he is no longer with us. Events like this serve well to remind us of what little time we have to complete the purpose of our existence. Josh is great evidence that the duration of a life is not the definition of a person. Instead, we look at what that person did with what time they had. Josh made the best of all that he had, and I only hope to live my life so bravely.
Here are a couple of news articles written about Josh:
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Fox 5 - Atlanta
http://content.times-herald.com/292194643543055.bsp
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/13643436/detail.html
This is a 10 minute memorial photo montage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8HbsnMOA0g
Visitation is tonight in Peachtree City 6pm-8pm at the Mowell Funeral home on Robinson Road near Hwy 54. Funeral is tomorrow at 2pm at Mowell Funeral home with a reception to follow.
4.01.2007
Four Weddings and a Funeral...wait, what?
I got a call early last week from a lady whose mother had just died. My company had been referred to her as possibly being able to produce the funeral video for her. I'll admit, it took me a second to formulate a response - which of course began with some words of sympathy for the loss. Was someone really interested in filming a funeral?
I've read about this in a couple of magazines the last few years, but I had decided that it wasn't the type of business I would enjoy doing. First, profiting from someone else's loss? Sure, a funeral home or cemetery profits from the same thing, but they perform a job that is certainly much more functional and necessary. Video? Possibly a short memorial photo montage set to tasteful music...but that's not what was being requested.
As it turned out, there were some family members that would not be able to make it into town on such short notice. The video would be of the memorial service only, nothing more, and would be shipped ASAP to the out-of-town family.
Long story short, I considered that I am of course a service business, and since my service was being requested and I don't have a moral objection to being at a funeral, it was in everyone's best interest for me to be there. So I did it. And....it wasn't so bad. I got strange looks from some of the people in attendance, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. Hey, we've seen plenty of political and celebrity funerals filmed live on TV...isn't a close loved one much more important than some person whom you've never met?
Would I do it again? Probably. Will I be advertising this service? Probably not...it still seems too...strange, or heartless, something like that. I do feel good about being able to help with the healing process. Some of the people at the service, as with most funerals, had very kind things to say about the departed, and were in seemingly rare form in their declarations. I think it will be a nice recording of their words for them to revisit in the future. I'm not sure I'd want a DVD of a friend or family member's funeral, but what do I know?
I've read about this in a couple of magazines the last few years, but I had decided that it wasn't the type of business I would enjoy doing. First, profiting from someone else's loss? Sure, a funeral home or cemetery profits from the same thing, but they perform a job that is certainly much more functional and necessary. Video? Possibly a short memorial photo montage set to tasteful music...but that's not what was being requested.
As it turned out, there were some family members that would not be able to make it into town on such short notice. The video would be of the memorial service only, nothing more, and would be shipped ASAP to the out-of-town family.
Long story short, I considered that I am of course a service business, and since my service was being requested and I don't have a moral objection to being at a funeral, it was in everyone's best interest for me to be there. So I did it. And....it wasn't so bad. I got strange looks from some of the people in attendance, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. Hey, we've seen plenty of political and celebrity funerals filmed live on TV...isn't a close loved one much more important than some person whom you've never met?
Would I do it again? Probably. Will I be advertising this service? Probably not...it still seems too...strange, or heartless, something like that. I do feel good about being able to help with the healing process. Some of the people at the service, as with most funerals, had very kind things to say about the departed, and were in seemingly rare form in their declarations. I think it will be a nice recording of their words for them to revisit in the future. I'm not sure I'd want a DVD of a friend or family member's funeral, but what do I know?
3.16.2007
You gotta be kidding me...
http://tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11708
Okay, so really it doesn't matter which side of the aisle you are on (even if it's the middle of the aisle). I think the discussion on where the various media outlets fall on their coverage of news and events has become clear. For the most part, it's left-leaning. Then there's Fox News (which is on cable of course, not broadcast) and not really a lot else. I don't know whether Fox News is really "fair and balanced" or not because I don't get the channel, but let's just say for the sake of argument that they are right-leaning.
So a half-dozen or so national broadcasters and hundreds of affiliates on one side, 1 cable channel on the other side (or is there another channel besides Fox News that I haven't heard of yet?). Not exactly balanced, but who says you must have balance? It's supposed to be a free market of ideas, and political speech should be especially protected from scrutiny.
And now we have a handful of Democrats fronting an effort against the vast right wing conspiracy in effect every week on Sunday. If you clicked on that link at the first part of this post, you'll see what has me laughing right now. If you didn't read it yet, go ahead and read it real quick...I'll wait...........
Okay, so these Democrats are concerned about the lack of balance by news shows on Sunday? I suppose they must be satisfied with the balance during the remainder of the week....but 6 out of 7 days is apparently not enough. There are some other quotable quotes in that article, I'll leave it to you to find the most fun ones for yourself.
The real issues is that a lot of the news on Monday is determined by weekend news and event coverage and commentary. The argument is therefore made that if Sunday is dominated by conservatives then Monday will soon be their domain as well. Tuesday should be shaking in it's boots right now - it's next!
Seriously, don't these elected officials have something better to do than make news about making the news? Let the news channels choose who they want to have on their show. If they want Al Gore talking about global warming and Hillary Clinton talking about universal healthcare, let them do it. If people want to watch, then they will watch. If not, then the networks may change their content. They have already decided that their Sunday audience will watch more conservative material than liberal, so let them do it. Forcing networks to change their coverage against their viewership is bound to send the advertisers running for greener pastures and the producers polishing their resumes for the next job.
Really though...I doubt these Sunday shows are having such a drastic effect on the "national discourse" since the viewing audience already leans to the right on these particular shows. They are not strict news shows...these are opinion-heavy pieces and are not subject to the same guidelines to which pure journalism should adhere. Of course, I'd love to see what pure journalism looks like....if it ever existed.
Anyway, read the article on one of my industry e-mails and thought it was funny/interesting/annoying. Feel free to comment.
Okay, so really it doesn't matter which side of the aisle you are on (even if it's the middle of the aisle). I think the discussion on where the various media outlets fall on their coverage of news and events has become clear. For the most part, it's left-leaning. Then there's Fox News (which is on cable of course, not broadcast) and not really a lot else. I don't know whether Fox News is really "fair and balanced" or not because I don't get the channel, but let's just say for the sake of argument that they are right-leaning.
So a half-dozen or so national broadcasters and hundreds of affiliates on one side, 1 cable channel on the other side (or is there another channel besides Fox News that I haven't heard of yet?). Not exactly balanced, but who says you must have balance? It's supposed to be a free market of ideas, and political speech should be especially protected from scrutiny.
And now we have a handful of Democrats fronting an effort against the vast right wing conspiracy in effect every week on Sunday. If you clicked on that link at the first part of this post, you'll see what has me laughing right now. If you didn't read it yet, go ahead and read it real quick...I'll wait...........
Okay, so these Democrats are concerned about the lack of balance by news shows on Sunday? I suppose they must be satisfied with the balance during the remainder of the week....but 6 out of 7 days is apparently not enough. There are some other quotable quotes in that article, I'll leave it to you to find the most fun ones for yourself.
The real issues is that a lot of the news on Monday is determined by weekend news and event coverage and commentary. The argument is therefore made that if Sunday is dominated by conservatives then Monday will soon be their domain as well. Tuesday should be shaking in it's boots right now - it's next!
Seriously, don't these elected officials have something better to do than make news about making the news? Let the news channels choose who they want to have on their show. If they want Al Gore talking about global warming and Hillary Clinton talking about universal healthcare, let them do it. If people want to watch, then they will watch. If not, then the networks may change their content. They have already decided that their Sunday audience will watch more conservative material than liberal, so let them do it. Forcing networks to change their coverage against their viewership is bound to send the advertisers running for greener pastures and the producers polishing their resumes for the next job.
Really though...I doubt these Sunday shows are having such a drastic effect on the "national discourse" since the viewing audience already leans to the right on these particular shows. They are not strict news shows...these are opinion-heavy pieces and are not subject to the same guidelines to which pure journalism should adhere. Of course, I'd love to see what pure journalism looks like....if it ever existed.
Anyway, read the article on one of my industry e-mails and thought it was funny/interesting/annoying. Feel free to comment.
3.07.2007
Randomness
Just as a head's up, you probably don't need to read this. It's basically just random stuff that comes to my mind, and it will likely be....very boring. You're welcome.
HOLY DAYLIGHT SAVINGS! Now we get to spring forward much earlier, giving us longer, harder days of light. No, wait, I think I'm confusing that with some e-mail I got overnight. Either way, it's gonna be great. I can continue plowing the field until late in the evening much earlier in the year than I could in years past.
The Garage Band Network! Woo! This is a project we are working on at my day job. We're trying to find things to utilize the studio space better during late night hours. Basically, we'll let bands come in, play in front of the cameras and give 'em a CD and DVD of all that when they leave. I have no idea how this will work...it'll ultimately come down to the price/feature balance. I'm probably breaking all my corporate conduct codes by leaking this, so don't tell anyone, k? Million dollar question....when does it launch? I dunno, maybe next month.
Funniest ironic/sad moment of the ordeal has been the constant requests to bring SCAP in to do some test runs on the equipment and procedures. I haven't been able to get the point across to them that we haven't played together in quite....a....while.....but yes, they insist. So Walt book your flight from sunny CA right quick. Mike, you can land the jet right in the back lot (I'll clear some of the brush and apartments for you). Eric, re-hydrate the drum set. Ryan, I have no idea where you are but bring it old school. Jon - no codename: oatmeal please. Gwam, go un-steal that bass. Chris, enough movie time, it's freakin' rock time!
SCAP UNITE!
There will be a short tour with limited edition t-shirts. Sorry, all out of panties.
I'll give you all a moment to stop laughing.........aight, let's move on.
Jingles is making her first trip to the beach with us this year. That's gonna be awesome....unless we get there during killer shark season. Hate that.
Still looking for a job where I get paid to stay home and watch TV. The problem is the vacation days and sick days, as most of these types of jobs offer neither (depending on how you look at it). I'll keep you posted.
Saw an old friend this weekend...Jess Purdy. He was recently married and was having a Georgia reception at his family's house in Your Favorite Town. His house is on the street right behind my parent's, and his father commented on how they missed hearing the band practice late at night. Someone else made a comment about this, too. Nice to hear. Of course, there was also a question about "what are you doing these days" or something like that. When I said "video production," you could see a face of surprise followed by confusion, as if to say "so...you're not still doing the music thing?" Oddly enough, that was also the follow-up question at one point.
Good to see Jess though, and his wife was a nice gal, too. Lots of people there so we only stuck around for about an hour so as to free the house up for others.
Mike is flying jets at speeds beyond my interest these days. I've been on a commercial flight for maybe 4 or 5 round-trip flights my entire life, and that was fun enough. I'm not opposed to flying, but I don't really like it all that much and I'd rather drive. Less chance of losing luggage and being molested by the TSA that way, too. So I don't see much jet fighter flying in my future...it's all your's Mike.
On a related note, find yourself a chance to ask Mike about the theme park super-fun-time ride he got to go on recently. Awesome.
I want a crane.
Just another day at the lake.
Why is it okay to have a game called "Whack a mole" but not one called "Club a Baby Seal" (with real clubbing action)? Strange dichotomy.
HOLY DAYLIGHT SAVINGS! Now we get to spring forward much earlier, giving us longer, harder days of light. No, wait, I think I'm confusing that with some e-mail I got overnight. Either way, it's gonna be great. I can continue plowing the field until late in the evening much earlier in the year than I could in years past.
The Garage Band Network! Woo! This is a project we are working on at my day job. We're trying to find things to utilize the studio space better during late night hours. Basically, we'll let bands come in, play in front of the cameras and give 'em a CD and DVD of all that when they leave. I have no idea how this will work...it'll ultimately come down to the price/feature balance. I'm probably breaking all my corporate conduct codes by leaking this, so don't tell anyone, k? Million dollar question....when does it launch? I dunno, maybe next month.
Funniest ironic/sad moment of the ordeal has been the constant requests to bring SCAP in to do some test runs on the equipment and procedures. I haven't been able to get the point across to them that we haven't played together in quite....a....while.....but yes, they insist. So Walt book your flight from sunny CA right quick. Mike, you can land the jet right in the back lot (I'll clear some of the brush and apartments for you). Eric, re-hydrate the drum set. Ryan, I have no idea where you are but bring it old school. Jon - no codename: oatmeal please. Gwam, go un-steal that bass. Chris, enough movie time, it's freakin' rock time!
SCAP UNITE!
There will be a short tour with limited edition t-shirts. Sorry, all out of panties.
I'll give you all a moment to stop laughing.........aight, let's move on.
Jingles is making her first trip to the beach with us this year. That's gonna be awesome....unless we get there during killer shark season. Hate that.
Still looking for a job where I get paid to stay home and watch TV. The problem is the vacation days and sick days, as most of these types of jobs offer neither (depending on how you look at it). I'll keep you posted.
Saw an old friend this weekend...Jess Purdy. He was recently married and was having a Georgia reception at his family's house in Your Favorite Town. His house is on the street right behind my parent's, and his father commented on how they missed hearing the band practice late at night. Someone else made a comment about this, too. Nice to hear. Of course, there was also a question about "what are you doing these days" or something like that. When I said "video production," you could see a face of surprise followed by confusion, as if to say "so...you're not still doing the music thing?" Oddly enough, that was also the follow-up question at one point.
Good to see Jess though, and his wife was a nice gal, too. Lots of people there so we only stuck around for about an hour so as to free the house up for others.
Mike is flying jets at speeds beyond my interest these days. I've been on a commercial flight for maybe 4 or 5 round-trip flights my entire life, and that was fun enough. I'm not opposed to flying, but I don't really like it all that much and I'd rather drive. Less chance of losing luggage and being molested by the TSA that way, too. So I don't see much jet fighter flying in my future...it's all your's Mike.
On a related note, find yourself a chance to ask Mike about the theme park super-fun-time ride he got to go on recently. Awesome.
I want a crane.
Just another day at the lake.
Why is it okay to have a game called "Whack a mole" but not one called "Club a Baby Seal" (with real clubbing action)? Strange dichotomy.
1.22.2007
Year End Wrap-Up (yes, I know)
Christmas was great! Okay, so it has taken me a while, I'm slow, let's move on. Got to see all the family and a few of the friends, exchanged some gifts and ate waaaaayyy too much food. Seriously.
One of the most unique gifts I received was from a coworker and friend, Hal. He managed to get a copy of Vince Dooley's autobiography signed to me from Vince himself! Way cool, it read something along the lines of "Christian, Merry Christmas and GO DAWGS!" with his name signed under it on the inside front page. The guy's not really a big fan of UGA or Vince Dooley (big Bear Bryant guy) so it was doubly nice for him to have gotten that for me.
Got a new Wacom Intuos3 pen tablet also, this one from Sandy Claws. It's basically a tablet with a 6x8 sensor area where you can use a pen/stylus to draw, paint sketch or just use the pen instead of a mouse. Comes with a mouse, too, in case you want to use it. It's a crazy device, no batteries at all, and the pen and mouse are wireless (so I have no idea how that really works). Flip the pen over to write and it acts like an eraser. It's pressure and tilt sensitive, so the things works like a real pen, but on your computer. I've already used it to sketch out some graphics in Illustrator, paint stuff into After Effects and draw out some motion paths as well for short title animations. Screw the mouse, this thing is a lot more comfortable and accurate.
But it's not about the gifts, it's the thought that counts, and over Christmas time I thought a lot about all the great people in my life, my parents and grandparents, all the brothers and sisters I grew up with and stay close with, my wonderful wife, my dog, my job, my house - all the things that I may think about once in a while, but I find myself failing to fully appreciate. I won't lie, I know I take a lot of these things for granted, as if they'll always be there. I'd like to think I can go forward after that sort of contemplation and be more thankful in the future, but life stays so busy that it can be hard to stop and realize who and what has come together to make you who you are.
It was a great year for TradeWind Productions last year. I did an enormous amount of work and added a few new clients along the way. Weddings, beauty pageants, twirling recitals, photo slide shows, VHS and 8mm conversions, consulting....just a lot of stuff. Unfortunately, even though I was able to accomplish a lot and refine some of my skills, I didn't learn nearly enough new stuff. I try to do a little new training for software and practice some shooting concepts every couple of weeks, but last year that became very difficult around May. On top of that, my day job became more complex as I temporarily took on the producer/director position in addition to editing. We brought in dozens of people before we finally found a full-time replacement in November. I could have kept the job and dropped the editing, but honestly...I didn't want the job. I like editing, and I'm much better at post-production anyway. It was just a better idea to hold the job for the best person.
So now I'm working on some other projects and getting ready for the biggest wedding I've booked so far. It will be in February here in Atlanta. They have booked me for just about every service I offer for wedding videography, so I'm very thankful for that. I think they will be very satisfied with the results. I'm going to finish the couple's photo-video slide show a couple of weeks before the wedding and then just do some other work and training (and relaxing) leading up to the big day.
Too many words, not enough substance...I'll work on that for the next post.
One of the most unique gifts I received was from a coworker and friend, Hal. He managed to get a copy of Vince Dooley's autobiography signed to me from Vince himself! Way cool, it read something along the lines of "Christian, Merry Christmas and GO DAWGS!" with his name signed under it on the inside front page. The guy's not really a big fan of UGA or Vince Dooley (big Bear Bryant guy) so it was doubly nice for him to have gotten that for me.
Got a new Wacom Intuos3 pen tablet also, this one from Sandy Claws. It's basically a tablet with a 6x8 sensor area where you can use a pen/stylus to draw, paint sketch or just use the pen instead of a mouse. Comes with a mouse, too, in case you want to use it. It's a crazy device, no batteries at all, and the pen and mouse are wireless (so I have no idea how that really works). Flip the pen over to write and it acts like an eraser. It's pressure and tilt sensitive, so the things works like a real pen, but on your computer. I've already used it to sketch out some graphics in Illustrator, paint stuff into After Effects and draw out some motion paths as well for short title animations. Screw the mouse, this thing is a lot more comfortable and accurate.
But it's not about the gifts, it's the thought that counts, and over Christmas time I thought a lot about all the great people in my life, my parents and grandparents, all the brothers and sisters I grew up with and stay close with, my wonderful wife, my dog, my job, my house - all the things that I may think about once in a while, but I find myself failing to fully appreciate. I won't lie, I know I take a lot of these things for granted, as if they'll always be there. I'd like to think I can go forward after that sort of contemplation and be more thankful in the future, but life stays so busy that it can be hard to stop and realize who and what has come together to make you who you are.
It was a great year for TradeWind Productions last year. I did an enormous amount of work and added a few new clients along the way. Weddings, beauty pageants, twirling recitals, photo slide shows, VHS and 8mm conversions, consulting....just a lot of stuff. Unfortunately, even though I was able to accomplish a lot and refine some of my skills, I didn't learn nearly enough new stuff. I try to do a little new training for software and practice some shooting concepts every couple of weeks, but last year that became very difficult around May. On top of that, my day job became more complex as I temporarily took on the producer/director position in addition to editing. We brought in dozens of people before we finally found a full-time replacement in November. I could have kept the job and dropped the editing, but honestly...I didn't want the job. I like editing, and I'm much better at post-production anyway. It was just a better idea to hold the job for the best person.
So now I'm working on some other projects and getting ready for the biggest wedding I've booked so far. It will be in February here in Atlanta. They have booked me for just about every service I offer for wedding videography, so I'm very thankful for that. I think they will be very satisfied with the results. I'm going to finish the couple's photo-video slide show a couple of weeks before the wedding and then just do some other work and training (and relaxing) leading up to the big day.
Too many words, not enough substance...I'll work on that for the next post.
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