There’s not a lot of sky drama when it’s a misty rainy morning.

Not on misty nights either.

I’m totally digging this project…I like how aware it makes me of each new day, of the passing of that day and of the conclusion of that day.

Here in San Jose there are lots of palm trees. Lots and lots of them. So many that I couldn’t choose which picture to choose for this morning…here’s another:

Today was a day of cooking, eating and playing with early Christmas presents. And then the sun set again.

There weren’t any fantastic colors. But I’m okay with that.

I turned around and shot the moon instead.

Tomorrow is a day to visit the big trees. Sounds exciting.

I stayed up far far too late to wake up for the sunrise, so this was snapped at about 8:10 in Dave’s parents backyard.

When I turned back to go in the house, I found two little boys checking out the goings on.

We drove into San Francisco to see the sights and we were on our return trip when the sun was done for the day.

It’s been two days of being really aware of the sun and it’s already changing the way I think during the day…I’m much more aware of the suns location throughout the day, of how far it’s traveled, of how long it takes to move across the sky. It’s almost meditative.

I don’t really know much about all the options and possibilities in Lightroom (a photo storage and processing program), but I’m starting to learn. Today I was playing with some of the preset options, making boring photos a little more interesting. Here’s some SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) trees with crows.

And here’s one that’s a feels a little more like a sunset.

Another SOOC tree,

…and the winterized version.

What do you think? Do the pictures get a little more interesting altered?

I started this blog back in February of 2008. Since then I’ve posted at least one thing every single day (except three days in April of 2008 when I was in Kentucky, and there’s some gaps in the record where I tried to have a seperate blog for entertainment articles and moved some that never made it back when I closed that blog), writing up 989 articles spanning 24 categories and 2,763 tags, had 1,763 comments and very nearly 100,000 hits. It’s likely I’ll reach that magic number today!

I want to take a few moments to thank everyone who reads my blog and those who link to it. Special shouts-out go to Tokyo5 and PiedType, both of whom have commented regularly, as well as to my friends Rob and Arthur, who both put up with listening to me read my articles out loud to them.

I hope it doesn’t take another 18 months to reach 200,000 hits, but even if it does, I’ll at least have fun getting there! Thanks again to everyone!

So my last post was a little confusing for some, and I had hoped to update people on what I’m working towards and my plan to change the world but that will have to wait. These past couple weeks have been crazy and I would like to let people know what has happened in our lives. So…over the past week we’ve:

-Received so much food from our church that we don’t know where to put it all

-Printed out over 50 newsletters and got them in the mail

-Booked 2 churches

-Had leftovers from our church’s Thanksgiving lunch on Sunday and have been invited to two houses for dinner this week, leaving us to not have to cook at   all for the week

Maybe to a regular couple or individual this doesn’t seem that crazy but to us, this has been an absolute miracle. We had just found out last week that our monthly support wasn’t as high as we had thought and well…we were scratching our heads saying “we know we are going to be taken care of, so how is it going to happen this month?” Well…this is the confirmation that it is happening. We know that it isn’t going to be easy, and there still are challenges to the next couple months, but we know we are taken care of and we know that in the end, we are loved and cared for.

With God working around us, with us being able and open to see, we are quite excited about what is to come. We don’t know what is coming but we arnow dreaming and seeing how these dreams are in the process of being reality. That’s exciting. More to come on that later….I have been going around (well not really going around to the world) telling a few people that I’m really excited for the Nikon Festival and the chance to win $100,000. What excites me the most is the thought that I don’t need that money. I don’t need to keep any of it because I know that I am loved and cared for. Steph and I are in the process of talking about what we would do with that much money, but here is a short business plan that I firmly believe will change the world…

I’m planning on officially launching Feed The Need as an advertising/production house. Our mission, to change the world through advertising. I firmly believe that the world market is changing and revolving back to the good ol’ days when you bought from those you trusted, from people you knew, and from companies who are not just making their riches but contributing to the world. As the market changes I believe companies will need to start advertising what they are doing to connect with their communities, as well as how they have changed. Feed The Need will connect those companies with actual needs around the world and locally. Our projects will include these to start:

-Feeding the host city of the SuperBowl. How amazing would it be if Super Bowl Sunday was the day that people knew was going to transform a city, not just on a day, but forever by making sure that people do not go hungry there anymore.

-Porn Addicts Anonymous: This project is focused on taking the mask off of the elephant in the closet in our society. The porn industry brings in roughly 90 Billion dollars every year, destroys lives, marriages, and imagine the dent in the economy. The goal is to show real people, well respected main line addictive medicine, and the economics behind it to make a moral point or statement.

-The Oil Crisis in the Niger River Delta: The Niger River Delta is being destroyed by companies such as Shell and 76, and yet the only way people seem to put pressure on them is by aggressively going after them. If the market is really changing, the working theory is that positive advertising of the good that they are now doing may actually be practical, less costly for them as companies, and both parties will be satisfied. I’d love to be apart of the solution and see these companies not just settle but start fixing the problem because they see that it is beneficial and a good business practice.

…knowing it will change the world.

You know it’s a crazy big dream when your wife doesn’t give you a straight answer and has the look like “I’m in because I’m married to you.” I understand it’s big, I understand that it is pretty crazy, but I know that it will change the world. Not because of me or anyone else doing anything special, but I a world view could be shaped forever changing the way advertising is shaped, created, and focused. So while it’s a dream (and a personal project) I know that it keeps coming to the front of my mind not because it’s my dream but because it’s a God sized dream and I’m being asked to participate with it.

What is exciting is that I am in a position on this adventure where I can dream, where I’m able to think, to listen, and to really learn from all the people I come in contact with. I have the opportunity right now to meet people who are in a variety of situations whether it’s pastors or business men, photographers, or community members, and to learn from them. I get to listen to what is going on in their lives and then I get to digest it and learn. It’s a bi-product of the job I have and I never would have thought that I would be able to dream like this right now. I find that when I’m able to think on a big scale, and really let all the information and knowledge that I pick up soak in, I’m more productive and able to live thinking more about the needs of others.

So thank you for letting me dream. Thank you for the taking the time to read about a guy living in the central part of Washington who is starting the process of living out a pretty big dream. Maybe you’ll want to find out more, maybe not…but I guarantee this:

“While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan’s country, or shot over the edge of the world in some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise and Peepiceek will be head of the talking mice in Narnia.” Reepicheep-Voyage of the Dawn Treader

ps. Pray with me as I devote some time, energy, and thought to what the next steps are and as I seek to create a good enough story to win Nikon’s new contest which would provide $100,000 of funding and quickly turn this dream into a project and reality. Advertising changing the world is coming…

Eheheh!!!! O meu tasco é um sucesso!
Mais de 100.000 visitas em menos de 4 meses… nem eu as compreendo!
Não compreendo, porque não acho o blog (sim, agora já não é um projecto mas sim um blog), tenha qualquer tipo de conteúdo sofisticado ou deveras interessante.
Mas muito provavelmente é disto mesmo que os internautas andam à procura, de uma coisa descomplicada, estúpida, pouco intelectualizada, nada profícua e desprovida de conteúdo sério e que permitisse colocar os neurónios a trabalhar…
Mas de qualquer forma, continuo a não perceber muito bem esta coisa das redes sociais e visitas em massa a um blog com um cariz que por vezes roça a vulgaridade (atenção que não sou um gajo vulgar… longe disso…)!
Assim como assim, num dado momento da existência do blog, perdi um pouco o interesse pela escrita de baboseiras no mesmo, e achei por bem fazer um blackout, aliás achei por bem fazer uma retirada de mansinho (para desilusão dos ilustres seguidores)!
Mas pronto, lá vou ter de ceder à minha veia poética e andar por aqui mais um tempinho. E onde estão os mails das gajas ou gajos que queriam ficar com o tasco? É que isto poderia ser mais animado se houvesse pessoal a colaborar na postagem das bacoradas… estou a ver que era apenas bluf, e que na horinha da verdade fugiram com o rabinho à seringa! Bem me parecia que essa coisa de dar o cu não era para todos…
Despeço-me com cordialidade, na certeza que continuarei a publicar alguma coisa aparvalhada de quando em vez, mas sem a periodicidade de antigamente… porque os compromissos pessoais e profissionais assim o determinam, porque sim e prontuzzz!!!!
Ahhh e como sempre o fiz, em momentos históricos do projecto e agora do blog em si, quero dedicar o número redondo a uma pessoa! A uma pessoa que está cá desde o primeiro dia, que é um excelente ser humano, uma pessoa que eu admiro e da qual parece que não me conseguirei separar! Uma amizade para a vida, e um amor de estimação são sentimentos que nutro por esse maravilhoso ser…
E a nomeação vai para… o SEMSTRESS!!! Thank Youuuuuuuuu

This weekend we went apple picking.

There were also cows at this particular orchard.

The apples were delicious and plentiful.

But the cows?

They kinda stole the show. (This is Dave’s picture by the way)

There is a movement happening – the movement to save energy, cut back on waste, save trees and GO GREEN.

The environmentalists have finally gotten their way and people are attentively trying to save the environment. Way to go!

Customers have even found away to go green while shopping – reusable bags.

After studies came out presenting to customers just how bad plastic bags are for the environment, reusable bags became all the rage. Grasping the fad by the horns many stores such as Wal-Mart, Ukrops, Giant, Target and other major companies began producing and selling their own reusable bags. And in many cases the store even presented an incentive to save when you used their reusable bag.

How do plastic bags hurt the environment?

Here are some facts about the environmental impact of plastic bags courteously of Natural-Environment.com:

• Plastic bags cause over 100,000 sea turtle and other marine animal deaths every year when animals mistaken them for food
• The manufacture of plastic bags add tones of carbon emissions into the air annually
• Between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide each year
• Approximately 60 – 100 million barrels of oil are required to make the world’s plastic bags each year
• Most plastic bags take over 400 years to biodegrade. Some figures indicate that plastic bags could take over 1000 years to break down. This means not one plastic bag has ever naturally biodegraded.

The question went from, “Paper or plastic?” to, “Paper, plastic or do you have a reusable bag?”

So being environmentally informed and the conscious shopper you are, when your cashier goes to place your items in a plastic bag to make life easier on you. You stop them and say, “Oh! I don’t need a bag, gott’a save a tree!”

While I am sure the environmentalists appreciate your concern with the well-being of trees… the source for today’s wide variety of plastics is NOT TREES, but petroleum.

So please do not take offence when your cashier cannot resist and responds with, “Gott’a save all those plastic trees.” Congratulations, you have just save a future fake Christmas tree, a plastic palm tree or any other type of fake plastic tree.

Recycle and reuse. Where plastic bags may not be the best to recycle, you can reuse them later.

Ways to reuse that plastic bag that you just refused “to save a tree”

• Take them grocery shopping and reuse them
• Use them as trash can liners
• Why buy bubble wrap? Use plastic bags for safe storing, moving and shipping
• When traveling use plastic bags to keep your dirty clothes from your clean
• Keep a trash bag in your car
• For easy cleanup, place a plastic bag inside a bucket or pot next to your sink when you peel fruits or vegetables. You can quickly dispose of the bag or place peelings in a compost pile.
• When defrosting meats, place a paper towel in a plastic bag and put meats in the bag to prevent messy leaks and cleanups

For more plastic bag reusing tips check out Living a Better Life, BellaOnline, Planet Green and Rustic Girls.

Next time you are out shopping, don’t make a fool of yourself and keep in mind that no trees were hurt in the making of that plastic bag and all the ways you can save the environment and reuse those plastic bags.

Today’s 273 were taken with my little pocket camera while out on a solo walk.

I’m not sure it can really be a proper “walk” when you’re stopping every three minutes to get a picture of something.

I’m also not sure why I love the single leaf on the asphalt shot. Maybe because it’s so simple. I’m not sure. Regardless of the reason – I love it.

Maybe even as much as dandelions.

I realized a common denominator in a lot of the children’s photography that I admire. So much of it has features the child’s eye – their gorgeous eyes. And I’m certain these photographers don’t only accept clients with beautiful eyes. They’ve got a trick. I finally realized what at least one of them is.

They position them in such a way as to catch the light reflecting in the eye – makes them sparkle.

Gives them a little twinkle in their eye.

At Mt. Tabor the other day, I came across some well fed squirrels.

And the man that feeds them.

Not only does he feed the squirrels, he feeds the dogs too. And he knows them all by name and what particular food they have a preference for.

I want to go back with a pair of gloves and get some good pictures to give him. I had no idea it was so hard to shoot with frozen fingers.

I got to go to Mt. Tabor yesterday for the first time ever.

I was looking for some fall foliage. Most (although obviously not all!) of the trees there seem to be evergreens though.


On the way home, I pulled into a school parking lot and found some gorgeous fall-ness.

So. On this particular mission, random school parking lot beat gorgeous Mt. Tabor. Gorgeous places aren’t always the best for macro photography. Lesson learned.

Einige Brother Geräte zeigen nach ca 100.000 Seiten die Fehlermeldung, das die Heizeinheit/Fuser, die Lasereinheit, die Trommeleinheit verschlissen sind. Diese Teile sollten nun erneuert werden.

Wir fragen uns nur, warum man eine funktionierende Lasereinheit nach schon 100.000 Seiten wechseln sollte…Bei vielen anderen Hersteller halten diese oft ein Druckerlebenlang…und das sind manchmal mehrere 100.000 Seiten!

Wir arbeiten gerade an einer Anleitung, wie Sie dieses umgehen können.

Sicherlich, wenn der Ausdruck schlechter wird, das Gerät “rappelt” oder eine andere “Macke” hat …sollte man über eine Reparatur/Ersatz nachdenken…

Schauen Sie mal wieder rein.

Wenn’s soweit ist…steht’s hier!

Diese Geräte sind in Vorbereitung:
HL-5240
HL-5250DN
HL-5270DN
HL-5280DW

Ein Tip vom Drucker-Service-Kiel

I’ll admit it: I have a pet peeve. It irks me every time I hear someone say the word. That awful, brainwashing word that keeps the whole world down. Can you guess the word? I’ll give you a hint: You’ve probably used it before as an excuse for not pursuing the things you really want in life. Do you know what it is? Yep, you guessed it…

Unrealistic.

What does it mean when you say something is unrealistic? Does it mean it’s not compatible with your perception of reality? Does it mean it goes against what you’ve been taught? Does it mean that the odds are against you? Yes, it does. That’s why you need to break free from it. If you remember anything you read here, remember this: YOU decide what is realistic for you. If you believe that earning $100,000 in twelve months is unrealistic, you will NOT be able to make $100,000 in twelve months. If you believe that earning $100,000 is realistic, you WILL be able to make $100,000 in twelve months. The only thing standing in your way is you. Answer me this: Has anyone in your financial situation (or worse) made $100,000 in twelve months before? Yes! They have. So, is it unrealistic? It can be if you believe it to be, but it wasn’t for them. How did they do it? Simple: They set a goal and they believed they could achieve it. If you keep coming up with excuses for why you can’t do something, you’re just throwing obstacles in your own path. If you’re still not convinced of the power of your beliefs, here’s a testimony by a young actor you may have heard of. His name is Will Smith, and he is one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood today:

Catch of the day: $100,000 buys a lot of fish

Two teenagers on a fishing trip snared a whopper in the form of $100,000 in cash but may have let it get away by handing it in to police.

The teens who found $100,000 Australian dollars were reluctant to let go of their find though and spent some time thinking about it.

The pair discovered the money earlier this month near the New South Wales town of Nimbin – a center of hippie culture where members of numerous communes annually celebrate a festival to promote cannabis use.

//

The teenagers contacted police on Friday, after revealing the find to an unidentified adult they know and getting some legal advice, police said in a statement.

Inspector Greg Moore said police were investigating whose money it might be, and whether the stash of cash was linked to crime.

“It could be proceeds of ill-gotten gains,” police said.

Police had searched an area at Tuntable Creek where the teenagers found the money, but found no more cash and no clues, he said.

He said the teenagers, who were not identified, might be able to claim the money if no one else comes forward with a legitimate claim.

En apenas diez meses, el contador de este blog donde cuatro amigos nos reunimos para hablar de las cosas más variopintas que nos interesaban acaba de superar la cifra mágica de 100.000 visitas. Es cierto que 100.000 visitas algunos blogs las reciben mensual, semanal o incluso diariamente pero para nosotros es una cifra muy importante y que nos hace tremendamente felices y nos anima a seguir dedicando parte de nuestro tiempo a esta afición de bloguear.

Este es el segundo blog que gestionamos y en ningún momento nos hemos planteado el contador de visitas como una meta, aunque si es cierto que es motivador ver como aumenta la gente que nos lee. Con la anterior bitácora, que todavía está activa, aunque sin actualizar y dedicada casi en exclusiva a un artista aragonés (Daniel Zueras), en un año y medio su contador recoge más de 30.000 visitas, que no está nada mal dado el caracter monotemático de ella.

Esta nueva andadura bloggera comenzó el 1 de diciembre de 2008 como medio donde plasmar las actividades que nos interesaban, actualidad, música, conciertos, deportes, Aragón, Zaragoza, etc. y expresar libremente nuestro punto de vista sobre ellas.

La blogosfera además nos ha dado la oportunidad sobre todo de conocer a un gran número de bloggeros dedicados a un amplio abanico de temáticas y compartir experiencias muy enriquecedoras con ellos. Gracias a ellos también cada día vamos aprendiendo y creciendo en conocimientos tanto en el mundo de los blogs como de otros.

Además nos ha permitido conocer a gente fenomenal como los solidarios de ASDES y FADEMA, medios de comunicación Escúchate y Esta es la Nuestra de Aragón Radio, Estudio de Guardia de la Cadena Ser, deportistas, artistas, etc. con los que también cabe intercomunicación vía la red social Facebook.

Lo que empezó tímidamente como una forma de dar rienda suelta a nuestras inquietudes se ha convertido en 184 entradas.

Nos queda agraceder a todos aquellos lectores que nos visitan, sea por casualidad o regularmente, por su interés y animarles a que lo sigan haciendo.

Oi Gente!

É isso ai! Hoje o Pirosfera está saindo do reecesso, mas não é a penas esse o motivo para se comemorar…

Esse é o post 100 da categoria Ahn?(legal né?)

Mas não é só esse o grande número!

Durante esse reecesso conseguimos o que todo blog deseja em seu primeiro ano de vida, completamos as nossas primeiras 100000 visitas.
(que emoção!!)

Então já que é assim, precisamos comemorar, e para isso reservei uma galeria de imagens bem engraçadas, com o tema…

Dorgas Mano!!

Espero que tenham gostado, em algumas pessoas isso só funciona em moentos de loucura!

Mas não deixe de comentar!