Day Of Photography

Lake Murphysboro is a wonderful place to take pictures. There is something about it that turns my creativity on. The lake offers multitudes of wildlife and some great landscapes. However, Thursday was not the best day for landscape photography because it was too cloudy. Nevertheless, the clouds scatters the light making it more diffuse allowing pictures a softer appearance.
The real reason why we went out is because Matt got his new camera. Yep, the Nikon D90... jealous? Me too. Well, not too jealous because I am a Canon man. Matt is as new as his camera in picking up photography, but he is learning very quickly. I think he knows more digital photo-babel than me.
Early signs of spring.
Stairs are always great subjects. They offer a little perspective into photos. Stairs remind me that life is a journey and it always seems to go up. Another symbolism, they represent a fixed destiny or a choice in our lives. Or stairs just simply make nice lines in pictures.
The last photo of the day. Matt got this one of me.

So get out there and take pictures, be creative. You don't need an expensive camera to get quality pictures. Just patience, practice and persistence (the 3 P's of Photography).

Throw Discus and Shot-put

Levi (my cousin) and I were working on our technique this weekend in throwing Shot and Discus. He has just started track this year and he goes to a very small school. His coaches do not know much more about discus and shot-put aside from just throwing it down the field. So we worked on how to throw in proper form.

We are starting with the basics and then moving on to things such as spinning when you throw. We had great fun catapulting the 8lbs. shot-put and swinging the 2lbs. discus around the backyard.

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Now playing: Atomic Opera - Stop The Rain
via FoxyTunes

Destroy A Camper

This is a friends camper in which I spent some nights in during high school. The camper is now getting old and a little nasty. So my friend wants to tear it apart and make a hauling trailer out of the skeleton. For the better part of two days we have been working on destroying this camper.
This is after day one. Today we got down to the skeleton of the camper and now we have to work on clean up.
We had a fire to burn the wood from the camper, but the wind picked up and it quickly got out of control. We got the spreading fire put out (the black spot). The police showed up an hour later to tell us that it is illegal to burn "anything" within city limits. So much for that idea.
Another photo of the fire ablaze.

Finding Comfort With A Pitt-Bull

Zoey is a pit-bull full of excitement. She runs around the yard then finds an interesting stick and runs around with it. When she does stop she happily chews the stick to oblivion. After the stick is thoroughly destroyed, she then goes to the farthest part of the yard to dig a hole for some unknown reason. Zoey soon looses interest in the ground and will decide to chase Mikah around the yard several times.

After exploring the yard she comes in to sleep. She snores something fierce when she sleeps, but don't let that fool you. Zoey, is one of the most well behaved and kindest dogs I have ever met.

She is always wanting to give you kisses on the face, but will settle for your hand. She snuggles up with you on the couch and rests her head on your lap. I really enjoy her personality.

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Now playing: Lifehouse - Hanging By a Moment
via FoxyTunes

Amiable Giants

I spent a good portion of my day today with these wonderful creatures. It is great to spend the day with such great company. Horses are gentle giants, but it could of been the apples I fed them today.

Some thoughts:
Horses have better personalities than most people
They are very smart
They are messy
They are demanding
Finally they are friendly




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Now playing: Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
via FoxyTunes

Keep Moving Forward

This is Max. He is an inside/outside cat who only has three legs, but that does not stop him a bit. Today I found him in the loft of the barn. He can climb up and down the ladder leading onto the loft. He also wrestles with the dogs. I am amazed at how well Max does with only three limbs it is encouraging. What I mean is; even though things are not in his favor, he does not give up. He is slower getting around, but he does get places. Not only does he do normal feline things; he is also happy. I am proud of Max.

Something I am happy about and something that has been an ongoing battle is:

I received my test results for the nursing entrance test. I passed! I spent the whole year studying, and now I have a pretty fair chance of getting into the LPN program at John A. Logan. The last two years I have been trying to pass this test and I am glad to finally have the chance to get into the program. This does not mean I am getting into the program, but it means I stand a chance. The point scores are out of 53 total points and I had to at least score 41 on writing, reading and 39 on numerical skills to pass. This has been the answer to many prayers.

The title for this post comes from one of my favorite movies Meet The Robinson's. I recommend seeing it.
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Now playing: T-Model Ford - Let Me In
via FoxyTunes

Discovering Man's Best Friend

For the next few days I will be pet sitting at a friends house. They have many animals, dogs, cats and horses, but today I want you to take a look Mikah. Could she possibly be the cutest pup ever?

It's true I am a sucker for large eyes, pointed ears and her hyper active disposition. She is always the one wanting to be closest to me. Mikah, will follow me through the house everywhere that I go and she snuggles in under the covers as I sleep (I suppose this is why they call dogs man's best friend). However, sometimes she follows me too closely; this morning while trying to feed the horses I stepped on her tail (don't worry no harm done). Right away she let out a scream and actually I am supprised that I can still hear out of both ears.

I will introduce some of the other animals in the next few days.



What was the name of Radar's dog?

Ranger

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Now playing: Francoise Hardy - Moments
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Trivia Night

Saturday night I was a part of a fundraiser for cancer. We donated money to play a game of trivia with 20 teams about 8 people on a team. I was on team E with 7 incredibly smart people who put their minds together to get us tied for third place. However, we ended up getting fourth in the end because of a tie breaker. It was a great night filled with useless information about who showed up out of uniform for the 50^th anniversary of the UN, who was proven innocent in a crime 25 yrs. after they were put to death, and what was the name of the first U.S. nuclear submarine? In case you're wondering, Fidel Castro, Marie Antoinette and the Nautilus.

Here is a question that stumped everyone on team E. See if you know the answer.

What was the name of Radar's dog of the T.V. series M*A*S*H?

Camping Under The Stars

So this is where I slept last night. Not quite 5 star hotel comfort, but tons of fun. I like to get out into the woods and spend the night looking at the heavens, and listening to the sounds.

I am a follower of Christ and I think our spirituality greatly changes our outlook intrapersonally and how we view the environment around us. Last night, looking at the skies I got a chance to see how big my creator is, and how personal too. I could look up at the stars and see how much space and time God made, but I also realized that He is everywhere at once. It's an odd experience to view things in the macrocosm and microcosm simultaneously. After the night out, I felt humble, very small in the big scheme of things, but also I got a sense of how much I am vauled.

3:30am. and still kicking. I figured with a little fire that I would not get real cold... boy, was I wrong. I slept around that fire like a crescent moon. My hands were trying to encircle the fire to shake hands with my feet.

In the forest the frogs were croaking, the wind was gushing and there was a little mouse not too far from me making squeeky noises. It was all wonderful and relaxing. However, my ALARM clock this morning was to the noise of a turkey getting killed by a hoot owl. I would not of guessed that turkeys are on an owls menu, but they are. Not one of my most pleasant experience during the night and I am pretty sure that goes for the turkey too. When I did wake up after the listening to the dying cries of a turkey I saw this, which makes everything a bit more pleasant.

If you get the chance I think you should definitely make this your adventure. The experience is very rewarding.

Swimming with Kids

I had a wonderful day at work. Why? Well, almost all my swimming students trust me enough to jump in on their own now (in the "deep end"), and all are progressing (some more than others). One student in particular is moving along nicely, she started swimming classes a few weeks ago for the first time and on her first day she was so nervous that I barely could get her head wet. Today however, she started swimming the backstroke ("all by herself"). All the other children are hardly floating on their back. Did I mention she is only 5(purple suit and blue goggles, in the above photo)?

The kids to the right are in my intermediate class and we worked on the backstroke all day. I enjoy this class especially because the kids are almost always excited to be in class. However, at the same time I have the most problems with discipline with this class, but I think the classes that give you a little trouble are the ones which are the most rewarding.

If you have never worked with children on a regular or semi-regular basis then I encourage you to do so. It is always an adventure working with children especially in the water in between bathroom breaks, adjusting goggles and fear of the water or the lack there of. Working with children is great, because there is never a dull moment.

Thanks Chris for taking the photos.

The photos were made blurry to protect the identities of the students.

Fly a Kite

Since it was a windy day, I thought it would be perfect to fly a kite. I mean it, we had a nice breeze today.









Kite flying has always been a favorite activity of mine. When I was a child I would dream that the kite would keep ascending bringing me along with it. Now a little older I am still trying to find a way to get swept off my feet and travel via Kite Air. It is still a work in progress, but there are plans being made for a kite large enough to accomplish lift off. Today, I sent a prototype up and it was a success. The Kite soared at an estimated 100 ft from terra firma. With the information gained today the lab projects that within a year we will be off the ground.




Some specs.

Height - 6 ft
Width- 10 ft
Tail Height- 20 ft
Tail Width- .5 ft
Made with pine wood frame and painters plastic.

Remember kite flying is not for everyone and be careful about the conditions. Check out what happened to Bear when he got the idea of a kite and a pair of skies. Also Ben Franklin had an unpleasant experience when he decided to fly a kite during a thunder storm.