photo
Dallas Skyline by Justin Terveen on Flickr.
DBU Sunset by rcroth on Flickr.
New hat
In preparation for the mission trip I'm going on next week to build houses in Juarez, Mexico, I picked up a Panama Jack cowboy hat at Wal-Mart earlier this evening for a mere ten dollars.
Click on the photo to see a larger version.
The Juarez trip can be tough on gear (the boots I wore last year won't be making a return trip), but I figure for ten bucks, I won't worry if the hat doesn't go another year. (And yes, a backup hat will be packed, just in case.)
Men don't go to salons...
I don't think we have enough metrosexuals in the Flowerplex to keep a "salon for men" open.
Click on the photo to see a slightly larger size.
Then again, if it's the kind of place with a cigar room and single-malt scotches, I may have to rethink my disparagement of the establishment.
The Snows of March
On Sunday, March 2d, here in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, one would have been able to wear shorts, if one were so inclined, due to the warm weather. By 8:30 PM CST on March 3d, however, one still would have been able to wear shorts if one were so inclined, but one would have gotten very cold and very wet from the snow falling. Just after taking out the garbage last night (earlier tonight?), I snapped a few quick shots:
Click on the photo to see the other shots.
Swedish Sushi
My pal Heather sent me a great recipe for sushi that nearly anyone will eat. I know what you might be thinking: Not me, I'll never eat raw fish. I've had that thought, too, but I love this sushi!
Here's the recipe:
Swedish Fish/Rice Crispy Sushi Treats
Ingredients:
- 1 package Swedish fish
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 (10.5 oz.) package of marshmallows
- 5 cups crispy rice cereal
- 1 box fruit by the foot (blue or green)
Directions:
1. In a large microwave safe bowl, combine butter and marshmallows. Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth.
2. Remove from the oven and stir in the cereal.
3. Working with the mixture while it is still warm, shape into small ovals in the palm of your hand. It helps to put a little butter on your hands before working with it.
4. Cut strips of fruit by the foot to fit around each ball. Place one Swedish fish on each ball and wrap fruit strip around it. Let cool and serve!
Click on the photo to see the entire set.
As the chef, I, of course, had to sample the product, for quality assurance purposes. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!
New hat
The Disney Store online outlet was blowing out these green knit hats for three bucks each. They happened to have both boy and adult sizes, and I couldn't resist...
Extreme Close-up!!!
A couple of weeks ago, I got in close on the little phisch for some camera shots.
Click on the photo to see the entire set.
Little green men
I love the little aliens from the Pizza Planet vending machine in Toy Story. Thanks to my friend Heather, and a long ago giveaway of some kind, I have two of the little guys guarding my favorite Mac, which is a little otherworldly in its own right...
Click on the photo to see the entire set.
Computer literacy is very important
One day last month, the little phisch wanted to play his Cars computer game, so Dad set it up for him on Mom's computer (a Dell running Windows Vista! Icky!!), then grabbed some "action" shots.
Click on the photo to see the entire set.
Third skating lesson
Two weeks later, some more skating fun! The little phisch got better moving around the house without help, but seemed to regress when it came to getting up when he fell.
Click the photo to see the entire set.
First skating lesson
Whenever he's been asked what sports he wants to play, our son has been consistent: "Baseball and hockey!" The first skill required in hockey is the ability to ice skate, so with that in mind, we enrolled him in ice skating lessons earlier in the year. Of course, Dad had to take photos of the first lesson!
Click on the photo to see the entire set.
Frisco RoughRiders, 28 July 2007
So my "last hurrah" before foot surgery was an outing to the ballpark in Frisco, home of the AA RoughRiders. It's a nice park, and there's not really a bad seat in the house.
Fortunately for us, we had really great seats, thanks to a church member who passed on six Founders' tickets to Nathan, who kindly invited my wife and I to attend. Also along for the outing was Nathan's wife Kim, perennial pal Brent, and Brent's baseball-loving daughter, Kelsey.
We had a great time taking advantage of the all-you-can eat and drink benefit that came with Founders' tickets, so much so that we missed the first inning, and the only scoring the game would see! The game may have been "boring" from the lack-of-scoring perspective, but I had a great time being out at a baseball game with my wife and great friends, and took some photos to boot.
First photos with the 400D
My first digital camera was a Nikon Coolpix, the model number of which I cannot recall, but it was one of those swivel-body jobs, purchased in 2000 prior to our first trip to the Hawaiian Islands. This was later sold to a friend when, a few months prior to the birth of our son, I got a Canon PowerShot G3. The G3 died last week, its sensor having given up the ghost. (Though apparently not entirely giving up the ghost; what you get on the LCD and in photos is an ethereal quality, something like a film negative only much more otherworldly. I'm sure there's a horror movie plot in there somewhere.) I had been wanting to step up in to the digital SLR (dSLR) world for a while, and knew I would make the leap with Canon's 400D (the Digital Rebel XTi in the U.S., but 400D sounds much better, is easier to say, and definitely easier to type). Yesterday, my 400D arrived from B & H Photo, and after charging the battery, I set the lens and camera on auto and took some test shots in the backyard.
Click on the photo to see the entire set.
I have a lot to learn, but I'm looking forward to it. Ever since my parents got a Kodak Disc Camera for me during middle school, photography has held a certain fascination, much more so than video has. (Which explains why we have a ton more photos of our son than we do video.) I inherited my dad's old 35mm, which saw a ton of use shooting black-and-white rolls when I was on the yearbook staff as a high school senior. A Minolta 35mm, which we still have and sits in a closet, went with us to the United Kingdom in '95, and elsewhere, until the Nikon came along. Since then, with a few exceptions, I've shot entirely on digital, and I'm happy to be back in the SLR world with the 400D.
Derek Webb
On September 25th this year, our church hosted a concert by Derek Webb, of Caedmon's Call fame, along with his wife, Sandra McCracken.
Derek Webb, accompanied by his wife, Sandra McCracken.
I had a good seat (thanks, Samantha!), and took a few shots of the couple as they performed, plus of the good-sized crowd before the concert, and in between sets. Beyond his lyrical abilities, one of the things I admire about Derek is his desire to simply get the message of God's love out there. At one point during his set, he remarked how he was going to freak out all the lawyers and record executives by telling all of us to share his music with whomever we wanted to. Earlier this year, he had even gone so far as to put his latest album, Mockingbird, online as a free download. He says it was a very successful experiment.
More baseball in December
Three days after seeing Michael Young get his 200th hit of the 2006 season, Brent and I were back at the Ballpark in Arlington. This time, we were about 23 rows up behind home plate. I didn't take a lot of shots, because the net behind the plate gets in the way.
Click the photo to see the entire set.
Baseball in December
Well, baseball photos, any way.
I've let myself get way too far behind on processing and uploading photos, so I'm making a concerted effort over the next few days to get caught up.
Back in September, thanks to a generous church member, Brent received four tickets to the Rangers game on the 16th. Four primo tickets, sixth row, first base line, just to the right of first. It was the closest any of us had ever sat at a major league baseball game, and Brent and I were way excited. It was the sort of opportunity that makes me pine for a digital SLR with a telephoto lens or two.
The highlight of the evening--besides the Rangers winning, that is--was seeing Michael Young collect his 200th hit of the season. I've uploaded a photo set to my Flickr account.
Michael Young hitting number 200.Macbook Egg Frying
Macbook Egg Frying
Originally uploaded by Pieter Pieterse.
You've heard the expression, "hot enough to fry an egg". Pieter Pieterse decided to do exactly that, whipping up a little breakfast poultry with his MacBook Pro.