Virginia Is For Families

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I went down to the James River last evening to try out the Nikon D40 that I purchased from Amazon a few days ago. It’s a smaller camera than the D70 (far less expensive too) and it has a superior LCD screen and setup options on the screen. Here is a photo I took with it. I also bought the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens. It does take better photos further away than anything I have used in the past. And it has a stabilization process that makes things clearer. I sent the D70 back to Nikon as well so it was a productive day. Hopefully they can awaken it from its coma and send it home again.

I still love you Nikon D70 wherever you are. Get well soon.

We are heading back to Virginia Beach this weekend and I hope to take a few better photos after learning from my experiences last weekend. Of course you can never tell what you are going to get down there. Things may be completely different and it will have nothing to do with my learning curve.

My learning curve sometimes seems more like a speed bump in the road.

I hope nobody is grossed out my the video of Craig Ferguson’s dream. Let me know if it bothers you. I find him to be extremely funny and Beth thinks I have lost my mind once again.

Amazon ads are making an appearance. It’s curiosity. Would anyone actually use them to make a buying decision?

I am skeptical. But I love Amazon and personally try to keep them in business by running the UPS guy up and down the road with packages.

Everyone have a great weekend. It’s the best time of year with the cool, dry weather and the beautiful fall colors coming soon. Or maybe they have already come to you. Bernie?

I know that Jeff is happily snapping photos up there in New Hampshire. I was in upper NH once camping out. I swear a bear was watching me. It was pretty scary.

Something was watching. Do you ever feel like you are being watched? Halloween is coming! Time for some more stories about UFO’s!  Yikes.

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So I have finally taken the plunge (in a very small way) into the area of blogs and music by adding this short bit from Beethoven to a post. It was really very easy to do. And I have no idea what the ramifications of doing it are so please let me know. If you know.

Wordpress 2.5 has this little deal they have added to the Write Post area. It makes it simple to upload music files. And then the Windows Media Player pops out and starts playing as well as making color and movement out of sound.

It would be nice to have some really GOOD color and movement made out of sound. I will have to look around this morning and see what is out there. I am sure there is quite a bit FOR a price.

We shall see. Does the WMP pop out when you click on the link to Ludwig above? Please let me know. I am very curious about all of this. I have some things that are very good and you don’t hear them every day. In fact you don’t ever hear them and I would like to share them.

NOT share them in terms of sharing the file. We are just going to share the SOUND here. Please don’t try to download any files. But I know you wouldn’t. Here is something else that I used to love to listen to all the time. It starts off slowly but really goes to some amazing places as things progress.

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Alright. That seemed to work well. It’s in a WMA format. And this next one is the third portion of the same symphony by Gorecki if you are still with me. It’s a bit longer but even more amazing than the second part. And I will do this one in WMA loss less. Maybe there is a difference.

Well it takes forever. Or maybe never. I got tired of waiting. So scratch that one. I have the movements backwards. Sorry. Here is the one that can take one to the moon if one lets it.

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Just plain old WMA works much better. WMA Pro is the other option. We will have to see about that one later. But this is enough for now. It’s something new for this blog in any case and I hope it will gather a positive response.

BTW this music was featured in the movie Fearless with Jeff Bridges , Rosie Perez and the ever lovely Isabella Rossellini.

It is a fine movie made more wonderful by parts of this symphony.

Your mind may be telling you that you have things to do as you listen to it. Mine does. But I was able to relax and let the music gradually take control. It rewards towards the end with some inspiring passages .

Fearless
Adapted by screenwriter Rafael Yglesias from his own novel, Fearless explores the complex struggle back to mental health of post-traumatic stress disorder victim Max Klein (Jeff Bridges). One of few survivors of a fatal plane crash, Klein remains calm and assists other survivors out of the burning debris, earning praise as a hero by the media. After stoically departing the tragedy without a word to emergency officials, Max returns home with detached feelings towards his wife (Isabella Rossellini) and son, along with a bizarre, seemingly authentic belief that he is now impervious to harm. Bill Perlman (John Turturro), a psychiatrist for the airline, fails to reach Max about his newfound fearlessness, but asks for his help in aiding Carla (Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominee Rosie Perez), a fellow crash survivor filled with grief and guilt over the loss of her baby. In one of his earlier roles, Benicio del Toro plays a small part as Carla’s boyfriend. ~ Lisa Kropiewnicki, All Movie Guide

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If you would like to see another rendition of this work with a video that carries a deeply spiritual message go here. But I warn you it is not easy to watch.

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How did I miss this?  I don’t know.  But it’s funny and maybe somebody else missed it too.  So here it is.  David Cook, the American Idol winner, is being interviewed by Kimberly Caldwell and takes the opportunity to ask her out.

That’s the first time I have ever seen that done. There have been some marriage proposals go down on live television.  But this is much more serious!  A request for a date is a major opportunity to be rejected and there is no silver lining.

Do I have to explain that?  So moving on here is the video.   I was trying to catch up on David’s activities and he has been to the Walmart deal and the Tonight Show.  You can see those here if you are interested.  But this is the one that is most fun imho.

I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home…. I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby. ~Nancie J. Carmody

Law of the Workshop: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner. ~Author Unknown

Just a cheerful photo to end the blogging day on a positive note. Part of my problem is that I manage to get down on myself for not being better at doing so many things. From fixing toilets to making software work the way it is supposed to I generally fail miserably. And I have a father who can fix anything.

Well, he might not be able to fix the space shuttle if it was supposed to fly tomorrow.

The recent video I posted here about the doctor who had a stroke was very informative because it went into great detail about the left and right sides of the brain. Some of us use one side a great deal more than the other. Fortunately or unfortunately blogging usually requires that we use BOTH sides in equal measure.

It’s a balancing act only a Libra could really appreciate.

What side of your brain do you use more? Do you feel frustrated sometimes because you have trouble fixing things? Why don’t they have more courses in school about how to fix stuff that is going to break down on us?

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The only really good place to buy lumber is at a store where the lumber has already been cut and attached together in the form of furniture, finished and put inside boxes. ~Dave Barry

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