Pix

I have a new little snapshot camera, which I bought from a friend for a few bux and need to get a replacement battery door cover. I just like how small it is, but I need to get the manual to figure out some stuff. Here are some pictures I've taken lately! Abbie's school had an event called "Donuts with Dad". As with any publicized event with free food, there was a mob of hungry dads and kids. Apparently, last year the event didn't have nearly that many people. When we walked into the cafeteria, I noticed 4 or 5 Krispy Kreme boxes and some drinks, and noted the fulness of the cafeteria. We were lucky to get any Donuts at all, and they were the backup Dunkin Donuts that showed up 5 minutes before school started...

I won some tickets to the Magic vs Raptors game last Tuesday. The company's season tickets are in the lower bowl, and great. I had a headache but went anyway and it was a great game.

The picture of Lucas was taken at the park when I took the kids for a half-hour romp yesterday. The weather was great and he liked to hang out watching the other kids play.

I am truly blessed!

Fu Man Chu

FYI, that's not me, I Googled "asian moustache"...

My manager at work started a movement for all the guys on our team to sport moustaches at the company Holiday party. I was a little hesitant, but I want to see how far I can go now. I guess I'll have to take a pic or two, but let's just say I don't think it will come in very thick. The middle of my upper lip probably won't grown any moustache at all, and I am pretty interested to see how it is going to turn out....

I did find one pic that is probably how I'll turn out.

Exercise!

I've been going to the gym more, and I've been loving it. I go at lunch, with a few of my co-workers. I used to do some push-ups and what not at home in the mornings, which I should get back to doing if I could just get to bed and wake up earlier. Here is what happened the other night when the kids wanted to do some exercise!

Caricature

Some of you may remember my attempts at caricature back around April Fool's Day. I finally have some free time and hate to just sit around watching TV, even though I enjoy the diversion. It's just that nothing really gets accomplished by sitting on the couch, so I choose to watch shows at my computer. At work, I usually have a show running in a corner of one of my monitors while I paint. I've tried listening to music, and while it works, I enjoy listening to people talk more. I guess I'd like XM radio, but I haven't gone there yet. Just ask the Dear Wife how much I enjoy good talk radio. Too bad Florida barely has any! (no offense if you're reading this, Lex and Terry).

Anyhow, my manager keeps saying how much he can't wait to see color in the caricature I did of him back for April Fool's Day, and I finally got around to it! The secret method is simple - Photoshop adjustment layers! I flatten the entire image as I work. I used to be very anxious about losing layers that I might need later, and there are still instances where you might want to keep layers separate for awhile, but it's always easier working on a flattened image when doing color work. It also gives the piece more life, variation, and refinement. Here is the tonal I started with, and where I'm at now. I'd say I'm about 75% done. I'll have to get some fresh eyes on it...click on the images to view them larger!

More thoughts on Voting

The Woman has been begging for the Flip Ultra, a "video camera for dummies". And let me tell you, it is! Abbie will be using this in no time, without our permission of course. It has no removable memory source, but can hold 60 minutes of video at 640 x 480 resolution at a pretty decent picture quality. It saves movies in AVI format and comes with some simple software that I have yet to use. Best yet, is the low low cost of this product, a mere $125 from Costco. That sure beats the Canon DV camera that I bought over a year ago and have used 3 times! The thing is, capturing and transferring off of DV is a pain... I know the quality is better, but for me the purpose and hassle isn't worth it.

We drove by the local library today to see how long the early voting line was. It went out the door and along the sidewalk and parking lot, so we just went to the park and then Walmart instead. Here is an impromptu interview The Woman recorded on the way. It's always weird seeing and hearing yourself on video...

Vote for Sale!

Make me an offer!