More photos from Seattle vacation
December 9th, 2008
I’m back at work but reminiscing about my recent trip to Seattle. Here are a few photos that make it worth remembering:
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| From 2008-Seattle-Visit |
Visiting with Danielle’s girls
December 5th, 2008
Stopping by to post a couple photos, spending time with Danielle and her family. Not much alone time with the computer with a 4 and 3 year old in the house!
Emerald City – Seattle WA here I come – to relax.
December 3rd, 2008
I’m ready to relax. I’ve let my stress get the better of me for too long now and I deserve a break! I just have to get on a plane tomorrow and arrive at my sister’s to be welcomed by her two wonderful little girls. (They’ve learned to expect me this time of year since this is my third year in a row visiting the first week of December.)
The best part about getting away from home (for me) is to get out of a routine. No two hours in front of the computer every morning before work, followed by nine hours (or so) in front of a computer at work. I’m looking forward to reading a book or two, going for walks, spending time with my sister and her girls, engaging in good conversation with her husband Phil, exploring parts of Seattle I have not seen lately, taking afternoon naps and generally enjoying the place and the people.
I’m taking a deep breath . . . now.
Experimenting with YouTube – Cape Cod Photos
December 1st, 2008
Just to see how easy it is, I posted a video to YouTube that was made from some photos I took while I was on a work trip a few years back. It didn’t use to be this easy. Really.
Oh, I did have the music 38 Special “Caught Up In You” as the background music, but upon uploading, YouTube politely (umm – no) let me know that was copyrighted material and suggested the tune that now backs the video.
November Ends With First Snowfall
November 30th, 2008
A beautiful snowfall this morning ensured November would be known for something more than Thanksgiving this year. More pics at the link under the photo.
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| From November Snowfall |
Pre Thanksgiving Dinner Photos from IU
November 29th, 2008
Took the opportunity to arrive in Bloomington a little early and wandered around IU. There is much too much to see in a brief walk, so I’ll likely return soon. There were very few people around since the students are out due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Here are a couple photos, more at the link.
A Positive Customer Service Experience with AT&T
November 26th, 2008
Since all we see are complaints, I thought I’d provide a little balance by sharing something positive. My AT&T mobile phone bill has consistently been predictable, landing somewhere around $89. This morning I received the emailed “you have a new bill” notice and opened it to find a $9.99 charge from “m-Qube Inc.” What? A quick Google search resulted in many entries showing unauthorized charges and complaints against this company. So I immediately knew this was not an isolated case.
I called the number in the “merchant contact” column on my bill next to this entry which turned out to be AT&T customer service. I explained I had an unauthorized charge on my bill. Very quickly, the agent let me know the charge would be credited, would not return (since it turned out it was a “subscription”), and the agent even added a feature to my account at no cost that requires a PIN be entered to approve any text-message based charges. Nice! The charge has been wiped out, not to return. This took about 2 minutes of my day this morning, less time than it took to write this post!
Hobby Revival: Photography
November 25th, 2008
After learning how to shoot film on a Pentax K1000 back in the day, my passion for photography waned after a few years, supplanted by my profession as a video photog in the television news business. A couple of years ago I found myself in possession of a new-fangled digital SLR, the Canon Digital Rebel XT. I’m happy to say I have finally started to shoot some photographs in earnest.
My friend Dan and I took a special trip downtown on Saturday, visiting Robert’s Photo for some supplies, then walking around the new Lucas Oil Stadium shooting photos along the route. Dan with his Nikon and myself with a Canon, we compared images later that day.
Then again Sunday, I walked up and down Zionsville’s Main Street experimenting with my camera. Dare I say I’m enjoying it? Maybe stirring up a passion?
Cool Tech Stuff: Gmail Themes and Dropbox
November 20th, 2008
Just noticed Google Gmail now has themes (find it under settings, themes). While I appreciate the uncluttered look of the traditional Gmail, I suppose there are many users who’d like to spice it up a bit. Those over 40 should show those under 40 the ASCII theme and reminisce about how we used to see our email (see screen shot at left). Wow, we’ve come a long way.
The second tech find I’m using is called Dropbox. Find it at www.getdropbox.com. Dropbox is an online storage / synchronizing service that is simple – it just works. They say “Dropbox is the easiest way to share and store your files online.” I’m sure there is some heavy duty stuff going on behind the scenes, but the programmers have done an excellent job of making the customer interface very simple. 2GB free, 50GB for $99. I love the fact that you can access your files from any internet-connected computer. Also, sharing photos is very simple. See one of my galleries here. Cool stuff, right?
A Rebate For More Than Purchase Price
November 20th, 2008
I just filled out and submitted at rebate form for a 4GB compact flash card I purchased. Do the math:
- Purchase price including shipping was $69.84.
- The rebate is $70.
- Final price is -.16.
How does that work? Does the company “make it up in volume?” Are they trying to get rid of old stock? Is the card used or defective or “gray market?” I purchased the card since I needed more capacity in my digital camera (sample photo at right pulled from the new card – so it works fine).
All businesses need to make a profit to stay in business and while I’ll take the rebate, I don’t understand this offer.
