Where Does The Time Go?

June 2nd. Before we know it we’ll be recovering from Labor Day, wondering where the Summer has gone. Last night passed before I even knew that it had started as I spent more than an hour performing computer maintenance.

And It Beget Another Yet Another Task
After my computer maintenance was done it was time to perform the task that I had actually planned to do last night. Last year I took out a personal articles insurance policy for all of my camera gear. In order to do so I provided the insurance company with a list of equipment along with serial numbers and cost of purchase so that my policy could be assessed. My policy is due for renewal soon and I wanted to update my list to include some equipment purchases I’ve made in the past year.

Things were going swimmingly, but I was confused to find that one of the lenses I purchased last year wasn’t branded with a serial number. It’s a genuine Nikon lens which I purchased from a trusted source so I wasn’t concerned that I’d been duped, so I went to get the box in which it came (have I ever mentioned that I never throw out original boxes?) in order to retrieve the paperwork for the lens. And then I couldn’t find the box where it should have been.

Flustered, I stood in the basement for a minute and started to wonder about about a musty smell that I was smelling. I walked over to the area in which I store my wine, beer, and soda to find that two soda cans had sprung leaks, allowing their contents to escape, and allowing some mold to grow. Gross! So before I could locate the box for the lens so that I could complete the task of gathering all information for my insurance policy I now had to clean up a shelving area using bleach in order to kill the mold.

After cleaning the lens’ box was found, the serial number retrieved, and the insurance task completed. And before I new it, it was ten-thirty and I was ready for sleep.

ITP Flickr Pic
One more from the zoo and then like this kangaroo I’ll hop away.

What I like most about this shot is that between the kangaroo and me was a rope fence. If I could have gotten close to the fence I would have been able to stick my lens through the holes, but even with a creature like a kangaroo you are not allowed to get that close. Instead I used some of the photographic knowledge I’ve gained and focused on the kangaroo in such a way that the fence becomes invisible — no, I’m not making this shit up.

This Is The Ajax I Wanted To Be Using Last Night
Yesterday I started learning about AJAX development. “What’s AJAX?” you say? AJAX is a loose acronym for “Asynchronous JavaScript And XML,” and is nothing more than a bunch of web-related technologies used to provide a better web experience. Wonder how The Google can suggest search topics as you type? Thank AJAX!

I’m absolutely loving playing this “Catch up on the past ten years of technology” game and can’t wait until it’s second-nature and I start cranking out cool work again.

Now Is A Good Time To Pay $5 For A Digital Download
I think the “50 Albums For $5 Each” promotion on Amazon started last month. Regardless, with the turning of the calendar page Amazon has a new list of fifty digital downloads, each of which will cost a mere $5 to purchase. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the list contains only obscure artist, or only back catalog; there’s some good stuff there.

If I wasn’t a bit heavily loaded on new music I’d be downloading one or more the latest release from John Vanderslice, Akron/Family, Dan Deacon, or Less Than Jake. (I know to you those are probably obscure artists, but to me they are not.)

Check it out. I’m sure before the month of June is over I’ll be purchasing something from this list.

I Need Audiobook Recommendations!
At the end of June I’ll be traveling for eight days. During those eight days I’m not sure that I’ll be able to continue to get updates on podcasts so I’d like to load up on some audiobooks before then. I currently have two book credits from Audible and my account will contain one more prior to my departure.

Help! I’ll consider any genre. Recommend titles to me!

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – overwhelmed
Current Music – listening to the “New From Lake Wobegon” podcast from last week’s “A Prairie Home Companion”
Website Of The Day – Even if this site of images of neat antique postcards didn’t use the domain CardCow.com I’d still find it fascinating
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 2 (2)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 1
Marta Rides – 0

June Goals
– lose four pounds… plain and simple

2009 Goals
– Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
– Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
РEarn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalape̱o Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]