2022-09-30
Julie’s newest creature…
Meet Jumpin' Jackie… She's a huge (~3.4" long) jumping spider that Julie has as a pet now. Crazy girl!
One of my all time favorite skyline pictures…
I had to had back out through Vegas for my flight home. I had an hour or so for dinner, so I decided to head to the Stratosphere and watch the sun set over the strip and see if I could get a good picture. I'll let you decide if I was successful.
It was fun to take the boys to this same spot 13 years later and show them.
RetroBlog 2005-12-07
This was the view from the parking lot of the factory I was visiting.
We were testing out a new product in Utah. It was nice to be able to take breaks and enjoy this view just by walking out the door. :)
RetroBlog 2005-12-07
2022-09-29
Isaac started making these wooden rings
I was fortunate enough to be presented with this particular one after our day of hanging out on the range. It was the first one he made, and it just happened to fit my perfectly. He made it out of his fire poker stick that he's been using for the last several years. He had cut the stick in two and realized how pretty the grain was. Hence his business was born… I will cherish it!
We've all enjoyed seeing what he makes as well as the beauty in the photos he uses for the advertising.
Some more of the sights on the way in and out of the Grand Canyon :)
The grand scale and all the beautiful colors were worth seeing for sure.
RetroBlog 2005-12-05
2022-09-28
And here’s looking the other direction
You sure don't want to step or sit on that cactus Isaac…!
RetroBlog 2005-12-05
2022-09-27
Sky is becoming one of our regular places after church on Sunday.
It's just a small town, seafood/sushi joint. They treat us nicely and have good food. We love the Naruto style spicy salmon.
Back to modern day and I scored a new toy
I managed to get one of the new watches. I have had the same face for so many years, but I finally found one I think I like better. You can see I like to have EVERYTHING all in one view… haha.
I like being able to have the compass and altitude quickly available on the main screen. Night mode is easy on the eyes in a movie, and I love being able to start my workout with the new action button. The whole things gives me a G-Shock Pathfinder vibe. If you know me, you know I love that!
I'll sell my current watch and break even on the cost so win-win.
The colored layers, especially the red ones, were beautiful!
This was looking from one rim across to the other.
RetroBlog 2005-12-05
Did you figure out where I was headed?
Or how I was getting there? ;) I was fortunate to be able to take a tour of the Grand Canyon back in 2005. I had a few hours before I needed to head to my next meeting. A few phone calls and some cash later and I'd found a spot that would take you to the floor on an Indian reservation, provide a meal while you soaked up the sights, then put you back in the parking lot a couple hours later. It was quite the life experience. Riding in a helicopter I realized they shouldn't be able to stay in the air, but somehow the pilots manage to use all their hands and feet to do just that…?
The Grand Canyon is certainly impressive. The immense scale is impossible to take in, capture or describe. I do think there are other natural wonders I would hit first if I had to choose, but this is certainly one of top wonders to behold.
Enjoy some of the sights I gathered. :)
RetroBlog 2005-12-05
2022-09-26
Night mode on my iPhone
I was on the way back from Boston late Friday night and got this shot. The phone cameras have become good enough to capture this kind of picture without any blur. I was pleasantly surprised. It's been a while since I flew at night. Haha.
Hoover Dam on the way to our destination…
The white line around lake Meade is the water level change of recent years. Back then it was problem, now it's much worse. It sure made for a nice view up there though! It was fun to take in sights on my various travels over the years, then take the boys back to see the best ones while they were in high school. :)
RetroBlog 2005-12-05
Back in 2005, I had a trip out west for work.
I had a little time to sight-see before work the next day. This was my view of Las Vegas from my transportation… :)
RetroBlog 2005-12-05
2022-09-25
This was a whole new level…
I hadn't seen quite this combo before…. It made for a fun picture at least. Haha.
Ice cream sandwiches at HQ!
On the way out the door at the end of our work day, they arranged to have an ice cream truck handing THESE out. The cookies were over half an inch thick and the ice cream was just as extra! They were good. I couldn't eat the whole thing! It was sure a nice surprise and a good example of just another day where I work… ;) They are always making sure we know they value us.
The boys and I barely remembered we used to get K-Mart breakfast…
This one was a special Christmas version where they decorated and even had Santa Claus attend.
RetroBlog 2005-12-03
2022-09-24
I travelled to the Boston area this week via Washington
I like the way this flag hung and reflected in the terminal. I was at our HQ to present my plan for next year to all the executives and CEO of our company.
I captured a cool “low render distance” shot a couple days ago
That’s what the boys used to call it when the fog rolled in. It goes back to video games and settings you could control to improve the speed vs. quality of the graphics. If the further away graphics weren’t rendered, it would speed the game up. If you got too aggressive, you would notice it by not being able to see far enough. That effect was called low render distance. Perfectly applied. Haha.
The boys and I were playing with stop action flash photography.
We set up an Hot Wheels track ramp. Then I started playing around with my camera and flash until I got something I liked. I was playing with the curtain sync settings (rear curtain vs. front curtain flash) and got these that made it look like the car was going left to right instead of how it was really going (right to left). Cool looking car too.
2022-09-23
Speaking of my little hound dog…
…It was nice to go on a walk with her a few nights ago. We've even started jogging a bit. The neighbor's field is a quarter mile track. :) Zoe thinks this is awesome!
She ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog, howlin’ all the time…
Zoe loves to play on the carpet remnant in the basement. It’s the only place in the house she can get any traction. Otherwise, she just spins out and like a cartoon dog, haha!
One of the many birthdays Stephen John shared with Johnny. :)
I miss both my dads!
RetroBlog 2005-11-27
What a cute little kid all dressed up for winter.
Andy could always put on an adorable face. Johnny could too for that matter!
RetroBlog 2005-12-01
2022-09-22
A typical family gathering with seven grandkids…
This was thanksgiving 2005 at my parent's house. The kids always enjoyed getting out all our old toys. That year was no exception. The good news is, they always cleaned them up before we left. Or at least we tried to make them. ;)
RetroBlog 2005-11-24
RetroBlog 2005-11-24
2022-09-21
Emily wanted to go to the range and learn some skills.
It was my pleasure to teach her and she did really well!
2022-09-20
Emily will be headed off to Iowa next fall!
She's standing here in front of HER corn of course. She's smiling because she recently got accepted to Dort University. She'll be studying farming out there and pursuing her dreams.
This was the oldest part or our “dear ancestor’s” castle. ;)
It was where the earliest part of Warwick Castle was built.
RetroBlog 2005-11-12
2022-09-19
Julie bought me some candy!
I'm sure you're tired of seeing pictures of my new balisongs… I was playing with it as Julie and went shopping and noticed how well it matched and just had to post it. Haha.
The medieval architecture of the Europe is quite amazing…
Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William the Conqueror during 1068. At one point, my grandma traced our lineage back to William him so I claimed this one as my vacation home. ;)
The history and breadth of these types of castles is hard to take in all at once. I thought this picture gave it my best effort.
RetroBlog 2005-11-12
2022-09-18
You are probably getting tired of seeing my balisongs…?!
…But I thought this combo of colors was cool. Start with the orange on the left, add black handles, then take away the orange and you end up on the right. Cool color schemes.
Another trip to the UK with a weekend of spare time.
Back in 2005, I needed to go to our sister plant in England. I had a Sunday afternoon available to look around and decided to go to Warwick Castle. This is the walkway leading up to it.
RetroBlog 2005-11-12
Andy was always happy to have his collection of Ellies with him!
He loved those floppy stuffed elephants. We still have a couple around the house.
RetroBlog 2005-11-07
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