Off to China

The future is a funny thing

Funny: why, you ask? Well I guess it is that we think we are in control and going down this road of life we so carefully lay out before us. But isn't it only a way for us to feel secure. It is all a ploy, really. The future is uncontrollable. Well, sort of. You can't guarantee anything but you can always try. And if you don't try, chances are opportunity won't fall in your lap.

I feel lucky. I am excited. Two years ago if you would have told me that I would be where I am now, I wouldn't have dreamed it. But isn't that how it goes? That I guess is the uncontrollable part. And so everything we do in the past has an affect on the opportunities or troubles that will present themselves in our every day future lives.

I don't mean to get all philosophical and all with this blog post. It's just, I'll repeat - I feel lucky and I am so excited.

Why you ask? Well, I'm off to China Saturday morning. How cool is that. I have put off thinking about it for a while now because I didn't want to have butterflies and be all excited leading up to the trip. Otherwise I fear it would seem to take forever for the day to arrive that I fly. I guess I held off long enough. After all, I will be busily packing tomorrow night so I'm sure this is my last blog post before I leave. I may be able to post a few pictures while I am there but I won't know what my internet situation is until I arrive.

The trip will be a working trip. It will be fun but we definitely have a lot to get out of the trip. I imagine most of my time will be spent watching ink be appllied to paper and an extrodinarily fast rate in some big generic factory building that could just as easily be Artco Inc. in Idaho as it could be Mainland, China. Still though, kind of cool. China.

Well, bid me farewell. I'll be thinking of my dear friends and family back home while I am traveling. Here's until next time . . .

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The Return

To those that cried tears of sorrow when the last patch of snow vanished, only to sit anxiously wanting and waiting all summer long for its glorious return. Cursed be those horrendously long daylight hours that would bring such flamboyant, foolishly referred to by some as lush, multitude of so many bland shades of green. Often attempting to shrug off feelings of guilt, yet realize its requirement, one would wear shorts, sandals and tshirts but only out of the necessity to repel that horrendously temperate climate when spending weekends wading in mountain streams.

So, to celebrate the triumphant return of that fabulously long, cold, bleak . . . did I already say long, oh, and don't forget cold . . . endless nights of winter . . . I provide a photograph capturing the sad day of the last straggling tribute to the next season's beginning . . .

Please join in me praise to the next gloriously long 6 months (if we are lucky) before the dreadful return of, dare I say it - yuck -, summer.

April 13, 2006 - Last snow of the season

Photoshop shortcuts

I appoligize for my readers that are non-photoshop users . . .

Dang, no matter how long you work with Photoshop, it seems there is something new to learn.

I just stumbled across this website: http://www.creativepro.com/story/howto/24748.html?PFL=D01006


A lot of the shortcuts I already knew, but there are some REALLY cool shortcuts I never knew about. It will save me a lot of time considering I spend easily 8 hours a day working with Photoshop.

Some of my favorites:

Select all pixels on a layer: In the Layers palette, click on the layer thumbnail while holding down the Cmd/Ctrl key

Move a selection to its own layer: Press CMD+J (Ctrl+J on Windows) to copy the selection. To cut and move a selection, press Shift+Cmd+J (Shift+Ctrl+J on Windows)

Auto-select a layer: Hold down the Cmd/Ctrl key while clicking on a layer in Photoshop's main image window

After Midnight

Lightning, Headlights and Light Pollution
   * 1:00 am
   * 5 Oct 2006
   * Shutter: 360 seconds
   * Aperture: 8.0
   * Lens 16mm
   * ISO 400

Storm

Lightning, Looking South towards the Bighole Mountain Range, East Idaho, October 5th, 2006
Lightning, Looking south towards the Bighole Mountain Range, East Idaho, October 5th, 2006
Detail - Lightning, Looking south towards the Bighole Mountain Range, East Idaho, October 5th, 2006