Hand-Coloring

So one place that Ann and I differ in our photo preferences, is where I get excited about stuff that was new in like the 90's and if not done properly, might be considered a little corny (at least when I do it). I think my excitement is mainly in that I can do it myself. I'm not sure I would want to look at picture after picture of this type (though at the moment, probably more than most). But I figured out how to do hand-coloring (though I've just seen it described as color-tinting, which sounds much more likely to be accurate) and I had to experiment. You definitely don't want to do this to everything, and I've probably done it to more than I should, but it was in an effort to find one or two interesting transformations. But I'll try to keep my postings of them to a minimum.

Not sure if these classify as interesting, but I had fun doing them. The originals are both from point-and-shoots...again.


This was taken in Alaska. Not sure what Denver is significant for besides it being a capitol city of one of our states. I mean...in that sense it's significant. I don't mean to downplay the importance of the entire Denver population. But a sign with the word "Denver" holds less significance in general, and even less still when put in the context of a train car in Alaska.

New Camera Pix

I know what you're thinking. "You bought a new camera, and all you post is stuff from your old point-and-shoots?" So up until yesterday I was still just taking pictures of stuff around the house. Those are rarely interesting. But I did kind of like the look of these two. So...I'll post them as the first fruits of the Canon T1i. Hopefully it only goes up from here.




But since I went to the beach yesterday, I've finally got a couple that are potentially more interesting than coasters (unless you thought that coasters picture was absolutely awesome!)






This is just a boy in a hole. We almost missed him when we were walking by. I thought it was funny.


And you gotta give props to this guy!

Mountains Gandalf, Mountains! (Okay I'm a nerd)

In Alaska, again with my parent's point-and-shoot.


Again Alaska with our FinePix. Not terribly exciting, and nothing spectacular with the color. But...I just like this one. With the clouds thicker on one side of the photo, it almost feels like they are moving in or moving out of frame. But...I guess if you look at anything long enough it might start to look like it's moving.

New Camera

So we finally got ourselves a DSLR. I would say that I've been doing my research for about a year, but honestly I've just been asking the same old questions from owners of them, trying to get them to tell me something about them that would finally motivate me to get one. Something like, "with one of these cameras you'll magically wake up on beach for a perfect sunrise, get the shot, then wake up back in your own bed in time for work." No one who had one regretted it, but I was definitely under the impression that I would need to learn a bit more about photography if it was to be useful, which at the time I felt like it was beyond me. This was mainly due to some of my half hearted attempts to learn, in combination with everyone's explanation of things like aperature and depth of field just wasn't sticking or resonating with me. I never did any price checking or brand/model reviews outside of recalling some popular sentiments that Canon provided good support for lots of different lenses...which is true, but so do a lot of camera makers I think. Regardless, I had somehow convinced myself that Canon was the way to go. It was based on nothing, but...hasn't disappointed me yet.

So I would still look at the DSLRs whenever I would go into Best Buy, and I would play with one whenever family members would let me. But I just didn't see it happening. We had enough we wanted to spend money on.

So my parent's come into town for the weekend, and they needed to go to Best Buy to pick up a new point-and-shoot before their cruise a week later. I had 10% off camera coupons from being a rewards member, and we decide to accompany them to Best Buy while they were here. So they are looking at point-and-shoots, and I gravitate towards the DSLRs. We find a knowledgeable salesman (I like Best Buy, but even there that seems hard to find for the camera department), so I ask some of the same basic questions I've been asking for about a year. Ann comes and joins me and starts to encourage me to just pick one out and get it. My jaw hits the floor, my heart starts pounding, my palms get all clammy..."pick one up today? Are you crazy??" Well...you can't argue when your wife wants you to pick yourself up a new toy! (it has been a year discussion) So we got my brother in-law on the phone, and on his recommendation (and his recommendation coincided with the feature list I wanted) we picked up the Canon T1i.

Since the purchase I've tried to make myself averse to the different components and options for the camera, as well as some general photo editing techniques so that I might put "cool effects" on all the photos I'd be taking. Since I haven't had opportunity to take many "cool photos", I've spent my free time editing old photographs, which has produced more enjoyment than I would have thought. Not that I regret the purchase and would have been happy just editing photos from our point-and-shoot, but I didn't find the pictures as bad as I was thinking.

So after some reading, I feel like I at least understand the technology behind the options on the camera, though I'm terrible at implementing them, and even worse at photo editing...but it's still a lot of fun to play around with and take 50 pictures of a remote with every possible shutter/aperature/ISO combination possible.

So I thought I might make use of this blog for some photo journaling. I find that the things I like are not what my wife likes, which leads me to think that I may be in the minority. And I definitely haven't come to grips with less is more with the touch ups and editing. So I know I may be putting up some junk for awhile. But hopefully, a growth and development might be seen as I progress, showing better judgment in composition and use of colors and effects. You gotta start somewhere...so...here it is. It's been awhile since my last post, so I'm sure I'm really hoping that no one reads this anyway, but those damn RSS readers are going to give me away (and I just found out that facebook will also be my downfall). Cursed technology!

So I'll start with one my favorite photographs that we have ever taken (when I say favorite, I typically mean based completely on the merits of the picture, not necessarily the warm fuzzies pictures might give because of its association with a beloved person or event. Those are my favorite in a different way, if that makes sense).


So I guess this is my favorite because it's completely unedited, straight from the camera, and it was taken with our Fuji FinePix F30, which we have lately found very frustrating, but it obviously has taken some good pictures in the past. This was in Hawaii on a boat before going Mana Ray diving.

Going with the sunset theme, I'll add one more from that same night (and same camera).



This does have a little bit of editing, but of all the photos I showed Ann with modifications, it was 1 of around 5 (out of 100 or so) that she actually liked the improvements (making you even more motivated to stay tuned!).

Funny Story

I mean...this isn't going to make you pee your pants or anything. Maybe not even rofl. But I suspect at least a chuckle will be induced. It's a story about...oh...just click the link. It'll be self explanatory.

Crime Widget

So I found this Flash Widget Site. An interesting "widget".

Has some pretty interesting results.

"Violent Crimes","Under 18"
"Drunkeness","All Ages"
"Prostitution","All Ages"

If you can't really see it, just go to the site.

Spanish Love Song

So I thought this was kind of funny. Probably even funnier if you had a semester of Spanish. Which...I did not.



And is it just me...or his guitar out of tune?

Bad Links

It's so sad. All my old links are now broken. I guess after 2 years, the internet is allowed to move on. I guess I will too.

Year and a half

Wow...it's been a year and a half since my last post. Lot has happened. I'm married, getting my Masters, growing a stache...

okay...no stache. But the rest is true.

Check out my "family" blog at zachandann.blogspot.com

What are the odds?

"Man! I can't believe this keeps happening to me!"

MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish woman staged fake kidnappings of her son four times and got his father to pay her more than a million euros ($1.26 million) in ransom money, newspaper El Mundo reported Friday.

Police in the southern Spanish city of Seville arrested the woman and five accomplices, including the 15-year-old son who cooperated in the deception by calling his father on the telephone and begging him to pay up.

The father paid ransoms after the first three fake abductions without realizing the involvement of his son's mother, from whom he had separated. He became suspicious the fourth time and hired a private detective, El Mundo reported.

Cheap Real-Estate

I think more shocking than the fact that Cindy Sheehan used her son's insurance money (see article) to buy property near the Bush ranch, is the fact that she only paid $52,500!!! And for 5 acres! I don't care if there is no house on it. That's insane! Having just purchased a home in a different part of the country for a much different cost/land ratio...I now want to sell and move to Crawford! Okay...maybe not.

Complete the sentence

It's been a crazy long time. And I can't think of what else to talk about. So I'm just stealing this off my wicked cool Girlfriend's blog

My ex was ... an astronaut.
Maybe I should ... Get back to work
I love ... The Guitar!
I don't understand ... Quantum Physics
I lost my... answer.
People say I'm ... Athletic and muscular.
Love is ... Constant.
Somewhere, someone is ... Sleeping.
I will always ... love to sleep.
Forever is ... a long time to sleep. And somewhat depressing since we can't fully grasp a goodness so great that it's actually worth being around forever for.
I never want to ... try to paint an entire house in a week.
I think the current President is ... not a great public speaker.
When I wake up in the morning ... I want to be warm. Although Lately I've woken up and have wanted to sand. Who knew.
Life is ... like a box of chocolates...
My past is incredibly ... boring?
I get annoyed when ... people drive slower than me... or faster than me.
Parties are for ... I guess it depends on the party.
I wish ... I could watch Superman and Yoda fight.
My dog is ... non-existent.
My cat .... Even more so.
Kisses are the worst when ... That's like starting the sentence with "God is bad when ..." It just doesn't make sense. It's non-sense! But I suppose it would be the worst if you you were kissing someone you didn't want to kiss. Like your sister! That's the worst!!!
Tomorrow I'm going to ... Paint
I really want ... to be done painting.
I have low tolerance for people who .... are arrogant with little reason to be.
If I had a million dollars ... I'd invest in real estate and some SP 500 Index funds. Then I'd buy some guitars!

Where is Solomon when you need him?

Hmmm...this one is tough. Classic "he-said-she-said". What are we going to do???

Well I'm no genius...but I would say the first step is...let's see them papers! But really...either way...the woman is a little nut-so. I mean...come on...you have to go through the process! And did she just happen to have "relinquish parental rights" papers on her? That's a little scary! Not that the mother sounded much better. But her quote does present an interesting question. If someone uses a double negative in court...can they be convicted of committing perjury? I mean...let's say her quote I didn't sign no papers. They lie. was said in court. If she didn't sign any papers...and you take her literally...then...you could charge her with perjury. Because she said didn't sign NO papers, meaning she did sign something (a stretch I know). Of course, then the lawyer could argue that she didn't say she signed THOSE papers, or that the court should take her for what she meant, blah blah blah. But if she did sign the papers, and the court decides to take her for what she probably meant and charge her with perjury, then she can argue that she didn't commit purjury, because she didn't say she didn't sign any papers. She said she didn't sign NO papers, which was the truth. So...the moral of the story is...use double negatives in court! You are leaving yourself some wiggle room!

To Cover or not to Cover

Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.

I Corinthians 11:4-6

Why don't we do this? I know a big argument is that it's cultural. So...looking for more. What makes it cultural and not universal?

Before I get attacked for sounding like I'm trying to say that we should make woman cover their heads, please know that I am by no means saying that. It was just brought up in small group. And I am curious to know how people defend the fact that we don't. Or maybe you think we should. Just looking for opinions.

Note: I am not trying to pluck this out of context. I would definitely think it's worth reading the entire section, if not the surrounding sections for this verse.

Democracy...

Interesting question...is Democracy the best form of Government? Is it the one God would choose for us and desires for us?

I can think of a few ways this question could be interpruted and responded to...so...I'm giving no clarification. Just answer it how you read it.

Don't stand to close!

I love the last line of this article. I am curious how serious he was about literally being struck by lightning. I assume it was for dramatic affect. But...still funny. Doesn't really help make the phrase "those crazy Christians" obsolete.

Bound to Fail

There's got to be a better system than this.

The story is that there is a small city in Ireland, who might have two fifths of it's population go to a rugby match in Dublin on the day a census is taken. And if the census shows that the city has less than 50,000 people (it currently has 54,000) then they lose European funding. So the mayor is asking that the census "people" be lenient and allow the population to turn in "forms" throughout Monday.

Here's my problem. What kind of census is done in a single day, and requires the population to actually go somewhere and turn in a form!? Sounds too Luke chapter 2-ish. I figured we had something more sophisticated these days. Not sure what I would suggest...but...a single day? And they have to physically be present (hence the reason 20,000 rugby absentees would be a problem). So if you are on vacation...have a job that works you to death Sunday...are just plain busy on Sunday...forget...you wont get counted. Maybe it's our American culture that says I am too busy to do that.

I guess if you look at voting, you have a whole nation, finding time in their schedule to go to the polls in a single day. And there is obviously something at stake in the census. But...I don't know. Doesn't sound like something I would put forth the effort in doing. But...maybe I'm just a jerk.

"What do you mean you don't eat no meat!?"

Well, this guy really showed her. I mean...she'll never not cook HIM meat for dinner again. His plan was fool-proof!

Fun at the Beach

Seriously now. This is a little crazy. Read the article, but in summary, there is a prison in Norway that is located on an Island that is pretty much a resort for convicts. They have horseback riding, skiing, tennis, and a beach. Now I respect their methodology. They try to teach the prisoners respect and dealing with responsibility. It's more rehabilitation less punishment. Which you'd think we as Christians would be more about, but I think we like to see people get what we think they deserve as much as anyone. An interesting view given our own redemption from sin.

I think the most startling thing was this:

Inmates have included Norway's most notorious serial killer, Arnfinn Nesset, convicted of murdering 22 elderly people when he was manager of a nursing home in the 1970s. He was freed for good behavior after serving two-thirds of a 21-year sentence.

21 years for killing 22 people. 7 of which he didn't even serve! Man. You can get the death penalty for killing 2 people in this country (Not totally up on the rules on when you can get put to death). That's quite a difference. Not that I'm saying our system is any better. Infact, stats may say otherwise. But...something just seems weird when a guy can kill 22 people, and only serve 14 years in prison. If that's what you want to call Bastoy prison. And the sentencing was more a Norway thing than something this particular prison did. But...yeah...just thought it was interesting. Makes me want to have a death penalty discussion...but...maybe some other time.

Rather than watching and guarding, the 69 prison employees at Bastoy work alongside the inmates until it is time to go home and from 3 p.m. every day only five remain on the island.

The onus is on the prisoners not to escape

Just wouldn't work in America.

I Can Do All Things...

We used to have what we called "the homecoming verse" in high school. Every year during homecoming season, they would issue pamphlets with all of the candidates and bio information about them (usually 6 to 8 per year). I kid you not...without fail...I would say 7 out of 8 (or 5 out of 6) of them would have this verse as their favorite verse. Philippians 4:13. Which hey...it's a great verse. But it was comical. Why was it so popular? What did it mean to them? What about it gave them hope or edified their faith?

Pat Linnel gave a talk at Crossroads several weeks ago that encompassed the verse. And I appreciated what he had to say because he recognized the verse for it's context, and even mentioned it's common usage outside of it's original context (talked about jumping out a plane, hence the picture). While there may be Biblical truth to the statement I can do everything through him who gives me strength as a statement by itself...it wasn't given by itself. And I wonder how many of those homecoming candidates thought of the verse in the context of I have found the secret to being content in having much and having little, and that secret is that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me? Knowing several of them...I am sad to say that I predict it was pretty low. In fact, I wonder if it wasn't more common to take it as I will do much (therefore I will have much) because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Now you may think I'm here bashing high-schoolers who put a verse for the entire school to see on their bio, and how that kind of thing should be praised not belittled. And I agree. But also know that this was the Bible belt. FCA was "the cool place to be". It was not uncool to be a "Christian". The mission field was in the church as much as in the streets. And I'm not saying they were all bad Christians (as it's something we all do), or expect them to be Biblical scholars. It's just an example of how the verse is not only used, but taught in a way that does not retain it's original sentiment or intention.

There are a couple of verses in particular that I see this kind of thing done to. The biggest one being Proverbs 4:23 which I talked about in a previous post about Guarding Your Heart. Matthew 19:26 is similar to Philippians 4:13. By itself, it holds what may be a truth, but is not hermeneutically sound without it being referred specifically to the salvation of men as that is what is impossible for men but possible for God. Matthew 18:19-20 is another one I think people take without even wondering what verses might be around it. Now...even when they don't, it may not be in the wrong way. But it's just interesting that the verse comes right after Matthew 18:15-17 which is all about church discipline and confronting a sinning brother. And you have to wonder if it's not referring to two or more people coming together in truth, as you are to do when you bring one or two other brothers with you if he does not listen to just you. But I'll be honest and say that I'm still not convinced what exactly is being referred to by the verse, and why it is where it is. But...it's also something I never hear talked about. And you hear the verse thrown around in worship settings and the like.

Some of you may think I'm anal and need to get a grip, and am just looking to stir the pot. And as I mentioned in my previous post, I am not against using general principles and applying them to our lives in relevant ways. And I've done my fare share of talking about, or teaching, or using some of these in ways that are outside of their context. But...I guess it's just a pet peeve of mine when it is done, and think it can even be dangerous to do so. I don't mind if the speaker acknowledges that it's not exactly from the context, or stating that he is just applying Biblical principle. And then we can test it for truth and apply it accordingly, because there are good applications that can come out of it. I'm not denying that. But I guess if they don't acknowledge it...it sounds like they never even thought about it, or that they are saying it's what the author was particularly thinking about when he wrote it. And if I hear you do it in a sermon or talk...you've usually lost me from there on out.

So...not my best post. But...my thoughts on the topic.