.:Upside of whatever:.

Yesterday I decided to get a new digital camera, a Sony A350 DSLR and paid a pretty penny for it.  I am looking forward to a photo class this fall and just getting out to take pictures starting later today.

The camera is very fast and seems to help even me stand still while taking pictures.

I have been thinking about how I spend my money allot lately and realize that I have been very good at needing wants rather than wanting needs.  I am going to pay a lot more attention to these two areas moving forward.  It will be like weight watchers for my wallet… stick to it and things go well but fall off the wagon too long and things need a lot of help getting back on track.

The weight watchers reference reminds me that I have to do better there too… all the leftovers from the party last week sure don’t help, but we will get back on the right track and it will all work out.

I cannot wait to play with and get used to the new camera but at the same time I cannot wait to get moving toward the goal of being out of debt very soon.  That is going to be a big achievement for Laura and I and I am excited to get started as soon as possible.

Categories::Life, Photos, money Add Comment »

So this weekend is the shindig… not sure if it will end all shindigs or not, but we try.  I am looking forward to Saturday.  Get to see some people I havent in a long time and meet some new people as well.  All this and good food and homebrewed beer.

Surely a good time will be had by all.   Perhaps there will be reason to plan Shindig 2.0… but I wouldn’t count on it.

Other than getting ready for the party there isnt much in the way of things going on around here.  We are going to get our enlargement photos from our wedding in about 2 minutes but short of that… summer is almost over.  I need to unplug for a bit and go enjoy it.

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I found an interesting quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson this evening in a feed I got from Real Simple magazine.

“We become what we think about all day long”

I am not saying that I will turn into a support case or a virtual machine running Windows 2008, but it is rather true that our thoughts and actions small and minute as they may be define us as human beings.

I am not an athlete of any caliber, but who knows what a little bit of talent and a hell of a lot of focus might have done for me.  I can be anything I put my mind to, but to do that there has to be something I want to think that much about.

As it is right now, I am quite happy with what I’ve got… and what a great way that is to be.  Some people, sometimes me included, spend their time working or bitching about working and wishing they were doing something else.  If I wanted that badly to be doing something else, the only person who can start that bus is me. 

Small and effortless as that line appears it makes me feel pretty good about what Ive got and where I am right now.  I am as wealthy as I need to be, gainfully employed (shhh… don’t let the credit card companies hear that), and in a great marriage with very few huge worries.  Most of those are just thoughts that do not get reigned in as often as they should.

I am looking forward to what tomorrow brings (methinks key lime cupcakes to work) and especially the party this weekend.  Should be a great time with family and friends… even if I did let it get me a little crazy in the process.  It is just a party and they are meant to be, to use another famous quote, “Nothin’ but a good time”.

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New Jersey for number 4 causes team store to crash

So the word is out that the Packers sent Brett Favre to the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets.  I was a little surprised by the move, but really expected him to end up in some other city.

The best thing, the Packers did the majority of their rebuilding over the past few seasons, all that is left is getting Aaron Rodgers ready to play every game.  It will be a rough season for the fans and the team but it can only get better from there.

Another positive, the Jets will have to put up with the offseason I don’t knows from now on.  Every year for the last 5 Brett has considered retiring.  Every year fans and staff waited to know what he wanted to do… in 2008 the decision flipped for the first time, and now has been reversed.  He will do this every year until he finally does stop playing… and no longer is it a football staple in Titletown.

He had a hell of a run, 16 years and every record imagineable.  Hopefully when the Hall of Fame comes calling there will be Gold in the uniform of the team Brett chooses.

The Packers have really moved on, and being a fan I am ready to watch number 12 start for the team, it will be hard to begin counting the starts all over again and the count will likely not be as high, but the Packers have been a great team and an awful team before and we keep watching.  Remember, a few short seasons ago, even the deity Brett Favre went 4-12.

Welcome to the NFL Mr. Rodgers - I wonder who, after this year will want to be your neighbor

Tags:Brett Favre, Jets, Mr. Rodgers, NFL, Packers
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The first couple days this week I assisted in the Accounts Receivable department to help get checks and credit cards processed so we could get paid.  This is quite an involved process.  Mostly for the paperwork and distribution of portions of the paperwork around the office and with an order.

I never realized just how much splitting of copies and things we go through.  Releasing orders when payments arrive was interesting as well.  Sicne there arent many clear cut rules for which ones get to be released and which do not, I found this to be a chellenge to say the least.

Although I found it tough at times, the opportunity was well worth it.  Getting to see how others accomplish what they do is rather interesting to me.  Yes I would rather do my job as I am comfortable with it (most of the time) but it was a good eexperience trying something new.

I just hope that all is well now that my stint as helper has come to an end.

Tags:assistance, jobs, vacation help
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Today I went with my father in law and his brother (and his two kids) to the final day of the EAA festivities in Oshkosh Wi.  And had an absolute blast.  There were tons of crazy planes, from the latest bad ass equipment run by the Air Force to a personal rocket pack that could be yours (or mine) for a whopping 100K.

There were not too many people there as it was the last day, but todays air show was still pretty cool.  It is hard to imagine that I grew up 20 miles from the EAA campus and had only been to the biggest airplane even on earth once before today.  I am sure there will be return trips.

Hopefully over the course of the week I will clean up and post the photos from the days events on my Flickr account, there were many (190 or so) that were rather good if I do say so myself.

With all the pictures I got and the fun I had I also managed to get quite a sunburn, but it doesnt hurt too bad… hopefully it heals soon.  I would recommend anyone looking for a weekend trip next summer to consider the EAA celebration, also if you go on the last day and get tickets when you get there, you might get them for way less than the posted 35$ price.  The three of us paid 25 bucks for admission… total.  And if you are already in Wisconsin and within a couple hours of the event… it is a good time for a rather small price.  And kids under 6 are free.

I would gladly go back to EAA again.  It was a great time.  Maybe we’;; go again next summer.

Oh yeah… in the other news around here… Farve is back for another season.  Reinstated by the NFL and on the roster in Green Bay as of Monday afternoon.  Should be interesting, since the word seems to be that the QB job will be open for competition… although that isnt what has been said all along.

If they want the best chance to win in 2008 Favre is the guy, but I do believe the Packers need to do some fancy front office footwork and get a contract in place for Aaron Rodgers.  Favre will be finished playing sometime before 2025 and Rodgers will by then surely have learned from him.  Lock him up for a while so no other tems can gain this benefit.  And yes I realize that in 2025 Rodgers will likely be retired… but hopefully between now and then, he will get a full quarters worth of playing time in an actual regular season game.

Let the circus commence, get some comments from John Madden for good sound bytes… and could someone pass the popcorn?  I am ready for some football.

Tags:EAA, Favre, football, Oshkosh Wi, planes
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millinial park

Originally uploaded by kindredspirits1960.

September and Ken, friends of ours went to visit the bean today at millennium park in Chicago. I have not been there since High School, and I do not believe the bean was in place then.

It would be a great place to visit with camera in hand… this photo is a great view of this huge metal bean. We got to discussing their day trip to Chicago last night and the bean was brought up.

So here is Chicago’s bean

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Now through March 18 of 2009 Microsoft is providing free Windows Vista SP1 support to customers around the world.

Visit this link: http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx?rdpath=1&prid=11274&gprid=500921

for more details on how to get free support for Windows Vista SP1.

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I recently discovered that it is a hard choice between a paper calendar and a web/digital calendar. Being a good little office worker, I have a calendar in MS Outlook that stores work meetings and conference calls and quirky one off reminders of things going on throughout my work day.

I also have a Palm Treo 700p which has a calendar. I do not directly tie this to outlook, but have found that I can sync it with my Google Calendar via a service called GooSync.

I do have a paper calendar as well. It was a cheapie so if I end up not using it I am not out much since I stopped buying refills for my planner.

I am not sure the way to go… a paper calendar is nice when sitting in a meeting and scheduling things out (and is far cheaper than a tablet PC to allow access to outlook in said meeting) but the online calendar(s) are nice because they are typically always available. One quick sync and my phone knows all about what I am or should be doing for the forseeable future.

Since my phone is with me almost all the time (lest I forget it at home) I can see my calendar offline and anywhere I might be, save a dead battery; just like my paper calendar.

Something tells me I will keep both paper and digital… perhaps to record things like vacation days in the paper one and online will prove useful.

Would love to hear some thoughts in the comments on which is best or why both works well for you…

Tags:calendars, choices, paper, syncing, web based
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Today I received an email that I have been awarded a Microsoft MVP award for 2008 in the area of File System Storage. I am excited to be sure, but it is somewhat humbling to think that I could win such an award.

I was recommended and later nominated for the award by a member of the Windows Storage Server team at Microsoft because of my involvement with the technical community and some articles I had written in 2007 covering Storage Server 2003 R2 for TechRepublic.com. When asked if I would mind being recommended I was completely amazed that anyone would think I was up to snuff enough to receive such an award.

Since Microsoft only awards a small number of awards every year my chances were thin, but to even be in the running was quite cool.

Since being nominated I found it very fun to participate in comunities on the Internet and provide help in whatever areas I could. Afterall the MVP is an award given to showcase IT professionals active in the community. I had participated in communities before, but as of late I have found it to be a very rewarding experience, even prior to the award.

I am excited to receive the award and humbled that Microsoft would consider me for something like that. I hope to continue to live up to the standard of the award and who knows, maybe I will receive it again in the future.

—— begin thank you speech —–
While I am at it I would like to than the Windows Storage Server team at Microsoft and my colleagues at Techrepublic.com for without them I would not have had a chance at this award.
—– end thank you speech ——

Tags:community, Microsoft, MVP, TechRepublic
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