Jeff Blogs

For my birthday this year Trina had given me a Nikon D300 camera. Since then I have been in digital camera heaven. I have been interested in photography since high school and have owned several cameras during my life. Many of these are chronicled in the About page on my Photo Blog. When I initially suggested that I wanted a Nikon D300 camera Trina was less than enthusiastic. Part of the reason for her apprehension is that I already owned 3 digital SLR cameras. She could not understand why in the world I would need another one especially since I had stated on several occasions that the Nikon D200 I owned was probably the most perfect camera I had ever used. This was definitely a mistake on my part. Not that the D200 is not a great camera; just that I should never let my wife hear that I am content with anything otherwise it makes my life miserable trying to justify why I need a new toy.

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I remember as a kid when my grandparents would come over to our house. I would be playing with some sort of technology gadget. My grandfather would sit down and begin questioning me on what the device was and what its capabilities were. I would explain the details as best as I understood them and we would talk about the various uses would be for the device. This inevitably would lead to my grandfather uttering a sentence that began with, “Back in my day…” followed by a dissertation of what society and more importantly technology was like when he was my age. I remember snickering whenever he started thinking there is absolutely no way I am ever going to do that. First off I never thought nor do I still think that the “good old days” were all that good. I am a technologist and an avid collector of gadgets. I am an early adopter and hence get involved with the technology before it is quite ready for primetime. Sometimes this is good and other times it can be quite expensive.

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Now that Mother’s Day is over it is time to start focusing on the important holidays like Father’s Day. I don’t mean that mothers don’t deserve their own holiday I am all for it when a holiday is accompanied by cake. But Mother’s Day is such a girly holiday. It’s just not something guys can get their arms around. I mean Mother’s Day even messes up baseball when players start using pink bats. Who could take anyone seriously when they are swinging a pink bat? Newspaper ads start to feature cool things like barbeque grills, power tools, and beer goes on sale. Compare that to Mother’s Day when the ads are filled with dresses, picture frames, and floral arrangements. No, Father’s Day definitely kicks butt on Mother’s Day. At least that is what I thought until this morning.

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Every day is an adventure around our house. The family is never quite sure what to expect. I tend to think of this as a positive thing as it gives Trina and the kids an opportunity to adapt as their environment changes. They seem to be a little less enthusiastic about the constant changes. One of the primary complaints is that nothing is ever the same around our house. It is always in a state of flux. I took that as a compliment but I was assured it was not meant to be one. On more than one occasion I have been told that just once the family would like to have a normal day. What fun is that? No, if I have my way there will never be a “normal day”.

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When my daughter Tiffany began her freshman year in high school I would have bet money that she would never make it to graduation. It’s not that Tiffany is not a good student; it is just that at the time she didn’t really seem all that interested in being a high school graduate. Homework was the farthest thing from her mind and grades were not something she necessarily cared about. It was one of those things that as a parent make you lay awake at night worrying about. Thankfully though Tiffany’s attitude changed and she matured both physically and educationally. She outgrew the pain of taking Spanish and German. She survived the math classes that seemed destined to trip her up. She even miraculously passed the AIMS test signifying that she had retained what she was being taught. Then to top things off she actually took the SAT and her scores coupled with her grades she was accepted into college all before the end of her senior year. It’s the kind of thing that makes you believe that there is a power beyond the comprehension of man.

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