I know it's not pretty, but a lot of things in life aren't pretty. It could be a lot worse...
We just cancelled our cable TV service. Comcast is such a rip off! With Netflix, iTunes, and the free over the air HD channels available with an antenna, we can definitely live without giving the greedy cable companies our hard earned money every month. Plus, watching less TV is not a bad thing. More and more people I talk with have gone this same route with no regrets. I'm pretty certain that Netflix and Apple will continue to ramp up their streaming content as time goes on.
Today is our 8th year wedding anniversary. I wanted to pick my wife up some flowers on the way home from work. Problem was, she had the car and was going to pick me up (It was raining, I couldn't take my scooter). I thought to myself, "If I can't buy flowers, why don't I just make some?" So I grabbed some scrap Corian and got to work. I'm not sure if they look like they're supposed to, but good enough I guess. At least they'll last a little longer than the real thing.
Of course, photography is already art, but it doesn't have to stop there. With a little imagination and creative vision, ordinary photographs can be transformed into more artistic pieces. Photographers and artists have been doing this for years. Here's my latest creation in collaboration with my wife who came up with the idea. 1. Here is the one of the original photos from last year in Paris. Kind of a cool shot, but nothing special.
2. In Photoshop CS5, I removed the elements that I liked from the background. I played around with the threshold, cut out, levels, and contrast settings, and then created a pop art style background.
3. I uploaded the final 10" x 10" images to Mpix to be printed. They arrived in 2 days and looked great!
4. I cut 3, 10" x 10" pieces of 1/2" plywood and painted the edges black. After masking the painted edges, I mounted the prints to the plywood using spray adhesive.
5. I cut a small notch on the backside for hanging.
Here's the final product!
To purchase these prints, click here.
My passport renewal came in today, I'm good for another 10 years. Apparently, the new passports have a small chip embedded that can be scanned with special readers. According to the U.S. Department of State, the electronic passport provides automated photo verification, faster and more accurate immigration inspections, and greater border protection and security. Tech is everywhere, I love it! As cool as this is, it's kind of sad to say goodbye to all the international stamps collected over the years. Now I'll have to start from scratch. Oh well, time to plan a trip!
My wife made a trial run of one of her Oma's recipes. Stritzeln (Stempen; slang) is a traditional German recipe made from mashed potato, flour, egg, and butter. The outside has a slightly crispy crust, while the inside stays warm and doughy. Typically, the dough is formed into sticks before baking. Dipped in a bowl of sugar and served with a cup of coffee, this makes for a great little dessert.
Today was the annual Sterling, MA Firefighters Duck and Chicken BBQ. I have to say that nobody does BBQ like the firefighters! The meat was smokey, succulent, and perfectly cooked. The whole process started on Wednesday with the construction of the massive cinderblock BBQ pit. By Saturday morning, the downtown air was filled with the enticing aroma everyone in town looks forward to. All the food and supplies were donated and the proceeds from the $14 meal ticket went to help the Sterling, MA fire department. It was well worth it. The food was excellent and it helped a great cause. Thanks guys!
Today is the first day of Autumn, my favorite time of year here in New England.
