Christmas Slideshow

With 3 of the 4 Christmas's done, I decided to share the Joy we have had so far.

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Christmas

This Christmas season, for the first time in a long time, I have tried to dwell on why I celebrate. And I have concluded why I celebrate Christmas; I celebrate Christmas because giving and receiving gifts is easier for me than trying to fathom the birth of the Savior.

There is something truly overwhelming about God becoming Man, born to die so that I might not suffer eternal death. And as much as Easter is a symbol of Christ's gift to me, Christmas is the symbol of God's gift to all.

This is my prayer this season:

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:12-17

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. I hope all can spend time with family and those they love and share in the Joy.

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Great American Pastime

I faintly remember playing Atari when I was a little kid, but my first real memory of video games was our next door neighbor, the Barrett's, Super Nintendo (SNES) and our Sega Genesis. I distinctly remember debating whether Madden on SNES or Joe Montana Football on Sega was better.

I also remember my parents buying me and my brothers a Nintendo 64 (N64). One of my greatest memories of my brothers is playing GoldenEye, my first introduction to a First Person Shooting (FPS) game. However, I never really got into Playstation or Xbox because I loved and became so familiar with EA games and FPS games on my PC, most notably Call of Duty. To me, I found it easy to play with a mouse and keyboard than a controller. However, last fall, this all changed for me.

My oldest brother, Zach, convinced me to buy an Xbox 360 so we could play Halo 3 over the internet. He promised it was better than GoldenEye on N64. And I quickly began to realize he was right. Then several months later Call of Duty 4 was release on Xbox 360. This, in essence, mixed my great memory of console FPS games with my favorite game from the PC.

The hype lived up to the expectation. Since then, I have shared some great times with all my brothers playing Call of Duty 4 on Xbox Live.

Here is Zach getting is "COD on."

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Rozell Christmas Tree

Although extremely late compared to most, Heather and I finally got our Christmas tree up earlier this week. I like the way the tree looks from the street at night the best. I hope to post more pictures of the decorations later this week, like the stockings Heather made. I also took some pictures of Dylan being very curious about her first Christmas tree.

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Climate Control

I have never bought into the premise that humans have an affect on the global climate. Especially since the group of scientists preaching to live "green" is typically from the same camp of individuals who renounce the idea of creationism or intelligent design. I also have never hidden my skepticism of global warming or shied away from a friendly debate. Ask Jasen.

That being said, I felt compelled to post about the subject in light of recent news coming out of the UN global warming conference being held in Poland. For the sake of space and manners, if you would like to read the full text, please click "Full Post" below.

Edit: More Global Warming Proof
Worst Snow in Las Vegas in 30 Years
Malibu gets "freak" snow.
CNN Meteorologist: Manmade Global Warming Theory "Arrogant"




In 2007, 52 UN scientists authored the IPCC 2007 Summary of Policymakers which basically backed Al Gore's notion that global warming was imminent and citizens of planet Earth needed to change their ways in order to keep the polar ice caps from melting.

Although there was much protest from opponents, this document was published and has been held as the official position of the UN. In August of 2008 at the International Geological Congress meeting in Norway even more skeptics of global warming began to speak out. But it wasn't until this year's UN global warming conference in Poland that the skeptics' noise might have been louder than the 52 UN scientists.

A total of 650 international scientists gathered Poznan, Poland to dissent the claims of the other 52. There was an adamant and infatic theme to the official statements of these highly regarded, skeptic scientists.

And the scientists who oppose Gore and others are not settling with vocal protests at the annual meeting. They are beginning to release their own data, analysis and research to refute climate fears.

Here is what a few of the 650 are saying:

“Since I am no longer affiliated with any organization nor receiving any funding, I can speak quite frankly….As a scientist I remain skeptical.”

- Atmospheric Scientist Dr. Joanne Simpson, the first woman in the world to receive a PhD in meteorology and formerly of NASA who has authored more than 190 studies and has been called “among the most preeminent scientists of the last 100 years.”

"Warming fears are the 'worst scientific scandal in the history…' When people come to know what the truth is, they will feel deceived by science and scientists.”

- UN IPCC Japanese Scientist Dr. Kiminori Itoh, an award-winning PhD environmental physical chemist.

“The IPCC has actually become a closed circuit; it doesn’t listen to others. It doesn’t have open minds… I am really amazed that the Nobel Peace Prize has been given on scientifically incorrect conclusions by people who are not geologists,”

- Indian geologist Dr. Arun D. Ahluwalia at Punjab University and a board member of the UN-supported International Year of the Planet.

“Many [scientists] are now searching for a way to back out quietly (from promoting warming fears), without having their professional careers ruined.”

- Atmospheric physicist James A. Peden, formerly of the Space Research and Coordination Center in Pittsburgh.

I personally think the following quote rings true as the most prominent myth we are told and the reason CFL light bulbs even have a market.

“Even doubling or tripling the amount of carbon dioxide will virtually have little impact, as water vapour and water condensed on particles as clouds dominate the worldwide scene and always will.”

– Geoffrey G. Duffy, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering of the University of Auckland, NZ.


I am waiting to read the offical report from the conference which is promised to include great detail about the analysis and research done by these scientists.

If you would like to read more quotes from the 650 or links to some of the research, please click here: epw.senate.gov

For the record, I still believe we are called to be good stewards of what God has blessed us with. I just don't agree with the "green" movement because I think it is done mostly on false assumptions that living "green" actually will reduce the rising temperatures on the globe.

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Etymology of our "Duchess"

Although you will rarely hear me say "Duchess" as I prefer to call her simply "Dutch" in public, her proper name is in fact Duchess.

And though most people close to me and Heather are very familiar with Duchess, few know how we came to name her such a girly, Hollywood-esque doggy name.

The summer prior to my proposal to Heather and the acquiring of Dutch my roommate and I had a little beagle mix come stay with us for a few days. We didn't know who the owner was or the name of the puppy, so we just called him Duke. Duke is a large part in the transformation of Heather into a dog lover. She would come over and fawn over Duke and talk about wanting one just like him. Well, when I found Dutch, a little beagle mix, Heather knew right away that Duchess was a perfect name as a counterpart to little Duke.

Here are some pictures of when Duke lived with me. Duke and Wheeler played like they were old friends.

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Christmas Time is Here

Warm days like yesterday make it hard for me to be in the Christmas spirit. And even though yesterday was in the mid 70's, leave it to Texas to give me 40 degree weather today. If I had it my way, we would be getting snow flurries throughout the week leading to waking up Christmas morning to a winter wonderland of white. Alas, I cannot depend on Texas to provide weather equal to my expectations of "Christmas weather."

What I can depend on is every retailer in the world projecting Christmas music. I can also depend on Delilah serenading my car on 103.7 KVIL. However, even Christmas music or atleast the same songs played the same way each year can beat me down instead of warm me up. Needless to say, a refreshing Christmas song or variation to a classic is just what I need this year. Recently, on a blog I follow, I saw a plug for an artist I hadn't heard of. When I searched his music, I found his Christmas album to be pretty good. His style is unique and his banjo doesn't really match traditional Christmas. But really, neither does 70 degree weather, so...

Here is Sufjan Stevens:

edit: I know this is not a "carol," but its on his Christmas album.

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My King

In looking over the past handful of posts I have made, I see that I have made liberal use of videos. And though I still have an arsenal of videos to share with the world, I will refrain from videos this morning. Instead, you get my sometimes incoherent words.

Last night I turned on the TV to see who the guests were on the late night talk shows. Although Kate Beckinsale's English accent on Jay Leno is always pleasant, it was the guest after Kate who was, to me, more interesting... Enter Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. Like all celebrities who chat with Leno, his goal was to promote himself. In this case, the occasion for the visit was the release of his Diddy's fragrance: "I am King." Now, putting my confusion about celebrity endorsed fragrances aside, I listened to Diddy's marketing piece for his cologne. It went something like this:

"Sure, men get the big piece of chicken in the bucket, the head seat at the dinner table and maybe their own chair in the living room, but they never get treated like the King they are. I think it's time for men to take pride in the good things we do for our wives, families, etc. and treat ourselves like Kings."

He went on about how in this world, men are Kings and should, in an appropriate scale, be treated as such, or at least treat themselves as such.

Now, given that my mind is more or less in the Christmas spirit, when I hear "king" I generally sing in my head, "... glory to the newborn King!" Which leads me to the issue on my mind.

Without getting too much into English grammar, I think there is a definite distinction between "a king" and "the king." One is general and one is singular, superior. "I am King" (the fragrance) seems to be the latter. I mean, Diddy's cologne isn't called "I am a King."

And while I don't necessarily fault Diddy for the name of the cologne, I do recognize that the idea that we deserve to be referred to and treated as "King" is a microcosm of the way in which the general public sees self-worth. Though I don't know how literally to take "I am King" and its subsequent connotations, I do believe one King is sufficient.

Cue Lecrae:
"Lets establish that He's Israel's King
So in Matthew 1 and 1 and on the 1:17,
We see His lineage and trace way back into time
That legally He was fine in the Davidic line
And genealogically He's still King of the Jews
Cause the Book of Luke exposes genetical clues
See a true King though He didn't do it in the physical,
He brought a new covenant to free 'em in the spiritual
And after sometime, Wise men from the east
came looking for the new born king in the streets
I know some of you dudes may cruise a 4Runner
But Christ had the dude He used as a forerunner
And no promoter gunna cut it like the John the Baptist
You need publicity stunts so you datin' an actress
A real King has somebody bringin' the news
That his kingdom's ahead and they ain't fit to lace up his shoes
So tell me who's the one anointing all these so called kings?
They all self proclaimed and man, that's a dangerous thing"
- Lecrae

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Family

I had the privilege to take photos of my oldest brother's family. I have some good looking nephews. Here is are two of the photos. As texture is the "in" thing to do to photography right now, I gave it a whirl.

Jones is just shy of one year, can you believe it?

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Saturday Night Live

I haven't watched SNL regularly in, well, ever. I never really thought it was that great. Sure Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon in "Weekend Update" was genius, but what else was there?

Well, last season when SNL debuted "SNL Digital Shorts" my view of the show began to change. I am sure you remember "Lazy Sunday" or "Blank in a Box" with Justin Timberlake. Since the Digital Shorts started, I have found myself watching more and more SNL and I have gotta say, they are doing a pretty good job. The majority of sketches are funny and the hosts are doing a surprisingly good job.

If you haven't seen what I am talking about, go to Hulu and watch any (or all) of the "Shorts" or any of the skits with, say, Peyton Manning. Hulu.com/SNL

This past week crazy John Malkovich hosted. Here is his pretty funny, and creepy, Christmas monologue to open the show:

I am sure Hugh Laurie, aka"Dr. House," will be pretty funny this week as host.

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Food for Thought

This is a pretty amazing presentation. Let this soak in over the weekend.

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Rozell Boys

My little brother decided last minute to fly in from Michigan for Thanksgiving which allowed this rare moment: a photograph of all the boys.

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Why Dogs are better than Cats

No words...

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Kathleen Baskin-Ball

Yesterday morning I heard the saddening news that my step-mother's sister passed away. She was a wonderful woman and she loved her congregation. She officiated the marriage between my father and Diane several years ago and shortly after began her fight with cancer.

I know that God needed her home and home she is. She has a beautiful 4 year old son, Skyler.

Here are some links to more information about Kathleen and the service this Saturday.
Beloved Allen Pastor, 50, Dies of Cancer
Beloved pastor who fought cancer minister to very end.
Wikipedia: Kathleen Baskin-Ball

My prayers are with Diane and Kathleen's family.

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String Theory

Although I hate classrooms, I love learning. I like to learn new things and I like to challenge my mind to grasp difficult thoughts. Besides history I am often most fascinated by space. Just last night I was absolutely mesmerized to see the moon, Venus and Jupiter align and become visible in the night sky. http://flickr.com/photos/vanessagx/3073693381/ To see that makes me feel so small and in an instance, insignificant.

I do not understand much of dimensions and/or string theory (the stuff of Stephen Hawking). That is, I understand 2D and 3D, but the 4th dimension on are lost on me... until now. Because of my love for learning, I really appreciate a good teacher and the ability to teach a difficult subject is a rare trait. In this video, by this man's brilliant teaching, it becomes easier to grasp the idea of higher dimensions. And although my mind doesn't understand it all (yet) I really enjoyed watching this video; it made me feel smarter.

Warning: Science Content

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Thanksgiving Recap

I hope all had a good, relaxing Thanksgiving. Although mine was uneventful I enjoyed hanging out with family. During the Thanksgiving break I found myself acutely aware of the things I have to be thankful for because of the tragedies happening in Mumbai. My continual thoughts and prayers are with those who were affected by the attacks. I am especially thankful for the security in which I have in America and the freedom provided to me.

On a lighter note, football was all positive over the break. Cowboys won, Tennessee won and North Texas didn't lose... that bad. Also, for those who watched the dog show I am glad the the Sporting Group got best in show. I get so tired of the non-sporting, toy and hound groups getting all the AKC acclaim. And although the Weim didn't win, the sporting group was represented by another pointer none-the-less.

I hope one day soon the Weimaraner will win it all. If "Uno" can do it... so can this girl.

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North Carolina

Tonight I was looking through old photos while simultaneously surfing the web and listening to my "Jack Johnson Radio" station on Pandora

I found some of my old photos from North Carolina and slapped them into a collage. This is what came of it.

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Ah, the good ol' days

For those who, like me, listened to every minute of the presidential debates, I think you might appreciate this short clip. I think it just reiterates the amount of tired-head three debates cause.

Also, I am pretty sure I had nightmares that looked and sounded just like this...

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Dutch 101

Little Duchess, my personal Yoda, again exemplified a great life lesson today while I was eating lunch: "Don't Worry, Be Happy."

She couldn't choose between two skinned tennis balls...
She thought and pondered over the choice for several minutes. Then, all at once, pounced on a ball...
She fully committed to playing with that ball, she didn't even look at the other one again...
We played fetch for awhile, then hide and go seek until I had to go back to work. (It didn't take long for her to find the ball in the Tom Thumb bag.)Got me thinking about how much time I spend worrying about the decisions I make on a daily basis. Why worry? I should just make up my mind and make the best of it. Thanks Dutch!

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Random Duchess

Duchess, Dylan and I were out in the backyard playing fetch the other day. Well, let me rephrase, Duchess and I were playing fetch and Dylan was doing her best to get in the way. At any rate, eventually Dutch's ball inevitably became dirty, but she never seems to mind.

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Father to Son

Made me think: what story will the next photo tell, 27 years from now?

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Weekend at mom's

This weekend I took Dylan out to my mom's place both Saturday and Sunday to let her run free for a couple hours. She really enjoyed just being able to explore and use her great nose. Here she is on a relaxing walk through the back part of my mom's land.
Dylan also experienced for the first time stickers, in the field. We were just walking through the field and I looked back to see her in a complete hobble. I looked at her paws and they were covered in stickers. She looked so pathetic as she tried to find a position without pain and just stared at me. I ended up picking her up and carrying her the final 200 yards or so to good grass and cleaning up her paws.

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Two Years

Heather knows that I am a flawed man and somehow she loves me, in spite of me. I can't remember a single day she hasn't shown me love and I can't express what that means to me. Here's to her on "Andrew and Heather Day."

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123 Days Later

Heather and I moved into our lovely home 123 days ago. Since then, every day of the past 123 days we have been bathing. Not just bathing in general, but actually sitting in a tub and taking a bath. We have had 2 occasions to take actually showers in the past two months, both at hotels. It has been a long wait, but this morning Heather and I had the privilege to both take showers in our own home today! And everyone rejoiced!

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Typical Duchess

Duchess absolutely loves sleeping in our bed. She has come to expect Heather and I to save room each night for her. She burrows to the very foot of the the comforter, about faces, and crawls back just so her snout peaks out the top of the comforter.

In the afternoon, she uses her teeth to pull the down comforter into a large gathering than crawls atop and methodically finds her spot. It is actually pretty amazing to watch first hand. I tried to catch her in the act, I think I just annoyed her.

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Golfing at Oakmont

For Will Barns's bachelor party, 12 guys went and played a round of golf out at Oakmont. Because I cannot go anywhere without my camera, I took some pictures. Clay, by the way, was significantly better than any of us thought he would be.

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Gay or Not Gay

Every Tuesday at 12:50PM Bob and Dan (BaD Radio) from 1310 The Ticket have a segment on their radio show called "Gay or Not Gay." I emailed them to see if my brothers, Clay and Zach, are gay. Please take note that this is the most listened to Radio station in the Dallas - Ft. Worth metroplex. Enjoy this radio gold!

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Barack-O-Pop

From the creator of this genius (link) comes a new video that I find quiet awesome. For those of you who know me, I am a sucker for Top 40 music. You know, KISS FM stuff. Believe me, its a habit I am currently trying to quit, please reserve judgement, especially since you probably know the song he is spoofing: Lil Wayne's Lollipop:
Enjoy....

Check out more of his stuff at www.benanderic.com.

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Brett Dennen

Heather and I have been watching "House M.D." lately since we have finished up watching "The Closer". For some reason we solely use Netflix for TV shows. Anyways, back to "House." I heard a song that I liked on the most recent episode we watched and researched to find its name: "Ain't No Reason" by Brett Dennen. I listened to more of his stuff over the weekend and quite like it. He has his newest music video on his website: http://www.brettdennen.net/, but here is the song from "House." I hope you enjoy.

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Jar Jar Binx

If you recall Star Wars: Episode I, you might remember Jar Jar Binx, a lovable and goofy character from Naboo. Jar Jar Binx had incredibly long ears and when he ran they just flapped in the wind.

Because of this, I have started referring to Dylan as Jar Jar because when she runs around the yard, her ears just flap all over the place.

And although her energy is insatiable and often overwhelming, she continues to find ways to convince me she is here to stay. Last night, all she wanted was a little love from me. Here she is patiently waiting my love (and some treats).

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Evolution of Logos

Recently I have paid more attention to the logos and branding of companies. Some companies have a clear message in their logo/brand while others don't always make sense. I found this site recently that shows the evolution of several famous companies. Here is a sample of some. I think you will find it pretty interesting.

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Appaloosa

I, historically, am not a fan of western films. However, after seeing "3:10 to Yuma" my predisposition to dislike such films was erased. And although I hadn't seen or heard much of Appaloosa at all, on a whim I decided to persuade Heather to go see the show. The only place showing it was the Rave in Hickory Creek. It was in the smallest theater in the back. However, for those who don't know, the Rave is the best place to see a film because of the completely digital experience; the picture is clearer and the sound is purer (and it is a noticeable difference).

Anyways, though I do not care much for Renee Zellweger as an actress, she didn't ruin the film. On the contrary, Viggo Mortensen's surprise acting paired with the dependable Ed Harris and Jeremy Irons made this movie quite enjoyable. Hitch and Cole (Mortensen and Harris' characters, respectively) go down as one of the best western pairs I have ever seen; you can't match gunmen's loyalty and comradery.

Without further adieu, the trailer:

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Japanese Addiction

Although I cannot speak or read Japanese, this website is highly addictive. The site simply takes any photograph and in one click transforms it to an antique. Thanks to the fabulous photographer Sharon Montrose for the link. Here are a few examples from pictures I had on my computer (only the first two taken were by me):

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A smile and a wave

I snapped this shot while Heather was giving Dylan a treat. Boy, is she hamming it up or what?

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Abe's 3rd Birthday

This weekend Heather and I celebrated our nephew, Abe's third birthday. The party was at WinKids, which is this very cool little gym for kids. Everyone there seemed to have a good time. Any why wouldn't they? A huge room full of trampolines, balls, foam pit and did I mention that the entire place is padded. That to me, is guaranteed fun!

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Photoshop Fun

After helping Heather clean house for a bit and before the VP debates came on, I had some time to kill. What better way then learning (goofing off) some more Photoshop? Here is my creation. It basically took a couple fonts, a few brushes, several layers and little spot light to make. Photoshop: the possibilities are endless.

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A bit entertaining

Ever want to see want websites looked like "way back when?" Perhaps what did ESPN look like in 2000 or Fidelity Investments in 1996? I mean the leader in sports broadcasting and the first financial services company with a website must be cutting edge, right?

See almost any website's history here: Wayback Machine

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Random Picture

I haven't had time to post in a while, hopefully this weekend I will have another decent post. Until then, here is Dylan just chillin'.

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More Evan

Well you have seen Evan's head, but this is probably a little more telling. Here is happy little Evan.

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Sissy

I went to my mom's this afternon and took a few pictures of her little Westie, Sissy.

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Evan Southward

I had the privilege of photographing Evan Southward tonight. The beautiful son of Jasen and Sarah is 14 days old. I should have more images done this weekend, but I am sure you will be able to find more pictures of young Evan on the Southward's blog this weekend too! Here is a teaser:

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Atari 2600 Classics

What if today's games were released for the Atari 2600? I'd buy!

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DIY Project

I convinced Heather to help me with a little DIY project this evening. The project: A softbox. The idea is to create a box to soften light for portraits. I think it turned out alright. We will see the future of this.

Materials used:

Five 30"x20" pieces of foam board.
Disassembled metal clip on light.
CFL ~100 watt light bulb
Synthetic fabric
Duct Tape (of course)
Total cost of project: < $40.00.

Above: Taken with available light. 1/10 at F1.8

Above: Shot with new softbox. 1/100 at F1.8

Above: This is the box with fabric pulled back to reveal the "guts."

Above: The side/back of box.

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Quick Hits

- The 2009 Farmer's Almanac is predicting significant global cooling over the next half century. Any human contribution to global warming is actually welcomed to mediate the effects of the global cooling. Source: USA Today

- Lindsey Lohan (and Sam?) has withheld her/their non-partisan talk long enough. They jointly believe that Palin is a "narrow minded, media obsessed homophobe". Lohan maturely quoted Pamela Anderson in representing her thoughts on Palin: "She can suck it!". Source: MySpace Blog

- McCain and Bush have been blamed for Wall Street's crash today. Obama believes the failed independent business practices of publically held business, specifically the way they (mis)handled the investments of sub-prime spectulations is a reflection or rather, effect of the Bush Adminstration. Source: Breitbart

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Beautiful Day

The aftermath of Ike left North Texas with some incredible weather. Dylan, like the rest of us, enjoyed the nice cool weather.

Above set is apparently "Dylan in the Round"

Above picture is Dylan being silly.

Side note: Dylan celebrated her 6 month birthday last week.

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Smuncherkin

Of all the names we call Duchess, somehow I have found myself labeling this blog as "Smuncherkin." Sigh. At any rate, here is little Dutch striking a pose on our front porch. Any guesses on what color our bedroom is?

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Interesting Wordle

Awhile ago I created a "wordle" or our blog, which takes the words from your site and creates a visual graphic showing the most used words. I thought it would be fun to take the transcripts of the two convention acceptance speeches from McCain and Obama and wordle their speeches, here is what was created:

Top is Obama's Wordle. Bottom is McCain's Wordle.

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