Postcards From Myself

I have recently been working with a friend and co-worker of mine, Pat Stuckart, to get his photography website up and running. If you check it out at http://www.patstuckartphotography.com, I am sure that you will be impressed with his work.

Some of his work, like the picture above, is very scenic. These pictures were taking around the South Carolina Lowcountry, mostly on Daniel Island or in downtown Charleston.

Other of his pieces, like the one below, are abstract. This is from his collection that he calls “Stuck-Art” and represent some very impressive interpretations and colorations. This collection was the focus of a gallery show he had a few months go at a gallery shop on Folly Beach.

Anyway, please give them a look. All of his work is available for purchase on the site. Pat also teaches digital photography and digital editing at one of the local colleges.

And finally, for those of you who are technically inclined, all of the current images up on his website were taken with a Nikon D70. He has just ordered a Nikon D80 though, so we should start to see some of the fruits of that in the very near future.

That is right, it is our 21st Anniversary. On this day in 1986 Nancy and I were married here in Charleston. The interesting thing will be that in the near future we will cross that line where I have been married longer than I was un-married before that.

Anyway, just wanted to say a public “Happy Anniversary” to my wife. And tonight, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we will be going out for a nice anniversary dinner.

Thanks for 21 years of marital bliss!

I just wanted to answer this publicly since so many people keep asking. The answer is “No, I will not be standing in line for an iPhone on Friday. In fact I don’t plan on getting one anytime soon.” This has nothing at all to do with how great or not great I think the iPhone is. I believe it is quite cool actually. My problems with getting one fall into three main buckets.

First, I need my phone to access my Microsoft Exchange environment at work. Right now we are using the Good software on our smart phone to tap into Exchange. It works quite well and offers a lot of control. Unfortunately this doesn’t work on the iPhone, at least not yet. Since my phone and monthly bill are paid for by the company, that is a show stopper.

Second, I got my current phone, a Treo 680, less than a year ago. That may not seem so big to some people, but it was a $400 or so phone and I don’t toss that large a purchase easily. Sure I could transfer it to someone else or something, but that just seems wasteful. And then on top of that would be the $600 or so purchase of the iPhone. Just not the kind of money I am going to invest - especially on something that doesn’t have one of the key features I need. (See reason #1 above.)

And finally, I am not going to stand in line and fight the masses to get version 1.0 of a product that fails reasons #1 and #2. I have never done that. Not for phones, not for video games, not for consoles, not for cars, not for nuthing. I just don’t do it. I can wait six months or so and relax. Let someone else take the hits. By the way, I don’t get up at 5 am on the day after Thanksgiving to go shopping either. I wait until around 10am or so when the crowds have died down. Amazingly, most of the good deals are still there.

So, unless someone wants to give me one, I won’t have an iPhone in the near future. It is sad, I know, but that is just the way it is. Check back with me around Thanksgiving though, because my contract will be up for renewal . . .

Just found this review and info of the iPhone too. Very interesting stuff.

So I ask you, why do most people prefer whining over action? If something, in this recent case for me a piece of computer equipment, is not working why would people rather whine to each other about it instead of telling the person who can fix it? Same goes for things like sitting in traffic. If you are stuck in a long line of traffic, would you rather sit there and whine? Or would your rather find a different route? I for one will find a different route or stop off for a while and read a magazine at Barnes and Noble.

Another example, what do you do if you are stuck in a long line at a store where there is only one cashier working? Most people stand in the line and whine to the people in front of them or behind them. Depending on how much I care about my potential purchase I will either set the item down and leave, thereby voting with my wallet, or I will find a manager and ask them to get another cashier. Why would you want to just stand there and whine instead of taking action.

The same can be said of course for other areas in our lives. One that pops immediately to mind is politics. I hear people complain all the time about things not getting done, but they don’t want to take the time to write a letter, volunteer for action, or in some cases even vote.

And finally, and this is a personal pet peeve, if there is nothing worth watching on television, then turn it off!

I took this picture of a lighthouse out in Boston harbor while out on a whale watching trip last year. Not sure why I decided to post it now, but I like it so here it is.

I am hopefully going to get a new and better camera soon. I have been looking at the Nikon D40x. I want something more than a point and shoot, and I want to be able to put a good telephoto lens on it. So, there may be more photos coming soon.

But then again, who knows.