Blog rollback

At the suggestion of some of readers, I have reverted my blog back to a previously used template because they were having trouble with reading white type on a black background.  I liked the black background myself since it made my pictures pop more but I also want my readers to be able to read my blog without getting a headache or worse.  I will continue to tweak and change things as I go to make this an enjoyable and fun site to visit.  Thank you all for your feedback and patience!

Music player added

I have added a music player that streams my a few of my old mixes.  Unfortunately, there are gaps between the tracks when playing through.  I haven't found a music player that's free which will play the seperate tracks through without an audible gap yet.  In the meantime, enjoy my old mixes on my Music Spin tab.

New tabs added for future content on Project WHom 365

I have added two new tabs to my blog for additional content.  I'm hoping to gradually add more interesting media to the site such as my pictures and old music mixes from my DJ days.  I plan on eventually setting up my equipment and making new mixes of my old music collection since a lot of my analog mixes have been lost.  It will be a lot of fun getting back on the mixing console and playing with my old Tech 1200s and Denon DN 2500.  I do have some of my old mixes which I have digitized but they still need to be edited and uploaded to my reverbnation account for Internet streaming.  I will be adding a music gadget for streaming my old mixes in the coming weeks after the editing has been completed and the tracks are uploaded.

Target Store 2446 Remodel 2011

 

I had the privilege of working with a fine team over this past Summer and into the Fall during the "P-Fresh" Remodel of Target Store 2446.  It was difficult working all night into the early morning but I have to say that the people I worked with made it easier.  We worked extremely hard to be completed on schedule and we had fun doing it - well for the most part.  There were some challenges along the way but we met each one and got the job done. 

Luci Buccini from the Phillipsburg Target was great to work with on a nightly basis.  Amy, who was Exec for our remodel, did well by choosing Luci to manage the day-to-day transitions as our Team Lead.  Luci made every thing extremely smooth and had a great plan going into the remodel.  We also got a lot of help from new Team Members who signed on specifically for the remodel.  Existing Team Members from our store comprised of the rest of the team.  I have to give props to the "Swat" team (I called them Team 2) who came in after us to complete the second phase of each night's workload.

I had a lot of fun working the remodel but I am glad to be back on days.  I do miss working with the remodel team even though I do get to work with some of them during the day now that we have been transitioned back to the regular departments.  It's just not the same now as it was when we were all working same shift every night.  Thank you all for making it an enjoyable experience!

Mariano Rivera #42 - Greatest Closer of All-Time

Photo courtesy of http://www.graphicshunt.com/

Mariano will go down in history as the greatest closer of all-time in Major League Baseball.  Arguments can be made that the closer role is different now then it was during the 70's and early '80s when it more difficult to save games since closers usually pitched multiple innings per outing.  There is even a "Hold" stat now for relievers who pitch an inning prior to a save.  For me, it's clear cut.  As soon as Hoffman and Rivera breached the 600 saves milestones, they were excluded from the previous argument because that's more than 122 more saves than Lee Smith had in his career - the previous career saves leader.

Now Rivera and Hoffman are tied for the all-time career saves lead.  Mariano is expected to break Hoffman's record this week.  If it doesn't happen later today in Toronto, it will probably happen during the 8-game homestand.  I'm hoping that the Yankees don't have a save situation in today's game so he can get #602 at Yankee Stadium.  The crowd will be electric and the game will have a playoff-like atmosphere.  It will be a nice prelude to this year's Playoffs.

Speaking of Playoffs, Mariano's 42 saves in Playoff games is a mark that may never be broken.  With the Playoffs looming, Mariano is likely to add to that total and may even breach 50 Postseason saves this year (possible, but not likely).  I think if Mariano reaches 50 Postseason saves before he retires, the mark would be equivalent to Pete Rose's 4,256 hits or Cy Young's 511 wins.  The reason I say this is that there is no team other than the Yankees who make it deep into the Playoffs every year.  Now a case can be made for the Phillies as they have won their division 5 years in a row but they don't have a dominant closer right now.

Update: Mariano just closed out career save #602 at Yankee Stadium against the Minnesota Twins.  Another perfect 9th inning ending with a caught-looking strikeout with Mo painting the black on the outside corner.  Congratulations to Mariano Rivera!!

I've heard of bats in the belfry but...

bats on my bumper?!?  I didn't even know I hit the bat until someone at work told me about it.  It was still on my bumper when I finished work and stayed on for the ride home.  I was creeped out but I still found the nerve to get close ups of the unfortunate nocturnal mammal.  He then got the plastic bag disposal...no last rites, just a unceremonial toss into the garbage can.  You can click on the image for an enlarged view - if you dare!

Kermit Returns

When I went to walk the dogs tonight, Kermit was waiting for us in front of the garage door.  I wouldn't have seen him if my dog hadn't startled Kermit and made him hop.  He must have recognized me though because he stuck around while I walked the dogs and waited for me to get my camera.  He even allowed me to get close to him without even moving.  My macro lens was about two inches from him and he didn't seem to mind.

 

On an unrelated note, I went to see Incubus at the PNC Arts Center, aka Garden State Arts Center, last weekend.  The show was great but a tad short.  The band sounds amazing live.  I only wish security would have allowed me to bring my camera into the venue.

Video of the Day - Queen- 'Princes Of The Universe'

This is honor of Freddie Mercury's birthday.  It is one of my favorite Queen songs.  Enjoy!

Random pics from NYC

     I know I said I would work on my blog every day when I started it up but I was far too busy with school and work that I just couldn't keep up. Then when class ended, I just wanted to take a bit of a break. Now I'm recharged and ready to update my blog as often as I can. Here are some pics from our recent trip into NYC. It was overcast so I didn't get many good pics.

This is from the interior of the Hard Rock Cafe Lobby.

            Captain America Movie Display        Parsons School of Design

This is my favorite shot from that day at Times Square.  I definitely want to go back and take more pictures on a sunnier day.  It was also too crowded for my tastes.  However, it's a tourist attraction and we went on a Saturday so what can you expect?

We had a great time with Beth and Hannah.  I wish it could have been a longer excursion because we really enjoy being with them.  I think a trip to visit them this year is in order!

Video of the Week - Colors (Take Me Away) by T.S.O.L.

I honestly never thought there was even a official video for this song. OMFG!

Finally picked up my camera today...

I took a few shots of the wild bunnies in our yard. I'm not sure I'm liking my telephoto lens. I wish I had a better one but I just don't have the resources right now to replace it. Of course, it just could be I'm a lousy photographer and need to learn how to use what I have.

We will be headed into the City tomorrow and I will see how I fare tomorrow. I plan on taking a ton of shots in Midtown for the my first time as a "tourist".

Maybe it's the color green??

Anyone remember Hulk with Eric Bana in 2003? How about the Incredible Hulk reboot with Edward Norton in 2008? Did anyone see this past year's The Green Hornet? None of those movie were very good even though the Hulk movies did better than break even at the box office (imdb.com). The Green Lantern is the latest superhero movie fail and is rumored to undergo a reboot. I didn't actually see the movie so I don't know how bad the movie is - part of that was it didn't appeal to me and the other reason is that it wasn't in the Theaters long enough to change my mind. Perhaps Hollywood should shy away from the color green when it comes to Super Hero movies. After all, green is the color of kryptonite.

I took the family to see Captain America today. I had to resist the urge to say "Flame on!" when I saw Chris Evans as Captain America - if you didn't know, Chris Evans also played Johnny Torch in The Fantastic Four movies. Despite the fact that I didn't like the idea of Chris Evans playing Cap, he did play the part well. Aside from poor editing at times, the overall story was pretty good. This is the final movie before the release of the Avengers movie next Summer. It will be interesting to see how they accommodate screen time for all of the characters - Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, etc.

I've always known that Marvel was more popular than DC Comics but there are plenty of great DC Super Heroes that can be made into movies besides Superman and Batman. Okay, that's an exaggeration but I wouldn't mind seeing a movie about The Flash. I will pass on a new Wonder Woman since I can't imagine anyone other than Linda Carter in that role.

Video of the Week - Dig by Incubus

Dedicated to Ed.

Target

I start my new shift at Target tomorrow. I will be working overnight for the next several weeks to help finsh the remodel at our store. I'm looking forward to it as I will have a hand in how the store will look when it is finished. The extra money will be nice too since I will be working almost 40 hours per week plus the shift differential.

I am a little concerned though because I have a few more weeks left for Speech class and then I have a few weeks off until the Fall semester starts. Thankfully, my new work schedule will not interfere with any of my classes but I wonder how I will adjust to having less time to work on my classes and take of the stuff around the house. I guess less tv-time than usual but at least I will always have my weekends off.

Wishing I could be at WDW

It has been almost 4 years since we have been to WDW and it feels like an eternity! Some people don't understand our obsession with Disney and I get that - you either get it or you don't. We are DVC members and have 200 points that we have to use by this November and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to use them which means one of 4 things: let them expire, use them, let someone else use them, or rent them. I'm all for using them if I had the money but I don't. I would rent them out but it's just a pain in the ass to go through the process. I would rather just let either a family member or friend use them if I knew anyone who would use the points. However, I don't know anyone would use the points at this point so they may just expire.

Getting the itch to mix...

I have been listening to some old mix tapes that I made a decade or so ago. Has it really been that long since I stopped DJing? I've been getting the itch to go back on the wheels of steel and making some new cds. Of course, the songs I have will be really old but I can make some new mixes of old school dance music. Maybe I can even get G or Brian to consider getting together for a mix day? LOL! Three 40 year-old men in a basement with turntables and records....yeah, that's not happening!

Kermit is still around!!!

I found Kermit again while walking the mutts again so I took a few more shots. I guess I have nothing better to do at 2am. This time I used my 580EX Speedlite and he wasn't under my car. I still have a poor low light lens but it is a macro lens so I can get up pretty close. If I find Kermit again tomorrow, I will try to get even closer. Of course, he might be blind from all the flashes by the time I'm done.

Kermit the frog

I found this little guy hopping around on my driveway while I was walking one of our mutts. I almost stepped on him because he's so tiny. I thought he was a moth at first until I realized he was hopping and not flying. It is really tough getting a good shot of a moving subject at night when you don't have adequate light or a good low-light lens at 2:30 in the morning. I had to improvise with two maglites and the pop-up flash (I didn't have the time nor the patience to get my 580EX speedlite - not to mention the frog was under my car so the height of the flash would have negated its usefulness). You can click on the pictures for an enlarged view.

Video of the Week - In a Big Country by Big Country

The Summer is flying by

I cannot believe how fast the Summer is passing. I have another month of Summer school before I get about 3 weeks off before the Fall semester starts. Next week I start my overnight shifts at work until October. I have a lot changes going on the next few weeks and lot of things I need to get done. I'm keeping busy though! Tomorrow, I may even get some yard work done!

School is progressing faster than I anticipated. I'm breezing through the classes and I'm enjoying it. It feels good to be back in school and accomplishing all of the tasks required. With a little more hard work and another year or so, I will have my Web Development degree. Hopefully, a better job will come after that.

Looking for a new TV for the bedroom

Our old 32" tube tv finally kicked the bucket and now I'm looking to get a new tv. I don't really want to spend all that much on it but I also don't want a crappy tv either. I'm trying to keep the cost down as much as I can while still getting a decent tv. The one we have in the family room is great and I want something on par in terms of picture quality but at much less of an expense.

Here are my requirements for the new tv: 1080P, LED, 120Hz refresh rate min., 3 hdmi connections and 40" to 42". We have looked at a few tvs at Sam's Club, and I've researched Amazon and visited Costco as well. I seem to keep finding candidates costing somewhere between $750 to $800 but I was hoping to find something less than $700. Anyone know a place that is less expensive where I don't have to haggle?

Holy hotness!

Today was a record-breaking day for high temperatures throughout most of the Northeast. Newark, NJ recorded a high of 108 degrees while Central Park reached 104. Tomorrow will be extremely hot as well but thankfully the temperatures will drop over the next few days into highs of the low 80's by Monday. Since it was so hot today, I didn't take any pictures. I had no inspirations to take any pictures while at work plus I really don't like the idea of taking pictures at work anyway.

The Trees @ WCCC

I finally took some pictures today, although not that many since I was working and had a summer class this evening. I took this picture after class and the inspiration came from Nate D. who asked someone in "The Trees" group to post current pictures of the Tree awhile back on Facebook.

My Birthday

Today was my birthday and I had a great time spending it with my family. My wife and kids left me little post-it notes with birthday wishes in various languages such as Klingon, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. I'm not sure that I've found them all yet since they left them all over the house for me to find. I also got to spend some time with my parents as we all went outlet shopping - I know, not exactly a guy's thing to do on a birthday but I really didn't want to do anything anyway and my mom wanted to get the kids stuff. Who am I to deny grandma from indulging the kids?

I wanted to take some pictures today but of course my camera battery was completely dead since I forgot to check my equipment the other day like I was supposed to. Anyway, the battery is now fully charged and I plan on taking pictures as much as I can going forward.

I want to thank all of my friends and family for taking the time to wish me a Happy Birthday either via text or through Facebook. I really appreciate it and it means a lot to me to know people care.

My inspirations for Project WHom 365

The first reason I wanted to create this blog was that I wanted to start using my camera more. Originally, I was just going to post 1 pic from each day from my camera (thank you Autumn Barnes). That would be a noble pursuit but I knew realistically I wouldn't do it for many different reasons I won't bother to bore you with. I figured then that a post per day, no matter what the content, would be easier for me to follow through on. I'm still going to take pictures as much as possible but pictures will not be the only content on this blog. Other content may include essays (thank you Mercxue), Videos of the Week, and whatever else I may think of as this blog progresses. I am open to any suggestions for content!

The second reason for this blog was to enhance my web development skills. Some of you know that I am currently enrolled at Warren County Community College pursuing my Web Development degree. I plan on using this blog to work on just that so while I am currently using just a generic Blogger template right now, I plan on morphing it into something totally different as it progresses.

First Video of the Week on WHom 365!