Monday, December 1, 2008

Jetta

Recently I have taken a few pictures of the Jetta VR6.  It was a great opportunity to experiment with my polarizer filter. By changing the way light reflects off the vehicle, I was surprisingly able to make the car look cleaner than it really was. I was able to make it look like I just put a fresh coat of wax on.

 


Sunday, November 30, 2008

Christmas Wishes

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year.    Here are a few pictures that I took as we were decorating on Friday afternoon.

A Christmas Dog...


And a Christmas Tree!



Only 4 more weeks!

Friday, November 14, 2008

The Cake is a Lie.

This week I bought The Orange Box for Xbox 360 and have been playing a game called "Portal." It is probably the most intelligent game I've ever played. It has a gun but it's not a shooting game; The gun shoots the wall to create portals to other areas.






The game has an incredible physics engine that allows you to gain momentum by creating infinite portals. The premise of the game is to see what the test subject is capable of when offered a reward for successful completion of the test chambers. That reward is a piece of cake. In one chamber, you can find a section on the wall where another test subject has carved in the words "the cake is a lie" over and over again.






What I liked most about the game is that it makes you really think to try to figure our how to complete the puzzle. There are countless ways each puzzle can be solved so you can keep replaying the game but find a different way to win each time.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Fall Retreat

Last weekend I went to Talullah Gorge and Unicoi State Park with Chi Alpha and we had an amazing time!

Here are some of my favorite photos from the trip. I hope you enjoy them!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

The Greer Warehouse on Old Woodruff

On Monday night, Josh and I finally got the chance to take some pictures of the old abandoned warehouse over by Taco Tuesday in Greer.

It was fast paced, exciting and interesting. I'm gonna be honest, the area was pretty sketch. But Josh said that you will oftentimes take some of the best pictures in areas just like those.

I'm dedicating these pictures to Kyle Lyons, because he spoke about doing a photoshoot there numerous times after we would go to Taco Tuesday.




Friday, October 31, 2008

Wenn in Bayern...

This weekend I will be going to a small Bavarian mountain town in the Blue Ridge mountains called Helen. It has excellant chocolate and beautiful half-timber houses. I'm sure it will remind me again of all the amazing sights that I saw while I lived in Germany this past summer.



Aside from just going to that town, I'll be returning to Tallulah Gorge/Anna Ruby Falls to take some pictures with the D40. I'm sure that I'll leave with some amazing photographs and maybe I'll even get some of them printed :-)



Now all I have to decide is whether I want to do an extreme hike down into the glacier-carved gorge or do some rock climbing closer to the falls. Either way, this weekend will be a blast and I'll enjoy seeing everybody again.


Thursday, October 30, 2008

CS Veir




Guess what I got last night... : )

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Black and White with Color Highlights

Recently I have been learning a bit more about Photoshop (more specifically, the freeware/open-source photo editor, The GIMP) and I learned how to reclaim some color from a photograph that I made into a B&W.

It's probably one of the oldest techniques known to digital photo editing so I won't go into any details on how to do it but needless to say I'm really happy with the results it produced.


I took this picture of my parent's tomato garden this past weekend and figured that it would be a good picture to help learn how to work with a color masking layer.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Food Photography Tips

This bit of advise came to me last night from my roommate, Josh (http://joshjonesphoto.blogspot.com/.)

Photographing food isn't really that tricky, but if you don't have the settings adjusted right, then your food will look disgusting, no matter how delicious it might taste.

Start off with having your food in a well-lit area. This is probably one of the biggest problems with most photographs in general. Low light areas will produce a bunch of noise.

Depending on your personal preference, adjust your exposure to around +0.3 or +0.7. The next step is probably the most important step in the whole process. Manually set your white balance. If you don't do this, chances are your food will have a yellow or green tint, depending on whether it is under fluorescent or incandescent lighting. Manually setting your white balance will also help you avoid getting over-exposed pixels.

Set your camera to your preferred ISO setting and set your shutter speed to something that will not be affected by you holding the camera as opposed to having it on a tripod (if you do a tripod shot, of course you should set a low ISO and your shutter speed can be as fast or slow as you like.)

Try to get an interesting angle. You don't like boring photography that looks flat. Try to keep your image fairly level and take your shot. Hopefully, your food will look even better and you will be satisfied with your meal!

Just when you thought it was over...

It's a new week and that means at least 5 new posts!

We're going to start this one off with what seems to be a recurring incidence.

The short news headline...

JOEY LAN IS MISSING... AGAIN!

Just when you thought the case was solved, he has eluded us once more. After showing up to work a little bit late on Wednesday, Joey took a “sick” day on Friday. However, we know he was not sick because we received a tip from his roommate, Kyle Lyons (Private Investigator), that Joey had been asleep until 1:34pm. At approximately 1:43pm, Joey called in to his supervisor informing that he would not be going into work that day. According to Robbie, Joey was not in the apartment again this weekend, but his car and motorcycle stayed here. This is more serious than the last time because we currently have no suspects.

If Joey had in-fact come into work that Friday, he would have been ranked 2nd in all-time co-op lateness. Our records show that the latest a co-op has ever come in to work was around 2:30pm.

More updates to follow…

---------------------


Update (10/22/08 - 8:15am)



Joey is still missing, as far as we know. He was the only co-op who didn't show up for the grill-0ut on Monday night and Philip didn't see him at his desk over in body shop yesterday morning.



We will attempt to make contact with him later today, but it is very likely that he has lost communication with the outside world and silenced by his ninja captors.



Though his Civic and motorcycle are still at the apartment, it has been theorized that he might return to retrieve the motorcycle to give to the deadly ninja clan as a bartering item in exchange for his freedom. This is only speculation though, it is not certain if we will ever see Joey again.

---------------------

Update (10/23/08 - 7:23am)

Robbie Clark, roommate of Joey Lan, informed us that Joey is no longer cmployed by BMW. at 7:39am, we were told that he did not get fired. He quit, citing personal issues with being depressed and emotionally upset, though he did not elaborate at all beyond that.

3 co-ops gone within 1 week... Thursdays are not a good day to be a co-op.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

If I'm just bad news, then you're a liar...

It's an amazing difference using a DSLR camera after using point-and-shoot cameras for so long. There are just so many options, it really opens so many possibilities. This is a photo I took last night that has next to no editing... just straight from the camera to the computer.

Caledon Nights

ISO 200, 18-55mm lens, f/13, -0.7 exposure and manual focus.

What impressed me the most was that I didn't even have to use flash at all. It is so different compared what I have used before.

Friday, October 17, 2008

What's for Supper?

I couldn't think of anything to really write about earlier today so I came home and cooked supper, and it looked so good that I took some pictures of it.


This is my usual meal on half of the nights here in Greenville.  The other nights I usually make a some type of a pasta dish.  Delicious, yes?

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Ninjas and Samuri Swords

This is a ninja. This is only a rough sketch from a bystander who was unable to distinguish more than a shadowy shape. Ninjas kill all the time. Yet they are next to impossible to see. If you ever see a ninja's eyes, they will be the last thing you ever see.


Ninjas, we are told, carry a large assortment of weapons to aid in their slayings. They are said to carry everything from smoke pellets to shuriken stars to potato guns. A common misconception is that ninjas kill using samuri swords. This is completely untrue. While a ninja may carry one around with him, the true reason for having it is so open coconuts from Food Lion. Robbie Clark is our expert concerning samuri swords, as he used to have one and that was the only thing he could think of to use it for.


We are still unsure whether ninjas are responsible for the recent Joey Lan disappearance, but we can be certain that no harm to Joey came from a samuri sword.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Blog Action Day: Poverty

The other day, I came across this website, http://www.blogactionday.org/, and I saw their idea of having everyone raise awareness about poverty by dedicating a blog post to it all on the same day. I thought that was really interesting. As said by Evey Hammond in V for Vendetta, "an idea can still change the world."


I didn't register this blog with that website because I didn't feel like I needed to sign up if I wanted to do something right. There were countless other blogs that signed up and registered and projected to reach over 11 million readers. One blog might make a difference, but when it comes down to it, I'd rather have somebody reading this post because they were really interested in the topic and not just seeing the lasted entry on the RSS feed from the main site.


For the past 2 years, I have gone down to New Orleans to volunteer and help with the rebuilding for my Spring Break trip. Each trip has taught me valuable lessons about life and showed me a different side of life that I wasn't used to. This side of life was the life of poverty, homelessness and hopelessness. It was humbling walking through destroyed homes and abandoned apartments. A walk through "Tent City" underneath the interstate overpass is enough to humble anyone.


Don't just walk through though. Take time to talk to the "tenants." Hear their stories, see what their lives are like. Find out who they are and why they are like that. Society may reject them, but many wish that their lives weren't like that.


After talking with several people and even playing a game of Spades with a man who was a chef before Katrina, I realized a major difference between the desperate homeless and the situational homeless. There may be tons of people who, at first glance, look like their situation is the worst and they can't get enough things together to make a positive difference in their lives. Yet, when you take a closer look, you slowly begin to realize that they are milking the system for all it is worth, and they are actually better off homeless than they were when they weren't. As a homeless man in New Orleans, they can get three free meals a day without working. They have people who are genuinly trying to remedy the situaion providing them with everything they need and they make no progress towards having a normal life.




Don't get me wrong. Not all those who are homeless are like this. There are plenty who have no alternative and have to live on the streets off of the charity of others, but not because they receive better treatment than when they weren't homeless.



Maybe reading this has cast new light on an unfamiliar subject for you. My only suggestion to you, the reader, is do you own research, come to your own conclusions and go out and see it for yourself. It will change your life.



Where is Joey Lan?

Information provided by Kyle, Missing Poster provided by Me


As many of you know. Joey is missing. We have made brief contact with him but it was not promising. Here is the story line thus far.

Sunday
10:30-11:00pm Joey and his girlfriend re-heated sauce in Apt. 924 kitchen

Monday
Joey did not respond to any e-mails or texts.

Conclusion- Absent from work.

Side Note- Both Motorcycle and Civic remained at Caledon Woods but was not found inside the apartment.

7:43pm - I piece this together and realize he actually is missing. We attempt to make contact via cell phone.

8:02pm - We stalked his Facebook and Facebook messaged his girl friend who left a post on his wall at 2:31pm .

8:14pm - I receive a phone call from Joey who sounds fine, there is background noise and he jokingly informs me he has been captured by ninjas and thinks he will be returned later that night. He admits that his disappearance from work was unplanned.

11:58pm - After staying up late waiting for Joey, Rob retreats to his bed to sleep.

Tuesday
6:41am - I walk to the kitchen a realize his door is still ajar and he did not come home again.

Conclusion: The wall post left by his girlfriend was a cover up. He was forced to call me and confirm that he was "ok" and not to worry. Joey was in fact kidnapped by ninjas or another massive armed force….. Or a small 5'1" Asian bomb shell.

Any information on his where abouts would be greatly appreciated. Rob and me miss our hermit. If Joey does not reveal himself by 5:00pm today the Caesar's Head run maybe canceled, co-op search parties will be created and we will get our Sherlock Holmes on.

Update from Kyle (10:05am)

Me and Aaron went to his desk. Where he was not to be found. As I asked his neighboring co-worker, his odd boss intervened by saying he had called in said he had family matters he needed to go home for.

-------------------

We know that Joey lied to his supervisor about where he really was. If it was a real family emergency, he would've taken his own car or even his motorcycle so that way his girlfriend wouldn't have to drive back down here from Charlotte. And why wouldn't he tell Kyle or Robbie if it was something important like that? He should at least tell his roommates if he isn't going to be there or at work.

So far, our best theory is that his girlfriend kidnapped him and they are going to get married in a small chapel outisde of Atlanta for $90. If he isn't here for the rest of the week, it would mean that he is on his honeymoon. We need to find him! More details will be released later as our investigation continues.

Update from Aaron (12:39pm)

Co-ops went out to eat lunch at Taco Tuesday. Despite undercover speculation and rumors, Joey did not miraculously show up to order his chicken tacos. 15 hours and 46 minutes have passed since last contact was made. Communication attempts were made this morning but failed - his phone went straight to voicemail. Extensive manhunt to begin today at 6:00pm if he is not found.

Current status for going to Caeser's Head: Unlikely

Update from Aaron (12:46pm)

BREAKING NEWS!

Ingrid's sweater was stolen sometime between 12:20pm and 12:45pm. Surveilence teams have spotted the suspect with the item in question.


He has announced that he is holding the sweater hostage and that there will be a ransom letter soon to follow. As an underground criminal, he might be a conspirator in the Joey Lan disappearance case.


Update from Aaron (3:10pm)

At approximately 2:59pm this afternoon, we received the ransom letter concerning Ingrid's sweater, as it was mentioned earlier. The letter was found marked, "Abide or LOSE". Forensics experts are trying to find a fingerprint or any other piece of evidence to figure out the identity of the "Sweater Stealer."


Update from Josh (9:27pm)

Joey's girlfriend replied to the Facebook message sent at 8:02pm on Sunday. Her response:

"haha...i'm sorry!

no worries...he's safe and sound.

you'll get him back soon...i promise :]"


Update from Kyle (7:43am)

Good news to all. I awoke to find Joey's door shut and his alarm going off this morning. I still have not made contact with him but I feel reassured he will make an appearance today.

Update from Joey (9:01am)

Hello fellow co-ops,

I am safe and sound and back at work. I thank everyone for their concern and support even though Kyle would not pay for my safe release, citing financial difficulties, not the fact that I owe him $10 from two weeks ago.

Now for the true (less interesting) story. I had some really serious personal problems that I had to go home for to deal with which aren't related to my relationship. I did not get married nor did I lie to my boss about the situation. I know this isn't a satisfactory explanation but lets just leave it a mystery.

-------------------

Mystery solved? No.

Joey found? Yes.

Thank you to all involved in helping return our friend and bringing news updates as to his whereabouts.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Afternoon Fun

So Raju and I were messing around and he wrote on me with a pen so I decided to mess with him on Office Communicator (our little IM program at work.) He had no idea what was going on.

Aaron [3:27 PM]: sir you wrote on me
Aaron [3:27 PM]: i'm going to call HR
Raju [3:27 PM]: what
Raju [3:28 PM]: i didnt
Aaron [3:28 PM]: that is harassment in the workplace and it will not be tolerated
Raju [3:28 PM]: wht
Aaron [3:28 PM]: it might be sexual harassment because i am straight
Raju [3:28 PM]: wht do u mean
Aaron [3:29 PM]: what do you think?
Raju [3:29 PM]: wht
Raju [3:29 PM]: i dont knw wht u r sayin
Aaron [3:29 PM]: away from me criminal!
Raju [3:29 PM]: wht r u taaalkin
Aaron [3:29 PM]: tell it to the judge
Raju [3:30 PM]: idk
Raju [3:30 PM]: this makes me wanna take a showert
Raju [3:30 PM]: whtrevr
Aaron [3:30 PM]: yeah you'll probably have to shower with men while you're in prison
Aaron [3:30 PM]: don't drop the soap
Raju [3:31 PM]: idk
Aaron [3:32 PM]: what? you wanna drop the soap? spend the night with big bubba?
Raju [3:33 PM]: no...i m scared
Raju [3:33 PM]: wht d sh*t r u talkin
Raju [3:33 PM]: its so boring
Raju [3:33 PM]: let me knw
Aaron [3:33 PM]: if you talk that way in front of the judge he'll add another 10 years just to assert his authority

Taco Salad



Taco Salad: Considered as one of the best bargains in the cafeteria at a cost of $3.99, Taco Salad has been a favorite choice of BMW co-ops. Contrary to popular believe, there is a wrong way to make a Taco Salad. To help you maximize your Taco Salad experience, here are some recommendations for the assembly:



· Choose a bread bowl that is wider rather than taller. Though they may have the same volume, a wider bowl will allow for better mixing of ingredients and will allow for a better distribution of salsa when it comes time to eat the bread bowl.
· Line the bottom of the bowl with lettuce. Vegetables are healthy and lettuce adds a new dimension to Taco Salad.
· Beef is the meat of choice. A Taco Salad just isn’t a Taco Salad unless the meat you get is beef.
· Ask for rice and/or beans, but do not ask for extra. No matter how hungry you are, nothing good will come from you getting extra fillers. You will only feel sick instead of full, and that will seriously interfere with your job and your digestion system.
· Cheese please! Its cheese, you have to have it. Otherwise you don’t deserve a Taco Salad. If you really like the flavor of cheese when it is mixed with Mexican food, ask for extra cheese.
· You only want a little bit of salsa. Now I know you like salsa. But unless you say you only want a little bit, they will dump entirely too much on and it will ruin the well-blended flavor of a good Taco Salad.
· Top it off with some sour crème. It’s the icing on the cake, the last finishing touch to ordering a Taco Salad. Ask for a dollop and your Taco Salad is 95% finished.
· Mix it up! Perhaps one of the most important steps in making Taco Salad is the mixing process. You want to have a thorough mix of all your ingredients so you get the full flavor in every bite. Make sure that you get the lettuce off of the bottom of the bowl, as it will tend to not mix as easily as the other parts.
· Throw it in the microwave. After mixing your Taco Salad, the food will have cooled down, making it not as delicious. Take it to the microwave section and heat it up for around 45 seconds. This should reheat the food and even melt some of the cheese, leading to bold new flavors.
· Lastly, eat your Taco Salad. Congratulations, you have successfully prepared a delicious Taco Salad! The only rule when it comes to eating the Taco Salad is that you must eat everything on your plate. Leaving behind bits of the bread bowl is simply not allowed. About halfway through your meal, you will start to feel full. This is normal feeling, and it will hit you all at once. They key is pacing yourself and making sure you make one that is not too much for you to eat next time.


Posted courtesy of the BMW MC Co-Op Handbook. Do not use without permission.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Ich weiß nicht, was ich will.

Knowing is not all.
But knowing nothing might be
A very good start.

Mittagessen ist
Mein Lieblings-Zeit des Tages.
Ich will zu essen.

When searching for it,
Know it is already lost.
It will not be found.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The Ghost of Our Times

Viele Grüße!

I can't guarantee that I will write an entry every day and I can't promise that I won't write multiple posts in a given day.

What I can tell you is that truth will be revealed here and that you might not like everything you read.

My life is one that has been full of high expectations and great rewards, risk and satisfaction.  Such illustrious events which might at first seem perilous mature into blessings in disguise.  For you, the reader, I hope you find my posts interesting and will you them as such to know who I am as a responsible man.

Viel glück mein neue Freunde, for I am certain that you would wish no less of me.