New Camera...New Pictures

I've written several blog posts concerning cameras. Back in 2011 I made the decision to post one picture every day on Facebook, Google +, and my blog. I believe I've also used at least one photo in each of my daily blogs. Since then I've gone through several cameras--not that I've destroyed those cameras--they work perfectly fine. It's just that I've upgraded the equipment on which I shoot.

The first camera I used when I began my photographic adventure was a Kodak MX 1063 Digital Point-And-Shoot. I loved that camera. It wasn't the best, but I think I utilized every function of that little camera. And it was red, which is always a bonus.

With a heavy heart I traded in my trusty Kodak for an iPhone. When I bought my first smartphone, an iPhone 4, I used that for my daily pictures. Since then I upgraded my phone from an iPhone 4 to an iPhone 4s and finally an iPhone SE, which has an amazing camera, by the way.

In 2014 I bought my first serious camera, a Nikon D60. I still have that camera and I love it, even though it was several years old when I got it. And up until last week, that was my workhorse, my trusted friend to capture what my eye saw and hopefully, some of the emotion as well.

Last week I picked up a new camera, and even though I've loved all my cameras, this one is flat-out beautiful! It's another Nikon, this time the D3300 model. Oh, and it's also red. The photos on this blog that aren't of the new camera were taken with the D3300 today. I've only had it a week, but I took it to Comic Con and tried it out. My pictures were okay--I'm still learning how the thing operates, but I look forward to experimenting and taking a lot of pictures and video. 

We'll see how it all develops.

Rivalry Week...For Me, A Paradox

In many ways, I really hate Rivalry Week.

Many University of Utah football fans and Brigham Young University football fans LOVE this week. It's something that, up until a few years ago, was as annual an event as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day. And the die-hard fans of each institution reveled in its glory.

So, what's to hate?

Lots, actually.

Of course we don't always remember how things "used to be," but the general consensus is that over the past few years, the rivalry's gotten mean and nasty. There's as many opinions about why the rivalry has gotten so bad as there are armchair commentators to let you know. I have my own opinions. I believe there are many reasons the Holy War has gotten so intense, but personally, I'd say the main reason is based on one big fact:

The Utah Utes got good.

They got so good, they've dominated the series as of late. I know some BYU fans might not agree, because many of the contests have been very close with several overtime games. But if we talk wins vs losses, it's not been close. Since 2002 Utah has beat BYU ten times and lost three. The last time BYU beat Utah was 2009. In fact, for seven decades Utah owned BYU, and by "owned" I mean from 1896 to 1971, BYU beat the Utes a total of eight times. As of now, Utah leads the all-time series 58-34-4 (all stats courtesy of Wikipedia--though not "official," they're probably pretty close...).

But then BYU hired Coach LaVell Edwards and that changed everything. For anyone born between, say, 1960 and 1985, you almost never saw the BYU Cougars lose to Utah, and not lose much to anyone else. They had some of the best teams in the country and they even won the big enchilada--the National Championship in 1984.

So, as long as Utah wasn't good, the Holy War was pretty much another excuse for BYU fans to enjoy another dominating win. And all was well in Happy Valley.

But, as I said before, Utah decided not to remain a Cougar doormat. Over time the names of McBride, Meyer, and Whittingham slowly built a team, a team that hasn't done to the Cougars what they did to Utah (go 19-2 from 1971 to 1992...), but has made their mark. And as far as going undefeated, Utah did what BYU did in 1984 twice in four years. They were the first BCS buster (BYU never made it to a BCS bowl--Utah went twice...). Utah moved from the Mountain West Conference to a Big 5 conference, and have gotten the kind of national attention BYU used to get all the time.

So, why is Rivalry Week a paradox for me. It's simple, actually. I was one of those born between 1960 and 1985, and I went to the U of U. I watched time after time the boys in blue totally pound my Utes. It was not pretty. It did not feel good. But as I became a bigger Ute fan, losing to the Y hurt more and more--brought back the memories, I suppose.

I know Rivalry Week is supposed to be fun, a time to celebrate two good teams as they show what they can do on the field. It's supposed to be a time for their fans to enjoy one-upping each other and making silly bets. I should be excited for the week and having a good time this week. So--for me--in order to do this, I actually have to care less about the game, dismiss those deep-seated issues that swim in my subconscious. If I care less, I'll enjoy it more.

Next Sunday I'll go to church. If Utah wins I'll think about wearing my U of U football tie, but I'll probably not because I have so many friends who will be hurting. Some Utah fans will wear theirs, though. And if BYU wins many will be wearing something blue and smiling more than normal. They'll get to feel something they haven't felt since 2009.

I have no idea how it will end up, who will win and who will not. Of course, it's only a few months until college basketball season and we'll be doing the whole thing all over again.

Too Much Stuff...Digitally Speaking

Four pictures--four lousy pictures and they wouldn't fit on my hard drive. 

And I thought I had fixed the problem.

There's a lot I don't understand about computers. Yes, I have a Mac laptop, but I'm sure if I had a PC laptop, I'd be just as confused. Of course, the current problem with my lack of disk space I believe has to do with the number of pictures I take. For a non-professional photographer it could be considered excessive. And now that I bought a new camera that shoots video as well, it's only going to get worse. It's all my fault. I take too many pictures.

Then again, maybe that's not the problem.

I thought, when I bought my laptop back in 2009, that the 500 gig hard drive would be more than enough. And it was, until over time that hard drive begins to fill up. I've tried fixing the problem. I bought external back-up drives and fill them up. I even paid for iCloud service, which I thought would clear up the problem once and for all.

Nope.

I don't understand the whole iCloud concept if, when you have pictures and movies in the iCloud and you try to delete them off your computer, you get a message saying that deleting the pictures will delete them from the cloud. I thought if they were in the cloud, you wouldn't need them on your hard drive.

Now, those of you out there who understand how this works are probably thinking that the concept is so simple to understand, why can't I figure it out. That's a very good question. Who knows? Maybe I have 500 gig of stuff other than pictures. If that's the case, I've got WAY too much digital stuff. 

There was one final measure to take to fix the problem, and we did it. We bought a super-mega 2 terabyte hard drive to hold everything. I've backed up all my stuff again, so when I delete stuff now, I don't feel so bad. One day, maybe I might figure out how all this stuff works. Here's hoping.

Comic Cons...What's The Point?

 I found myself, the day after one of the largest comic cons in the county ended it's three-day run, at church.

And, as fate would have it, I was asked to stand in front of the men of the congregation and tell them a little bit about myself--kind of a "get to know each other better" exercise. I just happened to be the one chosen. I began by  telling them I spent the last three days at the Salt Lake Comic Con and that's why I was so tired.

It was then an older member of the congregation asked a simple question.

"That convention...what's the point?"

A few chuckles rose from the other men in the room. I know the man asking the question; he meant no disrespect. He was generally interested in why people would spend hours and hours on costumes, and spend a lot of money to attend.

And so, I answered his question.

I told him and the other men in the room that this event, and others like it across the globe, allow people form all walks of life to come together and celebrate the things they love. I told them that when you walk inside, everyone you see is smiling. At least, that's what I see when I walk the floor or participate in a panel. I told them that inside that building is truly a "safe place," where no one makes fun of them--no matter how they're dressed. They can come and, if only for a few days, pretend to be someone else. Mark Hamill said to thousands of fans on Thursday, that you go to cons to escape reality for a moment, a reality that is many times not kind to those who are different. The crowd erupted in cheers when it said it because they knew the power in his words.

I told them that when they go to comic con, they're not bullied or put down, or made to feel inferior just because they'd rather play video games and read fantasy novels than get dressed up and go dancing. They'd rather play D & D than watch a bunch of fully-padded football players beat up each other on artificial grass and come away as heroes by society--a society that has many times, in their mind, abandoned them.

I stood and defended my fellow geeks and nerds, and I felt good doing it. But more importantly, I hopefully educated those men, many of whom may have dismissed the cons as another "waste of time." The cons are important, and by the success of the event going on three years has proven, they're sorely needed.

I've been fortunate enough to go to each of the events held in Salt Lake City the past three years. It's been an honor helping to put it on, even if it's in a small way. And when I walk from my car or the train station with hundreds of other con attendees to the building, I walk a little talker because of of what that that badge around my neck represents. I am a nerd and I am home.

Congratulations...Kenzie And Alex!

A thin layer of clouds shielded the harsh rays of the sun as family and friends gathered. We waited for those who soon would take those important steps, steps from which they would never be the same. We stood and watched. We sat and listened.

Advice given, vows made, promises spoken. A kiss to seal.

And then they were married.

Today Kenzie and Alex stood before their families and friends and became one, one in purpose, one in spirit, one in family.

May that love sustain you, feed you, help you grow. Congratulations to my beautiful niece and her her handsome husband, a new member for our family, a new member for theirs, a new family for themselves.

Computer Spying On You? It Just Might Be...

At work my team all participates in a group messaging thread. It's extremely helpful for us to bounce off ideas, compare notes, and help each other with the issues that crop up in the course of a typical work day.

But, as sometimes happens, the thread can be used as a way to deliver non-work related messages. Last Wednesday in a very short post, someone said they had switched from their cable TV service to Sling TV. They also said they were very satisfied with the switch and suggested the rest of us look into it. A few commented that they might.

And that was it.

If you're part of our modern society, chances are you're paying for some type of entertainment service, be it cable TV, satellite TV, or one of the many internet options. I've heard of Sling TV. But truth be told, after I read the comment on the group feed, I pretty much forgot about it.

Until, that is, I came home.

My wife and I were hanging out watching TV when I saw something that reminded me of what my co-worker had said.

"You ever heard of Sling TV?" I asked and she said she had not. I told her that it was a service to get cable channels without going through our local cable provider. Again, though interesting, I wasn't interested enough in the service to look it up. I forgot about it, again.

That is, until I was absentmindedly scrolling through Facebook, and I saw it--an ad for Sling TV. I had never mentioned Sling TV before, let alone the day I said something about Sling TV for the first time in my life.

And I thought--my computer is spying on me! I wasn't working on the computer when we discussed the product. How else could it know? It must be spying!

I held to this believe until I told my wife about the same Sling TV ad. she looked at my Facebook screen and simply said, "Oh yeah--that ad popped up on my Facebook screen yesterday."

I guess my paranoia is unjustified...at least, in this case.

Just Me, Mark, And Several Thousand Friends...

For those of you who went, you know what it was like to be inside when the name was announced and he emerged from the tunnel. You felt it too. I've been fortunate enough to attend each Salt Lake Comic Con and FanX they've held. But I generally avoid the large celebrity panels. For me, the cons are about networking, creating and maintaining relationships, and moving product. I mean, the celebrities are wonderful for those who go to the cons specifically to meet and see the stars. I just had other interests.

So when they announced Mark Hamill would be at the Vivint Smarthome Arena to kick off this year's con, I considered not attending. But my son came with me and he wanted to go so we went.

I'm glad I did.

It was a blast!

Mr. Hamill did not disappoint. He told stories and fielded questions. I haven't seen so many smiling faces since the Utah Jazz last made the playoff.

Oh, sorry...too soon?

But seriously, it was very cool. And it was fun to have that shared experience. It was something my son and I--and thousands of others--can look back and remember when Mark Hamill came to town.