Monday

Monday started off well. We had an early morning appointment where we were able to hear the baby’s heartbeat again. It is always a great thing to hear. But after lunch, my noise canceling headphones decided to break on me. I’ve had them for over two years, which I guess is a decent amount of time. But now I can hear all the talking in the office. It makes it a bit more difficult to concentrate.

I’ll need to hop onto Amazon to search for new headphones.

What's on TV?

I’ve always watched way too much television. I’m sure this will change soon, but things are staying the same for now. Here are a few shows we are watching, a few we are looking forward to seeing again, and a few we’ve given up on.

Still Enjoying

  • Lost - This year there are more answers then questions. This final season is turning out to be their best season. It almost makes me sad to see it go.
  • Human Target - New action series. Likable characters, combined with action and light zippy dialog, make this series successful.
  • The Amazing Race - Fun to watch the team conflicts taking place in great locales. I just wish they’d shoot it in HD.
  • The Real Housewives of New York City - Out of all the “Housewives” series on Bravo, this is the one to watch. Did I just type that?
  • Big Bang Theory - The only comedy show I watch consistently. Not gut-busting funny, but funny enough.
  • Criminal Minds - Solid CBS crime drama. It’s just a bit on the violent side.
  • CSI - Still fun to watch even without William Petersen in the cast.
  • The Vampire Diaries - This is a show Farrah watches, so I’ll deny it if asked, but I actually like this show. I haven’t sat down and watched a full episode. But I’ve had my back to the television while Farrah is watching. The characters are likable and have some edge to them. The only thing I don’t like is the flashback scenes. They seem poorly done.

Watching, But Not Sure Why

  • 24 - Jack Bauer is still fighting the good fight. Too bad his storyline is the only interesting one. All the other supporting characters, with the exception of Chloe, are very dull.
  • Project Runway - It’s still a good show, but this season I haven’t found anyone to root for. I’m happy that the show is back in New York!
  • America’s Next Top Model - Tyra Banks can get very annoying with her antics. Luckily, there seems to be some interesting contenders this year.
  • Shear Genius - Why did they get rid of Jaclyn Smith? I can barely watch the new host.
  • Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, and Private Practice - A few shows I happen to watch because I’m in the same room at the time they’re airing. Of the three, I think I find Grey’s the most interesting.

Gave Up On

  • American Idol - I only found one of the singers interesting. This show is no longer in the DVR rotation. Honestly, I probably should have stopped watching a few seasons ago.

Recently Wrapped Up

  • Burn Notice - A solid season ending on a nice cliffhanger. I can’t wait until the next season.
  • Leverage - A weak second season. Character development and interaction seemed off this season. Hopefully, they can recover next season.
  • Numb3rs - My Friday night staple has unofficially ended its series run. It was a weak ending for the show. I’m sure it was intentionally so, just in case the show is picked up for another season.
  • Big Love - I really couldn’t get into this season’s episodes. I may need to watch them in reruns because I forgot what happened. It’s all just a jumble.

Wait and See

  • Fringe - I never was into X-Files, which this show seems similar to in nature. This show works very well on the mysteriously creepy level. New episodes are starting up again soon.
  • Dancing with the Stars - Interested in seeing how certain celebrity do this season.
  • Top Chef Masters - The series was good the first time around. I hear some of the same Masters are returning. Hopefully, that won’t be a bad thing.
  • Law and Order: Criminal Intent - The show has been getting stale lately. I don’t think it helps that Vincent D’Onofrio is leaving. But Law and Order shows always had a revolving cast. It should survive.
  • Royal Pains - When is this show starting again? It feels like it’s been off the air for a long time. Hopefully, the magic of the first season carries over to the second.
  • True Blood - New season looks like it’ll start in the summer. Can this season be as good as the last? Possibly.

About a Girl

Top View

We are having a girl!

We reconfirmed this with an ultrasound earlier this week. Farrah had an ultrasound about four weeks ago. During that ultrasound, measurements were taken then and we could find out the sex of our baby. We shared the news with a few people. But not long after that ultrasound was completed, we were called by the hospital asking to schedule another ultrasound. It seems the technician couldn’t record a good enough view of the heart to satisfy whoever reviews the scans. We had the follow-up ultrasound this past Monday.

The technician performing the scan at this appointment appeared to be more thorough. He provided better commentary on what we were looking at on screen than the previous technician. We were able to watch her heart beating, watching the blood flow in and out. We also saw, through color mapping, how blood was flowing through the umbilical cord. It’s an amazing sight to see. So, Button is coming along nicely.

Wait, who or what is Button?

Bottom View

Names

Button is the current nickname for our future bundle of joy.

We have been thinking about names ever since we found out Farrah is pregnant, even more so after finding out the sex. Until she is born, we’ve decided to use nicknames. The first name we gave her before we knew it was her, was Jazzy. The origins of this name came from movements she made during one of Farrah’s first ultrasounds. It looked as if she was waving both of her hands at us, showing us her jazz hands.

Several weeks later, after another ultrasound, the name Box popped into my head. At this point we still didn’t know the sex. I thought that since this fact was hidden from us, it was basically like being in a box, almost like a present. Yes, I could have gone with something like Gift or Present, but Box seemed to fit. I know, it sounds odd.

And finally, we arrive at Button. The phrase “Cute as a button” popped into my head. And so, Button is where it currently stands.

Don’t worry, she won’t end up with any of these nicknames when she makes her entrance. But we are still thinking of names and haven’t settled on a particular one yet. You’ll know our decision soon enough.

Lost!

Just because I'm hurting
Doesn't mean I'm hurt
Doesn't mean I didn't get what I deserve
No better and no worse
--- Lost! by Coldplay

I was laid off yesterday. I was let go. I was kicked-to-the-curb. My services were no longer required. And yet I feel fine today.

Honestly, there is no bitterness behind my words. This is not my first layoff, and I’m sure it won’t be my last. Yesterday’s events were completely expected. I’ve been laid off three times before, once having the opportunity to relocate but choosing not to do so. All of the times this has happened its been expected. And yes, waiting for the axe to fall is more difficult than the actual axing. But the most difficult part of yesterday, as with the other times I’ve been through this process, was saying goodbye to the people I worked with over the years. It’s tough.

I don’t like writing about work for fear of getting dooced, so I won’t go much further on this subject.

I’ll spend a few days gathering my wits, then plunge ahead with the job search. I’m a glass-half-full-type-of-guy. There’s a silver lining in this situation. I just need to find it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon I’ll realize what it is - to badly paraphrase a line from Casablanca.

Silver linings do exists. It’s all a matter of perspective.

Room in the Middle

If you haven’t heard, Apple announced the iPad yesterday. It seems everyone who hasn’t seen or used it in person describes it as giant iPod Touch. It seems more than that, but having not seen it in person, I could be wrong in this assumption. The question is, “Will you get one?” I’m leaning towards yes. The price is high, but not as high as predicted.

I’m interested in what the iPad can do for me? 

I often use my laptop when watching television - browsing the web, checking email, playing Words with Friends, etc.  I use my iPhone before I go to bed, and when I first wake up. I can see using the iPad to replace both of these scenarios. It’s made for consuming content, whether it’s music, games, the web, or even books. It seems like a good size for a nightstand / coffee table device.

I’ve read plenty of the tech-blogs describing the cons of the iPad. Many focus on what the iPad doesn’t have, or that a netbook can do the same things. But the iPad shouldn’t be compared directly to a netbook or an iPhone. It’s supposed to be the product in the middle, a hybrid. I don’t think I’d be editing photos or doing long word processing documents on an iPad.  If I wanted to do either of those things, I’d use either the laptop or a desktop. I also don’t think I’d use the iPad as a mobile device.  But I can see bringing it to Starbucks, logging onto their WiFi to browse the net.  It’ll be easier to carry in my backpack. But if I need to do actual work at Starbucks, I’d bring my laptop.

Who knows, my mind may change when I actually see the iPad in person.  At the very least I’m excited to see what it can do.

She's Having My Baby

An Ultrasound

Ultrasound of the Little Dude or Little Dudette

Farrah is pregnant!

[Note: Apologies to our shared friends on Facebook.  I know you’ve heard this announcement before, from Farrah’s wall posting last week. I just haven’t had time to make a blog post and post it on my Facebook wall as well.]

Not much to add.  Well, I guess we could throw in a few details.

 How far along are you?

At this point Farrah is at 14 weeks.

 When did you find out?

The morning of November 1.  Farrah woke me up early that morning, showing me a photo on her iPhone of a home pregnancy test.  I had to ask who’s it was. She then smiled and said, “It’s mine!”  Later that day we took two other tests just to be sure.

 When is your due date?

July 11th.

 Do you know the sex of the baby?

Not yet. It’s too early. But we do want to find out when we can.

 How are you feeling?

Not too bad. Luckily Farrah hasn’t experienced a lot of morning sickness, though there were times where she did not feel like eating.  Her appetite returned last weekend with the beginning of the second trimester.

We hear that the second trimester is the best.  I can say, for both of us, that we’re extremely happy,  excited, and of course, nervous.  I take it all of those are natural responses. 

Last Monday, we heard the baby’s heartbeat for the first time.  At first it was difficult to distinguish it from the static coming from the Doppler Baby Heart Monitor’s - I think that’s what it’s called -  speaker.  After some maneuvering of the microphone by the doctor, a clearly identifiable strong heartbeat was coming through.  I have to say hearing the heartbeat was as cool as seeing the first ultrasound of the baby back in November. I honestly could have cried.  Yes, I did cry during a couple of the ultrasounds.

We can’t wait until July. 

My Year in Review Plus More or Less List

A belated Happy New Year to all!  Welcome to Twenty-Ten! This is the proper way to say it, right?

Again, I blame the Winter Break for not doing this post earlier.  But here I am, a little late to the party, trying to summarize blog postings and happenings from the last year:

  • Kayla started playing volleyball.  This prompted my sister to get into DSLR photography. She is doing great taking photos, and using the plenty of tips on photography from family and friends.
  • This past Christmas Eve we did our first Skype call with my sister and her family in Nebraska. I think it surprised my mom, who was happy to see them on screen even though she had just seen them in person less than a month earlier. Ah, technology.
  • Two new additions to the extended family this past year: Kaleb and Kaelin.
  • We did a few concerts this year: Paolo Nutini, Dane Cook, Rex Navarette, and Tori Amos.  Farrah also saw No Doubt at Shoreline.
  • We saw the King Tut exhibit and went to the California Academy of Sciences.  I didn’t blog about King Tut, but will probably do so in March.
  • We bought our first LCD TV and took the dive into blu-ray.
  • We, and everyone else bought the iPhone 3GS. It’s been a very good phone for us.
  • Once again, the state of this blog has fluctuated this year.  The blog has bounced from Wordpress to Wordpress.com to Tumblr to Wordpress again. I also pointed the domain (Janella.com) directly to my Smugmug account to start a new site alex-is.com. And once again, with my manic web life, I’ve decided to shut down alex-is.com and blog back at Janella.com. Confusing, huh?  Even though everyone seems to be on Facebook, I believe I will continue to blog here. I want to avoid getting stuck in a walled garden.
  • My uncle passed away last year.  It was tough to take, even though I hadn’t seen him in so long.

Ok, now onto my New Year’s resolution list.  I know, you really don’t need to wait until a new year begins to make a list of goals. You should be able to do this any day of the week. But I suppose New Year’s Day is an apt occasion to think about what you’d like to change. Wait? Wasn’t New Year’s Day about a week ago?  Yes, it was, and I’ve listed “less procrastinating” as one of my goals.

I present here, in this blog post, my “More or Less List.” Should be a straightforward read.

In the coming year, I would like to do more:

  • Reading: I do plenty of online reading. I’d like to read more books. I started two books last year, American Gods and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I got halfway through both books. I need to finish those first, then find other books of interest.
  • Writing: I’ve been trying to write an hour a day, write like a stream of consciousness. I’d like to continue this. I’m hoping this leads to better blog entries or at least more interesting entries.
  • Taking photos: As I’ve said in a previous post, I’d like to take more pictures and to be more creative.  My understand lighting and depth-of-field seem to be growing more, but I don’t think about it often on-the-fly. Also, following some of these resolutions would be good.
  • Watching movies: There was a time when I would devour movies.  But my ability to sit through a film waned a few years ago.  I’ve been able to watch a few movies the last several months.  I hope to continue the trend.
  • Exercising: I took a month or so off for the holidays.  I need to desperately jump back on this horse.
  • Cooking:  I need to bust out the pots and pans more this year.>

I probably should do less of the following:

  • Dining out: Too many restaurants too often. But it does help with my Yelp reviews. I should be cooking more though.
  • Playing video games: I’ve already conquered the world (Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution), won 15 Super Bowls (Madden 10), beat Arsenal to a pulp (FIFA 10), and saved the world - for the time being (Call fo Duty: Modern Warfare 2). Time to cut down the hours on the PS3.
  • Giving in to treats: I need to eat less chocolate, drink less soda, and cut down on my Starbucks Mocha consumption. Of course, if we receive a care package with chocolate in it, well, I’ll probably breakdown. I’ve been successful in cutting down on the mochas, so far.
  • Spend less time on Facebook, Tumblr, etc.: I’m thinking of just logging in once a week instead of the multiple times a day, onto these networks.  Just a thought.
  • Procrastinating: Yes, I just need to get things done!

How did I do compared to last year’s list? Considering that I have many repeats on this list, it seems I didn’t do well.   I probably should assess how I’m doing by the middle of the year.

New Year, New Photos

I haven’t done well with my goal of completing past dailyshoot photo assignments, as I had hoped to in a recent post.  But I did have a chance to take photos yesterday.  We met up with Yen and Timothy at Valley Fair Mall. It’s amazing how much Timothy has grown. I was able to take a few photos of him, but boy does he move a lot. Of the 40-plus photos I took, only half were usable. But that’s a good thing.

I’m trying to get into the habit of pressing and holding down the shutter release button. If I have the camera in a certain mode, it will take a series of three-to-five shots at a time. With an empty 4GB memory card I should be able to take approximately 170 or so photos in RAW format, at least that’s what my camera says.  Unlike film, I shouldn’t worry about taking too many wasted shots, when seeking that one that captures a moment.  After all, it’s difficult to take non-flash photos in low light, a situation I often find myself in.  Using this method, if I’m lucky, one of those three-to-five photos should turn out. I guess I could get a faster lens or start using flash, but a better lens costs money and I don’t often like the results with flash.

I wish I got into this habit earlier. I think it would have come in handy on some of our travel photos.

Christie's in Burlingame

I didn’t have definite plans this morning, other than driving my wife to work. Unfortunately, she’s working New Year’s Eve day whereas I have it off. After dropping her off I decided to try a new place for breakfast. I launched the Yelp app on my iPhone and found Christie’s in Burlingame. Based on the reviews already on Yelp it seemed like the perfect way to start the day. Well, it would have been perfect if my wife could have joined me.

I love diners. This diner is located on California Drive, a slightly busy street. Metered parking was easy to find. Further out there is free two-hour parking, but you’ll need to walk a block or two. The place isn’t too large, probably holding anywhere from 40-50 people. The host/cashier greeted me promptly when I entered the door. I quickly found a single seat at the eight-seat counter.

The menu offers many choices for breakfast. I went with the “Our Own Joe’s Special” - a dish I’ve enjoyed at other diners. (As a side note, I either want corned beef hash or “Joe’s Special” when going to a diner.) Their “Joe’s Special” includes not only the requisite eggs and ground beef but mushrooms and tomatoes. It came with a healthy heap of crispy hashbrowns and nicely buttered toast.

The food was delivered promptly. My coffee cup was never empty, and I was often asked if everything was ok by several different waiters. The waiters were friendly, greeting new people and regulars with the same warm smile and hello. Luckily I managed to beat the morning rush, finishing my meal just as they were arriving.

I’m pretty sure I’ll be coming back when I’m down in Burlingame.

Motivation and Inspiration

I’ve been in an inspirational slump. Often, I would bring my camera to any family occasion to capture moments.  But even on those occasions, it’s been difficult to get up for taking photos.  I’m hoping for a change, a spark.  I would often find inspiration through photos people posted on flickr or on trekearth.  But I’ve even been lost in this method of motivation.  A new site is helping to spark motivation and inspiration.  It’s called dailyshoot.com.

I heard about the site while listening to one of my favorite podcasts, tacksharp.  The site’s concept was created by John Duncan Davidson and Mike Clark.  It’s a simple, helpful idea. Daily photo assignments are posted on the site at 9 AM EST.  The hope is for people to pick up their cameras and look for opportunities to complete the assignment.  Take one photo or ten, but choose the best to share with the community.  You use Twitter to let the site know you have posted a photo for an assignment.  It is then vetted by the site’s “magic”, then posted on dailyshoot.com.  You can see photos I’ve taken here.

I hope to go back through the twenty-five-plus assignments I missed. I’ll try to do a few during my work winter break. So you may see more photos from me here on the site.  I not only hope to take more photos, but also to be more creative, and more expressive in my photography.  

You know this will be one of my New Year’s resolutions.

Shooting in Low Light

My photography background consists of taking a few classes at the local junior college, and what I’ve read online and in books. All of these resources have helped me along my journey in photography. I’ve taken a handful of photos that I really enjoy. But I still lack the ability to take decent photos in low-light situations.

Kayla’s volleyball game.

When I shot on film, using my Nikon N90, I was always anxious when shooting in low light. I would dread that the photos I took would develop and show nothing at all. Shooting digitally I am less anxious, but I’m rarely happy with the end results I achieve.

I know part of the solution is having the right tools. If you don’t have a fast enough lens, then shooting action in low light will be a challenge. The photo above is from one of Kayla’s volleyball matches. I used the fastest lens I had, a Sigma 30mm / f 1.4. From the looks of it, the photo came out as best as it could. But the lens is wide, so close-up details are not possible. I wish I could move closer to the action. I guess I need a longer lens.

Kaleb sitting.

I used the same lens to take this photo of Kaleb in very low light. I shot this at ISO 800. You can see some blurring, as I had the aperture wide open. I didn’t take into account the depth of field I was working it. I need to pay more attention to this aspect of photography. I was simply hoping to get a photo without using a flash. I worked on the photo a bit in Photoshop, but it could have been much better if I had just a little more light.

So what do I know right now about shooting in low light?

  • If you have a fast lens, use it. As I understand it, a fast lens is f 1.8 or lower. If you have a kit lens it may not be suited for this task.
  • Use a higher ISO. If you use 800 or higher, you may get some grainy photos, so don't be surprised.
  • If possible, use a tripod. A tripod may not work, especially when your subject is moving.

There are plenty of good tips out there. I just need to read them and keep shooting. As they say, practice makes perfect.

I Wasn't Here

I wasn’t here during the Loma Prieta earthquake 20 years ago. I was out of California, doing my stint for God and country. I remember when the quake happened. It was my day off. I had set the VCR in my bedroom to tape the third game of the World Series. I brought back takeout from Whataburger. I’m pretty sure it was a double-meat Whataburger with jalapenos. I remember setting down the bag, turning on the tv a little after 7 in the afternoon, and then seeing just a green screen with the words “World Series” on it.

No audio, no nothing.

Then I heard Al Michael’s voice come on. He didn’t mention the word earthquake, but what else could it be. I had a feeling it was pretty big considering there was no video on the television screen. I tried to call home several times but wasn’t able to get through. The video finally came up on some channel, I’m not sure if it was CBS, NBC, or ABC. I think I switched back to ABC to watch the complete coverage. I still wondered if everyone was all right at home.

Later in the evening I finally got through to my parents. Everyone, for the most part, was ok. I think there were a few bumps and bruises, and something about the big mirror in the living room possibly coming down. But thankfully, everyone was fine.

Wow, 20 years ago, huh? I wish, just a little bit, that I was here.