I have been reading the Strobist website the over the last couple weeks in an attempt to better my use of the flash. Of course reading is can only get you so far. So, I borrowed a hot shoe to home plug adapter from Geoff, built a crude snoot and took a couple self portraits. I’ve posted them here so others can check them out.
I am currently writing this post in the dark. Lori and I have decided to participate in Earth Hour this year, turning off our lights from 8pm to 9pm. Actually it is 7:40 - 8:40 for us since we are going out later and don’t want to leave the puppies home in the dark.
As I sit here, there are a few observations I would like to make:
Finally, one interesting question pops into my head: how many candles do I have to light to produce the CO2 output of a 13W CFL light?
I don’t understand modern art!
A couple weeks ago, while Lori and I were in New York City, we spent a rainy morning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art enjoying the impressive collection. We started with the Egyptian collection (from my point of view more for the history), checked out the photography and then the 19th century European art. I really enjoy Monet, so this was a treat for me.
Last, we decided to check out the modern art. The collection includes some familiar work by Andy Warhol which was interesting have a chance to see somewhere other than the web or TV. On our way down the stairs to another part of the exhibit, I noticed a florescent light mounted on the wall diagonally just before the stairs. It wasn’t until Lori pointed out its title that I realized it was art.
Someone (the Artist, who’s name I don’t remember) attached a working florescent tube light to the wall on an angle, titled it and therefore it was art. When I do this, it’s considered a DIY project gone terribly wrong.
Mind you, someone out there may enjoy that piece just as much as I enjoy Monet and I am fine with that. However, at that moment I decided I had to admit to myself, I just don’t understand modern art. I guess it can now keep modern dance company in the part of my brain where I store things I don’t get.
I have a problem. I am addicited to caffeine.
There, I have said it. That’s the first step toward beating my problem.
Back in October I noticed a trend that was having a lot of trouble sleeping on Sunday night. I basically thought that it was cause I slept in those mornings, or it was the stress of the week ahead. However, no matter what I did, I couldn’t get to sleep easily on Sundays. So I decided to visit my doctor.
He went through the basic list of what it could be, but decided quickly what he thought the problem was. You see, one of the first questions he asked was if I drank a lot of coffee or other caffeinated beverages. Of course the answer to that was yes. I was up to as many as 8 cups of coffee a day at that point. However, I had ruled that out because I could sleep most nights, just not Sundays. And I purposely avoided coffee on Sundays. What I didn’t know was caffeine could linger in your body for up to 2 weeks. Bingo! I think we had a winner.
Therefore, starting Halloween of last year, I gave up caffeine. All caffeine! No coffee, tea, soft drinks or anything that contained what the experts would call a “significant dietary source of caffeine.”
The first two weeks were awful. Headaches and a general feeling of malaise. With a little will power, I got through them and then it got easier. In fact, I went caffeine free for 6 months. That was the goal, and after that I planned to only have a cup of coffee a day since I enjoy it so much.
However, this is where I realize I have a problem. The cup of coffee slowly became a cup and a half. Then it was two cups. I am now back to 3 cups and starting to see a trend.
So, it is with this decree of my newly admitted problem, I am going to go back off caffeine. This time the goal is one month. After that, I’ll just have to play it by ear.
On April 3 I was invited to join Facebook. This would not normally be a problem, but I was intentionally avoiding joining another social networking site. I joined Classmates many years ago, but it really served no purpose and turned out to be nothing but a spam generator. However, since I was specifically invited to join by a good friend (or I though so, it may have been a scan of his contact list), I figured I could not decline.
At that point I decided to start an experiment. I would not add any new friends myself, just approve anybody who found me as long as I actually knew them. Well, it is 19 days later, and I now have 22 friends. Not a large number by any stretch of the imagination, but the composition is interesting. Most of the friends are not people I hang out with regularly, but people from my past. Some have moved away, others that I just don’t see much anymore and others are people I haven’t seen since high school.
I have to admit, I am a little impressed with Facebook. The site is virtually free (accept for the gifts portion) and the advertising is kept to a minimum. Facebook makes it very easy to track down people and see where they are now. Since I missed my 10 year high school reunion this year (I had a funeral to attend), I have found the site useful in finding out what others are doing these days.
So today ends the Facebook experiment. Since my experience has been good thus far, I have decided to stop being passive. Over time I am going to actively add people, and try to keep my page somewhat up to date. Of course Facebook will be lower on priority list since since it is not a necessity of my life. I just hope I don’t get addicted to the site like some people I know (you know who you are).