Monday, January 31, 2011

Wonder Bananas

So I didn't write yesterday. It was a busy day and I was probably being a little lazy.
Oh, and I was playing at this Women's thing called Wonder. It's bananas.




KoP


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sunday, January 30, 2011

The Blind Leading The Blinds

Yesterday, we went out and bought some blinds at Lowes. Apparently, Layla had somehow pulled down the blinds in our bedroom. She likes to look outside, you see...
Anyway, this time, I got the nicer, heavy duty wide slat blinds. They look so much better than those cheap plastic ones.
I went ahead and replaced all the street facing windows. They're a little expensive, so I'll finish out the house over the next two paydays (also, I don't feel like spending all day mounting blinds haha).

Right now, I'm back at Lowes returning one set that was defective. I fought with this one for over an hour last night. I hope they don't say anything about the hammer marks all over it... Hahaha.
Nah, I managed to control myself... Barely.


KoP

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Saturday, January 29, 2011

PTA

Watching: Planes, Trains & Automobiles with the fam.



KoP


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, January 28, 2011

Robbed!

So someone apparently stole our business credit card number last week.
Amy noticed some odd charges when she was looking at the account last night, charges to Lowes and Toys-R-Us somewhere in California.
Ugh.

We called a friend and she told us that the bank may close the account and have us open up another one, and that they should ultimately give us back the money that was stolen.
To be safe, I transferred the remaining money into another account.
We called the bank this morning and found that the charges were made with Amy's card (we both have personal cards to the account). All they had to do was cancel her card and reissue another one though. My card is still "secure".

I would really like to know how the thief got access to the number. Amy uses the card the most with vendors and other purchases. I hope the investigators find them. Fat chance...

In other news: it's Friday! I get out of class today at noon. I'm going on a long bike ride when I get home. It's beautiful outside.

Have a great weekend!

KoP

Gah

Didn't write.

I actually got off work early yesterday, watched some House with Amy, helped Tristan with math homework, then went to rehearsal. I had plenty of time to write, but still forgot.

Ok, now that that's out of the way, I'm going to write for today.

Peace,

KoP




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Training

Yesterday, I found out that I'm going to be in training for the rest of the week. That's cool with me. I'm always game for a few easy days. The instructor is ok, as in not too boring, and he is all about getting us out of there as early as possible. Tomorrow I think we'll be done by 2, and Friday we'll wrap up at 12. Lovely way to start the weekend.
The only bummer is that the class starts an hour earlier than usual, cutting into my gym time.
What the heck, it's worth it.

KoP



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

WPPI and How To Keep Secrets Secret

I've started bringing my laptop to work again, my laptop and my camera, actually.
I need to do more writing, AND I want to get out and shoot some stuff.

Just a few more weeks until our trip to Vegas.
I don't particularly LIKE Vegas as a destination, but the WPPI convention is absolutely awesome. It's a very good way to get motivated and learn how to run a photography business better. It's very inspirational. PLUS, Amy and I could use the vacation. We rarely go out on our own. We're going to have a good time.

My brother-in-law got married recently... to the devil. A short, sawed-off, troll of a devil-woman-thing. I'm going to need a few entries to explain the situation.
Actually, I've got a few things I need to get off my chest. The only reason I haven't so far is that a few people from my "real-life", whom I would rather not know the details, know about this journal.
True, it sat dormant for a long time, but all they would have to do is drop in to see if I'm updating... I don't want to risk that so I need to figure out how to lock it down... or at least just lock down specific entries to friends only.
I wonder if you can do that here?
Anyway, have a good one.


KoP

Monday, January 24, 2011

Bad Influence

I fell asleep to some House episodes and didn't write.
House is a bad influence...


KoP

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Jackboot Monopoly

Another invigorating game of Monopoly tonight.

I won, again, and watched the Dad/Husband-stock plummet. So, in a clever move to save face for the vanquished, I decided to just let the game play out as if they hadn't landed on my hotels YET again, this time, with hints, and tips, and overlooks given gratuitously to further their Empires.
Amy balked, Tristan ran with it until he crushed me under his Jackboots... er Converse Chucks.
A good time was had by all.

Night


KoP

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Playing House

It's been a nice, easy day today. Nothing really going on, nothing really pressing to be done.
It's been nice.
We've been watching House most of the day.
I LOVE this show!
If I'm not careful, I'll start acting like him. He's horrible and awesome.

I tried to modify a couple of high-powered halogen lights to use on photo shoots.
I got the idea from a professional photographer at last year's WPPI. He and another guy actually built a prototype of a light gun. It worked very well, but the type of pro video light they were using is pretty expensive. I'm going with one of their earlier builds and halogen bulbs (which tend to burn your retinas out when the you look into the light). I'm work on mods and diffusers now.
Anyway, it's fun to experiment.

Gotta go. House just ordered another brain surgery...



KoP




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, January 21, 2011

Casa Loco

We're watching Alaskan Gold Rush on Discovery.
You bet it's a wild and crazy Friday night at the Smith's house. Casa Loco!


KoP


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Good

Good workout this morning.
Good band rehearsal tonight.
Good song I'm writing.
Good family time.
Good bed I'm laying in.
Good weekend coming.
It's all good.


KoP

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Run DMC and Prometheus

Last Summer, while my friend and I were up here:






Crestone Peak, Colorado
we reminisced about our childhood, and music we used to listen to. One group in particular was
Run DMC.







You know that feeling when you can allllmost remember a name or something, but it doesn't come to you for 3 or 4 days, and you don't get any sleep for thinking about it during that time? Well that's what we were doing.
Today, I'm happy to report, only 5 months later, I REMEMBERED! the songs were:
Son Of Byford, and
Proud To Be Black.
Jeez...
Now I've got to call my friend today and let him know.

In other news, I heard that Ridley Scott,












the director of the first Alien movie in 1979, is... WAS working on 2 prequels to the original. I don't know if you've ever seen it or not, but THAT movie was scary.
Anyway, during the process of working out the screen play, a new and original movie has come. It was so original, in fact, that they decided to scrap, at least for now, working on the prequels. That news kind of bums me out, but then again, I wonder what this new idea is all about.
It's going to be called Prometheus, and some of the actors have already been cast.

I looked up Prometheus and found this:
In Greek mythology, Prometheus (Ancient Greek: Προμηθεύς, "forethought")[1] is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals.[2] Zeus then punished him for his crime by having him bound to a rock while a great eagle ate his liver every day only to have it grow back to be eaten again the next day. His myth has been treated by a number of ancient sources, in which Prometheus is credited with – or blamed for – playing a pivotal role in the early history of mankind.













Ridley explained that the movie would carry some of the "DNA" of the Alien franchise that made people scared of the dark, and space, and aliens, and things that pop out of our chest.
Damon Lindelof, who is working on the script with Ridley said this:

Lindelof: "In a world flooded with prequels, sequels and reboots, I was incredibly struck by just how original Ridley's vision was for this movie. It's daring, visceral and hopefully, the last thing anyone expects. When I sat in a movie theatre as a kid, feet raised off the floor for fear that something might grab my ankles, I never dreamed in my wildest imagination I would one day get to collaborate with the man responsible for it. Working alongside him has been nothing short of a dream come true."

I'm expecting good things...
Tell me some movies you are looking forward to seeing.


KoP


Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone



Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Pet Mammoth

Have you heard the story about the Japanese scientist that says he will be able to clone a Wooly Mammoth within 5 years?


Now, I have to admit, I'm intrigued by the news. I want it to happen, but, what will be the ramifications if he is successful?

With the exponential advances in technology that we have experienced in the past 100 years, I wonder what the Earth will be like, what mankind will be like in the next 20 years?
If we're still here, we'll probably be much like we are today... except we'll have much cooler video game systems... and mammoths.


KoP



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Monday, January 17, 2011

House Pet




I'm watching Cake Boss on TLC.

The domestication of Wild Phil is complete.

::weep::


KoP


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Toy Story 4 Lighting

Toy Story 4. Woody finds himself lost and alone somewhere in the Deerbrook Mall parking lot, never to be seen again.
The End

It was almost sad when I came across Woody yesterday. He wasn't moving...



Amy and I had a great time yesterday and last night. We had a lot of fun with the studio. Learned a few new lighting techniques that I believe will improve our work. We went out to eat a couple of times and got to spend some real quality time together. Tristan was spending the night at his cousin's for a birthday party so it was jus us.
::wink wink::

I'm At church right now, and we just finished music. After service, I'm going to grab a bite to eat and head to the music store.
Rockin' Robin Music. They have a Fender Jazz bass there that I've been drooling over.

I'm going to play around some more with the lighting when I get home. Amy will be on her way to Madisonville to pick up Tristan.

Have a nice Sunday.


KoP


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Saturday Date




Amy and I just had breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Now we're sitting in the movie theatre about to watch Black Swan. I hear it's pretty good and racy. I like Natalie Portman, and wild makeup, and a good story.

Later today, we're going to work on some new lighting techniques for our photography. I LOVE experimenting. We have to keep our stuff fresh because there is a lot of competition put there. I like the philosophy of another photography couple we met at WPPI: Stay fresh. Reinvent yourself every 6 months.
They are extremely successful.

Bottom line: I'm loving a Saturday at home with my smokin' hot wife.


KoP


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, January 14, 2011

Gack

Forgot to write because Amy and I were trying out a new brand of imported beer. Haha
Don't recall the name, but it was STRONG, nevermind that I'm a light weight who drinks about twice a month. That's about 4 beers a month. Can't undermine my training, you understand.

KoP


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Dirty Dancing, Country Strong

Man, I'm tired so I'll make this one quick.
Amy is sitting next to me talking to a friend about the movie Country Strong. She is telling her how good it was, Dirty Dancing good. Hahaha!
I'm not seeing it...

Tomorrow morning is Spin at the gym, then a nice long ride on Saturday if the weather holds up.

KoP


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Yoga And Specs

Yoga class was really full this morning. Amy and I kinda knew it would be because we tried to get in last week and there was no room. This morning we woke up at 4:30 so we could get there a few minutes early. The class starts at 5:15am.

We also had a different instructor who, it turns out, is the ACTUAL instructor. She was fast and furious.
Also she made us hold poses for way to long considering how closely bunched together we were. It didn't take long before I was tired of having some guy's ass crack near my face.

After Yoga, a swim. It's probably been a month since I swam so my form wasn't all that great. Time to get back on that horse.

Man, I'm about to crash so g'night!


Oh, these are my new glasses... which I broke... and then had replaced under warranty today. Lucked out...


KoP


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Game Must Go On

Tristan wanted to play Monopoly, so Monopoly is what we're going to play tonight.

It's always everyone against me though. It all started years ago when I got Tristan... or Amy, or somebody to make a deal with me and I ended up winning. Of course, I win a lot. Hahaha! They NEVER make deals with me anymore...
Oh well... The game must go on.


KoP



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Monday, January 10, 2011

A Better Week

I'm hoping for a better week, for my health I mean.
Because of the cold and general "under the weather" feeling, I missed a lot of gym time last week. Tomorrow I plan on hitting it again. Ease into it, I should say...

That also means I should be asleep by now, so 'nighty night.


KoP


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sunday, January 9, 2011

I'm at church right now.

So you remember my situation back when I was wring more regularly right?
No?
Ok, I'll fill you in.

I'm a musician. I play bass, have been for 25 years or so. Until two months ago, I was playing at my church (it was a paid gig) several times every week:
Wed night
Thurs night
Sat night
Sun 7:30am-1:15pm

That adds up to a LOT of time away from home, especially since I work full time as well.

Anyway, I've been playing this schedule, or a slight variation of it for the past 12 years!
I finally came to my senses and quit.
Well, not exactly quit, I just went to the music director and requested, no, demanded, no emphasized that I need to start playing at the other campus ASAP. Our church has another smaller church campus that serves another part of Houston.
They agreed, and now I have Saturdays off as well as a much reduced schedule on Sunday. My pay was also reduced, but if you figure my time and number of services I now play, it was actually a raise. So all is well. The thing is, if they would have denied it, I would have quit right then and there. I was beginning to get a little bitter about the whole thing, and I just didn't want to feel that way about my church.
All is well now, and I am really digging the extra time with the family. Tristan is especially happy about it.

So, another item on The List for 2011:
Family FIRST



KoP


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Wedding, And The Pacific

Tristan and I are watching a DVD series called "The Pacific". So far, so good.

Amy and I shot a wedding today in Lake Charles, La. Everything went very well and we really shined. I expect us to get a lot of business out of this shoot.

Ok, back to the movie. Enjoy your night!


KoP


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, January 7, 2011

Ooops

Uhhhh, yeah, about that writing everyday thing. I'll apparently be forgetting to do that from time to time. Ready for the weekend!


KoP

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Doom, Gloom, And A Wedding

Man, I'm sick. I've been getting steadily worse since Monday, and I can't stands it. It's just a cold, I guess, but I feel really weak and achey. Can't really get a good workout, and I'd like to just go to bed. Oh well.

Amy and I have a wedding to shoot this Saturday, so hopefully we're feeling better before then. Oh yeah, she's sick too of course.

So how about all the fish and bird die-offs in the news lately? It's a little freaky, and suspicious to me. I'm not scared by it, but there is that nagging feeling that maybe something is going on. I guess we'll see soon enough.

On another Doomsday-ish note, I've been reading up a little on the possibility of "hyper-inflation" happening very soon here in the U.S. I don't know how possible it really is, but I think I'm going to start an emergency food and supply pantry in the garage just to be safe.
It's something I should already have anyways living near the gulf and all. A couple of years ago, Hurricane Ike had some areas of Houston without power for more than two weeks. Be Prepared. Its the motto of Boy Scouts.

The bigger issue of where to invest my 401k and all that is a bit more worrisome.
Honestly, I really don't know all that much about finance. People are saying "invest in gold" or other commodities, but there is a gold "bubble" now right? If I bought in high, wouldn't I stand a good chance of losing big when it bursts?
Confusing.


KoP

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Super

SuperPump 250



Preworkout breakfast of champions.


KoP

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Good Times

I hate it that I wasn't really writing this past year. Over the Summer, a friend and I climbed a couple of 14,000'+ peaks in The Crestones. It was an incredible trip, extremely difficult, but well worth it.

We also made a trip back to Wyoming, but this time brought Tristan and our niece Natalie. Good times there, although I don't know if the kids would agree. A bit too much road trippin' for their taste.

Moving on~

Yoga class in the morning followed by a swim. I haven't been swimming as much lately, ever since I broke through the 2.5 mile barrier anyways. Gotta get back on it. I really dig the Yoga. I am completely warmed up and ready to go after a session. Limber... sorta.

Ciao


KoP








- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone


Monday, January 3, 2011

Stuff

Just finished a midmorning snack of peanut butter on whole wheat, granola, a banana, and coffee.
I'm trying to get my energy back up after a grueling workout this morning, one hour spin class followed by one hour on elliptical. I was tapped. That's my usual Monday workout, but I've been slacking for the past few weeks because of late nights working on the photo biz, and a much needed vacation.

We did a lot of business over the holidays with sessions and Christmas cards. A lot of our friends came to us for the cards and voted us the "best" by a large margin.
Ha! It's good to be appreciated. Other areas of the biz are thriving as well (almost ALL thanks to Amy, she's really got this thing by the reins now). We've done a few weddings as well as many, many family sessions. I know it's going to blow up in 2011... which reminds me: I need to get our ad account up on Google. We've been using Yahoo all this time and I just don't think it's as good.

Oh. Layla says "Hi!"








KoP


Sunday, January 2, 2011

Muddin' Out The Old Year




Tristan and I took the Jeep out for a little muddin' adventure a few says ago. It was fun, but I thought I got it stuck in the first mudhole. It took 10 minutes of rocking back and forth to finally work it out. APPARENTLY, you should be rigged up with mudding tires and not all-terrain tires. It was a lot of fun, but I think I'd rather climb rocks with it.


KoP

Saturday, January 1, 2011

1-1-11

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Alrighty then!
2011...
So I didn't make a List of things I want to accomplish this year yet, but I'll get to it.

One of the items that will be on said List is: Write everyday for a year. Yes, I'm finally going to get back to blogging. I've missed it tremendously.

I'm working on a big file transfer right now, but maybe I'll come back later and write that List.


KoP