Yes, I was one of the sheep who stood in line on the day the new iPhone 3G came out.  In my (admittedly slim) defense here, I have had the same old motorola V400 for 4 years.  I haven’t been under contract to AT&T for two years!  I resisted the urge for a new toy because I was out of contract and that made me feel all giddy inside.  I could drop AT&T anytime I wanted.  And yet I didn’t.  So, it was kind of a moot point.

The iPhone appealed to my inner geek.  It does cool things and it goes wherever I go, and no, I don’t have to have any of them, but you live once.

A month later, not a lot positive or negative to report.  It does what it’s supposed to.  It’s a good phone.  I can check my e-mail on the go.  I can pull up a map and find places I need to get to.  Even get directions to get there from wherever the heck it is I am now (love that).  In time, it appears an app will come to make it a true GPS navigation device (if the rumors hold out).  I’ll have to see the prices before I decide how much that means to me.  Right now, I don’t travel enough here in the states to worry about it.

The only bummer is that when I travel overseas, if I use any of the data services (web, e-mail, maps, etc), I will pay out the nose for them.  I mean, literally, hand over an arm to read a few emails if I don’t get wifi access.   I’ve considered popping the sim in my old phone just for that possibility (i.e. don’t carry temptation wth me).

For the record, I only stood in line an hour.  My timing (between work and dinner) was perfect and I missed the early and later crush of people.  The truly amazing thing is I was at Northpoint mall on Saturday, and there’s still a line!

The post One Month With The iPhone appeared first on Mark E Tisdale.

The biggest thing of late has been re-doing my kitchen.  I moved in to my current abode nearly 8 years ago.  The kitchen at that time was little changed from 1988, when it was built.  All the same appliances, but the burgundy paint was probably not so original.  That was the only thing I changed then.  Repainted the walls and moved on to the rest.

Over the intervening years, for one reason or another, I’ve replaced everything save the 1988 over-the-range microwave.  That’s next…  And I replaced all the cabinet hardware sometime ago with something that was, if nothing else, not brass and worn out.  But the kitchen looked tired.  The counters were worn out.  The sink was dingy.  And the paint colors I picked on the fly were less and less cheery.

A month ago, I decided it was time to move on with my long delayed plans to do something about that room.  I don’t enjoy working on kitchens and baths because if you dawdle at all it’s inconvenient.  But at least I have more than one bathroom.  Not having a completely functional kitchen for a month, even for some one who cooks minimally, is a nuisance.

At any rate, in a month, I ripped out the old counters and replaced them with stone-look laminate counters from IKEA.  I put in a new cast iron, porcelin enamel sink.  I put up a new subway tile back splash, repainted the walls (and ceiling and trim for that matter but not new colors), and added halogen spot lights under the cabinets.  It’s a marked improvement.  It’s not the same as a complete remodel, but the cabinets are in solid shape and the next owner will have to decide if they want to dump those.   I’ve got a new album for these diy projects for any one who wants to see the kitchen progress.  I don’t feel like digging up the old photos, so the before and after is lost on anyone who hasn’t visited before.

[flickr-gallery mode="photoset" photoset="72157605591675889"]

Next up is probably a little freshening up of the dining room which has been beige for 8 years now.

As always, I can never have just one project going.  The secondary project being the continuing digital evolution of my life.  It began as previously reported with converting every CD to MP3 and emptying 3 shelves of CDs into two albums in the bottom of my wardrobe.  The next step has been a similar purge of the shelves of DVDs.  Now, DVDs take up a lot more space digitally and even though terrabyte drives are out there, I think it will be a little bit before I go entirely digital, but I did decide that I didn’t really need all those cases.  I’ve kept (for the time being) the boxes my box sets came in, but all the rest I pulled the covers and put them in an archival box and dumped the cases.  The DVDs are arranged in a couple of hanging file boxes for CDs/DVDs.  I am digitizing some of it.  I’ve ripped my entire Doctor Who collection (I am so geeky) in full resolution.  Hence the need for a terrabyte drive in my media center PC.  I’m also ripping selected others and some of my more watched will probably be ripped to xvid.  That’s an ongoing task as I get the energy to continue with it.  But in less than a year, an entire shelf emptied and moved out.

And the purge continues, I have a stack by the front door to go to Goodwill soon.  It’s really a struggle sometimes.  I am from generations of pack-rats.  I pick things up and they bring back memories.  It’s very hard sometimes to separate those memories from those objects, but I find more and more that I can win and empty a few more shelves or a few more boxes.

The hard drives continue to fill, though!  2007 alone was 40 gig of photos.  And the music collection continues to grow – 30 gig right there (and I doubt I’m up there with massive music aficionados).

Speaking of music, I probably have a lot of albums I should talk about, but the most recent will win out for the moment.  Last week, two new albums came out.

One I had been looking forward to for ages, the latest from The Fratellis, a band hailing from Glasgow, Scotland.  The funny thing was I was supposed to see them at the street party on New Year’s Eve at the conclusion of 2006, but there was bad weather.  I went to Scotland having heard nothing of them.  I left having heard bits and pieces of their first album on the radio and having stood in a music shop on Princes Street and listened to the CD before purchasing it.  That CD, Costello Music, was in heavy rotation on my return, along with the Automatic’s Not Accepted Anywhere.  The Fratellis sophomore album, Here We Stand, is of a similar vein, a lot of fast tempo, fun songs.  I’m still digesting the the songs, but already genuinely love it.     Other than the first single, Mistress Mabel, the song I find myself already singing along with is Acid Jazz Singer.  Ask in a few weeks and that may have morphed to other tracks.

You can listen to most of the new Fratellis album online.

The surprise album last week was a solo effort by Jakob Dylan (lead singer/song writer for the Wallflowers, and, yes, son of Bob Dylan).   I have long been a fan of the Wallflowers. Bringing Down The Horse (1996) went through many road trips with me, and each subsequent album has pretty much been an instant purchase.  For me, some albums have had more fav songs than others, but none of the Wallflowers songs were stinkers.  That said, it wasn’t until 2002′s Red Letter Days that I found an album from the group with as many favs as Bringing Down The Horse.  Anyway, I digress, just setting things up a bit.  I had heard nothing of the upcoming solo album from Jakob.  I found the bulk of the album could be previewed on myspace and after a couple of listens, I went ahead and downloaded the album.  I’m very impressed.  I drove home for Father’s day this past weekend, and on a 2 hour drive, both ways, Seeing Things was my only choice of things to listen to despite an ipod crammed with options.  I don’t do that with many albums, but I could for this one.  As much fondness as I have for the Wallflowers, and I do hope there’s more to come from this band, this new album has the song writing I love pared down to an acoustic format, a very awesome side bar if not the first of more solo work for Jakob.  So far, the single song on this album that I enjoy the most is All Day And All Night, no good explanation of why, just the first song I really latched onto, but the next strong second place song is This End Of The Telescope.  I found out Jakob Dylan will be playing at the Variety Playhouse tomorrow night, so guess where I’ll be.

Okay, where else can you go for photography, DIY projects, and music?  I ask where?

Ha – I’ll try for more focused rambling next time.  Hopefully I can soon get more focused on photos again!

The post Long Awaited Updates – From DIY to Entertainment appeared first on Mark E Tisdale.

For a few years now, I’ve been a casual reader of Wil Wheaton’s blog.  Yes, Wil Wheaton AKA Wesley Crusher of Star Trek.  For one reason or another, I relate to some of the things he has to say, which I would never have anticipated, but same age group, similar geeky background, etc.

That point stated, today’s blog is about doing what you love and living off it.   That’s a real dream.  Something so many of us long for I believe.  For the most part, those of us growing up in the west were told we could be whatever we wanted, but for some of us, those paths weren’t so clear.  We grappled in the dark for this thin shred of what that fulfilling path might be.

I’m not here to talk of regrets, etc.  To borrow the phrase of the day, it (life) is what it is.  We are the sum of our experiences, our pain, our happiness, our belly flops and our triumphs.  It’s who we are.  In the past few years of my fleeting travels, I’ve done things that scared me, things that were outside of my comfort zone, and I don’t regret that in the least.

But it doesn’t mean, I’m content to let life drift on and on.  I’m still working on the goals and the hows and the wheres and so forth, but I really do want to end up in this life doing something I love.  Right now, that appears to be photography, or at the very least something with a creative side to it.  And Wil’s blog today addresses that, the possibility that what you love and what you live on can be one and the same, check it out.

May not change your world, but sometimes hearing people with similar dreams will help nudge us all along.

The post Random Inspiration appeared first on Mark E Tisdale.

I’ve kept waffling for months. I’d finally gotten to a point of thinking maybe I’d do a one day pass sometime during the weekend once I had a look at the schedule.

So, yesterday, I had the follow up with the doc about my ankle. Feels much better but I still have a twinge when I flex my ankle in either extreme. You might say, “then don’t do it,” but it’s one of those things that you do when you walk, even sometimes just sitting still. Could I live with it? I suppose, but it’s not fun and I hopefully have many years left ahead of me.

This is the bone chip the x-rays showed. When I point to the spot that hurts, it’s precisely the same location. Now, the fun thing is, this is not part of my recent ankle injury exactly. The bone chip appears to have been there. However, it appears the fall may have moved it as now even with the swelling gone, it’s still needling away at me.

One word… surgery…

It’s outpatient and it’s scheduled for Friday, August 31st, the Friday DragonCon starts. So, I’m definitely skipping this year now.

My Mom is going to come up to go with me and drive me back home that day. Then we’ll probably go home Saturday and spend the rest of the long weekend there.

It’s apparently a very minor surgery, but never having been on the operating table before, it’s a bit daunting. So, I’m very glad my Mom is able to come up and be here.

The post Carrying A Chip On My Foot?? appeared first on Mark E Tisdale.

The post Red Shirt Memories appeared first on Mark E Tisdale.

Despite my gung-ho attitude to get out and enjoy Saturday, I was tired and bum-like and barely stirred before noon. And when I was finally up and moving, I came in and began spring cleaning on my 4 year old PC.

This is the geeky part. I actually feel bad that I’ve never done a clean install on it. In four years, I’ve just banged away on it. Installing new software, removing software, adding new peripherals, etc. And in the last year, I’ve beefed it up just enough to shove along a bit more before another purchase. And in all truthfulness since I’m not a big gamer, tis still working for me anyway. My only push on it is image editing and that I watch TV on it often while doing other stuff. Hence new memory and a video card in the past year. Plus a big hard drive.

Basically, I guess despite my making fun (all in good humor) of the programmer geeks at work. When it gets down to bits and bytes and knowing the hex value of a letter/number in ASCII and EBCDIC, I’m not your guy. Bores me to tears. Probably why I lasted only a year in that major in college.

But I still like my toys.

So, I spent a long day, with the sun bathing me through the window while I dismantled my machine… to a point.. only to discover that HP’s back-up partition is far from a good thing. See, HP doesn’t provide back-up disks or CD’s to install from. They have a “hidden” partition that houses everything you hypothetically need to either do a destructive or non-destructive fix. I wanted destructive, but something is wrong with the set-up. Don’t know if a bug got it or what, but I finally caved. I spent the night tearing out everything that had been installed since I got this PC until it was down to its roots. And now that it’s finally at ground level of what I want, I’m going to do a bootable CD or DVD so that I can restore what I have now should I need to.

This is with working nearly 7 hour today. One team-member was still there when I left. That was enough for a Sunday for me.

Now, a little more TLC and then I’m going to go look at some lap tops. I’ve thought on those lines a lot of times and always moved myself back to a desktop in the end. And I’m not ready for a new one of those just yet. This one has a lot of life left. But the portability looks better all the time.

So, there’s the geek life. A sunny day spent inside, a week-end with the PC case open (still is) and pondering spending OT pay on a new techno toy.

The post Cannot Deny Geekiness appeared first on Mark E Tisdale.

ThatI’ve been royally busy at work the past few weeks made the time-off all the nicer. Work, as ever, remains a confusing beast. In my heart of hearts, I know it’s not my life-long vocation, but I have to remind myself almost daily that I want to pay off my student loan from grad school before I do anything rash. Still last week I’d almost gotten back to the “it must end soon” mindset when Thursday rolled around. Knew I’d be at work late so had planned dinner with April for a little time out of the office. Byron asked and he and Dana came along and he paid the check. Hence all the confusion. On one hand, I have a boss who I truly like and can work with On the other, I hav a job that mentally drains me and aside from paying the bills well, doesn’t do much for my soul.

Ah, but DragonCon, four days of catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. Where else would I get so many coments on something so simple as a Justice League t-shirt. And the people-watching aspect was, as always, great fun.

And yet I bought less than ever. For myself, only a couple of comics, some patches for my backpack to show the geek love, and (only because Brandy was standing in line for a gift for her Dad) a signe photo from Marina Sirtis. The desire to continue to de-clutter my life won out, I guess. I was surprised that I didn’t even grab anything from the art show, but the stuff I liked the most was priced well outside the range I’m comfortable with so soon after a big purchase like my Canon 20D. If anything, this expenive gift to me has made me all the more aware that I COULD be paying off my student loan faster than I am ifI want it that bad…

Back to the Con. The only “bleh” moment was the third night. After a LONG evening going to see the Masquerade and taking photos of all those great costumes, I walked back to the parking deck next door. I figured out that it was actually cheaper than the usual lot next door (which was this year charging “EVENT PRICING” of $10 each day and it was closer than the scary lot a block and a half further down that was the same rate… So, when I was coming in there was a place where you could either push a button for a ticket OR insert a credit card on your way in and use that card as your ticket. So, I went that route. When I got back there’s a couple of machines in the lobby with a sign instructing you to pay before you return to your car as there is no attendant at the gate. The sign says “insert ticket or credit card” so I insert the card and get the message “Invalid type…” huh… Well great… So, I go to the operator’s door and knock and knock… the cell phone sitting on the counter on the other side of the glass is the only evidence someone is there. Afterwards, the crowd gathers. Several people behind me put in cash to pay a ticket and got no change from it… great… It’s over half an hour before the attendant finally shows. We’ve all been taking turns hitting the button for assistance… Now, the man insists to me that with a card, I simply pay at the gate. According to him, the signs to pay there are wrong… nice… ButI point out that the guy right in front of me did the same thing I did and got a ticket to leave… silence… Finally, I just say, don’t care as long as he’ll be there if the gate wont let me out and he says yes.. I left with no problem… nice home neary an hour later than needed to be…

On principle, today I took MARTA which also has it’s issues, such as slow as Christmas. Nearly half an hour wait in both directions just to board the right train. Mass transportation in Atlanta will NEVER appeal to anyone who has a choice as long as it’s this slow. Last November, I had a connecting flight out of Houston, TX, to Atlanta. The flight was a touch past an hour long. That same night, it took me longer on MARTA to get from the airport to North Springs, opposite ends of the same line… This is why MARTA is in such sorry shape…

Ah, back to the lovely job tomorrow. Now off to read while the stuff in the dryer finishes… wheeeee….

The post DragonCon 2005 – it’s a wrap appeared first on Mark E Tisdale.

Well, I’ve spent enough time talking about the possibilities of the New Year. I just registered for a writing class that’s part of Emory’s Lifetime Learning program, i.e. continuing education. I waffled back and forth. There were a couple of classes in which I was interested. I was going to choose a course on magazine feature writing, but as it happens (and I was about to register for the class before it struck me) this class is a daytime class… Awwwww!

So, ultimately, I decided to try Imaginative Writing: Unblocking the Writer Within. It’s a six session course on Wednesdays that’s aimed at prompt writing (i.e. here’s a subject, a word, a phrase or something that is to prompt the writing). This is not unlike the free online course I took and from which I felt I benefited. Some of the other courses had loftier goals than I have at this time, i.e. beginning novels and the like. I’m not sure I’m a novelist in the raw. I’m not sure (yet) that I have the staying power to churn out books. I’ve always concentrated on smaller pieces. Yet, a few friends I used to write to in those halcyon days before e-mail would not doubt that I have the ability to churn out a small book. I almost signed up for two courses, but then I began to ponder whether or not I was taking on too much at once. Would I be so overwhelmed that I didn’t really receive anything from the experience? Better, I think, to start small and discover that I can (and wish) to do more.

There are, of course, a few nerves. Largely I’m looking forward to the experience. It is supposed to be a small class, which I’ve always preferred. And then there’s the silly geek issue – Wednesday night is when new comics arrive each week. I’ll miss hanging out with all the regulars for awhile, but I will, of course, survive the experience.

Please wish me luck!

The post appeared first on Mark E Tisdale.

Had to skip my morning treadmill torture today. I’ve had a catch or something in my side for two days. Today, I felt it on awakening, an almost stab-like sensation on my right side right about the bottom of the rib cage. Another one hit in the shower. Where the first few on Monday were momentary, they hit and hang on for 20 or 30 seconds now. Always a worry-wart, I called the doctor. Have an appointment for tomorrow to get checked out.

I’ll probably find out that it’s a pulled muscle from working in the yard on Saturday evening and Sunday. Or, the fearful Doctor Quack (i.e. me) has been reading and has diagnosed it as a gallstone. We’ll see which, if either, scenario wins out with the doctor tomorrow.

Meanwhile, picked up a big haul of comics today. Wednesday is my regular geek outing to Drake’s Comics. Will go to bed shortly (tired, I think more from worry than anything) and read a few before bed.

I’m about to begin my busy, but hopefully rewarding April. Friday night, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers will be rolling through town. It’s the first time I’ve gotten to see them perform when I didn’t have to crawl out of bed and go to work the next morning, so I’m looking forward to that.

And this weekend is otherwise my last in town for awhile. The next weekend is Easter. I’ll be going home to see my parents. It’s a two-fold trip. Obviously, one is to spend time with the family, but the other is to drop off the cats with my parents. I’ll miss them, but I think they’d miss being fed when I was in London quite a bit more. I guess, at least, I get a few weeks where I won’t have to vacuum as much.

The following weekend is Atlanta Comicon. Quite looking forward to it. Being as Chris at Drake’s is one of the convention organizers, I’ve heard a lot about this year’s plans. Sounds like it’ll be a fun geek-fest of a weekend. I’ve yet to hear if my cousin and maybe Kelly will make it this time. They live about as close as I do, so that’s not an excuse.

The following Wednesday after that, I fly to London! So, that weekend will be spent absorbing another country, seeing what sights I can, etc. I’m quite looking forward to it. Thursday, I’ve already paid for my hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city. That’s been strongly recommended by several people as an excellent way to get familiar with London. And as I’ll likely be jet-lagged (I arrive about 7am local time), I didn’t want to plan a heavy day. Friday, I’m going to see Stonehenge and some other places west of London. Saturday and Sunday are still a bit open. Somewhere in there is seeing the Tower of London and dipping my toes in the British Museum (hey, I’d need my whole vacation to explore 13 acres of antiquities – definitely a highlights tour). Saturday night, I’ve got my ticket to attend the Ceremony of the Keys at the tower – this is a 700+ year tradition – ceremonial closing of the tower. I’m so excited, and at the same time sad that I’ll have no pictures of this event – no photography. Ah well, great memories, I’m sure! I also figure on taking in the odd walking tour. On that point, I’m just going to write down the ones I’m interested in and take a couple when I can.

The last weekend in April is Music Midtown. I almost feel like saying a silent prayer of thanks that there’s nothing really calling me to attend this year. I’ll need that weekend to decompress!

Now, if my body can just stop disintegrating around me.

The post appeared first on Mark E Tisdale.

So much yet so little since the last entry.

I had an awesome Labor Day Weekend at DragonCon now nearly three weeks ago… sigh, time flies. There’s little question next year will find me there again. It really is what I suspect a geek version of Mardi Gras would be. I didn’t get nearly enough sleep and I found something to do the whole time. You know you’re probably getting some years on you when the things to do outlast your willingness/ability to do them. But I had fun, and sooner or later, I’ll post some pictures from the event. I didn’t go too crazy despite this being my first year with a digital camera. I still tend to go for quality over quantity in pictures. But at least now I can see them, unlike the mutilpe rolls of film sitting downstairs in a drawer… At any rate, the perpetually early Brandy has already posted her pictures/memories of DragonCon, including our ghost hunt.

But just when you think you’re getting a little long in the tooth you do something like staying out late on a weeknight to see a band play. Tuesday night Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers made another appearance in Atlanta! If you ever hear the song Banditos and what happened to that band that sang it (The Refreshments), this is what happenned. The band broke up after achieving 1.5 hit wonder status, but a few, including the lead singer and song writer, re-grouped. They’re an indy band but they’ve had some success. They’re the only band on earth I’ve purposefully seen more than once. And if they make good on their promise to roll through ATL again before the end of the year, I’ll do my best to be there again. FYI, they are described as Jimmy Buffett from the Southwest. While I never managed to like Buffett enough to be a Parrothead, there is something to that description. I again got to see people from the bulletin board I ocassionally post to for this band. Great fun was had by all, and in buying a couple of their albums as gifts, their live CD, and a t-shirt, I’m officially broke for a month or two. DragonCon started it, and this was the death-knell! But it was fun getting here!

The post appeared first on Mark E Tisdale.