Vicarious Thoughts

I’ve been trying to do this kind of post “for quite some time now” (sorry, The Matrix is playing in the next room) and try and move away from my content-thin blogposts of late (and early).

So without further ado, I bring you my rss feed picks for today!

Craft

Home Education

Misc

Well, this leaves my rss finds for the day down to 4 programming posts which I need to read and digest more, and 1 post that really needs a post of it’s own if I get round to it this week. Yay! This has also taken at least 2 hours (the counter may be out of whack due to a browser restart).

I’m going to have to do some research into how legal it is to include photos from the blogposts I’ve mentioned as this is just a mass of text! I also need to consider breaking this up into several posts based on categories. I know very few visit this blog but I am interested in, if this becomes a regular thing for me, how to present it. One worry I have is that presenting each blogpost I come across as it’s own blogpost on my blog smacks of big blog wannabe.

I seem skilled at finding spiders sitting inside the things I decide to take a photo of. This is the first photo I’ve taken this year that I’ve cropped before putting up. The depth to which my camera can focus is more than a lot of other cameras of the same calibre and I like taking macro-ish shots so I feel a little justified.

So at the end of last year, for the first time ever, I wrote a list of goals for the coming year. I mentioned quite a few of them in this post.
I then worked out from those goals what I would attempt to achieve in the first quarter of the year (Jan-Mar) and then working from that what I would strive to achieve for the month of January. Amazingly for me, I followed through and at the beginning of February sat down and reviewed the quarterly and monthly goals and then wrote my list of goals for February. Now here is where it gets a bit creepy – today I sat down and did the same thing! I actually followed through with something three times in a row. And it was good. I did my weekly review at the same time, basing that off my monthly goals and other committments for the week and I feel so much calmer.

What I’ve found helps is for me to go off on a bit of a retreat. I pack up all my notes, planner, snacks and mp3 player and drive off to a secluded spot to do my weekly review and don’t come home until I’m done.

I took some photos on the way home – as you can see below it’s been raining today and so this was taken from a quick stop on the side of the road. I need to work on my “quick snapshot” techniques.

Field in Rain

Daily Photo - Day ???

I wanted to capture the amazing texture of the lily, the transparency of the petals, and somehow give an impression of the amazing scent that is filling the room. Well, I managed the first one in my not so humble opinion. Having to use the flash at this late hour of the evening meant I couldn’t achieve the second goal, and the third? Pfft no idea how to accomplish that!

Speaking of things I have no idea about – no idea what I’m doing with the Daily Photo/Project 365 and the NaBloPoMo etc … just see how I go I guess *shrug*

Look what I came home to after an exhausting day taking a preschooler on a miriad of errands on a hot, humid day.

And the special occasion? “You seemed quite grumpy this morning and I thought this might cheer you up”. Well Mission Success.

For the record, the sunburn on my feet is healing nicely now, but it’s really itchy and kept me awake that night. Couple that with me not being the most chirpy of people in the morning and it pays to avoid me til I’ve woken up properly. He’s known me for almost 11 years now – you’d think he’d know this!

Nevertheless, some decent wife faction earned by him yesterday :D

I saw this on my way into Palmerston North this morning and on my return I just had to take a photo.

Curve Improvments

Note that the sign is made up of slapping on a graphic for Road Transport (whatever they now call themselves), Transit, the State Highway Sign and Two Words – one of which is spelt incorrectly. I should also point out that an identical sign is at the other end of the Curve Improvments, but is now sporting a lovely red arrow and matching letter E. One wonders how 2 signs could get from the albeit basic design phase all the way to being put up (crookedly I might add :P ) without anyone noticing the error.

Sign of our time I guess :P

Project 365 - Day 31

We went out to the cove near Snapper Rock (near Wainui Beach) with some friends today with the idea of doing some fishing while the kids played in the sand. Unfortunately, our friends hadn’t been there on an incoming tide before and we discovered even near a new moon the cove pretty much disappears. So we went further north to the inlet at Patea (not really sure of the name). Nice safe swimming spot for the kids but crappy fishing in the river. Kids were all worn out and I managed to burn the tops of my feet (boy that hurts) as well as my face. Curse my pale, pale skin!
Mental Note for next time: before taking heaps of photos of your daughter, ensure she doesn’t have a wardrobe malfunction thing happening (in this instance, preschool equivalent of extreme “boxers showing”).

View out my window

Last minute post as I forgot again (visitors all afternoon/evening), tried out some of the custom settings and may have to try them with a tripod pointing at the sky. It’s not quite that bright out there but they replaced the streetlight bulb and trimmed the trees a year ago and now we need blockout curtains in our bedroom!

Sony Ericsson P1i

Forgot I hadn’t taken any photos today – just some video footage which isn’t too exciting (from my perspective anyhow – might be fun to see what I can manage in the editting arena though). So this is a bit of a filler photo I took of the “new” cellphone (ie wouldn’t know I’d got it mildly secondhand). The last time I bought a cellphone, I went with one without a camera when everyone was getting them with that feature, due to paranoid clients – fun! Then I got my husband’s castoff cellphone when he upgraded to the P1i which had just come out in NZ then. Understandable he should get upgrades much sooner than I as I avoid phoning and txting people like the plague whereas he’s on the phone pretty much 24/7 – sometimes it feels like the only time we get to chat is when he’s on hold! :P

Now all I need is a new bag to cart it around in without getting it scratched – eyeing up some awesome ones from the states but the exchange rate is pretty sad at the moment.