Joer's Place

Hanging out in Seattle with Aunka...

2008-08-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

During visit with Erika in Seattle we decided to do some "tourist" things. Checked out the Farmers Market and took a ferry ride across Puget Sound.

Use standard family password if prompted. Length is about 7 minutes...

Hanging out in Seattle with Aunka - June 2008 from Joe Rykowski on Vimeo.

Seattle Childrens Museum - June 2008

2008-08-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

Wendy took Kaylee to the Seattle Childrens Museum. It was a Monday and I was working remote so could not go. The next day we headed for Yellowstone Park.

Length is about 7 minutes, and use the standard family password if prompted...

Seattle Childrens Museum - June 2008 from Joe Rykowski on Vimeo.

Trip to Woodland Park Zoo - June 2008

2008-08-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

Here's family video clip posted on Vimeo (use standard family password if prompted)...
It's about 7 minutes in length.

Trip to Woodland Park Zoo - June 2008 from Joe Rykowski on Vimeo.

Dizzy in Oregon

2008-08-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

Weeeee!

Dizzy from pamela on Vimeo.

2008-04-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

Muddy mud

This message was sent using PIX-FLIX Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!
To learn how you can snap pictures with your wireless phone visit

www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getpix.

To learn how you can record videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getflix.

To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime� Player. Note: During the download
process when asked to choose an installation type (Minimum, Recommended or Custom), select Minimum for faster download.

FWD:

2008-03-30T16:59:00.000-07:00

At portland zoo

This message was sent using PIX-FLIX Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!
To learn how you can snap pictures with your wireless phone visit

www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getpix.

To learn how you can record videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getflix.

2008-03-22T15:48:00.001-07:00

Coloring eggs

This message was sent using PIX-FLIX Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!
To learn how you can snap pictures with your wireless phone visit

www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getpix.

To learn how you can record videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getflix.

Kaylee's last day of swimming class...

2008-03-22T13:35:00.001-07:00

"See my 'sir tiff kit' Daddy?"

Wendy took Kaylee to last day of swimming class today. This was Kaylee's second set of classes as a "Blowfish". Been going swimming since she was 6 months old. She loves the water!

I posted a bunch of photos from her last day of class today. They got to go down the big water slide and just play around doing whatever on their last day.

Check out the photos here... Swimming Photos 3/22/2008

Working remote as Systems Analyst III

2008-03-21T11:03:00.001-07:00

Looking out the window from my home office... the streets sure clear out during the day...

Random Thoughts...

It's so nice being able to work remote two days out of the week. A benefit of being in IT.

Last week, I had my annual review! Promoted!... Now a Systems Analyst III. What's that mean exactly? Nothing really. I keep doing what I do, but they pay me at different pay scale (my job title before was "Database Developer").

It's all pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

From Kaylee's perspective... "Daddy sits at the 'puter and presses buttons." And yup, that pretty much sums it up I guess. *smirk*

At the dentist...

2008-03-20T19:57:00.001-07:00

She acted like a pro! A brave girl...

2008-03-05T08:13:00.000-08:00

This message was sent using PIX-FLIX Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!
To learn how you can snap pictures with your wireless phone visit

www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getpix.

To learn how you can record videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getflix.

To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime® 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime® Player. Note: During the download
process when asked to choose an installation type (Minimum, Recommended or Custom), select Minimum for faster download.

Kaylee Show clip: Sledding in Iowa (12/23/2007)

2008-02-16T22:08:00.000-08:00

(use the standard family password to view video. don't know password? email me.)

Christmas 2007 - Sledding In Iowa from Joe Rykowski on Vimeo.

Editing video

2008-02-16T21:50:00.001-08:00

This message was sent using PIX-FLIX Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

Won "Post of the week" at YourMTB.com with that video - SWEET!

2007-07-09T14:56:00.001-07:00

Here's the announcement...

HydraPak Post of the Week

And here's what I won...

Cool!

Black Rock "Fire out of Monkey Mountain" video

2007-07-09T12:48:00.000-07:00

A video clip I edited couple weeks ago and put up on YouTube, was featured last week on YourMTB.com

Here's the clip...

http://www.yourmtb.com/video/black_rock_monkey_mountain

It's got footage I shot in May "down in the town" of Falls City while at an Art Festival... had set up an info booth in community center with maps, pictures, and stuff about Black Rock Mountain Bike Area... And during lunch break, walked around with Kaylee in pack and shot some video. The Black Rock footage is mostly from middle of June - starting with Dino leading a train of riders down upper Banzai Downhill, Troy doing HALO drop, Dan Shell flowing the drop, jump, berm on Grannies foot... and various other shots.

Had the concept for this video in mind before even shooting anything. It's usually the footage that gives me idea for how to edit, but this is first time what I wanted to put together dictated what I shot.

Oh yeah, and if you listen when the local rider is coming down the stairs and as he flys out of frame, you can hear Kaylee say "Weeeee!". *chuckle* I end the video with that sound clip too.

Cuz she sums up the whole downhill/freeride scene at Black Rock with that.... "Weeeee!"

Apple iPhone - hysteria...

2007-06-27T12:15:00.001-07:00

Funny video about it (and cool demo of it's features)...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VcRfAaIb2Ro

And no, I do NOT want one! You'll see why at the end of the video. Besides just like the iPod... there will be MUCH cooler versions coming out in several years.

Yeah, anyways...

2007-06-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

You still waiting for an update from me? hmmm... Well, I'm alive. There, that's an update!

Seriously, we've moved up to Hillsboro, and I'm trying to refocus energy on stuff that matters... re-prioritize you might say, and also step away from stuff that has been eating up vast amounts of time. Sorry, BRMBA folks, but Black Rock is being downgraded from top of the stack to... someplace at the back of the line. Sad, I know.

Here's the new list!

#1 Family
#2 Work
#3 "Everything else"

That's the gist anyway.

"Everything else" includes:

Video editing (just got new 3CCD HD 1080i video camera and Vegas 7!)

In the Zone Photography

Westside Trail Federation

BRMBA

Not necessarily in that order, but we'll see...

ANNNYWAYS...

2007-05-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

Heh.

Stay tuned for an update!

No, really. There's actually much that's happened since August 2006. Some of it I even want to remember. Some of it took time to creatively have reality altered around... But such is life!

ABHCWW AKC Herding trial in Arlington, WA

2006-08-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

In the Zone Photography (Wendy and I) handled the event photography services for the All-Breeds Herding Club of Western Washington (ABHCWW) at their trial at On the Lamb Farm in Arlington, WA. It was a slow weekend Friday - Sunday (not many sales because they didn't have a lot of entries for the event), but still a lot of fun.

Took over 1,500 photos. I took more pictures of each dog run just because I figured there were fewer entries and Wendy could keep up with editing still. Normally I try to just take about 10 - 20 per run, but this time I probably averaged around 30 or so.

We stayed with Erika in Seattle. It was good to know Kaylee was being taken care of back in Seattle - and got to hang out with Pamela too! (she came out to Seattle to visit Erika and also spend time with Kaylee - since she heard we'd be up for this photo shoot).

Some day Kaylee will be able to help us at these photo shoots... we do need a "runner" to take the filled compactflash cards back to the tent for processing. Right now I just do that between runs (herding goes much slower than agility so it's easy). I'd bet if we really wanted to, we could make this a full time gig -- traveling the country and doing just herding trials. But that's just crazy talk.

McKenzie River Trail (Oregon): 26-mile single-track mountain bike ride

2006-08-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

Had a GREAT ride on this epic trail along the McKenzie River. It's couple hours from Salem. Have ridden it before, but it's been a few years. Between me and couple of other people that had ridden it before we guided the rest of the group without getting too lost along the way.

It's a 26 mile trail, and we did about 20 miles of it. There's about 1,000 feet of climbing and 2,000 feet of decent (over the entire course). I think the hardest climb was maybe a mile long for 400 foot gain (so not too hard).

Here's GPS profile of our actual McKenzie River Trail route (I captured with my Garmin GPS MAP60CSx and uploaded to MotionBased.com - they even layer in weather data for the time you are riding). Cool new site someone just pointed out to me earlier - great for training!

Felt great to just ride for the pure fun of it. Listened to iPod the whole way - Modest Mouse mostly. I was dead tired by the end of it, but can't wait to get out and ride again soon. Wonder how this bike with handle on the Black Rock trails? This bike will be great for "Super D challenge" event that hopefully someone organizes for 2007 - a Super D is combination of downhill and cross-country style "race".

Trailhead for McKenzie River trail... (that's my new all-mountain bike for doing long cross-country type rides like this one)

Here's the group from Salem I rode with.. (front to back: Todd, Felix, April, Travis, and Rich) This was taken on the bridge at south end of Clear Lake...

Sahalie Falls along the route...

This is what the trail looks like when you're flying along at 20+ miles an hour along the single-track... (actually this was just a blurry picture, but that's what it reminds me of).

Bikes loaded up for shuttle back to van at the trailhead and then home... (mine is the second one from the left)...

Picture gallery of ride.

Kaylee's first bike ride!

2006-08-12T14:41:00.000-07:00

See, THIS was why I needed a general "all-mountain" mountain bike!

Rode the bike paths at Minto-Brown Island Park...

Kaylee in her bike seat...

Having a drink of water after the ride...

More pictures and a video of Kaylee's first ride.

New mountain bike for general trail riding... (Santa Cruz Superlight)

2006-08-12T14:33:00.000-07:00

Bought a new mountain bike yesterday! It was sort of spur of the moment, but not. I've been missing the good ol' trail bike I had in my Trek that Wendy bought for me in 1998 for my birthday. When I tried it out again though earlier in the season, I found that after riding a "big bike" with full-suspension that a "hard tail" just wasn't gonna do.

So, been keeping an eye out at local shop for a decent trail bike (not for flying off cliffs or jumping road gaps, etc) that wasn't gonna break the bank.

There was a white Santa Cruz Superlight at Santiam Bicycle that I really liked, but didn't really like the color (didn't want a bike that matched the color of my truck, that'd be too "something"...) Anyway, one of the guys at the shop said "hey, I think we have a blue one in the back"... and when we went back there and he opened up the box, it was actually this orange frame I saw and I KNEW that was "my bike"!

They built it up the next day (Saturday), just in time for a group ride down McKenzie River trail (26 mile single-track)...

FOR SALE: 2002 Honda Shadow Spirit VTX750

2006-08-10T19:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it... put my motorcycle up for sale... Been putting it off as long as possible, but finances dictate. Only way to pay for the canopy, bed liner, and Thule rack for truck.

Asking $4,500 for it. We'll see what happens. Put it up for sale on craigslist.org in Salem for sale section.

If I don't get any takers, then I'll put it in the Portland for sale section.

"Someday" will get another motorcycle...

4 alarm fire at McMahan's Furniture store in Salem, OR...

2006-08-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

Got to work this morning and noticed billowing smoke coming from near front of building. Parked in the parking structure and walked down the alley to see what was up...

The furniture store across the street was on fire (picture above is what the scene looked like when standing right in front of our office)! When I first got to work, they had not even started spraying it with water yet.. They broke open the store front windows, then started nailing it with water. One big pumper truck blew out windows on the opposite side of the building even with so much water! Saw flames once in awhile as a couch or bed would go up in flames.

They sprayed it for a few hours and closed 3 or 4 blocks around. It's smoky in our office now. They had to chop down some of the trees in front of the build because they started on fire and blackened leaves where blowing down the street.

Kind of an exciting morning.

Here's some video and photos published by Statesman Journal...

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/assets/mov/J037236810.MOV

More pictures

Visited Mount Saint Helens area...

2006-08-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

It was more of a recon trip since we'd never been to area before (been here for years and keep saying we're going to visit but never do), and it was spur of the moment too so we didn't reserve a camping spot or anything. Just a quick day trip to see the sights. We were disappointed they do not allow dogs on any of the trails or at the visitor centers - apparently it's still a "delicate ecosystem" and "people are afraid of dogs - even the most well-behaved ones" (that's what it said on a kiosk sign anyway). Geesh. Whiners! The dogs didn't enjoy the trip at all. We drove for more than 8 hours and they were in the truck for majority of time. Had expected to be able to take them for hike from Johnson Observation Center down to Spirit Lake, but Mount Saint Helens is dog "unfriendly" so we just drove home (basically).

We left late in morning, so the sun was high and bright when we got there so photo ops were poor - didn't even bother to even try to get landscape shots. Mostly just snapshots.

Did some geocaching though... There was one at the "Red Zone" (where they blocked access to area in 1980 before it blew) and another at the edge of the blast zone.

Here's the pics (not many): http://itzphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/1743945

Oh, and you'll see Kaylee's first tooth in that set! I'm sure "she will blog about it".. so check her blog too!