Photography, Writing, and More

Confessions of a Gym Dweeb Part 14

2012-02-21T00:09:00.001-06:00

I think I might have found Sasquatch, and he works out at my gym. Really. I sketched what I remember seeing. So, if you are looking for him, this is what he looks like.

Since encountering this huge hairy ape-like creature, I have since avoided dressing in the men's locker room. It was terrifying when I walked into the locker room and caught the aweful sight of this beast bending over to pick up his shoes. I think the other fella that walked in with me was just as scared.

To this day, the vision is still haunting.
So if you are a bigfoot hunter, and have been unsuccessful in your search, go to your nearest gym and more than likely, you'll find him there.

Visit my blog at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/.

Happy President's Day!

2012-02-20T00:44:00.000-06:00

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GQ lists the hottest women to watch

2012-02-19T00:17:00.001-06:00

GQ listed the hottest women on TV and film. The Lust List includes the following:

Berenice Marlohe

The 32 year old French actress and model will be the next Bond girl in the 23rd James Bond film set to be released later this year.

Source: Fandaily.info

Candice Swanepoel

You probably recognize her as a Victoria's Secret model, but I bet you didn't know she's multilingual and--at 23 years old--is considered by Forbes Magazine as one of the top earning models in the world.

Source: worldnewsinn.com

Liu Wen

Currently ranked one of the top 50 models, the 24 year old Liu Wen was the first East Asian descent to walk the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2009.

Source: fashionwindows.net

Jessica Pare

Us men could only wish to have a secretary as hot as this Canadian actress. The 29 year old plays Don Drapers' fiancée and secretary on AMC's Mad Men.

Source: rottentomatoes.com

Joan Smalls

At 23, Joan Smalls is considered one of the top 50 models worldwide. Five years in the industry and she has not only modeled for top fashion designers but starred with Ricky Martin in a music video.

Source: bvonbeauty.com

Source: GQ, February 2012; Wikipedia; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204136404577209684168595546.html

3.459 cents a gallon?

2012-02-18T00:31:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning I noticed that the price of gasoline was going back up. The news reports that gas prices is expected to reach $4.50 before summer travel starts.

I guess I should begin making plans on taking the 935.

Visit my blog at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/.

Studying photography

2012-02-17T00:49:00.000-06:00

As a college student, I took a few photography classes. The cool thing about being in photography is that you could use it as an excuse to take pictures--especially of girls.

"Oh... it's for my photography class."

Aileen Mata, Circa 1996 at UTPA

Visit my blog at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/.

Keep your child's brain healthy

2012-02-16T00:30:00.000-06:00

I came across a helpful article in January 2012 issue of Austin Family magazine that offered some suggestions as to how to help our children grow cognitively.

The author, a former science teacher, for example, suggested finding real-life applications to help explain a problem your child is having difficulty conceptualizing.

Recently, I used that strategy with my seven year old boy. He was having a hard time understanding fractions. The interesting thing was that he could describe distance or value in decimal and percentage format, but couldn't grasp fractions.

Recognizing that he understood decimals and percentages, I decided to work backwards and explain to him the concept of decimals and percentages and show its relationship with fractions.

I wrote ".5" on a whiteboard I took from work and asked him what this means in terms of the whole number "1." He replied correctly, "half of one." I then wrote "1/2" on the board and asked what this represents in decimal format. He responded, ".5." I continued on with several other examples, until he saw the Maxtrix and understood how it all worked.

The article also talks about the importance of sleep. I've written recently of my son waking up at odd hours of the night to play video games or watch TV. We've been struggling with his lack of sleep. Sleep helps the brain learn. I can attest to that by watching my son's behavior and performance in school diminishing when he didn't get enough rest and sleep.

You can read the complete article HERE.

Source: VanBuren, Jennifer, "Inside the Brain: How research is improving your child's success in school," Austin Family, January 2012, Pg. 24-25.

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The Bronze U.S.S. Enterprise

2012-02-15T00:47:00.002-06:00

It's amazing how easy it is to find the value of a collectable. For example, a few weeks ago, I went on the Internet to find out some information regarding a purchase I made 17 years ago--the bronze cast of the U.S.S. Enterprise from Star Trek The Original Series.

I found a great website, http://www.collectorsquest.com/, posted my question, and the following day I received a response to my inquiry.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to sell my U.S.S. Enterprise ship. It has sentimental value. Let me explain.

When I was 17 years old, my parents and I traveled to Pasadena, California for the Star Trek Grand Slam Convention. Yes, this Trekker (not Trekkie), begged and begged my parents to take me to California as my last trip before high school graduation.

I'll keep this entry focused on this ship and not digress. Perhaps I'll elaborate further on my experience at this convention in a later post.

Anyways, I recall walking into the showroom and being intimidated by all the vendors and the tchotchkes each were selling. I quickly began purchasing hologram key chains, bookmarks, and other little trinket. Then I came across a kiosk where a gentleman was selling bronze cast U.S.S. Enterprises. I think he was selling each for $20 and only had the this version of the U.S.S. Enterprise left.

I debated whether to purchase it since I wasn't really a TOS fan. I was more of a Trekker and a fan of TNG and DS9. Something just told me I needed to purchase this ship and I did.

I remember walking around the convention center with this 3 1/2 pound desktop statue. I even stood in line for two hours waiting for the autograph of actress Robin Curtis (Vulcan Lieutenant Saavik), who was delayed because of a small earthquake.

After getting Robin Curtis' autograph, I noticed my dad walking through the crowd towards me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I was confused since I really didn't know what I heard was an earthquake. Yes, the ground moved, but I thought it was a diesel truck moving above the ground. Nope, it was an earthquake and I was in it.

I then noticed the stack of headshot photos in my dad's hands. One of them being of Majel Barret-Roddenberry--yes, Gene Roddenberry's wife.

My dad had presented himself as a concerned parent looking for his son who was just in an earthquake. Naturally, they let him in. And like my father, he was able to obtain autographs of actors in his attempt to find his 17 year old son.

Ah... see, I went on a tangent. Anyways, my question was posted on http://www.collectorsquest.com/, and my question was answered within hours:

When it comes to Star Trek collectibles, I’m something of an oldschool collector. Many were the hours I wiled away while looking at the pages upon pages of black and white ads for unusual Star Trek collectibles, and I even stumbled into some official Roddenberry Archives slides once… but I digress.

This Enterprise was released by Paramount Pictures in 1993, as part of a small series of the various iterations of the legendary Star Trek ship. “How much is this worth?” is a question which only has one answer : “How much would someone pay for this thing?” The answer can be found by diving deep into the Internet.

As of August of 2011, this particular ship sold for about $50 bucks. There are a few floating around out there (including the Next Generation Enterprise, which is having a hard time selling for $40 bucks), so unfortunately, it’s not an exceptionally rare collectible, but collecting Enterprises is like collecting Batmobiles : you can never collect just one. You just need to find the right Enterpeise enthusiast and you’ll be set.

So, my bronze Enterprise is worth about $50. Cool, huh.

Visit my blog at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/.

To my very beautiful bride... Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T00:03:00.004-06:00

Taken on April 24, 2010 in Mission, TX

Valentine's Day is important day for me. There are several reasons why, but the one common denominator is my wife.

Eleven years ago, my wife and I had our first official date on Valentine's Day after flirting for weeks with each other.

On our first date, we had dinner at Romeo's Italian Restaurant. Two years later, we returned to Romeo's to celebrate our engagement.

Since then, I have had the ~~privilege~~ ~~benefit~~ ~~enjoyment~~ happiness of growing as a spouse and parent with my very beautiful and always young and attractive bride.

Too bad she doesn't read my blog. Oh well.

Photo taken with a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W120.

Visit my blog at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/.

Funny Valentine's Day Cards

2012-02-13T00:47:00.004-06:00

Via aquamanshrine.com

Via Zelda-fans.com

Via fuckyeahsuperman.tumblr.com/

Via Losttv-forum.com

Via Etsy

Via amazingdata.com

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President Abraham Lincoln

2012-02-12T00:01:00.000-06:00

Photography Appreciation

Taken by Thomas Le Mere, 1863

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville, Kentucky. He was elected President of the United States of America in 1860 and served in office from March 4, 1861 to April 15, 1865 when he died of a fatal bullet wound to the head. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer and stage actor at the Ford Theatre.

You can read more about the President on my blog entry written last year.

Visit my blog at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/.

A day in the life of the Gingerbreads

2012-02-11T00:30:00.001-06:00

During the Day

At Night

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Picking up trash

2012-02-10T00:54:00.000-06:00

I came across this picture from 1998 of me and Rubi picking up trash at the corner of Nolana and 23rd Street in McAllen, Texas. We were doing this as part of our community outreach for a college student organization called Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE).

Circa 1996

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Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

2012-02-09T00:59:00.003-06:00

The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was designed by Donovan Berlin for Curtiss-Wright Corporation in Buffalo, New York. The plane was primarily used by allied forces during World War II.

Picture taken on May 20, 2008 at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum using a Canon PowerShot A400.

Source: Wikipedia; http://www.evergreenmuseum.org

Visit my blog at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/.

Constance Whitney Warren

2012-02-08T00:25:00.000-06:00

Art Appreciation

American sculptor, Constance Whitney Warren, was best known for her Western subjects, such as the bronze statute that sits outside the Texas State Capitol building of a cowboy riding a rearing horse. The statute was erected 1925.

The picture below was taken on January 16, 2012--interestly, Constance Whitney Warren's birthday was January 17, 1888. My son and I were playing catch on the Capitol grounds, when I remembered that I had taken a picture of the cowboy thirteen years earlier. I told my son I had to take a picture of the cowboy and compare it with the one I took back then.

Texas Cowboy, taken on January 16, 2012 using an HTC PH44100

Texas Cowboy, circa 1999 using a Canon 35mm SLR

Sources: http://www.tspb.state.tx.us/SPB/Gallery/MonuList/06.htm; http://www.askart.com/askart/w/constance_whitney_warren/constance_whitney_warren.aspx

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The guy whose not Namor

2012-02-07T00:57:00.000-06:00

Aquaman Splashdown, Six Flags - Arlington

Photo taken on May 16, 2010 with a Sony Cybershot DSC-W120.

Visit my blog at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/.

HK Doodle: Ricky

2012-02-06T00:04:00.025-06:00

Doodle by HK

Ricky always thought Walter Carl Becker's song Rikki Don't Lose That Number was about him and not some famous brunette poet and novelist.

The disappointment led him to a life of solitude.

Tenor on Maiden Lane

2012-02-05T00:06:00.000-06:00

Taken on October 6, 2006 on Maiden Lane in San Francisco

The photo was taken using a Canon PowerShot A400 camera.

Visit my blog at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/.

Valueless brownie points

2012-02-04T00:58:00.000-06:00

My son loves hamburger-helper-like concoctions. So before my wife leaves on her work trips, she buys us boxes of Annie's Natural Pasta Meals from either Whole Foods or Sprouts.

Now, I am not the chef in the family--my wife is. I am more of a food connoisseur who prefers the meals prepared by my wife rather than the food served at four star restaurants. Darn, too bad my wife don't read my blogs or I could have scored some brownie points.

The instructions are easy to follow; although, I am known to skip a few steps, shhh.

The cool thing about pasta mixes is that you, as the cook, can add spices or other ingridents for the taste you want. Of course, it's not the delicious meals my wife makes (again valueless brownie points), but at least the kid love it. Hey, maybe I score brownie points with my son.

Visit my blog at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/.

Broderick brings back Ferris Bueller in new Honda CR-V Commercial

2012-02-03T00:46:00.001-06:00

Can you believe it has been 26 years since Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Gez, I was 10 years old.

Via YouTube

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R.I.P. Katie

2012-02-02T00:28:00.009-06:00

My mother-in-law's white schnauzer passed away recently. She was a wonderful dog with a very loving personality.

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Superbe en rouge

2012-02-01T00:54:00.000-06:00

Taken on December 10, 2011 with a Sony DSLR-A350

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"My favorite team!"

2012-01-31T00:41:00.002-06:00

"Daddy, the Harlem Globetrotters are my favorite team of all times. They are like...wow!"

Ecstatically, my son replayed his favorite moments throughout our 30 minute drive back home, "Daddy, and when Hi-Lite pulled down the other player's shorts... Then that other player pulled down Hi-Lite's shorts and he was wearing a skirt."

"A tutu," I interjected.

"Yeah, the skirt. Remember?"

The experience reminded me of when my dad took me to my first Globetrotter game. For some reason I remember the game being against coaches around the area.

This time, they faced off against the International Elite at the Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The Elite was ahead of our team, the Globetrotters, at the half but started losing their lead towards the fourth quarter. As expected, the Globetrotters pulled ahead and reached a comfortable score and eventually won the game.

When we got home, my son couldn't stop talking about the game. He even turned the TV to the news and waited patiently for the coverage. There was nothing.

"Daddy, I think we missed the news about the Globetrotters winning the championship."

"What?" my wife inquired.

"Yes, mommy. They can now play in Austin because they won the championship," he answered.

All I do is smile.

Visit my blog at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/.

Make your new year healthier

2012-01-30T00:38:00.000-06:00

If you're like me, the resolution you made after eating grapes or black eyed peas have become a distant memory. Mine was to stop drinking too much wine. That didn't last. I don't even know why I made such a dumb resolution like that.

Austin Woman Magazine health contributor Jill Case offers twelve ways to make 2012 healthier rather than focusing on resolutions you may not be able to meet. You can read the full article HERE.

Manage stress by incorporating stress-management techniques
Have a meatless meal at least once a week
Take breaks from sitting
Exercise your pelvic muscles (this goes for men too)
Work on personal relationships with friends and family
Get sleep
Get enough Vitamin D from supplements or brief sun exposure
Do regular resistance training
Apply sunscreen before going out in the sun
Floss daily
Start a gratitude journal
Quit smoking and avoid second-hand smoke

Source: Case, Jill, "Get Healthier in 2012" Austin Woman Magazine, Pages 58-59

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Red Hibiscus

2012-01-29T00:28:00.000-06:00

Taken on December 7, 2008 in Mission, TX.

Photo taken with a Sony Cybershot DSC W120 camera.

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My seven year old gamer sneaking around

2012-01-28T00:26:00.034-06:00

I previously posted a blog entry about the importance of controling gaming for children. I used my seven year old as an example, and probably insinuated that we were superparents and successful in limiting our son's gaming habits. Not the case.

After my wife upgraded from her iPhone 3 to an iPhone 4, she gave her old phone to our son so that he can use it as an iTouch.

He mostly plays with it on drives or while waiting for our food at a restaurant. It keeps him entertained and occupied. It also allows my wife and I to talk about things without him wanting all the attention.

A few nights ago, before dinner, I noticed that he was in the restroom for over 30 minutes. I called him downstairs to eat, but he never did come. Reason for the delay: he was playing with the iPhone. I reminded him that he was grounded from electronic games--all electronic gaming devices.

It seems I didn't make myself clear.

At 2:30 in the morning, my dog, who sleeps with me on the bed (please hold judgment to yourselves), began growling. The night before, my dog kept me up barking and growling at the lightning and thunder outside. I didn't want to have a sleepless night again.

However, there is a reason for my dog's growling. My son decided to implement his own covert operation and attempt to either retrieve his iPhone, which I confiscated, or grab a hold of my tablet and smart phone.

I sat up and saw my son peaking behind the bedpost.

"What are you doing?" I asked. He rolled himself into a ball and acted as if he was asleep.

"What time is it? It's late. Go back to bed," I said as I carried him back to his bedroom. I left the door slightly open to let enough bathroom light to creep into his bedroom and returned to my bed.

A few minutes later, I heard his door creak. I gave it a few minutes and made my way to investigate. Noticing he was missing from his bed, I headed downstairs and found him wondering around the kitchen table next to the computer. At that point, I noticed the time was 2:30 am.

"It's 2:30 in the morning. You can't be up at this time. Go back to bed. I'm putting the alarm and the sensor downstairs. The next time you come down, the alarm will sound," I said directly as I led him back to his room. "Don't come out of your room until morning."

I returned to bed and fell back to sleep. Periodically, I would wake up and wonder if he was still in his room before falling back to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up and noticed him at the top of the stairs waiting for me to wake up to turn off the alarm.

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