Welcome To The "Obama" era...the power has transferred...

I just finished watching the inauguration....

Regardless of what your political views are, you have to admit that in the US of A it's truly amazing to watch how peaceful the changing of the power is. It's somewhat of a miracle and a spectacle to behold...

In many countries, power is still shifted by riots, wars, killings, cover-ups, corruption, or other means to wield power over their fellow countrymen. Or in the case of a strip of land in the Middle East it's "Whoever can bomb the hell out of the other one the most"....ok, 'nuff said on that one...back to the US of A.

Anyway, it was awe inspiring to see just how peaceful the transfer of power here really is. Regardless of how any of us feel about the transfer or who sits in the oval office for a given period of time, the fact that every 4 years we collectively get to vote who sits there is just true democracy at it's greatest.

Someone put it well...in our country, politics are simple.
It's either we vote for "another 4 years of the same" or "throw the bums out & try something new". We just happen to be on the "try something new" cycle this time.

The funny thing is that for well over 200 years now, this system has been going on and for the most part all of the transferring of power from one president & part to the next has gone on fairly peacefully (I didn't go back & "Google search it", but I can't remember a time when there was a fight for the office besides the political campaigns fought for up to the election.)

Will this presidency do well? Who knows. They're up against some of the toughest times since Reagan and Roosevelt. They have some pretty big shoes to fill to live up to either of those presidencies and things just seem to be getting worse economically, politically, and internationally.

As with all things though, time will tell. Today is a celebration of democracy if nothing else and I'm happy to see that it's still working. Sure, there's a lot that's wrong with government, but as many have said and I echo, "I still wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world. It's still the best out there."

I was amazed at how simple the oath of office was. Just a couple sentences and BAM! He's been sworn in. I kind of like it that way. Sure, there's a lot of Pomp & Circumstance that goes with the inauguration (I'd sure hate to have to try & get around Washington DC today or tomorrow), but for the most part, it was simple, to the point, and efficient.

Long live Democracy!

Graydon
Waxing patriotic today..

What Kind of Camera Do You Have?

I picked up a new Nikon D40 in November and I really don't like it.
It won't focus very well, the pictures have been really grainy, and it's not at all as good as my old Olympus C-5050 was....

The Nikon will be going up for sale soon.
I'm extremely UNIMPRESSED!

Here's why....

Now look at the bottles...see how softened they came out?
I tried 5000K CFL's, changed white balance, and a whole host of things.
I can't get that darn camera to shoot a sharp picture!

So....since you all seem to be posting such nice looking pictures, I figured I'd see what kind of camera you all have. And, if you want, tell me what you like or don't like about it.

I've been looking at:
1) Canon Rebel XSI DSLR
2) Canon SX10 IS
or some other Canon product
Leaning pretty heavily toward the SX10 IS because you can tether it to a computer on a tripod & control it (perfect for product photography for my business).

Soon to be saying goodbye to the Nikon!
-Graydon

Laurie's 1st Birthday

Our little Laurie is now 1 year old. I think the Ducky party was a lot of fun. The cake looked great, and with the help of her sister she blew out the candle without even trying. Laurie received mostly clothes and was very excited about it. She even tried to put them on.

The kids loved the pinata and enjoyed popping all the balloons before going home. Sorry I didn't get pictures of all the kids taking turns with the pinata or all the adults in attendance, but it was nice to have you there.

AAAAAHHHHH!!!

I had to post this picture. My brother-in-law, Tim, is deployed on a ship until July. They are now in the Persian gulf, just outside of Dubai. Tim got the chance to go ashore in Tailand and visited a local Zoo. Apparently they let you get very up close and personal with the animals. A ONE ARMED Zoo keeper encouraged Tim to sit, as shown, next to this tiger. If that wasn't scary enough, with out warning the man hit the tiger with a stick causing the shown reaction from both man and cat. This was not a posed face. Tim was TERRIFIED!!

MacLove!

Ok, so I admit it, I've become someone of a Mac nut!

These things are just soo dang cool!

Here's some of the cool stuff that I've done with it lately (besides typing this post with it too).


Christmas 2009
My sister, Michelle, now lives in SC and wasn't able to come home for Christmas.

It just so happens that her husband, Collin, also shares the "Mac Love" and has a MacBook.

So, because they work so well together, we just fired up a video chat & Michelle was able to be a part of the whole Blair Family Christmas Party at my folks.

HD Videos
A few months back I bought a Video Camera for my business.

The first thing I tried to do was import HD footage onto my PC, which is a really nice, top of the line Dell XPS w/ lots of RAM (it even glows!..seriously!) and, the darn thing kept crashing. Adobe Premier Elements just didn't like it...argh!

So, out came the Mac, popped in the Firewire cable, and iMovie picked it up on the first try and it's been Movie Lovin' ever since!

I can whip out a video so dang quick with iMovie! I love the thing!
Granted, they're promotional videos, but hey, that's what I got it for!
http://www.youtube.com/user/UtahBiodiesel

And, it's now become my "computer of choice" for browsing the web "after hours" from the business. Because the Mac hardly weighs anything, it's a breeze to haul around the house & "veg" on the net with. And, at night, I can sit on my bed & type on the thing without it digging into me or being overly weighty.

It Just Works!
One of the things I really like about it is that it just works....all the time!

When you shut the lid down, it goes right into "sleep mode". When you lift the lid up, it comes right out of sleep mode. It doesn't make you reboot the thing just to get it out of Hibernate or Stand By like my Dell does and it brings stuff up right where you left off....and it doesn't hang like it's been sleeping or something, it just works....and I love it!

So, if your up for a new laptop, you gotta give this thing a try.
Stop by a mac store & just play with one. They're a ton of fun!

And VM Ware w/ Windows works great! I can still fire up Windows for the stuff the Mac can't do and it's not a problem at all.

Anyway, if you haven't tried a Mac yet, give it a try....

-Graydon
Still lovin' his Mac!

What we've been up to lately

I haven't posted for a while, tag excluded. I have been working on several different things and haven't had the time or desire to blog. I have been working on two different books; a photo book for the year 2008 on winkflash.com, and now that they are having a sale I can order it, and a book about my mom. This one has been the most fun. It's almost done and when it is I would like to make it available to my family to print.

My third project will surprise anyone who really knows me. I have been trying to develope a habitual routine that will help me get more organized and keep my house clean. This has never been a strong point with me, but my sister told me about the Fly Lady and she has helped me to keep my house clean for almost two weeks now. The key to my success has been her 31 baby steps. She slowly works you into a routine over a month's time and gets you doing all the little things that are required to keep you organized and happy. I have only been doing it for a week and a half, but we are already seeing a difference. Graydon is delighted!! I'll keep you posted about my progress. You will never believe what her main instruction is...Shine your sink. She teaches you how to get your kitchen sink sparkling clean and then tells you to shine it every night before going to bed. I am now to the point where I can't go to sleep if my sink isn't shining.

Well, that is what I have been doing. Emily is anxious to get back to school, but that won't happen until th 20th. Josh is having trouble sleeping and burned his hand on the stove on Wednesday and Laurie is showing more signs of milk intolerance and cut two more teeth. Needless to say we have had some very whiney days...so here are a few pictures of the kids having fun on sunday night.

Tagged by Kris

I've been tagged, hope you like it.

1-Where did you meet your husband?
We met at a young single adult dance out at Saltair. I was working that night and my roommate convinced me to leave early and go. We met with a group of people from Weber State. My roommate's childhood friend was in that group and so was he. We really hit it off.

2- How long did you date before you got married?
We dated for two months and then got engaged, but our engagement was six months.

3- How long have you been married?
7 years 11 months.

4- What does he do that surprises you?
yes, every once in a while he will start dancing with me in the kitchen.

5- What is your favorite feature of his?
His smile. It was one of the first things I noticed about him.

6- What is his best quality?
He is very good with people, a hard worker, and he knows so much about a lot of different things.

7- Does he have a nickname for you?
Val

8- What is his favorite food?
PIZZA, but Carl's Jr. is a close second.

9- What is his favorite sport?
Can you believe that he doesn't have one? I thought for sure that every man was crazy about sports (my five brothers were), but I have only seen him watch limited NASCAR. I don't mind.

10- When and Where did you first kiss?
In his car after his quartet practice. He was such a gentleman, he waited until the fourth date.

11- What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
Go to dinner without kids, but we also like to drive around and look at houses. We talk about what we like and what we don't like. We also watch youtube.

12- Do you have any children?
Yes! Emily is 5, Josh is 3, and Laurie will be a year in a week and a half.

13- Does he have any hidden talents?
He can really entertain children. He is so good at telling stories and singing songs in a way that they just love.

14- How old his he?
He can never remember, but he is 35.

15- Who said I Love You first?
He did, and he was patient while I became sure of my feelings before saying it myself.

16- What is his favorite music?
Country, Big Band, Jazz

17- What do you admire most about him?
He is a hard worker, his ability to plan ahead, and his tolerance of my shortcomings. He is very supportive of my projects. Also, he can fall asleep anytime anywhere no matter what is going on around him; he has fallen asleep on the kitchen floor after finishing his dinner one night.

18- What is his favorite color?
Blue

19- Will he read this?
Yes.

20- I tag eveyone who wants to.



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