Lightning

Lightning
Pronunciation: 'lIt-ni[ng]
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from gerund of lightenen to lighten
1 : the flashing of light produced by a discharge of atmospheric electricity; also : the discharge itself
2 : a sudden stroke of fortune

Ok last summer I went thru a weird "stormchaser" phase where I would listen to the weather report and as soon as a lightning storm was announced I would grap my camera, tripod, and keys and go hauling off to it to try and find an open field to set up and shoot in. My usual go of things was to set up my tripod in the bed of my truck with my canon strapped in then shoot continuous frames of extended shutters by taping down the button. Well the lure of it all was that with every 200 frames I would get like 2 maybe 3 really gorgeous shots. Usually I would be aimed at the wrong part of the sky and then when I would move the lightning would bolt in the part of the sky I was aiming at before. I always have interesting stories to my photos. What would have been even more interesting would be if I got struck by lightning. After all I am standing in the bed of a HUGE truck, with a electric camera, on a tripod, in a storm... Yea I am always asking for it.

Computer Ink...

Well I got insanely bored today in "Current Issue in Information Technology". Its not my fault that I read every tech-related website and blog, which therefore puts me ahead of the class because I am... LITERATE!! I mean come on some of these people don't know where CDMA or GSM come from. Plus new things like Wi-MAX and such are just too much to handle. Anyways... So I was bored cause the "phenomenon" of 802.11 a, b, and g was blowing my fellow classmates minds. In turn what did I do? I went online to figure out how to translate English words to Kanji Japanese Characters. I mean wouldn't you? So I thought of figuring out "Samurai" or something like that just for fun. Then I had the genius idea of redrawing the character onto the lid of my laptop. Ok so now I know what I want to do... question is what do I write? Well as most who have been in a relationship know the thought that consumes your mind the most is that special someone. So I went on a quest to translate Anna into Kanji and then find the word Love. Easily done on both. I went to an import car website to find the sticker that matched the word "Love". The difficult thing with Japanese is that it can be written in many different styles: Calligraphy, traditional, Manga, and many others. So I picked traditional and lo and behold I got a design. I got Anna's name and just popped it there underneath. Problem was I had no tracing paper, no way to print, and no desire to leave my chair. Problem solved, up my screen to its brightest setting, put a paper over my screen, and redraw by hand with pencil. Ok so all of you tech heads can take a breather, I KNOW THAT WAS STUPID. Hehe... its always in hindsight that stupidity is realized. I could have easily scratched my screen or even popped it. Luck & my angels were with me so they kept my screen safe. I then took the paper with the pencil rendition of the characters and placed them on my laptop lid. Securely holding it place with my hand (which also was a bad idea seeing as how the whole thing could move and mess up the drawing) I retraced again except this time via Sharpie. 35 min later, my computer is inked. I actually REALLY liked it. I will probably do it all over again except using like a Paint Pen or something so that it will have a more lasting color and actual depth. So now right under my right hand will always be Anna, then on the outside declaring to the world my laptop will say "Love Anna" But yea see for yourself... I'm OUT

Shave & a haircut

I did something the other day that I wasnt too sure about. I shaved my moustache off. Yea, its really weird doing it cause it makes me look significantly younger. To the point in fact that some people werent sure if they liked it. Honestly, I am not sure if I like it. God blessed me with a very smooth complexion so the lack of facial hair almost makes me look pubescent. The response I got from it was very mixed so I am not sure which way to go. I think I might consider just growing out a nice thin beard. I really do look alot younger so its wierd. I do however have to say that I am happy that my skin did not react badly to having so much hair removed. I will have to see here in the next few days what I want to do.

I have to try and make sure I get it figured out by Wedensday though. I have to preach at Gen Now that night. I will be preaching about Spending Vs. Investing time. I feel so wierd each time I do it because its such a big responsibility to speak the word of God. I am doing my best each time though. I also am anticipatory about what my future holds. I have had multiple words spoken over my life talking about how much I will be involved in ministry even to the point that I have apparent crusades to lead. I know often people take no stock in prophets or prophecies, but I know so many times when the words spoken over me have come true that I can't deny it. The one thing that you cannot take away from someone is their personal experience. My testimony and my experiences are mine and mine alone. There is no way that someone can argue with what has happened to me. Ok well I have to get back to work on my resume and also on my resignation letter. It has come time to move out of PGHS and find something better so I am putting in my letter of resignation. Later

Flickr Fun

Check this sight out to try one of your own..

State of the Joe Address and WiMAX

Samurai Joe here has been busy as all get out. I have started classes again at VSU and in my final semester you would think I coulk take it easy but instead I am pulling a nice & easy 18 credit hours. In fact, if I had the choice I wish I could take maybe another 3 more online. Basically I am trying to do all that I can to get out with my B.S. in I.S. before the summer is thru. I have that vision locked in and thats the fuel that is driving me. I luckily didnt slack off when I first started and so instead of the usual 12-13 credits that freshman take I took at least 15-17 the first 2 years. This is what allowed me to catch up with nearly all of my class eventhough I lost an entire semester back in Fall of '04. Gotta give it up for my self-destructive pace of study. Now I am gunning for a good graduate program. Sigh... will this ever end? Well beyond my B.S. degree my next vision is that beautiful day when an even more beautiful woman joins me in life forever. And if you know me then you know who I am refering to. ;o) Love you exponent.

Aside from the usual hub-bub I am still doing my utmost to make sure that I stay on the cutting edge of technology. The newest one that has piqued my interest is WiMAX. I thought you would be interested in this article that shows how influential it will be in future technology. Basically the US government is making moves to try and compete with Asian and European development in Nationwide broadband. Purportedly the government will sell off special frequencies in an auction. Also in 2008 "the long awaited 700MHz band" will also be auctioned off. This is critical because it is currently held by the analog TV stations. In 2009 all those TV stations will switch over to a purely digital signal and allow WiMAX to take over their frequency band. If that is the case then all of the infrastructure and backbone that allowed the analog TV signals to broadcast all over the country will simple switch and then be used to broadcast broadband. The only real hardware development will be the end-user modem/reciever. I think that this technology and its versatility will become extremely and exceedingly vital to the continuation of the United States technological muscle.

Aside from that I still am a nut for my photography. For anyone that wants to give dontations of equipment here are some of the lenses I really like:

1) Tokina 28-70mm f/2.8---------------219.95
2) Tokina 24-200mm f/3.5-5.6---------269.95
3) Sigma 28mm f/1.8-------------------249.00
4) Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5------------379.00
5) Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5--------------369.00
*All prices from BHPhoto.com so if you find a site that gives better prices AND backs thier stuff with a good warranty then feel free to let me know. Of course, if you are a very generous person and would like to just hook me up with some of these lenses then feel free to contact me at b166er@gmail.com. Now if someone wants to be TRULY generous and fund my Africa Safari Photo shoot I need the following: the 800mm Sigma MSRP (see for yourself) the 600mm Canon with IS (check price for yourself on this one too). I think that would def. make the trip awesome oh and since you have so much cash to throw around how about a nice 1DS Mark II. Sigh... one day... Maybe later than sooner, but one day... :o)

Shooting like a maniac

_MG_1183
Originally uploaded by jtalaiver.

Well Christmas was by far one of the best ones ever. I went to India with my family and Anna. We had an awesome time travelling all over the south and the north. We went to the city where my parents came from and had a memorial service for my grandmother. The travel itenary was non-stop. There was not a single day that we were not moving or trying to complete something or travel somewhere. The only day where we actually chilled out in the hotel room (not counting sleeping at night) was the last day when Anna and I packed up to come home.