Iron Man Review and Weekend in Review

Well, Iron Man was quite a fun movie. Summer blockbuster genre and a visually fun movie to watch. I can't say I am a hardcore Iron Man fan but I knew of the character and I did want to see the movie. For a comic book flick it sure did better then some recent movies. Spider man 3 had to be the worst comic book movie in a long time. Iron Man redeems that flop and really shows how a movie should be made. There is a good mix of humor, action and a bit of romance too. The final Iron Man suit is super cool and will have lots of kids wanting to be Iron Man for Halloween this year. I'd rate this movie a 4.5 out of 5. :) Or just give it two thumbs up...it's definately worth seeing in the theater as it's action lends itself best to the big screen. :)

The weekend went great, I was REALLY hurting on Saturday with a very BAD headache. I did get over it but it wasn't fun. Jenn was able to finish our kitchen and painted a new colour, we also went and picked up new hardware for the cupboards. I am excited for this week....I'll just hint as to why....think 70-200!!! :) For those that know me they'll know what I'm talking about. :) I also picked up some new photoshop magazines from Chapters, I am excited about reading and learning some new photoshop techniques and just getting some artistic inspiration from them. Well, off to work I go for another week. Hope everyone had a nice weekend too.
-Randy

Flirt

Nathan RULES!!!!!!!!!

On Your Side - Sex and Advertising

Learn all about Facebook

hahahhaha.....hilarious :)

Facebook

lol

The Facebook Skit

hahhaha, funny but has roots in truth...

Facebook Parody

funny :)

FaceBook

Hahahhahaha, more good reason to ditch facebook....lol....

Funny Joe Mathlete Post

I was reading some random blogs and came accross this...very funny. Now that I quit facebook I really don't miss the vampire biting game, the constant status updates and spending too much time with it. http://joemathlete.blogspot.com/
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.
Confirm Facebook Account Deactivation
Please let us know why you are deactivating. (required)_O_ I don't find Facebook useful.Please explain further:"Facebook is like a creepy and pointless videogame where people collect every person they've ever met, then waste their time spying on all the dumb bullshit they do all day. I don't care if some moron I went to high school with bought a new iPod, I don't want to play the vampire biting game, and I don't want people I don't care about to know what I'm up to if they're not going to bother asking me with words."-------------------------------------------You ever hear that Beach Boys song "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times?" Yeah.
Posted by Joe Mathlete at 2:03 PM 34 comments Links to this post
Labels: hooray it's the future

Full Moon?

Students have been nutty at school. I really believe there is a full moon out or something. It's been one wild day! :)

Loving that I can in minutes go fire up the orange Matrix and drive home...what a sweet ride! :)

Wild World if Miley Cyrus is the biggest news

You'd think the media might have more important things to find news worthy. Maybe the economy problems, price of gas maybe? However a teen icon showing her back in a photo seems to be shocking and the signs of a collasping society. Grand Theft Auto releases with a game full of questionable content and Miley's "sexy" pic is getting more attention and ridicule. What a joke. It just goes to show that North Americans get really worked up and angry about "sexual" things and are much more comfortable with violence. Killing people seems okay but not anything with "sex" that is horrid. Look at the super bowl....the violence on the field and hitting is okay and considered "All American" but the slip of some clothes and a milisecond of female nipple and the world is about to end....people are "SHOCKED".

I am proud of the parents not caving in to their kids, it's obvious most parents won't have backbone and many many kids will be exposed to this game. It just shows that our society does not find problems with kids being exposed to countless amounts of death and violence. Show some nudity and wow, people will blow their tops. But go ahead little Timmy and sit on your PS3 or Xbox and kill some more police and civilians and laugh about how funny that is...just don't look at 15 year old Miley Cyrus exposing her back.....what a sinner she is.....(not).....

Media - Parents

So much media coverage about games like Grand Theft Auto that is being released today. Parent groups, Christian groups are all going to be going after the video game for causing acts of crime, being a bad influence and the downhill run of social morals. Then there are these "risky" photos of "Hannah Montana" about to be published in a magazine of a scantily clad teenage icon. If people stopped to think about things not much has changed. When I was growing up things like Dungeons and Dragons were considered "bad" because it had "magic", "spells" and Christian groups believed involved "devilish" themes. Look at Madonna back when I was a kid, she was using sex just like Britney Spears and the rest of these young female stars that have all these problems. It's nothing new, to me it's the parents that have been changing more then the world around us.

There has been evil in our world for a long time, bad things have happened and will continue to happen. Grand Theft Auto is not the sign of the end of the world. Parents, adults and the rest of society need to start worrying about what we are doing. Protecting children from content that is not meant for them is more important then complaining about them. Too many homes are allowing dangerous thoughts, ideas and content in without caring. Through the internet, games and movies so much is being fed in to young minds without parents paying attention. My money will never be spent for my kid to play a game like that. I'll do my best to make sure my child's brain can develop without having to view garbage like that.

End of Rant, heheheh......keep in mind I still love video games and don't think every game is bad....but there is an intended audience for every game.....

Monday

Well the Mother of all games is released tomorrow. IGN gave it a 10/10 which is shocking because it's so rare to see a perfect 10 for a video game. In case people were wondering the game is Grand Theft Auto now I have rented it before and found it to be not my style of game. However it's "hard" to resist when a game gets a perfect 10. I am VERY curious. However what saddens me is the amount of parents that will cave in to the pressure and buy this game for their children. This game is clearly intended for adults and not for kids. Kids don't need to be exposed to such mature themes and it can be argued most adults too. Our world is so saturated with themes of sex and violence kids don't need to spend hours playing games that were never intended for them. Parents seem famous for placing blame when their kids make mistakes.

Movies, music and games are entertaining yet most parents are not taking a stand and learning to say no to their kids. I am not a parent yet but as an educator I can see what is going on with kids. Parents aren't doing a good job at saying "No" and more and more kids are being raised on heavy doses of media intended for adults. I grew up getting exposed to what I would think was like about 10-20% of sex and violence because my parents really cared about music, movies and other things I was opening my brain up to. Today I think kids are getting more like 50-70% of garbage due to internet, games, television being more risky then it ever was with content and much more. I know I sound like an "old" guy ranting, but wow, it's true, it's so hard to ignore anymore. I'm an adult struggling with all of this garbage....I even have trouble getting my head around some of the stuff out there...I can't even imagine how kids deal with it...

Anyway, I just hope more parents take stands and keep their children as safe as they can from this adult themed material. Ohhh and on a final note...I love my Matrix, hehehehe. Drove it to work and LOVE!!! it. :) Anniversay weekend was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

Anniversary Weekend

Well the weekend was amazing. Jenn and I stayed at the Four Points in Edmonton. The same place we spent our first wedding night. We had a fantastic weekend, picked up the Matrix and had to wait a long time due to power outage issues. However it was worth the wait. We love our new car and look forward to the summer now. We also attended a great concert, the band LIVE was in Edmonton and rocking at River Cree. We had a good time listening to some LIVE classics. I got myself a tshirt and CD to rock in the Matrix with. Jenn said a goodbye to the Tercel but seems HAPPY with her new ride. We also got ourselves matching bibles, well, not exactly the same, hers is hot pink and lime and mine is blues and browns. They are pretty modern looking bibles, I plan to get some pics of them soon. Church was great too, Pastor Dan was great as always and we had a good time seeing Trevor and Tracy.
Today we head out to the Scrabble Tournament in Sherwood Park. Jenn is my secret weapon, I hope Lamont Elementary can kick butt. Lindsay and her man are coming too....so the Flames and Oiler fans will need to unite for a common cause. :) I'm going to go wash my Matrix and take pics today as it got a little "dirty" this weekend due to the meltdown. A big truck sprayed our poor car with dirty water. I am also an airhead....lost a 40D battery this weekend somewhere, hope it turns up as they only cost an arm and a leg. Ohhhhh and last but not least, Jenn and I found a used Petrof piano in St.Albert at Don's Piano Warehouse. Don is an awesome dude and we feel lucky to find this piano. We slapped down some money....errrr....plastic and it is ours...hehehhehe. :) Jenn's gonna be a solid piano teacher with that baby, it sounds amazing!!! :)
That's a weekend update. :) I ate WAY too much!!!! We had lots of great meals on our weekend together. :) Now here are some pics.......

Halo 3 - Legendary Map Pack Video Doc

sweet maps

Last Day of the Week for Work

Tomorrow is a day off....so today will be spent finishing up some work and then a much welcome long weekend will arrive. I am excited and really can't wait to do some relaxing and enjoying the new car. :) I think a lot of mini "road" trips will be in order once we have the car.

Well, not much is going on so I'll just post a daily bible verse and off I go to work.....

Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Proverbs 23:4 NIV

I decided to extend todays blog...adding a good little rant for Thursday. Today as I drove in to work I am passed by an SUV with a female driver talking on her cellphone. Now this is not shocking news for this day in age. Almost everyone has cellphones and SUV's are almost the norm for vehicles on the roads. Driving a small car makes me feel like an oddball, so many vehicles in Alberta are full size 4x4's of some sort. I found today's bible verse hitting close to home for me. So many people are working for money. I heard on the radio that higher income couples get less sleep.

Todays world is getting more and more fast paced. People are ignoring the beautiful things around them. Talking on cellphones, multitasking in almost everything we do. It's hard to even go out with friends anymore, people are constantly texting and being over stimulated with media, ipods, portable games and more. When people come home there is television, now with PVR, people never miss their fave shows. The internet keeps people addicted with myspace, facebook and MSN messenger, yahoo messenger and millions of ways to connect with other people. Video games like xbox live keeping people connected and stimulated with video games. So much is out there to keep people wanting more and sucking them away from their relationships and families. I don't say this to judge others as I've fallen in to this trap myself. I have been told by more then one person that "I've fallen off the face of the earth" for quitting facebook. A girl at work commented that "you don't exsist if you're not on facebook" and she is an early 20's student teacher.

As I drove in to work today I also saw a coyote running full speed across the busy highway. The car that almost hit him also had a driver on a cellphone who didn't even seem to notice the beautiful animal that had ran in front of him. The coyote ran quickly over the road and on to the golf course being developed on the other side. With "humans" working and working to make more and succeed, we're missing out on the world around us. The impact we're having on the earth for these "wants" and the quest for entertainment and riches.

I really think there is a need to unplug "Matrix" style and for people to realize where their lives are going. I am not a parent but I see how children are being raised, ipods and video games and the internet play a major role in childrens development. Parents are feeding children content that is not appropriate for children. Kids are watching more violence and adult themed material. I find the the children of today have more "adult" wants. Kids want the same stuff adults want, ipods, cellphones, computers, video games. I don't see many kids just enjoying being a kid anymore. Playing outside, using imagination and just liking simple kid stuff. It's all expensive adult wants that kids are wanting. Anyway, that's my big old rant for today....hehehhehe.......just unplug people - I have been trying it on a minor level and LOVE it....if I were on facebook my status line would read ---> Randy wants you all to quit facebook too. :)

Wednesday - Day 2 of No Buses

Well, the Alberta storm may be finally over. This is day 2 of having no buses running and the school is basically a ghost school. The poor Echo was shaking like mad on the drive in, all the snow and ice caked inside the wheels and wheel wells were likely causing the problems. The roads were a bit tricky to navigate due to patches of clear road and then surprise a nice long strip of death ice. I REALLY look forward to a long weekend. Tomorrow should be a nicer day weatherwise. Friday is going to be awesome, picking up the MATRIX!!! Heading to Edmonton with my lovely wife Jenn and enjoying a day together. :) Sounds like heaven to me. :)

I hope everyone survived the week of horrid weather and lets all pray for warm weather and a real spring.....enough of this WINTER.....bleh! :)
-Randy

Snow Day

Today was a day two of some VERY nasty cold and blowing snow day. The buses were finally called off today and still 3 of my students managed to come. Parents must have felt cabin fever and needed a break. I feel kind of silly as all the Edmonton teachers stayed home and didn't come out. I could of been in my warm home with my kitty cats. Oh well, I hope the drive home goes okay. I thought today was the best day weatherwise....Monday was the worst for my drive. Just goes to show in Alberta you don't have to drive very far to encounter different weather. I think the Edmonton weather must be worse then what I am dealing in the Vegreville area. Well, only a few days left in this week, just Wed. and then Thur. and we've got Friday off....and it's my 6th Anniversary! :) We're going to be probably picking up the new car and having a fun day on Friday! :) Anyway....I am stuck at work with an empty school and a handful of kids...I should of stayed home....lol....my bad....:P Go SHARKS tonight, hoping they eliminate the Shames in game 7....also cheering for the Caps to take out the Flyers......
-Randy

April Winter Storm 2008

This morning was a very tense drive in to work. I heard a school bus had flipped over off the Anthony Henday road in Edmonton. My roads were snow covered, ice covered and very dangerous. There was a warning from the AMA and RCMP that people should avoid using the roads in the Edmonton radius due to the dangerous conditions. However my little Echo and me slipped along the icy roads and made it to work by 8:20am.

I'll try and get a few pictures from today to show what it looks like. It's crazy weather.

MATRIX 2009

Jenn and I are trading the old Tercel in and getting a 2009 Matrix. We're going with the orange colour shown in the pictures. :) I love this car, it's going to be a great car to drive around in this summer. I can't wait to get some nice pictures of it. We're going with the XR package with tinted windows and a front deflector. I can't wait, we'll pick it up on Friday! :) April 25th is a day off for me so I will be spending the day in Edmonton. :)

This weather has BEEN HORRID.....so much snow in such a short period of time. Talk about being snowed in....we shovelled a lot today just to get out of the driveway. Been busy doing organizing and cleaning today. Trying hard to get the house in order. Anyway, hope everyone had a good weekend. :)

-Randy

Weekend and Blizzard Approach

Well...snow is on the way, maybe not a blizzard but snow is coming. Such strange Alberta weather, I guess not strange because it's kind of normal for Alberta. Anywhere else it might be considered strange. Last weekend was so nice and warm and now the cold is moving in.
Last night was an AWESOME hockey game. I love how watching the Flames lose is almost better then seeing the Oilers win. The great part was seeing those last few seconds ticking off the clock and seeing Calgary struggle to get the puck out of their zone. Hopefully Sunday night will be the end of this playoff run for Cowtown.
I am happy to survive until the weekend, it's been a busy week. Threw in a PD day this week and it's been a bit busy. :) I am done Linda's wedding photos and mailed them out. No current photography sessions are booked...(hint, hint).....so if anyone wants some pictures (hint, hint) they can contact me via my website. :)
Hopefully I'll get out this weekend even if it's cold and do some pictures...I miss photography. My Canon 40D is collecting dust.
Have a good weekend everyone! :)
-Randy

Wednesday

Well, not a lot going on other then work. :) Just trying to finish up wedding photos for Linda and Yves and get them mailed out today. I have been really thinking about my photography and where I want to go with it. The website has been fun and I am really proud of it, however I do want to start generating some shoots and getting busy with my camera soon. As the weather gets warm I really want to get out there and do photography. I am VERY happy San Jose won last night in the hockey world. Things were starting to worry me and flashbacks to when the Shames almost won another cup started to come back. I hope they are golfing in 2 games.
I have a professional development day tomorrow in Sherwood Park, going to go to Costco to get some prints done for our office wall.

Sean Avery screens/battles Martin Brodeur - Game 3; 13/04/08

Avery being a goof. Hockey sure has changed from when I was a kid. Dave Semenko wouldn't allow for this kind of behavior. :) What a meathead.
-Randy

Camera

Just a review of the 70-200mm 2.8 IS lens I am dreaming of....I love this lens already and it's not yet in my bag. :) Maybe some kind person will donate money to my buy my dream lens fund. :)
Review Sample Pictures ISO 12233 Crops Vignetting
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens Review
The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens is my favorite and most-used lens. Combining a very popular and very useful focal length range with excellent image quality, professional build quality, superb autofocus performance, a fast aperture and one of my favorite features - Canon's valuable 3-stop Image Stabilization - makes the 70-200 IS one of Canon's most desired lenses. When I really need to make every shot count, the 70-200 IS is one of the first lenses I will include in my bag. It is one of the most-professionally-used lenses available and finds a home in the kit of many, many serious amateurs as well.

Lens Lust

Today I checked out the net to check the prices on the canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS and I found a great price in Toronto at Samy's. That is the best price I've seen on it in Canada yet. Only small problem I have is I don't have that money anywhere to buy it....hehehe. I might need to sell a few xbox games and my xbox to afford it. That is VERY tempting considering I'd get more enjoyment out of that lens then I would playing vids.

The weekend ended on a sour note, Sharks losing to the Shames and letting Cowtown go up 2-1 on them. They NEED to win the next one and not let the Shamers get confidence. Kipper and got the yank in that game. Go Sharkies Go!!! :)

Well, I didn't get any pictures taken this weekend which makes me sad. Maybe someday soon my camera will get some use. I'll try and take it today to work with me and maybe see some inspiration on my drive in to work.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
Revelation 3:20 (Read all of Revelation 3)New International Version

Beautiful Weather

The weather has been amazing this weekend. Church was great in Red Willow. There was a visiting Pastor there and he had a great message. He talked about SDA's and basically how it's dangerous to just be a Christian by following a routine and not having Christ in your heart. It's not enough just to go through the "actions".

I am sad I haven't really taken many pictures lately. Maybe with the warm weather I'll get out and take some pictures. I miss it....I've been busy with life and just haven't had time to do anything with the 40D. Maybe soon.

-Randy

Friday

Good hockey news today. All is well again, as Calgary got shut out by the Mighty Sharks. :) I laughed when Iron Mike had a melt down on the bench when the Shames took penalty after penalty. Hehehehheheh, poor Shames....playing like typical goons in the playoffs. They forget that skill play is where the league wants to go and beyong Iggy they are just not skilled. If they didn't have Kipper they'd be down 2-0 already.

The weather is also turning WARM this weekend. Hope to get out there and take some nice shots of some spring meltdown. I need some new images to throw on to the website. :)

I am confused again by my friend Tammy, I thought she bought the 70-200 2.8IS canon lens I crave....hehehe. I am sure she'll have it soon, I need to start saving those dollars. Here are some shots from the lastest wedding I shot....congrats to Linda and Yves. I was able to shoot some pictures of them at the beautiful location of Fort Edmonton, at the Selkirk Hotel. Linda was a beautiful bride and I wish them both a happy life together.

-Randy

Best Halo Suicide Ever!

This is funny if u have ever played HALO 3 u'll respect this creative idea. :)
-Randy

Sukhoi Su-30 MK

This is one amazing jet, I'm part russian so I can take pride in something this cool. :) Wish Canada had this jet. :)
If Maverick was flying this in Top Gun Goose would of lived...heheheh....go Top Gun!!! :)

HDR Photography

HDR Images are amazing. They really fascinate me and I think I am REALLY going to try and capture some images and play around with HDR in the near future more. It allows for some really interesting images that a camera just can't do with one image. However taking multiple exposures and blending them together is interesting and can lead to some pretty cool results.

Nathan Elson has some cool examples of buildings he shot in Calgary on his blog. He did some amazing shots there and I am hoping to get some good results as well. I'll maybe post some examples here or on my website should I get some worthy shots worth sharing. :)

Well, Calgary won last night, grrrrrrrrrr, so much for the sweep. Just hoping it's over in 5 or 6 and the Sharks win! :) This picture is of Cory Cardinal (best bud) and Chris Jericho (WWE Superstar) and moi (tall goofy guy) - Cory won tickets to a WWE PPV in Edmonton from the Edmonton Sun. We got to meet Chris Jericho and Victoria (women's champ) and get pics and autographs. It was right after Wrestlemania when Chris Bennoit (RIP) won.

-Randy

The Camera

There is so much talk about "The Camera" in the photography world. Canon and Nikon the 2 big camera companies want the photographers to believe that their images depend on having the latest and greatest camera. Now I am a believer in getting good lenses, however just look at the history of photography. The picture in this post is of my Grandpa Pond, I am not even sure what camera he used, but it was taken up in the mountains of BC, he set the camera down and took the pic himself. Camera technology will always get better but it still remains the job of the user to have complete control over what image is being captured.

I hear Tammy has got herself a sweet new lens, 70-200 2.8 IS lens I have been dreaming about. Hope one day she'll let me take some pics with it. :) Here is for hoping, hehehe. Well, I am going to start putting away my pennies, dimes, nickels and maybe a few quarters in hopes of landing one of these lenses. :)

As I prepare for the day I was just thinking about my Grandpa and his love of nature and how he must have enjoyed taking pictures. This image speaks to me and just looking back at my Grandpa's life I can say I sure miss him. He had a good life left a great example for his grandkids to follow. Thanks Grandpa for the inspiration, the gifts and love that you left for me. I hope with my photography I can find what you did, beauty in nature and that connection with God.

Now hopefully Calgary loses to the Shark tank tonight. :) GO SHARKS GO!! :)

-Randy

Aperature

When I started digital photography I had only a slight idea about aperature. I knew I loved shooting subjects with blurred backgrounds but did not always know how to achieve this. I learned a lot about ISO and how I can use it with aperature to create beautiful pictures with blurred backgrounds. I started buying lenses that will support my craving for short dof (depth of field) images. My fave lens and cheapest buy is the canon 50mm 1.8 lens. I HIGHLY recommend this lens if you're interested in SLR photography and have a tight budget like me. It delivers PRO level images for a SMALL price. I got mine for just under $100. It's made cheaply and is a bit noisey. It's mostly plastic and my cat Nahla knocked if off a desk and it broke which made me quite sad. The good news it wasn't a 70-200 2.8 lens and replacing it didn't break the bank. Now I keep my lenses on safer places from kitty cats.

The 1.8 lens is a perfect way to deal with indoor natural light without using a flash. You can adjust the ISO to allow for shutter speeds that allow for amazing portraits. I suggest not going below a shutter speed of 60, or use a tripod I guess if you want to go slower then 60. The tough part about shooting at 1.8 is I have trouble focusing on the subject. Auto focus at that short of depth of field is tough, I recommend manual focus if the auto doesn't cooperate. I tend to be lazy and shoot auto. I take a LOT of pictures so I usually have quite a few out of focus shors that get dumped. But the moment you lock in the eyes and get a perfect shot with a nice blurry background it's priceless. I get knocked a lot by other photographers for not shooting crisp and 100% sharp pictures. However I think too many photographers get sucked in to thinking every lens needs to be an "L" lens and spending thousands of dollars will make their photos better. I disagree and I've seen many of these photographers take really "boring" images with their expensive lenses. I suggest breaking the rules...doing shots that seem to go against what the masses agree makes a perfect shot.

Photography is fun, it can be very creative and understanding the way your camera works opens doors to creativity and fun. Allow yourself time to learn and shoot as much as possible to open up yourself to how your camera works. It took me a long time to learn it....so don't expect to learn in an instant, some people can....hehehhe, but it's a skill and just develop it as best you can.
-Randy

Verse of the Day

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”- Galatians 2:20

Taken from the: http://www.biblegateway.com/ website... also check out: http://www.redwillow.org/ it's a great church in St.Albert with an excellent Pastor. :)

Sunday - Last Day of Spring Break

Woke up and made some blueberry pancakes for my Mom and Dad before they packed up their van and left. I pray they have a safe trip home to WA State. Having them here was a real personal and spiritual boast. More then I could of asked for, having Dad to talk with and working with him was great. He really was a HUGE help installing floors and just being here for me. I couldn't of asked for more. I really hope to see them more maybe this summer some time.

Jenn and I went to Wal-mart and Canadian Tire and picked out some drapes for the office. We also started putting together a computer desk we got from costco. It's pretty complex but hopefully it'll be done before the week is over...hehehhe. The new office space is going to be awesome. I am looking forward to having it up and going soon. It'll be in our laundry room where we painted a new colour and installed laminate. It'll look great once it all comes together. That will mean my "green" room in the basement will still be a room for storing my photography gear and be a good spot to do art and hold my art supplies as well. I can't wait to do more artwork this summer if I can motivate myself to start painting again. I sure miss it.

Well, I am hoping to head to Subway for some supper.....Jenn's just finishing a phonecall with her Mom and we'll be going. Hope everyone had a good weekend.

-Randy

Snow in April

It's a snowy morning in Vegreville. I will be driving in to Red Willow this morning with my Mom and Dad to take in Pastor Dan's next sermon on being FEARLESS. Hope to see the famous Trevor Boller there as well. :) I hear he got a new lens that I am most likely going to be VERY jealous of. :) I need to find some funds so I can buy my 2.8 70-200 baby that is faithfully waiting for me in the store.

I hope the roads will be safe for us today as we travel in to church. It's not a very nice day, we were planning to have a picnic in Edmonton and I think that plan is not gonna float today. Hopefully I'll get some pretty pictures in the snow today. I think pics with snow are beautiful. I'll see what I can capture...might be the last snow of the year.....(hoping)......

-Randy

Olive Garden and Floors

Today we went to Edmonton and picked up supplies for the floors and had a HUGE meal at Olive Garden with the folks. It was great but wow did I ever want to sleep and when we got home had a nice nap. Now I am awake and about to get back to flooring again. :) Not much else to say for today. Yay that Edmonton won vs Vancouver and knocked them out...kind of wish they had knocked out the Shames more. I have a MAJOR dislike of the Calgary team. I hope they get booted in the 1st round......will be understress if they make a run like they did before....that'll make me cry. :) hehehhe

-Randy

Laminate Floor Fun

I am exhausted and sore. Laminate floors are not a lot of fun. Dad and I were able to lay down most of the laundry room floor. I made a few mistakes and I am VERY sore from all this crawling around and physical work. It's good to do though, I am feeling pretty good about the progress. We also put together our table saw and did a few cuts on it. Nice to see it works good. So much for a relaxing spring break....but the hard work is good for the soul. It's also good to have Mom and Dad here, Dad's been a BIG help and is helping me work though a lot of stuff. :) I'm off to read a bit from my new bible. Goodnight world.

-Randy

Tuesday

Mom and Dad have arrived and today we made some damage on the floors. We stripped carpet out of the laundry room and started laying laminate floor down. It's a challenge as I've never done this kind of work before and I am learning by mistakes. Our saw we bought from Sears is doing a sweet job of cutting. It has a laser built in to make correct cuts in the boards.

Tomorrow I hope we'll be 99% done as most of the prep work has been done. The laundry room is tricky just cuz of all the stuff in it. Dad and I watched as sadly the Oilers lost to the Shames and now have the freedom to polish the golf clubs and hit the links. Calgary won't be far behind them as I am HOPING they get bounced out asap.

So far spring break has been fun, not working too hard and just enjoying the support and LOVE of my Mom and Dad. They gave me a gift of a bible today and I am VERY impressed with it. I hope to get some use of it in the next year. I am tired so I'm going to end this blog here. Time to go visit a bit with my folks and head to bed. Need energy for finishing the work tomorrow. :)

-Randy

Internet Rage

I just read my friend Tammy's Blog and it really reminded me of the "issues" and bad sides of the internet. I played a lot of internet games, xbox live, warcraft and it never ceases to amaze me the hate that seems to dominate in these areas. Lots of horrid words, racial, cursing, people talking to complete strangers in a way to enemies might talk. These people can live in the same town, state, province yet they meet online and take their rage out on each other. I've been guilty of getting in to childish rants on forums. I don't go to the level of racial or hardcore cursing but I have allowed myself to get my blood boilling over things someone has said.

I believe the moments I've felt my blood boil have been when something else in my life was lacking. Just as when I am driving in Edmonton on the Whyte Mud and some moron cuts me off, or speeds up behind me inches from my bumper. If I am having a bad day, or bad week or bad month, heheheh, I allow myself to get mad, say some horrid things to this person and wish them nothing but negative luck. Same as online, some powerless person can feel power over others by acting like a bully, doing something to try and upset another. Happy people don't act like this, even people that are having problems don't act like that. Not everyone sees the need to treat their fellow mankind with this kind of attitude but yet it's so common in our world today. Showing love is something that very few people think about anymore.

It just makes me sad when I see how "ugly" the world has become. I don't often talk on my xbox live anymore and mute most players in games for almost all of them are kids talking with such hate. If a person just takes a look at society it's getting uglier and uglier. Just take a look at the biblical city of Sodom and think how far off is today's North American culture from becoming just like that? I think the connections are coming closer and closer and that is scary stuff. Hehehheheh, wow, there is my rant about rage for the day. :)
-Randy

Drawing Tablet

Just loving my tablet. I sketched a picture quick tonite and played around with it. This was REALLY quick....I am happy with it. It's a new Wacom BAMBOO tablet. (drool) An Anniversary present from Jenn....XOXOXOOXOXOX THANKS WIFEY!!! :) Here is my sample:

Sierra Noble - Amazing Metis Fiddler

This chick RIPS it up on a fiddle. :)

My Savior My God By Aaron Shust

Sweet song :)

Aaron Shust performing My Savior My God on the Logan Show

This guy can sing....and check out his cool hair too. :)

Edmonton Oilers Dressing Room Tour

Check out where the Oilers hang, now hope they can make a Cup Run....

Weekend Update

We attended the Red Willow Community Church and I got to meet the famous Trevor Boller. :) Got to visit with his wife and him for awhile. Overall it was a very social day, we also met another couple, Anna and her boyfriend Stan. Anna wants to practice music with Jenn and do some piano and saxaphone music. Then we attended a Fiddle Concert at the Museum. It was a lot of "old" people but the music was awesome and such talented peeps.

It was a long day however it was a VERY good day meeting so many cool people. Then to top things off, the Oilers went down to Cowtown and layed a hurting on the Calgary Shames. Nice to see the Oilers are not going out quietly. If they miss the playoffs no one will look at them and say they went easy. I am happy that my Mom and Dad are leaving today. They should be here on Monday evening...that means Dad can watch the Flames game with me on Tuesday. Best case scenario for Edmonton now is for the Canucks and Preds to lose 2 of their next 4 games and Edmonton can make it.

Today means cleaning and I will be helping get ready the house so Mom and Dad don't think we live in a dump. :)

-Randy

Last Day Before the big BREAK! :)

Well, for the last two days I've started my day of teaching at 6am and arrived home at 8:30pm, last night was 9pm. Long days of dealing with a lot has me very excited for a chance to relax. I really appreciate some of the feedback I've got on my blog. It's not a lot but it's nice to know there are a few people who can relate and understand. I really feel like I am able to breath now with the space I've tried to give myself.

I am excited for my Mom and Dad to arrive. I saw them on June 10th, 2007 for my Birthday. They were here with my sister, Eddie "the eagle" and my nephew baby Caleb. They will share my spring break with me and it'll just be sweet to hang with them. Watch some hockey with my Dude aka Dad. :)

I hope to do some more work on the website....keep checking cuz it's gonna get even better I hope.
-Randy

Website

I have been enjoying having a website, now the fun of deciding what pictures to show in each gallery. I am also trying to figure out what is the best way to present my galleries. I change my mind so often it's tough deciding on what to include. Right now I am thinking of:

• wedding gallery


• ~ the ladies (for all the great portraits of models and friends I have done)


• ~ the gentlemen (for the dudes I've worked with)


• ~ the kids (for child photos)


• ~ couples (for the love birds)


• ~ life (for things in life that caught my eye, be it nature, still life, or anything that I can't classify under another gallery


• ~ event photography (for sports events, etc. that I have done)

Those are all I can think of for now. If anyone can think of more galleries please let me know. Contact me through my website http://www.randypond.ca/ and I will be very glad to hear from you.

On a final note, GO OILERS, I think I might grow a playoff run beard until Edm is out for sure from this year's playoff run. Not sure if I can stick with it, but they are sure close and how sweet it'd be if they made another cup run without Pronger (that loser). I am at work until 8pm tonight.....so won't be home until 8:30pm....

-Randy

This is Me

Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.
Proverbs 25:28 (Read all of Proverbs 25)New International Version

This sadly I relate to all too well. I have found myself being a city broken down and without defense. I have fallen in to the trap of feeling "comfort" in my life. I've allowed myself for far too long to make bad choices. I am at a very critical point in my life now where I am faced with some major lifestyle changes. Taking them lightly is not in my plans. My walls are in need of being rebuilt and if I go about it the wrong way they'll just fall down again just as easy as my life was with no self-control in it. Considering these things I am struggling with are personal I won't mention them but reflecting on them here helps me. I know my friends and family care about me, it has helped to have support from my family.

I think that there can be good to come from this. Making healthy choices and wanting to rebuild and strengthen myself is a positive. Some of the things I have been working are the 4 overall areas of the medicine wheel:

• Physical: my plan to improve here is to workout, for too long I have neglected doing physical things. I want to go for more walks, ride my bike, do weights, eat healthier, drink more water and just not sitting around on the computer.


• Spiritual: attend church more, daily prayer, devotional, reading my bible more, connecting more with pure elements of life so I can have strength to deal with temptations


• Mental: studying, working on improving professional, reading more books related to education, doing what I can to grow my mind in areas that can benefit my career, marriage, and help my skills in photography and with things I am interested in.


• Emotional: here is where I need a lot of work, I have lots of "stuff" that has followed me around for years, before I was married and back to when I was a kid, "stuff" that needs to be worked through before I can strengthen myself I need to get emotionally healthy or none of this will be of any use.

I am a great procrastinator - a pro at it. However, I have kept putting all of these rebuilding activities off for so long. It's "DUMB" because I have known for years these changes needed to be made. I blame myself for not making them, it's time for me to create this change. I feel that deleting facebook, myspace and limiting my internet exposure has been the best thing for me. I find myself with more time, time I've needed to reflect, pray and think. It's so easy to escape life. A person can do it in so many ways. I think internet, television, video games, movies and so much more are ways I can escape and not face my problems. Much like someone uses drugs I used distractions to keep me from reflecting and changing for the better.

Right now I don't want to just focus on my own personal problems. I know they seem HUGE to myself, but in truth there are some larger problems that deserve prayer and your positive thoughts. My Mother-inlaw is dealing with health issues. I just found out tonight that she can not have an operation she needs. I really hope she can improve for she is still young and I want her to be around as long as she can. Also, my Auntie Rona is dealing with her health now too. She has been in the hospital and is dealing with some really tough issues. I hope that you can remember them in your thoughts and prayers, they need them more.

Photography

Pho·tog·ra·pher n. One who practices, or is skilled in, photography.

Lots of people call themselves a photographer. Some add the word "professional" but what does that word professional really mean?

engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or means of livelihood; "the professional man or woman possesses distinctive qualifications ...

I have a background in art classes and have studied the history of art, I know the skills and techniques involved in most visual arts. I know a lot about how my camera works too, but the key in being a photographer or an artist is that word skill. Skill can be so many things. Skill in having a creative eye and seeing beauty where others do not.

I always think back to a moment in University when I attended my cousin's grad. The grads were all dressed up and parading around the gym in their fancy clothes. There were a LOT of really beautiful young people there. You could tell who the popular kids were based on the applause and attention they received from the crowd. However that night it wasn't a popular grad that created a massive impact on my memory. Walking by herself was a very ordinary girl, probably not very popular and no one was escorting her. She walked alone and was not smiling. She had thick glasses, very plain features and not a girl anyone would give attention to based on physical appearance. As she got close to where I was sitting she noticed her family, who were sitting just below where I was seated. I wish to this day I had a camera. She gave the most brilliant and beautiful smile. This girl's face was lit up with pride and joy. Her moment with her family was all that mattered...that moment taught me that beauty is sometimes hidden. Her smile was the most beautiful thing I saw that night. I felt lucky to share that moment and see that smile. That's a once in a lifetime smile. It's moments like that I try to capture when I do photography. Professionals can know lighting, know how to operate the camera, but knowing to see beauty and capture it is a whole other skill that can not be taught in a classroom.

So many artists feel because they attended art school they are in fact "art elite" and this to me is a joke. I saw so many want to be artists graduate art school. I feel this world is full of skilled people without the paper to back themselves up. Some students I teach have more art ability then some very experienced artists. I'll close with a text that I came across randomly on the web...I feel it sums up how we should live our lives. I am taking it to heart.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.
1 John 4:16b-17 (Read all of 1 John 4)

RANDYPOND.CA is LIVE :)

Just some happy news for a Tuesday! :) My website is live....well, it shows up on my computer so hoping others can see it too. Check http://www.randypond.ca/ and if possible try using my contact form to see if it works. I am excited, I want to add more to my galleries and get it looking even better in the weeks to come. :) I am excited to have my own site. Thanks to Jenn for supporting me in getting this far with my photography. I love you so much. Busy week of work for me this is going to be a tough week to survive. Can not wait until the weekend. Congrats to the Oilers for making the playoff race exciting....they will most likely miss but wow they are close. 3 points out and who knows what will happen. They just need to win, win, win and win and maybe....just maybe. :)

-Randy

Easter Sunday

Saturday was a good day, met an old friend named Richard in Edmonton at the Edmonton South Church. Turns out he has met someone and is now a married man, congrats to big Rich!! :)

I am patiently waiting for my Bludomain site to go live. I was told it may take up to 72 hours. I hope it goes live soon. http://www.randypond.ca/ should be alive and kicking soon I hope. I am not 100% done it but it is close to being finished. I am still trying to pick some songs I like for it. The music on there is mostly temp for now.

I hope everyone has had a good Easter Holiday.....I had a restful one. Nice to see the Oilers are still hanging around. Maybe there is a slight chance of them making it in yet for a playoff run.

My parents will come soon for my Spring Break - looking forward to that.

-Randy

Easter Break

Today is the last day of school before a small break. No school Friday or Monday, which is a welcome time for teachers. Next week brings even more busy times with 2 nights being Celebreation of Learning and that will take time to prepare and visit with families.

This week I've taken a big step in planning for my photography. I have paid to get the domain name http://www.randypond.ca/ and now have that as my new space for a webpage. Bludomain is where I am developing my site and will soon be asking them to go live with my site. I want to simplify my photography so that being online takes up zero of my time. I want to focus on the things I enjoy. My time spent online needs to be as minimal as possible. If you want to stay in touch with me you can check out my new site. I will not be posting as much new work as I was on pbase. Yet, I will have some news and photos for people to see. I am also not planning any new shoots for the near future. I am lagged down with a LOT of photos yet to be processed from recent shoots. I will work on finishing those up so that I can send them out to the models I have worked with.

As for Time for Print work, until my website is working I do not plan on doing any shoots. I also will be doing only very selective work. I feel my portfolio has enough strength in it that I want to start using my time for more business side of photography. I also want to have weekends to spend with my wife and 2 precious kittens. I am also removing my old email address so contact me through my website in the future should you wish to contact me. Thanks to all the photographers and people that have supported my photography. I am excited to show the new website and hopeful it will result in something positive for me.

~~~ Happy Easter!!!
-Randy

Update St.Pats Day! :)

Happy Saint Patricks Day Everyone!!

Today before midnight is when bludomain is supposed to send me my site to start working on. I am VERY excited. I am not going to tell what template I selected...I want it to be a surprise.

Last week was a lot of fun. I was able to go to a conference in Edmonton at the RiverCree Resort. On Thursday I went in to the banquet hall and sat at a randomly assigned table. People started to come in and started joining me at the table. One person sat down next to me and as I read his nametag I could not believe the person I was sitting next to. His nametag read Lance Scout and I was so amazed that out of all the places I'd be sitting beside Lance. I had met Lance back in 1997 when I was a student teacher doing my internship at St.Patrick School of Fine Art in Lethbridge. He is from the Blood Reserve down by Lethbridge and together we planned a First Nation Art show in Lethbridge. It was a lot of fun and he had a BIG impact on me as a young teacher. He is just a great person and one of those people you don't forget. He is an amazing artist and I was blessed to see some of his personal work in his room at the resort. Jenn also got to meet him and his 16 year old son that came to the conference with him. It was an awesome part of my time at the conference for sure. I hope I can see Lance again, maybe this summer and maybe collaborate with him on some kind of art venture.

The weekend can be summed up by saying STRESS - I am having every problem imaginable with my report cards. I don't want to talk about it, lets just say GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR and I'll leave it at that. :)

I can't wait to end this week and have some time to relax. March Madness baby!!! I hope I can take in a few games. Love NCAA basketball.....I had fun playing Nestor NBA 2K8 on the weekend, he BEAT me with the Nets.....I was the lowly Raptors...but I won every other game so not worried about my 2k8 skills. :)

Have a GOOD week people...stay tuned for Bludomain updates. :)
-Randy

CONCEPT ART (WACOM+PHOTOSHOP+PAINTER)

Some very cool tablet shizzle. :)

Yay last Day

It's been a mini-week for me. Tomorrow I hand over the fun (madhouse) to a sub and go to a convention in Edmonton. I get to stay at the RiverCree hotel on Thursday night. That will be fun to see what kind of rooms they have there.

I Also am excited to just have a break for a couple days. Spring break is coming and the kids need a break just as much as I do. My students have been VERY emotional and I can sure tell they need a break from school. The weather is nice, snow melting. How can I tell it's spring? (I can't believe I am making this joke) well, the Oilers are about to start golfing it appears (sniff, sniff, sigh)....I do expect the Shames to lose in the first round to whoever they play. It's a proven fact that the Calgary Insanes love to play golf over hockey in the playoffs.

I still need to do some soul searching about what website template to select from bludomain. Seriously considering going with one that Joey Lawrence went with for his site. It's a pretty sweet one and I think it'd fit with the style I shoot with.

Also, I had an idea today for a shoot. For some reason I have been loving the colours Orange and Purple. I am looking for models that have a lot of purple or orange to do a shoot on this theme with. I have other ideas too, but really want to do the Orange and Purple idea. :) They are fun colours, Phoenix Sun colours too.
:)

Marching in Spring

Hopefully by the weekend I will be able to buy my Bludomain website. I am excited and trying to decide which template to go with for my site. They all look great so it'll be a tough decision I think.

I have just a few more days of work this week and then I am off to Edmonton for 2 days of conferences. It'll be rough with report cards on the go, making sub plans but the break from school will be really nice. It's also at the RiverCree which is a nice place to visit. I think it will be a good time. It also helps that this weather is so nice and warm, I find it gives extra energy to get through the day.

Last night I was able to learn how to set up my brushes on photoshop to work with my tablet. It's pressure sensitive and now I finally make sense of how it works. Silly me, not knowing how to use the settings, but now if I press hard I can change the width of my line. I also have it set so if I press lightly it makes a lighter mark and harder makes a more opaque mark. I love technology. So what does this all mean? I hope it means I am on my way to creating some very cool artwork. I think I might start drawing more and seeing if I can somehow mix my photography and drawing work to create some cool art. Who knows, but I am sure loving digital art. Thanks to Imaginefx and magazines that showcase digital artists and give tutorials on how to create such amazing works of art. The best way to learn though is just with lots of fooling around and practice. I highly recommend if anyone is going photoshop to get a wacom tablet. It's not a BIG investment. A small tablet is around $70 I think and if you have deep pockets you can get an amazing one. It'll help in so many ways.

Monday Fun

Wow, I take a deep breath and look at this week as one crazy roller coaster ride. First of all, report cards are due on Friday. Then I have a conference in Edmonton coming up on Thursday and Friday at RiverCree. Basically, crazy...crazy times ahead for this dude.

The weekend was fun, shooting the pay-per-view event was fun. Talked with a freelancer for the Edmonton Journal there and saw that he had the 70-200 I am dreaming of. He said it's a staple lens that all of the media guys use. I was very jealous and was basically sold on buying this lens.....only small problem now is the matter of the $2000 price tag, hehehe. Anyone wanna throw some cash my way pretty please?

Not much to say today, just overwhelmed with the road ahead. The nice part is at the end of this road (end of March) lies a beautiful Spring Break...which will be much appreciated. :)

Weekend is Here.

Today marks the end of a busy week. I am thankful the weekend is coming. Last night I sat down with photoshop and was able to get my drawing tablet to work with some pressure sensitivity settings. I am looking forward to doing some cool edits with it in the next while. Melanie F. and Sherry B. two models I know have hooked me up with a cool opportunity. I get to be the photographer at a pay-per-view event in Edmonton this weekend. It's a chance to do some event photography that I have never done before. Should be interesting as I am not allowed to use a flash. My 40D can shoot at really high ISO's and I have 2 decent lenses, however, I am REALLY wishing I had the 70-200 2.8 for this event along with a sweet battery grip. However, I know the equipment won't matter, it's the ability of moi to get the shots that matters. I am excited to see how I can do with this event. I hope to have pics posted this weekend. I hope it'll lead to some new opportunities and connections. Maybe one day I'll make some cash to buy that 70-200 lens....(hoping)....also stay tuned this month. I am going to hook up with a bludomain website and get it up and running asap. :)

Photoshop Art

I am totally interested in learning the skills of taking a photo and turning it in to a work of art. I've been reading a magazine called Imagine FX and trying my hardest to see how these artists can create these types of creations. Here is a link to some awesome examples of what I am talking about.

Check out an artist V.Hulbert - her work is awesome....the pic posted in this blog is something I colored when I was just learning photoshop. :) I have a lot to learn.

Reading magazines like ImagineFX are great ways to learn new techniques. It comes with a CD full of goodies, free brushes, textures, tutorials...and lots more. I highly recommend picking up magazines like this and trying out some of the things they show.

Here is a helpful link I just found for painting in photoshop. :)

Wednesday

Yesterday I got some bad news. Found out a really close friend is struggling with his health. He is a vice-principal at a First Nation school in Northern Alberta. He has worked really hard to get where he is today. His family is very supportive of him and he recently recieved his Masters degree. Finding out he is going through some medical issues just reminds me how short life can be. Friendships and family are so important. What makes it tough is that he lost his Dad recently and his family went through a really hard time with that. My prayers and thoughts are with him and his family. People like him are rare and he does have a lot of good ideas and goals relating to education and being a leader. I sure hope he can get through this and be even stronger. I am praying for you C-Dawg. :)

Here are just a few inspirational quotes I found today while thinking about family, friends and just loving those around us.
"And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."~Ephesians 4:32~
To me this is a reminder that we need to see beyond people's faults...see them for who they are and treat others with kindess and respect. My friend who is sick is very much involved in his culture and First Nation culture is about showing respect, honoring people and to me in this bible text showing kindess to others is what we need in this world and in this life.

Just a few more inspiring quotes from the B-I-B-L-E :)

"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God ... Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us."~1 John 4:7, 11-12~

“Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and never succeed. (Proverbs 12:24)”

“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

March Madness

March is here and I do not feel ready for all of the things that need to be done. I have a conference coming up mid-March, report cards, Celebration of Learning and another PD activity related to special education. Basically, it's a lot of stuff and I feel a bit pressured. People can say what they like about teachers....but wow we do a lot of stuff. I love the profession but it seems like come Sept. we are strapped in to one wild and crazy roller coaster ride. Little breaks throughout the year, like Spring Break, just seem like chances to stop and catch your breath before rushing off again on another wild and crazy ride.

I am VERY excited because it looks like March will be the month I get my website. I am going with a bludomain and hopefully be able to launch it in time for my Spring Break. I can't wait, it'll be fun to show off my photography in such a polished and professional manner. I love the addition of music to the website, to me it's a perfect combo. Tammy is close to launching her bludomain site and I can't wait to see it go live. On a closing note, I am very pumped to pay off my credit card...hehehe, my reward is a 70-200mm 2.8 piece of Canon goodness. :) (DROOOL)
I am also making March a month to work on some personal stuff. I have made myself some goals and hoping I can stick to them. I really want to be a better person and feel I have not put enough effort in to reflecting on the man I am. Sometimes life seems to pass by in such a way that I get too lazy, too easy going about things. I really hope I can make this a mad month of professional work, photography work and self-improvement work. :) Go Randy! (my inner cheerleader speaking)