And We're Off (?)

Off and running. Well, sort of...

Today is November 1, the start of National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) - the object of which is to blog every day for an entire month. So here I am at the computer attempting to come up with something to blog about.

Oh sure, there are actually lots of things about which to write: I can play catch-up from the month or so that I was away from blogging because I was too dang busy; I can fill you in on the state of affairs with Montachusett Harmonizers (we're up to a quartet now); I can put in my $0.02 regarding the Presidential race this year (I have a pretty good idea as to the outcome, and I'm none too happy about it!); or I can show you my latest crochet project. The list goes on and on.

Truth be told, however - I'm just too tired tonight. I'm glad for the extra hour of sleep that I'll get because the clocks got turned back - it will be an hour well-spent (Zzzzzz).

I joked in my very first blog entry that this would be a blog about nothing. Well, tonight's the night that I make good on that.

So much to blog about, so little energy.

Stay tuned...

Halloween (or Happy NaBlaPoMo Eve)

08.10.31 - Year 2, Day 4 - Halloween, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

I'm really not much for the whole Halloween thing, but thought I would have a little fun in Photoshop.

Anyhow, tomorrow is the start of NaBloPoMo and I will be trying to blog every day for a month. Now that would be spooky!

Starting Again

Starting Again, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

In case anyone’s been wondering whether I’ve just simply dropped off the face of the earth – nope, still here. I’ve just been letting life get in the way a whole bunch lately, which isn’t bad per se, but it does cause other things, like taking photos and blogging for example, to languish a bit.

I won’t try to dump the entire “what I’ve been up to over the past month or so” out all at once, so you’ll be spared that for now. November 1 is in a few days, and that day marks the beginning of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). So if I can keep up things, you’ll be hearing plenty from me as it is. That should be a good opportunity to get a fresh start on blogging regularly again.

Speaking of fresh starts, today I have re-started my second year of daily self-pics (aka “365days”). Back in November of 2007, I had managed to complete one full year of taking a photo of myself each day and posting it to Flickr (which could have done a lot more damage than any large hadron collider could have – how do you collide large hadrons anyway…never mind, I don’t want to know). My attempt at a second year fell way short, so here I am giving it another go. And so, I am sharing my Year 2, Day 1 photo in this blog entry – don’t worry, I won’t be making a habit of blogging my self-pics; maybe only occasionally, and then only those pics I deem particularly good (so you won’t see too many of them here). If your curiosity gets the better of you, you are certainly more than welcome to check them out in my Flickr photostream as they get posted.

That’s enough for now – can’t very well expend all my blogging energy in one sitting, now can I?

McCain/Palin

McCain/Palin, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

www.johnmccain.com

Grrrr

As I fall further behind on my blogging, the video on my PC goes up... Grrrrrr

Air-Conditioned Computer Chips?

News crap of the day:

Researchers look to air-condition computer chips

So, let me get this straight - we're all expected to reduce our hydroflourocarbon usage because it is one of the plethora of substances that damage the environment, yet some schmucks at Purdue University are working on a way to air-condition computer chips, using that very same stuff?

WTF?

Does Al Gore know about this? Has Michael Moore been notified?

[Not that I actually give a flaming crap about what either one of those boneheads have to say. Neither one has been heard from much lately (thankfully), and are likely due to shoot off their mouths and further contribute to global warming by way of their (ob)noxious emissions.]

History Lesson

A little something to tide you over until I can blog for real...

Do you know what happened this week back in 1850, 158 years ago? California became a state. The State had no electricity. The State had no money. Almost everyone spoke Spanish. There were gunfights in the streets. So basically, it was just like it is today, except the women had real breasts and the men didn't hold hands.

The News Pitch

MasterKey PitchPipe, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

I had said in a previous blog post that I had a wee bit of news to share, and now I'm finally getting off my duff to do so.

I used to sing with the Sounds of Concord, a men's barbershop chorus. What's barbershop you ask? Simply put, it's a style of 4-part close harmony a cappella singing wherein the melody is usually sung in the second highest part (the "lead"), with the tenor harmonizing above the melody and the baritone and bass harmonizing below. Anyhow, I used to sing baritone in the Sounds of Concord for a number of years, as well as in a quartet (no, we did not wear those silly vests and straw hats - though the hats might be fun), but had to stop a couple of years ago due to scheduling constraints.

The news is this - I, along with my friend Paul (who still is with SoC, and was in that quartet I sang with), are forming a new chorus in the local (Fitchburg/Leominster/Westminster, MA) area. The working name for the chorus is the "Montachusett Harmonizers" (Montachusett is a regional name, comprised of the name of the three mountains in the area: Monadnock, Watatick, and Wachusett). Eventually, we'd like this chorus to become part of the Barbershop Harmony Society.

We have the date, time and location for our first get-together/meet-and-greet/mini-rehearsal all set, as well as the first few prospective members. Still trying to nail down a location for the weekly rehearsals, but I think we're close to having that nailed down as well. I need to confirm, but I think I will be able to obtain use of a room at my church for that purpose.

Anyhow, that's the news. I will be keeping you updated as things progress.

R.I.P. George Carlin, 1937-2008

One of the greats has passed on. George Carlin died last night. While I certainly didn't agree with everything he had to say, he certainly said it all in a way that most of us only wish we could. Funny and to the point, Mr. Carlin had more common sense in his little finger than all Liberal-dom (or is that Liberal-dumb), and wasn't afraid to say so.

In response to his (in)famous "Seven Things You Can't Say on TV", I was thinking I might try putting together a blog entry on the "Seven Thing You'd Wish They'd Say More Often on TV", but that may well be a entry for another time.

George Carlin is -and was - my most favorite of the politically incorrect crowd, and will be sorely missed, that's for sure...

Constant Motion

Dance 3, originally uploaded by CraftyGuy.

So much for blogging again within a month's time! Ah well. Life's been in constant motion for a few months now, and it gets hard to keep on top of things.

Anyhow, here's yet another installment in the "catch-up" game. This photo was taken last week at the dress rehearsal for Bethanie's dance recital. She has been dancing with NECPAC (New England Christian Performing Arts Center) for a couple of years now, in the Jr. I Ballet and Jr. I Hip Hop classes. No, she is not in the photo above - out of the 30 or so photos I took, only four of them came out acceptable to me (and even decently artsy) - and they all had a ton of motion blur. Fortunately, it was the blur that really made them work! I may post another for my next blog entry (they're also on my Flickr page).

Here to trying to blog again soon, especially since I gots me some news - but it's really late and I'm tired, so I will save it for now. Hopefully it really will be less than a month from now the next time I post...