So... above you see one of the rarest pictures of them all! A picture of Otta sitting still. It's rare! It's like two panadas mating in captivity, watching Haley's Comet, seeing orginal lineup of Flock of Seagulls perform, or me saying, "NO!" to McDonalds. But, here are some other people that have nifty pictures of vizslas!

I hope everyone got out and voted! I don't think it matters who won, history was going to be set, and it's rare that you can step back from a moment and realize that history is unfolding in front of you!

Anyhoo... gotta get rolling. See you later, alligator!

Ha, ha... more Baldwin brothers... ha, ha!!

So, I posted this video because I voted. Plus, I was entertained by it (go figure, it stars entertainers… thank you captain obvious!). As much as I’m disenchanted with Tom Cruise, he was funny… “Yeah, I can do sarcasm!” Ha, ha!

I’m a little stoked about voting. See, I’m a not-so-young/not-so-old 33 years. And, well, I’ve only voted in two elections. But, in my defense, there’s only been four presidential races since I turned 18. I know there are elections every year, but I figure I can re-enact my favorite moment in history if I TRULY don’t like my government officials. I say, “THROW ‘EM ALL OUT THE WINDOW”. I know I’ve referenced this moment in time often, but still…. It doesn’t get any less funny! I don’t care what you say.

Back to my point. I’m 2-for-2 in presidential elections. And I have a reason as to why I didn’t vote in 1996 or 2004. See, I didn’t like Clinton or Dole in 1996, and I didn’t like Bush or Kerry in 2004. I felt like it didn’t matter who you voted for in those two elections. I felt screwed either way.

What else is new, you ask? Nothing. I still live in the same old digs. I still make the same amount of money. I still pay taxes. I did start my new job. I now work at a museum of natural history. I like it so much more than my old life, er, I mean job. See, with my new job, I have a life. My old job was my life. It was disconcerting and worth the change!

I'm a Freakin' Uncle!!

So, I'm an Uncle... last week, my sister gave birth to 7-pound, 21-inch Spencer Austin. I went up last weekend and spent four days welcoming the little guy to his family. It was a lot of fun to see the family again! I like family time. So, here's a picture I took of the little tot:



And, then, I'd also like to say: TODAY IS MY LAST DAY AT THIS JOB!!!!. I start a new job on Monday, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun for me. It's going to be a great learning experience and I can't wait to dive into it!

Sorry, no funny observations today. Maybe later, though!

Guess What Today Is?

... It's my birthday (and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to...). Anyhoo, today isn't just my birthday, as you may see.

Today, I'm some 30-odd-years old! I'm getting old. I hate that music I listened to in high school is now on the classic rock station. I assume that's the price for getting older.

Anyhoo... my sister had a baby. So, I'm a brand-new uncle. He's 7 lbs., 21 inches, and he was born on July 15. I can't wait to be the fun uncle!! The other cool thing, he was born on his parents' wedding anniversary! Nifty!

Well, I'm outta here for the time being. Peace out... and catch y'all next week!

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy...

Happy Bastille Day, everyone. Have a beer to celebrate the liberation of all seven French political prisoners from the venerable prison back in 1789.

The fact that the masses rioted to free seven people is only the second funniest moment in history, in my opinion. The funniest... the Defenestration at Prague! I like the thought that, if you don't like your government, throw it out the window. Oh, and make sure there's a pile of poop for the deposed to land upon!!

Good times!

Twice In One Day!

Wow, two posts in one day! Kinda like the cat... "Wow, two kills in one day!" So, I got some good news. I've accepted a new job! I'm going to work at the Museum of Natural history, vacating my long-time position of assistant sports information director!

I'm a little sad because I so enjoy working with my coaches and my student-athletes. But, it was the right job, and it was a good time to make the move. So, I thought it best to pull the trigger!

On the flip side, I'm so excited to work for the museum. It's truly a cause I believe in and I can rally behind it! It's going to be a lot fun and I can't wait to dive in and get started on it all!!!

That's all the news I have. As the PA guy on M*A*S*H says, "That is all."

Crack for Cats

I think bird killing is like crack for cats... Stewie, pictured in two posts below, started with a little finch every once in a while. Then, it became a one-a-day habit. Before I knew it, it was a twice-daily habit. All of the sudden, two finches wasn't enough. Stewie had to go for the coveted pigeon!

This cat has the taste for blood, and like the Great White Shark, he can't go back! So, with that said, it's safe to say there will be no pet bird in the household for the foreseeable future!

Enough about Stewie. Is started a flickr account. I'm uploading my pictures to it for everyone to see. I've even gone so far as to map the pictures so you can look at Yahoo! Maps to see where I was when I shot the pics! Cool stuff.

The weekend is here... and little Baby J is due any day now. I can't wait! Hello to all two of my readers out there!

BTW...

... only 7 days until Bastille Day... and the Tour de France is going on! Just an FYI!

Don't let the eyes fool you! He's a killing machine!

I know it’s been a while since I updated this here blog. But, I am back, I’m around and I haven’t fallen off the face of the ye olde Earth!

So, I got my cat, Stewie (pictured below), and man is he turning out to be character. While he’s not the typical cat in that he’s very personable and social, he’s still got cat tendencies. For instance, please don’t let the look of innocence in his face fool you. He’s a lean, mean, state-of-the-art, highly skilled, bird-killing machine. He brought me three “dead” birds just over the Fourth of July holiday alone. I put dead in quotes because two of them weren’t dead, just maimed. I believe his lifetime dead bird total is at six now.

Now, I’m not pro random acts of killing, so I believe my cat is a cold-hearted murderer. Think of the families he ruins with his actions. You laugh, but there’s a tell-tale sign that he has prey in mouth. A bunch of birds are hovering over Stewie and around my porch, chirping their little hearts out because they lost a friend or family member. I tried to remedy the problem. It seems cat collars come with bells on them, warning birds that “I’m coming”. But, Stewie found a way to take it off when he was out and about one day… so, he returned to his stealthy, collarless, killing ways!! So, my sunken patio is probably all Hell to all these little birds. There’s probably bird mom and dads, telling their kids about the “Patio of Hell”, where bad little birds go when they misbehave! That’s my patio they’re talking about!! I’m not sure I’m proud of that, though.

So, the top pic is him being innocent. The second is the last thing every dead bird saw before its untimely death!

Other than that, nothing else is really exciting or new. I think I got Otta (our eight-month-old vizsla) fairly potty trained. I mean we have accidents from time to time, but it’s all the time anymore.

I took five days off for The Fourth. I didn’t do anything. I went shooting around town with a friend of mine, but I didn’t take any inspiring photos. I’ve posted them below. I did re-read parts of my camera’s instruction book, and I found some features on it that I enjoy (and wasn’t using). So, I’m glad for that!

Other than that… I just cleaned the old apartment. Not an exciting weekend. Hope your respective Fourth of July’s were nice. I’ll catch you all on another day! (Remember, some of my pics are below… and feel free to leave comments!!)

The above is a picture of an old rusty bolt, used to hold a railroad rail to the tie. It's a long-defunct railroad, so it's old and has good texture!

Above is an HDR (High Dynamic Range) photo of one of the local theaters in SLC. It's a new theater that obviously reflects an art deco style.

And last but not least, this is a hand-held HDR of a flower that's growing around my apartment complex. You can really see the texture and the veins. It's pretty cool. This is my first HDR that I did hand held.

Guess What I did!?!?!?!?

First, I'd like to entertain you with my favorite clip from Robot Chicken:

Hope you enjoyed. I really just logged in to tell you... GUESS WHAT I DID??!?!?! I changed my oil. My car will live for at least another 3,000 miles because I've turned into a responsible car owner. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read my blog entry titled, " I don't want to lose my Blog readership like I lost my car!" from June 10, 2008. Now, let us never speak of it again!

Another Day, Another 50 Cents (before taxes):

I don't know what to say today. I'm just logged on and doing this so that I can say, "Hey, I've recently updated my blog." Because, before this post, I couldn't honestly say that. Now could I.

Really hum-drum weekend. I went to a BBQ festival with a friend on Saturday evening. It was up at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort (note: summer in the title, so you know it doesn't close when the snow melts). Sadly, we got there at the tail end and the BBQ was sold out. So, we sat and had nachos and beer. I'm okay with that, though!!

Sunday, and this is where the weekend got really exciting, I just cleaned the house. I scrubbed, dusted, vaccuumed, polished, cleansed... you name it, I did it. I didn't clean the baseboards or light switches... like my girlfriend does. But, that's just me!

After I was done cleaning, and I sat down to relax, I saw my cat scurrying after something on the patio, and he was being stalked by two birds. Upon closer inspection, Stewie (the cat) had caught a little finch and brought it the patio for my approval. Apparently, the bird's friends didn't approve, though. I got Stewie, put him away, and went to help the poor little birdie... but I couldn't find him. I go out to have a beer on the patio later... and the dogs found the bird right away. I scooped him up with a shovel and put him in the bushes. I left Stewie inside today, to give all the birds a rest from his harassing ways!

Start another week here... good times.

I'm hoping to have some earth-shattering, exciting news in the very near future. Well, let's quantify that. I'm hoping to have two pieces of earth-shattering, exciting news. The first piece is my sister's pregnant, and I can't wait until he's born. Not only do I want to meet the little bugger, I want to know his name! So, that news should be coming down the pipe in the next week or two!

I hope to have more earth-shattering news... but I can't say anything until it's a done deal. It's still a bit shaky if it's going to happen, so I don't want to get (for the most part) my hopes up too much!!!

Well, keep tuning in... and you'll be like the 100th person to know my earth-shattering news. I mean, I gotta call my girl and family... you'll know shortly after.

Another Weekend...

... has come to pass, and I'm still one million dollars short of being a millionaire. Even short now that I bought the new car.

So, I went shooting with my friend on Sunday. We found an old abandoned building in downtown SLC. Here's what I came up with, after some photoshop assistance:



Hope y'all enjoy the pic!

New Subi!!!

Here's my new Subaru. I feel rather materialistic, as I went with a "more luxurious" model than I have ever owned. Don't get me wrong, this isn't top-of-the-line. It's not an LL Bean model or a Limited model. But, it's got the heated seats, heated windshield wipers, heated mirrors... ooooooh and an input connection for iPods!! Quite fancy, though! Here it is (drum roll, please):

So, two days into ownership, and I'm happy with it. I used to have an '03 Outback Sport. It was a smaller version of the full-size Outback, and it was a good, fun car. But, I actually feel like I own a real adult car! It's about time I start acting like I'm in my 20's (now that I'm going to turn 33). I'm old!

Ho hum... back to work. Gotta pay for new car... =(

The Blog Post Hat Trick!!

Could it be? Three posts in three days? This is unprecedented. Does this make me a regular blogger? I mean, I know that there are people who do this everyday, and call themselves bloggers. But, when can I be a self-proclaimed blogger? Is it three straight posts, is it four straight? Is it five posts over a seven-day period? I don't know. Maybe Wikipedia knows. Maybe the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in the wind.

So, I got my new car. It got a Subaru Outback 2.5i. I was originally sold a plain old Outback. But, that's cheap. I mean it came with hub caps! Hub caps are for Taurus' (god rest its soul), Cavaliers and Escorts!! Not Outbacks!! So, me took it back and got the car I wanted. It's Newport Blue/Pearl. It's a thing of awe-inspiring beauty. It's fun to drive. Me likes a lot!

More later... and if you're nice... maybe even a picture of my new car!! But, all you out in the blog-o-sphere have to be on their best behavior! Yes, that means you, too!

It's Coming Up, So Mark Your Calendars!!

This blog was birthed on June 26, 2006. It's second birthday is just around the corner. If you're wondering what this blog wants for its birthday. Here's what I'm looking at getting it:

1. A new car
2. A rack for said new car
3. A user who actually updates it!

BTW... let's do more embedding! I can't believe I used to watch this crap... and with an overzealous fervor. Hey... "No ga-news is good ga-news with Gary Ganu!"



That is all!

I don't want to lose my Blog readership like I lost my car!

What readership, you ask? Well, I read it from time to time.

So, I've been on a hiatus... since Dec. 15. What's it to you out there. It's not like I got people sitting at their computer waiting for me to update this!

Well, if everyone out there is mad at me for my wanton neglect, perhaps I can win you back with this little funny:



So, I've never embedded before. I'm an embed virgin, and I hope I did it right! I don't need any lawyers calling me, throwing copyright law in my face. If they do, I hope it starts with a cease and desist order, because I'll rightfully comply. When you join the Witness Protection Program, you promise not to break any laws. Breaking the law as a member of the WPP causes more paperwork (new identity, new location, new family, new pets, etc.). Oops, said too much.

Anyhoo... life is just peachy here in the Beehive State (Utah, for you people out there not up to snuff on your "State Nicknames"). I learned "an expensive life lesson" as my dad put it. It seems that the "change your oil often" rhetoric isn't just needless rhetoric. Apparently, you ARE supposed to change the oil frequently or great peril will fall upon your engine. Needless to say, great peril fell upon my trusty and loving Subaru Outback Sport. At just five-years-young, the mighty locomotive went dry and gave up on me!

So, I'm off looking for a new car to ruin. Please, wish me luck (or in this case, wish the car luck) in my latest car endeavor.

Hmmm.... nothing else going on here. I still got my two doggies. Premmy is going to be two here next month. He's a lot more calm and mellow now. Then, there's Otta. Sheesh. She has a lot to say, and still likes to pee on the carpet. What makes it worse, she likes to walk while she pees, so there's just a long trail of piss to clean up. Hey, at least it's sterile, right?!?!? Life will be better once Otta "gets it!"

I'll let everyone (and by everyone, I mean all of my readers, AKA just me) know what happens with the whole car thing. I know I'll tune back in for an update!