Awesome Hubby’s a Gadget Guy

Did I ever tell you how awesome my husband is? I’m sure I did. I tell people that all the time. But just in case I forgot…

Hubby is AWESOME.

I could regale you with the many reasons why I think he’s so awesome, but I don’t like to gloat. Much. So I’ll just share this one.

On days like today when I am either busy or just lacking in the inspiration department, he comes through with interesting stuff for me to post. Not because I asked him either. Just because he loves me and he likes to share some of the fun, tasteful stuff he digs up.

Like this goofy little tidbit. It’s a tad long, but very entertaining. So be sure to watch the whole thing.


Eepybird’s Sticky Note Experiment from Eepybird on Vimeo.


Now that I’ve reminded you how awesome my Hubby is, I’ll share one of his secrets with you. I could type REALLY SMALL and he might not be able to read what I’m about to say. Or I could just spit it out. I’ll opt for the latter route.

Are you ready?

Hubby is addicted to gadgets. He’s got gadgets that do all sorts of strange things. Maybe one day I’ll take a picture of some of the more interesting things he finds. I admit, quite a few actually are useful tools. Others, not so much.

But every now and then he comes through with a cool one. Like this thing he got me for Christmas last year. I think it was last year. Anyway, the thing I am talking about is a Gorillapod (pictured below).

The Gorillapod, manufactured by Joby, is a handy little flexible tripod. You can use it just like a regular, albeit small, tripod. But the absolute best use for it is when you are out and about, but don’t have a safe, level place to sit your tripod. You can hang it on a tree. Or maybe a fencepost. Perhaps you need to fasten your camera to the steering wheel of your car. Or you could sit it on a rock as pictured in the photo below (which I borrowed from the Joby Web site but think I’ll be okay ’cause this is FREE advertising).

You probably won’t need it often. But if you’re anything like me, when you do need it, you REALLY need it. I used it several times in Alaska, as a matter of fact. And I’ll probably get lots of use out of my mid-range Gorillapod on my upcoming photo excursion to Maine.

Gorillapods come in three sizes (different colors, too), to hold:

Compact digital cameras (holds up to 9.7 ounces) – MSRP $21.95

SLR cameras with lightweight lens (holds up to 1.75 pounds) – MSRP $39.95

SLR-Zoom cameras with heavier lens (holds up to 6.6 pounds) – MSRP $49.95

I have the mid-range one for SLR cameras. It holds my camera ok (Canon Digital Rebel XT) with the lighter, kit lens. But what I really need (want?) is the big cahuna. The SLR-ZOOM Gorillapod. But it costs $50 bucks. That’s the MSRP, anyway.

Which one do you want and/or need? Perhaps you have one already? Any other cool camera gadget you want to tell me about?

Uploading ’til My Heart’s Content

I did it. I took the plunge and forked over the cash for a Flickr Pro account. Actually, it was credit. But it wasn’t much ($24.99/year).

Now I can upload whatever I want, whenever I want. Free account holders are limited to a 100 mb transfer per month and only three sets. That is nowhere near enough transfer bytes. And who can categorize all their stuff into three simple sets?

I really do have lots of pictures floating around. And I take more every day.

On a regular basis, Hubby thanks the powers that be that he was able to convince me to go digital. We’d be so poor by now…

I Have Decided to Share…

…some images. I have TONS of pictures floating around on this computer network of mine. And I keep taking more. After all, the more photos you shoot, the better you become, right? I just need to learn to DELETE some of them.

Anyway, I have decided to be generous and share my images with the world. Not just via this Blog or through my photo sharing sites, but on my Web site.

I figure folks might appreciate some different wallpaper images. Or images for their own Web site or Blog. Whatever. We all know I’ll never become a professional photographer. So why not just share?

The first shot you see on this post is my favorite. I darkened it with Photoshop a bit. (You gotta love the BOKEH!)

I really like this one, too.

That’s one of the benefits of having an 8 megapixel camera. The photos are huge. So you can zoom in on a specific segment of a photo, crop it, and you have a separate, very cool image. You can do the same thing with photos shot at lower megapixels, the final image will just be smaller.

Here’s another example…

That’s a neat, colorful, textury shot. It’s just a small piece of this photo…

If you’d like some FREE WALLPAPER or just want to see the rest of my wallpaper images, just follow one of the links I conveniently place in the first half of this sentence.

Let me know what you think! And be sure to tell your friends. About this Blog and about the aforementioned FREE WALLPAPER.

By the way, HAPPY FALL!!! It’s my favorite time of year. The colors fascinate me. Can you tell?

Leave No Road Unexplored

Hubby and I are on an unofficial mission to explore as many roads in West Virginia as possible. That is, after all, THE reason we bought a piece of land and built ourselves a cool little house.

While we aren’t completely finished every single thing there is to do on the house, we’ve decided to put work on the back burner and enjoy the place for a change.

After all, during the summers of 2005, 2006, and 2007, we slaved away. Although, truth be told, we did do quite a bit of work this year, too. From January through mid-May, we worked quite a few weekends. We did take a couple weeks off for our trip to Alaska in late-May/early-June. The rest of June and most of July weren’t very productive for various reasons.

We felt a little guilty for slacking off. But we have all winter to finish all the little things we need to do. And not many good riding days left. So we’re taking advantage of it while we can.

The ultimate destination was Spruce Knob (highest point in WV at 4,863 feet above sea level). It is south and west of Romney in the Monongahela National Forest.

We didn’t make it. We got close, but the road was closed. I should have done some research first. It was still a fabulous, but long, ride (we did 211 miles!). We even stopped at Seneca Rocks for a photo.

One weird thing happened. There’s this tourist train in Romney called the Potomac Eagle. We have been driving past the station, frequently, since 2005, but not once had we seen it move. Until Saturday.

We see lots of people and/or cars at the station. And we live close enough to hear the whistle. But no movement.

Imagine our surprise on Saturday when we pulled into Petersburg, about an hour and a half southwest of Romney, in search of lunch and saw none other than the Potomac Eagle. Finally. It was sitting still at first, but by the time we parked our bikes at the restaurant, it was moving.

It’s about time!

Are You For Real?

If I hadn’t seen this on CNN the other day, I’d swear it was a parody. Listen closely to the “reporter.”

How does he NOT crack up as he’s doing the voice-over? I can just imagine the chuckles in the editing room. This is why I’m not a broadcast journalist.

Poor Charlie…

Can You Say "Republican"?

I’m not into politics. I had to say that up front just so we’re clear that the purpose of this post is not to share my political views. I just had to share this photo.

I’m a t-shirt kind of girl. I especially like funny t-shirts. Put a cute little kid like this one in a funny t-shirt and I totally cannot resist him.

This is not my child, by the way. Or my grandchild. It’s not some random kid off the playground either. This budding young Republican is the child of a friend. Said friend shall remain nameless. You should know, though, that I DID NOT bully this friend into letting me post the picture. She asked for it.

Though this really isn’t about politics, while we’re bashing the Democrats…

Check out this image that says lots of folks don’t think Obama is experienced enough.

This picture is kind of funny, too. Just a little.

Here’s one that made me laugh out loud.

And one that just sort of gives me the willies.

Since I really am not into politics, I’ll stop. It’s time for bed anyway.

Please, by all means, share this post with a friend. And tell them to share, too. This little guy is just too cute not to pass around!