Updates

So here's the deal:

As you can see, not many posts recently, so I should fill you all in as to what I've been up to (besides not updating my blog).

Work is finally starting to settle into a bit slower pace (watch, now that I post this the fecal matter will hit the fan) so I might finally have the time to slow down a bit and work on a few projects that have my name all over them. Work has started on a patio off the back of the garage that will include a walking path to the base of the stairs on our deck. So besides working long days providing tech support for a conference at work, I have been clearing sod, rough grading, and as of today I hauled off the sod carcasses and started hauling in sand to level and raise the base for the patio (before everything slopped towards the house, now the grade should promote drainage in the opposite direction- not that we had flooding issues before as we are situated on 300-400 feet of sand before any bed rock comes into the picture, but it is a matter of principle).

I will work on snapping a few pics of the work in progress, but I don't plan on slowing down until it is done, so perhaps my bride will have to catch me in the act. (patio WILL be in place in time for the annual July 4th BBQ extravaganza).

Also finally got around to picking up a water softener since the house doesn't have one (It was on sale). So I need to find time to install that as well (the idiots that built this place didn't even include a hook up for a softener which is asinine in this town. So of course this means finding time to cut into the house's water supply and not stopping until it is done (or we have no water).


Last Saturday I shot a wedding that was held at the Arb. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding, and the sky had a wonderful deep blue color with an occasional picturesque cloud or two (and the filters I used had nothing to do with it- sort of). The time of day was not ideal for lighting, but I was able to take advantage of some of the structures (pergolas, arbors, and the famous "upside down boat") to soften the harshness of the mid day sun. I would post a few pics, but I need to do some sorting, brief editing, and as a general rule of thumb the first person who gets to see the pictures is the bride (and groom if she is willing to share). I particularly enjoyed the fact that more and more, brides and grooms are interested in photo journalistic shooting (personally I despise the contrived fabrication of formal portraiture when it comes to event coverage- there are some people that thrive off of it, but personally I prefer to shoot a wedding as if I am not even there). There will always be the formal shots, but usually I am able to find people in their element and, although the likelihood of a candid extended family photo is less likely than winning the lottery, it is usually the photos of people living and enjoying the moment that win the favor of the bride and groom.

A bit bummed that I missed my brother's birthday celebration (due to the afore mentioned wedding), but that's what he gets for celebrating a week ahead of time (I know, I know, everyone but the slacker St. Peter Dobo's were running the full or half marathon, so it makes sense that you just do it when everyone is in town since the price of gas nowadays makes you think twice before expecting people to travel more than we use to- probably has more to do with the fact that sister Andrea is in London for work, and happened to be state side to see her hubby follow thru on his quest to run the full Marathon). For what it's worth- Happy Birthday Jake!

Before I turn it in for the night, I should mention (since I already have) that any friends and family who can swing it are more than welcome to come on down to St Peter for the festivities on the 4th. If you want to be all hard core the guys (Myself and Jonathan, although we hope to rope at least Bryan into the ritual as he needs to be schooled on the use of his rig, since it is the same as mine) will be firing up the Pit in quasi Texas style the day/night before and pay homage to Man's long history of cooking large hunks of meat over fire for many hours (what more could you want, fire, beer, and many hours of male bonding in an attempt to not fall asleep and have the fire go out). We have this nasty habit of cooking way more food than what is needed to feed those who have come in the past, so seriously, if you can make it, we would love to have you (post a comment if you think you might make it and I will follow up with details, or send me an email). If there are a lot of takers, I will find a way to haul Bryan's pit down and double up on the meat cooking. More details to come.

(I am leaving golf out of this post since a little birdy (no pun intended) pointed out how my blog thus far has revolved around that livelihood. (perhaps the next post)

Sooooooo Close. . .

Today I had time for a quick round of nine (golf) after Symphony Rehearsal (would have done 18, but yesterday I mowed the lawn and somehow ended up with a big blister on the balls of each foot, so there was no way I was walking 18). The round was so so, as I took the opportunity to demo a few drivers (so obviously there are a few more variables in the game when you are playing with clubs you aren't used to). I will eventually need to consider new clubs since I am playing a lot more than I used to (don't worry Honey not planning on anything any time soon, but you always seem to end up at silent auctions or other sales where there are clubs available at a reasonable cost and always turn to me and ask if this would be a good club(s) for me, so I am doing my homework on what good clubs for me are). As I get better the clubs I have (a very nice gift from my wife many Christmases ago) are designed for players with slower swing speeds, and my speed has significantly increased (which doesn't equate to farther distance with my current clubs, but in many cases less distance and definitely less accuracy since my speed is causing the shafts to flex too much so the club head is still open on contact). The drivers were a Ping G10 and a Mizuno MP-600 (the Ping was the winner of the two, but I still have some more soul searching before I figure out what specs make up the ideal driver for me). What I am trying to figure out is the right stiffness of shaft and the correct loft (that would be the angle of the club head face for you non golfers) so I at least have an idea what generally works well for me since in most cases you don't get to try the club before you by it, unless your local pro shop has demo clubs and even then, they don't have demos for all the brands and all the variations that a particular club manufacture has - kinda silly when you consider that the good drivers will typically run in the $200- $500 range (now you know why you don't just run out and buy any old club even if it is a good deal). The smart thing to do would be to find a club fitter who can analyze my swing and recommend a club (or if needed custom build/fit a club for me) but that is way more than I need, as I don't intend on going pro any time in my life.

I digress.

Why is the title of this post "Soooooooo Close?"

My so so round had one spectacular moment, and this is the exact reason why you golf. This is the one game on this planet where even someone like me can have a moment in their game that is right up there with the best of the best (it just happens that they have these moments all the time, and that is why Tiger is Tiger).

After absolutely sucking it up on hole 5 (one of the shorter par 3's) and actually getting mad at myself for massacring one of the easier holes on the course, I decided to let bygones be bygones on the next par three. (that would be hole 8 for those of you who may not know the course at Shoreland)

Hakuna Matata.

Hole 8 is a nice 133 yard par 3, which can be a bit challenging given the way it is oriented to the almost constant wind that we have in St Peter. Today it was calm. The pin was shallow (close to the front edge of the green for the non golfers), so I decided on an 8 iron with an easy swing since all year I have been unable to reach with a Pitching Wedge or 9 for the reasons covered earlier in the post. I had one goal "get on the green in one" since that is what you are supposed to do on a par three.

Swing felt good, trajectory looked good, aim was right on. Half way through the flight it started to have the feeling of being short of the green. Ball lands five yards in front of the green on a bit of a hump in the fairway that rolls down onto the green (gut feeling was right about being a bit short) and starts to roll. Yes! I'm on the green. . . wait a minute. . . no way. . . not now. . .I don't have any witnesses. . . I don't want to explain to Gigi how much a round of drinks for every one on the course costs!

The ball starts to slow down and rolls just to the right of the cup (within a half an inch), stopping about an inch and a half just past it.

SOOOOOOOOOOO CLOSE!!!

busy, busy, busy

Subject basically says it all. Lots of great things to blog about, but for now I need to get through the end of the semester, prepare for Commencement and get the Summer projects up and running.

Because I can...

This post is brought to you via email that was sent from an iPod. I
recently added an iPod Touch to the list of devices I use at work as a
communication device (as well as a media player). I am a bit sad to
find that it is not possible to author a post directly from the Safari
browser on the iPod, but I haven't given up just yet. I think I can do
it if I create the post using the HTML option instead of the WYSIWYG
editor.

I have posted several comments to other blogging friend's blogs using
this device (great way to check on all the blogs I frequent when I
have a moment, and there is WiFi), so there should be a way to create
your own posts directly from here. Fear not, I will figure a way, or
start a movement to make it possible.

In the mean time, I like the fact that you can email posts to your
blog if needed. I am impressed with how well I have done with the
keyboard on the iPod (same as an iPhone- which I would love to get if
AT&T's coverage was better than it is in this area "more bars
everywhere but here").

Golf Course 1, Dobo 0 - Still a Victory!

Today was an absolutely beautiful day, and as things turned out, I had a few meetings that needed to reschedule, so "Carpe Diem", tee time was available.

This weekend, as we were driving north for Kaleb's Birthday Celebration (check the St. Peter Dobo's or Denfeld Dobo's bogs for details as I'm sure Gigi and Jody will be covering the event) I was lamenting the fact that I have yet to set foot on the golf course (there are several courses that can be seen along I35, and I would let out a sigh every time we passed one) despite the fact that I finally have a membership- any day that it has been nice enough to golf I've been way too busy, and any day that I have had time it was bad weather- most of the times involved snow! Well as I said, the moon and stars aligned with some other celestial bodies and the schedule/weather/tee time availability equation factored out in my favor. (Gigi doesn't know I went yet, probably should tell her)

I would love to get into all the gory details, but truth be told, I didn't keep score as they didn't have score cards at the second tee and I didn't grab one in the Pro Shop (for those of you non golfers, there is customarily a mailbox or the likes at the start of the second hole that contains score cards so you can grab one and fill it in after completing the first hole). I'm fine with this as this was the maiden voyage, so just remembering the lay of the land, and walking the course was good enough for me. Probably a good solid Bogey boarder line Double round of 9.

The "good" to take from this: I didn't loose any balls, I didn't three putt any holes (as a general rule of thumb you are alloted two putts per hole- not that I got on in/under regulation, but my short game was solid), and the season is young.

So it begins. . .

My wonderful wife (Gigi) started a blog a while back that covers the happenings of our family. I have authored posts to that blog on occasion, and have offered up more than my fair share of comments, and will continue to do so, but have been meaning to start my own blog. I am working on getting into the habit of blogging for work on our department blog, but that will be geared towards the needs of the department I head up at work (Media Services @ Gustavus Adolphus College), but I hope that by having my own blog, I will develop the habit of blogging which will enhance the frequency and content for that blog (or I am just creating an insane level of expectation and work for myself- but that's nothing new). This way I have an outlet for my thoughts, ideas, observations and musings without "hijacking" the family blog (which is really Gigi's blog, which is centered around our family, and things she finds important in her life- which includes me) or being limited on what is appropriate topic wise for a work blog.

Ta Da, here it is.

I am still in the process of tweaking settings and elements (yes blogging friends, I picked a style sheet that is a color variant on the one Gigi used for the family blog- as I have always liked the one that she picked and I haven't taken the time to learn CSS, but when I do, the look might change), so don't expect anything spectacular any time soon. Keep in mind that this is the insanely busy time of the year for me at my job working at Gustavus Adolphus College as the Spring semester is wrapping up and we prepare for Summer (yes I know what you are thinking, but as an Educational Technologist, summer is traditionally very busy as it is the only time of the year where we can do major overhauls and upgrades to systems, and not have a constant bombardment of needs from faculty and students or worry about ripping something apart and not having it working within an hour or two).

Warning- there may be some posts that might not make a whole lot of sense at times, as I am working on finishing my Masters in Educational Technology, and all I have left is my APP (alternate plan paper- like a thesis, but not) which I intend to finish this summer, and I can already see that this might be an outlet for notes, thoughts etc as they need a place to go so I can process and expand on them. If "potential educational applications of high quality video transmission utilizing multicast enabled computer networks" is your thing, you have come to the right place, and I look forward to your comments and ideas that will help me finish up this project and my MS degree. It won't all be academic in nature (good God, I hope I have a life beyond work), but I can foresee a definite lean towards technology related things.

Thanks for stopping and reading, see you back soon.