Only 3 Merits Shy

I am only 3 merits shy of receiving my Craftsman degree from the Professional Photographers of America.  This requires 25 merits (units, credits… whatever you want to call them), and 13 of them are a result of speaking engagements.  The other 12 are from “merit prints”, educational classes, and/or service within PPA.  I need 3 more merits from speaking engagements, and I already have those three lined up.

I spent the evening going through prints for print competition.  PPA Print Competition is a rigorous event where you may submit 4 prints per category.  The prints are judged based on 12 points.  An 80 or above earns 1 merit.  Thus, there is a maximum of 4 merits per category.  There are two categories – Photographic and Electronic Imaging.  Earning an 80 is HUGE deal.  It is not easy creating a merit print.   The 12 elements they judge on are found here:  http://www.ppa.com/competitions/international/12elements.php

So, if I appear grumpy, rushed, irritated… it happens when I’m getting ready for print competition.  Oh, and I need 6 more merit prints and I’ll have my Master’s Degree.

Foam Pieces

A friend brought a bunch of expanded polystyrene foam pieces to work for me.   He mentioned he had a bunch he was throwing out.  I told him I build prop sets with the stuff.  So, now I have a backseat full of foam chunks.  Soon as the weather warms up, I’ll start building some props to use outdoors.

Wall Made of EPS Foam

 

This May Come as a Surprise

This may come as a surprise, but I’m not a conservative.  One of the universities’ political science department had a political analyzer on their website (this was a couple of years ago.)  I took the test.  It asked a series of questions.  The questions were things like, “Do you think the death penalty is justified for serious offences?”, and stuff like that.

So, I took it and I was surprised at the results. It had two axis:  liberal/conservative and authoritarian/libertarian.  I landed a little right of center on the liberal/conservative axis, and a little above the line on the authoritarian/libertarian scale.  So, I guess you could say I’m a moderate conservative/moderate libertarian.

What does that mean?

I think Joseph Smith, Jr., summed it up well when he told a visitor to Nauvoo, “I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves.”

My children are probably laughing now.  I will admit, I was a bit more authoritarian as a parent.  But, I’ve mellowed with age, and especially when it comes to politics.  I’ve seen what authoritarian laws do to a country.  It isn’t good.  (By the way, the extreme of authoritarian rule has existed in modern times; Hitler was a good example.)

A country that passes a law that is over 2000 pages long, and mandates people subscribe to certain types of medial insurance is authoritarian.  No doubt about it.  It is extreme, liberal, authoritarianism.  (Just to use a more recent example.)

Open capitalism isn’t a conservative concept.  It is as libertarian as you can get.  (To share an example of libertarianism.)

Tonight, the president gives his State of the Union address.  And, now that you know where I fall politically, let me just state this…

Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that read, “The Buck Stops Here”.  And, although the president signs or vetoes bills, the president does not pass them.  It is the president’s job to enforce the law – that’s what the executive branch does.  So, to place all of the countries woes on any president (past, president or future) shows a lack of understanding about how we got where we are.  Sorry, Mr. Truman… the buck may stop there, but had its start else where.

That said, I do think our current president shares in the sad state of affairs we face today.  After all, he was in the Senate before being elected president.    As were 99 other people.  Add to that the 435 in Congress, and you have 536 men and women (the +1 is the president) who got us to this point.

But, are those 536 completely to blame?

No, now take the majority of the voters in this country who placed them in power.  That’s right.  We have each other to blame.

I really hope that comes November this year, people have the guts to vote for someone who is not an incumbent.  Every one of them has voted for a moronic law since being in power.  Every one of them.  (You can check www.thomas.gov to see how your representatives have voted.)  That really concerns me.  And, the president has signed most of the laws I call moronic.  (Example:  Extending the tax cuts only 2 months instead of 12 months.  100% of those voting in Congress and the Senate voted for it and the president signed it.  To me, that is moronic, gang-mentality behavior.)

One final comment… When the president says we have come this far, and why stop now, I really wonder what the heck he is talking about.  Most of the economic indicators say things have got worse since January 2009.  So, if we’re rolling down hill, is he suggesting we keep going until we can’t get any lower?

Think about his comments.

—–

Elizabethe and I had a wonderful evening in the temple.  Enrico and Louise were called as ordinance workers.  It was such a thrill to see them in the temple as workers.  Life doesn’t get better than that.

What Empty Nesters Can Do for F.H.E.

Elizabethe and I have been having the sister missionaries bring a recent convert to the house on Monday evenings for Family Home Evening.  (Missionaries come and go, while most church members stay around longer.  This allows the new convert to get more connected.  So, if you are an empty nester, invite a recently baptized convert over for Family Home Evening.)

Bro. Copp, Elizabethe, Sister Hess and Sister Lee (iPhone)

Tonight we watched a short video about the Mormon Battalion.  The sisters brought lemon bars for dessert.    It was a nice evening.

It’s been raining most of the day.  All the snow has melted and the ground is no longer frozen.  That’s what keeps this area so green and lush.

A Great Day at Church

We had a great day at church today.  First, our sacrament meeting speakers were Sister and President Christensen (president of the New York Rochester Mission), and then President Strassburg (counselor in the temple presidency) taught our priesthood meeting.

Elder Tiechiert and Elder Gudgell were our dinner guests.  I made roasted chicken with potatoes, mushrooms and candied carrots.  Elizabethe made a salad.

It is back to work tomorrow.  It has been nice having the better part of the week off.

Snow and Shovel

We had a decent blanket of snow today and it was a great test of my ManPlow snow shovel.  Angling the ManPlow at about 45-degrees, I pushed through like a street plow.  I did the sidewalks in two passes.  It was fast and easy. (http://www.manplow.com/)

Beckwith Mansion in the Snow

I had a client shoot so I also shoveled the circle (which I normally do not shovel).  I got it all done in less than an hour.

My client shoot went well, and then it was off to purchase a heated mattress pad.  We figured it would help us save electricity.  They are a maximum of 350 Watts, and that’s a lot cheaper than running a 1500 Watt (or more) heater.

We found one right off the bat at Bed, Bath and Beyond.   And, because we found one so soon, we decided to get dinner at Wegman’s.

Wegman's Brie Cheese Counter

We went to their flagship store in East Rochester.  We each got one of the $8 meals (1 entre, and two sides).  While we were eating, we noticed a sign that on Friday and Saturday nights, in the dining room, they show a family movie.  That’s not a bad deal for a date night.

Returning home, Elizabethe put the new matress pad on the bed while I went to backup my day’s work.  When I returned, I was very pleased to discover what nice job that heated pad does.  It was on “Hi”, and I had to dial it down to its lowest setting before I felt comfortable.  With the thing set on “1″, I’m guessing it is only drawing about 50 or 60 Watts.  Thus, a 1500 watt heater running 8 hours would cost about $1.20 a night.  This thing running for 8 hours is probably costing about 4 cents a night.

Bill Gray’s, Enrico and the Eastman House

After getting my haircut, Enrico met me here at the house and we headed to Rochester for lunch.  I decided to take Enrico to Bill Gray’s because I heard they had the best burgers in Rochester.  The GPS directed me to the Strong Museum of Play.  We looked all over the neighborhood for Bill Gray’s.  No signs.

Finally I saw to police officers talking and I stopped and asked, “Where’s Bill Gray’s?”

They informed us it was inside the museum.

The burgers were great.  The meat was tasty, cooked just right, and the burgers were big and messy.  I had a cheddar bacon burger and Enrico had a mushroom swiss.  The fries were really good too.  I’d give them 5 stars on everything except for service.  (They were a bit slow and understaffed.  Also, that’s 5 stars for a burger joint.)

We then headed to the Eastman House.  Enrico had never been there.  We did a self-tour through the mansion and exhibits.  We sat and watched a biography on George Eastman.

Enrico Pointing Something Out to George

It was a fun day.

Eastman House Courtyard

I came home to my repaired HP desktop computer!  They had replaced the motherboard.  (Which is what I suspected.)  So, I spent the rest of the evening re-installing software.  (If they could make any improvement on computers, it would be software installation.)

Another Fun Day with Kathy and Karen

I must have been really tired last night.  I woke at 8:30am.  For someone who is an early bird, that’s unusual.

After getting cleaned up I made bacon, onion, cheddar biscuits and eggs for breakfast.  Kathy and Karen came downstairs with their hair in curlers.  (I should have snapped a photo.  They were classy.)

We then headed to Goodwill for a shopping trip like you can’t imagine.  They each picked out some prom-style dresses.  But, that was just the start.  Then, was the trying them on…

"Mom! That's not zipped!"

Had I not known Kathy for a very long time, I might be embarrassed.  Instead, I was cracking up.  She comes out of the dressing room wearing a formal gown and proceeds to ask a young man if he would be her date to the prom.

“Why won’t anyone go out with me?” she whined.

I was just dying laughing.

This Says It All

So, Kathy tries on another dress, and decides she needs a petticoat under it.  Well, when you forget to remove the tag on the petticoat, you ask your daughter to take it off for you.  Oh, and then you ask your big brother to photograph the occasion for posterity sake…

Removing the Price Tag

They decided to wear their gowns out of the store.  They gathered their other clothes and proceeded to the checkout stand with the price tags in hand.  While in line, Kathy starts twirling around and whacks an old lady with her purse.  She tells the old lady, “sorry”, and that they are going to the prom.

Aye, yi, yi.

Kathy and Karen Run to the Car (it was cold)

Had I not raised 7 daughters, and had I not been prepared to deal with ADHD kids, I would not be prepared for this day with Kathy.  As a teenager, she truly embarrassed me.  Now, she cracks me up and makes me laugh.  She’s got the right idea.  Life should be fun.

So, we headed in to Rochester to the county building.  On the way, I drove by the Eastman House and she was taking photos like crazy.  (The houses in that part of Rochester are amazing.)

We get to the county building and we tell the guard what we’re up to and head into the courtyard of the building.  All for this…

Twirling

 After we got the pictures we wanted to, we then headed back to the car.  It was windy and cold and people were looking at us like, “What in the world?”

One lady asked what the occasion was, and Kathy told her they were going to the prom.  She asked what school.  Again, I was just cracking up.  When we told her the truth, she said she thought they really were going to some prom and I was their photographer.  (Well, the last part was right.)

We passed one guy on the street, and he asked what was going on.  I asked if he had ever heard of Vogue Magazine.  He said, “No really.  What’s up?”  I asked if he had heard of Elle Magazine.  Then Kathy said we were doing a spread for Playboy.  They guy kept saying, “No really.”

As we were returning to the parking garage, one guy walked by them and said, “It’s sure hot in the garage.”

I tell you, you can’t take a mom and her daughter to the city in formals without getting some strange questions.

We then headed to Wegman’s for lunch.  We went to the big one in Pittsford.  That place is amazing.  Their food court is HUGE.  (Yeah, it’s HUGE Rochester!  HUGE!)

Elevator at Wegman's

Kathy went for the salad bar, and Karen for some soup, and they split some sushi.  I just went for the sushi.  The lunch was great.

From there, we headed back to the house where the girls packed up and we loaded the car.  It was back to the Rochester International Airport.

After hugs, ‘I love you’s, and goodbyes, they were off to the terminal to return to Washington.

Elizabethe and I had a blast the last four days.  I’ll miss you two.

Photo Session with Kathy and Karen

Well, I thought about titling this, “Shooting the Queens”.   We spent most of the day in the studio taking photos of Karen and Kathy.  Karen needed headshots for the Mrs. Washington Pageant.

Karen Caldwell - Mrs. Tumwater 2012

Enrico came over with some firearms for the session.  Kathy wanted a picture taken with the AR-15.  She dressed in black and reminded me of Diana Riggs in the Avengers.  Karen also had some pictures taken with the assault riffle, and we also photographed them both with the Colt 45s.

Kathy Kannada for Silver State Armory Ammo

We also did a shot outside with Kathy.  It was freezing out there, but Kathy braved the freezing temperatures for the shot.

After all was over, we retired to the house for leftover Chinese food and we settled down to watch RED.  I still laugh when I watch that movie.  Mary Louise Parker is great.

Sauder’s, Spice Bazaar and Lots of Laughs

Enjoying Samples at Sauder’s

 

We enjoyed a leasurely morning.  I made a breakfast pizza topped with spiced apple slices and peaches, cream chese and a sour cream glaze.

From there we headed out for a short tour of the area.  We stopped at the Grandin Building, Candy Corner Fudge Square, the Temple, the Smith Farm, and Hill Cumorah.  From there we went to Everson’s for some maple syrup.  Next stop was Sauder’s.  Karen and Kathy both enjoyed Sauder’s.

We bought sandwiches at Sauder’s and headed to the Whitmer farm and there sat in the parking lot (it was pouring rain) eating our lunch.

Smile!

After that we headed to Henrietta to go to Spice Bazaar.  I picked up some goodies to make coconut curry chicken.

We were all pretty tired after that and we headed back to the house where we started making some homemade mango chutney.  We all pitched in dicing, cutting, measuring and finally got the mix simmering on the stove.

Once it was simmering, I started making the chicken dish.  We enjoyed a nice Indian food meal with our fresh chutney.