Practice | Day #4

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris

So the greatest amusement of my day was UAH head coach Danton Cole coming up to me and Will while we were watching UAH’s first practice and saying, “Hey, do you guys think you can help me get information out over Facebook?”

This amused the two of us greatly, as Will started the UAH Hockey Facebook group, and I, well, do this kind of stuff all the time.

I mean, really … twist my fuckin’ arm, Coach.

[For the record, I'm buying season tickets this year, including a four-pack in good seats on the penalty-box side of the ice. Obviously, I am only one man and can only sit in one seat at a time, so if you would like to use my tickets for free, you just give me a call or drop me an email, eh? First come, first served.]

Thirty! | Day #1

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris

I’m thirty today. I’m excited, can’t you tell?

I’m also joining Mike and Rae in a 365-day photo pool called “Hacks and Cameras”, which I fit on both accounts. Whether be with my DSLR, my iPhone, or Photo Booth, I hope to shoot something every day of my 31st year on Earth. You can follow the pool or 30+N/365 set.

Thanks to all who have called, emailed, and the like to send their regards. It’s been a good day after a number of really bad ones in a row.

Eli Scored!

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris

So Eli’s first soccer games was yesterday, so I decided to go and take photos. Because, well, two things: 1) I love the kid and 2) it’s soccer! I played for four years, but not at his age. When I started playing in third grade, you actually had to, you know, work at scoring a goal, because the kids had figured out defense.

So when he was self-upset about not getting to score in the first seven seconds, I told him, “Dude, do you know how long it was before I scored in a game? Four years!” I could see the wheels grinding, “Four years? That’s how old I am!” Exactly, kid. Did I tell him that I played 90% of the time as a goalie or a fullback? No, because at that age, they don’t get the concept of positions. Or, well, defense. [Okay, so there was the one kid on Eli's team that got defense. I wanted to run over to him and pat him on the back, then encourage him and teach him how to knock guys off-stride without getting carded. AHEM.]

There was the most comical moment of the morning when Eli suddenly stood on the goal line and waved his arms around, making himself look big and trying to distract the kid with the ball. This technique reminded me of, well, most every penalty kick I’ve ever defended, including the one I stopped because I was too scared to move and the kid, taught by his coach that I would be moving at the kick, went right for my feet. Heh.

At home

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris

At the airport, it was officially 100F today.

My car argues that it was hotter than that.

It was 83F in my office at 3:00 p.m.

Could be worse, but man … I hate summer in Alabama.

I hate living in Alabama in summer

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris

The high at the airport yesterday was only 92F or so, but Rita (my WRX) told me it was 96F … at the end of my drive home. When I started the car in the parking lot at work, the ambient temperature reading was 103, which makes sense given that the car was in full sun for several hours, and that the ambient sensor is somewhere under the hood.

But still, it’s just the first week of June, and already, it’s way too damn hot. When I was in the Midwest last week, I told lots of people that I’d live back up there if I could do what I do; living in the heat and humidity is my penance for getting the kick-ass job of putting hardware into space. [Could be worse ... I could live near Houston or Cape Canaveral.]

Unlike last summer when I posted readings like this, it’s not a dry heat. Our dewpoints right now are consistently near 70F, and with a Bermuda high over Georgia and western South Carolina, we’re not gonna see rain for the next week or so, other than spotty storms that rise from the heat of the day. Will Carroll told me today that I could have all of Indianapolis’s storms that I wanted—11 inches of rain over the last 24 hours? YES PLEASE!

Wanna know what made me the happiest today?

question!

You’ve been doing such a fab photog job at shows, I was wondering what settings you were using? I’m giving it a shot at D+S’s show tonight.

call if you can.

– Michaela, whose photos I love (and use for desktop backgrounds)

IMG_0113.JPG

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris

My photos from the 4 Apr 2008 Caedmon’s Call show in Dyersburg, TN are online. I’ll work on the recording some tomorrow. This will be my first attempt at a matrix of a soundboard patch and an audience recording.

march16bennett14

Originally uploaded by verticalhouse

I aggregate all Flickr photos tagged with “Huntsville”, just because it’s fun to see how people see our fair city. [This does mean that I see photos from Texas and Ontario, but far less often than the city that put men on the moon.] There are times when I sometimes wonder why I do this.

Photos like these remind me that doing this is definitely worth doing. This is an absolute gem.

12 Hour Day

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris

Somewhere, some Daylight Shifting Time proponent is thinking:

“Hey, dude. Not only did you get to see the sunrise today, you got to see the sunset, too! What a great workday!”

I want to find that asshole and punch him in the face.

[Why, yes, I rather do need a vacation. Why, yes, I'm a bit bitter that the one I had planned to take starting on Wednesday got screwed up. Why do you ask?]

Here’s me on Wednesday:

Here’s me today:

A big difference, no?

When I started my Whiskerino journey, I never really thought that I’d get that involved. I figured that I’d stay out of the Hall of Shame—I actually got thrown in there shortly the first week, but begged my way back out—until work made me shave. Oddly enough, work never said a thing about it—okay, there was a little discussion of it at my last staff meeting, but that’s really been it. [My cover story from the start of 2008 on was that I'd trim the beard when we shipped our next set of flight hardware---because I knew we'd ship on 29 Feb, the last day of W'rino.] I never expected to win a King Beard or have Stephen pose with me. [Closest I got to a second KB was last weekend with a photo of my friend Megan in there with me. W'rinos like redheads, apparently.]

All I know now is that I’m hanging out some in the Talk and I can’t wait for 2009. I am happy that I’ve trimmed, though: I was getting tired of eating my beard, and it did hit 75F in Huntsville today. But I’m also very happy that I participated—because in doing so, I became a part of something larger than myself, which is always a fulfilling thing to do.

Whiskerino 28 Jan 2008

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris

So, if you were a Whiskerino participant, and you were good friends with the guy who created LOLTrek, and Whiskerino had a LOLcats day, wouldn’t you involve him in the shot?

I would.

I did.

Me and Atlantis

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris

Well, this is as close as I’ll get to seeing Space Shuttle Atlantis lifting off. The Shuttle’s Engine Cut Off sensors—which NASA Administrator Mike Griffin has derisively referred to as “Launch Prevention Devices”—has again delayed the launch of STS-122, this time waving off the Saturday attempt. I got the phone call about an hour ago, and at that time, I indicated that I’m going to drive back tomorrow. Thus ends my attempts to see STS-122 lift off in person.

It was a good week, though. I wasn’t really in to all the rah-rah crap that they wanted to do, because I didn’t see that as a big deal. But it really kinda is. I’m fired up to get back and keep doing the good job that I’m apparently doing at work, because it’s really easy to feel that What I Do Is Important.

Having several days to hang out with Josh was great. We’re certainly different than we were sixteen years ago, but we have such a strong bond from growing up and a like-mindedness that allows all those years to melt away quite quickly. As a military brat, you grow up thinking that you’ll just have these friends for a year or four until you go on to your next base; it sucks, but you learn to adjust. But this week, Josh and I have proven that all the reasons for which we were friends for seven years are the reasons we will still be friends at 70.

I was struck by something Josh said as we walked out to get lunch today: “[This week]’s been just like when we were kids.” I think he meant in two ways—not only us being friends, but in the kicking ass and taking names that we did growing up. And yeah … it has been like that.

To my parents: thanks for all the time and energy you invested in me being a smart, hardworking kid over the years. They’ve paid off, but you’ve known that for a while. [Mainly when you didn't have to pay too much for my college education. ] To my friends, thanks for putting up with some of my … weird obsessions about work. [And with sometimes putting it above my relationships with people, because I certainly do that.] To my colleagues, thanks for making me look good, because y’all deserve this award even more than I do. And to my bosses, thanks for the chance to try—because it was as much a chance to shine as it was a chance to go down in flames.

And to Atlantis: get off the ground, will ya? The DCSU FSE hardware we built this year needs to get off the SSPF floor, and it can’t do that if you don’t go. So GO!

One of my photos from Derek’s show at the Exit/In back in May is now a part of Schmap’s guide to the venue. Why? Well, all my photos are Creative Commons-licensed as Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike.

Derek Webb (and band) @ Exit/In

That said, I’ve had no problems with photos being used in quasi-commercial work; not only has Bryan used photos of mine in layouts for [derekwebb.net] and [andrewosenga.net], but Andrew used one of my photos for the link to the [andrewosenga.net] forum that he has on his sidebar. And if someone wanted to use one of my works commercially, well, I’d do it for a fee.
I feel like I’m starting to find my way with my photography, although concert photography is really still the only thing that really cranks my tractor. Last night, I dumped the photos off of my camera from last Saturday night’s DW show, and I was really happy with what I was seeing come out from the thumbnail view, which I hardly ever am. I guess Understanding Exposure took a little for me.

After

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris

So, I succumbed: Whiskerino 2007 is joined.

I haven’t shaved my beard in … two years? Last time, it was me not being fully awake and not realizing that my trimmer was set to the minimum height before plowing in for a trim. But … okay, this one’s my willful doing.

Grow, baby, grow.

[See before.]

Misty and Liza

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris

Earlier, Misty tweeted: My birthday: day of disappointment and suffering for my family & friends. it sucks! And heck, that’s an understandable reaction to have, given what’s been tweeted in her world today.

I responded: I’m with [Amy]. I may be bitter, cynical, & frustrated, but you always listen and provide perspective. And are a lot of fun.

Misty is, undoubtedly, one of the better friends that I have. When she thinks that I’m wrong about something, she’s not in my face about it; she says it in a gentle, correcting way, trying to provide me some perspective. I value that, because we … do. not. think. alike. And that’s a great thing.

I am better off for knowing her. I can think of few ways to state the value of someone’s friendship than that.

Happy birthday, dear.