What Happened To The Snow?

It used to be cold here. There used to be white powder everywhere. No more. Today, the high got into the mid-sixties. That’s rather warm for Washington, DC in the winter – almost Houston warm. It makes me feel like I’m home… sort of. Well, not quite.

I am getting used to being here, however. I’m learning to navigate the Metro and a general feel of where things are. I even walked up to the White House and took a picture. No, it’s not posted yet. Since I’m using my film camera these days until I save up for the digital SLR I want, it takes time to get the film developed.

Soon, A Vacation…

I need a vacation. I’ve been working and traveling for eons, it seems. Well, not entirely, but mostly. I did get off around Christmas… but that’s not the point. I’m taking next week off and I’m not going ANYWHERE! That’s right – a vacation to nowhere. I’ve recently begun to appreciate that – even more so now that I’m married to a wonderful person. In the last two years, I have not had any significant down-time at my job, so I’ve been working or on the go the whole time with no break between projects even. That’s pretty rare. Maybe the business will slow down a bit so I can rest… Well, that’s not what I really want, though. They wouldn’t give me a raise if that happened, and I’d really like a raise.

The weather here in DC is very nice for this time of year – hardly any clouds in the sky today and quite unseasonably warm. Question is: will it be like this when Laura comes up? Who knows… She’ll be coming up here in a couple of weeks and then I won’t be so lonely. I’m counting the days…

Light Flurries? I Think Not…

In the course of my travels, I have been in the DC area – mostly south of the District near Springfield, VA this week. The weather forecast for today said “PM Snow – Light Flurries”… I look outside this morning [note: it’s AM, not PM] and what do I see? A “dusting”? “Light flurries”? No. Full-blown, heavy, AM snow… It’s everywhere and will probably continue all day. Of course, since the ambient temperature has not gotten above freezing for many days here, the ground is frozen and the snow will stick. More snow to come, too. I’m sure it will be pretty, but I’m more concerned about my flight home. They’d better warm up those de-icers…

Comment SPAM: Off.

For those of you who might have attempted to comment on my postings recently, you would have noticed that you are now required to authenticate with TypeKey before you can post to my site. This is to curb the vast amounts of comment SPAM my site seems to attract. The comments were not posted since I require moderation, but they still filled my databases and created an administrative hassle for me since I had to delete hundreds of useless and tasteless “comments” every day. So, sorry for the extra step, but this really is better for us all…

Could It Be True?

Can it be real? I was told that I was to get a new computer – an IBM T41. Close to the most current model, no less. And none too soon! My old one, with which I type this, is literally falling apart. The keyboard is cracked, and so is the display casing – not to mention it’s slow speed. I’ve been told it’s being shipped, so hopefully it will get to me before I go out on my next business trip… I’d hate to have it waiting for me at home for an entire week! Well, I’ve waited three or so years for this upgrade – I suppose I can wait a bit longer…

Professional Photography Site Complete

I have [mostly – there are a few tweaks I might make to it…] completed the modification and population of my new photography site at jeffphillips.net. On this site, that means that some of my best photos will go away – only to be available on my new site. However, you may still view them there if you wish. [This will of course be only 600 or so out of the 6000 pictures here – you may not notice at all.] This will not affect my Friends & Family albums – those are for all to enjoy!

If you know anyone who purchases photos or is in the publication industry, I would just love an introduction!

In the mean time: have a happy but safe New Year’s Eve!

Can You Believe It?

Snow in Houston! Unbelievable! Well, it’s not really good snow, but it is coming down here in downtown Houston. This doesn’t happen much [like once every 10 years or so] but I guess we’re due for it. I hope it keeps up so I can actually get a picture of it. It’s melting pretty quickly on the roofs across the way, though.

Well, a ‘whitish’ Christmas Eve isn’t bad when we’ve seen 80 degree weather on Christmas morning before. Enjoy the holidays wherever you are!

Getting Into The Spirit

As the Christmas holidays approach, Laura and I have been spending time getting the new apartment ready for the holidays. We’ve discovered those little 3M removable tabs – they work great for hanging Christmas lights in windows. Since we’re in an apartment these days, we don’t want to leave to many nail holes behind – especially since I’ve already done quite a bit of damage installing the surround sound speakers. So, we’ve hung lights in our dining and living room windows and some on the railing of the balcony. Unfortunately, since our windows mostly overlook a cemetery, not many people besides us will benefit from the lights in our windows. Still – it feels good to put them up. Never thought I’d say that…

After too many years in which Christmas time was a painful, lonely time of year I have finally recovered some of my childhood love for the season. Laura has helped tremendously. Together, we’ve overwritten some of the most painful memories in my life – both memories of locations, seasons, and other events that I associated with a dark period in my past usually causing emotional “flinches” when they were mentioned. Now, those associations have been mostly broken [I’m sure there are a few left, but only time will discover them] and the joy can return to things like Christmas.

Wired For Sound

I have just gotten my living room back to 5.1 surround sound. I had to leave my old speakers at the old house since the buyers like the way I’d wired them into the house using galvanized electrical conduit. So, I bought a new set of speakers and just last week hired someone to help me put them up. It was a LOT of work. We ended up routing the wires up through the crown molding – sounds easier than it actually is. There were way too many cross braces between studs to be even close to easy. However, it’s done now and I can watch movies the way they’re supposed to be watched – except since this is an apartment, I now have to keep it quieter… Darn.