Pics from a walk around the neighbourhood

I am very impressed with the image quality so far. The compressed pics that you get on the blog don't do the originals justice. It is very easy to just start pointing and shooting as well, though eventually I would like to know enough to be able to use all the features at will.
This is one of Sunny's favourite poses, head stuffed into my elbow or armpit.
















I'm very impressed at how close I can get to objects.
 

New Camera

Well, I've gone and gotten myself into photography. I have just purchased a Nikon D50, which is an entry level Digital SLR (single lens reflex). So far I am totally hooked. I've probably taken between 150 and 200 shots since I purchased it yesterday. Of course most of them were crap, because all I was doing was pointing it at random thinks and hitting the button.
This is a great camera, I am very happy with everything about the way it feels to the features etc. 

Going to hike the Juan de Fuca!

Kate and I are going to hike the Juan de Fuca trail next week. We've obsessed about the exact plans for long enough to have thoroughly gotten ourselves prepared... at least we hope so. The plan is to arrive at China Beach on monday, as early as possible with a drive from Campbell River, approximately four to five hours away. Then we hike seven kilometers to the first camping spot. Four more days of hiking should put us somewhere near the end, in Port Renfrew. Then it's time to hitchike or find some way to get back to our car, 52 km to the south, by Friday evening. Then one last night of camping and we're rushing back home so that we can go see Caillie's (my little sister) dance performance. Should be a whirlwind tour and a hell of a good change from my usual day in front of the computer.
Unfortunately, getting ready to go means trying to finish up all my projects at work, so I've been putting in ten or eleven hour days, which can get pretty old. Ah well, such is life, at least I feel needed.
One final note, I plan on adding photographs to this blog soon, as I am planning on getting a digital SLR, likely a Nikon D50, as a birthday present to me.

Well, better get back to cleaning out the frog's tank... gotta name him soon.

The sweet mystery of spring

It seems that every spring is full of the strangest self exploration. The dark trips into my psyche often leave me desperately needing escape, and I find myself watching TV or reading in far larger amounts than I usually do. This is the time of year when I feel myself awakening from the slightly darker more introspective time of year. It is almost like I am being re-born.You know that feeling of life that you get when you've been too warm for awhile and you jump into a cold shower. Or that feeling you get when your muscles are just warmed up and you're hitting your stride and the world is in your grasp.The feeling preceeding that has slowly crept up on you, the lethargy, being too warm, losing control... you don't even know it's there until you awaken from it. This feeling is totally necessary to the awake and alive feeling.The world is a balance, at least emotionally, and all feelings of joy must be balanced at some point with feelings of despair. I curse and love this balance, and notice it far too frequently in myself. If I am feeling in the grips of ecstasy I know that I will soon feel in the grips of pain. If I am feeling in control and on top of the world, I will soon feel out of control, and filled with self doubt. Perhaps this is a construct of the self examination, or perhaps it was always there, and only became evident through self examination.
Sometimes I wish I was closer to bodhisattva, the state of neutrality and peace. Somedays I am glad I'm not.

Well... happy spring. 

My strange little world with all its ups and downs

Here I am in my strange little world.
I read, I sleep , my mind starts to twirl.
I think to myself that the end is nigh...
I remind myself that soon I'll fly.
All the ups and downs
They make me smile and frown
Here I am in my strange little world
Thinking endlessly about the girls
If only my thoughts would align
Myself I would no longer malign
I lie, I sleep, I lose myself
I cry, I weep, I forget my health
Here I am in my strange little world
The dark and the light
The day and the night
Without out one there is no other
Without people there is no brother
I cannot co-exist
I cannot go it alone
Here I am in my strange little world