New Favourite Restaurant

Lately Tracie and I have been eating out at Perkin's Family Restaurant. I really like it there. I have to admit that it is a place for old people, but that's one of the things that I like about it.

They don't have blaring loud music, there are no huge banks of televisons to distract you, and best of all, you don't have to shout for the people at your table to hear you. It is quiet and relaxing. The menu is a little plain, but the food is good.

Tracie was wondering how many people don't go on second dates because they can't hear what the other person is saying and they don't get a chance to have a conversation to get to know each other.

Fun is fun, but sometimes it is nice to relax at dinner.

-Gary

Picking up School Photos

People come into the studio to pick up their kids school photos.

They say, "I'm here to pick up photos for Lisa Simpson".

I say, "Are they studio photos or school photos?"

This confuses a lot of people. I can only imagine what is going through their head. The problem is that, while the photos are school photos, we did retakes at the studio.

They say, "Studio."

I look through the studio photos and can't find Lisa, so I say, "Are they a retake of a school photo?"

They say, "Yes"

That makes them a school photo even though we took the picture in the studio.

I think to myself, boy is this guy dumb or what. I look through the school photos. There is no Lisa Simpson. Now I'm not claiming to be smarter than 99.9% of other people, but I can alphabetize well enough to get Simpson together with the other Ss or in the S section if you know what I mean.

Sometimes there is someone else named Simpson that I can ask about, but in this case there isn't, so I say, "I don't see anything for Lisa Simpson, did you get a phone call about it?"

They say, "Yes yesterday"

I say, "Is Lisa Simpson the name of the student?"

They say, "No the students name is Carla Sassenfrass."

I think, "WTF? ARE YOU STUPID? HOW IN THE WORLD AM I SUPPOSED TO GET CARLA SASSENFRASS FROM LISA SIMPSON?" I guess I should know all the step-moms in the entire city so that I can auto-magically connect them to these kids. In this situation I truely feel like I am not the dumb one.

In order to stop the madness, I have started asking if the name they told me is the student's. It cuts down on time spent looking for step-parents.

-Gary

It's Funny Because I Don't Know Him

I've been watching video clips on Youtube.com lately. My favourite videos all seem to have a central theme. The misfortune of others. I don't know why I find it funny when some random skater hurts himself trying to do some trick, or why I can't stop laughing when I see a little girl hit her dad with a stick in an attempt to crack a pinnata.

It just is. I like watching crashes, failed attempts at jumping over stuff and cars crashing. Youtube is way better than America's Funniest Videos ever was. Type in the key phrase "Funny Accident" and you'll be set for hours. With no repeats.

I do feel a little guilty laughing at the misfortune of others, but it's funny because I don't know them.

-Gary

Tony vs. Paul

This is one of the very best stop motion videos I have ever seen. I recommend that you watch it.
-Gary

Scary Poppins Trailer

Istockphoto Success

Gonna Need A Bigger Fence

I haven't written anything about how well I'm doing on istockphoto in a while so I thought I would give a little run down on how things are going.

My first $100 took from March 18th to September 12 and 234 downloads. I averaged 42.7 cents per download.

I hit $200.00 about two weeks ago on November 22. It took 215 downloads for me to make it, and 69 days. That means I was averaging 46.5 cents per download.

I haven't been adding new photos very consistently, it is hard to think of things to shoot, but I have been getting downloads from with in each new series that I shoot. When I do come up with an idea, it does sell, and I am getting good growth from them.

Here is my data for downloads so far since the very beginning:

03/06 : 1
04/06 : 4
05/06 : 7
06/06 : 30
07/06 : 63
08/06 : 90
09/06 : 93
10/06 : 103
11/06 : 82

12/06 : 4 (so far)

I downloaded a spreadsheet that makes predictions based purely on past performance. It predicts that by this time next year, I will be making $100 per month. I get the feeling that this might be a little conservative because it is still taking into account my start up few months. It also doesn't take into account things that you have been learning about stock photography itself, like what sells, and how to make images more useful for buyers.

I'm pretty excited about how things are going.

-Gary

Princess Dianna

I was on my way home today when I heard someone on the radio say that investigators have finally finished the investigation into Princess Dianna's car crash. The radio station said that they would be giving the results of the investigation at a later time today. I guess they were far too busy to give the details right then...&*$%@#, their hides. Anyway my obsearvation is that an ordinary car crash takes about an hour or two to investigate if a fatality results. I really wonder what new information they thought they could glean from an investigation three or four years later that they couldn't have found out at least within a month considering the man power that would have been used in a case where royality was involved. They make me scoff.

Pamela Anderson

Pamela Anderson says she wants to get through her divorce with a little dignity. But here's the question.... Why is she so worried about dignity all of a sudden? She's never had a dignified bone in her body. She doesn't even know anyone with dignity.

The "N" word

The actor Michel Richards is being hassled by the black community lately because he lost his temper and called two black comedy patrons... niggers. Blacks have started a movement to try to have the word banned entirely from public usage in the arts and media. They say that the word is terrible because it is entirely a "hate word". Here's the deal. I think that if they are successful, there are other words that need to be banned as well. One such word is the "F" word. It's entirely a hate word as well. And there are phraises that are vulgar and hateful too. Why can't they be banned.

Casino Royale

I went to see the new Bond movie today. Let me just say, "Best Bond movie ever". It has a good story and lots of plot twists. There was plenty of good action, and the stunts were way less over the top than in some of the previous Bond movies.

It was also a lot heavier on the physical action and lighter on the sci-fi gadgets like in some of the previous movies.

I give it two thumbs up, it is fine holiday fun.

-Gary Milner

If I Ran The Zoo

I emailed Linda back and said that she could use the photos. I sent her four to choose from.

If I'm any judge of exclamation points (and I think I am, there were three in the first line alone) she was pretty happy that I said it was ok.

Yes! It's no problem to send adult zoo passes! She'll mail them tomorrow! Yay!

I guess I'm even more pleased that she was. Even though she's getting a way better deal than me, passes only cost $16 each for adults. That would barely cover my sitting fee.

Looks like I'll be making a trip to the zoo in the near future to see my sign. Maybe I'll be able to network this into a behind the bars photo shoot at the zoo. Maybe even with the monkeys.

-Gary

O. J. Simpson Again

I just have to air my personal beef about paying O.J. Simpson to tell how he killed his wife and that other guy. In the first place, he shouldn't profit from this horrendous crime but notwithstanding that we've already be victimized with years of news coverage about the murder. We already know who did the murder and how he did it. We were inundated with it for years. Excuse me, but there isn't anything new that can be said. The news media is wicked and crazy.

Frogs on a Plate!

Frogs on a Plate!

I received an interesting flickr from someone at the Calgary Zoo today. She seems to like this photo and one other one like it. Here is her email.

Hi there!

My name is Linda and I work for the Calgary Zoo in Alberta, Canada, and I saw a couple photos of your tomato frogs (on plate, and a head on shot). They are two of the best I've seen, and I was wondering if we could use it to create a species sign that explains some of the characteristics of these interesting frogs.

We will commit to providing you with photo credit each time it's used (where appropriate). We don't sell our images or use them for anything other than to show some of the animals at our facility, and if the photographer allows us to, we'll add them to our photo catalogue which lets us use the photo(s) potentially in our member newsletter, posters etc. to promote the Zoo.

Is this something you would consider? if you'd like to see what we're all about, please check out our website at www.calgaryzoo.com.

Hope to hear from you soon,
Thanks,
Linda

How to Scratch Backs and Earn Money

Let's See A Show Of Hands

Tracie has an itchy back every single night. I have to spend the first five minutes of potential sleepy time scratching her back.

Last night she said to me, "If I was rich, I would hire someone to scratch my back." I suggested a homeless kid, you know, to help the community.

Tracie said, "I would receive the scratching, but, I wouldn't be a back scratcher for any amount of money"

I would do it for $50 per hour. Then again there might be a more profitable way of running this business if you charged by the inch, depending on how big the person is. Obviousley you can do simple calculations to figure out area using length times height, but how do you calculate the actual surface area of a person.

I think there must be some way of using volume and density to figure out the surface area of an irregularly shaped object.

-Gary Milner

Basketball

Coach

The other day Jeff and I went to the studio where I work to take a few photos. This one is a shot that Jeff got of me pretending to be a high school basketball coach.

Yesterday Steve Meldrum invited me to play some hoops up at the church. Although I can do a six mile run in under an hour, I'm not really in basketball shape. I guess I need to work on my variable speeds with more sprinting or something.

Thankfully, I have been going to the gym doing those long runs or I would have really been in trouble.

We were playing with a bunch of college kids and maybe some high schoolers, and the games only went to 11 points. The worst part of it is that it takes me just about the whole game just to get warmed up. Then about half way through the second game my body decides that, "No I'm not actually going to die", and I can get down to playing some ball.

By then the game is over.

I kind of like being on the old guy team now. The old guys almost always win. I don't know why. Maybe we're too out of shape to do those stupid fancy moves and don't waste time or energy we don't have to like a lot of the younger guys do. I've also noticed that it gets easier to see the court as you age. I don't know why.

Maybe just experience.

-Gary Milner

Squashed

I went to play squash with my good friend Steve this morning pretty early. I found out that I need a little more practice playing squash. He went pretty easy on me in the first game, and I did hit a few pretty good shots that he couldn't return, but in the two games after that, he basically went to town on me.

By the end I was feeling pretty sick, maybe from not sleeping or having breakfasts or dehydration, but it wouldn't have made any difference to how well I fare against him anyway. Just to how many times I would have been beaten.

Well, Steve, if you're reading this keep it mind that there's a target on your back now, and in a couple of months I'll have my revenge (but only if I can find more people to help me practice.)

-Gary

AGAIN WITH THE TORTURE

Whereas if you torture the right guy about the information you want, you're quite apt to get that information. And furthermore if you torture the guy that did a terrible crime, or is protecting a criminal then maybe it could even be said that he desearved the torture it took to get him to confess. However, there's one famous case in recent memory of a Canadian who went to the middle east. He was proven innocent of any wrong doing, however while he was in the middle east he associated with a person or persons thought to be terrorists. I assume that terrorists when they're not acting as terrorists carry on a normal life style and have ordinary jobs. You can't tell that they're terrorists. He was intercepted on his way home to Canada when coming through the States. He was sent to 'Syria', I think, and had to endure months of torture. Any of us , when we go to the middle east could hire a travel guide who is a part time terrorist. We could then be accused of associating with terrorists and be tortured. Now that torture has been legalized, you wouldn't have to be sent to Syria any longer for that purpose. I'm worried that the time may come when people will start dissappearing from their homes during the night and held by the goverment without charge . This too,is a handy tool for the government to use in combating terrorism. When this happens, things are clearly out of hand. The fact is, they need to be stopped before they get carried away...and they"will" get carried away. (change of subject) The U.S. is a foremost military power. However, if you look at the amount they're going in to debt, (like 10,ooo dollars a second) you could say that they can't afford to spend a dime on the military. Not one solitary dime.

TORTURE USE (continued)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not liberal in my political leanings. I'm a conservative . But having said that I have to point out that I'm suspicious of politicians from both parties.

The gang that's been in power in the U.S. this last term have been a terrible bunch. If you read the news everyday you have to be aware of the explosion of the US. national debt. It's my belief that they will never be able to pay the money back. How could the same country that's going into debt at the rate of more than a billion dollars a day afford to pay back 7 trillion dollars, each trillion of which is a thousand billion.

I get the impression from the way Bush talks that Canada is no longer considered a friend of the States. This makes me uncomfortable. It's another thing that makes me dislike him.

I suspect him of using the middle east situation to gain more personal power, for himself and steal personal liberties from the people. This kind of thing has been done many times before by despotic rulers at various times and places in history. I think most people already know this.

I listened to what "Jeff" had to say about torture. He asked "what if the enemy had your son buried with only a little air left in his dungeon and you never had much time to find out where he is hidden. "Wouldn't you want them to be able to get the needed information in a timely manner?" Here's what I say about that: If you're going to do some torturing, you better be dang sure you've got the right guy. How are you going to know this? You won't be able to find out through torture because your victims will confess to anything to get you to stop.

I have always thought of countries that torture with great disdain. I think of them as being low life, second rate, cowardly countries. Why should I think of the U.S. any differently? I'm pretty sure that the low-life countries that have used torture all along, use the same rational for the use of torture that you gave me in your comments in my last post.

Bush professes to be religious. Well talk is cheap. Back when the Catholic church was in power in the middle ages they tortured people in a big way. They even had people thinking that the torture used was an actual favour to the victims. I don't want a church doing me any favours like this and I don't want Bush doing me any favours either.

I even feel nervous writing any of this because I feel like I might be one of the next people on the "water board" because I sound like an enemy.

I want to say one last thing. There's a reason people think they are drowning when they are being water boarded; it's because " they are drowning".

RC Track

RC Track

I went to watch Dann race his RC car down at one of the hobby shops. I think he came third, behind the owner of the shop and some other guy. He was running neck and neck with the leader of the race until his battery pack came un-hooked. It was really too bad, because he had a really good chance of winning.

I think he was using a smart strategy of using a lower top speed in favour of more control, which generally results in a higher average speed and way less crashes. It is the crashes that really kill you.

They have participants spread in the high crash zones to flip you back over when your car lands on its back, but they just aren't fast enough or sometimes they don't see that you are stuck.

I was impressed with how well everyone worked together for the race. I guess they are all friends with a commen hobby, but they seemed to be racing hard for the pure enjoyment of it.

I made a panorama of the track so that you can see what the back room looks like at the hobby shop.

-Gary Milner

Torture Use by the United States Government

This is quote from wikipedia:

There have been many reports that the United States has used water-boarding to interrogate prisoners captured in its War on Terrorism. In November 2005, ABC News reported that former CIA agents claimed the CIA had engaged in a modern form of waterboarding, along with five other "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques," against suspected members of al Qaeda, including Khaled Sheikh Mohammed. On October 27, 2006, Vice President Dick Cheney apparently confirmed that water-boarding had been used on U.S. detainees, specifically mentioning Khaled Sheikh Mohammed. According to the White House transcript of an interview with Scott Hennen of radio station WDAY:

Hennen: ...And I've had people call and say, please, let the Vice President know that if it takes dunking a terrorist in water, we're all for it, if it saves American lives. Again, this debate seems a little silly given the threat we face, would you agree?

Cheney: I do agree. And I think the terrorist threat, for example, with respect to our ability to interrogate high value detainees like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, that's been a very important tool that we've had to be able to secure the nation. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed provided us with enormously valuable information about how many there are, about how they plan, what their training processes are and so forth, we've learned a lot. We need to be able to continue that.

...

Hennen: "Would you agree a dunk in water is a no-brainer if it can save lives?"

Cheney: "Well, it's a no-brainer for me, but for a while there I was criticized as being the vice president for torture. We don't torture. That's not what we're involved in."

The White House later denied that Mr. Cheney had confirmed the use of waterboarding, saying that U.S. officials do not talk publicly about interrogation techniques because they are classified.

As you can see Mr. Cheney is a barefaced liar . He has stated that the armed forces cannot use water boarding: but the CIA has no such restriction. The CIA is part of the U.S. so they do use torture. What more can I say. They can torture anybody, even you. And you would have to say that you're guilty or you could be tortured to death. Please don't vote for the conservatives this time around people.