Chris

… that is the progress I am making toward completing my goal of offering various content to the digital world. A lot of it is personal crap that edifies only myself or family. Some of it could be beneficial to anyone else. Who knows? I’ve made some design changes to Photo Mojo recently while still recognizing it is always a work in progress. I’ve also updated the RSS feed.

I’m also ready to unveil a new addition to Studio called Video Mojo! I’ve decided to get into this thing called vlogging (video blogging) and I am still working my way through the technical aspects of it, so bear with me as I try to apply the time it needs. Here is the RSS feed for Video Mojo

After three years of blogging and aggregating the best of what we call web 2.0, I will be taking a hiatus on Techno Mojo. There are various reasons and they are all valid in themselves but together, it is too compelling not to blog on tech at this time.

1. got a life
2. learning how to live it
3. day job position change
4. microblogging- the twitter & tumbl blogs are faster
5. the desire to focus on my photography work
6. etc

I don’t have accurate stats thanks to my server host losing my data and unable to restore my archives/backup but at one point there were close to 500 consistent readers/visitors to the site from all over the globe. The feedback and contributions of people adding to the conversation has been fun, challenging and educational and I enjoy it immensely. I thank you for your interest & support. When the priorities change and the desire returns, Techno Mojo will be back for good.

Let me know what you think in the comments section!

A few years ago, Wonderwife and I decided we wanted to have high speed internet because we were tired of dial-up and we no longer wanted a land line. Our family would call us on our mobiles and the telemarketers called the wired phone. Who needed it? We switched to Charter Cable for internet and television. Our previous digital tv provider was Dish Network. Last month I had yet another internet connectivity issue and called Charter. After patching that issue, the tech then sold me on a speed upgrade and premium movie channels for only $1 a month extra. Well, not only did I buy the lie, I bought $30 extra in this month’s bill.

I called Charter and went right to a supervisor (after waiting for 12m) who apologized profusely but flatly refused to credit my account because he couldn’t/wouldn’t verify my claim. Not only that, there was a $4.95 wire maintenance fee tacked on that wasn’t asked for. Again, no credit. I promptly told the guy that the next time I called Charter, it will be to close my account and come get your hardware. If I make a mistake, I will pay for it. If Charter makes a mistake, you pay for it.

My next call was to AT&T to get a basic, no-frills landline and 6MB DSL internet. After that, I called Direct TV and got a satellite TV package. Both will be ready to go on Monday (this being a short work week). On Tuesday, after everything is installed and verified to work, I will call Charter and tell them to go do something with themselves. With Charter Communications, I was lied to, unappreciated. Now I will have faster internet speed for less and the crystal clear digital picture that Charter promised will come true with the new satellite provider. Charter’s offer of $49.99 for above basic tv and $15 extra for our DVR service is a rip-off. Direct TV has more channels for the same price and only a $5 DVR fee.

Charter left me with no choice and I will be happy that I will no longer have to do business with them again. Now I just have to migrate our email accounts over to the new address.

Does anyone know how or if I can plug a dish tv receiver cord into the back of my computer’s tv tuner so I can record television to my hard drive like I did with cable tv?

 

The start of 2007 sucked. Big time. I just got back to work to start the new year only to be told I was being let go. Shortly after that, Wonderwife discovers she is pregnant. I didn’t start my new job until March 5th which was a long time when you are in between jobs and a baby on the way!

However, God has provided a better job that I just recently got a promotion and a raise within a few months. Daphne arrived in August and has blessed our lives to contentment. Again, God is good.

I guess it is time to make some resolutions/goals/commitments/changes

Spiritual

Find a church home, read the Bible & pray daily

Physical

This is easier said than done: eat better, exercise more

Financial

I need a better understanding of my benefits & making my money earn more money

Recreational

photography, hiking, blogging, geocaching, disc golf, and more

Social

As much as my network has expanded last year, I need to get out more with you

Organizational

I need to work on my Digital Asset Management (DAM) & Paper Asset Management (PAM)

Relational

Before all of this, my girls come first.

This is an overly simplified list, of course, but it helps me keep it all in focus. This is the easy part but if it is implemented successfully, than 2008 will be one of the best years ever.

I hope you will challenge yourself to do something extraordinary this year.

Houston Museum of Natural Science #3, originally uploaded by Photo-Mojo.

 

Hey everyone, greetings from Houston Texas. We’ve been here almost a full week and we’re itching to get back home to Birmingham, Alabama. This year’s Christmas festivities were fun and we saw quite the city and Galveston island quite a bit. The museum of natural history featured Lucy, the world’s oldest human fossil remains on tour from Ethiopia. She looked good for her age! The Moody Gardens had their annual festival of lights at the three pyramids in Galveston. Neat!

The baby girl has been properly spoiled on her first Christmas. The only problem is figuring out how to get it all in the car for the drive home!

We’re on the road tomorrow (Saturday) and will be back home on Sunday.

Peace, love & happy new year!

 

Obviously when you are a child Christmas has a different meaning than it does when you are an adult. As a new father this year it takes on a more special meaning. The Denbow family Christmas was celebrated early because of our visit to Wonderwife’s family in Houston this weekend. We wanted the girl to have her own special first Christmas  to open our gifts early. With 4 sets of grandparents, this girl is going to be hauling in the loot and daddy learns what it means when they say “Some assembly required” and everything needs 4 “D” batteries!

I tricked my daddy into opening this present early!

After the unwrapping and the oohs & aahs, Wonderwife & I sat on the sofa and watched the baby in front of the Christmas tree. Is this what it means to be content? The perfect gift was in front of us.

In the past, my parents went overboard in the giving of presents to all three of their children. Every year the living room floor was covered, in stacks full of wrapped goodness under the tree. Sometimes the gifts were too big to go under and had to be presented in another way.

that bike saw a lot of pavement

My parents worked hard and scraped by to put money away into savings so we kids could have a better living but from our view, you would never know it. We were always loved and provided for- to excess? I don’t work nearly as hard as my parents did/do but I have so much more now than they did when they were my age. Does it make me take what I have for granted? Not at all because I understand their sacrifices and appreciate their generosity more than they can know.

I can only hope to provide for my family in the same way. I want my child to know she is loved and taken care of. Wonderwife is a huge part of that since she is at home. Daphne will be better adjusted in this way and I am grateful we can do it.

Yes, Christmas is for children, but as a parent, I get the best gift of all. No assembly required.

Look at those pecs on that guy (no, not the action figure)!

Chris’ Christmas

Christmas with Grandpa Denbow

So after a 14 day full blown trial of SmugMug, I finally took the plunge and became a Pro member. The comparisons to Flickr can’t be emphasized enough. Flickr doesn’t allow you to watermark, prevent right-click saving to your computer protection, photo sales etc, etc. The subscription is usually $150 a year for the Professional account but they are helping people migrate from Flickr so they offered 1/2 off. Sold! There is even a migrating photo tool called “Smugglr”. Cute.

No worries Flickr fiends, I just renewed my annual subscription to Flickr too but those photos will be personal, social and for the awesome Groups. The site is for my professional work and is still in it’s infancy with limited photos but be sure to stop by!

Link: Photo Mojo on SmugMug

I am not a fanboy or wait in long lines for something. You will never see me camping out overnight in front of a business for something. I just don’t have the patience for it. When someone asks who my favorite artist is I will rattle off a few names instead. If there is a 20 minute wait for a table, I move on. There are too many choices these days.

Yet I found myself standing in front of a Target store at 7AM this past weekend waiting in line for the Nintendo Wii game console. On the coldest day of the year here in Birmingham. Freezing temps and high winds would not deter me in order to get this unattainable game set. I am still trying to work out why I did this:

1.  I am not a gamer
2. I have enough toys/gadgets to play with
3. It was too early to go shopping
4. It was too cold ( we hit 79 degrees the day before)
5. The Wii is impossible to get since it’s debut last year
6. WonderWife objected to it
7. I may not have enough time to use it
8. Is it worth the price or will I get a return on investment?
9. I haven’t set one foot into a retail store for purchasing this season
10. Video games are an on average $50!??

My original intent was going to Best Buy but when I got in line I was told that the tickets to purchase the consoles were given away (about 30) I rushed down the hill to Target. They were giving away tickets to before they opened of all the Wii’s they had in stock. I got ticket 61 out of the 66 in stock. Whew! At 8am Target employees watched in horror/delight as frigid customers pushed, shoved and generally lost all sense of chivalry to get inside, even though they had a ticket and were guaranteed a Wii. For those who stood in line just in case, they were the worst because they were the most desperate. I have heard people doing the same on Black Friday but I didn’t believe it. It isn’t worth it, people!

Wonderwife never thought I would go through with it but was surprised to see one when she got out of the warm bed that same morning. Upon hooking the machine up to the tv, setting up the enclosed sorts games and selecting the bowling game, she was hooked as I was. She became especially enthralled with it after beating me senseless from the first game and every bowling match since then. She isn’t a gamer either.

I would say I am very impressed with the whole package and can see the lure it has on it’s users and would-be players. I didn’t know anything about it beforehand other than we just had to have one. It accesses the internet easily with wifi and you can create your own realistic-looking characters (called Mii’s) based on your appearance. Hook up with others from the internet and play against each other.

After the first day of bowling, boxing, golf, tennis and baseball I am worn out and physically sore. THAT is how interactive & physical the Wii system is. Well played, Nintendo, wii enjoy it!

 

 

Happy birthday to myself! December 7, 1972. Or as Dad put it to me once: “the second day of infamy!

ginger cookies & Christmas frosted sugar cookies (not seen)

Longtime readers know that The Mojo gets bored very easily and has numerous interests. No, I do not have Attention Deficit Disorder! When Wonderwife viewed the requested birthday/Christmas list she looked back and said I need to play with the toys I already have. There goes my hopes for a Ninetendo Wii or X-Box 360. She is right, as usual. I have a lot of new gadgets/toys to play with and I haven’t mastered any of them to truly enjoy effectively. How can I say I am a photographer if I haven’t honed the skills needed to produce quality work? I have at least 50% of my Nikon D50 worked out but know I need to learn more. How much more do I need to learn when my D200 arrives?

I have 2 speed lights for my cameras, a Nikon SB-400 and SB-800. Sure, I can add batteries to them, turn them on and watch the pretty light paint the room but what do all those numbers and abbreviations mean?

My Holga 120mm film camera which I had seen and craved has been used briefly and now collects dust.

Fisheye and Lensbabies lenses were asked for and acquired but used scarcely.

I received a small, one person kayak 3 years ago for Christmas that hasn’t tasted water yet, including the paddle, life jacket, etc.

I asked for and was given a disc golf set that hasn’t smelled fresh air since I stored them away.

Mom knew I wanted a handheld GPS unit for my hikes and geocaching but it has been used sparingly. Then again, hiking has been non-existent due to the heat/drought this year. Valid excuse? I’ll give myself a pass on this one, however, I don’t understand the GPS unit like I should/want.

For 2 years an Ion USB turntable has been waiting like a pet-store puppy in my Amazon wish list and was brought home to me as a surprise thanks to Wonderwife. It has been neglected after I realized it would take time to configure the Audacity software to my Vista machine when the instructions were designed for XP.

I purchased a Camelback water supply backpack for the hiking trips that is dying from non-use and no water.

Using the excuse that we would need one for watching the newborn grow up and document, we plopped down some coin for a Sony digital video camera. I can work out the basics, but again, how much better quality can the videos be? I won’t mention the Adobe Premiere software I bought to help with this and isn’t used. Wait, I just did.

Speaking of Adobe products, we’ve upgraded from the original Creative Suite to just Photoshop CS3 and the new Lightroom. Wonderwife can work them both better than I ever could. Of course, she is highly intelligent and I am not. How much more creative can my photos be if I applied myself? The books I bought to help learn have stiff pages and a strong back because of my disregard, whereas Wonderwife applies that knowledge. I have subscribed to video podcasts on the various subjects of interest but they frankly bore me since I don’t apply it.

Ahh, now there is a gift that keeps on giving. Three years ago I was surprised by WW with a 30GB video iPod that is used daily for music, podcasts, photos and more. I will be sad the day it decides to crap out. Have I mastered the accompanying iTunes software? Not so much. Heck, I have software/hardware to create super-amateur podcasts and the desire but no time.

What the hell is wrong with me that I can’t use and appreciate what I have? I could blame my new daughter for lack of time, but she is only three months old. I’ve had plenty of time to go/do/explore/play! So again, WW is correct. I need to value what I have before I get so frustrated with myself and it all gets listed on eBay, Craigslist or donated to a local charity.

So the next time you are on the hiking trail and you see a guy looking for geocaches with a Nikon camera in one hand, a digicam in the other, a GPS unit around his neck and carrying a camelback behind him and asks if you want to go kayaking or play disc golf all while listening to tunes ripped from vinyl records and transferred to his ipod, just shake your head and smile.