Some Pictures From The Archives

I've posted a lot of the photos I've taken recently, but here are some from the past. ENJOY!!!


Hockey warm-ups from the stands.


I was at an outdoor concert at UF and was able to bring my SLR and the telephoto lens. I'd estimate I was about 50 feet away.




My friend Jeff, who was one of my photography mentors got me onto the sidelines for a Florida game. Here are some of my better ones.


The picture that led to me working with Gainesville Fire Rescue and my first involvement with the fire service.




I did a practicum with Gainesville Raceway. The day after Gatornationals, one of the teams stayed to do some testing. They let me take these shots right behind the wall.

Artistic Renditions of Last Night's Training

I decided to play with the Contrast, Brightness and Tonal Controls on my photo editor to make these. Kind of like Andy Warhol meets Leroy Neiman on film or in this case MB's. Click on each photo to see the full-size versions and get the full impact.

Providence Training

We had some live fire training last night. Unfortunately, I couldn't participate because I'm not certified. However, I was able to get some great shots. I haven't gotten a chance to download and edit them all yet, but here's the winner of the night.

Station 29

Here's a picture of my fire station. From left to right... (Brush 294 (behind the door), Utility 298, Truck 297, Floodlight 293 and Engine 292 (Engine 291 is behind).

Truck 297. At 110' it is the tallest aerial in Baltimore County and we have it!

It's Preakness Baby!

It was wet. It was wild. And it was all Preakness.

For the last four and a half years, I've lived within about 5 miles of the famed Pimlico track, but have never seen the Preakness in person. Part of that of course is that up until recently, I haven't had a Saturday off in the last 6 years. Today, I decided to take advantage of my new found free time and finally see the Preakness.

After getting to track and placing my bets, I looked for my spot to watch the race. I asked someone at one of the gates where the general admission section was and they said, "just find a place to watch". Everywhere I looked, I saw colored sections and people with colored tickets heading to those sections. Then I noticed that the ushers really weren't paying attention to those tickets. So about 15 minutes before post-time, I just decided to walk out into the seats on final stretch and see what happened. I'm still not sure if I was supposed to be there, but no one stopped me. Not wanting to push my luck, I just stood in the large aisleway between the box seats and the rows of temporary seats next to the track. And that is where I watched the race. It was awesome, but it was over way too quickly. Preakness truly is about the experience because the race itself is over in the blink of an eye. I was so close, I even managed to get some great photos.

Just seconds after the start of the race.

And down the stretch they come. Street Sense is still leading at this point, but Curlin is closing fast. My pick for show, Hard Spun is right behind.

No Prescription Necessary!

I'm sick right now. Actually, I'm finally starting to feel better, but Thursday, Friday and Saturday were pretty rough. While I'm with out a doubt ready to get back to work, I must say that as bad as I felt this weekend, I don't mind the time off to get better.

Back in my previous job, we didn't have sick days. With only one manager on duty at a time, if another manager called in sick, that meant that another manager would have to either work on their day off, or work a full day (about 14 hours). None of us, especially myself ever wanted to do that, so I developed "The Elixir". Simply put, this is designed to allow you to function, albeit in a slightly comatose state and make it through the day.

To make it, pour a full dose, or dose and a half if you're really feeling bad of NyQuil (or generic substitute) in a water bottle. Add a can of Red Bull, pouring it out over the dosage cup so that ALL the NyQuil is rinsed out. Finally, fill the remaining volume of the water bottle with Orange Juice. Because we live in the days of meth labs, NyQuil no longer has a decongestant in it. So, for the full effect, take a dose of Sudafed with your first sips.

Severe? Yes. Powerful? You bet! But when you have to work this is a great option. Actually, since this is designed to be consumed over 30 to 60 minutes, it creates a bit of a time release effect on the medication as well. I wouldn't recommend doing this often, but when you're sick as a dog and you have to work, it will help get you though the day.

A Little Project To Pass The Time

Problem: I really don't feel like my back-up lights are bright enough on my truck.

Solution: 1) Buy a set of driving lights. 2) Mount them under my rear bumper, create a custom wiring harness/switch to make it all work. 3)Enjoy a much brighter reverse experience!

Part of the custom harness included tieing the switch into the stock back-up lights so that the new lights can only be turned on when in reverse.

Here are some pictures. I'll post some daylight photos of the overall set up later on.

One of the lights under the bumper.

Part of the wiring harness with custom relay visible.

The light from the stock set-up

The light from the new system

Awesome CD!

I can't believe it took me nearly three years to finally buy this. As a certified "Hazelnut" or Sister Hazel fan to those of you who don't know, I have made it a habit to buy their new albums within the first week of release. Yup, I own them all. Some how though, I missed Drew Copeland's solo album, "No Regrets". Well, I can say this much...I regret that I didn't buy it sooner. I knew it existed and I even saw it for sale at the Sister Hazel concerts I've attended, but for some reason, I never bought it. Well, today I decided that enough was enough and bought it off of iTunes. All I can say is WOW! There are obvious Sister Hazel influences throughout the album (actually, I guess what becomes obvious are his influences on each Sister Hazel album) as well as those from another North Florida musical legend, Tom Petty, but the album is decidedly unique. For me, the first track, "A Little Like Heaven", brought back a stream of memories from my times in Gainesville. Track 6, "Over You" is a break-up song that struck a cord with me because of it similarities to my recent break-up. The final song on the album, "Once Again" has a decidedly country music sound to it with an upbeat rhythm and positive theme. If you are a fan of Sister Hazel or Gainesville music in general, Copeland's "No Regrets" is a can't miss purchase.

Single Speed Pics and a Few Details

As promised in my usual timely fashion, here are some pics of the single speed along with some details on the parts used.

Late 90's Trek Cro-Moly frame. Deore hubs on a basic wheel set. My always present Specialized saddle. I'm not sure about the fork right now. I don't know if it is "suspension-corrected" or not. So far it seems to ride well, so I won't make a final decision until I get some real trail time in.

The heart of the drivetrain is all Surly. Surly Cassette Spacer Kit, Surly 22T Rear Cog and Surly Singulator.

The other part is the Shimano XT crank and Race Face BB that I pulled from my XC bike. In their place went the sweet new XTR crankset. VERY SWEET. I'm running a 34T chainring with the outer ring acting as a chainguard. I don't really have a choice though since this crank is one of those with the integral spider. I'm also running yet another set of Crank Brothers pedals...the Mallets this time. Since I may use this bike for a variety of purposes, it's nice to have a clipless pedal that is also a solid platform. This will also come in handy should any friends need to borrow a bike.

The cockpit consists of Avid Speed Dial Levers, Profile Grips, a sweet set of FSA XC190 (as in 190g) riser bars and a short Rocky Mountain stem.

THOSE brakes. Don't get me wrong, I love Cane Creek stuff, but the Direct Curve brakes are just lacking a little power. I finally got them dialed in after I trued the wheels and they feel OK now. They just don't have the feel that I've gotten so used to with my XT V's.

And the single speed makes four!

Great news! My fourth bike is complete. I just took an old steel mountain bike frame that a customer gave me and turned it into a single speed. The frame is a mid-late 90's Trek Tru-Temper steel frame. As some of you may already know, I just love steel. It might be a touch heavier, but nothing rides like it. The component mix is also good. The wheels are a little on the cheap side and I'm having a tough time dialing in my Cane Creek Direct Curve brakes, but I'm very happy over all. What made tonight even better was that a few of my guys that were in the store (real bike guys, too!) rode it and told me how much they loved the bike. One of the guys even said it was nicer than one that we sell for $1700! It's going to be a fun spring. Oh...and this weekend, I'll be sure to post some photos and a full parts list.