So, umm, yea, this could use a bit of tidying up.   And while I had the camera out, I figured I would take some shots of the little flowers I had in there as well

So, I cut down the daffodil leaves, put them in the front yard, weed eat the rest of the bad crap, and mulch the leaves using the lawnmower and dump them back into the flower bed. I figured that since I’m laying some mulch on top, they’ll make for some good compost underneath.   I had originally bought two bags, thinking that would be enough.  Nope!! Ended up going back and getting 4 more bags of the stuff to cover the bed with.  And on top of that, I still have some of the cut up leaves showing, but they’ll rot/dry away so I’m not too worried.   Not to mention that this is rubber compost, so I shouldn’t have to worry about this for a while!  So without further ado, here are the results.  Not perfect, but not too bad for a first timer.  Should look a lot better once the rose bushes get a bit bigger.

Little did I know that this was going to be one heck of a hassle, that ultimately, is not worth it!

So, here’s the first issue I run into.   I go to Gamestop and buy a copy after work on the way home.  Figured it would be a good way to waste some time when I got nothing else to do at home.  Yea, that’s how I justified it. But anyway, I get home, start to open up the case, and low and behold, I notice that there’s no plastic surrounding the dvd case when I slid it out of it’s box.  And worse, no game, no manual.  Not even a friggin sheet of paper!  Nothing!!  The result of some shoplifter who decided to just lift the cd, and the paperwork containing the registration code.  So, I’m pretty much out of luck until I let them know what happened, and have them set aside a replacement copy for the next day.  I love how this works.  They put in all sorts of copy protection, etc… so the people just steal it from the store.  If people are going to pirate a game, they are going to find a way.  Hell, just make it a little bit cheaper, and therefore more enticing to those who are cheap.  Yea, the deadbeats aren’t going to buy it even if it was friggin 5 dollars, but oh well!

Which leads me to my second problem, and  TON of frustration.  So, with the game finally in my hand, I start the process of installing it on my hard drive and then attempting to play the game for the first time.  But nope!! Even though I’ve bought the game, and put in a valid dvd key, I’m greeted with this

Are you freaking kidding me?  You mean to tell me that since your servers aren’t available, I can’t play the game that I’ve spent my well earned money on?  What if I don’t even have internet access?  I guess I’m screwed huh? So, around an hour later, I try again, and run into another problem.

So, for some reason, your software wants me to download it from the freaking internet for 4 HOURS?   The dang dvd is right in the drive, and you want me to download it off the net?  Fortunately, I started off from scratch and this time it wised up and decided to actually look in the cd-rom drive this time.

Alright, so the game is installed and I’m ready to rock. I click on the icon, and I’m greeted with this

Okay, so since your servers are having issues, I’m once again screwed over by not being allowed to use something that I’ve legitimately paid for.  Wow! At this point, I’m considering downloading a software crack just so I can use something that I’ve actually bought.  It’s like hotwiring my own car!

So anyway, I get past this eventually by just waiting and coming back and finally get to play the game.  Only to find out that my beloved series has been dumbed down in order to ‘appeal’ to the mass market.  The number of units drastically reduced, build times are insanely fast, and not near as complex as it once was.   This appealing to the mass market is simply giving in to the idiots who refuse to buy the product because it was too deep for them.   Once again, stupid, low IQ consumers define the market, and those looking for the full experience they were accustomed to are screwed over.  Yay!

Oh, but wait, it’s not over yet!   While back at my desktop, look what pops up!

You know, there is software out there that installs and runs in the background on consumer’s systems and pops up advertisements on their computer.  We call that malware, spyware, annoythepissoutofmeware, etc…  And it turns out that I actually PAID for something and despite the crap I’ve had to run into with the drm and sever issues, you guys want to have the nerve to throw advertisements in my face?  Screw you!

Looks like it’s back to the Xbox for me!  Pc gaming industry, see ya!  Rot in hell!!

Well, within the past few weeks, I had been evaluating different open source applications for project management.   And I must say, I’m pretty impressed with the stuff that you can find out there that is completely free and pretty dang powerful.  Especially if you are running a web server with php.

I’ve found several different applications that can do project management, and I have to admit, most of them are impressive, but there was one that just stood out WAY above the rest.  I didn’t even know anything like this was out there until I stumbled across another blog that had done some comparisons between different open source web based applications for project management.  First, the runner ups.

ProjectPier – This software has been out on the web for a while, and is actually highly recommended.  Fast, stable, and works pretty well for project management.  I was actually considering sticking with this until I had found my final answer.  Not to mention that the software hasn’t been updated in quite a while.  I tend to be weary of abandonware.

Collabtive – I found the UI to this software to be pretty simple and refreshing.  Not to mention that it was developed fairly recently, which means that it still has a lot of life and potential.  Due to it’s simplicity, I’ve considered using it for clients since my final solution might be a bit harder to understand, but I haven’t made a final decision yet.

Feng Office – Wow!! What can I say?  This software is off the chain. Right now, I have a demo running at http://office.marcellusking.com.  The username is demo as well as the password.  This thing had document management, project management, calender with ical support, and a few other bells and whistles.  I plan on using this software to collaborate with other photographers, clients, etc… to collaborate on anything photography related and to also keep track of my own projects.  Here’s a screenshot of what it looks like when I log in under my account.

Since I have several projects that I’m a part of, any tasks for projects that are assigned to me will show up on my main view when I log in.  I can also click on the projects individually to see just the tasks for that project.  I’m actually VERY excited to see what I can pull off with this software in the near future and to see if enough people that I network with are interested in taking advantage of it.

Welp, back to the grind!

Well, first on the to do list was to get a staple gun from Home Depot and some staples.  And as always, I picked up a few more things from there as well.  Some caulk for windows, etc… (might as well prep now for spring) and some more clamps for the studio. And then, it was time to get started!

Here’s how the bench looked before I started.  Looks pretty messy.  Heck! I wouldn’t even sit on that myself.

So first, we start separating the old cloth from the bench board and at the same time, get those nasty staples out of there.  While working on this, it was easy to see that this has been done before. That actually made me feel a bit more comfortable.

And now, on with the new cloth, getting it stapled down, and then trimming the excess off with scissors.  In retrospect, using an exacto knife would have given me some really clean lines, but it’s my first time.  I’ll just note it for the next time I do this.

And here’s a comparison of the old cloth VS the new.  Yea, I don’t have the new one on perfectly smooth, but it’s not too shabby and will do the trick.

Who’s the man????

And on top of that, I picked up one of those Japanese style change clothes behind thingy at Hobby Lobby.  Might come in well for some silhouette shots as well as allowing for quick and discreet changes in the studio

The recent drama that I’ve been having lately with a certain person has been squashed.  For quite a while, I was pretty upset and angry about the things that were said and the fallout that resulted.  There are still some other people who are obviously holding their opinion on the matter based on what little information they have and formulating theories in their own heads, but that’s on them.  My friend apologized for what she said and I didn’t hesitate to accept.   I even shed a tear on the way home just thinking about it.  And to tell you the truth, it takes a LOT of strength to approach somebody and apologize.  I can’t hate on that at all.

My brother was also in town over the weekend to see his daughter, so he and his wife, my sister and her husband and my niece all went out to see Avatar.  3rd time seeing a movie which I originally had no interest in initially.  Wow James Cameron, I got to give you credit for making out the doubters believers. But then again, you created Aliens, my favorite movie of all time, so I should have known better.  Please forgive me man!

As far as my photography, I’ve been on pause for a few weeks in order to get some framework down.  Currently working on some backend projects for the websites to handle customer relations management software, project management,  and various other web based tools to assist me in the business and when collaborating with other photographers, makeup artists, and people with great ideas on various projects.  I’ve placed a demo at http://projects.marcellusking.com/demo/dashboard for those interested in taking a look.  All open source, running on Drupal which at the moment is WAY beyond my brainpower at the moment haha.  I think I’ll stick with Joomla for the majority of my projects whenever possible since it’s easier to get going on it even though it isn’t as powerful and feature packed as Drupal. 

As far as being a homeowner, I was a bit worried going into the winter, but it’s been pretty good so far.  No busted pipes, not terribly cold, and no unexpected drama related to the weather.  Well, at least not yet.  But I’m definitely looking forward to the spring season and learning to do a bit of landscaping to really set things off for the following year.

Back to the photography though (Dang, even in my writing, I’m ADD).  I’ve gotten quite a few good shots for the modeling portfolio, which I’ll be combining with the events and sports portfolio’s soon enough, and will soon be looking into doing a couple of weddings before considering the portfolio well rounded enough to get a portfolio book created, which in itself will also be a portfolio.  And on top of that, get a logo designed for my business as well and follow through on getting a tax id.   So many things to do, that’s for sure.  I just need to work on my motivation and really focus on my activities and what needs to be done.

Welp, back to work. Gotta get some things done and hit the sack before getting up in the morning and heading to work.  Peace out!

One day my Mother was out and my Dad was in charge of me.
I was maybe 2 1/2 years old. Someone had given me a little ‘tea set’ as
a gift and it was one of my favorite toys.

Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I
brought Daddy a little cup of ‘tea’, which was just water. After several
cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home.
My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of
tea, because it was ‘just the cutest thing!’ My Mom waited, and sure
enough, here I came down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she
watched him drink it up..
Then she said, (as only a mother would know…)

‘Did it ever occur to you that the only place she can reach to get water is the toilet?

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cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc v89

^y/………………………………../’;
M,,,,,,,,

A farmer had a wife who nagged him unmercifully. From morning till night (and sometimes later), she was always complaining about something.

The only time he got any relief was when he was out plowing with his old mule. He tried to plow a lot.

One day, when he was out plowing, his wife brought him lunch in the field. He drove the old mule into the shade, sat down on a stump, and began to eat his lunch. Immediately, his wife began haranguing him again. Complain, nag, nag; it just went on and on.

All of a sudden, the old mule lashed out with both hind feet; caught her smack in the back of the head. Killed her dead on the spot.

At the funeral several days later, the minister noticed something rather odd. When a woman mourner would approach the old farmer, he would listen for a minute, then nod his head in agreement; but when a man mourner approached him, he would listen for a minute, then shake his head in disagreement. This was so consistent, the minister decided to ask the farmer about it.

After the funeral, the minister spoke to the farmer, and asked him why he nodded his head and agreed with the women, but always shook his head and disagreed with all the men.

The farmer said: ‘Well, the women would come up and say something about how nice my wife looked, or how pretty her dress was, so I’d nod my head in agreement.’

‘And what about the men?’ the minister asked.

‘They wanted to know if the mule was for sale.’

Well, here’s the damage to the base of the flash.  At this point, it won’t stay connected to the camera and the camera itself, due to the incident, thinks that there’s a external flash constantly connected.  I guess it had to happen sometime.

Well, here are some various other macro’s that I did out of sheer boredom

Full gallery can be found here

Isis