Warning warning warning....

I had a wonderful Christmas. I wish I could have given more to more people but I am happy with what I was able to do. Christmas day Russel started feeling a little under the weather and even though I was housesitting, I wanted to check in on him and make sure he was doing ok and didn't need anything. Well, I got sick kissing Santa Claus.

I am a full blown biohazard now. I wanted to call in sick to work but since we're still on the holiday schedule there is no one available for coverage. I will do my best to stay conscious and aware but no promises!

Computers hate me...

If you know me, you know that me and computers generally don't get along. We have a love-hate relationship. When I touch a computer or any electrical device they seem to break. Not to the extreme in this picture but pretty close. I had some time off from work and I ended up working on computers the entire time. The home computer got a virus that is pure evil. I was unsuccessful at trying to cure it so...windows re-install will be coming soon. My aunt called me and needed help with her laptop because it wouldn't connect to the wireless.

While I was working on those two issues my portable external hard drive died. That had the back-up for all of the other computers. I cried and then Russel came in to save the day. He was able to recover the data from my hard drive and keep it safe until I could get another one. I promised I would never ever make weird faces or make fun of Linux again. So, here it is...I love Linux...mostly Tux but THANK YOU LINUX! for saving my butt twice already. Thank you Russel for everything!



Tux as Captain America.

My co-worker Matty came to the rescue to help me troubleshoot the problem with my aunt's computer so hopefully that will be up and running shortly. Thank you Matty.

Hopefully I will be able to get another portable hard drive soon. Until then iTunes...my other nemisis is at a standstill. Maybe if I ever get another computer I won't run into evil software problems.

I can almost hear Russel saying, "Let's install Linux on it!"

The Heavens...Take 1!....and Action!

My new goal is to get an outstanding picture of the Milky Way.

Last night was the Geminid Meteor Shower. Russel helped me set up his tracking mount for his telescope so I could try to piggy-back my sister's camera and getting the phenomenal shot of the Milky Way. FAIL!!!!!

Yeah my first attempt was pretty bad. And of course when I am around something will either get broken or scratched or not work. Two out of three of those things happened. I am hoping my next attempt will be better. I was so excited because the previews in the viewfinder of the camera were turning out really nice. When the pictures were downloaded they were out of focus and I was so entirely disappointed. I don't think the camera settings were right and I didn't double check the focus before shooting away about 5 gigs of memory.

There were some great things that happened last night so it wasn't a complete fail. I got to hang out with a really cool guy and watch "falling stars" all night. That really cool guy made me hot chocolate with marshmellows on top when it was pretty darn cold outside. Really, even though the pictures turned out crappy, I had a great night. Thank you Russel, your patience sometimes amazes me.

Here is the salvaged first attempt. The streak at the bottom is an airplane trail. I didn't capture any of the meteors....but maybe next time.

Catching Up

I haven't blogged in a while. I feel like I am just getting caught up. Laundry doesn't seem to want to wash itself. The computers all decide to die all at once and get infected with spyware. The truck likes to stay dirty unless I help her out and give her a bath every once in a while. I did get to go see the Lago Vista football semi-final game at the UT stadium the other night. I am disappointed that they lost to Cameron Yoe, but I had a great time. I felt like I got a do-over from high school. Russel was with me and when we got there my sister gave me some "spirit balloons" Russel made me a dog out of one and I attached it to the end of one of the others. I was hoping it was going to be a lucky dog but she didn't give much luck.

I was there with the cutest guy and I didn't have to wear a yukky uniform or march at halftime. I could just sit back and enjoy the game and I didn't have to worry about anyone talking in the hallway if I kissed him at the game. :-) It was awesome.

I also managed to get all of my Christmas gifts wrapped and ready to go. I can't wait to give Russel his gifts. So, I am off to see what else I can accomplish....

The heavens scooting by...

The other night Russel set up his telescope so I could be captivated by the heavens again. I decided to set up the camera and attempt some more star trail pictures. I didn't think that they turned out very well while I was taking them. The camera somehow moved (I blame user error or the evil camera fairies) so I figured I wasn't going to get anything that even looked like a star. I went ahead and downloaded them and stacked them just to see how horrible they turned out. I was pleasantly surprised. Russel says its time to move on to the next level of astrophotography. I am thinking I should stick to what I know. :-) Just kidding. You may have to look closely to see the small streaks.



Cassiopeia streaking around the sky




The bright streak is Jupiter.



A simply wonderful weekend

I had a simply wonderful weekend. Russel took me on a flight for the first time. It was so much fun and exciting. I loved every minute of it. We flew over his parents house and we could see his mom and dad waving which was really cool. I have to say, I did wave back even though I knew they couldn't possibly see me. It's going to be hard to top this great day. Here are some pictures from our flight.







Russel getting ready to start his checklist



It's smaller than it looks.





The plane





The Lake



Runway 2-9



Really cool vintage plane that landed after us.



I love this picture

Russel's parents watching us fly over.



Larger Font

For those of us who can't quite see the tiny font this is usually typed in, I went back and enlarged some of my previous posts. I hope this helps. :-)