lumberjack xibalba?

I know that this is just more ammo for those talkin' bout how I am becoming more country and all, but can you blame me? It is just too much darn fun to step into my backyard with a chainsaw and create some paths for 4 wheelin', hiking, biking, running, etc. With acres of pure dense forest surrounding our home, I really have become that "kid in the candy store" who just cannot stop being amazed. I have grown up in the "concrete jungle" that is the city and so just having some space to explore and enjoy has been a huge pleasure. I am simply amazed with the complexity of life found just inside the woods and how God has truly created a wonderful planet for us to enjoy. I guess that I need to develop a good fire pit for these downed trees from the recent storms...

big trees or tiny jeep...

So, one thing that has amazed me here in Southern Indiana is just how dang tall the trees are in my neighborhood. Here is P.Red (short for Prowler Red - my jeep) sitting under a tree just up the block at my in-laws home near their fire-pit picnic area. I have several photos of the trees surrounding our home but nothing in the photos for comparison until I ran across this photo off my iPhone and just had to share. The wind and rain rustling through the trees are two completely awesome events to experience from our front or back porches. The residual storm front from hurricane Ike the other weekend wrecked havoc through the woods surrounding our home but gave me and my saw some good work...

From Bad to Terrible...

I was severely humbled over the weekend...past the point of frustration and just over the hill of sanity into the valley of desperate prayers and chaos. I love automotive and computer work and so I joyfully took up the opportunity to help out when my in-laws asked for an oil change. After an initial try earlier last week, I determined that I needed an oil filter wrench since the filter was very hard to get to, had very little exposure, and was very tightly secured (first oil change on this new vehicle). Long story short (I can hardly bear to write concerning the experience) - oil filter not budging whatsoever even after oil filter wrench, bought another oil filter wrench, still no good, and now the oil filter was punctured - past the point of no return. Hours later (and on the next day), after a completely thorough destruction of the oil filter (see photo above), the oil change was complete. I happily (but exhausted) then returned the SUV to their garage and ran home crying...completely humbled yet again.

My Switch to Mac

Well, I can't believe it myself, but I switched to a mac about a month ago for my primary desktop machine (don't worry I still have many Windows PCs in my home) and I am very satisfied. As many know, I have been "messing with" computers for years and am more focused on hardware these days since it has been about 10 years since my last software programming course. Funny thing is I bought a Mac Mini last Christmas but did not finally switch until 8 months later. The impetus was syncing problems with my iPhone on my PC. The calendar and contacts syncing situation was causing me significant duress and so I pulled out the Mac Mini and made the commitment to switch.

I have thoroughly enjoyed using the Mac and have found replacement programs for everything that I normally use within Windows - and most were free. (I will soon post updates on certain software that I have found to be particularly useful). The Mac Mini is cosmetically impressive as it stands at only 6.5 by 6.5 inches and 2 inches high. It also is environmentally friendly (for those that care) at a max of 110 watts consumption. And the sound reduction (from cooling fan noise) is absolutely wonderful compared to my Antec Sonata tower case for my Windows Vista machine - which is already designed for low noise production.

All those benefits and that is not even talking about the Mac OS - which I have thoroughly enjoyed as well. Leopard is a great new version of the Mac OSX that is fast, reliable, and beautiful - a real pleasure to use. I also enjoy Windows Vista (and even XP), but the feel of the Mac OS is much more fluid and robust. And the most important thing is that my iPhone syncs perfect - and without error - on the Mac. Life is good.