Self Portrait 2008

I thought that I'd be a bit creative today since it's been a while since I did anything for Photo Friday or Illustration Friday. This is my piece created for the Photo Friday challenge: Self Portrait 2008.

Still Kickin'

The Triathlon that I have been preparing for the last 8 weeks is over and I finished 561 out 0f 612. Nothing to brag about but right about where I predicted I would be. I actually have to say that I surprised myself. I thought that I would finish about 11 minutes slower than I did. Here's the official numbers ( you can get the complete race results here)

Overall time 1:19:41

1/4 mile Swim......12:24

8.2 mile Bike Ride .....33:49

2 mile Run......24:06

I really didn't do too well in the transitions due to some bad planning on my part and by the time that I got to the run my legs felt like lead weights but I can still say that I am glad that I did this. I'll definitely be ready for it next year!

Susan walking me from the finish line back to my personal cheering section (probably wanted to make sure that I wasn't about to have a coronary right there in the middle of the road!)

I had an unexpected additions to my cheering section. My sisters Lisa and Dana came to town from Alabama to help cheer me on. It really was a good boost to see my daughter Tiffiny, son-in-law Jeff, grandson Braxton, and two of my sisters along with their families there at the finish line.

Countin' Down

The clock is ticking away the hours until my first Triathlon. I went downtown to pick up my race packet and do a walk through of the T2 transition area and the running course. Registering early definitely has its' advantages. My race number is 25 (out of about 500) and I've got a sweet T2 spot just inside the transition area. I'm getting psyched up ready to give it a shot. I figure by 8:30 tommorrow morning it'll all be over and I'll know if it was all worth it.

Wish me luck!

The PayOff

Earlier I posted a couple of pictures of my meager little garden spot. Everything is starting to come in now and it's time to start reaping the benefits of my labor. We've already gotten a few green beans, some little squash, chile peppers, jalapenos, and grape tomatoes. Now it's time for the big tomatoes to start ripening. I have three varieties of heirlooms....Red, purple, and Mr. Stripey. These are going to space out very nicely with the purple ones ripening now, the red ones will be next, followed with the Mr. Stripey tomatoes in about another month or so. This has been the best little garden that I've had since we bought this house seven years ago!

The Race Is On

I finally got the "unofficial" test report back from my nuclear heart scan yesterday. They say that my current physical condition places me in "minimal" risk for a coronary and that I can go about my usual activities as long as I recognize my limitations. They did tell me that I have some scarring of my heart muscle that would seem to indicate that I have actually had a Myocardial Ischemia at some point in my life.

Anyway, I've decided to go ahead with the Triathlon next Sunday (Aug 10). I've lost a week's worth of training but again, the goal is just to finish. I figure that I'l probably finish inthe lower 20% of the pack.

Bummer!

Today I had my 6 month follow up with my lung doctor. I told him about some trouble that I have been having lately. I am exercising a LOT but I don't seem to be developing any endurance. I swim, bike, and run often but any time that things get strenuous I get terribly winded. I get to the point that I feel like something is trying to claw it's way out of my chest. When I run I get so winded after a half mile that I have to slow down to a quick walk, then recover pretty quickly, then run some more. I do this a lot but the distance or endurance level never seems to increase. My doctor confirmed that my lungs are working great. He feels that I may possibly have some coronary blockage so he's ordered a nuclear stress test for Monday morning. This all seems just a bit odd considering that I have done the following this past week:

Sunday - 19 mile bike ride
Tuesday - 5.8 mile run (actually fartleks, (look it up!))
Wednesday - 1/2 mile swim
Thursday - 5.5 mile bike ride
Friday - 5.8 mile run (more fartleks)

All day today I have been totally drained of energy. Maybe we can get to the bottom of this so that I can finally get straightened out.
I still plan to participate in the Triathlon on August 10. My doctor said that he will tell me if I have his blessing for this by Wednesday. He did ask me to scratch the practice run that is schedule for this Sunday.

Time for a little training

Training for the Sports Barn Quintana Roo Sprint Triathlon has not been going quite as well as I had hoped. I hurt my right shoulder early on swimming and it hasn't gotten much better over the past few weeks. It is hurting so much that it wakes me up at night. Probably haven't ridden my bike as much as I should either. But I am running a lot more than I ever did. Still, I am determined to finish this challenge so it's off to the lake for some swimming.

Time's a wastin'

Simple Pleasures

I have always wanted have a nice spot to plant a nice garden but we didn't get quite so lucky when we bought our house. The back yard is steep and unlevel and there are so many trees around that plants can't get very much sunlight. I always try to grow a tomatoe or two and this year I thought that I would try to do a bit more with the limited space that I have available. This is actually turning out quite well. Everything that I planted has produced a little bit this year. In my tiny space I have three varieties of heirloom tomatoes, two kinds of cherry / grape tomatoes, carrots, chives, oregeno, thyme, squash, jalepenos, cayenne peppers, one plant each of red, green, and yellow bell peppers, some pole beans, and one okra plant. I'm inspired now and want to to see how much more that I can get out of this space next year!

Photoshop Fun

Here's a picture shot last week when we had most of my family on the back porch for a little visit. I couldn't resist doing little bit of Photoshop trickery with some of the pictures that we shot. Can you find the flaws (hint: there are actually quite a few)?

Ready Set GO!

Well, I've probably lost my mind but I've laid down a new challenge for myself. I am going to enter my first athletic event in well over thirty years.

Sports Barn/Quintana Roo Sprint Triathlon

.25 Mile Swim - 8.2 Mile Bike - 2 Mile Run

Sunday, August 10, 2008 7:00AM

I have tried to get myself in shape since having a third of my right lung removed just a little over a year ago. Believe me, it's been a really hard road. I was a two to three pack a day cigarette smoker for over thirty years. It's now been six years since I quit. I've battled emphysema and the partial lung removal on a long hard comeback to getting in shape. I still have a long way to go. I've lost 34 pounds since I started a new job 23 months ago. I try to work out at least four days a week and now I have taken up running outdoors and bicycling (see my post from Dec 16, 2007 for more on this). I still can't run much distance at all and that is the part of this triathlon that worries me the most. Now I've got a reason to work harder. I am certain that entry in a paid sporting competition just has to be a motivating factor. And now that I've made this public to the world I just have to go through with it.

The one thing that I keep telling my wife and myself is that I am NOT in this event to win it, just to FINISH it! Believe me, just finishing WILL be an accomplishment.

And The Name Is

Makaley Olivia

We Have Pictures

But still no name!!!!

My mother with her new Great-Granddaughter

Here she is..............

Big sister Micah shows how thrilled she is to have a new baby in the house......

a BIG thanks to my sister Dana for the pictures

Newest addition to our family

Today we got a new granddaughter. She weighed in at 8lbs, 6 ounces and is 21 inches long. At the moment she still doesn't have a name and I am sure that she is getting impatient with Michael and Kerry at not having given her one yet! I will definitely put a better picture on here as soon as it's available. Susan sent this one from her cell phone.

Chattanooga Riverfront

This is a shot of the Chattanooga riverfront with the Market Street Bridge and the Tennessee Aquarium. This is two seperate photographs "stitched" together. Photography buffs might want to know that I increased color saturation by 70%.

Another Great Day!

Today I broke out the mountain bike and took a ride on the Tennessee Riverwalk all the way from the Chicamauga Dam to Coolidge Park in Downtown Chattanooga. The weather was perfect today and Chattanooga has come alive once more. The Riverwalk was teeming with walkers, skaters, and bikers and Coolidge Park was bustling with activity today and there were a lot families taking advantage of the huge fountain there. I'm estimating my ride at about 18 or 19 miles round trip. Not too shabby for an old guy.

I stopped from time to take a few picture. I've put a couple here and more on my FlickR page.

Long Overdue

Yesterday Susan and I did something that was long, long overdue. We've lived in Chattanooga for 8 years and we had never ridden the Incline Railway up Lookout Mountain. For anyone interested, the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway (or "funicular" if you prefer the proper name) is the steepest incline railway in the world. When you first enter the cars you're actually sitting back in an inclined position. You gradually become more vertical as you ascend the track and close to the top you feel like you're hanging over the edge of a steep precipice. This was really neat although I am pretty sure that Susan kept her eyes closed for most of the trips up and down the mountain.

When we got to the top of Lookout Mountain we took a short (3 block) walk past the Giles House over to Point Park. From there you can see all of Chattanooga. There are also several Civil War monuments there and the lanscaping is beautiful.

Angst Ego Id

Some days the pieces just aren't held together quite as tightly as others.

Hmmmm

I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one that ever looks at this stuff anymore!

My Favorite Time Of Year

Winter is finally over, the trees and flowers are in full bloom, and the kids are playing in the fountain at Coolidge Park again. Today was absolutely clear and 71 degrees. It just doesn't get any better than this.

Braxton with Stephanie Culberson

Here's my grandson Braxton with Miss Tennessee 2004 Stephanie Culberson. Braxton had a part as an extra in the (as yet un-released) Bartlee Norton video Back On The Ground.
Braxton got to miss a little school and have a bit of fun. It was great getting to meet Stephanie, who was both very attractive and quite friendly. It was also interesting to watch Bartlee and crew work on the video. It is unbelievable the amount of different shots and camera angles that are required to get the finished product. I'll try to post more on this at a later date.

Surreal

Photo Friday for March 7, 2008: Surreal

Something's Coming!

This is the Tennessee River Railroad Bridge which crosses the Tennessee River just below the Chicamauga Dam. This is just slightly past the beginning of the Tennessee Riverwalk where I love to run/walk on the weekends. When I was there last Sunday I decided to get a shot of this train crossing but I just could not find a location that would let me get the shot that I really wanted. For better or worse I've posted this one anyway. This really awesome when you're standing under this bridge and a train is crossing. One of the really neat things about this bridge is that the center span (see the large tower in the distance) actually raises straight up when very large boats (such as the Mississippi Queen) must pass to get to the locks of the dam.

Live At The Bijou

Live At The Bijou????Actually, the title of this post has practically nothing (almost) to do with the subject of the post. Susan and I recently celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary and she got me an ION USB turntable. I have been slowly converting my vinyl LP's to digital media and todays' selection was Live At The Bijou by Grover Washington, Jr. So far I've recorded several of my older Todd Rundgren albums (mainly Runt, The Ballad of Todd Rundgren, A Wizard A True Star, and Something/Anything). I've also recorded two Gong albums, Shamal and Expresso.
This turntable is pretty great in that you just plug it into the USB port of your computer and then use the software which was included to record albums directly into iTunes.

Lord Of The Dance

Friday was my and Susan's anniversary and I finally got tickets to a show that Susan has wanted to see for years. We went to see Michael Flatley's LORD OF THE DANCE. I have to say that every thing about this production was top notch. We had a great time and enjoyed this show very much. I have no doubt that we will see it again should it ever return to Chattanooga.
I would post some pictures but I did not take any (cameras were prohibited) and the official website does not have active links to the photos. You can check out the website and look at the photos and listen to sound clips there.

Something To Fall Back On

Today I was listening to some older Todd Rundgren. I still like the older Rundgren tunes now just a much (and many cases more) as the day they were released. Click on the album cover to follow a link to VH1 where you can watch and listen to some Todd Rundgren videos from the 80's.
GOOD STUFF!!

Released: September, 1985
Genre: Pop rock
Length: 39:42
Label: Rhino
Producer: Todd Rundgren

Journeyman

Okay, I know that this is not the kind of post that I normally do but I've learned that NBC has cancelled one of the best new television shows in years, Journeyman. The show was often compared to Quantum Leap but it was so much better in my opinion. You actually believed the characters and plot lines. Both casting and acting were first rate. Monday night was the one night that I stayed up later than normal just so I wouldn't miss a minute of this very excellent show. I can only hope that this show will be brought back, even if on another network. Perhaps NBC is just not ready for such a well written show that challenges the mind and offers top notch entertainment. Now only time will tell.

More fun at the Gaylord

Susan and I knocking around with "friends" at the Gaylord in Nashville

Unique Performance Art

Susan and I were at the Gaylord in Nashville this weekend where we saw a very intriguing and unique performer. As we were walking along the sidewalk in the Delta area there was a large IVY vine on one of the walls. Just as we approached we heard several people gasp as the whole ivy vine started to move. The "vine" was a young lady would was expertly disguised as a plant (and she was also on stilts). She moved around the area and stopped occasionally to strike various poses. It was a really neat performance. I know that I have seen video clips of these type performers before but I cannot remember where. If anyone does know please drop me a line.

Photo Friday: Sunrise

For the Photo Friday subject SUNRISE. I shot this on the way to work back in October at the Chicamauga Dam in Chattanooga, TN.

Getting back in shape

Yeah, yeah. I know that this is a pretty poor picture of me looking really ragged, but I am very proud of this picture for several reasons. I shot this with my cell phone camera last Sunday at the Tennessee Riverwalk. I shot this at the five mile marker on the trail where I ran approximately 9 1/2 miles. By the way, I started at an area called the Frye Fishing Center which has an excellent park and a cafe called "OUT OF THE BLUE". It's just past the one mile marker. I ran (and walked) to the six mile marker before turning around. The weather last Sunday was great with temperatures in the low 70's (unlike today, a mere 7 days later, when we had snow flurries). This is my first real outdoor run after my lung surgery back in May. Oh, I do run approximately 5 1/2 miles 4 to 5 days a week at the gym but running on a treadmill just isn't the same as the great outdoors. Also, the dynamics of running outdoors seems entirely different than running on the treadmill. I do know one thing. I LIKE RUNNING OUTDOORS. I have to commend Chattanooga and Hamilton County for providing such a great park in which to run. The trail extends 8.5 miles one way, from the Chicamauga Dam to the Tennessee Aquarium. There are several rest areas with toilets and water and there is a great family park with a playground and snack bar that has great raspberry tea and deserts (as well as an excellent selection of kites!). This is time well spent and I plan on doing a lot more of it. I am hoping to get myself in good enough shape to run a race in the spring. We'll see how it goes!

PhotoFriday: Fantasy

I tried planting some onions in this little garden spot two years in a row but something digs them up everytime. I just can't seem to keep the squirrels, cats, dogs, and other "pests" out of my garden!

a little Photoshop 7.0 fun for PhotoFriday

Photo Friday: UNFINISHED

It's been awhile since I did any new Photo Friday projects. It seems as if I have spent almost every weekend since mid July working on the house. I titled the photo above "Missing" for the Photo Friday subject UNFINISHED. As you can see the chair would be finished were it not missing its' legs. Of course that hasn't stopped Susan from using it anyway as she loves to sit in it to read.

House Painting Update

The house painting is coming along nicely but I did run out of steam this weekend and did NOT finish everything that I wanted. I had hoped to finish the south end of the house but found several pieces of siding that begged to be replaced instead of repainted. That could have been a pretty tough job but my son-in-law Jeff came over and helped me with it. So far I've stolen the last three weekends from him and worry that I can never repay such a large debt. We finished replacing the siding about 2:30 on Sunday and then we called it a day and went swimming. First time that I've been swimming in the river in several years and it was fun. I was a little worried since I had not been swimming since my surgery. I didn't have a bit of trouble and it was actually very relaxing. I'll definitely have to try to relax more, swim more, and just plain try not to let life hurry me along to fast!

Well, enough rambling for now. Here's a couple of pictures of the painting progress.

I'm not lazy. Really, I'm not!

Okay, it's been a while since I posted anything new, drawn anything new, or photoshopped anything new. I've been totally swamped at work ever since returning from my medical leave. I have huge piles of work all over my desk and most days I can't seem to get anything accomplished due to jumping from one disaster to another. Danged if I ever plan on having major surgery and being off work for weeks again anytime soon!

On another note, I am doing much better and have just finished my first week with no pain medication stronger than Tylenol. I guess to prove just "how much better I am" I am painting my house! So far I have painted the garage, the front, and three sides of the second story. I have had to stop this week due to rain almost every afternoon but I do plan to finish this project on Saturday. I don't want this turning into another one of my 8 month remodeling projects like the famous back porch re-roofing project.

Well, I hope to finish the painting and hopefully get inspired enough to draw, photograph, or photoshop something new. In the meantime you can enjoy this nifty video CHANGE MYSELF by Todd Rundgren.

An Early Birthday Gift

In case anyone out there wonders where I have been lately here's the short(est) version.

Around the first of May I had a terrible stabbing pain in my chest, painful enough that I went to my doctor as quickly as possible. I had a chest X-Ray and then went home to await the results. I had just gotten back to the house and tried to relax on the sofa when my doctor called to say that there was something on my x-ray and that he scheduled me for a CT Scan the very next morning. I instantly thought through all of the worse case scenarios and had a fitful night. Next was the suspenseful part; after the CT Scan was completed I had a couple of days' wait for the results. About three days later I got a call saying that the CT Scan showed something and the I had now been scheduled for a PET Scan. A PET Scan? What is that?! I looked it up on the internet. It apparently has only one function which is to pinpoint cancers. I know that I am moving quickly here now but after the PET Scan the results took several days and then I got the dreaded call. Two masses in the upper lobe of my right lung had "lit up" the PET Scan, medical lingo for cancer. My doctor told me that if it was him he would not wait another day, he'd have it cut out just as quickly as possible. My wife and I went home to think things through and I started to try to plan being away from work for a while. The next weeks and half was nerve wracking. I worked at a frantic pace to try (unsucessfully) to catch up at work, to call friends, and to ask for family, friends, and anyone else who would offer to put me on prayer lists. I called people I had not talked to in months and months. When I finally felt that I could not wait any longer I had my surgery scheduled for May 18 and on that day I had the upper third of my lung removed. The doctor warned me it would hurt. "I'm tough", I thought. "I'm in good shape, how bad can it be?" I pondered smugly. The first two days were not too, too bad. I had a chest tube protruding from my torso. I had a catheter (a rather unpleasant thing in itself). I had a epidural with a button that I could push to administer pain killers directly into my spinal canal (a great invention that lulled me into a false sense of ease). I muddled through the next few days, resting fitfully, waiting for the pathologist report. I got my 52nd birthday present one day early this year. I got the official word that the growth in my lung was not malignant. NOT MALIGNANT! Did you hear that?! NOT MALIGNANT! I will not have to undergo chemo or radiation. I will recover from this.

I had all the tubes and hoses removed on Tuesday the 22nd. That's when the real pain began. The epidural had been saving me from the worst of the pain and now I was on my own. They tell me that I will hurt for weeks, maybe months. I cannot really say that the pain has diminished yet. I sleep fitfully a few hours at a time and have a heck of a time getting out of bed and off the sofa. I worry about my job although I know that people there are very supportive of me and are taking care of my work in my absence. I am extremely lucky to work with such great people. I will survive this.

And now a few items of important relevance:

I smoked heavily for 30 years of my life.

I quit smoking 5 years ago which may have been just in time.

I will have to see a pulmonary doctor every three months for years.

I will survive.

To my children Tiffiny and Michael and my youngest sister Dana: Please stop smoking now. You don't have to experience what I am going though right now.

Terragen Landscape

Since it's been a while since I last posted anything on my blog I thought that I would display the image above. The base image (lanscape) was created with a freeware program called Terragen. I then created several layers and added the castles and planet with Photoshop. Merging the various layers produced the end result above. I am still learning how to use the Terragen program but it IS fun to create landscapes from scratch.

I'm Back!!

After a very trying week and quite a few late nights I now have my computer back up and running. While this is good in a way the downside is that I had to reformat drives and completely re-install Windows from scratch. Now to see if I can recover all my photos, art, and music which I backed up prior to re-formatting.
Keeping my fingers crossed!

Big Troubles

Well. I've been bit, infected, infested, or whatever term you choose to describe something taking over my computer (I am posting this from work instead of from home). I can no longer get online at home. Oh, the computer IS connected to something on the web. For you techies out there I CAN "ping" almost any site that I choose. I can even ping my email server. I just cannot connect with any of them. I cannot get my email. I cannot visit ANY website. I can not run a virus scan on my computer. Wednesday I installed the latest, greatest Norton 360 (virus protection, firewall, online security suite, etc.). Everything seemed to go okay Thursday but when I got home on Friday I could not get online. Tried to reset the computer back to a time when things worked okay. Nope, no good!. Restored back to a month ago. Nope, no good!Restored back to Wednesday night and now the new Norton 360 is gone altogether. Won't re-install either. And now to make matters worse my wife can no longer access her email using Outlook Express and cannot log onto AOL. Everything else works for her on her computer but those items. It's like some form of "Denial of Service". I have noticed that my cable modem and routers' activity lights flicker like crazy (indicating "something", what?, who knows?). Have we been taken over by some devious "Bot" network? I just don't know.

Can a trojan, virus, or malware bot take possession of a cable modem or router? My cable modem always seems to be busy as heck even when both computers are shut down.

IS this something caused by Norton 360? Was it caused by a trojan or virus? I don't know. What I do know is that two computers at my house are about to get wiped clean and re-formatted.
Man! I hate doing this. Having to re-install programs, re-creating web links and favorites, etc.

If anyone else is having similiar trouble let me know. I'd really like to know if there is a simpler solution to this problem. I just can't afford to pay a networking or IT guy 60 bucks an hour to figure this all out.

Illustration Friday:GREEN

For the ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY subject GREEN. I used Photoshop 7 to replace the yellow color of the heavy equipment with green and then used several filters to digitally alter the appearance of the image.

KOMAT'SU!!!

I have been wanting to take a picture of this equipment for quite a while now but for some reason or another never seemed to make the time. This was shot at the Komat'su equipment manufacturing plant on Signal Mountain Boulevard in Chattanooga. To me this is just an awesome sight when there are 30 to 50 completed machines lined up side by side.
This was shot on Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007.

Gaylord Opryland Hotel

I recently had the opportunity to vist the Gaylord Opryland Hotel as a guest of my best customer. While the room was just an average hotel room the hotel on a whole is fantastic. The landscaping is exquisite. There is at least 7 acres under roof. The hotel is divided into three main areas all under glass with pools, waterfalls, an indoor river complete with boat rides, and what looks like a slice of the French Quarter. The plants were beautiful and you could get lost within this enclosed landscape. There are restaurants, boutiques, game rooms, a spa and fitness center, radio station, and much, much more.
I highly recommend a visit to this hotel as it is a complete destination in itself.
I've also posted some other pictures on my FlickR page.

Texture

The Photo Friday word for the week of Febbruary 23 - March 1 is TEXTURE. This is my entry which includes several varying textures ie: Rose Petals, Thorns, Velvet, and Knap.

Photo Friday: SELF PORTRAIT

I haven't posted anything in a while and felt the need to upload this entry for the PHOTO FRIDAY subject: Self Portrait. I made this one several months ago while goofing off.

Testing

I cannot see my own blog. Very annoying.