Another blast from the past!

Check this one out. A dapper young lad at 4 1/2, eh? And already rocking the styles.

Rocking. The. Bow. Tie.

For those of you who are regular readers of this blog, you know I do a series called “Really?”

I almost feel like this story belongs there. Alas, it deserves a spot on its own as it deals with geocaching and, as you know, I like to blog about that hobby on occasion.

Here’s a couple things to remember about geocaching. When you find a cache, you sign the log and, usually, people then log online. Sometimes they log immediately online via a smartphone. Others will do it that night or a day or so later. Yet others, for various reasons, will log weeks or even months later.

It’s all part of the game.

That being said, when there are issues with a geocache, it’s usually good to post as fast as possible, to alert the owner and others about the issue at hand.

Further, when out finding caches, it’s usually a good thing to make sure you are careful replacing things. Being somebody else has placed the cache, you don’t want to damage things.

Add all of this up, and that’s what makes the logs I recently received on one cache of mine all the more maddening.

This cache is a bison tube, and it’s hanging at a fishing access area. I wouldn’t call it a crazy hide, but in the warmer months, there is vegetation that makes it a little more tough to get to. All part of the game though.

The log, exactly as written, said:

Found it cool cache. When putting it back in its spot fell owner will need to find I looked but not able to see overgrown. Dropped straight from spot. Sorry. Too many prickly things not dress to go deep .

So, apparently, if somebody loses a cache on you, it’s the owner’s responsibility to clean it up.

I’d like to note that this cache, which has been out for nearly two years, had 44 finds prior to this person finding it and there were no known issues.

I’ve had this happen to a cache of mine before and it’s maddening. There’s nothing worse than seeing somebody post a log to get the smiley and the find, only to say they lost your cache.

Really?

This gets a tad more interesting in regard to geocaching etiquette.

The geocacher dated the log 10 days earlier. So for 10 days, this cache has apparently been lost below its hiding spot. And nothing was posted. Soon after I received the e-mail for the log though, said geocacher then posts a “needs maintenance” log. For non-geocachers, that’s a log that alerts the owner something is wrong.

This one was dated the day I received the e-mail — so 10 days after the find.

Sorry cache fell from it’s hiding spot. Tried to find it but was not dress to deal with the new guardian of the cache.

New guardian? You mean the thorns that are noted on the cache page under attributes?

I posted about this on Facebook, too, and a fellow geocacher noted I could consider deleting the log because the geocacher, technically, didn’t complete the logging process as the cache wasn’t replaced as found.

Allow me to say this — I’ve never deleted a find before. But, I’m highly considering it on this one. This geocacher has fewer than 30 finds and, to be honest, it may be a good lesson to learn.

Things like this happen. I realize and understand that. However, there are ways to go about it. This cacher basically had a ho-hum attitude toward it. I think the part that bothered me the most was the “owner will need to find” comment.

You found it, you lost it. I should find it? Really?

In the past, if I’ve ever done anything with a cache that was my fault, I’ve offered to replace the cache for the owner and I sure as hell wouldn’t expect them to have to go out and find it.

So I come to the cachers who read this blog and ask — what would you do? Would you delete the log? Leave it? I won’t be able to replace this cache for a little bit, but it’s not hit too often.

In the end, maybe I’ll delete the log, but I’ll take 10 days or so as needed.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

That was an unexpected few days away from blogging.

This whole getting used to working thing is tougher than I thought. That longer run of unemployment than I expected made it so I forgot how I balanced work/blogging/other things.

Truthfully, I just haven’t sat much on the computer after getting out of work.

But as my body adjusts and such, I’ll be getting back into the swing of things.

Today is a day off, however. As is tomorrow. And Mother Nature has seen to it that there’s no reason to wander outside, outside of a quick trip to the post office. So I’ve declared today a blogging day.

And maybe tomorrow, too.

My goal is to work on a bunch of posts to have scheduled. I’m going to go through my ideas notebook, check my drafts and all that good stuff and find some things to post about.

I’ve slacked, for sure.

I’m also going to go check out some blogs. See, I’ve slacked immensely on my reading of blogs, too. And I miss checking out all those bloggers.

This break wasn’t long — only a handful of days — but I feel odd when I don’t get things up on the blog. So I’ll get cracking and see what I can do and get done.

So, as long as all goes well, tomorrow will get me back in the flow of things. Maybe.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Another blast from the past!

Look at this gem that was uncovered. The thank you notes!

Thank you!

OK, so there’s something I need to get off my chest.

Why the hell is it so hard to take photos of food? Seriously. As I dive into trying new things for the Foodie Friday feature, I figure it’s well worth taking photos. Especially if I’m blogging about it.

It’s not good that the photos from the iPhone and some apps come out better than the DSLR!

But take a stroll back to some of my past food posts. The photos really aren’t that spectacular.

So, I’m going to try and change that up a bit.

I recently won a blog giveaway where one of the prizes was a $50 gift card to Target. With that, I purchased a few “neutral” plates and bowls for food photos. I went with white (though I may go back and get a few other plates and such of different colors), as that seems to be the best way to start.

I’ve also started reading about food photography online.

See, I’m more of an outdoor photographer. And if you know me and have read my blog, you know a lot of that is more action and sports. I pride myself on being able to do that at a high level.

But lighting and all that? Ugh.

These tasted way better than I made them look with this photo!

Turns out food photography is often done with light. Who knew?

Let’s take for example, the peanut butter bar photo to the right. This photo doesn’t really do the end product justice. There are shadows, and it’s too bright and doesn’t show the color of the bar that well.

Needless to say, it frustrated me.

It was even worse when I look at the photos of the site where the recipe came from. The bars look divine!

And, honestly, I get better photos out of my iPhone and Hipstamatic of food than I do with my actual DSLR. That’s kind of annoying.

It doesn’t matter if it’s food or drink, the images are tough for me to take. One of the other reasons I want to get better at this is to be able to take better photos of my homebrews.

So it’s time for Foto Friday and Foodie Friday to meet.

In the coming weeks, I hope to have a few posts for the Foodie version of my Friday posts. And with that, hopefully better photos. I don’t know if I have everything I need, but I’m going to try and learn a few things so I can deliver a bit more with the images.

Anybody out there do food photos? If so, any tips? I’d like to make sure the photos come out well as it’s not like I’ll be plating $100 meals, so it would be nice to make them look as good as possible!

Hopefully I can figure it out though as I know there’s only a certain amount of time to take the photos. After that, you just have to dive in and start eating!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

OK, allow me to take a deep breath and catch up here.

This week has been slow on the blogging front as I get used to actually working again. That’s not a bad thing whatsoever. In fact, it’s a great thing. Though just a summer gig, hopefully being employed will help me find something permanent.

I can hope anyway.

So as far as the blog goes…

All I needed to do was start to get used to new hours and being out and about. That means planning the blog a bit more than writing on the fly. That’s not a bad thing. So I’m going to be re-working things a little bit, too. The ultimate goal is to have a bunch of things written so I can kind of be ahead of the game.

With that in mind, I’m going to start working on a few weekly features. I already have Snapshot Saturday and that won’t end. I also have Foto Friday, or Foodie Friday. My goal is to do two of each per month. That way, it rotates a little.

I’m going to get back to Soundless Sunday, too. I just need to get a bunch scheduled! Finally, I’m going to add something called “Collectible Closeup” where I’m going to take a photo or scan some things I collect (geocoins, pathtags, signature items from geocaching, baseball cards, autographs, some street art etc.) and then write about them and if there’s a story behind them. I’m going to start working on them and maybe get it rolling in the next few weeks.

Then I’ll also have all my other writing and all that. This blog won’t change much, but I just want to make sure that it continues as I move back into the world of being employed.

I truly do love this blog. And I love it even more when I have things on an everyday basis.

On top of it all, I have a bunch of other post ideas ready and just need to get working and writing them.

So, being I’ve been a little slow with things this week, I just wanted to throw this up on the blog and explain what’s been going on. I’ll get back into some regular things soon. I just need to get myself on a better schedule!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

I’m a bit of a night owl.

I always have been. I don’t know why, but I dig sleeping in and staying up late.It’s not that I don’t like being up during the day, but the evening is a great time to get some things — such as a job hunt, writing or whatever.

That all started back several years ago when I worked for a local weekly paper.I did most of my work at night and several of us used to hang out late into the night, chatting, chilling or doing whatever else.

When I went back to college, I was a bit of a night owl, too. That being said, I purposely made sure I had 8 a.m. classes. In fact, most of the time, I was done by noon. Then I’d usually do whatever work needed to be done, take a power nap and be ready for whatever shenanigans the night had in store for me.

In graduate school, all my classes were after 5 p.m. The night owl continued.

Finally, my last stop, at a daily paper required later hours. The standard shift was 4 p.m.-midnight — or later. Coming home from work, most people don’t go right to bed. That’s no different when you work silly hours. So a 3 a.m. bedtime was never strange for me.

When I lost that job because of my position being cut, I kept those hours. I found writing cover letters, researching jobs and going through the application process worked better at night. Why? It was quiet. No kids, animals or any other noises from the neighborhood to alter my attention.

Then I got a summer gig.

This job, which is a photography job at a local camp that attracts people from around the country and beyond, is a 13-week deal. It’s not bad and there are some really good people there. I’ve enjoyed it so far and expect that to continue.

But holy cow are the hours something to get used to.

See, the job runs, for the most part, from 8 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. In theory, that’s excellent. It gives you normal hours and with the summer as it is, you still have plenty of daylight to do whatever — such as geocaching, or disc golf, or whatever.

And softball, which is something I’m quite happy about.

But that also means my recent bedtime of, oh, 2 a.m. or so is out the door. I have to get up at about 6 a.m., which allows time for a shower, breakfast and travel time to get there on time. It’s about 45 minutes from me, so I have to plan accordingly.

I’ve noticed so far that those hours have wiped me. After work, I’m more likely to fall asleep than go on a hike to find some geocaches.

Part of it I blame on my body not being used to the early wake-up call, which I’m sure will eventually adjust. My sleep pattern is something I’ve had for years, so it’s not easy to change it right away. As the summer wears on, I have a feeling I’ll be OK. And, hopefully, it will help me prepare for something beyond the summer — something I keep working on in hopes of finding the career gig.

The other is the weather. When you are out all day in the elements (so far, hot) and carrying around a camera with a massive zoom, it catches up to you. For the eight or so hours I’m working, I’d guess I’m on my feet for 7-7.5 of them. That works the body over.

In the first two days of outside work (the first day was studio work), I’ve logged 4.6 miles on the pedometer.

Eventually, I expect my body to catch up with things soon, too. And that is something I’ll be quite happy about. Then I can start taking advantage of being done with work with several hours of daylight remaining.

In the end, I’ll take the all the results of having this new job. Sleep, a sore body and whatever else. Being back in the workforce — if even just for 13 weeks — is a good thing.

But those sleep patterns… they aren’t easy to change!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!