A full crew a great show and no gear...
It's noon and we're all ready and assembled to do a show build and I see one of our lead techs with an odd look on his face, "we don't have our truck". Apparently, the driver bringing our gear down took the advance money and never picked up the truck. Our crew (8 peeps) waiting for the truck find out it's never left Milwaukee. The gear company who hired the guy, hired two guys that could drive straight through. We got the truck at 12:30 this morning. We unloaded and started the build around 1:15. I got to bed around 5:30. A full blown blended image wide screen show with all the bells and whistles set up in less than 4 hours with minimal griping. I love working with professionals that have the all for one, get it done mind set. The rest of the crew is resting and I'm manning my four breakout rooms. I'm tired but love the fact we nailed this set up.
The weather is now saying horrible snow and cold when I am supposed to be traveling (again) I'm starting to think I'm a snow/travel jinx. Maybe I should hate snow more but I just can't help it, I love it!
Stay tuned to see if I make it home!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Retro fishing post...
I found a few old pictures and these three reminded me of an ill fated fishing afternoon with Steve Bailey.
We were in the thick of it...Fish and mosquitoes. Fish after fish. On one of my casts I pulled hard over a weed bank and got a hook caught in my shoe lace. I couldn't get it out so I just cut my line and re tied so I could get back to the action.
About 20 minutes later the mosquitoes were really attacking. One bit on my right calf and I scratched it with my left foot. Forgetting there was a hook in my shoelace, I embedded the hook deep in my calf. I was so shocked I couldn't even speak to tell Steve what was going on. He saw me hopping on one foot and ran over to help. He helped me get my shoe off and we made our way back to the car. I leaned on the car with a pair of fishing pliers and tried and tried to pull the hook past the barb. I couldn't do it.
Giving up I made my way to home to so Kim could take me to the ER. After some local pain killer, the doc whips out a cheap pair of pliers. 20 seconds later I was getting a tetanus show and was sent on my way.
Gotta love fishing!
We were in the thick of it...Fish and mosquitoes. Fish after fish. On one of my casts I pulled hard over a weed bank and got a hook caught in my shoe lace. I couldn't get it out so I just cut my line and re tied so I could get back to the action.
About 20 minutes later the mosquitoes were really attacking. One bit on my right calf and I scratched it with my left foot. Forgetting there was a hook in my shoelace, I embedded the hook deep in my calf. I was so shocked I couldn't even speak to tell Steve what was going on. He saw me hopping on one foot and ran over to help. He helped me get my shoe off and we made our way back to the car. I leaned on the car with a pair of fishing pliers and tried and tried to pull the hook past the barb. I couldn't do it.
Giving up I made my way to home to so Kim could take me to the ER. After some local pain killer, the doc whips out a cheap pair of pliers. 20 seconds later I was getting a tetanus show and was sent on my way.
Gotta love fishing!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Atlanta
What an eventful work week down in Atlanta.
I flew down to video interviews and floor exhibits.
I found it sort of sad that me, not being an agriculture type person, got to hang out with farm equipment while Kim stayed home to hold down the fort. Walking among millions of dollars of tractors and combines really made me stop and think about and industry that I've always taken for granted. The job? fine, how can running around getting B roll of displays and talking to a few people NOT be a good gig? After the first day I was able to have dinner with my cousin John White, his wife and son. One of the things I will always remember about my Uncle Len was his devious, sarcastic humor. Oldest son John carries the torch quite well. Great food and many laughs made for darn nice welcome to Atlanta. Met salt of the Earth farmers that most Americans take for granted.
Most of us are all about instant gratification. They want that burger, loaf of bread or salad....NOW! If any of us really knew the amount of labor, technology and passion it takes to provide us with the simplest of needs, we'd be ashamed that we don't support them more. As I finished my shooting duties, I thought my adventure was over...
The rumor mill around the show floor was of the upcoming rare winter storm to hit Georgia. Snow happens but melts pretty quickly. I made my way to the airport about 3 hours before my flight to make sure I didn't get caught in panic traffic.
Side note. 1 suitcase, a computer bag, a travel case for microphones, a camera bag and to top it off? a tripod bag. Checking three bags with Delta? 185 smackers, thank you very little. So where was I? Oh yes, flying home. The inbound flight from New Orleans was about 45 minutes late. By the time we boarded the plane, I could hear sleet hitting the jet way. Fifteen minutes later I was sitting in my seat over the wing watching snow accumulate with every passing moment. Thirty minutes passed and the pilot came on saying we are in cue for de-icing and to hang tight. Another thirty minutes passed and he comes on again with the same announcement. The whole time I'm sitting there I'm watching three inches+ pile up on the wing. I knew we weren't going to take off so there I sat just waiting for that announcement. Finally the pilot comes on and tells us that the flight is now canceled. We grab our things and get off the plane. It was very surreal watching thousands of people in the terminal all filing off the various planes at the same time. I went into "B" mode and called my boss to procure a car before they were all gone. I talked to an agent and he said the soonest he could put me on a flight would be Wednesday night. Hmmm..... Three days in the Atlanta airport just was not going to happen. Jim calls back with a car....phew.
I creep my way out of the airport I got to witness my first Georgia residents driving in snow. The good folks down there just don't get enough snow to be proficient snow drivers. I saw three accidents before I even got on the highway.
Turning on the radio, I find out that there are only eight plows for the entire metro Atlanta area so my hopes of seeing a plow on the highway weren't too high. Traffic is moving, it's slow but it's moving, the time? 11:30pm. The Toyota I have is doing quite well in the snow so I'm only worried about the other cars. I felt it necessary to try and get as far North as possible. I lost count of the accidents I saw but I just forged ahead. In the four+ inches of snow on the highway I could only get up to about forty miles an hour and maintain control. On my tedious drive I passed over one hundred cars on the side of the highway. No trauma anything just neat tire tracks showing these people just pulled over and abandoned them. Very odd indeed.
On an entrance ramp I slowed to see a jackknifed truck and a car sideways with 5 guys trying to right the car. I saw that there was enough room to squeeze by so as bad as I felt, I passed them all by and got on 85 heading North. The snow just kept falling and by the time it reached 4am and I'm haven't even hit Tennessee yet. I decide to give up and find some food and a bed. Turns out I'm only about 10 miles South of Tennessee so I decide to pull off. The first ramp I attempted had a stalled truck blocking it. The second had a four car accident. The third? clear. Across the street from each other was a Waffle House and a Holiday Inn Express. I took that as a sign. I ate and checked in. Nine thirty came and I woke to about six inches of snow piled up on my fellow cars in the lot. I only had one inch and it was still falling. I decide to risk it to get to my goal of Nashville. I get back on the highway and see a sign "Chattanooga 15 miles". There's a mountain highway towards Nashville that I was a bit worried about but as soon as I crossed the state line, the roads were clear. the GA/TN line was just that, a line, Georgia? snow covered, Tennessee? Plowed concrete. The roads were all clear and just fine. I was trying to figure out how much money TN could make by renting a few plows to GA...all very odd. I made to the Nashville airport. I checked in and had two hours to kill. I was so stressed that as I walked through the airport. I saw two establishments, a message place that had magic fingers and a airport bar that had Jack Daniels. Sorry fingers, Jack won. I made my flight, Kim picked me up at O'Hare and I spent two days getting my luggage back from Delta. Would I do that again?
In a heart beat... I love my job!
Notice there are no pictures? With all the video gear I had to take, I had no room for a camera, now THAT part sucked!
I flew down to video interviews and floor exhibits.
I found it sort of sad that me, not being an agriculture type person, got to hang out with farm equipment while Kim stayed home to hold down the fort. Walking among millions of dollars of tractors and combines really made me stop and think about and industry that I've always taken for granted. The job? fine, how can running around getting B roll of displays and talking to a few people NOT be a good gig? After the first day I was able to have dinner with my cousin John White, his wife and son. One of the things I will always remember about my Uncle Len was his devious, sarcastic humor. Oldest son John carries the torch quite well. Great food and many laughs made for darn nice welcome to Atlanta. Met salt of the Earth farmers that most Americans take for granted.
Most of us are all about instant gratification. They want that burger, loaf of bread or salad....NOW! If any of us really knew the amount of labor, technology and passion it takes to provide us with the simplest of needs, we'd be ashamed that we don't support them more. As I finished my shooting duties, I thought my adventure was over...
The rumor mill around the show floor was of the upcoming rare winter storm to hit Georgia. Snow happens but melts pretty quickly. I made my way to the airport about 3 hours before my flight to make sure I didn't get caught in panic traffic.
Side note. 1 suitcase, a computer bag, a travel case for microphones, a camera bag and to top it off? a tripod bag. Checking three bags with Delta? 185 smackers, thank you very little. So where was I? Oh yes, flying home. The inbound flight from New Orleans was about 45 minutes late. By the time we boarded the plane, I could hear sleet hitting the jet way. Fifteen minutes later I was sitting in my seat over the wing watching snow accumulate with every passing moment. Thirty minutes passed and the pilot came on saying we are in cue for de-icing and to hang tight. Another thirty minutes passed and he comes on again with the same announcement. The whole time I'm sitting there I'm watching three inches+ pile up on the wing. I knew we weren't going to take off so there I sat just waiting for that announcement. Finally the pilot comes on and tells us that the flight is now canceled. We grab our things and get off the plane. It was very surreal watching thousands of people in the terminal all filing off the various planes at the same time. I went into "B" mode and called my boss to procure a car before they were all gone. I talked to an agent and he said the soonest he could put me on a flight would be Wednesday night. Hmmm..... Three days in the Atlanta airport just was not going to happen. Jim calls back with a car....phew.
I creep my way out of the airport I got to witness my first Georgia residents driving in snow. The good folks down there just don't get enough snow to be proficient snow drivers. I saw three accidents before I even got on the highway.
Turning on the radio, I find out that there are only eight plows for the entire metro Atlanta area so my hopes of seeing a plow on the highway weren't too high. Traffic is moving, it's slow but it's moving, the time? 11:30pm. The Toyota I have is doing quite well in the snow so I'm only worried about the other cars. I felt it necessary to try and get as far North as possible. I lost count of the accidents I saw but I just forged ahead. In the four+ inches of snow on the highway I could only get up to about forty miles an hour and maintain control. On my tedious drive I passed over one hundred cars on the side of the highway. No trauma anything just neat tire tracks showing these people just pulled over and abandoned them. Very odd indeed.
On an entrance ramp I slowed to see a jackknifed truck and a car sideways with 5 guys trying to right the car. I saw that there was enough room to squeeze by so as bad as I felt, I passed them all by and got on 85 heading North. The snow just kept falling and by the time it reached 4am and I'm haven't even hit Tennessee yet. I decide to give up and find some food and a bed. Turns out I'm only about 10 miles South of Tennessee so I decide to pull off. The first ramp I attempted had a stalled truck blocking it. The second had a four car accident. The third? clear. Across the street from each other was a Waffle House and a Holiday Inn Express. I took that as a sign. I ate and checked in. Nine thirty came and I woke to about six inches of snow piled up on my fellow cars in the lot. I only had one inch and it was still falling. I decide to risk it to get to my goal of Nashville. I get back on the highway and see a sign "Chattanooga 15 miles". There's a mountain highway towards Nashville that I was a bit worried about but as soon as I crossed the state line, the roads were clear. the GA/TN line was just that, a line, Georgia? snow covered, Tennessee? Plowed concrete. The roads were all clear and just fine. I was trying to figure out how much money TN could make by renting a few plows to GA...all very odd. I made to the Nashville airport. I checked in and had two hours to kill. I was so stressed that as I walked through the airport. I saw two establishments, a message place that had magic fingers and a airport bar that had Jack Daniels. Sorry fingers, Jack won. I made my flight, Kim picked me up at O'Hare and I spent two days getting my luggage back from Delta. Would I do that again?
In a heart beat... I love my job!
Notice there are no pictures? With all the video gear I had to take, I had no room for a camera, now THAT part sucked!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Christmas in MN...
We drove up to Austin to share Christmas with Kim's family. With Kim's brother coming up from Texas and us coming from IL, this was the first Christmas Kim's folks had all the kids together since Kim's sister Pam passed almost two years ago. Needless to say a very important time for the family. The drive up was uneventful until we got off the highway into Austin. The amount of snow on the ground was staggering. I now know why the Dome collapsed. Plow drifts of 6 feet+ covered the entire city. Here's a shot of a car from Paul & Carole's sidewalk.
Not much to do with Christmas but the snow sure was impressive.
Everyone was so excited to see each other. Paul broke out some shrimp cocktail and the party began. So many people to talk to it was hard to know where to begin. I guess the biggest deal was that Kim's brother Eric brought a very sweet girl named Sarah up from TX.
She fit in just fine and I don't think we scared her too bad. Carole crushed the tip of her finger in the kitchen and Sarah stepped in with an extra pair of hands to help with all the food prep. The front door opens and in walks our nephew Derek, fresh from Afghanistan in a crisp Marine uniform. The young kid has already made it through an IED incident and we sure were glad to be able to have him around for a few days.
Some presents and then time for midnight Mass. We took up an entire pew and still had one left over. The choir presented about a half an hour of music before the service started and you sure could tell how hard they worked to get ready for it...well done. Back home for a few more laughs and one by one, people started heading off to bed.
Christmas morning comes and slowly the house came to life. The first thing I noticed was the smell of fresh coffee. There's something about that smell that evokes a sense of peace and calm, a nice way to start the morning. Surrounded by family, food and laughs is one heck of a way to spend a holiday.
Kim's mom sets a beautiful table and with so many of us this year we had to move the furniture to make room for all the tables. What a fantastic problem to have.
Kim's dad kept disappearing to lovingly baste the ham that he's pretty dang famous for. The smell of everything coming out Carole's kitchen was planting the seeds of desire to overindulge. The time came for Paul to carve the ham. I sensed he needed some help so I quietly followed Kim's brother Eric and Paul to the sacred shrine of pork to carve that bad boy. The gleam in Paul's eye was almost blinding as he carved a small sample for both Eric and myself...with approving nods and grunts the ham was carved and we all took our places at the table. All the effort put in to this meal did not go unnoticed,
I can't imagine a better compliment for Carole and Paul than to have the whole family that can't seem to shut up at all, quietly cramming all the deliciousness we can muster into our faces. Well done folks...well done.
One devious thing Sarah helped Eric and I do was pick out a house of ill repute...huh?
Kim's mom has an amazing Dickens Christmas village collection.
She spends hours setting it up for us all to enjoy and we really do. On a run to the store we found a super cheap house with a gleaming red light to add to her city. I figured she wouldn't notice it until she was putting it away for the season. She sat on the couch and glanced over to the village, it took all of 15 seconds or so before she exclaimed "What is THAT?" I tell ya, the woman knows her village.
With the dishes done, the stories told and the memories shared, once again, we all slowly drifted off to bed.
The next day with a few tears shed we made our way back to Illinois to mark Christmas 2010 as one of the best we've had.
Not much to do with Christmas but the snow sure was impressive.
Everyone was so excited to see each other. Paul broke out some shrimp cocktail and the party began. So many people to talk to it was hard to know where to begin. I guess the biggest deal was that Kim's brother Eric brought a very sweet girl named Sarah up from TX.
She fit in just fine and I don't think we scared her too bad. Carole crushed the tip of her finger in the kitchen and Sarah stepped in with an extra pair of hands to help with all the food prep. The front door opens and in walks our nephew Derek, fresh from Afghanistan in a crisp Marine uniform. The young kid has already made it through an IED incident and we sure were glad to be able to have him around for a few days.
Some presents and then time for midnight Mass. We took up an entire pew and still had one left over. The choir presented about a half an hour of music before the service started and you sure could tell how hard they worked to get ready for it...well done. Back home for a few more laughs and one by one, people started heading off to bed.
Christmas morning comes and slowly the house came to life. The first thing I noticed was the smell of fresh coffee. There's something about that smell that evokes a sense of peace and calm, a nice way to start the morning. Surrounded by family, food and laughs is one heck of a way to spend a holiday.
Kim's mom sets a beautiful table and with so many of us this year we had to move the furniture to make room for all the tables. What a fantastic problem to have.
Kim's dad kept disappearing to lovingly baste the ham that he's pretty dang famous for. The smell of everything coming out Carole's kitchen was planting the seeds of desire to overindulge. The time came for Paul to carve the ham. I sensed he needed some help so I quietly followed Kim's brother Eric and Paul to the sacred shrine of pork to carve that bad boy. The gleam in Paul's eye was almost blinding as he carved a small sample for both Eric and myself...with approving nods and grunts the ham was carved and we all took our places at the table. All the effort put in to this meal did not go unnoticed,
I can't imagine a better compliment for Carole and Paul than to have the whole family that can't seem to shut up at all, quietly cramming all the deliciousness we can muster into our faces. Well done folks...well done.
One devious thing Sarah helped Eric and I do was pick out a house of ill repute...huh?
Kim's mom has an amazing Dickens Christmas village collection.
She spends hours setting it up for us all to enjoy and we really do. On a run to the store we found a super cheap house with a gleaming red light to add to her city. I figured she wouldn't notice it until she was putting it away for the season. She sat on the couch and glanced over to the village, it took all of 15 seconds or so before she exclaimed "What is THAT?" I tell ya, the woman knows her village.
With the dishes done, the stories told and the memories shared, once again, we all slowly drifted off to bed.
The next day with a few tears shed we made our way back to Illinois to mark Christmas 2010 as one of the best we've had.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Yet more kid pics...
It was a good sleep over with the girls. I had a pro level camera for another shoot and thought I'd try and get a few pics of the girls.
The following are my favs...
The following are my favs...
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday Funday!
The girls spend Monday's here while Laura is in school. Today, Kim had a full day's activities planned and I just hung on for the ride.
First on the agenda? Tree Trimming!
On to sewing with Meema time!
Kim let them pick some fabric out and made them quick bags...
Then some craft time...
No compound in any of our carpets so it's a win!
What a great day...
Meema is still going...Papa needs a beer.
CHEESE!!!!!!
First on the agenda? Tree Trimming!
On to sewing with Meema time!
Kim let them pick some fabric out and made them quick bags...
Then some craft time...
No compound in any of our carpets so it's a win!
What a great day...
Meema is still going...Papa needs a beer.
CHEESE!!!!!!
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