Daily Entry

Hurray! My luck finally turned at the Cache Creek Casino last night. I got Ace's Four of Kind on the Video Poker which was the 2nd highest pot out of all the machine. Since my parent's invited me to go with them yesterday, I decided to split it 3 ways but it was still enough amount to make this a good trip. This is versus the other 6 times in the last year where I didn't get squat!!

jp

Daily Entry

Whew. Today is the first day since last week (Thursday to be exact) that I haven't been working on photos. This whole week past before me in a flash since I finished the TechCU Annual Dinner gig at The Tech Museum. At one point, I was editing photos and keeping track of orders that kept me up til 4am in the morning. The satisfaction I get is more than rewarding when the people order [and] enjoy their photos! As well I was kept busy until last night working on the modeling photos for Sonia. So this weekend I plan on relaxing a bit. What a nice way to end the work week. 8)

jp

Photo update

Here's the final (webversion, of course) edited photos from Sonia's model shoot this week.

I'm also including the video that I'm adding to all my photo packages.

jp

Daily Entry

I've been working on updating the layout and photos on my main website http://johnpaulphotography.com/
since yesterday. I've even added some of the videos I created for my photography business. Check it out when you have the time!

jp

Photo update

So here are a few photos I took of a model friend. We were working mostly on posing but as usual I couldn't resist some headshots.

jp

Daily Entry

whew! I just finished basic editing on the photos from Saturday using Lightroom and Photoshop. I'm just waiting for the green light from the company to publish the galleries for viewing/ordering.

After that I'm headed to Monte Sereno to do a photoshoot for a couple business ideas I've been working on. Its been non-stop busy since Thursday last week.

Work, work, work...!

jp

Daily Entry

Last night's corporate party at downtown San Jose's Tech Museum was a blast! What really makes it such a cool gig is that its about a bunch of people having a good time. As for Glenn (my second photographer) and I, we had setup a couples portrait station complete with two professional studio lights and a big backdrop. We were taking prom style as well as funny couples shots 4 hours strait. By 10:30'ish we were completely wiped out. Out of all the types of photo gigs I've done, Corporate party has got to be one of the funnest - bar none!



jp

Daily Entry

Since I needed to get some batteries for this Saturday's photo event, I decided to visit my friend Glen before going to Fry's Electronics. He brought along his 6 month old baby girl, Maya, who he mentioned is a "babe-magnet".

Well when we got to the Fry's cashier counter, I had a lovely Asian gal who rang up my batteries. As I was leaving, I grabbed Maya's stroller since Glen was still paying for his purchase. As I turned around to say something to Glen, I made eye contact with my Fry's cashier gal. She saw my glancing at her and gave me a warm smile. So it's true that baby's ARE babe-magnets. lol.

P.S. I still need to get some ink cartridges for my Epson printer, so I'll probably ask Glen to come along again (and Maya, too!). 8)

jp

JPP Video

I created this sample video from my December holiday shoot. I'm planning on adding a video this year for all my photo packages.



jp

Daily Entry

Yea I got my car back from having the driver side window fixed! It was such an inconvenience to drive without being able to lower the window especially on a hot day. The reason it took so long to fix was the part that was needed to fix the window was defective. So being a European Audi part, it costs a bunch and takes awhile to ship. Although I love my Audi TT, I have vowed never to buy a European made car. They are expensive with high maintenance. My other car (that I sold last year) a Honda Element was the easiest car to maintain. When I get back on my feet, I plan on saving up and buying another Honda Element. Hopefully this year! 8)

jp

Daily Entry

I'm putting together a special website and photo coupons for the corporate party this weekend that I'm the photographer for their event. It should be fun because its being held in the San Jose Tech Museum. I hope I have a chance to take some photos of their exhibits! I promise to post some of the photos from the event on my blog. 8)

jp

Photo update

I went out to take the beagle out for his morning routine when I spotted this spiderweb with morning dew. Pretty cool.

-jp

Daily Entry

Talk about your scary weather. I read this article talking about a weather phenomenon called "Arkstorm". Based on what the article stated, this is a storm of biblical proportion. The last one that occurred in California was in 1861-1862 which is expected to occur every other century.

Here's a quote from the article, "The USGS unveiled Friday a new study of what they call an 'Arkstorm Scenario.' It's a mega-storm that would measure rain in feet instead of inches.
Playing off the Biblical story of Noah's ark, scientists say an Arkstorm is an every-other century occurrence. That might not be that far off once you look at the historical data. For the novice, it is a weather system that plants itself out in the Pacific Ocean and the "storm door" never closes. You can see the weather map in the clip in this link.
Arkstorm is a hypothetical scenario that describes a rainstorm that produces a 10-foot wall of water that could flood a swath of the state from the Yosemite Valley to the Pacific Ocean. A similar storm hit back in 1861 and left the central valley of California impassable.
Scientists didn't put a number in lives lost, but said it would leave in its wake destruction in the $300 billion range."

Here's a brief description of the 1861 storm:
"The Great Flood of 1861-1862 was believed to be the most powerful and longest series of storms in state history, lasting a month and causing severe flooding.
The Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys were water-logged and spontaneous lakes popped up in the Mojave Desert and Los Angeles basin. Nearly a third of the young state's taxable land was destroyed."

On top of the "Big One" that supposed to happen to California, now we have to worry about a killer storm! Hopefully its more speculation than a probability.

Oh and check out this video of a mudslide in Italy recently. This is what happens when the environment gets inundated with too much water.



So I guess I shouldn't complain about the recent rain we've had. Or when we have typical Sunny California weather. 8)

jp

Daily Entry

Wow! The weather flipped a 180 since yesterday. It was actually a beautiful day to take the dog out for a walk. The sun was out, there were a few clouds in the sky and the temperature was a warm 56 degrees. What a nice way to start the weekend...!

jp

Daily Entry

Nothing terribly exciting to write today. Other than the rain has been coming down steadily this afternoon. My poor beagle and I were soaked after our daily walk!

jp

Daily Entry

Continuing with my saga of the fraudulent charges on my account last week. I received two packages in the mail yesterday and Monday. On one it was a trial subscription Spanish Language lesson software. The second was also a trial coffee maker set from Gevalia. As I explained to my bank last week, I did not order either items on the alleged day since I was either asleep or on my way out of town on vacation. What really scares me is that somehow someone or some online companies illegally obtained my credit card and home address in order to purchase these items. Whats ironic is they sent it to my address. This scares me since I've been under the false assumption that all my documents on my personal computer have been secure. As a follow up to this recent incident, I ran a full virus and malware check on my computer earlier this week. After several hours, my software detected 10 severe virus and malware applications on my computer. After wiping my computer clean, I've made what I hope is the wise decision to store all my important documents on an external hard drive that is never connected to my computer when it is actively on the internet. I totally advise all of you to do the same if you want to avoid any possible similar incidents to your credit card accounts!

jp

Daily Entry

One of my favorite real-life heroes of WWII (Based on his exploits from the book and HBO mini-series "Band of Brother") Richard Winters passed away recently on Jan. 2nd. Dick, as he was called by his close friends and comrades, represents the "Greatest Generation" whom are passing away as most approach their 80's. There was a statistic in the past decade that stated 1000 WWII veterans pass away every day. I'm sure that number is getting higher, too. As the numbers recede from each WWII reunion every year, we should acknowledge their accomplishments. Because some day soon, the LAST WWII veteran will pass away leaving only their stories as a testament to their great achievement in WWII.

If you want to read more about Dick Winters, click on this link Farewell to WWII hero Maj. Dick Winters, central character in 'Band of Brothers.

jp

Daily Entry

As part of my daily routine, I always check out the latest news on MSNBC.com. I was a little surprised to see an article about Sara Palin's TLC show, "Palin's Alaska", not returning for a second season. Now until today, I never caught an episode of the show but I did see some annoying previews on cable (usually when I'm watching a history or animal planet channel). After reading about the cancellation, I decided to watch at least one episode. Well surprise, surprise. I finished watching episode #2 Just for the Halibut and #3 Salmon Run. The show was surprisingly upbeat and entertaining. Although my opinion of Palin as rather uptuse airhead hasn't changed, I do believe she comes across as sincere and honest in the show. Which I find myself a little disappointed that the show was cancelled.

I found one website which I believe sums up the entire show accurately [Sarah Palin's Alaska! (Team Red): The Final Show]. Funny but my impression of Palin has changed a bit today. While I won't be voting for her if she runs in 2012, I don't think she's a bad person as characterized as some Mainstream Media. If you don't believe, I challenge you to watch an episode or two to see if it will change your mind.

jp

Daily Entry

I just finished watching "The American" a movie starring George Clooney. It reminds me of the movies, "Under the Tuscan Sun" with Diane Lane and, "A Good Year" with Russell Crowe. What all three movies have in common is the beautiful landscape and cinematographic views of the Italy. That's probably why I have visiting Europe as one of my new year's resolutions. I have an absolute passion for European history and geography. That's not to say my own country of the good ol' US of A doesn't have its own value and charm. It's just that parts of Europe has such a longer, richer history. As a self-professed historian and photographer, I'm naturally drawn to the stories and pictures of Europe. Seeing those fantastic views of Italian country side, the grape vines of a winery and the ancient marble and stone of an Italian villa just makes me want to jump on a plane to go visit them. Than reality hits! I realize I need to plan and save up some serious deneros if I really want to visit Europe this year.

jp

Earthquake!

About 5 minutes ago, we experienced a small, typical California earthquake. It lasted about 5-10 seconds with the house shaking slightly during that time. My guess it was not much more than a magnitude 5 earthquake. Hopefully there won't be any more today!

jp

Daily Entry

TGIF! Wow the first week of the new year is almost over. I spent an hour at the bank taking care of those fraudulent charges. I'm beginning to believe that the banks make it so hard to dispute those charges just to discourage people from doing it. Oh well, its over and done with. Now I have the whole weekend to look forward to.

jp

Daily Entry

Oh bother. So I went to cache creek casino with my parents on New Years Day. Lo and behold, there were several unauthorized charges on my credit card that day. I did receive an email notification from my bank but was unable to reply until the next business day (Jan 3rd). Although I had cancelled overdraft protection last year, my bank still went ahead and tried to charge me for the 3 transactions which resulted in $50.00 worth of fees. After going back and forth with a bank rep, I finally received a fraudulent charge form from the bank which I must notarize and sign before they will refund all the unauthorized charges and fees. I still don't know how the 3 different merchants were able to charge my credit card unless someone stole my card #. sigh.

The moral of the story is that its easy for thieves to charge your credit card but its downright pain-in-the-rump to undo all the damage! I may have to start doing just cash transactions to avoid going through this again in the future...!

jp

Daily Entry

This afternoon I decided to wash my beagle as well as my mom's two shih tzu (a father and son pair). Normally I give my beagle a flea bath once a week. However with the recent cold spell, I've been doing more like every 10 days. The reason why I think this is noteworthy in my blog is that washing 3 dogs on 35-40 F' weather is in a word, COLD! Unless you really love your dog, washing in cold weather in January Winter is not a fun task. Well at least the dogs are clean for at least another week...!

P.S. After having wash the dogs (including taking a very warm bath), I think I still smell like a wet dog. 8O

jp

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my friends, readers and visitors to my blog!

There's going to be some new changes to this blog. Although I changed the format last summer so that photo related news is on my JPP Photography blog, I decided to keep this blog for all my personal stuff as originally planned. However I will now be using a daily journal style for the blog. Anything or everything interesting that occurs on that day I will note in an entry. With that said, here's the first entry for 2011:

NEW YEARS RESOLUTION
This year's resolution will be a shorter but I believe more meaningful list.
1. This get something published. I have some ideas which I will be sharing in the near future.
2. To get a day job. Last year was a tough year for my photography business. Hopefully 2011 will be better in terms of finances/economy for me and the country!
3. To travel to Ireland, Scotland and Wales. I've been wanting to visit Europe since I was a teenager. Hopefully this year I can achieve one of my youthful dreams. 8)

If anything other ideas for my new year's resolution comes up this week, I'll post them.

Hope everyone is doing great this new year...!

JP