CAMERA TRAGEDY!!!

My beloved film camera decided to go on leave. It's no longer working properly!!! About 2 years ago, the film counter stopped working, but it didn't bother me much....I just always cared a spare roll of film. Anywho, the camera has a "feature" that when you first load film into the camera, it resets the shutter speed to 125/sec and turns off the light meter for the first 2 pictures. (Manual load film cameras, the first two pictures are throw-aways anyway. After 2 pictures, the film counter would go to 1, and count up. The counter stopped working and was stuck at 20 something. Well, it slowly started moving again, and now it's stuck on those first 2 pictures, locking the shutter speed to 125/sec default! Technically, everything but the counter is working fine......it's just the "feature" is locking everything else down.

Thus, I'm on the lookout for another camera, unless I can figure out away to advance the counter manually.

Anyone have a Nikon film SLR camera they want to donate???? :)

JP OUT!

P.S. Sorry for the double post.

The Things We Learn From Cats

Translation: Nap Like An Egyption


Translation: LOL! You said butt!

Translation: Ahah! Now you have to rub my tummy!

Everyone knows that cat's can't spell or speak correctly, but they try their hardest!

All images from www.icanhascheezburger.com

JP OUT!

Heat Exhaustion

"If you experience heat exhaustion, you’ll feel weak, dizzy, tired, nauseated, and thirsty. You may have a headache or cramps. Your temperature will rise (to as high as 104 degrees). Stop whatever you are doing, get out of the sun or heat and get inside—preferably to an air-conditioned room, or sit or lie down in front of a fan. Drink a quart or more of water or an electrolyte-replacement sports drink until symptoms are relieved and urine flow is restored. Avoid strenuous physical activity."

It happened. As much as I tried to avoid it, it happened. Heat exhaustion is essentially where your body gets to hot, or too dehydrated or both and it's a warning sign of much worse if not treated. I suppose it couldn't have been too bad, because I was still standing, and I knew enough to get inside and drink, but man, it sucks! It was like a sugar crash, with a pounding headach, feeling like you're going to throw up, and that your skin is being bitten or burned. All the while, you feel drunk and pissed off. The worst part is I knew I hadn't drank enough water, but since I felt ok up to that point, I figured I was fine.

But the good news is, by the next day, I was feeling 90% of normal, and just a few hours after that, I felt good again. No lasting damage, thank God! It definately could have been much worse!

Thank you all for your continued prayers!!!

P.S. I have not bought that guitar, I'm just dreaming.

JP OUT!

I'm In Love!!!

The Beatles once sang, "Money can't buy me love", but I'm here to tell you that $1349.97 (plus tax and S/H) gets you really darn close!

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/closeup/ELCSNANH--Main

Someday, I will make her mine!

JP OUT!

I Have Arrived

So I've been intentionally ambiguous about my move date because times, dates and locations are potentially sensitive information. However, that doesn't stop me from saying that I have officially arrived at my new location, and it's a million times better!!!! Ok, so not a million, but a lot.

First off, this base is considerably biggger and there's more to do. There's even a pool, though I haven't been yet. The place where I work is a lot closer (5min walk instead of 30min) and the place to spend money is a lot farther (20min by bus instead of 20min walk). Yet, it's still available if I really need something. Work load isn't bad.

I've gotten all the parts for my guitar amp together and I'm able to play again! The guitar survived being locked in a metal container in this heat for a few weeks (which is quite a feat!). I played last night until my fingers were sore (20min cause I'm out of practice). It was wonderful.

I've got a PT test coming up on Aug 6th. If I pass, I SHOULD be elegible for a promotion! So it's kinda a big deal! I've got my work cut out for me.

Anywho, I will be posting the results for the brownie contest soon. Thank you, btw!

Laters,
JP OUT!

Shift Change and other pictures

Ok, movie buffs, what movie is this from??? I'll give you three hints.

1. It's a silent movie.

2. It's older that most people you know.

3. Superman lives in a city by the same name.

That's right, it's Metropolis. Made in 1927 at the height of the silent movie era, Metropolis is a movie that to this day, is still considered a work of art. It's a story of the clash between the rich ruling class and the poor working class. It's set in an undetermined future time span. It's a time when the world is a city run by machines deep within the bowels of the urban environment, all maintained by a working class that feels oppressed by those in charge.

*Spoiler Alert* In an effort to gain their independence, they riot and destroy the machines that they are a slave to. Yet, by destroying the machines, they come to realize that these very machines they are a slave to are also the very machines that keep their living area from flooding. It's a reminder that as much as you feel screwed by "the machine", it's often a necessary evil. It's a very influential and futuristic movie. The movie even portrays a video intercom system. Keep in mind, the movie was made in 1927 and TVs were invented in the early 30s and popular in the 50s. There are highways and skyscrapers that the late 20s could only dream of! The Matrix borrows heavily on many aspects of this movie. The whole part in The Matrix 2 where the old guy talks about how the machines need us and we need the machines.........almost plagerism. There's even a board where strange letters and characters continuously fall from the top of the board to the bottom. Like a Matrix screen before their were computers.

The cool thing about silent movies is because they don't have sounds, they have to tell the story entirely through visual means and a music soundtrack (which is really good). The acting is a bit over the top as a result, but it's like a cross between a play and a movie. It's a nice change of pace.

Well anywho, I watched this, 4 episodes of Prison Break, 1 Lost, and 1 The Office today. Things are boringly slow right now. If it wasn't for the fact that I'd run out of things to watch and read, I wouldn't mind if the rest of the deployment were like this. Alas, I'm expecting things to ramp up again in a week or two. It's still nice to have a break while it lasts.

A few days ago, we had a real bad sand storm. I set down a magazine outside and in 30 min, it had what looked like 30 years worth of dust on it. My uniform was just brown. No green showing through! It was bad! Check out this picture of me after spending all day ouside.

My nose was covered in dust! I was wearing sunglasses so it looks like a sunglass tan. Yup! So what does a sandstorm look like before it hits?

And during a sand storm?
Now, meet James the Cat.

And Junior the Mouse. We even drew a house for him! See him peeking through the doorway?

Well, that's about all. Pictures have been overdue, so I had to put a lot up to make up for all the posts without pictures.

Enjoy!

JP OUT!