Tuckmac's first conference....

I admit that it's taken me a while to post about the conference I attended on Oct. 18th through the 22nd. But, as in many cases (and I'm sure a number of my readers could back me up on this) I spent a very busy week back at work, trying to catch up with everything I missed whilst away.

I had a pretty good time... And my co-worker and I made a few photos, and I'll post them up here as a way to explain the trip a bit. So... Tuckmac's First Conference through Photography:


Lew and I spent time on our iPhones getting in touch with family back in the Twin Cities (St. Paul/Minneapolis). Our Delta (piece of crap airline) flight had been so late, we missed our connecting flight to Gainesville from Atlanta. We had to take a taxicab from Jacksonville to Gainesville. (About 83 miles too long a ride.)


When not in a session learning about Classroom Presentations or Educational Media, we spent a bit of time in the hotel bar. It was a sports bar, and right next to the University of Florida's campus. Meaning everything was "Gators" everywhere. (Gators would be the mascot for the UofF teams)


There were bugs


Although most dressed pretty 'office-casual', I decided to go for being just 'me.' Therefore, I was the only member of the conference to wear a band t-shirt... I waited all day for someone to ask me about the The Bastard Fairies, and eventually someone finally did do so. By the way... The Bastard Fairies are AMAZING!

We toured the University of Florida's Technology stuff, and although having a bit of fun with a Wendy's sign

We were unable to find coffee, which prompted this next photo:

Sad, in front of the CLOSED Starbucks Coffee... That's right, the whole campus seemed closed on Saturday.


We saw Gators


Took a boat tour with Captain Fred (funny guy, hokey tour)


Drank heavily... (Yes, that whole cup is filled with whiskey. Um... She said 'whoops' and poured it to the top. The awesome bartender (Dana, by the way) said 'whoops' twice more that night. I was pretty far gone by the end of it.


We saw butterflys, and they liked Nicks head


And this guy's hand


And fruit 'rotting fruit' I may add...


But they were really beautiful. This was all in at the Natural History Museum in Gainesville. They release hundreds of butterflies a DAY in this screened-in jungle.

And after more interminable meetings about technology. (Which I admit were interesting, and rather edifying...)


Gate 3 of 3, gates... At the Gainesville regional Airport


After yet another hour-over-where-we-were-supposed-to-be-waiting... We were seated in the only row on the airplane without a window.




And here we're finally on our way back to Minnesota.


So... There you go. There's a brief journey through my last weekend. I'll update with more interesting news later, but after typing all that code into my blog post editor, I'm tired of typing.

See ya laters!
--Tuckmac

At a conference

Hi readers, I've not posted for a while, due to my present location.

I'm in Gainesville, Florida for a conference about educational media. Boy is this great. My first work-related conference.

In freaking Florida.

It's hot and humid, and I'm told there's gonna be Gators! How exciting is that?

Anyhoo...

As I'm limited to my iPhone, and it's not really THAT easy to type on the damn thing, this is all you get till I'm back.

Many stories to come, so keep your eyes open till Wednesday.

Smiles,

Tuckmac

Okay... News. Good news.

I want to apologise to family and friends for this rather abrupt notice...

But...

My Lady and I just bought tickets (it's 3:30am BST, 9:30pm in Minnesota) to Britain.

Yeah... I know that a week and a half ago, I penned, er well, typed, a rather dire notice that flights were TOO expensive, and there didn't seem to be any way for us to come over (go over) to Britain this coming January.

Well... The flights just dropped from $870.00 USD a person to $633.00 USD a person.

We didn't want to take a chance that this was a blip... So... We bought them.

(Of course, I'm a cynical bastid, and so I'm thinking they'll hit $350.00 in a few weeks, but... Och weel)

So.

We're coming home. We'll be landing at London, Gatwick at 9:15am on my Birthday, Jan. 16th. (Nice Birthday prezzie, hmm???) And we'll be hanging out across the pond till the 29th of January.

Now's the time, friends... Start planning...

(Say, um... Anyone that doesn't mind a couple of friends kipping on your sofa a few days???)

Anyhoo... More news to follow, I'm sure.

-- T

Boy am I in a mood...

The post where Tuckmac discusses his weird emotional makeup, and the occasional fallout that results.


Tuckmac in a funk...

I'm in a mood today. A really rotten mood. I'm not certain where, why, or how I became pissy today, and I'm just really hoping I can break out of it soon.

I can honestly say it wasn't the circumstances of the day. I mean... I was doing house-work sort of stuff, but generally I get in a good mood due to that sort of task. I was able to get all the laundry done, iron, and even hand-wash a favourite jumper.

My Lady assisted with all sorts of things... Dishes, dog-walking and she even made bread. (Which smells delightful, and is seriously hampering my ability to concentrate, due to the wonderous smells that are created during such an occasion.)

And yet... I'm pissy. I mean REALLY out of control... Everything sets me off... Everything. The dog itching his ear has earned him a rant from yours truly... My Lady standing too close to my ironing board... ME. Just me, taking too long in the shower today made me angry at myself!

Gah.

All of this is also not due to lack of sleep. I was able to get a full eight hours of sleep last night, which is, to be quite honest, unprecedented in the last three months.

We went out to the pub last night, which in general is a reason for celebration for me, which most of you may know.

We saw lots of artwork this weekend, which again is a cause of celebratory feelings.

We made lots of artwork this weekend as well... Working on My Lady's latest project Twen: Flegling Woman of Mass Distraction this weekend. And may I say that with a model like My Lady, and a photographer like myself... Well, we make beautiful work together.





But, yeah. Still, a very bad mood.

Well... I don't know. Perhaps once this coming week is finished, I'll feel a whole heck of a lot better... See.. I'm going on a trip to Gainsville, Florida for a convention on Thursday. This is my FIRST work-related convention, um... Ever. And I'm rather looking forward to it. I'm thinking I'll learn a lot, and maybe even teach a little. You can't go far wrong there. Of course, the down-shot to all of this, is that the convention is in Florida. Which I know, to my British readers, is like... America.

(Aside, the sentence above is a joke. It's referring to the fact that when an American runs into a Brit back in England, generally they'll hit you with the fact that, "Yes, of course, I've been to America. I've been to Orlando, Florida." When you nicely ask them if they'd ever been anywhere else than that... They usually give you a strange look, as though all they'd ever need to SEE in the States is that one freaking place in Florida with Disney World. Gah. I've never really tried to explain to Brits why I'm not really sure if they should be allowed to say that they've "BEEN TO AMERICA" by simply visiting one horrifically small and shite place in my country. I've tried to give them the example of me saying... "Well of course I've been to England... I've been to Hull." But they still don't seem to get it. Och weel...)

I'm sure that I'll survive.

And now that I've bored all of my fine readers with this rather HORRIFIC piece of doggerel... I'll let you get on with all of your lives...

Thanks for reading.

-- Tuckmac

Just another Linky Day Wednesday

Okay, so I'm actually writing this on a Tuesday, not on a Wednesday. I have two things to say to you 'kvetchers' out there... One: You're probably reading this on Wednesday or even later, 'cause it's late Tuesday. And Two: Since when have I followed the whole "links on Wednesday" thing anyway?

Okay... That being typed, here we go!

• Thank goodness for Flash Photography!
• I'm not saying that my time at work is filled with meetings where THIS would be handy, but... It's really rather apt for just about anywhere isn't it?
• Okay, it's from a Russian site, and frankly, the 'advertising' leaves a bit to be desired, or... It doesn't leave much to be desired... It sorta depends on you. Anyhoo... Here's pictures of some of the best low-light 'light drawings' I've seen!
• 
  Does anyone else see this woman:
  and just think... Zoe????
• Some photos are APT aren't they?
• To heck with MySpace, here's my NEW social-web spot... Bugger OFF!
• That one REALLY made me laugh.
• It's old, but it's something that I admit I wouldn't be completely against... California withdraws from Union. I mean... How great would that be???
• Some are fake. Some are real. All are disturbing.
• This last one is for my friend Gene (who sadly has no web-presence)... I spent four YEARS trying to find this somewhere, and darned if I didn't finally just 'stumble' upon it... The Gashlycrumb Tinies

Well... There you have it... Strange esoteric stuff... From the mind of Tuckmac.

-- T

Final installment

One last entry about the 'Nerdiness catagory' that was started by these two and me.

Okay, so My Lady just took the Nerd Test 2.0, and frankly... I'm appalled. I knew my wife was a bit more of a geek than I, however... I didn't really realise just to what extent.

(Just kidding Lovey)

But.... She did it. She posted it. And I'm linking to it.

Okay... Sorry to bore all my actual readers with our fun.

Smiles,
Tuckmac

Speaking of which... Sexy test (found thorough the same place as the nerd one...



Yes, I am sexy.

-- T

After discovering I'm not a geek, I prove...

I actually am a huge geek, by admitting to a weakness...

Last night, My Lady and I went out at 11:00pm to a movie. You know, one of those 'late night' flicks where they show a wildly popular/cult picture on the screen?

We went to see Serenity, on the anniversary of the release, at the Riverview Theater in Minneapolis.

It was organised by The Minnesota Browncoats, and it was meant to raise money for VEAP, Minneapolis.

Okay... Now that the links are done... Let me just say that both My Lady and I are horribly addicted to the darn Movie and the original series that spawned the film, Firefly.

My Lady and I watched a few episodes in Britain, whilst living there... She hated it. I'm not kidding.... She really, really hated the show.

When our friend Brett gave us the entire series on DVD to borrow, um... Well... Let's just say she changed her mind. (She admitted later that she couldn't understand a word the characters were saying in the show, and so she didn't really get it. After living in the States for almost two years, she's able to handle the 'Western lexicon" a bit better.)

We watched the whole series in about two days... Then I went out the same Sunday we finished the show, to go buy the film. You know, we had to 'finish' the story.

Anyhoo... We went out to the film last night with Brett and his friend, and we had a wonderful time. There was a costume contest (and frankly... It was a bit silly, and dodgy, and well... I wish I had gone in costume. Yes, that's how geeky I get about this.) and all sorts of people who know when to laugh, how hard to laugh, and enjoy LAUGHING during the whole film.

Anyhoo... If you haven't seen the film... Go see it/go rent it/go buy it.

It's great fun.

Okay.... That's enough 'geeking out' for one day.

Smiles,
Tuckmac

Rather silly, really... But...

Okay, so I'm pretty sure I've done the 'Nerd Test' before. However, I didn't feel like looking through my archives to find the original. Especially, as I seem to remember the 'quiz' 'burping' or something, and so I got a 0% Nerd Score back then. Now... I'm not a 'raging geek' by any means, however, I DO have a little spaz inside me. My friend N8, kicked it off... And then my other friend Drew upped the ante by finding the "Nerd Test 2.0" on-line.

I thought... Heck, I may as well take the '2.0' test, and see just what kind of nerd I actually am.

Following is my score:




I'm feeling vaguely confident about being an Über Cool NON-Nerd.

Heh! Take that! I may work in an I.T. department, but I'm far from being a geek.

;-)

-- Tuckmac

Ever get that weird 'fuzz' around everything you see?

I was up extremely late last night.

Extremely.

And I'm at work today... I made it in on time (I was actually the first person in the office today) and I walked the dog before I left, showered, had coffee... Everything.

But even though I've done all the 'normal' things that one is supposed to do in the morning, including getting to work on time, I'm feeling really, um... Off.

Everything's a bit fuzzy. There's kinda nifty aura-like shiny things, surrounding people that I see. I'm not sure if my lack of sleep has made me psychic and able to see auras, or if my eyes have just gone completely wiggy. I'd like to think the former, as it sounds so much more 'cool' than just having some left-over eye-smutz obscuring my vision.

Och weel...

Folks... Do not get into extended discussions with your partner at 1:00am, when one must be awake by 5:00am. Not that you all didn't already know that, but... Yeah.

And um... Yeah.

Flights are shite, you know that? We spent hours last night attempting to find affordable flights to Britain for January. I mean... Eight-hundred bucks PER PERSON round-trip to England in January?

Please! Who wants to go there in the winter... I say this as a Minnesotan, who's quite used to having really horrible winters... But... Going to Britain in January, is much like a Floridian going to Minnesota in January... It's just a rather daft thing to do. Hence, My Lady and I going then you see... No one should want to go... So the flights should be really cheap... And yet...

$800.00 PLUS per Person...

Gah.

The search for cheapness continues.

We're really giving it a college-try folks... Hold on... No firm dates yet.

But we'll get there.

-- Tuckmac