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A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

Notes from my noodle

Notes from my Noodle: April 4 edition

April 4, 2012

As many of you know, I’ve been on Flickr for several years. I use it as a spot to share my photos and such. Flickr has this thing called “Explore.” Basically, it’s the top photos of the day as determined by Flickr’s secret algorithm. Nobody seems to know how it works. But there are some amazing photos on there, as well as many not-so-great ones.

One thing I’ve always notices is the people seem get out and comment a lot, driving traffic to their photos.

Though I try and search Flickr and comment as much as possible, it’s not a daily habit.

So color me shocked when I got a comment on one of my recent images from someone saying they had viewed the image on Explore. Score! I have wanted to get on Explore for a long time — and thought I had photos that would make it there before — but it was this one that did.

Waffle House!

It got to No. 358. But later when I checked, it had dropped off. Flickr giveth and Flickr taketh away. No biggie. I got to Explore. So that’s cool enough.

On a side note, I did tweet that I got on it and gave the ol’ @ to the Waffle House and the Waffle House twitter guy/gal re-tweeted me, so I have that going for me. Which is nice.

The algorithm on Flickr is pretty silly, anyway. But I got Explored. Can’t take it away, buddy!

****

I’ve received a postcard through Postcrossing a while back. I just noticed it on the desk and that I hadn’t registered it.

I should probably do that, eh?

****

This two blog thing is tough!

I love this blog, I really do. And I’ll never give it up. But it’s been tough to come up with ideas when I’ve been pushing myself to make sure the other blog (Rattling Chains) is really up and running.

We have several people now writing with us, including 2009 World Champion Avery Jenkins and two others with journalism backgrounds. We’re taking it seriously over there in hopes of making a daily destination for disc golfers.

We’ve worked to make it a really sweet site with great content and a solid look. I’m trying to get it on the Internet news sources, too, in hopes of driving some traffic.

If you’re a disc golfer — or are interested in the game — peek at it over there and see what you think!

****

The fantasy baseball league I am in is drafting tonight.

An auction draft, online.

This should prove to be interesting. A lot of interesting names were left off keeper lists, so I imagine it should be pretty wild to see where people go with their teams.

****

Baseball season opens tonight. Well, it kind of already did with the Mariners and Athletics playing a pair in Japan a week or so ago.

But tonight is the official opening night.

Marlins (blech) vs. Cardinals (double blech).

The Phils open tomorrow. That’s when I’ll get pumped. The good news is — baseball is back!

Fundraiser: I am, again, trying to raise money for the Relay For Life. If you donate to me — even a small amount — you will be entered to win a super-sweet quilted scarf. Click here for all the information!

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

 

Filed Under: Baseball, blogging, Disc golf, My world, Notes from my noodle, Postcrossing, Travel Tagged With: baseball, disc golf, fantasy baseball, fantasy sports, my noodle, notes from my noodle, postcards, postcrossing, rattling chains, waffle house, waffle house photo

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Notes from my noodle: March 21 edition

March 21, 2012

OK, this doubling up on blogs is tough!

Before I know it, I have one post elsewhere and then a neglect here. This is my apology to the friends of  A ‘lil HooHaa. As I get everything built up over at the disc golf blog I’ve created, I have made this one almost second in comparison.

It won’t always be that way.

But I have been working on getting that other site running and moving. Starting a new blog for a niche such as disc golf takes some patience because you have to line things up, get topics and ideas and line up a few extra writers.

We’ve done much of that thus far, but we have a long way to go.

And for neglecting here a little, my apologies. It won’t be a full-time neglect, I can assure you.

I’ve had some version of A ‘lil HooHaa since July of 2005 and I don’t plan on having it end here. Not because of another blog, anyway.

So fear not, I’m here. And I plan on being so for a long time. I just might miss here and there because of some other commitments. It’s my hope to build up a queue of stories, too, that I can post as needed.

But I have some other things in my noodle at this time, too.

While you are at it, however, if you like or are interested in disc golf — check out the new blog at RattlingChains.com.

***

I read a story today that talked about potential employers asking people during an interview for their Facebook password.

Seriously.

This person, apparently, has their Facebook stuff set to private (which is a smart thing. I do the same. Privacy, folks, is an important thing). During the interview, the interviewer turned and looked up said person and asked for his password to be able to look at his Facebook.

Say what? Talk about an invasion of privacy!

This gentleman promptly refused and withdrew himself from consideration for the position.

Look, I don’t use my Facebook to badmouth any employee — past, present or future. I don’t do it on the blog. I don’t do it. Why? Because burning bridges isn’t a smart thing to do. Especially in a public forum. No matter how something ended, whether bitter or not, there’s always something good to take away from the experience. It also gives you something to work for in the future, maybe as an improvement or something else.

Not to mention it’s public. Why would you want to blast someone where potential future employers would see it.

That still doesn’t give someone a right to ask me for my personal passwords and such to snoop around my Facebook, see my friends and all that. I have personal things on my Facebook — nothing major, but family things etc., — and the reason I keep things private is because I don’t want people to see these things. Well, outside my small group of Facebook friends.

Could you imagine being asked to fork over this stuff at an interview?

The story also notes that the city of Bozeman, Montana, until recently, asked for passwords and accounts for things like Facebook AND your e-mail!

I really would like to move on in my employment hunt. But if things like this are a requirement, is it worth working for a company like that? I’ve always liked to separate work and private life. I’m not going to let a potential employer — or anyone else for that matter — rifle through my personal e-mail.

Not a chance.

I realize it’s a buyers market out there for people looking for work, but that doesn’t give someone the right to play big brother to me. If someone wanted to see my Facebook, I have nothing to hide. I’d gladly show it. With me in control of things. There’s no need to surf my friends and such. You want to see my posts? Fine. Photos? Sure.

But e-mail? Never. There’s private things between friends and family and me. I’m not letting someone know every bit about my life. Unless said interviewer is willing to part with all their private info, I’m not doing it, either. That’s just wrong and a total invasion of privacy.

Has anyone had this happen to them? How did you react?

***

I don’t know about where you are, but the weather we are getting in my area is insane.

At one point when I was out and about today, it was 78.

In March.

In Upstate New York.

That’s just crazy. To think area high schools might get to play baseball and softball this year before April comes is even more crazy. I realize March games are usually on the schedule, but it’s rare for them to actually be played.

This years might prove it different.

Some cooler weather is coming in the coming week or so as things are supposed to dip into the 50s — which is my kind of weather. I’m hoping to get out and do a few things as well to break up the job hunt a little. Hopefully I’ll be employed soon enough, so then when getting out of work, I’ll appreciate the weather a bit more!

But high 70s in March. I can’t believe it!

***

I’ve been working on a story that will be partially on this blog sometime in April.

But the story, which involved professional wrestling, is really captivating and I think I can make it more in-depth and more detailed. Far more than for a blog because of it’s possible size.

So I’m looking to maybe try and get an Amazon Kindle Single.

The Singles are really nice reading. They range from 5,000-30,000 words and are quite in-depth reports or short fiction. The story I am working on, which I obviously won’t want to give away ahead of time, is compelling. I thought it was going to be pro wrestling and it goes way beyond that. I think it’s going to be some really good reading.

And, remember, to read a Kindle single, you won’t necessarily need to own a Kindle. You can get the free app to read things on smart phones, computers, iPads etc. They usually range in price from $1-$4. But the acceptance rate is different. They need to approve it, which I think is great because it makes you really write some of your best.

I’m hoping, when all is said and done, they’ll like my piece and want it as a Single.

And hopefully, people will buy it. I know most of what I do out here is free, but I assure you if it gets accepted, it’s one heck of a story. Plus, you’ll be helping an unemployed dude make a few cents!

More on this as it gets closer.

***

In closing, I’m going to get more on track here. Stick with me. I won’t be giving this up. I just need to get things on schedule on the other blog and get some things in my life taken care of. So I may miss a day or two here, but understand that I won’t be going anywhere. I love this blog. I really do. And I plan on doing it for a long time.

And please consider giving to my Relay for Life fundraising attempt. Remember, you can win a homemade quilted scarf. Details in my tag below!

Fundraiser: I am, again, trying to raise money for the Relay For Life. If you donate to me — even a small amount — you will be entered to win a super-sweet quilted scarf. Click here for all the information!

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

Filed Under: My world, Notes from my noodle Tagged With: a lil hoohaa, blog, blogging, disc golf, facebook, hoohaa, Kindle, kindle singles, me, notes from my noodle, passwords, updates

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Notes from my noodle: Feb. 29

February 29, 2012

I’ve been trying to organize life here at A ‘lil HooHaa lately.

See, there’s a new blog a few of us have been working on. If all goes well, it will launch this upcoming Monday. It’s a niche blog, so it will stick to one topic. I will have more information on this probably this weekend. I just want to make sure we have everything in order before saying anything as we had hoped to have launched already, but some real-life things got in the way. Such is the life of a non-commercial blog.

With that in mind, I wanted to make sure I organized my personal blog a bit more so that I can do both with no issues, especially once I become gainfully employed again.

So, I have some things I’m working on here.

I’ll still be covering a lot of the same things I do now and I’m working on a few more in-depth journalistic style pieces. But I’m going to be working on a few more “fun” and “quick” things, so if I feel I need filler for a day, I have it.

This might include some of those wacky quizzes you see people fill out or challenges.

By challenges, I mean the ones that seem to pop up all over the place every day. They come in 7-day, 10-day and 30-day challenges. Some are even longer. Some shorter.

The idea is to do something for that amount of time each day.

For example, it could be a photo challenge. So for 30 days, they give you themes and you have to fill it. It can be about a movie. It can be about you. About friends. Family. Health. Whatever. There are so many of them.

Go check out this Tumblr page if you want some ideas. So many of them.

My plan won’t be to actually do the challenge as planned — I’m going to do them HooHaa style, baby! That means I’ll be doing full challenges in one blog post. Offline it might take me some time to do them, but when I bring it to you here, it will be in one post with all the answers.

I’m also going to be doing some fun things such as a joke/riddle of the week (most likely both) in one post. I’m going to bring back those “What’s going on this week” things. And I’m going to branch out to do some baseball card scans and such.

Again, I’m not changing anything else. If things are going on, I’ll do the normal thing. Heck, that might mean more than one post a day. But I want to have a few more fun things, too. Just to make it a little easier on me when needed.

I have a lot of cool thinks cooking here at A ‘lil HooHaa. It won’t be going anywhere. I just want to tweak a little.

***

Today is February 29.

If you are on FourSquare, make sure you mention Leap Day to get the sweet badge for this special day!

I know, nothing special. Or is it?

Of course it is! It’s Leap Day! Sweet!

This fine day only happens once every four years (usually). There are rare times it doesn’t happen, but it’s all how the world works.

Anyway, so this is a great day.

See, first of all, 29 is my favorite number, so it’s sweet to see February get this day. Second, there’s always cool little things with this day.

Take FourSquare, for example. The social game is giving a special badge out today, so make sure you get it!

For you geocachers out there, you can get a special souvenir by finding a cache today!

Welcome to the game, February!

There are many events, too. I was planning on heading out to one later, but it turns out Mother Nature is making this area a bit bad today with snow (during the winter? Who knew?), followed by sleet and freezing rain. Add all that together and a trip to Albany for a geocaching event doesn’t sound so fun.

Or necessary.

So if you’re a cacher, hopefully you get the chance to find a cache or hit up an event!

For me, it’s an extra day in the year and is the reason behind me doing the 366 challenge.

I’m hoping to find something good to shoot. I already have taken a few photos, but maybe I can find some other things. I’m a little stuck, however, as I don’t want to leave town with this weather, so I’m kind of looking around here. Something will come along, I’m sure.

***

A quick add on here as I just saw the news that Davy Jones died at the age of 66 today.

I still remember (re-runs, anyway) the Monkees show. I really enjoyed it. I actually have a bunch of their music, too. I was always a fan of that group and Davy Jones was always fun to see in television shows and wherever else.

It’s a sad day for music. Though The Monkees were a made-for-TV group, they really went past that and became part of a culture and a time period.  Remember, Marcia from the Brady Bunch really thought Davy was “dreamy” and “groovy.”

Davy Jones was heading into the Northeast sometime in May for a tour and I had actually debated going and seeing him. It’s a shame that chance will never come for me and for many others who probably would have loved to see him perform.

Here are a couple of YouTube videos:

The Monkees theme song:

Daydream Believer (probably my favorite Monkees song):

***

I have only been summoned for jury duty once in my life. I was stoked, too. Two days before, however, it got canceled and I was done. Since then, I’ve never been called back.

I always thought it would be something to serve on a jury. It’s a duty not to be taken lightly and it’s one people should embrace because they are being part of the judicial process.

Apparently, one dude thought he had an out.

See, turns out this maroon was serving his duty as a juror in an auto negligence case, according to the Herald-Tribune in Sarasota, Fla. The defendant, a young woman, must have caught the eye of this guy because he started to look around, apparently, for her.

And he found her on Facebook.

He ended up sending her a friend request on Facebook, which is obviously a no-no as jurors should not be contacting the people involved in the case. See, this guy apparently thought the gal looked familiar and with more than 1,300 Facebook pals, he wasn’t sure if she was a friend or not. When he found her on Facebook (via his phone), he claims he tried to press the “mutual friends” button, but actually hit the “friend request” button, according to the newspaper report.

That’s not good, right?

Though he said he knew the request would be sent to the defendant, he didn’t say anything during the jury selection. And, he ended up on the seven-member jury.

The guy, whose last name is Jock, said he hoped she’d forget about it and thought it wasn’t that big of a deal because it was a mistake.

The defendant obviously saw the request, told here lawyer, who told the judge. That got this guy removed from the jury.

Oh, but the story doesn’t end there.

This Einstein then bragged about getting dismissed to his legion of pals on Facebook.

Score … I got dismissed!! apparently they frown upon sending a friend request to the defendant … haha.

Really?

The end result?

Three days in the lock up on a criminal contempt of court misdemeanor. The newspaper reported he was handcuffed and taken out of the courtroom as his girlfriend cried.

Said the judge, after a two-hour hearing:

I cannot think of a more insidious threat to the erosion of democracy than citizens who do not care.

Fully agreed there.

A bit of advice to future people on a jury — take it serious. You are doing a part that in an important process in our country. It’s not a joke and shouldn’t be taken as such.

***

I’m shocked at the amount of people looking to meet me recently.

It’s like I’m a celebrity.

I’m not sure how to react to all of this, so I’m taking my time sifting through all the e-mails and such. See, it seems like there are people from all over the world who want to meet me. Want to see a couple of these awesome e-mails?

i’m Alice

!There are many good moments in a life…You certainly will be happy. Let’s meet?

write to me please.

Kiss.

Alesia

We’ll have to get rid of Alesia. I don’t like bad grammar and not capitalizing things. I could send an autograph, I imagine, if that’s what she would like.

I’m Alisa
Being with a man, makes me feel happiness.
Let’s communicate?
Waiting on your turn.

I wonder if this is the same person and changing the spelling of her name? Sheesh! But waiting on my turn? Are we playing a board game or something? I’ll communicate — lose my e-mail address!

Salute! I’m Lesechka. I’m 22.I saw your photos in brother’s account and decided write to you.

Some time ago I break with my boyfriend and now I am single. So if you want to chat with me please… write me something interesting about you.

Something interesting…

OK, I got it.

I don’t know you. You didn’t see me in your brother’s account. You’re a Spam Bot. Go away.

Sometimes, however, you just have to e-mail these people back. For kicks. Something has to return, right? I mean they are all looking for love and romance, after all.

Here’s an exchange I had with one person.

The initial letter:

So I’m  happy that I have  meet with reliable man.
My name is Irina, doing gymnastics since childhood and I love swimming.
I’m blonde with blue eyes.

Hope get more information about you.

I liked your snapshot, and I wanna meet you.

Hope read you soon

Sounds like Irina is quite the keeper, eh? Not sure where she saw my snapshot, though. So, I was curious. Let’s see if she knows me. (Note that this e-mail is for an account I have set up for junk mail signups and all, so it has no personal stuff at all).

Me:

I bet you can get into some great positions with that gymnastics background, huh?

Let’s get it on!

Where did you see my snapshot though? I don’t put that online. You stalking me?

I figured that response would get her attention, eh? Internet love with some chick overseas… I’m in!

Her response:

Hey! Hi!

I recently registered on the website (clipped… looked like a site heading to Russia), and uploaded my photo. Write me PM, cuz I hate email.
If you are interested, you can see my pictures.

compose me your minds.

That was the end of that chat. It’s unfortunate, too. It had such a good beginning. I’ll have to compose her my mind one day to see if she eventually found happiness in this cruel world.

***

Time for a riddle.

I will post the answer to this in the comments later tonight sometime. But until I do, feel free to answer away in the comments section.

A black dog stands in the middle of an intersection in a town painted black.

None of the street lights are working because of a power failure cause by a recent storm.

A car with two broken headlights drives toward the dog but turns in time to avoid hitting the pooch.

How could the drive have seen the dog to turn away in time?

(Riddles.com)

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

Filed Under: A 'lil HooHaa, blogging, My world, Notes from my noodle Tagged With: 366 days, a 'lil hoohaa, blog, challenges, current events, davy jones, e-mail, e-mail spam, facebook, february 29, foursquare, leap day, leap year, notes from my noodle, riddle, spam, the monkees, tumblr

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Notes from my Noodle: January 23 edition

January 23, 2012

It seems that every time I think I have seen it all when it comes to being politically correct, something else makes me shake my head in wonderment.

This time, it’s in Utah.

The Cougar is not a good nickname for one Utah school, for an odd reason. (Photo by Mike Fisher via Flickr commons)

See, though I may not agree with everything that has to be politically correct out there, I understand it. I can see why schools change their team names from something like Warriors or Chiefs or Braves because of being sensitive. I really can.

There’s many more I understand.

Not this time.

See, it seems that there’s this new school in Utah — Corner Canyon High School. And, well, the school ran a contest to let future students decide on its future mascot. The school, according to a USA Today story, is slated to open in 2013.

The board, however, rejected the winning mascot from the contest. And what mascot put the board up in arms?

Cougars.

Raise your hand if you see where this is going.

It turns out the board though calling their mascot the Cougars would be offensive. To whom? To middle-age women who like to chase younger men. Because the term “cougar” is becoming synonymous with that act.

I can’t make this stuff up.

It’s to note, also, that three other schools in Utah, as well as Brigham Young University, all use the nickname Cougars, according to KSTU Fox 13.

The school had decided, instead, to call itself the Chargers.

But being the school doesn’t open until 2013, I’m sure the board will have a chance to re-visit this and see if it offends anyone else by then.

—

Legendary football coach Joe Paterno died Sunday at age 85.

His death ends the life of the winningest coach in major college history and also one of someone who stayed in Happy Valley for more than half of his life. His donations to and his love of Penn State is known my pretty much anyone who has heard JoePa’s name.

Paterno in November 2010 (photo by Jeremy Kahn via Flickr's creative commons license)

Though his final months were doused in controversy because of the alleged dirty doings of a former assistant coach, I personally don’t think his legacy is tarnished. He still did much for that University.

One could argue that he should have done more with the Jerry Sandusky situation. That’s a fair argument. Morally, should he have done more? Probably so. But, legally, he did what he was supposed to do. I understand both sides of the argument and I’m not going to get into one here. Everyone is entitled to believe what they want.

I still think Paterno got railroaded at the end, which is a shame — especially looking at how his final months unfolded. But he had tremendous support as was evident.

I went to college at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, which is about a 20-minute ride to State College. Needless to say, during my years at The Haven, I knew all about Penn State and its athletics.

JoePa was loved indeed.

Though I never attended a football game at PSU (probably a silly move, eh?) I did venture to State College a bit. I explored the campus once or twice, saw a few other athletic contests and did have the chance to see the stadium.

And, I saw JoePa.

It only happened once. I had gone to this restaurant a few times and had been told it was one of Paterno’s favorite spots. I didn’t think I’d ever see him as it was apparently his “breakfast choice.”

Alas, one night a few of us went to State College and ate at the place. Soon after we arrived, JoePa and his wife came in. They ate not far from us, so we got to see the legendary coach. People said hi as they walked by and he greeted them the same. But nobody bothered him. No autographs. Nothing. They let the man be.

That’s the way it should be.

It was quite cool to see this legendary figure as a member of this small community. Embedded in it.

He was an amazing football coach and one of the best things to ever happen to Penn State. He’ll be missed by many, in football and in life. Rest in Peace, JoePa.

—

When owning a blog, you really see some interesting comments.

Though spam is awful for your e-mail inboxes, sometimes blog spam comments can be quite funny. (Photo Eddie Awad via Flickr commons)

Many comments are spam and need to just be deleted. But I like to read some of them before I delete them. Why? Because they are quite interesting and funny.

Usually, however, they make no sense.

It’s pretty simple to figure out the spam because you get random comments on posts where the comment makes no sense or on posts that are several years old.

A post of mine from the Day Zero Project — about traveling to five new cities — recently got a comment. It made NO sense whatsoever.

I realize that it might have picked up on some key words or something or maybe it’s because the post was about some travel of sorts, but it still didn’t make full sense as to why this comment would just show up, outside the fact that its spam.

One day while driving, I came to a stop at a red light. I looked both ways and made sure no one was coming, then proceeded to make a left turn. A few seconds later it hits me — you can only make a right on red. I felt like such an idiot.

I will admit it made me laugh.

Though I try to make sure these spam messages don’t make it through, I do give credit that at least some of them can be a bit funny!

—

You’ll remember that I had my personal stand with the legislation PIPA and SOPA last week?

I thought I’d give a quick update.

Apparently the Internet blackout work as both pieces of legislation have been pulled for now. That’s not to say they won’t come back at some point. I’m sure those who worked on these two will want to find a way to get them back, albeit with some workings.

I looked at many of the people in Congress who switched over on these bills and like that they did. They seemed to see the light — if even just in saying it. The reality is this — America talked and Congress finally listened. Things can happen when done in ways like this.

Protests don’t always have to be taking over public parks and making them slum palaces. There doesn’t always need to be a march, or people getting together in places all over the country.

Sometimes it can be quick, clean and effective. You just need to have a definite agenda, a hope for a resolution and an actual plan for what to do. This one-day blackout worked effectively and was way more successful than some other protests that have been going on for months with seemingly no true direction.

I applaud the country for getting this done, especially some of the Internet’s biggest sites who showed that getting people together in something like this can work wonders.

Again, these bills could slip back soon enough, so we — as  country — need to make sure we can stand for what we believe in. And I’m a firm believe that piracy needs to be stopped, somehow. Just in a different way than these two bills were showing.

Stay proud, America. The Internet is safe, for now.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

Filed Under: blogging, Current events, My world, Notes from my noodle Tagged With: blog, blog comments, blog spam, college football, college football coach, corner canyon high school, cougar, cougars, internet safety, joe paterno, joe paterno dies, joepa, legislation, notes from my noodle, paterno, penn state, penn state football, pipa, politically correct, politics, school nicknames, sopa, sopa and pipa withdrawn, spam, spam comments, the pennsylvania state university, utah, utah school

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Notes from my Noodle: January 6 edition

January 6, 2012

Hello blog readers and welcome to the first edition of Notes from my Noodle in 2012. I hope you all had a wonderful New Year’s and holiday season as this world gets back into full gear.

Alas, another weekend is upon us. There is good weather in the forecast in my part of the Northeast, so I’m looking to go out and geocache/letterbox/photograph for a while Saturday. Why not take advantage of it?

My January 4 choice for my 366 Project.

With this year being a leap year, I’ve opted to do the Project 3656 again. I was successful in 2010 with it, so I thought with the extra day, it would be cool to do it again.

Now I just have to make sure to get a photo each day!

I’ve been good with it so far. And I plan on heading out today to find a photo. As I peer outside right now, there are blue skies, the sun is shining and the temps are in the upper 40s.

Score!

There has to be something out there to snap photos of, I would think.

And though I have the iPhone, which has an excellent camera, I am hoping to do the bulk of the 366 this year with my Canon 7D. I love the use of the iPhone — I really do — but for this project, I’d like to challenge myself artistically a but more with my DSLR. Plus, I got a really cook bokeh kit for my lenses for Christmas and I’m looking forward to trying that out for sure.

If any of you have some cool and fun ideas for photos I should look into taking for my 366 project, post them in the comments section. I want to keep a small notebook of ideas, in case I get in a pinch!

I know a few others doing the 366 this year. One of them is fellow Flickr/Twitter user and fellow geocacher Mike, who has been doing the 365 since 2010. That means, unless he somehow skipped a day this year and hasn’t said anything yet, he has been taking a photo a day for 736 straight days (or more)! (For readers of this blog, Mike was a guest poster in November).

That’s insane!

Keep it up Mike. By the end of this one, you’ll have reached nearly 1,000 days, which is no small feat!

 ***

I wish I had more to report on the job hunt. Applications are still being sent out. But, for the next batch, I’m taking a different approach.

Being that the first approach hasn’t worked too well, outside of the few interviews and such I’ve had, I’m going to change the tone of my cover letters. At this point, what’s it going to hurt? I think I am going to attempt to make them a little more edgy, a little more cocky. I imagine that it will, at worse, get somebody’s attention. Maybe it will get me a few more interviews. And maybe (gasp!) an offer.

Something has to change.

I want to try and re-work my resume a little, too. I don’t think it’s awful, but a tweak or two probably wouldn’t hurt.

My big thing is trying to make it so my block of not working doesn’t stand out so much. I have to work on that as well and hope something comes along soon.

This has, by far, been one of the most trying things, professionally, I’ve ever dealt with in my life. I’m just hoping the light at the end of the tunnel gets big soon!

***

This past Sunday, I went and played a round of disc golf. On January 1, in the Albany area in New York, it was in the high 40s. Me, my niece Nicole, Darren and his wife Jodi played 18 holes at Schenectady Central Park.

My niece sizes up a putt.

What a day.

I played a round of disc golf last Jan. 1 as well, but it was not nearly as warm as this!

But it was a perfect day to go out for a nice little walk and play a round. We only came across people a couple of times, but no major issues. We stopped for a couple of letterboxes and pretty much took our time.

Without a doubt, though, it was great just to be out walking around and moving.

I haven’t played in a while (I think my last round had been on Thanksgiving), so I didn’t throw as well as I would have liked. Still, it wasn’t bad. I had some decent shots and hopefully my game will improve as this year moves on. My niece has only been a few times, but I think she’s starting to get the hang of things and hopefully she can keep improving and liking the game as well. Starting at a younger age will only make her better as she continues to age and play. It’s also a great game to be able to just get out and play.

Now if we can get a course in our local area…

Speaking of disc golf, I continue to work on a certain disc golf project I have going on. I am hoping within the next two weeks to be able to announce something here about it. I’m extremely excited about it and hope it works out for the best!

Until then, keep clanging the metal and rattling those chains when you are out on the disc golf course!

***

I’m sneaking out of the area this weekend to do a little day trip. I’m not going far, but I’m meeting up with a friend to do a day of geocaching/letterboxing and catch up on some things.

Here’s something I’ve figured — it’s not as easy planning a trip to involve letterboxing as it is geocaching.

See, with geocaching, you have a map you can open up and see where everything is. That way, you can plan a route that is somewhat economical and such.

With letterboxing, you can bring up a google map — for each box. Then you have to figure what’s close etc., and try and keep them somewhat in a route to make it worthwhile.

Hopefully by the end of tomorrow, we’ll have piled up a bunch of finds for both. And I also hope to have had several cool photos taken before the end of the day.

Though the temperatures are supposed to be slightly cooler tomorrow (not too bad, though), it is still supposed to be sunny and nice out. So I look forward to a day of finding stamps, caches and photo opportunities.

***

I have finally gotten back into reading books on the Kindle again. I’m reading one of Jodi Picoult’s latest books, “Sing Me Home.” So far, so good. I’m a big fan of Picoult and always enjoy what she brings to the table with her books. Well-written and well-researched make things a good and smooth read.

I have a couple of other books lined up as well.

Anyone get a Kindle Fire over the holidays? I’m curious to see what people think. I have a 3rd or 4th Generation Kindle and I like it. But down the line, I might look to upgrade, though if I really want a tablet, the iPad seems like the way I might lean. I like my reader to be just that — a reader.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

Filed Under: Books, Cameras, Disc golf, Geocaching, iPhone, Job hunt, My world, Notes from my noodle, Photography Tagged With: 365 project, 366 project, blog, bloggers, blogging, camera, canon 7d, central park, central park schenectady, cover letters, cps, day trip, disc, disc golf, dslr, family, friends, geocache, geocaching, iphone, job, job hunt, jodi picoult, Kindle, letterbox, letterboxing, need a job, nice weather, photography, photos, picoult, planning, Reading, resume, schenectady, schenectady central park, unemployed, warm winter, work

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hoohaa29

Writer who loves images just as much as words! In search of perfectly poured pints of Guinness and great hot dogs. Find me on twitter @softball29.

I guess the April Fool's joke is on us, Mother Nat I guess the April Fool's joke is on us, Mother Nature? Oh .. ha ha ha.
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I also guess this is why hitting back roads to work is good -- you can stop and take a photo and not worry about anybody coming (usually)! Main roads around here are fine for now, but it's definitely quite picturesque on the lawns/trees etc.
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#snow #winterspring #springwinter #april #blackandwhite #photography #photooftheday #goawaywinter #love #instagood #picoftheday #bestoftheday #nature #backroad #road
This was pretty relaxing and fun. #lego #legos #ea This was pretty relaxing and fun. #lego #legos #easter #legoeasterbunny #legoeaster #relax #hobby #fun
It shouldn’t be so hard to find a trash can... # It shouldn’t be so hard to find a trash can... #litter #mask #masks #blackandwhite #streetphotography
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softball29P.J.@softball29·
11 Apr

I mean, if you hold a #Wrestlemania in an open stadium... eventually rain delays had to come, right? 🤣

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RealKentMurphyKent@RealKentMurphy·
7 Apr

28 years ago The Sandlot was released and this iconic scene was brought into our lives.

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softball29P.J.@softball29·
2 Apr

New blog post: Photo Blogging Challenge (March 2021): Eight #photobloggingchallenge #pbc #challenge #blogging https://hoohaa.com/?p=15201

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