A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

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Notes from my Noodle: Nov. 2 edition

The iPhone has inspired me, for now, to see if I can do a 365 with just the phone camera.

For those who remember, I did the 365 project in 2010. The idea of this project is to take a photo each day to document a year in your life. I really enjoyed it, but at times it was quite tough.

I had planned to do one again in 2010 because it’s a Leap Year and I thought doing a 366 would be cool — and different. And with having things such as the iPhone 4s now, it makes taking photos easier.

So I got a jump start.

I’ve taken a photo each day since I got the iPhone. It’s a 365 of sorts, but I don’t know if I’ll do a full year with it. I might stop in January when I start the real 365. I might continue both to see if I can challenge myself. I might stop this one and start the 366. I’m not sure.

I didn’t set any real goals with this one, outside of just taking photos with it.

***

Speaking of the iPhone camera, it’s really solid. I’ve loved some of the apps for photography on it, especially Instagram. I know many traditional photographers don’t seem too interested in this app as they see it as something to take away from photography.

I see it different. I see it as a good thing. It’s something that gives people the chance to make some good-looking photos.

The kicker is all the filters Instagram gives you. I also used Camera+, an app you can do some processing with. It’s really nice, especially on the fly.

Take a peek at these two photos of the courthouse square in Delhi. The first is just with Instagram. The second is with some work on Camera+ first, then run through Instagram.

I used the tilt lens option in Instagram, and then one of the filters.

Camera+, then Instagram.

As you can see, the opportunity to do a lot of things with this camera phone is incredible. It’s a lot of fun to test the filters. I have a couple of other apps I’ll be playing with and testing soon with the camera and I look forward to it.

If you would like to keep a peek on this iPhone 365 — and other photos I take with my iPhone, I’ve decided to turn my Tumblr account into that. Check them out!

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The other thing about the iPhone is the video — it’s not bad!

I’ve only tried it a couple of times, but I’ll post one here so you can see it. I took this while playing a round of disc golf with Justin a week or so back.

***

A few weeks ago, I had an in-person interview.

I was really excited about this one, too. A friend on my softball team gave me the head’s up about the job and I applied for it soon after. After that, I got a call for an interview. It had to be re-scheduled once because one of the people interviewing was on vacation.

That gave me some time to try on my dress clothes. Things were OK, but the jacket didn’t fit. I figured it was a good time to invest in a good suit. I went to Men’s Wearhouse, got a really good sales guy and soon had a suit. I never think dress clothes look good on me as I don’t like the way things fit. But I really liked this suit, especially with the shirt and tie picked out.

So, I got it.

First, I was a little overdressed for the interview — which isn’t a bad thing. I hope it didn’t hurt me, anyway!

The interview itself went really well, I thought. It was conversational, we went over some good things and I felt my answers showcased why I would be a good fit. I think I did a pretty decent job at selling myself. This one went a lot better than the phone interview I had a month or two back, that’s for sure. I walked out confident and excited — and hopeful.

Alas, about a week later, I got word that I wasn’t the one selected. I was bummed, for sure. Disappointed more than I had been in a while. But, I have to look at positives.

  • I had an interview
  • I thought it went well
  • Chances seem to be coming along

This job hunt is hard, and I know it. It’s frustrating at times and annoying in others. You get in funks and have to dig yourself out.

Hopefully this is a good sign to come. Plus, I now have a sweet suit for future interviews!

***

Just a note that I have some upcoming things I’m working on for the blog, including some in-depth looks at some iPhone/smartphone apps and some other Geocaching-type games. I have the month of November planning out (I am participating in National Blog Posting Month, so I want to make sure I have things planned for every day of the month!), so hopefully there will be some good things coming!

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!

Hi… Billy May here…

A week or so back, I was surfing around YouTube and came across an infomercial I had never seen before. As a fan of these infomercials (I don’t buy the items, but I do like watching them… they really are funny), I was shocked I had never seen it. Especially this one. I mean, it’s about hot dogs!

Seriously, the Happy Hot Dog Man?? How do you not want to purchase one of these after watching this?

This, of course, got me thinking.

What are some of my favorite infomercials?

Let’s be honest here. These things clutter the television, but they have a purpose. And there might not be a product or idea that hasn’t been in an infomercial. Do you remember Don Lapre?

You know, he was the guy who placed tiny classified ads in newspapers throughout the country, all from his one-bedroom apartment. And he made millions!

Turns out Don wasn’t so good. He was charged with 41 counts of fraud earlier this year in conjunction with his get-rich schemes. Ooops!

But let’s get back to the good ones!

One can’t talk about these infomercials without mentioning Billy Mays, the ultimate TV pitchman. Mays was in many infomercials, pitching anything from OxiClean to food machines. His loud voice and his signal “Hi, Billy Mays here” was well known. Mays died in 2008, but through YouTube and other places, his commercials live on.

Here’s the Big City Slider:

His original OxiClean (before he got loud):

And the Quick Chop!

And then there’s Vince! Oh Vince, you with your tricky headset and microphone, wrapped around to your trap. You slay me! And what do you have for us, Vince? Oh! The SLAP CHOP???

Come on, Vince. Stick with the Sham Wow!

Ahhh, those television pitchmen!

Alas, not all infomercials have pitchmen. Some just have those voice overs and all the goofy clips showing how great of a product they have. Let’s take a peek!

Bottle Tops:

Incredible Gyro Bowl:

And the Instant Fisherman (note that there’s nothing mentioned about fishing licenses…)

What are some of your favorites? Drop a comment below and let me know. I left out all of the music ones, but those are great, too. Better yet, hook us all up with a link so we can enjoy them!

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!

Eddie Money!

Eddie Money... still going at it after all these years!

Eddie Money is still rocking it… somewhat.

Money performed this past Friday at the Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally in Binghamton and a couple of us went down to see him in concert. Overall, it wasn’t too bad. But, getting older affects everyone, and Eddie Money is no different.

His movement wasn’t the greatest.

His voice started to go toward the end of the concert.

But overall, it was worth the $20 (which included entry to Spiedie Fest). He did all of his hits. He event had a new song that was pretty good.

Alas, nothing is perfect.

This is an 80s rocker, so time has taken its toll. He came out moving slowly, but his voice was still there. It was distinct. As Marc noted, Money has that voice that likely doesn’t get warped over time.

Still, as the night wore on, his voice, too, wore down. During “Take Me Home Tonight,” his backups were doing some of the serious parts of the vocals. But hey, he’s 62, so cut him some slack!

I would say there was somewhere between 3,000-5,000 people in the concert area, so it was a good draw. They were loud and exciting most of the night. And they rocked for his encore, which consisted of two songs — Shakin’ (I believe that was one of them) and Two Tickets to Paradise.

Eddie Money at the end of his concert!

Spiedie Fest was pretty fun, for a first timer. I’ll have something on the balloon part of the day tomorrow as it was quite fun to see and I got a couple of sweet photos and videos.

Speaking of video… sorry about the shake, but here’s Eddie rocking (somewhat)!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com.