Little Sandwiches

A few months ago I bought some "mini toasts" from walmart. It was one of those purchases that you make because at the time your head is spinning with all these great ideas about what you could do with it, ya know? I planned on buying all these exotic cheeses, fancy hummus..es, and a variety of other delicious (and expensive) toppings for my (in my best British accent) "delightful little mini toasts."

Yeah, well, reality sets in and you realize you don't have a lot of money for these "fancy" ideas of yours. So you end up making little peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.


They looked better than they tasted. :)

-Barry

Viva la Love Story

In my humble opinion, mash-ups are one of the best musical developments of the past five years. Why do mashups work so well? I'd like to remind you of that scene in "Ratatouille" where it is explained that one food (cheese, for example) and another (fruit) are perfectly good by themselves, but something entirely new and exciting and amazing when eaten together. Music works on the same level, I think, and this is a perfect example of that.



Heck, I'm not even a big John Schmidt fan, but this wowed me.

-Barry

AGGGHH!!!

I want to kill my computer.

I'd get into the details, but it's just a lot of nerd speak about actionscript, gradient masks, and why the hell won't my code work!?

GAHHH!!!

I've double checked things. I've triple checked things. I've gone online and checked my code to what others have written. It should work. There is NOTHING wrong with my code! And yet, for some mind-wrenching reason, flash refuses to do what I've told it to do. It's a damn bug.

What really chaps my ... hide... is that I've been working on this project now for a week, every day going through the same fruitless process, restarting, rewriting, and reimplementing the code. I've downloaded examples that do EXACTLY what I do. The code is the same.

It bothers me to know that this should work, but doesn't.

Damn it.

-Barry

Rock Canyon Water at Sunset

I went up to Rock Canyon tonight just as the sun was setting and fired away. My only lament was that I didn't bring a tripod. With a tripod I could have left the shutter open for a second or two and gotten that really silky look.

All in all, I like how these turned out. :)









-Barry

A Brother to Brother Talk

This is based on an account my mom gave me from her journal. She saw Steve and I talking when we were both very young. Here's how it went down.

-----

Barry, with his arm around Steven says, "Come here. I have to talk to you."

"You know, in the good old days, you weren't even born yet. And now, it's not the good old days any more."

End of serious brother to brother talk.

-----

I laughed so hard when I heard this!

Poor kid. I was kind of mean to him sometimes.

-Barry

Touch the Moon

I was in a sketchy mood tonight (meaning I wanted to sketch) and I came up with this...

It's still pretty rough, but I may polish it up in the future. For now, it's just a sketch.

-Barry

Default Sounds are for Suckas!

I was going through my music today and found something that made me laugh...

With most computers, when you boot up (or turn on the computer) you hear something like this:

There was a time, though, when the default start up noise wasn't good enough for me. I wanted something better - something that set my computer apart from the others. So, I opened up Adobe Audition (an audio editing program) and an hour or so later had this:

LOL! It reminds me of the episode of the office where Andy makes a ring tone on his computer at home by recording all of the vocals to "Rockin' Robin."

-Barry

Body Wash > Soap

This is what I use to get clean. When I was younger I used soap, but only because body wash wasn't really mainstream. Here's the thing, though: If you're using soap, you're being had. Body wash gives you a much cleaner, softer, less dry feeling of clean. It's like washing in the crisp, clean waters of a Hawaiian waterfall, as opposed to some crummy, mucky little Irish spring. You get my drift?

Yeah, this is a shameless plug for a product that I use. Am I being paid? No. But I care about you that much. I want you to be clean, healthy, and comfortable... and soap is not the way to get there.

Look at the benefits ol' Mr. St. Ives brings to the table:


Need I say more?

Make the switch.

Or...


You can stick with this...

-Barry

Video: Y Mountain Hike

Scott and I hit Y mountain today. I rolled out of bed, ate a bowl of Fruity Pebbles and we were off! We were surprised to find the back side of the mountain covered with about a foot of snow even this late in the year. It made for some difficulty on the final climb up the back side of the mountain, but provided some fun coming back down. Here's our video from the top. Notice my lovely bead-head hair. :)



The hike up took about 2:15:00 and the hike down took about 1:30:00 for a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes. It's a pretty rough hike, as most of the trail runs steep, but we were able to keep a moderate pace. By the time we reached the cars, our quads were shaking and weak. Sunburns were kept to a minimum, except for Scott's neck, which looks like a large red vine.

All in all, a successful adventure!

-Barry

Road Trip!!!

I spent this past weekend visiting the land where a thousand bare-chested women stare up at you from tiny fliers, strewn - like fallen soldiers for the forces of evil - on the sidewalks. In this land, you see bare butts at every glance, smell cigarette smoke with every breath, and feel the fury of the desert sun with every step. It is a land where the only true redeeming value lies in a beautiful fountain show set to music, and in the off-chance that you can make easy money in mere seconds. The place I speak of is, of course, Las Vegas.

We were down there supporting some friends of ours who were running in a sprint triathlon. Our suite was out of the city (thank goodness) in a small town adjacent to Las Vegas called Henderson. It was nice to be away from all the lights and corruption of Vegas. However, we did go into town on Saturday night to see the Bellagio's fascinating water/music display. We also ate a delicious buffet at "The Paris." If you're looking for the best buffet you've ever been to, and don't mind dropping 25 bones to have it, I thoroughly recommend The Paris as your next culinary adventure. I ate mountains of crab legs and prime rib among other things, and for dessert had flan, creme brulee, bread pudding, and frozen custard. It was delightful.

All in all, we had a really great time. I've decided that I need to plan more roadtrips. With good friends, they're the best kind of vacation.

Our beautiful little resort in Henderson. In those trees lie two beautiful pools.


The girls, from left to right: Brandi, Courtney, Katt, and Meagan


Beginning the triathlon. Lake Las Vegas is gorgeous, isn't it?


I don't know who this is, but the picture turned out so well I had to put it in here.


Way to go, girls! Nice medals!


Me and one of my best friends, Corianne.


Ready to party in Vegas! Kindof...


The Bellagio fountain show. I recommend this as the ONLY thing you really need to see in Vegas.


Saying goodbye to our suite with the obligatory goofy picture.

Nothing caps off a road trip like a choco taco. Mmm...

-Barry

Yo's Might!

When I was just a little guy, I remember seeing a sign as we drove through Fresno, CA in our little white station wagon, on our way to camp in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains.

The sign read, "Yosemite."

I read it aloud, "Yo's Might."

"Mom, are we going to Yo's Might?"

"You mean Yo-sem-it-ee?"

"Uh. Yeah."

I love Yosemite. It's easily in the top 5 best National Parks. I recently went when I was in California, so I thought I'd give you a little taste of what it was like to be there.

Enjoy!

This was the first waterfall we saw - Bridal Veil Fall. This picture doesn't do justice to the ferocity of the water. In fact, you'll find that none of these pictures do. They are beautiful, nonetheless, so all is not lost. :)

This is as close as I could get to the base of the falls - about 200 feet from them. That mist coming through the trees was as thick as a mid-day downpour in Florida, and had turned the path into a small stream. If you look carefully, you can see Mike at the base of one of the distant trees.

This is one of THREE rivers coming away from Bridal Veil falls.

I love the trees out there. There is a specie of pine out there that is deliciously fragrant - a smell that I have yet to find in the forests of Utah.

This little guy paused just long enough for me to capture him eating his acorn on a rock by the river.

I love the moss (or lichen?) that grows on the trees out there. It's reminiscent of coral in it's structure, albeit much softer.

These are the lower Yosemite falls. You can see them in action here.

This picture is turning out blurry for some reason. Bah!

El Capitan! "The Captain" is an absolutely splendiferous piece of granite.

Don't you love moss? You almost expect tiny houses to be perched on their fuzzy little hills with smoke pouring out of their chimneys.

It's true. Good cheese does come from happy cows. And happy cows come from California. This picture is living proof of that.

An olive vineyard we passed on the way back from Yosemite provided a fittingly scenic end to a beautiful drive.

-Barry

VERY CREEPY

What I am about to show you is creepy. Really creepy.

The moment in which I discovered what I am about to show you literally gave me goosebumps. The weird goosebumps, though. Not the ones you get on a thrill ride, but the ones you get when you experience something paranormal...

A few months ago, I posted about a little trip my friends and I made to an old abandoned house in Spanish Fork. You can read the post here. I suggest you open it up in another window or another tab or something so you can follow along with me as I explain what I've seen.

Now, before I get into the creepy stuff, let me tell you that I've never seen a ghost. I do, however, believe they exist. According to the Mormon faith, when we die our spirits go to the "spirit world" which, as we have been told, exists here, but on another plane of existence. (More insight into this can be found at www.lds.org)

I've always figured that a ghost (or spirit) is seen when either a) God makes special allowance, or b) the laws of the universe provide a moment, or glimpse, into that which is normally unseen.

So, with that in mind...

The other day, I was showing a friend the post with the scary house. As I was looking at the pictures, I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. Keep in mind, these are the original pictures from that post. I have not altered or tampered with them AT ALL! In fact, I encourage you to click on them in the original post as well to see what I'm showing you...

In the second picture (the one with Scott and Laura in front of the house) look for a moment at the first window that is boarded up...


Isn't that creepy!? Yes, it could just be a pattern in the plywood, but it totally looks like a man's figure to me. The next picture, however, is what really kicked it for me...


Look at the twin windows upstairs. Look at the left one carefully. Do you see a bearded man? Are those stains on the walls? Dust? Or a ghost?

The thing is, when we were there, I got a really weird vibe. More so than from other abandoned places I've been to. I wanna go back now, though, and take more pictures. Part of me is really intrigued by this, while another part of me is downright freaked out.

-Barry

My Turn

I hopped in my car this morning to drive down to Provo from Sandy and as I was backing up out of the driveway, I realized I'd left my camera in my parents' house. So I parked the car, went inside, picked up what I had almost forgotten, and left again.

...

At the intersection of 110th South and State Street I just barely missed the light and had to wait for the next one.

...

On the freeway, I had to slow down for an "oversized load" - a freakishly large chemical tank perched precariously on the back of a long, flat trailer.

...

Fifteen or so miles later, something small and heavy hit my windshield at seventy-five miles per hour causing a nasty chip the size of my thumb.

If I had not forgotten my camera, or if I had made that light at 110th South, or if I had not slowed down for the oversized load, that rock would have likely bounced harmlessly off of the freeway. At worst it would have hit somebody else's car.

Today, though, it was my turn to get a rock chip.

-Barry

When It's Overcast, Take Pictures!

Boy, do I love taking pictures on overcast days. Colors that would normally be washed out by the sun stay rich and vibrant, making conditions perfect for a photographer. I had a chance to run down to the Jordan River trail after church today and take advantage of the cloudiness. Much photographic euphoria ensued...

This cow posed for just a split second before backing away and mooing it's cranky little head off. Pretty soon, every damn cow in the field was mooing. You'd have thought I was barbecuing one of their comrades by the ruckus they were making.

Fuzzy little tuft of something...

Reeds like feathers growing from the river's edge.

Quaint little stream meets quaint little beer bottle. Welcome to Lehi, Utah.

Lovely.

Flowers are remarkable on cloudy days. These tulips are in my parents' back yard.

The sunset was an explosion of cotton candy. It made for excellent light. This picture, though, was not actually taken tonight, but a few days ago. (Notice how green the grass is. Dad does an excellent job of maintaining that lawn.)

-Barry

Dating Non-Sense

I had a friend ask me the following question: "Do visually impaired people call them blind dates? Or is that a derogatory term in their circles?"

I pondered on the subject for many hundreds of seconds, eventually coming to this conclusion:

The visually impaired call blind dates, "deaf dates." The following explains why:

We, as the visually abled, use our sense of sight to judge and observe people when we date. We study body language to read into the real feelings one might have - things that aren't communicated openly or vocally. Because we utilize our sense of sight so heavily when pursuing another, a date between strangers is referred to as being, "blind."

One without sight, however, can not rely on body language when studying their date. Because they are blind, they've developed their sense of hearing to help determine compatibility and interest. They listen for subtle reflections of feeling in the voice - signs of excitement, despair, or boredom that only barely make themselves known as they converse one with another. Therefore, to a blind person, a date that involves meeting with a stranger is not "blind," but "deaf."

Now, for those who are both blind and deaf (like Helen Keller, bless her soul) this type of date is known as a "numb" date. These people rely wholly upon the sense of touch to communicate, which means that when, for them, two strangers meet for a date, they are entirely "numb" to each other, much in the same way that blind strangers are initially "deaf" to each other and two completely abled people are initially "blind" to each other.

This is, of course, entirely speculative. I think I may be onto something, though, because it makes perfect sense. What do you think?

-Barry