Monthly Archives: August 2010

Lessons from house and dog sitting

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Mork

Mork

I’ve been home for almost a week after three weeks of house/dog sitting for Simon and Sarah[1. Sarah is Bill's sister, and Simon is Sarah's fiance.]. I was going to describe my times with Mork, but…no. I’ll just say that it feels good to sleep past 7am.

While I had an interesting time with Mork, I’ll miss his floppy ears, huge paws and awkward trot. I’m sure it won’t be my last time seeing him.

A huge thanks goes to Sarah’s mom and stepfather for taking the other puppy (Mindy).

What did I learn from that experience?

If you want a dog, watch a bunch of episodes of “Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan.” Owning and caring for a dog is a full-time job.

Get details of everything around the house. Here’s a list of questions to ask the owner.

  • Where can I go? What may I use? What’s off limits?
  • How do you work the electronic gadgets (TV, AV receiver, computer, etc.), dishwasher, washing machine, dryer?
  • What’s the WiFi password?
  • Who are the neighbors? Do they know about me?
  • Where’s the emergency shut-off for gas and water? Circuit breaker?
  • Is there parking enforcement?
  • When is trash day?
  • Do you want the plants watered?
  • Are you expecting important mail or packages?

Thanks for the WordPress shirt, @photomatt!

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A couple weeks/months ago, @photomatt included text on his contact form, stating that he’d send a shirt if you sent him your shirt size and mailing address. Last Friday, I got it! (I’m not alone. Jayvie got one, too.)

The main gift was the shirt, which is clutch because my black WordPress shirt is getting worn out.

Apparently, I’m also one of the three most important people in WordPress. :)

Certificate transcription:

This certificate entitles the holder to a lifetime supply of free WordPresses, to be used at their discretion for life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, & the four Freedoms of the GPL.

Signed, Matt Mullenweg.

Thanks to my pal, Taylor, for taking my photo. I told him how to compose it.

View on Flickr 1 / 2

Give 'em the duds?

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I took engagement photos for a couple a few weeks ago. We had a blast and they loved the photos. I knew they loved the photos because I let them chimp[1. Viewing photos on the back of my camera] a few times.

That was probably a bad move on my part.

While my contract doesn’t entitle them to get every single photo I took, they’re politely asking for all of them. You know, for posterity.

I already deleted a lot of the bad ones:

  • blurry
  • underexposed
  • duplicates
  • mid-blink or non-flattering photos

There’s a few left that I haven’t deleted, but I’d rank them between 1-2 out of 5. Not worthy.

I can’t think of an appropriate response or metaphor to help get my point across.

Wait, what’s your point?

Trust me, you don’t want all the photos. I don’t bat 1.000. Additionally, I wouldn’t want to be associated with those mediocre photos.

Any suggestions (for now or future encounters)?

Recording video with a Canon EOS 40D

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After reading “Capture 720P HD With Any LiveView Capable Canon Camera,” I wanted to try recording a simple video to see if it works.

It really does!

Why is this relevant? Only a few Canon digital SLR cameras record video, regardless of Live View. EOS Camera Movie Record allows any Live View-capable Canon DSLR camera to record video onto a connected computer.

Continue reading →

House and dog sitting for three weeks

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Sunday evening, I started house and dog sitting for my friend’s sister and her fiancé (Sarah and Simon). They live near Victory Park in Pasadena.

This will be my first time house/dog sitting.

For reference, the name of the dogs are Mork and Mindy. :)

What’s cool?

  • I can essentially do anything I want in the house. I could even throw a party or two.
  • They left me “several” beers, along with some food.
  • Two puppies! They’re trained to go outside for “business.”
  • Large LCD television, DirecTV, surround sound, Sonos multi-room music system, Nintendo Wii (yay, Netflix!), 27-inch iMac.

What isn’t cool about the dogs:

  • The “sit” command doesn’t work every time.
  • They jump up to greet people, and sometimes nip.
  • Mork can jump over the 3-foot indoor fence separating the living room and kitchen.
  • They bark at anything. Squirrels (or chipmunks), birds, sounds of other dogs.
  • Mork is slightly destructive.
  • My first attempt to take both dogs for a walk only went 50 yards.

Continue reading →

Photoblog failure, time for an actual portfolio

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Five months ago, I decided to make BryanVillarin.com my dedicated photo blog. That partially caused me to neglect All Narfed Up.

Neglect == bad

I’m going back to using All Narfed Up to post anything I want.

Bryan Villarin Photography (proudly powered by Zenfolio) currently has about 1,000 photos viewable from the homepage. If I’d rank them from 1 to 5 (5 being awesome), they’d range from 3 to 5.

What’ll you do with Bryan Villarin.com?

That’ll be my portfolio. I’ll aim to display my best work. I think I’ll stick to the following genres: portraits, weddings, concerts, bands (promotional), street photography, and fine art.

As for the posts, they’re not getting much traffic. (Beyond my biz card, I don’t emphasize BryanVillarin.com too much.) I’ll most likely move them to All Narfed Up.

Is 15-20 photos each genre too much?

Problem: I need to select my best photos for each genre. :)

Would you like to help? Please go to Bryan Villarin Photography. For each genre from the homepage, select your favorite photos, and share them with me.[2. Long explanation, but it's simple - I promise. If you hover over a photo in thumbnail view, a little black circle will appear. Then, you'll see "Add to Favorites." (In single photo view, right-click the photo, then "Add to Favorites.") After you click that, "My Favorites" should appear in the upper left corner of the website. Clicking that will display the thumbnails of your selections. On the right, there's a "Share" button. Rename the Favorites set title with the genre and fill out the rest of the form. Finally, click "Share" at the bottom right of the form.]

If you sift through at least two genres, I want to give you something. To show my appreciation, I’ll:

  1. make a “Thank You” page on my website and list your name/website[2. Once the portfolio website is up, of course.].
  2. send a coupon code for 20% off any print order over $50 USD (up to $200).

Thanks for your help!