My parents are visiting us in Rio de Janeiro this week. Last Saturday, we decided to go on a quick 2 hour boat excursion. The trip begins in Marina de Gloria, and then proceeds toward the other side of the bay to Niteroi. Once we hit Niteroi, we head north to the huge bridge of Niteroi, and then we head on back. It was a very cloudy day which is always a challenge when taking photos.
Solange and I travelled to Las Vegas to see Elton John and to see the Grand Canyon. I chose to do the bus tour because I wanted to have the whole experience as opposed to the helicopter tours which kind of whiz you in and out. A local also told me that quite a few helicopters had crashed lately.
We were not disappointed! We had to wake up at 5am, but we got to experience the trek between Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. There is nothing between Las Vegas and the Canyon except some very very poor towns. I was really struck at the poverty that these people lived in so close to one of the most luxurious and ostentatious cities on the face of the planet. Read More »
Another beautiful day in Myrtle Beach, so Solange and I decided to take out my parents for a photo shoot. We chose the old par 3 golf course very near to their house and also the airport. It was a little windy so their hair got a little tussled but outside of that, the photos turned out great. The photos are in two sets. One by me and the other by Solange. It all turned out great. Read More »
I went to Las Vegas a few weeks ago and I won about $2000. It had been a long time since I had gambled but I got to thinking about it. After I left Gateway in 1999, I had a certain fascination for gambling and I went on an incredible run.
In fact, long before there was blogging, I made a list of all my winnings. Here they are:
| Date | Winnings | Location |
| Feb 12, 1999 | $1500 | Las Vegas |
| Feb 13, 1999 | $1500 | Las Vegas |
| Feb 14, 1999 | $1500 | Las Vegas |
| Feb 20, 1999 | $2500 | Sioux City |
| Mar 6, 1999 | $2000 | Sioux City |
| Mar 20, 1999 | $4000 | Las Vegas |
| Mar 21, 1999 | $2000 | Las Vegas |
So in the space of about six weeks, I made $15,000! I remember it well, because I was always walking around with a wallet full of one hundred dollar bills. When I think about this time, and all my times before, there is one simple rule that will allow you to consistently win money gambling. I mainly play blackjack but this simple rule most likely work for virtually any type of gambling.
Before I start, there is one prequisite. In the case of blackjack, you need to know what you are doing. There is a certain way to play the cards, and you have to always play the cards “according to the book”. If you play each hand according the book, your odds of winning each hand is right about 49% or maybe a little higher but less than 50%. You get the idea. Read More »
Today was a cold and windy day in Myrtle Beach, but it was also quite sunny. We decided to explore the city and visitd Alligator Adventure in North Myrtle Beach. I was very impressed. I had never seen anything quite like it. They literally have over a thousand alligators and crocodiles at the park. Additionally, they have the largest captive alligator measuring in at an astonishing 24 feet.
On top of the alligators, they also have tigers, camels, tons of lizards and a wide variety of other animals. This was also a good test for me because many of the exhibits were also indoors requiring me to change around the camera settings on the fly. I am starting to get the hang of it but it is always a challenge. Read More »
The weather has been spectacular here in Myrtle Beach. I have been here for a little over a month and virtually every day has been sunny and warm. By warm, I mean anywhere from highs of 65 to 75 degrees. It is very nice, and that is almost perfect weather to take photos.
In my continuing quest to not let my new camera conquer me, I took my wife to Market Commons for a brief photo shoot. Myrtle Beach has been part of our nation’s economic bubble, and currently Myrtle Beach has the highest unemployment in all of South Carolina. Market Commons for me is a symbol of that bubble. It is a very ambitious project to bring together commerce and apartments all in one integrated community. It also was completed shortly before the bubble first and rumour has it is near financial ruin. Despite all of that, it is a very beautifully designed place and it is seldom very crowded. Hence a great place for a photo shoot.
All of these photos were taken with ISO 200, although I spent quite a bit of time monkeying around with f-stops and shutter speeds. There are clearly flaws in some of the photos but others turned out pretty good. Solange is also learning how to become a good model too. It was a fun project never the less. Solange has been putting her hair in a bun kind of like Amy Winehouse, which gives a different look to the photo shoot.
Teddy and I went out yesterday for his first golf outing. I wasn’t planning to go with him because I didn’t think he was ready, but he cried plenty until I agreed. I normally play at Prestwick, but that is a very hard course for anybody much less a 4 year old, so we went to a little par 3 called Midway close to our house.
It was a beautiful winter day. The temperature was in the in mid 70′s which was awesome. I brought a large plastic softball, and then we also had a blue plastic golf ball, and then of course normal golf balls. Teddy is very patient, and very determined, so we always made it to the hole, and then Teddy really loved trying to putt the ball near the hole. The trick is that the closer to the hole, the less hard you must hit the ball. Teddy figured it all out. We paid for 9 holes and we played each hole twice. We certainly got our money’s worth and I want to thank all the other golfers on the course that put up with us. We let quite a few play through.
It wasn’t easy taking photos since I still don’t understand my new camera well, and I have not played golf in a while. I only took a few shots, but I am so glad I did because it is so cool to see Teddy learning something new. Read More »
When in Rio, my good old Panasonic Lumix camera broke. It really made me sad, because I was just figuring out how to compose a decent photograph. So as soon as I got back to the United States, I bought a new camera. I decided to upgrade a bit and I purchased the new Sony NEX-5N which is a new type of camera that gives SLR style photos but the camera has no mirror. It is also is a lot smaller and lighter than the big honking SLR’s that we see people carrying around.
So this is my first photo shoot with the new camera. I am still getting used to it, because it is a very sophisticated camera. We went to Brookgreen Gardens which is a beautiful and elaborate garden just south of Myrtle Beach. It was a beautiful fall day and I have always wanted to do a photo shoot of my beautiful wife, Solange. I also think she was curious to see if she could model for the camera. So this is her first attempt at being a model, and my first attempt with my new camera. Some of the shots are a little over exposed but over all I think it turned out not too bad for a first effort. Leave us a comment particularly if you know a lot about photography. As always, the photos look much better in full screen mode.
I made the flight reservations for November 25th for 5 people (me, Solange (my wife), Teddy, Jesse, and my mother in law Maria). The reservation was for approximately $1000 a person with US Air. I only fly US Air to Myrtle Beach because I refuse to fly Delta ever again, because Delta ripped me off for $2500 which I already documented on this web site. The price I felt was reasonable.
After that, the unexpected happenned. My wife is doing quite well in school, and in Brazil if a student is not doing well then they have the option to take an additional set of exams to try to pass the course. That was not necessary in my wife’s case because she is learning her coursework well. But… last week, she had an exam and the professor did not show up for the exam. They were told that he was in the hospital, and that my wife would have to wait a week to take her last exam. I called US Air and they nailed me for $400 but what could I do? So I paid.
Now, only four of us are travelling (me, Maria, Teddy and Jesse). My wife drove us to the airport to say good bye. When we get to check in they informed us that we were unable to travel since we do not have my wife’s written permission to allow me to travel with the kids. Apparently, they just passed a new law in Brazil in the last two months to stop parents from abducting their children to foreign countries.
I was bummed but I was more nervous because I was sure that US Air would nail us for fees. We go to the US Air counter, and we argue with them, and guess what? US Air actually changed our ticket to the next day for free! I really don’t know why they didn’t stick it to us because I was fully expecting it. Read More »
Somewhere in the 80′s or perhaps the early 90′s, the American dream changed. The American dream became to own a house. Before that time, it had been about the future. I was raised to believe that if you were smart and worked hard, you could build a better future for yourself. Also, I have always wanted to believe that whatever future I could build, my children would have a brighter future than me. I no longer believe this.
Many of my friends and relatives childrens are becoming of age to go to college or enter the work force. It makes me sad because they do not have anywhere near the opportunities I had when leaving college. There were literally a line of companies that wanted to interview me. I was 20 years old flying throughout the entire country for free trying to select the best company for me. It made me feel great about myself and my future. Today’s college graduates are lucky to get a job at all much less get wined and dined by the most attractive companies in the country.
So how did we get here? How did such a bright future turn so bleak in the course of one generation? It has taken me a while but I have figured out the answer. It is the Fed. The Fed has ruined the future. Let me explain how.
The core of the issue is ZERO percent interest rates. What are interest rates? What does that mean? Interest rates are generally thought to be the time value of money. So therefore, if you want to borrow $100 today and interest rates are 10%, you must pay back $110 one year from now. More importantly, if you pay back in two years, you now owe $121. Basically, the longer you wait to pay, the more you owe which in general is not good.
How are interest rates determined? Interest rates historically have been considered a price between the supply and demand of money. Back in the gold old days, if a lot of people were saving money in their bank accounts, this would drive interest rates down. Conversely, if a lot of people wanted to borrow money, that would drive interest rates up. This entire equation has been broken in the last 10 years but one retard named Alan Greenspan who was the chairman of the Fed under Ronald Reagan, George H. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Read More »
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