I finally did it I bought a T-ring and T-adapter for our telescope!  I haven't figured out how to use lenses into the mix yet, but I was able to hook up my Canon 10D directly to my telescope and take photographs.  I don't have any fancy mounting rigs, so I'm limited to somewhat short exposure times (less than a second or two) before the celestial objects move!  I did manage to get a fairly nice photo of the moon.  I'd like to try the moon shot as it gets a litter fuller, but the weather has just been downright terrible for view the Kansas sky.  Let me know if you got questions on this one!

At many stages in my professional career I have had exceptional mentors, but I've never had one ride to work with me on a daily basis.  For the past month the podcasts of the web site, www.manager-tools.com have provided insight into several management tools that I previously did not command.  I, definitely, don't rely on *just* podcasts to direct me and my team, but I do like the thoughts and discussions that this particular podcast has stimulated in my work place.

One of the tools that I have implemented in both my personal and professional life is the introduction tool that was released a couple of months ago, and has really pushed me to develop new relationships.  Plain and simple, I don't know how any one can afford to not subscribe to this podcast.

(BTW, I'm an avid Zune fan, too... the wireless synch is what sold me)

I have evolved into a MySpace user.

For my reader-base utilizing MySpace my profile is located:

www.myspace.com/siteconstrux

and my RSS feed (basically announcing that I've posted content on this web site or ForeverRemembering.com) is located here:

blog.myspace.com/blog/rss.cfm

The second drawing in my series of Granby, Missouri mines is the 1905 Cheap Screw Mine.  Again, I took inspiration from a book published in 1905 using Missouri State Geology records.  The endearing thing about this mine is its apparent lack of upkeep. This pencil drawing illustrates the disarray of the immediate surroundings of this lead mining site.   My initial thoughts on creating prints is beginning to materialize into two runs, a limited edition Giclee, which will be printed on demand and another limited edition run of prints.  The Giclee run will be limited to 25 and the limited edition run will be 500.  I'll post more details as I finish negotiations with each of the printers.  Thanks to all my supporters (both of you are appreciated ;) and the critics who have helped me improve my art.

My grandparents still maintain Purple Martin houses and have for at least 25 years. In Southern Missouri you have to mitigate all the mosquito bites in some way, just so happens, they chose to encourage Purple Martins to next near their house.  The cats used to get close and the birds would dive bomb them promptly. I never saw the cats catch one, but of the dozens of Martins around I suspect they got one from time to time.

The best Purple Martin habitat almost always contains a large open field.  I've seen small colonies (25 birds plus their young) on as small as a half acre tract.  My Grandfather's colony consisting of well over 50 adults has about 75 acres of open terrain.  The one thing I almost immediately noticed is the Purple Martin's tendency to fight for the gourd houses more intensely than the tradition multi unit houses.

I hear that a newspaper recently did an article on Grandpa's Martins. Can't wait to see it.

Ebay.com purchases are a norm for me, but what I do with them is often a mystery with my family.  My acquisition of the 1905 Geology of Mines, Granby Missouri Area turned out to be a source of drawing inspiration.  In one of the later plates a photograph appears of the Jack Sprout Mine in Granby, Missouri.  After viewing several photos I finally composed this picture of the mine in the hometown of my youth.  One day maybe I'll determine the exact location of the old Jack Sprout Mine and photograph the present day area.  In the foreground of my drawing a hand jig is seen and the bigger tower is an example of a beam pump.  I'm exploring turning this drawing into a print series for others to enjoy, though I don't have much experience in this arena.

In any event drawing is a relaxing hobby that keeps my stress level in balance, and gives me a sense a purpose.  The enjoyment of finishing a sketch is quite an experience to be treasured. I pray everyone finds a stress reliever as good as the one I possess.

This shot was a long time coming.  Over the past three years I've tried various ways to shoot fireworks, however; it wasn't until this year did I apply my methodology of shooting lightning strikes to fireworks.  Basically, what I did was set up my tripod with my Canon 10D and a 17-40 lense wide open.  To achieve the shot I went to full manual mode and set the Time Priority to 'bulb'.  This means that when I press the shutter button and hold down my exposure will be 'active' until I release the shutter button, and I will have captured everything that happens during that time frame.  If you have further questions on how to use this technique to shoot fireworks, please, add a comment and I will answer you in the comments for all our other readers benefit as well.

My top pick for bowling balls is the Hammer Black Widow Pearl.  I stand about 5 to 7 boards off to the left of center and throw at the right gutter.  At the very end of my roll the Black Widow Pearl will break hard at the end.  I've rolled about 12 games with this ball and have 4 200 games at this point.  If you have questions about this ball I'll answer any you have if you leave a comment!

Driving out on South Saint Vrain in Estes Park will quickly take you to Lily Lake, a Reynolds' vacation spot favorite.  There are a couple of easy trails, one completely around the lake and another up a small mountain.  Going around the lake in early morning will get you nice photos from any angle.  Not every day will you get fog at Lily Lake, so enjoy it when you can, though I prefer a clear day with a nice sunrise to shoot.

Photo Statistics:

Shutter Speed 1/90 sec
Lens Aperture F/4
Focal Length 17mm
ISO-100
Metering Mode Partial
Exposure Compensation 0 step
No Flash

With as many new modules as I've created for my web sites and shared between them all, I've developed a need for custom sections in my web configs.  That way it's easy to copy and paste setting for a component into a new (or existing) project and not worry about overlapping (i.e to config elements with the same name).  I've been doing this for a long time but it always took me 4 or 5 lines of code to access the values in the elements.

Here some example web.config code:

<configuration>

   <configSections>

      <section name="RSS" type="System.Configuration.DictionarySectionHandler, System, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089"/>

   </configSections>

   <RSS>

      <add key="ContentType" value="text/xml"/>

      <add key="Title" value="Site Construx's Article RSS Feed"/>

   </RSS>

</configuration> 

Here's how to access the custom config element with a single line of code

	(string)((Hashtable)ConfigurationManager.GetSection("RSS"))["Generator"];

If you're having trouble with this feel free to post a comment and I'll help you out!