Uh oH!!! Or I should say

"D'OH!!!"

For the past two days I've been building a new computer. It's all finished now, and I'm using it right now. The computer is great and it works great, but unfortunately when I installed Win XP over my old version of Win Millenium it corrupted all my personal files. In other words, I have lost all my email addresses, all my favorite web addresses and worst of all, I can't get Photoshop to work anymore. Let me tell ya folks, this sucks.

So I have a big favor to ask of all my close personal friends who's email addresses I've had before, can you please email them to me again. I would appreciate it very much. Thanks.

I'm very lucky that most of my image files are still intact. What a disaster it's been. This new computer has started off on a bad foot with me. We barely even know each other yet.

Ok, I gotta get some sleep soon. I've been too much of a geek this weekend.

Ciao!

Monday was a nice and relaxing day. I had to go down town to drop off a piece of rental equipment in the morning, but I had nothing else scheduled for the rest of the afternoon. I was going to do some shopping and maybe take some photos, but I called my Journalist friend J. first to see what he was up to. As it turns out, J. had the day off too, and he was entertaining a friend of his from England. He suggested we meet somewhere and go shoot some photos and check out some scenery.

So I met up with J. and his friend form England and we walked around town, had some coffees and took photos. By late afternon I was getting pretty hungry, so I suggested that we stop for a bite at a restaurant some where.

We were on Granville Island in Vancouver at that time, and everything was closing for the night, so we ended up going to the pub. I hardly ever drink, but I do eat often so decided to have their tasty looking veggie burger. It was great! I decided to have a nice big glass of honey ale with that. It was very tasty as well!

So it turned out to be a very relaxing day.

Here's some interesting questions I've just received in my email today that I'll answer here:

1.When do you decide to use your digital camera versus your film camera?

I use my film camera mostly for portraits and professional assignments that demand high speed shooting and require high quality, versatile lenses. My digital camera can deliver some very sharp images--perfectly acceptable for some professional use--but it can't perform quite as well as my professional film camera which can shoot images up to 5 frames per second. The digital camera (like most digital cameras) suffers from shutter lag. It's great for shooting stock images, but fails when shooting action. My film camera is also constructed entirely from a tough metal alloy, so it can take all the beatings required of it as a professional camera. The Canon G2 is plastic and fragile.

I do really enjoy using my Canon G2 digital camera for everyday street photography though. Most of the photos you see here are from my digital camera. My good friend J. in (The Vancouver journalist, not the sexy J.S. in Ontario) uses his G2 for absolutely everything. It's great because it doesn't look big and fancy, so most of the time people don't even know you're taking a picture.

2.Have you retired your webcam?

Yes. I've actually sold the webcam on Ebay. I can use the digital cam as a webcam too. I'll try that soon and post the images here.

3.Do you think that the tree work you did caused your knee problem(s?)

Yes. The work I've done in the past 10 to 12 years was determined by a specialist to have been the major cause of my knee problems. The cartiledge under my kneecaps has deteriorated or worn off and has caused me a great deal of problems. Six or seven months ago I could barely even walk. Through physiotherapy and constant exercise though, I've recovered almost fully. I still get knee pain going up and down stairs, but now my legs are much stronger. Now I must continue exercising my legs (and the rest of my body) in order to maintain my ability to walk and do normal activities. Fortunately I can now ride my bike again, which I absolutely love doing.

I've also learned an important lesson from all I've been through, and that is no matter how much you get paid to do your job, it isn't worth losing your health over. No amount of money can buy you your health back. Only your body can do that. We only get one body to carry us through our lives and we'll depend on it lot when we get older. Take care of yourself first, then everything else.

4.Is it ever warm enough in the Vancouver area to wear shorts and short sleeves???

Heehee! I like this question. Sometimes it's warm enough here to wear shorts (in the summer months) but I look like the sun when I take my shirt off, so I usually have to wait until I have some kind of even looking tan to do it. My legs are always white and I get embarrased by them, so I rarely wear shorts unless I'm in my cycling tights. I wear those because they're comfortable to ride in. Who knows though, perhaps this summer I'll be brave and get a tan all over. It could happen.

Thanks for your questions E. in New Orleans, Louisiana! Take care!

Ciao!

I'm going to see the X-Men this afternoon with my best friend L. It should be fun. I like having the option of purchasing my tickets online now, but I don't like how they jab you for an additional $2.00 convenience fee on top of the ticket price. Entertainment is getting pretty expensive these days.

It's raining today. Yuck. Perfect day for a movie.

The past week has been--and will be--a very memorable one for me. Although I was very busy, I also had a great time. Working with Laura Doyle, riding and photographing horses, photographing Laura in concert and shooting with a great lens has all been fantastic!

Here's some more photos of the horses we were riding at the H.O.P.E. - LAND CENTER (Horses On Peacful Earth) in Pitt Meadows. I now have a whole new respect for these beautiful and noble creatures.

Sorry Photos Deleted