tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193152272024-03-07T01:54:14.448-06:00GPSOkie's Photography and Geocaching BlogGeocaching and Photography in North East OklahomaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-89683185926548759282015-03-31T20:49:00.001-05:002015-03-31T20:52:16.290-05:00I'm Still Alive....I didn't realize how long it has been since I last updated this blog. So much has changed since my last post! It is late tonight but I think I will try to do some updates over the next few days. Life is crazy and so much has happened over the last five years. I will try to add some insight to my life and all the changes since I last posted. I hope everyone is doing well!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-8600159501276231082010-02-03T09:50:00.002-06:002010-02-03T10:01:48.561-06:00Wild Winter....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RDsaO5nvRzM2vnCYnLhRnZUsxDxPqBCQdP4_EoxpfH8kfODkKMQVrVoqRqzB3Gj5iIpqXPH1Kphy6roJm2yU1xODL1P2wxiHDSQSzGU8EkCQ3toaQdE4kx_OxFEBFZb8ZFLTJA/s1600-h/2010-01-29+18.11.16.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RDsaO5nvRzM2vnCYnLhRnZUsxDxPqBCQdP4_EoxpfH8kfODkKMQVrVoqRqzB3Gj5iIpqXPH1Kphy6roJm2yU1xODL1P2wxiHDSQSzGU8EkCQ3toaQdE4kx_OxFEBFZb8ZFLTJA/s320/2010-01-29+18.11.16.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434047885306613810" border="0" /></a><br />We have had an amazing winter here in Oklahoma. Not only did we have a white Christmas, but the snow that fell on Christmas Eve was on the ground almost 20 days. It helped that we got around 10 inches here at the house! About the time all of that snow melted off, we had another storm leaving 8 inches of snow. That fell 3 days ago and seems like it will melt off a lot faster. We do still have a lot on the ground, though. Interestingly enough, we are supposed to get another round of snow starting tomorrow evening.<br /><br />I need to get the camera out and take more photos. I was hoping to get some time on the telescope but between the clouds, cold, and my scope acting up, I just haven't got it done. Here's to better weather!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-28854144482872946672009-07-26T13:51:00.005-05:002009-07-26T23:44:33.864-05:00Leaving on a Jet Plane....Nah, I'm not going anywhere. The song title just seems like an appropriate title for this post. The song was written by John Denver (my wife's favorite artist). It was first recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary and later recorded by Mr. Denver on several of his albums. I've loved the song since I was a kid but it became even more special after I married Lisa because Mr. Denver's music was such an important part of her life.<br /><br />If you have followed my blog for a while, you know what Lisa has been through over the past years and you also probably know how hard it was for me to see her so sick. You also know how happy and proud I was to see her recover and return to work as a paramedic. She loves EMS and it was so important to her to get back to doing what made her so very happy.<br /><br />A week and a half ago, I discovered that she was having an affair and had fallen in love with someone else. One day later, I moved out to begin my new life without her. I can honestly say that I have never had anything more devastating happen to me. We had been married for twenty years and I had never imagined that this could happen to us. Before you ask me about working things out or counseling, please understand that she has no interest in pursuing any options like that. She had already decided to marry this other man before I discovered the affair.<br /><br />Needless to say, I had a REALLY rough week. The good news is that I seem to be doing really well after less than two weeks. I think that is good news, right? I expected the hurt to last much longer than it actually did. I now seem to find myself feeling sad for Lisa and her new man. I'm not sure I can explain it and I'm not sure I even understand it myself. All the anger and hurt that I felt when I discovered the affair just seems to have vanished. There are still moments of pain but the constant assault is over.<br /><br />I have been surrounded by my friends and family since all of this happened and I attribute my rapid recovery to all the love they have shown me. I have several sets of what I consider family. I have my blood family that is in Texas. I didn't tell them initially because they were in Colorado on vacation. I did not want to ruin their trip so I waited as long as I could to let them know. I also have a really close group of friends that are like family to me. I use the term "group" loosely. Really, it is three people and and their families. One of which, is the older brother I never had. I told him the day I found out about the affair and by the time I got off work, he had a moving crew (his son and one of my other close friends) at my house to move me to a spare bedroom at his home. Last, is my work family. They have been so supportive of me since this all happened.<br /><br />I can't imagine how hard this could have been without all the special people I have in my life right now. I know I will be fine now. I know I will be happy again. Happiness is already returning to my life. Just yesterday, we had a very small get together. I am still easily overwhelmed by attention so it was just me, my buddy's family, and one other person that is pretty special to me. I'm not emotional anymore but I get pretty anxious and somewhat cranky when the conversation stays focused on my marriage and the affair very long. I'm also a bit sensitive about people wanting to "fix" something or making me do stuff to distract me. I have to do this my way at my pace. Anyway, back to yesterday! I spent most of the day cooking on the smoker while my buddy's wife and sister prepared side dishes. We had an incredible meal and then played pool, drank, and enjoyed life.<br /><br />In many ways, yesterday was my "jet plane". The only life I had know for 20 years ended yesterday and with the help of some very special people, a new life took off for destinations unknown. What I do know, is that I will be happy where ever life takes me. As long as I have people in my life like those there now, I can't be anything but happy.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-8808932925650934722009-05-31T11:14:00.003-05:002009-05-31T11:16:42.742-05:00MoonscapeSpent some time taking photos of the moon and stars the other night. This was my favorite! I was surprised at how much detail showed. I will have more to post soon.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3580003902/" title="Moonscape by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2424/3580003902_571ca609fc_o.jpg" width="481" height="510" alt="Moonscape" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-30512841225518124862009-05-24T14:49:00.002-05:002009-05-24T16:28:37.888-05:00Zoo Safari IIIThought I would post a few more photos from the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.tulsazoo.org">zoo</a> trip.<br /><br />This is one of the two rhinoceroses at the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.tulsazoo.org">Tulsa Zoo</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3552368737/" title="Zoomed in Rhino by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2457/3552368737_e2981ca520.jpg" alt="Zoomed in Rhino" width="500" height="397" /></a><br /><br />They have beautiful flowers in the Tropical Rain Forest Exhibit.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3552367029/" title="Arrgg! by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3373/3552367029_2dd5c41126.jpg" alt="Arrgg!" width="500" height="489" /></a><br /><br />Another flower from that exhibit.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3553175334/" title="Tropical Flower by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3629/3553175334_8fda4ea785.jpg" alt="Tropical Flower" width="500" height="489" /></a><br /><br />The always majestic lion.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3548004966/" title="Lion Portrait by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2470/3548004966_89c9757f32.jpg" alt="Lion Portrait" width="500" height="494" /></a><br /><br />Meerkat!<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3547197505/" title="Posing by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3416/3547197505_4467311710.jpg" alt="Posing" width="500" height="484" /></a><br /><br />Be sure to visit my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/">Flickr</a> site if you want to see all my photos. Speaking of sites...I just joined Facebook! I never really thought about it until one of my coworkers urged me to join. I am amazed at how many of my friends are on Facebook. I'll add a link to my page later today.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-35272155925017069572009-05-23T10:56:00.003-05:002009-05-23T11:15:58.101-05:00Zoo Safari III'm pretty pleased with the Canon XSi. The zoo trip was a good measure as I have taken photos of the same subjects with my two other DSLRs and I knew I would be able to compare the differences. The Canon is a 12mp camera and my D80 was 10mp so I didn't know if there would be an discernible advantage. In my opinion, the Canon's 12mp sensor did a better job and showed a noticible resolution advantage. To me, the photos from the Canon are just more pleasing to the eye than those of my Nikon. As I said below, I have always been a huge Nikon fan so it is not easy for me to admit.<br /><br />When I would take the D80 to the Tulsa Zoo for a day, I would usually come home with about 60% of my photos "postable". The other 40% had noticible focus or exposure issues that were beyond fixing in Photoshop. I was amazed to see almost all of my photos from the XSi usable. I would guesstimate that about 90% of the photos were correctly exposed and had good focus. This is in spite of the fact that I accidently had my EV setting two full stops in the negative for the first half of my photos!<br /><br />All of that said, the Nikon D80 and Canon XSi are both wonderful cameras. You can't go wrong with either camera. Knowing what I know now, I would choose the XSi above the D80. Here are some of my favorites from last weekends photo safari at the Tulsa Zoo.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3552585601/" title="All Aboard! by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2132/3552585601_ab77814aba.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="All Aboard!" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3553393576/" title="Stretch! by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3307/3553393576_760b5f41b7.jpg" width="410" height="500" alt="Stretch!" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3553392190/" title="Jaguar by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2478/3553392190_975b1a284b.jpg" width="500" height="497" alt="Jaguar" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3548004376/" title="Flamingo Eye by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3599/3548004376_8741b36557.jpg" width="500" height="338" alt="Flamingo Eye" /></a><br /><br />I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend. Don't forget to honor those who died so that we could be free. This post is dedicated to my grandfather, Lonnie Ables, who served in World War II.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-75029364504277935832009-05-18T19:05:00.003-05:002009-05-21T23:27:46.944-05:00Zoo SafariI spent a couple of hours at the Tulsa Zoo yesterday taking photos. I ended up with around 260 photos! I an using a <a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=16303">Canon XSi</a> that I bought a couple of weeks ago. I believe I took some of the best photos I have ever taken. Don't get me wrong, I have had 3 DSLRs (Olympus E-330, Nikon D80, and now the XS-i) and they have all taken some wonderful photos. But, I don't ever remember getting output that was this consistently good. I have used digital cameras since the beginning and have always been a Nikon man but I think this Canon is going to change my outlook significantly. I used my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Canon-55-250mm-4-0-5-6-Telephoto-Digital/dp/B0011NVMO8">55-250mm EF-S IS</a> lens for the entire day and just captured one great photo after another. I know that some of it is my increasing experience and the studying I have done. Mostly, I think it is my new equipment, though.<br /><br />I will be posting photos to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/">Flickr</a> and the blog starting tonight so keep your eyes open. I will probably post in sets of 10 to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/">Flickr</a> and follow up with post here. It takes forever to process 260 RAW images!<br /><br />While you wait, here is something recent I took.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3536550841/" title="Night Driving by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2032/3536550841_74c6f7e54c.jpg" alt="Night Driving" height="326" width="500" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-226123118264099362009-05-16T22:17:00.003-05:002009-05-16T22:42:37.339-05:00CloudsWe have had rain in Tulsa for twenty two days straight now. The good news is that it has presented a lot of weather photography opportunities! I sold my tripod because it wasn't what I wanted so I ended up trying to take handheld night time lightning photos. That failed miserably. I did get a few interesting photos but no good lightning shots. Here is a night shot of the clouds as a thunderstorm rolled in last night.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3536550249/" title="Storm by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2415/3536550249_25620f160c.jpg" alt="Storm" height="334" width="500" /></a><br /><br />This is cloud to cloud lightning lighting up the clouds.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3537364788/" title="Cloud to Cloud Lightning by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2403/3537364788_db6cd4e39f.jpg" alt="Cloud to Cloud Lightning" height="341" width="500" /></a><br /><br />I took this photo looking straight up. I really like how it turned out!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3536550601/" title="Cumulus Clouds by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3596/3536550601_02ea995573.jpg" alt="Cumulus Clouds" height="334" width="500" /></a><br /><br />If you get a chance, check out this new <a href="http://www.photocrati.com/">website</a>. <a href="http://www.photocrati.com/">Photocrati</a> is a very nice site about photography. To be honest, it is one of the better websites I have seen. They cover a lot of news on DSLRs and software that is of interest to me. Check it out! Hope everyone has a great weekend.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-40932345975110777332009-05-12T22:11:00.002-05:002009-05-12T22:25:41.171-05:00Sorry!I can't believe that it has been nearly a year since I last posted to this blog! I am ashamed. I don't have a good excuse other than it has been a busy and trying year. <br /><br />Here is a quick rundown of the past year's events. My wife and I moved to a new home. She is still working as a paramedic....and she is still on an opposite shift from me. It suck having no seniority! She caught meningitis from a patient and spend a couple of weeks in the hospital. I am still at the same job and in the same position. I have not done any geocaching in a long time. I sold my beloved Nikon to help finance our move. To be honest, it was not so beloved as I wasn't completely satisfied with the camera. My MS is status quo and I haven't had much progression! My chronic back pain due to my MS is worse than ever. Winston and Delia (my two Dachshunds) are still terrorizing anyone they come in contact with. I bought a Canon XS-i a week ago and LOVE it. I discovered Oklahoma casinos (specifically, Cherokee Casino in Catoosa). I think that is it!?!<br /><br />Since I bought my new camera, I should be posting a lot more often. I made it to Woodward Park at lunch the other day so I will leave you with a recent photo.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/3516978068/" title="Pretty Blooms by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3648/3516978068_12a340dcd1.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Pretty Blooms" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-19090611534282201292008-06-08T05:20:00.002-05:002008-06-08T05:44:15.307-05:00Busy, busy.....Wow, it's been a crazy month! We are closing in on the end of our fiscal year at work which means it's budget time again. Combine that with the fact that we are coming in right at our annual goals and it is just utter insanity at the work place. Where I work, meeting our goals is not an option. Peoples lives depends on our ability to meet our goals and commitments. It seems to get harder and harder as each year passes. While I struggle however I can to help meet our goals, I'm also responsible for putting together a $9 million dollar budget. All of this equals a lot of stress. <br /><br />The wonderful news is that my wife is back working and loves her job. Unfortunately, she ended up with a shift opposite the hour I work. That means we end up with about 12 hours a week together. She is so excited to be back at work and loves the work so I don't think she feels the impact of our time away yet. I had grown used to having her to come home to each day. She balanced my life. I really miss her being here.<br /><br />Hopefully, I will have time for some photography and geocaching here in the near future. It hasn't hit that miserably hot time of the year yet so it is still pleasant outside at times. Although, the humidity can be a killer with all the rain we have received!<br /><br />I did get a nice photo a couple of weeks ago of the new arena they are building here in Tulsa. It will be nice to have a place where bigger name entertainers are willing to come.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2517852200/" title="BOK Center by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2085/2517852200_bdef359483.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="BOK Center" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-44801478515522142702008-05-18T12:43:00.003-05:002008-05-18T13:50:05.510-05:00Smokin'....I did my first smoke of the year this weekend. Like geocaching, it was a low priority for the past year as we worked through my wife's illness. Usually, I smoke year round but it has been at least a year since I fired up the smoker. I spent the evening Friday getting the smoker ready to go. I also prepped the brisket by trimming and covering it with mustard and a dry rub. It was then wrapped in plastic wrap and placed back in the fridge.<br /><br />Got up yesterday morning at around 0600 to get the smoker started and the meat loaded. Once the smoker was up to temp, I placed the brisket on to smoke. I like to smoke food the old fashion way...with real fire and wood. I think the food is better that way. I have tried electric smoking and it just wasn't for me. I am the type of person that gets a lot of pleasure from tending to the food and fire. To me, that is half the fun. After the brisket had smoked for about six hours, I added a split chicken for the wife. She is not big on meats but does enjoy chicken on occasion.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2500625388/" title="Brisket.... by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2345/2500625388_5fc628bba5.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="Brisket...." /></a><br /><br />The brisket went twelve hours and the chicken smoked for six. I was very pleased with the results. The brisket was very tender and tasty. The chicken just about melted in your mouth it was so tender. Paired up with a little potato salad, baked beans, and some Head Country Barbecue sauce it made for a great dinner.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2501076918/" title="Heaven on a Plate by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2052/2501076918_e1867399bd.jpg" width="500" height="362" alt="Heaven on a Plate" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-53299011661328085642008-05-05T20:13:00.003-05:002008-05-05T20:32:24.317-05:00Geocaching!After a long break, I finally went geocaching Sunday!! Yes, I am excited about it. Between my wife being so sick last year and my MS, I did not get hardly any caching in this last year. Now that our lives are pretty much back in order, I can start caching again. I traded my Lowrance H2Oc some time ago for a new, in the box, Garmin 60CSx. It has pretty much gone unused since I made the trade. Needless to say, it got a nice test drive yesterday. Our first cache was <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=ddd49ca2-3c1a-4490-9fb9-277354ebba2b">MnM Urban Jungle</a>. It was relatively close to home and new since my last time caching. We were able to park fairly close and walk to the cache. Mike spotted it first. It was a nice size ammo can. We didn't take anything but we left a few trinkets. Here is a view from near the cache.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2469667078/" title="Geocaching by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2306/2469667078_c4a061974b.jpg" alt="Geocaching" height="325" width="500" /></a><br /><br />Next, we headed for <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=ad9c3150-e895-44bb-86db-ccb9b82861d5">Fenced In</a>. We were able to locate the clever hide quickly. From there, we headed over to <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=ae08abcd-0034-43af-9d3b-3f62b88fd1c1">Fitness Walk - West Bank (South)</a>. They don't call this one Fitness Walk for no reason! It was a bit of a hike in to the cache. Trust me, I need the exercise so I am not complaining! We ended up hitting three caches and made thee finds. I am so impressed with the Garmin 60 CSx. I loved my Lowrance but (as much as I hate to admit it) the Garmin is just a all around better unit. That said, it should be as it is about 33% more expensive. I was fortunate to get such a good trade. I traded a Garmin eTrex Legend (older model) and my H2Oc for the 60CSx so I think I ended up with a good deal as the 60CSx had not even been opened. The two units I traded were in good shape but well used.<br /><br />As soon as I get more time with the new Garmin, I will post a review. Like I said, I'm quite impressed so far. It is a VERY accurate unit.<br /><br />While we were out, we swung by Riverside Airport and did a little photography. There was a B-17 visiting that had caught our eyes.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2468843177/" title="B-17 Liberty Belle by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2354/2468843177_f87009ab01.jpg" width="500" height="325" alt="B-17 Liberty Belle" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-28642076134449422782008-04-27T18:37:00.002-05:002008-04-27T18:47:18.957-05:00Uneventful...It has been an uneventful week here in Tulsa Oklahoma. Work was work with nothing interesting to break the blahs. Lisa is enjoying her new job, though. The training academy at EMSA is about six weeks and involves a lot of learning and testing. She had two major testing events this week and did well on both in spite of the stress. She did a ride out Friday night and from what she told me the calls are the same as they were back when we were both paramedics....alcohol and assaults for the most part.<br /><br />Even the weather was uneventful this week. I guess that is a good thing for most people. As weird as it seems, I really enjoy severe weather. It is not because I have never been touched by severe weather. I have been in a tornado and my grandparents lost their home to a tornado when I was a child. I was old enough to remember everything. We got their the day after the tornado hit. I remember walking around in shock at the destruction. I'd never wish that on anyone. All that said, I'm facinated by tornadoes, hail, lightning, and the likes.<br /><br />We did have one storm blow through on Wednesday, I think. I got a nice photo of some scud clouds after the center of the storm had passed.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2437048919/" title="After the Storm by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2178/2437048919_2c9ff97904.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="After the Storm" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-71228029177498709262008-04-23T20:50:00.002-05:002008-04-23T20:57:06.320-05:00PartyMy closest friend's wife had a birthday this last weekend. We gathered at their house and celebrated the occasion. A good time was had by all and I got some nice photos in the process. We shot a little pool and I did not do well at all! I've never been the best pool shooter but I was ever worse than usual. Mike romped me badly.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2428624421/" title="Shooting Pool by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3149/2428624421_e187813261.jpg" width="500" height="443" alt="Shooting Pool" /></a><br /><br />After we tired of playing pool, we moved outside to his fire pit where we built a fire and enjoyed our drinks in the cool evening air. Fortunately, he lives in the country so we can enjoy this activity without alarming anyone.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2429437786/" title="Building the Fire by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/2429437786_60ce4369e9.jpg" width="500" height="446" alt="Building the Fire" /></a><br /><br />All in all, it was a great evening and we really needed a wind down session after a rough week at work. We had our national auditors in for the whole week and it was quite stressful!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-66993364342995369862008-04-16T20:50:00.003-05:002008-04-16T21:00:24.756-05:00Movie NightWe had the whole family piled on the bed last night watching a movie. By whole family, I mean me, my wife, and the two dogs. My wife and I were not able to have children so we went the dog route instead. I think we both grew up loving animals so it is only natural that we would have pets now. Winston and Delia are like children to us. Most likely, we are closer to them than most people are to there children. How many people sleep with their 12 and 14 year olds? I had the camera out and decided to take advantage of the situation.<br /><br />Dog Parts-Nose<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2420183296/" title="Dog Parts-Nose by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2420183296_97980763aa.jpg" width="500" height="468" alt="Dog Parts-Nose" /></a><br /><br />I had my Tokina 100mm lens on the camera so it forced me to be a bit creative and I did a series of close-up shots. I ended up with a bunch of photos that I could not help calling "Dog Parts". I had fun and ended up with some unique photos of the pups!<br /><br />Dog Parts-Toes<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2419369421/" title="Dog Parts-Toes by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2218/2419369421_4dbeb7d74e.jpg" width="362" height="500" alt="Dog Parts-Toes" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-43225114262978361992008-04-08T19:21:00.002-05:002008-04-08T19:37:16.806-05:00Weather Part III...This spring is really getting started with a bang! Once again, we had more severe weather. The first round last night was mostly a rain and lightning event. I decided to brave the lightning and take some photos. I was very impressed with the D80! I have been shooting digital since around 1992 and noise has always been a battle with long exposures. Even with my last DSLR, noise would frequently ruin my long exposure photographs. I set up the camera on the tripod and took about twenty 30 second exposures. The D80 does an excellent job handling noise. I have read some less than flattering comments about the D80 and noise, but I was pleasantly surprised. Here is the first good capture I made:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2397763096/" title="DSC_1084 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2270/2397763096_cc2133145f.jpg" width="500" height="416" alt="DSC_1084" /></a><br /><br />It was the only cloud to ground lightning caught. The next was a decent cloud to cloud lightning capture. Needless to say, I'm still very happy with the Nikon D80. We had another wave of storms that hit around 3:30 in the morning. Being that it came with golfball size hail and tornado sirens, it was a lot less fun!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2396931557/" title="DSC_1089 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3240/2396931557_015d34246a.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="DSC_1089" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-16323591558167240392008-04-03T21:21:00.003-05:002008-04-03T21:32:56.797-05:00Weather Part II...I'm glad I did as I said in my last post and kept my camera handy today. The meteorologist were correct in forecasting severe weather for today. We had some active weather in the area but nothing appeared to be an imminent threat. I walked by our front door an peeked outside and it was plain scary looking. I grabbed to camera and went out. The sky had a greenish tint and the clouds were quite ominous! When I walked around the end of the house to look across the field behind us, I was worried that i was seeing a wall cloud.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2385882055/" title="DSC_1057 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3242/2385882055_7a9eef6a0f.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="DSC_1057" /></a><br /><br />It wasn't a wall cloud, but the perspective made it look very threatening. Still the clouds were pretty amazing this evening.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2385882007/" title="DSC_1053 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3028/2385882007_71af54f9eb.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="DSC_1053" /></a><br /><br />Fortunately, we got away with just rain, hail and winds.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-47958687773362688362008-04-01T20:40:00.003-05:002008-04-01T20:53:59.685-05:00Weather...We had some interesting weather over the last couple of days. I guess it is that time of the year again! Personally, I love severe weather. I have been fascinated with storms since I was a little kid growing up in west Texas. I took three semesters of meteorology while I was in flight school and ate up every minute of it. I'm trying to do a better job of carrying my camera with me everywhere I go so I hope to capture a few nice weather related photos this spring. I did get a few nice shots yesterday.<br /><br />This was shot on the way to work yesterday morning. Storms were just moving out at sunrise and made for an interesting view.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2378046189/" title="DSC_1036 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2359/2378046189_dd4fef87f6.jpg" width="500" height="309" alt="DSC_1036" /></a><br /><br />Later in the morning, we had more severe storms move into the area. We had a couple of tornadoes in the area, but nothing too close to Tulsa. We did have heavy rain, flooding, lightning, winds, and hail.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2378884522/" title="DSC_1039 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2192/2378884522_81783476e5.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="DSC_1039" /></a><br /><br />They are forecasting more storms on Thursday so I'm keeping the camera handy.<br /><br />Taken with My Nikon D80 using a Nikkor 18-55mm VR lensAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-55513342183808678522008-03-30T17:27:00.003-05:002008-03-30T17:58:07.901-05:00Flowers...I bought my wife an Easter bouquet (okay, I wanted it for photography purpose, too). I wanted to experiment with light sources so I used a incandescent bulb and my Nikon SB-400. I was very please with the results! Most of the photos were taken with my Tokin 100mm AT-X Pro Macro mounted on the Nikon D80. Hope you enjoy!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2359899422/" title="DSC_0907 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3089/2359899422_9524011470.jpg" width="500" height="461" alt="DSC_0907" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2359898918/" title="DSC_0891 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3197/2359898918_838e620f54.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="DSC_0891" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2356489504/" title="DSC_0895 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3242/2356489504_ea1f0773b3.jpg" width="500" height="457" alt="DSC_0895" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-1000392660260919172008-03-22T20:29:00.002-05:002008-03-22T22:14:09.536-05:00Interesting Friday....I was scheduled for my monthly <a href="http://www.tysabri.com/tysbProject/tysb.portal">Tysabri</a> infusion on Friday. I knew that it would take about two hours so I scheduled it after lunch. I went ahead and scheduled my physical therapy session afterward. I figured I might as well make the most of my four hours of PTO. I arrived at the infusion center about fifteen minutes early and my nurse was still at lunch. They took me back to a treatment room, pointed me to the recliner, and handed me the TV remote. I always seem to watch the Food Network during my infusion. It is one of my favorite channels and I no longer get it at home. I was watching the clock pretty close since I needed to be done on time to make my PT session. I should know better.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2353501424/" title="DSC_0792 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3127/2353501424_96ea8427bf.jpg" alt="DSC_0792" height="500" width="335" /></a><br /><br />My nurse was a bit late getting back from lunch but I told her it was no problem. Actually, it wasn't yet as I left an hour leeway just in case. She got my IV started an placed a port on the catheter. After getting the Tysabri set up on the IV pump, she hooked my up and got the medication infusing. After about 10 minutes of visiting and watching <a href="http://www.rachaelray.com/">Rachel Ray</a>, she decided to ask me the pre-infusion questions on the paperwork. I bet you can see where this is going. She quickly discovered that we had an issue with two of the questions on the questionnaire. She picked up the phone and called my neurologist to see if it was okay to infuse the Tysabri. No one answered the phone so she had to leave a message. She decided to discontinue the infusion until we heard back from the doctor.<br /><br />To make a long story short, it took 45 minutes to get a hold of my neurologist because he was on vacation. I was impressed that he called back at all. When I am on vacation, it takes me a bit to return calls. The nurse was instructed not to infuse me because I had recently received the Solumedrol infusion and there is a possible increased risk of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_multifocal_leukoencephalopathy">PML</a> when you mix steroids with Tysabri. To say the least, I'm not real thrilled that she forgot to ask the questions before the infusion. I hope that it matters that I only received about a quarter of the usual dosage. I do know that the real risk is minimal, bit still....<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2353501338/" title="DSC_0787 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2034/2353501338_ca0dea85b0.jpg" alt="DSC_0787" height="335" width="500" /></a><br /><br />I ended up with about an hour and a half to burn before my PT session. Naturally, I went and took some photos! I swung by St. Francis Hospital and got some shots of their <a href="http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/168541.html">BK-117 Life Flight helicopter</a> on the helipad. I then headed down to a local retention pond to photography some of the local birds. I must have taken a hundred duck and gull photos! I got so involved in what I was doing that I was almost late for my PT. This was the first time I really got out and tried to walk around with my camera using the cane. It was a bit of a task to say the least. I ended up with a couple of nice photos so it was worth the effort.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2353503340/" title="DSC_0881 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3290/2353503340_c294f7aceb.jpg" alt="DSC_0881" height="377" width="500" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2352671075/" title="DSC_0851 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3012/2352671075_6b8203d517.jpg" alt="DSC_0851" height="500" width="435" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-88765033111316499912008-03-22T17:46:00.005-05:002008-03-22T20:28:21.412-05:00Now for Something Different....As I have mentioned in previous post, I have Multiple Sclerosis. I have been asked to participate in the MS Blogger Project. I'm just beginning to look over this project and I think it is a wonderful idea so I'm looking forward to participating in any way I can. I know that the internet is a great tool for many people with MS. It is a means to share experiences for many people with MS. I have always found it helpful to discuss my illness with other and I frequently use this blog to do just that. I am certain that I am not alone in that I find it helpful to see what other people go through with their illness and treatment. Below is a post from Lisa at <a href="http://brassandivory.blogspot.com/">Brass and Ivory</a>:<br /><br />Wow!! I've found at least 200 Bloggers with MS out there actively discussing all sorts of things. My hope is to strengthen the connections and bonds throughout the MS blogger community.<br /><br />To help spread the word, here's what you can do:<br /><br /><br /><br />1. Copy the entirety of this post<br />2. Create a new post and paste this content<br />3. Visit 3 of the blogs listed below which you were unfamiliar<br />4. Leave a comment on their blog encouraging them to participate<br />5. Please add Brass and Ivory to your sidebar, if it's not already<br /><br />New editions of the Carnival of MS Bloggers will be presented bi-weekly at Brass and Ivory. Previous editions will be are archived here and the button below has been revised to include the new link. Please update your sidebar.<br /><br /><br /><br />If you are not on this list and should be, or if there is something incorrect about your listing, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. Thank you.<br /><br />A Blessed Mess (Sheila)<br />A Florida Journal (SwampAngel)<br />A Life of Learning with MS<br />A Short in the Cord (Joan)<br />A Stellarlife (Diane)<br />Access Denied (Herrad)<br />Angst on a Shoestring (Gina)<br />Armed with Pointy Sticks<br />Barbara's Tchatzkahs<br />Behind Blue Eyes (Zee)<br />Being Ammey<br />Blindbeard's MS Blog<br />Blogbuster (Daniel)<br />Brain Cheese (Linda)<br />Brass and Ivory (Lisa)<br />Breaking the Dress Code (Melizzard)<br />Broken Clay (Katja)<br />Bubbie's Blog (Cathy)<br />Bugs, Bikes, Brains (Shauna)<br />Camille's MSadventures<br />Can You Hear Me Now? 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(Alison)<br />Simply Kate (Kate)<br />Slipping Through My Fingers<br />Sorting It All Out (Michael)<br />Spinning My Yarns (Missabeth)<br />Steven's Photo Blog<br />Stevers!<br />Sunshine and Moonlight (Kim)<br />Surviving MS in Alaska (Michelle)<br />Talk Story with Kimberly<br />The BS of My MS (Heather)<br />The Endomorph (Ruth)<br />The Great NetXperiment<br />The Jaws of My Life (Jaws)<br />The Life & Times of Sancho Knotwise (JM)<br />The MonSter Ate My Branes! (Natalie)<br />The Multiple Sclerosis Companion (Pat)<br />The Perseverant Pincushion (Trish)<br />The Zen Pretzel Trick (Zen Angel)<br />These Pretzels Are Making Me Thirsty (Trrish)<br />Time to Deal with MS (Homer)<br />Tis Herself (Kell)<br />To Be Continued... (Jaime)<br />Tokyo Girl Down Under<br />Travels With Lucy (Virginia)<br />Troy's Multiple Sclerosis Experience<br />Truth and Beauty (Baraka)<br />Tryin' to Imagine Bliss (Suzy)<br />Trying to Catch My Breath<br />Tysabri Help (Deej)<br />Victoria Plum - Technician! (Vicki)<br />What is MS to Me (Dave)<br />When it's Raining... (Keeley)<br />White Lightning Axiom - Redux (mdm)<br />Wide Margins (Mary)<br />Willy's MS Rants (Willy)<br />Wind Among the Reeds<br />Word Salads (Have Myelin?)<br />YodaMamma MS & More<br />You Me and MS (Judi)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Thank you for helping to build a stronger MS Community.<br />Update: Whew... that took me 2 hours to leave comments on all of your blogs.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-43426923265663345752008-03-16T09:32:00.002-05:002008-03-16T09:50:06.790-05:00Aviation....One of my great loves in life is aviation. Actually, I moved to Tulsa because of aviation. I was sitting in my home in Central Texas one day back in 1993 looking at flight school advertisements in the back of Flying magazine. My wife, in a matter of fact manner, asked me why I didn't just do something about it if I really wanted to be a pilot. I had been a paramedic for about 8 years at that point and was pretty burned out on it. The average career length for a medic was about 5 years. Her comment really struck a chord with me. We talked about it several times over the next few days and the next thing I knew, I was interviewing several flight schools to see which one would be the best fit for me. I ended up selecting Spartan School of Aeronautics for several reasons. By December of 1993. I was moving to Tulsa so that I could start school in January.<br /><br />I had a great time during the 3 years I attended Spartan. It was an incredibly good flight school and I learned a lot while earning my Private, Instrument, and Commercial ratings. Alas, I had my first major MS exacerbation about 2 months before I was to graduate and was unable to complete my training. Unfortunately, I was unable to fly at all anymore. There are some pilots that have MS and are able to get their medical certificate on a waiver. Since one of my chief symptoms is vertigo, I do not qualify. Even if I was able to "cheat" the system and get my medical so that my license would be valid, I wouldn't. It would be too dangerous for both me and anyone in the plane with me due to the vertigo.<br /><br />So...now I just enjoy aviation from afar. I still fly with a friend on occasion and attend any airshows in the area. I love aviation related museums, too. My photography is one of my connections to aviation, as well. I love to be at or near the airport and take photos of the various aircraft.<br /><br />The aircraft below is a Spartan aircraft I captured earlier this week on a lunch break. I looked at my log book and I have about 15 hours of pilot time in this particular aircraft (N4118A). It is good to see that the plane is still in action.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2331309661/" title="DSC_0689 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2103/2331309661_6272379312.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="DSC_0689" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-68148652761241040182008-03-08T20:09:00.002-06:002008-03-08T20:23:45.849-06:00Better....I did my last dose of Solumedrol today and seem to be feeling better overall. The side effects of the medicine suck by my MS symptoms seem to be diminished. Mostly, I'm glad to have this IV out of my hand! I'm dying to get out and do some photography. I had to run an errand today and took my camera bag with me just in case. By the time I was done with my two stops I was worn out so it didn't happen. <br /><br />I have a whole new respect for people that have to use a cane to get around. I stopped at <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/">"Wild Oats"</a>, a whole food grocery store, to pick up some unscented shaving cream and a few miscellaneous items. It is a bit "high end" and most of the people were pretty polite about my being in the way. Others, not so much. I can't wait to experience my first Wal-mart visit. <br /><br />On the bright side, my wife had several email correspondences with the local EMS service and they want her to be there Monday morning. It looks like she is getting ready to start working for them in the very near future. My guess is that when I get home for work Monday evening, we will be a two job family for the first time in about 16 years. I don't think we will know what to do with extra money. We have been on a tight budget for so many years. <br /><br />As for me, I am going to be working hard to move towards being more healthy and avoid needing to park in front of these signs!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2305427249/" title="DSC_0548 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3014/2305427249_e8992e6550.jpg" width="500" height="385" alt="DSC_0548" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-80359871796238111812008-03-06T21:24:00.005-06:002008-03-06T21:59:26.353-06:00Fun, Fun..Well, now that we seem to be getting my wife's health back to normal, my body has decided to act up. As I have mentioned before, I have Multiple Sclerosis. For the most part, it has been relatively subdued for the past couple of years minus an occasional rearing of it's ugly head. I had an episode of Bronchitis early in February. About the time I thought it was over, I flared up and was diagnosed with Pneumonia. To be honest, it kicked my tail. I have never had Pneumonia as far as I know. I'd just as soon not ever experience that again!<br /><br />Well, last week around Tuesday I became horribly fatigued. Fatigue is not unusual with MS and not unusual in my life. It's not the normal fatigue that I had before MS came into my life. It can be dibilitatingly bad. (Yes, I made that word up!) The best way I can describe it is that I feel like if I laid down, I would melt into a puddle on the ground. Just lifting my arm or taking the next step feels like it takes ever fiber of my being to accomplish. Getting on with my story, I just wrote it off as my usual stuff combined with my recent bout of Pneumonia. Sunday, I woke up and felt like I had ants crawling all over the calf of my right leg and a large abrasion or road burn on my right thigh. My first thought was that my leg was asleep. I lay there for a bit and became concerned as it was not improving. Sensations like this are not uncommon with my MS but the fact that the sensation was covering such a large are was disconcerting. I have not experienced anything like that before.<br /><br />I decided to get up hoping it would go away. I almost went to the ground when I stood up. Seemed my leg did not want to follow direction. My wife was still sleeping so I carefully left the room. Basically, I played it off and didn't tell her all day. I had a scheduled appointment with my neurologist on Tuesday so I figured I would talk to him about it then. Sunday to Tuesday was a huge struggle. I managed to conceal it from my wife until my leg gave out Monday night when I was shaving. My butt hitting the edge of our fiberglass bathtub would have been loud enough but the fiberglass broke and sounded like a gunshot in the bathroom. I have my concealed carry permit and usually carry so I can understand why the wife almost had a heart attack. Not sure why she would think I would have my gun with me while I was shaving, though? Fortunately, only the tub was injured in the fall.<br /><br />My neurologist thinks my exacerbation was probably set off by the Pneumonia since I ran a high temp for several days. I just receive my first dose of Solumedrol today and have two more to go. I also had to get a CANE! I probably needed one before now but this finally forced my hand. I hate the idea of a cane. I hate the idea of a scooter or wheel chair, too. I hate the stigma associated with all of these. No, I do NOT look down on people that have to use these tools. I'm quite sympathetic as I have know for a long time that they were in my future. I have been in the medical field for far to long to think like that. I just know that not everyone thinks like I do and I hate that people are simpleminded (not everyone! just some people). The truth of the matter is that the cane is helping and I appreciate the simple tool that I have found. It is taking getting used to, though. I am used to having both hands available when I walk. <br /><br />I'm not having much fun with the Solumedrol. Anyone who has taken this medicine in high doses knows what I mean. Honestly, it sucks. I'm just hoping it helps.<br /><br />And now for a macro photo of the new Oklahoma State Quarter taken with my Nikon D80 and Tokina 100mm Pro Macro Lens. Oh, and please excuse <span style="font-style:italic;">and</span> (*Edit* any, not and, told ya!) spelling or grammatical errors as this Solumedrol has my brain going 100 miles per hour!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2305208603/" title="DSC_0542 by steveables, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2090/2305208603_e653949bf2.jpg" width="500" height="348" alt="DSC_0542" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19315227.post-4772123150881856102008-03-06T21:22:00.001-06:002008-03-06T21:22:28.598-06:00Oklahoma State Capital<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2315134639/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2207/2315134639_8bcf60ef14_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ablessg/2315134639/">DSC_0565</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/ablessg/">steveables</a> </span></div>The Oklahoma State Capitol held a Red Cross Month event this week. My group held a blood drive in the rotunda area of the Capitol building. I decided to take advantage of the situation and shoot some photos. I think this was my favorite of the day. We didn't see many donors but I think everyone was tied up with the day's events. PR wise, it was a great day, though. And, I got to take some photos so a good day all in all.<br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02156711215424518528noreply@blogger.com1