Today I got Illustrated

Today I hung out in a mac lab with a friend from school and learned how to do some basic things with type(fronts). I didn't save it, and since I had Illustrator at home I figured it would be easy to recreate, boy was I wrong. When I created it at school, the individual letters were able to be selected from the word, but not when I got home, so it was a frustrating experience recreating it. As you can see I ended up victorious. I have always wanted to learn how to use Illustrator. Today was pretty basic, but you have to start somewhere, and I hope to learn more in the near future. 

Horror

 

So I have missed the last few days. Yesterday I got to hang out with a bunch of friends I haven't seen in a long time! I brought my camera, but they took the pictures, so I didn't want to post them as a part of my blog. I finally got my tripod back, so I can be a bit more creative with my experimentation instead of holding everything while trying to shoot myself(with the camera of course). I have been so busy lately. New assignments all the time, so I was glad to be able to take some time to do some shooting. I guess this could symbolize how I have been feeling with school and everything. It's been a big change from last semester that's for sure. I have started to get back in the swing of things though making more time for some fun with friends, which I have been missing.  

Shared thought

Tonight after shop I had chinese with a friend from school. I ate more than I should have, but I have come to expect this. When we were finished I received a fortune cookie with an interesting message, sorry I lost the fortune so no photo today. It read, You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot force a horse to drink.

I have never seen a fortune like it before, though I have heard the expression. It can be applied in many ways I think. To me it says you can help people as much as you want, but they need to want to help themselves. 

A "day off"

Is a day off really a day off? This semester I get Wednesdays off. Today's post is a bit nerdy, but oh well, you can stop reading if nerdy isn't your thing. I started my day by doing my review homework on bearings, which I actually didn't mind. I liked learning about the different types and how to go about servicing them. This evening I decided to play some Gran Turismo 5, which explains the top right and bottom images. I bought the collector's edition, which came with the book you see. I am glad I have it. It has come in very handy in the game and it has taught me about different aspects of cars and how different components affect the way a car operates. The bottom image I took in game. It is a 2006 Alfa Romeo 147 I bought and modified today. After squeezing 304 horsepower out of it and dropping its weight to 1060 kg I wanted to improve it's already decent handling. The book provided exactly the information I needed to tweak the handling. Today was a productive day off. 

Welcome to winter

This entry is for yesterday and today, I don't think there are any rules against that. Yesterday I spent most of my day doing homework and after I went outside and cleared our drive and started our neighbour's. I was glad to finish before the sun disappeared on me so I could include it in my post.
It really has started to feel like the winter I have been used to growing up. This morning it was -28 and it sure felt like it! The car was a little sluggish, but I wasn't surprised. When I got to Rossmore traffic was backed up from the bridge. I guess there was an accident on the bridge. The thing I don't understand is the roads were good. I ended up sitting in my car for a good 50 minutes, so I was late for class but I was just glad not to miss it. I don't mind winter, but I won't be disappointed when warmer weather starts coming around again.

Big snow fall

Today I woke up to the most snow I have seen in a long time! Once I was fully awake and had some food in me I ventured out to take some pictures. The snow didn't stop when I got up either, it kept coming for a while, it reminded me of when I was a kid. Maybe I should get the gt snow racer out.

Get the gears turning

 

This was taken in shop today with my phone. I was finishing up my manual transmission assignment. It should have only taken one class, but figuring out the gear ratios screwed me up a little, one of the input gears teeth were counted incorrectly, so it threw everything else off, but it's all good. The two gears on the far left top and bottom are the input gears just so you know. I learned a lot from this assignment. Going in I only had a pretty basic idea of how it worked and now I know exactly how it works! It is amazing how much of a difference hands on experience makes. 

The Crazy Snowman

 

Nothing exciting happened today...... Wait I'm lying! I worked on my manual transmission assignment today in our 2 hours in shop today. I meant to take pictures, but oh well. It is basically the assembly of a transmission out of it's casing, so you can change the gears and see how the it works in the different gear selections. It helped me understand how it works big time! Before today I had the basic idea, but now I have a clear understanding. 

 On an unrelated note, is that not the craziest snowman you have ever seen?  

Lazy day

As usual I got up too early on a day off. We got more snow so I went out and cleared a path to the front door. I didn't do much else except start an assignment for school and laundry. I know this is a pretty boring post, but I guess it's good to keep posting even on uneventful days.

It seems like we might have a good sunset this evening. I might venture out on the ice later, so you may see an addition to this post.

This a HDR(high dynamic range) imagine I made from three images. After a small amount of work in Photoshop I am pretty happy with it. 

Warmth on a cold day

It was pretty cold today, I really felt it when I was filling up the car! It's starting to feel like winter with the snow and falling temperatures, but nature seems to be so unpredictable these days. I don't mind winter if it's not bitter cold. Too many bitter cold days make you wish for spring to come early. Tonight after supper I enjoyed some homemade hot chocolate. I was hoping to enjoy it with a splash of Baileys, but no such luck.

Experience

Today I started my second semester at Loyalist College. A starting of something new. At the end of the day as I drove home I realized much will change these coming months. 

Change is always happening with time, people and our surroundings. These changes are giving us new experiences everyday. Like the days, our experiences are always starting and ending. With every passing day of experiences good and bad they contribute to the people we become, but our experiences do not have to become us. 

Self-portrait in the dark

Today I charged up some batteries for my flash and thought I would experiment with my external flash. I haven't used my flash in a while so my batteries only lasted about 20 or so shots. I decided to do something different and use parts of different shots to assemble a portrait. 

A day in K-Town

 

Today I ventured to Kingston to meet a cool girl who happens to be a photographer and a talented one! We walked up and down downtown in a quest to find her winter boots without any luck. It seems to get dark fast these days, so we shot what we could while our hands could handle the cold. It was a fun day, hopefully next time we can do more shooting while the sun it out.  

Tools and spring plans

Over Christmas I received some tools. I am currently studying in the automotive field and I will need good tools for when I become an apprentice, so it was a very happy Christmas, even though I am always more than happy just to spend it with my family. The tools will also come in handy for maintaining my bike. The tools are a 16 piece metric set of combination wrenches and a 3/8" drive flex head ratchet both made by a Canadian company called Jet.

 

This is my new bike that I have been working on since the summer. I am very happy with its progress so far. I was lucky enough get this bike for free and overall it is in good shape. 

Things I have done so far are; new tires, tubes, rims, rear derailleur cable and housing, seat/seatpost, kick stand, stem, handlebars and grips with built-in mini bar ends. I plan on getting a seat better suited for long distances and touching up some scratches.

I am doing all of these things for a trip my cousin and I are planning for the spring. The trip will be about 200 km from Pickering, Ontario to my house in Prince Edward County, Ontario. I am also going to start an exercise routine for cyclists, so I will be prepared for the trip.

For anyone who is interested I have posted a link to the exercises I will be doing:
http://bloombikeshop.com/bodyweight-exercise/

Hello

This is my first post, I was having trouble uploading a video of a time lapse created using a sequence of photos taken with my digital slr.

Yesterday I woke up to fresh snow covering everything. I wanted to going biking, but that obviously didn't happen, so I decided to take a picture.