DanLog the ramblings of Daniel Pettit

Twas me mums 81st birthday today. We celebrated with a little bedroom bowling. My Wii Bowling-Queen sister Renee, threw 8 strikes in a row, but not before actually loosing to my sister Robbie and myself. That was the second time for me, something I didn’t really expect to happen again, I guess my mother’s bedroom is lucky for me. Now that I think of it, her bedroom must be lucky for me as without it I wouldn’t even be here. At least I assume so, it’s not like my name is Impala or Biltmore or anything but lets not go any farther down that road.

My mom doesn’t mess around with her bowling swing. Sorry about the blur, but I didn’t have enough ISO or glass to freeze the action.

Me mum and I.

So wouldn’t you know I’d get a bad depth of field shot from my 30D for my mini-milestone picture. I do have the excuse, that I was shooting off the table top I was dining at, so I had no idea my auto-focus had zeroed in on the chair oat the next table.

So I was browsing some profiles on a Photographer/Model website I belong to and ran across this photo.

Photo by Tyrone Domingo
Model – Michelle Tomniczak
Now I’m not going to lie to you and say I didn’t notice the beautiful woman first, of course I did. What I found interesting (your mileage my vary) is that the second thing I noticed was that sliver tile cut which then lead me to the baseboard which is in need of some cleaning and some caulking along the tile in my opinion and the possibility of some wall rot setting in. Why would the wall paper be split like that? Then I noticed the chromed register followed by the cool shoes. Draw your own conclusions.

So I went on a little jaunt down to check out the new Old Spaghetti Factory down in San Diego today. It was the second wet run night also known as Friends and Family night formerly as VIP night. Basically it is a training night for the new crew so dinner is on the house. This was the third one I’ve been to and the first one I didn’t crash.

I also took the opportunity to update my photo collection and got to use my new panoramic gear.

An unintended self-portrait

NOTABLE SPAM OF THE DAY:

Hi my new friend!!!
I was very much interested with your.
Reading and seeking your profile, I have thought to write to you,
With hope, that you will answer me. I very much would wish to find out about you more.

I shall be glad to acquaintance to you. If you write to me I shall necessarily answer and I shall send the photos.
I shall look forward to hearing from you on my mail.
Irina

I just noticed the tag line on my cc receipt, rather humorous for the industry no? Kind of like if they wish you back soon as you are checking out of the hospital.

Which reminds me of something else funny about the tow company. So when my boss is on the phone telling them they have no right to tow me and to bring my truck back, the guy on the other line when he hears that we don’t have a contract with them had the nerve to make a sales pitch – doesn’t get any richer than that.

Okay so I packed the “good” camera today so I could duplicate the photo they had given me at the tow yard yesterday. so I parked, briefly (until this is resolved I won’t be parking in any non-standard areas), where I was yesterday at exactly the same time they had towed me.

The blow up they gave me wasn’t the best quality. Notice how it kind of looks like I might even be parked behind that first carport spot. I find it interesting that they would take this particular angle, oh I know he wanted to get the sign in the photo. The sign for the next door property.

Notice how well all the shadows line up, shouldn’t be any doubt that this was taken at the same time of day and my truck was in the same spot. Still doesn’t really change the perspective even with a high quality photo, but at least they didn’t stack the deck on me and have moved my truck and then taken the photo.

Well now that we have strolled over to take a look where you can actually see where I am parked in relation to the property lines, a different story is told. The speed bump is ours, see where the blacktop changes color that’s where the neighbor’s property starts.

Well last night was a 2 bowls of Ice Cream and 3 or 4 episode of Two and a Half Men kind of night. By the time I got off the Internet trying to find the legal codes covering towing and getting my 10 pages of The Bible under my belt it was pushing 1 AM, something happened on the way to finalizing my going to bed like, closing my door, pulling my pillows down from the upright seating position and oh yah turning my reading light off. I was out unlike my light. Woke up around 4AM disoriented, pulled the pillows down and clicked the light off. So I wasn’t up at the crack of dawn. I had hoped to get to the property before 9 so I could finish up the bathroom as the new tenant was moving in today. Well I regained consciousness a little after 8. Quickly did my minimal morning routine and my boss called telling me the tenant wasn’t much happy. Apparently the tenant has no imagination and was troubled for some reason that her toilet was in her kitchen, boy women can sure be picky sometimes. So I’m just seconds from the shower and my phone rings again, this time it is the resident manager, who repeated what I had already heard. The tenant was still freaking out, the manager was expecting her to be coming by his apartment with a friend and wanted to be able to hand her off to me on the phone. Well I told him I headed for the shower and then straight there. She calmed down when her friend showed up, maybe he was able to convince her that it was no big deal and there shouldn’t be any problem getting her bathroom done.

Anyway she was gone when I got there and didn’t show up for an hour or so with the movers. I had to cut and install new baseboard and caulk them before resetting the toilet. She was calm when we met, but she did what some assurance that she’d have a toilet today. To which I told her no problem just another hour or two.

NOTABLE SPAM OF THE DAY:

International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Investigation Bureau,
700 19th Street, N.W,
Washington, D.C. 20431 USA

RE: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF) OUSTANDING REMITTANCE
We the International Monetary Fund (IMF) investigation bureau Washington, DC in conjunction with some other relevant Investigation Agencies here in the United states of America have recently been informed through our Global intelligence monitoring network that you presently having transaction going on with Bank of Africa (CBN) as regards to Your over-due contract payment which was fully endorsed in your favor accordingly.
Having said all this, we will further advise that you to go ahead in dealing with their Apex Bank (STANDARD CHARTERED BANK LONDON) office accordingly, as we will be monitoring all their services with you as well as your correspondence at all level.
They also told us that the only problem transfer the money to you right now is that some unscrupulous element are using this project as an avenue to scam innocent people off their hard earned money by impersonating the Executive Governor and the Central Bank office.
We were also made to understand that a lady with name Mrs. Joan C.Bailey from OHIO has already contacted them and also presented to them all the necessary documentation’s evidencing your claim purported to have been signed personally by you prior to the release of your contract fund valued at about US$10,000,000.00 (Ten Million United States Dollars.),but the STANDARD CHARTERED BANK LONDON did the wise thing by insisting on hearing from you personally before the go ahead on wiring your fund to the Bank information which was forwarded to them by the above named Lady so that was the main reason why they contacted us (IMF) investigation Department so as to assist them in making the investigations.
You are to confirm if you actually sent her. Should in case you are already dealing with anybody or office claiming to be from the STANDARD CHARTERED BANK LONDON, you are further advised to STOP further contact with them in your best interest and then contact immediately the real office of the STANDARD CHARTERED BANK LONDON (SCB) only with the below information’s accordingly:
NAME: Dr.Frank Woodward
STANDARD CHARTERED BANK LONDON .
England, United Kingdom, RH19 1HH
EMAIL:frankwoodward001@yahoo.com.hk
Do contact me as soon as you contact the bank so as to follow up with your payment case and also to investigate related matters.
Best Regards,
Robert S. Mueller III
International Monetary Fund (IMF

Today I grouted the floor I’ve been working on. It was clear crisp day. But ended up stormy for other reasons.

I had finished up with the apartment and was lugging my tools down to my truck to get ready to go home when a tenant spots me on the balcony and says “Dude, they just towed your truck”, I said “I hope your kidding”. She wasn’t kidding. The tentants called the manager on the phone but he had walked to the store, they didn’t know where I was. They tried to stop the tow truck, telling him whose truck it was to no avail.

The apartment complex next door has a contract with a towing company and they were the ones to hook me up for being in a fire lane. Well the rub is I wasn’t on there property, so as far as I understand the law at the moment they aren’t allowed to tow without the owners permission. I called my boss for a ride and help in working the how and what to do next as cell phone service is very poor at this property. Well they weren’t buying anything she was selling. Then the manager from next door called the tow company saying they can’t do that, bring it back, you better not charge them or your fired kind of thing. they said hey we have authorization and a photo to prove I was in the fire lane on the neighboring property.

So I get a ride over tho the place and at this point the only thing that can be done is pay the $239 to get my truck out of Car Jail and sue them later for an illegal tow. They gave me a print out of the picture. It was taken at the only angle that would make it ambiguous as to exactly where my truck was parked. ( provided they didn’t move my truck before they took the picture). I’ll just have to wait for tomorrow afternoon when I can duplicate the time of day and position of my truck to see if they are completely evil and actually moved my truck onto the other property or just dishonest and trying to get away with a misleading photograph.

Well the weather pretty much cooperated today. It was looking like I’d be pretty much soaked at first but the rain let up. I set up my tile saw in one of the utility garages. Which made for a bit of a hike but I was out of the weather, just in case.

By sunset the rain was gone the air was cold and clear and the mountains had a wonderful new dusting of snow. Pink snow actually because of the setting sun. I wish I’d been done earlier and had my good camera. This is about the best photo I could manage to get while driving. The color just didn’t turn out. The pink faded very very quickly.

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Tonight was the first night of Rock Harbor’s Alpha program. The three guys I invited couldn’t make it so I was flying solo tonight. They managed to have enough food and tables despite not having any presign-up. Way different feel from Robinwood. They held it in the lab which is where I’ve attended the smaller services during The Song of Solomon series. It was like an intimate dinner for 120 people. Live background music, black tablecloths, dimmed lighting.

I had a few butterflies going over there, which is something I haven’t felt at my church in quite a while. They were gone soon enough. It seems like they are going to be a bit more casual with the format than Pastor Hous, but the first week is just an introduction so I can’t really say for sure at this point. It will be shorter as they are only going for seven weeks versus twelve.

I met at the beginning of the evening Pastor Jonny who is the/or one of the leaders for RH Alpha. He actually remembered my name at the end of the evening when he walked by me, which is some feat considering how many new people he must have met. We ended up having a conversation about what brought him over from England, and we chatted about the Alpha program as I’ve taken it before from “the master”. I asked who’s idea it was to do Alpha at RH he said it was Pastor Todd’s. I told him my theory that I thought he might have planted the seed, that maybe he had come from Nicky Gumbel’s church. I thought this is because Jonny taught one Sunday and just around then they did their first “test” Alpha at the Shark Club. Well I was off the mark on that one, but a plausible one if I do say so myself. Jonny dropped the volunteer word on me or should I say near me. He wasn’t actually asking me but just thinking it would be nice to have people helping that had actually been through the course before. Funny the thought of volunteering at my own Church’s Alpha never crossed my mind. After doing these two Alpha’s I’d hope that I’d be ready to help out at both? Anyway it felt good connecting with Jonny.

My table had a short (tonight’s session was abbreviated) but good discussion. Seems like I’ve got a good table. We shall see just how many show up next week.

Should I bring back the bangs?

I think I need to find a model, I’m almost starting to like posing. So it was raining cats and dogs this morning as I was unloading my tools to start a tile floor this morning in Anaheim, my gel hadn’t had time to crustify so my hair ended flat mussy due to my baseball cap. The resident manager thought I looked uncharacteristically unkempt. When I got home I actually kind of liked it, so I thought I’d record it for posterity. Well you know what a lens ham I am so after 600 or so pictures, (okay actually 39 I haven’t completely gone off the deep end) I ended up with this very clear shot of me old blue eyes which I kinda like.

Even Larger Version if you’re man enough to look at it.

Driving home tonight there was a pretty nice rainbow you could see both ends.

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