SO..... I just want to say that I think mikiedoggie's F-Stop is hot. His pictures are so beautiful, even when he's taking candids.

Anyway, back to my plea for advice.

Last week I decided to invest in a upgraded lens for my SLR. After about 4 months of looking, I decided on the Canon 28 mm - 135 mm - f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens. So, I get it on Friday and start taking pictures with it.

Now, I'm thinking that this lens should, in theory, work like any other lens and be very easy to use. What I found is that it would not increase in zoom past 70MM unless I turn the camera off, adjust the focus, then I can get it to 135MM for close up shots with the macro. I also found that it would not take a picture in the full auto mode- I could only take pics in AV or TV or complete Manual. I can adjust shutter speed or F-Stop all the time, but that gets tedious. Once I started playing with it, the pics were dynamic but I noticed a slight haze on the right side of the picture... like I was taking a pic thru a partial filter.

I started playing around with it more today, and I took the lens off the camera when I noticed the haze was getting worse. When I took it off, I heard a slight rattle.

oh, this is not good.

I looked through the lens and it looked like there was glue or some splatter on the side of the lens on the inside of the casing. Well, this makes sense that I had that haze.

So I sent it back to techforless.com. They were very understanding and sent me a return UPS label immediately, and will be crediting me back in a few days.

At least they better.


So, now I have my kit 18mm-55mm IS lens and the 55mm- 255MM IS lens.

Any suggestions on a better quality lens? I liked the range of the 28mm-135mm but since the lens was defective, that kind of tainted my view on it. Do all the upgraded lenses stop halfway when you try and zoom? Mind you, I can't afford an L-Series lens.

mrsarcastic poked me, telling me it's been three weeks since my last post. I assure you, I'm not dead. I've just been in lurker mode with not a lot to say.

Well, to recap:

The weekend in DC a few weeks ago was fantastic. Big thanks to roguecub and largemilk for the wonderful hospitality. They're the awesome.

I turned 38 a week ago. I didn't do a lot for my b-day since I was in a stupid depression about turning 38. I think it irked Chris more than me because he's used to big parties for birthdays and I'm not. Also, the realization that I turned 38 means I've been out of high school for 20 years now. That depressed me more.

Last night, Chris and I went to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I left disappointed. It started out so good too, especially with Ryan Reynolds playing Deadpool. Perfect casting on that one. But the more the movie went on, the more I wanted to leave. I didn't see the leaked version of the movie last month, but some of the CGI was just crap. I mean come on..... Some of the scenes where his claws are out - the CGI was akin to the cartoon characters in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Sure the action was fun to watch. but that's the only thing that made this trainwreck bearable.

Going to see Avenue Q today. Finally!!!!

Believe it or not, I've never been to DC.

This will be changing in a couple weeks. Chris and i are flying down and visiting roguecub and largemilk in DC! We're both very excited about this trip. Since we're both history nuts, we'll definitely be hitting a couple of the Smithsonian museums. He wants to go to the Holocaust museum. I want to go to the museum of American history. What else can y'all recommend?

I came down to get some coffee and I found Roscoe on the couch. He looked so cute on there, I couldnt' tell him to get down.

Ok, So last week Final Crisis #7 came out. It was a pile of poodoo. I won't go into details, just in case someone hasn't read it yet but color me both disappointed and hella confused. if you understood it, please let me know.

So, Legion of 3 Worlds.... Issue 3 came out today. What I want to know is why the Final Crisis storyline wasn't as detailed and understandable as this one.
( Legion of 3 Worlds spoiler.... you've been warned. )

happy birthday Andy!

It's almost 11 and he's still sambaing. This time with the in-laws. I've created a monster.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Great Christmas all around.

Chris got me Samba De Amigo for the Wii. For those that don't know what it is, it's like Dance Dance Revolution but with Maracas. It's just too much fun.

Chris, Mr. "I'm not coordinated enough to play video games", is playing it now. for the past hour. It's that much fun.

This weekend I'm hoping to get the Raving Rabbids TV party and The Force Unleashed. Yes, it takes me a while to get these things.

So.... Here I am monitoring for peak season and I'm hearing music on the square. I look out the window and there's hundreds of people out there. Amazing. They actually got people to come back downtown

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Chris (kybigstew) asked me which is the better app for photo management: Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or Aperture.

So, I created a poll!!!

Poll #1317735 Which is Better?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Which is the better photo editing application for the money?

If you answered Other, which editing software do you like?

quick weekend update....

Second tree is up! Chris did a fantastic job.



went to a couple get together's this past weekend. one was for Chris's grandma and his brother-in-law. it was their birthdays. good food and terrific sweet potato cassarole. mmmm.. Ice cream cake....



another shindig was at cubtharsis place. it was a nice intimate crowd consisting of kybearfuzz, chrisglass, Mike, Matt, Bill, Theo and Dale. good times were had by all. we played a game called Buzz and a couple games on the Wii... Raving Rabbid's TV Party and Samba de Amigo. I soooooooo want the Rabbid's Tv Party game. Samba para Amigo reminded me a lot of a latino Dance Dance Revolution with maracas. Still it was fun. here's proof that Mark can shake his moneymaker...



and I got to play with lightsabers.



Oh, and always remember never to stick your tongue on frozen metal. Even if you're double dogged dared.



I was so glad to go to the party since Chris was there too. It's been forever since I've seen this awesome guy. And, he helped me with figuring out settings on my XSI. This is the house we were at, on two second timer for exposure.



oh, and Mark likes cheesecake. I mean REALLY, REALLY likes cheesecake.



sunday was all about the laundry. thank goodness it's all done.

Oh, and last week I also found out that I am borderline or I am type two diabetic. I had two blood tests and my sugar levels came back over 150 both times. The doctor put me on glucophage and told me to watch what I eat and lose weight. But, with some of the other guys on my friends list having very serious medical issues, this seems very trivial.

Ok... so I got the new Blackberry Storm that came out a week and a half ago. I'm really liking it. I'm also using the sure type screen in Portrait mode more than the qwerty keyboard in landscape mode. what's really weird is that I hardly ever look at my email on the computer anymore. Not that I get a ton of email mind you, but it's enough where I notice a big difference. Also, the screen is one big button. When you type on it, there is that tactile feedback like you're actually hitting the individual buttons. Blackberry calls this "Sure-press" I think.

The cons of the phone is that there's a lag when you bring us applications and also when the accellerometer kicks in. The camera is a little buggy and sluggish too. Also, I really wish the battery was a little more powerful. I did hear that the new OS update that's coming is going to address a few of these issues. But overall, I think this is a very solid phone.

Also, went home to Toledo for Turkey day this year and I brought Chris with me. For those of you playing at home, my family really doesn't know about me being gay or my relationship with Chris. Surprisingly, it was a very warm reception. My mom and Dad were very nice to him and they seemed to really like him. The rest of my family as well. I think my brother got a clue finally when he saw me and Chris talk with each other. But, in the end, it was an excellent time.

I'll be making hotel reservations the next time we go up there. Chris booked the hotel on Hotwire, and the hotel we stayed at turned out to be a truck stop Super 8 that rents rooms by the hour. It was clean, except for the first night when there were soiled sheets on the bed. When I say soiled, I mean cumstains and traces of some other foreign material. It was disgusting! Since it was almost 3 in the morning when we discovered it, we slept on the comforter. The next couple nights were much better and cleaner.

Also met a couple guys from my Flickr contacts, Michael and Rich.


(I love my new phone, especially the camera in it.)

Both wonderful guys, and on Friday they surprised me and Chris by taking us up to Detroit for Mexican food (Xochimilco in Mexicantown.... some of the best mexican food I've ever eaten) and then to Diamond Jim's. I think we've made some really good friends on this trip.

After we got back from Toledo, Chris started decorating. One tree is up, but we need a tree topper.

Decided on mexican for dinner so we went to Xochimilco restaurant in Detroit

So, Chris and I took a little cruise with a bunch of awesome guys two weeks ago (OMG, we departed two weeks ago????????? sad panda...).

anyway, I have pics and they're here.

It was fun times. the drinking, the dancing, the food, the drinking... just a blast with a bunch of awesome guys. thanks to demcub and fedex_cub for organizing it. As always, it was an event that went pretty much flawlessly. Also big hugs to balcony mates roguecub and largemilk. you two are wonderful guys and we can't wait to see you both again. Bill, let me know which comicons you're going to this year. Would love to hang, if that's ok.


The itinerary for the cruise was Grand Cayman, Isla Roatan in Honduras, Belize and Cozumel. Grand Cayman was a joy. we just walked around and it was very beautiful. Roatan, Belize and Cozumel were beautiful too... from the boat. Chris and I got off the boat for Roatan and Cozumel and we were both unprepared for how aggressive the vendors were. When I go places, I like to be left alone and do my own thing. Having people offer you goods and services ranging from t-shirts, jewelry, island tours to cigars and hookers (one of our guys was even offered coke) just pisses me off. Leave me alone, stop pestering me.

Overall, it's nice to be back home but I miss being in the tropics.

looking ahead to next week.. Chris and I are going to Toledo for Thanksgiving. I"m nervous about this one- he's finally going to meet the rest of my family. And vice versa.

Oh yeah, I've never confirmed or stated to my family (side from Mom) that I"m gay. This should be a very interesting week. Wish me luck on this.

The new Star Trek movie trailer is out. Go see it HERE.

Also check out startrekmovie.com. they added some nifty content, especially when you click on Enter the SITE.

I went past three gas stations today and gas was at $1.90 for regular.

Last weekend, I went to see the live tour of So You Think You Can Dance. All I have to say is that I love my little point and shoot camera. It took awesome video.

Here's the Door Dance with Twitch and Kherington dancing to Duffy's "Mercy Me."



Chris also got to Meet Joshua, this year's winner backstage earlier that day. Apparently he's a dish talking prima donna bitch with nothing good to say about any of the other cast members. Don't worry Joshua... you're 15 minutes are up anyway.


By this time next weekend, Chris and I should be in Fort Lauderdale, hopefully in a hot tub with cocktails. We are so looking forward to this cruise next weekend. It' going to be great to just get away for a week.

Hammer Throw, Highland Weekend at Renaissance Festival

So.. the new camera... as you can see it's the bomb. I've been having a lot of fun taking pics with it, and as you can see I put it through it's paces this weekend. 500 pics and I only really like 25 of them.

Last night I went with the future brother in law to see The Action Sports tour at NKU. I have a newfound respect for these guys- putting their necks on the line for us performing. Some of the tricks they did were insanely good.

Also, as the picture above eludes to, we went to the Renaissance Festival today. It was such a wonderful day for the festival- 78 degrees, blue sky and no clouds or wind like the last time. Plus, the eyecandy was the awesome.

I only uploaded a few pics but the whole set is here on Flickr.

EDIT: I just added 19 more pics to the set- it's the wind up and toss of two of the contestants.

There's a Fatburger opening in Cincinnati on Monday.

Madison Rd and Appleton in Oakley, east of Oakely Square.

I"m just sayin', just in case you like burgers.

The only reason I know this is because on my way to Meijer in Oakely today, I decided to scout for new places to lunch at when I'm at work. First, I went to Whole Foods and I had to get Sushi.... Spicy crunchy shrimp roll.... very good. Then, I stopped at Fresh Market on Madison in Oakley. Wow, did they have HUGE chicken drummies. Just a great selection of food waiting to get snatched up and eaten.

So, on my way to Meijer I saw Fatburger. I pulled in to the lot and asked when it was going to open. They said Monday, 10am.

i think I may try it for lunch on Monday. It's literally 5 minutes from work.

Ok all you camera shutterbugs / photo mavens....

I have a question.

what lens are you using on your DSLR? I have the craptastic stock 18/55mm IS lens that comes with the Canon XSI and a 70/300MM telephoto (you gotta love bundled product). I'm already not liking the constant lens switching.

I need opinions and hands on reviews. what's the best all around / All-In-ONE everyday lens that should be used for an SLR?

help plz????? kthnx.