On Being A Swinger

I'm in love with my DVR. Don't get me wrong; I've always had affection for it. I recognized the moment I got it how dramatically it would change my life. And it definitely has. No longer must I choose between watching the gazillion-hour-long season premiere of The Biggest Loser or watching the latest installment of Fringe. Let's face it, setting a VCR was way too annoying to be a daily thing, especially when you tried to do it two minutes prior to the show and realized that you first had to set the clock (because you had unplugged the darn thing since the last time you used it). With the DVR, I can simply click on the upcoming program and set it to record. It takes all of 5 seconds. So you can see why I'm crazy about it.

These days, though, I've found even more appreciation for my DVR. And I gotta tell ya: it's the greatest invention since oxygen.

You see, Michigan is considered a "swing state". I don't know why we have to be swingers (I jokingly refer to residents of Michigan, Ohio, and other swing states thusly), considering how badly Michigan's economy has floundered under G-Dub's administration and the fact that the state has gone blue in the past 4 presidential contests, but this is what they tell us. Being a swinger can be a good thing. With Michigan's 17 electoral votes up for grabs, not a week goes by that one of the candidates, presidential or vice-presidential, doesn't make an appearance somewhere around here. But it can also be very annoying. Those of you who are fortunate enough to live in a state that is solidly blue, or even one that is solidly red, probably think you are being bombarded with political tv ads. Hah! Take what you're getting and multiply it exponentially. That's what we swingers must endure.

What I wouldn't give for an annoying Head-On commercial right about now!

Now don't get me wrong. Politics are important, especially in our country's current state of economic unrest. But can't I have just one hour of the day when I don't have to hear about it? I guess not.

My new thing is to record all the shows I want to watch, even if I'm home and nothing else is on. That way, I can skip through all of the annoying political ads. This has been great for my temperment, as I am no longer prone to swearing at the television. (Okay, so I still swear at the television during football games, but we're not talking about that right now.) My DVR has been my lifesaver, rescuing me from drowning in an ocean of political hyperbole.

I am in love with my DVR.

CS3...Savvy?

I had been tinkering with some of my photos attempting to learn how to post-process them. Everything I tried was abysmal. I became increasing frustrated with my efforts. I started to think that maybe I need to take a PS class. This thought troubled me because I'd never had to take a class to learn how to use software before. I can usually figure things out on my own. I was beginning to get frustrated.

Then I decided that maybe I shouldn't waste too much energy on an outdated version of PSE (2.0 to be exact). I decided I needed to upgrade immediately. If I'm going to be inept, I'm going to at least do it on updated software. So I immediately jumped online to research the best price for the latest and greatest Adobe photo-editing software. You know what I found?

THOSE PEOPLE ARE CRAZY!

I mean, folks gotta eat...don't they? I'm sure if I was a pro photographer the cost wouldn't be prohibitive. But I'm just basically practicing taking pictures for my personal edification. I can't imagine laying down that kinda cash for...software.

Too bad. I would've liked very much to have it, but it's too far out of reach for...

Wait a minute! I AM an IT chick, and there has to be a way to get CS3 for free, right?

And so I began to research. Guess what I found? A free trial of the software. Okay, that's great and all, but I want a permanent copy that I can use forever and ever. So, move this file...replace that file...change some code there....

Now, by no means am I admitting to ANY kind of piracy (because that would be wrong, boys and girls, very wrong!), but suffice it to say that I am now up and running with a permanent copy of CS3 (Arrrrgh!). Ain't technology grand?

Anyway, after I played around with the software a little I came up with the following photo from my daughter's first football game (you can click on them to view them full sized):








Original version

















PS'd version















Not too bad for a novice, huh? I know it's not perfect, and it's easy to see the PSing if you look for it. I may not have blurred the background enough, or maybe I blurred it too much. I don't know. But as first efforts go, I'm pretty happy with it. I'm curious to know what you great photographers and seasoned photoshoppers think. Also, I'd welcome any tips and suggestions or any actions you want to share with me ('cause a sistah is broke as a joke and can't afford to buy any).

-e