Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF lens

Earlier this week, I won an eBay auction for a Nikon 50mm 1.8 AF lens. I decided to go this route to force me to end my dependence on telephoto lens and in turn improve my photographic skills.

I spent a good 3 hours playing with it today, taking notes and trying it out on my Nikon D40, D50, and D300 bodies. I found out that the autofocus will not work on the D40. Other than that, I was impressed.

I’m considering what lens should be next. My current lens inventory consists of the following:

• Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
• Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF
• Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR

I think I have the 18mm to 200mm range covered. Perhaps its time to pick up something to cover up to 300mm and possibly 400mm. Either of those ranges would be great during the summer at the lake!

Till next time,
Mr E

Paris Hilton responds: Best tanning in Maui

This. Is. Damn. Funny!

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/64ad536a6d

I will say, the girl has a good energy policy. Better than I’ve heard from Obama or McCain.

Its been a while

Wow! Its been awhile since I last posted. Goes to show you how just a few distractions can eat up your free time!

#1: We got a boat. Its a 2002 Sea Ray Sundancer 300. With that big of a boat and towing it not being an option, we bought a slip out at Lake Texoma. So far, we’ve been out the past 2 weekends on it.

We wanted to get the slip updated and cleaned up for Memorial Day weekend, along with setting up our stuff on the dock. Its been consuming a lot of time and money along with patience.

Every day, we seem to be shopping for the right fridge, the right grill, the right building materials, etc. I’m so tired of looking at Lowes.com or going to Wal-Mart. I just want it to be completed so we can totally enjoy the weekend instead of it involving work. But I do find fun in some of the work.

#2: I just got more stuff for my truck. By stuff I mean, Stainless Works long tube headers, ADM Performance Cold Air Intake, and HP Tuners ECM management software. I’m sure by end of next week, I’ll have the ADM elec fan, 160* thermostat, and underdrive pulley. What does that mean? Almost 400 rwhp in a mid-sized SUV.

I’ll take some time here soon, and likely blog from the lake. I plan on changing the carpet on our dock this weekend as well as installing a fridge and grill, maybe even the front wall. I’ve been holding off while an estimate is being prepared to add a second deck to our slip to have more room for friends and family this summer.

Until then, peace!

-Mr E

Frustrated

The AFI Dallas Film Festival has been over since Sunday. I’m waiting for the rest of my media and the OK to make my pix public. Unfortunately, sorting and tagging 75,000 photos takes a while. And of course, media outlets get first priority.

/sigh

Shake it!

Shake it!

Originally uploaded by Pictures by MR.EVIL

The closing night of the AFI Dallas Film Festival was rocking! The Polyphonic Spree was in full form, playing @ The House Of Blues.

More pictures to come as they are released to me by the Powers That Be!

- Mr Evil

Honesty in used car sales?

How important is honesty to you in used car sales? To me, its important. Very.

#1: I want to be able to know that my dealer has SOME level of integrity

#2: I want to know that the dealer DOESN’T think I’m a complete idiot.

With that said, let me explain what happened the other day. I found a listing on CraigsList for a 2002 Chevrolet Z-71 Suburban. The truck is listed as having 133K miles and the asking price was $8,800 or best offer. There were four pictures to represent the Z-71, but of those four, not one was of the front of the truck. The picture of the rear of the truck showed that there was clearly damage from an accident and had bent the rear bumper and rear door.

I decided this truck was close to what I am looking for and called the seller.. He said he got it wholesale, was negotiable, and something about the title he’d show me once we’d negotiated a price. He stated that the Z-71 ran fine and in great condition, aside from the noted damage. He gave me an address, told me his brother would show me the truck so I left to go look at it.

Upon arrival, I saw the truck sitting in the parking lot. I drove completely around the Z-71 to get a full look at it before committing myself to engaging his brother. The front windshield had a considerable spiderweb crack in the middle, the inspection sticker was going to expire at the end of this month, and the damage to the rear was much greater than the picture gave evidence of, but nothing that would change my mind. Yet.

I went inside and got the brother’s attention, who in turn handed me the key while walking outside with me to discuss the truck. The key was just a copy like you would get at any hardware store. There was no remote key fob even though there should have been. These things sell on eBay for $20 to $30. At this point, I’m starting to change my mind.

I opened the driver’s side door and climbed in. The dash and console were dirty but appeared to be in good shape. Nothing a good cleaning wouldn’t take care of. The next thing that hit me was that the truck smelled horrible. I mean, seriously horrible. I looked at the carpet which was in a condition that could only be described as in desperate need of cleaning. Structurally, the carpet looked fine, just really worn and dirty. He told me that the truck was a trade-in to explain the smell and carpet and that the lady who traded it in had a lot of kids. Any professional car wash would have taken care of these issues, costing the seller only about $35 to $50.

I put the key in the ignition and started up the truck. It started right up and sounded like it was running good. The rear door sensor was lit up, obviously due to the damage. Without taking it for a test drive and giving it a good look underneath, it would be hard to tell if there were any real issues.

I told the brother I’d have to do some research because they were asking Kelly Blue Book Trade-In Value, Good Condition, and that I felt it was too much. I also told him I was looking at 2000 / 2001 Lincoln Navigators and they were similarly priced but not comparable in condition. He told me that he had a 2003 Navigator and the airbag systems were shoddy and to avoid it. He really wanted me to believe that for $8,800 I was getting a good deal, that I could spend some money to make it “mint” condition, bringing up its value.

I then asked him about the rear damage and if it damaged the frame. He said the bumper wasn’t connected and could be replaced. The damage to the rear door could be fixed cheaply. I thanked him for his time, gave him his key back, and got out of the truck. I moved to the back of the truck and got on the ground. Sure enough, the bumper is directly connected to the frame. By the look of it, it was possible that there could be some SLIGHT frame damage which of course, would require straightening if I planned on keeping this truck for a while.

As I got back into my car, I realized that the papers in the truck showed it as a repo. Based on the trailer hitch and surrounding area, I’m guessing most of that damage was done during the repo.

I really thought about offering $7,000, assuming I could replace the carpet for around $300, get two key fobs of eBay for another $60, and pay $50 for a professional car wash and interior cleaning. Throw in another $200 to cover the front windshield and inspection sticker in order to be able to drive it in Texas and I’d only be out around $7600 or so.

However, his lack of integrity threw a big shadow on any other issues that might have been questionable. Since I’m considering starting my own used car business, this was a good lesson in how to treat possible buyers, what to disclose, and how to negotiate.

Stay tuned…

Vehicle Choices

I’m determined to get out of having a car note. With that said, I need to find a vehicle I can be happy with.

Here are the key items I’m looking for:

• Can be happy with for at least a year
• Shouldn’t need much in repair for the next 10K to 15K miles
• Cross-over or SUV
• 4 doors
• Holds its resale value over a year

So far, I’m narrowing it down to the following:

• Lincoln Navigator
• Lincoln Aviator
• Chevy Suburban or Tahoe
• Ford F-250 ext cab – 1999 and up (or at least new body style)
• more to come!

Dropping the pounds!

So I’m down to 232 pounds. My Birthday is just a week away and I want to be under 230#s.

Beer, an ugly pug, and a pirate eye patch

I ran across this last weekend. I bought a 6 pack so that I could save the carrier and send one to my mom, a pug lover who has two pugs that are awesome, one of whom’s name is Champ.

Here’s to you Champ!

For those of you that would like more information, you can go to http://www.rahrbrewing.com.

No Pain, No Gain

For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been running every other day to get my cardio stamina up. The idea is start there, then add in weight resistance along with the cardio. Eventually the body falls in line with the schedule imposed on it. Add in the diet and before long, you have the trifecta. Your body is now in your control and weight loss will follow. How much depends on each factor of the trifecta.

“Why Shane? Do you think you’re fat?”

Yes. I’m overweight. I’m not obese. I’m not even really that fat, depending on who you ask. I’d say I’m probably 20% bf, which is fat enough. I’m 6′0 and weigh 240 #s. I’ve got an athletic build and blessed that my body fat disperses evenly across my body instead of clumping in problematic areas.

“Well, what would you like to accomplish? How much weight do you want to lose?”

I’d like to see myself at 10 to 12% by end of year. By this time next year, I’d like to see me between 8 to 10%. That’s going to require making everything I do a part of my life, not just additions. I’ll have to reach my goals step by step, altering my approach based on my success and failures.

“Do you think you can do it?”

As a matter of fact, yes. I can do it. The real question is “Will I do it?”

September, 2004: I weighed 241 pounds. My BF ratio – no clue, but I do know that I had less muscle mass than I do today. I started out doing only HIIT (high intensity interval training) based on Bill Phillip’s Body of Life. I did my HIIT roughly every other day. As my body responded to the challenge, I moved the schedule up to every 36 hours.

My weight loss during that first month seemed slow. I thought for sure I’d have lost more weight. I started looking at my diet. I was eating a lot of chicken breasts while at work, as we had a cafeteria at Microsoft. After work, I was drinking a lot. Beer, shots, you name it.

The last month, I cut out most of the alcohol. I still had the occasional beer or glass of wine. By November, I was down to 206 with my weight stabilizing around 210. My body fat was probably around 10%.

So yes, I can do it. I look back at that time frame and question what worked, what didn’t, and how did I manage to do it . Its the same answer as to how I got back to 240, or even 260 which is where I was in November of 2006.

One day at a time.

Each day you execute the decision to hit the gym and work towards a better you, or eat that ice cream and drink that 6 pack and do nothing, you get that much closer to the new you or the old you. You just have to decide which path you want to take and how to balance it.

Today, I’m hurting from my decision earlier in the week to work out my lower body. Its the first time I’ve been in the gym in months. My ass hurts. My legs hurt. But its good. Its comforting to know that when I work out my lower body again I’ll be able to do more weight, more reps and get better. I know my body is repairing and using the chicken and tuna I’m eating to rebuild the muscle I broke down.

I’m also going to the gym to work upper body today. I fully intend to embrace the pain from recovery tomorrow or Friday even. Because in a few weeks, that pain will subside. I’ll know I’ve gotten stronger and in better shape.

You are what you eat. I can’t wait till my body is composed of good nutrients instead of Shiner beer, corn dogs, and hot wings.