Low Fog on the Willamette

Low Fog on the Willamette, originally uploaded by SkyeAnna.

A photo by a local friend photographer. Nicely done!

Ducks won!

Hanging out at the beer stein, having a hard cider. :)

Been a while... again.....

I know, you don't have to tell me.

I post more about as often as it takes Mercury to complete a orbit of
the sun, but at least I admit it. There has been a lot going on since my
last post, and this summer was a heavy one for sure.

I lost my father, Gary Petorak, on September 15, at age 69. It's hard
to know I can't call him anymore, and I know he enjoyed his calls to me
to ask how things were going. He loved his Nascar, and listening to
scanners to hear what was going on in the neighborhood. My family all
headed up to Tahoma National Cemetery, where he was given a Navy space
in the wall for his ashes. It was hard to be there and see everything,
but it was nice for us all to put things to rest and move on. I sure do
miss him a lot, but I know that he's happy to be where he is, and to
know that we all came together to make sure he lived and made a mark on
our lives.

Here is a link to his memorial page:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/seattletimes/obituary.aspx?n=gary-b-petorak&pid=145868288

Take care all, and don't forget to tell your father you love them as
often as you can.

My Zen lunch spot.

I just entered the directions to my spot and the stopped myself and deleted it. I ain't sharing. :)

I have found myself a new project...

After finding out today that the Jeep is going to need a new drivers wheel bearing, I put plans of new stuff on hold. I did, in a moment of thought, discover a new project I am going to under take.

My first project, was the home made light box diffuser.

Then, my lovely wife made me this snoot out of a beer can and some gaffers tape.




Now, I believe the new undertaking will be the light ring:

 What does a light ring do you ask?

They generate a even light pattern around the subjects face as seen in this photo: 











I'll post more when I have the plans, and maybe some construction videos or snapshots. 

Petorak.Com, the Revival

Ok, so it was only down for like a month.. but still. Thanks to a free hosting site, all is back up and good in the world. I am working on a new design, so I'll post as I go to get any feedback along the way. I know there are some of you out there... ping.....

Goodbye Middle School, hello High School!

Tristan graduates from Middle School.  Here is proof! 

It was a long ceremony.  I forgot how much pain bleachers can cause those of us with bad backs. 

Six Funny Life Lessons | Personal Blog of Carl Pei

Six Funny Life Lessons | Personal Blog of Carl Pei: "A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, “I’ll give each of you just one wish” “Me first! Me first!” says the admin. clerk. “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.” Poof! She’s gone. “Me next! Me next!” says the sales rep. “I want to be in Hawaii,relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.” Poof! He’s gone. “OK, you’re up,” the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.”
Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say."

A job that really stinks?

The guy who has to change the lights in the restroom after Thanksgiving. I guess I never looked at how many lights are actually in the restroom. Time for me to leave, sorry dude.

#98 Defensive Tackle, North Eugene High

afternoon dessert at the french market

The Happiest Place on Earth

We are embarking on a trip to California tomorrow, heading to Disneyland for the last family vacation of the year.

Also included in this trip:

- My mom
- Kandi, my oldest sister
- Krissy, Dave, and Austin

We'll be leaving Wednesday morning (10.7.09) and be returning on Tuesday (10.13.09). I plan on bringing my laptop to post any photos I take, so be sure to check on the photos site for updated photos.

Cya all when I get back.

The Garpinator

Posting from my Blackjack :)

Usually, the times I want to post something, I am not around my computer and forget what I was going to post. Now, with the ability to email from my phone, I can post directly without the need for a computer. Sometimes I love technology. :)

Anyways, hope all is well with everyone (my one reader). Be well, and email me anything funny or newsworthy so I can share.

Monday, Monday....

I didn't get a chance to watch the VMAs this year, but I did hear about Kanye West and his innapproriate actions. What a pompus arrogant jerk, spoiling the moment for Taylor Swift -- her first time up there. And then has to go and say that Beyonce did a better job? Booooo.

I was, however, very impressed with beyonce later that night, whe she asked taylor to come back onstage to give thanks to all the people that she wasnt able to earlier.

Thoughts?

We will never forget.

Quarterly Post

I came to the conclusion that I really only post in here once a quarter. I mean to update the world, but I get lost in the day to day -- and next thing you know it, four months have passed. I think I was planning on setting myself a reminder....

Not much to update on. Same only summer, same recession everyone else is feeling. My family is resolute, finding creative ways to save money/energy. My boys are also trying to reduce their electronic imprint. They told me the other day they turn off the Xbox for a few hours a day to save energy. Insert parental scowl, as I know darned well that they had turned it of to let it cool down. I do have to give them points for creativity though.

Still employed at Symantec, even after some major change. When I started 10 years ago, it was a much smaller company. We've purchased several extremely large companies since then and have grown to a very large worldwide company. I've done some travel for the company: Dallas, Nashville, Cleveland, Chicago, San Francisco, Portsmouth, NH and a nice trip to Aruba. I enjoy it, but don't like to be away too long. The warmth of my family is far to valuable to be away from for more than a few days. I have had a few 10 day trips that have been pretty hard, but we've had fewer and fewer trips recently thankfully. I enjoy working in the team I am in, and for the person I report to. Who can ask for more than that, right?

Anyways, that's all for now. Someone write me so I know this actually gets read! Chat with you later. Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Flight Deck of the USS Nimitz

A long time ago…. in Seattle.

Photo taken by Allison Harper – Ali’s Petography

Quotes for Geeks/Nerds

My favorite one is the Macintosh one...

And I'm Back...

Yea, I know, I have the blogging abilities of a nerd.. oh wait, I am one. And now that I think of it, most nerds blog or something.. guess I'll have to start over..

I have been working on the site again, the whole home server idea never worked out.. and then the system died. I now have a server, and it is not at home.

Check out where we are so far here.
Let me know what you think.

Happy Holidays from the Petorak Family!

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday season.

Mel and I are cooking a turkey today, so I have to run... :D

Enjoy the holidays...

Thanksgiving 08

This years thanksgiving feast was held at our house again. 15 people including those at the house attended, and we all enjoyed a wonderful feast.

Mel and I got up early (around 8) to begin preperation of the bird. I had scored a 23lb turkey from Albertsons for $5, so Mel stuff it to the hilt, and we bagged it up and put it in the oven. The rest of the day was spent preparing deviled eggs, salads, veggie trays, and much much more. Trying not to shoulder all of the cost this year, we had everyone who came bring something. Some brought some pies, and some brough some salads. One of the family members is an employee of Oil Can Henrys, and was given a turkey for the holiday. Zach came over a little earlier and setup a deep fryer in the back yard so he could cook the smaller bird outside. A few years ago he had tried this and char broiled the darned thing. This year, we all watched it like a hawk. It turned out much better than the last time. Melanee's bird turned out perfect, as usual. We plan on making turkey soup tonight with what leftovers there are after the numerous turkey sandwitches are pulled before then.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and now on to Christmas!!! :D

Guess whos on Honor Roll

A writing assignment, from one of the kids.

The Creature
By Brendan Petorak

I could here the crunching of twigs and falling branches, my breath growing heavier and heavier and my heart beating faster and faster. The shadow of the mysterious creature's breath is visible through the wall of the tent in the cold dark night. The shape of creature looked like many tubes coming out of a mannish figure.

I was wishing it was a dream but it felt too real. I could feel the breeze through the tent, making my golden brown hair fall into my face. My annoying little brother was still asleep on the far side of the tent. My teeth were chattering like a helicopter. My dog started to whine and growl, her tail in between her legs but here teeth showing like a wolf.

The creature started to walk closer. It touched the tent. I went trough my suitcase and found my paint ball gun. The creature was so large; I could see its shadow loom over the entire tent. I put paint balls in the canister and took aim at the creature that was now ripping open the tent.

I felt like my heart was about to come right out of my chest as I saw it eyes. They were as red as the depths of hell, peering back at me through the hole he had just made. Then, suddenly, it was like I woke up from a dream. The bad thing was, I woke up in my tent with my paint ball gun in my hands, my dog was hanging from the creature’s forearm, and my brother was awake but he was crying. And for some reason my arm was now bleeding. The pain from my arm was almost unbearable. It was still dark out, I aimed at the creature’s eyes once more, but I missed and got it in the throat.

It started to suffocate, so my brother, my dog and I ran to the car. The dog got in first, my brother second, and I closed the door and started the car. We started to drive down the narrow logging road. It was probably 4:00am now. I herd several thunderous steps from the forest in front of us. There was more than just one creature. They started yelling loud enough to shatter the glass all over the car, and shake the trees.

I drove as fast as I could to the nearest town, passing several suspicious military vehicles along the way. I didn’t look back.

THE END :)

(… or is it just the beginning…???)

today is boss's day

so we all decorated my littke ponies for our boss.

Symantec down-sizing

About four years ago, I worked for the IT group here at Symantec, and it was an amazing experience. Not only did I learn a lot, but I also gained quite a few friends along the way and most of then are still in IT.

A few weeks ago, one of my old IT buddies told me that Symantec was outsourcing the IT group to another company called EDS. I know nothing about them, other than they are from the mid-west. So far, a few of my buddies have been offered positions, while a few others have been given severence packages. It'll be interesting to see where the chips end up falling for everyone when its all said and done.

Either way, there are going to be a few new faces for me to learn.

Dell : A Customer Review

I have designed and built my own computer more than one time in my life. At work, I have used the Dell systems that were given to me to use, and had to deal with the issues that arise when they fail. I wanted to stop and give a few words about their support that I think aren't taken into consideratoin most of the time.

1. They're online support is about the best thing I have ever had to deal with. Today, one of our internal customers had an issue with their monitor. I hopped on to support.dell.com and chatted with a technican who arranged for me to get a replacement as soon as tomorrow without even picking up the phone and having to wait on hold. He was even nice enough to email the transcript of our conversation for my records so I knew when everything was coming in.

2. Overnight turnaround on your replacement parts making down time non-existant. I am not totally sure if this is offered on all systems, but the laptop and desktop market require this kind of speed the workforcce in motion. With IBM/Lenovo, we have had some serious delays -- which is better now that before, but I would still put my money on Dell.

3. I love the hardware. For some reason, the Dell's that I have had seem to plug away though things much faster than the 'homebuilt' or 'frankenstein' systems that I had been building. Maybe it was the large amount of RAM they are putting in these things now-a-days, but I am still overwhelmed that my home built systems crawls in comparison. Time to redesign.

Anyways, that's my two cents on Dell support. Two thumbs way up, and I hope to own another Dell soon.

A look back....

Back on May 20th, a disgruntled Symantec customer sent a package to the Springfield office with a powder inside that was not immediately identified as sugar. This caused a lockdown of the facility, and the 30 people lucky enough to be over by the zone in the mail room were quarantined for over 5 hours with very limited mobility. Those who were in the 'hot zone' were dubbed "The Mailroom 30", and I thought nothing of it until one of them went around wearing this shirt. While it may not have been a large scale attack on the software industry, it's amazing that it had such an impact here. You'd be suprized at how tightened our security has become.

News Link

The view from our seats

Oregon Ducks vs. Boise State Broncos

Bobby, an in law of mine, invited me to the duck game today against Boise State. Here's a shot of the tickets on the shuttle to the game. More to follow after the game.

The Robbins boys get haircuts...

Elizabeth "Lizzard" Robbins, Melanee's sister, lives in Reno with her husband and two boys. Here we see the recent haircuts, while still in the salon.

A sign at a local church.

August Camping Trip

It was the last week in August and the summer had been pretty uneventful as far as camping goes, so we decided to pack up the trailer and head a ways out for some R & R as a family (minus the cat).

We left town late afternoon on Tuesday, August 26th, and arrived at our campsite after the sun had set. Melanee started on the fire, while the boys and I quickly gathered some firewood and began setting up a tent. The boys slept in the back of the jeep, so their bedding was ready to go almost immediately. Once the fire was going, we found some nearby roasting sticks for a quick hot dogs and setup one of the camp stoves to complete a few cups-of-soup for Mel and I. After that, it was getting the beds ready, enjoying a few hours of campfire, and heading off to bed.

The second day was hot and very sunny. We all enjoyed checking out the area, and getting a bit sunburned while we did it. We found a way down to the river, and got some river water for washing and such. After a bit of heat, we setup a kitchen area and retreated to the shade. A few card games, and some yaghtzee, and we enjoyed the sunsetting on the trees, and sat around the campfire roasting marshmallows and making smores.

After the full extent of the burns had kicked in, we decided that we should all stay out of the sun for a day. We spent quite a lot of the day either under the kitchen canopy, or in the car heading down the 27 miles to the nearest town of Oakridge.

That's all for now, but here are some photos until I post the rest.

Location: NF-2136 @ 43.445876 , -122.363145

Driving Directions from Eugene :
View Larger Map

Just another manic Monday.

Weekends are the best time of my week, hands down. I do enjoy working and everything, but having time to spend with the family is also important. This particular weekend it got into the high 90's, and the house didn't cool down much even after I went and bought two box fans for the windows. Saturday was fairly miserable and sticky, but with a few glasses of ice tea and some cool showers, we survived. I almost melted.

shopping with tristan.

Teal'c in rare form

Our cat has a personality. Since we recently had him fixed, the lack of raging hormones have caused his real personality to emerge, showing us a side of him that was not always visible.

I stumble across some pretty funny stuff....

From the "One Sentence Archive":

What are the odds?
"I knew God had a sense of humor when I hesitantly answered the ringing K-Mart payphone, only to hear my best friend, who had misdialed my home phone number, on the other end."

Fathers Day - 2008.

Well, Fathers Day 2008 is in the books, and it was a very nice day for me indeed. Here's a brief synopsis of my weekend:

On Saturday, I was scheduled to work at the Shutterbug from 1-9:30, so I got up a little early to get some things done. For reasons beyond my memory, I did not get everything I wanted to get done before work, was able to have a good morning none the less. As I began to get ready for work, I got a call telling me that there was plenty of coverage and that I was no longer needed to work. So, out of nowhere, I got a weekend off. Although I would have like to have the extra hours, it was nice to be able to chill with the family for the weekend. Mel and I did a little shopping, and got some stuff for the bbq, which we proceeded to devour. As midnight drew near, I got Mel interested in watching a movie. The Andromeda Strain, remake of an older film, was remade into a mini-series. I thought it was longer than a regular move. It was. Around 3am, the movie ended and both of us nearly passed out as we hit the pillows. With a big day planned when we woke, we had discussed being up at 10am.

I rolled over and opened my eyes, and looked at the alarm clock. It was 12:03, and I immediatly smiled and chukcled to myself. No sooner than I got up and went to the bathroom, Mel was up and ready to hop in the shower. Her cough and nasal pressure had increased throughout the night, so we dicided to make an appointment with the doctor (thank god for weekend clinics), so she could feel better. The funny thing is that on Mothers day, I punctured my hand on the Jetta antenna and needed a stitch from the ER. Seems that we have started a tradition. While we waited for the appointment, I grabbed the boys and headed out to tackle the front yard. It had been some time since I was able to mow in the front. Seems that each time I was able to find some time to mow, it would be raining. Other times, it wasn't raining, but I had to get to work. This went on for months, until yesterday. The boys did a majority of the mowing, and then I attacked it with the weed-eater while Melanee worked her magic on the grill once again. We had some of the best Collard Greens and Steak I have ever had. Mel even tried her hand at a jerk sauce, which we dubbed " My Jerk " sauce. Very nice indeed.

I stayed up a little late trying to get some star trails pictures but was unsuccessful. Guess I'll need to do a little more readying on exposures. Overall, that was the best Fathers Day I have ever had. The boys even made me a cake, but since Mom didn't get one either, the made if for both of us. It read "Happy FA/MO thers day!" and included candles -- Tristan's idea and we still are laughing about it. The boys ever went as far as to actually make the cake. Not bad at all.

Good times, good times.

Skye Harvey

An example taken with the Lightbox I created. Available light is from the camera store I work at in Eugene, Oregon.

More posts this month that all last year.

And yet no one to read them. :D


More browsing of images on my local drive, I found and old photo of Mel and I. Sometimes I don't realize how our size differs, she's as big as I am in my heart, what does size matter?


Now, if I could only find that shirt.


And then of course there's my hand shot from the camera phone after my back surgery. Now there was some fun!




Thank god for the Vicodin ... back pain truly takes a hell of a lot out of ya.

The work of Mike Curtis

I was browsing through Photo.Net's best photographers, and noticed this guy. Doesn't have a log in his portfolio, but I can't wait to see what else he posts.

Homemade Snoot and Lightbox

For Valentines day, my wife created a snoot for me. She used a 24 ounce beer can, which she had to empty first of course, and then wrapped it in gaffers tape and formed the end to match my Nikon SB800 and SB600 flashes. Not only was this a cool personal gift for her to make for me, but it's been really cool to shoot with and thinking of her whilst I do.

She inspired me to develop and create my own Light box for my flashes as well. I used cardboard, gaffers tape, aluminum foil, and printer paper. Drew a pattern out, luckily I got it right the first time as the second one was not as perfect. I have taken several shots with it and love what it does and how easy it is to use. I'll post some more pics once I have a better collection.

--

Viral Video - Wheezer compolation...

A photo a day for 18 years

http://wakeuptiger.blogspot.com/2008/05/photo-of-day-for-18-years.html

Someone do the math, that’s a hell of a lot of money.

Wow. Heavy story.. but needs to be shared.

A entire family heads out from their wedding togehter in a limo, only to be struck head on by a drunk driver at over 70 miles an hour. The first officer on the scene was a relative of the family. The married couple lost their youngest daughter.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/05/29/o.lifesaving.lesson/index.html

Another Petorak Blog

Seems my sister found out how to use Blogger!
http://petorak.blogspot.com/

Yes, I am a geek about Space as well.

You'd think with computers and photography, that my life would be full of cool things to keep me busy. I have always loved Space and Astronomy, even though I am too tall to ever get up in a ship (damned short people). I was heartbroken when the Challenger blew up, and devastated when Discovery burned up on re-entry. There have been many tradegies, but there have also been some major discoveries and spectacular images captured as we stretch our technological fingers into the cosmos.

I follow anything we (earthlings) send to Mars. The first successful flyby was done by Mariner 4 in 1964-- years before we even set foot on the moon. 21 images, in 1964. Mariner 6 and 7, 5 years later captured over 200 additional images. In 71, we landed something on there but only got 20 seconds of 'lander' data, even though the orbiter portion of the mission had 8 months of good data. When I was 4, we finally landed something on Mars and were able to get a good connection to it. The Viking 1 lander made it all worth while. Viking 2 followed up shortly and was also a resounding success sending back over 16,000 images as well as other experiments.

Then, nothing for a while. The Soviets tried a few in 88, but either missed the planet -- or lost the orbiter. The US failed the Mars observer, which just stopped communicating in 93, three days before it was set to start its approach to the red planet. The Pathfinder mission was only supposed to do a little bit of looking around, but it ended up lasting 5 times longer than the warranty. And then in 2003, we landed a pair of rovers on the planet, and began our first 6 wheelin' adventure from another planet. There's a first right there.

But it's the latest landing that has me really watching. The Phoenix Mars Lander has made it, and it ready to sit on one place and just dig until it too dies or looses communication.


I think in this lifetime, we will be sending someone there -- hopefully a team.

** http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/log/

Dodging a bullet

Usually, we are allowed to leave at 3pm, so I trudged out the door and gave my friend Ian a ride home. No sooner than I got home and sat down, I received an automated call alerting me that something major was going down at my work, Symantec.

From KVAL.COM :
"SPRINGFIELD, Ore. - An envelope containing a suspicious substance and a letter claiming the material was anthrax caused a lock down that left as many as 1,000 employees stranded inside their office for four hours May 20. Officials are now 99 percent sure the substance is sugar."

Yea, lets just say I made it out before all hell had broken loose. The fire department, hazmat teams, police, media, and who knows who else were called into quarantine the building and secure the perimeter. I think the picture that was used in the website post was a picture I took back a few years ago. Glad everyone made it out ok, but damn. What the hell? Going to be an interesting day at work tomorrow, and all over a envelope of sugar.

Where'd he go?

Tired of the high cost of internet hosting? Yea, me too. I was fed up with having another payment to take care of so I am going to try an point my domain to my personal web/ftp server that I can maintain. Yea, this means that there might be a few slowdowns here and there, as well as a few occasions where the site may be off-line... but you can bet I won't be spending my money on them anymore. :D

Anyways, spread the word that I am back.. and will be posting quite a lot more now that I have one less bill :P

Keep up the support, and send me an email : jason.petorak@gmail.com

HIBiDDY HUBLaH!

I am no mechanic..

Roughly three months ago, I took the truck to work happy that it had finally decided to stop running like crap. A few months after the "Oil Can Henrys Incident" where they failed to replace my oil filter correctly resulting in a blown engine had put a very bad taste in my mouth with regards to this truck, all was well and I was happy. The next day, when I went to start the car, it wouldn't startup correctly. I had just put some gas in it the day before ( $10 worth ) so I knew it wasn't the gas. Knowing as little as I do about cars, I asked all the 'mechanics' in the family to take a look at it, and asked what they would think. Even my own father suggested that it was the fuel filter, and that was going to be a pain in the arse to get to due to it being located inside the gas tank itself. Needless to say, money being tight and all, the car sat for over two months.

Last Friday, Melanee started her new job and needed to be picked up. Janet, her mother, was working and did not have the chance to make her car available to us so she was going to have to take the bus. Out of frustration, Melanee asked me to put a gallon in the truck just to see if maybe some bad gas had caused the issue or something. Knowing that I had put the gas in it the night before it wouldn't start, I opted to give it a shot.

1 gallon, turned over 5 times and then 'vroooomed' right into one of the more embarrassing mechinical moments in my life. This sits right next to the time I failed to load film in the camera before a full day of shooting pictures of my wifes family. I wondered why the film counter exceeded 41 pictures.. I thougth they only made 36 exposure rolls?

Anyways, needless to say, one car back on the road and the other just awaiting it's tabs, we are almost fully functional once again. I am still laughing at it myself. I wish I knew more about cars and less about computers and cameras. I guess somethings still catalog me as a geek.

Jeep Squirt

So, the other day I was sitting at a stoplight in the Eugene rain. I looked into the rear view mirror, and noticed that the back window was soaked, and could use a little rinse. I switched on the rear windshield wiper, and then rocked the switch into the fluid position as to add a little windshield wiper fluid to the wiper to make it so I could see through it. Little did I know that the tube that connects the fluid reservoir to the washer arm had separated, and so when I engaged the fluid mode, a stream of fluid shot straight out the back on to the vehicle behind me.

This normally would not have been an issue.

However, I noticed a familiar red and blue light begin to flash behind me. The drain of fluid had squarely nailed the motorcycle cop behind me right in the windshield of his bike. He pulled me over, and I feared the worst. As he approached the window, I had already pulled my license, proof of insurance, and registration out. I rolled the window down, ready to apologize profusely, when I heard an uncontrollable laughter coming from his mouth.

His response was “Sir, you are not getting a ticket, I have a Jeep, and I HAVE to know how you did that... I want to set mine up so I can do it!"

I guess not all the cops around here are jerks. :D

Seattle, and stuff

I don't know if I have even enjoyed a train ride as much as did today. Boarded at 5:30am, and found a single seat next to the window. I had stayed up a l ittle tooo late the night before, so I was feeling ready for a nap as soon as I sat down. I have never been able to sleep on a train, but this time I dozed off for a few hours. I think I fell asleeep somewhere around albany, and woke up in Portland. The stops that we had were so few and quick, than the train arrived 17 minutes early. That's another first. We left Portland, and within a few minutes, I was crashed again. I don't think I woke up until Tacoma, or near there. Dozing here and there, I finally arrived in Seattle, and was picked up by my sister, Krissy, and her boyfriend, Dave. My first time meeting Dave, he seems like a very nice guy. He makes my sister smile. And to me that is more than enough. I had a few minutes to stop and see some old friends from High School, there were only four of us, but it was still nice to see some old faces. Those three ladies haven't aged much in 16 years. I, on the other hand, got VERY grey. :D

I made my way up to my dads place, where the moving had already begun. Within a few hours, we had 90% of his stuff packed up and in the uhaul, so we all hopped in cars and headed down to Pe Ell, Washington where my dad moved to. Along the way, I stopped to see an old friend who I hadn't seen in a very long time. I only stayed for 45 minutes or so, but when my sister called me and told me where she was at, I neaded out quickly to catch up. As I neared the exit I needed to take, a semi truck blocked my view of both signs, I didn't know the exit number, and the next thing I know I am 17 miles farther down the road than I need to be. Needless to say, all the non-heavy stuff was in the house by the time I got there, leaving all the heavy stuff for dave and I to finish up. After apologizing profusly, I slammed out the rest of the stuff, and we headed back out. My dad and I slept at a naarby motel, and Dave and my sisters headed back up to Puyallyup. Kandi left me her car, so I can go sleep up there tonight, which is probably where I'll post this from. :D

This Weekend

I will be leaving early Saturday morning on a train from Eugene to Seattle to help my dad move. He is moving from West Seattle, down to Pie El, Washington. I'll be sure and post lost of pics once I get home, but probably won't see alot until I do get back. Be sure to drop me a line ( you should know my cell phone number if you're a close friend) if you're in the area and would like to see me!

Time flies when you're having fun.

On a cold October morning 12 years ago, I awoke from my sleep and opened my eyes, eager to see my little hottie snuggled up beside me. But alas, it is bad luck for a groom to see his bride before the wedding, so I had not seen her since the night before. There wasn't much longer to wait, as the wedding was planned for a few hours away, so that we would have the rest of the day to enjoy the company of our friends and family before heading home for the first time as husband and wife. The service went well, I remember Melanee's grandfather was there and let me use his suit (the only one that would fit me), as well as many members of both sides of the family. My sisters, and friends, played the church bells while Melanee walked down the isle. She is still as beautiful and young looking as that day. A tear formed in my eye while I was reading my vows, knowing that this would be the woman was willing to spend the rest of her life with me.

Today, 12 years and a day later, I feel the same closeness to this lovely lady as the day I said yes to her marriage proposal.


As I was driving to work today, I took some pictures of the leaves and their autumn colors. It got me thinking about how each leaf gathers as much light as it can before the fall arrives, helping the tree with energy to get through the long leafless winter. I can see how we, as a family, offer each other energy to get through the long winter. Without my family to keep me going, I'd probably shrivel up and wither away. A tree is only as strong as its trunk. I can safely assume that some day, my trunk will give way, and I'll need all the little saplings around me to get me through the rest of my life. I am sure that someday, this redwood will need to go to that great big lumber mill in the sky, but not any sooner than necessary.

Jason's Dream Car

This is my kind of car. Wonder where you can lease one....

White and nerdy

Oh, this is so me....

Redneck Rocket Launcher

While drinking beer, and smoking cigarettes; this guy builds a rocket launcher, then loads it with eight thousand five hundred bottle rockets. Then he fires them all at one time. This is a killer video. Check out the firestorm!

School is back in session

Tomorrow the boys go back to school, and not a moment too soon. Brendan will be starting middle school ( for the love of all that's holy -- I feel old ), and Tristan will be entering his final year at Spring Creek Elementary. They both are excited to be going back to school, as chores and watching TV all summer got old really fast. The did find a friend to play with towards the end of the summer, and he has spent some time over playing with them.

We've all had fun this summer, and we even had a chance to take a small vacation to Spokane, WA, last month. Melanee is looking forward to the time she can have in the mornings to do what she wants, and I am looking forward to having the ability to take a day off here and there and spend some quality alone time with her. Janet, Mel's mother, is moving to Reno to work, so we'll essentially have the house to ourselves while the kids are at school.

Anyways, other than that, things this summer when pretty well, and the fall is looking to be just as much fun with the kids in school and all the 'school events'... I am so looking forward to meeting their teachers.

I did some changing of the photo gallery, you can see the new look as I build the albums here.

Wow. Didn't realize it had been so long

Well, things have been good this summer for the most part. We got a new vehicle, special thanks to my dad, and we went on a short family vacation to Spokane, Washington. Check out the pics in the photo gallery. In training right now, so I'll be breif. More later, I promise.

Word.

Yes, I wen't skiing.

On this, the day before my 34th birthday, I awoke at 6:30am to partake in one of those sports that I had never had the guts to try. I figured, how hard could it be?

So my buddy Matt picked me up at 7:30 and we headed up to Hoodoo, in Sisters, Oregon. As soon as we got there, we found out that the classes that were being setup were full, but I could get a lesson at 1:00pm when the next lesson started. Matt, who used to work at Willamette Pass, took me up the top of the bunny hill, and next thing you know I was sliding down the mountain in what has been referred to as a controlled skid. I did very well today doing my 'snow plowing' or pizza stance, as well as turning on the bunny slope. I fell a few times, and was forced to get out of my skis to get up, much to my dismay, but other than that not much. I did a few runs up a down the bunny slope, and felt pretty confident going into my private lesson ( yes, I splurged and paid for a personal lesson ). After a few runs down the bunny slope, my instructor said he thought I was ready for a green hill (easy).

I made it off the ski lift just fine, snow plowed to a stop, and felt pretty good as got ready to go. The hill in front of me in the picture above is the same one I went down. Not to steep, I loved it. Then came the hill. The hill was followed by a series of repetative and sometimes painful trips over six and a half feet down to meet with what was once soft powder. Not any more. For some reason, I could not master the turn when you reach the end of a switchback. I lost it almost every time. We left the day with some fun, and a few pictures, and lots of stories. I am sure I will feel all of my stories tomorrow. I hope they go light with the spankings ( birthday, remember-- perverts..), as my arse is in pain.

Our Florida Vacation

Oh the fun we had. Took MANY pictures, and attended a wedding. But to cap the whole week, we spent two days at Universal Orlando, and Island Park Adventure. The crowning moment, when all 4 of us went on the Hulk roller coaster together. That is one that will never leave my mind.

Check out Photos for the pics.

Albums....

So, the albums have been giving me hastle for the past month or so, but I finally fixed the page to work properly. You should start seeing a lot more of the pics taken in the past few months as I get through them. Thanks for your patience. :D

East Coast Petorak!

It seems that I have spread my userbase to a class on the East Coast. I was showing Matt, a fellow web designer and owner of www.planetranch.com, the guestbook of my site when I realized that there were a few more entries that there were previously. I replied to the kids' posts, and emailed the teacher letting her know how nice it was to have heard from them.

Also, they were searching for pictures of their teacher, who is also a Petorak. I knew there was a large group of Petorak's on the east coast, but know I have actually emailed one of them.

Greetings!

Be sure to check out and sign the guestbook!

The Loss of an old friend.

Back when I worked for KITS Cameras, I had the pleasure of working with some people that really impacted my life. While working at the University Village location, there was a guy that I enjoyed working with and we played off each other making jokes all the time.

Patrick "Nekkid" Myrick, was one of the coolest cats I have ever met. He and I shared lots of laughs, and some good times during my employment there. I ran across his photo in an old album the other day, and I decided to see what he was up to by searching his name on the net.

Immediately, I knew this was not going to turn out the way I had wanted it. On the first page of my search, I found the military page with the bad news. On a routine training mission in Iwo Jima, his navy jet crashed last killing him and the other 3 men on board. He was 31. I believe I heard or read about this particular crash, but never read close enough to see the name. My heart goes out to his wife and daughter.

Patrick was a good man, someone who I will always call my friend, who died doing what he loved, RIP Nekkid.

Patrick Myrick

Time Flies....

I lost track of time, and now a few months later, still no post.

I am still here. Just busy at work.

I did buy a new trailer, and just finished installing the hooks today. I'll post some pics soon. Like this week. :P I promise!

Getting in the Groove

I am getting back into the groove of photography. I have been shooting quite a bit more than I used to, now that I have a professional lense. I am putting together a small portfolio of images, that can be found here.

What have I done...

Well, tonight I attended the boys' school's PTO meeting at the request of this years PTO president. She did not tell me, however, that it was election night for next year’s cabinet and also failed to mention that men rarely attended the meetings. I knew the moment that I signed in and looked at the 'door prizes' that this was usually a women’s meeting place. A silver box wrapped with pink ribbon, and a Victoria Secret bag.

Not only was I unanimously elected President of next years PTO board, but I also won the Victoria Secret bag door prize. You'll have to ask me what was in the bag, that way I'll know if you read this. :P

Sometime I'll post the 'job duties' of this position, but I think I am going to reflect on what I have signed up for....

Kids first response... " YESSSSSSSS! "

It's WONDERDOG!

Click this link to view more pictures !

Jog-A-Thon

For those of you that pledged, the Jog a thon was today.



I showed up just as Tristan's class was out running, and waited until they were done. Tristan completed a total of 15 laps. He had it easy though. When Brendan came out later that day, it was raining, and he got tired early. Most of the kids did.. only the super sprinters got over 20. I was very proud of both of them for their effort. They had fun, and so did I. :P

Check out the pics.

I ended up not taking as many as I'd like to have, the school office got me thinking about some of the kids who shouldn't have thier pics taken.. but I got over it for Brendan's run. :D

Saturday Photo

• Laundry
• Get out of the house

Those were the only two things on the adgendy today. We accomplished them both, as well as a few extras....

Note: Tristan taking photo, Inka in the back (looking for a place to swim to in case of trouble), and Brendan pulled the seat adjuster right as I gunned it. His seatbelt can be seen locked over the top of him laying down as we learched forward.

They both loved it, and of course made me do it a few times. Inca got to chase some geese, the boys tried to put all the rocks on the shore into the water, and I just shot some of the awsome scenery. I know, there's a wastewater treatment plant upstream, but the place looks really green. What nutrients must be in this water? :P

Fun was had by all. Now I just need to find a car wash. Oh wait, the 10 day forcast is for Rain, Showers, and a clean car!

I know people visit here...

I check the logs, and watch where people are coming from. I know people come here from time to time, but no one ever comments on my album nor these blogs? I promise not to beat you… but someone please tell me that I am not the only one reading my website!

Farley - By Anna.

Many of my friends are either photographers or computer nuts. A few of the photographers, are the cream of the crop. Anna Wight, www.annawightphotography.com, specializes in horse and animal photography, and is extremely good at what she does. She has some very cute dogs, one of which is pictured here. This is Farley, and he looks a little tired.

It wasn't raining....

Brendan, at our friends football game. It wasn't raining, but he was keeping the coulds from hitting him in the head.

And so it begins....

Pretty cool. I am impressed with every new thing I figure out on the internet. It’s fun to learn, and develop new things – guess it’s my way of getting my schooling somehow. :D

I’ll be posting on here as often as possible. Comment on anything, just keep it clean.. this IS a family website. Be sure to check out the new site design, and add your name to the mailing list if you want to hear from me from time to time.