I finally threw away my stock of 35mm film. I had probably 30-40 rolls of good print and chrome film that I bought before I got my first digital SLR (Canon D30) in 2001. I haven't shot a single frame of 35mm since then. I've kept the stuff around thinking I might shoot some of it to try some multi-exposure effects or something, but I finally admitted to myself that I'll never shoot film if I have a digital alternative. Plus this stuff is so old I wouldn't trust it anyway.

Seems dumb, but this somehow felt like a big milestone. Once I get rid of all the film bodies, I'll know I've fully switched.

Anyone want to buy an Elan II for cheap?

Boing Boing had a great reference for the tricks in different jobs. Here are a few of my favorites:

Juggler With any routine under seven minutes (which is almost all of them), you only really need one thing: a good closer. And there are only two things you really need to know about a great closer. First, it needs to be impressive. That sounds obvious, but most beginning jugglers think

We got new windows installed in the house a few weeks ago. Very nice.

Unfortunately, they're too clean. In the last week or so we've had three birds slam into the windows and die. A little scary for us, and very bad for the birds.

Who knew?

I played golf this morning at Newcastle Golf Club on the China Creek course.

My score was around average, but I think this is the first round I've ever played where I did not incur any penalty strokes for hitting balls out of bounds, into the water, etc. This is something of a milestone for me. Actually, given that I kept it in play, only missed three fairways all day, and had 35 putts, it should have been a great round. Too bad I couldn't seem to hit a second shot to save my life.

'Nuff said.

I love the Olympics. I really do. I get all choked up when I hear the Star Spangled Banner playing for a medalist (I like Oh, Canada too, but mostly because it's kind of catchy...) I'm inspired by the stories about how so and so worked hard for years and is finally living his/her dream of competing the Olympics. I'm made more hopeful by the symbolic events during the Olympics like the Afghani women competing for the first time in the Olympics or the North and South Koreans parading together during the opening ceremonies. Call me sentimental, but I just love the whole thing.

"Pacifists, when the Minnesota Twins handed out G.I. Joe action figures for Armed Forces Appreciation Day. Because the Metrodome has a policy against guns, the 4-inch toys were disarmed before distribution, though they were allowed to keep their hand grenades."

Ah, the wise gun controllers score another common sense victory, keeping us all just a bit safer.

(This excerpt is from The Week Magazine, one of my favorite magazines.)

I wouldn't normally have considered myself a big fan of Sears (as in Sears Roebuck), but I had a great customer service experience with them last weekend that really turned me around.

A few weeks ago, I broke the shaft of my twelve year-old Sears Craftsman shovel. Not knowing quite what to expect, I took it back to the nearby Sears store.

The kid behind the counter told me to just go back and get a new shovel. I did. He gave me a receipt, apologized for making me wait (there was a problem with the register for a bit), and I was done. No questions about when I bought it or how I broke it, and the guy on the floor was empowered to make it better with no forms or managers. Sears simply stood behind their product no questions asked.

I loved the experience and am an evangelist for Sears Craftsman tools now. I wish more companies (including mine!) had this attitude.

It should be apparent to everyone concerned that I'm procrastinating right now, blogging to avoid doing some work this evening. I'm not proud, just honest.

Time to get off my butt and work. Blog at you later.

Like most people, I have a love/hate relationship with golf. Today, I love it. I played in the Rick Pankow Foundation charity golf tournament yesterday at Washington National. I was teamed up with my good friend Kevin, his friend Mark, and his ringer friend Skip.

The format was a scramble, which means everyone tees off, and then everyone hits from the location of the best ball and so on. The team cards a single score. It's a fun format since there's very little pressure (since there are four chances for each shot) and even duffers like me can contribute.

I was clearly the weakest golfer in the foursome (a position I'm quite used to), but I'm happy to report that I held up my end with a two or three long putts (including one that was maybe fifty feet) and a few nice approach shots including a flippy little wedge to about two feet into a very tight pin and a great 7-wood to six feet, both when everyone else had missed their shots.

I was driving super well too, but that didn't matter a whit since Skip and then Mark were driving 300 yards plus. It's a different game when you can hit your second shots from so far up.

We were on fire from the first hole where Mark almost chipped in for an eagle. We proceeded to shoot a 60, twelve shots under par. Because of the rules of the tournament, we were playing from the back tees for sixteen of the eighteen holes to making our score even more impressive. Alas, 60 wasn't quite enough to win; the winners shot 59. Still, we took home $75 gift certs for second place and the knowledge we had all played really well.

The course was in great shape. It was a beautiful day -- sunny and just the right temperature. I think, though, that playing well made it just a bit sunnier for us. I loved it. Can't wait to play again.