Blogging for fun, The Purge of a Collection, Some Photography, and GO MAPS!

I think back to when I started blogging (all those 5 months ago) I said to myself that I would do this every day. It will be fun, therapeutic, and educational. Well, it seems I'm down to about twice a week, as it is a passtime for me when I am stuck at work for a day or something to do when I find 5 minutes at home. Even though I'm a little inconsistent in my scheduling, I think it's allowing me to have some more interesting blogs as opposed to a "this is what I did today".

So last week, I came home after a bad day at work, and looked around for ANY excuse to get out of the house. I looked at my game collection and said to myself "I do not play half of that shit" and decided to PURGE all games I knew I wasn't playing anymore. I ended up removing nearly HALF of the collection, most of which was worthless, and picking up one in exchange for it. There were some that the store wouldn't even take anymore. Somewhat telling of the quality of those titles me thinks. Anyway, I picked up the new Dead to Rights game, which, while generic, is like a guilty pleasure. It's like an old 80's action movie starring Steven Seagal or something. Lots of violence and action, thin plot, but damn fun. The only game I think I wish I hadn't traded was Oblivion, but it's a game that I can get on the trade wall, so it's not THAT big of a loss.
In talking games for a brief moment, I'll mention Final Fantasy 13 again. Even though I've gotten through to the open world (a feat in itself) I'm now in a region that I need to bulk up for, as my characters can barely survive a fight, and in some cases, cannot survive a fight with what is generally the run of the mill villain for the area. So, I'm left to what can be deemed "the grind", killing hundreds and hundreds of the baddies I CAN kill, and hoping that I will be able to take on some of the tougher ones a little later on. I hate the grind, honestly, but given how invested I am now in the story, it becomes far more livable.


I started dealing with creative exposures with my wonderful new camera recently. I'm still somewhat limited in the lenses I have, but have still managed a few decent shots and advanced my skill level with the SLR styled camera. The experience of using an SLR camera for me feels far more "organic" and free flowing. The point and click is a great camera, but I feel so much more free, with so many options, having to slow down and really think about what I'm doing rather than snapping shots with reckless abandonment. I've learned the joy of manual settings on the camera, FINALLY. The auto settings now feel so... limiting. Thanks go out to Geoff and Jennifer for all the great tips and tricks. I know it seems I mention them a bit and it almost feels like brown nosing. :S But... it's incredible for someone like me with such limited experience in this style of photography to have people who are seemingly joyfully willing to pass on some of what they've learned without wanting anything in return, and to me it's their just dues that they get at LEAST a thank you. :)

and Finally for today, we MUST talk a little about Go Maps, my little GPS map enterprise. Things are going well for them so far, as I've been able to wrangle down a lot of interest from local businesses for carrying them. With one confirmed dealer in my back pocket and three other likely dealers, things are looking good for the product. It's something that has been a passion of mine since I worked on the maps at the now defunct M F Kelly Ltd (now Cansel, a Survey Company Dealership). I've been poking at them for personal use for some time now and with me being in the clear to go a little further with it now, it's become a shear joy seeing a final product finally seeing light of day. I have product now available for Lowrance GPS receivers, in 1:50000 scale (good for skidooers and ATV enthusiasts) and 1:250000 scale (good for hikers and photographers). The 1:50000 scale retail for $109.95 and the 1:250000 retail for $89.95. If any groups or associations are interested in the product, I do have wholesale quantity pricing available as well. You can contact me through here, my gmail, my facebook (which this blog is advertised in), or most importantly through the website I have up for it, www.gomaps.net. I've been notified that some virus scanners on high alert seem to think the site is dangerous. Preposterous... go to the settings and make it an "allowed site". It's just some basic PHP, with NO scripting, NO popups, NO ads or banners, NO porn, just good old fashioned GPS maps. BTW: forgive the bad design, the whole site was done in 1 hour. There will be upgrades in the coming days. Pass the word! I give a cut to anyone who brings me a sale. :D

Thanks for reading folks. Back soon enough.

C