photos.ALBj.net

photos.ALBj.net → Miscellaneous Photos → Miscellaneous 2020

Miscellaneous/random shots taken in 2020 which I did not include as part of any other set of photos.

Four family members, one chair
49329883826_0972e040c6_k

Finally enjoying a taste of the Christmas gift from my bro- and sis-in-law; wow, this stuff tastes wonderful!
49334710988_193e2705f3_k

Welcome to my weekend—video services for Women’s Ministries Annual Retreat #DareToShare2020
49470292368_b3485c5b9e_k

Not the worst hotel room view 🙂
49472704886_38cfddd4f7_k

Had a great day with Lori and my parents at Strawberry Festival in Plant City—caught a tiny glimpse of Bobby Bones and the Raging Idiots performing
49607146721_f0d62d4956_k

Took a detour past the hospital where I was born
49606643833_9f0a684d8d_k

Dealing with locking bathroom tissue holders
Pro tip for workers whose offices use these silly locking toilet roll holders and hate when custodians don't pay attention whether the roll is going over the top. You'll find a little button on one side that you can depress with a small tool, such as the one pictured, to release the lock. Just note that the roll holder only reattaches the same direction, so you will have to take the paper off the holder, turn it around, slide it back on the holder, and put the holder back into place this same direction. Now, we just need a hack to avoid the wobble these rolls create—I presume to help keep them from spinning out of control and dumping a bunch of paper on the floor.

Landmark achieved—time to back down
Having surpassed the 3,000-coin threshold for the first time on Swarmapp (née FourSquare) and closing in on 300,000 lifetime coins, I'm choosing to simplify my life and back down on my former heavy use of Swarm. I had really played the "game" of it checking in as often as I could and using various methods to multiply coin earnings. I used to think that, eventually, all those coins would become valuable to redeem for something. But after six years (Swarm was spun off from FourSquare in 2014), they're still open to suggestions on a scalable idea for redeeming coins. I don't know that they'll ever come up with anything. Yes, I'll continue checking in at major locations I actually visit since I have often found it helpful to be able to look up when I was at XYZ location. But I'm putting the practice of drive-by check-ins to rest.

Frightening—house fire a block away from mine; apparently began in rear living room, most kids were outside playing, everyone else got out, and all are safe
49663975832_3dfc4a4174_k

Hangin’ with the local wildlife at my office
49665079543_03bb1a49c3_k

I was quite clear this morning that today was going to be a really long day—good night!
49670976448_8ca4c49bf1_n

Local public elementary school teachers did a drive-by parade through neighboring communities for their students staying at home
49697786697_cda4c2eb60_k

Local public elementary school teachers did a drive-by parade through neighboring communities for their students staying at home
49697069643_da7c124852_k

Celebrating birthdays with a chocolate LEGO cake
49901698788_ee264ca0b6_k

Millennium Falcon Rice Krispie dessert (yes, the antenna was the first piece to be removed)
49901702368_e5b5047e57_k

Mason’s a goner but Maddox will exact his revenge
49902194863_cb92ccb95c_k

Behind the scenes of an ambitious Zoom event
Had a load of fun this evening. This weekend was supposed to be the Pathfinder and Adventurer end-of-year Red Zone weekend at Camp Kulaqua. In response to the COVID-19 quarantine, a virtual event was planned called iRedZone. Tomorrow and Sunday will have other events on other social platforms, but tonight was done with program participants in a Zoom conference which was broadcast live on Facebook where many Adventurers and Pathfinders watched live. I offered to manage media for tonight’s event in the form of me being in the Zoom meeting and sharing content that I prepared in ProPresenter. Other than not accounting for internet latency creating a bit of delay between audio I played from media and people in the Zoom conference singing along, everything else worked out great. I was thrilled to be able to “plus” the overall production, and had a great time doing it. Kudos to all the program participants for a wonderful event. What you’re seeing in these photos is me juggling two computers. The laptop ran ProPresenter and the Zoom app to which I occasionally shared the ProPresenter output screen. The two other monitors are connected to my personal computer which I used to monitor ProPresenter output and have visibility of the rundown schedule, Bible texts to display during the sermon, and a chat window with the Pathfinder director to keep each other in the loop on what was coming up next. If you’d like to have a look at the production, go to Facebook and search for the “Florida Conference Adventurers” and “Florida Conference Pathfinders” Pages, then look for the archives for the respective iRedZone live videos.

Godspeed, SpaceX crew! (Photos by my wife, Lori)
49952546783_49e023343d_k

Congrats to my nephew, Riley Alexander Bennett, on his high school graduation!
49960377181_1293b0e856_k

Sunday evening visitor
50007385457_58bfbdc375_k

Neighborhood stepping up tonight from all directions
50077506332_0e96105d13_k

Crap, I’m old
50101393906_e40a261dee_k

This is the first time I realized the Post Office that services where I work memorialized my high school classmate, Staff Sgt. Stacey Mastrapa, who was killed in action in Iraq
50141403952_84e7fe1f0a_k

Enjoyed assisting a family photo shoot today with this beautiful 1949 Cadillac convertible as a prop
50155284753_f278d40be7_k

I Voted! (local elections—sadly not yet time to vote out DeathSantis)
50185625041_32cdc9d53a_k

Happiness is family sharing a dozen different flavors of ice cream
50203506932_8cdf1ecba1_k

LEGO challenge—build something you think is at least 100 years old
50202731308_0eddbde8f0_k

Celebrating 10 years
50207576263_2e8046278e_h

This is my scene for the day—production for agapeconference.org (hopefully emcee Darren is cool with the photo swipe!)
50229256247_799e1ac1bc_h

Masked friends
50433480827_3bcb668f9d_k

Ambitious Zoom event redux
I had collaborated on an event back in May that streamed participants in Zoom to Facebook and YouTube. My role was managing videos, media, countdowns, etc. It was a huge experiment that came off really well with a couple caveats that we have now worked through. In August, we did it again with even greater success.

A bit of nostalgia
I found a collection of keepsakes tucked away in a box. Left to right, top to bottom: Commemorative belt buckle for the first North American Division Pathfinder Camporee in 1985, held at Camp Hale, Colorado. Commemorative belt buckle for the second NAD Camporee in 1989, held at Mt. Union, Pennsylvania. Commemorative belt buckle for the 1990 Adventist General Session in Indianapolis. My old Malibu Grand Prix license. Ticket to a Baltimore Orioles game that was part of my high school senior class trip. One player hit a foul ball pop fly backward to where our class was sitting and I managed to retrieve that ball from under a bleacher and still have it today. Ticket to the first Michael W. Smith concert I ever attended which was during my Junior year at Andrews University. Ticket to the first Amy Grant concert I ever attended which was during my Senior year at Andrews University.

A reasonably successful first-go using a Taylor egg timer
50433307926_5650b57b8c_k

My wife, her sister, and their mother took a trip to Texas, so we guys got together for Saturday lunch
50433481917_efe94d771c_k

We managed to surprise Lisa with an early birthday gift—the chargers she had been eyeing but couldn't get enough of the same style in one batch
50433481982_20b5d70f5f_k

My young nephews wanted to try coffee for the first time
Worth while to note that Lisa's drink was flavored and sweet. Danny's, on the other hand, was typical coffee flavor.

It's install day for our new production copier with an awesome new booklet finisher
50432617863_2c1359ceb5_k

I have spoken!
50432615658_5eb7efbd5e_k

Allow me to introduce our spiffy new SDD full bleed booklet trimmer and square fold finisher—it’s SO awesome!
50493155707_f744f25cf4_k

Celebrating my mother-in-law’s birthday WHOOOOO happens to love owls—what a hoot!
50525199996_2db40bdff6_k

I lost horribly in my first time playing Ticket to Ride
I was the yellow pieces. First, I missed 20 points coz stinker Mason (blue) blocked my only chance to reach Calgary from Phoenix. Then I missed another 35 points because the game ended *one* round before I would have completed the final leg of my route from LA to Miami. As such, six-year-old Maddox (red) managed to completely cream me into a distant last place.

I learned today is International Wear Your Summer Camp T-shirt Day—my childhood camper shirts are long gone, as is my 1989 staff shirt, but I do have this seven-year-old 60th anniversary polo
Now, can someone please explain why a day celebrating summer camp is held in November?

Y’all, my egg-peeling game is getting strong (and they were perfectly cooked, too)
50588888206_c64797da29_k

Welcome to adulthood, Meg
50602095831_308f6f35c2_k

Rinse and Repeat—what have you been busy doing this afternoon?
50615167851_ea8ecb9129_k

The scenery at the spot I found to wait for my wife’s 1½-hour appointment does not suck
50645292691_95f3dba622_k

My part of tree trimming is complete; Lori does the ornaments next
50650878192_7a3bec0e3c_k

Other than the fact I don’t have any paprika, my first go at making deviled eggs was a success
50683720981_6de21a285f_k

Deviled eggs redux—mixed in a little salt as I should have done the first time, and had access to smoked paprika; YUMMO
50710818026_e142b9db4c_k

My parents visited today for Christmas gift exchange, a little help updating outdoor light fixtures, and yummy lunch
50741396502_fdb57c0cba_k

Revealing my creative wife’s transformation for the front room of the house
This is a 10-second iPhone Night Mode exposure of an otherwise very dimly lit room—basically just the string of lights framing the center window.