Upde Designs

Almost Christmas and the end of the year.  Time for drawing close with family and friends.   It is also a time of reflection and for thinking about those things that perhaps you would like to improve upon in the coming new year.

I created a new look and design for the blog.  Did you notice?  I asked Jeanne if she noticed anything different yesterday and she did not.  So I thought I would ask you.  I hope you like it.

I am rapidly closing in on my 600th post.  WOW! that’s a lot of pontificating, especially when you know as little as I do about so many things.  Well my Dad always told me when I was young “that if you couldn’t dazzle them with your brilliance you had better be able to baffle them with your bullsh*t.”   🙂

7 more days and I will have completed one half of my 365 project.  It is one of the more interesting things I have done.  Talk about the Yin and Yang of something.  It has caused me to take images when I normally wouldn’t have, (which is both good and bad.)  It has proven to be a huge challenge and sometimes a burden.  It is fun to look back and remember each and every picture and the reason for taking it.   I have learned more about my camera and what works than I would have otherwise.  Sometimes I shoot junk just to get it done (I don’t like that.)  I wonder what the second half will bring?

That’s it for today.  I’m going to get out today and do some much-needed shooting.  I have not done much of that this week.  Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your Sunday and be careful.

We now have conclusive proof that the Mayans were wrong.  You’re reading this blog on the day after the predicted apocalyptic event is proof.   It seems that most of life is based on a particular point of view.

I had a Psychology Professor in college who said, “If I perceive it to be so, then it is so and that is my reality.”  As Obi-Wan Kenobi told Luke Skywalker, “You’ll find that many of our ‘truths’ in life are based on a particular point of view.”

I do a fair amount of conflict resolution in my work.  I am always amazed by the differing points of view on the same subject.  As a police officer I would take witnesses’ statements of an event only to find they were many times diametrically different accounts of the same event.

In this last election (that went so terribly wrong) two completely different points of view of what needs to be done and the best way to do it.  So how do you know what is “really right?”

Take the horrible tragedy of last week at Sandy Hook Elementary School as an example.   So many conflicting viewpoints on how and why it happened and how to keep it from happening again.

This is one thing we have to get right.  Dr. Stephen Covey’s 5th principle, “Seek First To Understand And Then Be Understood” is one path to finding the answer.

I believe if I could change one thing in my life (and I work at it every day) it would be to follow that principle without fail.  When we truly understand the view-point of another it helps us reach a synergistic solution much easier.

A wise friend of mine often says, “There is rarely a “silver bullet” but there is a set of initiatives that can be done to achieve the desired results if we can come to an agreement on what those initiatives are.

Sorry I didn’t mean to get all philosophical on you today.  Even though this blog is predominately about photography it is also about the things that interest me.  So here is the question.  Is the snowman red or is he blue?  Thanks for stopping by today, if in fact today is the day you stopped by.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

If you are reading this it would seem that the Mayans were incorrect in their hypothesis that the world would end on December 21st, 2012.  For the last couple of weeks I’ve been thinking about how I would live the rest of my life if I only had a couple of weeks left.

Obviously I couldn’t really put myself in the same frame of mind as if it were really going to happen but I did ponder the possibility for awhile.  I decided that I wouldn’t do much different the last couple of weeks. Just cling to the ones I love and share the final days with them.

I stayed off the road today and worked from home.  I’m lucky in that I can do the bulk of my job if I have a computer and a phone.  Of course there is a fair amount of human interaction that is also required in my work but for one day I can get by without that.

20 years ago I would have probably driven to work but with age also comes a little less feeling in invulnerability and a tad bit more common sense.  I decided that one day in the office was not worth the rest of my life.  I’ve got grand kids to worry about.  🙂

The image above is of a mural that is in the lobby of one of our banks.  It is made completely of metal soldered together and painted.  It is a great representation of Maquoketa and our main bank.

I have never paid much attention to it before but I was waiting on an employee to take their image for a project and I got to inspecting it much closer.  It is truly an amazing piece of art.

Life can be that way so many times.  I’ve seen this mural hundreds of times over the last few years but never once stopped and “appreciated’ it.  I thought how many times, things, and people have I done that to.  Taken for granted and never really spent the time getting up close and personal and understanding the art that is before me.

Have fun digging out today.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Sorry for the two-day absence.  Enjoy your day and appreciate something you normally wouldn’t.  Be careful.

If you have never been to the Ohnward Fine Arts Center to see a performance  then you are really missing a wonderful experience.  The fine Arts Center is a state of the art performance auditorium and so much more.    The Center itself is a remarkable story of a Man’s dream and the volunteer labor, materials, and donations that made his dream a reality.   I’ll save that story for another time.

Saturday night our Organization held its Christmas party at the Ohnward Fine Arts Center and the entertainment for the evening was a group called Manny B.

They are a Mid West band of 4 guys who play a lot of good ole Rock ‘N Roll.  The image above is of the drum set.  I used to play drums in my teen years and was actually in a local group.  The fascinating thing about this set is it is all electronic.  Not one “real” drum or cymbal in the whole set.  But does it make a sweet sound! 🙂

The head of the band and lead singer is Manny B.  Manny B. began his lifelong love affair with music at age three by studying piano. The son of a concert violinist, Manny studied classical guitar in Barcelona, Spain, and signed his first recording contract with Reprise Records at age 15. He has toured with Gladys Knight and The Pips, Wayne Cochran & the CC Riders, Hall & Oates, The Grass Roots, and many other prominent entertainers and musicians.

Manny’s Brother, back up singer, and bass player is Papa Phil.  Papa Phil has been dancing, singing, and slapping his bass guitar for 13 years with Manny B.! His 8 years of leading his own group in Reno, NV, adds more experience, professionalism and talent to the group.

You can’t help but notice that million-dollar grin, and that kind of contribution is priceless. From the first note to the last, each performance he gives is from his heart and always with a smile!

Burl Hibbler plays key boards.  He actually played on the Robert’s River Rides dinner cruises and on the Casino Bell for three years.  The electronic drummer is Brian Collins.  He only joined the group in July of 2012 but does a great job on the drums.

Above Manny does Proud Mary “Tina Turner” style.  Big hit with everyone and provided a lot of laughs for our folks.  It was a grand evening and I believe everyone had a great time.

Thanks for stopping by.  I didn’t intend to do a promo for the band but had some images to share and once I get to talking there just isn’t any shutting me up.  🙂  Enjoy your Tuesday and be careful.

An unusually busy weekend for me.  I’m one who enjoys nothing on the agenda and just take it as it comes.  That gives me plenty of time for a nap or two and then the opportunity to take some images if I feel like it.  I know it sounds boring, but honestly I listen to what some people do on a weekend and I’m tired just from listening.  🙂

Angie, Ben and Joshua came over Sunday evening for dinner. It didn’t take long for Joshua to find the Nativity Scene and start playing with it.  I enjoyed talking with him about the different individuals in the scene and he would repeat their names.

Then we had a nice dinner, conversation and some dessert.  Afterwards Josh wanted to visit the Nativity Scene again.  He discovered one of Mark’s matchbook toys (a crane) and he incorporated that into the Nativity Scene.

He would pick a character up and I would ask him who that was  and then we would talk about it.  He could repeat most of the names until Angie came in and then it was a struggle.  But it always is.  We can practice something and get comfortable with it but then when asked to perform we sometimes get “stage fright.”  🙂

Then the magic hour rolled around and it was Josh’s bedtime.  So we had hugs and kisses all around and then in the blink of an eye they were gone.  As I was going through the house I saw that not all was well in Bethlehem.

It is always such a treat when the kids come over for a visit.  It brought an eventful weekend to a close.  I head on the news yesterday only 7 shopping days as of today until Christmas.  Doesn’t seem possible.

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your Monday and be careful.

These three Christmas folks are in the main entry way of one of our banks.  They actually move but there is no music coming from them.  When Joshua visited me the other day he was fascinated with these little characters.

My friend Shirley, whose work area is next to them said that most of the young children that come into the bank go straight for these little guys.  She thinks it is because they are about the same size as the children and that is one of the reasons they are drawn to them.

Childhood is such a wonderful time.  As I watch Joshua grow and learn I am amazed at the learning process.  It makes everything just a little bit better when there are young children around.

The joy of the Christmas season was shattered yesterday in the Sandy Hook village of Newtown, Connecticut.  It is unfathomable how this could happen and how devastated the community and most of the Nation is right now.  It simply breaks my heart.

Be careful.

Early morning meeting this morning so very shot post.  Highlight of my week was yesterday when Angie and Josh came to Maquoketa to have lunch with me.  It was too short of a visit but I savored every second of it.

When they came in I could hear Josh saying “Poppa’s office.”  It still took him a couple of minutes to warm up to me.  But then he saw all the neat things on my desk to play with.  We must have called at least a half-dozen employees in the short time he was there.  🙂

The really cool thing was when we were getting into Angie’s car I sat in the front seat and Josh said, “Poppa here.”  So I got in the back seat with him and we held hands and talked all the way to the restaurant.  🙂  I love being a grandpa.

We then went to Flapjacks and had lunch.  As you can see from this iPhone photo he had a pretty good time with his cottage cheese.  He simply loves cottage cheese and will tolerate whatever he has to eat to get to it.

It was so much fun just visiting with Angie.  She is wise beyond her years and I’m so proud of her.  You do your best to be a good parent and teach them to be responsible, respectful, and resourceful and she certainly is all of those and more.  The real bonus is when you have a warm and loving relationship on the other side.  She is a living doll.

Then all to soon our time together was over and I had to get back to work.  We said our good byes and I got a very wet kiss from Josh. 🙂

That’s it for today.  Enjoy your Friday.  Thanks for stopping by and be careful.

I spent the bulk of yesterday conducting training in some of our banks.  In fact that is what I done the last couple of days making sure we get all the required training in before the end of the year.

I’m also working on a project for our corporate Christmas party.  So I was heading back to the office about 4:15 pm yesterday and the light was so pretty.  Nice soft orange and I knew that I had to shoot something in that quality light.

The barn above is not one that particularly appeals to me.  Normally I would not have shot this barn.  I just don’t find it interesting.  But I was losing the light quickly and so I was happy with the way the light was bathing these buildings in the setting sunlight.

A good friend sent me a short essay entitled “The Winter Of My Life.”  It was quite good and very introspective.  I need to read it a couple of more times but then I may decided to post it on this blog.

It is contentiously amazing to me this aging process.  It sure does create a lot of questions and damn few answers.  Another topic for another day.  Thanks for stopping by today.  Enjoy your Thursday as it’s one day closer to the weekend (for those of us who still need to work.)  Be careful.

Getting ready yesterday morning I saw another one of those spectacular sunrises playing with the low hanging clouds and I wanted to grab an image of it.  Trouble is I had just gotten out of the shower.  🙂

By the time I got halfway decent and got the camera set up the spectacular sunrise was over but then this was no throwaway shot either so I’m happy to show it to you today.

Our Corporate Christmas party is this weekend.  My small contribution to the event is presenting a slide show of the all the things that go on in our company over the year.  It’s a lot of fun and a lot of work but I always marvel at just how much is crammed into one year.

Enjoy your day.  Thanks as always for stopping by the blog.  Be careful.

This time of year in my business is not much fun.  The preponderance of federal and state regulations and laws have grown exponentially and the bureaucrats require a lot of paperwork to be filed at the end of the year and the first month of the new year.  After that it slow down to a steady flood.  🙂

Anyway it was later than normal when I got home last night, so we had a late dinner and then as we were visiting after dinner it occurred to me I had not capture the image of the day. Jeanne made a great suggestion and so that is my image of the day above.

Short post today.  Enjoy your day and thanks for checking out the blog.  Be careful.