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Poor Woldan having to spend time with wymyn. My most sincere and heartfelt sympathies, man. This world is cruel.

If it were only women I wouldn't whine, unfortunately I'm talking about MODELS. 

 

Oh, the inhumanity! If only I could do the good deed and swap places with you. I'd helped you in an instant if I was in Austria!

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I do hope you will share! happy0203.gif

I can't, I'm making photos for a store which prevents sharing.

 

 

Awh, meh, shame. :(

 

Can you tell what store, so that maybe one can see the pictures from them?

Edited by Azdeus

Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. - H.L. Mencken

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Long day. Paperwork, legalities, blah blah. Time for some food and a movie or something.

“Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.” – Alan Watts
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Went to work today, but sitting here, I sort of regret it. Only reason I did it was because they called and ask if I could come in. No "How are you?" "Are yoy feeling better?" Or any of those pleasantries. If someone else gets sick, it's not my fault.

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Had the best time at a new place on the Coast Highway. Next time y'all come to Oceanside, this is where we're going. 

 

Could be the best atmosphere anywhere ... four separate bars with forty+ taps, on-site brewery with seating to drink and watch the brew brewing, two levels with a rooftop and (partial) ocean view, superb kitchen ... all brand new, just opened six months ago. Michael approves.

 

 

 

 

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]

 

That last one is my BFF and his saison and my cream ale. We opened the place at 11am today, hahahahaha. Dude splurged and bought me a growler of their scotch ale, my favorite. Had the best fish tacos, Matthew ate a cuban sandwich, and even the salsa selection with the chips and salsa was fantastic ... guac, verde, fresca, picante ... delicious. Chris was our bartender, great guy. Seriously come visit, you'll love it.  

 

Excellent photos, that sounds like exactly the type of  place I like to drink at and visit  :thumbsup:

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"Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss”

John Milton 

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” -  George Bernard Shaw

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela

 

 

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So I had a photo shooting with models. Unfortunately the location was absolutely terrible which made me erupt in anger like a volcano.

Which meant I had to improvise (and to stop thinking about beating the guy responsible for the location into a bloody pulp), find a new location outside the building fast with proper lightning and at least acceptable background. I couldn't find a good spot since the winter sun cast bad shadows but the one I found had to suffice.

So even though I'm far from happy with the results because of this sabotage, I still made around 800 photos.

I had to tell the models how to move, look, stance, eyes, pretty much everything. I had never done this before but found it easy and it was refreshing. 

The models were fun and really professional, easy to work with, with only a few exceptions. I think there were 20 models total.

Some shots to get an idea: (raw, unedited )


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Still angry about the location, I could think of ten better ones just off the top of my head. Old 18th century paper mills, an old 19th century hydroelectric power station with all the original machinery still in there. *sigh*

But it still was way more fun than my current office job. Maybe I should become a professional photographer one day.
 

Edited by Woldan
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I gazed at the dead, and for one dark moment I saw a banquet. 
 

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Some cool pics you got there, Wold. What was wrong with the location? They do seem a bit overlit, was that it?

Thanks, some of the models were awesome and incredibly naturally talented. 
 
The location (which wasn't my decision nor pick) was described as old spinning company from the 19th century. Sounds really cool.  However, when I arrived there I found myself in a run-down (the bad kind of run-down) warehouse that was half restored with new materials.  It just didn't work at all. Some other photographers just used their white screens as background and rolled with it, I wanted an -at least- somewhat better and more organic looking background though which I found outside. (I'm not even sure if that building was still part of the actual location, lol) 
 
On top of that it was really cold inside, the models were more relaxed at my much warmer, sunny set which resulted in better photos. Inside the warehouse everything was rushed because of the temperature.  But there is always a downside, outside of perfect studio conditions you always have to fight with shadows interfering, especially at this time of year with the low sun. You can make shadows look cool to a certain point, but after that it gets really hard with the angles and everything, especially with dark objectives. 
 
A tad overlit maybe, I tried my best to use a neutral lighting setting, it was that bright because the sun was low angle and the snow reflected a lot (plus some models were ridiculously pale-skinned).
I can, however, work better with slightly overlit photos than underlit ones, of course. With lighting curve programs I can do pretty much anything I want with the lighting anyway.  
Edited by Woldan

I gazed at the dead, and for one dark moment I saw a banquet. 
 

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It is just about impossible to start up a business in America these days. The idea I have is just cost prohibitive without some serious financial backing. And considering how the last venture turned out I don't want partners. Last time my partners wanted to sell after just three years of profitability. Yes we all made a nice bit of money on it but the whole buy low sell high dichotomy requires that you sell when value was highest. We were still growing. No more partners.

 

Of course that means no business it seems. I could afford to go it alone if (and they are big ifs) we generate enough business for EBITA to exceed the seed by 18 months, and if I can keep capital expenses low enough to not run out of cash before then. The former is a real longshot, the latter just a fools hope. I was in this situation once before. I pushed my chips into the center of the table and lost on a business venture I had my whole life savings (granted I was only 26 at the time) wrapped up in. Not doing that again.

 

I'm getting off the entrepreneurial treadmill this time. I think I'd just like to get a job with a steady paycheck again. It's been awhile. You don't make as much money but you don't have to worry about making nothing. 

 

Or I could just by a Dunkin Donuts franchise. I've never seen one of those go out of business.

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"While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before"

Thomas Sowell

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the rate at which new business fail is staggering. we don't have the requisite intestinal fortitude to do new business. 

 

real estate is our game. sure, we saw almost 3/8 o' our total net worth evaporate a few years ago, but we were diversified enough at that point that we weren't crippled, and the real estate collapse actual presented an incredible opportunity to buy income properties for very little investment.  will be a few years before we complete recover what we lost, but is not as if we is genuine hurting.  in fact, 1/3 o' our properties is paid off and we is even taking out a 200k loan on our personal residence (which were paid off in 2008) to close out the loans on three other properties with ridiculous high relative interest rates... 6.75% on one o' them? sheesh. 

 

real estate, even when things is bad, is good.

 

HA! Good Fun!

"If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

"Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)

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That's only twenty percent borrowed on total value of personal residence, amirite. I sense you're doin' one or two things correctly. 

 

 

And GD, you have a quiet tenacity that won't quit, I'm sure you'll blow **** up in due time. 

Edited by ManifestedISO

All Stop. On Screen.

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That's only twenty percent borrowed on total value of personal residence, amirite. I sense you're doin' one or two things correctly. 

 

 

And GD, you have a quiet tenacity that won't quit, I'm sure you'll blow **** up in due time. 

 

is a smidgen over 20%... we will see what appraiser says. worst case scenario is 25%.  a relative expensive personal residence is seeming like a serious extravagance, but in our racket it is necessity as 'posed to conspicuous consumption. the interest rate and tax advantages on a personal residence is considerable.

 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited by Gromnir

"If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

"Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)

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and the real estate collapse actual presented an incredible opportunity to buy income properties for very little investment. 

 

Yeah, the wife and I were actually lucky/wise enough to buy our first (and, so far, only) house in the midst of the '08 craziness.  We went under contract in September 2008, just days before Lehman Bros collapsed.  We'd been looking around for a few months, and it was interesting to see the mortgage company that had given us a pre-approval periodically calling us back for additional supporting information every few weeks as their policies changed.  Single-family homes in good school districts and within walking distance to a DC Metro station are never cheap, by the standards of most of the rest of the country, but we probably got a better deal than we would have at any point +/- 5 years from then.  A re-fi a couple years ago confirmed that appreciation had us sitting on more equity than we had any right to hope for. 

Edited by Enoch
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Rather busy day for once. Which was good as it wasn't boring. This snow we have up here is rather tedious to deal with and we are due for more.

 

Also wish the radio station would stop playing Albinoni's Adagio every 3 hours.

Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra

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I'm getting off the entrepreneurial treadmill this time. I think I'd just like to get a job with a steady paycheck again. It's been awhile. You don't make as much money but you don't have to worry about making nothing. 

 

Or I could just by a Dunkin Donuts franchise. I've never seen one of those go out of business.

 

I tend to agree with your decision, work for someone else for a while. Sure you will now have a boss but at least its a consistent and guaranteed  income and that will take pressure off you while you plan your  next move...if you want to change

 

In South Africa some  people  think " entrepreneur"  is type of job you can learn at school or at university. So you hear people saying " you should just become a entrepreneur "  as if its so easy and there is a formulae that just works. I believe its much harder than working for a corporation, while at least in the beginning, and  people also forget the pressure on a person when they aren't getting that salary cheque every month from working for a company

Edited by BruceVC
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"Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss”

John Milton 

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” -  George Bernard Shaw

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela

 

 

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I envy you GD. I've always wanted to strike out on my own but a lack of ideas and funds have always stopped me.

 

I got lucky with my home purchase because the appraisal I had last year for my refi had the value up a good bit. Even better since I bought it a good smidge under what it was listed for. I'd like to take credit and claim that I did my research and knew the market but it really was just dumb luck in my case.

 

Anyway, booked dinner for Valentine's Day

Free games updated 3/4/21

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I envy you GD. I've always wanted to strike out on my own but a lack of ideas and funds have always stopped me.

 

 

It's a funny thing because you can make a nice amount of money but you don't even realize it because you're not seeing it. You're so worried about the next customer, the next contract, taxes, compliance, the never ending pressure of the biggest pressure of all: capital expenses, the next payroll, your next paycheck (because especially in the start up your own salary IS a capital expense). But it is a good feeling when you suddenly realize your quickbooks spreadsheet shows more revenue coming in than expenses going out.

 

The hard part is surviving long enough and managing well enough to reach that point. In the end you really get paid off when you sell the business. Either partially to partners/investors, or lock stock & barrel. I've started four businesses now. One was a complete disaster. I lost all my seed capital, all the money it never made, my wife & my home. The next two fizzled but I came out ok. The last was an unqualified success that made up for the other three.

"While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before"

Thomas Sowell

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Oh damn. Good luck with that. :(

 

Yeah I concur with TN, keep us updated around what they find out. 

  • Like 1

"Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss”

John Milton 

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” -  George Bernard Shaw

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela

 

 

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I had to undergo a rectoscopy today. It's one of the worst things I have experienced in my life. Turns out stuff isn't looking great. I'll get an appointment for a colonoscopy. Yay!

 

If it makes you feel any better, the colonoscopy is much easier than the one where they put the camera down your throat.   :(

Edited by Hurlshot
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I had to undergo a rectoscopy today. It's one of the worst things I have experienced in my life. Turns out stuff isn't looking great. I'll get an appointment for a colonoscopy. Yay!

If it makes you feel any better, the colonoscopy is much easier than the one where they put the camera down your throat. :(

I'd probably not be able to handle them putting anything down my throat, lol.
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