The Golden Snowball Award

Seeing how with the recent Winter Storm Weather we've been having, I think Winter in Syracuse, New York has 'officially' started.
That said, there has been a long time standing friendly 'competition' with our fellow neighboring cities on *Who* gets the most amount of snow each year. The Running Companions include: Rochester, Buffalo, Binghamton, and Albany; with the winning city being awarded The Illustrious New York State Golden Snowball Award.
Please check the details here: Golden Snowball Award
As of 12/30/09 - Rochester has the lead of 25.3 inches of snow. Albany is lagging far behind with a measly 12.1 inches.
Syracuse comes in 4th place with 20.9 inches. <--- This will change, I'm sure. :)

And just incase *anyone* forgets how much snow we sometimes get....
The below video is one Syracusean's travels from north, perhaps Clay/Bville area through Liverpool and Armory Square, ending in the heart of Downtown Syracuse.
It's a nice taste of a Syracuse Winter Comute. Besides...
The music kicks butt as well....

© 2009 Greeneyezz

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I've updated my Photoblog too.

Some new photos of my trip in the Adirondacks last September.

Please click the link at the Top Center.

© 2009 Greeneyezz

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Sometimes...

What I perceive as a possibility,

is nothing more than a shadow.



© 2009 Greeneyezz

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Never a Year like '09...

Can I just say, I LOVE Jibjab!! They've done another tongue-in-cheek year end video that is quite entertaining *and* really does sum up the past year.
The words to the song they sing is fast, so try to listen to what they are saying.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

And.. because this is still the holiday time, if you'd like to see a few 'personalized' jibjab videos I had done for last year's holiday time that included some of my very dear friends, please click here: It's a Wonderful ZZ Life!


© 2009 Greeneyezz

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"Every accomplishment starts...

...With the decision to try."
~Author Unknown



I have always been spurred on by a sense of accomplishment.
If there's a challenge some where or some how, I'm all over it.
As a result of this, I tend to be fiercely stubborn independent, as I thirst for knowledge and something worthwhile to quench it.

Discovering this world through my eyes as well as through the lens of my camera, is something I treasure.
I want to take a class in photography.
Not the simple Idiot's guide to photography 6 week BOCES course that, maybe, gave me a couple things to think about; but a real 'live' credited course. That has homework and grades and costs money. 'Cause-ya-know, you get what you pay for when it's a quick 6 week course.

In the mean time, I've been educating myself on some techniques I'm learning on the web.
One such technique involves 'stitching' several photos together to make one panoramic shot.
This has been on my mind since witnessing the beautiful vistas of the High Peak Region of the Adirondacks.... specifically Lake Placid.

While I have not perfected this technique yet, as one can tell, by looking at the photo below, though I still feel a sense of accomplishment.

(Must Click on Pic to make it Larger to see the details better)

Yes. Definitely click on the photo to see the whole thing. Once I perfect this, I'll definitely have a print made up of the original size. The size above? That's 3000 X 265. The 'original' one that I stitched together is a Whopping 26255 X 2320! That'll eventually be hanging on my wall.

Be mindful, It scrolls horizontally for a bit, so don't miss the scroll bars.
For those not familiar with Lake Placid area of the Adirondacks, if you look to the far right, directly under my copy-right sign and date, you'll see what looks like a Gigantic slide. It's the Huge ski jump that used to be used for the Olympics in 1930 and 1980, and still gets used now, for the Olympics training ground.

Some of the errors like the lines clearly seen, as well as the different tones of the scenery, are my error when taking the photos. I know that next time, I will use a tripod to level it, my pics will be shot Vertically, and not horizontally (though more frames will be needed, this reduces distortion.) I will also turn the auto-exposure and the auto-white balance off.
Finishing the Stitching of these photos through Photoshop will still need to be done. Using photoshop brushes to make the transitions blend better will be the finishing touches to make a photo like that look flawless.

Not perfect.

But that's ok. It's still an accomplishment for me.

Oh yeah!


© 2009 Greeneyezz

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Butternut Squash Bisque

I had made this as a first course for Thanksgiving this year. Because I liked it so much I had decided to remake it this week, and I posted a couple photos to my twitter. A few people had requested the recipe, so here it is:

Servings: 12

Ingredients:

3 Tbl. canola oil __________ 9 Cups Vegetable or Chicken Stock

3 Tbl. Margarine __________ Salt & Gr. Pepper to taste

1 1/2 C. diced onion _______ Ground Nutmeg to taste

2 1/4 C. sliced carrots _____ 1+1/2C. H.Cream(I use Fat-Free 1/2 & 1/2)

12 C. Butternut Squash (4-5) _ 1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

1 Bay Leaf

-----------------------------------
- Cut the squash in half & scoop out seeds. Place squash cut side down on a large cookie sheet and fill with about 1/2 inch of water. Bake in 350 degree oven about 20-25 minutes until fork-tender.
Once cool to touch scoop out meat.

- Heat oil and melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir the onion in the butter/oil until tender.



- wash, peel, and slice the carrots



- When the onion is tender, mix the carrots and squash into the pot. Add the stock and season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper and the bay leaf. (Original recipe did not have the bay leaf or cayenne pepper. I added it due to the bisque would have been bland without it.)

- Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer until vegetables are tender.



Once the carrots are tender, remove from heat and remove Bay leaf. In batches, place in a blender and puree the soup mixture until smooth.



- Return to the pot and stir in the cream. Heat through but do not boil.



- Serve warm with a dash of nutmeg.



I really liked the addition of the Bay leaf and particularly the Cayenne Pepper. It added just a slight pizazz to it and when combined with the creaminess of the 1/2 & 1/2, it paired together very nicely.

~Enjoy!


© 2009 Greeneyezz

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Canto VI, XVII

"There are times when you may find that being around certain individuals or groups of people leaves you with feelings of discomfort. It may be that spending time with a particular friend feels draining or that dealing with a specific coworker exhausts you. Being around toxic or angry people is also draining. And you may even find that being surrounded by a crowd of people lowers your energy levels rather than perks you up. This is not that unusual. Each of us radiates energy and is capable of being influenced by the energy of other people. It is important to learn how to shield yourself, so you don't unknowingly take on someone else's energy." ~The Daily OM

And you can find out more about this article and *how* to Shield yourself from these people that seek to spew their sludge of toxicity by clicking here: "Avoiding Negative Vibrations - Taking on the Negative Energy of Others"


© 2009 Greeneyezz

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The Doghouse Returns

And just in time for the Holidays too!

The below videos are an advertisement, as hysterical as the videos are. I had posted the first one last year around the same time...Christmas, thou the 2nd one is a new one for 2009 and is the Sequel for the 1st one. I am hoping the gentlemen who read this, have a good sense of humor in the light-hearted tone it was meant.

Besides....

Gentlemen, I give equal time, as you will notice, at the end of this post. :)

P.S. Try to listen to the 'piped in' message in the background.

(YaaaaY for Arnold!!)



Ladies - you really *Can* send your man...'To the Doghouse' here:
The Doghouse.


Gentlemen - I did say I'd give 'equal time' here, did I not? For the 'other side' of this humorous battle of the sexes, head over to Mental Poo, and read:
You Say 'Thank You' like this...**

**If you are easily offended, do NOT go. Moooog35 is definitely not PC, but be prepared to laugh. :)


© 2009 Greeneyezz

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UGH!

I somehow must have received an email scam and/or virus from my OLD email account.. greeneyezzcny@yahoo.com.

If you receive this from this address... Please do NOT open it. It apparantly sent something to everyone on that account.

Sorry for the inconvenience.


© 2009 Greeneyezz

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The conversation had while at the game

...Otherwise known as "The Perils of getting older".



Went to the game tonight. Syracuse University VS Maine.
SU creamed Maine. 101 - 55.
It was kind of a boring game because of that.

Hense, the conversation:



"My stomach's been off. Not sure what. The Doctor's running tests."

"Are you lactose intolerant? I know I can't drink milk like I used to."

"Don't think so. Had a colonoscopy done before."

"I need to have one of those too. My family history is positive for Colon Cancer."

"When you gonna making an appointment?"

"I know. I know. I know! I have to call. I've never had one done before but I know what they do. I just don't want to go through it."

*laughs* "You just wait." *laughs again* "They make you drink that chalky stuff.
And then you, ... and then, ... you wake up knowing you've just been violated."

*Blink*


*Blink*


© 2009 Greeneyezz

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On Being Sick.

Given how badly this Chest cold had knocked me for a loop these past 2+ weeks, I'm quite certain we, as a human race, are seriously screwed the first time any country or terrorist uses Biological Germ Warfare. It would make its way across billions of people faster than any Viral Internet News Source did with news about the death of Michael Jackson.

Totally Seriously Screwed.

Think about that for a moment.


© 2009 Greeneyezz

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