Average Joe

I’m a bit of cheap skate, so when I decided I wanted something different for a ringtone on my phone, I started trying to figure out the cheapest, easiest way to do it. I already had a song on my computer that I wanted to use, but I only wanted a certain part of the song for my ringtone. Here’s how I made my ringtone, totally for free.

• 1. Download and install Audacity, a free, open source audio editing program. Be sure to also download the appropriate Lame MP3 encoder and install it so you can export your ringtone in mp3 format.

2. Once you have Audacity installed, run it and open the sound file you want to edit. You should have something similar to this:

3. Now, find the part of the song you want to use for your ringtone and isolate it by clicking the beginning of the section you want to use and dragging your mouse to the end of the section. You may have to listen a couple of times and mark your beginning/ending so you can be precise.

4. Once you have your “ringtone” isolated, simply click “file” and then “Export Selection”. Then give your file a name, change the file type to mp3, and save it to a place you’ll remember on your computer. Then upload or send it to your phone, and you’re done.

Hope this helps you out if you’re looking to make your own ringtone for little or no cost. And the best part is, you can select the part of your song you want for your ringtone, and it’s all free

Have Fun!!

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I was out today taking photos for a Photo Scavenger Hunt I am participating in. One of the items is “Reflection”, so I was shooting the water on a small lake, trying to get the sun’s reflection on the water in some kind of interesting composition. When I got home and was processing the photos to upload to the group site, I noticed that there appears to be a face in this photo. I’m sure it’s just a trick of the light, still, I see it pretty clearly. Can you see the face?

I’m not sure why I even noticed it, but I definitely see a face in this photo. So, did you see it? Look closely. Still no? Here’s a hint. Look at the light circle just above the water on the far shore of the lake. That circle/orb is on the chin of the face.

See it now? I’m not sure what caused it except it was really clear today and the sunlight reflecting off the water, along with the camera angle, must have created the image. I was experimenting with settings, trying to capture the light on the water just right. This was the result. Again, I’m sure it’s a trick of the light, but it sure looks cool to me.

Anybody wanna comment? Any ideas about how this image ended up in this photo?

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After submitting a bunch of new resumes today, I began to feel a little stir crazy, and wanted to get out of the house for a bit. I decided to do a little geocaching, and to check on my own geocache while I was out. I had been wanting to test the BlackStar Navigation app I had installed on my Blackberry Bold anyway, so this was a good chance to do just that.

So, after checking to make sure that my cache was in good shape and well stocked, I opened the BlackStar app on my blackberry. Within a couple of seconds, it located several satellites, and had my location locked in. Now, I simply opened the menu and scrolled down to “Geocaching.com Closest Caches”.  I was immediately directed to the geocaching.com site, where I was greeted with a list of nearby geocaches. Amazing!!

The nearest one to my current location was closer to town. I clicked on Download LOC Waypoint File and saved the .LOC file to my media card.

I then go back to the Blackstar app and pull up the menu again. This time, I click “New Waypoint”, then open the menu and click “Import GPX/LOC File” Then I just navigate to where I saved the .LOC file from Geocaching.com and the file is added. I follow the direction and open menu and select “Close” to be taken to a list of saved waypoints. I highlight the new waypoint and click “Set As Destination”.

And, I’m on my way. I drive to the general area of the cache, which happened to be a local park. Once there, I get out and begin to search, using the BlackStar app to guide me. It worked flawlessly. It was very accurate, and took me straight to my target. After a few minutes of searching, I located my geocache and was on my way.

BlackStar also integrates with Google Maps and Blackberry Maps, has the ability to save waypoints and tracks, and tons of other features, all for free. If you love to geocache, or if you’ve never been geocaching but want to try; and you have a blackberry, this is the app for you. It is easy to learn, has tons of support, including a forum, and it’s free.

This is truly paperless geocaching. You need only take your blackberry and a pen/pencil to sign the log. Have fun!!

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I took some time to do some geocaching today, and actually was able to grab 5 in a pretty short period of time. I pulled up my local area on geocaching.com, and was very surprised to find that the number of local caches is really growing. I was able to download a ton of new caches to my GPSr.  It was a load of fun. I began my journey at a cemetery, and ended up on a river bank before calling it a day.

All in all it was a fun little mini trip. I plan to get some more in this weekend, and do a little more serious hiking, too. Hope to see you out there.

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I decided to take a little hike yesterday up the backside trail at Crowders Mountain State Park. I grabbed my camera, two bottles of water, and my GPS to mark anything extra interesting I might find, and off I went.

Now, the backside trail is only 0.7 miles long one way, but boy is it steep. The first bit of it isn’t too bad. You have a switchback curve followed by a gradual but steady climb up to a set of steps that lead to the overlook. Those steps are killers. I was told by more than one person that there are 330 steps. I felt every single one of them. What’s embarrassing is that I met a couple of people who run up and down those steps for exercise. One lady said she does it ten times each trip, and comes there several times each week!!

Once I reached the top, the view was beautiful, as always. I did meet some interesting people up there. One young lady came all the way from Durham just to rappel from the top of the overlook rock face.

While I was up there, I did get to watch some climbers go up the face of the rocks, and then rappel back down. It reminded me of my younger days, but then hey I did conquer the 330 steps.

Finally, on the way out down, I met a little friend. This little guy stopped by the side of the road and posed to get his picture taken. He was not at all afraid, and did not run away until I was finished getting the pictures I wanted.

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I am an outdoor enthusiast. I love being outside in the beauty of nature. Whether hiking, fishing, or touring different areas looking for some good photo ops, I really enjoy being outside.

This year, with the economy being what it is, I probably won’t do much in the form of vacation. We didn’t plan a trip this year, opting instead for a bit of a “staycation” scenario where, hopefully, I’ll relax some.

However, I do want to get outside with my kids and spend some time with them, teaching them what I can about nature, and getting them out of their rooms this summer. So, I went on a treasure hunt online, looking for some great activities to do with my family outside.

That’s how I found Nature Rocks!, a nation-wide organization aimed at getting kids outside in nature and off the couch.

From their web site:

“Nature Rocks is a national program to inspire and empower families to play and explore in nature. Our mission is to make it easy for you to have fun in nature, and connect with others to do the same. We want all families in every city in America to see for themselves how much Nature Rocks. Your kids will be happier, healthier and smarter, and besides, it is generally free and a rockin’ way to create and share fun quality family time.”

The site is full of ideas and resources to get you and your family off the couch and outside. From simple little activities to more complex expeditions, you’ll find plenty of ideas to get you started outside.

So, if you are looking for some ideas that will help you get yourself and your family outside, give Nature Rocks a look. I’m pretty sure you will find some great info there that will help make your staycation fantastic.

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My daughter and I went out to hide a new geocache today in one of our favorite parks. We talked and enjoyed each other’s company while we looked for the perfect spot. We walked along the trails in the park, looking for that one spot where we could hide our cache without being noticed.

When we found the perfect spot, we hid the cache, marked the coordinates on our GPS, and wrote them down in my log book, just to be safe. Another successful hide.

On the way out of the park, we met a new little friend. My daughter wanted to take him home, but I convinced her to leave him in the park.

We had a lot of fun hiding our geocache, and taking some pictures of our little friend here. Then, when we got home this evening, just before cutting the lawn, we noticed a catbird going crazy in the grass. My kids said that the bird was dancing to momma’s music, but as soon as I saw it, I knew that was no dance. That bird was clearly upset, and clearly attacking something. I grabbed my camera and my wife’s, and we went out to investigate. Unfortunately, I got no good pictures of our visitor; but Pam did get some great ones while I encouraged him to pose for us. He measured about 4 feet long or so, and was not the least bit afraid of us. I ended up catching him and letting him go into a nearby storm drain.

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I set up my photo page on Shutterfly. You can visit me over there at http://joesbunker.shutterfly.com/ . Stop by and let me know what you think. I use both shutterfly and flickr, and I’m always looking to read what people think of my photos. Good, bad, or indifferent, I’d love to hear some feedback. As more or less a beginner, I’m doing a lot of research, and I’m learning more each day. So, any advice is always appreciated.

Take a look and let me know you stopped by. Comments are always welcome.

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We took a trip to South Mountains State Park today, and I managed to get a few decent photos. The weather was fair, but the light was harsh in most areas. Here are some that I did get.
 
 
 
 
 
 
All in all, it was a pretty productive day. I took my time and played with the settings, and ended up with some shots that I’m pretty happy with.
The more I do, the more I learn. Water is interesting, and Mr. Turtle, who we saved from the road, was happy when he was finished with his modeling and allowed to disappear into the woods, far from any roads.

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We visited the “Down Home Festival” in nearby Bessemer City tonight. There were a lot of rides for the kids, live music, and lots of interesting people.

This was also my very first attempt at street photography. I had a blast just walking around meeting and taking photos of people.

I didn’t catch the name of the band, but they were very entertaining, and pretty dang talented, too.

It seemed to me that everyone had a great time, and I got one of my favorite shots of my wife there today.

Anyway, these are the photos that I’ve processed so far. You can find these, and more, by visiting my Flickr photostream.

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