Missionary Talks 11: Elisabeth Carney

This was a very fun interview on a few different levels. First, it sounds great! The initial few seconds are a bit sketchy, but after that, it sounds wonderful. See if you can hear the kids squealing in the background on occasion. Mr. and Mrs. Carney were in my office during the interview and my wife was pulling her hair out with 4 kids downstairs. Then more friends showed up to give my wife a break, but that added 2 more kids (ok, so one is 16 years old, not much harm from her). I was able to edit out the door openings and closings from the kids. Also, the taunting by the husband while we were trying to be serious.

Secondly it was enjoyable just to hear about Argentina. Though we have spent time with the Carneys and they are about our age, we really have not developed a deep friendship since we work in separate ministries. Many of the things she mentions in the interview was new information to me. You will really get some insight from what she says about moving back to the US to go to college.

It was also a very easy interview to edit. I normally go through several times pulling out junk words and whole sections that just make the interview too long. After the first edit, this one ended up about the right length. It was just a matter of pulling out as many “ums” as I could and toning down the breathing. I had the mic kinda hot since I did not want to have to pass it back and forth (I really need a second mic). So I put it on my desk stand and we sat as close as we could to get a good sound. But the result is that you can hear excessive respirations while we talked.

Finally, it was fun to have them here for the evening. As I posted before, we had a birthday party for our son last night. Elisabeth and her husband were here and we had a good time playing games. I am not sure what the kids did for four hours, but we adults had fun.

Don’t forget to digg Missionary Talks at digg.com.

First four miles of 2007

Today marked my first running day for 2007. I was listening to Adam at Burning 20 for his first 4 mile run of the year too. He ran his yesterday.

This was an easy run that ended at a 9:58 min/mile pace. I am pleased that my running speed really has picked up. That was an easy run for me. I remember when an easy run meant 12 min/mile.

I have a 5K race that I am running this weekend. I will probably do a faster pace run on Thursday and a nice slow one Friday getting ready for the weekend race.

New can of hairspray!

My wife bought me a new can of hairspray today. That may not be exciting for some, but the longest hair I have on my head is in my mustache. The fact that I am quite balding would make anyone wonder “Why?”.

Well, it isn’t for my head. No, not for the curly locks on my chest either.Hairspray Can

I read something a short time back about using an art fixative for your inkjet photos. This fixative spray is used in charcoal, pastel and pencil art to “fix” the picture. It helps protect the art from casual water and smudges. The article said that it would do the same for inkjet photos.

Back in my more artful days I used aerosol hairspray instead of the professional art spray. If you had seen any of my art from back then, you would understand why it was not worth spending more than just the few cents that White Rain hairspray cost in those days. That got me to thinking that I could probably do the same with inkjet printed photos. If I used hairspray to coat the photos, then that should help give them some water resistance.

So that is why my wife bought me the hairspray. I tried it and let it dry. Then I ran the photo under the water in the kitchen sink and it came out mostly unaffected. The one spot that did go wonky in the photo was right on one edge where I apparently did not get the spray on well.

Since my testing, I have done some research. I know, most people research and then experiment, but not me. Here are some things I found out.

You want to avoid hairspray with conditioners in it. The conditioners are usually oils which can cause spots in the paper. Another caution is that the reason the art spray costs more is because it is designed for that purpose. While the chemical makeup in the hairspray is fine for the job, the nozzle that delivers the hair spray probably is not as well metered. You can end up with spray coming out in blobs instead of a nice mist.

Do your own testing. Use at your own risk. But, it may be just the thing to use when you print out snapshots that are going to be handed around in a group. I realize that you can always print a new one, but this is supposed to also help keep the ink from fading over time.

By the way, this is not necessary in photos from a photo lab. The process used is totally different. In fact, if you get something on a real photo you can just rinse it off with water. The last step in a photo’s birth process is a water rinse cycle. Just let it dry (best results if hung on an edge) and the photo will be as good as new.

Please don’t sue me if none of this works for you and it ruins your photos. I am just giving info that has helped me. Apply at your own risk.

Missionary Talks 08: Tammy Allred

Episode 8 is up! That means I have completed 2 months of this now.

I am planning on getting one of the sons of the last two missionaries to record with me. Get his take on things. Then there are other college missionary kids (MKs) home for the holidays.

Whew! I need a break. That was a lot more work than it should have been. I thought I would not have enough material for 15 minutes. Turned out, I had to chop out a lot.