CORR Chula Vista

I headed out to Chula Vista this past weekend to cover the latest CORR race. The schedule went by a lot smoother this time around, mainly because the races were live on Speedvision and NBC. Not too much to report about the race, so here are a few photos from the event. Should hopefully have all my photos up by this weekend.

I fly out to Cortez, Colorado this friday to cover a XRRA event, so look for some posts about that soon!

WE-Rock Donner Springs

Friday 10:26am - Sitting here in the Long Beach Airport waiting for my flight out to Reno. I'm headed up to Donner Springs this weekend to cover the final west coast event of the WE-Rock series for Pirate4x4.com. When I can figure out how to post photos here from my iPhone I will, until then your stuck with the boring play by play.

Why is it that almost 7 years after 9/11 people still don't know that they have to take off their shoes and have their boarding pass in their hand through security?

Friday 11:56am - Whens the last time you actually got food on an airplane for free? Two thumbs up for ExpressJet! Too bad they are going out of business.


Friday 1:48pm - Only in at the Reno Airport...


Friday 4:30pm - This is one reason I really enjoy the Donner Springs area. Its filled with great scenery like this photo I took below.


Saturday 8:35am - Note to self, don't share room with Chad Jock. He wakes up too early, makes coffee at six in the morning, and opens the hotel window when its 50 degrees out. And he snores.

Saturday 8:00pm - Here are some photos from todays event.











Sunday 10:23pm - Now sitting in my hotel back in Reno. I fly out tomorrow to return back to Laguna Nigel and head home. While Donner Springs is a great place to visit, I do miss being home. Here are a few photos from todays action. For more detailed info on the event, check out Pirate4x4.com.

Iphone 3G

Well this past Monday I headed over to the Irvine Spectrum with Jamie. She was going to go shopping while I went over to the Apple store to see what the line looked like for the new Iphone 3G. All the local AT&T stores were sold out of phones since they launched on Friday, and said they weren't sure when they would get more in.

Walking up to the store the line didn't look too bad so I told Jamie to go do her thing and I'd call her with any updates. The line was only about 8 people outside, but still pondered if the phone was worth waiting in line for. Its not like Apple is going to discontinue the phone in a week and it won't be available, but there is always that voice in every guys head that tells you that you need the latest and greatest NOW!

After an hour of talking to the others in line about their current Iphones an Apple employee greeted me and I was under way. The whole time in line one employee kept giving updates on which models they still had and how many, and I think I may of squeezed out of there with one of the last 8GB phones. Good thing cuz I don't know if I could wait till the next day when they would get more in stock! What if the UPS truck crashed on the way there, and it delayed me in getting my phone till Wednesday!

All jokes aside, I'm glad that I was able to get the phone, and so far I am happy with it. My only gripe is that the battery life isn't that great. Coming from a plain flip phone where you could go without a charge for 8 days to this, it will take some getting used to. Today was my first time using it all day, started off with a full charge at 8am and the battery finally went out on me around 7pm today. This was with average use, text messages, AIM, some web browsing, email checking etc. I know that I will get more battery life out of the phone once I get over the honeymoon stage and stop picking it up every 3 minutes to check out what other applications I can download. I bought a car charge and plan on bringing an extra USB cable with me to work so that if need be I can just give it a quick charge. Here are a few quick tips that I've come across on the web and from friends to help prolong battery life:

1. Lower screen brightness
2. Turn off Wi-Fi unless you are using it.
3. Turn off Location
4. Stop picking up your iphone to see if someone sent you a text message. Its the 21st century, it will beep when someone wants to talk to you. It hasn't beeped because your friends are tired of texting you back on your new phone.

The new application tool is pretty sweet. Here is a snapshot (taken and sent with the iphone, hold down the Home button and press the sleep key).

Remote - Nice application you use with your home computer and Itunes. Turns your Iphone into a remote control for your ITunes. Only downside is that you have to have a WiFi connection for it to work.
AIM - Puts your AOL Instant Messenger right on your Iphone.
BoxOffice - Type in your zipcode and it gives you a listing of all the theaters in your area, and what movies are playing and when. You can also search by movie, and it will list what time it is playing at all your local theaters.
Restaurants - Has a list of about 20 or so popular food chains and tell you the nutritional facts on their full menu.
Scratch - While listening to any song in your Ipod you can scratch the song like a DJ.
PangeaVR - Has some really cool 3D images from around the world.
BofA - Look at all your Bank of America accounts, transfer funds, bill pay, etc.

Junk Yard

While out in Colorado Springs a few weeks ago, I had some downtime and was able to stop at a junkyard on the side of the Highway. I saw it while driving to where the XRRA Rock Race was being held, and thought it would be a great opportunity to get some unique photos.

All the racers and vendors were in town while registration was going on, and it looked as if no one was working at the junkyard. There were hundreds of old abandoned cars and a large grassy field and I was the only soul around. Had the 'The Hills Have Eyes' vibe going lol. When I travel alone I don't mind at all, I actually prefer it. I do wish that my fiance Jamie could come to some of the places I travel but its hard with both our schedules. If there is one person who I'd want by my side at all times its her.

I had a lot of fun roaming around the junkyard, getting away from what I've been shooting constantly for the past few years was a nice break. I miss the times when you're free to shoot anything you want, but its also not a bad curse to be busy. Here are a few for you to check out. Enjoy!

Welcome. . .

First I jumped on the Myspace bandwagon, and now its time for the Blogger bandwagon. I plan on using this blog for a few different things. Mostly just to ramble after or even during races. Let you know where I am at the time, anything I may come across in my travels, etc. I'll also use this blog to let you peer a little into my life, like my upcoming wedding next month. I'll be blogging at home and on the road as I am also going to get rid of my 1997 flip cell phone and step into the new age and get a new phone. That way I can ramble from anywhere in the world.