Day 339 - Project365

So… after getting more than frustrated with my computer, I decided to really try to tackle the extreme slow down. Its odd that I hadn't thought of this before today but sometimes the simplest explanation is the hardest to find. The computer came with 4 gigs of RAM. Once I looked into things, I found that the operating system was using nearly 2 gigs alone.

Open photoshop and you are at 3.75 gigs. Then attempt to switch between photoshop, Lightroom and safari and the computer chokes! So, I decided to research a bit and get some more memory. First place to look, Apple.com. "oh wow… 400.00 for 8 gigs!!!!" Um… how bout no! I figured there had to be a better solution, a cheaper solution, one that didn't require to sell my kidney to pay for it.

I researched a bit and after extensive review reading I ended up selecting OWC and Macworld.com to purchase aftermarket memory. Now heres the kicker… it wasn't 400.00 or 300.00 or even 200.00. I didn't even pay 100.00. No, I ended up paying 66.00 total and that included next day air! Yes, I have 8 gigs of memory on a plane somewhere over the midwest right now. Tomorrow if all goes well the memory will install with out a problem and I'll flying once again. Lets hope I get good memory!!

So, the sever slowdown of machine really put a damper in my editing today. The files I've been working with lately are massive and I'm not one to wait for the computer to respond. I paid 2000.00 for this thing… it better damn perform. If it still runs like my grandma after the new memory I will be having a long, strong worded conversation with myself… then I'll repeat the same rant to Apple!!

I get all amped up with my practice session and then they'll put me on hold so long I'll lose the will to fight. You know, thats why they put you on hold in the first place. Customer service does it to subdue you. Think about it. You call tech support or customer service ready to rip someones head off and spit down their neck. You really are ready to unload and what do they do… they put you on hold. You then listen to 15 minutes of the worst quality music mixed with obnoxious over amped recordings of someone saying "your call is important to us, a representative will be with you shortly". By the time someone picks up and say "thanks for calling Apple" You don't have the will to fight. They've successful neutered you by giving you a "time out" it drives me crazy!!

So, why my head on a dog? maybe because, I may look cute and easy going but when pushed… I bite! It really does take a lot to get me mad. Just ask my brothers. Growing up they'd always try to push my buttons, most times with no avail. However, if you push me far enough, for just the right amount of time, I snap. Let me tell you… its not pretty!

I've heard that to let that anger build isn't healthy. I guess thats why my brother Cory is in pretty damn good health. He has no restraint. he doesn't hold things back and when you piss him off he doesn't take the calm, civil route. Nope, he blows up! Back when we were younger, we gave him the knick name Violent J. His fist name is the letter J, not Jay just J period, it does't stand for anything, its just… J. I guess he's had some issues in the past with government documents! "sir, you need to fill in your full name, not an initial…" "um… that is my first name" "sir, really need to put your full name!" remember when I said he has a short temper… ya!

Anyway, the name came from that sort temper and his willingness to fight at a moments notice. He once through the cordless phone at my head for being on the phone too long. Another time he got mad and punched through two pains of glass. Another time he got mad at my dad and through a bar of soap through double thick insulated, frosted bathroom glass. Now, thats hard to do!

So back to the picture. I wanted to see if I could create a picture with my head on a dogs body and make it look like more than just a cut and paste type of job. I painted in new fur and spent a bit attempting to blend my neck with the dogs neck.

Shooting this was pretty hard considering Areo was a real pain in the ass. He didn't want to sit on the stool and kept jumping off, sending the stool into my back light stand. I then replaced the stool with a small plastic table, figuring more support would ease his nerves - FAIL. This dog just wasn't in the mood for pictures. Luckily I eventually got a usable shot.

Could I have spent an extra 3 hours on this? ya probably. To be honest, I'm just not in the mood tonight to nit pick over a single pixel wide hair or a small spot when zoomed in 700%. I'm not tired I just feel drained. I can only hope that I can keep up the interest for the remaining 26 days.

Lighting:

AB800 Med Softbox at both 8:00 and 4:00 1/4 power
AB800 Bare behind me to blow out background.