Endorsement

Endorsement
Originally uploaded by Bob Reck.

Ok, so here's the story about this cheesy photo...

On July 20th, we took delivery of this Westinghouse 42" 1080p LCD HDTV/Monitor. A few days later I received an email from Crutchfield asking me to fill out a survey about my purchase experience. I must say that I have been a loyal Crutchfield customer for a long time (before Crutchfield.com even existed) so it wasn't hard to say nice things about them. And, honestly, they deserve it.

So, I fill out their survey online and submit it. Last week I get a response saying that they want to use my comments in an up-and-coming catalog or on their website.

Here's what they said:
"Thank you very much for replying to our customer survey and including a potential endorsement. Your thoughtful comments have been selected for possible use in our catalog or on Crutchfield.com.

Please read the release below, and reply to this email with your photograph attached. We will then promptly send you a $25 Crutchfield Gift Card."

Holy cow! Never thought that would happen in a million years. Well, it hasn't happened yet, but they asked for a photo of me with my new TV and this is what I sent them. Hope it's not too cheesy, but what was I supposed to do?

And the $25 gift card isn't too bad either!

Schmap!

Schmap!
Originally uploaded by u2sockmonkey.

This is sort of old news (a few weeks at least). About 2 - 3 months ago I was contacted about one of my photos making a "Short-list" for a Schmap directory of Washington, DC. I was pretty surprised, and then come to find out it was one of my U2 shots from the 10/19/2005 Vertigo show at the MCI Center. Turns out they wanted to use my photo in their guide about things to do and places to see in DC. My photo specificially would be on the page about the MCI Center.

What the hell? I'm not in this for money (and they weren't offering any) so I just agreed to let them use it. Flash forward a few weeks and I get the confirmation that my photo had been selected for inclusion in the guide.

My first published photo... even if it is only an electronically published document. It's still cool to me. :)

Another Snake!

Another Snake!
Originally uploaded by u2sockmonkey.

After finding a garter snake next to our boys' sandbox last week, I found this black snake of some sort next to our shed tonight.

Originally I was walking into the wooded area of our back yard to look at something in a different area when suddenly "a stick" moved. It was this guy and he slithered into a wood pile we have near our shed. After a few minutes, we were heading back inside and there he was, making his way towards the shed. I ran inside to grab the camera and when I came back out, he was right in front of it like this.

I was only able to get this photo before he ducked into another wood pile along the left side of the shed.

Robin Eggs

Robin Eggs
Originally uploaded by u2sockmonkey.

There is a Robin nesting on the ground in our back yard. Isn't this strange behavior?

A few weeks ago I noticed a nice BIG nest on the rafters of our deck. For the past few years, nests have shown up on the deck rafters and have been fine. This year, however, a big spring thunderstorm came through one night and knocked the nest down.

I wasn't sure if I should try to put the nest back or leave it where it lay. So, I figured, "It's part of nature; things will work themselves out" and I left it on the ground.

A few days later, I spot a robin sitting in a very small nest next to the trunk of a tree in our back yard. At first I thought she might hurt so I approached slowly. When I got too close for her comfort, she stood up and flew away. Obviously she's not hurt.

When she flew away, she revealed a makeshift nest. A few days later some eggs appeared in the nest.

So far she's been okay. And, given that we recently got a privacy fence put up, no large animals (dogs, cats, foxes, etc) can disturb her or the nest. Of course, snakes and such could still be a threat.

Hopefully the babies make it. If they hatch, I'll get a few photos of them.

"Say hello to my little friend!"

"Say hello to my little friend!"
Originally uploaded by u2sockmonkey.

Every year, while mowing the lawn, I usually find a snake or two. And every time I have been unsuccessful in getting the camera on them. Today was different.

While trimming the grass around the new swing set in our yard, I noticed this little guy just hanging out next to the sand box.

After first almost suffering a heart attack, I quickly turned off the trimmer and ran into the house to get the camera.

This photo was after I started poking around him with a stick to get him to move on (no, I was not poking him, just around him). He was stretched out along the side of the sand box (like this) when I first found him.

I had to end up scooping him up with a shovel and tossing him into the woods. Then he took off under the fence and into the neighbors yard.

I believe that it's only a common garter snake based on this photo.