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This is how I normally get to work. Well, I would if I lived MUCH closer to the office.

I have wanted one of these since Canon released a special edition that was given away at the last Olympics. It took me about three weeks to get it in because I had to order direct from a company in Hong Kong. Why order a lens from Hong Kong and not here in the US? And how did I get an $1,800 lens for less than $30? Scroll down…

Just to be sure I didn’t get ripped off, I used a checking account that I keep very little money in just for such purchases. To further be careful, I used my PayPal account to make the purchase. The next morning my wife received a text alert saying we had hit the mark in our checking account where we have created an alert so the account doesn’t get TOO low. That made me nervous because we had BOTH just deposited our paychecks the day before and hadn’t yet paid the monthly bills! I had a momentary panic before realizing the most I’d probably be out was $50 thanks to fraud detection, but that was a scary moment, nonetheless. Long story short, the alert was because Mint.com hadn’t updated our account balance since we deposited our paychecks.

So have you figured out how I got this so cheap?

I have a whole mess of posts that will be showing up over the next week or two. First, I have to get done editing pictures from my vacation, then I’ll get to writing the posts to go with them. Subscribe to my RSS feed to be automatically notified of new posts. We went to some cool places and saw some interesting things on our trip.

Here is a tease:

One of the primary things that draws me to photography is knowing that one day I will be able to look back at photos of places I been and remember what it was like “back then”. The process of recording a specific moment in time has a certain magical quality. Memories are can be reshaped by time or our perception of events at the time they occurred, but a photo is a true visual representation of what life was like.

I love going back and looking at old photographs from earlier in the century. Its awesome to stare down a city street now and then find a photo of that same street 50 years earlier. One photographer has found a way to do exactly that with old World War II photos. He has taken pictures from WWII and the same locations in present time and blended the two using Photoshop. This create some visually powerful images and I can only imagine what they would do for someone who was actually in these places during the war.

(Thanks to Keith at BagOfNothing for posting.

There is a lot of truth to the recent Liberty Mutual commercials (below) that show people doing something considerate and other people taking notice. I was stopped at an intersection on my way home last night and saw a woman waling down the street carrying two handfuls of grocery bags, obviously heading home. Let’s say that she also looked as if she may not have had the easiest life, which was compounded by the 101 degree heat index, and quite a few years of living.

I am not one to pick up strangers, but it was SO hot and she looked like she really could use a lift. I instantly thought about the rides Trey Morgan (@treymorgan) has given to those in his community. I was first in the left hand lane as she passed in front of me, so I decided I would turn around and come back.

But before the light turned green, a woman in an SUV who WAS first in line in the right lane, rolled her window down and called the lady over. I couldn’t hear what was said, but after a few seconds, the lady very humbly opened the passenger door, got in, and the driver made what was an obviously unplanned right turn (because there was a yield sign she would have turned at if going that way) to drive the woman home.

I hope the woman with the groceries saw a little bit of Jesus in that driver today. I have a feeling it was noticed by many of the other drivers in the enormous line of traffic behind her at the stoplight. Maybe they will be inspired to do something nice for someone without expecting something in return.

One small act of kindness like that can move mountains when repeated with regularity. Maybe that will turn out to be just a ride home, but who knows how much more might have come from it. I suspect the driver spent no more than 10 minutes of her say to make a difference in that woman’s day, but her soul was enriched for it.

Okay, so after I typed the title of the post, I realized that might sound a little odd, so let me clarify a little before we go on. Childhood memories = toy car. Adult toys = the REAL car. (You dirty people)

When I was a kid, I had a really nice working model of the car above. It was one of my favorite toys. That car probably had more miles on it than the actual car itself. For those of you who live under a rock, this is James Bond’s 1964 Aston Martin DB5 from the films Goldfinger and Thunderball. If you have no idea what those films are, or what this car is, please use the little red “x” in the very top of your browser now.

I can’t begin to tell you how many levels of cool I was when I drove this car around my bedroom floor and backyard during my summer vacations. And now, the real deal is going up for sale. So, if you still haven’t decided what to get me for Christmas, the auction is in London on October 27, 2010. AND, if you actually get it for me, I’ll cover the £50 cost for the program that includes admission for two to the auction.

Here is a complete description with more pictures.

And Iron Woman

If you have the opportunity to take a cooking class at Central Market, do it. We attended COUPLES: STEAKS ON THE GRILL, during their Passport Argentina celebration. Naturally, everything was Argentine themed.

Besides learning to make specific dishes, we also learned cooking techniques such as the proper way to hold a knife, core a bell pepper, crack and chop fresh garlic, season a grill, know by touch how well-done a steak is, etc., etc. The little tips and tricks alone made the class worth it.

Our appetizer was Crudites with Romesco Dip. The dip included toasted almonds, garlic, cayenne pepper, red wine vinegar, and a couple other seasonings. We then had zucchini, tomatoes, cauliflower, and mushrooms to dip and eat as we made the rest of the meal.

Then we prepared the burnt tomatoes, which are exactly what they sound like. Tomato halves, olive oil, black peppercorns, salt, and fresh oregano leaves. The tomatoes were seasond and placed in a pan until the cut side started to burn. Then they were taken off the heat and drizzled with freshly chopped oregano. Yum. We then made our Chimichurri sauce and Crillo salsa to put on the steaks.

The steaks were thick-cut ribeyes. But this wasn’t just any ribeye. These were imported from Argentina. Argentina eats a LOT of beef! Because they are highly self-sustaining, they don’t export much of what they grow and raise, so this beef is a rare treat in the US, as are many Argentine products. You could tell the difference in the meat just by the dark, rich color. And, man was it ever tender!

For desert we made Orange Flan, with whipped cream (it took 3 of us to finally get it thick enough…use an electric mixer next time!), and orange supremes (how the orange was cut…interesting). The whip cream was awesome because we added vanilla. Our instructor did give us an interesting bit of information about vanilla and using it in recipes. It seems vanilla is about 35% alcohol by volume. Bourbon and several other liquors are about 40%, so you can substitute it in a 1:1 ratio in any recipe that calls for vanilla.. I might have to try that some time.

Not only did we have some great food and wine, but we learned a lot. Because Central market is having Passport Argentina, they have a lot of items that will only be available for a limited time. One is the Alfajor, the favorite cookie of Argentina. Double yum! The one we had was coated in chocolate with dulce de leche in the middle. I may move to South America. We bought a couple of boxes of the cookies (last ones) and a big ‘ol jar of the dulce de leche that we can put on all kinds of stuff. We also picked up a bottle of the red wine, Tapiz Malbec, as it is one of the best I’ve had.