Book Commercials & Misanthropic Observations

Pauler’s New Blog

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Peer into the mind of Paul Dopkins…

A romantic evening

a romantic evening

Originally uploaded by Brandy Dopkins

One of my favorite ways of spending time with Paul is side by side on our laptops. Here we are sitting at the kitchen counter and I am playing with my camera.

He’s working on a webjob that hopefully will cover a big chunk of his costs to go to India in Jan 2009. I’m learing about camera RAW files.

Billy’s swamp Safari

Originally uploaded by Brandy Dopkins

I’m learning about Flickr’s “blog this” feature- lets me post a picture from my flickr page directly to my blog. I really like it.

This is a super fun time- in 2000 we went to the Florida everglades and spent the day at Billy’s Swamp Safari. That was our tour guide and he took out a baby alligator so I could touch it. That little fingertip was enough for me- those things are nasty! Paul took the photo and laughed at me the whole time. I love his laugh.

Upgrading onOne Phototools Plug-in Suite 4 with Photoshop CS3

I really like Phototools. It has helped me make any image better as I edit things for the media screens at Faith Community, and it’s made my personal photography more fun knowing I can make a decent photo great with a little tweaking later.

So I was excited to hear about the upgrade released in October that would include a whole new series of photoframes and layering options and installed it as soon as I could. BIG mistake- which I confirmed when I went to the Phototools support forum after wondering why in the world my photoshop would simply shut down every time I tried to use Phototools.

Feel free, if you are interested in this issue, to browse the forum yourself for other examples and suggested fixes, but here is what I did after much trial & error.

1. Use the Add/Remove Programs control panel to uninstall Plug-In Suite 4 if you have already upgraded. (if not, skip ahead to where onOne and I diverge instructions)
2. For XP go to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data
3. If onOne Software is present you will want to delete it.
4. Go to C:\Documents and Settings\Your User\Application Data*
5. If onOne Software is present you will want to delete it
6. C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS 3 (or CS 4)\Plug-Ins
7. Delete onOne Library.acel.8bx and onOne Library.dll if present.
8. Go to where Photoshop is located at, commonly C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS 3 (or CS 4)
9. Delete the following dll files
   -CoreFoundation.dll
   -glut32.dll
   -onOneSuiteCheck.dll
   -onOneToolbox2.dll
   -onOneWelcomeDialog.dll
   -onOneWidgets.dll

Up until this point phototools support and I are on the same page, you can find all the above steps on this page

Here is where we diverge:

The update is a complete installer, (which takes FOREVER to download, by the way) and the updated versions of phototools and focal point shut down the program. Well, I don’t need new versions of those programs, I just want the new photoframe layers.

• Reinstall Phototools suite 4 from original disc (or stay where you are if you haven’t upgraded yet)
• Run the upgrade file, but select “custom install”
• Uncheck all boxes except photoframe 4.0.
• Complete the upgrade

You will find that while you only installed photoframe 4.0 that the upgrade installer still removed some files it thinks you don’t need, messing up some of your programs, like focalpoint. So here’s what I did next:

• Re-install the original suite from the disc over the top of everything. Do a complete install as if it was the first time. It will put the missing files back and not harm your upgrade to photoframe 4.0.

Crazy huh? Worked though. I’ll update this post if I find any problems in the near future as I play with the software.

Public Temper Tantrums

The original post of a series now titled “THINK before you speak”

Dear Craig’s list poster,

While I suppose I can understand how you may be frustrated with your past experiences selling your items, I wonder if you understand that I, the current reader of your post, am most likely not the jerk you are referring to in the following comment, quoted directly from a recent post:

CASH/PICK UP ONLY!!!
smoke/pet free home! Will NOT HOLD for anyone! If whoever gets here 1st with the money gets it! I’m tired of people saying they will come get it then have to reschedule only to decide they dont want it.

Yes, dear poster, you may indeed be tired of all “those people”. However, now you strike me as a hothead and I will not take the risk of doing business with you. Did you mean to come off that way? I’m guessing no.

You just forgot that this is my first impression of you, and a temper tantrum is not a good first impression, nor a positive public face. Does this somehow exact revenge upon the person who apparently decided your items were not the quality they were hoping to purchase? No, it only reflects on you.

And you just alerted me to the fact that someone else rejected your stuff as not worth the money. I think I will take a lesson from your last buyer and pass on your things.

An ongoing prayer request

I am generally more reserved publicly than this, but I want to lay this one out there. It matters much to me.
If anyone feels so inclined to join me in this prayer, now and whenever you think of it in the future, thank you.

Father, please allow me to complete my work with excellence and peace. Guide me to focus on what needs attention today and trust You for the rest. As I go into designing images for any new series, give me a proper perspective, the knowledge that bells and whistles and flashing media mean nothing without You. Yet I want to do my part with merit, allowing the preaching pastor (Larry, this time) to trust that I took care of my tasks and he can focus on his, maybe even be inspired by what I put in front of him. It’s enough, at the very least, to not distract worshipers with sloppy work, so I ask that You protect me from carelessness. I also ask, Father, that You enable even more; to support Your message visually for those that are visually oriented.

Don’t file “facts” permanently

This began as a completely different post, titled “exposing your tantrums publicly on Craig’s list” but it took a different turn and I’m gonna follow it to that end. Maybe my next post will explain this other title another day.

I have a bit of cautionary advice: if you tell someone something about yourself today, do not be surprised if they file it away as a fact and consider it to be relevant even 5, 10 or 15 years later.

Let’s have a mundane example: My friend Michele told me a few years ago that she doesn’t want a household pet. She knew she would end up caring for it, not the kids and all the other usual very good reasons a mother says no. that was 3 years ago. If for some reason someone would ask me today, I would say in all confidence, “no way, Michele doesn’t want a dog.” But it’s been years now, and a lot happens in daily life- maybe they have now decided it’s a great way for Jacob to learn responsibility…

Oh- another case in point- how many of you have attended a High school reunion and had so many people say “do you still… (insert anything here)?”

These are fairly harmless illustrations, but what if one of my friends had told me about trouble in their marriage? It’s a common human behavior to consider that to be a fact years later, even though I know that in my own marriage Paul and I can have trouble one day and it be resolved the next – I don’t give other marriages the same fresh start I get every morning.

My point here is, please do your friends, family and acquaintances a favor and check in with them from time to time before you declare something you KNOW about them.

Day 13

I had 0ppm of ammonia today! Whoo hoo! Translation: my tank filter has grown enough bacteria that it will eat my fish’s waste so the tank doesn’t act like a big unflushed toilet they swim around in!

However, the bacteria that is eating the ammonia makes another waste product even more dangerous called nitrite. Now the next type of bacteria needs to grow a large enough colony to eat the nitrites… which I will know happened when my nitrite is also at 0ppm. I’m about 2/3 of the way home.

Home school moms- this would be a great science experiment. And your kids will feel very scientific with test tubes for measuring ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. However, you may end up with a fish when you are done.

**update: for the record- specifically my record when I try to recall later how long it took to cycle a tank- I had my first 0ppm reading of Nitrite on Nov. 9th.  30 days total.

Bingo for seniors

My uncle Terry, (Paul’s mom’s brother) has been running bingo games for seniors at the retirement home where his mother lived (before she died) for, like, decades. I have often thought I would like to do that, and now may have the opportunity.

Faith Community is partnering with Red Cedar Canyon Care, an assisted living facility for seniors- it’s very exciting and there are so many ways to get involved; visiting seniors, bringing laughter and relationship. I asked LaRae, the director, if she would be open to me running bingo games and she was tickled. It’s a brand new facility, only 3 residents and more arrive weekly, so it’s not the right activity just yet, but when they get more people, I’m the gal with the game!

Terry, the old hat at this, has advised me that the trick is having a pile of prizes for the winner to choose one. He hoards hotel soaps, dollar store trinkets, and inexpensive handy stuff for seniors, like those plastic square shaped magnifying glasses for reading.

So I’m asking for donations now- please, let’s start gathering prizes for seniors- not junk, but stuff they would appreciate. The pretty travel size soaps are a hit, Terry claims. Other things like big number phones or large print or audio bibles would be fantastic. I’m also thinking photo frames? Maybe those of you more in the know than I am about the needs of seniors could advise me here. I’ll keep anything and everything in a big box to pull out for those bingo games.

And if anyone wants to get in on the fun of the games themselves, let me know.

Craig’s list hot tip

Seriously- I don’t even bother with your post unless you add a picture. I’m guessing I’m not alone. Add the picture.