When Steve Martin was a stand up comic, he did skits about cruel shoes and happy feet.

I have flat feet. It doesn't really bother me much except if I run a 5k, walk 18 holes of golf, or play tennis without proper arch support. Then the lower back screams for a chiropractic adjustment.

Year ago, I purchased a set of shoe inserts that were far better than the $120 set that I bought from the Good Feet store. They were thick and put spring in my step.

Like the Prince Charming in search of Cinderella, I have been taking my smelly inserts to shoe stores, running store, and department store looking for a replacement. The sales personnel have not been amused.

My last attempt was to contact Dr. Scholls. I took pictures of the inserts shown here and emailed the link to Dr. Scholls. They responded that it was not their product but recommended several of their models.

I gave up and purchased a set of inserts at a local runners outlet. I got a discount for belonging to the Space Coast Runners. I got home and put them in my shoes. I was disappointed. I could feel back pains if I attempted to use them for any duration sport.

At lunchtime Wednesday, I visited the local Super Walmart (about a mile from work). I had checked the Walmart close to home without success.

To my surprise, this Walmart stocked the shoe insert I have been in search of!

What is really bizarre is that the URL on the packaging www.energelinsole.com is not a valid domain, and a search for the distributor, Paragon Development Corp, returns links to a DOD contractor.

I have not tried their 800 number (800-851-8333).

Here is the verbage from the packaging:

Indiana, PA. An Indiana County man has developed a "flubber-like" gel-foam that returns up to 80% of the impact energy exerted. This unique, high energy gel-foam is being used in a replacement insole known as the ENER-GEL Insole(R). Originally developed for athletes and sports teams, their true calling seems to be for people suffering from foot and heel pain. Recommended by many podiatrists as their patients' "last chance" before expensive orthotics are prescribed, ENER-GEL Insoles (R) often do the job. Their slogan is "Try the Cure."

And speaking of flat, the ocean has been real flat all summer. This evening there were waves! (Well waves by East coast central Florida standards) and everyone one and their brother was hanging 10. Surf photos are here.

Where were you in August 1969?

I was a rising senior in high school in New Orleans, Louisiana that summer and had just purchased my first 35mm camera. I used my Uncle Joe's photography darkroom equipment to process black and white film.

I used the camera to photograph pictures of the Apollo 11 moon landing off our Black and white 19" TV. That was before VCRs.

When the astronauts returned to earth, each one went to his hometown for a ticker tape parade. Michael Collins, the command module pilot, was adopted by New Orleans as their favorite son. (He was from a military family).

I rode the bus downtown on a sunny August morning to witness the parade and took several rolls of film. I wish I had gone with someone else, so that I could have been photographed with Collins. I put the camera aside at one point and worked my way through the crowd and shook Col. Collins hand.

I remember thinking how small his hands were.

Also in the photos was US Rep F. Edward Hebert, and Mayor Vic Schiro. Col. Ed Murphy was one of the Grand Marshals. He was commander of the US Air National Guard Fighter Group at the New Orleans Naval Air Station. That's were my father worked.

That night I made 8x10 enlargements of the better pictures.

My pictures of the ticker tape parade

Today, July 16, 2004 is the 35 anniversary of the lift off of Apollo 11 from Cape Kennedy, Florida. (Now known as the Kennedy Space Center, on Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

I guess only those who are 45 years old or older would remember that historic event.

Those were the days before VCRs, Color TVs and Camcorders.

As a 16 yo photo buff, I took pictures of the event using my 35mm SLR from our Admiral 19" black and white TV set..

Last year while in Washington, DC, I visited the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

I remembered vividly the first step on the moon and never really saw a mockup of the LEM showing where the camera that actually took the footage was mounted.

Without going behind security ropes, I took a picture from the best of my recollection of how the scene looked.

Look closely at this picture. There appears to be a camera to the left of the astronaut decenting the steps. I did not see that when I was in DC. I thought it was a propulsion nozzle.

But take a look at b/w photo fom the TV. Look at the angle of the steps. The camera appears closer to ground level. Conspiracy?

Anyway, whether you believe we actually went to the moon or not, Apollo 11 was launched 35 years ago today.

Happy anniversary.

My first independent film is pre-production!

About a month ago, I ran into my old boss. He has a teenage son who is into Mac DV production.

The kid looked at my list of projects and liked one with a working title of "Part Time". It's about a college student getting a part time job as a waiter to pay credit card bills.

He has DV equipment and has lined up most of the cast and crew, and I've secured an upscale restaurant location for the shoot and am completing the screen play. I'm sure it will go through many rewrites.

The deadline has already passed for the local Film Fest, but there's one in Daytona in November that we're shooting for.

I haven't quit my day job yet, but this has be a lot of fun work.

We hope to have it in the can and into post-production before he goes back to high school next month.

Since April 5, 2004, my old company's website has been the target of a US government agency-the Federal Reserve Bank.

When I was in the water/wastewater industry I created an online set of calculators for my customers. Although I put he company in mothballs in 2001, I kept the calculators on line.

On April 5, 2004, I received a hit (via google referral) on the geometric mean calculator. The calculator was used three times according to the web log. Since then the geometric mean help page has been accessed by the same IP hourly by a bot.

Should I be concerned? Will Alan Greenspan change the prime interest rate if I modify or delete this file?

Does anyone else get this much attention from a government agency?

Should I post the domain and IP? Maybe not. Big brother may be watching.

I posted this on July 9. That very day the activity stopped!

Do I feel paranoid? You bet!

Well another 3 day weekend has come and gone.

Friday night we had a farewell party for a coworker. He's leaving Florida to return to Austin, Texas. Pictures of the night are here.

Saturday, I watched Wimbledon and then played some tennis. I was happy to see the Russian win the womens singles. Watched the men's singles Sunday morning. Andy Roddick put on a stellar performance but Federer was just unbeatable.

Watched fireworks in the evening from a pier in the Indian River.

Monday took it easy. Walked the beach at night looking for nesting loggerhead turtles. Found a bunch of tracks but did not see any turtles.

It's back to the grind tomorrow.

Hope you had a good one.

What did you do for fathers day?

My father passed in 1993 and I have no children (that I know) so Fathers Day now is just another Sunday for me.

But my retired friend, the Sargent Major, is the guy I pay tribute to on Fathers Day. I didn't think he was going to survive the night at least a dozen time in the past year. He's slowing dying of prostate cancer.

I went over to his house and fixed him breakfast. He asked if I would assist with a project. He and gone to the local airbase and purchased replacement ribbons and wanted to make a shadow box to send to his nephew. (To fulfill a 10 year old promise.)

The ribbons on his burial uniform are 5 rows of 3 across, the new holder held 4 abreast. Ribbons must be placed in order by their signficance. I knew that. But I only have three ribbons to show for my three years in the Air Force (National Defense, Good conduct and Outstanding Unit Award.)

This man went through three wars. As I added each medal I would ask a question or solicit some input. In case you don't know, if you are awarded the same medal a second time, a bronze star or oakleaf cluster is attached to the ribbon. If you receive the medal 5 times, a silver star is added.

From low priority to highest hours I put the following medals on his rack.

1. RVN Campaign with date bar
2. Unit Vietnam Service with 3 bronze stars
3, National Defense Ribbon with 3 bronze stars
4. United Nations Service
5. Phillippines Independence
6. Phillippines Liberation
7. Korea Service with 3 bronze stars
8 WW II Occupation
9 WW II Victory
10 American Campaign
11 Asiatic Pacific Campaign with one Arrow Head and 3 Bronze Stars
12 Navy Unit Commendation
13 Army Good Conduct with 4 knots
14 Purple Heart with 1 Silver Star and one Bronze Star
15 Navy and Marine Corp Commendation
16 Army Commendation with 2 Silver Oak Leaf clusters
17 Bronze Star with Gold V.
18 Combat Infantry Badge with two Silver Stars
19 Two presidential unit citations

So if you do the math correctly on the Purple Heart (#14). you'll note that, he was wounded in combat seven times.

And on #11, the arrow head identifies a beach assault. But you can only have one. The rest are oak leaf clusters. He was on the beach in Tirawa, Okinawa, Iwo Jima and Guadal Canal.

For #16 he had 10 Army Commendation Medals.

He also had a Marksmanship award in rifle, carbine, machine gun and submachine.

So how did you celebrate father day?

Spring has sprung, fall has fell, summer's here and it's hot as hell. So how's your summer going? (Which won't officially start until Monday).

I made a new friend (Carson) on the tennis courts. We were both practicing on opposite ends of the backboard and started talking after being caught in each other's crossfire several times.

Our skill levels are comparable. We haven't played an official game yet, but we volleyed for hours when we got on a court last week.

He's also a surfer and I told him of my sports photography web site.

He asked if I would photograph him surfing. I said sure! Well there were finally waves (small ones) last Friday and I hooked up with him. He is a good surfer. I met one of his friends (Rich) who was also surfing.

I took over 250 photos using my Fuji digital in the 3M and 6MPix mode.

The pictures came out okay until the light source disappeared. Also I need more zoom power.

I made a video for him using the camera AV output and put a soundtrack from First Move's demo CD. I photographed First Move back in April at a Florida Tech Concert.

I put a sampling of Carson's surf photos on my sports photography website here.

I found out that Carson and Rich have just formed a blue grass band. It was called "The Blue Grass Trio". Then they added a base player, so that made it the "Blue Grass Quartet". When we spoke later Friday night he referred to it as the "Blue Grass Band". Wise move. That will keep them from having to constantly rename based on additions or deletions.

They will be playing with seven other bands at a Blue Grass Festival in July at Castaway Cove in Palm Bay, Florida.

I joined them later Friday night at the Sun Cafe and saw another Blue Grass Band. Carson's banjo instructor was in that band. I bought a CD and had the band autograph it. I took some pics of the third set. Carson and Rich got on stage and played during the break. Rich also sang a song with the band during the last set.

Surf, Photography, Tennis, Music and new friends. Its a great way to start the summer.

Rockledge High School defeated Winter Haven 11-7 last Thursday night in Tampa's Legends Field to win the Florida State Class 4A Championship.

It was a thrill for me to follow this team that I adopted in midseason and became to focus of my attention. (pun intended).

I'm working with some of the parents to turn my photos in a DVD or coffee table publication to commemorate the kids achievement.

Photos of the championship game are here.

I used my get out of jail free card tonight. I was clocked at 39 in 25 mph zone. Let me set it up for you.

I went to a minor league game tonight and saw the Brevard County Manatees play the Dunedin Blue Jays. I'm not a big fan of professional baseball, but I wanted to checkout the camera angles and lighting in a minor league park for tomorrow.

My adopted high school team, the Rockledge Raiders, won their game in Tampa this afternoon and play in Legends Field tomorrow night at 7pm for the Florida State 3A championship.

So I went to the Manatees game as a dry run. I left after 4 innings, a dog, and two beers. I was in a hurry to get home and pack. I'll be leaving straight from work tomorrow and plan to drive to Louisiana to spend the weekend after the game.

I stopped at the credit union to rock the cash box (ATM) and then zipped home. When I made the last turn, I noticed a cruiser on my tail. Two beers, speeding and aggressive driving: It can easily cost you a lawyer.

I thought, "Lord, please let it be Tom". My prayers were answered. "Tom, I said, it's me, ..." (gave my name in case he didn't remember).

I had Tom mug for the camera at a friends 21th birthday.

I explained how I was taking pictures at tonight's game, and would be taking pictures in Tampa tomorrow. He followed the Rockledge game today on the local ESPN Radio just as I did. I asked about mutual friends. We chatted.

He told me he clocked me at 39. We had a good chuckle. I apologized. He told me to watch it. I thanked him for his tolerance. He left without pulling his ticket book out.

Then, I had to face the real music. The blue haired retirees in my condo building wanted to know what was going on.

I made up a story ;-)

Like protecting a good fishing hole, I didn't want to give away my secrets.

I've just returned from six days in Austin, Texas where I witnessed my niece, Julie, graduate from UT, celebrated with family and had the pleasure of meeting Slashdot friend Dubious Dave..

Here's a chronology of the week.
Tuesday. Arrived 330PM; Met up with Julie and my nephew, Stephen. We met some of her friends at Trudy's for appetizers. Stephen and I went to the Congress Stx Bridge to photograph the sunset and watch the bats exodus into the night. Next we walked 4th and 6th street listening to bands from the street before catching a Japanese animation flick at the Alamo Draft House.

Wednesday, I took Stephen to Deep Eddy pool for a life guard refresher course. It was required for his summer job. I took some sunrise photos over the river. Next, I went to the UT campus and called Dubious Dave. We met over coffee at Peets on the Guadalupe. I laid out my itinerary and family commitments for the remainder of the week and discussed mutual Slashdot friends and fans. For lunch I met Lynn. She was the maid of honor at a Florida wedding back in April. We ate at the Little Deli on Woodrow. Its owned by a Cajun woman from New Orleans.

After picking up Stephen from Deep Eddy, we met up with Julie and her friends at Barton Springs for some cold water springs swimming (read significant shrinkage). Next, I helped Stephen move his belongings into his 3rd floor room at the frat house. I was ready for a beer by then.

We picked up a variety of imported and micro brewery products and went over to Dave's house and evening of beers and conversation before walking to the "Dog and Duck Pub" for bangers, smoked sausage and pints.

Thursday I scouted the campus to determine the best parking for the graduation. Then Stephen and I played racquetball at Gregory Gym. The rest of my family arrived Thursday evening from Houston: Parents (brother/sister-in-law) and their oldest son, Jeff; from New Orleans: my mother, brother and sister).

Friday morning was the McComb School of Business Graduation then we had champagne at the Alumni Center. Next we went to Messaluna for lunch. Friday night was a crawfish boil and pool party at Sarah's dad's house before heading to 6th Street. Late night hunger was satisfied at Katz Diner.

Saturday morning: I took some photos at the Farmers Market on 4th Street then photographed 6th Street establishments in daylight. Jeff and I played golf at Riverside Country Club Saturday afternoon.

Saturday evening was the university wide outdoor graduation under the clock tower. Katz Diner was the rendezvous point for dinner. Next it was Paradise Lounge.

Sunday morning I said my good byes to the family and met Dubious for a brunch at Magnolia Cafe and a trip up Mount Bonnell for a photo op before heading to the Airport.

I arrived home after midnight and finally got to bed around 3am. I haven't had a chance to organize my photos properly, but here are links to preliminary galleries.

Austin prior to graduation
UT/McComb Business school Graduation
Crawfish-Pool party/Austin by day.

I did laundry tonight. I hope to get a good night sleep.

I'm in recovery mode. I am having serious Austin withdrawal pains. Austin is a beautiful city and I look forward to my next visit.

Last weekend I spent at Sebastian Inlet photographing the Eastern Surfing Association's Central Florida Surfing Contest.

I had my Fuji FinePix 3.1 MegaPix camera in hand and a new 512MB memory stick. That doubled my previous capacity of 4 @ 128 MB xD cards.

It seems I'm always running out of something. This time it was batteries. I went through two sets of rechargeable batteries and 1024 MB of memory (each day!). Sunday afternoon I had to buy AA batteries for the last hour of competition. (I shot about 1500 pictures a day).

Saturday was the youth events..

Sunday was the Junior Men, Legends, and Grandmasters.

The weather was great.

I transcribed the heat sheets and associated a starting image number with each heat. My camera counter wrapped around 9999 on Sunday but using the color code, image number and heat sheets, you should still be able identify each surfer.

I passed out business cards on Saturday and then like a good photojournalist with a deadline, I had the pictures on the web by 9pm Saturday night.

I spoke with Shane Hogan on Sunday. He was "stoked" about the pictures I got of him and his buds.

Sunday nights photos didn't get posted till about 10pm.

I checked the weblog and found some eager surfers already checking them out before I crashed.

I have several web calculators on my old moth-balled business website. One calculates baseball statistics: batting average, earned run average, slugging percentage, fielding percentage and winning percentage.

Recently I added a heading field. Not many people use it but "Little Jim" did the other day.

I don't pay too much attention to to the stats but I do log them and occasionally review the logs. There are some entries that are curious. Such was Lil Jims. He had had 6 home runs in 80 At-Bats. His only other hits were a single and a triple. I can hear the announcer saying "And here comes Lil' Jim, batting .100 with 6 home runs....."

And then there's his fielding. He's had 180 chances and has 100 errors! His results page was as follows:

Little League Baseball Statistics Calculator Results
for
Little Jim

Batting average = 8 / 80 = 0.100
Slugging percentage = (1 + 2* + 3*1 + 4*6)/80 = 0.350
Fielding pcnt = (60+20)/(60+20+100) = 0.444
ERA = 2 / 8 * 9 = 2.250
Winning percentage ==5/(5 + 1) = 0.833

I've been thinking about adding a random tips generator (a la fortune cookie) or perhaps a cynical comment generator when the stats are curious.

What do you think?

At the Funai PGA golf tournament at Walt Disney World last fall I remember seeing a sign about 5 feet deep in a wooded area off the 17 fairway on the Palms Course. It read "If you're ball is around here, perhaps you should sign up for a golf lesson. See the clubhouse pro for details."

Tuesday night I photographed the Rockledge Raiders victory over St. Augustine in Class 4A Region 2 action. I got a great action sequence at the plate of the go ahead run. Photos are here.

I live on the east coast of Florida. Going to work, I travel south on the barrier island's State Route A1A (made famous by Jimmy Buffett). Twice a year I am in sync with the sunrise. That is, I don't have to wake up early to catch it, and I don't have to be late for work waiting for it. I can see it from the car driving to work.

We are currently in the springtime sync and last week I saw most of them and they got better as the week progressed.

A lot of times, clouds form on the horizon and obscure the orb.

Thursday, the orange globe was filtered through a thin layers of clouds.

Friday, I was running a little late and didn't see the actual breaking of the horizon. But I did capture this photo.

Saturday was magnificent. And to answer your question, no I was not on my way to work. Actually, I received an emergency call from the Sargent Major at 0518 hours. He was in extreme pain. His left kidney was not draining and he wanted a ride to the ER. I drove to his house, analyzed the situation and used solid copper telephone wire to break up a clot and drained his kidney.

Just call me "McGyver". Yeah, I was practicing medicine without a license and saved him a trip to the ER; saved us tax payers a few thousands dollars; and saved him the agony of sitting on a cold slab, unattended for hours.

And my reward? A grateful trooper and a sunrise worthy of a postcard.

The rest of the photos are here.

I think I'll get up early this week and hope for perfect morning weather.

Life is short. Take a minute to enjoy the view.

Saturday night I helped Ethan celebrate his 14th birthday. He's the son of former co-workers.

He's finishing middle school and starts high school next year. Helping him celebrate were two close friends who are a year older and already in high school.

After a Sushi/Thai dinner (his choice!), we went back to his mother's townhouse for gift giving and cake cutting.

He got a flat panel monitor for his computer (he and his buds are into CounterStrike), clothes, and a new skateboard.

I photographed the evening and went to the street with them as they caught air and grinded on curbs. A nice bunch of kids having fun.

If they were riding skateboards in my neighbhorhood, the old buzzards in my condo would certainly have called the police. It was nice to be in a kid friendly neighborhood.

The rest of the photos are here.