It’s called Photoshopworld and it will be held in Las Vegas.

“Viva Las Vegas gonna set my soul, gone set my soul on fire!” – my homage to my buddy Lonnie.

I will be attending this year’s conference and let me tell you, I’m excited. I will be around so many people that love this application and other Adobe programs. Plus, I’ll be able to attend classes from leaders in the industry.

And no, I won’t be gambling. I’m not much of a gambler, I don’t like giving my money away. :-)

So, this will be my first Photoshopworld. I will be up close to some of the most talented people I watch from my computer screen, giving tutorials and tips on production and photoshop.

I’m gonna be a sponge.

This conference is held twice a year, the first was held in Orlando, FL and below is just a short teaser video of the event.

I know, I know. I’m a geek. But I love it.

Beto

PS…
They even have an app for the conference…giggle.

I had a pleasant surprise this evening. I got a cool balloon toy.

My little neighbor/buddy, Martin, pronounced, “Mahr-Teen” came over tonight with his Dad. Seems they were at some function and “Marh-Teen” got a cool alien balloon made for him. On the way home his Dad asked if he wanted to keep it.

He said, “No. I’m gonna give it to Mr. Saldivar.”

They came over and gave it to me this evening.

Way cool.

Beto

See, we bought my son a desk a long time ago, one of my 1st posts to this blog even. But when I got my new iMac, I passed down my trusted 24″ iMac. Only problem was…it was too high for that desk. About 3″ too high. To get the iMac onto his desk, I had to remove the hutch and he lived with his desk that way all through summer. I kept thinking, “How the heck am I gonna be able to raise that hutch so his iMac will fit and have it stable?” For now, we just took it off and he just put the hutch items in a box but this Saturday, my wife Liz was in a cleaning frenzy and since the kids had already started school, I figured it was time for me to fix his hutch.

I remembered I had bought some channel aluminum a while back when I built one of my first camera stabilizers. I had bought extra and thoughts, “Hmmm…maybe that will fit?”

Sure did.

So this afternoon I took out the hack saw, cut some of that aluminum, and after a quick trip to Home Depot – I got it set up.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

I guess all those days tolling around in the garage paid off.

His desk is fine now. And I’m glad.

Beto

It was a busy Friday about a week ago because I had to get Joaquin to school at 8am for football pictures, my haircut at 9am then pick up the boy at 10:30am. Emmy in tow we successfully accomplished our mission.

After all the running around, we got home and I worked while they watched TV for the day. It was their last week of summer vacation and we had an early day on Saturday since the Antonian Apaches had a football scrimmage in Burnet TX so he had to be at school early the next morning.

At 4pm, Liz came home to take Emmy to the open house at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School. I took Joaquin to the Football Booster “kick off” ice cream social at Antonian High school. I’m not much for crowds but since he was a freshman, I should go.

We arrived at 6pm and the head coach proceeded with the whole “Rah-Rah-Rah!” thing. He even did a “football clinic” for parents (mostly Moms) that didn’t understand the game. He enlisted the help of Fathers and used them as examples of what each player would do on the field. I was picked to demonstrate how a running back would hold the football, run, then stiff-arm a defensive player.

I think I did pretty well but noticed my young freshman son Joaquin, shrink into the crowd (he hung out with the other freshman players — too cool to sit with Dad) fearing I would do something embarrassing.

Ahh, teenagers…so nervous we will embarrass them…not yet my son…not yet…

Then the Auction started. They had to auction off to “boost” the money coming into the football squad. Seemed kind of fun. They even had the cheerleaders there to do the “Price Is Right” model thing.

1st up was a football signed by all of the Freshman football players with a sliver sharpie.

“What do we have for a starting bid!?” Screamed the over enthiusiatic Dad they had recruited to be the Auctioneer. “Bids start at $20! – do I hear $30?”

It sold for $300. What a great way to start the Auction. I wonder what they’d get for the next items?

Ooooo…that stadium package looks cool. An Antonian staduim chair, umbrellla, baseball hat, blanket and rain cover. What more would you want?

“Starting bid for this football stadium package …how about $100!”

I immediately tapped out — no thanks. It sold for $300. Good decision on my part.

Then the JV football was up next, presented by one of the Apache Cheerleaders. Same ball, same silver sharpie signatures from all the JV players…“Let’s start this one off at $200! Do I hear $250?”

“We have $250! Do I hear $300! How about $500! Do I hear $500!”

I almost choked when heard, “I’ve got $800! Now $1,000!”

Did I just hear, $1,000 dollars?!

Suddenly, my nervous laughter morphed into gasps as the bidding got higher…and higher. The crowd was now feverish with excitement, like Hyenas at a kill. Yelping out bids in $100 and $200 increments. The hairs on the back of my neck and arms stood up…

When the bidding got to $1200 I was still smiling…but smiling in fear that someone might notice I was not part of the “crowd.” I continued my charade, cleverly wiping away the bead of sweat forming on my forehead while no one was looking…

A mob mentality over took the room as the Auctioneer yelled and encouraged the bidding. I could see small groups of parents forming, huddling together, strategizing how and when to bid higher.

One parent would look up, nod to signify that they would bid higher….$1800!

Okay…now this was getting out of hand for me. I scanned the room for the nearest exit. I had already fished out my truck keys and was prepared to stand up, politely feign some “digestive distress” then move towards my son and pull him out and escape out the back door; I had already mapped out in my mind the quickest route to my truck.

…I nearly jumped out of my seat when a parent next to me grabbed my arm and yelled, “Isn’t this great!”

“Yes, it is…Hahahahahnahah…!” I replied, and settled back into my chair…almost lost it there.

The JV football sold for $2,300!

Yes….TWENTY THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS!”

“In American?” As my dear Father-in-law would say, God rest his soul.

Oh my God….that was only the third item on the table of 10.

It’s getting warm in here — did someone turn off the AC? I began to wonder if I had made a mistake enrolling my son into this school. I mean, private school is not cheap but c’mon, $2,300 for a football?

Everyone was laughing, cheering and screaming for more…I kept my cool and just laughed and waved back to anyone that made eye contact with me. I had to keep my composure if my son and I were to leave this place alive…

The Varsity football went for only $1,500! Don’t ask me why it sold lower than the JV.

Next up was one of the two VIP parking slots for home games. I mean, who wants to park way up at the school grounds and walk all the way down to the field when you could purchase two VIP parking spots at the front gate of the stadium? They held up the signs, they were made out of foam core.

The bidding was savagely fierce! People would jump from $800 right to $1,000!

They sold for $1,200 and $1,500 each.

OMG, OMG…I’ve got Joaquin at the wrong school.

Through out the evening I stayed in character. I was afraid someone would stand up, point at me then a screeching howl would escape their lips, an alert to THE OTHERS to swarm the OUTSIDER.

But I managed to maintain my composure and we left with our lives.

Thank you late night TV for all those SCIFI flicks I watched alone.

I got home and told Liz of the incredible evening I had survived. She just laughed and calmed me down…”This is high school Hun. It’s totally different.”

I agreed with a nervous laughter.

Later that night…after she fell asleep…I crept out to the garden to check and see if an exact duplicate body of Liz, shrouded in vines was lying in the garden.

That’s how it all begins you know, your loved one is suddenly “different” and before you realize it, your watering the garden when you find a husk of your former mate in the garden, fertilizing the plants….just like Invasion of the Body Snatchers or The Stepford Wives.

No duplicate of my loved one in the garden though…

I came back to bed, sighed, kissed my beloved gently on the cheek then rolled over and fell into a fitful night of sleep. Nightmarish images of people chasing me filled my dreams. At one point, I rolled over and came face to face with my beloved wife, staring at me with a faceless expression, eyes open with her mouth agape as a serpentine tongue flickered, testing the air for infidels.

Then I sit bolt upright in bed, my heart beating explosively in my chest…

The story about the Auction is totally true my firiends. Okay, maybe I put a little creative spin on the bidding but the costs are accurate. It just got me all worked up like those SCIFI movies I love to watch. I guess high school is different but man…I didn’t imagine it like this…or did I?

Beto.

PS – Funny…both updated movies had Nicole Kidman in them…creepy.

So that means I have to distribute it to the familia but I can’t just copy it and forward right?

I have to be creative.

So I present to you the 2010 Apache Football Freshman schedule for my son.

We had fun with this shoot. He kept saying, “I wanna look mean Dad, like my other one — so no smiling.” I obliged much to the chagrin of his mother. I used the flash to help eliminate the shadows on him since his back was to the sun…and we all know how much I hate shadows.

But I like the photo. We took it in our back yard, me sprawled on my back with him “looming” over me. You can click on it for a larger view.

The PDF that I’m sending out even has hyperlinks to each of the locations. You click on the field and it will launch your browser to Google Maps for the location.

It’s not Geeky…it’s INTERACTIVE! :-)

I’ll upload the PDF later.

Thank you for letting me share.

Beto.

It just seemed like a short summer but who am I kidding?

We did a lot but now the fun begins for the Saldivar Clan. Academics are the important thing for our kids but they love sports as well. Joaquin is giving Freshman football at Antonian High school a try and Emmy is going out for the Volleyball team at Blessed Sacrament.

The good news is that “hopefully” both will be playing for the school teams. Actually, Joaquin is on the team but Emmy still has two more tryouts tomorrow and Tuesday.

This could mean our weekends will be free since CYO was mostly played on the weekends. Practices should also be held at the respective schools so that will help as well. I hope.

I’m strapping in — it’s gonna be a fast ride.

Oh and if you’re wondering about the cool school bus photos – it’s real. Found it on this webpage.

Jet-powered school bus reaches 350 mph, eliminates tardy slips — Autoblog

Beto

All normal I’ve been told.

But a good friend of mine, David Gunn, showed up one day with this KUEL watch. It was an iBeam. It didn’t look like mine but it had the same characteristics. It had a an easy to read dial and a maginfying glass built right into the crystal. This way if I didn’t have my “cheaters” while reading a menu, I could flip up the crystal and “voila!” I’m in business.

I bought one soon after.

It also had another cool feature. An LED spotlight. And  this sucker is bright. You push the orange button and this powerful little LED illuminates the darkest of hallways (no zombies there) or a map to find your way out of the (horror) house (with zombies).

Yeah, my imagination in over-drive again.

Most of my family just roll their eyes when I show them my watch, “Of course you have that watch. Why wouldn’t you?” They smile. As I do. Oh and it has a compass too. See it? Plus it has dual time zones, a stopwatch, countdown timer, blah, blah, blah.

I’ve had this watch for about 2 years now and the LED battery finally died. So I took it to this jewerler by my work and after three days I got my trusty Gizmo back with 3 new batteries – yes 3 – one for the watch, two for the LED.

I’m giddy again and armed with the power to vanquish any zombies lurking in the shadows when I go to bed…plus I can tell what time it is in Germany (Jim).

Yes, my adult human night light.

Beto

Another interesting game found while I was surfing.

Beto

Party Roulette Water Balloon Game by ALLY on JANUARY 5, 2010 For once the prankster version of a device is more innocent than the actual version. Now you can own a party roulette version of Russian Roulette. Instead of holding a real gun to your head, you’ll be holding a plastic one with a massive water balloon attached to it. Then as it goes round and round again, the odds of you getting soaked become more and more likely. You can purchase the Party Roulette Water Balloon Game for $17.98 from the Prank Place. Source: Technabob

link: Party Roulette Water Balloon Game | Foolish Gadgets

Yesterday was Joaquin’s (Wack’s) 1st football practice at Antonian High School. He’d been preparing himself for these practices by attending the Strength and Conditioning camp during the summer at the high school. These were tough workouts that tested his capabilities and determination.

During the 1st week of the camp, we had some very strong conversations about commitment, perseverance and dedication. By the end of the second week, he was looking forward to the daily workouts and he made it through the 4 week camp. He said it helped that he knew most of the football drills – thanks to his football coaching staff at Blessed Sacrament Catholic school.

The practices for the Freshman football team were being held from 10:30am to noon so I took off from work to pick him up. I figured he might be sore plus I wanted to talk to him about his first day in such a large team sport. We hadn’t bought him football cleats so I thought we might do that during the afternoon.

Never mind that fact that my boy is starting High School, but add High School sports and you can count me as a bit apprehensive in my approach to this new venture. I sometimes think Wack is more relaxed than I am.

As I pulled up to the school, I parked up on the hill, turned off my truck and looked down at the practice field. I began to slowly scan the area of over 70 players to try and find my son in the sea of grey t-shirts, red shorts and red helmets.

Wack’s not a speedster but his size and quickness would make him an ideal candidate for the line, so I concentrated my search to that area. I soon spotted the familiar stance of my son as he was going through the drills. I could see him nodding to his lineman coach as he received direction and I am confident in saying that Wack ended his response to the coach with a, “Yes sir.”

At least from my untrained eyes he seemed to being doing well and holding his own. I had arrived a bit early so as I settled back into my seat to watch the drills – I noticed a figure walking around the football practice field. He was wearing black shorts, white baseball cap, a blue and white shirt with that familiar red Bulldog logo on the left side.

It was Wack’s middle school football coach, Andrew Torres. I recognized the confidence and authority of his stride as walked to different areas of the practice field — silently looking down to his clipboard through his dark sunglasses, taking notes.

All business that Torres…

Coach Torres stayed with the team all the way through practice and stood silently by the team when they all huddled and listened to their new coach offer words of encouragement. In an iconic ending, the team lifted their football helmets above their heads in tight circle, shouted something and then broke huddle. Practice was over and a sigh escaped me.

It brought me such a sense of relief knowing I was not the only one at the practice, to watch and encourage my son’s progress.

I started my truck and pulled around to the gymnasium to wait for Wack and in a few minutes, this large, sweaty, sunglass wearing young man rounded the corner in his Apache grey shirt and red shorts. I had to do a double take to make sure it was him. He seemed so much bigger than I remembered this morning. But his toothy smile betrayed the tough guy image. There was my growing young man — hidden behind those sunglasses.

He wasn’t even wearing a football uniform but my heart swelled with pride as he approached the truck.

I know he will do well.

As he opened the door and climbed in, I asked, “How was it Papa?”

“Pretty good. I liked. It.” He responded.

“Was it tough?”

“Not too bad Dad. I’m used to it.”

No doubt thanks to Coach Torres who had also prepared my son for this new chapter in his young life.

“Did you see Coach Torres Papa? I saw him walking around.”

“Yes sir, I saw him.”

“Did he tell you hello?”

“No sir, he was just there watching us.”

“Huh…why was he there?”

“Probably to see any new plays and to show support for HIS PLAYERS.“

Thank you Coach Torres for the continued support of my son. There are very few people who can make an impression on parents (and kids) and I am grateful that you are one of them.

For those of you who don’t know of Coach Torres, that’s him up in the picture (I took) during his 1st football season as head coach at Blessed Sacrament Catholic school. He is a dedicated family man, coach and teacher. You can see more of him by clicking on this link for the videos I produced of the 2010 and 2009 sports seasons.

Thank you for letting me share and I’ll have a football schedule posted soon.

Beto

Go Apaches!

Of course, they haven’t shown it crash to see how durable this thing is like but c’mon, it’s an AirHog. My son had one and we crashed it numerous times.

Hawk Eye RC Chopper: Your $65 Personal Spy Drone

Now, I can practice on this little baby until I work my way up to this one…yeah right. But cool video shots.

Make: Online : DSLR equipped RC helicopter

Awesome video:

Beto