Tips - not the kind that you leave after a meal, but tips to help us in everyday life.

When I was reading NKHEA’s captions and read how his sister-in-law dropped her camera along the railroad tracks, I was wondering, what if someone found her camera? How would they be able to track down the owner to return the camera?

By looking at the pictures in the camera, assuming it was a digital camera, they might be able to figure out it was a passenger on a cruise ship.  And if they could identify which cruise ship, maybe they could call the cruise lines and see if anyone reported a missing camera.  But that’s quite a long shot with the many cruise ships and passengers.

Then I thought, wouldn’t it be a good idea to write your name and phone number on a sheet of paper, and take a picture of that sheet of paper.  That way, if the finder views the pictures, by seeing the picture of the sheet of paper with your name and phone number, they’d know how to contact you to make arrangements to have the camera returned.  But if you use multiple memory cards, you’d have to take that picture for each memory card because you don’t know which card will be in the camera if/when you lose it.  And if there is a way to protect that picture, then when you delete old pictures from your card, that one with your contact information would always be there since it would be protected from being deleted.  I use a camera backpack for my digital SLR camera and I have a card in the backpack with my name and phone number in case I ever lose it and someone tries to return it.  In fact, I have a card in all my backpacks.

Another tip I learned was to take pictures of valuables around your house.  Jewelery, collectibles, serial numbers on electronics and computers, etc.  Then if, God forbid, your house is ever burglarized, you’ll have proof of your items and it’ll help the police identify your goods should they be recovered.

It’s also be a good idea to store the memory card of your inventory “off-site”, for example at a relative’s house or a safe deposit box.  Then if there is ever a house fire, you’ll have pictures of these items to show your insurance company to help determine your replacement value.

Have I done either of these tips yet?  No.  But hopefully someday, before it’s too late, I will do these things.  It’s like backing up your computer.  You always say your going to do it - but put it off -  until it crashes hard and you lose your data.  I think I need one of those new Macs with the Time Machine feature that does the automatic back ups.

What are some tips that you can share with us MLCer’s to help make our lives safer and simplier?  Because we all know that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

In my Special Entry: 7/13 blog entry, hemajang suggested that my wife write a special blog entry to tell about the real Rodney.  Ask and ye shall receive - sometimes.  So here we go:

I am very proud of my husband, Rodney.  He has qualities that are thoroughly admirable. I remember thinking about it one morning a few years ago as I was sitting in traffic. (Haven’t you ever had ideas that struck you at the strangest times or places?)  He has the 6 C’s:  Charisma, Charm, Class, Compassion, and is Courteous and Conscientious.  He also has a sixth sense:  The sense of Humor.  These qualities have all come together and are evident in his blog, Midlife Crisis.

Through his blog, he has “met “so many wonderful people who have shared their thoughts, feelings, anecdotes, and witticisms.  I enjoy reading his and others’ blogs and feel like we kind of get to know each of you, and I thought you might like to know, as Hemajang suggested, a few things about the real Rodney.  So, here you go…

I remember he used to imitate an Ant.  He sucked his stomach in so it looked hollow and said, “Look, I’m an ant”.  He tried that last night, but the muffin was too big.

He always smells nice.  He currently has 34 different colognes in his drawer.  (Honest, I just counted!)  He can go for more than a month and not smell the same twice!

He loves shoes.  He gives Imelda competition.  He has more shoes than colognes.  Heck, he has more shoes than me!

His latest interest is kites.  Dual line sport kites, the kind people fly at Sandy Beach.  If anybody likes to fly kites, call Rod.  I think he has more kites than his colognes and shoes put together!

And finally, I have a fear of birds.  He has a fear of B-52 cockroaches.  He protects me, I protect him.  It’s this kind of yin and yang that has carried us through the past 23 years and will continue to keep us going for many more.  Paula.

So there you have it.  She is special, isn’t she?  And she’s all mine.
So, now that you know all about me, let the ribbing begin…

Oh yeah, one more thing.  Shauna asked to see our wedding picture.  Damn you, Shauna!  Remember, this picture was taken 23 years ago!  Okay, let the snorting begin too…

I wanted to take this Memorial day to honor our war veterans - specifically the Vietnam war veterans. I know that hemajang is one of them and I’m sure there are many other Midlifers who have served in Vietnam, and unfortunately, many who didn’t made it home.

For me, the Vietnam war was something I barely knew. I was too young to understand what war was and I had no interest at 8 years old in watching the 6:oo news. All I know is what I saw and heard in passing of Bob Seavey talking about the Vietnam war every night. I thought it was just a normal segment of the news - like sports and weather. I would see the pictures of the fighting in the jungles and then I’d see protesters holding signs and fighting with the police. But I was just looking at the pictures.

It wasn’t until after I saw the movie “Deer Hunter”. All of a sudden, those pictures I used to see on the 6:00 news made sense to me. That’s what I used to see every night! And then I thought about the soldiers - how much physical and mental torture they must’ve endured, and then to come back home and adjust to civilian life - like that phase in their life was nothing.

My God, these guys are heroes.

Back then, there was no such thing a kevlar helmets, body armor, or knee pads, laser guided bombs or stealth fighters. It was brute strength that got you through. And sheer determination that brought you home.

So on this Memorial day, I’d like to honor not only our fallen soldiers who paid the ultimate price, but the veterans who made it home, for you too have sacrificed in your own way.

Thank You.

[youtube t04wT6GQf6M]

[youtube p_bMhNI_TY8]

No cell phone - Bummer
No watch - Sucks
No heat - Crap
No answer on the intercom - Ouch
Ceiling hatch locked - Weak
Stuck from 11:00 Friday night until 4:00 Sunday afternoon - Wasted
No idea if it’s day or night - Clueless
No idea how long the naps are - Lost
No place to go bathroom. (He pee’d between the open doors and hollow tile wall - down the elevator shaft) - Painful
No food or water - Sick
One hefty lawsuit - Priceless

I think I’d go nuts if it were me. But looking on the bright side, at least his light stayed on.

As promised, more cosplay pictures in anticipation of Kawaii Kon which starts today. Pre-registration was last night and my daughter was there - in costume already!

Full Metal Alchemist

Nobodies from Organization XIII
from Kingdom Hearts video game

Sora from Kingdom Hearts

Naruto

Lavi from D.Gray-man

EGL (Elegant Gothic Lolita)

Messing with Nightvision setting

Final Fantasy XIII

Bleach

So if you’re around Ala Moana this weekend and see a bunch of people dressed up in costume, you can point them out and say “Look, cosplayers!”.

Have a anime weekend!