Happy on Dave Nelson

Allessandro the Protector in Icewind Dale

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 01:36:15 +0000

Allessandro the Protector

Our adventure began on May 8, 2024 and ended one year later on May 28, 2025. It was a great year of gaming once a week on Wednesday nights.

Allessandro, aka Alice is a Goliath from Bryn Shander, but he travelled to Waterdeep, Baldur’s Gate, and other places along the Sword Coast where his religious studies led him to becoming a Paladin of Helm with the ambition to be a member of the order of the Vigilant Eyes of the God.

Inline Skating

Sat, 27 Aug 2022 16:43:01 +0000

I made it to the 5.3 mile marker on the Silver Comet trail for a total skate of just over 11 miles.I am having so much fun skating. I wrote an initial post that talked about my history with skating, all the different type of skating I have done and the skates I have owned, but wow was it a long-winded mess. So here is the short version.

Roland Fantom 8

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 12:00:27 +0000

I wanted to document why I have decided to buy the Roland Fantom 8 for my current needs in learning to play the piano and having fun making goofy music for myself, so here it is. Keep in mind that I have not received it yet and don’t expect to have it until late July.

The main reason is the keybed, the “88 Key (PHA-50 Wood and Plastic Hybrid Structure, with Escapement and Ebony/Ivory Feel, channel aftertouch)” feels amazing to me. When I compare it to the other keyboards, I have had access to the downward force required is medium heavy, the bottoming out is a good thunk without being mushy or hard, and the return is fast enough to almost stick to my finger.

Another Keyboard, Roland Fantom 08

Wed, 25 May 2022 12:00:24 +0000

In March Roland announced the Fantom 0, typically pronounced Fantom “Oh”, a lighter and less expensive version of their flagship Fantom series of synthesizer workstations. I had been very happily playing the Novation SL when I saw a video with the Fantom 0 and wow, it blew me away. Up until this point I had never heard of the Roland Fantom or Fantom 0. I didn’t know that Roland made workstation keyboards with Ableton integration.

A Different Kind of Keyboard

Sat, 21 May 2022 13:00:27 +0000

Late last year I decided I wanted to learn how to play the Piano and to create some music. After a reasonable amount of research, a lot of research, I picked Ableton as my Digital Audio Workflow (DAW) and that led me to buying a Novation Launchkey 61 MK3.

Novation Launchkey 61 MK3

The main features that lead me to buying the Launchkey began with its Ableton Live integration. The quality of the really surprised me for a $250 keyboard, the keys are very “synthy” meaning plasticy and springy. But for the price, 61 keys, 16 pads, 9 faders, 8 knobs, transpose controls, a good sequencer, and arpeggiator it is pretty amazing.

2021 iPad Pro

Sun, 27 Feb 2022 13:52:24 +0000

I found myself using my 1st generation iPod Pro 12.9” from 2015 and 5th generation iPad from 2017 a lot and decided it was about time to upgrade.

I am using the iPad for:

Read books from Amazon using the Kindle app and technical books with the O’Reilly app
Write notes and manage tasks with Obsidian
Read comic books with ComiXology, the Marvel app, YAC Reader, and Smart Comics
Web Surfing with Chrome
Email with Fastmail
Reading Reddit
Watching videos using various streaming services
A game here and there, primarily Pinball, Chess, Solitaire, and Soduku
And other Internet “stuff”

None of these require a “Pro” iPad, but I have learned from my experience with the 1st generation iPad Pro that in an Apple product, a Pro device will be useful longer than the non-Pro version. We go through an iPad about every 2 years with our son, he doesn’t abuse them, but they get used 18 hours or so a day which really stresses out the battery causing it to begin to fail after about 2 years.

Privateer Tales by Jamie McFarlane

Sat, 25 Dec 2021 22:12:37 +0000

After reading Jamie McFarlane’s Junkyard Pirate series I went looking for more and found Rookie Privateer the first in his Privateer Tales series. Like the others, I read these on a Kindle Paperwhite.

I made it through the first 12 books in the series one after another during March, April, and May and stalled out on number 13. I plan on getting back into them later. Amazingly there are now 19 books in the series.

Ham Radio Morse Code Oscillators

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 23:00:02 +0000

My 4 Oscillators
In my efforts to learn and use Morse Code I bought a straight key and an iambic paddle. The straight key is an MFJ-553 https://mfjenterprises.com/products/mfj-553 , in my opinion it’s an inexpensive choice without being “junk”, I doubt I will ever use it on the air. The iambic paddle I chose is an HA8KF magnetic paddle, unlike the MFJ key this one is a work of art and will be the key I use the most until something different comes along.

Dice Throne

Mon, 13 Dec 2021 01:24:57 +0000

I discovered Dice Throne through their Marvel Kickstarter and after backing it decided to get the other Dice Throne games to go along with it.

The big pitch for Dice Throne and the mechanic that makes it a bit different from other games is that there are characters to play that are very simple and ones that are very complex with a nice mixture in between. Between Season One and Season Two there are 16 characters to choose from with a complexity rating between 1 and 6. But don’t be fooled, complexity does not translate to simple and hard to play, with some combinations of characters the simple characters are a lot harder to play well and win with than the more complex characters.

Junkyard Pirate Books by Jamie McFarlane

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 00:03:55 +0000

After finishing the Nikki and Bob Series by Jerry Boyd I dug around in the Kindle Unlimited store and found the Junkyard Pirate Books by Jamie McFarlane.

The 3 books in the Junkyard Pirate series have a lot of tropes from other books I have read, but they definitely tell a different story. I enjoyed reading them enough that once I finished them, I moved right on to the Privateer series also written by Jamie McFarlane.

Surface Mount Soldering Kits

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 22:26:13 +0000

Assemble and ready to go

In my previous post I wrote about the QRP-Labs QCX-mini amateur radio kit which only has through-the-hole components to be soldered by the enthusiast but had problems with some of the surface mounted op-amps and my desire to learn how to remove those surface mounted devices (SMD) and install new ones. To learn how to do that I bought a handful of kits to practice on.

Nikki and Bob Series by Jerry Boyd

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 00:20:15 +0000

After finishing all of the books Nathan Lowell has written so far I tried some books recommended by my Kindle, or more correctly “Advertised” on my Kindle, and what a total waste of time. I find it hard to describe just how BAD those books were. But then I found Bob’s Saucer Repair by Jerry Boyd.

There are currently 14 books in the series, I am on book 9 and reading through a book every other day or so. These stories are science-fiction light with lots of humor, a fast pace, not a lot of depth, and a ton of characters.

Nathan Lowell, Author

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 13:07:33 +0000

I have now read every novel available from Nathan Lowell and I am eagerly awaiting more.

Nathan Lowell’s superpower is being able to write about “normal” people in a way that draws me in. Most of his characters are everyday people living ordinary lives, right up until they are not. Their motivations and desires are easy to understand and usually uncomplicated. But his stories are not straight-forward. They have twists and turns that keep me guessing and wanting more.

The Wizard’s Butler by Nathan Lowell

Sun, 20 Dec 2020 13:00:47 +0000

My favorite Nathan Lowell book yet! This is the first Nathan Lowell book set in modern time but is a fantasy novel through and through.

It took me a little longer to read this one than the others as I savored every bit of it. It does follow some tropes that I have seen and read before, mainly the “muggle surrounded by magic but is ok with it” one but done in a way that I found very engaging.

Tanyth Fairport Adventures by Nathan Lowell

Thu, 17 Dec 2020 13:00:42 +0000

Another series by Nathan Lowell, but instead of Science Fiction, these are Fantasy. Tanyth Fairport is an old lady who has been traveling the last 20 years collecting information about herbalism from the old woman of Korlay.

We follow along with Tanyth for a couple of years as she grows into… well I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s pretty cool.

If you like fantasy that isn’t full of spell casting and dragons, then this series is for you.

Shaman’s Tales by Nathan Lowell

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 13:00:24 +0000

More fiction from Nathan Lowell set in the same universe as Trader’s Tales, Smuggler’s Tales, and Seeker’s Tales but this time we are dirtside on St. Cloud. We follow along with the Kruggs, Piranos, and a cast of others who are trying to find themselves and happiness.

I really appreciate the chance to explore the shamans of St. Cloud and these books really pay off. They span a much longer period of time than the Solar Clipper books and delve deeper into the emotions of many characters.

Seeker’s Tales by Nathan Lowell

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 15:49:10 +0000

I am continuing my reading of Nathan Lowell’s novels with the Seeker’s Tales series using Kindle Unlimited and a Kindle Paperwhite. In Seeker’s Tales we continue along with Ishmael Wang and Phillip Carstairs on a new adventure in a “new” ship.

I am still in awe of Nathan Lowell’s ability to weave a story and effortlessly create characters with so much depth and life in them. These books are really about the characters, the plot is secondary, in a good way.

QSL Cards

Fri, 04 Dec 2020 23:00:43 +0000

QSL Cards

I really enjoy receiving QSL cards. During the COVID event I am only sending cards to US addresses, but look forward to sending them around the world in the future.

Here are some of the cards I have received in the last few months.

Shack Power

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 23:00:10 +0000

Top of the Powerwerx MEGAbox

We have been having some power outages in our neighborhood recently so my plans for a portable power station have been moved up. I have done a lot of research and decided to spend the money now instead of spending more time trying to find something cheaper.

Battery

The battery I have chosen is a Bioenno Power Lithium Iron Phosphate 12V, 40Ah LFP Battery (PVC, BLF-1240A) and here is why:

Smuggler’s Tales by Nathan Lowell

Thu, 26 Nov 2020 01:00:21 +0000

Smuggler’s Tales is in the same universe as Trader’s Tales and includes some of the same characters but is told from Natalya and Zoya’s point of view. I read these on my Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Unlimited.

Smuggler’s Tales includes

Mr. Lowell, or should it be Dr. Lowell, has done such an amazing job building out this universe and by giving us 3 more books from a different perspective is wonderful. There is more action in these stories than in the Trader’s Tales, but the tone remains the same.

Trader’s Tales by Nathan Lowell

Sat, 21 Nov 2020 01:00:19 +0000

This is the first series of book that I read on my new Kindle Paperwhite. These books are available to purchase from Amazon as ebook, audiobook, and paperback versions. Instead of buying each book individually I subscribed to Kindle Unlimited to read them all.

Trader’s Tales includes the books

Quarter Share
Half Share
Full Share
Double Share
Captain’s Share
Owner’s Share

These books follow the life of Ismael Wang and his antics between the stars. I REALLY like these books; they are exactly what I was needing when I found them. They are not full of action, violence, fantasy, war, or death. They do not make up a sprawling space opera that spans centuries nor do they contain deep technical details about how people are able to live in space.

Kindle Paperwhite

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 01:00:49 +0000

![amazon kindle paperwhite book reader](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61eAq6gg-XL._AC_SL300_.jpg?ssl=1" style=“float:right;margin:0 0 15px 15px)

While studying for the Amateur Radio license exams I decided I wanted a new Kindle to read them on. Looking at the different versions of Kindle’s available I chose the Paperwhite for its price, size, backlighting, and water resistance. We have an original Kindle Keyboard and it still works, but it is larger and heavier than the Paperwhite, is not water resistant, does not have a backlight, does not have a touchscreen, and is awkward to hold. I was hesitant to buy a new Kindle as I had not been using the old one very often until I started studying for the license exams which is what got me to use the old one a lot.

Amateur Extra Ham Radio License

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 14:52:07 +0000

On October 13, 2020 I took the Amateur Extra ham radio license with the [Silver Comet Trail Amateur Radio Society](http://www.silvercometars.com/ noreferrer) and PASSED! All of the bandwidths are mine.

My First QRZ.com Award

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 14:57:18 +0000

Wahoo! I have received my first QRZ.com award for completing on-air contacts with 25 members of QRZ from around the world.

QRZ World Radio Friendship Award

Amazing Ham Radio Results

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 23:15:27 +0000

Here is a map of the contacts I have made so far, a couple were using RemoteHamRadio.com but the bulk were from my home using FT-8 over 20, 40, and 80 meters. I really blows me away that I have been able to reach so far with a bit of wire strung up in the trees.

W6NEL Ham Radio Contacts

Studying for the Amateur Extra Exam

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 21:00:39 +0000

I found myself floundering a bit after passing the General exam. I had been in “study” mode for a few weeks and not having anything to study left me feeling… odder than usual. So I decided to start studying for the Amateur Extra exam, why not?

So far I have read the ARRL Extra Class License Manual cover to cover. I found it much harder to read than the Technician or General manuals, not because the content is more complicated or detailed, but because the writing and editing are not up to the same quality as those other manuals. There are many errors and many passages that are written in ways that confused me.

Legendary Leagues

Thu, 20 Aug 2020 23:00:01 +0000

I have really gotten into Upper Deck’s Legendary Marvel card game, as previous posts have shown, and a big part of that are the challenges provided by Legendary Leagues.

Here is the description from their website:
“The Legendary League Series are unofficial leagues for competitive solo play of Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game and Legendary: Villains. It was started on BoardGameGeek.com with the Marvel Legendary base set by Jesse Olivier in 2013, DarthEd has run the hero league since season 2, and Travelsized has run the leagues that feature the Villains sets as well as the Starter Leagues. In each league, individuals will be competing against each other in solo play in multiple scoring categories in order to see who is the most Legendary!”

Legendary®: A Marvel Deck Building Game

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 01:00:54 +0000

Legendary Marvel Boxes

Legendary is a card game from Upper Deck that came out in 2015. I first got the Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game (not a Legendary game), then Legendary Encounters Firefly game which I liked a lot, Legendary Big Trouble in Little China, then the Legendary Buffy the Vampire Slayer game.

I am primarily a solo player of these games, but the first time I played the Buffy game was with my wife and some friends in a 4-player game. It took us a bit to understand the instructions, but it wasn’t too hard. That convinced me that I really wanted the original Legendary game, the Marvel version of the game.

Tex Yoda II Mechanical Keyboard with Trackpoint

Tue, 24 Apr 2018 19:30:00 +0000

My office desk with the Tex Yoda 2

I cannot say enough good things about the Tex Yoda 2. I am totally in love with it.

Price

Let’s start with how ridiculously expensive it is, actually let’s not and just say that it is more expensive than most would pay for a really nice keyboard and mouse. You can get an RGB Pok3r and a Logitech G502 for a lot less than the Yoda 2, and you probably should. But once I touched the Yoda 2 and did some typing on it I fell in love, and you can’t put a price on true love.

A Visit to Mechanical Keyboards dot com

Tue, 17 Apr 2018 13:00:58 +0000

The storefront for Mechanical Keyboards in Fairview Tennessee

After ordering the Pok3r from Mechanical Keyboards I realized that they were located just outside of Nashville Tennessee, like a 4-hour drive from me, so when I got the chance to take a day off I headed out.

Arriving at their storefront at 9:30 am on Monday morning I was greeted by Lee who spent a lot of time with me showing me a lot of different keyboards and answering my questions, and boy did I have a lot of questions.

Vortex POK3R Black Limited Edition RGB LED

Tue, 10 Apr 2018 19:00:17 +0000

After using the Cooler Master Ten-Key-Less (TKL) keyboards for a while, I decided to take it to the next level, and the POK3R really is something completely different. The Limited Edition RGB LED Black Pok3r keyboard is a great 60% keyboard with almost of all the features a mechanical keyboard enthusiast would want.

I didn’t really like the Cherry MX Blue or Brown switches very much. The clicky noise of the blues overwhelms my senses and makes me nervous, the clicky-ness does help hide the mushiness of the tactile bump. The tactile-ness of the browns feels very mushy to me, I would prefer the tactile bump to be really short and sharp. With all that in mind I wanted to go with a linear switch and see how that felt.

DragonCon 2016 Pictures

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 00:28:24 +0000

I had a great time at DragonCon this year, actually got to play Dungeons & Dragons Adventure League on 3 mornings in a row!

More pictures are over at my SmugMug site.

DragonCon 2014 Recap

Mon, 08 Sep 2014 13:16:31 +0000

We had a great time at DragonCon this year. The costumes were amazing, the photography staff did a great job capturing the event, and we actually got some sleep. Our son Eli stayed with the grandparents where he got to run wild and play with new toys.

My favorite costumes were How to Train Your Dragon, the Music Box Dolls from Chitty Bang Bang, and The Dreamer.

[![](https://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-GhZts9v/0/S/dave-nelson-20140831-213907-0560-S.jpg)](http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-w6CtMvx)



[![](https://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-Rp4Fdrh/0/S/dave-nelson-20140831-221323-0610-S.jpg)](http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-Rp4Fdrh)  





  Bobbie made a great costume from a lost episode of [Doctor Who named "The Celestial Toymaker"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celestial_Toymaker).



  [![](https://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-RwbJvgZ/0/S/dave-nelson-20140830-222916-0382-S.jpg)](http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-RwbJvgZ) 
  
  
    [![](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/944x531_b/p0122yzw.jpg)](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/galleries/p0122z2l) 
    
    
    
    
    
      My favorite panels were Colin Baker, [Ron Glass](http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-zPHCpsX), [Jeri Ryan](http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-zHs3Q82), [Terri Gilliam](http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-B5Kn4d4), [Evanna Lynch](http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-PhcGgxm), and [Sparkfun](http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-CqQCkVD).
    
    
    
      [![](https://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-hJQ4TB7/0/Th/dave-nelson-20140829-164028-0052-Th.jpg)](http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-zPHCpsX) 
      
      
        [![](https://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-zHs3Q82/0/Th/dave-nelson-20140830-122222-0234-Th.jpg)](http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-zHs3Q82)
      
      
      
        [![](https://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-B5Kn4d4/0/Th/dave-nelson-20140831-131623-0425-Th.jpg)](http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-B5Kn4d4)
      
      
      
        [![](https://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-PhcGgxm/0/Th/dave-nelson-20140831-110613-0405-Th.jpg)](http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-PhcGgxm)
      
      
      
        [![](https://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-CqQCkVD/0/Th/dave-nelson-20140831-121641-0414-Th.jpg)](http://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2014/i-CqQCkVD)

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Tue, 19 Aug 2014 13:00:45 +0000

I burnt myself out trying to learn to many JavaScript frameworks, build tools, unit testing, Debian eccentricities and BeagleBone Black programming so I decided to take a break and play a video game. Steam was having their summer sale and Skyrim happened to be a great deal. I bought “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Legendary Edition” and have been playing it for a couple weeks now.

Back in 2011 when The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released I remember reading and hearing from a lot of friends, acquaintances, and internet personalities who played it and talked about it for weeks on end. So my interest was peeked, but I didn’t have time or the desire to play it then.

Updating the Drobo

Fri, 25 Jul 2014 13:00:11 +0000

It is finally time to upgrade from a second generation Drobo to a Drobo 5N.

I bought my first Drobo in January of 2009 and it has been in constant use for the intervening 5 and a half years. I have only had 2 issues with it, the fan died about a year ago, and it now feels really slow.

When the fan died I went to my local Microcenter computer store and bought a whisper quiet 120mm fan. With a bit of Googling and some wire snipping followed by a bit of solder the Drobo has been much quieter and cooler ever since. In fact I can’t hear it over my home office noise at all.

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

Tue, 24 Sep 2013 04:00:50 +0000

I bought the 14 books of the Dresden Files from Audible.com and listened to them using the Audible iPhone app and my iPhone.

I ran out of books in my waiting list and decided it was time to re-listen to all of the Dresden Files books, one after the other as quickly as time would allow.

What a ride. Taking the series in like this was great, it was like having one extremely large book to listen to with no interruptions. Butcher has created a universe and characters that I will never forget.

Apple Pop-Up Museum and Vintage Computer Festival

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:52:28 +0000

Last weekend I attended the Vintage Computer Festival and Apple Pop-Up Museum at the empty CompUSA store off of Holcomb Bridge Road. It was nice to see someone doing something with one of these abandoned storefronts.

It was great fun seeing all of the old Apple, Commodore, Atari, and other computers and gaming consoles. It all made me very nostalgic, but not so much as I would trade in any of my current computers for any of them. It was really amazing what we were able to produce using those old machines.

A Lot Going On

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:00:03 +0000

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of activity.

Working my way backwards:

Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk and the pictures I took in Little Five Points (L5P)
Norcross 9th Graders had a great game against North Gwinnett. As an experiment I posted a lot more pictures of this game than I normally would. I left in a lot of slightly out of focus and poorly framed shots to give more context to the story the pictures tell.
Anime Weekend Atlanta was a lot of fun as usual, the Moonlit Forest Gala Ball and Costume Contest were great.
DragonCon was good, nothing really stood out for me this year. But Sylvester McCoy and John Rhys-Davies were a lot of fun.

A Hat Full of Sky, An Adventure of Tiffany Aching and the Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 05:01:58 +0000

Terry Pratchett is my favorite writer and Discworld is my favorite fictional universe. I find the Discworld novels to be incredibly fun reads and the Young Adult Tiffany Aching series is no exception. The main body of Discworld novels are targeted at adults while Tiffany Aching books are in the same universe they are targeted at YA readers and I believe they really hit the mark.

Eli Nelson

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:42:55 +0000

Baby Eli Myers Nelson was born at 9:12 this morning. He is 4.9 lbs and 18.75 inches.

ignite Atlanta at the Georgia Aquarium

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:08:12 +0000

The ignite event at the Georgia Aquarium was a great success. We learned about super babies, how to build a hackintosh, rapid brainstorming, and how to keep a happy septic tank among other things.

Eighteen were given 5 minutes to present there ideas using 15 slides that automatically forward every 15 seconds. It makes for quick presentations that can leave the presenter breathless.

I have been watching ignite presentations on the interwebs and really enjoy them. The opportunity to see an event in person was a real treat.

The Elect Lynette Fundraiser was a Blast

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:54:40 +0000

We had a great time at Lynnette Howard’s fundraiser this weekend. Javier Lopez spent a lot of time conversing with fans, answering questions, signing baseballs, and hanging out. It was such a beautiful day with a cool breeze and blue skies. Check out the photos.

Meet Javier Lopez and Lynette Howard this Saturday

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 00:59:42 +0000

This weekend in Norcross, come meet baseball great Javier Lopez and candidate for Gwinnett County Commissioner District 2 Lynette Howard for a fundraiser cookout.

Everyone is welcome to come out and have a great time, there will be food, a silent auction, and a lot of family fun.

When: Saturday April 17th, 11:00am – 2:00pm
Where: The horse farm at
4685 S Berkeley Lake Rd, Norcross, GA 30071
How Much: $10 per person

Baby Picture

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:55:35 +0000

Here is a picture of our baby boy who is growing bigger every day. The launch date is August 22nd.

We Are Having A Baby Boy!

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:40:34 +0000

We had a doctors apppointment this morning and have been told that we are having a baby boy. Pictures and such coming soon!

DragonCon 2009 pictures are up!

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:35:51 +0000

The Gallery is at https://photo.davenelson.com/DragonCon/DragonCon-2009/.
Here are some quick highlights

Here are some cool searches

Software for Mac OS X

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:08:41 +0000

Over the next couple of weeks I am going to write about the software I have found for the Mac OS to make my transition from the world of Windows complete.

I am finally comfortable spending all of my computer time inside of the Mac OS. I still have WindowsXP in Bootcamp for playing games on Steam, and a couple virtual machines using VMWare and Parallels for the occasional Microsoft Outlook need or using Garmin Mapsource to upload maps and waypoints to my GPS, but I rarely miss Windows or proprietary applications that only run on Windows.

Painting with Light Workshop

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:03:32 +0000

On Thursday April 9th I participated in a “Painting with Light Workshop” at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, GA. Judith Pishnery of Pisconeri Studio & Workshops brought us together for a night of photography and learning.

We began the night around 7pm filling out releases and donning nametags on the porch of the visitor’s center. After an introduction by Judith and some words from the cemetery staff we were left to wander the cemetery to get acquainted and take some pre-nightfall photos.

First Ride of the Season

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 03:42:59 +0000

Awhile back I got a flat rear tire caused by a damaged wheel, I must have hit a pot hole a lot harder than I remember, and it took me a couple months to get the wheel repaired and a new tire. Last weekend I took the bike out for a couple shake down runs checking the torque of the bolts keeping the tire on and brake caliper in place. After a two hour ride in the bitter cold I got home and gave the bike a good once over.

Updates to Previous Posts

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:30:24 +0000

Adobe Lightroom

I first wrote about using Lightroom on September 7th, 2008 after using it to process photos for DragonCon. Since then I have read Scott Kelby’s book “The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers” and used Lightroom to process all of my images. I am still amazed at how fast I am able to process photos that of a more consistent and higher quality than ever before.

I recently shot a youth basketball game where I took around 300 pictures and using Lightroom culled that down to 97 good shots with meta-data, color correction, noise reduction, rotating and cropping all in under 2 hours.

Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:05:13 +0000

If you love motorcycles you will love this museum.

My wife was kind enough last year to give me a gift certificate for a weekend at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. I finally got to cash in on that gift this January and spent a Saturday touring the museum. I have always loved motorcycles, a Honda Shadow, while in the Navy and now ride my BMW R850R every chance I get.

Getting Organized

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:51:02 +0000

I have recently received a promotion that has left me feeling disorganized and a bit overwhelmed. I spent time with my manager discussing how I could better prioritize my time and how to get and keep a clearer understanding of what my team is working on. I noticed that my manager uses a Franklin Covey Planner and it appears to work well for her so I have decided to follow in her footsteps and do the same.

Feeling Drooby

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 01:23:05 +0000

I believe I first heard about the Drobo on This Week in Tech (TWiT) with Leo Laporte, but it may have been on This Week in Photography (TWiP) which is a podcast with members who are also on TWiT, but it is the photographers on TWiP that really convinced me that the Drobo is worth its price.

I have always belived in making regular backups, for years I used CDs and then DVDs to backup my photos, documents, music, and all work related files. I even went as far as making three sets of discs, 1 for the office, one at home, and one at my parents house. My parents thought it was funny that I was giving them stacks of 20 or more DVDs every couple months.

My Mac Experience So Far

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:08:16 +0000

In the mid 90’s I had a Mac, a Performa 600, and used System 7.5. I worked at a couple different pre-press printing jobs where the primary computers used were Mac’s. This is where I learned Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark, and a lot of little utility applications. But by 2000 I had moved on to Windows 95, 98, 98 SE, and finally Windows XP SP3.

Back in the day I did not expect much from my computers, they were pretty process specific and even though they did many different tasks, their main purpose was either printing or the creation of multimedia. But as time goes by I have begun to demand a lot from my computers and the software that runs on them. My computers get used for everything from hard-core gaming to editing 200-megabyte images, managing a music collection with tens of thousands of files to instant messaging, from building dynamic web sites to hosting multiple virtual machines. I have no less than 100 different third-party applications installed on any computer I use regardless of operating system or the computer’s main purpose.

SmugMug Sponsoring Vincent Laforet’s Next Big Project

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 18:04:59 +0000

I have been using SmugMug to host and sell my photography and seeing their participation in the photography community is one of the reasons I continue to use them.

Vincent was one of the first people chosen to test and stretch the limits of the Canon EOS 5D Mk III which he did wonderfully with “Reverie.” SmugMug hosts the video of “The Making of Reverie” along with other content from Vincent, here is his SmugMug home page.

2008 Wings over Marietta Open House & Airshow

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 12:59:48 +0000

Had a great time at the 2008 Wings over Marietta Open House & Airshow. This was my first opportunity to see the USAF Thunderbirds. It was a beautiful day with a wide variety of aircraft to see.

Photos of the 2008 Wings over Marietta Open House & Airshow Gallery or you can view the photos as a slideshow.

Red Sox vs. Dodgers

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:37:46 +0000

Today was a beautiful day for baseball. I had a great time photgraphing the Red Sox and Dodgers playing a great game at Pinckneyville Park. Photographs of the game are now available.

Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:01:21 +0000

On Saturday August 23rd I spent a beautiful night participating in Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk in Atlanta Georgia around the Buckhead – Lenox area. At 7:00 pm about 45 photographers gathers in front of the Terminus 100 building at the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont eager to attack the neighborhood.

I did not really feel inspired until I got to Dante’s Down the Hatch where I stepped inside and got a couple pics of the crocodiles inside. The energy inside the restaurant and seeing the reptiles fired me up to get out there and take a lot of photos.

DragonCon is Coming

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:23:36 +0000

It is almost that time again, DragonCon is less than a month away. I am a staff photographer for DragonCon and have 7 years of DragonCon photographs on my web site.

This year I am most excited about meeting Hayden Panettiere, James Kyson Lee, and George Takei of Heroes, Sean Astin and Brad Dourif from The Lord of the Rings, Gareth David Lloyd and James Marsters from Torchwood, Beau Bridges from the upcoming Max Payne movie, Joel Hodgson the creator and host of MST3K, James Callis, Aaron Douglas, Michael Hogan, Tahmoh Penikett, and Katee Sackhoff, from Battlestar Galactica, Jewel Staite and Morena Baccarin from Firefly and Serenity, Randal L. Schwartz computer geek extroidinaire, and my favorite science fiction author Mike Resnick.

Financial Peace

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:21:22 +0000

About four years ago I found myself deep in debt to the point that I spent many nights laying awake worrying about it. I was making enough money to pay the bills that came in the mail every month, but there wasn’t a lot of money left over for having fun. I was fed up and sick of it all.

I sat down with my computer and worked out a written budget, I included everything I spent money on every month, all of the bills, food, gas, rent, etc… Putting everything in a spreadsheet where I could see exactly where the money was going made it much easier for me to funnel more money to my largest bills. After two years I had made a very nice dent in the mountain of debt.

Raptors T-Ball

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:47:04 +0000

It was a great game and want to thank Sam for the opportunity to come out and take photos. Head on over to SmugMug and check out the pictures of Raptors T-Ball action.

When taking pictures of children playing sports I prefer to be at eye level or lower to the players, with the Raptors I was able to sit on the field and get the type of shots that I really like. I am making a lot more pictures available than I normally would since I probably won’t have a chance to shoot another game this season.