This Ain't Andy Griffith's Mayberry

Last month Erin and I stumbled upon Mayberry as part of our unofficial quest to try new restaurants; a great and fun discovery. Located across the downtown library on Vine Street. Be sure not to blink while you walk by else you might miss it.

They have a menu published weekly based in part on what's in season coupled with the chef's whimsy. I have to respect the work and creativity that goes into coming up with so many great creations. They weren't all home runs, but had enough hits that will keep us coming back.

We were fortunate enough to sit near the window, sitting side by side facing the street. At first I was concerned about being on display while I ate. Not to mention feeling a bit awkward talking to the waiter over my shoulder. But the window is the prime spot to people watch; dinner and a show. I had forgotten what a diverse cast of characters made their way through that part of downtown. People from all walks of life made their way past our window that evening.

The service in any restaurant can make or break the customer experience. We were in luck: our waiter was fun and smart . He kept busy running around the restaurant but still paid good attention to everyone. Not to mention being patient in answering our questions about the dishes and making recommendations.

The dinner itself was very interesting. The menu consisted of six "small plates," three side dishesand three desserts. Upon accepting the waiter's recommendation, we pretty much ordered the entire menu. We split all six plates and two of the sides. Instead of diving into one entrée, we were able to enjoy a sampling of every dish.

In all, the dishes were creative, tasty and satisfying. Despite what was implied with the lighter fare and small plates we left stuffed and happy. Ordering the menu was kind of like buying a good album from a seasoned band. There's a few timeless tracks you'll enjoy listening to over and over again. A few tracks that are hip today and make you look back in a few years and laugh. And one or two filler tracks to round things out. Since we sampled a lot and the menu changes so frequently, I'll highlight a few of the big winners.

Tater-tots are my personal favorite. They remind me of my childhood and simpler times. Or perhaps it's difficult to hate crispy, fried potato goodness. No matter what, Mayberry's take on the classic side dish was fantastic. The tater-tot casserole serving was scooped out and packed into a small cup. Digging into the bowl was like digging for buried treasure; as we unearthed the extra crispy (and extra tasty) edge pieces and perfectly browned crust buried within. The perfect compliment to such crispy potato greatness? How about cheesy awesomeness in the form of mac-n-cheese?

Their mac-n-cheese was another great take on the classic dish. Smooth and creamy, it had a distinct but not over powering cheese flavor. Some homemade mac-n-cheeses are so strong, it's like chewing on a block of extra sharp cheddar. Not at Mayberry. Their mac-n-cheese was still rich and flavorful without knocking you out of your chair.

Those two were great on their own. But even better? Mixing the mac n cheese and tater-tot casserole together to form the perfect balance of crispy, creamy, heart-stopping yum.

Keeping with the cheese theme, we had a plate of artisan cheeses served with toasted baguette slices and a side of pear butter. I'm glad they don't sell the pear butter by the jar or else I would never stop eating. Personally, I was hesitant with the pear butter, thinking it was some cheap filler for the cheese plate; itself a filler for the menu. It turns out that the pear butter stole the show. Smooth, light and sweet, it tasted more like a caramelized, roasted pear instead of the tartness associated with some raw pears. Spread on the lightly toasted baguette slices created a great compliment between the crunch, salty bread, and the sweet and smooth pear butter. I'm anxious to go back just to see if they're serving the pear butter.

My last item to mention is the calamari. Calamari isn't for everyone and it's not easy to prepare. Even with good seasoning and sauces, poorly prepared calamari will leave you thinking you're chewing a mouth full of rubber bands. Fortunately, I love good calamari and Mayberry made the best I've ever had. It was a wonderful departure from the deep fried calamari with a side of marinara which you'll find in most restaurants. The chef ditched the breading and kept the chewiness factor to a minimum. What really made the dish unique is how it was served mixed with chipotle pepper, black bean and creamed corn. More of a salsa consistency that required proper utensils to deliver the sauce's flavor. And flavor it had. I was expecting the pepper to bring some heat to the dish. Instead, it was very well balanced and very light all over. I'm hoping this dish will return to their menu, or that they publish a cook book so I can have the recipe.

They don't serve alcohol but you're welcome to bring your own. And get there early. As we were leaving, people were lined up outside waiting for tables. Sooner or later I know we'll be there vying for the same window seat.

Compact Camera (AKA: The Party Camera) Buying Guide

I'm an avid photographer; a hobbyist with a love for the lens. As such, I'm often asked by friends and family, "What camera should I buy?" I prefer a DSLR but it's not always practical (or wise) to carry in all scenarios. Besides, a DSLR is overkill for most people in terms of size and price. Not to mention ease of use. When life intervenes a good compact, pocket-sized camera is a must.

The topic of what camera to buy came up again recently while out having dinner and drinks with some friends. In particular taking good pictures in low-light conditions; indoors at home, bars or restaurants. So, to answer the question, "what kind of (party) camera should I buy?" I wrote up some guidelines I would look for in a compact camera to take pictures in low-light.

Price
The $50 camera off the shelf from Target probably isn't a bad camera. I believe they make great first cameras. I've even bought a few as gifts. And for most people that's all you'll need. But if you're reading this article then you're not most people. Instead, be prepared to spend around $250 for a good compact camera.

Size
Yes, size does matter. How much is up to you. An extra 1/4 to 1/2 inch will make a big difference if you're like me and carry a camera, phone, wallet and keys (and maybe some gum) in your two front pockets. This is where seeing a camera in person before buying may be the deciding factor.

Manual Settings, Including Exposure
Having manual control over you camera is a good indicator you're buying a decent camera even if you never use those manual settings. Being able to control the exposure will help in low and bright light situations. I generally look for +/-2 on the exposure. Increase the exposure in low-light situations (restaurants, etc). Decrease it when ample light is available (like the beach at noon).

Hi ISO Settings
ISO is the modern day equivalent of film speed from the 35mm days. What does this mean? The higher the ISO number, the better it will do in low light. The lower the ISO the better it will do in bright light. Look for either a "High" setting or preferably numbers. 200 - 400 are great for outdoors in the sun. 800+ for low light.

Fewer Megapixels
Yes, the almighty megapixel is marketing hype. When it comes to compact cameras with very small lenses extra megapixels may create worse photos. Having more megapixels may also slow down your camera creating the awful blurred faces. All things being equal I'd take 5MP over 8 (or 10 or 12 or 16) any day.

Optical Zoom
Digital zoom is just in-camera cropping. With a digital zoom, the camera takes the picture, cuts away at the edges and blows up what's left. All the while degrading the quality of the original picture. There's an old photograher's saying: "Your feet make the best zoom lens you can find."

Waterproof, Weather-Proof and Shock Resistant
Some manufactures have been coming out with waterproof, weather-proof and/or shock resistant cameras. It's a niche market geared towards the outdoor adventurous types. As such, they're probably better suited to well-lite, outdoor photos. I haven't taken pictures with any of the new ones myself but it's always worth looking into for the sake of durability.

My first digital camera was a Kodak DC5000 which was weather-proofed with a 6-ft drop rating. (Meaning I could drop it from 6ft and have nothing happen to the camera). It was big and bulky but took great pictures all while being able to withstand a beating. It had drinks spilled on it. I took it dogsledding and fell on it a few times in the snow. I've even taken it poolside for some great beach and outdoor photos. I had no fears letting my little nieces and nephew run around family parties taking pictures with it. After 11 years it's still in use and taking great photos.

SD Cards
Pick a camera that stores its pictures on an SD card. There are a lot of competing formats these days but the most popular tends to be the Secure Digital (SD) card. They're cheap and easy to find. I've seen them for sale at Walgreens and various convenience stores. SD card readers are even being build into more and more computers nowadays. Not so with other formats.

Good Brands
Cannon and Panasonic consistently show up on the lists of good performing compact camera's. It's a side topic with all DSLR owners cause we don't want to carry our full gear all the time. When I bought mine (Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS Elph) the Cannon Powershot was that camera for most photographers, even those in the Nikon camp. (Yes, I shoot with a Nikon DSLR).

Now What?
I know what you're thinking: "Great, you listed out a bunch of specs that I can't find listed anywhere." You're right. Most manufacturers don't list these specs on their promotional material. I'll have to answer why I think that is in a different article. Here's what you can do: Find a couple cameras you like in your price range then pull up their user manual online to see what, of the above options, they support. Every major manufacturer will have the user manual online in their support section. You may need to dig a little but it's worth it. Nothing more frustrating then a new camera that takes crappy pictures.

I'd also look around online for photos taken with the same camera. A lot of people who post to Flicker have the camera make and model searchable. Look for photo's taken in the same scenario's you'll be in.

Read camera reviews (not just the press release posted as a review). Read user comments on Amazon and other sites where people purchased the camera. DPReview is one of my favorite photography equipment review sites who also have sample pictures taken under a variety of scenarios. The navigation is terrible, but the reviews and sample photo's are excellent. The downside is they don't review many compact cameras.

Additional Thoughts

DSLR's, super zooms and micro four thirds are out of the running for this article due to the expense and size. They are great and far better at taking low-light photos, but the topic of this article focused on compact, pocket-sized cameras. Plus, I don't know about you, but I don't want a $500+ camera ruined when someone spills a drink on the table.

Yes, there are those who will argue that a good camera phone is all you really need. Especially now that more and more phones are equipped with a flash. Personally, I'm not convinced that a camera phone is a good replacement for a dedicated camera. It's great in a pinch, but not what I would choose to capture lasting memories.

There you have it: Dave's guide to buying a good party camera. Good luck in your quest.

Kodak Pulse Digital Photo Frame Reviewed by Family Tech Support

Digital picture frames have been on the market for years and come down considerably in price. Despite it being a one trick pony no one's really gotten it right over all these years. Kodak finally stepped in with the Pulse and hit a home run: Easy to set up and I can load pictures and administer all the settings online.

In all it's a little bit more expensive than some of it's peers. If you're not planning on using the remote features then I wouldn't spend the extra money. But if you're the one saddled with tech support for your family the Kodak Pulse is worth it's weight in gold.

---

Pro's:

• Good picture quality.
• Respectable size.
• Add pictures remotely via email, Facebook.com or KodakGallery.com.
• Remote administration of all the settings.
• Easy to get online.
• Intuitive touch screen interface.
• Supports friends albumns from KodakGallery.com
• My parents don't have to do a thing.

Con's:

• Error message during setup was vague.
• Would have liked to see a more traditional frame style or interchangeable frames.
• On screen keyboard was alphabetical instead of QWERTY; awkward.
• Doesn't support Event Albums from KodakGallery.com.
• No other 3rd party integration (Flicker, Picasa, SmugMug, etc).
• Touch screen is a magnet for little, dirty fingers.

---

My siblings and I have been debating getting a digital photo frame for my parents for some time. I kept vetoing the idea because I hated the thought of another piece of tech I'd have to "take a look at" next time I'm over for a visit. As the family's resident tech support, Kodak's Pulse was worth the wait.

My mom was excited when she opened her Mother's Day gift: a 7 inch Kodak Pulse digital picture frame. Maybe it was the idea of all those pictures on display? Or maybe she thought it was an iPad? At some point the excitement turned to dread as she realized she'd have to somehow get pictures onto this thing. Or, like many of her friends, years later she'd only have the first set of pictures we loaded on the device.

Kodak got it right with the Pulse. Set up was easy (with one exception below). Adding photos to it is a breeze. Changing the settings is a snap. And my most favorite feature: I can do it all remotely from my house.

The initial setup asks if it's for you or is a gift. If setting it up as a gift you're given the option of activating it and designating an administrator. The Pulse connects directly to the internet over a local wifi connection. It's self contained so no software to load on any computer. Although you'll have to register your device and set up an account on KodakPulse.com [Link] to use the remote features.

I did run into one snag during setup: it (apparently) connected to the internet fine but was unable to connect to the Pulse service. The error message was vague and it took me a long time to find the fix. You need to update the firmware before connecting to the Pulse service; annoying that it didn't connect out of the box. Figuring this out and resolving the problem was by far the longest part of the setup. Once over that hump the rest was a breeze.

It's worth registering on the Pulse website even if you're the owner. A few additional features and settings were available online that I couldn't find in the frame's settings. For example, the energy saving feature of scheduling the frame to automatically turn on and off.

The Kodak Pulse website is also where you configure albums from KodakGallery.com to display on the frame. Instead of hoping back and forth between KodakGallery.com (where I keep a lot of albums I share with the family) and KodakPulse.com I simply created a single, album dedicated to the frame on KodakGallery.com. I update this with individual photos as events occur; opting for the "best of" from each event.

In all my mom and dad loved the gift. The picture quality is great and they can get new pictures sent to them without the hassle of the computer or checking email. And I know I love that I can "fix" most problems that may arise over the phone. Not to mention being able to load new pictures on the device from my house is the biggest bonus of all.

The Kodak Pulse is one piece of tech I was excited to give as a gift.

The Bistro Review: Steak and Salad Edition

We like to think of The Bistro as our own romantic getaway; at least for a couple hours. The Bistro continues to please and our last trip was no exception.

---

Food: Simple, creative and flavorful.

Service: Friendly, helpful and personable.

Atmosphere: Funky and fun, but not immature.

Price: Not cheap, but a good value.

Kid-friendly: Not geared towards kids.

---

Food

The Bistro has a lot going for it, but it's the food that keeps bringing us back. The simple elegance of the menu matches perfectly with the fare. We started with drinks of a micro-brew and a vodka tonic. The blond beer was good but too hoppy for my tastes. Glad I stuck with the spirits.

Erin led with the French Onion and I a duck, egg-drop soup. I could have gone without the egg drop. The smokey flavor of the duck and the mild egg drop were too unbalanced and left a bit of an after taste. The French Onion was fantastic. I love French Onion soup and the The Bistro's is one of the best in town. The cheese along the bowl was crispy while the rest was perfectly melted. And it's not overwhelmingly salty like most restaurants.

The New York strip was superb. I'm a bit of a steak snob but this is one of the rare cases where I felt humbled. A light, delicious crust on top a perfectly seasoned steak. Aside from being a steak snob I'm a bit of a purest who thinks adding A1 is a sin. That being said you should order the strip just for the aioli sauce. Adding the aioli to each cut felt more like buttering bread with each bite melting in my mouth. The two textures and flavors of the rare, seasoned steak combined with the creamy aioli sauce was perfection. Everything came together to really highlight the great steak flavor and texture.

Erin ordered the salad as an entree despite it being listed as an appetizer. Light, and refreshing yet surprisingly filling it consisted of a mix of apples, endive and cheese mixed in a light, summery dressing and topped with candied walnuts. The salad became the muse for my weekend culinary experiments. Sadly, mine didn't come close.

Desert. Mmmm.... desert. I don't normally have much of a sweet tooth but a rice crispy square melted atop a brownie, wrapped in chocolaty goodness and baked thoroughly with yumminess kept me coming back for "just one more bite." We split the chocolate brownie so big and rich that two of attacked it and we still took some home. We were both expecting the brownie to be warm since it was served with a small scoop of ice cream. Instead it was room temperature and surprisingly dense. It was work to get the fork through all the layers of delectable goodness but well worth the effort. It felt justified to get a little exercise with my dessert.

Service

The Bistro's always a good time and the staff and service helps complete the experience. Always friendly and helpful and no pressure to eat and leave. (We spend more time socializing than eating). When we asked for recommendations our waiter offered his top choices based on how hungry we were. I thought that was ingenious and way more helpful in narrowing down my choices. In all the staff were fun and engaging while still maintaining a slightly refined atmosphere.

Once again The Bistro is worth the trip downtown and always a great experience. I look forward to our next occasion.

Flying Pigs, a Tree House and Lots of Paws, All Topped with Whipped Cream

Who'd have thought that waking up early on a Saturday to take my girls to the Flying Pig race would have gone on to include hanging out in a tree house, an afternoon at the dog park and a trip to Putz's Creamy Whip?

The Flying Pig

Saturday began like any other race day except this being Erin and Alycia's first race together. Go team Double Rainbow! Woke up early. Packed up my camera equipment, dogs, post-race water & gear and drove the girls downtown on the first nice Saturday in months.

We parked in a garage and our old dog, Lucy, had to navigate the stairs. I think her eyes gave her more problems then her legs. After all, she can scale a fence faster then I could but she stumbled down the stairs about as gracefully as a giraffe through a tire obstacle course. Our other dog, Roxy, had no trouble with stairs and was, like always, super excited.

The five of us made our way towards the starting line of the Flying Pig. I stopped early with the dogs, wished them luck then sat to wait for the start. Erin and Alycia were the last two to cross the starting line after taking a quick moment to pose for a picture.

The three of us made camp on a street corner while all the runners trotted by. Between the other spectators and runners it's always a good time people watching. It's easy to make friends having the dogs with me as people of all ages came by to pet them. I was able to snap a quick picture as the girls ran by then I headed to the finish line to stake out a good spot. Luckily it was the last race of the day so the bridge overlooking the finish line was clearing out. I was able to grab a picture of the two of them finishing their first mother-daughter race.

Walking back to the car Alycia had the brilliant idea of wanting to grab lunch and eat in a park. I realized that (all things being relative) Mt Airy forest was nearby with a huge dog park. So, we hopped in the truck and headed west. We picked up Subway and drove to the forest to eat lunch. My aunt was on her way to meet us at the dog park, but had to stop and pick up my niece and nephew and their dog.

Tree House

After lunch we stopped at the tree house in Mt Airy forest to kill some time. I hadn't been to the forest in years and had only heard of the tree house. This was new to Erin and Alyci and none of us had any idea what to expect. It was a treat and a great place to hang out. The most interesting was the wooden, carved bench inside looking more like drift wood that accidentally morphed into a bench. Anxious to get to the dog park we headed out.

Dog Park in Mt Airy Forest

The five of us arrived at the same time as my aunt and her crew. The dog park was old hat for them but I hadn't been in years. And, like the rest of the forest trip, Erin and Alycia's first time. The first warm, dry Saturday in a long time brought everyone out to the park. Dogs running amok was great to see. Even our Lucy was prancing around and playing for a while. Roxy didn't know what to do. She'd run ahead, then stop and come back to make sure we were still there. That was the first time I'd seen her unleashed in an unfamiliar area with so much room to run. I think it may have freaked her out a little. Or it was her natural herding instinct wanting to make sure the group stayed together.

Ellie, the young pup of the family and the latest edition to my sister's family, was fun to watch tearing around the park. She was either chasing other dogs nonstop or jumping into the water buckets. Yes, there were a few buckets just big enough for her to squeeze into. Her whole body drenched she'd follow up with the standard dog shake flinging water everywhere.

Aside from Ellie, it was great watching the kids interact with all the dogs. I even spotted a few smiles on my older niece; apparently dogs are "cool." The three of them had great fun chasing the dogs and trying to get them to run the obstacle course. It was good exercise for the kids to run up and down the ramp. Unfortunately, Lucy was the only one interested in the ramp and that was just for the shade. Ellie made it up and down the ramp a few times, but it didn't give chase, so off she went.

Unfortunately for Ellie our dogs were growing tired after a couple hours in the park and were starting to get annoyed by the other dogs. Not wanting to create an intra-city incident (they are East side dogs and all) we packed up and headed out. Instead of cutting the day short, we decided to make one last stop: Putz's Creamy Whip.

Putz's Creamy Whip

Putz's is a West side staple in Cincinnati. When I was growing up my neighbor would load up all the neighborhood kids in the back of his pickup truck and drive us down to Putz's. Later, Gold Top opened closer to home which made a trip to Putz's even that much more special. It was a welcome bit of nostalgia having all the kids and dogs eating ice cream in the back of my (safely parked) truck. I'm glad to know that I could carry on that tradition to the next generation. Hopefully they'll look back one day with the same fond memories.

My Social Media Sabbatical

Those of you who've been following me online may have noticed my flurry of posts have dropped off for a couple months or so. No, I'm fine. But thanks for asking.

In part, the holidays played their role in terms of extra quality time with the family (which is super awesome) and preparing for said holidays. Throw in a few side projects that needed completion as well. All of which spelled trouble for keeping up my online presence. But that's not all.

The Real Reason For My Social Media Absence?

As my friend Tom would say, "I've been ramping up for the roll out." I've started work on a few of my own sites with a goal to have more up by the end of the year. So far I'm off to a solid start with my first four live. (Or at least in beta).

• WhereDidIMeetDave.com
• DaveJansen.net
• TechForSmallBusinessOwners.com
• DaveJansenPhotography.com

WhereDidIMeetDave.com

Quick access to all things Dave. Think of it less as a website and more of a modern business card. It's primary focus is an easy way to get in contact with me and to find me online.

TechForSmallBusinessOwners.com

I grew up with an entrepreneurial spirit in a family that always had small businesses, either on the side or as their primary income. I've also noticed most websites don't address the IT needs and unique mindset of the small business owner and entrepreneur. Even when they do address a need, it's rarely presented from the entrepreneur's perspective. This is a void I hope to slowly fill.

DaveJansen.net

My personal blog for anything that doesn't really fit anyplace else. I'm hoping to eventually have a dedicated site as a portfolio piece and split off my blog into its own section. But in the mean time this is what you get.

DaveJansenPhotography.com

This is my labor of love. I've always had an artistic streak and my medium of choice over the years has been photography. I had a considerable portfolio started on KodakGallery.com, but their change in service had me looking for new hosting. Rather then risk being burned by another third party I decided to utilize my web development savvy to launch my own.

What's Next?

Hopefully more of the same. I hope to keep the sites updated regularly and more posts on the social media front. For better or worse, here goes nothin'.

Bacon Candle - The Bacandle

I have to give credit where credit's due. I got the idea off Digg.com for the homemade bacon candle. In order to take it one step further I made my own. Only this time mixed with traditional candle wax in order to make a true bacon scented candle.

Why would you make a bacon candle? Why would you not make a bacon candle? Actually, I needed a gift for an upcoming birthdays party and figured, "What would make a more manly present?" Lots of things, actually. Instead, my friends each get a bacon candle. (For pictures of the process, see below).

A quick trip to Michael's craft store where I was directed to the candle aisle. Who knew? I flipped through a few books they had for sale on candle making and surprisingly didn't find directions for animal fat candles. Not having any idea what I was doing I purchased what I thought would be the simplest and cheapest wax and wicks. My supplies in hand I headed home to begin.

I followed what I assumed were normal directions for making a candle. Never having made one before I had no idea how this was going to turn out. Would they smell horrible? Catch fire and burn the house down? Only one way to find out.

I rendered and strained bacon fat and set aside.

Next, I melted the wax and mixed with the bacon fat. Everything seems to have mixed well together so far.

Wicks in place I poured the fat-wax mixture into the mason jars.

It appeared an odd success. The kitchen smelled of bacon from the rendering process so I had to wait a few days to see what the outcome would be. Plus I wanted to make sure the candles set completely before lighting.

Verdict: Mixed success. Turns out I should have read the packages a little more closely. The wick was not recommended for the type of wax I used. The candles did not

Ingredients:

• 1/3 strained, rendered bacon fat
• 2/3 candle wax
• mason jars
• wick's

The above made about 2 1/4 mason jar candles.

Baked Potato Leek Soup

Crock pot soups are a great winter treat. One of my favorites is potato leek soup. (Or baked potato soup depending on who you ask and how you dress it up).

Ingredients

• 1 head of fresh cauliflower
• 1-2 baking potatoes
• 3-4 leeks
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth

Directions

Chop leeks, cauliflower and potatoes and place in crock pot in the same order. Add chicken broth and cook on high 6-8 hrs. After cooking blend with a stick blender. After blended, add whipping cream and continue mixing. Salt and pepper to taste.

When serving, top with sour cream, shredded cheese, bacon bits and chopped green onions for a great baked potato flavor.

The New Dave 2011

The earth has successfully rotated around the sun yet again. In celebration of that feat of astrophysics I've spent some time contemplating how I'm going to spend the next planetary orbit. I've reviewed my unfinished projects of 2010 and projects already slated for 2011. I've captured the ones that never made it out of my head and floating about on slips of papers and my task manager. After reviewing all the projects I've come up with a new set of great intentions. In an effort to make sure those intentions don't become empty promises, and eventually regret, I'd like to share some of my goals for 2011:

1. Regular blog posts.

I not only hate the blog format but the sound of the word is like nails on a chalkboard to me. On the other hand I have a ton of articles "In Draft" that need to make it to my adoring public. And the blog tools are the simplest to execute; for now.

2. Redesign and/or launch all my sites.

I currently have 8 sites on my plate as personal projects (this site being one). And not including professional and freelance work. Four are already up: WhereDidIMeetDave.com, DaveJansen.net, DaveJansenPhotography.com and TechForSmallBusinessOwners.com. Not my best work, I like to consider these alpha releases.

3. Better master social media sites to help promote my projects. Ok, this one's pretty self explanatory.

4. Publish my open source project.

I have a large code base for one piece of software I wrote while working for Clermont County. Over the years I've taken the concept of the software and have been slowly re-working it to apply to a broader base. I'm near completion and would like to make it available to the public.

5. Sell photography prints online.

Aside from working on my own personal sites for fun and personal satisfaction I wouldn't mind making some extra scratch. Plus, I've had several people over the years ask for prints so there must be some kind of demand.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of goals. I have plenty of other, more boring personal goals on the list. (Exercise more, lose weight, books to read, get in touch with old friends, travel, etc). But in an effort to keep my public projects going I'd like to use this blog to chart my progress.