PREVIEW URLS BEFORE YOU CLICK THE LINK

Running multiple blogs, I am always nervous about people who leave links to their websites.  I am ESPECIALLY nervous when those links are the abbreviated URLs.  There is a way to “preview” this non-descript links before actually clicking on them, though.  Although this still does not guarantee safety, it is at least a road bump.

Bitly - after the link http://bit.ly/1dB7AsR just add a “+” so the preview is at http://bit.ly/1dB7AsR+

goo.gl – after the link http://goo.gl/anEIeU just add a “+” so the preview is at http://goo.gl/anEIeU+

TinyCC - after the link http://tiny.cc/gkiebx just add a “~” so the preview is at http://tiny.cc/gkiebx~

TInyURL - in front of the link http://tinyurl.com/mebwphj you can add preview – ie http://preview.tinyurl.com/mebwphj

A safety feature TinyURL has is that you can always default a preview by enabling the preview directly from their site at http://tinyurl.com/preview.php.

Twitter – http://t.co – a product that is strictly for tweets!  They check all URLs against potential unsafe links.

Ow.ly  - http://ow.ly/tGslQ is the shortened link, but having problems finding out out to preview without one of the consolidaters listed below.  However, one of the nice features about Ow.ly is that it goes through a verification step before creating your URL just to make sure it is not a bot doing the dirty work.

If you want a one stop check for short URLs, you can check out this website . . . it should detect and preview most of the popular oneshttp://checkshorturl.com/ which uses http://pagekeeper.com to check sites.

I am sure there are a dozen more url shortners . . . I will search more and consolidate here.

Archery at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista

Not long ago, I had the chance to do something I've wanted to do for a long time.  I am not sure why i never did it . . . I am sure I cane make up plenty of excuses, but, I finally got off my ass and did it.

Take Archery Lessons!

I found this deal on Travelzoo . . . two people can shoot for an hour and a half for some ridiculously low price.  The only catch was the archery center was at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California.  Not that its a bad thing, its just it was an hour away from my home.

Despite the drive, the day was well worth it.  It was a beautiful day, the instructor was very helpful, the equipment was in good shape, and I had my buddy with me . . . oh, and probably the best thing, I didn't shoot my eye out!!

The class was about 16 people but considering we shot in groups of 8, everything went smoothly.  What i didn't anticipate, however, was how tender my fingers would be after the shooting.  I have rather thick fingers to begin with, but after pulling on the bowstring for an hour and a half, the tips of my fingers were quite fat!  Sorry, no picture of that!

After the lesson, we got the chance to walk around the facility for a bit.  The Olympic Training Center was actually quite cool.  It had fields for Field Hockey, a track for running and hurdles, an open field for javelin and discus, multiple BMX trails, and a set of housing.  While there we ran into two teams of field hockey players from New Zealand.  It was actually quite cool to see them compete.

One of the most interesting things about being at the Olympic Training Center on this particular day was that the Winter Olympics in Sochi had their opening ceremony the night before. So to be here while the Olympics were actually taking place made it feel like we were sort of connected.

Minus the Crowd 

and Minus the Snow!

AbeytaPhotography wins Two Ribbons at San Diego County Fair Photography Competition

It was a Long Shot, and I had only entered one competition with my photos before, but I heard about the San Diego County Fair Photo Competition and decided to enter to see how I would fare.

The short of it is . . . I won two fourth place ribbons and 1 honorable mention.

First ribbon is Sunset on Moonlight Beach (Encinitas, California)

The second ribbon is Fall Colors in Central Park (New York City)

Honorable Mention is Spiral Stair Case Up (Kutna Hora, Czech Republic)

Needless to say, I am very excited!  Oh, here's a picture of me and my certificates!

Based on what I read on their website (http://www.sdfair.com/index.php?fuseaction=exhibits.photo) I could see the exhibition was clearly defined, organized, and spelled out the expectations of the photographer and of the exhibition.

The great thing about the SDCFPC is that it had 9 divisions and several subcategories under that in which to enter your photos.

• Division 1201: Color Scenic (landscape)
• Division 1202: Color
• Division 1203: Color Nature
• Division 1204: Cell Phone
• Division 1205: Black & White
• Division 1207: Color, Black & White or Digital Art
• Division 1208: Creative Processes
• Division 1209: Digital Art

The committee, led by Ron Ham and assisted by Gene Wild, did everything possible to support the entrants.  They responded quickly and thoroughly to emails.  They organized helpful classes for image preparation and submission.  The committee had an organized way to submit your photos for the competition.  And finally, the Artists Reception (before the fair started) was very welcoming . . . the staff had all of the images professionally hung, were helpful, and very excited to engage with the artists.

So, if you want to take part in a photo competition, my suggestion is to take part in next year's San Diego County Fair Photo Competition.

Oh, one other thing . . . The San Diego County Fair Photo committee isn't done . . . if you go to their website   (http://www.sdfair.com/index.php?fuseaction=exhibits.photo) they have lots of other things going on during the fair . . . Need photo workshops?  They've got them.  Shooting in Raw, Color Management 101, The Power of Adobe Lightroom and lots more!  And all led by photography professionals!

Custom M&Ms at MyMMs.com with Discount code

If you love M&Ms and you'd like to get some custom creations for a special event, you have to either visit one of the several M&M stores or order custom M&Ms online (mymms.com).

I've done this before but haven't had a reason to in a long time.  Well, in a couple of weeks is my son's high school graduation so I thought I'd get something special for him and our arriving guests.

First, you get to pic the colors.  Since his college colors will be blue and gold, i was lucky they had that combo!

And then you add the some customization . . . I picked a picture from his kindergarten and his senior picture.

And this is what it should look like!

Now, they are pretty expensive . . . over $2.00 for less than an ounce of individually wrapped goodies, but for a memorable gift, this isn't too bad.  But, just to make sure everyone doesn't eat them gone if two small handfuls, i'll make sure to purchase a big bag for the snacking.

Now, here's the good part . . . to save a little bit of money, you can get your personalized M&Ms by using the discount code of My10Off that came in an email.  This discount is taken at the register.  However, always looking for a better deal, I kept trying different variations of the discount code and I was able to save 15% by using the unadvertised code of My15Off.

Its Better to See Something Once Than Hear About it a Thousand Times

I read this phrase the other day as I was bouncing around Pinterest.  It struck chord with me because there so many wonderful things to see and experience in this world that everyone should be inspired to get out and LIVE and EXPLORE this world while we are in transit from one reality to another.

I've been lucky enough to travel to many fabulous destinations and I've been luckier to be able to capture some fabulous memories about those places.  I decided to take the Korean proverb "Its Better to See Something Once Than Hear About it a Thousand Times" and apply it to some of my favorite images from places i've experienced.

In the top left is the proverb.  In the bottom right is the location of where the photo was taken and what I see when I look at it.

By the way, my Pinterest page is http://pinterest.com/abeytaphoto/

The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) at dusk as the
Arno River flows beneath it in Florence Italy

Central Park in the Fall.  The rich and bold
Colors in an amazing landscape in New York City

The pier just before sunrise in Oceanside California

Two lovers on a romantic escape on the
Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic

Enjoying a warm bench on a crisp fall day
In Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  This couple
Enjoyed the view of the Prinsengracht.

Keys Creek Lavendar Farm

Not too far outside of San Diego, just north of Escondido, there is a beautiful lavender farm called Keys Creek Lavendar Farm (http://www.kclfarm.com/).  From Mission Valley, its a short 50 minute drive to this quaint little area full of various types of these purple blooms.

We took an early drive this morning to make our first visit . . . and now I wonder why it took us so long to get there.  The staff is friendly, they have acres of land to walk through and explore, and a great selection of lavender based products . . . who would have thought of Lavender Body Mist?  Well, I guess people who grow lavender.

If you check out there website, they have lots to share . . . even recipes you can make with lavender . . . like their herb goat cheese tart!

Anyway, being the shutter bug, i wanted to share with you these beautiful flowers . . . I am not even sure i did them justice.  If not, take your own ride up north and see for yourself.  There are lots of other places to visit like Rincon Casino, Lawerence Welk Village, or, take the long route home and go west towards the coast and drive south on 101 through Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solano Beach, etc.  You won't be disappointed.

Oh, go earlier rather than later . . . although it was a nice 72 degrees this morning, it was getting warmer.

Fort Collins Brewery Crawl

I spent a wonderful spring afternoon with my brother, his friend, and step dad doing a brewery crawl in Fort Collins, Colorado.  We visited 4 breweries and each of the four breweries had their own unique character.

Funkwerks - www.funkwerks.com/‎

A small and friendly brewery.  They had Munichesque picnic tables out side set up for everyone to enjoy the pleasant weather and the brew.  Their sampler had 5 brews and was reasonably priced.  I love 2 of them, like 1, and two of them were passable if mixed (like a cheap wine).

 

New Belgium Brewery - www.newbelgium.com/

A BIG brewery (and from what I understand, it keeps growing).  Although the bar itself was big, it wasn't big enough for the crowds.  There was a really cool self guided tour that was worth checking out . . . it even showcased their solar powered enhancements to be more green.  I had a pale ale and it was pretty refereshing.

 

 

 

 

Odells Brewing- odellbrewing.com

A brightly lit brewery which was not too crowded . . . and a live band to boot.  We sat, drank our delicious brew and played some poker.   I enjoyed the double pilsner immensly but sampled the Lugene Chocolate - that was flavorful but not something i'd drink on a regular basis.

 

Fort Collins Brewery - www.fortcollinsbrewery.com

By the last stop, i was a bit buzzed and quite hungry.  I had a sampler but by this time, had the barkeep select the  version because i was in no shape to pick.  However, what i did choose to eat was the bacon wrapped pretzel served with stone ground mustard . . . a perfect Bavarian style treat.

If you get the chance, take a brew crawl.  Be responsible and have a designated driver, but gather a few friends and prepare yourself for some laughs and a memorable afternoon.