Do you use a Mac? Do you shoot tons of photos? Then you need to take a look at PhotoReviewer. This application has only one real job, digital photo selection. What does that mean? Well, let's say you are on say your honeymoon and taking some 200 photos every day. You know that not all of those photos are keepers, do you really want to import them all into iPhoto? Probably not since iPhoto doesn't really handle choosing which photos you want to keep. It's a perfect shoebox, but not great for getting them into the shoebox with any kind of eye to storage limitations. At 1 to 3 megs per photo when you shoot at 5 megapixles, 200 photos can take up a great deal of space and if you are shooting as you should, there will be photos that you don't want to keep. PhotoReviewer will take care of you, and do so for only $15!

Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Apple, Mac OS, Photos

Today I will end my life as a single man and enter the realm of the married. It's hard for me to believe. If two years ago you would have told me that I would be married in 2006, I would have said that you are smoking something. Just didn't seem possible to me; yet here I am. In just under 6 hours, the ceremony will begin and I will be married! I won't just be married either, I will be the proud step-father of 5 kids and a grandfather to boot!

For those closest to me that I have known me for years, they know that this day is a day I have been looking forward to for more years than I can count; but they will also probably tell you that they too didn't know when it would happen. It all seems like a dream, a wonderful dream, a dream come true.

Tags: Wedding

Well, if you have been reading my other website, Eternalmagic.net, then you know I am getting married shortly. Yep, in just a few days I will be a married man. I've been doing well all week, but I have to say that I am slowly getting a bit nervous. Not about being a married man, just about the whole event. We have 120 folks showing up, and that is bound to make any guy a little nervous about making the event the best one possible and for a wedding, keeping it from being a total bore. Having the wedding in a pub should help keep the "bore" quotient down.

After the wedding Tracy and I are off on our honeymoon, 10 days of it. A very enjoyable vacation to be sure in a very sunny destination; although the current weather report says it won't be quite so sunny. Apparently we chose the rainy season; but if it is like most monsoon seasons.... that means it rains every day, but just for a little while. Hopefully that just means higher humidity; but then we are going to be on a beach all the time so I was expecting a little humidity anyway.

While we are there we should be posting messages and photos, maybe even a quick video or too. So check out Eternalmagic.net for more!

Tags: Wedding

Tracy and I leave in a week for St. Thomas and we are very much looking forward to it. While we are there I hope to regularly post photos to EternalMagic for each day of the trip. You can find that section of the website located here. We are also taking our video camera and if I am lucky and my knowledge of iMovie allows me to, I will post some video of our Honeymoon local as well. See you on the web!

Tags: Photos, Wedding, Honeymoon

I've added more photos under the Family Archives section of the site. For now I am just pulling all photos of Mom, Dad and Brion; my eventual plan is to limit these photos to the more distant past. I'm still going through and dating photographs and creating various albums in iPhoto. I will add more photos hopefully over the next several days. Trying to get a bit more work done on this site and EternalMagic. You should be able to view the photos just fine regardless of the system you are using. The photos will show-up in a Flash slide show that should play in most browers, including Dad's.

Tags: KellysWorld, Photos

I've added a new feature to the site, it is a beta test for the site and I don't know if I will keep it or not. It adds a calendar that ties directly into iCal on my Mac. Basically, it makes my personal calendar available for view by family and friends. It's limited in the fact that it doesn't combine the various calendars of iCal together, you have to publish each one separately. That is by design of iCal. A different concept, but one that typically works very well. One very cool feature is that it does allow for someone to subscribe to the calendar if they have access to either iCal or a calendar program that works with iCal. Can't say if I will keep it or not, but will try it out.

Tags: KellysWorld

I've added a photo montage of Tracy and myself growing up. This video will be used at the wedding, but is available now for you to see. It isn't anything fancy, just whipped it up in iPhoto and added a little music. Took longer to encode that it did to create. The photos are basically in order of date, taking you from Tracy's birth all the way to our couple's shower last week. So enjoy! Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Photos, Wedding, Holidays

Tonight I finished my first video in a long, long time Baby Carlos. It isn't a long one, less than 4 minutes, but I believe I have done a fair job. I made use of iMovie and Garageband to make the video. While it was relatively easy, it still took an awfully long time to put it all together. I hope to do many more of these family videos in the coming weeks and months; and do plan on creating a video of the my upcoming wedding. Not sure how well that will work out as we are short on someone to take the video and editing whatever video we do get; will take a very long time. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Grandkids, Video, Carlos Jr., Baby, Photos, KellysWorld

Carlos Sr., celebrated his 21st birthday a few days ago. He celebrated that birthday in war torn Iraq. As someone that lived overseas for several years I understand the trials and tribulations of living in a foreign land, even when the warm blanket of Uncle Sam is there with you. I can even understand living in a nation on the brink of devestating war, Korea always seemed one hour from the edge all the time. I can't though understanding being in a hot zone, taking enemy fire, moving from one location to the next never knowing where the next insurgent might take a pot shot at your squad. I also can't imagine the imense heat of Iraq in Summer.
Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Children, Iraq, War

I'm a lucky man. Yes, there is just quite no other way to say it. Yes, being a bachelor has it's advantages, but by my score keeping a wife and family has far more advantages. Tracy is asks from time to time if I miss my days as a confirmed bachelor, and I tell her every time that I don't. I'm not sure she believes me each and every time; never-the-less it is true. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Wedding, Children, Tracy

Have you heard the news.... laptop batteries currently have a bad reputation of, well, catching on fire. Now this isn't "End of the World" type stuff, but if you happen to say have your laptop in say your "lap" catching on fire could be a rather bad thing to happen. Laptops, formally referred to as notebooks, have always had a reputation for being rather warm to actually rest on your lap but catching fire puts a whole new "spark" into the issue. Sorry, just couldn't help myself. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Apple, PowerBook

Three weeks ago I started my new job at Precision Imaging Solutions and I have to say that I truly enjoy working there. While I am still learning about the company and I how fit into the mix, I believe that my experiences at both Fujitsu and HighPointe will lend themselves well to what I have to do for Precision. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: PDS, New Job

Back on June 23rd I wrote a letter to David Pogue regarding an article he wrote about Bill Gates and the charitable works Mr. Gates was planning on increasing as he steps down from the day to day activities of Microsoft. I posted that letter, with a link to the story, on the 23rd. Today I was reading an article he wrote that showed some of the responses he received and what, to my amazement, did I read... Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Bill Gates, David Pogue, Letter

onight Tracy and I along with another couple are going to take a voyage on the Texas Queen Riverboat. She takes her passengers on a 2 1/2 hour tour of Lake Ray Hubbard and offers up entertainment in the form of either a murder mystery or Jazz and Blues music. We are going to take the Friday night Murder Mystery cruise.

Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Boat, Music, Theater

This morning I read an article by David Pouge of the NY Times. It was very interesting and I encourage you to read it Article Here. I enjoyed reading it and with the power of the internet, have the ability to tell the author what I think. Below is my response.

Mr. Pogue,

I just read your article on Bill Gates. I have to admit that like many I can be extremely cynical about Mr. Gates. I don't have 80 billion, or whatever the current amount is; I don't have 80 million. So like many, I distrust those that did and wonder how they made their money. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Bill Gates, David Pogue, Letter

This father's day was one big trip for me, not in the we are going to Seattle kind of trip, but more like the "acid" variety. I'm not even married yet and I am not just a step-dad, but a grandfather and my dad and mom are both grandparents and great grandparents. When you think about it just a little ways, you come to the unmistakable conclusion that my future as a great grandparent myself is all but certain in well less than three decades. My friends will all be learning to be grandparents while I am learning how to be a great grandparent.... it boggles the mind. Stars help me, if little Carlos tries to drag me into great grandparent mode in 20 years or less. I really can't imagine being a great grandparent at 55. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Photos, Holidays, Tracy, Carlos Jr., Dad

Dad came down for father's day this year along with Nancy. We hadn't seen them in a while and we had a great weekend. Too much of it was taken up with buying the new cars, but Dad got to take part in that process and I think he enjoyed himself. He really liked the BMW 5 Series. His kind of car. Although I'm with him... IT'S PRICY. We didn't do anything in Dallas too special, but we did have a great father's day celebration and he had an opportunity to meet Carlos and Javier, plus his soon to be great grand-son. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Dad, Theater, Cigars, Tracy, Mom, Courtney

After experiencing a fair amount of car trouble between the two of us, mine with a 2001 Olds Alero and Tracy with a 2000 BMW 328i, we decided it was time for a headache free change. Both of us have had too many problems to count and we were looking at over $5000 to get her BMW operating properly and mine had major repairs pending as well as every bit of maintenance you can think of doing. With over 74,000 miles on my Alero, he was getting a little long in the tooth. Tracy's had more than 65,000 miles on it. For us the only question became, do we spend a great deal of money on repairs, or look to replacing them. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Cars, Tracy, Mobile Phones

I would suggest not bookmarking any of the photo pages on my site, at least not for the time being. The file structure is not what I prefer at the moment, so it the coming days I will change it. I wanted to get the site up and live, but the photos were added at the last minute. While they all work fine, the file structure needs work. Nothing major, but I wanted to warn those that might be inclined to bookmark individual albums. In any event, it is best to just go to the main page and then work your way to the album of your choice. I seldom keep things very stable and love to move things around. I get that from my mother.

Tags: KellysWorld, Photos

Today was a huge day for myself and my family. Today my grandson (well, as soon as I say "I do") was born. Yes, yes, I am a grandfather. Hard to believe isn't it? It's such a big day, that I thought it was the perfect opportunity to launch the latest version of my website. You will find that it has again gone through a major overhaul and this time around is a little more ambitious and I think much better looking.
Click Here to Read More...

Tags: KellysWorld, Rapidweaver

Today I became a grandfather. Carlos Ramone Herrera was born today at 3:23 pm. He weighed in at 7 lbs 9.7 oz and 21" long. Tracy is beside herself with joy. I wasn't able to go with her to the hospital for the birth, but from her account both mom and dad did very well and are extremely happy. They had the opportunity to spend a few hours with Carlos Jr. before the nurses took him away to be properly cleaned and then returned for a well deserved meal.

Hopefully the new family will be coming over for our father's day celebration. My dad and Nancy will be coming to town this weekend for it, Tracy's parents will be there and possibly Jim and Sharon. If we can get everyone together it would make for a wonderful and very festive father's day. Of course it will not only be Carlos Sr. first father's day but mine as well. I will have that to share with my stepson. Actually, my first father's day won't technically be until next year and I am not technically a grandfather; but hey, Tracy has been living here for over a year now... so I say I'm a dad and a granddad. I don't think anyone will challenge that.

Tags: Grandkids, Carlos Jr., Dad

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that with Tracy being sick for the past few weeks I would follow in short order, and my immune system has seen fit to make that a reality. I'm not too bad off yet, just a little dizzy when I move about and a soar throat; nothing that will keep me down. Yet, I don't feel 100% and don't expect I will for a few days.

All part of the whole "marriage" and "family" thing. As much as I hate being sick and feeling under the weather, it's a worthy trade-off for all that I have gained in the past year and will gain in the coming years. So while Tracy may have given me, whatever it is have, she has given me much, much more!

Tags: Illness

Dear BlackBerry,

I know that you are having more than your fair share of problems these days with the United States Patent Office, NTP, the United States Supreme Court and a certain judge that will remain nameless, but don't let all these problems get you down. You know as well as I do that while e-mail changed the world we live in, you my dear BlackBerry friend changed e-mail for ever. Notebooks may have freed man from the cords that bound them to their desktops at work, allowing them to travel to parts far and wide; but you my dear friend, you freed them from their 10 pounds of notebook, cables, cases and long boot-up times all in an effort to see if the important deal was done or if Johnny got a home run in the big game against the home town rival.

You my dear friend, you made it possible without cords, bags or boot-up time. Yes, as in the days of old when cowboys ruled the land, man can once again reach for his hip and snuff out a problem faster than a salesman can explain how he sat on his notebook, cracking it in two. If only he had had you by his side. Had he had you sitting in your trusty holster he would not have been caught off guard by the news that his biggest customer was leaving his firm. All because he couldn't respond to their repeated e-mails for help because he had not way to dial home and fetch his e-mail. You could have done all that, happily holding them until he landed only to gently buzz him letting him know you had his mail ready to read.

Think of it my trusted friend, you really have changed the world. You have created a loyal base of fans, second only to the followers of Steve and his jolly OS called X. A relationship so real and true, they call you by a pet name "CrackBerry." They mean no disrespect, they know what you have done for them. It isn't your fault their spouses left them and their children don't even know their names. You are simply the messenger. Civilization as we know it won't end because Tom can't stop communicating with Beijing, Moscow and Cabot Cove. In fact the world is a better place. Business can now be done 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All you need is a bar or two of strength and you can send our messages to the far corners of the globe. When the bell strikes five and we head home, we don't have to stop reading, sending, replying, responding, forwarding our many e-mails. Business doesn't have to stop at the waters edge, it can now continue on and on and on.

Don't pay attention to those nay sayers who call your creators thieves and criminals. Besides, the US Patent Office keeps ruling in your favor. The world is behind you. The world is with you my black and blue friend. Yes the judge who shall not be named doesn't seem to care that your patent case is pending. Yes NTP is asking for not just huge sums of money, but more money than most of us can even dream of seeing, much less being handed over.

So my dear friend. Don't leave me here, all alone without my e-mail or access to the web. Don't leave me to try and find a replacement for you? A friend such as you can not be replaced. Yes, I may find a friend that comes close and in time you will be but only a memory; but you will never be fully replaced. Should it come to an end though, feel strong in knowing that our time together these past few years has not just been wonderful but very fulfilling. Our friendship was worth the sleepless nights, the annoying buzzing, the sharp ringing, the constant bother, the wishing for shorter battery life, the tiny keys, the longing for silence, the demand for more and more and more... Wait.... February 24th they may pull the plug... CAN I HELP!

Tags: Mobile Phones, Letter

T-Minus 282 Days until my wedding day. On that day Spore family will grow, and will do so by leaps and bounds. I'm not talking about adding one or two members, nope. Apparently I am in a serious bid to not only make-up so-called "lost time," but also just blow everyone else in the immediate family out of the water in terms of total family members. Not since my dad's parents, Grandma and Grandpa Spore, has there been so many kids in one single family setting. How many you ask? Well -- Let's count them down!

Daughter - Jenesa Clark - Age 27 (Teaches Dance in New York City)
Son - Antonio Herrea - Age 22
Son - Carlos Herrea - Age 20 (In the Airborne 505th)
Daughter In-Law - Age 19 (Married to Carlos)
Son - Javier Acosta - Age 19 (Attending Mechanics School in Houston)
Daughter - Courtney Acosta - Age 13 (Attending Middle School in Wylie)

Courtney also has a couple of half-siblings, so by extension the family grows by two.

But wait... THERE'S MORE!!!

Carlos and Desiree are expecting their first child, a boy, in June. So again the family grows by one.

We can't forget our four legged members, Morgan (Age 6) Gracy (Age 5). There is also a hamster name Fonzi, but don't be confused... Fonzi is a female hamster. Ehhh, what can I say.

Okay, so I don't know about you but I have lost count, but somewhere around 12! Okay, so I am including more of God's creatures than those that have only two legs and can at the very least burp.

Now, if you think the humor is done... nope! The family is growing... great! But by doing so my life is going to change dramatically. Not just because I am getting married, that goes without saying. Not just because I am going to become a step-father, again without saying. I am going to become a step-father of five kids. Can you say Brady Bunch! Throw into the mix the daughter in-law and the grandson.

Of course to really blow your mind, at the moment the Padre says, "I now pronounce you man and wife..." my father will become a great-grandfather (through marriage) and I will become a grandfather (through marriage). Whew! Just boggles the mind doesn't it.

Family and friends are just loving this... and as the day gets closer, and the baby is born I have no doubt I will hear more and more grandfather jokes. SO I AM READY! As they youth of America say, BRING IT ON!

Tags: Wedding

Check out the Eternal Magic Journal, it has actually been updated. Okay, so it is just one post, but one post is better than none... right? The entry is all about our wedding rings and some of the current plans for the wedding, now less than 11 months away.

ETERNAL MAGIC JOURNAL

Tags: KellysWorld, Wedding, Re-Design

In reading Digg I cam across this photo showing a photographers home computer set-up that includes several Macs, one Dell and a slew of flatscreen monitors. Pretty amazing and extreamly expensive set-up.

The "small" monitor in the center is a 23" monitor, while the big boys are 30" monitors. The notebook on the far left is a 12" PowerBook with a 17" PowerBook under neath the 30" on the far left next to the 12" PowerBook. This person is using a Mac Mini as a media streaming device and has a dual G5 hidden away behind that mess of cords. Oh, there is also a P4 Dell for when he apparently just has to go to the darkside.

I look at this set-up and think, people complain about my computer obsession. PLEASE!

Tags: Apple, Digg, PowerBook

If you ever use Google, and who doesn't, then you might find some of these commands very useful and if any thing interesting. Give them a try and let me know what you think. The Weather one can be very useful and quick.

http://www.cyberwyre.com/data-mining-using-google/

Tags: Google

If you look at the Family Archive section you will now find several sections based on individuals to make finding the photos you are wanting to see easier. I have many, many, many more photos to scan and upload so we haven't even begun to see what there is to offer. I still have a whole box of photos to actual look at and sort through and more than half a box of photos I have already sorted through but haven't yet scanned. This is by no means a small project, but it is a really fascinating one.

If you have any old family photos you think should be added to the collection, please forward to me of if you can scan them please do. Contact me and I can instruct you as to the resolution and size.

Tags: KellysWorld, Photos

With the new year I have given KellysWorld a new look. Some of you had said the old look was too dark. I personally like that black look, but decided I would give some different looks a try. Not hard to make those changes, so why not!

Check out KellysWorld.net and let me know what you think. I think in the next few weeks I will put up screen shots or test pages with different looks to see what everyone likes.

Tags: KellysWorld, Re-Design