Worthington Family Photoblog

It seems like it's going to be an every-other-year thing for us, but I took the kids out yesterday and did the texas traditional bluebonnet photos. Enjoy!

Also, here is a gallery of my gardening this year so far:

Arm's length self portrait with flash


Ryan's octopus collection is threatening to take over the house.


Korben sleeps - regular no-flash auto setting, then Macro no-flash auto setting.

Sophie cuddles Roxy. I like how this came out, even with the blur.

Hate the flash.


More snuggles.


Much like Girlpirate's Oliver, Morbo's freckles get more pronounced each year.

Korben's school has been celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday this week. Today was crazy hair day, so daddy gave him a "faux" hawk.


You can see that I'm having trouble getting the focus right without the flash, still. It's hard to self-stabilize the shots when I'm shooting something so mobile as the dogs are, and when the camera is so small and lightweight.


Sophie lounges in my bed.

None of the batteries for my Canon Elph will charge, nor will the chargers work, so since my phone has more megapixels than that camera does, I decided it was time for an upgrade. Today I picked up a used Fujifilm Finepix j10, which is 8.2 MP, and came with a charger and 2 gb sd card. It is smaller than my cell phone, and it records video with a decent 3x optical zoom and very few features - mostly just a point and shoot. The picture taking time is incredibly short, and the quality of the shots is pretty good, although there will be a learning curve for me to figure out how to get clear subjects without the flash. Hopefully you'll be able to look forward to more photoposts from me from now on.
Crossposted to http://worthingtonphoto.blogspot.com



Sophie Models handily, but gets bored quickly and it shows in her face.




Ripley is subjected to corporal cuddling.





Ripley is not amused.

As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They're banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades. I'd like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.

Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.

The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:

To the Parents of Young Students:
Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.

To the Avid Reader:
Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there's always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.
Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322

To the Lover of All Things Handmade:
Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter.

To the Environmentalist:
Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Entrepreneur:
Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector:
Due to the new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html

To the American Economy:
Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.

To the Worldwide Economy:
Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses.

If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html

And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Law
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react.

Note - Congress has acted on extending the deadline for digital TV conversion from 2/17 till 6/17 (Senate yes, House no). They should act on this which has even more far reaching affects on our economy and goes into affect sooner (2/10)!!!

Santa came!


Ripley is not impressed.


You know it's really Christmas when...
















Through the years:

2004


2005


2006


2007


2008

A few months ago, an old friend from college contacted me to see if I wanted to illustrate each chapter of a book he and another friend were working on. I said YES, and now the book is set to be released next month. However, you can order a presale copy through the website: What Do You Say to the DJ?

Check it out!

This about sums up today:





Learning to make a reindeer sandwich


Feeding reindeer parts to sister (raisins)


Haha, what?


Time to humiliate mom! :P We'll turn her into a reindeer with pantyhose, balloons and red paint!


Korben manned the camera while I was reindeered-up and took pictures of his friends.


Apparently six-year-old sass has no regard for gender


Haven't we all taken this shot?


Playing games with the PTA mom


Korben took up my abandoned reindeer hat


Reindeer racing


Korben and his friend writing their own music in his Kindermusik class.