quikdash6

Recently took this photo and was happy with the result but feel that maybe I smoothed the skin too much. Any thoughts? Critiques on it as a whole?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quikdash6/8658714715/...

As of this year I've been having issues with my AC not kicking on once it's reached the designated temperature I've set into the digital thermostat. It will remain off until I realize that it is getting warm and turn the AC off at the thermostat and then turn it back on after a few seconds. It isn't all the time, but it's started to be several times a day/night. I've had the digital thermostat for almost 4 years now and this is the first year this happened. I checked the wiring and everything still seems to be attached correctly and cycled the power via the electrical box in my apartment. I'm not sure what to do from here except replace the thermostat. This is getting very inconvenient as it's too damn hot in Texas for the AC to not be working for several hours at a time. So, is this a AC unit problem or a thermostat problem?

Thanks for any help

I've been in a photography funk lately. Even though it's nice out, and I should be able to find several things to photograph, I just haven't been in the mood. So, if you ever get into a funk like this, what do you do to get out of it. Or if it's a more natural thing, what do you think usually gets you shooting again?

This is more a question for those with hands on experience with the product as well as maybe other diffusers or flash bounce methods. It seems like it's worth the money, but in your experience, is it as versatile as they make it appear? What about compared to other diffusers like a attachable softbox, or bounce cards?

Below are the two that I have composed. Very basic. I need to get some opinions on which I should use to mark my photos. I do still need exposure if I plan on going forward and making money, but the logo seems to add some individuality. Any opinions on the watermarks themselves are also welcome, but please be constructive.

http://i554.photobucket.com/albums/jj426/quikdash6...

http://i554.photobucket.com/albums/jj426/quikdash6...

I recently bought a Onkyo HT-RC260 and paired it with the Infinity TSS-500. My issue is that TV broadcasts from my HD-DVR seem to have pretty bad sound when listening in actual dolby or dolby digital. The center channel speaker sounds somewhat hollow and the surround is sub par. This made me think that I made a bad decision with the speakers, but for everything else such as games, and movies it all sounds great. So is this just a issue with the transfer or am I missing something as far as a setting on the cable box? Everything is hooked up HDMI to the receiver and HDMI out to TV.

http://web.mac.com/laurelnakadate/site/Laurel_Naka...

If you click on the CV in the menu bar of her website you will see all of the exhibits she claims to have had. Then you can also see some of her photography to see what I'm talking about. This "work" seems like crap to me, and that's being nice. I don't claim to be very knowledgeable about art or a great photographer myself, but like many, I know what looks good to me. Is this a certain style or something? Please, someone explain to me how this girl's work keeps getting exhibits.

When watching videos or playing music on my desktop with integrated sound, the audio has some intermittent crackling and the audio gets distorted like it's trying to catch back up. I checked the connection in, tested the speakers on another computer, and tried several different types of media all with the same issue. I also looked for updated drivers and there were none. Is my sound card going bad?

The next few things I was going to try was re-installing the drivers and cleaning out the case. Any other ideas before I go purchase a separate sound card?

The Cabinets are a light oak color like I have linked below. The appliances are mostly white. What color would be best for hardware?

http://www.lowes.com/pd_34123-16315-W3630OALP_4294...

Last Friday, February 19th, I injured my left knee playing flag football. To give you an idea of how it occurred, I jumped up and then landed (obviously incorrectly) and had instant pain and the inability to bear weight for about 30 seconds. At the time it didn't seem that bad so I continued to play although at a much slower pace and still with some slight pain in my knee.

After sitting for a few hours the joint got really stiff and became hard to walk on. Going up and down stairs hurts. Still today, February 24th, I have swelling over the entire knee and some constant dull pain in the lower outside part of my knee. It constantly feels like it's going to buckle when trying to walk normal, and there is intense pressure when I try to bend and pull my foot back to my butt to try stretching the quad muscles. Icing doesn't help, but prolonged warmth (such as a shower) seems to loosen it up a little for a while.

Thanks for any help.

I have a chance to photograph some new homes for a company and need some pricing advice. How much should I charge per house with each house needing 10-25 photos each?

North Texas area if that helps at all.

I initially started negotiations with several dealers in my area to purchase a 2010 Honda Civic EX. My wife and I have decided that it is probably best for us to lease right now instead. Can I use the price I had negotiated for an outright sale as the vehicle price in a lease? First time leasing, so I have no idea. Thanks.

I'm resubmitting this question because when I last asked I had a lot of clutter in my Flickr photostream and it was suggested that I narrow things down. So, I've now picked 5 of the photos I like to see what I could have done and what I can do in the future to make my shots better. Thanks for the feedback.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quikdash6/4176545915/...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quikdash6/3642722466/...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quikdash6/3539859727/...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quikdash6/3539846363/...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quikdash6/3486619972/...

I've been trying to get serious about photography for a little over a year now. I just wanted to get some critiquing so I can have something to focus on for improvement. So please take a look and share your opinion with me.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quikdash6/

I've got a lot of pictures posted, so it might be good to stick to the sets to the right unless you want to go digging through everything. Also, keep in mind that a lot are snapshot types for gatherings. Thanks again.

I'm looking for some good games t play on a laptop without a external mouse. I'm not a fan of most real time strategy games, but I'll listen to all recommendations. If there is a downloadable demo for the game(s) you suggest it would be very appreciated if you could link that too. Thanks!

I'm a guy and I recently got married. I'm not much of a jewelry person so I'm not familiar with "ring etiquette" I guess. So when should I be removing my ring? It's Tungsten, so it should withstand quite a bit, but should I be removing it when working out, washing hands, etc.?

The package that we were quoted is below and is being done in Southern California. Can anyone with experience give some input on the package? We've seen a portfolio, so we know we like the pictures, but is price within a average range for what's being offered?

"getting ready photo shoot (within city)

ceremony photo shoot (within city)

portrait session (any time same day)

reception photo shoot (at hotel)

one shooter/photographer

up to 5 hour coverage maximum (extra hours should be previously arranged)

DVD with high resolution images (up to 400 images)

Total US$ 950.00"

I'm by no means an economist, but doing this $700 billion bailout for the banking industry, Wall St., etc. makes no sense to me. These companies made bad decisions by their own judgment and now they don't have to pay the consequences. What good is freeing up credit with this bail out if they are just going to give credit to people who can't afford it again? The problem is that right now people are foregoing paying debt to pay for necessities. They're just perpetuating it and we'll be right back where we are in a couple of years.

The bailout should go to the tax payers. Based on the Census Bureau there are 350 million people in the US. If you divide the $700 billion for the bailout (which is coming out of taxpayers pockets anyways) that would give each taxpayer $2,000. That is $2K per person to pay back lenders for car loans, mortgages, school loans, credit cards, etc.

At this point even if half the people in the US used this money to pay off some debt our economy would start doing much better. It just seems to me that the government is trying to do the best thing for big business and not the people. Am I the only feeling this way?

So I've been working out rigourously for about a month now. I'm trying to lose a total of almost 43lbs. and have been lifting lighter weights at more reps. Specifically, 4 or 5 sets of 15 reps with about 20 seconds of rest in between. By the time I'm done with each workout my muscles are very tired and I can not do anymore. Yet, the next day, and the day after that, I don't have any soreness at all.

Now, since I'm trying to lose weight and tone up, should this be normal? Should I not be sore by doing this? Do I need to up the weight some and see what I can pump out with that, or should I increase my rest time and try to do more sets? Thanks for any help.

I'm 5'8" and roughly 198lbs. I have about 40lbs. total I want to lose, and I want to lose as much as possible in less than 3 months time for a work weight loss challenge.

I'm currently running about a mile every morning and planning on going to the gym for about an hour for all but 2 days a week. while at the gym I tend to do about 15 minutes cardio and then the rest is light weights with lots of reps.

I've changed my diet to mostly grilled chicken, vegetables, fruit, and Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast. I've only been drinking water, Gatorade, and milk. It's only been 5 days and I'm already feeling completely drained. What more can I be doing to help things along and not lose any more energy? Are there some natural ways for me to be able to sustain a longer workout without being wiped out by the end of the week?

Thanks for any input.