And the winner is...

The winner of the new business card idea is...



So whad'ya think?

Opinions Needed... really.. please!?

Well, as of 9:30 this evening I'm back in town. Tim and I got up early this moring in Greenville, SC and completed our last day of training and then took the FOA CFOT Exam (Fiber Optic Association's Certified Fiber Optic Technician). As of tonight, with a passing score of 93, I am officially a licensed fiber technician for the USA. I know it's not a large step for most people, but after a few years of doing fiber optics anyway, it's nice to have some accreditation to back it up. This also set me up for the next stage, which is becoming an AFL partner in eastern North Carolina, which will allow me to offer a 25 year warranty on all our fiber work, in addition to the 25 year warranty we already offer on our HellermannTyton twisted-pair networking.

END OF BACK PATTING SESSION...

Ok.. the part I want your opinion on.

Ok. I have an opinion question and PLEASE take a moment to respond to this and let me know your opinions. I need to settle on a name for the corporation to be able to accept our partners into our personally owned business. We already have 3rd and Wayne, which is technically a sole proprietorship. However, in my mind, if I were a partner coming in to join the business, I'd prefer to a) Have my name on the letterhead too, or B) Be joining a corporation that isn't specifically representative of any person or persons.

To that end, we have bought and purchased a few different names over the last few months, and now it's time to decide. As primary shareholder, I can technically make the decision on my own and run with it, but I'd prefer to have the agreement of the BoD. There are currently two names on the table for discussion. (PLEASE COMMENT ON WHAT YOU THINK.. AND COMMENT HONESTLY)

Option 1: Twisted Networx (www.twistednetworx.com and www.twnetworx.com)

Pros:

• Twisted Pair networking is what we specialize in, so having the name include that will really help build brand relevance in the SEO market.
• It's "punchy"... it has a lot of intrinsic capabilities for branding and logo ideas.
• I really really like all the ideas that I think I can do with that name.

Cons:

• It doesn't mention fiber, or wireless, or telecom specifically, so some people fear that it may alienate those markets.
• Some people have expressed that the older style connotation of the word "twisted" doesn't suggest a good job... saying "that's twisted" used to mean that somethign was "not right" or "messed up."

 

Option 2: Fidelit(y) Networks (The "y" is shaded out, but it's there still)

Pros:

• The actual "meaning" of the word stands for loyalty, integrity, honor, attention to detail, etc... basic principles that I believe in personally and that I strive to show my customers in my work.
• It sounds more "old-school" and seems to incinuate longevity, more so than the other option.
• It's not indicative of any particular type of business, so I could offer other services or the company could make a lateral market shift a few years from now and wouldn't be as affected by it from the branding perspective.

Cons:

• Absolutely no "punch".. no "zing".. no "shinyness" to the brand label.
• The word "fidelity" is used throughout the financial industry and may brand us as a financial organization to those that dont' know better.
• The name is actually "fidelit" (without the Y) so we may run into issues with people trying to spell it, or maybe it will come across to others as being pronounded "fiddle-it"..... which is not what we're going for here.

 

RESPONSES?

Seriously, whoever you might be, take a moment and send me your opinion. Even if you just take a second to make a comment about one or the other, ANY input is welcome. I'm at the point where I need to make a decision, and while I'm capable of doing it fine on my own, I know that I sometimes get near-sighted with my visions for the company so I want to hear what the world at large thinks.

Any and all opinions welcome.

Fiber Exam Training

Well, since I like to write and I also need to study, I decided to couple both into one. I'm reviewing the notes for my BICSI fiber exam tomorrow. If you have even the least bit of a life, you'll skip this whole post! If not, you're going to be bored to death!

 

Fiber Optics Transmission Theory

Primary Elements of Optical Fiber: These are definitely on the test. (believe it or not, people miss this one)

1. Core (containts dopants to regulate the speed of light)
2. Cladding (outer layer of glass to contain light, maintains a different refractive index, to make the light reflect back down the pathway)
3. Coating (cushions and protects fiber, also known as the primary buffer)

Core Elements (What makes up the difference between the fibers)

Single Mode:

• 8.2 mµ core
• 125 mµ Cladding
• One mode of light, resulting in higher bandwidth.
• Electronics are more expensive, raising cost of the overall system.
• Must use lasers to pass light due to the tiny numerical aperature.
• Has less loss over greater distances.
• Harder to splice and terminate (smaller cores)
• Does not suffer from modal dispersion (although it does suffer from chromatic dispersion)
• Wavelengths: 1310nm and 1550nm

Multi Mode:

• 50/62.5 mµ core
• 125 mµ cladding
• Multiple modes of light, resulting in less bandwitch per mode.
• Cheaper electronics, means cheaper system costs.
• Can use LED's instead of lasers, due to the larger numerical aperature.
• Has more loss over distance, so is used for shorter distance applications.
• Has more attenuation (loss)
• Has Greater Dispersion (pulse spreading)
• Can only go short distances.
• Easier to Splice, easier to terminate. (larger cores)
• Suffers from Modal and Chromatic dispersion.
• Wavelengths: 850nm and 1300 nm

Mechanical Strength Properties of Fiber Cable

• Fiber undergoes testing at the manufacturer during the drawing process, called Proof Testing.
• Theoretically ALL fiber is fairly strong, possessing 600-750 kpsi of tensile strength (200 lateral pounds).
• ALl fiber has small inherent cracks in the cladding, and any stress directly applied to the fiber is always concentrated to the largest of the crack flaws.
• Continuous load will "stress" the flaws, making the fiber weaken and eventually snap, while dynamic stress is less harmful and bears no long-lasting effects as long as it remains within limits.
• Bending the fiber places it under strain.
• Recommended long term minimum bending radius for static installation is 1.5 inches.
• 100 kpsi proof fiber has a maximum 0.86mµ crack depth.

Waveguiding Fiber (controlling the flow of lightwaves down the path of glass at a given frequency)

• Waveguiding is done through the use of the cladding. The cladding has a different refractive index than the interior Core strand, making the light reflect back down at a different angle. Without the cladding,the light would continue straight up at an angle of no refraction and pass through the glass, leaking out, therefore not bending back down the pathway. This means: no cladding: no refraction. This process of guiding the light through cladding is known as Total Internal Reflection (THAT IS ALWAYS A TEST TERM)
• Total Internal Reflection is achieved by:
• Keeping the light signal inside the critical angle of reflection.
• The Critical Angle is a function of the "index of refraction" between the core and the cladding.
• Total Internal reflection basically means "the process of keeping ALL the light within the glass core, not letting it leak out."

Index of Refraction:

• The index of refraction is represented as "n".
• n is a ration comparing the speed of light (c) in a vaccuum to the speed of light in a medium. In fiber optics, the medium is silica glass.
• The index of refraction of silica glass is 1.45 (meaning light travels through the glass 45% slower than it does through space.)

Refractive Index (Optical Density Principles)

• Simple. Basically, the higher the number of the index of refraction, the slower light travels through the substance.
• This is in accordance to Snell's Law.
• Common Indices of refraction are:
• Water: 1.33
• Quartz Crystal: 1.54
• Glycerin: 1.47
• Diamond: 2.42
• Basic Premises of Snell's Law:Every material that light can travel through has an absolute index of refraction. This value is usually simply termed "the index of refraction" for that substance.
• The index of refraction for a substance is equal to the speed of light in free space divided by the speed of light in that substance.
• The index of refraction for a substance is also equal to the sine of the angle of incidence, in a vacuum(300,000,000 meters/second), divided by the sine of the angle of refraction, in the substance.
• For all practical purposes, in introductory physics problems like these, one can consider light to move through air much like it moves through free space. However, it actually travels a bit slower in air.

Critical Angle

Light will bend as it travels from one index of refraction to another with a different n. The bend increases as the angle of entry (numerical aperature) decreases. Eventually, the angle of light is small enough to prevent light from entering another n. This is the critical angle.

The numerical aperature is the angle of approach of light coming into the fiber, represented in a degree format.

 

INDEXING light within fiber:

There are two kinds of indexing for fiber-optic cables currently used today. Those are Stepped Index and Graded Intex. Stepped index is only used in singlemode fiber, and some rare uses of MM fiber such as home audio mm fiber, requiring communications in the ultra high wavelengths.

For MultiMode (MM) purposes, a Graded index is used to help turn the sharp angles of refraction into more wave-like shapes (smooth curves). This is achieved by applying cladding to the core of the fiber using multiple layers, each with a slightly higher index of refraction as they increase in distance from the axis of the core. Utilizing this technique bends the light in a smoother wave form (sinusodial) and increases the speed at which the light travels through the fiber.

 

Modes of Propogation

Singlemode: Possesses one single mode (wave) of light for increased speed, better for longer distances.

MultiMode: possesses many waves of light, due to the wider numerical aperature. The large core(50/125 or 62.5/125) means light can travel on more wavelengths at once through the fiber.

Since SM fiber has only one mode, there is no pulse spreading, meaning more bandwidth. Conversely, MM fiber's larger core allows more pathways of light to enter the fiber, which in turn creates pulse spreading (dispersion) that limits bandwitch. The conversion of the data on the signal end is translated by a receiver on the end node, which is looking for a specific binary format.  (For example 1, 0, 1, 0, 1,0, etc....) Multimode fiber possesses more than one wave of light, meaning the modes might get overlapped (dispersed) resulting in the receiving end signal looking more like 1, 1, 1,0,0, 1, 0, 1, etc. Compensating for this modal dispersion decreases bandwidth availability.

Multimode Sizes: (50 vs 62.5)

• 50 mµ has greater bandwidth due to smaller size (less modes of light can enter the pathway = less modal dispersion)
• Most US networks utilize 62.5 currently, but are going back to 50 for newer applications.
• Splice connecting 50 mµ to 62.5 mµ is useless because core alignment issues reduce the bandwidth gains you would otherwise achieve.

Attenuation: Definition (definitely on the test)

• Attenuation is the decrease in optical power, measured in decibels (dB).
• Limits the distance a signal travels.
• Some attenuation is inherent in glass. (intrisnic annenuation)
• Some attenuation is caused by splicing, terminating, and environmental issues (extrinsic attenuation)
• (see: http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/ph/p/id/88)
• dB Loss Examples:
• .3 dB loss = 93% power throughput
• .4 dB loss = 91% power throughput
• 3.0 dB loss = 50% power throughput
• Two Kinds of Attenuation:

Inrinsic Attenuation

Intrinsic attenuation occurs due to something inside or inherent to the fiber. It is caused by impurities in the glass during the manufacturing process. As precise as manufacturing is, there is no way to eliminate all impurities, though technological advances have caused attenuation to decrease dramatically since the first optical fiber in 1970.

When a light signal hits an impurity in the fiber, one of two things will occur: it will scatter or it will be absorbed.

• Scattering
  
• Rayleigh scattering accounts for the majority (about 96%) of attenuation in optical fiber. Light travels in the core and interacts with the atoms in the glass. The light waves elastically collide with the atoms, and light is scattered as a result.
• Rayleigh scattering is the result of these elastic collisions between the light wave and the atoms in the fiber. If the scattered light maintains an angle that supports forward travel within the core, no attenuation occurs. If the light is scattered at an angle that does not support continued forward travel, the light is diverted out of the core and attenuation occurs.
• Some scattered light is reflected back toward the light source (input end). This is a property that is used in an Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) to test fibers. This same principle applies to analyzing loss associated with localized events in the fiber, such as splices.
• Absorption
• 
  The second type of intrinsic attenuation in fiber is absorption. Absorption accounts for 3-5% of fiber attenuation. This phenomenon causes a light signal to be absorbed by natural impurities in the glass, and converted to vibrational energy or some other form of energy.
• Unlike scattering, absorption can be limited by controlling the amount of impurities during the manufacturing process.

Extrinsic Attenuation

 

The second category of attenuation is extrinsic attenuation. Extrinsic attenuation can be caused by two external mechanisms: macrobending or microbending. Both cause a reduction of optical power.

Macrobending
If a bend is imposed on an optical fiber, strain is placed on the fiber along the region that is bent. The bending strain will affect the refractive index and the critical angle of the light ray in that specific area. As a result, light traveling in the core can refract out, and loss occurs. (Figure 13)

A macrobend is a large-scale bend that is visible; for example, a fiber wrapped around a person's finger. This loss is generally reversible once bends are corrected.

To prevent macrobends, all optical fiber (and optical fiber cable) has a minimum bend radius specification that should not be exceeded. This is a restriction on how much bend a fiber can withstand before experiencing problems in optical performance or mechanical reliability. The rule of thumb for minimum bend radius is 1 1/2" for bare, single-mode fiber; 10 times the cable's outside diameter (O.D.) for non-armored cable; and 15 times the cable's O.D. for armored cable.

 

Microbending (pinching)
The second extrinsic cause of attenuation is a microbend. This is a small-scale distortion, generally indicative of pressure on the fiber. (See Figure 14 below.) Microbending may be related to temperature, tensile stress, or crushing force. Like macrobending, microbending will cause a reduction of optical power in the glass.

Microbending is very localized, and the bend may not be clearly visible upon inspection. With bare fiber, microbending may be reversible; in the cabling process, it may not.

 

Dispersion (also on the test)

• There are two types of dispersion. Modal and Chromatic.
• Total Dispersion  = Modal Disp. + Chromatic Disp.
• Chromatic Dispersion = Material Dispersion + Waveguide Dispersion

Modal Dispersion:

• The spreading of light pulse due to differences in the distance traveled within the core of the fiber. (Smaller waves get the to the receiver faster) These differences exist because of the many pathways of light available within the fiber.
• It can be reduced by changing the speed at which light passes through the core (utilizing a graded index).
• Dominates MM fiber.

Chromatic Dispersion: (on test)

• This is the cumulative effect of material distpersion and waveguide dispersion.
• Dominates SM fiber only.
• Standard SM fiber has a zero dispersion wavelength of 1310 nm.
• Varies with the transmitting wavelength.
• definition of chromatic disp; The spreading of the light pulse due to differences in speed in which various wavelengths of light travel through the core.
• (Remember Chromatic = COLOR and different colors travel at different speeds)

Waveguide Dispersion

• Based on the same principle as above. Different wavelengths travel at different spees. However, different wavelengths also travel at different speeds due to the differences in the index of refraction between the cladding and the core.

 

Fiber Manufacturing 1-2-3

Memorize the three step process for fx manufacturing:

1. Layout - the process by which gases are deposited as a wet "soot" upon a quartz rod by flame hydrolysis. This will ultimately create the preform for the glass core and cladding.
• These gases will be either:
• Silica Tetrachloride (SiCl4)
• Germanium Tetrachloride (GeCl4)
• And may include other chemicals (dotants) to alter the index of refraction of the glass.
2. Consolidation- the process where the bait rod is removed and the emaining silica is then heated at high temperatures to drive out the impurities and water, leaving only pure glass. This process is called "sintering."
3. Draw - The consolidated preform is loaded into a very high temperature furnace (>2000C deg. Celcius) where it becomes soft and is "drawn" down to the diameter of the cladding. During this process, the width of the beginning preform is 24 inches, then shrunk to about 8 inches, and then drawn down from 8 inches to 125 microns. (Friggin' amazing technology).

Cable Design

• LOOSE TUBE - Outdoor Cable: -40˚C to +70˚C
• TIGHT BUFFER - Indoor Cable: -20˚C to +70˚C

(Indoor cable doesn't need the loose tube design because it isn't going to be subjected to temperature extremes. Vast changes in exterior temperature require that the Loose Tube fiber allow for the fiber and other components to expand and contract during different environments, which is why they are "loosely" stacked inside the tubing.)

Loose Tube Cable: (250 mµ fibers floating in gel, decoupled from cabling stresses.) (outside to inside shown below)

• Polyethylene Jacketing
• Polyester Tape
• Rip Cord
• Aramid Yarns
• Waterblocking System
• Gel Filled Loose Tubes
• Optical Fibers
• FRP Central Member

Loose Tube Armored

• Outer Polyethlene Jacket
• Waterblocking Tape
• Coated Corrugated Steel Armoring
• Inner Polyethylene Jacket
• Polyester Tape
• Ripcords
• Amamid Yarns
• Waterblocking System
• Gel Filled Loose Tubes
• Optical Fibers
• Dielectric Central Member

UniFlex  (Small diameter, up to 24 cores maximum)

• Polyethlene Outer Sheath
• Aramid Yarns
• Loose Tube Buffer
• Optical Fibers
• Waterblocking Gel

ADSS: All Dielectric Self Supporting - Tensile Strength of 60,000 lbs.

• Polyethlene Outer Jacket
• Rip Cords
• Core Wrap
• Inner Polyethlene Jacket
• Inner Rip Cords
• Aramid Yarns
• Inner Core Wrap
• Waterblocking System
• Gel Filled Loose Tubes
• Optical Fibers
• FRP Central Member

Optical Ground Wire

• Replaces the grounding wire on electrical lines, but contains fiber cores.

Design Characteristics

Loose Tube

• PE Jacketed
• UV Resistant
• Environmentally Stable
• Dense Material - Low Drag - Abrasion Resistant
• Contains Dry Water-Swellable Tapes
• (All polyethelene contains a 2% carbon black component to resist UV brittleness and degradation.)
• Elongation and Contraction - Cores are 1.5% -2% longer than the sheathing materials.

Tight Buffer

• PVC Jacketed - Flame Resistant to NEC 770 Specifications
• Meets NEC codes for riser & plenum ratings.
• Dry cable - no gel to clean (uses powder instead)
• Buffer Coating adheres directly to the 250 mµ fiber, which:
• Increases Microbending problems
• Degades optical performance
• Is more susceptible to temperature variances

 

Ok.. giving up.. going to bed.

I'm in Greenville.. no no no.. the OTHER one....

Hey all. I'm down in Greenville, SC for training. Been a long day here. Tim and I are working at the AFL manufacturing plant, getting fiber certified! Yeah! This will add 14 more credit hours towards my BICSI certification. It's been a really long long day! We've been throwing around figures and acronyms all day to the point that my skull hurts from just thinking so much! Tomorrow I have a full day again, culminating in the CFOT exam (Certified Fiber Optic Technician), which will put me one step away from being a certified partner for AFL and two steps away from being a full fiber instructor. So, wish me luck!

Tonight's gonna suck though. I was looking forward to spending about three hours in the hot tub, but it looks like I'll be spending three hours in front of this computer instead, writing notes all night on test materials for tomorrow.

Right now, however, I think Tim and I are gonna take off and get some chow.

See you all soon!

Holy Crap.it's Tim!

Ok.. this is SO me

Back from "Merryland"

Oi. I'm tired. It's 9:45 PM and I'm just sitting down with a nice cup of decent french-vanilla coffee, at my comfortable desk, in my even more comfortable shoe-like-things, after a long day of working and driving. It all started yesterday morning; I had court first thing in the morning and then had to get my guys together, load the truck and drive 6 hours to northern Maryland to install another monitoring system for a client. After spending 6 hours on the road getting sore and stiff, Wess, Tim, and myself got on-site at about 6 PM last night and started to run the gamut - pulling coax cable, surveying for the best camera locations, installing cameras, setting up the internet backhaul to send the video feed to corporate, installing on-site monitoring capabilities, etc... It was a long night. We were finally run out of the location at midnight, almost finished with our job, so we had to get a hotel in Lexington Park, MD for the evening.

We got up early this morning and returned to the site to complete the final points of our installation, aim and focus the camera lenses, check for remote connectivity, and then grabbed a quick lunch before heading back to North Carolina... another long 6 hour drive.

The evening ended nicely though, with dinner with our ladies at Chico's across town. It's cute I suppose, from an outside viewpoint, to see three tired and exhausted fellows come meet their prettier halves for dinner. We were all glad to be back with our ladies, as always.

On the recent side of business news for us, we've been approved for our new office location, procured insurance for the business, chosen a new company name (I think.. maybe) and are making strides to be "good to go" by April of this year. All I have to do now is pay the double first months' rent, pay the entire year's insurance bill, get my office furniture out of storage, and then get moved into the new place.. easy right? Pfft.. no. The initial rent bill is about $900.00. The initial insurance payment is about $900.00. The cost to get my furniture delivered.... you guessed it.. about $900.00. Anyone else see a theme developing here? So, as soon as I get the $2,700.00 I need to get things off the ground right, we'll be up and running!

On the personal side, I have to go beat Marcus with a stick! Being the gardening lover that I am, I was immediately jealous of his new house when I saw the spacious back yard he has and heard the plans he has to cultivate it into a thriving garden. Lacking a back yard, I have chosen yet again to do what I do so well... locate my entire garden 12 feet in the air... on my balcony, completely sustained within 5-gallon buckets! Yes.. it's cheesy, but it always looks nice.. and who else do you know that can say they can still be growing 10 feet tomato bushes in November?

Now, I'm going to go over and see Marcus this weekend and let him revel in his new garden... and secretly I'll hate him for it! (Kidding, Marcus). Nah.. I"m sure it's beautiful. He seems to be the type to pay great attention to detail. I think I'm going to spend the afternoons this summer living vicariously through HIS back yard gargen in lieu of my own! Wouldn't be the first time.

What else is there to tell you guys about? There isn't too much else going on over here on this side of the pond. I've been keeping an eye on my libyan friend's blogs. It always amazes me how much more I want to read and learn about the country after being able to experience it and understand it from a firsthand point of view. I mean, let's face it. You live ANYWHERE for 7 months and you can say that you pretty much "lived" there, as opposed to saying "I've been there."

I can't wait to return overseas again! I'm hoping that somewhere in my future there will be opportunities for more travel, either with my current company, or through others. I've actually had some interest generated from a few firms I've met while overseas... so who knows what the future may bring.

Well, I'm going to sign off of here and get some work done before bed time. I still need to email out some invoices to customers and do my profit/loss statements for the recent jobs... ugh.

Till next time!

Tommy

Lady Bridget Wingate

Y'all, I got myself the coolest present ever! I think it's hilarious! I bought 1 square foot of land on an estate in Scotland and now I have a title! I am a Lady of Kincavel Estate. Ha! Ha!

Morning... grrr...

Morning World! It's almost 7:30 and I had a few minutes so I thought I'd say hello. I've got a long day today. My boss forgot to send in the payments for my child support for the last 4 months, even though he deducted it from my check, so I get to go enjoy a visit to district court this morning! Joy!

Thankfully, he wrote me a check for the amount he was supposed to pay, so all I pretty much need to do is show up and pay it and things should be ok againl. The child-support officer I'm working with is the first nice lady I've ever met within the realms of the child support system.

Just a curiousity, I wonder how much money and court cost they'd save if they'd simply make a phone call and say "Hi. Did you know your direct draft hasn't been coming in regularly? Can you check on that for us?" They'd rather waste EVERYONE's time by simply filing court orders, throwing around subpoenas, threatening people with jail time, etc. Anyway, it's being handled this time so I can't complain too much.

After that wonderful start to my morning, I get to drive all the way to Maryland to do a job for a customer. We have a customer's store to install cameras in today... so it's a long day on the road for Wess, Tim, and myself. We're hoping to make the job a one day trip, but we will likely wind up in a hotel tonight, too exhausted to make it all the way home. Dunno yet, really. We'll have to see how it goes.

How have the rest of you been? The comments from the American side of the realm have been sparse lately.

On the contrary, the African interest in the blog has grown substantially over the last few weeks. I've had numerous traffic from Britain and Africa, due to some of the posts I made while in Africa. Hell, one of my posts ended up quoted on a  lot of different blogs around the world. I know it's nothing to some people, but the exposure and interest generated was neat to see. I can tell you ONE thing for sure, I'll be sure to condider my words a little more heavily the next time I sit down in Tripoli and compose a 4 page rant on the cultural aspects of another country...

Speaking of that, I guess most of you know we're gearing up for another trip to Sand Land here shortly. I'm currently waiting on the Letter of Credit to arrive from Africa, via the bank of London. Once that gets here, I can ship the equipment. After that starts, we'll wait about two weeks and leave for Africa. The shipment will take 38 days to cross the atlantic ocean, change ships in London, and be carried on to Libya from there, so we'll still be there in plenty of time, however it seems I'm back to the waiting game.... waiting on the customer to do something they should have done over a month ago... ugh.. some things never change over there.

Well, April's heading off to work so it's my turn to jump in the shower and get ready for this long day. You all have a wonderful day and I'll "see" you soon.

Tommy

Greetings World...

Sorry I've been so lax in posting lately. There's really not been much going on that's blog-worthy of late. Since arriving back from Africa this last time, we have pretty much been running in overdrive preparing for our return trip for the new client. Can I just take a moment to say I'm SO glad I won't be going back for the GECOL project any time soon? That one is officially done and out of my hands.

Mainly, as I said, we've been gearing up for the VEBA project, running our small private company jobs here in the regional area, and training up on fusion splicing techniques. Sounds like fun huh? Well, I'll say this... it passes the time.

Tonight, I'm off to shag lessons at the City Bistro. They started having lessons on Sunday and it gives me something nice to do to get out of the house a little during the weekend. I wish I'd done something earlier today. It's absolutely gorgeous here today.

Well, I'm going to go back to enjoying a book on my patio in the sunlight until time to leave for Shaggin. I just wanted to say hello to the world. Drop me a line any time.

Tommy

Photos from our night out Shaggin

Well, I should say the girls night out shaggin'. I just ran for drinks and looked pretty all night. lol. We had a really good time. Danielle and Marty came out to join me for the night and now I have a shag-date on Sunday at the Bistro. Anyway, here are some pics from the evening's events.

 

 

Those of you who haven't been there in awhile would be impressed with the new look going on at On Cue. Frank has done a pretty good job of upscaling the place. This is the Embers singin' something... I don't remember exactly what.

The usual devilish duo.. rarely found together without the presence of alcohol, but always having a good time in style!

You didn't really think I was goingto let a photo opportunity pass by when I had a chance to be in the middle of two chicks did ya?

Me and Marty!

D! and Me! I can hear her now... take my damned picture down.. you know I hate seeing my picture online.. I'l kill you.. etc etc etc.

Me and April just hangin out.

Africa: Flashback Upload for YouTube

I didn't get a chance to post this while I was there due to bandwidth limitations, but this is my friend Nadir breakin down Arab-Style! (Ok.. so no one ever gets to pick on MY dancing again!)

 

 

 Days like this are when I miss being there. For all the headache, we had a lot of fun there too!

In case you guys read this, Hi Tara, and Khadeja! Miss you guys!

 

Tommy

The Embers! Live

I got to see the Embers live last night at On Cue.  Yeah! Anyway, thought I'd share a short clip with you.

 

Glad to see all of you that were there! Missed those who weren't!

Love ya,

Tommy

Comments Fixed

Ok. I've finally fixed the comments section. Apparently it's been a problem for awhile now because blogger updated their code. No one had informed the guy who wrote teh hack yet, so when I did he fixed it in a jiffy! Now... I just need to actually POST something on here. I'm really not lazy, I swear. I just got back and now I've had to reformat my laptop twice (upgrading to Windows Vista Ultimate) so that's taken most of my working time during the days lately. I promise I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. Back soon with some content.