A ‘Trip’ to Minneopa Falls

My mom and I visited Minneopa State Park (located near Mankato, Minnesota) today with our puggles. The park contains Minneopa Falls, which is what we went there to see. Unfortunately, my mom tripped on the way to the falls, causing her to get scraped and covered with mud. Such is the case when walking in flimsy sandals with a large bag and two dogs pulling on you. Nevertheless, my mom looks good in the photo below, and it was certainly a fun adventure for us and the dogs.

Minneopa Falls
My mom and puggles in front of Minneopa Falls
Minneopa Falls

Used Drum Set for Sale in the Twin Cities

I’m listing my brother Marc’s drum set on Craigslist sometime toward the end of the year. Click on any photo to see the high-resolution file.

Photo #1: Everything together
Photo #2: Assorted stands, a Ridge Rider cowbell, and two bags of accessories
Photo #3: Floor tom
Photo #4: Tama seat with Pearl double bass drum pedal
Photo #5: Bass drum with Pearl bass drum pedal
Photo #6: First tom-tom
Photo #7: Second tom-tom
Photo #8: Arbiter snare drum
Photo #9: Primary snare drum. Note the duct tape on the drum head.
Photo #10: Spare seat and spare Pearl and Rock bass drum pedals
Photo #11: Zildjian hi-hat cymbal 14″
Photo #12: Zildjian crash cymbal 14″ and Sabian medium thin crash 16″ (note: I’m pretty sure the clamp that connects the Sabian cymbal to the stand is broken)
Photo 13: Istanbul splash cymbal 9″
Photo #14: Ride cymbal
Photo #15: Saluda splash cymbal 12″ with spare hi-hat stand
Photo #16: Saluda crash cymbal 14″ with spare hi-hat stand (the same stand as in photo #15)
Photo #17: Spare drumheads

2018 Oris Aquis Date With Green Dial Unboxing

Minutes ago, I received a 2018 Oris Aquis Date with a green dial from Leslie Gold Watch Co. in Los Angeles. This is my second watch from Leslie Gold, my first being a Tissot T-Tempo I got in 2011. Leslie Gold, by the way, offered an amazing price on this Oris watch.

The Oris Aquis Date line was updated in 2017, but this green dial version was just released in 2018. It has the reference 01 733 7730 4157-07 8 24 05PEB.

My initial thought upon seeing the watch was, There must be some mistake! I could’ve sworn the dial was black, as you may also think after seeing the photo below. But upon closer inspection, I realized it was in fact the right watch. The green is just very subtle and is only really apparent when it reflects light. When it does hit the light just right, it has a very beautiful, deep green, sunray effect.

Many people reading this are probably aware of this watch’s similarity to the Rolex Submariner “Hulk,” which also has a very beautiful green sheen when it reflects light. While I haven’t seen the “Hulk” in person (it is, after all, impossible to find on display at any authorized dealer because of the high demand), I do think this green dial Oris Aquis is probably a fair comparison.

Now, since the title of this post says “Unboxing,” I do, of course, have photos (this is a photo blog, after all). See the seven photos below.

Box from UPS
Oris box with Leslie Gold Watch Co. invoice
Unopened Oris box
Oris box with top taken off
Oris box with stamped Oris warranty card
2018 green dial Oris Aquis Date with stickers (side view)
2018 green dial Oris Aquis Date with stickers (dial view)

The next photo was taken with a cheap Samsung smartphone on an overcast day.

2018 green dial Oris Aquis Date (close-up of dial)

Finally, here’s a photo that accentuates the green color of the dial. This photo was taken with the same Samsung smartphone on a sunny morning.

2018 green dial Oris Aquis Date (close-up of dial in direct sunlight)

My Mom and Puggles on Lake Minnetonka

I took this photo of my mom and our puggles on Lake Minnetonka in Excelsior, Minnesota, today.

This is my first photo with actual edits in GIMP (previously, I had only done cropping and straightening). I set the Levels to Auto, because otherwise this shady photo looked too dark.

My mom and our puggles, Pugsley and Missy