The Grump Case Computer Mod
Self Portrait in Computer Case Art One of the most interesting projects I have done, The Grump Case was designed to be a quiet and powerful computer system, as well…
A Senseless Website Critique
A fellow member of a forum I have been a member of since 2005, asked the community for a website critique. I checked out her site and found it interesting,…
1 Foot In The Grave Dot Com
A friend I have been emailing back and forth asked me for my website address to 1 Foot in the Grave, or as she put it, “1footinthegrave”. I thought that was odd until I realized there are still a lot of people that don’t understand how some of this IT (Internet Technology) stuff works. My hope was that my answer to her would be enlightening, but as it turns out, it revealed to me just how poorly I understand it. And I’m a so-called webmaster. In case you don’t know, that’s not a braggadocious term, it’s a job title. It means I should know, but apparently don’t, how to get my own website on the first page of Google results (more…)
Case Modding: Glass Windows
This is a blast from the past. I wrote this article in June 2003. Case modding was relatively new at that time and I stumbled into it during my search…
Photo Inspiration on a Rail
For months now, I have been experiencing a definite lack of photo inspiration. It's like a fog hanging over me. Or maybe it's just laziness. The other day, I decided…
Letting Go of Facebook
Deleting Facebook and Other Social Media Accounts
Facebook Sucks! It sucks up my time, it sucks up my energy and it sucks up my personal information and sells it to the highest bidder. I have to leave it just to protect my privacy, recover my zest for life and give me better control of what life I have left.
What’s ironic about this post is that I don’t like dramatic exit posts. I’ve been a moderator or administrator of forums and message boards for over 20 years, (more…)
PTSD Messenger, Do Not Delay
For as many years as I have been writing, I never once thought I would write about my own Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Hell, I wouldn’t even discuss PTSD with the several counselors or shrinks I had seen over the years since my return from Vietnam. I didn’t even talk about PTSD in AA meetings. Not until I was diagnosed with emphysema in 2005 and after 3 years of serious depression, I sought out a shrink through the VA to help me battle my thoughts of dying, maybe by suicide. Even then, I found it very difficult to talk about PTSD (more…)
Pulmonary Rehab: How Important?
I was diagnosed with COPD (emphysema) in 2005. A couple years later, after I had lost my business, my home and much of my ability to do normal physical activities, I asked 2 different doctors to tell me how much time I had left. Both said (reluctantly) approximately the same thing: 2 or 3 years. Of all the meds and treatments prescribed to me, pulmonary rehab was not one of them.
That was 10 years ago. Yes, I’m very happy to still be alive. Very. But I also struggle every day, sometimes for every breath. The simplest things have become difficult – taking a shower, walking the isles of the grocery store, searching for my next great photograph. (more…)
Plumas County Fair Photos
Plumas-Sierra County Fair Photo Entries
by Jim McClain
This was my first photo contest. I entered 19 photos in the county fair and won 13 ribbons on twelve of them (one received 2 ribbons, one a Best of Division). Yes, I’m proud. But I am also humbled by all the beautiful pictures I was surrounded by from the enormous talent of many fine photographers here in Plumas County. It was an honor to be among them.
These photos, the exact same photos that were on display at the county fair, are for sale. (more…)
The Rodeo Comes to Taylorsville
The Silver Buckle Rodeo, Taylorsville, CA
The Taylorsville Silver Buckle Rodeo has been a fixture in Plumas County since 1949 – the year of my birth. I’ve enjoyed the rodeo many times over the years, especially when I was a youth in the 60s. I went to Taylorsville Elementary School in the 4th grade (1958-59) and broke my first bone jumping off the deck railing of the Taylorsville Tavern. But I saw a real bone breaking at the CCPRA Silver Buckle Rodeo one year during the calf roping event. Quite a visual for a young boy and I cringe to this day thinking about it.
Because of my health restrictions, I wasn’t going to be able to go to the actual rodeo event. I enjoy making pictures of horses and other animals though, so I thought I might be able to get access to the grounds the evening before and the morning of the rodeo, before they opened the gates to the public. (more…)