Okay, so with my busy busy life I have not really had a chance to upload any new deviations, nor have I really had time to do much me photography, mostly just stuff that I dont really put my heart into. So here is the deal, Starting June 05 09 I am going to take a photo per day and post it on DA in the evening. If I miss a day of uploading look for the photo from the previous day, on the next day, as well as a new one. The photos are going to be me, my life, everyday situations, views, sunsets, sunrises, people, friends, cars, etc. Things that catch MY eye, this will be a look into what drives me a little more, these wont be the Matt hiked 20 miles in the freezing cold to take this pretty landscape shot, these are going to be real. I hope it generates some interest because it seems that people have given up on my photography or lack of it lately.

I hope you guys enjoy! Thank you all for watching.

Well as most of my watchers already know I recently received a Daily Deviation on



This photo was shot on July 4th of last year, it was a gorgeous summer day, and the clouds had finally been interesting enough for me to want to take this photo. I was really happy with the color range that the whole shot portrayed. There are a few small things that I wish I could have done better with the shot composition wise, but for a 50/50 land/skyscape I am really really happy with the result.

This shot was featured by and suggested by and I cannot thank these 2 enough for taking the time to look through my stuff, let alone think it is worthy of a DD. thanks guys.

And to all of you that commented, faved and deviant watched me as a result of this DD. I thank you as well, sorry I did not reply to all of the faves, it was just too much to handle, I did/will however reply to all comments and watches, it just may take a little while.

Thank you all so much

This recipe is a little late, I made this around Christmas time to serve 6 people, This was with half a pork tenderloin. Many times you can get them at the store as a whole loin only, if that is the case you may also have to shave a little fat off from it, some places like to keep the fat on the loin for weight mostly, but it also helps keep the meat tender. So for a roast I prefer a cut with some fat on it which I trim off as I prepare the loin. If the loin is too lean it is going to bake pretty dry and that is something you have to be careful of when cooking oven roasts. If done right this should yield a juicy tender pork meal, could be served with mashed potatoes, I made rice pilaf, you can get creative really, the meat itself is kind of a hickory sweet flavour.

What you need
1/2 pork tenderloin (easily doubled in a normal size oven)
Cranberries
bacon
cinnamon
brown sugar
stuffing (home made is better, I didn't have time)
A rich beer, cream stout, cranberry lambic, anything with a carmel or chocolate malt. ( I used Cranberry lambic (Sam Adams)

Utensils and cookware
Boning knife
Medium-large bread pan
large bowl (for stuffing)
preparation surface (platters work great)



Preparation
First you want to cut into your pork loin nearly in half lengthwise, so you are able to stuff it. Cook your stuffing and have it ready. pour about an inch of berries in the bottom of your pan and crush them moderately. Lightly cover in brown sugar, followed by the beer, use only enough to just barely cover the berries as it can be over powering. You can see about how I mixed it here.
You want that sort of texture.


Now lightly rub brown sugar inside the pork loin, and fill it with stuffing, closing it up, and wrapping it in bacon strips as seen.

Put it into the bread pan and cover with tinfoil.


Cooking
Pre-heat your oven to 400F degrees, bake covered for 35 minutes check with a meat thermometer, if it is not done, lower the temperature to 350F and take the tinfoil off cook until the middle of the pork loin is 160f.

When done take out of pan, can be placed on a platter with the cooked berries for show, or portioned out.

Finished loin.

Well this wasnt really a marketing project, but it kind of sounds like it is... Sorry about that.

this is a product that has really caught my eye so I figured I would write up a full review as that is the only way I can really do it justice.

What is it? it is the most functional case I have ever seen for the iPod, It is not pretty, and it certainly is not meant to accessorize your iPod, its sole purpose is to protect your music library from just about anything you can throw at it. I'm not kidding, anything. I have extensively tested this thing since I got it, I own a 120gb iPod classic (it is full, which is why I didnt get an iTouch in case you were wondering) I use it mostly with a pair of mid level Sony headphones (mostly because I don't like putting my Sure headphones at risk of water damage)


The case is made of a polycarbonate material, they come in clear and a few solid colors as far as I am aware. They can be purchased at [link]

It hinges at the top, allowing you to slide the iPod into it and into the mini jack plug at the top allowing you to plug your phones into the waterproof headphone jack on the top of the case.




the case seals shut using a thick gasket to complete the seal, and a locking tab to tightly secure it. It is waterproof up to 3 feet (according to them, I have had mine at about 5 with no problems)

The version that fits the iPod classic comes with a foam insert (with a sticky back) so that you can customize the fit a little, it fits the original iPod classic 160gb, the thicker 80gb all the way down to the new and much thinner 120 gb classic (tested). It is a pretty snug fit at first with the foam installed, but after a little while it loosened up so that nothing moves when opening/closing the case. When inside the case your iPod feels like a very small Walkman (yeah remember those?) but you quickly appreciate the fact that your iPod is now all but bomb proof. The clickwheel works almost as good as normal, it is a little lagged due to the fact that you are touching it through a thin piece of polycarbonate. The screen is pretty glare free and easy to read, the headphone jack on top of the case is a little tight, this is not a mistake as the case is meant to be used in extreme conditions you will find that if for some reason you drop it (don't worry its okay, try it) your headphones will not come unplugged. On the back of the case are 2 posts that allow you to attach an included belt clip (or a number of accessories that Otterbox offers) the clip itself seems pretty light duty but it certainly serves its purpose, the iPod can be hung upside down by just the belt clip and it can be shaken pretty vigorously before it unclips from the belt or what have you.

Overall this thing is... tough. I can almost promise that it can take whatever you have to throw at it. The dock connector is not accessible as they could not make it work within their target price range. But I mean who is going to be docking their iPod in conditions that would make you need the case? Like I stated before its not a everyday case. But if you want tunes to kayak to or if you plan on bombing down a mountain (summer or winter) hell maybe you want music while you go water skiing, rock climbing, hang gliding, snowmobiling, swimming/diving, ATVing, skateboarding, hiking/camping...etc. Then this what you need to keep the music flowing.

Mine has been used in -20F (they claim its good to -13 or so, again they undercut themselves)



it has been dropped, submerged...

kicked, thrown, and as you can see from the photos it has barely phased the case, let alone the iPod.

They also make similar cases for the iPod Nano, touch and shuffle (not sure why you need a $50 case for a $50 MP3 player honestly.)

They come at a hefty pricetag compared to other iPod cases (around $50). And as previously stated they are pretty large (5.5"x 3"x1")compared to just toting around a uncased iPod



but considering what it can do compared to other cases out there, you are basically looking at the price to make your iPod virtually indestructible.
certainly something to look into.

Fire away questions I have this thing mostly to test, so if you have any questions that the review doesn't answer or just want to know if it can do something, ask away.

Well I know what it is like to be overlooked on DA. We put our heart and soul into most of the work that we do, just to upload a photo that you feel is one of your best works, and to get 8 views on it, 1 fav and run, and no comments. I find that one comment, one “this is really nice, I love it” makes all of the hard work and effort completely worth it. I have been starting to get more views lately, more productive views (comments and critiques) so I feel like I can help showcase some people work. I am going to feature a range of people here. From less than 1000 views to more than 50,000 views. If you are reading this journal I think you would find it in your best interest to full view each of these photographs. Thank you.