The Final Inspection

The Marine stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as brightly as his brass.
"Step forward Marine,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
The Marine squared his shoulders and said,
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint.
I've had to work most Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep.
And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here,
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was a silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Marine waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward Marine,
You've borne your burdens well,
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."

Semper Fidelis!

Author Unknown

Botanical Garden

Here is a photo from one of my recent trips to San Diego, CA.  I stopped off at Balboa Park and found this amazing view from the Botanical Garden. 

Thanks for looking.

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

Fatcow Web Hosting Review

I have finally decided to post a review of my domain host company.  If you don’t know already, I have been using Fatcow for quite some time now.  I switched over from using another company that has a very similar layout and setup and even prices.  Heck, I even noticed that when I login and try to contact support for something I need help with, it still has my auto fill in the box. 

Fatcow has been pretty good, but I have noticed that when wanting to host websites that require a little more work such as scripting or SQL events you probably should upgrade to something a little more of their add-ons than just trying to host your SQL page without their input.  I had my Wordpress site hosted on it for years and noticed that things would start to run slow now and then.  Turns out the database was getting bogged down.  I had to switch to another host for the blog site because Fatcow’s basic plan servers couldn’t handle it. 

The layouts are pretty easy and it allows me to setup an FTP folder for easier upload access from Adobe Dreamweaver and many other Web Design programs.  I know that most users probably use FTP services that are built into programs more but a lot of people prefer to have someone else do the work.  That is what is great about Fatcow because you have unlimited access to pages, subdomains and so much more. 

I want you all to go out and try Fatcow and let me know what you think.  If you have another web domain host that you have been working with then let us hear about it.  I would love to get your feedback.  By you signing up with Fatcow using the link below I will get a $25 voucher towards an upgrade. 

Host your website with FatCow!

Disclosure: I am a professional review site that receives compensation from the companies whose products I review. I test each product thoroughly and give high marks to only the very best. I am independently owned and the opinions expressed here are my own.

Strange Orchids

I came across this very unusual Orchids while I was visiting Balboa Park in San Diego, CA recently.

Never seen them before but they remind me of a spider I came across once while in Japan.

Thanks for reading!

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

It’s Me Mario

As I was walking through San Diego recently, I noticed this Super Mario graffiti artwork on the side of a structure.  I have always been a fan of Nintendo and video games.  I just had to share with everyone.

Thanks for looking.

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

Wedding Cake–HDR

Here is a photo of a wedding cake that I did in HDR.  I am really enjoying the HDR technology and think that it makes the photos really cool.  I know that some people are saying that they think the HDR thing is going overboard but for some occasions I think it looks great.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks for looking.

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

San Diego–Balboa Park HDR Hallway

I was recently in the San Diego area when I came across this hallway that I knew would be amazing in an HDR shot.  So I fired away and got this HDR shot without using my tripod. 

If you haven't been to Balboa Park in San Diego, I urge you to go.  There is just so much to see and do.  It is right next to the San Diego Zoo and actually has so many different areas due to the size of the park.

Thanks for looking.

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez