Flash Alexander

Merry Christmas (I can say that, can't I?)

Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Our family thanks all our clients for the love and support you have given us. I thank God for making you all part of us and for making us understand each other the way we do. Merry Christmas to my children Zac and Max and all the cousins down the line. May this new year give all of the things you rightly deserve. May the miracle of Christmas fill your heart with warmth and love.

New Wallpapers Display

My sister Judi (http://judijacobson.com) has been buggin' me to provide her with a winter themed wall paper. That got me going on creating a new wallpaper photo gallery where she and anybody else can view and download as desired.

But why stop there. I overhauled the entire gallery on this website. Use the link in the left navigation pane to check it out. You will find my most recent works in the New Photos album.

The gallery has a lot of interesting features including slide show, exif info and more. Use the Guestbook incon to leave comments on photos that catch your interest or imagination.

View>>

Flippies - Max and Zac on the Jump King

Gettin High Alexander Style

Fall Celebration and Mei Sheng

Fall 2007 Wallpaper >>
My neighbor has one of those great trees that goes wild with color in the fall. I photographed various angles of this tree and settled on one particular shot where the leaves were backlit by the sun.

'Mei Sheng' Wallpaper>>
("Born in the USA" or "Beautiful Life")

Mei Sheng is the second cub to be born at the San Diego Zoo. His mother is Bai Yun, his father is Gao Gao. He has a sister, Su Lin, and a new sibling born August 3, 2007.

Mei Sheng is enjoying training sessions with his keepers as he prepares to move to China as part of the giant panda breeding program.

Male
Born: August 19, 2003, San Diego Zoo
Weight on August 31, 2007: 180 pounds (82 kilograms)

You can view both these images by visiting the Gallery>>

Hawaiian Memories

I stumbled upon UploadingIT.com where one can upload images, mp3s, shockwave files or whatever. The site will put your files into play with their MP3 Player and or Flash Slide Show Player. I uploaded some images and MP3s for a test drive.

Family Time in La Jolla

Featuring

Flash, Jan, Zac and Max
Frank & Dorothy Alexander
Judi & Randy Jacobson

iTunes Email Gift Certificates in 24-48 Hours?!

Shoppers beware of Apple's iTunes Email Gift Cards. If you are looking to purchase a last minute gift and expect the immediacy of internet email delivery then consider my experience.

I purchased a iTunes Email Gift Card and checked the email delivery check box. I received my online purchase receipt almost immediately but no gift certificate. I tried patience and lasted almost an hour but my kid (Max) kept bugging me to call their support telephone. I complied.

"I'm sorry Mr. Alexander but we have been having a large number of users report this problem" I'll contact our IT department. You should receive your Gift Card in 24-48 hours." (paraphrased)

Just a heads up to my fellow online shoppers. I'm truly surprised that a company as successful as Apple, whos success most recently was predicated upon the iPod, can't get this right. I wrote to their customer relations and suggested to at least get a disclaimer up on the website so shoppers know they may not get the good for up to 48 hours.

From iTunes Store Customer Support (canned or real?)
"I understand that you expected your purchased gift certificate to be delivered immediately and it has not reached your son yet. I know how upsetting this can be, especially since you mentioned that this is already a late birthday gift. I am terribly sorry for the frustration this delay has caused you.

Due to technical difficulties I am unable to cancel the purchase or locate a redemption code for the gift certificate in order for you to send it to your son.

The last thing we want is to turn anyone away feeling like they were not helped. Your experience with the iTunes Store is of the utmost importance and I want to let you know that this situation is my first priority. Apple's engineers are diligently working towards a resolution. Your request is flagged for follow-up and you will be contacted once we have more information.

Again, I apologize for the further delay. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding."

RTF Outlaws

Remote control sailplanes was a passion of mine after having been released by the United States Air Force in the summer of '72. When Christmas rolled around in '06 I purchased two RTF Outlaw remote control electric planes for my boyz Max and Zac. The following is a short movie chronologicalling their first flight.

These planes proved to be close to a one time use $50.00 toy. Interesting how times have changed; parents are willing to spend that kind of money for something that definitely does not go the distance.

New Wallpaper Posted

Sumatra Tiger Cub

Another great San Diego Zoo image forwarded to me from my Dad (he volunteers there). I did quite a bit of Photoshop trickery on this one. Generally I like my results whilst most of my fans think my tinkering is over the top. I have a feeling that most critics will enjoy this piece. The finished size is 1280X960 so most everybody can enjoy it. View it in the Gallery then right click to download the full res version.

New Wallpaper Posted

Every month my Dad send me the San Diego Zoo wallpaper of the month. Unfortunately they come with the Zoo's logo. Some months the subject is composed such that a cleaver crop rids the image of the offending zoo info; this month was a good candidate.

Featured on the May wallpaper is Bai Yun, a femail Giant Panda born in China September 7, 1991 at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center. Bai Youn arrived at San Diego Zoo September 10, 1996. Currently she weighs 220 pounds (100 kilograms). The San Diego Zoo has the largest number of giant pandas in the United States. Note: Baiyun (白云区) is one of the districts of Guangzhou, China.

See Bai Yun and all my wallpapers in the Wallpaper Gallery

Download Link