Bari & I celebrated the 4th with a nice 33 Mile ride down the central part of Whidbey Island from my Dad’s place at the entrance to Penn Cove (near Coupeville) to my Uncle’s at Bell’s Beach (North of Langley).
This route avoids the highway, except for one little bit, and rolls around through the country side with nice scenic views the whole way. The roads themselves are in really nice condition, even the shoulders are pretty good, they’re just never very flat!
This weekend marked the one year anniversary for Bari & I. So I took her back to La Rustica, the scene of our first official “date” a year ago. And just to remind me of how fantastic she is, she surprised me with a Flip HD!
All I got her was a silly little ring. Anyway, check out my first Flip HD video:
Neither can I, but I’m pretty sure it means “dumb-ass who takes steep corners too fast on wet oily pavement”. Bonus points are awarded for doing it while trying to impress a girl.
Nikon D700 plus hands-on preview: “Perhaps the worst kept secret of any recent announcement Nikon has now officially revealed the compact, professional, twelve megapixel, full-frame (FX format) Nikon D700. From the outside the D700 is virtually identical to the D300, albeit for its larger ‘full frame’ viewfinder, internally it’s almost identical to the D3, except for a slightly slower shutter (five frames per second up to eight frames per second with the MB-D10 battery grip). By comparison it also includes several function improvements over the D3 including Image Sensor cleaning (’sensor shake’), more flexible ‘hard button’ programming, virtual horizon in Live View and different DX mode indication on the focusing screen. The D700 also becomes the first professional Nikon DSLR to sport a built-in flash. As far as competition is concerned the D700 really only faces the Canon EOS 5D (and any replacement that may be in the works). On sale in July for US$2999 or €2599 body only. We’ve had a D700 for a few days now, just enough time to produce a detailed hands-on preview.”
Wow, I guess its been nearly 20 years since I made my daily rounds to pick up freshly processed film at Ivey (and a few boxes of paper next door at Glazer’s). Don’t get me wrong, I’m happily all digital all the time, but I can’t help feeling a little bit sentimental.
Ivey Photo, among the few Seattle photo labs still processing professional-grade film, will close its doors Monday, the latest victim of the massive shift to digital photography.
The store’s site, www.iveyphoto.com, on Wednesday consisted of a single page, stating, “As of June 30th @ 5pm Ivey Photo will be closing its doors. Thank you for your many years of patronage.”
I’m a big fan of napping and often evangelize the transformative power of a quick Pzizz. If you’re new to the nap habit — or if you buy the propaganda that naps are only for infants and layabouts — treat yourself to this cool infographic from The Boston Globe (shown in part above).
It’s full of handy tips for learning when you’re most likely benefit from a nap, how long to snooze, as well as what you can do to improve your environment for good sleep.
Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ve heard it before: napping shouldn’t require a guide and software. But an astonishing number of people I’ve talked to just can’t bring themselves to sleep during the day (and many sleep poorly at night as well). As a marginally sleep-deprived Dad, I’m all for anything that helps people get rested and refreshed, and the advice in this little guide comports with everything I’ve learned about making naps work.
Flickr has added support for video so I tried it out by uploading this video of Pete skiing though grippy mashed potatoes off Panorama Point yesterday.
Apple Aperture 2.1 gains depth: “Apple has released an updated version of its Aperture image processing software. The move from version 2.0 to 2.1 increases the product’s depth with the addition of new architecture that allows third-party plug-ins. Apple includes a dodge and burn plug-in with the latest version and is working with plug-in writers to bring industry favorites to Aperture.”
One of Student Films Across America’s local picks, directed by Amber Seyler. A Dozen More Turns is the true story of five close friends, all with extensive avalanche education, who went on a New Year’s Day hut trip in Southwestern Montana.
A member of the group triggered an avalanche with truly devastating consequences. This film tells this tragic story in an effort to help backcountry enthusiasts re-calibrate their decision-making processes when up on the slopes.
Using emotional interviews, science and compelling home video footage left behind by the group, each viewer is left wondering if simply having avalanche education is enough to save our lives in the backcountry. How much are we willing to risk for a dozen more turns?
Installing MySQL on Mac OS X: “Hivelogic: ‘By rolling our own from source this way, we also have full control over our environment. We know what’s installed and where, what version we’ve used, where it came from, and there’s no dependence on an external ports system and the breakage or issues that come from relying on others to manage our software.’”
“At the recent PhotoPlus Expo show in New York City, one of the many seminars was something a little different. Entitled: Iron Chef Raw Processing—the format was similar to the popular cooking show.
Moderated by Photoshop/Lightroom guy Andrew Rodney, it was a competition that gave the audience a chance to see four RAW processors in action: Aperture, Capture One, Bibble and Lightroom, all in real time”
Perhaps the worst kept secret of any recent announcement Nikon has now officially revealed the compact, professional, twelve megapixel, full-frame (FX format) Nikon D700. From the outside the D700 is virtually identical to the D300, albeit for its larger ‘full frame’ viewfinder, internally it’s almost identical to the D3, except for a slightly slower shutter (five frames per second up to eight frames per second with the MB-D10 battery grip). By comparison it also includes several function improvements over the D3 including Image Sensor cleaning (’sensor shake’), more flexible ‘hard button’ programming, virtual horizon in Live View and different DX mode indication on the focusing screen. The D700 also becomes the first professional Nikon DSLR to sport a built-in flash. As far as competition is concerned the D700 really only faces the Canon EOS 5D (and any replacement that may be in the works). On sale in July for US$2999 or €2599 body only. We’ve had a D700 for a few days now, just enough time to produce a detailed hands-on preview.”
Apple has released an updated version of its Aperture image processing software. The move from version 2.0 to 2.1 increases the product’s depth with the addition of new architecture that allows third-party plug-ins. Apple includes a dodge and burn plug-in with the latest version and is working with plug-in writers to bring industry favorites to Aperture.”
