April 2005 Archives
« March 2005 | Main | May 2005 »
April 30, 2005
Open RAW and Image Management
Adam Talks about OpenRAW.org over at his site. I think this is an absolutely necessary thing to take place. However, I don't think it's just about getting the camera guys to document their formats. I think it's also about getting the camera guys to use a single, well documented format. For instance, Adobe is trying to do that with DNG. The reason this is important is so you don't have to wait for your favorite software to add support for your latest camera.
Along this topic, though, I've noticed that Google's Free Picasa 2 supports CRW and CR2 formats for Canon DSLRs, such as the Digital Rebel and 20D. This is great, but Picasa is a little quirky in some ways. For instance, after apply effects you have to "export" the files before you see those effects on the file system. Interesting in that it doesn't seem to modify the original image, but annoying in that you basically end up with another copy for anything you do. It's nice to have the choice. In any case, it's nice to see some free software that supports the RAW formats.
tow.com » blog » OpenRAW and Digital Media
OpenRAW - Digital Image Preservation Through Open Documentation
Santa Cruz area craigslist stuff for sale
I've got a couple of things up on craigslist that are for sale. The first one, the small game table, has to be picked up in person. Neither our Jeep or our Miata can take it anywhere.
Small Game Table, Pool, Foosball, Ping Pong, etc
This second one could be shipped, for a fee. It's a bit heavy, as many amplifiers are.
AM/FM Stereo Receiver/Amplifier
See the listings for contact information.
Thanks!
UPDATE: The game table has sold. The amplifier is still for sale, though. If you mention you saw it here first, I'll treat the asking price as $5 less. ;)
April 29, 2005
Geeks and Nerds
A funny rant & rave on craigslist. It's actually accurate on many points, I'm sure. I think the only point this person missed is that geeks and nerds also often have above average incomes. ;)
Here's the link:
Why Geeks and Nerds Are Worth It...
I've also "cached" it here since craigslist doesn't keep stuff forever.
Read the rest of "Geeks and Nerds"April 28, 2005
LG VX9800 Handset
The phone has an external numeric keypad with a 128x160 screen, and flips open to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard, stereo speakers and a 320x256 screen, much like the Motorola A630. The VX9800 is a CDMA handset and features EV-DO high speed data, a 1.3 megapixel camera with flash, Mini SD and mpeg4 video streaming.
Well? Yeah. Duh. I want this. When does it ship? I mean, it seems obvious that it's a Verizon phone. That means it has BREW and all that. With a keyboard. And a nice sized landscape screen.
Of course, we'll be lucky to see it within a year, if ever... *sigh* tantalizing...
Check out the pictures at Phone Scoop:
LG VX 9800 Peeks Out Of FCC (Phone Scoop)
The Fun Continues
The dust seems to have settled a little bit on the front page. The other indexes and templates, though, are still in a mess. If you care, and something is broken, feel free to comment here and let me know. I'm only really testing on the latest production versions of Firefox and Internet Explorer, in that order.
So, enjoy the mess. ;)
License Plate Image Maker
So, you want to put a picture of your license plate up on your website but you keep forgetting to take a picture of it, crop it up, uploading, and link to it. What do you do?
You visit the ACME License Maker and make one. They look pretty darn good, too. One of these days, I'll get out and get a picture of the real one. But for now, I'll use this one.
April 27, 2005
Excuse the mess
I seem to be making a mess of things while I wage war with CSS. If CSS gives me some time, maybe I'll be able to write up some of the battles I've endured.
April 26, 2005
Adding a new class of device != Removing Another class
I completely agree with Carlo over at Mobile Music Blog.
A few points to make here -- first off, why's it always have to be about one project "killing" another. Mobile phones won't be "the iPod killer". But that doesn't mean they won't become a significant force in the mobile music player market. There seems to be an assumption that there's a fixed number of people that want to listen to portable music, and phones and iPods and Creative Zens or whatever are fighting over them. That's not necessarily true. The pervasiveness of mobile phones will create a whole new class of people listening to music on the go -- particularly if mobile is used for interactivity, not just transport.
That's me. I don't have an iPod. I specifically got an Audiovox CDM-8940
Second, the writer makes another assumption, that mobile phones are in a standstill and neither hardware or software won't evolve further. This simply isn't true; there's no hardware in an MP3 player, iPod or otherwise, that won't soon be in mobile phones. The only significant difference is software, and this gap is closing quickly. Apple's mobile iTunes should be proof of that.
Well said. But not only that, I'd go so far to say that mobile phones are anything but in a standstill. The progress they are making is amazing. Feature wise, they'll be surpasing just about every PDA very soon, even with screen resolution, video card capability, and processor speed. It will not be long before we can buy a phone with a 3D video card, a VGA screen, a 1/2 GHz or so processor, and a 4GB disk inside. That would come in at or faster than a Dell Axim and would have nearly the built-in storage as an iPod mini. And neither of those devices have the built in 2MP camera (or so) that it'll have. This sort of thing, and better, are cropping up in Asia. Hopefully we'll see them next year here in NA.
Anyway, I thought I'd chime in since this world is rather close to home.
The Mobile Music Blog: y teh iPod ownz, or, Rebutting the Rebuttal
April 24, 2005
April 21, 2005
Pythons Battling Alligators!
Stunned parkgoers have even spotted the pythons in epic battles with native alligators.
This is something that I think would be very cool to see. I wouldn't want to be too close, though, as either animal is quite dangerous alone, much less when pissed at another angry animal!
April 19, 2005
smugsmug: Another Interesting Photo Service
smugmug - Online photo albums, photo sharing, photo hosting and photo storage.
April 10, 2005
When Lawyers are too Good for their own Good
A college kid defends himself against Microsoft for the right to sell software he bought, never cracked the seal, and then put it on ebay.
An Interesting Parallel
This article is a great read. A little different than things I usually link to, but I wanted to save it off anyway. If you think we always learn from history now because history has taught us that if we don't history will repeat itself, then there is no reason to read this.
April 8, 2005
The Other Problem with NPR
"What? Another problem? But NPR is cool!"
Yeah, I know it is. And so very many people that I know listen to it all the time. That makes good talking points for when I get to work and when I get home.
"But wait! You said there was another problem?"
Yes, I did say that. And there is.
"Go on..."
Fine, then. I'll tell you.
"Please do!"
The other problem with NPR is that many of the stations land between 88.1 and 88.9. And, as it so happens, many of the FM transmitters for MP3 and CD players use those exact same frequencies.
"Yeah, so? Those things don't transmit very far."
No, they don't. But they can get as for as 20 or 30 feet with a clear signal, and even farther with a disruptive signal.
"You get that close to them?"
Actually, I do. All the time. It happens quite frequently on the freeway. Often it's just a burst of static, music, static which implies the transmitter was going the other way on the freeway.
"So, it's just a brief outtage?"
Well, much of the time. Although, today that was enough to miss the line I was waiting for. (Dammit!)
"And the other times?"
Sometimes I get near someone on the freeway and I'll lose the signal until I pass them by a good margin, or they pass me.
"Ah, so what can be done about this?"
Well, nothing, really. These devices follow Part 15 rules, for the most part. And our car radios also have to follow Part 15 rules, which means accepting any interference.
"OK, so there is no solution?"
Well, I think the solution to this is the same as the solution to yesterday's discussion, as well. But what exactly is it?
"Yeah, so what is it, anyway?"
Well, I don't actually know yet.
"Uhm, OK. Now, on to something more important. Why are you talking to yourself?"
I'm doing wha...! Oh shit.
"..."
...
April 7, 2005
The Problem with NPR
I like listening to NPR. Around here, we have a lot of stations that play NPR content, which is great. It's great because I'm cheap and I don't pledge so I can switch to another one during a pledge drive. One of these years I might pledge, although I'll probably end up with Sirius or XM first.
On my commute, I have to use two NPR stations. 90.3 works on the Santa Cruz side of the hill and is good for over there. It's not the only one, but it's the loudest. Once over the hill, though, I have to switch to 88.5, which covers most of the Bay Area. This is a bit of a pain, which is why Sirius and XM sound so nice to me. ;)
But that's not the real problem. The real problem is that if I go out during the day, I'll listen to NPR. Sometimes it's Talk of the Nation, which is fine. But other times it's Fresh Air. Unfortunately, that often means I get a repeat on my way home when Fresh Air is replayed. This happens with other shows, too. And that's my problem with NPR. There's just enough repetition that I can't listen to it all day, even though I would like to.
However, I know there is enough programming that I shouldn't have to hear any repeats. What I really could use is my own custom programming. Morning Edition for the morning is pretty good. During the days I wouldn't mind listening to Talk of the Nation or Fresh Air, if I happen to be out. But on the way home, I want to listen to Marketplace usually. There are also a lot of evening and weekend shows that I'd like to listen to. That's usually when the science shows and other shows are on.
Now, I know I can go to the website to listen to old shows. But they aren't MP3. So how does this help me in the car? Well, it doesn't. And that's the problem. My drive is just over a half an our. This is just about long enough to listen to one show, such as Marketplace, but I rarely travel on the half our.
What to do... what to do... [sighing]. And how can my phone help out? Hrm...
April 6, 2005
Pocket GPS Site
This site seems to have great data on all things related to Pocket GPS devices. In their world, this means navigation done through PDA, phone, or laptop software. It doesn't really seem to include dedicated GPS devices for cars (the larger, more expensive kind).
Real Life Mech's!
It walks and it can shoot sponge balls. I wonder how long before this is how paint ball will be played in ever growing arenas?
You may need to run this site through Babelfish.
Insane Food
This is crazy. Over 1000 calories, 64 grams of fat, and 231% of your daily intake of cholesterol. Good grief. We just watched Super Size Me! This has got to be on the same level or even worse than eating fast food.
April 5, 2005
Oil Change and the Code Pulled
So, the trip up to PR Motorsports went well. I got the oil changed with Mobile One full synthetic. Actually, Rick was very nice and comp'd me the oil change.
The code that was pulled was the same as before: EGR flow insufficient. And this is after having the EGR valve changed. So, no one quite knows what is wrong at the moment. Rick called up Flyin' Miata and they'll get back to him if they know anything.
For now, I've been told it doesn't really affect anything other than getting the car smogged. Naturally, I have until May to get the car smogged. Heh.
However, that does mean that I can run it full on. And boy does it fly! I'd forgotten how good flooring it feelins in the low gears. One of these days I'll have to get it dyno'd to get some good, hard numbers. But until then, just know that it's a kick in the back. Although, 1st gear is still a bit uncontrollable. That is, it tends to just spin the wheels. ;)
In any case, I'll be scheduling a longer visit soon. This visit will also include a full turbo tuning with Flyin' Miata recommendations. That should be fun. I'm not sure yet if I'll up the boost or not, but I think a little should be safe enough with the built engine. It has rods in it that are stronger than the ones they use on their 2.0L stroked engines. ;)
More Fun with the Miata
So, finally I got over the 1000 mile break-in of the new engine. Mostly, the rule was to avoid going on heavy boost of the turbo, so I kept it to no more than 1-2 psi (which is rather difficult, actually).
This was last Thursday. Given our quick trip to Death Valley, I didn't get to drive it much. Last night, I got to drive it home, though. And, naturally, the check engine light went on. Again.
Damn!
It was literally just in for a fix that should have solved that. Hopefully I'll be able to take it in today and get the trouble code pulled.
I also want to get the oil changed so I can switch back to synthetics now that the break-in of the new engine is over.
*sigh* At this point, I really just want it all running and reliable again. I'm looking forward to really jumping on the turbo and getting it all tuned up and stuff, but not having to worry about it is just as much of a dream right now.
April 4, 2005
Death Valley Road Trip
We heard Death Valley was having an absolutely spectacular flower season, so
last Monday I asked for and received Friday, April 1st off.
We headed out for DV at about 4:30pm from Los Gatos. We arrived in the area
at about 12:30 am, but found it to be rather crowded. Stovepipe Wells
campground was over full; the parking lots of the campground had become tent
camping. We drove back up 190 a little ways and ended up staying in our car
at a pullout near a small campground that was also completely over flowing
with tents and cars. By morning (5am) a few other cars had joined us.
We headed out just after 5am to go catch the dunes at sunrise. That was
great. We drove south after that and found a tent site at Texas Springs
just before 8am. Furnace Creek was completely overflowing as well. We got
lucky as this was the only site available. It was the very first one going
in, too. That meant have lots of traffic, but also being close to the
toilets, garbage, and water.
After setting up the tent (we actually remembered the big nails and hammer,
which made this much easier) we headed further south to enjoy the
wildflowers. We took a short walk up to natural bridges, a bridge over a
canyon. This was entertaining.
We were both exhausted from having very little sleep the night before (I
think I got under 2 hours). We headed back to the tent site. We napped for
a bit, although Laurie did some image dumping. She decided to head out
without me to catch the sunset. I ended up sleeping for a few hours, total.
She got to see a couple of coyotes while out. I got to see the pictures,
but I definitely missed this.
After dinner, and a few attempts at star pictures, I went back to sleep. We
got up early again, but only just before sunrise. This time, we headed
north. We had wanted to do Titus Canyon with the Jeep, but it was closed.
So we went up to Ubehebe Crater and the road out to Race Track. On the way,
we spotted a Golden Eagle! It was absolutely amazing how big it was.
Watching through the 300mm lenses, we got to see it preening, which gave a
great view of its golden tail feathers. This was probably the best moment
of the trip.
We went down to Race Track, named for moving rocks. The road was fairly
rough and we were glad we had the Jeep and didn't have to worry about it.
Once there, we walked over to the "island" where we saw a number of lizards.
On our way back, we attempted to go up a true 4x4 trail. However, the Jeep
stalled at one point on a steep area as we hadn't switched into 4-low. We
decided to not go on as at one point we checked the clearance and we only
had about an inch to spare and things looked worse. We'll be going back at
some point, though. ;)
Laurie drove out and went about 2-3x the speed I went in. We got out
quickly and with some excitement, for sure. The wash board was rather
rough, but it smoothed a bit at speed. However, this came with a bit of a
loss of traction and control -- and the road was relatively busy. We'd see
a car every minute or two.
After this, we headed up to Scotty's Castle to get some ice cream and see it
this time of year. It was about like normal, though. It looked like the
Barrel Cactus there had already bloomed.
We tried to find the coyotes in the same place again at sunset, but with no
luck. We headed back for dinner and crashed relatively early again, but
this time after a nice long day of fun.
Sunday morning, we got up as the sun was coming up, but this sunrise was
anti-climactic. There were just enough clouds in the sky to filter out any
direct sunlight. We headed out 190 at north to 395. We visited Manzanar,
which has a visitor center now that's only been there about a year. It is
one of the best visitor centers at any of the parks we've visited.
After this, we headed north on 395 to 50 in Nevada as all of the other
passes were closed. We headed over, getting a nice view of Lake Tahoe. It
was actually snowing a bit, too. The radio was recommending carrying
chains. We weren't. Luckily, Echo Pass is right out of South Lake Tahoe,
so we got over before it was dark and icy.
It rained on us coming down, but it came with some lightning which made it
entertaining. We decided to stay at my grandma's rather than going all the
way back home. This made getting the car at work a bit easier, too. A
quick stop at the Elephant Bar for some takeout and we got in at about
9:30pm ending our weekend road trip.
