Unscientific Lens Tests
12/08/08, 17:19
My friend David just got a fancy new 3rd party lens (more on this after the page break), and I happen to have access to some nice lenses at work and through a coworker who is looking to convert to Nikon (trying to get me to buy his lenses), so without further ado, here’s what we came up with (click any of these thumbnails for a larger version):
(above: Canon 50mm f/1.4, Canon 50mm f/1.8, Canon 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro)
Note, I did not test the faster lenses stopped down to match the slower ones. I suppose the DoF/fall-off is mostly as expected for the different apertures. But the main reason for the compact macro is it can do this (read on): Read the rest of this entry »
1Do I Want to be a Pro Photographer?
09/13/08, 10:46
The answer is I think so. But the cost for entering the field of selling prints online is a bit of a hurdle.
A little backstory leading up to this entry here. About 2 weeks ago, I checked out a really nice lens, and took it with the rest of photo kit to a waterski tournament where I shot a little over 1500 photos. All this with the hopes of selling a few prints to people. Now on with the research….
The first place I looked at was ExpressDigital’s PhotoReflect (I’m not providing a link, they’re not worth it, keep reading), because it’s where the 2008 AWSA Western Regionals photos were posted. I looked around the site, looked a little clunky but usable. Their rates sounded high at first glance (I’ve since found out they are indeed relatively low). For low-sales-volume accounts, they scrape 18% off the top, but don’t charge any bandwidth or storage fees.
The second place I looked at was PhotoWorks which also has free upload and storage, but their pricing markup is severely limited. The only options are a solid $ increase (ex. adding $10 to the cost of the print, regardless of size), or a solid % increase (ex. add 400% to the cost of the print, $1.14 4×6 and $209.70 for 20×30) Read the rest of this entry »
22General Tso’s Chicken, finally success
08/04/08, 0:06
In what seemed like destined failure once again, I finally had a successful batch of General Tso’s Chicken. I believe this was my third or fourth attempt from scratch (+1 attempt using sauce from a bottle). The first hint I was in trouble was when I realized I had no corn starch (used as a breadding), so I used pancake powder. Then when mixing up the sauce, I realized I didn’t have any red wine/cooking sherry. Instead I used a little bit of white wine vinegar with some water, and a little bit of Berry Splash Crystal Light powder (weird, definitely. but it came out just fine), and a little extra soy sauce. No onions? No big deal, though it is a key part of this dish, I was mainly concerned about the sauce coming out ok.
Tiny bit of back-story. General Tso’s Chicken is one of my favorite Chinese dishes, especially at Maple Garden near campus. I’ve never seen any other resteraunt make it anywhere near close to the way they do, and I have no idea what it’s supposed to be like, but it’s damn good. So it’s been a goal of mine for the past 3 years or so to figure out how to make a decent batch of it. I’m getting closer… I’m guessing another 2 attempts and I’ll have a recipe worthy of sharing.
1What are you doing up at this hour?
07/31/08, 2:41
That’s what Toni asked me about 2hrs ago. Followed by:
Me: getting my calendars set up to sync through google
Toni: sounds exciting there
Me: 
you have no idea
Toni: lol
Toni: you are an odd one
Anyways this is fairly brilliant. Google Calendar is the brains of the operation, where the data is stored and whatnot. Sure I exported most of my calendars straight from iCal, but then I set up the calendars to utilize Google Calendar’s new calDAV service (Google’s instructions). So now I can edit events on my iMac at home, the iMac at work, even on my iPod Touch, and it’ll sync up to the gCloud, and back down to my computers/iPod, and essentially be the same everywhere.
Caveat here is regarding the iPod Touch. I only see the “live” calendars when using Google’s mobile interface, the Apple Calendar interface needs to get plugged in at home to sync. Same with posting, it if i post to Apple Calendar, nothing goes live until I plug & sync at home. And obviously Google Calendar needs to be within earshot of wi-fi access.
This is all acceptable though, wi-fi seems ubiquitous enough for when I’m hopping between computers, and when I’m not (say, when I visit the family cabin in Minnesota), the iPod Touch will be the only device I have for keeping schedules, so it’ll “just work”.
The one thing I don’t understand, is why do each of my Google Calendars need seperate CalDAV accounts in iCal? This is makes it a pain the ass to set up, but after the fact is mainly cosmetic (see image above, and click to enlarge).
Hmm.. ramblomatic blogger? I’m going to bed.
1Mint Lake Open
07/30/08, 10:40
Thinking maybe I should start doing tournament recaps after they happen, so I can look back at the performances at the end of the year. Anyhow, here’s my first crack at one.
I’ve skied at Mint a few times, but only at the Emerald Valley’s Northwest Championships tournament. This was the first one where our club wasn’t as required to do the work. I still helped out with scoring and judging, it helps to practice at a variety of locations, learn the quirks of the computers and whatnot.
22nd ANNUAL MINT LAKE OPEN
TourID: 08W133C
Yacolt, WA
7/12/2008 to 7/13/2008
Slalom Rd 1: 4 @ 58k, 23m
Tricks: 810 pts (personal best!)
Jump: 64 ft (personal best!)
Slalom Rd 2: 2H @ 58k, 16m (personal best!)
I also took some photos from the site (click image above for gallery):
