Personal

The stuff about me and my life. The “diary” side of blogging.

Size Matters

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This is actually fairly amusing now that I stop to think about it, but I think I’ve finally figured out why, no matter how good they are or how many features today’s pocket-size digital cameras have, I still can’t ever stop lusting after the bigger, fancier (more expensive) cameras that are out there.

When I was a kid, I had one of the little, flat, Kodak 110 film cameras. Simple, portable, took decent pictures, and was cheap enough to entrust to a kid without having to worry about it too much. Meanwhile, dad had a nice SLR of some kind. When dad’s camera eventually died, I’d spend hours playing with it, and even looked into getting it repaired at one point when I was in high school (though at that time, the repairs were far out of my budget).

When I graduated from high school, I got a camera as a present from my grandparents. While it wasn’t an SLR, it was the film equivalent of today’s high-end digital cameras — it could work quite well as a point-and-shoot style, but it also had a number of more manual controls, a good zoom lens, and had the size, heft, and weight of what I associated with a “real” camera. That camera lasted me for a good few years, until it disappeared (along with a few other belongings of mine) when I had to kick out a roommate.

Now, of course, that distinction between small “kid” cameras and large “adult” cameras is firmly ingrained in my head. I see people like Cory Doctorow geeking out about their ultra-tiny cameras, and while I know that they’re quite right, and these are damn cool cameras, and they’re worth every penny…I just can’t get over feeling like they’re toys. It’s silly, stupid, and outmoded thinking…and I’m stuck with it.

Well, not entirely stuck. At least I recognize my problem (that’s one of the twelve steps, right?). And if all goes well, come payday, I’ll be getting a tiny (but very full-featured) camera of my very own.

It’s a start, right?

iTunes: “Justify My Love (Hip Hop)” by Madonna from the album Justify My Love (1990, 6:35).

Narrowing the field

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Another camera post, feel free to ignore it if you’re not interested. Mainly, I’m in the midst of reading reviews, researching, and price-checking, and want to keep all the links I’ve been using at my fingertips when I actually get to a point of plunking down money.

Incidentally, if you live in Seattle and happen to stop by Cameras West, try to avoid dealing with Russ, one of the salesmen there. I went in there to see if I could take a hands-on look at some of the cameras I’ve been considering, and he came across as abrupt, smarmy, and somewhat condescending — I got the definite impression that he saw me less as a customer out to compare different cameras, and more as some random shmoe with money to burn who wanted a “cool camera” and might be an easy mark. He also had the most incredible fake “smile” I’ve ever seen on a salesman — he managed to pull all the facial muscles into roughly the right spots, but there was obviously nothing real about it. He also pushes Fujifilm cameras really strongly — not that there’s anything wrong with those, but that’s apparently all he bothers trying to sell.

Amusingly enough, I found out later from a co-worker (Rebecca, at Kit’s Cameras in the Westlake Center, who was far friendlier, far more helpful, willing to point out various pros and cons to the cameras, and all around a much better salesperson…not to mention really cute!) that he used to be a used-car salesman. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised at all…

Anyway, on to the cameras…

First off, as I’ve mentioned before, the lowest-cost (and therefore most likely) option is pretty solidly decided.

Canon PowerShot A80

Now for the “if I can find a way to afford it, I’d love to blow a wad on one of these” SLR-like cameras.

Fujifilm FinePix s7000

Nikon Coolpix 5700

Konica Minolta DiMAGE A1

  • Manufacturer’s site: [Konica Minolta | DiMAGE A1]
  • Basic features: 5MP, 7x optical zoom, variable-angle LCD and EVF, anti-shake mechanism.
  • Reviews:
  • Pros: Mid-range price for high-end features. Reviews indicate that Minolta’s claims regarding the anti-shake system to be spot on. Camera can automatically switch between the LCD and the EVF by sensing when the eye is close to the EVF, or simply leave the LCD off and only turn the EVF on when the eye comes close. Long battery life.
  • Cons: Off-center tripod mount. Somewhat noisy night shots. May have been discontinued (though still available for purchase) in favor of the new A2.
  • Lowest price found: \$459

Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2

  • Manufacturer’s site: [Konica Minolta | DiMAGE A2]
  • Basic features: 8MP, 7x optical zoom, variable-angle LCD and EVF, anti-shake mechanism.
  • Reviews:
    • Steve’s Digicams: Minolta DiMAGE A2 (first-look only, not a full review)
    • This is a fairly new camera, reviews are either not out or very hard to find so far.
  • Pros: All of the pros of the A1, plus insanely high resolution, and it’s supposed to be much faster at all operations than the A1.
  • Cons: Off-center tripod mount. New, still pretty pricey (essentially out of my realistic ability, but I can dream…)
  • Lowest price found: \$699

Don’t ignore the real world

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Computers are wonderful things. A computer plus the Internet is even more so, with the ability to connect easily, quickly, and in many different ways with people around the world.

But the real world is a very important thing, too — and it scares me when people will abandon their lives for the sake of online interactions. The Everquest Daily Grind tracks stories from people whose lives have been affected by Everquest addicts…

My 15 yr old son bought the game two years ago for his sister. My husband took it over and has been playing constantly ever since. My son says he regrets ever buying it and considers anyone who plays computer games all day to be a loser. It’s hurt his relationship with his dad.

…He starts playing about ten mins after getting home from work and stops just long enough to eat dinner. Then he plays again til bedtime around 11. ON weekends he gets up around 8am and plays all day til 10 or 11pm.

…I don’t know if he realizes how bad things are between him and all of us. The kids have lost respect for him and I am very lonely. We just live our lives without him.

I’ve seen this happen with friends, too.

I’ve watched one friend lose his friends, girlfriend, job, and health because he did nothing except play EQ, sunup to sundown. I’ve consoled the girlfriend of another when he ignored her attempts to coax him into bed, preferring to play his game.

Of course, it’s not just EQ, but virtually all forms of online interaction that can prompt his sort of behavior in people. IRC channels, web-based chat, online gaming, discussion boards…even weblogs (gasp!) can interfere with people’s real lives — and not just the people that are directly involved — if they’re allowed to have too much influence.

I’ve always kept a fairly strict hierarchy for my interactions, and it’s rare that I’ll deviate without good reason. In order from most to least important, with each able to be superseded at any time by the item above:

  1. Real-world, face-to-face interactions.
  2. Phone calls.
  3. IM messages.
  4. Online chat.
  5. Online games (mostly included just to fill out the list, as I’ve never been much of a gamer, let alone an online gamer).

Personally, I find it somewhat amazing that people can approach the world with a different set of priorities, but it’s obvious (and somewhat sad) that they do.

(via Boing Boing)

iTunes: “Pore” by ohGr from the album Welt (2001, 3:57).

I should probably be worried about this…

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Kirsten pointed out the Book Quiz — another of the many online personality tests, this one purporting to link your psyche to a novel.

My results?

<

blockquote>Vladimir Nabokov's 'Lolita'

You’re Lolita!

by Vladimir Nabokov

Considered by most to be depraved and immoral, you are obsessed with sex. What really tantalizes you is that which deviates from societal standards in every way, though you admit that this probably isn’t the best and you’re not sure what causes this desire. Nonetheless, you’ve done some pretty nefarious things in your life, and probably gotten caught for them. The names have been changed, but the problems are real. Please stay away from children.

Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

Oh my.

[Ahem.]

More camera ramblings

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I’ve spent a good portion of the evening bouncing around various camera reviews and specifications, comparing all the various suggestions made in my comments today (many thanks to all of you!). Right now, I’m leaning towards one of two possibilities…

Option one is essentially what I was looking for recommendations for, a more immediately affordable smaller “point-and-shoot” camera. Right now, I’m leaning towards the Canon PowerShot A80 (here’s the DPReview listing). Small, good combination of features, a little more expensive than I was aiming for (\$381.52[*]/\$385[**]) but it looks to be worth it.

Option two is if I can hold off a little longer, save a bit more, and get paid back for a loan I made to a friend a few years back — in which case, I’ll go for a more powerful camera. While I’ve had my eye on the Canon Digital Rebel (DPReview listing) (\$1100.90[*]/\$927.99 [body only]) for a while now, Nikon just announced their D70 (DPReview listing) (\$1114.49[][*]) which looks to handily best the Digital Rebel and should be out soon — but the Minolta DiMAGE A1 (DPReview listing) (\$754.19[][*]/\$736.40) is really catching my eye. It doesn’t have the lens-swapping capabilities of the other two, but really, I’m not likely to have the ability (financially or photographically) to worry about that for a long time to come, and the number of features it packs in for the price is fairly astounding.

I’ll keep looking, though, to see if something else looks like a better deal. I’ve gotta come up with the funds first, after all. ;)

[*]{#mcr1} Average of all appropriate results out of the first ten hits in a Froogle search.

[**]{#mcr2} Average of the five prices listed on DPReview’s pages.

iTunes: “Wiggedy Wack” by Utah Saints from the album Two (2001, 1:28).

Digital camera recommendations?

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Okay, so it looks like I’m going to be in the market for a new camera as soon as I can afford it (which, knowing me will be sometime in 2007, but that’s beside the point).

My camera of choice right now is the Canon EOS Digital Rebel — but given its \$1000 price tag, I’m afraid that it’s going to have to stay in the “pipe dream” category for a while.

So here’s my (more realistic, and not that unreasonable) wish list:

  • 2-4 Megapixel resolution.
  • Compact Flash storage.
  • Optical zoom (not digital).
  • Smallish size.
  • \$200-\$350 price range.

Any recommendations?

Today sucks

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It’s all of 2pm, and I’m having an amazingly shitty day.

First, iPhoto corrupts its library, so all 3500 photos need to be re-imported and re-named.

Then iTunes corrupts its library, losing all ratings and play count data.

Now, both of those are more on the annoying side than anything of really major importance — the data is still there, just not as conveniently organized as I might like it. Frustrating, but not that big of a deal, all told.

The crowning moment so far, though, was getting so engrossed in reading The Stranger‘s’Marriage Issue‘ that when the bus comes, I stand up, get on, and sit down…

…then realize halfway to work and ten minutes later that I left my bookbag at the bus stop at 2nd and Spring.

Shit.

Items lost include:

  1. The bookbag itself: just a bookbag, but a nice one, and one I got for free during my months at Microsoft, complete with Microsoft logo embroidered on the flap.
  2. One necktie. Eeeh. No biggie.
  3. The book I was reading, which wasn’t even mine, but was loaned to me by Prairie. A minor annoyance, but books can be re-bought, so I’m not terribly worried about that.
  4. My \$300 (at time of purchase) Kodak DX3500 digital camera. Shit.

Work let me bail out as soon as I got there and take a cab back downtown to see if by any chance someone had turned my bag into the building that the bus stop is in front of, but (as I expected), no dice. A quick swing by home to pick up another tie and verify that my camera really was in the bag and not on my desk, and now I’m just waiting for the next bus back to work.

So, I’ve managed to be a complete and total idiot and lose my camera.

I guess it’s time to start saving….

Elation and Frustration

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Been somewhat of a roller coaster morning here.

Elation: finding a Quest Customer Service representative who’s competent, and who discovers that due to some billing wonkiness Quest owes me \$130, and credits that to my current telephone account.

Frustration: discovering that iPhoto has somehow self-destructed, and while I still have all my photos, I’m going to have to go through and re-sort, re-categorize, and re-name all 3500 of them.

And the word “PROJECT” flashed before my eyes…

Update: And the day just keeps getting \<sarcasm>better\</sarcasm>. iTunes just flaked out on me too, so now I’m re-importing all my music. ID3 tags should be fine, which is the main worry, but I’ve lost all my custom smart playlists, all the “last played” metadata, ratings, and anything else not recorded directly in each file’s ID3 tag. Argh.

Today just doesn’t seem to be a good day for me to be touching a computer.

iTunes: “Floor Show: Rose Tint My World/Don’t Dream It, Be It/Wild and an Untamed Thing” by Original London Rocky Horror Show Cast from the album Rocky Horror International (1973, 6:00).

Sounds like it’s closed

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Well, I was a bit of an idiot and walked out of the building without my bus pass today, so I’m going to be a bit late for work (which they’re okay with — when I called them, a three-alarm fire next door complete with road closures, some of which are still in effect, counted as a reasonable excuse for being a bit distracted).

Before I realized that I didn’t have my pass on me, though, I passed a TV news crew either filming a report for later or broadcasting live, and overheard the reporter say that Jensonia residents were only being let in the building to retrieve personal belongings, and that the Red Cross is going to be assisting them find places to live. Sounds like the Jensonia finally got shut down.

Now, off to find the next bus to Georgetown…

Update: According to this KOMO report, the building isn’t permanently shut down, though it is closed off for the next few days due to fire, smoke, and water damage.