Making waves on the internet…
Archive for December, 2009
Christmas Goodness
Dec 27th
Desserts in Piedigrotta
I love finding little places that serve the best food and have really good history. Piedigrotta is now my favorite foodie spot in Baltimore for desserts and goodies. What is also amazing is the claim to fame that Carminantonio Iannaccone was the man who invented the Tiramisu. This past week over Christmas I went to Baltimore to spend some time with my cousin and with the intent to directly enjoy the goodies and boy did I. It was awesome… I will definitely visit the spot again and bring back all the goodness.
WordPress updates = Frustration
Dec 21st
I love the open development of WordPress because there is constant security updates and usability fixes. The downside is some of my extensions lose their functionality. I have so many neat little plugins that I would love to have work, but the ever changing version numbers of WordPress keep my plugins from working. Well I will just hope that the plugin development will keep updating right along with my core WordPress engine.
Avatar: A Masterpiece
Dec 21st
I just came home from seeing what can only be described as an epic master piece of cinema. James Cameron has once again created an amazing world that truly was tangible. Aside from the amazing 3D experience and filming in IMAX the emotions that swirl from the beautiful characters that inhabit Pandora really make the viewer feel for each individual. Not to mention the motion capture was so well-detailed that I could pick up on the slightest nuances of emotion that come with an actual human face.
The detail of course does not end there. Though the detail on the characters and the mechanics of those characters were well thought out and planned, the world itself was full of such detail. Pandora as a world was truly something remarkable. James Cameron not only created an expansive environment for the movie to play through, but he created a true ecosystem. A biology and anatomical system that was unique and absolutely detailed in all aspects.
Admittedly the story resembled some story themes that are common in other movies and literature. The truth though is the depth of that world and the creatures inhabiting it were so well thought out it once again shows the genius of James Cameron.
Snowed in Productivity
Dec 20th
I love a good snow. Sledding happens, bonfires, and some crazy play time with my dog. Right now I am going to do some house cleaning though because I have some great cable organization tools I got from my friend Bill. My desk is chaos right now but I will update soon. In the meantime check out the video of Diesel being crazy and I will post more Christmas images and video.
Geek Cred by Association
Dec 15th
I love geeking out in all parts of my life. I found this amazing Christmas tree topper at the local Target. I know my amazing wife has kept up with all my crazy geeked out trends. Even adopting an Android based phone at my insistence which was totally against her character. I realize I put a lot of geek knowledge on her and sure enough she has kept up with me. I love having a wife that is so adaptive to my weird geek changes.
A quarter of a century…
Dec 9th
Today is my birthday. My wife surprised me with breakfast in bed and got me a new toy, a Canon Powershot SD780 IS. I love this new camera to add to my collection. I suddenly realized that this is the first small point and shoot I have ever owned. My first camera was a Canon Ae-1 35mm that my dad bought just before I was born with the intent of using it to shoot pictures of me. I used that camera regularly and learned the science behind photography and capturing light. Well years passed and technology started to develop that allowed pictures to be recorded digitally. I first got a Apple QuickTake and was that a crazy leap forward. This crazy thing would just shoot 640×480 and no developing or waiting was needed. I just plugged it up and I was in business. The downside was the Apple worked great with Apple but wouldnt work on friends and family’s computers. It went into a drawer and was forgotten. Then Sony came out with the Sony Mavica that recorded JPEG to a 3.5in Floppy! This was epic! A universal platform that nearly worked everywhere. Still 640×480 but it was awesome. Unfortnately printing it out was weak sauce so I generally stuck with my 35mm for larger prints. Time went by and I romanced the celluloid film again. Loved learning about the science of fixer, stop bath, and wash. Rolled my own film and developed in a darkroom. Amazing. Then sensors got better and better and the Megapixel race began!
My first decent digital camera was a Sony DSC F707 and boy was it a revolution. I suddenly had f-stop control and ISO control and started to see the vestiges of my 35mm in a digital and it was a whopping 5MP. I had shutter control and was able to do really neat night photography. My first delve into serious digital photography was light years ahead of most. Five MP in 2001 was amazing. The one caveat was Sony had me hooked purchasing only their Memory stick cards.
To be continued…
